Hi gang! Happy Friday :D Thanks bunches for the reviews. This chapter is a bit mixed, tone-wise. Some of the good stuff I promised, though. Enjoy!

XL
PIPER

Piper had never felt so terrible in her life.

First, she'd lost a sister—not a great friend, but a sister whose life she'd cared for all the same. Drew's death had cut into the sense of security she'd tried so hard to build, causing her wall to begin to crumble. She'd been responsible for her cabin mates. In becoming senior counselor, she'd taken their care and protection on herself. She wasn't so vain as to think her sister's death was her own fault, but that didn't mean she was free of responsibility. She had taken it for granted that they were safe inside the camp. And that had proven above all else that she'd been wrong.

And then as if that wasn't bad enough, their second loss had taken her crumbling wall of assuredness and demolished it, reducing it to an anguished, fearful pile of rubble. She and her friends had faced danger before. They'd fought battles. They'd won wars. And they'd always, always survived. But now her best friend was dead, and the invincibility she used to imagine they all possessed had turned to ash.

Something Leo had told her before he left kept resurfacing in her mind: Try to work things out. You don't know how much time you have left. She knew, in theory, that he was right—that they were in a war and something terrible could happen at any minute. But it still didn't feel like it at the time. Things had been hard, but they had made it through every challenge that had been thrown their way. Deep down, Piper convinced herself long before that this was just another one of those times—that if she focused on the war, they'd get through it like they always did and she could worry about other things after. But she was wrong. And she hated that it took losing Leo to make her see it.

But she was going to take his words to heart this time. Because it was the undeniable truth—none of them knew how much time they had left. Another tragedy could strike any day, any minute, any second. And she had things she needed to do before anything like that happened.

After the campfire that morning, Piper remained in the amphitheater, watching the fire die down as her fellow campers left a few at a time. She sat there for hours, just thinking about the war and how things had changed. The longer she stayed in silence, staring into the pit of embers in front of her, her resolve began to harden. She couldn't change what had already happened, but there were still some things she could change—things she had to change.

That afternoon, her will was put to the test when she heard footsteps approaching to her left, and she looked up to see Jason descending the steps into the amphitheater.

Heart skipping a beat, Piper stood up slowly from her place on the lowest bench, and Jason's eyes found her immediately. "Piper," he said in an even voice, as though he'd expected to see her here. She couldn't read the look on his face, but this time when she met his eyes he didn't look away. That had to be a good sign.

Piper took a deep breath, wringing her hands. "I think we should talk," she said as calmly as she could. She remembered the last time they'd tried to talk and hated the thought of another disaster. "Now."

To her surprise, he said simply, "I think you're right."

He started toward her slowly from across the amphitheater and she breathed out in mild relief. So far so good. Turning to stare into the fire pit, she tried to gather her thoughts so as not to start off saying the wrong thing. After another steadying breath, she began, "I don't want—" But that was all she got out before Jason turned her around, slid his hands under her jaw, and forced her mouth closed by covering it with his own.

Piper forgot at once what she was going to say. She forgot everything—her fear, her sadness, her reluctance, even her resolve. A powerful warmth and contentment blanketed it all as the tension in her muscles vanished and excited stars burst behind her eyes. Jason pulled back after a few seconds and opened his mouth to speak, but Piper wasn't ready to talk yet. With a tiny smile, she gripped the collar of his shirt and pulled him toward her, pressing her lips back to his and letting her mind escape the present for just a little while longer, instead focusing on the feel of his hands on her waist and the smell of his hair and all the things she didn't realize how much she'd missed. Suddenly their fight seemed so stupid and pointless. What had it been about, anyway? Whatever it was, it couldn't have been anywhere near as important as this.

They separated at the same time and remained quiet for a long minute. Piper stared into Jason's eyes—the same light, comforting blue eyes that she'd fallen in love with at first sight, as deep and vast as the morning sky. The Mist's tampering with her memory had slowly worn off over the past year and a half, so that those first few months during which she'd thought she'd known Jason were fading away more and more every day. But she didn't mind; the void left room for the real memories, the time they truly did spend together. Ever since that day at the Grand Canyon when Coach Hedge had rescued her, Jason, and Leo from—

And then like a wind tunnel it all came rushing back. The eclipse, New Rome, the war, their fight, Nyx, Erebos, Drew, Leo—everything that had temporarily vanished from Piper's mind was suddenly back and weighing down on her brief moment of happiness, turning it steadily blacker. She felt her brittle smile crumble and her eyes slowly drifted downward as she tried to gather her thoughts and remember what it was she'd needed to say.

But Jason beat her to it. "You were right," he said quietly, stepping back and taking both her hands in his. "You said I wasn't myself, and you were right. I knew it, but… I couldn't see the damage I was causing. Not to you, not to anybody. …I messed up. I mean really messed up." He looked sideways into the burning embers in the middle of the amphitheater. "And now the universe has thrown it in my face, shown me what an idiot I am."

He grimaced like he was fighting to keep from being sick, making the scar on his lip look whiter than usual. Piper frowned in concern. There was more behind this than the obvious, she could tell. "Jason… Did something happen?"

He turned around and paced restlessly, running a hand through his hair. In a pained voice, he said, "...I told him not to come back."

She felt a sudden cold chill and folded her arms. "What?"

"Leo," he admitted, turning to face Piper and confirming her fear. "He tried to talk to me before he left, and I… The things I said to him, they were… horrible, awful."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Piper said, trying to be reassuring.

When Jason looked at her and shook his head, she felt a lump rise in her throat. "I told him he wasn't my friend," he said, his voice tight and strangled. He looked like he hated every word coming out of his mouth. "I told him he shouldn't come back. How could I do that? That was… This wasn't what I wanted."

"But… it's okay," Piper argued weakly. "You didn't mean it."

"That's not the point. He died thinking we were never friends—that I wanted him gone. How is that okay?"

Piper was quiet for a beat. She didn't know what to say. If Jason was telling the truth—which he seemed to be—then she understood why he was so broken up. But she also understood that things couldn't have been as bad as he feared. For the first time in weeks, she realized that she felt genuinely sympathetic toward Jason, and she wanted more than anything to find the right words to say to help him. She remembered Mitchell's advice about empathy senses and said a quick prayer to her mother—wherever she was—before walking resolutely toward Jason and placing her hands on his shoulders.

"Jason, listen to me," she said in a firm voice. "Leo knew you didn't mean what you said, okay? I'm sure of it. You guys are—were friends. He knew you've had it rough and that your frustration must have gotten the better of you. Trust me, alright? If you cared about him—and I know you did—then he knew it."

He studied her eyes for a long few seconds. "You really think so?"

"I know so. The three of us have been through a lot together. We know what we are to each other, and nothing you say when you obviously aren't yourself is gonna change that." She smiled, reaching up to trail her fingers along the side of his face. "Besides, you know Leo. Since when have words ever fazed him?"

Finally he smiled back, and Piper felt her heart swell with relief. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a hug, and she breathed a slow sigh, glad that things were finally returning to semi-normal between the two of them.

"Still," Jason said after a minute, pulling back to look Piper in the eye. "I'm not gonna let it happen again. Not with you. I'm done messing up. I'm not gonna lose you—not without you knowing how I feel about you. Piper, I… I'm so sorry. About everything." An almost desperate tone seemed to weave its way into his voice. "I love you. And I've missed you."

"I know," Piper promised. "Really, I do. I love you, too."

"We're not gonna lose anyone else," Jason said resolutely as he pulled her into another hug. He sounded so much like his old self that despite the dire situation, Piper couldn't help en elated grin. "Not this time. We can't."

But of course, that elation was short-lived. Piper had learned by now that the universe pretty much hated half-bloods, and she shouldn't have been surprised at all when they were interrupted only a few seconds later as Annabeth rushed into the amphitheater with a frantic expression on her face.

"Piper, Jason!" she called to them, hurrying over as they separated and turned to face her. "Have either of you seen Percy lately?"

Piper frowned and exchanged uneasy glances with Jason. "Not since this morning. Why?"

Annabeth bit her lip and sighed anxiously. "Well, it's… We were in his cabin and he was there when I fell asleep but when I woke up he was gone. I've looked everywhere, but I can't find him."

"We'll help you look," Piper said at once, worry swelling inside her. "I'm sure he's here somewhere. You know him, he likes to keep busy."

"I know, it's just… He was acting strange a few hours ago. He seemed… scared. And I'm just worried that… Well…"

Piper had a feeling she knew exactly what Annabeth was thinking, because she was thinking the same thing. "Come on, I'm sure there's somewhere you haven't checked." She nodded to Jason and led the way quickly out of the amphitheater, but they didn't get far before another interruption stopped them.

"Annabeth!" someone called, and Piper whirled around to see Frank running toward them, dressed in full battle armor from the neck down.

"Frank?" Annabeth recognized him as well, blinking in mild surprise. "What's wrong?"

Frank ground to a halt beside them, leaning over to catch his breath. "I've been looking for you," he panted, looking almost as anxious as Annabeth did. "It's Percy—he's gone."

Annabeth froze. Jason stepped forward and demanded, "What do you mean 'gone'?"

"I was on guard duty and I caught him trying to leave camp alone. I wasn't gonna let him go, but he knocked me out. I'm sorry, guys—I couldn't stop him. I think… I think he was going to Mount Olympus."

Piper gasped and Jason's eyes widened. Annabeth whispered "No…" and turned around so fast Piper was surprised she didn't keep spinning like a top. She set off at a run up the hill without another word.

"Annabeth—wait!" Piper called as she, Jason, and Frank hurried after her, fearing the worst. What had happened in the past notwithstanding, she wasn't about to let Annabeth go running after Erebos so easily. They would figure this out together.

The time for careless action was over. Because like Jason had said—they were done losing friends.

Like I said, a mix of good and bad. Next chapter's about the same - drop me a review if you want it up on Monday!

Have a good weekend, everybody :) Later days!

-oMM