~Playlist: "The Dark" by Beth Crowley~

"I see not black and white but silver and gray"

Piper's POV

We're all huddled around a large table, at least thirty of us sitting and even more standing. Annabeth is on my left, and Leo on my right. They surround me, offering protection in their unknown words and flicking glances at my face. I pretend not to notice, and stare fixedly at the person directly across from me: Clarisse la Rue. I attempt to mirror the emotionless expression on her face as she scans the room.

But I can't. There's too much happening behind my eyes to pretend, to mask it. I shiver at a coldness only I seem to feel. The memory of Willow screaming for me to cut her fills my ears, the helplessness in her voice filling my veins with ice cold fear, even now when I'm in the midst of familiar faces and friends. It comes back, and I have to convince myself that I really am here and not in the cold, dark room with a screaming Willow, shadows filling her eyes and covering her pale skin--

Fingers wrapping around my wrist anchor me, keep me from floating too far into my own mind. Breathlessly, I look at Annabeth, her gray eyes stabilizing me just as much as the cold hand around my arm. I offer her a fake smile, shoving as much energy and positivity in it as I can muster. I look away, knowing that she didn't fall for it.

"It doesn't make any sense," Esmerelda says loudly as she slams the door open, her voice filling the room before she does. Her eyes glare at us crowded in the room, daring anyone to disagree.

"What doesn't make any sense?" Reyna asks after no one else does.

Esmerelda's eyes shine triumphantly. "Willow. After months of her killing us all and proving to be evil, she gives us this explanation. Half-god and half-monster? Such a thing doesn't even exist."

"Unless she's the first," Sam says from his spot next to Daphne at the head of the table. "There's a first for everything, Es."

She glares at him with hard emerald. "But why?"

Sam opens his mouth to respond, but Daphne cuts him off. "That's not what we're here to discuss, Esmerelda."

"What are we here for?" asks Thalia from her place at the edge of the room. I catch sight of Reyna looking up at her before quickly looking down again. Then I see it.

A long string stretches across the room, one end coming from Reyna, connecting to Thalia. It's long and thick as a rope and a color that I've never seen before: close to indigo, somewhere between a blue and purple. My eyes stare at it hungrily, looking at the frayed strings unraveling from it. Half of it is undone while the other half remains woven together.

I stare at it breathlessly, ignoring the words swirling around me as the others continue talking.

Then I see another one.

This time, it's a dark green, and it stretches between Sam and Esmerelda. It's much thicker than Reyna and Thalia's with less loose ends.

Like I'm playing a game, I look at each person, trying to find their string.

Annabeth's is a light blue, and at the other end of it is Percy. But there's something strange that Esmerelda and Sam's doesn't have: a reflection. It's almost transparent, but it's there.

I turn to my other side to look at Leo's, and I almost jump in surprise. Leo has two, and both have reflections as well. One of them is the color of dust and sand with Hazel at the other end and the other is a deep orange that doesn't connect to anyone in the room; it continues through the wall to whomever is at the other end.

"Piper?" Annabeth asks, her voice soft and worried. "Are you listening?"

I start, my entire body jolting. I look at her through shattered eyes, taking in everything she's showing me: concern, love, curiosity, pain.

"Willow agreed to tell us all of her bases and attack plans," Annabeth whispers to me. "We're going to win."

The excitement in her voice is undeniably real, but I can't don it like I do a shirt. I nod, and paste a plaster smile to my face. But my teeth begin to chatter with cold, and Annabeth's eyes don't stray from my face.

"How do we know what she tells us won't be a lie?" asks Jason, his voice not accusatory, but concerned.

"We don't," says Esmerelda. "But we do know that if what she tells us is a trick, we're the ones who can hurt her, not the other way around. We have the good hand here, not her."

"That would have been helpful to know before we went on a suicide mission," Percy says, his voice raw and hoarse. Annabeth turns towards him, and takes his hand into hers.

Suddenly, all attention is placed on Percy. His eyes flash with anger and annoyance, but he doesn't say anything, not even when everyone continues to stare at him.

"Tell us what happened there," Daphne prompts gently, her brown eyes glowing with warmth.

Percy licks his lips. He opens his mouth to speak just as the door creaks open. Silena slips inside, her bright eyes looking around the room expectantly. Her string trails behind her, either a deep pink or a lighter red. I sharply gasp as I see the other half is chopped in half brutally, the frayed strings reaching out for the other end that isn't there anymore.

"Where's Charlie?" she asks, her voice chipper and light. Realization crashes over me as I realize no one has told her yet. "He said he'd meet me under the cherry tree after the mission, but he isn't there. I waited for hours, but he never came. Where is he?"

Silence greets her question, no one able to meet her eyes. Except for me. I stare at the girl, the same girl that was broken by a guard months ago. Now she's threatening to break again, this time right in front of me.

"Where is Charlie?" she repeats, her voice still peppy. "Is he hurt? Is he in the infirmary?"

"He's not hurt," Daphne manages to say.

"Then where is he?"

My gaze remains solely focused on her string, the way it falls limply to the ground in a way no one else's does. It trails on the ground behind her like a ghostly wedding veil as she walks closer to the table.

"We went on the mission together," Percy finally says, his voice still hoarse. "Straight to the control room to shut down the entire place. But a bunch of monsters came, and he told me to fight them. So I left him and...he locked me out. He told me to run. So I did, and he stayed in the room. It exploded as I left. Beckendorf's gone, Silena. I'm so sorry."

Her beautiful face freezes, and I watch as she completely ices over. "Gone?" Her voice is as brittle and sharp as an icicle.

Then she melts.

Tears slide down her face, trailing like her broken string. She stands in the doorframe crying, her body shuddering with sobs.

Suddenly, Clarisse stands up, and rushes over to the girl. She envelops the smaller girl into a hug, her strong arms wrapping around Silena. She completely leans into Clarisse, who escorts her out of the room, muttering something about hot chocolate.

The room is left in silence.

"This meeting is done," Daphne announces, sounding exhausted.

"Daph-" Sam starts to say, but she stands up, her chair screeching in protest, and walks out of the room. Sam goes after her, Esmerelda following him.

"What's wrong?" Leo asks, but his voice is muddled in my mind, like I'm listening to him speak from underwater. He grabs my shoulder, and spins me to look at him. "Hey, Piper, I'm talking to you."

I shiver, a spasm of frost settling over me. The feeling is familiar, as if I've been frozen before. I can feel the numbing coldness spreading to my fingers, crystallizing my nerves. I blink up at his fiery warmth, my eyelashes each a small icicle that scrapes against my skin. My skin is a frozen tundra, my heart an iceberg. Each ragged breath I inhale is laced with cold ice crystals, freezing my lungs until I suffocate.

"Piper?" Leo asks again, oblivious to my freezing. "Beauty Queen, are you okay? You're looking at me funny."

My eyes glaze over with a thin sheet of ice. A haughty female laugh fills my ears, the noise colder than the ice inside me. I would shiver if I could move as she swirls into existence before my eyes, standing behind Leo.

"Even in another universe, I remember you, Piper McLean," the woman says, her dark eyes glaring at me. Her dark hair waves in the icy wind around her. "This time, no one will stop me from having you."

Then she's gone and by Leo's gasp, I know he can see the ice coating me.

"Oh my gods," he exclaims, reaching for me. He quickly retracts his hand after feeling the cold. "Jason! Annabeth! Literally anyone!"

Cold. It's so cold. The image of the girl's eyes burns in my mind, the hatred in them scraping my soul raw. I'm frozen in more ways than one, and the frost creeps into my brain.

"Piper."

Jason is next to Leo, his eyes swimming with worry. But the coldness is too much to fight. I close my eyes, the ice that coated them shattering, but solidifying enough to seal my eyes shut.

The last thing I feel are Jason's arms catching me as I fall, knowing that if I land, I will shatter completely.

"You caught me moments before I hit the ground"