***So here it is, the final chapter, which is actually split into three chapters, but they're all going to be posted today. Sorry for the delay, but this thing turned into a little bit of a monster because there was a lot I wanted to get in—like SALLY. Because that reunion totally needed to be there. For anyone who read my version of Blood of Olympus, some of these scenes might sound a little familiar, because I borrowed a bit from that story, but adapted the scenes to fit what happened in the real Blood of Olympus.
Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! If you liked this one, please check out my other stories. Hope you enjoy reading these final missing moments chapters!***
HAZEL:
The explosion shook the world. The light burned Hazel's retinas, forcing her to close her eyes. When she opened them again, the first thing she saw was two tiny figures plummeting towards the ground.
"Frank!" Hazel screamed, pointing upward to where Jason and Piper were tumbling out of the sky. But before Frank could transform, a pair of giant Roman eagles swept down and snatched their friends out of the air, delivering them safely to the ground.
"We need to get over there," Frank told Hazel. He climbed onto Arion's back behind her and they shot off toward their friends. Hazel felt sick to her stomach. Two tiny figures. Only Jason and Piper. She gave a dry sob.
They reached the spot where the eagles had landed at the same moment as Percy and Annabeth. A Roman medic and an Apollo camper were already on site. They gave Jason and Piper each some nectar and unicorn draught. Within a minute, they were both sitting up.
"Leo," Piper said immediately.
Hazel and Annabeth exchanged looks, then Annabeth said, "He—he didn't come down."
Piper covered her face with her hands. Jason put an arm around her shoulders, though he looked pretty broken up himself.
"What happened up there?" Percy asked.
Jason explained their plan, how they had tried to defeat Gaea in the same way Ouranos, the primordial sky god, had once been defeated. "Piper put her to sleep, then Leo was going to vaporize her." Jason frowned. "But did something else happen? I swear we passed another fireball coming down. And it sounded like it was screaming."
"That was Octavian." Nico had approached without any of them realizing it. "He launched a volley from one of the onagers. And, accidentally, launched himself with it."
Hazel was horrified. "That's awful!"
Nico shrugged. "Maybe. Personally, I say good riddance."
"I'll second that," Percy said.
Although she was a little shocked by the boys' coldness, Hazel had to admit that compared to her grief for Leo, Octavian's demise wasn't that tragic.
"Listen, I was actually coming to find you guys," Nico said. "There are still problems. We need your help. Unless, Jason and Piper, you're not up for it?"
"No, we're fine." Piper struggled to her feet. Jason, too, rose. "What do we need to do?"
The rest of the day was such a whirlwind of caring for the injured, cleaning up the messes, and beginning to coordinate things between the Romans and the Greeks that Hazel barely caught a glimpse of her friends. She couldn't help looking at the sky every few minutes, though. She knew it was probably hopeless, but she kept expecting Leo to swoop in on Festus, grinning like a madman. Sadly, it didn't happen. So, every few minutes, Hazel wiped the tears off her cheeks and threw herself back into her work.
It was amazing how well the camps learned to work together.
"Nothing unites bitter foes like a common enemy," Chiron the centaur observed two days after the battle with Gaea. Hazel had heard a lot about the centaur from Annabeth; it was nice to finally meet him. She and Frank were spending a lot of time with Chiron, who was interested in inspecting the Roman troops and encampment. It had been over a century since the centaur had been involved with the legion. "But I am happy to see everyone getting along so well. Cooperation is a much better solution than total separation."
Too soon, it was time for the Romans to head back to the West Coast. Hazel was eager to see Camp Jupiter again, but the thought of leaving her friends from the Argo II made her heart hurt.
She woke up on the morning of August fourth, the day the Romans were leaving, completely disoriented on Nico's side of the cabin. It took Hazel a moment to figure out why she was there. Then she remembered the previous night, when she'd cried herself to sleep. A lead weight settled on her stomach.
Leo.
Despite what Nico had said, despite the fact that she knew the plan had been Leo's to begin with, Hazel wasn't quite ready to forgive herself. She had failed her friend. But even though she knew he was dead, she couldn't completely snuff out the tiny spark of hope that maybe Nico was wrong. There was a chance the physician's cure had worked. This was Leo, after all; if anyone could invent a way back from death, it was him.
The morning was a rush of activities as the legion broke camp and loaded the fleet of SUVs waiting at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill. Hazel's stomach churned at the thought of riding in a car cross-country. Maybe she could call Arion for a ride once in a while, to take a break.
By noon, everything was ready to go. The legionnaires were packed into the vehicles and the first dozen SUVs had already driven off. There was only one empty car left, driven by Michael Kahale, and waiting for Reyna, Frank, and Hazel.
The three of them were standing at the top of Half-Blood Hill, underneath a massive pine tree, saying their good-byes to Piper, Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Nico.
Reyna drew herself up. "Well, it's been an interesting summer."
The others laughed. "That's one way to put it," Percy said.
Reyna cracked a smile. "I hope you know, you're all welcome at Camp Jupiter any time."
"Same for you, here at Camp Half-Blood," Piper said. "I hope you'll think about what I said."
"I will," Reyna promised. She hugged Piper. "Thank you."
"Actually, I think we should be thanking you, Reyna," Annabeth said. "And Nico, for what you guys accomplished, bringing the statue back here."
Reyna shrugged. "We all did our parts."
"Still, you took a chance and trusted us. So, thank you." Annabeth hugged Reyna.
"While we're doing the thank you stuff," Percy chimed in, "can I say thanks for not killing me when I first showed up at Camp Jupiter?"
Reyna actually laughed at that. "Believe me, it was a hard decision."
After she hugged Percy, Reyna turned to Jason. "I'm sure we'll see you soon, pontifex."
Jason looked a little uncomfortable, but Hazel wasn't sure if it was because of the title or his history with Reyna. "Definitely. I've got some shrines to build. Starting with Kymopoleia's."
"And then you need to make her action figure, so we can smash it," Frank added.
"With a rock." Jason grinned, then hugged Reyna. "Take care, Reyna."
Finally, Reyna turned to Nico, who was hanging back in the shadow of the pine tree. "Nico."
Nico stepped forward with a sideways smile. "Saving the best for last?"
"Of course." Reyna hugged Nico. "It was good shadow-traveling with you."
"You, too," Nico said. "And remember, what happens in Albania…"
"Stays in Albania." Reyna kissed his cheek, which seemed to surprise him, but he looked happy about it.
"Alright," Reyna glanced at Frank and Hazel. "I'll give you guys a few minutes. Then, Praetor Zhang, we have business to take care of on the ride."
Frank nodded, then saluted. "Ave, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano."
"Ave, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano!" the others echoed.
A smile tugged at the corners of Reyna's lips. "Ave, heroes of Olympus." She gave a final wave, then turned and walked down the hill to the waiting SUV.
Nico cleared his throat. "Okay, I'll do my good-byes, then give you all a couple minutes." He held out a hand to shake Frank's. "Take care of my sister, Zhang."
"You got it." Frank pulled Nico in for a hug.
"Oof! My ribs," Nico grunted, but he didn't really look annoyed.
Hazel got a little teary-eyed when Nico turned to her. He smiled. "I'll see you soon, Hazel. Promise."
She hugged him tight. "You'd better come out to Camp Jupiter."
"I will." Nico kissed her cheek. "Love you, sis."
"Love you, too."
As Nico walked back into Camp Half-Blood, Hazel thought she saw a new spring in his step. She had no idea why he seemed so much happier today, but it made her glad.
Now it was just the crew of the Argo II standing beneath the pine tree, which made the absence of Leo even more pronounced. Hazel swallowed back tears. It's not like you won't see them again, she reminded herself. But it was still hard to leave.
Percy spread his arms. "Frank, Hazel…we'll always have Alaska."
That made them laugh. "Good memories," Frank said. "Eating reindeer meat, fighting gryphons, hiding under blue giant butts."
"Yep, good times. Get over here, big guy." Percy and Frank hugged, which seemed to include a lot of slapping each other on the back. Hazel rolled her eyes at Annabeth.
After the boys broke apart, Percy held out his arms to Hazel. She hugged him. His shirt smelled like fresh sea air. "Thanks for standing for me that first day," Percy said.
Hazel stepped back and smiled. "I think it was the right choice."
"Dude, good luck with the praetorship." Jason fist-bumped Frank, then gave him a quick hug. "Word of warning: whatever you do, do not touch Reyna's jellybeans. Trust me."
Frank looked mildly alarmed. "No jellybeans. Got it."
Hazel hugged Jason while Frank said his good-byes to Piper and Annabeth. Both girls kissed him on the cheek, which made Frank blush and Hazel smile. She was glad that along with the new confidence, Frank was still the same sweet, bashful guy.
"You're coming out for the war games sometime, right?" Hazel asked Annabeth.
"Absolutely," Annabeth said as she hugged Hazel. "Plus, I think Piper owes us both a surfing lesson."
"Girls' weekend in Malibu," Piper agreed. "Just as soon as we can plan it."
"Sounds fun." Hazel smiled and hugged Piper. "And you'll call me if there's any sign, right?"
"That very minute," Piper promised. All six of them glanced at the sky.
"Look," said Jason, "I know what Nico said. But if anybody can do the impossible, it's Leo."
"We can't give up hope," Piper said.
"Never," Hazel agreed.
"This is Valdez we're talking about," Frank pointed out. "I bet you he'll show up out of the blue one day, probably while we're right in the middle of something important."
They all laughed. "That sounds about right," Percy said.
At the bottom of the hill, Michael Kahale honked the horn.
"I think that's our cue," Hazel said.
A sense of gloom settled over them. Then Percy said, "Alright, people, group hug. Partly because you know Valdez would gripe about it."
That broke the tension as everyone laughed again. They huddled together for a few seconds, and when they broke apart, Hazel wasn't the only one quickly wiping tears off her cheeks.
Michael Kahale honked the horn again.
"Time to go." Hazel slipped her hand into Frank's and took one last look around at their friends. "Stay safe, you guys."
"We'll try," Piper said with a smile. "You, too."
With a final flurry of waves and good-byes, Hazel and Frank turned and walked down the hill.
As the SUV pulled away, Hazel leaned against Frank in the backseat. He put his arm around her. Hazel was sad, but she was also smiling as they began their long drive west.
Time to go home.
