Disclaimer: Still don't own. And I promise, I don't make a penny.

AN: Hello all! Bit of a more quickly updated chapter, so I hope it wasn't too long of a wait for you all. Thank you for being understanding and for your patience. I'd really love to get 10 comments and feedbacks before I post the next chapter. I know it's not a Nico/Percy chapter but I promise we're getting there. And we're building up to some more twisty turnies in Tartarus.

Tempting the Fates

Chapter Twenty Six

Sneaking Into the Underworld

Hazel

"Don't you think it's sort of dangerous for you to come along?"

Hazel was climbing down from the Argo II in the dead of night with Piper not far behind. The other girl's brow was knit as she attempted to lower herself slowly down the rope, clearly not one of her strengths from the awkward way she slid a few inches and then a foot, probably taking much of the skin of her hands off in the process. Sucking on her lip, the daughter of Pluto only winced a little and gave the shortest of selfish thoughts. It was something along the lines of: please don't fall on my head, then we'll both wind up dying. Maybe she should have let the other demigod go first.

"Don't you think it's sort of dangerous for you to be heading back to the Underworld while your father's pretending he's oblivious you're not dead?"

The air around them froze but not from any drop in temperature or breeze in the air. Sucking in a deep breath, she shoved caramel curls out of her eyes and tucked them behind her ear (though they didn't stay long) and continued down without a word. Half a beat later the regret was viscous. "Oh, Hazel. I'm so sorry… I didn't mean that."

"No… it's fine. Don't worry."

"I'm really sorry. That was so nasty of me. I'm just… I need to get out. I can't stay on the ship."

"I know."

Somebody else might have had something to follow up with after that, but not Hazel. Not when she felt guilt bubbling in her core from the simple fact she'd witnessed something so intimate and disparaging on their mission to retrieve Diocletian's sceptre. And while she tried not to look any differently at Jason for it, Hazel's worldview had changed just a little bit. Who was he if he couldn't stand beside Piper? If they couldn't weather these storms? They were meant to be steady unlike the tumultuous world… but maybe those were thoughts more appropriate to her own time.

Still, it didn't change the fact that while she was descending from the Argo II one hand over the other, muscles quivering from the exertion, that her heart broke just a little for the head of the Aphrodite cabin. Their backgrounds, cultures and camps might be slightly different but love and heartbreak were universal. And love had not been kind to Piper at all. Despite that? Well, Hazel looked at her a little differently, too. Especially when Jason had come from whatever talk the two had been having (it couldn't have been pleasant, they knew that it wouldn't be not after meeting Eros). The way he carried himself, a quickness in his step and palpable purpose, the son of Jupiter then hoisted himself over the side of the ship and quite literally thrown himself off. He was quite the man on the mission. Fortunately, though Piper's charmspeak had forced such commands onto him, he was still a child of the sky and he'd only fallen about ten seconds before he'd summoned the winds and cushioned himself before colliding with the ground. No permanent damage done.

The split second before he might have hit was when Piper had emerged from underneath, tears in her eyes and hair falling from its signature braids. She was a mess of mascara and tear stains tied together by silence and judgement. Hazel, a child of the Underworld and Wealth but also of Grudges, could feel the latter in the air.

After that— understandably— Jason had flown himself up to the Argo II and climbed back onto the deck, nodded at Piper in a way that made clear he agreed that nothing further needed to be said about the situation going forward, and disappeared below the deck. Leo, Annabeth, Frank and herself stood in stunned silence with nothing else audible save for their untimely breathing.

Not a muscle had moved between the lot of them for a whole minutes and it was only broken by the fact that Frank (the big dweeb) had sneezed.

"What are you all looking at!?" Piper had snapped, spitting venom as she turned to them. Her eyes were hard as diamonds and her tongue just as sharp.

Jolted from their places, Annabeth had fled, following in Jason's wake without saying a word.

"I really am sorry," fell from above.

Hazel's feet landed on the ground. Stepping back, she waited for the other girl to finish climbing (or drop) down and stood back. Diocletian's sceptre was secured to her back along the side of her backpack; the girls weren't planning on a long trip to deliver the relic but things had a tendency to veer horribly off track. Better prepared than not, as her mother would have said.

"It's okay, but be careful you don't break your ankle. You could probably use some more climbing practice when we get back to the camps."

The laugh that followed was free from irony. "If we get back to the camps," she huffed, "I will use one of Nike's kids as my personal trainer. Just do it!" Her Native American friend only half fell on the ground at her feet but dusted herself off respectably and stood once more, holding a hand out to either side as if to indicate that her ankle was not in fact broken and yet, Piper had definitely succeeded albeit with less skin on her palms and slightly less dignity in her heart.

Maybe she was a few centuries behind, but Hazel felt pretty certain the last bit would stay that way for awhile. Even for a daughter of Love. But it wasn't her place to say anything beyond, "You know, if you need someone to talk to…"

"Thanks. I appreciate it but honestly, I'm not sure that I can? I know something happened," as the two fell into step beside one another over the dimly lit ground with just the moon to guide them (flashlights tended to attract the more easily amused monsters), Piper raised her hand and held it up as if to silence Hazel. "I know something happened but I'm not sure that I'm ready to hear about what it was yet. He mentioned Cupid and really, that's enough for me."

"We got the sceptre," Hazel agreed. It was the only concession that she would make for the moment and probably the only one her friend would want to hear.

"So how are we getting the rest of the way?"

"You're going to love this. Well, unless you don't like the dark. Or dogs. Or being kind of dizzy."

"Wait… what?"

"Oh. I mean, I can't shadow travel. Not the way that Nico can. I know we have the same father but… it's not easy. I tried once and I nearly threw up from the effort. I didn't get anywhere but I did get a blinding headache. We thought maybe eventually I'd be able to learn and we worked on it when he visited camp but I just can't do it. We aren't the same." The last sentence summed up everything about her and Nico.

They were children both out of time, and yet they had nothing else in common. Their growing up, their stories, their relationships, their interactions with people and the way they viewed the world. Everything was so completely out of sync. While it softened her heart and she'd loved the boy immediately, embraced her brother, she knew they'd never share similarities. Nico was just apart and while it saddened her, it wouldn't change.

"He's special in a way most people aren't." It was added as an afterthought.

Tugging on her braid, Piper tilted her head back and stared up at the twinkling lights in the sky. "So how exactly are we getting there?"

"Mrs O'Leary. I believe you've met her before."

She spun around like a top, eyes wide. Her expression said what her words couldn't.

"Oh, gods. Hazel!"

Hazel stood back while Piper finished emptying the contents of her stomach into some dark crevice. Mrs O'Leary sat next to them panting and nuzzling the other girls hand. From her pocket she fished out some leftovers and a bouncy ball. The dogs glowing red eyes twitched with each tiny movement, her whole world revolving around the mere presence of the ball and the suggestion that perhaps it might just be hers. Puddles of drool were soon covering Hazel's sneakers and Mrs O'Leary was making the most pitiful noise she'd ever heard. Somewhere between a baby's cry and a sad dying llama, maybe.

"Oh Mrs O'Leary!" But she couldn't be mad. Instead she tapped her snout in thanks and then chucked the ball to let her go after it to her heart's content.

Once she had shaken off her foot, she moved over behind her friend and lightly lay a hand on her back.

"You okay?"

"Nnngh…" was the only response she got. A moment later with another wracking cough and a few less than lady like spits, Aphrodite's daughter straightened and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. "I guess shadow travelling doesn't agree with me."

"It doesn't agree with most people," Hazel reassured.

They both lamented that in their packing neither had thought to bring some gum or mints. If only. Their toothbrushes were back aboard the ship along with everyone else.

"How long do you think before the others notice we've gone?" Piper whispered for the first time noticing the dark around them. They could see before them but not far. The girls hooked their arms together keeping one another close, equally supportive for very different reasons.

"They probably have. I left a note for Frank, though. It's fine. They knew that we had to bring this to Styx. We've just left a little earlier than originally planned. Moves the schedule ahead a little so we can get going to the Doors of Death, right?"

With a nod they continued forward. As good as Mrs O'Leary was, she wasn't a bus. The locations weren't exact and so they had to hoof it a little bit; both accepted this but Hazel was the one of the two who thought it was probably for the best. The longer Piper had away just to get herself to grips, the better.

She tried not to wonder about what had happened between Jason and Piper, or what was causing the other's gift to go askew. As curious as she might be, she also knew better. Her mother had also been curious— Hazel clamped down on the feeling.

"Why would people swear an oath on a river that separates the living from the dead?" Piper wondered out loud. It was ahead of them now, they could hear it though they couldn't see it.

"Some might say that death is the first oath we make when we're born. It's inevitable, it will happen to everyone in their own time."

"That's not morbid or anything," she muttered.

"I know… I thought so, too. But when I was little my mom told me a story about her. How she loved another so much it consumed her, she was burned up alive from her passion. I mean, I was just a kid so I never really got it but… that's really intense."

And sometimes, Hazel wondered if she would consume Frank or vice versa. After all, he could be consumed. His life line was very much tied to that piece of kindling and just waiting to alight at any moment. Sucking on her full lip, she pushed the feeling down and gripped a little tighter to her friend's arm.

Don't think such things. She scolded. There was enough on their plate without entertaining every possibility.

Piper remained silent.

Stood before the bank of the River, the girls exchanged glances and fell silent. For a few minutes they just stood there with nothing happening.

"Are we supposed to like chuck it in or something?"

"…I don't really see that being a good idea."

"Me either. But it might make you feel better. Or me better."

Both laughed. "Things will be okay, you know. It won't seem that way right now and I know that I don't really understood what's happened or how you're feeling but it will be okay. Maybe not today or tomorrow or for a little while, but it will. Promise." Hazel slid her hand into Piper's slightly larger one and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Her friend's eyes shimmered with tears but she blinked them away and ducked her head, nodding.

Do not make light of your promises, children, or you do me no honours.

The river surged forward, spilling up onto the banks, and before them appeared a beautiful woman. Her eyes were smooth pebbles and her hair caressed her sides a mix of waves and flowing multicoloured reeds. She smiled at them and flowed forward, not on feet, but still connected to her source. In her hands she cupped a small duck, petting it absently. Her eyes fell as she noticed their attention.

Ah, do not mind Flamey. How he wondered down here, I have no idea. Charon usually catches them much more quickly and yet he made it across, little rascal he is. I quite like him, though. He's both cute and feisty, much like your brother.

"You've seen Nico!?"

She inclined her head slightly saying nothing more on the matter.

Have you brought me the sceptre?

Piper was stood stock still, not moving next to Hazel. The girl had to unwind herself from the other, noting for a second the way the other quaked, before turning back to the Goddess. She unstrapped the sceptre from her back and held it out, but took it back before Styx could reach for it.

"How do I know what you'll use it for?"

I have no intention of using it. Dicoletian's plaything would be of little use to someone like me, child. But it would be much use to your friends. Where they go, there is not much hope beyond this.

"Are they okay?" Piper finally chimed in. "Are they alright down there? Both of them?"

I have seen them but I can tell you no more. It is just as I explained to you in the dream, Pippin.

"Piper."

You have brought the sceptre. Another has made an oath. I have promised my help and I will give it. Now please, there's not much time. They are close.

Hazel hugged it to her chest for a second and whispered to it. "Take care of Nico. Please bring him back safe. And let him know I love him." She kissed the sceptre as if sealing the words within its handle and pushed it towards the goddess.

Styx took it with her free hand and it disappeared somewhere inside the waters of her body or off to some other magical plane. Her attention turned back to Piper and fixed her watery gaze on her.

"Will it make a difference? In the end, will it be worth it?"

Hazel was surprised by the gravity of her words.

It will make a difference. But I cannot promise that it will be worth it, not in a way which humans understand.

And with that, she disappeared leaving them stood on the shadowy banks alone.

Piper took Hazel's hand in her own and squeezed it.