Yeah. So. Stuff's happening. 75% through. That's big. Yep. School's back (boo), and so are regular updates (yay!). Okay, I'll just put the rest of this Author's Note at the end.


Chapter 9

It took forty-five minutes for Annabeth to scribble down her theory in the notebook, effectively covering eleven pages. She hated herself for coming up with it, but the theory made sense. She would never forgive herself if it succeeded. She would never be able to look Piper in the eye again, or Leo, or Hazel, or Frank, or anyone for that matter.

That said, it wasn't for sure yet. She still needed a final bit of data to prove it.

The whole thing depended on a lot of factors. It depended on Thalia's mindset, Luke, and Hera. If one person went against her theory, the whole thing would be burned to the ground. She kind of hoped someone would prove it wrong. Ignorance and feeling stupid, as much as she hated them, would have been nice for a change.

Annabeth listed off some of her proof again. The scar, the eyes, the hair, the music, the movies, the TV shows, the relationships with Thalia and Leo. All the similarities. And then the differences. She had a theory for that, too, but it really depended on how Thalia responded to the whole thing.

First though, she needed lunch. Maybe the world would look different on a full stomach.

Percy, Hazel, and Frank were also eating. Percy had somehow managed to created a triple layer sandwich filled with everything imaginable. It had pickles, mustard, salami, ham, mayonnaise, cheese, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, relish, scrambled eggs, and countless other things Annabeth did not care to learn about. He'd even managed to make the bread blue, although she wasn't sure how. Hazel looked absolutely disgusted by the abomination (Annabeth couldn't blame her), and was leaning as far away from it as possible. However, this was no time to discuss Percy's strange eating habits. Annabeth threw together a peanut butter and banana jam sandwich, grabbed a half-empty carton of milk, and swallowed everything in under two minutes.

"In a hurry?" Percy asked, his mouth bulging with the Mother of All Gross Sandwiches. To think she kissed that guy. Annabeth nodded, still chewing the last of her sandwich. She chugged the rest of the milk, and stopped for a minute, out of breath.

"Have you seen Luke?" she gasped.

"I think he's up on the top deck," Frank said. Annabeth ran off with her notebook, calling a thank you behind her. She passed Leo on the stairs.

"Luke up there?" she asked, not breaking her jog.

"Yeah. You coming for lunch?" he said.

"Already done. When's Jason's birthday?" She stopped and spun around to look at him. Leo looked taken aback by her intensity.

"July 1st, I think."

"Right. Okay." She took off again, leaving Leo behind her. Luke was lying down on the top deck, hands behind his head, staring up at the sky. He was wearing a red striped shirt that Annabeth recognized as Jason's. Gods, how could she have not noticed this before?

Luke lifted himself up onto his elbows and grinned at her.

"Hey munchkin," he said. Any other time, Annabeth would have told him to cut it out. But not today.

"You're six foot one, right?" she asked, sitting down crossed-legged in front of him with her notebook open and pen ready.

"Last I checked, yeah. Why?"

"How much do you weigh?" she said, scribbling down the number.

"One eighty something, I don't know. Why so personal all of a sudden?" Luke asked, completely confused. Annabeth paused.

"I have an idea," she said hesitantly. "It's about Jason. And it involves you."

"Which means it isn't good, is it?" Annabeth shook her head.

"We need Thalia, too."

"I think she's on Jason duty right now," Luke said.

Even better.

"Great. You need to come with me."

"Hold on. What's this theory anyway?" he asked.

"I'll explain it when we get there. It'll sound crazy right now." Annabeth closed the notebook and stood up, offering Luke her hand. He grabbed it and pulled himself to his feet, trying to read her expression.

"And what exactly is so bad about it?" he said.

"You'll see. But it's bad news for Jason, okay?" she responded. Luke sighed dramatically, but followed her as she walked back down the stairs. As they passed through the kitchen again, Luke grabbed an apple. Piper had joined everyone in having lunch, and was sitting next to Frank, looking glumly at her smoothie. Leo tried to talk to Annabeth, but she ignored him and kept going.

Thalia was sitting next to Jason's bed, where Jason was lying, propped up on a bunch of pillows. They were watching an old episode of Friends. The One with the Thumb, if Annabeth could remember correctly. Old School. Both looked up from the laptop when Luke and Annabeth entered. Jason's state was still deteriorating. His hair looked bleached, his skin blotchy, and his eyes heavy. Each breath seemed to take a huge amount of effort, and they were shallow and shaky.

A worn copy of Animal Farm sat next to Jason's bed. Annabeth remembered when Luke had read it. Being under a hundred pages, he had actually succeeded in finishing the whole thing, and loved it. Underneath Animal Farm was The Chamber of Secrets, another one of the few books that Luke had read.

Annabeth could see all the parallels now, with Luke and Jason in the same room. Every little detail. They even both had that weird freckle-tan thing going on.

"Can we talk to you for a second?" Annabeth asked Thalia.

"Yeah, sure." Thalia turned around in her chair to fully face them.

"Like, outside," Annabeth said.

"Oh. Yeah." Thalia turned to look back at Jason. "I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

"Okay," Jason whispered weakly. Thalia followed Annabeth and Luke into the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

"He's not looking too good," Luke said, taking a bite out of his apple.

"Your perception never fails to amaze me," Thalia said dryly. "So what's up?"

Annabeth took a deep breath. Now was the time. She had it figured out. And she had two fairly impatient demigods waiting for an answer. Luke looked at her expectantly, still munching.

"I think I know what's wrong with Jason," she said, looking at her feet.

"Actually?" Thalia gasped. "For sure this time?"

"I think so."

"Awesome! How do we help him?" Thalia cried. Annabeth didn't answer right away. She leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. Thalia's smile faded. She and Luke followed suit, sitting on the opposite side of the hall as Annabeth.

"Fuck. There's something we can do, right?" Thalia asked.

"Just listen to my explanation first, okay?" Annabeth said. "Then we can decide on whether or not we can do something." Thalia nodded. Luke's face remained blank and expressionless, but she knew that his mind was racing.

"Okay. So this is going to sound crazy, but that's why you guys have to listen until I'm done. Got it?" Luke and Thalia nodded again slowly. "Jason isn't real."

"What do you – "

"Thalia, I said don't interrupt me. I have to tell you more for it to make sense. So, Jason isn't real. He never was a real person. I bet if you look up Jason Grace, there are no birth certificates, no records, no information."

"So how does he exist?" Luke asked.

"I was getting to that." They were really bad at the whole 'no interruptions' thing, and it was starting to annoy Annabeth. "He doesn't exist. At least, not for much longer, because Jason is kind of Luke. Another version of him."

Annabeth waited for it to sink in.

"Are you shooting up?" Luke said.

"Think about it. You and Jason like the same music. Piper said his favourite song is I'm Blue. He really likes P!nk, and Oasis. He watches all the same movies as you, and TV shows. I bet he likes the same video games. Jason had blond hair, blue eyes, and even has a scar on his face. He's six foot one, probably weighs a hundred and eighty-something pounds, and was born on July 1. And I swear, his eyes are the exact same as yours. He's a good fighter, and prefers a sword, even though he can fight with other things too."

"Okay," Thalia said. "Weird, but not grounds for claiming he's a clone of Luke."

"He's not a clone," Annabeth explained patiently. "He's a recreation. He's your brother, and aren't you and Luke pretty close? Leo said that it felt like he already knew Luke, even though he'd only met him a couple of days ago. Jason's not dead, but he's not alive, and it's because he's not real. And… sorry Thalia, but it all kind of comes down to you."

"Me?" Thalia leaned back. "What did I do? How did I make Jason sick?"

Annabeth shook her head. This was where the theory got messy and uncertain. It completely depended on Thalia.

"I told you, he's not sick. Basically, you created him. You never told me or Luke about Jason, right? That's 'cause he didn't exist until a few months ago. You weren't happy after Luke died at the end of the war, right?"

"No, I was thrilled that he was dead forever and I'd lost my best friend. Yes, you could say I was a little sad."

"Can't say I was too pleased either." Luke said. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Thalia, you like to just ignore bad stuff when it happens, right? Deal with it later?" Annabeth said. Thalia shrugged. "So after the war I guess you tried to forget about Luke. But you must have really missed him because, let's face it, none of us really have a ton of friends, and you were stuck with a bunch of girls who'd be really unsympathetic to the death of a guy friend. So as a, uh, coping mechanism, you kind of created this other version of Luke. One that looks the same, and likes the same things, but doesn't insist on raging against the machine. One who can actually listen and take orders, and do the right thing, instead of trying too hard to be independent, and powerful. You created a whole other person to replace Luke. I always thought Jason seemed kind of blank sometimes. I guess it's because he wasn't finished yet.

"He was just an idea, and you couldn't actually make him real. But Hera could, and I'm pretty sure she did. She also needed a replacement to use in her Greek-Roman exchange thing."

"So why not use whoever it was who really destroyed the Titan thing at Mount Tam?" Luke asked. Annabeth shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe it was Octavian – he's a psycho – or maybe whoever it was died. Maybe she just really likes families enough to try to give one to Thalia. But I've never seen a photo of Jason that was taken before the war. That time that Hera stuck him on the bus with Leo and Piper – that wasn't just his first time with them, that was his first time existing. She put fake memories of him in everyone's head. And he was going strong, kept alive by Thalia believing in him."

"But he was fine when we first got out of Tartarus," Luke said. "He was ready to kill me, but then he decided not to because he knew that me and Thalia were friends."

"Yeah," Annabeth said. "He only got sick once you and Thalia started trying to kill each other. He was fine until Thalia saw you again, and realized that you were alive." She looked at Thalia apologetically. "Then you didn't need him as a replacement anymore, so he started fading. Nectar and ambrosia won't keep him alive. There's nothing to keep alive. He's just an idea that's disappearing fast."

"But I can just pretend he's real, right?" Thalia asked. "I can keep him here. I made him up, and I can keep him here."

"I don't think so. We've been losing him since you and Luke met up, and now that you know what's going on, the illusion's gone. He'll probably disappear completely in a day, or even less now."

"I don't believe this," Thalia muttered. "It doesn't even make sense."

"Let's ask Jason then," Annabeth said. She stood up numbly. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she have just left the whole thing alone? Yet here she was, telling them her theory the way she'd tell Percy about sine and cosine laws. Thalia slowly pushed herself to her feet, using the wall for support. Luke got up, too, looking away from the two girls.

Jason looked up from his laptop when they came in. He really did look exhausted – worse than he had ten minutes ago. His skin looked paper thin and frail, and his scar was more prominent than ever.

"Hey Jason," Annabeth said softly, crouching next to his bed. "Can we talk to you for a bit?"

"I'm tired," he whined. "Can't I just sleep now?"

"Sure, you can relax when we talk to you. Yeah, get comfy. Just make sure you answer, okay? It's really important."

"Fine," he wheezed, settling into the pillows and blankets. Annabeth started her questioning period.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Jason Grace," he responded, looking a little bewildered. Annabeth nodded.

"Just relax, okay? Where are you from?"

"Los Angeles."

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

"When were you born?"

"1996."

"What's your favourite TV show?"

"Doctor Who."

"Favourite episode?"

"Doomsday."

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

"France. Paris."

"What's your favourite band?"

"Oasis."

"Favourite song by them?"

"Digsy's Diner."

"Why?"

"It just seems really British."

"Okay, but what about your favourite song ever?"

"I'm Blue."

"How'd you get that scar on your face?"

"Ate a stapler."

"What's your favourite movie?"

"Amélie."

"Favourite books?"

"Harry Potter and Animal Farm."

"Who's your favourite Harry Potter character?"

"Harry."

Jason yawned. His eyes were beginning to close.

"Come on, Jason, it's a just a bit longer. What's your favourite weapon to use?"

"Sword."

"What's your favourite food at McDonald's?"

"Fries."

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

"No."

Annabeth glanced back at Luke and Thalia, both standing a bit behind her. Luke raised his eyebrows.

"Why do you want to go to Paris?" she asked.

"The gods aren't there," Jason muttered.

"Who's your best friend?"

"Leo?" It sounded like a question.

"What's your favourite time period?"

"Twenties."

"How old are you?"

"Forget," Jason mumbled. His eyes were almost completely shut.

"When were you born?"

"1989." Annabeth could hear Thalia whispering something to Luke. She was almost done now.

"How old were you when you left home?"

"Nine."

"What weapon do you use if you have no sword? A spear?"

"No. Golf club."

"Where are you from?"

"Connecticut."

"What's your name?"

Jason mumbled something incoherent. It did not sound anything like "Jason Grace."

"What are your parents' names?"

"May and…Hermes."

"How'd you get that scar?" Annabeth whispered.

"Dragon. On a quest."

"Okay, Jason. Just go to sleep now," Annabeth said quietly. His breathing steadied, but remained shallow, and his eyes stayed shut. Annabeth stood up and turned to face Luke and Thalia. Both were pale as ghosts. Thalia's mouth hung open, horrified and miserable, while Luke just looked shocked. Shocked and guilty.

"Like I said," Annabeth said. "He's a parallel of you." She walked out of the room as fast as she could, not wanting to stay any longer. Luke followed her out, but Thalia didn't move. She sat down on Jason's bed and brushed through his hair with her fingers.

Luke leaned against the wall in the hallway, squeezing his eyes shut. He rubbed them with his fists, then ran a hand through his hair. Conflicted emotions ran across his face. Sadness, guilt, anger, worry, terror. Annabeth waited.

"I didn't know she was that upset," he finally choked out. "I thought she was fine with everything. I mean, she kicked me off of Mount Tam."

"She's never been a really emotional person though. I always thought that no matter what happens she's tough and doesn't let it get to her. I guess not." Annabeth shivered. She had dreaded this. This was one of the few times that she regretted being right.

"Everything he said… that's exactly how I would have answered," Luke muttered.

"I know," Annabeth said. "That was pretty much the whole point. Gods, now we have to actually tell everyone. Piper's going to die."

"Yeah. Learning that her beloved boyfriend was actually some weird version of me… but he wasn't exactly like me. They talked about him. Leo said that he always followed orders, did whatever people told him to. He was obedient and always honest. And he was kind of submissive, but I'm really not. So how does that work?" he wondered.

"You go out of your way to disobey people. But I think Thalia ended up replacing some traits that got you in trouble with ones that would have saved your life. I think. I'm not completely sure," Annabeth explained.

"Guess this is the end of people even trusting me even a little," Luke said miserably. "Sucks, 'cause Hazel was pretty cool. They all are, actually."

"We'll see." was all Annabeth said. Luke seemed disappointed by the whole thing, rather than angry or upset. Maybe he was just disappointed that, once again, he had somehow managed to make a situation worse, even if this wasn't really his fault. But trouble did seemed to follow Luke wherever he went. He could never escape it.

Perhaps it was an elaborate plan created by Hera to make Luke even worse feeling than before. She wasn't a huge fan of his 'I'll pick my own family, thank you very much' mentality, but it didn't make sense to catch so many people in the wake. Annabeth doubted Hera would do this. No, this was just a series of mishaps, leading up to the prophecy being short a kid, and everyone losing a friend.

The pressure Annabeth had previously felt from everyone telling her to cure Jason had transformed into guilt. It felt like there was a giant elephant sitting on her chest, preventing her from breathing properly.

After a few minutes of silence, Luke spoke again.

"Wow," he said. "They really think they can just walk all over us, don't they? Like, here! Have a perfected version of one of our favourite little heroes who turned out wrong! Jesus Christ, what the fuck is wrong with them? You get why I want them gone now?"

"I know why you want them gone," Annabeth said. Jason was a perfected version? "I don't like them either. Honestly, if they don't do something about Gaea now, or even try to keep Jason here, I'm done with them. I'm not fighting for them. Complete the prophecy and defeat Gaea, maybe, but I'll be doing that for myself, not for them."

Annabeth could feel the rage building up inside her again. It was the way she had felt when Thalia had been turned into a tree, the you-could-have-stopped-this feeling. It was the feeling and hate that she had felt in the months after Luke had betrayed them.

The gods could have helped, the gods could have paid attention to their kids. But they didn't. They brought the problems on themselves.

"I was done with them a long time ago," Luke said. "We should just move to Spain after this whole thing is done. I don't think I could even go to Paris now."

Thalia finally came out of Jason's room. Annabeth could see the marks on her face that her make up and tears had left, no matter how hard she had tried to wipe them away. She looked at Annabeth and Luke with an expression that she had worn for a couple weeks after she had learned about Luke's attempt to poison her: numbness and pain.

"We should probably tell the others," she said. Her voice didn't even shake. It was too well trained for that.


Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. So that's how that went down. Good job anyone who figured it out. In case anyone's wondering, this idea's been floating around in my head since I finished the Mark of Athena. I was telling my friend about how Jason still didn't seem to have a very vivid personality and then I realized all the similarities between him and Luke, and that Luke was mentioned more in MOA, and that Hermes was the only god who could travel between the mortal world and the Underworld, and then I ended up writing this a few months later. I wish I had a more logical story than that, but I don't.