chapter two

Silence.

Silence as the gods entered Camp Half-Blood, carrying seven bodies. The fighting had ended, and everyone was anticipating the arrival of the heroes that were responsible for their victory.

They never expected for their heroes to come back, limp in the arms of the gods, their hearts no longer beating.

The Athena Parthenos stood proudly on top of Half-Blood Hill, looking on over the mourning gods and the shell-shocked campers.

"W-What?" Chiron made his way to the front, with Nico, Thalia, and Grover quickly following behind. Word had quickly gotten around that the heroes of the second great prophecy had fallen.

"No, no, no," Nico mumbled, the tears immediately began flowing down his face in steady streams, quickly running to his sister. He had experienced this pain once before, and he didn't think he'd ever feel it again. He thought he had a forever, with his sister, his newfound spark Will, staying with Percy's family. He never thought he'd have to experience this ever again, but there he was, stroking his half-sister's dark chocolate brown curls and willing for her eyes to open, revealing the shiny golden color hidden underneath. He knew something went wrong, he could feel it in his gut, he had heard the ringing in his ears and the pain in his heart, but he never thought it could be this. There was too much death, too much to focus on. His best friends, his sister. Gone.

Nico was alone again.

Thalia was numb. Her baby brother, her best friends. The grey-eyed girl who was the closest thing to a sister she had. The kelp-head that no matter how much they bickered, she loved all the same.

Her brother's girlfriend, who she had grown close with, despite the short time of them knowing each other. The Latino boy, who from the moment he stepped into camp, despite the mischief he caused, made it a happier place. The two Romans, who she had never met but still heard stories about, who seemed like the sweetest and bravest people she could've met.

And Jason. Oh, Jason. Her baby brother. The baby brother who was torn away from her at such a young age, only to be reunited then torn apart once again. But this time, they were apart forever.

Thalia shook the numbness from her heart and limbs, willing herself to walk closer to the limp body of her brother. She took in his appearance, his skin has lost the glow it used to have, being reduced to a paper white pale. His eyes were closed, never to reveal the sky blue irises nearly identical to her own. The worst of all was the stab wound directly in the center of his stomach, surrounded by dry blood and still slightly oozing with remnants of poison.

It was at that moment when she broke down, sobbing violently as she fell to her knees.

Oh Fates, why did you have to do this?

Grover was silent. He was silently crying, not knowing what to do with his emotions.

The two people who had saved him endless amounts of times, his two best friends. The boy who was his best friend for years, always sticking up for him and standing by him. The boy who never failed to be by his side. The boy who he shared an empathy link with.

The girl who was the rock, the glue that stuck them all together. The brains, the one with her feet always steadily on the ground. The girl who was always there when he needed her to be.

Dead. His best friends were gone, never to open their eyes to the world ever again.

Grover was supposed to be dead. The empathy link should have killed him. But it didn't.

Why? He should be dead. At least if he was dead, he could be with his best friends. But here he was, his heart still beating, weeping over his two lost companions, who he would never see alive and smiling, ever again.

The camps cried over their lost heroes. They cried for those who had fallen in the war.

But they cried the most for the ones who saved them all.

The pale bodies of the famed Seven were still held in the arms of the gods, who slowly walked through the crowd, which parted like the Red Sea the moment they passed by.

Each hair on their heads were smoothed, their bodies cleaned of the blood. Clean clothes were worn on their bodies, their treasured weapons and knick-knacks by their sides.

They looked peaceful. They didn't have to deal with the life of a demigod any longer. No more monsters, Titans, Giants, or Primordials.

They looked younger. With their eyes closed and chests stilled. It seemed as if they had never been demigods, only happy, youthful, normal teenagers. Every minute of anguish that had set itself upon their bodies had disappeared.

Their minds, that were plagued with memories of death and destruction, were cleared.

They were off to Elysium, where they could finally be together and live in peace, with no fear of monsters or war.

And oh, how their friends wished to join them. To escape the harsh realities of being a demigod. But alas, here they were, crying over the bodies of their best friends.

The smell of fire filled the air, as shrouds covered in fabric burned.

Tens of shrouds were placed in the amphitheater, but in the center stood seven shrouds.

The camp stood in front the memorials, watching as the ashes flaked off from the burning wood. Tears made their way down the faces of every person there. You could feel the grief radiating off the camp, the Camp Half-Blood campfire burning a low, black colored flame.

Every pleasant creature in the forest made it's way to pay their condolences.

Blackjack, Percy's pegasus best friend, was crying in the corner, not letting any demigod, god, saytr, or even another pegasus near him. All he wanted was his boss back, for him to give him a donut and fly away. But Blackjack would never see his boss again.

And as the last ashes of the burned shrouds drifted away into the wind, the world cried for the heroes that saved it.

And that moment sealed the reality that the Seven were truly dead.

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hey guys!

i got bored and i have major writer's block for the new gods of olympus, so i decided to post this chapter of the story. for some reason i find myself writing a lot for this story, and not new gods of olympus, which is normally my priority. so i'll be posting chapters for this story in the meantime while i try and write out a new chapter.

but anyways, i hope you guys like this chapter, it's in a whole different style than i usually write in so it's a nice change. i hope it didn't make you guys too emotional hah

on another note, here's the question of the chapter:

who's your favorite pjo/hoo character? ik this is an intensely hard question but you guys can have more than one answer.

i personally have always loved annabeth, but i also adore nico, hazel, will, and leo. they're all my children and i love them dearly.

anyways,

vote, comment, and follow for future updates,

i love you all,

xmaiax