Thanks to AsTheDragonFlies (yeah, LOL, totally!), Turquoise Crystal (LOL), Sophia the daughter of Nyx (thanks! :D), Shinny Star (IKR), and DeereMan125 for your various favs/follows. I figured that since it feels like forever since the second—most—recent chapter was uploaded, I owe you guys another.

THE STOLL TWINS

Travis and Connor were fidgeting on the bench of the Hermes table, impatiently waiting for Chiron to say his special announcement. Though neither twin was really paying attention—Connor was playing with the edge of his shirt, while Travis was tracing the patterns in the wood of the table with his finger.

"As you all know, Percy, Annabeth, Leo, Piper, and the Roman demigods are on the quest to defeat Gaea that is perhaps the most dangerous quest ever undertaken," Chiron announced, and both boys looked up. "Yesterday, the demigods won. Gaea is a threat no more."

The camp erupted in cheers, and the twins exchanged delighted looks. Travis pumped his fist in the air, and Connor added to the noise of a camp celebrating their victory with loud whoops. The two were of course glad that the world was saved, et cetera, but this meant that since everyone was celebrating, they might just let down their guards a bit…

Chiron spoke over the noise. "However, two demigods have died. Greek demigods."

The camp immediately quieted. Travis nudged Connor and nodded at the Hephaestus and Aphrodite cabins, who looked stricken. "Poor them," he whispered. "I can't believe the newbies are gone."

Connor shrugged. "They're probably in Elysium, Trav," he said. "That's better than this, at any rate."

"True," Travis conceded. Then Chiron cleared his throat, and all attention returned to him. Travis began to wonder what the old centaur was going to say now—apologize to the respective cabins of the newbies?

"Percy and Annabeth have received Elysium for their work."

The camp fell absolutely silent. Travis, slightly confused, didn't immediately grasp what Chiron meant.

Then Clarisse stood up and shrieked, "WHAT?!" and suddenly he understood.

Connor looked stricken. "Percy and Annabeth were so strong," he said sadly. "And so powerful, too. I can't believe—they were so important to the camp—"

Memories flashed through the twins' minds. The first time they'd seen Annabeth when they'd stumbled into camp in the beginning, lost and confused. She had been the one who had guided them, shown them the ropes; and though Luke had been close to them too, she had been the one they'd always gone to for advice. She'd been like a mentor to them.

And the first time they'd ever seen Percy, staggering into Camp Half-Blood. The first time they'd ever played Capture the Flag on his team, and how he'd led them to victory. Even then, it was obvious to anyone how powerful he was.

The first quest Percy and Annabeth had undertaken—watching them and Grover leave camp; Percy still so naïve, Annabeth ecstatic that it was finally her turn to leave Camp Half—Blood. And when they'd returned: the fireworks had been absolutely fantastic! Travis remembered the jokes he and Connor had shared about the finale with fondness.

But there had been many more quests Percy and Annabeth had undertaken together. Their second quest, in the Sea of Monsters; the third quest that they'd taken illegally, which of course the Stoll twins approved of; their fourth quest in the Labyrinth, when Travis and Connor had been proud of all the sneaky monster-killing they themselves had done; and the world-saving Percy and Annabeth had done, too, when they'd defeated Kronos.

Travis remembered how determined Annabeth had been that she would find Percy after he'd gone missing, and how much she'd clearly hated Jason at first for being his replacement. When Percy had been finally found in a Roman camp, Travis had mostly just wanted to know which kids were the kids of Mercury. He wanted to get together with them and have a major pranking war—but from what he'd heard, they weren't exactly that type.

All those memories, and so many more, flew through the twins' heads, and for a moment they just sat there, staring morosely at nothing, trying to figure out what they were going to do with themselves.

Connor eventually broke the silence between them, ignoring the franticness that was enveloping the rest of the camp. "This sounds awfully cliché, but Percy and Annabeth were sort of the heart and soul of the camp."

Travis thought about that. Percy was a camp legend because of his heroic deeds—the very example of what a demigod should be; the heart of who the half-bloods were. Annabeth wasn't famous in the same way, but she'd lived at Half-Blood Hill for forever. Every single demigod in the camp had met her. She was so hard to miss, too, with the eyes that made you feel like you were being X-rayed. Annabeth really was the soul of camp, in a way.

"Yeah," Travis said thoughtfully. "I guess you're right."

Connor sighed, and Travis knew what he was thinking. It was an accepted fact of life that demigods mostly died early, but it just wasn't fair that two strong, brave demigods like Percy and Annabeth had had to go. Travis couldn't imagine a camp where Percy wasn't there for new demigods to gasp and stare at, and he couldn't see a Half-Blood Hill where Annabeth wasn't there to give advice and show newbies around.

Who would be the legend, the heart, now that Percy was gone? Who would be the soul of Camp Half-Blood when Annabeth wasn't around to be?

How would the other demigods react?

Travis hadn't been on really close terms with Annabeth and Percy, though he and Annabeth had been sort of friends. But he knew, and he was sure that Connor felt the same way, that they'd both been great demigods. And so what if he'd looked up to Percy? Everyone did.

Percy: the role model. The legend. The example, the strength, the face of the camp. The heart.

Annabeth: the brains, the adviser, the only steady point in a camp with demigods who were continuously dying and leaving. The soul.

What was the camp going to be like without a heart and a soul?

Was it even possible to survive without them?