… then look again. Persephone Jackson is gone, and Jessica Grace is forced to watch Archimedes Chase try to heal the chasm she left behind her. a genderswitch au set during the time between the Lost Hero and the Son of Neptune.

start

Jessica Grace sees Archimedes Chase sitting on the beach too often.

Whenever she passes by the beach, ninety nine point nine percent of the time, she can find the son of Athena there, staring out into the horizon, a gentle, salty breeze kicking up his blonde curls, rustling the tree leaves as it sweeps by. When he isn't doing the duties a senior counselor is supposed to do, he's at the beach, keeping a silent vigil for the girl he loves.

Jessica would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't jealous. She is jealous. Persephone Jackson seemingly has it all - the boy, the life, everything. She has looks, apparently, and just, this aura that draws everyone around her in, comforting, kind, and reassuring.

The daughter of Jupiter hopes that she is like that too.

But if there's one thing at fault with the ever elusive daughter of Poseidon, is that above anything, she is like the ocean. Gorgeous, comforting, kind, and mercurial, but for all that, if you try to swim too far in, you will drown.

Archimedes Chase is doing just that. He's drowning in the unnatural silence that Persephone - sorry, Percy - Jackson has left behind her. Jessica can see him every morning, leaving the Poseidon cabin, and the purple-black bruises underneath his eyes growing darker every day.

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Jessica asks Piper, absent-mindedly dribbling a basketball as she gestures to the distant figure of Archimedes Chase on the beach. Yet again.

Piper looks up from the Jules Verne novel in his hands, and towards Archimedes' direction. A sad smile spreads slowly across his face, as he shakes his head softly.

Jessica watches the miniature braid with the blue harpy feather woven into it sway back and forth hypnotically. "Why not?" She murmurs, setting the basketball aside.

The Cherokee boy scoots over on the bench so she can sit next to him. He pulls her a little closer, resting his chin in the straight strands of Jessica's blonde hair. "It's heart sickness, Jessica." He taps a spot on her left breast, right over where her heart is, and sighs into her hair. It certainly doesn't help Jessica in anyway, shape or form. Her heart rate picks up to a whole new speed, and it takes all those years of ingrained self control not to burst into various hues of pink and red. "I think Archimedes misses Percy more than he lets on. Just think about it. They've never been apart from each other long without communication for what, four, five years?" Piper shrugged. "I'll bet that he misses her like a fish misses water."

Jessica squirms a little underneath Piper's weight. "Is this an Aphrodite kid thing?"

She doesn't get a response - just her boyfriend leaning deeper into her.

Gods almighty, she might just love this boy.

The daughter of Jupiter looks back to Archimedes, who looks small and fragile from the distance.

She hopes Persephone Jackson comes back soon.

"Come on, Pipes. Let's go visit Lea." She wiggles out from underneath Piper, and they set off. At the very least, they can see how far along Lea is with the Argo II.

She wants to meet Percy Jackson too.

But there is no time for that.

Archimedes rushes in the next morning, hair wild, bags deeper underneath his eyes than they have ever looked, hands trembling around a piping cup of coffee. "I saw her. I - I - I saw her." His hands rock a little harder, and some scalding liquid spills onto Archimedes' bare feet.

Jessica frowns. Everything seems off with this version of Archimedes Chase, with his trembling hands, and mad, mad gray eyes.

"Archimedes...when was the last time you slept?" Piper is the first to cut in, clasping the elder boy's shoulder as it heaves up and down, up and down.

Archimedes shrugs Piper off. "It doesn't matter, Piper. What matters is that I saw her. I saw Percy. Tyson is closest to her - she's in California." His crazed gray gaze turns to Jessica.

She steps back involuntarily as he steps closer to her. "The Roman camp is in California right? Right?"

"Ri-right." Why does her voice tremble? Why?

Piper steps in between Archimedes and herself. "Archimedes, enough. We all know that the other camp is in California. We figured that Percy would be switched with Jessica, alright?" He gestures to where Lea's feet can be seen underneath the hulking mass of the basically complete Argo II. "Lea is almost done with the Argo. You'll see her soon, alright?"

Something seems to snap deep inside Archimedes, and his legs give out from underneath him, and his coffee cup spills onto the ground, bitter liquid spreading slowly, but surely. "Stop. Just...stop," he mutters, hands scrabbling to find hold in his curly hair. "I know...alright? But...I...I just thought that...that..." His voice wobbles, then water stains the ground by his feet.

Jessica watches as Piper lurches forward to clasp Archimedes' shoulders again. "Listen. This is madness, Archimedes. This isn't your fault."

"….miss her..." He murmurs, hiccuping.

Jessica turns away when Lea calls for a wrench. She can't watch this train wreck of a mess Archimedes Chase has become.

She understands why Aphrodite is so feared. Fear begins to creep into her too.

How badly must Persephone Jackson be faring?

Not very well.

As Jessica watches the daughter of Poseidon come running to Archimedes from her spot next to Ryan Aidan Ramirez-Arellano, the purple toga that symbolizes the praetor fluttering in the wind as she runs to Archimedes, kissing him hard on the lips.

She then judo-flips him, and kneels over his limpid body, jet black hair cascading over one shoulder as she smiles, sweet and deadly at her boyfriend.

There are bone-deep bruises in her skin, bags that look like a thousand pounds underneath her eyes, and a misty, glazed over quality to her sea-green eyes.

Persephone Jackson had been drowning as well.

And by the looks of it, many had tried, but none had succeeded to pick up her pieces.