#i was going to have this end with Nico going home and Jason is actually still alive and the grave is just there as a reminder | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

halothenthehorns · 3 months ago

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Chapter 21: (JASON XX)- OMELETE DUDE FROM MARS

Percy’s brain was fidgeting around a bit as he sat staring at Jason’s name at the top next to the double x’s for a few moments without surprise, his mind spinning through seven different thoughts. He’d really thought he’d be out of this nightmare activity when he left the ocean, hopefully that wasn’t a creepy foreshadow of Jason dying, now he was volunteering for this back at home. If he ever needed to call in a world ending favor to Jason, that boy better come running.

JASON XX

IF THE ENTRY HALL HAD BEEN COLD, the throne room was like a meat locker.

“With what kind of meat inside?” Leo asked in concern. He had a not so wild feeling that gods were down to eat them.

“We don't like to ask questions we won’t like the answers too,” Percy sighed.

“Speak for yourself,” Annabeth said with a steady look on the book to know the same. It would be informative at minimum.

Mist hung in the air. Jason shivered, and his breath steamed. Along the walls, purple tapestries showed scenes of snowy forests, barren mountains, and glaciers. High above, ribbons of colored light—the aurora borealis—pulsed along the ceiling. A layer of snow covered the floor, so Jason had to step carefully. All around the room stood life-size ice sculpture warriors—some in Greek armor, some medieval, some in modern camouflage—all frozen in various attack positions, swords raised, guns locked and loaded.

“That actually sounds seriously beautiful,” Percy admitted. “Top ten best places to die, easy.” Usually the snow around New York was muddy and fell in clumps off buildings, this sounded magical.

“Maybe we’ll get lucky and have an excuse to go visit him,” Annabeth agreed eagerly.

At least Jason thought they were sculptures. Then he tried to step between two Greek spearmen, and they moved with surprising speed, their joints cracking and spraying ice crystals as they crossed their javelins to block Jason’s path.

“We really need to step up security in our camp,” Will sounded impressed. “Think the magic ice sculptures malfunction half as much as automatons?”

“I’m sure if we asked for a few he wouldn’t ask for anything to outlandish,” Nico said with an uneasy smile though. He had a bad feeling those hadn’t just been carved up in a fit of art-fun.

“The real question would be the warranty on them melting,” Jason agreed with the same uneasy smile and lingering doubts of their ‘source.’

From the far end of the hall, a man’s voice rang out in a language that sounded like French.

“Well crap, I’d be screwed in there,” Percy sighed. “The only French I know is omelete dude from mars.”

“Percy, that, is, not, French,” Annabeth told him with a painful look on her face.

“Yeah it is, it means omelette with cheese,” he insisted.

“Percy,” Thalia put her face in her hands for a moment before pronouncing very clearly, “omelet du fromage.”

“That’s what I said without sounding French,” Percy shrugged.

“Nope, I’m done,” Thalia sighed. “Keep going before I shove an egg up your nose.”

And he did, which meant Percy must have taken that threat seriously. The others filed that information away with interest for later, especially Jason, studying the pair and pretending for all the world it wasn’t with a green tint as he bit his lip and looked down at his coin knowing Thalia probably wouldn’t mock his mispronunciation.

The room was so long and misty, Jason couldn’t see the other end; but whatever the man said, the ice guards uncrossed their javelins.

“It’s fine,” Khione said. “My father has ordered them not to kill you just yet.”

“Super,” Jason said.

Zethes prodded him in the back with his sword. “Keep moving, Jason Junior.”

“Please don’t call me that.”

“No? No JJ, nothing?” Thalia asked mock casually, pure innocence. “What if I called Percy PJ too?”

“No!” Percy spluttered in pain.

“The amnesia decided not to take one thing away from me, I’d like to keep it,” he reminded, trying to keep the sadness out of his voice to be light and casual. He didn’t mind the occasional nickname, but he wasn’t after more.

Thalia gave him an understanding smile that warmed him to the core. He got a feeling not too many people ever had given him understanding smiles before.

“My father is not a patient man,” Zethes warned, “and the beautiful Piper, sadly, is losing her magic hairdo very fast. Later, perhaps, I can lend her something from my wide assortment of hair products.”

“Thanks,” Piper grumbled.

“Piper just can’t go five pages without being tortured lately,” Annabeth said for the poor girl.

“It’s honestly debatable if she’d still consider this payoff better than the Wilderness School,” Leo agreed.

They kept walking, and the mist parted to reveal a man on an ice throne. He was sturdily built, dressed in a stylish white suit that seemed woven from snow, with dark purple wings that spread out to either side. His long hair and shaggy beard were encrusted with icicles, so Jason couldn’t tell if his hair was gray or just white with frost. His arched eyebrows made him look angry, but his eyes twinkled more warmly than his daughter’s —as if he might have a sense of humor buried somewhere under that permafrost. Jason hoped so.

“Bienvenu,” the king said. “Je suis Boreas le Roi. Et vous?” ("Welcome," the king said. "I am Boreas the King. And you?")

“Oh, for the love of Zeus,” Thalia groaned, reaching over and snatching the book away before Percy tormented her ears any further. “None of those words were in the intelligible category! Ben- ven- you,” she huffed in disgust. “For the record, he said ‘Welcome, King Boreas here, who are you.’”

Percy had half a mind to tell her that circlet on her head wasn’t a crown, but frankly he didn’t want to keep trying to bite his tongue managing that anyways. He hadn’t exactly spent his limited time in Paris figuring out what the waiters were saying!

Khione the snow goddess was about to speak, but Piper stepped forward and curtsied.

“Votre Majesté,” (Your Majesty) she said, “ je suis Piper McLean. Et c’est Jason, fils de Zeus.”

“We got the idea Thalia,” Jason promised. “Hi, Piper, Jason, child of, etcetera.”

“Are you seriously brushing over the fact Piper just did that?” Leo demanded.

“Some children of Aphrodite can speak the language of love naturally,” Annabeth shrugged. “Same as all of us can read Greek without trying. It’s quite a good thing Piper’s one of them, though not a surprise. The seven children of the prophecy are bound to be blessed with more gifts than average,” and more monster attacks to come with it, she internally winced, but decided not to blatantly call attention to it.

“Can anybody else do this?” Percy asked, just as baffled. “Can I speak Hawaiian?”

“It’s not a particularly tested theory, considering we don't go on many international quests,” Annabeth admitted with an affectionate smile. “Deadelus had some theories about what demigods managed to do in other countries, but he couldn’t track down many examples. Whatever their support system is doesn't seem any more open to communication than Camps.”

“Artemis has us occasionally travel across the world in search of monsters,” Thalia nodded, tapping her silver circulate. “Demigods aren’t as rare as you think, but they also don’t get as much trouble as we do out here. The monsters focus their attention where the gods call home, luckily for them.”

“Note to self, retire to Britain.” Percy snorted, deciding for now to gloss over how they got there. Certainly not plane or boat in Thalia’s case. Did the goddess teleport them there, or-

“You wouldn’t last a day out there seaweed brain,” Annabeth chuckled. “Their English is nothing like ours.”

“I know they call cookies biscuits and put toast on their beans and crazy stuff, I’m willing to give it a try,” Percy shrugged.

The king smiled with pleasant surprise. “Vous parlez français? Très bien!”

“You speak French? That’s great!” Percy said with a proud smile.

“Parlay means speak?” Leo asked with interest. “That’s kinda cool. I always wonder how people managed to figure out all those translations. Who was the first two guys who stood around pointing at things and wrote it all down.”

“Historically it didn’t go well,” Nico said with a faint smile. “I remember reading Yucatan means ‘I don’t know what you’re saying’ or something.”

“You’ve been reading up on languages?* That’s so cool!” Will grinned down at him. “I’ve always kind of wanted to know how different accents pop up in the same country but haven’t looked into it.”

“I’m still trying to learn ASL in, whatever free time I have,” Annabeth said with a miserable smile. “Maybe we can talk Chiron into adding some kind of language class to the schedule.” She considered for a moment. “Maybe voluntary.”

Percy squeezed her hand tight and hoped he could bully his brain into participating.

“Piper, you speak French?” Jason asked. Piper frowned.

“No. Why?”

“You just spoke French.”

“That’s a pretty good reason why,” Nico snorted.

“I’m relieved,” Thalia nodded. “Can you imagine what Khione would have been translating just to get a reaction?”

“Her dad has to know she’d be saying it wrong,” Hazel frowned at the idea.

“He wouldn’t care if they were the ones to attack first,” Thalia patiently corrected.

Hazel nodded, quite miserable to realize every god clearly had it out for them, apparently especially the ones associated with the cold.

Piper blinked. “I did?” The king said something else, and Piper nodded. “Oui, Votre Majesté.”

“I’m even more glad you took the book now,,” Percy smirked. “If anyone’s going to say yes your majesty around here, it should be- oof” she’d elbowed him before he could finish. “Piper! I was going to say Piper!” He quickly lied. “The celebrity kid getting, erm, humbled, or whatever.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Thalia smiled without looking up.

The king laughed and clapped his hands, obviously delighted. He said a few more sentences then swept his hand toward his daughter as if shooing her away.

Khione looked miffed. “The king says—”

“He says I’m a daughter of Aphrodite,” Piper interrupted, "so naturally I can speak French, which is the language of love. I had no idea. His Majesty says Khione won’t have to translate now.”

Behind them, Zethes snorted, and Khione shot him a murderous look.

“Betting Zethes will be wishing he was a child of Hypnos soon,” Will muttered in concern.

“Better him than Piper,” Jason rolled his eyes.

She bowed stiffly to her father and took a step back.

The king sized up Jason, and Jason decided it would be a good idea to bow. “Your Majesty, I’m Jason Grace. Thank you for, um, not killing us. May I ask … why does a Greek god speak French?”

Piper had another exchange with the king.

“He speaks the language of his host country,” Piper translated. “He says all gods do this. Most Greek gods speak English, as they now reside in the United States, but Boreas was never welcomed in their realm. His domain was always far to the north. These days he likes Quebec, so he speaks French.”

“Makes about as much sense as anything else going on,” Leo said with a pained look, “but like, he can speak English, right? Gods and knowledge and all that, he can’t just sit around and make ice sculptures singing about bonjour all day. He’s just being a polla?”

“I would assume so,” Annabeth agreed. “The question is whether he’s willing to be helpful.”

The king said something else, and Piper turned pale.

“The king says …” She faltered. “He says—”

“Oh, allow me,” Khione said.

“There went the vague hope Piper’s brain just couldn’t translate the fun words like how can I help you,” Thalia groaned.

“My father says he has orders to kill you. Did I not mention that earlier?”

“Cal kind of mentioned it enough I didn’t think it was a friendly, haha threat,” Leo sighed.

Jason had not forgotten that’s where Leo currently was and was a tad grateful about it now. Hopefully if Boreas did go through with killing them, Leo really would have a chance at escaping.

“She actually said the opposite of that,” Annabeth scowled. “She told her brother’s Jason wasn’t to be harmed to go see her father. She specifically said he’d be the one to pass judgement.”

“So he could do it himself, how delightful,” Jason groaned.

Jason tensed. The king was still smiling amiably, like he’d just delivered great news.

“Maybe Khion got the translation wrong and he was politely asking about the hockey scores?” Leo sighed. “Nah,” he instantly corrected, “ice queen wouldn't be so happy. Hmm, what would make them both that happy…”

Hazel was honestly more impressed he seemed to know exactly who he was in love with as Thalia blithely read over him.

“Kill us?” Jason said. “Why?”

“Because,” the king said, in heavily accented English, “my lord Aeolus has commanded it.”

“Rude,” Percy frowned. He really wished these gods would pick a side already, preferably the one that didn’t want them dead. He did very much wonder what had changed since Kronos was defeated to make the wind gods change their mind about them. What had happened the Titan couldn’t offer?

Boreas rose. He stepped down from his throne and furled his wings against his back. As he approached, Khione and Zethes bowed. Jason and Piper followed their example.

“I shall deign to speak your language,” Boreas said, “as Piper McLean has honored me in mine. Toujours, (Always)

Leo’s ear ticked with interest at him slipping back and forth a bit now. Perhaps he’d been too harsh on the god, he could at least sympathize with that problem.

I have had a fondness for the children of Aphrodite. As for you, Jason Grace, my master Aeolus would not expect me to kill a son of Lord Zeus … without first hearing you out.”

“C-courtesy?” Thalia frowned. She usually despised getting preferential treatment regarding her dad, but if it could be used to help Jason out she’d finally reconsider.

“Surrrre, that’s a word that could be used,” Jason agreed with a growing pit in his stomach. He didn’t have a lot to say these days other than sarcastic commentary to his friends and the ever unhelpful ‘I don’t know.’ He did not have high hopes he’d be worth hearing out to Aelous.

Jason’s gold coin seemed to grow heavy in his pocket. If he were forced to fight, he didn’t like his chances. Two seconds at least to summon his blade. Then he’d be facing a god, two of his children, and an army of freeze-dried warriors.

“Can’t even say you’ve faced worse odds,” Percy sighed.

Jason had a bad feeling he actually hadn’t either. Not one on one anyways with Piper’s occasional ability to whack people with a stick and make them hesitate.

“Aeolus is the master of the winds, right?” Jason asked. “Why would he want us dead?”

“You are demigods,” Boreas said, as if this explained everything.

“It kind of does half the time,” Annabeth sighed.

“We need to work on our rebranding,” Will agreed. “We’re supposed to be renowned for helping the gods out, not being a nuisance.”

“Can’t even blame this one on Percy,” Thalia agreed. “The gods perception of us has changed over the years.” In large part thanks to her dad and that nasty prophecy business.

“Britain's starting to sound better and better every minute. Bring on the edible kidneys!” Percy grinned.

“Might I suggest a trip to Brazil, providing moderate translation,” Leo sighed.

“I’m down for some peppers and learning the tango,” Percy shrugged.

“Aeolus’s job is to contain the winds, and demigods have always caused him many headaches. They ask him for favors. They unleash winds and cause chaos.

Percy had a sudden, bad flashback to that thermos Hermes had given him, unleashing those winds. Gods he hoped that wouldn’t be brought up to bite Jason in the butt next.

But the final insult was the battle with Typhon last summer…”

“Oh crud, spoke too soon,” Thalia sighed.

Percy laughed like a good sport despite the wave of dread that slammed into him at the casual reminder he’d caused that, and was making things actively worse for other demigods now! Which was somehow the exact opposite of what he’d strived to do! Great job Jackson!

Thalia gave him a nudge with those lethal boots and said, “I was kidding. Do you really expect to be better than the gods at dealing with consequences?”

“Nah, guess not,” he agreed, though he didn’t sound like he particularly meant it. For once it wasn’t the gods who’d made that mess, but had cleaned up his. Okay, maybe Jason didn’t owe him as big a favor as he’d thought.

Boreas waved his hand, and a sheet of ice like a flatscreen TV appeared in the air. Images of a battle flickered across the surface—a giant wrapped in storm clouds, wading across a river toward the Manhattan skyline. Tiny, glowing figures—the gods, Jason guessed—swarmed around him like angry wasps, pounding the monster with lightning and fire.

Finally the river erupted in a massive whirlpool, and the smoky form sank beneath the waves and disappeared.

Percy gave a light-hearted snort at least. “Previously on, Percy Jackson’s B plot!”

“The gods are not- well, don’t call them a B plot, please,” Will sighed.

“I appreciated it,” Hazel offered. She really was struggling more than she wanted to let on keeping up with all of these guys and the story at once.

“Thank you Hazel,” Percy sniffed.

“The storm giant, Typhon,” Boreas explained. “The first time the gods defeated him, eons ago, he did not die quietly. His death released a host of storm spirits—wild winds that answered to no one. It was Aeolus’s job to track them all down and imprison them in his fortress. The other gods—they did not help. They did not even apologize for the inconvenience.

“Why does it sound like half the gods problems would be solved if there was just a god of apology?” Will groaned.

“Isn’t that kind of impossible for a god?” Hazel asked, humble wasn’t usually in a gods description.

“You’d be surprised,” Nico promised. They weren’t incapable of it, as much as they pretended they were, but he still remembered Hermes' smile when Percy hoped he’d change.

It took Aeolus centuries to track down all the storm spirits, and naturally this irritated him. Then, last summer, Typhon was defeated again—”

“And his death released another wave of venti,” Jason guessed. “Which made Aeolus even angrier.”

“My bad man,” Percy frowned.

“Yes, it is your bad for saving your own life, glad you don’t let anyone think otherwise,” Jason shrugged.

Percy chuckled for him. He wished Jason could happily recount a time he’d screwed up just as bad, but the fact that his first instinct was to brush it off was of some relief. He really couldn’t have blamed Jason for throwing in his face his quest was harder because of him.

“C’est vrai,” (It’s true,) Boreas agreed.

“Wait, wait, let me guess,” Leo smirked. “Wow Jason, you’re so smart!”

“How much English do you think can be crammed into two French words?” Annabeth asked in concern.

“He didn’t even say Jason’s name,” Thalia rolled her eyes.

“Sure guys, just shoot down my best guess, see if I join your language club now,” he sniffed.

Jason opened, and closed his mouth without pointing Thalia hadn’t offered the real translation. So long as it wasn’t ‘kill them,’ he’d go with it.

“But, Your Majesty,” Piper said, “the gods had no choice but to battle Typhon. He was going to destroy Olympus! Besides, why punish demigods for that?”

The king shrugged. “Aeolus cannot take out his anger on the gods. They are his bosses, and very powerful. So he gets even with the demigods who helped them in the war. He issued orders to us: demigods who come to us for aid are no longer to be tolerated. We are to crush your little mortal faces.”

“Little?” Leo frowned.

“Mortal!” Jason yelped.

Thank gods Piper was in there, Thalia mentally groaned.

There was an uncomfortable silence.

“That sounds … extreme,” Jason ventured.

“We start with a mild flambeying sauce,” Percy put on a horrible fake french accent. “We work our way up to crushing faces with a nice saute’-”

Thalia shoved the book back into his chest.

He didn’t look particularly thrilled, but sighed and did so anyways.

“But you’re not going to crush our faces yet, right? You’re going to listen to us first, ’cause once you hear about our quest—”

“Yes, yes,” the king agreed. “You see, Aeolus also said that a son of Zeus might seek my aid, and if this happened, I should listen to you before destroying you, as you might—how did he put it?—make all our lives very interesting.

“Because gods forbid their lives ever be dull,” Leo frowned.

“Can we rewind to the part where someone warned Aeolus about Jason coming!” Thalia thundered. It was never a metaphor when she sounded like that, they could actually hear thunder in the distance. “How long has Hera been planning this?!”

“Assuming it was her,” Annabeth agreed. “I’m not ruling out she’s had others helping her.” Looks like they finally had a name too.

Aeolus should be worried.

I am only obligated to listen, however. After that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. But I will listen first. Khione wishes this also.

“Does she? Does she really?” Percy asked with a straight face.

“Have a heart man, maybe she hasn’t gotten to interact with many of us and we usher her into a new era of being the favorite goddess ever for how helpful she can be,” Leo said, but the dreamy look on his face only convinced Percy he might be secretly huffing paint over there.

It may be that we will not kill you.”

Jason felt like he could almost breathe again. “Great. Thanks.”

“We really should thank them for not killing us more often,” Nico said seriously. “I don’t think they know we appreciate it.”

“Happy to help,” Jason smiled.

“Do not thank me.” Boreas smiled.

“Rude,” Nico frowned. “See if he even gets a please next time.”

“How often do you go around trying to reinforce manners to gods again?” Will asked, partially in concern, partially incredulous joy.

“I have my own hobbies,” Nico shrugged. He actually hadn’t had an accidental shadow travel experience in a while now, but when it used to happen every trip he’d met quite a few gods accidentally. They seemed as out of touch as he was, and it was a nice experience some of the time.

“There are many ways you could make our lives interesting. Sometimes we keep demigods for our amusement, as you can see.”

He gestured around the room to the various ice statues.

Will made a strangled noise. “They- he- what?”

“Is that new?” Percy fiddled with the pages for a moment as he narrowed his eyes. “Gods don’t usually turn us into action figures, right?!”

“I, couldn’t guess how common the practice is,” Annabeth agreed, looking ill.

“This is the helpful god?” Leo demanded, just to be sure they hadn’t taken a wrong turn somewhere.

“Mm, yeah, technically,” Thalia sighed. “He’s hearing Jason out, remember.”

Leo was just glad nobody was throwing in his face those jokes about making him into an ice sculpture were apparently all too true as he sighed. She still sounded, hot, but nah, threatening to turn his friends into those things was crossing the line.

Piper made a strangled noise. “You mean—they’re all demigods? Frozen demigods? They’re alive?”

“An interesting question,” Boreas conceded, as if it had never occurred to him before.

Will made a noise in the back of his throat like he wanted to scream into a pillow, or Boreas’s face. Nico wasn’t sure which but he really wanted to know. Hazel was making her way back across the room and sitting back down close to him though, cuddling up as close as she dared for only having known him a few days. “Did you have fun?” He asked, feeling ridiculous and like he should be wearing an apron.

“Yeah, Jason gave me this,” she showed him the frankly mind boggling detailed shaded black and white columns that were stacked in a row on the page descending into an unknown distance.

“That was nice of him,” Nico grinned as she put it carefully behind her and then warmed her hands by the fire. He wondered what she’d done with her own horse drawing, and saw the white peak of paper sticking out of his jacket pocket. He smiled and hoped she’d feel brave enough to show him that one later too.

“They do not move unless they are obeying my orders. The rest of the time, they are merely frozen. Unless they were to melt, I suppose, which would be very messy.”

Khione stepped behind Jason and put her cold fingers on his neck. “My father gives me such lovely presents,” she murmured in his ear. “Join our court. Perhaps I’ll let your friends go.”

Jason gave a whole body shiver in disgust, his tongue nearly spazzing out of his mouth and fought the urge to wrap his hands around Leo rather than the fire on the probability he might not get burns from that heat source.

Thalia was hard pressed not to summon Aegis on pure instinct and instead scooted her beanbag closer. He gave her a grateful smile and hoped he hadn’t acted like such a baby in there.

“What?” Zethes broke in. “If Khione gets this one, then I deserve the girl. Khione always gets more presents!”

“This is the time to take advantage of the situation when they start fighting over who gets to kill who,” Annabeth sighed.

“Jason still gets to tell his story,” Percy hoped.

“What little of it there is,” Jason groaned. “Worse case scenario, I go for Zethes, Piper goes for Khione, and we make a run for it before Boreas can snap his fingers.”

“I approve,” Annabeth nodded.

“I’m almost hoping it’ll come to that,” Will agreed. “Maybe they’d find a way to break those other demigods free.”

“Now, children,” Boreas said sternly. “Our guests will think you are spoiled!

“Do they celebrate Christmas up there?” Hazel asked. “What does a god even give his kids for presents, besides, um, those?”

“I think we just found out what happened to those on the naughty list,” Nico reminded.

Leo was suddenly vaguely glad he wasn’t in the room. The odd feeling of being left out of the gods arguing who gets to kill whom wasn’t something he wanted to experience.

Besides, you moved too fast. We have not even heard the demigod’s story yet. Then we will decide what to do with them. Please, Jason Grace, entertain us.”

“I’m not exactly known for my crack-up stand-up,” Jason said with his brain freezing so much he glanced over his shoulder to make sure Khione wasn’t still there. “Can I phone a friend?”

“No,” Annabeth reminded pleasantly.

Jason felt his brain shutting down. He didn’t look at Piper for fear he’d completely lose it. He’d gotten them into this, and now they were going to die—or worse, they’d be amusements for Boreas’s children and end up frozen forever in this throne room, slowly corroding from freezer burn.

“That’s a sad fate Piper wouldn't even wish on chicken nuggets,” Leo said, clutching his heart.

“I have faith in Jason to be the coherent one when he stops freaking out,” Annabeth shrugged. Between him and Piper, he did have more experience even if he didn’t remember it.

Jason was stunned stupid that someone so awesome could give him such praise, and even more so when nobody even made a joke about it!

Khione purred and stroked his neck.

Leo sighed at the growing pattern already about Jason having the best connection to all the hot girls in this. First the unavailable sister, now this! Hopefully the next girl they’d run into would have a hate vengeance out for Jason and he could swoop in and show her the errors of her ways as she fell into his arms.

Jason didn’t plan it, but electricity sparked along his skin. There was a loud pop, and Khione flew backward, skidding across the floor.

“Yessss!” Percy cackled. “Jason’s the new Ice Queen and just dethroned that-”

“I hope her hair was all standing on end and she just loses it and Boreas turns her into an ice statue,” Thalia cackled.

Jason was grinning at them to much to even point out both of them looked like someone stuck their fingers in wall sockets on a regular basis as messy as their hair always was.

Hazel was watching the three of them with deep concern though. Thalia had just made it clear if Jason attacked, Boreas would take the chance to retaliate. They all knew that, but they were laughing anyways.

Were these guys nuts?

Zethes laughed. “That is good! I’m glad you did that, even though I have to kill you now.”

For a moment, Khione was too stunned to react. Then the air around her began to swirl with a micro-blizzard. “You dare—”

Thalia sighed in a resigned kind of way and started fiddling with her bracelet while Percy sat up straighter in his seat and Jason started tapping his coin rapidly on his knee, confirming to Hazel they had indeed instantly recognized the error of this, and their insanity in taking a moment to laugh about it first. Just like Sammy would have done. It was a surprisingly good feeling, to keep finding what she’d loved best about her old friend in more people than Leo Valdez.

“Stop,” Jason ordered, with as much force as he could muster. “You’re not going to kill us. And you’re not going to keep us. We’re on a quest for the queen of the gods herself, so unless you want Hera busting down your doors, you’re going to let us go.”

“You made that sound a lot more impressive than it actually is,” Percy congratulated, considering if Hera died that was a wasted threat, but the Boring people didn’t need to know that.

“My unsung talent, there it is,” Jason chuckled, “apparently I can fake it until I make it.”

He sounded a lot more confident than he felt, but it got their attention. Khione’s blizzard swirled to a stop. Zethes lowered his sword. They both looked uncertainly at their father.

“Hmm,” Boreas said. His eyes twinkled, but Jason couldn’t tell if it was with anger or amusement.

Hazel made a face and Nico suddenly felt bad he could never take his sister to see a santa at the mall or she might attack him on sight.

“A son of Zeus, favored by Hera? This is definitely a first. Tell us your story.”

Jason would’ve botched it right there. He hadn’t been expecting to get the chance to talk, and now that he could, his voice abandoned him.

“Nobody ever expects to get that far,” Percy assured, ignoring Annabeth’s glare.

Piper saved him. “Your Majesty.” She curtsied again with incredible poise, considering her life was on the line. She told Boreas the whole story, from the Grand Canyon to the prophecy, much better and faster than Jason could have.

Jason felt like a balloon slowly deflating as he tapped his coin on his knee. Great work there son of an Idiot! Really showing those master skills at shocking people into listening to the girl who could charmspeak them into obeying! This was definitely the kind of master plan his father would approve of while locking himself away with the rest of the godly backup!

He sighed and scolded himself though. If this was the strategy that worked, then he was happy for it. Heck, this probably was what Percy would have done in this situation, finding a way to hand the reins over to Annabeth.

It just lingered in the back of his mind he wasn’t used to having help. He didn’t know how to feel about Piper taking over here.

“All we ask for is guidance,” Piper concluded. “These storm spirits attacked us, and they’re working for some evil mistress. If we find them, maybe we can find Hera.”

The king stroked the icicles in his beard. Out the windows, night had fallen, and the only light came from the aurora borealis overhead, washing everything in red and blue.

“Pretty,” Hazel smiled, it really was one of the few things she’d loved about being out in Alaska, the night sky.

‘Yeah, sands of time slipping through their fingers, a lovely sight,’ but Annabeth bit her lip to stop herself saying it.

“I know of these storm spirits,” Boreas said. “I know where they are kept, and of the prisoner they took.”

“You mean Coach Hedge?” Jason asked. “He’s alive?”

Boreas waved aside the question. “For now.

“Didn’t see that coming!” Percy grinned in surprise, imagining Grover’s relief.

“I’m just picturing him chewing through the bars of whatever cage they tried to put him in by the time we get around to rescuing him,” Leo shrugged.

But the one who controls these storm winds … It would be madness to oppose her. You would be better staying here as frozen statues.”

“A kind offer,” Nico said with a humble smile, “be sure not to mention every god makes the exact same one.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Jason promised.

“Hera’s in trouble,” Jason said. “In three days she’s going to be—I don’t know—consumed, destroyed, something. And a giant is going to rise.”

“Yes,” Boreas agreed. Was it Jason’s imagination, or did he shoot Khione an angry look?

“Not your imagination,” Annabeth said at once, way too sharply and far too much confidence for not having been in the room.

She got a lot of concerned looks for that, and a suspicious glare from Thalia. She knew she should tell them, she had no reason not to, but all she could see was the frost quickly leaping towards them and somehow staying just a foot away until suddenly it wasn’t, and then turning around to see what that noise had been-

Percy kept reading. She didn’t know what expression had been frozen on her face to make him choose this rather than stubbornly asking her, but it probably wasn’t a good one.

“Many horrible things are waking. Even my children do not tell me all the news they should. The Great Stirring of monsters that began with Kronos —

“If I could make monster soup out of all the times it’s been mentioned I’d be set for life,” Percy groused.

“I’m sure Artemis has a recipe for that somewhere,” Thalia chuckled.

your father Zeus foolishly believed it would end when the Titans were defeated. But just as it was before, so it is now. The final battle is yet to come,

“Can I get that in writing- oh, wait,” Percy grinned as he patted the page in thanks.

Annabeth giggled. It sounded a little wet but she didn’t care. “I hope this is the last leg of the race too.”

and the one who will wake is more terrible than any Titan. Storm spirits—these are only the beginning. The earth has many more horrors to yield up. When monsters no longer stay in Tartarus, and souls are no longer confined to Hades … Olympus has good reason to fear.”

“What was that about souls?” Percy asked in concern, glancing over to the expert.

Nico knocked his boots together and glanced at Hazel and away as shifty as a person could get before fluttering his hands around in a universal ‘gee, have no clue what you could be talking about’ way.

It really wasn’t that universal as Percy gave him an unimpressed look before he continued.

Annabeth wasn’t so convinced and kept her gaze on him for a long time. ‘Door’s of Death,’ the prophecy whispered in the back of her mind. Now this? No way it was a coincidence. And Nico still wasn’t sharing all he knew.

Her eyes went to Hazel and away though. She didn’t know what Nico’s end game plan was here bringing some child of Pluto out of the Underworld, but she swallowed and forced herself to remember he’d never done anything to actively harm their camp, the exact opposite. Whatever he was keeping to himself, she hoped he knew what he was doing.

Jason wasn’t sure what all this meant, but he didn’t like the way Khione was smiling—like this was her definition of fun.

“Wow, we were way off,” Thalia frowned.

“I’m sure she cycles through doing multiple things for fun,” Will sighed. “It’s healthier that way than obsessing on one thing.”

“So you’ll help us?” Jason asked the king.

Boreas scowled. “I did not say that.”

“Please, Your Majesty,” Piper said.

Everyone’s eyes turned toward her. She had to be scared out of her mind, but she looked beautiful and confident—and it had nothing to do with the blessing of Aphrodite. She looked herself again, in day-old traveling clothes with choppy hair and no makeup. But she almost glowed with warmth in that cold throne room.

Leo chuckled without surprise. “Piper’s not going to let anyone kill her until she rescues her dad, then she might have some trouble on negotiation tactics.”

“I accept that!” Jason said whole heartedly.

Leo snorted at the scowl he imagined on Piper’s face for vaguely implying Jason might pitch her dad into danger every time he needed out of a situation, but kept it to himself with herculean effort.

“If you tell us where the storm spirits are, we can capture them and bring them to Aeolus. You’d look good in front of your boss. Aeolus might pardon us and the other demigods. We could even rescue Gleeson Hedge. Everyone wins.”

“She’s pretty,” Zethes mumbled. “I mean, she’s right.”

“Cough, Jason, cough,” Percy smirked.

“I, she-” Jason spluttered.

“There was no lie in any of that but shut up,” Thalia helpfully offered.

“Thank you,” Jason nodded firmly at his sister.

“I got you,” she promised, though Jason’s smile went a bit strained at the reminder of how much more experience she had dealing with Percy.

“Father, don’t listen to her,” Khione said. “She’s a child of Aphrodite. She dares to charmspeak a god? Freeze her now!”

Boreas considered this. Jason slipped his hand in his pocket and got ready to bring out the gold coin. If things went wrong, he’d have to move fast.

The movement caught Boreas’s eye. “What is that on your forearm, demigod?”

Jason hadn’t realized his coat sleeve had gotten pushed up, revealing the edge of his tattoo. Reluctantly, he showed Boreas his marks.

The god’s eyes widened. Khione actually hissed and stepped away.

Jason studied his tattoo with newfound interest, then offered his arm to Leo. He gave him an unimpressed look and said, “what? I’m not holding your hand.”

Okay, maybe it only worked on immortals? That actually tracked, Chiron hated it too, Enceladus had certainly had a reaction to it.

The kids at camp saw it and felt uneasy for a reason they couldn’t explain. The gods clearly knew what it was and loathed it. “Hey Hazel, thoughts?”

She gave him a blank look too worthy of Leo’s. “It’s, a bunch of lines and letters?”

Jason wasn’t so convinced though he’d pulled the right audience to have the correct results though. What the heck had his camp done to him? Used him as a human Aegis?

“Relax Jason, we’ll get to the bottom of all this,” Thalia promised with a hand on his shoulder. He nodded in thanks and hoped she was right. He wanted to remember each line pressed into his skin and who had done it and why and every detail of that moment, or if they were multiple moments…

Then Boreas did something unexpected. He laughed so loudly, an icicle cracked from the ceiling and crashed next to his throne. The god’s form began to flicker. His beard disappeared. He grew taller and thinner, and his clothes changed into a Roman toga, lined with purple. His head was crowned with a frosty laurel wreath, and a gladius—a Roman sword like Jason’s—hung at his side.

“I really wish you’d stop doing that,” Annabeth sighed. “Dealing with one aspect of the gods is more than enough!”

“It’s not voluntary,” he groaned.

“Aquilon,” Jason said, though where he got the god’s Roman name from, he had no idea.

“We’ve long stopped questioning that,” Annabeth assured.

“Well at least he doesn't have a ruler, though it would have been nice if he’d only been a kilometer from Camp,” Leo grinned.

“Kill, what? Why are we killing measurements?” Percy asked, not as if he wasn’t willing to help.

“Percy, no,” Jason groaned.

“Don’t get me started on this one Jason, the world’s lack of a universal measurement is something I’ve tried to beat into his skull and failed,” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

The god inclined his head. “You recognize me better in this form, yes? And yet you said you came from Camp Half-Blood?”

Jason shifted his feet. “Uh … yes, Your Majesty.”

“And Hera sent you there…” The winter god’s eyes were full of mirth. “I understand now. Oh, she plays a dangerous game. Bold, but dangerous! No wonder Olympus is closed. They must be trembling at the gamble she has taken.”

“I’m very much enjoying the idea of Ares trembling,” Percy admitted.

Will wasn’t as thrilled at the idea of his dad in time out. He’d be going nuts bouncing off the walls. The dreams he sent to his kids on some of his exploits weren’t frequent, but at least once a month one of them would wake up laughing from seeing him visiting concerts or riding shotgun in his car and blaring the tunes. It had been months now, and the last time he’d seen him was melting into a disturbing puddle of goo urging him to go save the world. He missed the time his dad had taken him on a visit to the hospital and he’d got to be invisible in the room while a kid had a hernia removed. Who knew those were the good times?

“Jason,” Piper said nervously, “why did Boreas change shape? The toga, the wreath. What’s going on?”

“It’s his Roman form,” Jason said. “But what’s going on—I don’t know.”

The god laughed. “No, I’m sure you don’t. This should be very interesting to watch.”

“I seriously need to ask those sharks where they find the Olympian cables so I can help rip them to shreds,” Percy groaned. Nothing was more annoying than the feeling in the back of his mind they were being watched and laughed at by the gods. It was one of those moments he really understood why Luke had gone the way he did.

“Does that mean you’ll let us go?” Piper asked.

“My dear,” Boreas said, “there is no reason for me to kill you. If Hera’s plan fails, which I think it will, you will tear each other apart. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again.”

“Somehow, I like my dad’s good mood better. It’s not laced with permafrost,” Percy sighed.

“What do you think permafrost means?” Annabeth asked with interest.

“Like, an iced over lake that still has water moving beneath it?” Percy asked.

“No, but thank you,” Annabeth nodded as she compiled more flashcards in her mind.

Jason felt as if Khione’s cold fingers were on his neck again, but it wasn’t her—it was just the feeling that Boreas was right. That sense of wrongness which had bothered Jason since he got to Camp Half-Blood, and Chiron’s comment about his arrival being disastrous—Boreas knew what they meant.

“I don’t suppose you could explain?” Jason asked.

“Oh, perish the thought!

“You get major credit for asking though,” Will sighed.

“Remember how people say the worst answer is no?” Nico frowned. “This is! Laughing at someone’s question is the worst response!”

“Thankfully nobody’s trying to hire him to host tour guides of the hotel,” Will agreed.

It is not for me to interfere in Hera’s plan. No wonder she took your memory.” Boreas chuckled, apparently still having a great time imagining demigods tearing each other apart.

“There’s just no good live action Battle Royal with kids to keep them entertained nowadays,” Leo sighed. “We might be getting off easier if we had other ways to entertain them!”

“You mean, a TV show, right Leo?” Hazel asked in concern. She didn’t need to know what Battle Royal was specifically to get the idea. He just grinned. “Right Leo?” She urged.

Percy kept reading before someone had to break the news to her gods would have no interest in hiring actors.**

“You know, I have a reputation as a helpful wind god. Unlike my brethren, I’ve been known to fall in love with mortals. Why, my sons Zethes and Calais started as demigods—”

“Which explains why they are idiots,” Khione growled.

“Stop it!” Zethes snapped back. “Just because you were born a full goddess—”

“Both of you, freeze,” Boreas ordered. Apparently, that word carried a lot of weight in the household, because the two siblings went absolutely still.

“Not going to lie, that actually sounds like a useful trick,” Annabeth admitted. She did her best not to glare at Percy and Thalia for a reason why, but they all knew anyways.

“Lets no one tell Chiron about this side quest or he might consider hiring him,” Will sighed.

“Now, as I was saying, I have a good reputation, but it is rare that Boreas plays an important role in the affairs of gods. I sit here in my palace, at the edge of civilization, and so rarely have amusements. Why, even that fool Notus, the South Wind, gets spring break in Cancún. What do I get? A winter festival with naked Québécois rolling around in the snow!”

“That sounds awesome, and horrible, all at the same time,” Leo said with mingled interest and concern.

“That’s snow for ya,” Hazel shivered. The idea was nice until you actually had to deal with it.

“I like the winter festival,” Zethes muttered.

“Ah darn, now I can’t even pretend to like it,” Leo sighed.

“It’s okay Leo, we’ll keep your secret,” Jason snorted.

“Also that freezing thing didn’t last as long as I thought it would,” Annabeth frowned.

“And you guys say I focus on the wrong things here,” Percy huffed.

“My point,” Boreas snapped, “is that I now have a chance to be the center. Oh, yes, I will let you go on this quest. You will find your storm spirits in the windy city, of course. Chicago—”

“At least they’re not in, like, El Salvador or something,” Nico offered. “Festus can only fly so fast I’m sure, to have to travel to the other farthest end of America.”

“Right, when the hostage of the storm spirits is trying to kill us next, I’ll try to keep that in mind,” Jason agreed.

“Bite your tongue, the both of you,” Leo groaned. “Percy and I have retirement plans in that direction and I’d love to know places to avoid now!”

“We’ll travel by salsa conventions and just settle in the one we don’t get attacked in,” Percy shrugged.

Nobody was sure if he meant the food or the dance but Leo seemed okay with either.

“Father!” Khione protested.

Boreas ignored his daughter. “If you can capture the winds, you may be able to gain safe entrance to the court of Aeolus. If by some miracle you succeed, be sure to tell him you captured the winds on my orders.”

“Okay, sure,” Jason said. “So Chicago is where we’ll find this lady who’s controlling the winds? She’s the one who’s trapped Hera?”

“Ah.” Boreas grinned. “Those are two different questions, son of Jupiter.”

“That’s nice he’s not sending you in wholly blind,” Will offered. “Next time try asking him two questions at once again, see if he just specifically answers to those.”

“Wish I could keep that in mind,” Jason snorted.

Jupiter, Jason noticed. Before, he called me son of Zeus.

“It’s the little details that make you question it,” Percy agreed. Just a few too many teachers who called him by his full name that gave him the now instinctive feeling he was in trouble.

“The one who controls the winds,” Boreas continued, “yes, you will find her in Chicago. But she is only a servant—a servant who is very likely to destroy you.

“Next time someone asks me about girl power I’m going to send them to Chicago,” Thalia rolled her eyes. “It seems like a pretty central location!”

“Yay, because I didn’t have enough mommy issues, let’s dog pile it,” Jason muttered.

If you succeed against her and take the winds, then you may go to Aeolus. Only he has knowledge of all the winds on the earth. All secrets come to his fortress eventually. If anyone can tell you where Hera is imprisoned, it is Aeolus. As for who you will meet when you finally find Hera’s cage—truly, if I told you that, you would beg me to freeze you.”

“He should really stop underestimating us,” Leo sniffed.

“I kind of prefer the gods underestimating us, otherwise they’d take the decision to choose between frozen death and Chicago deep dish death themselves,” Percy shrugged.

“Father,” Khione protested, “you can’t simply let them—”

“I can do what I like,” he said, his voice hardening. “I am still master here, am I not?”

The way Boreas glared at his daughter, it was obvious they had some ongoing argument. Khione’s eyes flashed with anger, but she clenched her teeth. “As you wish, Father.”

Annabeth’s fists clenched so tight the muscles burned. It in no way made her feel better about the knowledge of why Khione had been there.

“Now go, demigods,” Boreas said, “before I change my mind. Zethes, escort them out safely.”

They all bowed, and the god of the North Wind dissolved into mist.

“Where is he going?” Hazel asked blankly.

“Pretty sure he just did that for dramatic effect,” Nico snorted.

Back in the entry hall, Cal and Leo were waiting for them. Leo looked cold but unharmed. He’d even gotten cleaned up, and his clothes looked newly washed, like he’d used the hotel’s valet service.

Leo gave an awkward laugh as he said, “kind of want to see my sidequest with the bellhop to be honest.”

“Suite Life of Leo Valdez, I’d watch it,” Percy laughed.

Festus the dragon was back in normal form, snorting fire over his scales to keep himself defrosted.

“Aww,” Hazel grinned, wishing she was a skilled enough artist to draw that. She’d tried to draw him once and immediately been so offended at her own hand she’d chucked it in the fire.

As Khione led them down the stairs, Jason noticed that Leo’s eyes followed her. Leo started combing his hair back with his hands. Uh-oh, Jason thought. He made a mental note to warn Leo about the snow goddess later. She was not someone to get a crush on.

“Too late,” Leo chuckled, though he had to admit a lot of the novelty wore off after all that. He’d be happy admiring her beauty from a distance now, like a snow leopard.

At the bottom step, Khione turned to Piper. “You have fooled my father, girl. But you have not fooled me. We are not done. And you, Jason Grace, I will see you as a statue in the throne room soon enough.”

“Do you think she at least lets you pick the pose you have to stand in for all eternity?” Percy asked.

“Not my priority,” Jason snorted.

“Obviously,” Percy rolled his eyes, “I’m just remembering Medusa told us to stand there and smile like idiots, it would be nice if at least Khione told you to pick a pose this time.”

“Boreas is right,” Jason said. “You’re a spoiled kid. See you around, ice princess.”

“Snap, get her Jace,” Leo grinned.

Thalia nodded, entirely impressed at her little brother mouthing off to a minor god, especially after all the grief he’d once held about Percy doing the same. Also considering the fact he looked just as shocked at himself.

A not so small part of himself was kind of proud too. That he’d really done something like that. An instinct he’d been so appalled at Percy throwing around he’d never wanted to admire, but kind of had.

Khione’s eyes flared pure white. For once, she seemed at a loss for words. She stormed back up the stairs—literally. Halfway up, she turned into a blizzard and disappeared.

“Be careful,” Zethes warned. “She never forgets an insult.”

Cal grunted in agreement. “Bad sister.”

“She’s the goddess of snow,” Jason said. “What’s she going to do, throw snowballs at us?” But as he said it, Jason had a feeling Khione could do a whole lot worse.

Percy laughed, but it was a sad, awkward noise for having to agree as Annabeth’s face ran pale in agreement. “Look Jason, your first immortal enemy!”

“Whoopie,” Jason twirled one finger around in exhaustion. “I was over here worried I’d be copying your homework on that, now I get my very own for Christmas!”

Leo looked devastated. “What happened up there? You made her mad? Is she mad at me too? Guys, that was my prom date!”

“You think you’ll live long enough to make it to prom?” Thalia asked with interest.

“Camp doesn't even have a prom,” Percy said, just as confused.

“You two were banned before it even started anyways,” Nico huffed.

“We’ll explain later,” Piper promised, but when she glanced at Jason, he realized she expected him to explain.

“She did do all the hard work here, and nobody even got pizza out of it,” Percy agreed. “Now you’re heading in the wrong direction to even grab a good slice!”

“I was wondering how long it would take you to mention that,” Jason smiled, mock stopping a watch.

What had happened up there? Jason wasn’t sure. Boreas had turned into Aquilon, his Roman form, as if Jason’s presence caused him to go schizophrenic.

The idea that Jason had been sent to Camp Half-Blood seemed to amuse the god, but Boreas/Aquilon hadn’t let them go out of kindness. Cruel excitement had danced in his eyes, as if he’d just placed a bet on a dogfight.

Leo made an ack face at his joke being all too real. “This god is a horrible representation of that Canadian hospitality I’ve heard so much about!”

“He didn’t say aiy, once,” Percy agreed. “Didn’t even mention maple syrup!”

“It’s almost like countries shouldn’t be boiled down to stereotypes,” Thalia gave them a hard look.

“Nah, how else would we come in with expectations of what to expect,” Percy brushed her off, still tapping the book to his chin in concern of how it all could have been false. Surely that joke about their money tasting like sugar was at least real before Annabeth swatted him to finish already. He groaned and muttered about conspiracies that the first long chapter they’d gotten this whole book had fallen on him. It felt like it had been taking ages, and Thalia had read a third of it!

You will tear each other apart, he’d said with delight. Aeolus will never have to worry about demigods again.

Jason looked away from Piper, trying not to show how unnerved he was. “Yeah,” he agreed, “we’ll explain later.”

“That’s right Jason, make sure she doesn't have a chance to back out of this,” Leo chuckled.

“Be careful, pretty girl,” Zethes said. “The winds between here and Chicago are bad-tempered. Many other evil things are stirring. I am sorry you will not be staying. You would make a lovely ice statue, in which I could check my reflection.”

“Thanks,” Piper said. “But I’d sooner play hockey with Cal.”

“Hockey?” Cal’s eyes lit up.

“Someone should tell Piper that was just mean,” Hazel frowned at her getting his hopes up.

“Sorry girlie, I’m still on Piper’s side keeping attention off where it belongs on the scale of sibling against sibling in this case,” Thalia shook her head.

“Joking,” Piper said. “And the storm winds aren’t our worst problem, are they?”

“Oh, no,” Zethes agreed. “Something else. Something worse.”

“Worse,” Cal echoed.

“Can you tell me?” Piper gave them a smile.

This time, the charm didn’t work. The purple-winged Boreads shook their heads in unison.

“They can’t tell you or they won’t tell you?” Will frowned.

“I’d believe either. I’m sure the answers are too many syllables for Cal to explain, and Zethes wasn’t paying attention long enough to figure it out,” Nico smirked.

The hangar doors opened onto a freezing starry night, and Festus the dragon stomped his feet, anxious to fly.

“Ask Aeolus what is worse,” Zethes said darkly. “He knows. Good luck.”

He almost sounded like he cared what happened to them, even though a few minutes ago he’d wanted to make Piper into an ice sculpture.

“That’s his, way of caring?” Will asked hopefully.

“Possibly,” Nico gave him that one.

Cal patted Leo on the shoulder. “Don’t get destroyed,” he said, which was probably the longest sentence he’d ever attempted. “Next time—hockey. Pizza.”

“Next time? You mean you didn’t do all that with him this time Leo? For shame, what were you doing that was so important,” Percy gave him such a sad look, as if his off screen adventures had been the only thing getting him through.

“Maintenance check on Festus, I’d hope,” Leo offered.

“I guess, quest business and all that lameness,” Percy heaved a sigh.

“Come on, guys.” Jason stared out at the dark. He was anxious to get out of that cold penthouse, but he had a feeling it was the most hospitable place they’d see for a while. “Let’s go to Chicago and try not to get destroyed.”

“Optimism!” Annabeth was shocked at the laugh that burst out of her as Percy finished with a smile when she got up to take the book. It really was as simple as that some days to keep her going.

HOOPJOHOOPJO

*I know Nico seems fluent in Italian, but considering he showed nothing of this before they went and I still contest he never got his full memories back before that hotel I still lean towards Nico having to re-learn the language and it just comes really easy to him.

**And now I’m over here mildly obsessed with the idea of the Gods creating a Hunger Games out of their kids…oh the twisted irony of the kids wanting their loving parents attention then to get favors…

#pjo #hoo #Percy Jackson #Thalia Grace #Jason Grace #nico di angelo #Annabeth Chase #percabeth #will solace #solangelo #hazel levesque #Leo valdez

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freddie-77-ao3 · 1 year ago

Note

Gonna use the ask box for this 🙃 ask 1/? (I have so many questions, though you have answered so many already)

What are your thoughts on Trials of Apollo, and the characters?

go ahead and keep asking!!! i love your questions!!

ANYWAY

gonna start smaller with characters:

lavinia: the jewish thing wasn't handled completely correctly (just a couple of small things there) but overall 10/10 character. i think she's hilarious and her official artwork ROCKS.

meg: i love her. she seems a little immature for twelve years old TO ME but i also had a... rather abnormal upbringing so that might explain the differences. overall she was a great character and i LOVE the demeter rep (my thoughts on how riordan treated demeter take five pages to clarify so-- basically) love seeing it-- demeter was a kronide and her kids should be treated as such! great character development. peaches was also hilarious (as was crotch-kicker mccaffrey)

lester: calling him lester to separate between godly apollo and post toa apollo. again, fantastic character development. he's so fucking funny. like he does some really dumb stuff at the start of the series (swearing to not use a musical instrument and stuff?? LESTER MAN CMON) his and meg's relationship is so sweet-- and kayla and austin with him? chefs kiss. love apollo kids getting some time with their dad.

jason: absolutely got fridged. i've already touched on my suicide theory so i won't go into that here but basically i think we shoulda seen jason similar to percy (very minor, doing his own thing behind the scenes) but alas.

piper: the shel thing was a bit sudden. don't get me wrong, i'm ALL for queer rep (i think there should be more of it in the books actually) but-- going straight from breaking up with jason to jason sacrificing himself for her to a relationship seems really unhealthy. i think she should have a chance to grow outside of a relationship.

reyna: joining the hunt was a bad end for her. since when was that an ambition of hers? she seemed genuinely happy in new rome and called it her home multiple times in HoO and going from that to the hunt? idk seems like rick doesn't know how to write characters NOT be in a relationship (piper, reyna, leo... they all get squared away)

leo: oh leo baby he didn't get to see jason before he died??? so heartbreaking. didn't belong in a relationship with calypso. the punching thing was weird when he came back to camp-- esp with a character who has a history of physical abuse

frank: i love the frank deciding his own fate thing but also idk seems like a cop out.

hazel: shouldn't have just become praetor i mean cmon. i love her but she's what, 14 now? no way.

Nico: FINALLY ONE OF THE CHARACTERS CANONICALLY GETS THERAPY. the doctors note is--

will: solangelo flirting is hilarious 10/10. "do you want to be my buddy?" "significant annoyance" i can't breathe. also poor will for putting up with apollo in the hidden oracle because i could not help my dad learn how to use the toilet i'm sorry but that shit is crazy.

malcolm: why is malcolm going to battle without pants on so funny to me i just-- 10/10 i love him.

connor: such a dumbass. the hair grafts 😭. i feel bad that travis isn't there and then communication lines go down like oh buddy :(

cecil: see me RUNNING with the knowledge cecil can cook

other small stuff:

love the waystation, always been my personal hc that there's more than just that one but that's for another post.

percabeth finally making it to college!!!

speaking of which AT WHAT TIME DID TRAVIS AND CLARISSE FILL OUT COLLEGE APPS THEY WERE AT WAR???? WHAT DO THEIR OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPTS LOOK LIKE???

the jackson-blofis family warms my heart <3

thoughts on the series as a whole?

i love it. definitely top three riordan series (tied with pjo and mcga)

i like that (like mcga) toa was more mature? like we finally see demigods with ptsd, we get queer characters, just... everything

#asks #my asks #toa #trials of apollo #the trials of apollo

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maccreadysbaby · 2 years ago

Text

A Hundred Ways to Become a Wayne

batfamily + oc insert

tw: mentions of death/su**ide

wanna read more? here’s the table of contents!

want to read the first fic in the hundred days series so you understand what’s going on here? here it is!

this took forever but i’m getting back in the groove! I got a little ahead of myself so I had to restart my whole timeline so it made sense. also yes asten is really determined to do this, you’ll learn why later

part sixteen

❝ WITHOUT A TRACE ❞

SATURDAY — AUGUST 8 — 10:04PM

SURPRISINGLY TO NO ONE, SLEEP WAS AVOIDED LIKE THE BLACK PLAGUE THAT NIGHT. Bentley, Nico, and Asten took to conversing quietly instead, all spread out on various parts of Bentley’s king sized bed. Nico was laying on his back across the foot of the mattress, bickering with Asten a little, but staring at the ceiling, mostly. He’d been jumping at shadows and flinching at the faintest of sounds for hours now. Bentley wasn’t even sure he’d seen him smile since they got to the Manor. Asten was posted up near the left edge of the bed, scouring the internet on Tim’s old laptop with a big bag of chips Jason had insisted they take up with them. He, as opposed to Nico, was taking their terrible circumstances in his stride, acting completely normal. Bentley was against the headboard, fiddling with his phone, trying his best not to be awkward.

Before they’d come up to Bentley’s bedroom, they’d been cooped up in the den, watching random movies on a quiet volume with Dick and Jason for company. It was the first time Bentley had seen Dick out of the hospital bed. Outwardly, he was just Dick Grayson. Charming, outgoing, fun-loving and even able to put Bentley’s jittery friends at ease; but Bentley could see the glimmer in his eyes that was dimmer than usual, the brief moments that he took to breathe and gather himself before he put the never-ending smile back on.

Jason had to have been seeing it, too. He was off to the side reading a book, but Bentley saw him react to things ever so slightly, like his finger twitching the slightest bit when Dick would shift uncomfortably, or the way his eyes flicked up for a split second when Asten’s Crime Alley drawl made a unmistakable appearance.

After they successfully spent nine solid hours in the den, and skipped lunch, Dick practically begged them to eat something. (Bentley realized just then that he and Asten hadn’t eaten at all that day.) Dinner was quiet.

Bruce had let them know Damian had gone to a friend’s house — a family called the Kents — and Bentley was ninety-nine percent sure it was because of him, Asten, and Nico. Why else would Damian spontaneously up and leave? Duke was working on a school project at a classmate’s, Steph was swamped with college, Babs was staying late at the library, Tim was working over (which really meant he was in the cave.), and Cass was… well… doing whatever Cass did. (No one could really keep tabs on her, could they?) Bentley assumed it had to do with her upcoming dance recital next week.

Bentley didn’t mind. The meal was quick and quiet, and Alfred made some really good pasta stuff, that was so good Asten got a second helping. (Which Bentley considered really good, because he was Brazilian and Brazilians were very good cooks.)

And that pretty much led to now, ten at night, sitting in Bentley’s bedroom that was pitch silent apart from Asten’s occasional crunching.

Bentley had exhausted all the games on his phone throughout the day, so now he was just kind of playing with his phone case. Nico’s phone kept going off repeatedly. (Bruce had called his parents to let them know what was going on, and they were coming back early, but their plane didn’t leave until morning so Nico had to stay with the Waynes until they got home.) Asten had said he called his uncle, but Bentley didn’t actually think so — he’d been near the bathroom door the whole time and never heard him say anything. But maybe he texted him. Either way, Asten was staying the night again, too. (As if Bruce would even consider letting him go home alone — He’d been checking on them nonstop, once every fifteen minutes at least. No one would know he was the calm and collected Batman based on the way he acted with his kids. Which was probably a good thing.)

“Bentley?”

It was the first time he’d heard Nico’s voice in quite a while, so both he and Asten perked up, glancing over at the blonde. His ocean blue eyes were locked on the ceiling. He was tugging on the strings of his light gray hoodie in a repetitive, rhythmic pattern, staring at nothing but deep in thought.

“Yeah?” Bentley questioned, picking at the edge of his clear phone case.

“What was your dream like? About her?”

Bentley blinked. They hadn’t talked about the Secret Keeper since they got home, and he really hadn’t expected Nico to be the one to bring it up. He tapped on his phone lightly, exhaling.

“Uh… well… it was really realistic,” Was how he started, gaze focusing on the dark comforter he had over his legs. “I thought I was awake, and I started hearing her. Talking to me.”

He tried to hide the little shiver that shook him when he imagined the warped, strange mixture of her voice and Damian’s, but he wasn’t sure he hid it very well. “I tried to run but she was everywhere, taking peoples faces, their voices, just for me to look up and realize it was her and not them. I...” He looked down a bit farther. “I threw up when I finally woke up.”

Nico glanced over at him, blue eyes bouncing across his face for a few seconds. “Mine was really realistic, too. I woke up when my baby sister was crying, and I went to get her, but when I opened her bedroom door it was…” He trailed off, focusing back on the ceiling. “She, uh… started chasing me around my house. And none of the doors went to the right rooms, everywhere was a dead end, and I couldn’t find my parents or my sister, and I…”

Bentley glanced over at him, watching him blink the tiniest hint of glassy-ness out of his eyes. “Don’t be embarrassed,” Nico finally continued. “I threw up, too. Like four times. It always happens when I get really scared.”

A moment of silence passed.

“Was yours weird like that, Asten?” He questioned, glancing over at him.

Asten shrugged, not looking up from the screen that was lighting up his face and hair. “It… uh…”

Bentley watched his green irises move from the screen, to the keyboard, down to his lap, bouncing around there for a few moments. “I don’t… really want to talk about it.”

Nico blinked, looking back at the ceiling. “…Sorry.”

“S’fine,”

The room fell quiet, and Bentley kept fiddling with his phone. Maybe Asten’s dream had something to do with his parents or Brazil — that would make sense why he didn’t want to talk about it. Or maybe he was just terrified and didn’t want to think about it. Justifiably.

Bentley breathed in and out. “How’s your research going?” He said after a few moments, glancing over at Asten.

The blue-haired-boy shrugged. “I’ve pretty much dead-ended on my missing persons list. It totals up to forty-nine in the past four months, in and around Gotham. A lot of them are already… dead.”

Asten picked up the laptop and moved next to Bentley, adjusting the screen so he could see it. He had a spreadsheet open with a list of names and links to the articles where he’d found them. The whole thing looked freakishly similar to Tim’s — Asten wasn’t kidding around with his research, apparently.

“Research for what?” Nico questioned, sitting up on his elbows to gaze at them.

“I’m making a list of all the potential Secret Keeper targets. Trying to find something to go off of. To find her boss,” Asten explained, nonchalantly.

Nico wasted no time sitting up with a high-pitched: “To find her what?!”

Asten shrugged. “I dunno! Her boss, her leader, her dad, whoever branded her head.”

“Branded her head?”

“Yes, branded her head,” Asten clarified with a sigh. Nico pushed himself upright and shimmied up to the headboard, on the other side of Asten to look at the computer.

“Why in the world are you trying to find her boss?” He murmured, scanning the spreadsheet quickly.

“Because I want to destroy her,” Asten said, with a completely blank, serious expression on his face. Nico stared at him for a solid ten seconds before he frowned.

“What’re you gonna do? She’s killed people!”

Asten scoffed. “I’m going to make her life a living hell, thank you very much. Bentley said he’s in.”

Nico’s panicky blue eyes flicked over to Bentley. “For real?”

He shrugged lightly. Chasing down murdery metahuman supervillains wasn’t exactly his idea of fun, but if it would convince Damian he deserved to live with them, he’d do that five times over. After all, it’s what his whole family did, every single night.

“Yeah,” He muttered quietly.

“If they harass you, harass them back,” Asten chimed, like it was some sort of nursery rhyme he learned when he was little. Nico gaped at him. “Fight fire with fire, they hit you, you hit them harder, all that jazz.”

“That’s illegal and immoral,” Nico murmured. “And I’m pretty sure fire plus fire just equals more fire.”

Bentley glanced up at Asten, who snickered: “Nothings illegal if you don’t get caught!”

Nico blinked a few times, in silence. “No,” He deadpanned. “How are her supposed victims going to help you find her boss, anyway?”

Asten shrugged. “I’m not actually sure yet. Just working with what I’ve got. Which isn’t much.”

None of them said anything for a solid ten seconds, all just glancing between each other and the computer.

“You guys can help me, actually. I’m trying to find anything besides being missing or dead that might link all these people together. If you want to see what you can find on some of them, that would be very helpful,” Asten explained.

“Helpful in finding a boss that might not even exist, of a lady who can kill you from four states away, that’s been personally attacking us. Sounds safe to me,” Nico muttered, and Asten elbowed him with a pointed glare.

“Shut up,”

“Why are you so obsessed with destroying her? Gotham has police and superheroes for that,” Nico continued.

Asten stared at the screen in silence for a moment, something grim swirling in the back of his eyes before he pushed it away with a sharp inhale. “Because she’s been stalking us like a freaking psycho. If she’s gonna mess with us, she’s gonna know who she’s messing with.”

Bentley blinked. “If she can read our minds, I guess she already does.”

Asten glanced over at him for a moment, their eyes locking for a solid five seconds before he looked away again.

“True,”

“You think she can just always read our minds? Whenever she wants?” Nico interjected, glancing between them worriedly. “Because I don’t think a supervillain that knows we’re trying to catch them is going to be very easy to catch. Not to mention she’ll probably kill us.”

Asten shrugged. “I mean, if she can, she already knows. There’s no point in stopping now.”

“Uh, yeah, there is. It’s called not dying,” Nico sassed.

“Would you just help me?” Asten finally muttered, gesturing to the computer. “Just pick anyone on the list and see what you can find. It’d take me forever to do all these.”

Bentley obeyed, turning his phone the right way and choosing a name from the very top of the list: Titus Lancaster.

He navigated to the internet and typed the name in, and immediately, several different results popped up.

The first one was on a website called Gotham’s Coldest Cases, and when he clicked on it, a picture of a boy with shiny, grayish-brown eyes was the first thing he saw. He was holding a guitar and sitting on the floor in front of a distant Christmas tree, wearing a red hoodie and gray sweatpants, smiling brightly up at the camera with dimples the size of craters. There was a red and black beanie pulled over his head, his deep brown hair only peeking out slightly from the front and back.

The headline beneath it was: New Jersey Couple Awakes to their Twelve Year Old Son Gone Without a Trace.

Bentley continued to scroll, watching the body of the article appear as he did.

Isabelle and Jonathan Lancaster awoke the morning of May 6 like it was any other day… little did they know, it wasn’t. When Isabelle Lancaster went to wake up her pre-teen son for school, he wasn’t there.

‘There was nothing in his room or in the rest of the house that would suggest he ran away. Even his cellphone was still charging on his nightstand.’ Says Eugenia Carlomile, head detective on the case. ‘No signs of forced entry or forced exit, no sightings of him or any suspicious persons anywhere outside of their house. We’re waiting for further evidence to continue our search.’

Titus Lancaster was last seen on May 5, when he and his parents parted ways for bed around 10:45pm. He was reportedly wearing a black hoodie with his last name and the number 16 on the back, and the Gotham City Middle School basketball logo on the front, with light gray sweatpants and a black and red beanie on his head.

As of today, July 17, there are still no sightings of Titus. His family is holding an empty, closed casket funeral that is open to the public for anyone who wishes to grieve with them on July 27.

If you have seen or believe you have seen Titus Lancaster, or have heard any additional information regarding his disappearance, please contact the Gotham City Police Department at (856)-916-GCPD.

Bentley scrolled back to the top and saved the website to his favorites folder, before tapping his way back to the initial search results.

The second website that came up was Gotham News Network (GNN). When he opened it, there was a button at the top that said About the Disappearance of Titus Lancaster, but below that stood the large headline: Isabelle and Jonathan Lancaster Found Dead.

He took a deep breath, in and out, then scrolled down.

Isabelle and Jonathan Lancaster were found dead in their garage due to asphyxiation on July 28, caused by the trapped fumes of two running vehicles. Detective Eugenia Carlomile suggests this was a direct response to their missing twelve-year-old son, Titus Lancaster’s closed casket funeral the day before.

Bentley opted out of reading the rest of the article, saving it to his file with the other instead.

He couldn’t even imagine going missing, only to come back and learn your parents were dead.

The rest of the articles were repeats of those two, the only other relevant website being one called Gotham Areopagus. Bentley clicked on it, but it just ended up being a congratulations on their website for a group graduating from a children’s physics course there early in the year. Titus was among the list of names.

“I didn’t find anything about Titus, other than what happened to him and his parents,” Bentley said quietly, glancing over at Asten. “And that he took some class at a place called the… Areopagus?”

Asten nodded lightly, typing something next to Titus’s name. “It’s some rich kid's extracurricular class thing. I think people go there to just… take more classes? Nico’s been there.”

Bentley glanced over at the blonde, who shrugged. “It’s like, hands on STEM class stuff. I only went to a birthday party there, but there are year-long courses and stuff you can take.”

Bentley nodded lightly. He wasn’t going to ask what STEM meant.

“I’m surprised you didn’t know about it, nosebleed,” Asten taunted, nudging Bentley with his elbow. “Y’know, being the kid of the richest man, like, ever, and everything.”

Bentley shrugged. “I’m not from here, remember? I’m from Drew.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Asten continued. “You can look up someone else, then. It’s fine if you can’t find much.”

Bentley moved onto another random name, in the middle of the list: Davis Henderson.

Why did he recognize that name?

He typed it into his browser, scanning the results that popped up. The first one was on a news site called Right Now New Jersey, and when he clicked on it, the headline read: New Jersey College Student Assaulted at Work.

When he opened it, a photograph of an eerily familiar, blonde-haired-green-eyed guy came up. He was wearing a blue button up and a little waist apron, with a notepad and pen in his hands, smiling down at the camera. Behind him was a bar.

The bar Bentley went into when he was running from his father last year. It was that Davis, the waiter that tried to keep Bentley away from his father’s men, to protect him, only to get the butt of a pistol to his head.

21-year-old Davis Henderson was assaulted by an unknown assailant in the back room of the bar he works at. He was found unconscious with a blow to the head by coworker, Madison Langford, who called the police. ‘All I saw was blood, a lot of it, and I immediately called the cops,’ Said Langford, Henderson’s coworker in training. ‘I was so afraid he might’ve been dead.’

Henderson woke up confused and unable to give the police any description of his assailant or the incident in question. The camera system in the bar seemed to have been tampered with, as the exact time of the assault was cut out of the footage. More on this story as it develops.

Bentley quickly clicked off of that article. He could still remember the way the gun cracked as it collided with the waiter’s head. The way he dropped like a rag doll. The fact that it was all his fault.

He silently scrolled down to the next article instead, on the same website as Titus’s: Gotham’s Coldest Cases. The headline was: Star Princeton University Student Missing?

He opened it up and scrolled past the exact picture of Davis that was on the other website.

21-year-old Princeton University student Davis Henderson was declared missing on August 2nd, after not showing up to work or classes for 24 hours.

He was last seen on surveillance walking between his home and work on August 1st at approximately 3:27am on 9th street, near Whitehouse Library and The Gotham Areopagus. He was wearing a blue button-up, black slacks, and black tennis-shoes. He didn’t make contact with anyone on or around the time of his disappearance, and there is no surveillance footage of him returning to his apartment complex that night or the following 48 hours.

‘I assumed he was sick when he didn’t come to class,’ Said Ethan Hunt, Davis’s classmate at Princeton University. ‘But he didn’t respond all day. I drove all the way to his apartment complex in Gotham, to make sure he hadn’t fallen seriously ill, but it was still locked and he wasn’t home.’

If you have seen or believe you have seen Davis Henderson, or have heard any additional information regarding his disappearance, please contact the Gotham City Police Department at (856)-916-GCPD.

Bentley sighed lightly and closed the website. Davis was so nice to him, and now he was… gone. Disappeared off the street.

And wasn’t Whitehouse Library the same place where The Secret Keeper chased Asten?

When he went through more of the search results, they were just repeats of those two stories, plus a few social media posts where Davis was tagged. Bentley scoured four different accounts of his, even going back as far as when he was a young teenager, but there was nothing that aided his search or seemed suspicious in the slightest.

Bentley sighed heavily, glancing at the list Asten had made. “This guy was last seen in the same area where the Secret Keeper chased you.”

Asten glanced over at him, then at his phone. “Who?”

“Davis Henderson,” Bentley stated, and Asten nodded, finding Davis’s column and typing a few things next to his name.

“I’m not finding anything on this Olivia girl but her dream and the reports of her going missing,” Nico stated. “She saw the Secret Keeper in her yard.”

“That’s fine,” Asten muttered.

Well, three down. Forty-six to go.

—

dedicated to @sassenashsworld 💚

—

tag list! (If you want me to remove or add you, ask in comments!)

@fleur-alise @sarcopterygiian @cademygod

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askthedemigodspack · 2 months ago

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For the guys and gals who were initially from Camp Jupiter, how are things different now that you’re part of this pack?

And for those of you from CHB, what was it like for you when you first met/they joined?

That's a great question, and I don't know how to answer exactly...

What if we took turns from our perspectives?

That would work! But who goes first?

Who ever talks first, I guess?

Hazel, go!

Wow, thanks Perce,

Your welcome, Jase!

Oh! Okay!

Well, uh, I never actually joined the Camp Jupiter pack, as I wasn't at the camp long enough to have created those bonds with people. However, I can see that there are different structures. Like, at Camp Jupiter the kids usually hang around their families; typically as close as possible to their parents. but at Camp Half-Blood, the kids are everyone's responsibility and they are constantly running around and playing everywhere!

Okay, uh, Jason's turn!

My turn? Okay, this is a harder question for me but... I was also never a part of the Camp Jupiter pack? No one wanted to get close enough to me and get to know me, other than Reyna of course. It was weird getting to Camp Half-Blood and seeing how close everyone was and that they were extending that to me as well, they didn't even know me and were more than willing to accept me as part of the pack.

Frank, it's your turn...

Okay... I suppose I did bond with a few people enough to form a mini pack before Percy arrived to camp; not that those bonds hold as strong anymore. I suppose I agree with what Jason and Hazel said. Camp Jupiter is full of structure, even in family life, and Camp Half-Blood is all about the connection. Sure, it hurts when someone dies, but at least you didn't die without knowing that people cared for you and about what happened to you...

Okay, uh, Annabeth says it's my turn to answer the question; something about me being a bridge between the two camps just like Jason, so uh... Here we go. Camp Jupiter never felt like home, for one, and no one really wanted to get to know the Son of Neptune because they're scared of Neptune himself. I guess they were worried about offending him or something. I don't know, he's a pretty chill god nowadays so...

But anyways... Yeah, I think Frank summed it up pretty perfectly. One's all about structure and keeping a careful distance, and the other is all about connection and family and helping those around you. Very stark contrasts.

I don't have an opinion on when the others joined the pack, other than it finally felt like I had the pack of my dreams... People had always talked about having the right inner pack, and that I would know it when it happened. And I didn't believe them until it happened.

You're such a sap, Percy.

Nuh uh!

You kind of are, Perce...

Betrayed! Wounded! Annabeth, help me!

How about we actually finish answering the question?

Oh, I don't think I can answer the question... I joined at the same time as the Camp Jupiter packmates did...

I did too, so...

Well, I didn't join until well after, but! Nico was technically apart of the pack, so he can answer the question!

Wha-No! I don't want to answer the question! Wha-Fine!

Context, before the first war, the pack was only Annabeth, Percy, and Grover. After the first war, I ended up joining the pack though I think that's just Percy's a sap and kept bringing me to his mom's so much. And I think Rachel is actually apart of the pack too? During the second war is when Frank, Hazel, Jason, Leo, and Piper joined, and then after Will and I started dating Will joined the pack.

There. That's all I'm saying because none of you were offering that context.

That works' darlin'.

Hazel! Will flustered Nico again!

Shut up Leo!

I'm taking over now, before we get any more sidetracked.

Like Percy said, it felt like our pack was becoming complete. It's a sense of safety and trust that's echoed amongst all pack members, and it's a knowing that no matter what happens or what you do, you'll always have someone there to back you up and understand.

Thanks for the question, and I hope we were able to answer everything!

#jason grace #frank zhang #hazel levesque #percy jackson #nico di angelo #leo valdez #annabeth chase #piper mclean #pjo ask blog #hoo ask blog #ask the pjo characters #ask the hoo characters #ask blog #askthedemigodpack

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aroaceleovaldez · 2 years ago

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i need to know everything about your pjo voltron au

okay so basic plot premise: Thalia, Luke, Jason, Percy, Maria di Angelo, and Bianca all work at the Garrison and get sent on 3 separate missions (Thalia & Luke, Jason & ??? or maybe he's just by himself, then Percy & Maria & Bianca) which are all "lost" and they're declared dead by the Garrison.

Of course they were actually all abducted by aliens. Maria probably dies pretty early on in that whole situation. Thalia gets separated from Luke and ends up escaping and becoming a rebel. Luke, Jason, and Percy & Bianca all separately (except for Percy & Bianca) end up gladiators. Luke becomes The Champion and basically ends up a Kuron/Sendak-type character situation. Is he being mind-controlled? Unclear. He has a giant alien scythe-sword though. Bianca probably dies buying Percy time in the arena. At some point Percy and Jason find each other and decide to try and stick together.

Hazel is a human raised by her galra dad in space with the Blade of Marmora. She knows she has a half-brother through her dad out there somewhere but not anything else about him. She ends up running into Jason and Percy on a mission and helps them escape cause they're humans too.

Back on Earth, Piper, Leo, and Annabeth are all Garrison students. Or Annabeth is possibly in a Keith-type situation where she used to be a student but got Kinda Pissed Off about all her loved ones disappearing into space and ended up getting kicked out. Nico is in a Pidge-type situation where he snuck in as a student under a false name to figure out what happened to his family's mission. Percy and Jason crash on earth, the gang finds them, they find the Blue Lion, and Percy pilots it to the Altean castleship where they meet Reyna and Frank. Reyna is the Altean Princess, because her sister Hylla was queen. Frank is the son of a high-ranking general or something and he and Reyna are a duo.

Rest going under a cut cause this got long -

Lion adventures happen - Annabeth pilots the Green Lion, Jason pilots the Black Lion. Nico finds the Red Lion and meets Hazel when he does and brings her back to the castle. Hazel pilots the Yellow Lion. Nico very quickly realizes he's half-Galra and Hazel's brother and joins the Blade of Marmora. Percy swaps from Blue to the Red Lion. Piper starts piloting the Blue Lion. Leo, Frank, Reyna, and Nico end up the home-base support team. Percy probably keeps the blue paladin armor and Piper gets the spare pink armor for color association reasons and also cause that's usually the format for every iteration of Voltron anyways. It works out nicely. Everybody has extra lion compatibilities too/every Lion has a back-up basically cause I'm still mad vld canon dropped the lion lore/sentience plotlines and we never got cool dynamic lion swapping instead of just the usual single switch. We're having fun here.

Then everything else I don't have much for other than Annabeth and Nico basically swap Keith and Pidge roles once they join Voltron so Nico goes and has his galra identity crisis adventures and Annabeth reunites with Thalia at some point, who is basically in a Matt-type role. And Luke functions as the Sendak-level antagonist who Annabeth probably gets to fight with a swap back to Keith's role in a whole Keith & Kuron emotional situation. Kronos and Gaea are probably analogous to Zarkon and Haggar/Honerva here but not necessarily in that order, and obviously it's more of an either "Emperor and his advisor mom" or "Empress and her prince son" but in either one somebody's doing magic and people are probably getting possessed. Hades, Persephone, Iaepatus/Bob, and Damasen are all with the BoM. The Titans/Giants are probably all Empire generals. Who's Lotor? Octavian? Calypso? I don't know. Who are all the gods? I dunno. We'll workshop it.

#pjo #riordanverse #ask #dreamyzworldlove #vld pjo au #long post //#i think a normal about about the BoM and galra lore okay #i am a simple being. i like worldbuilding. show me funky fluffy purple aliens and i will be invested #i made a whole translation of their alphabet so i could write with it #as for the rest -#Annabeth & Luke with the "You're like a brother to me - I love you'' probably constitutes as psychological violence on a meta level #it maps hilariously well though in terms of both narrative function in the au canon #AND meta level comparisons of fandom reactions re: Luke's death / the Kuron fight and relevant quotes in both. the bloodshed...#anyways its too perfect though and im amused by the parallels of meta baggage there so it stays #i am also now rapidly rotating all lotor options in my brain #also Nico joing the BoM is essentially analogous to him running away in TTC #except he's not 10 here so he probably does it with a bit more grace #he probably finds out about his mom and sister. gets real sad. then meets Hazel #and finds out she's his sister and their dad is around and he goes ''...okay. im okay now.''

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pls-let-me-out · 2 years ago

Text

Nico has spent his whole life in the New York Academy of Dance. He was enrolled before he could take his first breath, when he was still in his mother’s womb. But his mother loved ballet dearly, and so there was never a choice. After she died, it was his way - and Bianca’s - to honour Maria. When Bianca passed, too, it was just the logical thing to do. It was all he’d ever known, and he’d just lost everything, he couldn’t lose himself, too. Plus, where would he even go? Back home with his father? That would have been torture.

It’s on a Wednesday that Nico turns eighteen. Drew and Rachel bring him a chocolate croissant, which he forces himself to eat. Then he just goes on with his day.

“We are totally celebrating this weekend,” Drew tells him, once they’re having dinner.

Nico plays with the tomatoes in his salad. “I don’t know. I don’t really feel like it.”

Drew groans, and Rachel elbows her in the ribs.

“We’ve already told your cousins we would bring you to the club,” Drew says. “So act surprised when it happens.”

Nico snorts.

“Drew!” Rachel exclaims. “It was supposed to be a surprise!”

“A surprise he’s going to hate,” Drew replies. “At least now he’ll hate it so much now that he’ll forget about it later.”

Nico shrugs. “That might actually work.”

Rachel shakes her head. “I hate the two of you.”

“Who else is coming?” Nico asks. “Us, Percy and Jason?”

“Jackson said he’ll bring this girl he’s seeing. Leo confirmed earlier, and there’s also Piper, I think.”

“Hazel?” Nico asks hopeful. His half-sister lives in LA with their father, so Nico knows it’s a no before Rachel and Drew shake their heads.

“She couldn’t make it,” Rachel says in a soft voice. Of the three of them, she’s always been the most tactful. “But she sent you a gift.”

“Yeah, I got it.” Nico sighs. “I’ll go to my room, now. I’m full.”

And he goes to his room, but he can’t fall asleep. He keeps remembering his birthdays with Bianca, and how happy she made him. She used to sneak out and get him waffles from the place down the road, and now he can’t stop thinking about waffles. So he puts on pants and a jumper and does the same: he sneaks out.

It’s cold outside. The snow falls heavy, and he can’t help but shiver. He should have brought a jacket, but it’s too late to go back. And too risky. He hasn’t even brought his phone.

He takes a deep breath when he finally gets to the diner. It’s still open. There are only two costumers: a woman sitting at the counter and a man in a booth. Nico sits at the opposite end of the counter from the woman, just under the television. It’s on a news channel, but the remote control is placed on the counter. Nico takes it in his hands, but he finds he doesn’t know many channels. There is no television at the Academy.

“What can I get you?”

Nico jumps out of his skin. He hadn’t heard the waiter coming. And then he blushes furiously. The waiter is a guy with tan, freckled skin, beach blonde hair and blue eyes. The tag he wears on the chest says Will.

“Waffles,” Nico replies slowly. “With milk chocolate.”

The waiter, Will, smiles. “Sure thing.”

It doesn’t take long for the waffles to be ready. Will places them on the counter, then puts there his crossed arms, too. He leans forward with a smirk.

“So, it’s late for waffles,” Will says.

Nico hums around a mouthful of said waffles. “I guess so.”

“What are you doing around so late?”

Nico doesn’t raise his eyes from the place. “I’m getting waffles.”

Will laughs. “Sounds about right. Are you celebrating something? Or are you sad about something?”

“I didn’t know waiters talked so much,” Nico says. “I’m celebrating, I think.”

“Not all waiters. And you don’t sound sure about what you’re doing.”

Nico sighs. “I’m celebrating my birthday.”

Will claps, attracting attention from both other costumers. “Happy birthday, man!”

Nico gives a small smile. “Thanks.”

“How old are you turning?”

“Eighteen.”

“Cool! Just a year younger than me.”

Nico’s lips stretch in another smile. He only ever smiles this much during ballet recitals, it’s weird that his smile isn’t forced but natural.

“How else will you be celebrating?”

Nico shrugs. “My friends are bringing me to a club. I don’t really want to go.”

“Clubs are boring after a while. Unless you like dancing, I guess.”

“I like dancing!” Nico blushes at his outburst. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to yell.”

“It’s cool. So, you go to that fancy ballet school?”

Nico feels small under Will’s eyes. “How did you tell?”

“First, you’re here late, so that means you live around here. Secondly, you have its logo on your jumper.”

Nico blushes again. “Right.”

Will’s lips stretch in a smile. “It wasn’t hard for Sherlock Holmes.”

“You would be Sherlock?”

“That makes you Watson, by the way.”

Nico is laughing before he realises. “There’s actually this friend of mine, who calls me Watson, too. She says I look like him.”

Will smiles. “See? I’m very clever. I’m Sherlock.”

Nico shakes his head. “You’re not as clever as you think you are.”

“How can you tell? I was trying to hide it.”

God, Will really makes Nico smile so easily. They continue talking, and Nico learns a lot of things about Will. He learns that Will is studying biology at college, that he has two older brothers, two younger ones and a younger sister, and he’s from Texas. He also tells Will a lot of things about himself, and he only returns at the Academy at two am, climbing in through the window of his bedroom.

#solangelo fan fiction #solangelo #nico di angelo #will solace #solangelo fic #riordanverse #solangelo au #riordanuniverse #rick riordan #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #coffee shop au

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rosesradio · 2 years ago

Note

Vandangelo prompt.

"I love you"

"I'll pass"

thanks for the prompt ! likes & reblogs are appreciated, & my inbox is open for drabble prompts :-)

word count: 705

It was late into the night when he said it, one of those nights where you get pulled in two different directions.

On one side, there was conforming this sphere to the control panel. If Leo showed his crew mates in the morning, he imagined they would think it was pretty cool. Or, rather, they’d say it was cool while not really caring.

On the other side, there was the sleep Leo so desperately needed. Sleep deprivation weighed him down so heavily, he could cry—but he always avoided sleep. With sleep came letting his guard down, and dreams about monsters and cities burning to the ground. When he was awake, at least he could somewhat control what haunted him.

The mechanic’s bay, Leo’s little home, was big enough for two cots. Leo had made a room for himself, but he worked in here so often and so late, he ended up moving a cot into the tiny room.

The second cot was for Nico.

When he first joined their amateur crew, Leo offered him his room. Nico didn’t accept—some weird noble reason, he imagined. He started staying in the mechanic’s bay, in Leo’s sacred space, much to Leo’s vexation. He even had the nerve to tell Leo that if he tried anything—such as an innocent ‘hand in a bowl of warm water’ trick—he would melt Leo’s bones into shadows. Leo didn’t even know if he could do that, but he didn’t want to find out.

So the company was nice.

It actually was—once they got past their initial sleepover squabbles, they actually had some nice conversations. Nico would ask Leo what he was working on and even laugh at his jokes. It was a little more difficult to get Nico to open up, but when he did, Leo could really understand him.

Looking at him now, Nico’s head resting against the pillow as his hair splayed out, Leo felt none of the disdain he had when first meeting him. There was just…affection. He really liked him, cared for him…even loved him. He wasn’t even entirely sure in what way—romantic, platonic, whatever; he knew as sure and sound as the air in his lungs that he loved Nico di Angelo.

Leo smiled at the sight of him—the guy needed a haircut when they got out of this. He brushed a stray lock of hair from Nico’s face, his touch lingering for a moment.

“Love you, Nico…”

Leo honestly wasn’t sure how he’d explain himself if confronted on it; he hadn’t even said that type of thing to Piper or Jason, though he loved them, too. Love was a powerful and intimidating feeling, especially to demigods, but it was also the only thing that kept them going.

Nico rustled a bit, swatting fruitlessly in the air as if Leo’s hand had been an annoying bug.

“Mm…I’ll pass…” he managed with a yawn.

Leo felt his face flush, embarrassment and pain filling his chest like concrete. He heard himself laugh, though he knew he didn’t mean it. “You’ll…you’ll pass?”

Nico nodded faintly, clearly still half asleep. “Too many people…too much…stuff going on…I can’t be responsible…for you…”

Leo’s heart thudded off-beat in his chest. “You don’t have to worry about being responsible for me, Nico. I’m covered.”

Nico nodded again, eyes still closed. “Maybe some other time…okay? I’ll love you tomorrow…”

The bittersweet cage around Leo’s heart seemed to loosen, ready to break. He laughed again, this one more genuine. Nico was, after all, really cute when he was half-asleep. “Okay. I’ll love you tomorrow, too. Goodnight, Nico.”

Nico was silent, and Leo knew he was fully asleep now. Leo’s tired eyes gazed along every character of text across the sphere, then over to Nico. He seemed younger when he slept, and Leo found it hard to believe that he was one of the youngest on the crew due to his shadowy disposition. Leo knew that sleep was a luxury they couldn’t always afford aboard the Argo II, though he hoped no one would barge in and wake either of them anytime soon. With a sigh, Leo put the sphere down and went over to his cot, feeling comfortable to fall asleep for the first time in a while.

#kind of some bittersweet…whatever for you :-) i worked on this during my lunch break. but now i’m home 🤠#valdangelo #pjo #rose's asks #leo valdez #nico di angelo

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happyk44 · 2 years ago

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I love the sweet and thoughtful responses I've gotten on my "the seven but with minor demigods" post and I'm gonna reblog it very soon with a couple people's additions that caught my eye, but I did also want to say (and I just woke up so lmao ignore me if this turns out weird), but TLO set up so many different avenues for what a future series would be like. In fact, just based on what I'm gonna say further, I'd like to argue that the whole PJO series was leading up to the point I'm gonna make.

Underworld vs Olympus.

I have a few original works that are kind of in this mindset of a Pantheon with two separate factions and one faction is belittled by the other because it's dark and people don't like it, whatever, whatever, but from the first book where for whatever reason because I can't quite remember why but they automatically assumed that somehow Hades got the lightning bolt and went there to steal it back, from the Titans curse where Bianca f****** died and Percy realized that Nico was a son of Hades as well as the fact that at some point in the book they realize that Nico and Bianca are not from this time. And then in the battle of the labyrinth where they find pan and pan excludes Niko when he's talking to him and you know the fact that at the end of the other book

(sorry I'm just I've been so tired and I just woke up so this is going to get weird and then I'm going to do some brief editing and send it out and you guys are going to get what you see and maybe I'll make sense later)

But anyway, basically you know remember Percy also said that he didn't want to tell anyone that Nico was a son of Hades because he knew that it would drop unnecessary attention and even then he still looked for him and the next book he still knows that it's better for Nico to go home to his dad and train in the Underworld than it is for him to stay at camp.

An in the book after that, he finds out Nico's whole sad past and why his brain got washed and you have Morpheus who is a child of the underworld who is on the Titan's side and in the Sword of Hades short story you have the exact same thing where Hades's daughter is on the Titan side, or at least she doesn't stop them from trying to escape with the sword, and I think there was also the thing with Hecate, and she's not necessarily a child of the underworld but she does live there.

We also have Ethan who is the son of Nemesis who is the daughter of Nyxx who guess again lives in the Underworld, specifically Tartarus (which is just the underworld's basement, but also used to be an area of punishment not just for Titans but also for really really bad people before the fields of punishment became a thing it used to be Elysium asphidos Tartarus and when you play the Hades game it shows you this exact same thing I don't remember when the fields of punishment came into a thing it might have just been another term for Tartarus? and Rick wrote around that for some reason, I don't really know, but you get my point).

In the Sword of Hades as well you have Persephone stating that outside of Kronos, they have other enemies to protect themselves against, and it's never actually stated what those enemies are or who those enemies are but just based on everything up until that point (plus, you know, my own personal headcanons about Hades relationship with his Olympian family), you kind of get the sense that it's the people living on that mountain that are causing some problems.

And then the end of The last Olympian is great Hades comes into the final battle his Wi-Fi side his sister by his side he's proud of Nico he gets the recognition he deserves from Zeus but it's very fleeting. And it's really weird because based on everything that we know about what has happened between Hades and Zeus whenever I remember that scene I always remember him being the one that pushes Zeus to say a compliment rather than Poseidon and when I rewrote that scene recently for My Underworld Jason fanfic it actually took me a little bit by surprise because I didn't remember it playing out that way.

It actually is kind of another show and tell about how Rick will take the most upsetting traumatizing thing to occur and then very quietly and neatly packaged it up into two sentences and then act like it never happened.

The way that scene should have gone was Zeus very quickly pushing past the fact that out of all the other gods, Hades was the one who is actually on the front lines helping their children fight against the enemy. Percy should have noticed, Hades should have been disgruntled but I think Persephone or the fact that Nico was in the room should have kept him from responding to the very quick blow off of his efforts but Percy should have noticed that there was a difference between the way Zeus treated his older brother versus the way he treated everyone else

Also Nico doesn't receive a gift even though everyone else does despite everything he had done up until that point (literally being the only reason Percy didn't die during the final battle because no one else suggested jumping into the Styx), and despite being the fact that he is the reason his father ended up helping them in the first place and I would have loved in Percy's quest to get them to acknowledge their kids and acknowledge the minor gods point that out. Something in his occasional seaweed brain "I spoke too much without thinking" fashion like "oh also Nico probably should have gotten something too and I think that just goes into blah blah whatever" like just using it as an example of kind of ticking off his uncle a bit more, but again showing the clear divide especially if Zeus sort of hand waves the thing and gives Nico like a sword or something and it's just sort of like a pity gift.

Also be really funny if in that scene where he's pointing out how Nico was overlooked as a side eye to how his father was overlooked if he also kind of alluded to the fact that he knows that it was Zeus's fault that Maria died and Nico and Bianca ended up in the Lotus casino and that it was technically Zeus's fault that the Oracle was cursed by Hades in the first place (because if he didn't try to kill Hades' kids, Hades wouldn't have been so angry about the prophecy).

And then that unspoken tension would have been a really nice way to segue into a sequel series.

Anyway okay I'm still really tired but I have to get ready for work so I'm just going to, like ,make sure these paragraphs are broken up properly and that there are punctuation marks so that it's not just a rambling blah blah blah and I will maybe write a better version of this after work. Or during lunch, idk.

#happy talks pjo #nico di angelo #hades (pjo)#percy jackson

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marbleheavy · 4 years ago

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here are some of my Nico headcanons that nobody asked for!!

He collects things. Not just Mythomagic stuff like he did as a kid, but cool shells, and rocks, and weird glass figurines that everyone else thinks are terrifying, and books. He’s got them in jars or lined up on shelves and he just has so many things (Because for so long he had so few things that actually belonged to him that didn’t have to serve a very clear purpose, so now he just wants to keep whatever he’d like)

He reads SO much as an adult. A lot of it is nonfiction because he’s trying to catch up on what happened in the world while he was pulled out of it, but a lot of fiction too (not really fantasy though, that’s too close to home) and a lot of poetry. He can recite poems from memory and will just randomly quote them sometimes and it should be pretentious but it isn’t and his friends think it’s amazing (cue dramatically saying "till love and fame to nothingness do sink" anytime he's told he has to wait) (Also, he will rant about why Ted Hughes sucks at any point in time)

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again!! He is a Dungeon Master! He’s got a binder for all the notes for his current campaign and a notebook for ideas and special highlighters and pens that he only uses for D&D. Also, dice are definitely one of the things he collects and he keeps them in those clear, plastic bead containers with dividers and they’re sorted by number of faces and also ~vibes~ (for example, do a backflip D20 and life or death D20)

leather jacket Nico di Angelo? seen, respected, and appreciated. CARDIGAN Nico di Angelo? underrated! He has a couple oversized cardigans with buttons and big pockets that he adores. The first one he ever had he definitely stole from Will but now, whenever he comes across another similar one, he buys it. The pockets are filled with rocks and worn, mass-market paperbacks and pens. (Basically, I’m leaning hard into English Major Nico with his annotated books and glasses and cardigans) (Also, cardigan Nico and flannel Will but sometimes they swap)

He definitely cuts his own hair in the bathroom and he's gotten very good at it. He's had a range of haircuts, from long hair to a mullet to the shaved sides and fluffy top, but he always ends up back with a shaggy mop that Hazel likes to put little braids in (or sometimes pull the very back of it into two little pigtails) and with bangs that always end up in his eyes.

Sorry to reiterate the same point that's been made forever, but his wardrobe is pretty dark-toned. Obviously black, but he does like a good jewel tone, perhaps a maroon or an emerald. Anything really bright was either a gift or belongs to Will someone else. Also, gendered clothing means nothing to him. He wears what he wants to wear and he thinks it's cool as hell when he's wearing a skirt while sparring and it flares out dramatically as he twirls.

He's kind of picked up modern slang but he also uses a lot of slang from pretty much every decade he missed. It's also a 50/50 chance he's using it incorrectly. (examples include: 1) Leo says something that is definitely supposed to be funny and Nico stares at him, utterly emotionless, and says "Gag me with a spoon" in an alarmingly monotone voice, and 2) Anytime he says something snarky to Jason or Percy he starts it with "hey bestie..." and honestly, they're both just touched Nico called them "bestie" at all)

He adores Studio Ghibli movies and can be found humming the Ponyo theme song anytime he goes swimming (Will standing on the shore, looking around for Nico and he eventually spots him in the water. He wades out to Nico, all sunglasses that shouldn't look so cool and golden hair and chest, and just greets him with "Hey there, Neeks, how's my fishie in the sea?" and Nico can't decide if he wants to drown himself or kiss Will on his stupid mouth)

Speaking of movies, shortly after the Giant War, all of his friends (the Seven, Reyna, Will, probably Lou Ellen and Cecil, too) showed up at his cabin with blankets and snacks. They each brought their favorite movie or movies they think he needs to see to catch him up on the modern age. At first, he acts disgruntled that they're all there but he very quickly settles into the blanket fort Annabeth constructs and is quietly very grateful and excited that they cared enough to do this for him. They're all holed up in his cabin for a full day until they've finished every movie. (Percy brought Finding Nemo, Annabeth brought Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Piper brought Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Jason brought Captain America: The First Avenger (and Nico definitely says "that's gay" when Steve and Bucky say there "Until the end of the line" shit and everybody absolutely loses their minds), Hazel also is behind on movies but she brought either a very scary movie or Moana, Frank brought A New Hope (though he considered Brother Bear), Will brought Spirited Away, Cecil brought Back to the Future, and Lou Ellen brought The Princess Bride)

He can play the piano! He gets a piano for the Hades cabin and on nights where he can't sleep and the nightmares are really bad, he plays piano.

He will cry if he hears I Will by Mitski or Wasteland, Baby by Hozier, for different reasons but also kind of not (he wants to be loved)

Also, Nico and Dionysus being buddies! Nico jokingly says he'll host a bacchanal if Dionysus excuses him from certain camp activities and that's how Nico and friends end up wearing togas around a campfire, all very hesitantly holding cups of wine they aren't actually going to drink. It is definitely not a bacchanal, it's just a bad toga party (barely) but Dionysus accepts it and decides Nico is a Good One.

(Yes I did very badly make this stupid meme that somebody has definitely made a variation of before)

This is definitely not a complete list of headcanons but it's what I've got so far!

#nico di angelo #nico di angelo headcanon #pjo #will solace #solangelo #headcanons #heroes of olympus

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halothenthehorns · 20 days ago

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Chapter 29: (PIPER XXVIII)- CAPTAIN MCLEAN SAVES THE DAY

Already half way through this booooooook! Oh how time flies, it’s such an amazing feeling to see all the numbers on this fic constantly spiking because of all of you on this journey with meeeeeeee!

HOOPJOHOOPJO

Percy saw the beginning of Piper’s name and the string of random letters and his brain automatically tried to reprogram that into a word for some reason. “Piper, zz-ziv-zivie? Oh, shit, wait, never mind.”

It at least got a surprised laugh out of his friends for his brain messing with him, so that felt worth it.

PIPER XXVIII

PIPER CORNERED THE PRINCESS as Jason and Leo went off to check out the living fur coats.

“Bet mine is more endangered than yours,” Leo grinned.

“Psht, bet I’ve killed more monsters than a few dangerous coats,” Jason tried to say with far more confidence than he actually felt. Then again, he wasn’t sure how much of a brag that really was if he did get killed with his brain messed up for the umptheenth time.

“You want them shopping for their deaths?” Piper demanded.

“Mmm.” The princess blew dust off a display case of swords. “I’m a seer, my dear. I know your little secret. But we don’t want to dwell on that, do we? The boys are having such fun.”

Leo laughed as he tried on a hat that seemed to be made from enchanted raccoon fur. Its ringed tail twitched, and its little legs wiggled frantically as Leo walked.

“Well, I know what souvenir I’m grabbing when we get there,” Leo smirked.

“Why?” Annabeth asked in actual concern. “Even if it’s not cursed, I feel like you’d just be better off putting a real racoon on your head.”

“Those things poop! This just sounds cool,” Leo sniffed, brushing a curl impatiently out of his face.

Jason was ogling the men’s sportswear. Boys interested in shopping for clothes? A definite sign they were under an evil spell.

“I don’t know, under other circumstances I’d almost believe they were having fun,” Hazel frowned as she imagined a raccoon on Leo’s head with ease.

“I give it five minutes before they get bored and insist they already have three good shirts at home,” Percy said, speaking from experience. “Then it’s down to the evil spell.”

Piper glared at the princess. “Who are you?”

“I told you, my dear. I’m the Princess of Colchis.”

“Where’s Colchis?”

The princess’s expression turned a little sad. “Where was Colchis, you mean. My father ruled the far shores of the Black Sea, as far to the east as a Greek ship could sail in those days. But Colchis is no more—lost eons ago.”

Will honestly would have felt bad for her under better circumstances. To wake up in a land so far removed from your own time, for everything you’d ever known to be gone or just plain different. He glanced over pitifully to Hazel and wished he could offer her condolences or something. She hadn’t exactly thanked Nico for bringing her back from the dead, but she’d also probably been crazy overwhelmed by everything so far. He truly hoped she hadn't regretted being pulled out of there.

“Eons?” Piper asked. The princess looked no more than fifty, but a bad feeling started settling over Piper—something King Boreas had mentioned back in Quebec. “How old are you?”

“Bet you she says it’s not polite to ask a lady her age,” Percy snorted.

“Oldest line in the book, invented back when she was born,” Thalia agreed.

Annabeth was looking slowly around the room as it dawned on her the others knew exactly what was going on, she was just the only one entirely not okay with this. Was this how her cousin had felt at all hours?

The princess laughed. “A lady should avoid asking or answering that question. Let’s just say the, ah, immigration process to enter your country took quite a while. My patron finally brought me through. She made all this possible.” The princess swept her hand around the department store.

“Hell of a loan she must have gotten for all that stuff,” Nico muttered, knowing how many souls ended up in the fields of punishment for coercing people to sign those.

Piper’s mouth tasted like metal. “Your patron …”

“Oh, yes. She doesn’t bring just anyone through, mind you —only those who have special talents, such as me.

“I’m going to jot that one down for next time I hear this Patron brings out some idiot who’s only world goal is to make a cheese fountain or something only to discover it’s already been done,” Leo said with his usual wild grin as his imagination started getting away from him. “Only to then change his goal to being the most evil dude in America by, like, poisoning all the nacho cheese in the country or something!”

“That is truly evil,” Percy nodded, “something I’d certainly never forgive. We must stop this treachery at all costs.”

Leo’s point kind of got away from him somewhere in there, but the others agreed this Patron was causing untold trouble with all of it falling down on them.

And really, she insists on so little—a store entrance that must be underground so she can, ah, monitor my clientele; and a favor now and then. In exchange for a new life? Really, it was the best bargain I’d made in centuries.”

“Freedom in exchange for Big Sister always keeping one eye on you doesn’t sound like the great thing she’s making it,” Thalia scowled, half convinced at this rate even if Madea didn’t flay them Gaea was going to make another appearance to try and seal them underground now in her domain.

“It’s that salesman tactic, they can try and make anything sound great,” Hazel grimaced in disgust.

Run, Piper thought. We have to get out of here.

But before she could even turn her thoughts into words, Jason called, “Hey, check it out!”

From a rack labeled distressed clothing, he held up a purple T-shirt like the one he’d worn on the school field trip —except this shirt looked as if it had been clawed by tigers.

“I consider that shirt pretty distressed, yeah,” Nico said with interest, kind of wondering if Jason would take it as an insult if he wore a purple shirt like that. Sounded cool with orange fur and blood stains.

“I bet she charges full price for clothes that are half-not even there,” Leo sniffed.

Jason frowned. “Why does this look so familiar?”

“Jason, it’s like yours,” Piper said.

Jason’s skin crawled in distress, he already needed Piper to remind him of that underneath this spell. If his mind got twisted around any more he might just have zero sense of identity and should just be replaced with a mannequin for all the good he’d do.

“Now we really have to leave.” But she wasn’t sure he could even hear her anymore through the princess’s enchantment.

“Nonsense,” the princess said. “The boys aren’t done, are they? And yes, my dear. Those shirts are very popular —trade ins from previous customers.

“I really hope they posted their reviews online somewhere, I’d love to see that satisfaction rate,” Annabeth scowled.

“At this rate I’d give her one star just for the pleasant attitude,” Leo muttered, it was more than he and Piper got going into a store most days.

It suits you.”

Leo picked up an orange Camp Half-Blood tee with a hole through the middle, as if it had been hit by a javelin. Next to that was a dented bronze breastplate pitted with corrosion—acid, maybe?—and a Roman toga slashed to pieces and stained with something that looked disturbingly like dried blood.

Jason was morbidly fascinated at how all of that stuff had ended up there, the clothes of so many Greeks and Roman’s who had died. He vaguely wondered at the Underworld as his eyes flitted to Hazel and how many learned about discoveries only in death.

“Your Highness,” Piper said, trying to control her nerves. “Why don’t you tell the boys how you betrayed your family? I’m sure they’d like to hear that story.”

Her words didn’t have any effect on the princess, but the boys turned, suddenly interested.

“More story?” Leo asked.

“I like more story!” Jason agreed.

The princess flashed Piper an irritated look.

“Oh I see, only the boys are allowed to have a good time here, Piper trying to talk about history is the weird one,” Annabeth grinned at how well Piper was handling this situation, nerves and all.

“Oh, one will do strange things for love, Piper. You should know that. I fell for that young hero, in fact, because your mother Aphrodite had me under a spell.

Thalia couldn’t help but wonder just how many people used to blame all their misgivings on gods who didn’t even know some of these mortals existed and honestly couldn’t blame them if some of the gods were relieved to be out of the light nowadays for this.

If it wasn’t for her—but I can’t hold a grudge against a goddess, can I?”

The princess’s tone made her meaning clear: I can take it out on you.

“That’s like, a mildly annoyed tone at best,” Will shrugged. “I bet it’s worse if their meaning is, I can hold a grudge against a god. Gods can take more of a punch than us.”

“Not over here looking to psychoanalyze the different tones of people who want to kill us, but thanks,” Jason sighed. It was mostly a lie anyways, that sounded really useful if they could actually hear it.

“But that hero took you with him when he fled Colchis,” Piper remembered. “Didn’t he, Your Highness? He married you just as he promised.”

The look in the princess’s eyes made Piper want to apologize, but she didn’t back down.

“I’ve heard people say never apologize for telling the truth and those people are usually jerks,” Will said with interest for this conundrum where Piper in fact was not being a jerk for not backing down from this monster putting all her problems on every other person but herself. He didn’t believe anymore that history was just the one version they were told, not after all this.

“At first,” Her Highness admitted, “it seemed he would keep his word. But even after I helped him steal my father’s treasure, he still needed my help. As we fled, my brother’s fleet came after us. His warships overtook us. He would have destroyed us, but I convinced my brother to come aboard our ship first and talk under a flag of truce. He trusted me.”

“And you killed your own brother,” Piper said, the horrible story all coming back to her, along with a name—an infamous name that began with the letter M.

“How much did she study a bunch of myths for one movie?” Percy asked in fascination, he sure didn’t know who this was supposed to be from all that. This story would forever stick out in his mind just for the sheer horror of that betrayal now though.

“Pipes knows a ton of crazy things from studying with her dad, it’s their bonding time so she remembers it well,” Leo said nervously for sharing something like that about her, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t put together for themselves if they were paying attention as the little nod Annabeth gave proved.

“What?” Jason stirred. For a moment he looked almost like himself. “Killed your own—”

“Really hoping that didn’t stir a memory or something,” Thalia frowned in concern.

“No, more the principle of how wrong that felt,” Jason frowned, tapping his temple. “Fratricide, the killing of your own family, it just sounds,” he shuddered in disgust like he’d said something taboo.

“Well, whatever helps you out. Next time I’ll just threaten to stab Thalia, I’m sure that’ll help a ton,” Percy chuckled.

“You let me know when you want to finish that fight,” Thalia nodded eagerly while Jason laughed and hoped he’d get to watch that in action.

“No,” the princess snapped. “Those stories are lies. It was my new husband and his men who killed my brother, though they couldn’t have done it without my deception. They threw his body into the sea, and the pursuing fleet had to stop and search for it so they could give my brother a proper burial. This gave us time to get away. All this, I did for my husband. And he forgot our bargain. He betrayed me in the end.”

“Medea,” Annabeth finally said grimly without a trace of hesitation. How were they even going to defeat her? Even if Piper did stab her, it’s not as if Celestial bronze would work! This was insane, a mortal! A human flesh and blood woman had just casually made her return. Her eyes landed on Nico with frustration on how much he knew about these happenings already.

Nico well recognized that sense of burning anger and resentment being placed on him and met her eyes wearily. His hand ached to grab Hazel and make a run for it, though he knew that was ridiculous. For all the grief they’d given him about his involvement in getting Percy trapped in his fathers palace, he knew they’d never actually take it out on his sister if they no longer trusted him because of this.

“I almost hope Tantalus comes back next, so I can personally punch him in the face.” Will muttered into the awkward silence, causing Nico to laugh in surprise.

“You do know what’s going on, with this, don’t you Nico?” Annabeth forced herself to ask in as kindly a voice as she could as she kept firmly reminding herself the little brat probably had good intentions for not sharing what he knew.

“I was recently looking into the doors of death before, all this started,” Nico agreed, his tone evasive and unwelcoming as he expected a barrage of questions and accusations he didn’t want to answer, but he was speaking in a steady enough way. “I’ve been hearing some very bad rumors, Thanatos has been investigating it all personally.”

Hazel gazed at her brother in admiration for how openly he spoke about that. She couldn’t imagine all he’d been through in regards to being the only child of Pluto handling this alone for so long.

“Don’t suppose you have an itinerary or something of all the whack-o’s we’ll be getting to look forward to meeting in person?” Jason asked pleasantly.

“If I did, Thanatos wouldn’t be having so much trouble, but it’s a nice idea,” Nico grinned back.

Annabeth wasn’t satisfied that was all there was to it, but she took a deep breath and told herself to let the matter go as Hazel wrapped her arms tight around her knees and watched them all with a tense face as if expecting to get kicked down the stairs any moment.

Jason still looked uncomfortable. “What did he do?”

The princess held the sliced-up toga against Jason’s chest, as if measuring him for an assassination.

“Which frankly makes her a poor assassin, those guys are supposed to be professionals who aren’t caught at what they’re doing,” Percy sniffed in outrage.

“Remember lazer tag seaweed brain,” Annabeth smirked.

“I’m telling you, that was a strategic battle cry and it got us the win!” Percy huffed.

“Don’t you know the story, my boy? You of all people should. You were named for him.”

“Jason,” Piper said. “The original Jason. But then you’re —you should be dead!”

“Honestly the collective amount of times a half-blood’s probably said that would fill several books,” Thalia said from experience.

“Yet another book I have no intentions of reading,” Percy tried not to shiver at the amount of times he’d personally known people who should have been dead, including his own mom.

The princess smiled. “As I said, a new life in a new country. Certainly I made mistakes. I turned my back on my own people. I was called a traitor, a thief, a liar, a murderess.

“Well if the shoe fits, Madea can obviously give you a great bargain on that enchantment,” Leo said snidely. “I don’t think that cursed-dress will even disappear at midnight!”

But I acted out of love.”

Will did not appreciate how much he genuinely kind of understood her tale and couldn’t in good faith call her being in the right or wrong on that. It made him weary how often he’d been subject to charmspeak and might not have even realized.

She turned to the boys and gave them a pitiful look, batting her eyelashes. Piper could feel the sorcery washing over them, taking control more firmly than ever.

“Wouldn’t you do the same for someone you loved, my dears?”

Percy had felt like a train wreck back when Annabeth had loathed Tyson. He was now newly grateful she’d never do something as stir crazy as ask him to betray anyone for her.

“Oh, sure,” Jason said.

“Okay,” Leo said.

“You’re saying the right words but your tone is all wrong here guys,” Hazel offered like she was constructing a theater troupe, her arms loosening around her knees as she grinned at them.

“What we’re all truly striving for,” Leo agreed in a mock grim voice. “Surely no quest is complete without the right mood music! I’ll begin construction at once on a boom-box that anticipates the correct soundtrack to get us all pumped.”

He even flipped to a new page of paper.

“It starts with smart-music and it escalates into taking over the world,” Percy said with a true grim expression as he remembered Apollo’s crazy angel singers.

“Guys!” Piper ground her teeth in frustration. “Don’t you see who she is? Don’t you—”

“Let’s continue, shall we?” the princess said breezily.

“Really don’t think it would make a difference at this point beauty queen,” Leo sighed, very aware he was talking to someone who wasn’t here. “Piper could tell me that was Richard Trevithick and I wouldn’t bat an eye at this point.”

Nobody bothered to ask Leo who that was, they all just assumed the answer would still go over their heads.

“I believe you wanted to talk about a price for the storm spirits —and your satyr.”

Leo got distracted on the second floor with the appliances.

“No way,” he said. “Is that an armored forge?”

“As opposed to a stick forge?” Percy asked blankly. Beckendorf had banned him from going in there when he’d brought fireworks once and he hadn’t tried to undo that decision.

Leo’s grin would have sent braver demigods cowering in their seats as he casually promised to show Percy all the fun one could have with different forges. Literally nobody wanted these two to get along any better. “Now see, it’s a hard choice between that and the racoon hat, but man am I willing to make some sacrifices here!”

Annabeth had to elbow Percy hard to get him to keep going and cut that craziness off.

Before Piper could stop him, he hopped off the escalator and ran over to a big oval oven that looked like a barbecue on steroids.

When they caught up with him, the princess said, “You have good taste. This is the H-2000, designed by Hephaestus himself. Hot enough to melt Celestial bronze or Imperial gold.”

Jason jolted, a zap straight from his brain he certainly wasn’t immune to. “My coin’s made out of that!” He shouted at the top of his lungs.

Leo rubbed his ear, having the misfortune of having been sitting right next to him, and gave him an interested look. “I’m just now getting a handle on the properties of celestial bronze, but I’d love to get my hands on a demigod-periodic table of all our elements.”

“So would I,” Jason assured.

“How have I never heard of that, in all my studies!” Annabeth huffed in frustration, resisting the urge to pick-pocket Jason’s coin back away. She’d already inspected it once and didn’t know if she’d really glean any more knowledge from it from a second viewing, though she’d love to try.

“I think instead of figuring out a way to defeat her we should be finding out a way to take this lady captive alive, she’s apparently full of helpful information for Jason,” Nico offered.

“Really Nico? You’re pitching kidnapping?” Hazel frowned in disapproval. Nico felt instantly guilty, he’d hated being held hostage by Kelli and it hadn’t been pleasant in the slightest.

“Don’t underestimate a good kidnapping tactic,” Jason said sardonically. He had a feeling it was a method of war he was familiar with.

He got a vaguely concerned look from his sister for that he was blatantly ignoring.

Jason flinched as if he recognized that term. “Imperial gold?”

“Why does it sound, snooty,” Percy rolled his eyes. “It’s not just gold, it’s not just better than bronze, it’s imperial gold!”

“I didn’t name it,” Jason chuckled. “Next time I’ll let you name the precious metal whatever you like.”

Percy nodded in appreciation and wondered how fast Annabethite would catch on.

The princess nodded. “Yes, my dear. Like that weapon so cleverly concealed in your pocket. To be properly forged, Imperial gold had to be consecrated in the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill in Rome.

Jason felt very much as if someone were shouting the answers in his face to a puzzle he had no hope of solving, his mind slamming together the wrong puzzle pieces to make them fit as fractured images flew across his mind of Half-Blood Hill, Zeus’s cabin, and someone who vaguely resembled Will in a very disturbing pattern.

Thalia watched that display of emotions splash across Jason’s face, elation at just knowing he knew those words, desperation to understand what they meant, frustration at himself he couldn’t put it together, and imagined every terrible thing that had ever been done to demigods in history all pelting Hera.

Quite a powerful and rare metal, but like the Roman emperors, quite volatile. Be sure never to break that blade…” She smiled pleasantly.

“Is that what foreshadowing is?” Hazle asked. She’d called herself a witch, she might be getting a hint of the future there. “I don’t like it.”

“I, really hope not,” Nico agreed as he watched Jason curl his hand into a fist around his coin protectively, his one link to his past.

“Rome was after my time, of course, but I do hear stories. And now over here —this golden throne is one of my finest luxury items. Hephaestus made it as a punishment for his mother, Hera. Sit in it and you’ll be immediately trapped.”

“And we’re all still asking ourselves if the deal was good enough he let her go,” Will muttered under his breath. Nico snorted softly in delightful agreement.

Leo apparently took this as an order. He began walking toward it in a trance.

“Someone please just order me to kill myself already,” Leo groaned.

“Don’t go giving her ideas!” Jason huffed.

“Leo, don’t!” Piper warned.

He blinked. “How much for both?”

“Oh, the seat I could let you have for five great deeds. The forge, seven years of servitude. And for only a bit of your strength—” She led Leo into the appliance section, giving him prices on various items.

Jason blinked spastically in fascination for that range. “Is the charmspeak getting to me through osmosis or do those actually seem like reasonable prices?”

Thalia swatted him on the back of the head hard. “You will not be indenturing your life to witches!”

“It would piss off Hera though if she found out?” He grinned, riling her up clearly on purpose now. “And like, we both know that chair would come in handy at minimum! Just a few great deeds, I’m sure I’ve got that in me.”

Thalia sighed, almost as if she were considering it. She decided to put a pin in this idea of using her little brother’s great deeds for a price on getting this chair depending on how Madea turned out, but she wasn’t sold on the idea this could go in any way good to their advantage.

Piper didn’t want to leave him alone with her, but she had to try reasoning with Jason. She pulled him aside and slapped him across the face.

“That, was, reasonable?” Jason asked in concern.

Leo shrugged. “I’ve heard of her doing less reasonable things to people.” He was grateful Jason was the one taking the hit here though. Maybe he should do something nice for him. He flipped back a few pages and added some lightning mechanics to a possible project and vaguely wondered if that was too on the nose as his hand flew across the page of its own free will. Better than dwelling on the idea by the time the two of them came to find him he’d be Madea’s slave or something.

“Ow,” he muttered sleepily. “What was that for?”

“Snap out of it!” Piper hissed.

“What do you mean?”

“She’s charmspeaking you. Can’t you feel it?”

He knit his eyebrows. “She seems okay.”

“She’s not okay! She shouldn’t even be alive!

Hazel winced, her stomach clenching tight enough she’d probably heave up a diamond later. She’d been watching them all carefully and clearly nobody in here thought coming back from the dead after so long was something to be celebrated, Annabeth had made that very clear. She glanced at Jason and her brother, still unsure why exactly she’d even been resurrected. She had nothing special to offer the poor lost Roman kid, and Nico clearly had all the friends he could want. What was she doing here?

She was married to Jason—the other Jason—three thousand years ago. Remember what Boreas said—something about the souls no longer being confined to Hades? It’s not just monsters who can’t stay dead. She’s come back from the Underworld!”

Jason shook his head uneasily. “She’s not a ghost.”

“No, she’s worse! She’s—”

“Children.” The princess was back with Leo in tow.

“Well that’s a relief she didn’t sell my soul or convince me to buy lingerie while you two were busy,” Leo huffed.

“I mean, she might have and it’ll just bite you guys in the butt later,” Percy offered oh so helpfully.

“I can hold your soul hostage if you like if you’re so worried before your quest,” Nico offered with some actual intent to help.

Leo just seemed to find that equally unhelpful and nuts though, for some reason.

“If you please, we will now see what you came for. That is what you want, yes?”

Annabeth grit her teeth in fear why she’d been stalling all this time. Just to really envelope those boys as tight around her charmspeak as possible? Biding time to try and cloy Piper in and finally realizing it wasn’t working? Was her control on Jason slipping from the combined lingering memories Madea kept instigating and Piper’s interference?

Her foot was tapping impatiently on the floor as her nerves stayed taught listening and knowing nothing she said or did could help and it was driving her actively nuts.

Piper had to choke back a scream. She was tempted to pull out her dagger and take on this witch herself, but she didn’t like her chances—not in the middle of Her Highness’s department store while her friends were under a spell. Piper couldn’t even be sure they’d take her side in a fight. She had to figure out a better plan.

Yep! Annabeth was twisting her old college ring on her necklace so hard the string was digging into her neck now as she nodded that was entirely the current residing problem.

They took the escalator down to the base of the fountain.

For the first time, Piper noticed two large bronze sundials —each about the size of a trampoline—inlaid on the marble tile floor to the north and south of the fountain. The gilded oversize canary cages stood to the east and west, and the farthest one held the storm spirits. They were so densely packed, spinning around like a super-concentrated tornado, that Piper couldn’t tell how many there were—dozens, at least.

“Hey,” Leo said, “Coach Hedge looks okay!”

“Well he’s not screaming at you guys to do push ups so I’m not sure I’d go so far as to say okay,” Leo rolled his eyes at himself. Maybe Piper should have at least tried to slap some sense back into him too.

They ran to the nearest canary cage. The old satyr seemed to have been petrified at the moment he was sucked into the sky above the Grand Canyon. He was frozen mid-shout, his club raised over his head like he was ordering the gym class to drop and give him fifty. His curly hair stuck up at odd angles. If Piper just concentrated on certain details—the bright orange polo shirt, the wispy goatee, the whistle around his neck—she could imagine Coach Hedge as his good old annoying self. But it was hard to ignore the stubby horns on his head, and the fact that he had furry goat legs and hooves instead of workout pants and Nikes.

“I forget that’s supposed to be strange to new kids now,” Percy admitted.

“Well after Grover ripped off that bandaid I guess we shouldn’t be surprised you developed an immunity to all the other strangeness,” Thalia shrugged.

“Yes,” the princess said. “I always keep my wares in good condition. We can certainly barter for the storm spirits and the satyr. A package deal. If we come to terms, I’ll even throw in the vial of healing potion, and you can go in peace.” She gave Piper a shrewd look. “That’s better than starting unpleasantness, isn’t it, dear?”

“Depends on the unpleasantness,” Hazel scowled.

“Reign it in there just a scooch Hazel until we find out what her deal is,” Thalia grinned with nothing but encouragement for what kind of untold unpleasantness awaited.

Don’t trust her, warned a voice in her head. If Piper was right about this lady’s identity, nobody would be leaving in peace. A fair deal wasn’t possible. It was all a trick. But her friends were looking at her, nodding urgently and mouthing, Say yes! Piper needed moretime to think.

“We can negotiate,” she said.

“Totally!” Leo agreed. “Name your price.”

He got a lot of sad little looks for that, but nobody had the heart to call him an idiot when he was speaking under charmspeak.

“I’ve never had to negotiate for anything,” Leo said, “is that not how it starts?”

“You name a price much lower than you’re willing to pay and haggle from there,” Jason offered just in case Leo ever ran into this situation again.

“Leo!” Piper snapped.

The princess chuckled. “Name my price? Perhaps not the best haggling strategy, my boy, but at least you know a thing’s value. Freedom is very valuable indeed.

“Isn’t freedom supposed to be priceless or something? Isn’t that in the Declaration of Independence?” Percy smirked like he’d just made some great triumphant point.

Annabeth patted his hand absently and resisted the urge to remind him they weren’t personally trying to distract her right now otherwise she’d be happy to see where he was going with that.

You would ask me to release this satyr, who attacked my storm winds—”

“Who attacked us,” Piper interjected.

Her Highness shrugged.

“Yeah, that's usually a minor detail to them for some reason,” Nico rolled his eyes. The fire glowed blackish-green as he spoke as if trying to help highlight the grim comment said in such a light tone.

“Honestly,” Leo sighed in agreement, the fire staying the exact same color as memories flashed across his mind too.

“As I said, my patron asks me for small favors from time to time. Sending the storm spirits to abduct you—that was one.

“She controls the storm spirits?” Thalia demanded in confusion, her mind on Calypso and her strange helpful invisible wind spirits too. Just who did those things answer to before Madea took them under her command? She would have assumed her father, but none of this was tracking with Zeus.

“Better than that Aeolus guy trying a hit strike early,” Percy scowled, causing the others to fidget in frustration at the amount of enemies closing in from all sides already before Jason was even halfway across the country.

“Does charmspeak work on monsters?” Hazel asked, thinking Piper’s talent could come in real handy if she ever got a stronger hold on it and just walked them out of any bad situations in the future. It had almost worked on those cyclops, but not fully.

“Yes and no, it depends on how powerful the user is and the monsters will, same as mortals,” Nico frowned.

I assure you it was nothing personal. And no harm done, as you came here, in the end, of your own free will!

“That’s not what no harm done means!” Will protested.

“Pretty sure Hedge would agree with you,” Annabeth nodded. “Typical of her taking all the credit too.”

At any rate, you want the satyr freed, and you want my storm spirits—who are very valuable servants, by the way—so you can hand them over to that tyrant Aeolus. Doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? The price will be high.”

Piper could see that her friends were ready to offer anything, promise anything. Before they could speak, she played her last card.

“You’re Medea,” she said. “You helped the original Jason steal the Golden Fleece.

“Why was someone stealing sheep wool?” Hazel asked blankly.

“Steal it from who,” Percy asked just as blankly. “Not Polyphemus?” He was pretty confident of that, but Annabeth had never said where Cadmus had sacrificed that flying ram. How many times did that thing exchange hands before landing there?

Nico very briefly explained the magic fleece while Annabeth sighed and the other’s couldn’t even blame her for the ‘he’s hopeless’ face.

You’re one of the most evil villains in Greek mythology.

“Ehhh, that’s pushing the limit,” Annabeth smiled, the glitter of debate in her eyes. Jason flopped over in defeat he couldn’t join as she began listing off several that pinged random bells in his head. This truly was torture. Thankfully Percy had one of his rare moments where he chose to ignore her lecturing herself.

Jason, Leo—don’t trust her.”

Piper put all the intensity she could gather into those words. She was utterly sincere, and it seemed to have some effect. Jason stepped away from the sorceress.

Leo scratched his head and looked around like he was coming out of a dream.

“What are we doing, again?”

“Sincerity trumps power!” Percy cheered, nearly throwing the book from his hands as he fist pumped. Annabeth giggled and leaned into his side as she knew he was imagining doing that to Zeus’s face.

“Boys!” The princess spread her hands in a welcoming gesture. Her diamond jewelry glittered, and her painted fingers curled like blood-tipped claws. “It’s true, I’m Medea. But I’m so misunderstood.

“No, black cats are misunderstood!” Hazel said stiffly. The amount of kids who’d caught them and shoved them in her locker was heartbreaking. “This lady needs to have her butt set on fire!” She concluded fiercely. Getting her own brother killed for a guy and it sounded like she’d made out with plenty of power to boot!

“Love the energy,” Jason laughed. “Really hope you don’t have personal experience with that.”

Hazel frowned and decided against admitting her mom had once lit her dress on fire. That had been a bad night.

Oh, Piper, my dear, you don’t know what it was like for women in the old days. We had no power, no leverage. Often we couldn’t even choose our own husbands. But I was different. I chose my own destiny by becoming a sorceress. Is that so wrong?

“Out of context, no,” Leo grinned.

“That context where she’s using that evil sorceress magic to try and kill us doesn't exactly put her high on the good list,” Jason agreed.

I made a pact with Jason: my help to win the fleece, in exchange for his love. A fair deal.

Percy went cross-eyed at that deal with a devil. If you had to make a pact to get hitched, that probably meant she couldn’t find any other suitors.

He became a famous hero! Without me, he would’ve died unknown on the shores of Colchis.”

Jason—Piper’s Jason—scowled.

Jason tried very hard not to make a face at the distinction. He really wanted to know how their mother had gone from such a cool unique name like Thalia’s to his. There was a whole better world of actually interesting names out there!

“Then … you really did die three thousand years ago? You came back from the Underworld?”

“Death no longer holds me, young hero,” Medea said. “Thanks to my patron, I am flesh and blood again.”

“Dang, that was actually a cool sentence,” Percy said in dismay.

“I can say all kinds of cool things about death too,” Nico said, looking at him with interest.

Percy nodded and said, “yeah, sometimes. Let me know how to summon you next time we need an epic battle of this.” Nico laughed hard in surprised appreciation.

“You … re-formed?” Leo blinked. “Like a monster?”

Medea spread her fingers, and steam hissed from her nails, like water splashed on hot iron.

“That sound means yes,” Hazel said with a very upside down smile.

“Thank you for your expert opinion on the matter,” Leo rolled his eyes.

“You have no idea what’s happening, do you, my dears? It is so much worse than a stirring of monsters from Tartarus. My patron knows that giants and monsters are not her greatest servants. I am mortal. I learn from my mistakes. And now that I have returned to the living, I will not be cheated again. Now, here is my price for what you ask.”

“Guys,” Piper said. “The original Jason left Medea because she was crazy and bloodthirsty.”

“Lies!” Medea said.

“On the way back from Colchis, Jason’s ship landed at another kingdom, and Jason agreed to dump Medea and marry the king’s daughter.”

“After I bore him two children!” Medea said. “Still he broke his promise! I ask you, was that right?”

Jason and Leo dutifully shook their heads, but Piper wasn’t through.

“It may not have been right,” she said, “but neither was Medea’s revenge. She murdered her own children to get back at Jason. She poisoned his new wife and fled the kingdom.”

“Now that makes her a monster more than any resurrection crap going on,” Will scowled.

Hazel couldn’t help but smile at the hatred in his words, even as her thoughts still tugged at the idea she’d killed her own mother too. She wasn’t completely blameless.

Medea snarled. “An invention to ruin my reputation! The people of the Corinth—that unruly mob—killed my children and drove me out. Jason did nothing to protect me. He robbed me of everything. So yes, I sneaked back into the palace and poisoned his lovely new bride. It was only fair—a suitable price.”

“You’re insane,” Piper said.

“I am the victim!” Medea wailed. “I died with my dreams shattered, but no longer. I know now not to trust heroes. When they come asking for treasures, they will pay a heavy price. Especially when the one asking has the name of Jason!”

“Pretty sure that’s illegal,” Will sniffed in disdain for such a prejudice, “and if it’s not it would be nice if it was!”

“Yeah, pretty sure I can’t get my dad in on that ancient law, but it would be nice to try,” Thalia sighed.

The fountain turned bright red. Piper drew her dagger, but her hand was shaking almost too badly to hold it. “Jason, Leo—it’s time to go. Now.”

It was time to go the moment they’d arrived, but they’d hung on this long to try and find a weakness, a way out, anything more they could of this mysterious mistress. Now, they’d learned all they could.

Time to go usually commenced everything going to hell though, so it wasn’t anything to look forward to.

“Before you’ve closed the deal?” Medea asked. “What of your quest, boys? And my price is so easy. Did you know this fountain is magic? If a dead man were to be thrown into it, even if he was chopped to pieces, he would pop back out fully formed—stronger and more powerful than ever.”

“Cursed,” Percy said instantly.

“Oh yeah, if that actually did happen, it would poison the rest of your life somehow,” Jason instantly agreed.

“Seriously?” Leo asked.

“Leo, she’s lying,” Piper said. “She did that trick with somebody before—a king, I think. She convinced his daughters to cut him to pieces so he could come out of the water young and healthy again, but it just killed him!”

“Or just lying, yeah that one tracks too,” Thalia nodded.

“Ridiculous,” Medea said, and Piper could hear the power charged in every syllable. “Leo, Jason—my price is so simple. Why don’t you two fight? If you get injured, or even killed, no problem. We’ll just throw you into the fountain and you’ll be better than ever. You do want to fight, don’t you? You resent each other!”

“Oh no,” Leo face palmed. “Hey, Jason, buddy, you remember when I said that thing earlier-”

“I’m like, 75% certain I’m not going to kill you just because a crazy sorceress told me to,” Jason shrugged.

“That’s an excellent grade, better than my average,” Leo nodded in mild relief. It would major league suck to be killed now, he didn’t trust any of these guys to look after Festus.

“Guys, no!” Piper said. But they were already glaring at each other, as if it was just dawning on them how they really felt.

“That’s better than it having been there all along,” Thalia said with a nervous smile as she glanced at Percy. She was not used to being a bystander in these kinds of situations, but it truly bothered her she probably wouldn’t have been much help at this point either. She had an inherent disposition to hold a grudge against Piper and Leo.

Piper had never felt more helpless. Now she understood what real sorcery looked like. She’d always thought magic meant wands and fireballs, but this was worse. Medea didn’t just rely on poisons and potions. Her most potent weapon was her voice.

And it could be Piper’s too, if she used it, Jason well knew. However, if this whole experience somehow convinced her to never speak again, he honestly couldn’t blame her. This kind of power was a gift that would drive a mortal mad with power, as it clearly had to Madea. He’d hate to see Piper fall down that path.

Leo scowled. “Jason’s always the star. He always gets the attention and takes me for granted.”

Leo couldn't help but laugh at the face Jason made as he said that. True though that may have seemed to him at one point, it was pretty clear up in this attic Jason in fact was constantly a second fiddle to someone.

“You’re annoying, Leo,” Jason said. “You never take anything seriously. You can’t even fix a dragon.”

“Stop!” Piper pleaded, but both drew weapons—

“When does someone demand we play tic-tac-toe to the death, I’m great at that,” Hazel frowned.

“I’ll let you know when the next tournament is,” Percy promised, honestly pretty convinced there was one out there.

Jason his gold sword, and Leo a hammer from his tool belt.

“I would bring a hammer to the sword fight,” Leo sighed.

“Maybe not the best time to make a joke, you know, in case you wanted to fight that whole ‘don’t take anything seriously’ allegation?” Annabeth suggested.

“Why would I do that? I own that branding!” Leo sniffed. “Now the dragon thing, yeah, Jason had better take that back before I ever speak to him again.”

“Good thing I wasn’t stupid enough to actually say it then,” Jason wiped his brow in relief.

“Let them go, Piper,” Medea urged. “I’m doing you a favor. Let it happen now, and it will make your choice so much easier. Enceladus will be pleased. You could have your father back today!”

Medea’s charmspeak didn’t work on her, but the sorceress still had a persuasive voice. Her father back today?

“Oof,” they all couldn’t help but wince at that being dangled right in her face. Yeah, if there was one sure fire way she’d be ready and willing to sell the boys out, that would do it. All she’d have to sacrifice was two people who didn’t mean half as much to her as her own father, that’s something any of them would have to call a bargain worthy of Madea.

Despite her best intentions, Piper wanted that. She wanted her father back so much, it hurt.

Percy’s heart hurt with her, he knew that pain so well. He worried about her out alone, having her father back but not really. Just sitting by his bedside next to someone who wouldn’t even recognize her. His heart thrashed in his chest for this poor girl, he wanted to help her so badly but was sitting in the worst situation where he’d already done everything he could.

“You work for Enceladus,” she said.

Medea laughed. “Serve a giant? No. But we all serve the same greater cause—a patron you cannot begin to challenge. Walk away, child of Aphrodite. This does not have to be your death, too. Save yourself, and your father can go free.”

Leo and Jason were still facing off, ready to fight, but they looked unsteady and confused—waiting for another order. Part of them had to be resisting,

“Please let this be the second and last time I get possessed,” Leo groaned. Not that the first was all bad, having Jason as a best friend in memory was probably buying them precious seconds right here, but even then it was starting to feel like a recurring problem around here he wasn’t sure he’d be able to build something to fix. Tin-hats and a few good magnets probably wouldn't stave off this.

Piper hoped. This went completely against their nature.

“Well that’s a relief,” Jason muttered. It had taken the entire freaking day, but hey, he finally got some kind of confirmation on a fact about himself straight from this book! His nature wouldn’t be to lunge into a fight against his friends! What a glorious revelation!

“Listen to me, girl.” Medea plucked a diamond off her bracelet and threw it into a spray of water from the fountain. As it passed through the multicolored light, Medea said, “O Iris, goddess of the rainbow, show me the office of Tristan McLean.”

Percy did a double take and held the book at an angle against the flames to make sure he was seeing that random input right. “Did I miss something?”

“No,” Annabeth promised, peeking over his shoulder to see for herself. “That was so random and concerning why she’s calling on an empty office where a mortal would be.”

The mist shimmered, and Piper saw her father’s study.

Sitting behind his desk, talking on the phone, was her dad’s assistant, Jane, in her dark business suit, her hair swirled in a tight bun.

“Hello, Jane,” Medea said.

Jane hung up the phone calmly. “How can I help you, ma’am? Hello, Piper.”

All eight of them, at nearly the exact same time, sat there with their mouths open. This was stranger to them than the dead woman currently trying to ruin their life!

“Jane’s not human,” Thalia tried to say with confidence. “She’s a monster in disguise-” but she stopped and bit her lip as she remembered Atlas. The human mercenaries working for him. It was rare but no longer out of the realm of possibilities what a mortals mind would work with.

“We need to tell Piper,” Leo said fiercely. “We’ve got to warn her this lady’s more than just the worst to her, she’s actively working with the enemy!” He got up as if to go do this right now, then hesitated as he realized, “erm, she’s never given me her phone number even if there was one here. Do any of you guys know how to send one of those things? Would Piper get it?”

Annabeth licked her lips nervously as she imagined how not swell that conversation would go. They were already under the impression Piper didn’t particularly like and or trust them because they had just showed up on the roof one day and said, ‘you’re dad’s back but maybe not all there.’ Piper might not even believe them if they did send her the message.

“We can get a message to her,” Thalia said with confidence. “Chiron always knows how to get a hold of satyrs out on protection detail. She should be as aware of this situation as possible. But Leo-”

“Yeah, I know,” Leo sighed, sinking back into his spot with the most mild of relief. He was well aware of Piper’s bumpy situation. He just wanted to do something about it, and no amount of inventions he scribbled out on paper was doing that.

“You—” Piper was so angry she could hardly talk.

“Yes, child,” Medea said. “Your father’s assistant. Quite easy to manipulate. An organized mind for a mortal, but incredibly weak.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Jane said.

Will snorted fantastically, then covered his mouth as if embarrassed to be laughing at a mortal for thanking someone for insulting her. Nico reached up absently and patted his leg in agreement some things were worth laughing about at others expense. This woman had made Piper’s life miserable! Exactly how much it was voluntary was now even arguable!

“Don’t mention it,” Medea said. “I just wanted to congratulate you, Jane. Getting Mr. McLean to leave town so suddenly, take his jet to Oakland without alerting the press or the police—well done! No one seems to know where he’s gone. And telling him his daughter’s life was on the line—that was a nice touch to get his cooperation.”

“Yes,” Jane agreed in a bland tone, as if she were sleepwalking. “He was quite cooperative when he believed Piper was in danger.”

Percy read that with deepest rage in his voice, but there were grains of pity in him for this mortal. The back of his mind was a sizzling horror if anybody ever tried to do this kind of thing to his mom.

Piper looked down at her dagger. The blade trembled in her hand. She couldn’t use it for a weapon any better than Helen of Troy could, but it was still a looking glass, and what she saw in it was a scared girl with no chance of winning.

Hazel’s heart throbbed for this poor girl. She knew that situation intimately. The helpless feeling of gritting your teeth and forcing yourself to live through another day because there was no alternative.

“I may have new orders for you, Jane,” Medea said. “If the girl cooperates, it may be time for Mr. McLean to come home. Would you arrange a suitable cover story for his absence, just in case? And I imagine the poor man will need some time in a psychiatric hospital.”

“I hate it most when they act nice,” Thalia groused. “Nobody’s buying that she really cares what happens to him!”

“I’ll write a sticky note for Piper and leave it somewhere I’m sure she’ll find it to let her know the difference,” Percy told her mildly even if he did fully agree.

“Yes, ma’am. I will stand by.”

The image faded, and Medea turned to Piper.

Percy’s eye twitched in frustration, he still couldn’t get the idea out of his head of his mom being on the other side of that image, she was the only mortal he regularly used the Mist for.

“There, you see?”

“You lured my dad into a trap,” Piper said. “You helped the giant—”

“Oh, please, dear. You’ll work yourself into a fit!

“Gods forbid she get stress lines from this!” Will scowled.

I’ve been preparing for this war for years, even before I was brought back to life. I’m a seer, as I said. I can tell the future as well as your little oracle. Years ago, still suffering in the Fields of Punishment, I had a vision of the seven in your so-called Great Prophecy. I saw your friend Leo here, and saw that he would be an important enemy someday. I stirred the consciousness of my patron, gave her this information, and she managed to wake just a little—just enough to visit him.”

“She- she-” Leo was so angry he couldn’t even splutter on the words. Heat rose in him, so high and fast he wondered if he was going to burn the entire camp to ashes by the time he could get his eyes to focus. But they wouldn’t, they stayed blurred and hot and his throat was the one on fire. This woman, this entirely crazy lady, had messed with, screwed with his life from the Underworld- was it possible to burn the entire surface of the Earth because he was sure going to try!

He would not run away though, not again. As much as he wanted to, every instinct was screaming at him to, his mother was no coward, and nor was he. He would feel every bit of the fire he escaped and use it to mold himself into something that would detonate Madea, that filthy dirt goddess, and anybody else who had something to say about Esperanza Valdez!

“Leo’s mother,” Piper said. “Leo, listen to this! She helped get your mother killed!”

“Uh-huh,” Leo mumbled, in a daze. He frowned at his hammer. “So … I just attack Jason? That’s okay?”

Well if anything would get the blood-lust in him going to do it, that would be the trick! Now Piper was pouring on the acid!

“Perfectly safe,” Medea promised. “And Jason, strike him hard. Show me you are worthy of your namesake.”

“That’s a big ol’ nope from me,” Jason muttered. He couldn’t really recall any stories about his namesake off the top of his head, and sure didn’t care enough to impress her at this moment.

“No!” Piper ordered. She knew it was her last chance. “Jason, Leo—she’s tricking you. Put down your weapons.”

The sorceress rolled her eyes. “Please, girl. You’re no match for me. I trained with my aunt, the immortal Circe. I can drive men mad or heal them with my voice. What hope do these puny young heroes have against me?

Will shivered with the utmost horror for what she was going through, essentially alone. Madea might as well be a goddess, the one perfectly constructed to make Piper’s life hell.

Now, boys, kill each other!”

“Jason, Leo, listen to me.” Piper put all of her emotion into her voice. For years she’d been trying to control herself and not show weakness, but now she poured everything into her words —her fear, her desperation, her anger.

Nico probably knew best how magic worked, and Piper was very much on the right track. Magic was all about intent, summoning the dead could feasibly be done by a mortal if they got their hands on the wrong spell, but unless they put the emotional punch into every word, those raised dead were going to run wild.

She knew she might be signing her dad’s death warrant, but she cared too much about her friends to let them hurt each other.

“Oh,” Percy murmured, shocked at how much those words from his own mouth hit him, though he shouldn’t be. This was the exact same choice he’d once made too. His heart thrummed with new life, a strangely protective feeling for someone he’d never met as he considered Piper a friend now.

“Medea is charming you. It’s part of her magic. You are best friends. Don’t fight each other. Fight her!”

Jason and Leo hesitated to look at each other for that. They were only best friends in that Hera made them be. It was a miserable thought really, that this spell put on them was only as real as a statement could make it.

Still, the comforting idea was in Piper’s words too. That they could be, if given the real chance.

They hesitated, and Piper could feel the spell shatter.

Leo had to clear his throat for an extra moment, but when he was done with that he rummaged through his tool belt and pulled out a nice looking plate with an oddly designed, cheerfully colored skull on it. Most likely a copy from his aunt’s collection, but it did the job as he pulled his arm back and then launched it at the ground as hard as he could, just to hear that nice, glass shattering sound effect he’d been longing for.

Jason brushed a chunk of plate that had an eye on it off his knee casually.

Jason blinked. “Leo, was I just about to stab you?”

“You were going to try,” Leo sniffed.

“Hopefully not very hard,” Jason sighed. He would really love to go minutes without his head being messed with in some shape sometime soon!

“Something about my mother … ?” Leo frowned, then turned toward Medea. “You … you’re working for Dirt Woman. You sent her to the machine shop.” He lifted his arm. “Lady, I got a three-pound hammer with your name on it.”

“There it is,” Leo sighed in relief all seemed right with the world again.

“Leo, now is not the time to stop and inscribe your enemies names on your hammer,” Thalia mock scolded. “At least make it simpler and use her initials or a check mark or something.”

Leo laughed in delight and determined that was something he would do when they set out to defeat Madea in person.

“Bah!” Medea sneered. “I’ll simply collect payment another way.”

“Doesn't surprise me she’s a bloody huntsman for a bill, gods forbid someone that rich do pro bono work,” Thalia rolled her eyes.

“Thals, your Zeus is showing,” Percy chuckled. He’d never heard anyone else say pro bono except someone entirely too invested in cheating out of taxes.

“And I’m going to steal his bolt again so you can see it up close and personal if you don’t watch it,” Thalia scowled, ignoring the unpleasant, tingling sensation washing over her at the insolence in her words to her father. It was only a joke Styx!

She pressed one of the mosaic tiles on the floor, and the building rumbled. Jason swung his sword at Medea, but she dissolved into smoke and reappeared at the base of the escalator.

“Of course she can teleport too! Because this day just wasn’t going swell enough already!” Annabeth ground out through her teeth. Gods she’d never wanted to hurl her dagger in someone’s face so bad. Then she blinked in shock and asked, “hey, does imperial gold work on mortals?”

“I, have no idea,” Jason recalled with a scowl. “It was probably just impulse more than anything.”

“Right,” she grudgingly nodded in agreement, and it wasn’t even a theory they could lightly test later unless Rachel was willing to get her palm sliced for the sake of curiosity.

“You’re slow, hero!” She laughed. “Take your frustration out on my pets!”

“That’s rude,” Will frowned. “I hope nobody ever uses her kennel’s if this is how she treats animals.”

“Cowardly,” Percy agreed, imagining leaving Mrs. O’Leary to deal with his fight made him sick. “Everything about her is.”

Before Jason could go after her, the giant bronze sundials at either end of the fountain swung open. Two snarling gold beasts—flesh-and-blood winged dragons—crawled out from the pits below. Each was the size of a camper van, maybe not large compared to Festus, but large enough.

“Ooh, yeah that’s bad,” Percy frowned with personal experience. He missed Magnus freaking out about these things, but he was more than happy to remind everyone that they’d so far never meant any good.

“Thanks for the update Perce, really hope I come to that conclusion on my own,” Jason sighed, though he’d always had the distinct feeling he’d faced these monsters before and at least wouldn’t freeze when confronted with the real things…and it might have been Laydon?! As usual though the more he tried to ruminate and figure out the strange idea, the more it melted away.

“So that’s what’s in the kennels,” Leo said meekly.

“Definitely preferred the idea of Babycakes being down there personally,” Will groaned, though he got a lot of strange looks for half of them not knowing who that was supposed to be. Honestly Will didn’t even know either, it just sounded like a nicer name than screaming dragon while running for your life.

The dragons spread their wings and hissed. Piper could feel the heat coming off their glittering skin. One turned his angry orange eyes on her.

Thalia kept the comment to herself that gods if these things weren’t bent on murdering them they’d be so freaking pretty.

“Don’t look them in the eye!” Jason warned. “They’ll paralyze you.”

Jason felt like actually thanking his mind, for once. At least it retained some useful information on impulse if nothing else.

“Can someone please stop inventing monsters that are just, extra!” Hazel scowled. “I’m already sick of hearing of them all being able to kill us plus extra torture! Don’t we get enough of that from everywhere else!” There was a dangling piece of plate caught in her frizzy cinnamon hair that jangled around as she spoke.

“Preaching to the choir sweet sister,” Nico promised with pure amusement for her little huff.

“Indeed!” Medea was leisurely riding the escalator up, leaning against the handrail as she watched the fun.

“She’s not even fleeing! She’s just lazily getting pulled up to safety!” Percy sounded wounded he’d never been allowed to ride an escalator away from dragons more than anything.

“Next time we go to the mall I can pay someone in a dragon suite to politely roar at the bottom,” Thalia grinned.

“I only accept that if it’s you in the dragon suite,” Percy sniffed.

“Not so different future of Percy and Thalia getting kicked out of a mall,” Jason sighed in exhaustion.

“Piper would be so proud they’re carrying on her legacy,” Leo smirked.

“These two dears have been with me a long time—sun dragons, you know, gifts from my grandfather Helios.

“Of course her grandfather is also a freaking god, gods forbid- wait, sun? Isn’t that Apollo’s thing?” Leo had doodled himself a little chart to keep track of all this nonsense and was rummaging around for it, but Will being up here constantly lounging all day was a good reminder.

“It’s a whole thing,” Will said, casual as ever, but a hint of long suffering in his voice. This was not the first time he’d had to explain this. “My dad currently is the god of the sun, there have been past gods of the sun. The important thing is I’m right here with you at the injustice of this freaking chick being so over powered it’s unfair.”

They pulled my chariot when I left Corinth, and now they will be your destruction. Ta-ta!”

The dragons lunged. Leo and Jason charged to intercept.

Piper was amazed how fearlessly the boys attacked—working like a team who had trained together for years.

“You stare down Festus, you’ve stared down them all,” Leo shrugged.

“Eh, you stare down one fire breathing lunatic you’ve seen um all,” Jason shrugged with a little smirk as he non so subtly gestured at Leo.

“Ah, buddy, no one’s ever called me scarier than a dragon before!” Leo laughed at the absurd statement, but the sentiment was truly felt.

Medea was almost to the second floor, where she’d be able to choose from a wide assortment of deadly appliances.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” Piper growled, and took off after her.

“Smart,” Annabeth agreed, she was the only one who could resist not falling right back under her spell.

“Honestly the more dangerous of the two options here,” Jason said with a huff, as if personally offended he was being barred from such a task and was just stuck dealing with the dragon.

When Medea spotted Piper, she started climbing in earnest. She was quick for a three-thousand-year-old lady.

“She has to have gotten a hip replacement surgery at some point, even the magical bone repairing kind,” Hazel frowned. It wasn’t hard to wrap her mind around the idea, but it also kind of disturbed her as she poked her hip.

“I can pitch her out of that stained glass and see how well she’s walking after that,” Leo sneered.

Piper climbed at top speed, taking the steps three at a time, and still she couldn’t catch her. Medea didn’t stop at floor two. She hopped the next escalator and continued to ascend.

The potions, Piper thought. Of course that’s what she would go for. She was famous for potions.

Down below, Piper heard the battle raging. Leo was blowing his safety whistle, and Jason was yelling to keep the dragons’ attention. Piper didn’t dare look—not while she was running with a dagger in her hand. She could just see herself tripping and stabbing herself in the nose. That would be super heroic.

All of them laughed with Piper though because on any given occasion, none of them felt heroic in the middle of almost dying. Percy could personally attest to many times he’d almost stabbed himself if he grabbed the wrong pen. It was just another part of their life.

She grabbed a shield from an armored manikin on floor three and continued to climb. She imagined Coach Hedge yelling in her mind, just like back in gym class at Wilderness School: Move it, McLean! You call that escalator-climbing?

“Man, who do we yell at to change rope climbing to that?” Percy agreed.

“Don’t bring it up with Hedge, he’d probably invent a way for us to do both,” Leo sighed, vividly imagining sprinting up an escalator to a rope ladder to a set of monkey bars and dropping into a ball pit or something and forced to do it again on repeat. That was probably someone’s Underworld punishment.

She reached the top floor, breathing hard, but she was too late. Medea had reached the potions counter.

The sorceress grabbed a swan-shaped vial—the blue one that caused painful death—and Piper did the only thing that came to mind. She threw her shield.

“Whelp, we know who to dress up Piper as this Halloween,” Percy smirked.

“Honestly she’d probably love that,” Leo agreed. Captain Cherokee/McLean had a nice ring to it.

Medea turned triumphantly just in time to get hit in the chest by a fifty-pound metal Frisbee.

There was joyous, uproarious laughter for that mental image, enough so it made Jason honestly consider the merits of fighting with a shield. He actually had a pretty good feeling it was a tactic he’d done in the past.

She stumbled backward, crashing over the counter, breaking vials and knocking down shelves. When the sorceress stood from the wreckage, her dress was stained a dozen different colors. Many of the stains were smoldering and glowing.

“Is that all it did!” Nico protested. “I would have thought the place would instantly go up in flames-”

“Classic Percy,” Thalia smirked.

“But all those potions just changed her dress!” Nico said in disbelief.

“Wait for it,” Thalia shook her head with confidence. Just because the place hadn’t instantly gone classic Percy didn’t mean it wasn’t coming. Percy was just the poster child, but it was an inevitable part of a demigod leaving a scene.

“Fool!” Medea wailed. “Do you have any idea what so many potions will do when mixed?”

“Kill you?” Piper said hopefully.

“I mean,” Will struggled not to nod fervently in agreement. “There weren’t a whole lot of other options going on here to send her back where she came from, but wholly Apollo, I am not looking forward to this being our only answer going in.”

“I’m okay with just feeding her to her own dragons,” Leo sniffed. He was clearly taking that personally.

“We’ll start a poll on options later to work all this out in detail,” Jason assured him, his mind spinning different stealth tactics to sneak in and pin her down and tie her up that would all go to hell anyways.

The carpet began to steam around Medea’s feet. She coughed, and her face contorted in pain—or was she faking?

Below, Leo called, “Jason, help!”

Leo groaned and dragged his hand down his face. He couldn’t even brain a dragon, what hope did he have against bashing in some crazy ladies?!

“I’m sure he just caught you off guard hotshot,” Jason offered, easily imagining the dragon spewing fire and pouncing on Leo through the flames or some equally crazy hunting tactic.

“Living up to your name boyscout,” Leo gave him a smile for Jason never letting him have a moment to pity himself anymore, it was unnerving! His pity-parties were going to go stale!

Piper risked a quick look, and almost sobbed in despair.

One of the dragons had Leo pinned to the floor. It was baring its fangs, ready to snap.

“I’m sure that whole ‘not looking it in the eye’ thing is going great for me right now,” Leo groaned. “I’m too busy looking past all those teeth down its throat!”

“That’s the opposite of keeping your eye on the prize, snap out of it Leo,” Jason said in mock horror, then the two burst out in laughter. Well at least someone was having fun.

Jason was all the way across the room battling the other dragon, much too far away to assist.

“Festus is going to be pissed if he smells you smooching with another dragon,” Annabeth chuckled.

“Hey, hey, hey, no kissing was mentioned in any way!” Leo yelped.

“Eh, same difference to them,” she grinned. “There’s a whole section on it in our dragon classes how to get them fighting over a meal so you can potentially escape.” She winced at the end though. Beckendorf used to host that class and nobody had reinstated it since his death.

“You’ve doomed us all!” Medea screamed.

“Piper’s truly picking up my mantle,” Percy snickered. “I use that word right, wise girl?”

“You did, yes,” she nodded, running her fingers lovingly through his hair.

Smoke was rolling across the carpet as the stain spread, throwing sparks and setting fires in the clothing racks. “You have only seconds before this concoction consumes everything and destroys the building. There’s no time—”

CRASH! The stained glass ceiling splintered in a rain of multicolored shards, and Festus the bronze dragon dropped into the department store.

“Aw!” Leo pressed both hands to his heart as if about to give himself the heimlich maneuver. “My baby came crashing out! As dramatically as possible!”

“Just like you would,” Jason agreed, imagining Leo setting off fireworks.

Nico was looking at the pair of them like they were completely nuts. Festus was crashing into the place, not out of somewhere.

He hurtled into the fray, snatching up a sun dragon in each claw. Only now did Piper appreciate just how big and strong their metal friend was.

Leo sniffed and humphed as dramatically as possible. His majestic friend should have been admired like that from the very beginning!

“Some people just need a while to take all that splendor in,” Hazel told him with a friendly pat on his shoulder to help ease that pain.

“At least she got there in the end,” Leo managed on a mock choked up voice. He’d keep this information away from Festus to save him like a good friend.

“That’s my boy!” Leo yelled.

Festus flew halfway up the atrium, then hurled the sun dragons into the pits they’d come from. Leo raced to the fountain and pressed the marble tile, closing the sundials. They shuddered as the dragons banged against them, trying to get out, but for the moment they were contained.

“That’s how a real dragon do, sucker!” Leo was preeing like a peacock. It was an honest miracle he hadn’t run off to try and hug Festus and bring him back up to the attic to celebrate. Possibly the only thing keeping him in containment was the fact that there was smoke coming out of his shoes, but the idea that running without socks would stop him wasn’t convincing many.

Medea cursed in some ancient language. The whole fourth floor was on fire now. The air filled with noxious gas. Even with the roof open, Piper could feel the heat intensifying. She backed up to the edge of the railing, keeping her dagger pointed toward Medea.

“I will not be abandoned again!” The sorceress knelt and snatched up the red healing potion, which had somehow survived the crash.

Jason jolted, a deep feeling of empathy bursting out of him that had nothing to do with charmspeak messing with his head. He immediately scolded himself for that, she’d just tried to have him and Leo kill each other with no remorse, gods only knew what she would have done with Piper and the winner afterwards. That he had some deep rooted abandonment issues didn’t surprise him in the slightest, that this potion of all of them had somehow survived and could grant her freedom if Piper felt the same moment of pity could be a problem centered around him; but still his breath shook with a horrible combination of longing and understanding for this woman as her image flickered in his mind with that ghost of Beryl Grace once more Thalia had once faced.

“You want your boyfriend’s memory restored? Take me with you!”

“I wouldn’t even grace her with an answer,” Jason smirked. “I’d just pelt her in the face with another potion.”

“Jason, no,” Thalia told him tragically, but it was too late, the others were already drowning her out with laughter, Will loudest of all.

Piper glanced behind her. Leo and Jason were on board Festus’s back. The bronze dragon flapped his mighty wings, snatched the two cages with the satyr and the storm spirits in his claws, and began to ascend.

“Hopefully not assuming he’s picking up a snack,” Percy muttered.

The building rumbled. Fire and the smoke curled up the walls, melting the railings, turning the air to acid.

“You’ll never survive your quest without me!” Medea growled. “Your boy hero will stay ignorant forever, and your father will die. Take me with you!”

Percy winced as he read that, having a feeling he would have been persuaded by that, charmspeak or not. He couldn’t blame Jason’s shifty face for clearly thinking the same. The obvious part of them knew it was a trap, but Percy still saw Calypso in his mind's eye as he remembered leaving someone behind now who might not wholly deserve it.

For one heartbeat, Piper was tempted. Then she saw Medea’s grim smile.

“Note to self, don’t ever smile when asking for help,” Nico said with a twisted grin.

“It’s one of those moments nobody thinks about in life or death situations,” Will agreed with interest. “If she were weeping or something Piper might have said yes, Medea probably would have killed them, but like, it at least would have been a nice gesture to push her off of Festus when they got out of the building or something.”

“So that the rest of Chicago could deal with her? Honestly better to just leave her to her own mess, die by her own sword, like in ye old times.” Thalia shrugged without too much remorse. She had zero love for sorceresses, they tempted too many women to find the wrong kind of power.

The sorceress was confident in her powers of persuasion, confident that she could always make a deal, always escape and win in the end.

“And we all know Piper hates confident pretty girls,” Leo snorted.

“It is a good thing more and more Drew didn’t come along or she would have dove into those clothes and never resurfaced,” Annabeth smirked.

“Not today, witch.” Piper jumped over the side. She plummeted for only a second before Leo and Jason caught her, hauling her aboard the dragon.

Jason and Leo high-fived without looking. It was much cornier than they thought it was for congratulating each other for catching her.

She heard Medea screaming in rage as they soared through the broken roof and over downtown Chicago. Then the department store exploded behind them.

“Classic,” Percy nodded in a mild form of congratulations. “I’m so happy to see my legacy being carried on.”

Jason crumpled up a blank page to chuck it at him. “What legacy! I’m burning my own path!”

“You’re on the same prophecy-induced path as me and I started this train!” Percy smirked.

“And you’ll be the one to crash it I’m sure,” Annabeth smirked as she plucked the book out of his hands.

#pjo #percy jackson #annabeth chase #leo valdez #jason grace #thalia grace #hazel levesque #nico di angelo #will solace #percabeth #solangelo

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