"Well I've been here before, sat on a floor in a grey, grey, mood. Where I stay up all night, and all that I write is a grey, grey tune."
-Damien Rice
"Grey Room"
The first thing that Jason saw when he woke up was Piper.
Which he found relieving...
Until he saw that she was in a cage.
Bolting upright, he felt a sharp pain coursing through his leg. A small gasp escaped his lips, as he bent over to feel for any obstructions. Patting his thigh, he didn't feel anything except a wet, warm liquid.
Trying to regain his bearings, he noticed there was a large medevial candelabra swinging from the ceiling. Once his eyes finally adjusting to the dim light in the chamber, he glanced at his palm, which was covered in blood. His jeans where already soaked, and a small puddle surrounded his leg.
He heard Piper sob from across the room. Squinting, he could just make out a silhouette of her small body hunched in the corner of the cell.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself off the ground, only to find himself face to face with the concrete once more. Pain ricocheted up his spine and leg.
'Must be broken," he thought.
Struggling to get up once more, he finally managed to get to his feet. Limping his way towards Pipers' cage, he heard another voice from the other side of the room.
"Jason?!" It exclaimed.
Turning his hips so he wouldn't have to move his leg, Jason pivoted towards the noise.
'I... I know that voice.' he pondered.
"Nico?" he said. "What're you-"
"No time to explain," Nico said quickly.
Narrowing his eyes, Jason saw the shadow of the younger boy in another prison a few yards away.
"Grab Piper!" he growled. "You have to get out of here, before she comes back."
Raising his eyebrows, Jason turned his body full circle. "Who's 'she'?" he asked sharply.
Before Nico could reply, a fluctuating cackle rose through the air.
Gasping slightly, Nico scrambled into the corner of his cell.
"No..." he whispered." That's... That's too early. She said she'd be back after-"
The small windows above their heads trembled. As the cackling escalated into full scale wailing, they shattered, sending glass across the room like a supernova. Jason sheltered his head with his arms as best as he could, while Nico was hunched over in the fetal position like he was reanacting a tornado drill. Piper whimpered loudly in fear from her cell.
Through the dust and stones that continued to hail from the explosion, Jason could see the figure of a girl hop down the wall, scuttling towards them.
...Wait.
'Scuttling?' Jason thought.
Before he could finish the thought, the creature pounced at him, snarling in his face.
With the light shooting in from the windows. Jason could clearly see the profile of his attacker.
It wasn't a girl, per say. It was a creature more on the lines of looking like a girl. On the inside, she was a wild animal.
Smiling manically, her eyes were as crazy as her actions. They were almost too big for her head, just white orbs gravitating on her sullen face. Despite her sunken skull, they glinted with a harsh fascination that could only be described as madness. Her hair was shoved on top of her head like a mop. Thin, frizzy tendrils of dark brown shot out in every direction, greasy and ratty.
Her body was as frail as a twig, but her grip was crazy strong. Long fingers led to stubby finger nails, and the only thing she wore was a filthy dress manufactured out of rags. Shoes were out of the question, seeing as her feet were caked with dirt and soot.
"Sacrifices..." she giggled. "Sacrifices for the Earth Mother."
Still clutching Jason's shirt, she began to laugh again. "She says I make good sacrifices..."
Suddenly, her gaze turned sad and serious. "I had to sacrifice seeing my family..." she whispered.
As fast as it had turned morose, her face sprang back into a smile like a rubber band.
"But that's okay. Mother says it is. She says that I will see them soon." she chanted, as if she were trying to convince herself more than Jason. At this, she turned towards Nico, who had been staring wide eyed at Jason throughout the attack.
"Isn't that right, Nicky?" she giggled playfully. "You can bring them back. You said you could. 'blood of Olympus', right?"
Nico fidgeted nervously, trying to think of something to say that wouldn't result in her freaking out again.
"I never said anything about bloodshed " he explained cautiously. "Besides, it isn't me. You know that."
The young girl whirled around at Nico, her eyes blazing with fury.
"STOP LYING TO ME!" she shrieked. "I KNOW YOU'RE LYING!"
Jason's mind reeled from the piercing scream. He tried to think of where he had heard of a "Lyssa" in mythology. Something with... rabies?
Suddenly, he remembered. Lyssa was the Greek version of Ira, the spirit of rage and frenzy. She was rabies personified, an entity of madness and insanity. Born from the blood of Ouranos, she was a daughter of Nyx. Or was it Gaia? He had heard that Hera (curse her) had given Lyssa the task of striking Heracles with insanity, causing him to murder his wife and children. It was a gruesome tale.
Lyssa let go of Jason's collar, walking towards Nico. She gripped the bars of his cage until Jason could see her knuckles turn white.
"You promised," she snarled through clenched teeth.
Nico slowly backed against the wall, which hardly did any good.
Jason felt a pit of worry grow in his stomach.
"Nico... what's she doing?" he asked worriedly.
Nico's eyes flitted to meet Jason's, then glanced up at the ceiling. Jason saw his mouth open slightly, then quickly shut again.
Lyssa glanced back at Jason. A delirious smile spread across her face like wildfire.
"I'll make you proud, mother..." she raved. "I don't break promises."
She pulled out a crooked dagger from the folds in her loincloth dress, slowly prowling towards Jason with a malevolent gleam in her eyes.
"JASON, LOOK OUT!" Piper cried.
Looking around wildly, Jason tried to locate where her voice was coming from. Suddenly, he heard a large groan emanating from the ceiling.
Slowly, Jason raised his head just in time to see the candelabra hanging from the ceiling crash onto where Lyssa stood with a thunderous SMASH!
The rusted metal of the candelabra exploded onto the floor, causing the candles that occupied it to fly across the room in all directions.
Once the dust settled, Jason saw Piper leap down from the ceiling. Brushing herself off, she sprinted over to Jason, wrapping her arms around him.
Relieved that she was okay, Jason breathed her in. She still smelled like cinnamon.
Piper let go of Jason's neck.
"I'm so relieved!" she said, grinning widely. "When I saw you collapse..."
Her voice cracked, the breath catching in her throat. Jason noticed that her eyes were brimming with tears.
"How did you even get up in the ceiling?" he asked.
Piper beamed at him. "Has Nico ever told you that he has geokinesis?"
Jason' sees widened. "No, but it wouldn't surprise me," he said.
She wrapped her arms around him again. "I'm just glad you're okay," she whispered in his ear.
Jason sighed, tightened his arms grip on her waist. "Me, too," he breathed.
"Uh, guys..." Nico stuttered. "I think we might have a problem."
Jason and Piper turned turned in time to see Lyssa rise from the floor. Panting heavily, she brushed a piece of melted wax from her shoulder like a coat of dust.
"It looks like someone needs a timeout," she hissed.
Just then, a shuddering squeak filled the room. All eyes swiveled toward the noise, which was coming from Nico's side of the room.
"Wait...", Jason murmured.
"Is he..." Piper gasped.
"Bending the metal?!" they said in unison.
With that, Nico shoved his hands between the bars, cramming his fingers in the middle. With a small grunt from Nico, he jerked his hands in the opposite direction. Shuddering and groaning, the iron bars twisted like Playdough. Nico moved them aside, creating a hole just big enough for him to fit through.
Triumphant, Nico jumped out of his cage and onto the stone floor. For once, Lyssa didn't say anything. Only a small squeak escaped from her lips.
Nico slowly walked up to her, kneeling down in front of the girl so that they were eye level.
"You've been a bad girl," he chided calmly.
Lyssa's bottom lip quivered. She bent her head. "I know," she whimpered sadly.
She looked up at Nico. "I miss my mommy and daddy," she admitted. "I never see them anymore. I try to make them proud..."
Her voice trailed off.
Nico gave her a warm smile. "Take your time," he said kindly.
With a few moments of silence, Lyssa took a small breath before speaking again.
"I thought that, if I brought other people here..."
She gulped, looking down at her lap.
"...maybe it would be like having a family again."
At this, Piper brought her hands to her mouth to cover her gasp.
Jason's eyebrows furrowed. He never though the sadistic girl would show any sign of human nature and morale. He thought for sure that she had gone mad with the absence of her relatives.
Nico sat on both knees, now.
"Do you remember Lady Artemis?" he asked her.
Lyssa nodded timidly. "Yes..." she replied. " A bad man tried to peek at her when she was undressing. I had to punish the bad man. I made his doggies hurt him."
Nico smiled sadly. "Yes, you did," he said.
He shifted on the ground, so he could sit cross legged.
"I think... You've spent so long remembering the bad people, you've forgotten the good ones," Nico thought out loud. "The ones that helped you".
With that in mind, Nico picked up a scrap of metal that had fallen from the candelabra. He put it in his hand, and bent it into a small dog. Once he was finished, he put it gently in Lyssa's hand, taking her fingers and curling them around the statuette.
Lyssa sniffed, a smile splitting her face. "I kind of like doggies...", she said.
Jason ruffled his hair, his brow furrowing. He never imagined Nico showing much compassion, except towards Hazel. But now, he could have passed as a grade A therapist. Jason thought about Nico's journey through Tartarus, and how he had nearly gone insane. Realizing it now, Nico probably felt sympathy for Lyssa because he knew what she was going through.
Nico shifted his weight on his legs.
"I have a dog at home," he stated. "Her name is Mrs. O' Leary. I think you'd like her."
Lyssa sniffled. "Yes..." she mumbled wistfully. " Yes I would."
Standing up, Nico stretched his legs.
"Well, Lyssa," he said. "I think that it's time for us to leave. Don't you think?"
Lyssa's somewhat happy expression turned sour in a matter of seconds. "W-what?!" she cried. "But you just got here!"
She glanced back at Jason, smiling demonically. "Besides, I haven't fully met your friend."
Nico backed away from the little girl. Jason and Piper did the same.
"Uh, Nico...", Jason said nervously, eyeing the dagger that was still in Lyssa's palm. "I think we should get going."
Lyssa stood up faster than Jason could blink. A white light began to shimmer around her, growing bright every second. And was that... a dog head that appeared on her for a moment?
"NO!" she exploded. "I'M NOT LETTING MY FAMILY GO AGAIN!"
The entire room began to crumble and shake, and the walls began to collapse around them.
Nico looked horrified. "What are you doing?!"
Lyssa turned towards him, a demonic grin plastered onto her face.
"Now we'll always be together," she rambled. "Brother..."
Nico rushed over to Piper and Jason. "Grab hands!" he instructed.
They hastily snatched hold of each other. Jason looked around the room, watching Lyssa. The way she had looked at Nico was mortifying. Like he was her prized possession. Jason felt compelled to snap the girl into reality.
However, looking back at the little girl, tears were streaming down her cheeks. She looked genuinely heartbroken that they were leaving.
Jason told himself to snap out of it.
'Its a trick," he thought. "She's just exploiting us for her benefit."
Once they all joined hands, Nico closed his eyes, concentrating. Pausing, he looked over his shoulder at Lyssa.
"I thought I might have been able to help you defeat your demons." he said dissapointedly. "Because everyone else is too busy with their own. But now..."
Nico looked Lyssa in the eyes. "The only demon you have is yourself."
Lyssa reeled in shock. Suddenly, her face turned steely. She began to laugh wildly.
Nico turned back to his companions. "Let's go," he mumbled.
The shadows began to swallow them, chilling Jason to the bone. He took once last look at Lyssa, who was arching her arm back, dagger in hand.
Jason's eyes widened in horror. The blade passed through the air.
Panicked thoughts ran through Jason's head.
'Oh gods oh gods NIC-'
And then they were gone.