Hey! I'm so sorry for taking so long with this chapter. Writer's block, bleh.

So that you don't have to wait for the chapter, I'll make the author's note at the end.

Please enjoy!

A dark winged shadow passed over the moon, gliding silently through the cool night air. A long cloak flapped behind in the wind as he landed on a strong branch over a cliff.

And he stood there, resembling a statue for the longest of times. Until the moon had gone and the sun was rising at which time he flew back the way he came, unaware of the curious gaze that had been tracking his movements all night.

The moment the sun was up, the camp was awake. Of course, not everyone wanted to be up. But it was hard to sleep when there was a horn kept blowing with the sound of 3 brass bands.

The Hermes cabin may have been the only ones completely awake (excluding the Apollo cabin, but they always woke up at dawn), and that was because with everyone so sleepy it was easier to pick pocket without being caught.

"What the hell!" Came a voice from the Seasons camp as Summer came running down the hill. "What's going on?"

"Training." Came the gruff reply from above. Everyone looked up to see Winter slowly descending with a large seemingly gold instrument. "We came here to train the campers, so we're going to train the campers."

Summer just looked at him. "At dawn?"

"But of course," Came the reply, but this time there were traces of a cold humour in his voice. "When else?"

Summer mumbled under his breath but went along with it, unaware of all the awed looks he was getting from the audience for standing up to the intimidating Winter.

"Now then, let's begin." With that, Winter started splitting the camp into sections, before realising that there wasn't any point and therefore stopping, so that the Seasons could each teach the cabins who would best benefit from their teachings.

Spring's main cabin was Demeter, Autumn's was Zeus, Summer's was Hephaestus and Winter's was Poseidon.

All the other cabins just floated around (figuratively speaking, except one or two Hermes kids [they stole some of their father's shoes]), trying to pick up tips from all of the seasons.

Little did the campers know, there were 3 stages of training that Winter would put them through. Powers/inherited abilities, weapons and fighting and mental training; how to stall for time, create awe-some battle plans, etcetera, etcetera. It was important, Winter reflected, for all demigods to be able to keep the monsters talking until they could devise a scheme to get them out alive.

After seemingly several hours of vigorous training, a brave little Aphrodite camper spoke up. "Excuse me, Mr Winter sir?"

Everyone's heads snapped towards her, save Winter. He slowly turned around and looked directly at her with a cold stare. "Yes?"

"I was wondering, when will we finish for the day?" The child of Aphrodite looked at Winter with wide eyes, trying to make herself as pretty as possible. Trying to use the lessons she'd learnt from Spring about seeming small and insignificant.

"Finish?" Winter almost looked astonished, "Why would we finish?"

Everyone was looking at the conversation in sick fascination, darting their heads back and forth as if they were watching a tennis match.

"Because we've been doing this for hours." She was whining near the end.

Winter looked slightly amused. "What's your name?"

She looked taken aback, "Um, Bianca."

Winter flinched as if someone had hit him. He no longer looked amused. Now he looked as if he could kill a thousand unarmed mortals without a second thought. "You will not finish your training until we," he gestured towards the Seasons, "have decided that you could hold your own against an army of monsters armed with melee weapons, ranged weapons, poison and primordial magic."

He glared at all the campers as they groaned.

"Fine. If you don't like it, I'll leave. Good luck without me." He flew away, leaving a trail of ice and snow in his wake.

"Who spat in his snow pile?" Bianca muttered, before Spring glared at her.

"I know you didn't realise you were doing anything wrong, but seriously! How on earth are we going to teach you sword fighting now?" She despaired.

"One of you guys could go," Bianca suggested helpfully, "Maybe he would calm down if he saw one of his team."

The remaining seasons all looked at each other before Summer and Spring yelled, "Not me!" like little kids.

Autumn looked at them both before sighing and walking in the direction of the forest.

"Is she going to walk all the way there?" A small camper asked quietly, tugging on the hem of Spring's dress.

She looked down at her kindly and whispered just as quietly, "Watch."

No sooner than the moment that word was uttered, there was a loud crack, a flash of orange and Autumn disappeared.

"Wow," the camper breathed.

In the small clearing set around Zeus' fist was an extremely grumpy immortal surrounded by ice.

Winter was staring down at the ground, trying to drill ice right down to the core. Trying to make Gaia hurt as she had hurt him. Trying to avenge all of the demigods that had been his friends whom she'd seen destroyed.

He didn't even flinch at the crack and flash of Autumn appearing, who then proceeded to laugh very loudly.

He gave her his wolf stare, which he hadn't used until his demigod days. She smiled, came up to him and pinched her cheeks, as a great aunt may. He looked at her shocked and she burst out laughing again.

"Oh. My. Gods. You flew away like a child having a tantrum." She paused momentarily, clutching her sides. "And then I find you here, with this." She pointed to the space above his head.

Winter, slightly baffled, looked up and saw a tiny snow storm. The sort you may see in a cartoon when a character was upset or angry.

Without realising that he was doing it, his face arranged itself into a sheepish expression.

Autumn smiled at him, and he felt an unfamiliar emotion swell in his chest. After a few painful seconds, he managed a smile back. He felt the strain as his mouth protested at being moved in a way so unfamiliar to him.

"So, what's your favourite colour?" Autumn questioned.

After looking at her incredulously, Winter replied, "Blue. Yours?"

The afternoon continued in much the same manner. Autumn asking questions, Winter answering them. They talked about foods, pets, holiday destinations, families.

Winter discovered that he liked talking about his family with someone. He liked having a companion for a change. He enjoyed not being alone.

As the sun began to set, the duo stood up and began to walk silently back towards the camp.

"You know, I've never had a friend before. It's nice. I think I'd like to have more friends." Autumn said quietly, as if whispering a secret the trees couldn't know.

"We're friends?" Winter replied, shocked.

Autumn looked up at him with big eyes. "We are aren't we?"

Winter thought about it for a moment. She was right. Even though they'd only met officially a few days ago, she felt like one of his closest friends. His only friend. The funny thing was, he didn't mean to become friends; but then, did you ever really chose who your friends were?

Winter smiled down at her slightly as he said, "I guess we are."

Autumn's smile was much larger. "You know, I think I know what it is to be alive now. I read this book once and it had the best quote in it." She paused for a moment, thinking, "Actually, it had lots of great quotes, but one really stood out for me. For if no one in the entire world cares about you, did you really exist at all?"

Autumn paused while Winter thought about that sentence. It seemed so sad to think that someone ever thought that.

"I care about you now. You're my friend right." Winter replied, even though they'd already established this very important point. He just wanted to hear that he had a friend again.

"Right. I also read this other book that was truly amazing." Autumn was getting excited now. She was almost bouncing up and down in excitement. "The main character seemed like the nicest guy ever. He was loyal and kind and any flaws he had weren't that bad. He went through so much in the first book. Of course I still need to read the other nine, but I think that it'll only get worse."

Autumn looked down sadly.

"Well, the best people do have the worst luck. I'm sure everything will work out." Winter stated, not knowing that it as himself that he was referring to.

"I'm sure it will." Autumn turned her head to hide her smile, a plan already on the edge of her mind.

The conversation came to an end when Spring appeared. Winter stiffened, he still didn't like her much, but Autumn smiled at her.

"I brought him back! And he's agreed to teach them." Autumn looked at Winter now, "Right?"

Winter looked at her, with a raised eyebrow instead of a smile this time. "I did?"

"Yup!"

"Alright then." Winter conceded.

Spring looked between the two suspiciously, sensing that something big had happened. "Alright then. I'll see you later, Aubrey. Winter."

Spring left, glancing behind her. Autumn burst out laughing at her expression. "She is so suspicious! And I don't even know what of!"

Winter looked at her, "Aubrey?"

Autumn looked miffed, "That is my name, you know. Aubrey Squash. Of course, no one calls me that. Only Fern. That's her name." She replied to his silent question.

They began walking back towards their camp. "Why?" Winter questioned in an odd voice.

"Why what?" Autumn replied in confusion.

Winter was about to answer when there was a loud yell from the dining area. With a single glace, Autumn and Winter rushed towards the noise.

It was the girl from earlier, Bianca. She was rolling around on the floor, moaning.

Her face was as green as a tree nymph's. Her eyes were closed tightly together and her mouth formed a thin, straight line.

A large crowd had gathered around her now. Spring and Summer had come up beside the other Seasons. Everyone was staring in horror at the girl who had possessed Aphrodite's beauty and Ares' (when he was attending a council meeting) attention span.

"Move out of the way, Child." Chiron yelled as he galloped down the hill with Annabeth hot on his heels. For a change, the sight of her didn't cause hundreds of tiny knives to pierce his heart.

As if she'd been waiting for the arrival of Chiron, Bianca's eyes snapped open as she sat up.

Everyone, save Winter and Annabeth, gasped. Those two just stared, horrified.

Her eyes were bright gold. They were glowing.

She'd stopped moaning when she'd sat up; and now she was screaming. It was as if she was going through a hundred unimaginable tortures all at once. She clawed at her throat and looked desperately around her. Her limbs were smoking, almost melting.

No longer did she have the face of an angel. Now she looked as if she'd been whipped in the fields of punishment by the furies for several centuries.

The crowd was transfixed with horror. Even Chiron couldn't look away.

She looked at every single person in the crowd directly in the eyes. Soon, almost everyone else was screaming too. The eyes where the window to the soul, and she was looking into all their souls. She was replaying all of their worse moments. Times they were at their weakest, moments people had died, the memories everyone had tried to forget.

Chiron saw all of the campers he'd failed to save. All the campers that had dies painful deaths. All the faces of the lost heroes of old. He saw Selena, Luke, Leo and, most of all, Percy. He saw Percy's face when he'd left. Broken and completely alone. Chiron cried into his fur.

Summer saw his mother's death. He saw the second giant war. He remembered dying and facing the disappointment of not being able to find Ogygia again. He remembered returning to camp under the cover of darkness to discover that all his friends had turned on Percy. He remembered the bitter disappointment that his friends had already finished mourning him, after just two weeks. He collapsed on the ground, starin g straight ahead trying to keep the tears from coming.

Spring remembered her mother's death. Her father's death. Her sister's death. Her brother's death. Her own torture. Her tree dying. Chaos saving her from the eternal pain that came from you're life source dying. She felt the pain of all the dying animals she'd come across. She crawled into a ball and wept for all the tears she'd kept herself from shedding. She hadn't the strength to keep them away now.

Autumn saw her time in the insane asylum. She felt all the electric-shock therapy. She felt the pain they had inflicted to try to change the way she thought about things. To turn her into another manipulable fool who'd believe whatever her corrupt government said. She felt the pain of seeing her family dead. The lost feeling. The hopeless feeling. She teleported away to an empty of the camp and hid. Trying to hide from her feelings at the same time.

Winter saw his days as Percy Jackson. He felt the hopelessness of his first quest, saving his mum. He felt the panic of his second quest, saving Grover. He felt the deep ach of his third quest, saving Annabeth. He felt the insignificant-ness of holding up the sky. He felt the fear of his fourth quest, facing the unknown of the Labyrinth. He felt the pain of bathing in the Styx. He felt loss of all those who'd died in the second Titan war. He felt the felt the pain of missing memories. Of using up all his energy on hurricanes. He felt the misery of realising he couldn't let Annabeth go into Tartarus. He felt the all the agony that came from Tartarus. He felt the hundreds on injuries that came from more deaths during the Giant War. He felt the shame of being part of Gaia's awakening. He felt the betrayal of all those he'd trusted at camp.

He felt the anguish from his mum's and Paul's deaths.

Winter stood frozen, staring straight ahead. This was worse than when he faced Kronos. It was worse than every single injury he'd ever suffered from.

Sensing movement, Winter looked towards what used to be Bianca. She was smiling. Amidst the screaming of the campers, Winter hadn't noticed that she'd stopped. She was smiling and looking around at her work. At the pain she'd wrought.

Bianca looked directly at Winter. Her smiled widened. She stood up and walked towards the frozen Winter.

"I'll see you again, Winter." She spoke in an alien voice. There was something possessing her. Her voice had the same layered texture that Luke's had had when her was more Kronos than Luke.

She leaned closer to his ear, whispering. "You know, killing your mother, Percy, was the most fun I'd had in ages." She leaned back to look at Winter full in the face. He stared back, horror plain as day on his face.

She laughed and stepped back, vanishing like mirage.

So, what did you think? It got a bit dark near the end, didn't it? I bet you weren't expecting that!

What do you think of Autumn and Winter's friendship? It happened very quickly...

I hope you enjoyed and please review! It completely makes my day!

BYE!