~Hazel~

I lay face up in the Hades cabin, my eyes trailing the small cracks in the ceiling. Lately, sleep was not an option for me. Everytime I so much as blinked, images of my other half, Frank Zhang, flashed before my eyes. It was horrifying really, seeing as I had a constant reminder of my boyfriend's death. The only one who could understand this new sort of pain was Percy, who, according to him, also had this problem, only with Annabeth.

I sighed, holding back the sudden rush of warm tears. I never like to cry. A Roman's pride comes from their strength, while shedding tears, even for a loved one, only displays weakness. These were my reasons for staying at Camp Half-Blood. It wasn't the harsh life of a Roman here, but rather quite the opposite. If you openly displayed tears here, you would get comforting words from those who truly care, not the cold sneers often received for such weakness. The only ones who ever cared were Frank and...

Jason.

Frank may have had the biggest impact on me, but it didn't mean I didn't feel the pain left behind by the others who gave their lives. Jason was one of them, one that I personally knew the longest. He, and Frank, had been the only ones to frown upon those who shamed weakness. If anything, they had been more of a Greek in their personal ways of living.

When they weren't fighting for their lives.

Pushing the thought out of my head, I turned towards the shrine meant for Hades. Even as my father was Pluto, not Hades, I still felt a bit of comfort at the sight. It reminded my that I wasn't totally alone in this world of darkness and despair. That there were others that knew what it was like.

Others like Nico.

I chuckled slightly as I remembered my half Greek brother. It would be no surprise if he was messing around with the spirits of the Underworld right about now. He wasn't dead, but rather reattaching to old habits. For instance, spending too much time in the Underworld. Seriously, that boy really needs to get some sun, he's so pale sometimes I swear I can see straight throw him!

My thoughts were interrupted by a brisk knock at the door. What time was it? Like, 2 in the morning? Who would be knocking at this hour?

"Nico? Hazel? Someone answer the gods damn door!" Percy's voice sounded from the other side of the door, his tone urgent yet frantic. Whatever it was that got him worked up, it couldn't be good.

I stumbled out of bed, ignoring the slight spin of the room as I did so. Despite the fact that I couldn't sleep, my body still decided it would be awesome to go ahead and let me feel the after effects of being sleep deprived.

Percy knocked again, his fist pounding on the door so hard, I swore it started to crack. Just another crack to trace over when I can't sleep!

"Percy calm down, I'm coming!" I yelled at the door, to tired to attempt to keep the annoyance out of my voice. Ever since Frank had... left, I had cared less and less about my attitude towards other people. My shy demeanor had long since left me.

I stumbled to the door, opening it slowly as I was too exhausted to do otherwise. Wow, lots of complaining tonight!

As I took everything in, my eyes began to grow wide with confusion and horror at the scene before me.

Here stood Percy holding a corpse bridal-style, as his own sea-green eyes frantically searched for comfort. Before I could say anything, or ask any questions, Percy spoke.

"Hazel, oh my gods, please help! I don't know what to do with her! I-I..." Tears began to well in his eyes, as sobs escaped his chest. I understood what he must be thinking right now, having found out his fatal flaw a long time ago. Still, I don't fully understand his way of always looking at things as though they were his fault. They almost never were.

I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the bloody body in his arms. "Its okay Percy, just... calm down, okay? Lets go to the big house and get Chiron." It felt odd having to comfort Percy. Before the war, you would always find him at your side, whispering comforting words in your ear, even if you didn't know him. It was just his nature. But now, after everything that happened... Percy's just Broken.

I walked cautiously out of my cabin, careful to avoid the bloody corpse that lay in Percy's arms.

As we began to jog to the big house, thoughts of Katie ran through my head. I hadn't known her long, and I must say my first meeting of her wasn't exactly on good terms, but as I've gotten to know her, I found that she was one of the nicest girls to step foot on this planet. So who would do this?

My thoughts were interrupted as we reached the big house. Niether of us bothered to knock, as we knew the centaur that occupied the house was sound asleep.

"Chiron!" We yelled in union, as we stumbled up the stairs, painting the walls with crimson as we went.

Suddenly, to my utter dismay, Percy stopped dead in his tracks, making for a hard collision with his back. I regained my footing quickly enough, before coming face to face with Chiron.

"For the love of-" Chiron started, before laying eyes on the scene before him.

Silence filled the air, as the mood instantly turned dead serious.

Before long, Chiron ushered the two of us forward,