Hazel Levesque sighed, getting lost in her memories for the umpteenth time. She really had no idea what else to do, and at least her memories weren’t as dull as the Fields of Asphodel.

  Her memories were anything but dull, of course. Her first life had thought so, forcibly replaying time and time again through brutal flashbacks. Hazel had managed to get control over her memories, instead of losing herself in them, but that didn’t make them any less painful. Then her second life had started hopeful, but suddenly ended in despair.

  However, Hazel didn’t want to forget. Even though it went down in flames, Hazel knew now that memories were important. The empty souls in Asphodel were proof of that. Unlike them, she had her memories, and she had hope.

  Because Hazel’s friends were coming for her, and they would never give up on her. Or at least, that was what she had to keep reminding herself.

  Annabeth Chase, their leader, and the one Hazel most looked up to. Hazel had heard a lot about her from Percy, and the daughter of Athena had seemed almost mythical, with how much Percy held her in high regard. Hazel wasn’t sure how to approach her when they first met. Fortunately, Annabeth had made it very easy to do.

  “No, he didn’t!” Hazel gasped, but Annabeth’s wry grin didn’t falter, continuing one of her many stories on Percy’s ‘Seaweed Brain’ moments.

  “Yep. So I’m all going, he’s the bravest demigod I ever knew…and he’s standing right there!” She dramatically pointed behind them, and Hazel couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Oh, I was so mad at the time…but it was pretty funny.” Annabeth shook her head.

  “It makes so much sense now. All he remembered when he first got to Camp was you.” Hazel realized. “Well, that and his disdain for Mars. He refused to kneel when Mars showed up!”

  “That sounds like him.” Annabeth fondly said. “When he was twelve, he challenged Ares to a duel!”

  Hazel spluttered, aghast. “I thought he was joking! Is he trying to get himself killed?!”

  “That’s what I’m asking!” Annabeth exasperatedly said. “On our very first quest, we killed the Medusa. He put her head in a box, and sent it to Olympus itself! Just to annoy the gods!”

  They laughed together, and Hazel could feel the kinship forming between them. “What about you? I assume Percy lived up to his ‘Seaweed Brain’ on your quest too.”

  Hazel scoffed good-naturedly. “Oh, there were definitely a few moments.”

  She smiled, recalling the good times. It was just a simple conversation, but laughter and joy had an importance that couldn’t be measured. It was often the invisible things that made the most difference. Piper, their emotional expert, would often say things along those lines.

  “Happy birthday, Hazel!” Piper took her hands off Hazel’s eyes with a cheer, and the rest of the Seven joined her shout.

  Festus the figurehead gave a celebratory roar and spewed fire into the air. Next to the dragonhead, Jason floated in the air while holding a big paper banner reading ‘HAPPY B-DAY HAZEL’. Apparently, everyone must have worked on it since she saw pictures of gray owls, golden eagles, bronze dragons, and blue unicorns.

  Hazel shyly grinned, as Frank swept her up in a big bear hug. She fanned herself in embarrassment, as the rest of the Seven followed suit. She didn’t know what to say.

  December 17, her birthday. Four months after the destruction of Camp Half-Blood, and two months after the fall of Camp Jupiter and their escape on the Argo III. Two months on the run, trying to outmaneuver Gaia’s forces hunting them.

  The losses still hurt so much, and Hazel knew she wasn’t the only one hurting. Yet… “You guys didn’t have to…”

  “We thought it was good to do something happy and fun, with everything that’s happened…” Leo trailed off, deciding not to continue on that train of thought (or wish someone else was here with them, instead of a cursed island). “Anyway, we still couldn’t just ignore it! It’s not every day you turn fourteen!”

  “I remember when I was fourteen,” Percy declared dramatically (his left arm hung limply at his side, still in a cast from an ambush last week). He lowered his voice in an imitation of an old man. “Back in my day, when I was your age, I had to bear the weight of the sky on my very shoulders.”

  “And yet you’re still the same Seaweed Brain today.” Annabeth rolled her eyes at him (those eyes had dark, heavy bags under them from countless nightmares).

  Jason landed with the banner, rolling it out on the floor (Hazel pretended to ignore how he avoided putting weight on his right leg). “I drew the unicorns, at Frank’s suggestion. Though someone insisted on coloring it blue.”

  Hazel laughed at Percy’s betrayed expression. “You snitched!”

  “I think anyone could tell who would color it blue, Perce.” Frank pointed out, hiding a smile (how much pain was that hidden smile keeping back?).

  Hazel wanted to cry. Despite everything that they were going through, the threat of death at any moment, they went ahead and made a silly banner and surprise party, all just for her. And because of them, just for a moment, she could believe they were a normal group of friends at a normal birthday party.

  “Oh my gods!” Piper squealed suddenly. “Hazel is only fourteen, and she’s our youngest! She’s a baby!”

  “Huh?” Hazel flushed, confused at the expression.

  Leo immediately smiled mischievously. “That’s right! Hazel’s the baby, guys!”

  “Just because I’m younger,” Hazel pouted. “Doesn’t mean I’m a baby!”

  “I dunno, Hazie.” Piper teased, and Hazel started at the childish nickname. “Seems pretty clear to me.”

  “She has a point.” Annabeth pretended to consider it.

  Hazel looked at Frank for support, but he just smiled lopsidedly and shrugged, so she turned back to the others. “I’m actually eighty-four, you know.”

  “Doesn’t count!” Percy decided.

  “You always be our little baby, Hazel!” Piper cuddled her with a big grin. Hazel whined in protest, but she honestly didn’t mind. Today was going to be a good day, away from the pain of reality and instead with her friends who would sacrifice the world for her.

  One of her last good memories of her second life. Hazel felt herself feel light and warm whilst she relived the experience, trying to experience the same feelings as back then.

  She wouldn’t be the baby anymore if they got her out sooner, Hazel thought suddenly. In fact, Hazel was pretty sure she was the oldest one right now. Would they still see her as the ‘little sister’?

  To be fair, they all had the same maturity as before they time-traveled, so age was sort of irrelevant to them, wasn’t it? They were all certainly more mature than what their age implied.

  Besides, if maturity was a person, it would be Jason without a doubt, regardless of age.

  “You never really forgave me for not wanting to rescue Nico, did you?” Jason quietly asked, and Hazel stiffened.

  She kept staring out at the ocean, the water shining in the sun. They were on lookout duty for the time being, and while the waves certainly didn’t do wonders for Hazel’s stomach, Jason’s accusation seemed to put it into more turmoil, jumbling back and forth inside her.

  “I think I need to apologize further for that.” Jason tried to meet her gaze, before sighing. “Piper calls me careful, but I think ‘indecisive’ might be more true. I never make a decision on the fly. I try to know and compromise for everything. And I’ve never made choices based on what I wanted, only what was best for everyone.”

  Jason sounded defeated, so Hazel guessed this was something he had come to terms with recently. “When Leo brought the idea of Nico’s loyalty, you defended Nico, for good reason. But I thought it was best to find a compromise, to deliberate between you two. It’s what I’ve always done.”

  “But…I talked about Nico as an unknown factor in our quest, seeing him as either a benefit or detriment…and not as your brother. And I didn’t make a decision. I said we had to be careful, but that implied Nico was untrustworthy. What I said was taken poorly because of my thoughtlessness, so I’m really sorry.”

  Hazel buried her head in her hands, trying to wrap her head around all this. Jason watched her quietly, waiting for her response.

  “...You’re a legend in Camp Jupiter, Jason. They see you as a perfect hero who can do no wrong. But you’re just another person. You make mistakes, and you apologize.” Hazel sighed, turning to face Jason. “And that’s all I can ask for.”

  He stood silent for a moment, processing the words. Slowly, it dawned on him that she was forgiving him. “The perfect hero was the image I’ve had to maintain for years. But I’m glad you’d rather see me as just a person instead.”

  She wanted to ask, ‘But what do you want?’ Hazel studied his eyes. “Do you calculate everything you say before you say it? It’s very…cold.”

  Jason froze like a deer in headlights, before nodding in deflated resignation. “It’s…habit.”

  She reached over and hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, which Jason didn’t seem to mind.

  “I’m not good with emotions and feelings,” He admitted, “Mostly since I can’t figure my own. Piper’s my lifeline for that stuff.”

  “I’m sure she’ll be glad to hear it.” Hazel tapped her fingers on the railing. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brought this up?”

  “In Ithaca, I saw my mom again, as you know.” Jason started slowly, and Hazel nodded. It hadn’t been fun to see him return with a stab in the gut, but it was already completely healed (something about finding a cure with Percy? She wasn’t sure). “The first and only thing I learned from my family was that people leave, and promises are broken. That’s why I always followed the rules…so that no one around me would ever feel betrayed or abandoned like I did.”

  Hazel thought about her mother, and how like Jason, she didn’t have a great one. But even to the very end, she had never left Hazel, and Hazel never left her either. They stayed together while the world crumbled around them, despite everything that had happened between them. She didn’t want to imagine being abandoned instead. The thought terrified her, if she was being honest.

  Did Sammy ever feel like he was abandoned by her?

  “You know we won’t leave you, Jason.” Hazel softly reminded. “Even if we aren’t your family.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to say though,” Jason smiled, pure and sincere. There was not a single ounce of hesitation or deception. “To me, you guys are my family.”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Family. Unlike others, Hazel knew with certainty he meant it. That’s just the type of person Jason was. When he had said that, Hazel had immediately felt the urge to try and deny it. She couldn’t.

  As soon as Jason put the thought in her mind, Hazel realized if the Seven weren’t a family, then she didn’t know what was. They weren’t one in the traditional sense. But their friendship, built on struggles, laughter, and near-death situations, ran deeper than any bloodline could, even with how complicated godly family relations were.

  How else did Piper's constant motherly care for them all make sense? Or Jason’s father-like steadfastness and reliability, keeping them anchored when Annabeth and Percy were gone?

  How could you explain Percy trying to protect everyone like an older brother, even when he had just come back from Tartarus? Or even Leo’s mischievous and annoying antics, which Annabeth often compared to her little brothers, now felt natural to them. And she knew she wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t have it any other way.

  “Jason! Hazel!” Leo came jogging up the stairs, visibly excited. Percy followed him, grinning ear to ear. “I have a great idea!”

  Usually, when Leo said something like this, it did not turn out very well. However, he insisted it was different, and Percy backed him up on it. “Trust me, just hear him out.”

  Jason shrugged and nodded. Hazel was a little more skeptical. “Weren’t you two working on the engine?”

  “To be honest, it was really just me,” Leo started, before changing the subject when Percy glared at him. “Anyways, I finished up a while ago. So Percy and I were down at the mess hall, and we were watching Avatar.”

  After they had left Epirus and the Doors of Death, Leo had added a TV to the mess hall, since they voted 5-2 that it was worth the risk of more monsters. Hazel didn’t really see the big appeal about a flashing screen, but it wasn’t like she was the intended demographic, of course.

  “Avatar? The one with the blue people?” Jason frowned. “I don’t see how that–”

  “No, the one with the elements!” Percy replied, sounding offended. “Where’s your childhood, dude?”

  Jason threw up his hands in defense. “Hey, I’ve watched that one too! Besides, I was raised in Camp Jupiter and the Wolf House. They won’t let us watch movies or TV shows often.”

  “I didn’t watch it.” Hazel timidly added, trying to take some heat off Jason.

  Percy just patted her on the head and said, “We’ll make you watch it, don’t worry.”

  “Avatar is all about the four elements, earth, water, fire, and air.” Leo pointed to each of them one by one dramatically, an expecting look on his face. “See where I’m going with this?”

  Jason blinked, a little confused. “You want us to…act out the show, or something?”

  “The opening, to be precise!” Percy grinned infectiously, and Hazel struggled to not smile. “It’s going to be awesome.”

  Hazel couldn’t help but giggle out loud as she recalled the flabbergasted expression on Annabeth’s face, who later wondered if she should allow Percy and Leo to ever come up with ideas together again. On the other hand, Piper was delighted by their performance, whereas Frank looked like he didn’t know how to react.

  Oh, Frank. Sweet, brave, kind Frank. Always trusting, always believing in her. He never changed, even after his transformation in Venice, and despite suddenly becoming big, bulky, and strong, Frank never let his anger control him. Though many saw him as a terrifying war leader after the Blessing of Mars, he was still the gentle panda bear inside, and he never let Hazel think otherwise.

  So in return, Hazel would never let him bring himself down.

  Hazel jumped as Frank suddenly sat beside her, not even noticing he had approached. “Sorry, sorry. Are you still on edge?”

  “Too on edge to sleep, even though I’m exhausted,” Hazel admitted. “I’ve only begun learning to use the Mist for a week, but now I’m sending sorceresses into imaginary pits.”

  “Yeah. You’re amazing.” Frank agreed, and Hazel just chuckled. “We can take the night watch together then if you want.”

  She nodded, so they stayed on the deck of the ship, sailing into the night. These moments of peace were few and far between for them, and rarely were they this beautiful as well. The stars glimmered and looked back at them, shining across the sky like the diamonds Hazel could summon. A little ways behind them, Percy and Annabeth stared upwards too, and Percy reached up to the stars, saying something.

  She decided to give them their space for now. Hazel was more than happy to stay in the company of Frank, hands intertwined and feeling his warmth in the cool night air.

  “It’s beautiful.” She murmured, wishing this moment could last forever.

  Frank squeezed her hand gently. “So are you.”

  She couldn’t help but smile shyly, giving him a quick kiss. “You never struck me as a romantic, Frank Zhang.”

  “Do I strike you as a leader, then?” He murmured thoughtfully, eyes turning to the twinkling stars.

  “What do you mean?” Hazel frowned, a little concerned. Frank wasn’t doubting himself again, was he? “Of course you do. And you’ve proven it to everyone else at the Doors of Death. I wish I could’ve seen it.”

  He nodded, but his expression was still troubled. “Yeah…but is it enough? I’m supposed to be a leader, but it took me so long to step up. Jason and Percy have way more experience than me. Everyone keeps telling me to take charge, but I can’t bear the thought of letting them down.”

  Hazel couldn’t stand seeing him like this. She grabbed his hand tightly and locked her eyes with his. “Frank, experience doesn’t make someone a perfect leader. And being a leader doesn’t mean you're perfect. It means being brave enough to take charge and move forward, even when no one else will. Especially when no one else will.”

  Frank took a deep breath, shivering slightly. “My father once said that the Seven would need my sense of duty. Is that what he meant?”

  “Maybe.” Hazel placed her forehead against his, ignoring how her face felt like it was warming up. “But I know you can do it. I believe and trust in you, and so do our friends. So believe and trust in yourself, okay?”

  Memories were interesting. They could hurt like a curse which Hazel knew too well, but they could also be joyful and warm hands of healing. Memories were the only thing separating her past from her future, her tragedy from her destiny, and her failure from her hope.

  Her walk down memory lane was eventually interrupted by a welcome surprise. Before her eyes, not one, not two, but three shimmering rainbows sprang to life out of nowhere, cutting through the doom and gloom of Asphodel instantaneously. On one rainbow, the image of Jason and Frank materialized. In another, Percy and Annabeth. And the last, Piper and Leo. Her friends…her family.

  “You all remembered!” Annabeth cried out delightfully.

  Piper laughed, her voice ringing melodiously like music to Hazel, her ears already accustomed to the bleak and dreary echo of the Underworld. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world, Annie.”

  “I can’t believe we all did it at the same time.” Frank’s smile was brighter than all the rainbows combined as he turned to Hazel. “I’m glad we found a good time to do so, though.”

  “Guess who made it to camp!” Leo crowed, waving at all of them.

  “Guess who fell off the Gateway Arch!” Percy whooped back.

  “So you all are doing well, then?” Hazel asked.

  Annabeth cleared her throat. “Right, that’s what this is for. I need everyone’s updates.”

  Hazel listened with rapt attention, feeling no small amount of giddiness. She didn’t have any updates, of course, but they still converged their Iris-Messages on her nevertheless. They included her without a second thought, even though there was technically no reason to do so if they were just sharing information, and that meant a lot to her.

  “I’ll start. As Percy said, we fell off the Gateway Arch because someone’s idea didn’t go as planned.” Annabeth shot a pointed look at Percy, who raised his arms up in surrender.

  “Hey, you know I’m not the idea person.” Percy protested. “Besides, we met the Nereid this way. We need her pearls later.”

  Jason raised an eyebrow at that seemingly random need but didn’t interrupt.

  “We helped Ares find his shield,” Percy continued, and why Annabeth turned red when he said that, Hazel didn’t know. “And we’ll be heading to Las Vegas soon.”

  Jason tentatively asked, “Ares? Isn’t he going to frame you later with the Master Bolt?”

  “We have a plan for that.” Annabeth replied.

  “Our plan is to wing it.” Percy brightly agreed.

  Leo nodded. “I like those plans.”

  “Enough.” Piper smacked Leo on the back of his head, and Annabeth looked like she wanted to do the same to Percy. “Let them finish.”

  “Nico and Bianca should be in Las Vegas. We’ll try to find them.” Annabeth continued. Percy nodded seriously at that. “We’ll try to bargain with Hades in the Underworld after that.”

  “Will it work?” Frank asked dubiously.

  “Probably not.” Percy sighed. “But we have to anyway. We have to bait Ares into showing up, and the Master Bolt only appears in his stupid backpack when we get to the Underworld.”

  He raised the stupid backpack in question into the rainbow frame, and Hazel wondered how an unassuming object could potentially start a godly war. Percy caught Hazel’s eye and grinned at her. “We’ll be joining you down there soon, Hazel!”

  “Don’t you make it a permanent residence, Percy.” Hazel scolded, but her face was all smiles.

  Annabeth gave Hazel an assuring smile, before getting back down to business. “That’s about all, though. Jason, Frank, what about you guys?”

  “Lupa just announced the Titan War to the Senate.” Frank began. “The Trojan Sea Monster also appeared near the camp, and Jason and I had to fight it off. We’re going on a quest to kill it, or else it could come back.”

  “You guys are moving faster than us.” Percy noted.

  “Nothing surprising has happened yet, though,” Jason assured. “I already know where it is, so we’ll just go in, kill it, get out. It should be smooth sailing.”

  Leo chuckled dryly. “We don’t have the best track record with that, but let's hope.”

  “You’re leading the quest, Jason?” Piper asked.

  “He is,” Frank confirmed, patting him on the back. “He just got promoted to centurion too!”

  There was a quick chorus of ‘congratulations’ and ‘great job’. Hazel clapped brightly, wishing she had been there to see it. Jason was a natural leader, a huge factor during the Titan War in Camp Jupiter. This was a good step to ensuring success in the coming years, she knew.

  Jason smiled in thanks, but Hazel noticed it didn’t seem quite genuine. With his face downcast, Jason’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Hazel’s smile faded as she wondered why.

  Piper seemed to notice as well, and Hazel exchanged a worried look with her. Her friend was always good at sensing emotions, and so she changed the subject hurriedly with a loud clap. “Anyway, so it looks like you two are on pace, then.”

  Jason nodded a bit too hastily. “What about you two?”

  “Oh, Leo’s still causing us trouble.” Percy immediately interrupted, mock-glaring at the aforementioned demigod. “Thanks for framing us, dude.”

  “It was Pipes’ idea!” Leo protested. “Besides, I didn’t exactly get off with no suspicion. You should have seen how suspicious Chiron and Luke were. They were this close to strapping me down and turning me into a medieval torture project!”

  Hazel snickered at his dramatization, and couldn’t resist a quick jest. “Well, they would burn you in the old days but I guess they figured it wouldn’t work on you.”

  Annabeth rolled her eyes at both of them. “Quit overreacting, Leo.”

  “Yeah, Chiron saves his torture devices for me.” Percy added.

  “What Leo means,” Piper emphasized loudly, letting Percy escape from Annabeth’s slap again, “Is that we’re just trying to fit into Camp as of now. You guys are out on quests, but we can’t do too much without arousing suspicion right here.”

  Annabeth didn’t seem surprised, and she nodded. “But have you at least accessed Bunker 9, Leo?”

  “That’s what we’re going to do later today, actually.” Leo replied.

  “Good,” Annabeth said with a finality. “While we should IM each other anytime we need to, we’ll also have meetings with all seven of us so that no one gets left in the dark.”

  Hazel tried not to beam at that last sentence.

  “Like, every one to two weeks?” Jason suggested. “Keep using the same time as today too, if possible.”

  “Sounds good.” Percy nodded. “See you all next week then, guys.”

  “If anything comes up though, don’t wait.” Frank reminded. “Until then, good luck everyone.”

  Leo waved goodbye. “Can’t wait to do this again. This was fun!”

  One by one, Hazel wished them good luck and goodbye as their rainbow images fizzled out. Frank (and by extension, Jason) was the last one to go. He was trying and failing to not worry, unable to stop himself from fussing over her and repeatedly asking if she was still doing alright.

  And while it was sweet, Hazel did have to tell him to go. “You can call me later, Frank. You have a quest to get to!”

  He sighed, drooping like a sad panda. “I know, I know. I’ll see you soon, Hazel.”

  The image faded away, and the alien brilliance disappeared from the Underworld. Even though it returned to its natural shadow and coldness, Hazel felt brighter than ever before.

  Her friends were all out there, changing fate on their quests and preparing for the trials ahead. Hazel wished she could be there with them right now, to be able to do her part with them side-by-side. But she was stuck in Asphodel, with no way to return to the living world anytime soon.

  Annabeth and Percy were coming down, and while they were optimistic, they all knew bringing Hazel back to life was impossible at this moment. They had their own quest, their own high stakes, and their own time limit. Even if it wasn’t implausible at best, Hazel didn’t want to drag them away from their duty for such a hopeless endeavor. Unfortunately, that meant all she could do was wait.

  Or was that really all she could do?

  Hazel clenched her fist tightly, the silence of the barren Fields of Asphodel feeling more deafening than ever. This was a desolate wasteland that amplified despair and doubt, and it was why all lost their minds after enough wandering.

  But not her. She was the daughter of Pluto, the god of the Underworld. Hazel could not give up while her friends were out there, fighting tooth and nail to keep the hope of a better future alive. She might not be able to contribute to the living world, but Hazel wouldn’t sit around and wait any longer.

  Even if she was dead, this realm was her birthright. Hazel refused to be powerless here. She gazed at the souls of the dead around her and reached out to them with her mind. Their blank thoughts and fading spirits tugged at the edges of her senses, bending to her will ever so slightly.

  Far, far ahead, were the black towers of a castle stretched to the ceiling of the Underworld, Pluto’s fortress casting a foreboding shadow on the plains of the dead. A symbol of dread, but to Hazel, it was her beacon of opportunity. Hazel was going to change her fate, and she was done just waiting for it to happen.

  Hazel decided it was time to pay a visit to dear old dad.

  ‘How touching. Their bonds have not only withstood the fraying of time and space, but actively strengthened and deepened in connection. Surely, this will go a long way into achieving the better fate they believe they can have.

  The happy memories that do not seem important in the midst of grand adventures show their value in hindsight. Minuscule moments of time that seem insignificant give so much more meaning to the short lives of mortals, it seems.

  For what is a life if you have no memories to look back upon? What value is there in an event you do not remember? Without the learned experience with one another, what’s the point of any relationship?

  I hope these children may have more memories, short but joyful, that can carry them through their trial coming forward.

  They will need them.