(A/N: I will try to update one-three times a week. It depends on the week. I have soccer practice every day, thank goodness the season's ending, plus I have to teach piano two days a week. But look forward to a new chapter to be posted before next week.)

FRANK (II)

The six demigods soon dispersed to different parts of the ship. Nico went downstairs to sleep, Leo went downstairs to the kitchen, and Jason and Piper went to see where Coach Hedge went. Frank secretly hoped he fell overboard with the fox. He was kind of scared of the fawn. He shook his head and mentally corrected himself. Coach Hedge was a satyr, not a fawn. He decided to stay on the deck with Hazel, content to watch the sunset. He laced his fingers with hers.

"Are you glad you have Nico back?" Frank asked finally.

Hazel didn't answer. Frank was afraid that he said something wrong. Eventually, she answered, "No."

He looked at her, astonished. "No? But he's your brother?" He couldn't understand why, after all her worrying, she wasn't glad to have him back. Apparently, Frank had missed something seemingly important. He racked his brains, going over the painful memories of the last few days.

Hazel smiled a little. Frank was a kind of miffed at that. "Frank," she said in a low voice. He had to strain to hear her. "I wish I never got him back." When it was clear to Hazel that Frank still didn't understand, she continued, "I wish that he never got kidnapped. I wish that I hadn't lost my family." Her voice caught at the end and Frank put his arm around her. He finally understood what she was saying.

"It's okay. You have Nico now."

Hazel shook her head, shivering in the warm air. "Nico's not my only family. Percy is just like my brother. He fell, Frank. He's gone." Her voice was only a hoarse whisper now. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"We'll find them in Greece. We'll close the Doors of Death. We can do it," he said, repeating Leo's words.

Hazel looked at him uncertainly, clearly unconvinced. "How do you know that? How could we possibly do it when we have so much weight to carry on our shoulders?"

"I don't know how, I only know that I believe that we can."

Hazel still didn't look persuaded, but did not pursue the issue. Instead, the two of them sat there while they watched the sun go down. Finally, the half of the sun rays dipped behind the mountain and Hazel said her goodnight, leaving Frank to his thoughts.

So they had a month until Gaea rose. They could make that right? For some reason, Frank felt like this quest was going to take less time than the previous one. He shivered as he remembered her cold voice, speaking to him through closed lips. Her eyes were always closed, and Frank honestly hoped they stayed that way. He couldn't bear to think about what would happen if they did open, even though he was told what would occur. What he would give for a big "Go Back to Sleep" button.

Frank's worries were interrupted when someone touched his shoulder. He jumped and turned around to see Nico, looking better and well rested, but grim. Jason was standing behind him looking confused. "Come on," Nico gestured. Frank shook his head but didn't argue. Jason and Frank followed Nico below deck to the kitchen.

Nico drew his sword and stood before the kitchen sink. Without warning he swung at the faucet and cut the top off, letting hot water and mist squirt everywhere. Why there was mist, Frank didn't know. The window in the hull of the ship allowed the setting sun to shine through, creating a rainbow in the mist. Nico stuck his left hand in his pocket and pulled out what Frank guessed to be a golden drachma. It was weird seeing one since he was so used to denarii.

"Leo's not going to be happy," Jason muttered.

Nico shrugged. Holding up the coin, Nico repeated the words Frank had heard Hazel talk about when he had spoke to Iris on the quest to Alaska. "O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering." And with that, he tossed the coin through the mist. As soon as the drachma went through, it disappeared. Nico released the tension in his shoulders. "Sally Jackson," he murmured quietly.

Frank realized why Nico had called both Jason and Frank in here with him. Nico needed to tell Percy's mom what had happened since he had disappeared. Nico hadn't been there for all of it, so he needed the two of them to fill in the blanks. Frank twitched nervously at the thought of meeting Sally Jackson, Percy's mom. He didn't know what she would be like.

Suddenly, the mist changed to reveal a New York apartment kitchen with two people in it. One was a woman, who Frank assumed was Percy's mother, who had brown hair and kind blue eyes. Unfortunately, Sally had tears in her eyes. The other was a man who Frank didn't know.

Nico cleared his throat, drawing attention to the adults in the kitchen. Obvious relief grew in Percy's mother's eyes when she saw Nico.

"Nico!" she cried. "I-is there any news? Did Annabeth find him? Is he okay? Why isn't he here?" she seemed a little hysterical. I guess losing your son could do that to you.

The man put a hand on her shoulder. "Sally, you need to calm down. I'm sure Percy's fine, alright?" Nico flinched. Neither of the people in the image noticed, though. The man looked up at Nico, gesturing for him to speak.

Nico looked nervous, but spoke anyways. "Ms. Jackson "There's a little more to the story than you think. I'm sure you heard Jason's part of the story up until Leo, Piper, Annabeth and Jason left for California." Ms. Jackson nodded so he continued. "Well, you know the prophecy that Rachael spoke?" When Ms. Jackson nodded again, he hesitated before going on. "Before I get to that, I need to tell you about what happened before…." Nico explained briefly about how he had been traveling between the camps for over a year and about how Percy had mysteriously appeared at the Roman camp with a bunch of gorgons on his trail. Then he explained how he decided to search for the Doors of Death from the other side. He left out that the Doors were in Tartarus. He was probably trying not to worry her too much. Then he related about how he got captured by the twin giants.

Nico finished and gestured for Frank to start talking. So Frank told the story of their quest to Alaska. When he got to the part about the train, Ms. Jackson interrupted him.

"I got a message from Percy that night. He said that he was on a quest and that Hera had put him to sleep," she said.

Frank nodded and continued with the story. When he got to the part where Leo, Annabeth, Piper, and Jason came on the Argo II, Jason stepped in and took over the story, with Nico or Frank occasionally stepping in to add something.

At the end, Ms. Jackson just stared at them like they were speaking a different language. "So, where is Percy?" said the man uncertainly.

Frank winced. All three of them ended the story where they crashed into the Italian parking lot to get Annabeth. Nico looked down at his feet, took a deep breath, and said, "Percy and Annabeth…fell."

A worry line appeared on the man's face. "What do you mean? Where did they fall to?"

"The floor that was being held by Arachne's spider webs was a direct door to Tartarus. The floor cracked open and Annabeth was pulled in. Percy…tried to save them both, but…." He trailed off, his voice full of sorrow and bitterness. He looked at the man, not daring to face Percy's mom, who was staring blank faced at the counter. "Paul…I'm so sorry. I tried as hard as I could to save them, but there was nothing I could do. The last thing he told me to do was to lead these demigods to the Doors of Death in Epirus. He plans to meet us on the other side, where the Doors of Death are, in Tartarus. Nico finished his sentence with a ring of finality.

"So what you're saying is," Paul said hopefully. "Is that Percy and Annabeth are going to get out through the Doors of Death."

Nico swallowed hard. Frank could tell that he hated lying to Percy's mom and step-dad of all people. "Basically," he said in a choked voice.

Paul nodded and put his arm around Percy's mom. "Good luck, then," he said in a brusque voice, and the image disappeared.