AN: I'm late, I apologise. Whoops. Anyway, new chapter!

Chapter 4

(1450 words)

A horrified scream interrupted the game of Capture the Flag that morning.

The campers ran in the direction of the sound, and they found Lou Ellen crouched over Frank Zhang's body in the forest. Will Solace, one of the first to reach them, knelt down to survey him. He found no heartbeat. "He's… no longer alive."

At that moment, Percy, Jason and Annabeth all sprinted over and pushed through the crowd. They saw Frank sprawled on the ground, and the pile of ashes next to him.

"Oh my gods… his lifeline stick…" Annabeth very quickly pieced two and two together.

"But who? How? Why?" Percy asked, unable to look away from his half-brother.

Annabeth froze as a thought strikes her. "Wait… Where's Leo? I didn't see him at all this morning…"

"Well I had a couple of visions." The oracle of the camp had arrived. Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"And…" She hadn't finished speaking when her eyes turned a glowing green, and her mouth issued smoke before she started speaking again, her voice sounding like it was layered thrice.

"The flamethrower turns on the gods for love,

He joins the next big enemy - the self-proclaimed ghost king.

By the end of the war, the seven will be down to two,

And two sons of the eldest gods will defeat the enemy once and for all."

Rachel's eyes returned to their normal emerald, and she collapsed.

"Dude, was that a prophecy? It didn't even rhyme." Percy commented.

"It didn't? Well shit. I'm trash at poetry. I haven't managed to pass Lit in school yet." Rachel managed to get back up on her feet. "Still working on it. Maybe I'll manage to once I get better at spewing prophecies that actually rhyme."

"I think we all know what the first line means." Annabeth brought the conversation back on topic. "Anyway, Leo joins the 'self proclaimed ghost king'-"

"Minos." Nico announced, stepping out of the shadows. Nico liked to stay low-key unless he has something important to say. Whispering among the campers commenced.

"Minos? That touch-stuff-and-turn-it-into-gold dude?"

"No, you idiot. That's King Midas."

"King Minos is a judge of the dead, son of Zeus. He used to rule Crete. Percy, Rachel, Nico and I had a run-in with him. Not pleasant." Annabeth explained.

"'The seven will be down to two.'" Percy repeated, catching Annabeth and Jason's eyes before looking at his feet. "This probably refers to the seven in the previous great prophecy."

"'And a son of the eldest gods will defeat the traitor and destroy the gods' enemy.' It's you and me bro." Jason said.

"Or me." Nico stated dryly. Jason opened his mouth to apologise, but was waved off by Nico, who didn't have any hard feelings.

"Well, if there's a war coming, we better get prepared. We need to stock up on supplies, and need to be ready as well. We're going to need to train harder than ever."

~.~

Jason Iris-messaged Reyna to update her. "Please… Help us take care of Hazel when she finds out about Frank. Make sure she's never alone."

"So… I have bad news and kind of good news but also not at all." Reyna awkwardly sat down next to Hazel the following morning, not wanting to meet her eyes. "You've been promoted to praetor."

Hazel was surprised by the sudden words. "But what about Fr-" Her eyes widened. "Oh my gods. Please don't tell me that was the bad news."

Reyna's expression was sorrowful.

Hazel felt like she'd been stabbed in the heart. "No… he can't be gone… he's not dead..." she whispered, feeling sick to the stomach.

"I'm so sorry, Hazel."

~.~

Nico stabbed at a straw dummy with his Stygian iron sword before proceeding to behead it. Over the course of a day, the entire mood had drastically changed in camp. The laid-back vibe everyone had been sporting had been replaced with a grim one. Everyone was busy training and preparing for war.

All of a sudden, he remembered that Hazel would probably be deeply affected upon receiving the news on Frank's death. Guilty for not thinking about checking on her sooner, he decided to take a break from training and go to the fountain in camp.

The sunlight reflected off the droplets produced by the constant spray of water, creating a partial rainbow. Nico tossed a golden drachma in. "O, Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Hazel Levesque."

The mist shimmered, and Nico saw his sister on her bed, hugging her knees and crying.

"Oh my gods… Hazel…" Her head jerked up. "Neeks. I…"

"I'm so sorry for not checking on you sooner. Are you okay? Well I mean obviously not." Ugh, Nico di Angelo. Curse you and your social awkwardness. "Hazel... do… do you wanna talk?"

Hazel's eyes were puffy. "It was… so sudden. Reyna told me everything. I can't believe Leo would…" She took a shuddery breath. "And Frank is gone. I'll never see him again. What's even the point of trying to… to…" Another shuddery breath.

Nico was scared. He had never experienced this before. "No, Hazel. We all need you with us. Camp Jupiter needs you as their praetor, and I need you. You're the only sister I have. Please… I love you." Nico was on the verge of crying as well. "If you want help, I'll be there for you, Hazel. Whatever you need. I'll help you, okay? I promise. I am here for you."

Hazel nodded uncertainly, and told Nico she had 'praetor stuff' to do. "I… I'll be okay. I think. Thank you, Nico." She cut the call abruptly, leaving Nico still uneasy.

~.~

Nico was back in the woods, at Frank's grave. Reaching into his bag, he pulled out a twelve pack Coke he had gotten earlier that day. He popped one open and poured it into the grave.

"Let the dead taste again. Let them rise and take this offering. Let them remember."

After pouring all the other cans in, he took the Macdonald's Happy Meals out of their paper bags, and shook the contents of each bag into the grave. He began chanting in Ancient Greek.

The grave started to bubble. Frothy brown liquid rose to the top like the whole thing was filling with soda. The temperature dropped and the forest went silent. Several blurry blue human figures began to appear.

"Stop." Nico commanded. "Only Calypso and Frank Zhang may drink."

Almost at once, all the figures disappeared. Instead, a pale man clad in black robes stood above the grave.

"Dad?"

"Kid! What're you doing?"

"I… I wanted to try to summon Calypso and Frank. To see if they could help us with-"

"You can't summon those who might tell you more information on Great Prophecies." Hades told him. "The Fates do not allow that. You won't be able to summon them no matter how hard you try."

Nico groaned in frustration, but he understood the rules of summoning, and knew he couldn't do anything else. He nodded. Hades, satisfied with Nico's response, melted into a puddle of black shadows that dispersed.

~.~

It was midnight when Hazel awakened from yet another nightmare and bolted upright in her bunker in Camp Jupiter. The scenes from her dream flashed before her eyes.

Minos, manipulating Leo by using his love for Calypso. Leo, whom she had treated like a brother, corrupted and unstoppable, surrounded by his own flames. The sight of Frank, dead on the ground.

She was never going to see her Frank again.

And Leo… he had always been the one that had cheered others up when they were going through hard times… cracking stupid jokes that were annoying, but honestly had helped her feel better. But that Leo was dead, replaced with someone else entirely… He wasn't the same, and never would be. She couldn't even help the person who had always helped her. And then Frank… She couldn't even help her two friends…

She had caused not one, but two deaths.

The grief overwhelmed the daughter of Pluto. Her legs gave away, and she was on the ground, sobbing her heart out. If Frank wasn't here anymore, was her life even worth living?

Slowly, Hazel unsheathed her sword. She had been contemplating ending her depression for a while since Frank died, and this was the final straw. She didn't feel right taking over the position of praetor after Frank died, and she didn't want to live in a world without Frank, her pillar of support and her everything. There was no world without him.

"I… I'm sorry, Nico."

With shaking hands, Hazel plunged the blade directly into her heart.