Hazel and the Phantoms

A Talk with Repair Boy

Jason and Hazel sat in silence for a minute before Jason said, "Is Piper okay?"

"I think so. I haven't talked to her in a while."

"Apollo? Meg? Grover? They're all okay?"

"Everyone's fine, Jason."

"Percy... Has he figured out what he's going for?"

"He's choosing between three things. He either wants to do marine biology, aquaculture, or he wants to be a social worker at a school or something. Find kids like him, who had to deal with similar things he had to deal with when he was younger, and help them, mortal or demigod."

Jason started tearing up. "That's such a Percy thing to do."

"Kinda like how sacrificing yourself for your friends is a Percy thing to do." Hazel said snarkily.

"Gods, I really did pull a Percy, huh?" Jason said, looking down at his lap. "I don't want to be dead, Hazel. I feel like I'm missing so much..."

"I know the feeling." Hazel said, taking a deep breath. "I missed a lot when I died."

"How did everyone take my death?"

"Nico suppressed it, as he always does. Percy and Annabeth wept for maybe three days. Apollo... He took whatever you told him to heart. Leo apparently showed up right before Piper got on the plane to Oklahoma. Neither of them took it well. Thalia didn't cry in front of anyone, she came a couple days after the funeral." Hazel explained, taking in a deep breath. "Frank and Reyna were upset, but they had to set an example, so they didn't do much crying. I've never seen them so... So blank faced and stoic. I was one of the few people who cried. I still cry when I see things that remind me of you. You know how Romans are with not showing emotion. It's seen as weak. Nobody let me leave the cohort until I stopped crying. I must've stayed in there for days. And with Frank being too reckless and burning the rest of his wood-"

"He WHAT!?"

"He's not dead, surprisingly, but since I'm one of the few people who can keep him under control, the whole thing wasn't good. We lost a lot of people. Your project is going good though. We have a lot of temples on Temple Hill."

"I don't care about that right now." Jason said, giving Hazel a concerned look. "I just want to know that everyone's okay. I... I didn't get to say goodbye to so many people..."

Hazel looked over at the small greenhouse area of the studio, noticing sunlight coming through the windows. "Maybe you can start..."

"Hazel, what are you-" Jason started to ask, watching as Hazel grabbed a hose and put the setting on mist.

Hazel grabbed a gold drachma out of her pockets and flicked it into the mist. "Yo Fleecee, do me a solid. Leo Valdez, Waystation."

"Hazel-" Jason started to protest.

"I know what I'm doing." Hazel said, watching as Leo's image filled the mist. "Hey Leo!"

"Hazel, hey!" Leo said happily, smiling at Hazel. His face grew into confusion. "Where are you? There's three guys staring at you right now."

Hazel turned to see Luke, Alex, and Reggie giving her confused looks. She turned back to Leo, shrugging. "Ignore them. I'm just glad you can see them."

"Everything okay? How's the new school?"

"Fine. Math is hard because it isn't like it was in the 30's, but-"

"You have a phone now, right?" Leo asked, scrambling for a piece of paper. "I'm writing down my number so I remember to give it to you. Call me, and I will help you. You know that math's my thing."

"I know. A lot's happened these past couple days."

"Like what?"

Hazel looked over at Jason, who was nervously standing in the corner. "If he would get over here, I could start explaining."

"Hazel, I really don't think-"

"Hazel... That isn't who I think it is..." Leo said, staggering back.

Hazel kept her gaze locked on Jason. "Nico is the Ghost King, and since I'm his sister, that makes me the Ghost Princess. Do not make me force you to come over here, Sparky."

"Sparky?" Luke asked, laughing a bit.

"Shh!" Jason said, reluctantly coming over and sitting in the ground next to Hazel. He looked over at Leo's scared face. "Hey, Repair Boy."

Leo's tearfilled eyes looked over at Hazel. "This isn't a prank, is it?"

Hazel shook her head, moving her hand through Jason's body. Jason shivered. "That feels weird..."

"Why is he not in the Underworld?" Leo asked. "And are those guys behind you-"

"Also ghosts, and it might have something to do with unfinished business. You are the only person I've told about this. I haven't even told Frank that he's officially here. I told him my theory, but-"

"What do we do?" Leo asked, looking over at Jason. "I want to hug my friend again."

"I want to hug you too. I want to see you in person... There's a lot I want to do." Jason said, feeling tears well up behind his eyes. "I want to see all of our friends again."

Leo took in a deep breath. "How do we do this?"

"No idea." Hazel said truthfully. "I need to make a lot of calls-"

"Jo, can you call Calypso and I out of school?" Leo yelled. "I kinda have to deal with an emergency. Defcon 1."

"Leo, you don't-"

"I let you go once before, Jason. I'm not letting you go again." Leo said, taking a deep breath. "I have a lot of numbers for you, Hazel. My phone number, Piper's-"

"Are we sure that this is a good idea?" Hazel asked.

"No, but you know me. I try not to think. It interferes with being nuts!" Leo said, tears starting to stream through his eyes. "I'll handle Reyna, Thalia, and anyone from Camp Half-Blood who wants to know. Maybe I can get in contact with Apollo so that he can go talk to Meg. You handle Frank, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth. We're going to figure out Jason's unfinished business if it's the last thing we do on this Earth."

"Leo..." Jason said, tears streaming down his face.

"We missed you, Jason. If you need help, we're going to help." Leo said, smiling at Hazel. "I'm gonna read off these phone numbers, and then I'm gonna go."

"Okay." Hazel said, getting out her phone and started putting in the numbers. Once she was done, Leo waved goodbye as the message floated away.

"You have a lot of people who care about you, Jason." Reggie said, smiling at Jason and Hazel. "We can't wait to meet them."

"Is it okay if I stay here?" Jason asked. "A lot happened, and-"

"Of course it is."  Hazel said happily. "I gotta go. See ya tomorrow?"

Jason nodded. "Tomorrow."