When the word family reunion came to mind, the things that came to mind for Hazel included things like a barbeque, distant relatives, holidays and trying to be polite.
Sitting alone at the Hades table, Hazel didn't think that a feeling of dread was not what the word "family bonding" normally entitled. Then, remember some of the stories that the kids form camp who had large families sometimes told, she revised her feeling from "dread" to "fear for one's life."
A little while later, she found herself standing outside of the Hades cabin in camp half blood with her recently found sort of half brother trying to make awkward conversation less awkward did not fit the picture at all.
"So Dad, what are we doing today?" Hazel asked. She noticed that he was flickering from his Greek to Roman form and back again.
"Well," he said. "I'm planning to take both of you down to the underworld."
"Something is up with some of the local Gryphon population and other animals that live there." Nico put in. He had just come from the underworld with Hades so he had an idea about what was going on.
"Is there some sort of uprising going on?" Asked Hazel. Like most of the Half Bloods, she had barely survived the last war and was in no hurry for another one.
Pluto looked a little worried at her statement. "I'm not sure. I can't enlist much of Thanto's help since he is occupied with guarding the doors. I'm going to have to go searching myself. Both of the Demi gods suppressed a shiver.
"Now both of you," Hades said. "I wouldn't ask either of your help if this wasn't needed. If I had my way, both of you would just stay here and we would have this day some other time. He did have a point, unlike most of the other gods; he could get away with taking both of his kids to the underworld for extended periods of time and not worry about getting away with it.
Hazel took a good look at both her father, who was currently Hades, and her brother who even on a bright day like today seemed to be slightly covered with a shadow. She realized that they were only here to get her help. Nico had lived in and out of the underworld since he had leaved the lotus hotel and into the modern world. He would have little trouble convincing his dad to let him help. If they were there to get her, it must be bad.
Of course I'm coming. Her decision was underlined with the sun bus crashing into the lake.
"Looks like my idiot nephew and the half blood hunters have arrived." Hades commented. Hazel felt a little guilty from finding that funny.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Watching Thalia come out of the water and start swearing at the sun god, Hazel realized that no one outside of the underworld might have been told about the situation.
"A few other gods have found out about this and are ready to help if I ask for it but, I don't think that there is a need for that just yet."
"We don't tell anyone unless we have to. Everyone is edgy enough as it is." Not for the first time, it struck Hazel how alike her brother and their dad were. For starters, both of them looked like they were itching to go out of the light and back to the underworld.
"Even I know that no one wants to even talk about another war." Leaning up against her cabin in a way that she didn't know mirrored her brother, Hazel felt weary. Whenever people thought of PTSD victims, they normally thought of middle aged to old men who had lived through some sort of war. They probably didn't think of a fourteen year old girl who had lived through a war against Mother Nature herself and had won by the skin of her teeth.
Looking away as Zeus, Thalia and Jason flashed off; Hazel asked how they were going to get to the underworld.
"I think that the easiest way is to Shadow travel. Shall we go?" Hazel felt a little stupid for having to ask. Hades held his hand and Nico and Hazel put their hands on his. Then they were gone.