Disclaimer : I don't own anything you recognize. Just the plot.

Chapter 1

(Several weeks ago)

Knock, knock!

" Whoever you are, get lost. I'm not in the mood to entertain you," I say, not bothering to even look at the figure standing at my open doorway.

" Are you sure?"

I nearly drop my sword. " Oh," I say, turning to face her. " Sorry. It's just….so many people had been stopping by, saying they wanted to chat or say thanks or give me their condolences or anything and I am just…so tired of it." I sigh, running my fingers through my hair.

" I know," Annabeth whispers, her voice croaky. Probably from too much crying. Can't blame her. If I could, I would do the same as her. It's just that I'm so emotionally drain that I can't produce a single tear at all.

I look at her weary expression and drop my sword on my bunk bed before striding over to where she is standing and hug her tightly. After everything we've gone through and every loss we faced, I'm glad she's still here. I don't think I would know what to do if she wasn't because she is like this annoying and smarter part of me. Losing her….no, I don't think I can think about it.

I look outside. Campers, their faces solemn and most are dressed in black, are making their way to the arena, where the ceremony is held.

Of course, in the midst of wallowing in grief, I almost forgot that today is the day where we burn the burial shroud of our fallen comrades who died defeating Gaea.

" Come on," I say gently to Annabeth. " It's time for the shroud burning." She nods, wipes her face dry (with my shirt, I might add) and puts on a brave smile.

" Okay. Let's go."

Together, we join the other campers heading for the arena to pay our last respects to our friends who had been claimed by Thanatos.

By the time we got to the arena, most of the seats were already taken. In the middle of the arena, a huge bonfire sits, crackling merrily. A little girl of nine sits near it, tending to its hearth.

Hestia.

She nods at me and gives me a warm but solemn smile, to which I return with a wave.

We join our friends near the front. I take a look at all of their faces and noted that Hazel Levesque's face holds the most grief of them all.

There used to be seven of us on this quest, eight including Nico di Angelo, son of Hades and Hazel's half-brother.

But we lost two on the quest.

Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, who has his hands locked with his girlfriend's, Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. And then we have Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus, who sits next to Hazel, his arms around her in a brotherly way, consoling her. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena, who is weeping silently now at my side. And me, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon.

I look up and finally notice that the Roman legionnaire, led by their praetor, Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano are sitting at the other side of the arena, opposite of me. Reyna's face is as weary and tired as the rest of us. Of course, she has an extra burden since she lost her partner, Frank Zhang, the son of Mars.

Frank used to be a centurion of the Fifth Cohorts at the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter. When they were in Epirus, Jason resigned as praetor and promoted Frank to praetor. Reyna didn't mind about it and together, they led the Roman legionnaire in assisting us to defeat the Giants and Gaea. But at the height of actions, where everyone was confused and scattered, Annabeth and I were almost captured by Gaea's minions. Only Frank noticed this. He tried to help us by changing into a lion and then a giant snake but Gaea's minions were invincible to almost everything.

Almost everything, except fire.

Frank tried to catch Leo's attention but Leo was too busy fighting with dracenaes so, in desperation, Frank took the wood that is actually his lifeline and set it on fire before throwing it at the monster that had us. The monster, of course, let go of us and burned to death.

Unfortunately, this also meant that Frank, too, burned to death.

We tried to help him by trying to put out the fire that consumed him but frankly ( no pun intended) , there was nothing we could do except to watch our friend die a horrible death.

Which made me think : why didn't any of the Olympians try to help him? Why didn't his father try to help him? Of course, if I ever bring this up to any one of them, they'd go, " We couldn't possibly defy the Fates." or " He's gone off to a better place" or " The world is better without him".

I could feel the sudden anger and hatred boil in me and I try to rein it in. No matter how much angry I am at the Olympians, today is not the time to plot for revenge.

No, today is the time to mourn our friends. To remember them for the sacrifice they've done.

I watch as the Ares and Mars campers go up to the bonfire, holding a bundle of burial shroud. Each represents their fallen siblings. I watch as one by one the shrouds burn and count them.

One for Clarisse La Rue, from Camp Half-Blood.

One for Mark Evans, from Camp Jupiter.

One for Frank Zhang, from Camp Jupiter.

And on and on and on.

At least twenty Ares/Mars campers died in the battle.

And then it was the campers from Hermes/Mercury next. Their burial shrouds aren't as many as the Ares/Mars but still, it's depressing. I watch as Connor Stoll, his eyes red and puffy, folded his brother, Travis's shroud neatly before putting it into the fire.

I think it was a mistake to come and watch.

Before I can escape, Hazel stood up, a black shroud with the picture of Hades' Helm of Darkness decorated all over it in her trembling hands. The tears were pouring down her face and she takes a shaky step towards the bonfire. Before she reached it, she falls down, unable to take another step anymore.

I felt as if my heart was wrenched right out of my chest.

I get up, walk over to her and help her back up to her feet. " He wouldn't like it if he saw this," I murmur gently to her. " He wouldn't like it at all, seeing you like this." She nods, wiping the tears away. " Come on. We'll burn it together."

And into the fire the black shroud goes, symbolizing the passing of the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo who died at the hands of Alcyoneus.

" I don't think I can do this," Annabeth whispers to me as I take my seat back next to her as her half-siblings get up with at least fifteen burial shrouds in their hands. " I'm not strong enough to face this. I don't want to know who else died. I don't – "

" It's okay, it's okay," I say to her. " It's okay. It's going to be okay." I wrap my arms around her and pull her close to my chest, where she starts to cry again.

" It's not okay," she whimpers. " We're not going to be okay."

" You're wrong. We're all going to be okay."

A/N: Please review. :) Oh, and if you know what kind of monsters (not giants) that are immune to everything except for fire, please tell me.