A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter has a lot of drama and feelings in it, so if you don't like that stuff then you're not going to love this chapter. I myself am not such a fan of that kind of stuff, but this story wouldn't really end well without it, so I had to include it. Hope you enjoy it!

CHAPTER 28: Difficult Conversations

Reyna was strolling through the Incomparable Gardens, trying to stave off her heavy thoughts and be content. It was easy to do, as the Gardens were absolutely stunning. There were flowers and plants in sizes and colors that she had never imagined. She had only seen it all from a distance, she hadn't had the time to actually explore the Gardens in depth. Now that she was doing that, she was able to appreciate the true beauty of the Incomparable Gardens.

It was a good thing the Gardens were so captivating, because Reyna had a lot on her mind. The trials were a bit overwhelming at times, which was why she had avoided them as much as possible. Every misdeed of the gods that Art brought up was like a stab to the gut for her. She couldn't believe she had spent all this time fighting for these monsters. Some of them truly deserved to be fairly punished for their deeds.

It will all be over soon, Reyna assured herself. This whole fiasco will soon come to an end.

But that brought up more worries, and more questions. For once the trial was over, Reyna would have to make an important decision: where to go from there. She really had no idea what to do with herself once the trial ended. Her whole life had been pledged to the Twelfth Legion, what would she do once the Twelfth Legion ceased to exist. She would have nowhere to go on Earth, nowhere to live, nowhere to call home.

I could stay here in the House, Reyna thought. But that brought up other problems. She was a human, a mortal, unlike the Denizens of the House. Would she fit in? Where would she go? The unfortunate truth was that Reyna didn't feel like there was a place for her in the House. It made her sad to acknowledge that that was the case, but she had to face the facts.

It's no use troubling myself over this now, she thought. I'll wait for this trial to be over. Surely Art can at least let me stay here until I've figured something out.

She hoped, anyway.

She was walking through the Gardens, admiring the beauty of a row of tall, lavender roses, when she came upon a forlorn figure sitting on the dirt. He was gazing straight ahead, sad eyes on the flowers before him. He was hugging his legs, and rested his head on his knees. He was wearing a purple t-shirt, and had a sword resting next to him on the ground. Reyna recognized him immediately.

Jason Grace was not faring well. He had the disposition of an old man, hunched and bent over, even though he was anything but. His eyes seemed distant and sad, as if his entire world had suddenly collapsed around him. Which, technically, had actually happened.

It's no wonder he's so upset, Reyna figured, Jupiter's part of the trial has been going on for four days now. To face the awful deeds of one's father was horrible, especially when one's father was the greedy, selfish, lustful lord of the world. Art had been merciless, bringing up every single one of Jupiter's liaisons and highlighting their disastrous effects upon the world.

But it was more than that, Reyna could tell. She vaguely recognized the look on Jason's face, the look of sadness and disappointment in one's self. It was the same look that Reyna herself wore when she first had a major failure, back before she became praetor. She had learned to cope with it though, and learned the valuable lesson that an extremely valuable component to success is failure itself.

Jason Grace had never failed in a quest before. And it was hitting him hard.

Before Reyna knew what she was doing, she was walking over to him. Every instinct in her body told her not to go to him. She was the last person he'd want to see. He was upset that he had failed his quest, and she was the reason that he had failed. She and her friends had defeated him and his friends, plain and simple, and he probably still viewed Reyna's actions as betrayal. To say that their relationship wasn't what it used to be was a massive understatement.

Still, she went to him nevertheless. Maybe some vestige of the bond between them still existed. Maybe she was doing it for old times' sake. Or maybe she had no idea why she was doing it. She just saw a person in the dumps, and felt the desire to help. No matter the circumstances.

Reyna sat down next to him in the dirt. He didn't even regard her, he just kept staring ahead as if nothing had happened. Reyna joined him, and the two sat silently for a few moments, each entrenched in their own thoughts.

"Pretty, aren't they," Reyna finally stated. A light remark to start a conversation.

Jason merely shrugged his shoulders, not saying anything.

Reyna sighed. "You've seen better days," she remarked.

"I think we've all seen better days," Jason replied. His voice was low and sad. "Not you though, it seems. You look as good as ever. Happy, confident, and totally at ease." A sad smile flickered on his face. "I see you've ever got yourself a new outfit."

Reyna glanced downward at her new clothes. She was wearing the uniform of the Legion. Not the Twelfth Legion, but the Legion of the Army of the Architect. Fred and Suzy had procured it for her, saying that she needed a new outfit since she had torn off her purple cloak. Obviously, though, the change of attire represented much more than that.

"Yes," Reyna said firmly. "I did."

Jason chuckled. "It's amazing how quickly people move on, you know? Their entire past, their old friends, all gone in the blink of an eye."

Reyna narrowed her eyes. "If that were the case, I wouldn't be here."

"Why are you here?" Jason asked, perhaps a bit harshly. "I didn't think you still gave two damns about me."

"You act as if I'm a monster," said Reyna.

"You betrayed your friends," Jason put forth. His face was almost murderous. "You took everyone who ever meant anything to you and turned your back on them."

Reyna balled her fists, cold, stony fury overtaking her. She was sick and tired of having that thrown in her face. How many times did she have to explain herself? How many times would she have to put forth her side of the story? She was done with that, so she decided that it was finally time to own it.

"You know what?" she exclaimed. "Yes, you're right. I betrayed my legion, all of my friends, and everything I have ever stood for in my entire life. That's all anyone can see in this, no one bothers to look deeper than that, do they. Do you know why I did what I did? The true reason? Because I have to sleep at night!"

Reyna's voice broke on those last words as she remembered the series of nightmares that plagued her for several nights in a row. She had locked those thoughts deep inside her, but now they were coming right back out.

"You're a hypocrite, Jason Grace, and a coward," Reyna seethed. "You berate me for going against the gods, yet you refuse to consider what the gods have actually done. You are too scared to go into that courtroom and face reality because you're scared of what you'll find. Go in there, Jason! Go and learn of the many deeds of your father! Go and discover the truth about the gods that you fight for, and then we'll see if you still think I'm the monster!"

Reyna stood up abruptly and made to storm off.

"Reyna!" Jason called. His voice was much more different now. He sounded regretful, and on the verge of tears. "Reyna, please!"

Reyna had just enough decency left in her to turn around. "What?" she barked.

Jason was visibly crying. "Reyna, I'm so sorry," he sobbed. "You're right. About all of it. I'm so sorry!"

Reyna sighed. She sometimes had to remember that Jason, albeit brave and strong, was still only a teenager, and teenagers were prone to saying thoughtless things. He had been clinging to the idea that the gods were good, even as more and more evidence mounted to the contrary, because that was his whole world, a world that he was completely and utterly attached to. And now the illusion had broken for him, and it had crushed him.

"Relax, Jason," she said evenly. "I know you're not a bad person, even if you are an idiot sometimes."

Jason looked up and smiled. "That's for sure," he sniffed, tears abating.

"How are you feeling?" Reyna asked.

"I…I'm not sure what to feel right now," Jason admitted.

"That's normal," said Reyna. "I've been feeling like that a lot until recently."

Jason nodded and sniffled. "Listen, Reyna, what you said earlier, about me not considering your perspective, it made me realize that I've never really done that for you, have I."

"No, you really didn't," Reyna replied, blunt and truthful.

"You always seemed so strong, so confident, I never even realized what things must have been like from your point of view," Jason continued. "It must have been so lonely as praetor, and none of us even realized. I'm such a horrible friend." His voice grew sad again toward the end.

Why is he bringing that up now? Reyna wondered. Guilt begets guilt, I guess.

"I'm not going to lie to you, Jason," Reyna replied. "You're right. Being alone at the head of the legion, it was very lonely. And it seemed at times that no one even cared for me, or even acknowledged by existence as a person. You're the only person I've ever shared the praetorship with until Frank, and then you go away and return with a new best friend. I'm not going to lie, that hurt."

"Can you ever forgive me?" Jason asked. He looked truly guilty and ashamed of his actions.

Reyna closed her eyes, and nodded. She was immediately gasping for air as Jason enveloped her in a massive, tight hug. After recuperating for a second, Reyna hugged him back, albeit not without a sense of reluctance. Had she forgiven Jason Grace? Yes. Were they now on better terms? Yes. But she sensed that their friendship wouldn't be what it once was. That boat had sailed.

In that hug, Reyna could only think of her time back down on Earth, as praetor of the Legion. Jason's apology had brought back some of the memories of that time, clouding her mind. She was lonely, terribly lonely. She would walk by herself, live by herself, and often had no one to talk to save for when she was giving orders.

It's lonely at the top, she thought sullenly.

It was a good thing, then, that she was no longer at the top. Those days, she realized with a smile, were finally over.


Nico, for the first time in a while, was quite comfortable. He was in the Incomparable Gardens, sitting underneath a wide tree. His back leaned comfortably against the tree's trunk, and the grass below him provided a nice cushion. Next to him, with her head resting on his shoulder, was Hazel, his sister.

Hazel had come running to him not long after he had sat down. She was a teary mess, and apologies were gushing from her mouth like a waterfall. Nico hadn't actually understood exactly what she was saying, but he got the gist. He sat her down, calmed her down, and stopped her tears before forgiving her.

His forgiveness, of course, resulted in another bout of tears, this time in gratitude. Nico had to hold his sister's head against his chest to stop the flow of tears. It didn't take much to find it in his heart to forgive her, she was his sister after all, and family is family.

Nico took a deep breath. He was glad more than ever that he had gotten Hades immunity. He could hardly imagine what the other demigods were going through, and he was glad that Hazel and he did not have to go through it alongside them. The deeds of Hades would not be brought forth by Art at trial, and Hades would not be in danger of being found guilty of any crime.

He grunted in pain as he shifted his position. His calf still ached from his stab wound that he took, but it was otherwise healed. Annabeth's stab wound had all but disappeared, at least from his calf.

His feelings still bore the brunt of the wound, though. His feelings had always been fragile, and that had absolutely shattered them. In a fair fight, maybe he could have accepted getting wounded, but Annabeth had stabbed him from behind, like the slippery snake that she was.

And Percy, Percy had just watched, and didn't even help him. He had stared down at him, so indifferent, and then left him there.

So when he saw the two of them approaching, his immediate reaction was to be incredibly angry. He sent a cold stare in their direction, colder than the depth of the Underworld itself. The air seemed to drop a few degrees, and Hazel shivered beside him.

"Jeez, Nico, what—oh," Hazel said, realizing why Nico was glaring so angrily.

"Come on, Hazel," Nico announced loudly, making to leave.

"You won't even give us a chance?" Annabeth called.

"I've given you plenty of chances," said Nico curtly. "Now, please leave me alone."

"Come on, Nico," said Hazel gently, tugging at his sleeve. "At least give them a chance."

"Why?" Nico retorted. "They seem way less apologetic than you, and their actions were twenty times worse."

"You give them a chance to be fair," Hazel replied wisely. "You can't know whether or not to forgive them if you aren't being fair. For once in your life, give someone a chance." She gazed up at him, eyes sparkling like stars.

That backed Nico into a corner. Using his own solitary past against him was a smart strategy, but moreover, it got to him. His eyes glossed over, and he couldn't find any words to say.

"Nico," Percy spoke softly. "We are so sorry, Nico."

"Sorry isn't gonna cut it," Nico replied gruffly.

Percy put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't think so," he said quietly. "We've done so much, you've suffered so much, it can't all get fixed by one word, can it."

"My thoughts exactly," Nico replied. "So unless you've got anything more to say, I'll be on—"

Percy suddenly reached out and pulled Nico into a tight, long hug. His arms wrapped around him, and Nico found his head pressed on Percy's shoulder. He felt wetness in his hair, and realized it was because Percy's tears were falling onto his head. Their embrace was warm and complete.

They stayed like that for a good few minutes, Percy not doing or saying anything, just holding Nico in that position. Nico's deep-rooted feelings took over, he forgot his anger and could only focus on being in the arms of the person he truly had loved.

Finally, Percy let him go. His eyes were red and puffy, and his face looked sad and guilty. "You know, I finally realized what pain you must have been in all these years, with your feelings toward me. The strong desire to have your crush love you back, or at least appreciate and recognize how much you love him. I'm sorry I never did that, and it's past due."

Nico couldn't find the words to reply, so Percy continued.

"We are so sorry," he whispered. Annabeth nodded next to him, also tearing up.

"I don't know what got into me, stabbing a demigod like that," she said. "Sometimes it's the wisest people that make the biggest mistakes."

"Please forgive us," said Percy. "Please.

All eyes turned to him, but that didn't pressure him into making his decision. His face turned from shocked to sad, and then from sad to resigned. He sighed a long sigh, and closed his eyes.

"I'll forgive you," Nico said quietly. "I'll forgive you on one condition."

Percy and Annabeth looked eager. "Yes, what is it?" they asked in unison, excited at the prospect of forgiveness.

Nico opened his eyes and looked them straight in the eye. "I never want to see either of you again," he whispered.

Their excited faced turned immediately to devastated shock. Even Hazel was stunned.

"Wh—What—" Percy stuttered

"You two bring me too much pain," Nico explained wanly. "It's my fault, really, but there's nothing I can do to fix it. I'll forgive you if you leave me alone and let me live my life without you two in it. Once you leave the House, I never want to see you again. Please, it's really the best thing you two could do for me."

A strange feeling of guilt rose in Nico, proposing such a request, but he shoved it down. He had to move on with his life, and he had to get rid of the pain to do that. There was an easy and hard way of going about that, and Nico was opting for the easy way. He was following is father's advice: completely closing out his tragedy and trauma and locking it away.

"Nico, don't," Percy begged quietly, tears streaming.

"I'm sorry," said Nico firmly, "but this is what I want."

He didn't know what took him then, but he started walking slowly toward the teary-eyed Percy. He looked straight into those sea-green eyes, those beautiful sea-green eyes. He kept moving, getting closer until they were face to face. Nico stood on his toes, leaned in, and kissed Percy on the forehead.

It was over before Percy had the chance to react. Nico had pulled back, and was standing before his former crush. "Goodbye, Percy Jackson," he whispered. Then he turned away, and did not look back.