Chapter 7

The last shot was actually fired by Leila, who then went on to apologies for 'taking control' over the praetor. Afterwards, most campers went to the hall to have their share of the feast, but I went straight back to Frank's room. Technically it was mine, but I knew it would never be home. The only home I had found was Camp Half Blood, and wherever Annabeth was. Speaking of Annabeth, I needed to make a quick call, considering I'd told her that I'd call her as soon as I got to Jupiter. While making phone calls are considered dangerous, I didn't have a Drachma on me, and Annabeth was safe at camp half blood, so I pulled out my phone and speed dialed her number.

"Percy?" she asked, and I smiled. I hadn't heard her voice in a while, and it was a relief.

"Hey." I said, and I could hear her sigh, before getting angry.

"Why didn't you call? I was worried." She said and I laughed, knowing that would probably make it worse.

"It's good to hear from you too." I said. "How's the baby girl?" I asked when she replied, I could hear her smiling.

"Good- she's kicking all the time and it's really starting to get on my nerves. She misses her dad though." Annabeth said, and I took a deep breath. The word dad wasn't really common among others in my brain. I didn't really have a dad growing up, and smelly Joe was about as far from dad then a toilet was to a pair of hippie pants. Now all of a sudden, I would be a dad, and to say I'm scared, would be the understatement of the century.

"Yeah well, I'd much be at home with the two of you then here." I said, and there was silence on the other end of the line.

"What's it like?" she asked, and I sighed.

"This place- it's not at all what it was like when we were at college. Everyone's really torn up about losing both the Praetors, and I don't think I can fill in the gap." I said, doubt filling my voice.

"Percy you're doing everything you can." She said, a quiver in her voice.

"I know that too- but it's not just that- it's been going on for a while before that. After the war with Gaia- I think they took it harder than camp half blood. At first it was all smiles and parties but now- now it's finally settled that they're not getting back the people they last. Then Frank and Reyna both go missing and its as though nothing can be fixed… How is Frank anyway?" I asked, and Annabeth sighed through the phone.

"Its getting worse- the cord around his neck is starting to strangle him. We think it has some form of poison in it- the more he tries to crawl out, the more it hurts. Hazels researching it now." She said.

"And what about Reyna- had any luck finding her?" I asked, and Annabeth seemed to have more luck with that.

"Yes! Well sort of- I had a dream the other night, where her face appeared in front of the San Fransisco bridge- I'm leaving tonight actually." She said, and I sighed.

"You sure there's nothing I can do to talk you out of this right?" I asked and she laughed.

"Just wish me luck Seaweed Brain. Love you." She said, and I returned the compliment before the line went dead.

"I'm guessing that wasn't Grover on the phone…" Michael said, and I laughed.

"Nah- Annabeth." I said, and he sat beside me. We sat in silence for a minute, before he spoke.

"I'm guessing you've noticed then- the mood over Camp Jupiter." He said, and I smiled.

"Yeah- it's not really what I was expecting. Last time I was here, it was so different." I said, and he nodded, looking over the quite city.

"It's not what any of us was expecting. People die all the time you know- but when it's someone you've grown up with, and lived with, it feels like a part of you goes missing." He said. Even thinking about it sends a shiver down my spine. I still don't get up a day without thinking about Leo. Even if Piper is adamant that he'll show up one day. Losing anyone else would push me over the edge- losing Annabeth would kill me.

"A few weeks back, before the whole Praetor fiasco, we finally were getting on our feet. We decided we'd build a memorial- a real one. It was Frank, Reyna and I working on it, and we all agreed on everything. I missed our 5th meeting, and in the space of an hour everything went haywire. I finally came and the place was a mess. The last I saw of Frank was him flying off in one direction and Reyna storming off in the other. I haven't talked about the memorial since." Michael finished, and I let out a breath of air I didn't know I'd been holding.

"I think it's time everyone got up and stopped this haze of disbelief. Bad things happen, but we can't live in the shadow of everything that's ever hurt us. We also can't hold War games every time we need to let some anger air out." I argue and Michael nods.

"Sorry about that- but hey- you won". He said and I nodded. "Speaking of- you should be giving a speech right about now." He mentioned and I groaned.

"I was hoping you would forget about that. " I said and he chuckled. We slowly walked to the Hall where things were eerily quiet. People sat in small groups of threes, and while some people were silent, others murmured and whispered gossip[ and secrets.

"Everyone- listen up." I yelled and all heads turned to face me. "It's been a long few years. Today we fought a great game of Death ball, but winning and losing didn't define us like we'd hoped…" everyone turned to look at each other sadly, before facing me. "I know, how you're feeling. Three years ago we all fought in a war that hit us hard. We've all lost someone we loved or cared about, and I'm not an expert of death, or consolation, but I do know that living in the present is much better than living in the past. Michael here, is going to be helping finish building a memorial that he Frank and Reyna had planned on building. Anyone who wants to put forth ideas to say good bye to their loved ones should speak to him." I yelled, and everyone's focus turned to Michael, who gave a feeble 'hi'. I hadn't spoken about any of this to him, but I felt like he's be ok with it.

"I think that it's time to start being the sons and daughter of Gods once again. How long has it been since any of you have been on a quest for the gods. How long has it been since any of you finished a personal best or tried their hardest at something and received great results." I paused as everyone gave out comforting smiles. "Camp Jupiter is a wonderful place of safety and more importantly, family. I'm old- nearly 26, and while I'm only a replacement Praetor, it doesn't mean that we can't restore this place to it's former glory. Does that sound like a plan?" I shout, and the crowd gives a murmur 'yes' and 'I guess so'. "I can't hear you- Does it?" I yell louder, and everyone starts to speak up. "YES" they shout back at me, and everyone seems to catch on. "YES!" they shout. Everyone gets up and starts hugging each other and crying, ready to start something new. "Good! Now let's eat!" I yell.