Chapter 33
Percy and Hazel shadow travelled back to the camp after their day in Spain, and their lives quickly got back to whatever their version of normal, was. With the exception of Hazel dealing with things a little bit more brutally than normal. For as long as he'd known her, she'd been one of the kindest, sweetest people in his life. But she was dealing with so much rage, and frustration, and pain, that she was starting to lash out at people. Anyone foolish enough to ask for her help with anything, got an earful, but aside from that, she rarely said anything unless absolutely necessary.
And the less said about her performance on the battlefield, the better. She fought like a demon. On the one hand, that was a good thing. Percy was always right there with her, covering her back, so she was inflicting massive casualties against the enemies, and wasn't getting hurt in the process. But she was taking a lot of risks. And if he lost sight of her for so much as a second, she woud be in a lot of trouble.
Something like that had actually happened in the last battle they'd been in. Percy had been right behind her, when a dracaena suddenly flew at him, tackling him to the ground momentarily. He'd stabbed it in the throat, and gotten up just in time to catch an arrow that would have found it's way into Hazel's throat from behind. It had been a matter of milliseconds. If he had been a heartbeat slower, she would be dead.
He needed to do something. And he needed to do it fast. He was planning on bringing Hazel with him when he went back to Chaos' realm, and he needed to make sure she was mentally together. If he took her with him, and she was kicked out, he didn't know how she would handle it.
Percy had tried talking to her. They all had. Even Reyna had tried to come up with a few words of comfort. But none of it made a difference. If anything, it seemed to make her angrier.
"You know, Hazel, Frank's in Elysium right now. He's not gone. You'll see each other again," Piper had tried one day.
Hazel had punched the nearest wall, in response. Unluckily for her, that wall was the rock face of a cliff, and she'd broken her hand. Luckily, however, that meant she had to sit out the next battle they took part in. She had gotten even more furious at that.
"Guys, I really don't know what to do," Leo said one day, when the group was eating dinner, "It's like she's a different person. How do we fix it?"
"Leo," Piper started, "I don't know if we can 'fix it'. The best we can do, is be there for her, and support her. She'll work through this."
"Yeah, but how long until that happens?" Percy asked, "I don't think you guys are appreciating how close it was in that last battle. If I hadn't been there at that exact moment, she would be dead right now. We can't let her carry on like this."
"Maybe we should bench her," Jason suggested.
"She'd explode," Calypso said simply.
"Yeah, but it might save her life," Jason defended, "We can't rely on Percy to be everywhere, all the time. All it takes, is one slip, just one, and then we're burying another friend."
They were quiet for a few moments, before Percy blew a sigh through his nose.
"I'll talk to her again. Who knows, maybe I'll get through to her."
Percy got up, left his empty dinner plate at the designated station, and stretched out his senses in search of Hazel. He found her sitting in front of a lake, a little less than a mile away, picked up a plate of food, and set off towards her.
Percy and his squad had set up a temporary base in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, in Nevada. They had just taken down a monster camp there, and they were planning on spending the rest of the week figuring out their next move. If he was perfectly honest, Percy was glad for the reprieve. He had been working at a pretty high tempo for a while, and it was nice, not to have anywhere to go, or anything to do, or anyone to fight. Of course, he still made his squad spar among themselves, and go on daily timed runs, but still.
He reached Hazel, and took a good look at her before making his presence known. She looked rough. She had been pushing herself pretty hard, and she had all but stopped eating. She looked gaunt, and frail. Not good traits for a warrior.
Percy sat down next to Hazel, and offered her the plate of food.
"I'm not hungry," she said, without looking at him.
Percy bit the inside of his cheek, and set down the plate on the grass next to them. He spent a few seconds coming up with something to say. It seemed impossible. Finally, he reached a decision.
"Hazel… Frank loved you, and I know you love him-"
She scoffed.
"Yeah, right," she said under her breath.
Percy's brow furrowed.
"What do you mean?"
"You think I love him?" she asked mockingly, "I fucking hate him!"
She sounded legitimately venomous. Percy was stunned into silence, and she carried on.
"That stupid prick, made me fall in love with him, and then he went and got himself killed! Who the fuck does that, Percy? I wish I'd never met him! If he had just been more careful, if he had just looked out for himself, then he wouldn't be fucking dead! But that idiot just followed some guy he had never met, into a dark alley, and got his head fucking caved in! I hate him, Percy, I hate him!"
She was screaming by the end, and her face was flushed. Her eyes were wild. She looked dangerous.
And then she broke into sobs. It was almost as if someone had let the air out of her, and she deflated like a balloon. She was sobbing hysterically, hugging her knees. Percy, not knowing fully what to do, wrapped an arm around her, and pulled her into his chest. She barely seemed to notice, and cried into his shirt.
Percy wasn't entirely sure how long they stayed like that, but eventually, her cries softened, and her breathing started to even out. It took him a second to realise, but she had fallen asleep. She could certainly use it. In addition to refusing food, she had also nearly stopped sleeping. She rarely got more than an hour or two, per night.
He picked her up bridal style, and walked as carefully as he could, back to camp. He walked into her tent, and placed her under the covers as gently as he could. Then he walked out, and found a group of roman soldiers.
"You 4 are going to guard Senator Lavesque's tent. She's asleep, and she's not to be disturbed, not matter what. Understand?"
They nodded hastily, and assumed positions outside Hazel's tent. Then, Percy went to find everyone else, to update them. He found them, along with Artemis, in what they had dubbed the 'Command Tent', where they had a huge map of the US, with all the known monster camps noted, spread out across a table in the center of the room, as well as all the information they had captured from the camps they had taken down. That tent was where the decisions were made, ultimately.
Artemis, Thalia, Jason, Piper, Nico, Leo, Calypso, Reyna, and Percy's protege, Ebony, were gathered around the table, seemingly deep in discussion, which they stopped when he walked in.
He filled them in on what had happened, and while the demigods seemed bewildered, Artemis just nodded. When he raised his eyebrow for her in a gesture to elaborate, she just shrugged and said;
"I've seen this before. It's the second stage of grief; anger. A big explosion like that, was probably the end of it. She'll probably move on to Bargaining when she wakes up."
"What exactly does that mean?" Leo asked.
Artemis shrugged again, "You know, 'if only I'd done a certain thing, a certain way, then maybe things would have been different'. That one tends to last a while. Then it's Depression, which also lasts a while, and finally, Acceptance."
Percy stared for a second.
"What?" she asked, suddenly seeming self-conscious.
"No, nothing," Percy said quickly, "It's just, you seem to know a lot about this stuff."
Artemis nodded sadly, "I see it in my hunters, whenever we lose one. Ultimately, there's nothing anyone can do, except be there for her."
"As long as this reckless streak of hers is over. I can't have her taking chances on the battlefield like she has been lately," Percy said.
"These next two stages before Acceptance, are the more placid ones. She's not going to want to do very much, but sit around and grieve. She probably won't want to join in on any battles at all, for a while."
Percy nodded, "Alright, that makes sense to me. Now, what were you guys discussing?"
And with that, they lapsed into their previous discussion. They talked about where to go next, and which camp they should clear next.
—-
When Hazel woke up the next morning, she joined the others for breakfast. It was the first time she'd shared a meal with everyone else, in nearly a week. She caught Percy's eye as they sat down, and offered a small smile of gratitude. He matched it, and everyone broke into conversation about whatever came up. Hazel didn't really join in, but she did listen, and she did smile occasionally. And she did eat. She cleaned her plate before any of them. Percy was glad to see that.
After breakfast, the squad trained. Percy was something of a taskmaster, when it came to training the warriors he would be fighting with. He was determined to take as few casualties as possible, so he trained them to tip-top condition. He simulated monsters out of water and shadows, and had groups of demigod practise against them. He made his archers practise getting in and out of position without being seen or heard by the enemy. He made his spies and scouts hike several miles every day, and remain undetected by the water/shadow sentries he set up along their path. He wanted every single component of his squad to function as well as possible. And the squad was more than up to the task. They accepted every challenge head-first, and he was happy about that.
But that morning, Hazel wasn't at training. Over the past week, she had been the one leading the way. Her absence was noted by the rest of the squad. Percy asked Jason to take over, and went to find her.
She was feeding the horses, as it turned out. She looked strangely hollow. Like a marionette. Her movements were mechanical, and artificial. Her mind was a million miles away, and her body was on autopilot.
"Hazel?" Percy said as he got nearer.
That snapped her out of it. She looked at him over her shoulder, and smiled a little.
"Hey Percy. I meant to say, thanks for last night, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put all that on you. It wasn't fair of me."
Percy leaned against the stable door, and sighed, "Hazel, at the end of the day, I'm your friend. I'm here to help you get through this, you know that."
She nodded, "I appreciate that a lot."
The fell into silence, as she gently stroked a brown horse's mane.
"What were you thinking about?"
"Frank," she said, honestly, "I can't help but think that if I'd made more of an effort to talk to him, he would have told me about his meeting with Cooper."
Percy hesitated. Artemis had been spot on.
"Hazel…"
She nodded, "I know, I know. What's done is done. Why bother wishing things were different?"
"That's not what I was going to say."
"Oh? Go on then."
"I was going to say, that you did everything you could. You couldn't possibly have known," he paused for a few seconds before adding, "And you made him happy. I think that's what matters most, in the end. You made him happy."
Her head lowered, and a few seconds later he heard "You made Annabeth happy, you know."
He felt himself tense up. What had happened with Annabeth was completely different. Frank's death had nothing to do with Hazel. She couldn't have done anything about it. Percy, on the other hand, could have done a hell of a lot to prevent Annabeth's death.
"She used to talk about you all the time. Whenever you guys were apart, all any of us would hear about, was how much she missed you; about how happy she was with you. I guess I wonder if I ever made Frank feel that way."
"Of course you did, Hazel. He adored you. You were everything to him. I remember when Annabeth and I were planning our wedding, I asked Frank when he was going to pop the question. I'll never forget what he said back to me. He just looked at me, and said 'as soon as I feel like I've earned it'. He loved you more than anything, Hazel, don't ever doubt that."
Hazel was quiet for a long time. He hated not being able to see her face, and read her emotions. Eventually, she choked out;
"Thanks for telling me that… Gods, he was sappy, huh?" she said, her voice breaking into a small laugh at the end.
He smiled, "Only when it came to you. Now, are you ok here?"
She nodded wordlessly, and turned to give him a quick hug. He returned it, and then went back to the training areas.
—-
A week later, Artemis' prediction was coming true. Hazel was almost lifeless. It was a pretty jarring change, from the explosive attitude she'd maintained before. There had only been one battle in the last week, and Hazel had asked if she could sit it out. Of course, Percy had agreed, and she had stayed at The Squad's temporary base. Percy barely even saw her at all. None of them did. She showed up at meals, where she picked at her food for a few minutes, and then she'd go back to her tent.
Percy had spoken to Artemis about what they could do to help her, they all had, but all she would ever say, was 'Just give her space' and 'Let her know you care about her'.
He couldn't quite tell if she was still in the bargaining stage, or if she had moved on to the depression stage. Every time any of them tried to talk to her, they would get 1-word answers or, if they were very lucky, 2-3 words. None of them could tell. They weren't sure whether there was a practical difference between the two, in terms of what they could do for her. Artemis' advice was the same, for either stage. 'Give her space', 'Let her know you care about her'.
But that was all far too passive for Percy. He preferred to take charge of a situation, and be proactive. But he wasn't sure how to do that for her. He briefly considered trying to distract her by taking her on another raid, but given her mental state, he didn't want to put her in a situation where she could die.
But he still wanted to do something.
He tried to think about what would have helped him, after Annabeth and his mother had died. But he had been down-right catatonic. He had only left his cabin to try to kill his brother. And to go to the funerals, now that he thought about it.
And then the idea struck him. It was so obvious.
He left his personal tent, and went to speak with the rest of the group.
"We never had a funeral for Frank," he said.
They all dropped their heads into their hands.
"Shit," Piper cursed, "With everything going on, I guess we never even thought about that."
"Yeah, we fucked up," Jason said.
"We fucked up hard," Calypso agreed.
"Who's going to plan it?" Percy asked.
For a second, they all went quiet. None of them wanted to be the one to plan their friend's funeral. It was a major responsibility.
"I'll do it," Leo said, looking unusually somber.
"Alright. Can you be ready by next Saturday?" Percy asked.
Leo nodded silently. Saturday was 3 days away, and Percy had a lot to do in the day between, so he got to work.
There were around 50 demigods in Percy's Squad, and he approached all of them except Hazel, telling them to meet in the training area in 10 minutes. Once he had them all gathered, he told them about the funeral, and that he expected them all to attend, in their most formal attire. They all agreed without a word, each of them eager to pay their respects to a true hero, in their little subculture.
After telling the demigods in his own group, Percy shadow travelled to Camp Jupiter, and found Reyna. He told her about the funeral, and she immediately offered the Field of Mars, and promised him that everyone in camp, and New Rome, would be there. He told her that he wanted to have 2 separate funerals. One in Canada, at a mortal graveyard where his mother and grandmother were buried. His body would be laid to rest there. Then, they would all return to Camp Jupiter, where they would burn a ceremonial shroud for him.
Percy then made the same trip to Camp Half-Blood, and spoke to Chiron, who also agreed to get all the campers to come.
Next, he shadow travelled to Olympus, in search of a particular god. He found him in his temple, and knocked on the door.
"What d'ya want, brat?" Ares asked, when he saw who had knocked on his door.
"We're having a funeral for Frank next Saturday. I know it would have meant a lot to him if you came."
Percy realised that he could, and probably should, have opened with a bit more tact, but being in Ares' presence was extremely irritating for the demigod, so he wanted to get the conversation over with as soon as he could.
Ares' jaw tensed, and for a split second, Percy readied himself for a fight. But then Ares looked away, and Percy swore he saw a tear welling up in the War God's eye. He decided not to comment on it.
"Where?" Ares asked.
"Canada. At a cemetery near where Frank grew up. And then another one at Camp Jupiter, at the Field of Mars, immediately after."
Ares nodded, "I'll be there."
Percy nodded, and was about to walk away when he noticed that Ares looked like he was about to say something else, so he paused for a moment.
"Thanks for doing this," Ares ground out a few seconds later.
Percy was amazed, but tried to keep it off his face. Instead, he just nodded, and walked away.
He had one more temple that he wanted to visit personally. A few minutes later, he was knocking on Apollo's temple, waiting for an answer. He got it a few moments later.
"Heyyyyy, how ya doin' Cuz?" The sun god explained with his usual megawatt grin.
"Lord Apollo," Percy said, trying to be respectful.
Apollo waved him off, "Forget about all that 'Lord' stuff, just call me Apollo. So, what can I do you for?"
"Can I come in?" Percy asked, stalling for time as he thought about how exactly he wanted to phrase this.
Apollo stepped aside, and led him to a living room of sorts. It was bright gold, annoyingly so, and everything looked hyper-modern. There was a massive TV on the far wall, with some kind of video game console on a small table beneath it. The coffee table was wide, with a top made of glass, and the couch was pure white, in an L shape. True to what Percy would have expected of Apollo, there was a bar in the corner, which would have made any self-respecting alcoholic weep at the mere sight of it.
"Can I get you a drink?" Apollo asked as they came in.
"No, I'm ok."
They sat down on the couch, and Apollo looked at Percy expectantly.
"Frank's funeral is on Saturday," Percy said wearily.
To his credit, Apollo immediately sobered up. He nodded somberly and waited for Percy to continue.
"He always looked up to you, and respected you. I think you know, but he always hoped you were his dad, before he found out it was Mars."
Apollo smiled, "Yeah, I knew. He was a good kid. I would have been proud to call him my own."
Percy smiled, "I'm sure it would have meant a lot to him, if you could be there. I understand if you're busy, but-"
Apollo cut him off, "I'll be there. Like I said, he was a good kid. He deserved to have more of a life. I'll go and pay my respects."
Percy smiled, and shook the god's hand.
"Thanks, Apollo. We're going to have a mortal ceremony in Canada, and then another ceremony at the field of Mars, afterwards."
Apollo nodded, "Of course. Let me know if you need help with the logistics."
Percy thanked the God, and shadow travelled back to his Squad's camp.
He found Leo straight away, and they started discussing the particulars. Percy told him he'd invited Camp Half-Blood, and Camp Jupiter, as well as Ares and Apollo. Leo told him he'd picked out a coffin, and spoken to an undertaker. They had to arrange for Frank's body to be taken from New York to Canada, and talk to the right people over there to get the all the permissions they needed.
It ended up taking nearly 2 days, but they finally had everything ready to go. That was when Percy decided to tell Hazel that this was even happening. He found her in her tent, lying in bed, staring into space.
"Hey, Hazel," he said with a little smile.
"Hi, Perce," she said, matching his expression.
He hesitated for a few seconds. He wasn't sure how to say this. On Olympus, he had just outright told the two Gods that there would be a funeral, and that was that. But he had to be more tactful with Hazel. As much as he hated the conversation he was about to have, and how much he wanted it to be over as soon as possible, he couldn't be so quick with Hazel. He owed her far more than that.
"How are you doing?" he asked, stalling for time.
But she just shrugged, saying nothing.
"Well, so much for that," he thought.
"Listen," he started, "A few days ago, the rest of us realised… you never got the chance to say goodbye. None of us did. Not properly. So, we arranged a funeral for the day after tomorrow, in Canada. I've spoken to Ares, and Apollo, and they'll both be there to pay their respects. I also spoke to Reyna and Chiron, and they've agreed to get every living demigod out there to pay their respec-"
Percy cut himself off when he saw that Hazel was crying. He froze. He didn't know how to deal with this. He had fought Gods, Titans, Giants, and Primordials. He had combated terrorist organisations, and crime syndicates, and all kinds of petty street crime. But this? A crying woman? A crying woman who was his friend? He was utterly lost. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know how to help her.
For a second, he considered praying to Artemis, to get her to come over and help Hazel. She had far more experience than him in that regard. But he couldn't do that. He had to be there for her, himself.
Tentatively, he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. That seemed to be enough, for the moment. She leaned over to him, and leaned her face against his chest. He could feel the tears through his shirt. He gently stroked her brown hair, and waited patiently, while she hugged him and cried.
Eventually, she took a deep breath, and let it out in a shuddering gasp. She pulled away, and dried her eyes. She wouldn't meet his gaze for a few seconds, but she did, a few seconds later.
"Thank you," she said quietly.
He nodded, "Like I said, the funeral is the day after tomorrow. I thought you and me could go over there tomorrow morning, and set everything up? Or, if you like, I could go by myself."
Now, she shook her head, "No, I'll come with you. He was my husband."
Percy nodded. He tried to think of something else to say, but there was nothing. He had said everything he needed to, and emotional comforting wasn't nearly his strong suit. So, he gave her one more small smile, which he really didn't mean, and left the tent.
Once he was out, he found Artemis.
"Hey, I just told Hazel about the funeral."
"Ok, that's good. How did she take it?"
"Well, she cried for a few minutes, and then she stopped."
She blinked.
"And…" she said, waiting for Percy to continue.
"Umm. And I told her that we could go to Canada tomorrow morning to get everything ready, and she said ok."
Artemis' eyebrows furrowed.
"What else?"
"Well, nothing else. I just left."
Artemis gaped at him. He stared back, unsure what he had done or said wrong.
She rolled her eyes, "Boys!" she huffed, before walking past him towards Hazel's tent.
Percy watched her go, and cringed to himself. He was probably going to hear about this later on, but he had other things to do at the moment.
He booked 2 first-class tickets on a flight to Vancouver the next morning, leaving from Harry Reid airport in Las Vegas at noon. He considered shadow traveling himself and Hazel there, but for some reason it didn't feel right. He wanted to do it the normal way. The flight was 2-and-a-half hours long, which meant they would be leaving the airport in Canada at around 3 pm. That left them more than enough time to do what they needed to do.
Next, he booked a suite at the Rosewood Hotel Georgia. It was a nice place, and it was in the right area. He booked it for a single night. They would be back in the States after the Vancouver funeral, for the Camp Jupiter ceremony, and there was no reason to go back again.
Next, he met with Leo, and they made a few phone calls together. They got permission from all the right officials, to get permission to bury Frank there, and Percy managed to arrange a cargo plane to bring Frank's body from the New York morgue, to the funeral home in Vancouver. Unfortunately, due to the damage to his face, it would have to be a closed-casket funeral. There was simply no way to avoid that.
A few long hours later, everything was done. The coffin was selected, the permits were acquired, the flowers were chosen - by Piper and Calypso -, they had chosen a local minister, and Apollo had agreed to transport all the demigod to and from Vancouver, as well as provide them all with mortal formal attire, which was a huge load off Percy's mind.
Finally, there was nothing to do. The group sat down to eat diner, and Percy did his best to ignore Artemis and the dirty looks she was shooting his way throughout the meal. Once they were done eating, they toasted Frank, sat in respectful silence for a few moments, and then went to bed.
—-
Percy woke up at 8 am, after an hour-and-a-half of restless sleep, and stared at the 'ceiling' in his tent for a while. He was mentally composing a short speech for the funeral. None of them had said anything, but Percy knew the entire group would be doing something similar. They all wanted to say a few words for their friend.
But how was someone supposed to sum up years of friendship, and comeradery, and love, and admiration in a few words? It didn't seem fair. It didn't seem fair to try to compress 40 years of life into a speech. But Percy did his best. He knew Frank would have tried to do the same for him, even though he didn't have much of a way with words either. So it was only right that Percy made the same effort.
After an hour of very unsuccessful work, he got out of bed and tried to figure out a plan for the day. He and Hazel had to get to the airport no later than 11:30, and he would have plenty to do once they arrived, but that was 2-and-a-half hours away, and he had nothing to do in that time. They could leave for the airport at 11, since Percy had never been anywhere in Vegas and couldn't shadow travel there. So he had 2 hours of time to kill.
Percy left his tent, and ate some breakfast. Leo was there too, and asked Percy to do certain things for him once he was there, which were difficult for Leo to do over the phone. Percy agreed, thankful for something to do once he was there. After breakfast, Percy went for his daily run. 60 miles at full sprint. It took him an hour. Normally, he would have gone in a wide circle, so that he would end up back at his camp, but this time he went in a straight line, towards the city. Once he was there, he rented a car for a few hours, and drove back to camp. Once he got there, he cleaned himself up in a nearby river, and dressed in a pair of blue jeans, a simple black T-Shirt, the heavy boots he always wore, and the watch he wore every day, which Tyson had made for him a lifetime ago. He scanned the room quickly, and decided he didn't need to bring anything with him. He had the credit card and passport Chaos had given him when he'd accepted his mission on Earth, and that was really all he needed.
He didn't want to, but he left his gun and knife behind. He was only going to be there for a day, and he wasn't expecting any trouble. But if any did arise, then he had his powers, and his skills, so he didn't think it would be too bad. Still, he was going to miss their reassuring weight on his belt.
With his walet and passport in his pocket, Percy went over to Hazel's tent and told her it was time to leave. She nodded, and followed him to the car. If she wondered how it was there, she didn't say anything. She just got in, fastened her seatbelt, and waited for him to start driving.
On the way over, he tried to think of something to say, but he came up short. He wanted to know what was going on inside her head, but he just focused on driving. He wasn't a great driver, he knew this. He hadn't really had to do it regularly, ever in his life. So he decided to simply concentrate on the road, and leave Hazel to her thoughts. She was holding it together, for the time being at least. When he glanced over at her, he even noticed a tiny smile. Barely anything more than a quirk of her lips, but it was there. She was probably reliving a happy memory with Frank. He didn't want to intrude.
They got to the airport on time, and boarded their flight. Obviously, in first class, they were offered whatever they wanted, and they both asked for a flute of champagne. As children of the Big Three, they weren't totally comfortable flying, and the champagne would help ease the mild nerves. They both knew they weren't in any imminent danger. Zeus couldn't strike them out of the sky without starting a war with his 2 brothers, and Percy could simply shadow travel them both away safely. But it was a fear ingrained in the back of every child of Poseidon and Hades' mind.
The flight went quickly enough, though Percy and Hazel were both happy enough to get off the plane and touch solid earth again once it was over. They breezed through the security at the airport, and caught a cab to the hotel. There, Percy checked them in, and they went up together. The suite was gorgeous, but neither of them were in the mood to appreciate it properly.
"So, what do we do first?" Hazel asked Percy once they were in the room.
Percy hesitated for a second. He knew what he had to do, but he didn't want Hazel to have any part of it.
He took his credit card out of his wallet and held it out to her, "Here, take this. It's got infinite cash on it. Go buy yourself a dress for tomorrow, and anything else you want."
She took it and smiled a little, "Sounds good. What are you going to do in the mean time?"
He shrugged nonchalantly, "I'll find somethign to keep myself busy."
"Ok. Well, I think I should be back in around an hour, is that ok?"
He smiled softly, "Take as much time as you need. Don't worry about me."
She stretched up on her toes, and kissed him on the cheek gently. Then she turned and left the room. Percy sat down ont he couch, and tracked her down the elevator, to the concierge desk, out the doors, and then onto the streets of Vancouver. Only then, did he stand up and leave the room as well. He left the hotel and took a cab to the funeral home, where Frank's body had been sent.
He met the man there, an thin, pale, elderly gentleman called David Fosters. He was the funeral home director, and the man Percy would be dealing with for Frank's funeral. He and Leo had been in touch, so mostly everything was cleared up, but Percy had been left with the uncomfortable task of deciding what frank would be buried in.
Percy and David picked out a suit, a tie, and a nice pair of shoes. Frank's body was placed in the casket, and Percy was allowed to see it. He had to take a deep breath when he did. He looked awful. The body had been cleaned up as much as possible, but his face was still caved in. It made Percy uncomfortable, just looking at it. It was even worse now, than it had been at the police station morgue. At lease there, he hadn't been able to see that it was Frank. But looking now, Percy recognised the features, distorted as they were. He had to look away, and felt a tear make its way down his face. He wiped it away, annoyed with himself.
Percy turned to David, and nodded. The clothes were right. But then David spoke up.
"A watch, sir?"
Percy blinked in confusion, causing David to elaborate.
"Would you like your friend to be buried with a watch? Most people do. We have a selection, if you would like to look them over."
Percy nodded, and was about to move towards the room David had indicated, but then he stopped himself. He had a better idea.
Looking down at his own wrist, he saw the watch Tyson had made for him all those years ago. The watch that had saved his life so many times during the wars. He ran a thumb over the face, gently. Then he unclasped the mechanism in the back, and took it off. He placed it carefully on Frank's wrist, and closed it there. That felt right.
Putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, Percy whispered "I'm so sorry, Frank."
Then he wiped away another tear, straightened up, composed himself, and turned away.
He and David shook hands, and Percy left. He decided not to take a cab back to the hotel. He wanted to walk. He needed some time alone after that. It had been a lot harder than he had thought. But at least Hazel hadn't had to see him that way. That was all that mattered. He arrived back at the hotel and took the elevator up to his room. He felt Hazel in there before he arrived, so it was no surprise to him when he walked in and saw her sitting on the couch with a cup of tea clasped in her hands.
She looked up at him with a small smile.
"Hey Perce. Your card's on the table. What have you been up to?"
"Oh, I went for a walk," he said. It wasn't technically a lie. He had walked, after all.
She nodded, and sipped her tea. As she was bringing the mug up to her mouth, her eyes flitted down to his arm, where his watch was missing. All of a sudden, she put it together. She knew what he had been doing. But she didn't comment on it. She just looked away, out the window at the clear blue sky. Vancouver in the summer was a beautiful place, Percy reflected. He wasn't particularly eager to see it in the winter though.
"So," he started, "Did you get a dress?"
She nodded and gestured at a dress hanging off the back of a door. It was black, obviously. A simple design. Percy, being utterly clueless about anything to do with fashion, couldn't figure out if it was something that cost $5 or $500. Anything was possible.
"Do you know what you're wearing?" she asked.
He picked up the credit card from the table, "No, I'm going to get something now. Are you alright here for a little while?"
She shook her head, "Nah, I'll come with you. I'll get bored here by myself."
He knew she was lying. She wasn't worried about being bored. She was worried about being alone with her thought, with nothing to distract her. But he didn't say anything.
They left together, and went straight to a tailor the consierge recommended. An hour later, Percy and Hazel left the tailor's office, with an assurance that he could pick up his suit tomorrow morning.
Not wanting to go back to the hotel room, they got hotdogs from a vendor, and sat on a bench, watching the world go by. Neither of them said anything as they devoured their hotdogs; neither of them had eaten since breakfast.
"You remember the last time we were here?" Percy asked after a while.
Hazel cracked a small, sad smile.
"Yeah, we got chased by the Laistrygonian giants."
"Canadians," Percy corrected softly.
Hazel's smile widened a little, "Canadians," she agreed.
"You remember the look on Frank's face when I said that the first time?"
Now she chuckled a little, "Yeah. Equal parts baffled and offended."
"Remember the potato gun?" he asked.
She rolled her eyes, "It's called a spud launcher."
Percy furrowed his eyebrows, "No no. Potato gun."
She shook her head, "Yeah, whatever you say, Perce."
"I say potato gun."
"Potato gun it is then,"
"Thank you very much," Percy sniffed in a faux high-born manor.
Hazel giggled a little, and he smiled back. Slowly, she leaned towards him, and rested her head on his shoulder. It coudn't have been very comfortable for her, so Percy did his best to lower his shoulder, and sit lower. He settled in a position that would have killed his spine stone dead if he hadn't had Chaos' second blessing, but he dealt with it.
They stayed like that for a little while, before Hazel stood up and made a grabbing gesture towards him. He rose obligingly, and they walked on through the city, not going anywhere specifically, but simply walking.
—-
Percy woke up the next day. The day of the funeral. Slowly, he got out of bed, and dressed in the same clothes he had been wearing yesterday. He ran down to the tailor's shop, picked up the suit, and ran back. He showered, shaved very carefully, and got dressed. Once he was ready, he checked in with Apollo. The God was going to flash all the demigods to a large football field a few miles from the cemetery, so Percy had arranged shuttle busses to pick them up, and take them from there.
Apparently, the demigods were nearly ready. They were only waiting on a couple to join everyone else, and then they'd flash over. Which meant Percy and Hazel would need to leave in a few minutes, so that they could arrive before everyone else.
Just then, Hazel walked out of her bedroom. She looked good. She looked steady. She had been in a really tough place for the last few weeks, emotionally speaking, but you couldn't tell by looking at her in that moment. She was rock solid; ready to say goodbye to the man she loved, and who had loved her for so many years. And she was going to do it with dignity.
Percy had never respected her more, than he did right then. He knew from personal experience, the strength it took to pull oneself together at a time like that, and he himself had failed at it dramatically.
"Shall we get going?" she asked him.
"Yeah, alright. I hired a car to take us straight there, so we don't have to mess around with cabs."
Hazel just nodded and they left the hotel to find a town car waiting for them right in front of the doors. Percy and Hazel slid into the black leather seats, and took a moment to appreciate the airconditioned interior, before Percy confirmed that the driver knew where they were going, and they set off.
A few minutes later, they arrived. The funeral was being held outdoors, by the side of the grave, and the area had been set up for them. There were all different kinds of floral arrangements, none of which Percy could have identified or named, beyond 'That white one' or 'That purple one', but they looked nice. Right next to the grave, there was a big picture resting on something that looked a little bit like an easel stand. Percy knew the picture very well. All the surviving members of the Prophecy of 7 had that exact picture in their homes. It had been taken the day the Second Giant War had ended.
The version in front of him now, had all the others cropped out, but the full version depicted, from left to right, Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel, as well as Reyna, Nico, and Thalia. By the looks on their faces, a casual observer might have assumed they had each just won the lottery and gotten married and had kids, all at the same time.
They had been so damn happy. And Percy remembered why. It wasn't just the fact that they had won the war. It was the fact that they had won it together. They had taken on the Earth mother, and they had won. As far as they were concerned, they were indestructible. Who on the planet could possibly beat them, if the planet itself wasn't up to the job?
Stupid fucking kids.
Percy spent another few seconds watching the photo. He wanted to commit that part of it to memory. This was how he wanted to remember Frank. Not as the corpse without a face. He wanted to remember his friend grinning at him with unparalleled joy.
"Excuse me, are you here for the Zhang funeral?" Asked an older lady off to Percy's right.
He looked over at her. She was around 70 years old with shoulder length silver hair, a flowing black dress, and circular glasses on her nose.
"Yes, we are," Percy said, gesturing towards himself and Hazel, "I was a friend of his, and this is Hazel, his wife."
Instantly the woman sombered even more. She made her way over to Hazel and grasped her hand.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, dear. My name is Emma Harper, I was a good friend of Emily's."
Percy was just about to ask who Emily was, when he suddenly remembered that had been Frank's mother's name.
"Oh, it's very nice to meet you Mrs Harper," Hazel said politely, "I'm Hazel."
"Good to meet you dear. I'm so sorry it had to be like this, of course. I watched little Frank grow up, you know. He was such a sweet boy."
Hazel seemed to swallow thickly before replying, "He was a very sweet man, too."
Emma Harper flitted away a little while later, and there were a few others who came and went in the next few minutes. Percy and Hazel met them all, and each and every one of them seemed to have some sort of anecdote about young Frank, which they simply had to share.
But finally, the demigods arrived. It took 8 shuttle busses to ferry them all. It looked a little bit like a bunch of kids on the weirdest school trip ever conceived, but the mood of the kids immediately dispelled that idea. Kids on school trips got off the buss, laughing and screeching with delight. The demigods, however, were without exception, somber and serious. Romans and Greeks, boys and girls. Every single one of them was stone faced and resolute; determined to say goodbye to their leader, their friend, their champion, their hero, with grace and dignity.
Apollo and Ares, in their Roman forms, were there too, both of them surprising Percy a little bit. Apollo was wearing unusually dark colors. Far from the surfer bro appearance he normally kept. And Mars, who Percy had half-expected to show up in a leather motorcycle jacket, was wearing a suit. Percy caught their eye, and nodded thankfully. They nodded back, in silence.
Everyone took their places around the grave, and the mortals seemed slightly surprised, but didn't say anything. Percy nodded toward the minister, who shuffled over to his place and began the ceremony. Percy squeezed Hazel's hand, and left her side for the first time that day. He wanted to do a quick sweep of the perimeter, and make absolutely sure there were no monsters about to attack the enormous group of demigods. Once he was sure, he would go back, and concentrate on saying goodbye to his friend.
Percy pushed out of the crowd, and scanned the streets. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Just people going about their normal, everyday lives. Percy was about to turn around and check the other side of the cemetery, when he noticed a larg-ish group of demigods doing the exact same thing as him. He raised an eyebrow.
They had clearly been ordered to do so. There were enough of them doing the same thing in tandem that it was majorly unlikely that they just decided to do it. And they were doing it pretty well. They were vigilantly and carefully examining anything and everything they could see from their positions, to make sure they weren't being fooled by the mist.
'Jack' Percy thought, already gritting his teeth.
He scanned the large crowd and honed in on his brother within a second. He stood out easily, because of the power difference between him and the rest. Percy make a beeline over to him immediately, gathering shadows into a small, yet sharp, blade in his right hand.
He walked right over to Jack, and pressed the tip of the blade against the base of his spine, not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to make him inhale sharply.
"I don't know what the hell you're planning here, but this is my friend's funeral, and I will not accept any-"
Jack cut him off, "I'm here to pay my respects to a hero. That's all. I swear."
"Oh, really?" Percy asked, not bothering at all, to keep the disbelief out of his voice.
"Zhang was an excellent fighter, a powerful demigod, and a wise and fair leader of his people. I respected him a great deal. I'm just here to honor him. Now unless you have a problem with that…" he trailed off.
Percy hesitated for a few seconds. He hadn't been expecting that. Not even a little bit. He went over every single word Jack had said, searching for the slightest hint of a lie, but he found none. As far as Percy could tell, his brother was telling the truth.
Without another word, Percy let the shadow-blade in his hand dissolve, and turned around to walk back to Hazel, abandoning his security sweep because he knew Jack's unit would have it covered.
He squeezed her hand quickly, and she squeezed back before he let go and concentrated on the funeral.
And as far as funerals went, Frank's was a nice one. Leo had given he minister a few anecdotes to work into the speech, and they were pretty good ones. Of course the exact circumstances had been changed for the benefit of the mortals present, but the demigods knew how to read between the lines, and were quietly entertained by the stories.
Then came the time for speeches. The part Percy had been dreading. Jason, the brave soul, have volunteered to go first, giving the others more time to prepare themselves for what they had to do.
Jason's speech was excellent, of course. He kept it quick, and free of cliches. He talked about how Frank was an exemplary Roman - which confused the mortals, but they didn't care - and a paragon of courage. A perfect example, that any of the younger attendees should all strive to live up to. Piper followed him, talking about how kind and generous Frank had been. How under all the bulky muscle, he had the biggest heart she had ever seen, and she had been honored to call him a friend. Leo went next, talking about how he and Frank hadn't gotten off to the best of starts, but he had soon come to respect him greatly, and considered him a brother, in arms and life.
Percy went next.
"The first time I met Frank, he saved my life. I say that quite literally. I was running for my life, Frank saw me, and jumped in to help me. And as much as I like to think I'm special, I know he would have done it for anyone who needed his help. That was the kind of man, Frank was. No matter who you were, no matter how well you knew each other, if you needed help, and there was something Frank could do, it would be done. He was one of the most reliable people I've ever met, and if anyone here can live to be half the man he was, then you can count yourself among the very best in life. Because that's exactly what Frank was. He was the best. He was the best friend, a man could hope for. The best leader all of you here, could hope for. And he was the best husband, to the perfect wife. I am truly honored that I was able to have called Frank my friend, and I will live the rest of my life, trying to live up to the standards he set."
Percy cleared his throat, blinked away the tear, and stepped down, returning back to where he had been standing. Hazel gave him a strong hug.
"You know, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to. No one would blame you," he whispered.
She shook her head, and wiped her eyes witht he back of her hand.
"No, I can do this."
She walked to the podium, and took a second to gather herself.
"Thank you, everyone, for being here. I know it would have meant a lot to Frank, and it means a lot to me. I don't know what I can say about Frank, that hasn't been said already. It's all true. He really was the best man I've ever known, and I'll miss him every day. I know a lot of you here have heard a lot of stories about my husband. But the stories don't even begin to capture who he was. He was kind, and he was funny. And he was the sweetest human being I've ever been lucky enough to know. It's a tragedy that he had to go before it was his time, but I think he could rest in peace, knowing that he's left his mark on this world, and he'll never be forgotten."
She came down and came back to the group, where she was enveloped in a massive group hug.
After a few seconds, and a lot of chocked back tears, they all let go, and turned to see Frank's coffin being lowered into the dirt. The surviving members of the Prophecy of 7 all linked up in what, Percy realised after the fact, was a depressing and somewhat macabre version of the photo that was taken of them all after the Second Giant War. 20 years later, they were 2 members down.
How far they had fallen.
The funeral wound down after that. They didn't have a wake, because they had a second ceremony to attend, purely for the demigods. They all got on the shuttle busses, and they were taken back to the empty football field, where Mars and Apollo took them all to the Field of Mars, where there was a little surprise waiting. In addition to the several hundred combined demigods from both camps, every single God, Minor, Major, and Olympian was also in attendance. Even Athena was there as Minerva, and Artemis had briefly made the switch to the infuriating Diana. They all looked appropriately somber, in deference towards their fallen hero. Percy appreciated that. Iris was there, in her Roman form, Arcus. She caught Percy and Hazel's eye, and smiled a sad smile at them, before turning back to the shroud which had been arranged for Frank.
There were more speeches. Zeus said a few words. Unlike his son, his speech wasn't particularly empationed, and it was riddled with all the typical cliches one might expect, but it seemed sincere enough, so Percy wasn't bothered. Mars looked like he wanted to say something, but didn't. Percy guessed he didn't want to seem weak in front of the Romans who respected him so much. For a second, Percy actually felt somewhat bad for him. Reyna also made a speech. Hers was one of the better ones. She had worked very closely with Frank for a very long time, and they had known each other very well.
Eventually, wrapped up. There were a lot of people who wanted to come over to Hazel and offer their personal sympathies, but after the first few, Percy saw the look on her face and he and Jason started turning them away.
Half an hour later, Percy, his Squad, and the Hunters all went back to their camp in Nevada. Most of them went back to their usual duties, but the main group wasn't quite ready.
"Hey, how about we go find a bar, and pour one out for Frank?" Jason suggested.
They all turned to Hazel; it was her decision.
She thought for a second, then smiled, "Yeah. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
They were about to leave, when Percy had an idea.
"Hey guys, give me a second."
He walked away from them and found Artemis over with some of her hunters.
"Hey, how are you doing?" he asked as he walked over.
"Not bad. How are you guys?"
"Yeah, we're ok. Listen, we're going to go and pour one out for Frank in a bar, somewhere in the city. You wanna come?"
Her brows furrowed, "Pour one out?" she echoed.
"Yeah, it means we're going to have a drink in his honor."
"Oh, right. I don't know, I wouldn't want to intrude."
"No, don't worry about that. We'd be glad to have you."
She hesitated a second before replying, "If you're sure."
He smiled, "I am. Come on."
He led her over to the group, and told them she was coming. They all agreed readily, and Artemis flashed them to the nearest city. They emerged from a back alley, and Percy's sense of smell guided them towards the alcohol. They ended up in a decent enough place. It was hardly what one might call 'high-class', but it would suit their needs just fine.
Percy got the first round, shots, and brought them back to the table. They raised their little glasses in a toast to Frank, and downed the contents. Immediately, Artemis' face scrunched up.
"What the hell was that?"
"Whiskey," Percy replied, utterly confused.
"Dear Chaos, I'm used to wine!"
That got a chuckle from the table, and Artemis glared at them for a few seconds, before she softened up and even smiled a little.
But Percy wasn't laughing. She had said Chaos' name. How the hell did she know about her? But he couldn't come right out and ask her. If he was wrong, that would only make him seem more suspicious.
"Chaos? What's a Chaos?" he asked, deciding to play totally dumb to the whole idea.
Artemis shrugged, "Oh, it's just something we say. We believe that Chaos was the first being. Apparently, she created the entire universe. And she's the mother of the primordials. But it's just a myth. And if she ever existed, she will have faded millions of years ago."
Percy almost sagged in relief. Ok, he wasn't compromised. He just got himself all worked up over a saying.
'Relax, Percy, for Hades' sake,' he chided himself.
From there, the evening evolved into something that had been pretty typical for the group before Percy had gone to Chaos' realm. There somber depressing mood almost dissipated as the group delighted in regaling Artemis with stories. She didn't really know any of them, so all the stories they had all told each other a hundred times, took on a whole new dimension as she experienced them for the first time.
The free-flowing alcohol helped.
Percy found himself laughing at all the same stories he had heard a dozen times over, and glancing over at Hazel, saw she was smiling too. It was the first time he had seen her truly relaxed in weeks. He grinned at her, and reached over to squeeze her hand quickly.
At some point, one of them got the sick idea to get up and dance. To Percy's horror, the sentiment caught on, and one by one, they got up to dance. Only Artemis abstained, which Percy was particularly thankful for, since it gave him an excuse to sit there with her.
"You can dance if you want to, you don't have to stay here with me," she tried.
Percy gave a theatrical shudder, "No no no. I hate dancing with every fiber of my being. It's in everyone's best interest that I don't."
Artemis grinned like the cat that caught the cannary.
Suddenly, Percy got a strange sinking feeling in his stomach.
"Now this, I have to see."
"Artemis, I want you to listen to me very carefully," he started in a fake serious voice, "I will burn this bar to the fucking ground before I dance in it."
She almost pouted now, "Oh, come on! There has to be something I can do to get you to dance."
He shook his head adamantly, "Nope. Not without another 20 drinks, at least."
Now she grinned again, "Well, you should have said so."
Eyes widening in disbelief, Percy watched Artemis slide out of the booth they had been in, and go over to the bar. She spoke to the bartender for a few seconds, and then he went to work and she looked back at his over her shoulder, clearly very amused at what was supposed to be a threatening look on his face.
Just then, Piper and Jason collapsed into the seat opposite him, laughing themselves silly. Apparently, Jason had been mid-twirl, tripped over, and fell on his ass, so they were finished dancing for a little while.
Remembering a conversation Percy had had with Hazel a little while ago, Percy was about to ask the couple a question, when suddenly he heard Artemis' voice.
"Yep, they're all for him, right there."
An astonished waitress with a tray of around 20 shots, appeared at the head of the table, and looked at Percy in genuine beffudlement.
"Um, sir, did you order 20 shots of Whiskey?"
He looked over at Artemis, who looked far too pleased with herself. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
"Well, yes, I suppose I did."
Now looking a little bit impressed, the young waitress started placing the shots on the table in front of him, in a very long line.
"Good luck," she told him with a breathless smile, she turned and went back to the bar.
Artemis slid back into her previous spot, still grinning.
"What the hell is that?" Percy demanded, gesturing at the glass in her hand.
"Wine," she shrugged.
Percy paused for a second, thinking something through.
"Ok, I'll tell you what. I'll do all 20 of these shots, under one condition."
"What?" she asked, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.
"You need to do 20 shots with me."
Her eyes went wide.
"I will not." she sputtered.
"Then I guess you'll never see me dance," he shrugged casually.
She glared at him for a few seconds, but complied. She got up, went back to the bar, said a few words to the bartender which seemed to make his eyes expand to the size of soccer balls, in amazement.
Percy, now feeling immensely satisfied, turned back to Jason and Piper, who had watched the whole exchange, and now looked very interested in him.
"What?" he asked, suddenly self-conscious.
"You and Artemis," Piper said simply.
Percy furrowed his brow, aiming to play dumb, even though he knew exactly what she was playing at.
"I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
She opened her mouth to say something else, when he cut her off.
"So, now that that conversation's over," he started with a pointed look Piper, which made her roll her eyes, "I actually had a question for the two of you."
Jason made a go-on gesture, and Percy took a deep breath and wondered how to phrase his next question.
"Are you… Hazel recently told me that you guys aren't married."
Jason nodded like it was obvious.
"Well… Why not? Did something happen?"
Jason and Piper looked at each other in legitimate confusion.
"Seriously?" Piper asked.
"Seriously."
"Percy," Jason started, "You didn't really think we were gonna get married without a best man, did you?"
Percy felt his face slacken a little bit. His friends - his two best friends in the world - hadn't gotten married… because he hadn't been there to share it with them?
He suddenly felt such a rush of affection for them both. It wasn't something he could even put into words. They had held off such an important event in their lives, for so long, in the vague hope that he would come back one day, and he could be there with them.
He reached out and hugged them both over the table, a little awkwardly, but none of them cared. A few seconds later, they pulled back.
"Well, you guys should probably get started then," Percy said.
"Started on what?" Piper asked.
"Planning your wedding. I won't be here for too much longer, but I think I could drag it out for a few weeks. Give you as much time as I can."
They both blinked, like they hadn't thought of that. They turned and stared at each other for a second, and had one of those wordless conversations that long-term couples had. Slowly, matching grins manifested on their faces.
"Hey, Perce, you don't mind if we call it a night and head back to base, do you?" Piper asked without taking her eyes off Jason.
Percy smirked, knowing exactly what she was saying.
"I'd say have fun, but I think that might be a little redundant."
They rolled their eyes, but denied nothing. They got up, and rushed out of the bar, joined at the waist.
Just then, Artemis came back, with another tray of 20 shots.
"Where are they going in such a rush?" she asked, eyeing their backs.
"I think you'd rather not know," he replied with a little smirk.
She furrowed her brow, "Why not?"
He watched her for a second, before deciding to have a little fun with her.
"They're going back to base, so that they can fuck like bunnies," he said, sounding casual.
She choken on air a little bit, and Percy swore he could see her blush a little.
"Ah," was all she said.
"Yeah. Don't be surprised if they're in a suspiciously good mood tomorrow," he said, pushing it now.
Her eyes narrowed now, but she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she gestured towards the shots.
"Well, let's get started?" she asked, reaching for one.
"Wait a second. We're not just gonna pound them. We need a drinking game."
"A drinking game?" she asked quizically.
He nodded, "Sure. I think 20 questions woud be suitable," he said, slightly happy with himself for thinking of it. 20 shots, 20 questions.
"What are the rules?" she asked, trying to come across as casually interested. But he saw the glint in her eye, and knew that she would do everything in her power to win.
"I ask you a question, and you have to take a shot, and answer honestly. Then you ask me a question, I take a shot, and answer honestly. Rinse and repeat."
Now she looked confused, "But… how do you win?"
Percy shrugged, "You win, when the other person loses. In this case, that's you."
She gave him a sarcastic smile and said, "How, exactly, can you be so confident? You're playing against a goddess, remember?"
"I'm an open book. Aside from where I've been for the last two decades. I seriously cannot answer that question, so please don't ask."
She looked incredulous, "Well, that's hardly fair, is it?"
He sighed, "Ok, look. I can't give you any specifics, but I'll answer whatever questions you have, as generally as I can. No holds barred."
"Ok, now we're talking. So how do you lose?"
"You lose if you refuse to answer a question."
He could see her thinking it over. He knew she wanted to play, and she wanted to win. And she wanted to know what he had been hiding ever since he had come back. Maybe playing a game like this wasn't the wisest decision he had ever made, but he would answer her questions as honestly as he could. But he wasn't going to give anything away. Nothing too major.
"Ok, fine. Let's play."
He grinned, "Well, ok then. Ladies first; ask away."
She rolled her eyes, but smiled, "Ok. Generally speaking, what have you been doing during the 20 years you were away."
Percy did a shot, and thought his answer over.
"Training, mostly. Aside from one mission on another planet."
"What mission?"
"Tsk tsk tsk. That's another question. You have to wait for your turn."
Her eyes narrowed, "Alright, fine."
He smirked, enjoying her annoyance.
"Ok, ok, let's see… Lady Artemis herself is going to answer any question I ask; these opportunities don't come along every day…"
She rolled her eyes, but didn't comment.
"Maybe I should call your brother. I'm sure he would have some suggestions," Percy continued.
Suddenly, there was a vice-like grip on his forearm, and he turned to Artemis to see the Goddess' eyes looking wild.
"That has to be against the rules!"
He smirked, and extricated himself from the grip, "How would you know?"
She just glared, until he gave up.
"Ok, ok, you win. Apollo will stay out of this."
She relaxed, and leaned back in her seat.
"Speaking of Apollo, I just figured out my next question," Percy continued, instantly making her sit upright again, "You guys have been arguing about this for as long as I've known you, but I guess we're finally going to get a conclusive answer tonight. Lady Artemis, is Apollo older than you, or not?"
Her face set in stone.
She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.
"You have to drink before you answer."
She glared, but downed the shot, doing her best to keep the look of disgust off her face, but failing.
She took another few seconds, but finally, she spoke, "He's older," she ground out.
Percy's jaw dropped. He truly hadn't been expecting that.
"Wait… are you serious?"
She turned away, "It's just my way of annoying him. And that's totally fair! He has about a million ways of annoying me, it's only fair that I have one too!"
Percy wheezing. Artemis was easily one of his favourite Goddesses, which, admittedly, said more about the competition than about her, but he still respected her a fair deal. She was very composed, and disciplined, and easily a force to be reckoned with.
And here she was, acting every bit the teenager she looked.
"I hate this game," she muttered, looking away.
Percy wiped a tear from his eye, took a deep breath, and said "Well, don't worry about it. It's your turn now. Ask away."
"What was the mission you mentioned earlier?"
He sobered up a little bit, "Assassination."
She looked shocked, but Percy kept talking, "He was a tyrant, who enslaved and slaughtered countless of his own people; leaving countless others to starve, while he lived in his golden palace. I don't feel bad about it, and I would do it again. And I probably will."
She stared at him for a few seconds, but she didn't look scared, or concerned. It seemed she more curious than anything else. He could understand that. He had been back for a year, but this was the first time he talked so blatantly about assassinating people. He could understand the adjustment for her.
"Anyway, my question now," he said after few seconds.
She took a breath, and nodded, "Alright. Go on."
He thought for a few seconds.
"Alright. What's the full story between you and Orion?"
She narrowed her eyes, downed another shot, winced at the fiery liquid, and took sighed.
"He was a hunter, and his skills impressed me. I considered him a friend for a time, but then he showed his true colors. Not to me, though. Apollo found out that Orion had some… flaws in his character. He tried to tell me, but I didn't believe him. He ended up tricking me into killing Orion. I was angry for a time, but then I started hearing stories about his depravity. Eventually, there were too many stories to ignore, and I had to admit that I'd been tricked. There was never anything romantic between us, but the fact that I had been his friend, was bad enough."
Percy nodded thoughtfully.
"I'm sorry. I know how it feels to put your faith in the wrong person."
"You do?"
"It's your turn for a question," he deflected.
"Ok, what were you talking about just now?"
He rolled his eyes, drank down a shot, and replied, "My brother, Jack."
She tilted her head in consideration, "Ok, what did he do?"
Percy shook his head, "No no, that would be another question."
She sighed, "I hate this game."
He grinned, "Alright then. My next question; You said nothing romantic had ever happened between you and Orion. Has anything ever romantic ever happened between you and anyone?"
She crossed her arms, "Virgin Goddess, remember?"
He shrugged, "Romantic love doesn't necessitate sex."
She looked dubious, "Yes, I'm sure there are many men out there willing to be in a relationship without sex," she said, the sarcasm laid on so thick, you could pave a driveway with it.
"Sure there are. There are plenty of guys out there who want to wait for marriage, for religious reasons. There are even more who are asexual; they don't like the physical aspects of love, so they just don't engage in it."
"Really?" she sounded sceptical.
He nodded, "Absolutely."
She thought for a few seconds.
"Alright, I'm sure you know better in this case. But to answer your question, no. I've never been in any romantic relationship with anyone."
"Alright," he said, already knowing his next question.
"Alright, my turn. What did your brother do to you?"
Percy's jaw tensed. He had seen that coming, but he didn't know exactly how to answer.
"He…"
He looked at her, and tried to decide if he wanted to tell the truth or not. He could lie, he was certain of that. She would never know. But looking at her, he felt like he could trust her. And if he took Hazel with him when he went back to Chaos' realm, then there would be no one on earth who knew what Jack had done. He didn't like that thought.
"I'll tell you, but you need to swear to me, right now, that you'll never tell anyone. No matter who asks, you'll never tell them."
She blinked in mild surprise.
"Ok. I swear," she said.
"Swear on your hunters."
That shocked her even more.
"Excuse me?"
"Swear on your hunters, that you'll never tell anyone."
She stared at him for a few seconds before agreeing.
"Ok. I swear on my hunters."
He nodded, and took a deep breath.
"He killed Annabeth and my mother."
"WHAT?"
Immediately, he shushed her, looking around to see if anyone heard. But the music was loud enough, that no one heard anything.
"Keep your voice down," he hissed.
She looked around just like he had, to see if anyone heard.
"I'm sorry. What do you mean though? How did he kill them?"
He sighed deeply, and explained everything that had happened that day, and then 2 weeks later when he confronted him. She listened in silence, and once he was done she just sat back in her seat, and processed it all.
"I'm confused about something," she said after a few seconds.
"Go on."
"What was that feeling you got? You said you got a feeling the day they were killed, and it lead you to the city. What was the feeling?"
He blinked. He honestly hadn't even thought about that. After everything that had happened, he hadn't really questioned it. He decided he would ask Chaos if she had any ideas, next time he saw her.
"Honestly, I'm not sure. If I ever find out, I'll let you know."
She nodded, "Ok. So, why haven't you told anyone? I thought if you knew who did it, they'd be dead by now."
"I wish I could make that happen. But I've been told that he needs to live, for now. And no one can know what he did, until the time is right. That's why I need you to not say anything."
"What could possibly make you hold off on that?"
He sighed, "I just… I just can't."
But she didn't seem to let him get away with that.
"But why not?"
"Look, Artemis, please just trust me. I really need you to take my word that I need to wait. Believe me, no one wants him dead more than I do. That should tell you something."
She stared at him for a long time, and she didn't look her age anymore. Suddenly, her eyes seemed to show just how old she was. And her ancient eyes were staring straight through him, like she was listening intently, even though he wasn't saying anything. It was a deeply unsettling feeling.
"Alright. I'll trust you on this. But why are you telling me this now?"
He looked down at the table.
"Look, I'm not going to be here for too much longer. My mission here is nearly done, and when it is, I'll be going back to where I was before I came back. Hazel knows - I told her just after Frank died - but I've asked her to come with me. If I tell Jason or Piper or any of the others, then they'll just kill him unless I give them my exact reasons against it. But I do want someone to know. Just in case he tries something. The rest of the group knows that something's up with him, but they don't know the specifics. Now, you do. I need you to keep an eye on him while I'm gone."
She leaned back in her seat breathed deeply.
"Keep an eye on him how?"
"I don't know, specifically. Just keep him in check. You remember when he attacked me at the camp a few months ago. Can I trust you to make sure he doesn't do things like that when I'm not around, without exposing him to the rest of the Gods?"
She looked him in the eye again, staring at him with her full age, just like before. For a while, neither of them said a word. He knew he was asking something big of her. He had no idea when he would be back, so asking her to keep an eye on a murderer for potentially dozens, if not hundreds of years, and shield him from exposure. It wasn't a commitment he wanted her to make without serious thought.
If she said no, he was going to have to tell one of the group. Definitely not Jason or Piper. They had been the closest of any of them, and Piper herself had actually been there that day. They would, under no circumstances whatsoever, agree not to kill Jack. Maybe he could tell Leo and Calypso. Or maybe Reyna. Maybe Nico.
He had options. But Artemis was in the best position by far, to keep an eye on him. If she said she didn't want the responsibility he would understand, but he really hoped she would agree.
"Ok, look," Percy said, feeling deeply awkward in the silence, "Why don't you tell me tomorrow. Go back to camp, get some rest, and we can figure something out."
"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow, Percy."
And with that, she got up and left the bar. He tracked her presence for a little while, and then felt her flash away.
He sighed deeply. That hadn't gone how he'd expected it to. Chiefly, they'd only done 3 shots each, leaving 34 undrunk. So, Percy downed 3 more, and then took a quick headcount around the bar. There were 43 people in there, so Percy got up, went to the bar and ordered 12 more shots. Then he told the bartender to have the waitresses bring each person a shot, on him.
Percy went back to the booth, and slid in, alone. He was tired. It had been a long day, and discussing all that heavy stuff with Artemis had been the final nail in his coffin, so to speak.
He figured he was about ready to leave, but the rest of the group looked like they were having a good time, so he would stay for their sake for a little while.
He was only broken from his reverie, when Hazel slid into the booth opposite him. He looked up from the stained, sticky table to see her watching him carefully.
"What were you and Artemis talking about?" she asked with some suspicion.
He smiled faintly and waved her off, "Nothing. You ok?"
Now she smiled a bit too, "Yeah, I'm good. You look a bit lonely. You want to get a drink?"
He didn't really want to drink much more, but he agreed for her sake, and they went over to the bar together.
"I'll have a beer. Whatever is draught," Percy said.
"I'll have an old fashioned," Hazel said casually.
He looked over at her, eyebrows raised.
"Well look at you, ordering a grown-up drink!"
She rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully. The bartender must have found it pretty funny too, because he laughed.
"You two make a cute couple," he said, still chuckling.
"Oh, we're not a couple," Hazel said.
And at the same exact time, Percy said, "I have a girlfriend."
He froze, and felt Hazel looking over at him, clearly concerned. The bartender vanished suddenly, and it felt like he and Hazel were the only two people in the room.
She reached over and put a hand on his, "Percy, listen, if you ever need-"
"Let's not," he cut her off. He'd had a long enough day. He didn't need this now.
"You know what, I'm actually pretty tired. I'm just take off. Nico can get you guys back to camp, right?"
She watched him for a second before replying, "Yeah, he's not nearly as drunk as he was last time. He'll be fine."
He nodded. He kissed Hazel on the cheek quickly, said a quick goodbye to the rest of the group in their various places across the room, and then went to the bathroom, checked it was empty, and shadow travelled back to base.
Percy took an hour to patrol the area and make sure there were no monsters anywhere nearby. It was something he did every night before bed, and every morning when he woke up.
He took OPSEC; operational security, and PERSEC; personal security, very seriously. He only slept an hour each night, maybe an hour-and-a-half on a goodnight, but he knew from experience that monsters, when organised, could cover a lot of ground in that time. When he woke up, he was awake instantly, and ready for action within seconds. But he still didn't want to wake up to a battle, so he made sure there was nothing in the area.
And there wasn't. Just snoring demigods, and a Goddess who he could tell was lying awake in her bed. Satisfied that there were no threats in the area, Percy went back to his tent, worked on tracking a terrorist cell in Argentina for around an hour, and then turned everything off and went to bed.
But he couldn't sleep.
He tossed and turned for nearly an hour, desperate for some rest after a long day.
He got up, ran a hand through his hair, and thought for a moment. Reaching a decision, he shadow travelled to the Poseidon Cabin at Camp Half-Blood. There, he saw his bunk, exactly as it had been more than 20 years ago. It hadn't been touched. Jack had been made a God soon after Percy had left, so he hadn't seen any need to touch any of Percy's things.
Percy went through it all, looking for a particular photo. He found it 5 minutes later.
The photo he had been looking for, had been taken just a few days after the Giant War had ended. Percy, his mother, and Annabeth had spent the day together in New York. Paul had been in London for some kind of teaching conference, so it had been just the 3 of them. They had gone out and gotten food, and watched movies, and hung out in the city together, simply happy to be alive.
The photo had been taken by Percy himself, so he wasn't in it. He had wanted something to remember the day, one of the best of his life, so had had bought one of those instant cameras that printed the picture when it was taken. He'd held on to it the whole day, waiting for the perfect moment.
That moment had come when they had been sitting in a classic NYC pizza place. They were sitting in a booth, Percy on one side, Annabeth and his mother on the other. He had said something, most likely something quite silly, and it had cracked them both up. Sensing the opportunity in front of him, Percy quickly snapped a picture, and it had been his favourite ever since.
His mother looked wonderful. Her brown eyes alight with joy, and a wide smile on her face, as she tried not to laugh too hard at her son's expense. But there was still a mischievous look in her eye, that told him she was greatly enjoying whatever it was that he had said.
Annabeth, looked stunningly beautiful. He was convinced that she had never taken a bad photo. Her eyes instinctively found the lens of the camera, the moment he took the picture, so the resulting picture always made him feel like she was right there with him, looking straight through the piece of plastic, into his soul. Whatever he had said, had broken straight through her automatic expression of "Really, seaweed brain?" which she put on whenever he said or did something stupid. He could see the remnants of the expression, but the pure joy overshadowed it.
It had been the best day of his life. It had been perfect. He would have given anything in the world, to just go back there and relive it. Hell, he would have given anything in the world to spend another hour with them both.
He shadow travelled back to camp, taking the photo with him. He went back to bed, lying on his side, facing the photo that he had placed on the table next to his bed.
A tear slowly fell from his eye.
"I'm so sorry," he sobbed.
He finally fell asleep 5 minutes later, staring into his soul mate's eyes.
A/N: Well, hello everyone. It's been a little while, but I'm back now. That being said, don't expect another chapter any time soon. It'll happen when it happens. I just wanted to explain briefly, in case anyone didn't get it.
When I had the waiter ask if Percy and Hazel were a couple in the last chapter, they both answered instinctively that they had a husband/girlfriend respectively. That was the mental state they were both in. Denial. But I wanted to take Hazel through the stages of grief in this chapter, and the funeral finally brought her to the last one; acceptance. So, when the bartender asks if Percy and Hazel are a couple at the end of this chapter, Hazel simply says that they aren't a couple, showing that she's accepted Frank's death, while Percy is still stuck. I like the idea that Percy will do whatever he can to help his friend get through her grief, but he just can't quite bring himself to do it for his own benefit. Emotionally, he's still where he was right after Annabeth and his mom were killed.
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter. This was another slower one, because I wanted to explore Hazel a little more. Things should be getting a bit more exciting in the next chapter, but not in the usual way. You'll see. Stay safe, everyone.
