Wow. I'm overwhelmed by all the favs and follows already! I see you guys, and especially the reviewers—you guys rock!
OK, I don't own the characters or anything and the cover picture belongs to the wonderful Viria. Let's do this thing!
PS: If anything is not in line with stuff that happened in The Price, sorry! I'm inconsistent.
Nico pushed his food around his plate, watching the other campers eat. It had been almost a week since what remained of the Seven had returned from their battle, and it felt like everyone was still waiting for Percy and Annabeth to come back.
Nico didn't like that feeling.
Everyone felt the effects of the two heroes' absence, but the Athena cabin was taking it especially hard. Occasionally one of the younger girls would burst into tears, and Malcolm, who was now the cabin counsellor, had red eyes and a haggard look about him most of the time. Normally someone, probably from the Ares cabin, would have teased him about it, but no one had the heart to.
Nico could tell that most people didn't really have the heart to do much these days.
Gloomily, he stared down at the mess he had made on his plate, but it wasn't as if he was going to eat it. He didn't eat much normally, and with the Athena cabin and their clear distress in full sight of him, he didn't feel like eating at all. But then again, Nico could count on one hand the number of times he had eaten since the battle. Sometimes the younger children of Athena would start screaming in their sleep, and they brought about nightmares that Nico was better off without. Not that the look on Malcolm's face when he'd found out had helped much with said nightmares.
Nico sighed and stood up. Most people had already left the mess hall anyway, so he decided to take a walk. Maybe some fresh air would clear his pounding headache, left over from his fitful sleep the night before.
The air was cool and clear outside, and Nico took deep breaths, letting the invigorating air rush through his lungs. As he walked, he felt some of the stress from the last few days evaporate…but oxygen, no matter how fresh, couldn't do more than dull the residual ache that was Percy and Annabeth's absence.
Almost out of habit, Nico concentrated on his memories of them, and pictured them standing together in front of him, laughing. With their images firmly in mind, he listened for the buzzing in his ears that would tell him they were still in Elysium. It always came to him when he concentrated, meaning that they were dead.
The buzzing didn't come.
Nico's eyes flew open. Panicked, he willed his brain to focus, and imagined Percy's laugh and Annabeth's death glare as he tried sensing them again. But instead of the familiar buzzing in his ears, there was…nothing?
He tried again and again, but aside from the twitter of birds in the trees, and the faint sounds of demigods yelling, it was silent. Nico willed his racing heart to calm down as he stood in the middle of the forest and tried to think logically, the way Annabeth would—not that he needed any kind of logic, because there was only one obvious conclusion.
The fact that there was no buzz in his ears could mean but one thing, and though Nico didn't know how in the Hades it was possible, he had to try and wrap his mind around the idea that…Percy and Annabeth were alive?
He had to go find Hazel.
Hazel had yet to return to Camp Jupiter—along with Frank and Jason, she had decided to stay at Camp Half-Blood and get to know the Greeks, and their camp, a bit better. Piper and Leo had been more than happy to have their friends there, and Hazel thought the Greeks' camp was surprisingly awesome. There was something free and unstructured about it, so unlike the rigidity of Camp Jupiter.
She was reclining on her bed (the top bunk; the bottom was Nico's), relaxing after a strenuous training session with Jason, when the door slammed open and Nico came rushing in, his eyes wild. "Hazel," he panted, looking as if he'd run across the camp to get here.
"Nico?" Hazel sat up, frowning down at her brother. "What is it?"
Nico shook his head like a dog, clearly trying to catch his breath. "I—I was trying to sense Percy and Annabeth in Elysium, but then I couldn't. I checked a million times, but it didn't work."
Hazel gasped a little, one hand instinctively going up to cover her mouth. "But can't you usually sense them?" Though he wouldn't admit it, she knew Nico had tried to find out how Percy and Annabeth were at regular intervals since the battle. Then the real implications of what Nico had said struck her, and Hazel felt her mouth drop open farther. "But doesn't that mean—"
Nico nodded, and Hazel felt her stomach drop into her feet as her brother said solemnly, "It looks like they're not in Elysium anymore."
"What does that even mean? How could they be out? Has anyone ever escaped? But why would anyone escape?" A barrage of questions spilled out of Hazel's mouth before she could stop them, a thousand more racing through her head, but Nico just shook his head again, holding up a hand for her to stop as he slowly walked toward the bunk bed. His face was a mask of calm Hazel knew he didn't feel.
"I have no idea what this means," he confessed wearily, and she felt a pang of sadness. Nico didn't deserve to feel so burdened, but he looked like the weight of the world was on his shoulders as he continued, "I've never heard of something like this happening before. Unless, of course, Annabeth and Percy tried for rebirth, but somehow I don't think they did. But it doesn't make sense that way. I—"
"Nico," Hazel interrupted as she climbed off her bunk and landed lightly on the floor. "You don't have to have it all figured out right now. We'll think of something; I'm sure there's a logical explanation for all this."
Nico still looked worried, but his expression had eased a bit. "Thanks, Hazel," he said sincerely.
Hazel smiled. "You don't need to thank me; you shouldn't have to deal with this by yourself. We'll find out what happened to Percy and Annabeth," she promised.
Nico looked relieved, but Hazel's smile faded slightly as she realized that she had no way of guaranteeing the promise she'd just made. For all she knew, they could be—
She pushed her morbid thoughts away and started toward the door. She'd figure this all out later; right now, she had things to do.
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