Chapter eight

Piper

A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Thanks for sticking with me so long. We are nearing the end so I hope you enjoy!

-FreakofNature

It was three days after the battle, three days after his death, when Piper's mother visited her.

The new camp- Camp Olympus- was already well on its way to being finished. Annabeth, Reyna, and nearly everyone else had been working hard to get the cabins rebuilt, and they'd even added a coffee shop here and there.

Nico came back alive, to everyone's relief, but he was in a coma. Will Solace had said that it was probably nothing to worry about, but that didn't stop anyone from visiting him every chance they got.

Leo was spending most of his time in the Argo 2. Piper hadn't even seen him since that day.

She wasn't sure if she was happy or sad about that.

As for Piper, she kept herself busy. She had a cabin to run, and campers to take care of.

She wouldn't let herself think about Jason too much. If she did, she was sure she would break down completely, and there would be no going back.

So she distracted herself.

It had been Annabeth who Iris-messaged Thalia to let her know that she'd lost her brother a second time, and it was Reyna who led his funeral.

She hadn't even attended.

Neither had Leo, Annabeth told her.

So, for three days, Piper kept Jason locked in the back of her mind.

She was building new beds for the Aphrodite cabin, when Aphrodite herself walked through the door, somehow looking glamorous in faded jeans and a t-shirt, sat beside Piper, and picked up a hammer.

"Mom?"

Aphrodite sniffed, looking at the nails and boards in disdain.

"I honestly don't know how you mortals stand this. Dreadfully tedious."

She waved her hand and the materials flew together to assemble a perfectly made bed. She smoothed out the microscopic rumples in her clothes and sat on the bed, facing Piper.

She smiled at her. "There's my hero, how are you handling things?"

"Fine."

"And Jason?"

"… Fine."

Aphrodite frowned, narrowing her perfectly-made up eyes.

"You're not letting yourself grieve."

Piper stood up. "Look, I know you're trying to help, but I really don't want to have this conversation. Why don't you go visit Mitchell?"

"I don't want you to end up like your father."

"What?"

"When I… left, he shut down. He wouldn't let himself feel the loss. To protect himself of course, but he never really moved on. Your friend, Leo, is the same way."

Piper ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah, well, I'm not him."

"This isn't about him. It's about you. Love will be lost. It can be found again, but not if you shut it out."

"Yeah, fine. Okay."

Thunder rumbled from the sky above.

"I have to go. I love you, Piper." Aphrodite said. She stood up and began to glow. Piper averted her eyes.

When the light faded, Aphrodite was gone, but she'd left the room perfectly decorated with a row of ten beds, a vanity, and a closet full of new clothes for all of them.

Piper grit her teeth.

Damn it.

She needed air. She scooped the tools into a box and left the cabin.

Outside, the Demeter kids were trying to make things grow in the barren post-hurricane ground. They already had a small patch of strawberries growing.

Piper jogged toward the beach, where none of them could see her break down.

She kicked off her shoes before stepping into the surf. The wind whipped her hair around her face.

She waded knee-deep into the waves, soaking her jeans, and gathered rocks of the bottom. She hurled them, one by one, into the ocean.

Seven half-bloods shall answer the call

Splash.

Yeah, and six came back

Too storm or fire the world must fall

Splash.

She'd been completely wrong about that one. It's wasn't Jason or Leo taking down Gaea. It was storm… Percy, doing the job. And fire… She remembered the eruptions.

SPLASH.

Fire had been Gaea. If storm hadn't defeated her, she would have destroyed the world.

An oath to keep with a final breath

She still didn't know what this one meant.

Splash.

And foes bear arms to the doors of death

Percy and Annabeth had figured that out. It ended up being a giant, titan, and Demigods facing the exit from Tartaurus.

Ker-sploosh.

She heard faint clanging coming from the Argo two. Leo had been working on that boat night and day.

Piper clenched her fists. She gave up on holding the memories back and sat down right in the water, replaying the day he'd died in her mind.

He had gone to bait Gaea in Leo's place.

Piper rubbed her temples.

Then Percy's hurricane came, and Leo evacuated them to the Argo Two before they could drown in the storm. Annabeth and Frank showed up when it was over, to bring them back to the Big House. By the time they got there, Jason was already dead.

Piper let out a sob.

She'd looked for the cure, only to find that she didn't have it. She had never even really believed it would work. It seemed too good to be true. In the end, it was.

Piper knew Leo hadn't thought anyone else would die. He was both her, and Jason's, best friend. He had volunteered to be Goddess-bait, chosen the most dangerous role, so that, in the end, no one would die. But Jason made that choice too.

Piper took a shaky breath, stood up, and headed for the Argo Two.

A/N: Hope you guys liked this chapter, there's only a couple left now! I'd love to hear what you think, so please review! Until next time…

-FreakofNature