The first thing anyone could say was, "poor Silena." Yes, the poor girlfriend who devoted so much time to her boyfriend was left alone and in the cold. The second she heard the news, the daughter of Aphrodite broke down into tears and was escorted by a surprisingly gentle Clarisse. Everyone left Percy, grumbling as they went to go back to their activities.

While everyone adored Beckendorf, death was normal for a demigod. Monsters were lurking around every corner and you couldn't trust everyone you met…unless you were the child of a non-powerful god, like the children of Aphrodite, for instance. While one would never say it to the goddess' face, it was true; Aphrodite wasn't really that powerful. Now Poseidon, he was powerful.

After the news was given, I watched Silena and Clarisse walk off, Silena's shoulders stuttering as she cried. I felt a pang of sorrow for the distraught girl, but then I remembered a dream I had a few weeks ago; Silena was acting very suspicious and talking to an unknown person. I couldn't understand what she was talking about or see the person she was talking to, but I knew she was up to no good. Since then, I'd been keeping tabs on the girl, jumping into her dreams as much as possible.

I turned to make eye contact with Percy who was frowning deeply and eyes smoldered with guilt. I strode up to him, placing a comforting hand on his arm. "It's not your fault Percy. He stood no chance either way."

He frowned even more, "How do you know?"

"I was watching."

Percy's eyes raised, but he didn't press on. Instead, he seemed to become more defeated. "If I'd stayed with him-"

"You'd be dead, too. Beckendorf died a hero and for the greater cause; you're the only hope for a lot of people, Percy, it wouldn't be good for you to be dead as well."

We made eye contact for a brief moment. A thousand emotions were reading in his eyes and I had the sudden urge to hug him.

Slowly, Percy nodded and walked off in the other direction, running his hand through his hair. Annabeth quickly ran up to him, placing a comforting hand on his back and guiding him towards his Cabin. Michael slowly walked up to me, his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said.

"Did you know that he was going to die," he asked causally, as if he was asking about the weather.

Slowly, I nodded. Michael's lip trembled for half a second and his expression became withdrawn. "When did you know?"

"I had suspicions since I learned what he and Percy were going to do…but I didn't know that he'd died until last night; I was tracking them when I was dreaming."

Michael's eyes flash. Then, he nodded and removed his hands from his pockets. He walked straight up to me and held my hands.

"I know you and Beckendorf were close, Vi. I'm sorry."

I nodded, tears forming at the corners of my eyes, but I muttered, "It's okay. We'll all see him one day."

Together, Michael and I walked off to the archery arena, the one thing that could bring the both of us out of our stupor. Archery was something we were both good at and liked; it was possibly the best thing at Camp, if you don't count the food.

Along the way, we came across some of Michael's siblings squabbling with a couple children of Ares. Kayla was in the face of Clarisse's brother Jack, who was a giant compared to the tiny girl. "What in the hell are they fighting about?"

Michael rolled his eyes as we entered the arena and left the fighting demigods behind. He picked up a bow, some arrows and began firing off; he hit each bullseye with barely a glance at the targets.

"That stupid flying chariot."

I also picked up a bow and cocked it; I hit the bullseye with almost the same precision as Michael; I was less than half an inch off from the exact middle. I may be good, but I'm no child of Apollo. He grinned at me, but that didn't reach his eyes. Using my abilities, I could tell that Michael wanted that chariot as much as his stupid brothers and sisters.

I sighed heavily and tried to not look down at the arrows sprawled out on the ground; if I did, I'd start to wonder which ones were handcrafted by Beckendorf. Quickly, Michael put down the bow and jogged over to me, wrapping me awkwardly in a hug (I was still holding the bow). "It's okay, Vi. I'm still here."

Tears sprung up to my eyes again. Aphrodite's advice and words swarm through my head. 'It would be better if Michael and I weren't a couple.' The look in her eye when she'd said it…I knew it was bad. Not like we'd have a simple disagreement. If gods slept, I would've gone crazy over Aphrodite's dreams and figured out what she was talking about, but I had no clues except my dream about the blue eyed boy.

Michael pulled out of the hug after a minute and we could hear loud shouts erupting from beyond the trees; sounds like the fighting was getting a little more heated. Michael and I clasped hands again, walking wordlessly back out of the arena and into the main camp.

A while later, Michael had ditched me at the Hermes cabin to join the shouting match between the Apollo and Ares cabins after it got rough. His sister Kayla rushed to where we sat on the beach, breaking up our couple time. Kayla stated that things were getting physical and they needed Michael to help sort things out.

Of course, Michael would not let his siblings down. After giving me a quick peck on the cheek, he ran after Kayla in the direction of the Cabins. I sat on the beach, watching the naiads play in the water, for quite some time. After the sun began to set, I decided to head to the Hermes Cabin to settle in for the night. Whistling and swinging my arms as I walked, I left the beach and pushed my way through trees and into the main Camp clearing.

Apollo demigods were nowhere in sight, but Clarisse and her siblings were arguing with a large group of angry campers. I frowned and joined a small group that was watching the bickering demigods.

"What's going on," I asked Michelle, daughter of Hephaestus.

"Clarisse's declared that she and her siblings won't help us fight Kronos."

"What?"

Michelle's eyes bugged when I suddenly yelped; she stepped back, accidentally knocking into Kurt, son of Hermes. A couple of others turned to look at me curiously at my outburst, but I paid them no attention.

I had something more on my mind then what they thought. I pushed my way through the crowd to where Clarisse was having a shouting match against a son of Demeter. Pushing the small boy aside, I ended up directly in front of Clarisse.

"Clarisse!"

Said girl spun on the spot, expressionless, yet deadly. "What," she snapped.

"Why in the hell are you not going to help us fight against Kronos?"

Clarisse looked wary for a minute, not something you'd usually see. I was up in her face at the precise moment, but I noticed I was looking into her eyes, rather than up into her eyes; I was tall, but she was taller. Immediately, I knew that I'd used my abilities to transform into someone else.

Clarisse shook her head and the reproach was back, "Because my siblings and I don't get any respect. And I sure as hell won't get any from you, because your little boyfri-"

"No, shut up Clarisse! I don't care what others say about you or your siblings. This isn't about us; it's about the entire world, here! Do you want innocent people to die? Because if you don't help us-if Kronos wins, you can consider everyone dead…or at least, better off dead."

I was fully aware that the shouting demigods quieted as I yelled at Clarisse. However, I paid them no attention, watching carefully as Clarisse mulled that over. After a minute, she frowned. "You know I don't want that, but I am just so sic-"

"So you're just going to turn your back on humanity? It's our duty to protect those who can not protect themselves. We are the only ones can save the world, Clarisse! Don't you even care?"

"Of course I care! But that's not my point! I hate it that you people just think you can walk around on us! We're more than just bodyguards!"

Anger ran threw me. My blood boiled and I felt like hitting Clarisse. All this about a stupid chariot and her claiming that her siblings don't get respect! How can they, when they're always bullying everyone else? But the fact that she's just going to practically sign over all the world to a death sentence? They're better off dead then what Kronos will do to them!

I wasn't aware I pushed Clarisse until my hands left her shoulders and she took a step back, a look of surprise and shock on her face.

"If you refuse to join us in our fight against Kronos, go ahead; be my guest. But don't expect to be friends of the gods, Clarisse. They don't tolerate betrayal neatly. Better yet, don't expect to be my friend; if you don't help us take down the Titans, you will be better off dead when I get hold of you."

I spun on the spot and pushed my way out of the crowd, storming off to the Hermes cabin. People parted way when I walked by, watching me wordlessly. Some had a look of fear in their eyes; others had respect in theirs. Me? I had tears.

*Author's Note*

Okay…sorry about not updating a lot, even though I said I would. I'm just getting caught up in stuff; work, worrying about my senior year of high school, writing new fan fictions because I'm sick and tired of Violet. Anyway, I'll try and be better…

XxSamacoyxX

PS: Vielen Dank für das Überprüfen von und zu lesen! German and sign language are the only foreign languages I know, so I don't know how to say "Thank you for reviewing and reading," in another language…sorry.