SEASBLU- percabeth is strong af

AyeraeW- one of my favorite badass scenes from the book! and yes, the "feelings" talk is coming soonnnn

radoddish- we love badass demigods

all about hope- yes i am! currently in the process of writing it :)

Their group went to work, and she marveled at how well they worked together, a huge contrast from when they first all met back in New Rome. The giant- Clytius- didn't stand a chance against them.

He was surrounded, their group weaving and dodging his attacks. Rosie and Piper ran around him in circles, stabbing at his legs. Jason would fly up, aiming to kick him in his face. Hazel was whipping her sword around, as Frank- Phaetor Zhang- charged like a bull.

"Nice of you to join us!" Leo shouted, grinning as he shot fire at Clytius' legs.

Even Percy and Annabeth were on their feet- too weak to fight, but obviously wanting to cheer them on. Rosie would glance at them sideways as she fought, unable to contain her happiness. They were alive, they were okay.

As they charged the giant, the darkness and shadows surrounding him disappeared. The only thing left behind was his battered armor; ichor was pouring from several of his wounds.

With one swift kick to his chest, Jason managed to shatter the giant's breastplate.

Clytius dropped his sword, falling to his knees. All of them surrounded the giant in a huge, intimidating circle.

Hecate then stepped forward, torches having appeared in her hands.

"And so it ends," she said softly, looking at Clytius.

It does not end. Rosie didn't know how, but the giant's voice echoed from above. My brethren have risen. Gaea waits only for the blood of Olympus. It took all of you together to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?

Hecate didn't bother responding, turning her torches upside down. She thrust them like daggers at Clytius's head. Clytius winced, falling face down onto the ground. His body crumbled into ash. A breeze blew in, taking the ashes away. There were no remnants of the giant left.

For a second, no one said anything.

Hecate turned to face Hazel. "You should go now, Hazel Levesque. Lead your friends out of this place."

Hazel gritted her teeth, slightly rolling her eyes. "What, no thank you? That's it?"

Rosie felt a flash of anger on Hazel's behalf- her prodigy deserved more than that. Typical goddess behavior.

Hecate laughed. "You look in the wrong place for gratitude. There's still much to be done. Speed to Athens. Clytius was not wrong- the giants have risen. All of them. Gaea is on the edge of waking. The Feast of Hope will be poorly named unless you arrive to stop her."

The chamber rumbled, dust raining down.

"The House of Hades is unstable," Hecate said. "Leave now. We shall meet again."

She disappeared, taking a layer of the Mist with her.

"She seems nice," Percy grumbled.

Rosie snapped around, aware she was hearing Percy's voice.

She stared at him and Annabeth for a second. Then, she let out an extremely high-pitched shriek, throwing herself into Percy, the two of them falling to the ground. She noticed Leo smiling at them. His smile, however, had a certain sadness to it.

"That was ear-shattering high," Nico winced, although Rosie spied a small smile on his face.

Percy was laughing underneath Rosie, as she was aware that Piper was hugging Annabeth, crying.

Leo, on the other hand, was whooping and waving his arms. "Back from Tartarus- that's how we do it!"

"I've missed you, Ro," Percy said.

Rosie realized that now she was crying. "Don't do that again," she begged, hiccuping. "Please don't do that."

Percy grinned. "Wasn't planning on it."

She helped Percy to his feet, where he was suddenly lifted off the ground by Jason.

"Bro!" Jason exclaimed, his smile wide.

"Dude!" Percy replied back.

Annabeth rolled her eyes, smiling. "The bromance lives on."

Rosie grinned at her. "Hey, Chase. I owe you a hug."

Annabeth's face faltered as she slowly backed away from Rosie. "Oh, god. Please, no. Not a Rosie hug."

Rosie gave Annabeth her best mischievous face, chasing her down and hugging her tightly, the others laughing around them.

She didn't want to let go- even when she could hear Annabeth struggling to breathe.

"Thanks...Rosie-" she broke off with a pant. "I've...missed this. Now, please let go-my poor ribs."

Despite the happy reunion, the ceiling shuddered again. Cracks appeared, dust raining down.

"We've gotta get out of here," Jason said. "Uh, Frank- any way those soldiers could come back and help us?"

Frank shook his head, sheepish. "I think I got everything from them."

"What?" Hazel asked.

Rosie grinned. "Oh, man, you should've seen him! Your man is now praetor Frank Zhang."

"Really?" Hazel asked with shock on her face.

"Praetor Zhang," Leo said in an exaggerated Southern accent, whistling. "Well, I'll be."

Hazel wrapped her arms around Frank, kissing him. "I think it's perfect."

"Yeah, but enough about him," Rosie said. "You, on the hand, Ms. Mist-"

"Later," Hazel said gently, laughing. "I think I have an idea- we can shadow travel out of here."

Nico shook his head, grimacing in pain."Hazel, I can barely do that with just myself and a few others, I don't know if-"

"I'll help." Her time in the House of Hades had changed her- Hazel Levesque was no longer going to allow herself to be diminished.

The ceiling was beginning to peel, huge chunks of it falling around them.

"Sounds good," Nico said quickly, not bothering to argue. "Everyone, grab hands!"

They appeared on the hillside overlooking the River Acheron. The sun was shining brightly, making the water glitter.

Rosie's head was pounding, and she felt like she might throw up- was that really shadow traveling? Dear god, that was painful.

She looked down, realizing she was holding Leo's hand.

She quickly let go, staggering backwards onto the grass.

Leo gave her a tight smile, as their friends around them also began to stir, recovering from the trip.

"I'm glad you're okay," he said.

"Thanks. I'm...I'm glad you're okay, too." She paused, a sudden burst of courage coming up to the surface. "And Leo...I have to talk to you later."

She had to get it out. The words she had been wanting to tell Leo were consuming her, making it hard to pretend like things were okay. She owed it to herself to tell him how she felt- damn the reaction.

Leo's face fell, but he nodded. "We'll talk."

The ship was still floating over the river, a few hundred yards away. They knew they should signal to Coach that they were okay, but right now...none of them wanted to do anything but sit and exchange stories.

Frank retold the story of the ghostly legion, and the army of monsters that fought them. Nico, Rosie, Jason, and Piper made sure Frank didn't diminish his impact in the story.

Hazel then told the group what had happened with her and Leo, and her overall success with Mist-control. She managed to fight off Pasiphae, who mentioned that the Labyrinth was regenerating. Rosie noticed the look of fear that passed between Percy and Annabeth when Hazel said this.

"But, enough about us," Frank said, cautiously glancing at Percy and Annabeth. "You guys...what happened….down there? I mean-"

Frank trailed off, the group falling silent. That was the story they were all dying to hear- but no one knew how to bring it up.

Percy laced his fingers through Annabeth's, giving her hand a squeeze.

"I don't think we're ready to remember it," Percy answered honestly. "But, I promise we'll tell you guys the story one day. Just...not today."

Annabeth nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Right now…" She glanced down the river, her sentence faltering. "Uh...I think that's our ride."

Sure enough, the Argo II was approaching, its sails catching the wind. Rosie could hear Festus creaking and clanking in jubilation. Oh, how she loved that thing.

Leo's face broke out into a grin. "That's my boy!"

As the ship approached, they could make out Coach, standing at the prow.

"It's about time!" Coach yelled, trying to sound stern but failing miserably. "You've kept our visitor waiting!"

"Visitor?" Hazel asked him.

A dark-haired girl in a dark purple gown appeared, her face covered in soot and bloody scratches. For a second, Rosie had no idea who she was.

That second was short-lived- it suddenly hit her.

Reyna had arrived.