The funerals were solemn. The campers gathered around the two shrouds, a sea of purple and orange T-shirts. The two camps had come together to mourn the losses of two great warriors and leaders.
The Seven were distraught. Every single one of them was in tears. Hazel was anguished over the death of her brother. She held onto Frank the entire time as the funerals continued.
The funerals were held at sunset, when Camp Half-Blood's valley was the most beautiful. The shrouds - one of stars shining in a pitch black sky, another of swords crossed over royal purple- were burned in silence. The shroud's spiraled heavenward, the flames reaching up towards a sky painted with an artist's hand.
The funerals have long since ended. Darkness had invaded the sky. The seven stood by the lake, talking in hushed tones.
"Nico told me he was a Starwatcher." Hazel confessed. "He made me swear to never tell anyone. I didn't know it would end like this for him...and for Reyna..."She wiped the diamond tears off her face, which glittered in the moonlight, and the Seven fell silent again.
Percy felt anger boil in his gut. The mortals had massacred the angels, not giving them a single fighting chance. The world leaders had been evacuated long before the angels were shot down. Where was the honor in that?
Then he looked at Annabeth. She had left the CIA after she had turned Nico in, filled with guilt both for what she did and what she said to Reyna. She had had no idea about the planned shooting, and she'd been as horrified and shocked as the rest when she heard about what had happened to the Clans. Percy's anger melted. There are still good things in this world, he thought. There are still good people.
Percy thought of Nico's life, what he'd been through, all of the times he'd saved him, and felt his heart swell with pride but also throb with grief. It was an honor to know him, he thought. And Reyna, too.
"Nico told me about Starclan," Hazel said. "He told me that's where Starwatcher angel warriors go when they die, to be with their ancestors." Everyone looked up to the stars, where their friends probably were now.
Two phrases of haunting words whispered through Percy's head:
Stars. I see the stars, my lady.
Tell the stars I said hello.
"Bob says hello," Percy whispered, just loud enough for Annabeth to hear.
Reyna had no idea where she was.
She was somewhere, but she didn't know what here was. The darkness, was encompassing, all consuming, as thick as mist and almost choking. The stumbled through on the rough ground, looking for a single, even the smallest sign of light.
She soon found it.
Suddenly, warriors with starry wings stood around her, chasing away the darkness with their pure, white-silver light. "Welcome to Starclan," one of them said. "Follow us."
They led Reyna to a starry forest, a light oasis in a desert of darkness. It was like the forest they had left behind, but far different. It was lush with green, growing plants, crowded with tall trees. Birds sang sweetly in the branches and a river gurgled cheerfully through the trees. Reyna somehow knew that there wasn't going to be any fighting and pain anymore. It's all going to be all right.
"Reyna!"
She turned to see Nico sprinting towards her. He looked brilliant in the starlight, his black wings embedded with stars. His face was radiant with joy. She rushed to him, happiness flooding her heart, and embraced him.
"Nico..." She kissed him, their third kiss now, and smiled. "Oh, I thought I'd lost you forever!" He shook his head. "The Starclan leader of old decided to let you in because you fought for us. You might not be a Starwatcher angel, but you have the heart of a warrior."
"Where are the other angel clans?" Reyna asked.
"Each clan has it's own definition of Heaven because they have different religions," Nico explained, "so the Warriors of old each created a Heaven for their own clan. But we can still visit them. It's a bit of a long story. I haven't been here long myself..." He looked over Reyna's shoulder and froze. His eyes grew wide with shock and disbelief, even as his face turned radiant again. "Stareye? Bianca? Mom?"
Nico rushed past Reyna to the three women standing behind her. He embraced them, and Reyna saw a number of tears being shed. After some precious words that she couldn't hear being exchanged, Reyna shyly went up to the quartet.
"Well done, Nico." Stareye said, looking even more beautiful in death than in life.
"I failed the clan," He whispered, shame and anguish manifesting on his face at her praise.
"You took a chance and failed, but you took it nonetheless. If you hadn't taken it, the Clans would still be in a war they would eventually lose. Leaders have to think outside of the box sometimes." (Frank Zhang quote, hey hey hey.)
Nico gazed at his lost family with the kind of love that even Hell can't extinguish. "Mom, Bianca..?" The woman and the girl, who Reyna had never seen before but almost looked like twins, hugged Nico. "Oh, my son..."
"Hi, Nicky." Bianca said, her face alight with joy.
Nico introduced Reyna to them, taking her hand gently in his. He turned and suddenly took in breath. "Reyna, look."
Below them, Reyna could see Camp Half-Blood, so, so far away in real life but looking so close. The seven stood by the lake- Leo, Frank, Hazel, Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper - all of them gazing up. Percy was whispering the words, "Bob says hello."
"We'll see them again." Nico squeezed Reyna's hand. "Until them, we'll always be with them."
Reyna gazed down at the Seven heroes and the place Nico had called home. She smiled, joy making her heart feel lighter. They'll be with their friends. Not physically, but in memory, and they'll watch over them from above. They'll watch them grow up and have kids and live life, even if she and Nico didn't get to do the same. They'll eventually be able to see them again, visit them in Elysium, but Reyna hoped that would be a long, long time from now.
"Starclan says hello," she whispered.
Nico kissed her cheek, speaking into her mind like he had done so, so long ago.
We're home now.
ENDING ONE.
NO I'M NOT CRYING AT ALL.
*Sniffs.*
But no, it's not over yet!
I have an alternate ending!
Stay tuned!