AN. I'm so sorry I took so long, guys! But CuteyPuffGirl has been very busy and not very motivated to write this last month so sadly I have to post it without her amazing help. But, that doesn't mean I don't expect you to review her work. She is still a fabulous and amazing young lady and her work is amazing. I'm glad I'm lucky enough to have found such an amazing Beta, and friend on here, so even though she couldn't help with this chapter, it doesn't mean she isn't still amazing. And Sags, I'm sorry I haven't been able to write in so long. I really am, and I will try. Bye bye for now.
Warning: You may get seriously pissed after this chapter. Fair warning!
Chapter Twenty, It Isn't Fair!
Piper POV,
"She's been out for days! Why isn't she waking up!" Nico shouts. "Come on Hazel! Wake up! You're alive! Your heart's still beating!"
He's right, Hazel has been out for days. I can't believe she closed the doors by herself. It amazed me. I watched the whole thing. She was fighting so much to close the doors, and with her shoulders injured. She has lost a lot of blood and some flesh, and she's always going to have a scar. Jason, Nico and Coach Hedge had escaped from the monsters. They're not even sure how they did it. They landed on the ship and when Jason saw Hazel falling, he swooped down and saved her. When I was watching I was crying so hard for two reasons. One: I was in serious pain. Two: because I almost saw a friend die. I almost climbed down the ladder to save her. I can't loose her. Not after Leo. I love her. But, you know, like a sister. I can't loose her, not after Leo. I was almost at the ladder when Jason saved her. I'm forever thankful. Hazel hasn't waken up. Annabeth says she needs time. They are also back they climbed up the ladder. Annabeth says if Jason hadn't caught her, she would have. Frank blames himself. I keep telling him he didn't do anything wrong, if anything he saved her sooner, but he doesn't believe. I know he still has feelings for her. Even if they aren't as strong as love, he still has feelings there. He has been talking to her at night. Telling her that she has to wake up and saying that he's sorry. All of us have. Even Coach. We all agreed that we're going to go to DOA according studios. Nico says that if Hazel isn't up by then, then he'll save Leo and Hazel too if she dies. We all also promised that those two are the last that we are going to save. We can't bring everyone back (although we all secretly hope that they'll bring us back if any of us died). Nico is trying everything he can think of to wake her up. He keeps saying to himself "I'm not going to loose another one, I can't loose another one." He doesn't say what he means, but both Percy and Annabeth seem to understand and keep telling him it'll be okay. Both Percy and Annabeth have talked to Hazel. Annabeth has been holding her hand and praying to every god she can think of to let Hazel live. Percy has just been silently crying. He doesn't know Hazel very well, but he went on a quest with her and he cares about her very much. Even Jason, who hasn't talked to her very much at all, has been shedding a few tears for her. We have all been praying to the gods. I have taken up most of my time doing so. The monster that got her shoulders is poisonous, and Annabeth has said through tears that she might not live. She's said this a few times. Even Coach Hedge has cried some. He says that it's because of "old age" but we all know it's because Hazel is very important to all of us. Hazel hasn't moved at all. She hasn't talked at all. The most she has done has been taking in big breaths which is good because most of the breaths she takes are very small. Her heart is beating very slowly. No one knows if she's going to live. Almost all of us (meaning Coach Hedge) have been spending all our time at her bedside. It has almost been a week. I haven't spoken much. All that I've been doing is crying and holding her hand. I've been praying to the Gods as well. I've been sleeping in here for the last few nights. So has Nico and sometimes Percy actually. I guess he also really cares about her. All of them have known about Leo's death as well. Nico told them when they were kidnapped. Percy and Annabeth haven't mentioned it very much, both of them are still traumatized from the dangers of Tartarus. They haven't said anything about it yet, and I don't blame them. I squeeze Hazel's hand. Please gods, don't let her die. I feel Hazel's hand twitch. I jump up.
"Hazel!" I shout. Nico rushes over. Hazel's eyes slowly open. She takes a deep yawn. I brush her bangs out of her eyes. "You're awake! You're awake!" Hazel slowly nods, and looks around, and looks surprised. Frank rushes through the door, followed by Percy, Annabeth, Coach, and Jason.
Frank throws his arms around her and starts to sob. "Oh Hazel! I thought you were going to die!"
"What?" Hazel asks.
"Hazel, I'm so glad to see you up! I missed you!" Percy says, pulling Frank away and giving Hazel a hug. "I am so sorry that I haven't talked to you very much, but I promise we'll be better friends now!"
"O-kay" Hazel says, now looking concerned. I look at Coach and Annabeth, both of them are smiling. I look at Jason, he looks puzzled.
"Hazel, do you...do you remember us?" Jason asks. Hazel looks straight into his eyes, and...no. She did not just shake her head! NO!
"Hazel?" I ask.
"I'm sorry...who are you?" Hazel asks.
"NO! You have to remember us! You have to, Hazel, you have to!" I say, with tears running down my face. I look at Annabeth, her mouth is agape. Her eyes are wide. She puts her hand over her mouth. "Annabeth? Can't you do anything?"
"I'm...I'm so sorry, I don't know what to do" Annabeth says, turning away. I look back at Hazel. She has tears in her eyes.
"I remember you" she says, looking directly in my eyes. "I remember you wanted to help me."
"Of course I did, you're my best friend" I say, putting my arms around her. Why her?! Why now?! I lock eyes with Frank. He has stepped back, he seems frozen. I look at Percy, he's silently crying. I can't believe this! Why is no one screaming?! I just want to scream, I'm so mad! How could the Gods do this?! After everything that has happened?!
"Do you remember anything?" Annabeth asks.
"I remember her" Hazel points at me. "And a boy. He has coffee brown eyes...curly black hair...elfish features...there are two of them, but the one I remember directly...his name starts with an L."
"Leo" I breath. Hazel looks at me, surprised, but nods. Frank shuts his eyes and sits down on the floor. I can almost hear him thinking "So she loves him over me."
This is too much! I can't deal with this right now! I drop Hazel's hand and storm out.
She can't have amnesia! After everything we've been through, she has to have this? I run to my room. I scream and scratch the paper off the walls. I pick up random objects and through them against the wall. I pick up my chair and drop it hard on the floor. It breaks into pieces. Next I pick my my desk the through it as far as I can. It breaks. I take my dagger and start to break my bed and stab anything I can. I pick up anything I can get my hands on and stab it and tear it into pieces. In the end, my room is a mess and everything is broken and nothing can be fixed. I sit down and sob. Never in my life have a sobbed this hard. Not when Leo died, but when I thought my dad was dying, and not all those days when we were reaching the doors. My heart is actually broken. Why did this have to happen? Why? It couldn't have! Hazel can not have amnesia! She just can't. Not after everything that's happened. My life is a failure. I just...now she has to go through what she did the first time when Leo died. How are we going to explain she died and came back? How are we going to explain about monsters? She won't be able to handle it! With Leo's death, Hazel just won't be able to deal with it. WHY GODS?! WHY HER?! I just want to scream for hours! I just want to scream for days and weeks! Why do they do this to me? I can't go through what I did when Hazel first figured out Leo died! She cried into my arms for days and days and all I could do was think "this is my fault, this is my fault!" I don't want to blame myself, but this is all my fault! Maybe if I never did anything, Leo would still be alive and the crew mates would never have been captured and Hazel would never have to get amnesia. It wasn't the doors, it was the monster. Maybe Hazel would have survived. Oh my gods Piper, why are you so stupid? Why do you always have to mess everything up? Why? Why? Why? I can't believe my choices...I can't believe I let Hazel close the doors. It's all my fault. I did this. I'm to blame. It's my fault! I don't want to carry everything! I don't understand why the gods have to mess everything up for me! Hazel...the poor little girl has no idea where she is or who she is and it's all...my...FAULT! My sobs grow louder. My heart is truly broken and it can never be mended. I pick up my dagger and through it across the room. I hate this. I hate what happened. I hate myself. The door opens. I can't deal with someone right now!
"Get away! Get away!" I scream.
"Piper?" I hear a male voice say. I look up. It's Nico. Nico? "Can I come in?"
"I don't know! All I know is that everything is my fault, and now my best friend has amnesia and all I can do is sit and cry!" I sob. I put my head in between my knees and shake. I hear footsteps, and someone sits down beside me. I hear sobs similar to mine.
"I understand, I don't understand why I have to lose another sister!" Nico says.
"You already lost a sister?" I ask.
"Yeah, her name was Bianca" Nico says. "She has been reincarnated, so there's no way to save her."
"I'm sorry" I say, I pull my hands away from my eyes and look at Nico. "I don't know what to say."
"It's okay" Nico says. He lies down on my floor. I shut my eyes and try to stop crying. My head is throbbing. My heart is pounding. I can hear crying all around the ship. I hear weeping from coming from next door, in Frank's room. I bury my face in my hands, but I don't cry. No. I need to stay strong.
Do I? It's not fair to say I can't cry after my best friend lost her memory, especially after everything we've been through. How could they do this? How? She has done nothing wrong! I can't believe this! This so just...tears stream down my face again. I stand back up and open the window. I throw pillows and books and random pieces of wood out of it. I just can't deal with it! I just can't! She was finally happy again! It was the first time she has smiled in weeks, and now the gods have to go a ruin it all! They just have to make my life a living hell! It's just not fair! Why do they always have to mess everything up?! I want to scream so loudly! I want them to hear! I want them to feel the pain that I'm feeling right now! I want everyone to feel the pain I'm feeling! It hurts me to think about her losing her memory! When she finds out that one of the only things she remembers is gone...I just can't think about it.
I walk out of my room. I need to talk to her. I run to sick bay. At least we closed the doors, so she can think before she talks. I burst into sick bay. Percy is talking to her.
"Percy, could I talk to her for a few minutes?" I ask.
"Yeah" Percy says. Percy hugs Hazel and whispers something in her ear. Hazel smiles and nods. Percy leaves.
"Your name is Piper, right?" Hazel asks.
"Yes" I take her hand.
"Percy told me that you and I were the only people on this ship for weeks" Hazel says,w wearily.
"Yeah" I say. "Do you know who your dad is? Do you know what we are?"
"No" Hazel says, shaking her head. I explain everything. Her past life. New Orleans. Demigods. Monsters. Her dad. Her curse. Her death. Coming back. Camp Jupiter. Her quest with Percy and Frank. Gaea. And finally, Leo and the doors. Hazel looks scared and confused.
"That's the truth?" Hazel asks.
"Sadly" I say.
"Wow, my life sucks" Hazel says. "So...Leo is dead?"
"I'm...I'm so sorry" I say. I put my head down on her bed. I silently sob.
"Don't cry! From what I hear, you were protecting me" Hazel says.
"How do you not hate me?!" I scream.
"Why would I hate you?" Hazel asks.
"Because I hurt you so much!" I cry.
"But I forgive you! And I have a feeling I forgave you then, too" Hazel says, giving my hand a squeeze. "I may not remember you very well, but I love you. You were my best friend, and I love you like a sister."
"I love you too" I say. "Please try to remember! Tell me anything you remember!"
"I remember Leo and I standing on a rock. I remember a voice, just before I kissed him. For some reason, I wasn't supposed to kiss him. I don't know why" Hazel says, thinking hard.
"You really don't know why you shouldn't have kissed him?" I ask, my eyes widening. Hazel shakes her. "You know the boy who was in her a few minutes before Percy? He is oriental. The big guy."
"Frank?" Hazel asks. "What about him?"
"You were with him. You were dating him" I say. Hazel looks at me with wide eyes. "Don't worry, you broke up with him. You are with Leo now, and we're heading to DOA recording studios to bring him back right now!"
"Thank you" Hazel says. "I barely remember him, but I love him. I know he loves me too."
"He loves you more then anything in the world" I say. A small grin slowly appears on Hazel's face.
"What's my last name?" she asks.
"Levesque" I say. "Hazel Levesque. You are thirteen years old. Your birthday is December Fifteenth. You have only loved Leo. Your favorite books are the Princess and the Goblin and Narnia. The only people you liked boys wise is Frank, Leo and a guy named Sammy. Sammy is an old friend. Frank was your first kiss. You like my mom, Aphrodite, but you think she's high maintenance, which I agree with. You love the bangs I gave you, and you think they suit you. You don't think that beauty matters. You like to look pretty yourself, but you don't think it matters with other people. Leo and I are the only people who call you Haze. You are a really good person and would do anything to save the people you love, even sacrifice yourself, which I try to make sure doesn't happen. You will love anyone and make friends with everyone and always try. People can't help but adore you the second you walk into a room. You always choose to see the good in people, and forgive them if they make a huge mistake. You will help people with anything, and never ask for anything in return. You are very hyper and spastic, and people should keep sugar away from you. Everyone has cried since you lost your memory, even Jason and Annabeth who don't know you very well, because both of them love you. You believe that no one loves you anymore, but everyone on this ship does. You are stubborn and naive, but no one cares because we know that you mean the best. You are selfless and giving, and I envy you. You have been able to experience love with a guy before I have, and your two years younger, emotionally. Percy doesn't know you very well, but he has been sleeping a sick bay every night because he hates to see his friends getting hurt. Everyone has been afraid of you dying, and I've been scared most of all. You are my best friend, and if you died, I would never forgive myself."
Somewhere in the middle of my speech, Hazel has started crying. She is squeezing my hand so hard that I'm worried for my blood circulation. She wipes non-stop tears from her eyes.
"I didn't know anyone would ever love me that much! When I woke up, I felt like I did something wrong. I felt like I don't deserve anything and I should be killed. I thought everyone would hate me, or I'm a disgrace or something. I never would have thought somebody would care this much about me!" Hazel sobs.
I hug Hazel and she weeps into my arms. We set here for almost an hour. Hazel crying. At some point, I realize that I'm crying to. Why shouldn't I? I mean, look at everything that has gone on in our lives! I hope Hazel remembers us soon, because otherwise I don't think I'll last. I'll wither away into nothingness. It's my fault that Hazel was in pain before, now it's my job to make sure she never feels like that again. I need her to feel welcome. I need her to be happy again, or else i will never be able to look at myself in the mirror again. I'll never be able to face anyone. My life will seriously be a failure, and that isn't fair to Hazel, and that isn't fair to me.
There is a knock on the door. Annabeth walks in, with a bowl of Gumbo.
"Hazel, this should be familiar. Your mom used to make it" Annabeth says, putting the bowl down in front of her. "It should also make you feel better. You should get some rest. Your shoulders still haven't healed. And tomorrow you should take a jog around the ship, it some energy back in you. You've had a rough few days, we'll tell you about them later. And we're going to do everything in our power to bring back your memories."
Hazel nods and smiles, and starts to eat the food. I look at Annabeth. Her eyes are red and puffy, but I don't mention it. Tartarus really changed her. She never talks about how she's feeling. She's become like a robot, but I don't blame her. I'd probably be the same if I went through what she went through. I feel terrible for her, she was so much cheerier before. We used to be such good friends. We spent days together talking and training, but she has really changed. It kind of scares me. Her gray eyes look full of pain and she looks terrified. Whenever she hears something behind her, she freaks out and pulls out her dagger. Annabeth always rolls her eyes, because it's usually Frank just eating something loudly. The whole time Hazel was out he was seriously freaked. He hasn't talked to Gwen in a very long time, and always talked to Hazel. I can tell he stills has big feelings for her. More then he has for Gwen, but her seriously needs to tell her. He can't lie to her. Things like that always blows up in peoples faces.
I haven't been talking to Jason much, actually. I've spent most of my time trying to get Hazel to get up or pray that the Gods will save her. I'm not the religious type, but I knew that they could save her, they were my only resource. But I can never forgive them now. They can do anything now, but I'll still hate them. The only reason that I'll ever try to defeat the giants now is because my friends want to, and I'll do anything for my friends.
"How are you feeling?" Annabeth asks Hazel.
"I have a small headache, and I only just know who any of you are, but other then that I feel pretty good" Hazel says.
"Well, that's good" Annabeth says. "And I promise, we're friends. All of us."
"I trust you guys already" Hazel says, though a little uneasy. "Thank you, Annabeth, this soup tastes great."
"Don't mention it" Annabeth smiles.
"Okay" Hazel says. "So guys, who are you, I guess?"
"I'm Piper. Daughter of Aphrodite. Goddess of..."
"Love and beauty?" Hazel asks.
"Yeah" I say. I smile.
"I'm daughter of Athena, Goddess of..."
"Wisdom and battle strategy?" Hazel smiles.
"Yes" Annabeth says. "And my hair is naturally blond. A bunch of people think it's dyed, but it's not."
"I thought so" Hazel says. "Piper, can I talk to Annabeth for a few minutes?"
"Yeah" I say. I hug her and leave.
I look at the ground as I walk. She looks so vulnerable! She looks a lot younger, she looks like a child. Of course, she is one, but I've never seen her like this! Hazel has always seemed like such a strong person. She seemed like she was a lot older then her age. Which, or course, she is, but she seemed so different before. How could she seem so different? She's the same person, but she's changed. I don't know how else to put it, but she just seems so scared and confused. But, she was like that before she lost her memory. Why another one?! Jason lost his memory, Percy lost his memory, why Hazel?! She just closed the Doors, something the Gods themselves couldn't achieve, all by herself, and now she has amnesia! I just can't believe they did this to her! She didn't deserve this! She just, didn't!
I stomp up to the deck and scream. I scream louder then I ever have. I scream louder then when we were trying to kill all the monsters when she was closing the Doors!
"WHY?!" I scream. "HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?! HOW?!"
I scream louder and louder, until my voice hurts. Jason, Percy and Coach run onto deck. Coach puts his hand on my shoulder.
"GET OFF! GO AWAY!" I scream.
"Pipes, she's going to be..." Jason attempts.
"NO! DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT! THE GODS DID THIS TO HER! I HATE THEM!" I scream.
"It's okay, she'll get better, I promise" Percy says.
"WHY ISN'T ANYONE ELSE SCREAMING?! DO YOU NOT CARE THAT MY BEST FRIEND CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER ANYTHING?! AFTER EVERYTHING SHE CAN'T REMEMBER AND I CAN'T HELP HER! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO! I JUST WANT HER TO REMEMBER! AND WHAT ABOUT LEO?! HOW ARE WE GOING TO EXPLAIN THAT SHE...that she doesn't remember him" I say. I sit down and I start to sob. "I just can't believe they did this!"
"I know" Percy says. "I'm angry too, I'm frustrated, I want to cry and cry and make them feel pain, but I can't do that. The smart thing to do now is to save Leo. If we save him, then she might remember. But I know how you feel. I just want to hurt something. I want to lock myself in my room and cry. But I can't, I need to stay strong. Hazel is already coping, and she is going to remember again. Okay?"
"But what if she doesn't?" I ask.
"Then we'll make new memories. Then we can tell her everything, and she will grow up again, and she'll be happier. This might be a good thing, Hazel seems just so happy. I promise that she'll be okay. She'll either get her memories back, or she won't. But if she doesn't, then we can help her" Percy says.
"I agree with Percy. Hazel is a hero, she'll get through this" Jason says. I look up at them. They nod. I look at Hedge. He nods as well.
"It's going to be okay, girly, she's a smart one. And I'll beat her with my bat if she doesn't remember me when I see her" Hedge says.
"Thank you" I whisper. Sadly, that is probably the nicest thing Hedge has ever said to me. I stand up and open my arms. I don't care ho, but I expect someone to hug me. Jason steps forward and puts his arms around me. Percy and Hedge move off the deck.
"I'll still spread the word about Reyna, tell everyone other then Leo, if you ever abandon me" I say, remembering the day that I said that I'd help Leo get Hazel. Wow, that seems like so long ago. Well, it was almost a month ago. Leo saying that he'd tell Jason about Apollo. I still can't believe I thought he was talking about the God, of course I wasn't! Junior High crush, and that kid was definitely not a God. He was a jerk, just like Jake was back at the school play.
"I know" Jason says with a laugh. Jason and I stand here for several minutes. My mind spins. I'm still upset. I'm tired. I'm afraid. And I'm worried.
"I need her to get her memory back" I whisper.
"Why?" Jason asks.
"Because I don't want to lose my best friend. She'll never be the same without it. I'm terrified. I don't want to lose her" I say.
"I know" Jason says. He doesn't say anything more. I actually appreciate that. I don't want to hear the old "oh Pipes, everything will be okay" because it won't! No one still understands what I lost. If Hazel never gets her memory back, she won't remember everything we've been through this last month. I'm can't deal with that. I'm not that strong. My only hope is saving Leo. Our only hope is saving Leo. "I love you, Piper."
End of chapter!
AN. I know...I'm sorry, guys! I hope I didn't make you to angry! But still freaking REVIEW!