This is where my babies have some unhealthy coping. Frank: stall and stall and stall to try and come up with a solution that may somewhat sooth the pain for his companions but completely overthinking it because that's just how he is and ends up hurting himself in the process. Percy: having to shut down mentally because she's feeling too much and is unable to handle her feelings. Hazel: "I hate the damn gods and I wish they were dead but since I can't achieve that now, I have to take care of my friends." Poor her, honestly. Right now, Percy is getting most of the emotional backlash but Hazel is so empathic, it hurts her to see her friends hurt. Pain stacked upon pain. They're trying so hard, I want to cut it out because it just pains me each time I reread it. At this rate, they're willing to do anything to stop this hurt.

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Guest: I am so, so, so sorry that I didn't reply sooner. I don't know why, my account is having issues with the notifications and I didn't get your review. Thanks so much for your sweet words, you make me tear up (honestly. I so rarely cry even when faced with angst but this was so sweet so I'm gonna post a second chapter for you). I try to give justice to us girls in this story because, seriously, we've seen how girls are treated in Ancient Greek (and now even) and I want to get even for us. I will never discontinue this story, got the whole timeline more or less plotted out as it is. Since it's my holidays, I'm trying to post as much as possible so that we can finish this story.

Frank didn't come back, not even after we waited and waited. Hazel was completely beside herself. "What if Jupiter met him when he was unprepared? What if the Flame got to him? What if Omichli malfunctioned and the Shadow Titans got to him?" On and on she would pace around the room as I quietly meditated, trying to find Frank amidst the millions of lives. Occasionally, I got something, but usually it was people I know.

I wanted to reassure Hazel, but what could I say? There, there.

… yeah definitely not.

I was worried too. Why wouldn't I be? Don't you find it strange that the one day we rebelled and went off solo was the day the Gods somehow found us? Okay, the places we visited weren't exactly hidden, but they were Neptune and Pluto. Two of the Big Three. Hazel was fretting Jupiter went after Frank, but I highly doubted that. Jupiter, I have come to realise, focuses on the big stuff.

Especially with the Flame now entering the battlefield. Now, that, I was highly anticipating. Saturn warned me not to do anything rash and I had reluctantly given my word. Themis seemed to have only told Saturn about what I disclosed to her, and no one else. How do I know? Saturn dismissed everyone besides Themis, Hazel and me before talking about his changed plans, and asking for our input. It's not that it was rare for him to ask for our opinion, it's just that he always has his guards. So yeah. He also didn't seem surprised when Hazel mentioned that it was best for the Hecatoncheires to stay where they were. He just nodded.

Speaking of which, I managed to get a meeting with them. Woo-hoo! Maybe I could even convince Briarses to not side with the Gods. Probably not gonna happen but it doesn't hurt to dream.

"Oh, Sephie. I'm not sure what's going on!" Hazel's wails brought me out of my reverie. I climbed to my feet, taking her by her elbows. She had to stop, looking up at me questioning.

"Hazie, if Frank was in trouble, he would tell us, remember?" Shifting so that I still had a grip on her elbows, I took out the shard from Allagi. Still as perfectly red as ever.

It was an unspoken rule. If they got into trouble, they would crush their shards so we would know something was wrong. Since only we could control our stones, it would be clear it was we who did it. As for me? Well, I can't actually be in trouble nor can I be captured so… yeah. If I were though, Frank would know and he would notify Hazel. There's a reason for that. Something about both of us sharing Poseidon's blood so technically we are family by blood. We can sense each other well. Another reason why I wasn't so insanely worried like Hazel was.

"Sephie, it's been two months!" Hazel protested. "I literally kicked Pluto's ass two months ago, and I thought we could celebrate, but Frank is nowhere in sight."

I smiled, remembering the image she showed to me using the Mist of how she won Pluto so easily. "I won't bother telling you about language since I don't care about that anymore, and you're right. Frank isn't one to care about politics, he hates them."

"He always leaves the bigger pile of paperwork for me to do." Hazel muttered.

"Exactly." I agreed. "He's probably coming back now. He conquered three cities in a row. His number is up to nine. He needs rest. Even with so many Shadow Titans, it is energy wasting having to control all the cities and villages."

Hazel sighed. "The last time I was this worried, I think is was when I conquered Zancleion!"

"That's not too bad. At least it wasn't Massacia." I said. "That was when I conquered… Lissanthus I think."

"Oh yes, how is Isadora? Does she like the crown I made her?" Hazel thought back. "Gold adorned with rubies, wasn't it?"

"Not too bad. She has learnt to master the portion of Hali's power I granted her."

"But as I was saying, what could be taking him so long?" She flung her arms out and I ducked to not be hit.

"Frank knows how to take care of himself, Hazie." I said calmly. "He won't like it if he comes back and sees you so worked up over him. You know who he's most likely to blame."

Hazel dropped her arms in defeat. "Himself. When it comes to blame, it seems that you two will always win me."

"Exactly. So now, you are going to go back to bed, go to sleep, and take your mind off of things, and allow me to take over." Ignoring her last part, I slowly guided her to the weeping willow tree. Hazel sighed and ducked into its shelter. I smiled. That's one down. Now to go back to locating Frank.


Luckily, before Hazel freaked out and uphended the world, Frank returned after only three days. Those three days, Hazel hadn't moved, hadn't eaten. I would be worried if not for the fact that I know we've gone longer without food.

When he came back, Frank was exhausted. Deadbeat tired, but he still perked up upon seeing me. I ran up to him as he gave me the legendary Frank Zhang bear-hug.

"Oh, by the Fates!" I poked him in the chest as he lowered me. "How-" poke. "dare-" poke. "you-" poke. "leave-" poke. "for-" poke. "so-" poke. "long!"

"I'm sorry." He mumbled. "There was… a lot of things going on. I might need you sitting for this."

"I- what? Frank, what's wrong?" I tried to go closer but he shook his head, pushing away.

"It's best if I tell both of you at the same time." He insisted. He was pale and tired enough, so I said nothing as I dismissed the Shadow Titans and took him back to our room. There was something seriously wrong.


Hazel was listlessly staring into her newest art piece. Already, five more had joined our first two drawings. Frank barely noticed them, rushing across the room and knelt next to Hazel. "Babe?" He murmured lowly as I teleported over to join them.

Hazel's head snapped up with a start, staring at Frank incredulously. "Frank!" Her voice filled with joy as she jumped on him. I refrained from commenting as she kissed him passionately, him not missing a beat and returned the kiss. They deserve a little happiness. Plus, I was happy to see Frank's tension leaking away the longer they held each other.

Reminds me of Annabeth and I.

I smiled. "See, you got yourself worked up over nothing."

"I don't know." Frank mumbled, though looked much happier now reunited with his girlfriend. Hazel moved so she was straddling her boyfriend, head buried in his chest, grabbing his shirt tightly like he might vanish again. I understand her worry. Two months no contact at all, not even in the dreamscape. Though now I don't think Frank ever went there, seeing how tired he looked. "There are some things I saw while out. Some… not so happy things."

"What do you mean?" Hazel asked worriedly, combing her fingers through his hair. They still didn't move from the ground. I picked up the fallen canvas. It was the day the Argo II arrived at Camp Jupiter. Hazel had drawn Annabeth perfectly, us frozen in motion as Annabeth and I kissed. I smiled in reminiscence.

"I saw the Flame." His eyes darted to me before focusing on his girlfriend. I did not like what that meant. "I saw her. I saw who she is, and I recognise her."

My heart thumped and I couldn't help asking, "who is she?"

"She had friends. Friends I don't think belong in this time. There was a CRU agent."

"Frank, we know." Hazel said, worriedly, tilting his head towards her and kissing him again. "We know the Flame is from a different time. Possibly our time."

"She is." His eyes darted to me again. "There was a girl in a wheelchair. A boy with a silver arm."

"Frank, don't get so worked up." I ordered.

He nodded, and Hazel led him to a chair. We waited patiently as he calmed down slowly, clenching and unclenching his hands. Hazel patted his knee calmly at even intervals. Until I could finally nod, indicating his breathing had gone back to normal. She planted a kiss on his cheek, as we waited for him to continue speaking. "There was a boy." He said slower. "His arm was silver. Mechanical. I couldn't sense any water from there. It was unalive."

"A work of Vulcan perhaps." Hazel and I nodded.

"They spoke english. The Flame destroyed my arrows." Frank continued, calming down until he was the Frank I knew. Hazel kept combing his hair. The arrows part wasn't good. Someone who could destroy imperial gold that easily? I needed to go back to reforming them. Maybe if I added… sorry, got carried away. "She could teleport. She could destroy the Shadow Titans."

"How long ago was this?"

"Two months ago."

"And you kept away for so long?" Hazel couldn't help her outburst, I could see that. "Frank, this kind of worry isn't healthy."

Frank sighed, slumping down. "I know. But I wanted to cut off loose ends. I have also reached ten now. It took me some time but I did it. And I didn't know how to tell you. I swear, I didn't plan on that. It just happened."

"So who is she?" Who is the girl? "Do we know this girl?"

"You do." His voice was barely higher than a whisper. "You were the one who introduced her to us." He sat up straight. "Three years ago. You introduced us to this adorable girl who was struggling with her best friend growing distant and her mother succumbing to cancer. Well, looks like we're not the only ones who discovered something new." He stopped, bracing my reaction. I guess they learned it the hard way.

I paused, staring at my best friends. I tilted my head. Hazel flinched. I looked beyond them. Somewhere, maybe three thousand miles away, someone screamed.

Hazel POV

People like to underestimate Percy, you know. They think when she is angry, she is at her most powerful. Honestly, we all know better. It is when she goes completely silent then they should be wary.

Percy's face completely shut down. Her eyes turned vacant, distant. Her lips tightened into a straight line and her hands clenched. Frank and I waited for her response. Somewhere, I don't know where, someone started screaming.

"What?" She asked, sounding ethereal. I do not consider that good. Her voice multiplies until it is like five of her talking with an echo, and her eyes flashed stormy blue. I swore I could see lightning in them once. She is the ocean, but she is also the storm.

"I'm sorry, Sephie." Frank got up, standing next to Percy. It really didn't matter that he was taller. "But I saw her. Dark locks, blue eyes. It was her. She was using fire powers and… I saw Pegasus." It was the wrong thing to say. Percy, without moving her lips, screamed. It was a muffled sound, full of pain and fury. Her feet lifted off. I braced myself as the ground started to shake. Distantly, there was the sound of things crashing to the ground and I felt something in me snap as trees fell down, dying. It didn't hurt but it was enough for me to know it was there.

I had too much training to be surprised as thunder flashed dangerously loud in my ears and lightning nearly blinded me. Frank visibly flinched.

Percy's eyes darkened to the colour of the ocean during a thunderstorm. The darkish purple. You could never tell what was lurking beneath it. If Poseidon was the God of the Sea, she is the Sea itself. Full of mysteries, unpredictable, never truly able to be explored fully. Unrestrained. Uncontrollable.

"Sephie, I'm sorry."

"Emily. My Emily." Percy continued to say, her voice sounding neutral but even the deaf would know something was wrong. "My Emily is fighting against me. My Emily. Fighting for the Gods." She spat that word out venomously. "My Emily. The Flame. She killed Enigma."

That stunned Frank into silence, he didn't know. I sniffled a sob. Percy wasn't easing up, and it hurts to see my sister by everything but blood lose control of herself.

"She's fighting for the Gods." Percy repeated like they came from a different world. Like she couldn't understand them, couldn't fathom them. "She's fighting for Jupiter. Fighting for a bloody coward. I told her to stay away, and the first thing she does is run straight into the midst of trouble."

She started to break. "Emily, the girl I almost raised." She continued, tears falling like a waterfall down her cheeks but her voice continued on neutrally. "The girl I took care of, even when I couldn't take care of myself. The girl I would have done anything to make sure she would get the life I couldn't get. My Emily. Now against me."

Frank barely caught her as she crumpled sideways as her feet gave way. Tears rolled uncontrollably down her cheeks as I hugged her tightly. The storm never eased up, but we didn't care. In that room, we stayed together, as a grief-stricken girl mourned for the friend she thought of as a little sister. Lost. Maybe even dead. Because she had to choose. A girl she no longer knows or victory over the Gods. In the end, she was the one to suffer, regardless.

I hate the Fates. I hate them all.

Percy POV

Now, if you were to ask me what happened yesterday, I would stare at you blankly until you expand on that. I couldn't remember. Nothing. It was like my brain shut down after Frank revealed the Flame's identity.

Emily. My sweet, darling Emily. The girl who I helped. The girl I raised alongside her mother. The girl I got frustrated with but could never hate. There were a lot more ways I could describe Emily. Sister. Friend. Companion. Distraction. Not all of them were good, but no one could be perfect. I would be very, very concerned if she was perfect. Now? She's the Flame. The Flame my side sought to kill and the Gods sought to protect. Well, at least she wasn't like me and couldn't rely on anyone other than my friends because even my 'allies' would have killed me at the first sign I showed disloyalty. At least… no. I couldn't really say that. Because it wasn't true. Emily is the Flame. Although for now, she has that protection, it won't stay forever. Hazel told me the Flame is a Xan, the most powerful being in this world. But nothing is stronger than the primordials, direct descendants of Chaos, the very first being. When the Gods realise she cannot win us, they will get rid of her. Or maybe they'll send her to her death. I don't understand why though. Why would Emily do this to me? Why? I warned her not to. I told her I would be changing our futures. And what does she do? She immediately jumped into danger.

My fist clenched and I banged it against the trunk of Centennial. (Oh, it's the tree in the middle if you're asking. I named her, thank you very much.) Was it fair? I tried to be the perfect sister-friend to Emily. I shielded her from my brokenness, shielded her from certain deaths and pain, but she threw all that away. She sides with the Gods. Of everything, that hurts the most. I grimaced.

Hazel and Frank were gone. They decided to go in my steed to attend the war meeting. The Gods were acting up, going against us even more vigorously. Guess who led it all? Emily. Since she can destroy the Shadow Titans, she has joined the war. Already, I have heard thousands of Shadow Titans have been destroyed. Our shard of the Flame is being used overtime. I could hear the monsters' wails of agony at night, when the palace is especially quiet. I could hear the tortures done to them, and I could sympathise with them.

It hurts so much, words just cannot describe it. It was worse than my bath in the River Styx. Worse than holding the sky. An agony that stayed forever, affecting my everything. The only thing that passed that pain was Annabeth's. Jason's, Piper's, Leo's, and all my friends' deaths. I did so much. I travelled into the past, to avoid the Gods, but I joined the war for her. For her and for every death. Knowing that one of the people you were fighting for was fighting against you? I think I told you enough from above, I won't repeat everything again.

I harshly wiped my eyes. They were probably red, but I didn't care. I moved over to the willow tree where several of the leaves were holding onto the paintings, and I looked at one of them in particular.

When I introduced Emily to my friends.

Now that was a special moment. Emily held onto me so tightly, so afraid. Her big blue eyes, brighter than ever. Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Frank and Hazel smiling reassuringly at her. Back then, we didn't know if Leo was alive.

I grabbed the middle of the painting. Hard. The fragile paper tore as I yanked it with all my strength, leaving a ginormous tear. Miniature lightning bolts danced on my palms, and I watched the piece of the painting in my hand shrivel up into dust. They were lost in the winds. I did the same for all the paintings that had even a hint of Emily. There were only two others.

"No wonder," I rested my forehead against the shredded frame of the canvas, "no wonder I felt the urge to protect you, cutie. I want to hate you, but I can't. I could never hate you, even if I tried. I wish you talked to me. I wish I could understand what happened that would drive you to do this. What happened in these two years, my sweet emerald? Why? What possessed you to be such a thing?" I pushed away, teleporting to the door. The lonely, vulnerable moment passed, just like all those kinds of moments did in the past, making way for a steel determination. "I have to choose, cutie." I talked like she was here, hand reaching for the door knob. "Kill the Gods, or save you. You, a girl who is lost to me." I snorted at the irony. "When I make a decision, I will tell you." The sadness and hurt evolved, changing to a burning fire of hate. A fuel for my powers that would take eternity to run out. Twirling my finger, everything I destroyed returned to normal. I do not know how I could do that, nor do I know when. No longer do I care. "Until then, my sister, we shall meet in battle."

Flinging the door open, I didn't look back.