Hey, sorry for the long wait. My mum's telling me to go to bed now, so no time to check all the names of everyone who reviewed. Rest assured, you guys are my heros and I love each and every one of you. Sorry if that means I can't reply to your review, if you want me to, just tell me in your review now!

Anyway, just going to shameless advertise myself. Please check out some of my other stories. I have written some PJO stories and oneshots ranging from Luke and Thalia on the run to Alabaster to Leo's big thoughts to my ideas for endgame. It would mean a lot to me if you check them out. :)

Also, this was origially going to be Annabeth's chapter, but I decided at the last minute I wanted Hazel instead. Would you guys be interested in having, say, a fic where scenes that didn't make the final cut (but definately happened) could be? It would probably contain more flufy stuff and funny moments that aren't really vital to the plot but I would have like to have fitted in.

One final thing: 38 reviews for 2 chapters? Insane and amazing. *smiles so big her face splits in half*

The Blood of Olympus

III

Hazel

There was blood in her sink. Hazel stared into the basin, horrified, as the rivulets drained away…

"And their blood shall become her blood," a voice droned… a familiar voice…

Jerking awake to the abrupt sound of knocking was nothing unusual for Hazel. Jason's voice shouted that they were having a meeting and that she had to be there.

She sighed, pushing herself from her bed, trying to blink her dream away. It didn't work; it stayed in the forefront of her mind, playing over and over like a video on repeat.

Hazel brushed her hair into a ponytail, resolving to get the thousands of knots out of her tangled hair in the evening. She found it amazing that such trivial things could have once been important to her, now she only cared of her skin if it was getting burnt off and her hair if it caught on something. Not that Hazel had ever had an exact routine when it came to care and cosmetics, but she used to at least pretend she had an interest in it.

Now all pretences had dropped.

She just didn't care.

Changing into some clothes that Hazel vaguely recognized as Piper's, Hazel grabbed her spatha and rushed into the corridor, straight into Leo.

They hit the floor with a slam.

"Oh, hi," Leo's voice sounded squashed. "Hazel, I didn't see you there."

Hazel jumped back, feeling a blush creep over her face.

"Sorry," she said. She looked at Leo properly, taking in the purple bruises under his eyes and the heavy bags. "You look lousy," she offered.

"Thanks," said Leo sarcastically. "You made me feel all warm and gooey on the inside."

"I'm heading to the food hall," said Hazel. "You?"

"Yeah," Leo sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "Yeah, I guess so."

They fell into stride with each other as they headed forwards, climbing over weapons and debris and "Oh, look," said Hazel, pointing. "It's a surfboard."

Leo smirked. "For Percy."

"Fool proof," agreed Hazel.

"From Piper and I as our joint present," said Leo. "Jason dropped out. I think he decided he liked being dry."

"Piper went along with it?" asked Hazel, slightly surprised. She hopped over some planks of wood that were strewn just before the steps. "And I thought she was the good influence on you."

"That's what she'll have you believe," said Leo tapping the side of his nose.

He shoved the door open with his back so that he could aim two finger guns and a wink at Hazel. She shook her head as she walked past him into the room and sat beside Frank, leaning against him.

"I had to put Festus on autopilot," said Leo, slipping into the seat beside Percy.

Percy glared at the son of Hephaestus and drew his blue dressing gown closer to him. Hazel bit back a grin; she wondered what Leo had done now. "Why are we here anyway?" asked Frank looking to Jason.

Jason ran his hand through his hair, frowning and stood, looking uncomfortable. "I had a dream last night."

"Is that what this is about?" Annabeth's voice sounded worried but slightly sceptical although Hazel was interested. Demigod dreams were very different from the usual variety because they often held clues to the future, almost prophetic in fact. That didn't stop them being nightmares.

Jason shook his head. "No." He didn't seem sure of his answer.

Piper took Jason's side. "He got an IM from Coach Hedge."

Hazel felt Frank take a deep breath. "Is he okay?" he demanded.

"He's fine. So is Reyna, I could hear her talking," Jason said, nodding to Frank in what would have once been a solidification of his superior rank. Not anymore. Now Frank outranked all of them.

Hazel tried not to notice the way that Jason hadn't mentioned Nico.

"He just had a couple of warnings. Some striges should be dropping in at about lunchtime and some more monsters after that. They don't know what type though, just that their voices are heading the same way."

"Hold on," Percy held up one finger, frowning. "Some ostriches are going to try and kill us?"

Annabeth sighed and exchanged Piper's amused glance with her own. Before Hazel had the chance to feel left out, however, Jason answered Percy.

"Striges. Flesh eating birds," he shook his head as comprehension dawned in Percy's eyes.

"Oh. Then I can work from experience," he looked at Annabeth with a smirk.

Hazel felt entertained exasperation wash over her. How one person could be so similarly stupid and clever at the same time was still a mystery to her.

She and Frank exchanged smiles.

"Is that all?" asked Annabeth.

Jason nodded.

"We just thought you should all know," said Piper, taking Jason's hand. "Right?"

Annabeth smiled. "Right. Now I guess we should all train a bit and get back to our duties. Who's on lookout?"

There was a painful silence as Annabeth looked around, confused.

"Nico," croaked Hazel pathetically.

"Oh." Comprehension fell over Annabeth just as everyone turned to Hazel. She blinked back tears feeling like an idiot.

Why was she crying? Sometimes she went for months without seeing or even hearing from Nico and now she was cracking like glass under pressure even thinking about him. She supposed that Nico's aptitude for getting himself into trouble (read: life or death situations) had finally caught up to her. Stop behaving like a baby; she gave herself a mental shake. You can worry about him later. Alone.

"I'll take first watch," said Hazel.

Annabeth shot her a grateful look that Hazel returned with a wavering smile.

"Now, who has been doing laundry?" asked Annabeth, hands on hips.

Hazel frowned. There was laundry duty? She glanced around the table and saw that, as per usual, everyone was wearing something slightly stained or torn (or ripped to shreds).

Annabeth looked around her at a sea of vacant faces and sighed. "You know, on that timetable." She pointed at the left wall and, sure enough, a framed timetable sketched onto yellowing paper.

"I swear, that was not there before," said Leo, peering over Piper's head. He eyed Annabeth suspiciously. "Are you tricking us? Did you just put that up?"

Throwing her hands in the air, Annabeth muttered, "Why do I bother?" Hazel could only assume she was asking the gods.

"No, Leo, I did not just put that up. It has been there since we took off. Don't tell me that none of you noticed." Annabeth looked around, her gaze finally settling desperately on Percy who shrugged.

"None of you noticed it?" asked Annabeth again, slightly hysterically. "In, like, two months?"

"We've been busy," said Leo. "You know, not dying. And if we're deciding now; I vote Frank."

"Hey," said Frank.

Annabeth nodded, shooting a steely glare at both Leo and Frank that made them both quieten down.

"I should head back to the wheel," said Leo. "So I guess that means it's time for mass exodus." He grinned and mock saluted as he left the room.

Hazel trudged to the prow of the ship and fixed her hands to the wood, leaning out so that if the ship gave a lurch she would have ample aim off the ship.

She was alone on the deck.

Frank was downstairs, sorting colors from whites as far as Hazel knew; Piper and Jason were sparring and Percy and Annabeth were going to check the maps – or, Annabeth would check the maps and Percy would pretend to help – whilst Leo stayed at his usual steering position.

The ground flashed blow the Argo II and Hazel could just make out green and blue and red through the wisps of clouds, the faint traces of normal life almost touchable.

Hazel lent slightly forwards and was brought abruptly to her senses by Festus snorting a warning, letting a small stream of flames flicker into the air. She leant back. "Thanks," she called to Festus who gave a small grunt in return. Hazel didn't know whether it was Leo communicating through Festus or the magical dragon head simply talking itself but she supposed that either way, being polite couldn't hurt.

The boat rocked and Hazel immediately curled forwards, wrapping her arms around her torso as if to keep herself together. The sudden jerk of motion sickness swept over her and she gritted her teeth, hating that her stomach was still churning.

Proof. Proof that she was weaker than everybody else.

Biting her lip, Hazel shut her eyes and waited for everything to settle back; Leo levelled the course and before long Hazel could see straight. She pressed her forehead against the smooth bark of the rail, breathing heavily.

Hazel looked up and felt something clench inside of her like an icy fist had punched her in the stomach.

She twisted the rope in her hands, it felt rough and she could feel the skin peeling away from under its fibres. Pulling herself upwards, Hazel clung onto the rigging like a kola onto a eucalyptus tree feeling that irrational fear of slipping only a few inches from the deck.

Hazel shoved it away, holding on and seeing her knuckles turn white with effort.

Slowly, she began to climb, shaking with something akin to fear. The ropes blurred before her eyes, and bright blue skies appeared in skewed squares.

It was exhausting, Hazel wasn't used to relying so completely on upper body strength and her breaths were coming in short bursts.

Finally she reached the mast where huge billowing sails swept like huge continents in the bluest sea imaginable in twenty feet sized cloth. Hazel curled up just beneath them in the rigging, it dug into her shoulders, not uncomfortably though and it sunk beneath her weight as though used to the pressure of a body.

Nico.

She could feel a scream building inside of her. Why was she so scared? Why?

This was where he had sat, staring into the distance and thinking about… what?

Hazel could see it. His hair tousled in the breezes, his face pinched with cold and worry and his whole body smothered in black fabrics that made him look even paler than usual.

Body racking with unexplainable sobs, Hazel buried her face in her hands. She had hoped that coming up here would sooth her mind, bring her closer to Nico. Instead she just felt as though they had grown further apart. She was more out of her depth than ever.

Her brother had set on this quest. He had given her a reason to fight and now he had gone off again without a proper goodbye and with the kind of look in his eyes that made Hazel want to make him swear on the river Styx not to do anything stupid.

But he would. He would do something stupid. Hazel knew it. Her fingers, still sore from climbing and now complete with red welts, smarted even more with the added sting of the salt.

A conch sounded. Hazel's eyes flew open; she wiped her nose on her sleeve staring into the sky, horrified.

Her hand went for her sword. Nothing. Hazel looked down and saw it glittering enticingly from the bottom, shimmering golden.

She groaned as she turned to the mast where the rigging was attached to the wooden poles.

It was official. She was the worst lookout ever.

Her last hysterical thought before unhooking the supports was: Leo's going to kill me.