A/N) OMG TWO UPDATES IN TWO DAYS I AM SO HAPPY. I needed to update before school started up again, so I decided that I'd work extra hard to get this one done. I apologize if it's dragging a little, but I promise it will get heated next chapter. I'm also sorry if it's too obvious that Percy is the murderer. I really suck at writing mysteries.

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Disclaimer: I do not own PJO, but I do own the plotline and the diseases! I own the Shadow's Song trilogy!

Annabeth POV

The majority of the councilor meeting was spent in silence. Weary eyes scanned each other and tired lines were etched into everyone's face. It had been three days since the discovery of Travis' death, and the camp was wound up as tight as a spring. His ceremony had been yesterday. We'd said our final goodbyes, wishing him the best of luck in Elysium, and set the Hermes shroud alight. Everyone had had tears in their eyes as the flames leapt into the night sky, flickering and swirling against the dark. The sparks had carried on the wind to an unknown destination. Hopefully Travis' soul was happy.

I held Percy's hand and he massaged my knuckles with his thumb, an affectionate gesture that sent thrills up and down my spine. Everyone's head was bent, their faces grim. Even Clarisse seemed a little mournful. Percy turned and our eyes met…well, my eyes met with tinted glasses. I still had no idea why he was wearing those; he couldn't hide his surgically altered eye color forever.

I'd gotten used to the glasses; they hid those hideous colors from my sight. His old green eyes were so beautiful every time he looked at me my heart melted. These red eyes only gave me the shivers. I knew that my Seaweed Brain wasn't telling the entire truth, only bits and pieces. I didn't push him, though; I was determined for this relationship to work out and in order for a relationship to work the pair had to trust one another. It was my duty to trust Percy, though that trust had been wavering as the days progressed.

What was he hiding behind that pirate smile and red eyes? What was truly going on? I was snapped out of my reveries as Chiron spoke up, "we have to find this murderer and punish them. It is the worst possible crime to murder a fellow camper." Was it just me or did Percy tense up a little? It was probably just my imagination; Percy and Travis were good friends. Percy didn't have a grudge against the son of Hermes before he died and would never kill him. Even if he had disliked Travis, Percy was gentle and heroic. It was against his nature and his fatal flaw to murder someone.

"What will the punishment be?" Clarisse asked, cracking her knuckles. "I think it should be an eye for an eye; the murderer should be executed. Publicly."

"That would just frighten the younger campers. Make them do what is right out of fear of being killed. That's not what this camp is about." Piper objected, placing her hands on the table and setting her jaw stubbornly.

"I agree with Piper. You can't fight fire with fire. And what if it was someone close to us?" Jason asked, his blue eye glinting in the candlelight. He looked healthier than he had been on his first day of recovery. I could not shake off the image of his skinny, pale frame that looked as if someone had stretched skin over a skeleton. That picture was glued to the back of my eyelids whenever I looked at the son of Jupiter. The noticeable changes, such as the eye patch, the scars, and the fairly shorter hair didn't seem like such a big deal. But what really affected everyone was his change in personality.

He still retained all of his Jason-like qualities, but he had become rather skittish and still despised physical contact, as well as having this sort of melancholy aura that automatically made everyone want to help him. He insisted that he was fine, but his blue eyes were like shards of broken glass that could never be put together again.

Dammit Jason. Do you really think that one of our friends killed Travis? I thought sourly, but in my heart I knew that I was uneasy. Everyone was glancing around, as if the murderer was in this very room. Even Percy seemed a little rattled, but something told me that it wasn't because of the thought of the murderer being among us. Something was definitely wrong with my Seaweed Brain.

Chiron was speechless and his eyes raked the room uneasily. "I never thought of that, Jason, but maybe your…experience makes it easier for you to come to a conclusion." The son of Jupiter looked down and wrung his hands, mumbling a rather muffled thank you.

"I say we banish them." Everyone turned to Connor, whose cheeks were streaked with tears but his fists were clenched in rage. He had assumed the full position as the Hermes cabin counselor, rather than having two co-councilors; his co-counselor and brother had been murdered. He had been very detached lately, preferring to stay in his cabin and grieve rather than join in camp activities. No one blamed him, though; Travis' death had affected us all, but had affected Connor even more so.

"Banish them?" Leo echoed, his brow furrowing.

"We banish them from both camps, leaving them to get killed by monsters in the outside world. We aren't directly murdering them, but the monsters will get the job done if the demigod is powerful enough." Connor replied coldly. His eyes were glassy and merciless. "I want the murderer dead. I want the person strung up on a tree or burned to ashes in the campfire, but I know that that is not the path to take. Sometimes wisdom has to cut through vengeance. Banishment means that we leave them outside the barrier without any supplies. No swords. No food. No water. No nothing. Then let's see how they survive out in the real world with no weapons."

Everyone was silent. Nobody had ever seen this murderous, ruthless side of Connor before. Slowly, Chiron began to nod. "It is fair and just when it comes to punishing a murderer. It's settled; the murderer of Travis will be banished from the camps forever. They are destined to be killed by monsters. I hope whoever did this rots in the Fields of Punishment." Percy was squeezing my hand tightly, his hands trembling. This wasn't a good sign. Why was Percy so nervous about the punishment? It wasn't as if he had to worry about it…

-Ω-

"Why did you two bring me here?" I asked indignantly and crossed my arms over my chest. The torches burned low with purple fire in the Hades cabin. The empty bunks lined the walls, only one of them unmade. Nico and Jason stood in front of me, their faces grim.

"This is the discussion of the murderer. And Percy. He's been acting strange, hasn't he?" Jason ask, his tone stony. The fire from the torches cast dancing shadows across his face, making his icy blue eye stand out against the paleness of his skin. I nodded vigorously at his question. Percy had been acting a little odd. First the surgical eye alterations and then his nervousness at the councilor meeting. What was happening to my Seaweed Brain? I needed to find out. I needed to find out what was wrong so I could help him.

"And he also surgically altered his eye color to be red instead of green. At least, that's what he told me." I added. Nico and Jason exchanged a weary look.

"That explains the tinted glasses." I heard Nico mutter under his breath gruffly. He looked so deep in thought I would be surprised if he pulled out a pen and a notebook and began scrawling out all the details like a police officer at a crime scene. Then again, this entire camp technically was a crime scene.

"But why would he do that?" Jason asked in bewilderment, his eyebrows rising. I shrugged and he chewed on his lip. The tension was so thick in the air that I could almost smell it. I was glad that we were the only three people in the cabin. Luckily, nobody ventured into the Hades cabin besides Nico; the Hades cabin was considered unlucky at Camp Half-Blood, if you hadn't figured that out already.

"I think we need to get to the bottom of this case." I concluded, raking my gaze over the two boys. Unlike most people, they didn't flinch. They held my gaze boldly and nodded in agreement.

"I think that Percy's behavior and Travis' murder are somehow connected." Nico said in a gravelly voice. I gave him a look of utter shock and horror.

"Percy would never kill Travis!" I cried and nearly backhanded the son of Hades across the face. Nico was Percy's friend. Would he really suspect that he was the killer of poor Travis? He raised his hands in surrender, but his eye betrayed skepticism. I couldn't believe what eye was seeing. Even Jason seemed uneasy. Why would Percy, of all people, be the killer? If he was he was sure hiding it fairly well. I gave a little huff, "Fine, you two get cracking at the mystery of Travis' murder. I'll check out Percy. I'm his girlfriend and he never keeps secrets from me. I'll have a better chance than if you two tried to confront him." The Big Three boys nodded in agreement and with that we set out to get to the bottom of these mysterious occurrences. I had a feeling that I wasn't going to like what I found.