A/N: They added Seymour as a playable character on Dissidia Opera Omnia. Um. Huh. Random. I blame Mog. Apparently, some of the other villains are already playable in Japan, because of course they are

I'm more thrilled by the fact that Sabin is going to be playable soon, though. He's next up according to the little notices, which is awesome

On another note, I've been debating extracting the Cloud and Apollo chapters out, for the sole reason that now, looking at it, they kinda seem like they'd fit better as a side story than anything else.

Also, I now have a tumblr. Same username as on here. I've just started the thing, but I'll be posting random things there for all my stories

Published: 5/11/2018

Warnings: Omake has spoilers for the Burning Maze. For the record, no, that is not a spoiler for later on in this story. Consider it an Au of this story, if you will

Chapter 26

The One Where Everyone Finally Meets

As the small apartment was filled with the sounds of a screaming match between a mortal and the literal Lord of the Seas, Jason Grace actually somehow managed to phase them out. Phased them out for one simple reason, locked in his thoughts.

He could not leave.

Leaving was out of the question.

Don't get him wrong. The idea of leaving his family after finally having found them again was utterly horrifying. Under no circumstances did he want to leave them, not now, not ever. He finally felt like he was home. This felt like home, and he did not want to leave.

He wanted to stay with them, because home wasn't a place. Home was people that you care about, that you cherish, that you love. The world itself is material, but people? They're what gives it all value.

Ironically, that was also the same exact reason he couldn't go with them.

Jason couldn't just leave Camp Jupiter.

Yeah, they weren't family, but he had friends there. Allies, comrades. People that also mattered to him. People that relied on him, despite his age. Jason couldn't just go, couldn't just abandon them out of the blue. He just couldn't do that. He couldn't do that to them, at all.

He supposed, in a way, Sally Jackson was right.

Jason really was a child soldier, although it was difficult to think of himself as a child. Difficult, because life had tossed him to the wolves, literally, and he had come out, kicking and screaming and growling and very much alive.

Jason wasn't a child. He was a survivor.

Back to the matter at hand, though. Poseidon. He claimed Hera hadn't sent him, but hadn't he also said his 'sister was playing a dangerous game'? He was pretty sure that meant Hera, unless he was talking about two someones, and not one. He had said at the behest of his sister, though, so that really only left three options.

Oh. Wait. Nope.

For all Jason knew, he could be referring to a half sibling, and, let's face it, with gods and titans, there could literally be a million possibilities.

Of more pressing importance, though, was the fact that Sabin wanted to take them away. Away from here, because Sora apparently wasn't even on this planet. He was somewhere else, somewhere else entirely. In Poseidon's own words, Sora was among the stars and how in the name of Pluto had that happened?

Sabin was planning on taking them to him, far, far away.

Away on a rocket ship that would have been soooo much better than that flight Sabin had forced them into. Jason was still pretty pissed about that, although he supposed he could nag Sabin for flying lessons. Despite the man saying that had been the first he'd ever attempted anything like that, Jason didn't buy it.

They'd have crashed into a plane if that was the case, and they sure as hell hadn't.

Jason was pulled from his thoughts as the shouting match escalated to the point where he honestly would not be surprised if the police were called in on a noise complaint alone.

"YOU DON'T GET TO MAKE DECISIONS IN THIS HOUSEHOLD! YOU DON'T GET TO MAKE ANY DECISIONS! YOU WALKED AWAY, THAT WAS YOUR CHOICE!"

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I WOULD HAVE TAKEN YOU WITH ME IF YOU HAD ASKED!"

Sally Jackson let out a shrill laugh.

"Oh, that would have been just lovely! Tell me, what would your wife have said that that!"

"YOU WERE PERFECTLY AWARE OF HER THE ENTIRE TIME! IT DIDN'T BOTHER YOU BEFORE, SO I DON'T SEE WHY IT'S BOTHERING YOU NOW!"

"HOW IN THE HADES WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW YOU WERE STILL MARRIED?"

"THE PART WHERE WE IMMORTALS TAKE THE 'TO DEATH DO US PART' BIT VERY SERIOUSLY!"

Beside Jason, Percy flinched. Oh, right. Percy was technically a normal kid who had not grown up in a war camp training kids to be warriors for the gods, so this must all be coming in as a shock for him. Er. Jason set a comforting hand on the other's shoulder. Percy leaned into it without a second thought.

Sabin then proved he either had no sense of self preservation. That, or he had balls made out of a metal even Hephaestus would struggle to melt down. The Esperkin, as Poseidon had dubbed him, took a step forward, lifting his arms up placatingly and the quibbling former couple.

"Woah, woah, hey! I think we should all take a deep breath and calm down, yeah?"

Twin glares locked onto him.

"WE TOLD YOU TO SHUT IT!"

Sabin would not be deterred, through. The man stood his ground.

"Yeah? Well, Tina is going to be here soon, with Sora. It shouldn't take her too long since I sent her my location."

That caused everyone to freeze, turning to stare at the man in surprise. He had done what?

"... When did you manage that?" Jason asked, genuinely curious. He couldn't think of when. Not when they'd been flying and certainly not after Sabin had been 'knocked out' by the wrath of Sally Jackson's frying pan.

Sabin turned to Jason and smiled.

"While we were flying!" he revealed.

…

Jason groaned, slamming his head against the table. Never mind. The man was an idiot, through and through.

Sabin blinked.

"What's wrong?"

Jason glared up.

"You sent them your location. While we were flying. Which is exactly where Sora and his mom are going to appear. Were we were."

Sabin looked confused.

"Ah, no. That's not exactly how it works. They aren't teleporting to a place, they're coming straight towards m- ow!"

Sabin was assaulted by Sally Jackson's rolling pin. Jason took note of the fact that a kitchen, while looking benign, was secretly a place stock full of conventional weapons, and that wasn't even counting the knives.

"Hey! What was that for!"

"You sent out an invitation for more people to invade my home without my consultation?!"

"What- no, I… Okay, yes, technically- Lady, you are worse than Quina and that ridiculous fork they carry, owe!"

It was in that moment that a literal hole in the world tore itself into the wall. Everyone but Jason turned to stare at it. Jason's own attention was drawn to the resident god in the room, who gave out a small gasp, which in and of itself was worth investigation.

Poseidon had taken a step back, staring at the thing in unmasked horror.

… That was not reassuring. At all.

"A torsion? Your companion can open torsions?" Poseidon exclaimed, horrified.

Sabin blinked, turning to look at the god.

"Um. Yes. Yes, she can." Sabin's tone clearly implied that he didn't know why Poseidon had such a problem with this. "For the record, so can I butttttt I tend to get lost in them!" Sabin did that thing where his eyes fell shut, a smile played on his lips, and he scratched the back of his head.

To Jason's horror, Leo looked mimed the motion for a second, looking contemplative.

Poseidon bristled.

"This is no joking matter, young man! Those portals allow one to traverse by tearing holes in reality! Not just in space, but in time itself!"

That sounded even worse. Messing with time? Jason had seen enough Doctor Who to know that was not a good idea.

"Oh, that? We tweaked that part out of the recipe, no worries!" Sabin waived off very genuine concerns like it was nothing.

Poseidon looked like he was very much worried. Said worries didn't matter though, when a familiar spiky haired boy came tumbling right out onto the floor, literally. The sound of chairs scraping against the floor was audible.

Sora, small and tiny, sat up. Blinking, he looked around in confusion at the small apartment before his eyes latched onto them.

Then, the confusion melted, breaking away into a familiar wide eyed grin.

"Hey!" Sora called, lifting up a hand to wave at them. Lazy bum that he was, he didn't even bother getting up off the floor. Instead, he just sat there, grinning at them all.

Percy practically tossed himself across the room. Jason himself was not too far behind. The pair of them smashed into Sora, knocking the younger boy onto his back. Sora wasn't disturbed by this. If anything, he started to laugh even more.

Nico was slightly more controlled, taking a step forward.

"Sora?"

Sora, among the tangled limbs, looked up and grinned. A grin that soon formed into a frown as he took in their faces.

"What are you all doing over there? That's not how group hugs work." Sora admonished.

Jason snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Of course you would want a giant group hug. What, are me and Kairi not enough for you anymore, Sora? You need more people to glomp now that you aren't allowed to invade Kairi's house through her window at random?"

Jason's head snapped up.

From the portal came three more figures. One, a small silver haired boy, and another a red haired girl. The one who had spoken, the boy with the silver hair, was looking at Sora with a look of amused exasperation, as if the sight of Sora randomly hugging others was so common that he'd just accepted it as a fact of life.

"Are you really surprised? At all? Really?" the girl, Kairi Jason guessed, asked.

The boy didn't even bat an eyelash, instead shaking his head.

Jason blinked. Who were these people?

The third, he assumed, was Sora's mother. Sabin had said she was going to be bringing Sora soon. He just had expected a little more warning, although he supposed that the woman had gotten the message hours ago. Mid flight, according to Sabin. How he managed that was a mystery all on it's own.

The woman had the strangest hair Jason had ever seen. Gold and green, mixed in one, tied up in a ponytail. Some of it fell across her shoulder, stringy strands and all. She was looking around the room in surprise, eyes taking in each and every detail before unmistakably locking with Sally Jackson's.

"... Sabin, please tell me you did not summon me to a random strangers house, unannounced."

"I gave them a warning!" Sabin cried.

"... All but ten seconds."

Bianca's voice was light, but it carried. Sora's mother groaned, pressing a palm against her forehead. Looking up, she shot Ms. Jackson an apologetic look.

"I-" she began, no doubt about to apologize.

"Group hug!"

Sora, apparently, did not like being ignored.

Nico poked his head. Sora twitching, glaring. Jason himself jumped. Nico, as usual, had the habit of practically appearing out of nowhere. Seriously. Jason needed to get his big bro a bell.

Still, Jason was happy. Happier than he had been, in a very long time. Now, if only they could settle that whole 'let's move everyone to another world' thing, then he'd be golden.

The fact that his only aversion to the whole thing were responsibilities that no child should be forced to bear didn't cross his mind in the slightest.

Omake

.

.

.

Sora stared blankly ahead. Familiar arms encircled him, from either side, but really, he didn't feel them. No. That wasn't the right word. It wasn't the right word at all. He couldn't feel them. He couldn't feel anything, really. Nothing at all.

Not Kairi's familiar warmth, bright and soft and illuminating.

Not Riku's familiar strength, a pillar he could always, always lean on.

No.

Sora couldn't feel that.

He couldn't feel any of it. All he could feel… All he could feel was emptiness. That's it. Emptiness. Emptiness, because there was a hole in his heart, in the world, in everything.

Sora's face scrunched as he bit back tears.

"You can let it out, Sor."

Riku.

"Don't hold it in. Don't hold back. We're here."

Kairi.

And they were, weren't they? Always there, always at his side. Through thick and thin, no matter what. They were here, trying to help him, trying to comfort him, to console him.

Fuck that.

He didn't need to be consoled. No. No, what Sora needed was revenge. What he needed was Caligula's head on a platter.

With a growl, Sora ripped his way out of their arms. They both took a step back, not saying a word, not saying anything. They just stared, looking right at him. Stared at him, like he was some wild animal, about to let loose on them.

Oh, Sora was going to let loose, but not on them. Not on them. There was only one target for him, one that he would take out with the same relish that he used when ripping past hordes of Heartless.

Riku's fingers latched around Sora's wrist. Sora glared, attempting to pull away.

"He wouldn't want this, Sora." Riku twisted Sora's own hand, showing it to him.

Huh. Wisps of dark smoke were just curling off the damn thing. Interesting. Sora wondered if he could use the shadows as effectively as Riku or Nico if he put his mind to it. If he could bend them just as well, if he could turn his hands into claws, claws that would tear Caligula limb from limb-

Kairi's hand was familiar against his cheek. Warm and bright and loving, making the darkness fade away, if only for a moment. If only for now. Sora looked up.

"Sora… I know you're mad. I know you're angry. You have every right to be, but you need to listen to us, Sora."

Sora laughed. Laughed, because she didn't get it. She didn't get it at all.

"I'm not angry, Kairi."

And, he wasn't.

Oh no. Sora wasn't. He was calm. Calm as can be, level headed and understanding. He wasn't about to toss himself into this without thinking things through. Jason wouldn't have, yet he was still dead.

Dead and gone and Sora would avenge him. If he had to use the darkness to so, then so be it. The Light wasn't suited for this sort of work, anyways. Always so bright and blinding, something made for defense.

Sora didn't need defense. He needed to wrap his hands around the Emperor's throat, feel the other's life force eb away just right-

Riku smacked Sora upside the head.

"Ow!" Sora hissed, glaring.

Riku scowled at him.

"You are not, under any circumstances, going after Caligula!" Riku snapped. Sora glared. Like hell he wasn't! "Not alone." Riku amended. Sora blinked at that. Wait, what-

"He's not going at all, period. Nico, ready?" Percy's voice rung across the room, far too dismissive for Sora's tastes.

Sora spun, glare fully back in place.

Beside Percy, Nico nodded. Thalia stood beside them, spear in hand, bow strapped across her back, eyes practically cackling with power.

"Excuse me?" Sora demanded.

Percy looked up.

"We're going to take him out. Now. No more games, no more playing around. And you, Sora, are going to stay the hell out."

Sora took a step forward. Only Riku pulling on his arm kept him from launching himself at the other Demigod.

"Like hell I will! You can't just ask me to-"

Nico took a step forward, hand rising up. Too late did Sora realize what he was doing. Too late did Sora realize he should probably try to muster up some sort of mental defense against someone he trusted with his life, a thousand times over. Too late did he realize this, and, by the time his mind finally made the connection, it was too late.

Fingers pressed against his forehead, soothingly before the hand massaged at his temples.

"Sleep." Nico intoned.

Sora managed to shoot the boy one last look of betrayal before he slumped forward, falling into the deep realm of sleep.

Riku pulled Sora back as the other let out a snore, practically not a care in the world. Looking at him like this, you wouldn't know anything was wrong at all. Every line, every frown, erased from Sora's face.

Riku looked up.

"You're going after him."

Nico met his gaze, then nodded.

"We are. Take care of Sora for us, will you? Both of you."

Beside him, Riku felt as Kairi came up beside him, her arms coming up to help him support Sora's snoring frame. Not that he needed it, really, but Riku understood the sentiment.

"As long as he doesn't lose any of you too." Kairi spoke.

Riku choked a bit at that.

Nico didn't take offence to it, though. Instead, the Son of Hades just nodded.

"We've lost one little brother to that monster. We don't let him take another." Thalia's voice declared coldly across the room, the sparks in her eyes growing more pronounced. Then, looking away from them, she looked straight at Nico.

Nico seemed to understand the message. He lifted a hand, offering it to her. Thalia took one, while Percy took the other.

Then, they were gone, melting into the shadows. Gone, and far from her.

For a moment, Riku almost felt sorry for Caligula. Almost.

Then, he looked back at Sora. Sora, so bright and happy, so good and kind, reduced to a crying mess with a cold, burning destructive fire in his eyes, and Riku thought better of it.

Caligula deserved every bit of rage he was going to get. There was no doubt in Riku's mind that the Emperor would fall tonight, ripped from the world and scattered to ash.