WARNING: Grab a box of tissues and/or a gun, because after reading this chapter, you guys may be crying and you may want to shoot me.

Sorry for typos/OOCness/possible depression. For extra dramatic effect while reading, play the song Alice by Avril Lavigne on repeat.

Happy—Sad?—Reading!


Chapter 48

Jason

Seeing Percy and Annabeth made his heart stop.

Especially since they were hanging upside down in the House of Hades.

They looked… horrible. From what he could see, they were scratched and torn up with terrible, visible wounds. They were covered in so much dirt that their skin even looked completely black in some places. Their clothing was torn and just hanging off of their bodies. They looked hungry and thirsty and way skinnier than usual. It was as if they were Death reincarnated into two teenage bodies.

Jason wasn't sure what he'd expected to see. While they had traveled back through where the Gate of No Return had once been, he actually hadn't thought that Percy and Annabeth would be there, but he'd thought he'd been prepared to see anything. He'd kept an open mind about everything.

Gaea chuckled. All eight. How lovely.

She dropped Percy and Annabeth, which would've been good except for the fact that they were so high up in the air. Jason cringed when he heard the both of them hit the ground with the CRACK! "Percy! Annabeth! Are you okay?" they all called in various forms.

The silence that followed was sickening. Neither of them said anything.

"I'm good," someone groaned softly, but they could hear the voice perfectly. It was a girl's, so it had to be Annabeth. Jason was glad that Gaea still wasn't attacking them. The Earth Mother seemed thoughtful, though it was hard to tell. Jason could barely see her face, and her eyes seemed to be closed, like she was still asleep.

Seeing the Doors of Death was overwhelming. Only half of them were on the mortal side, the other in Tartarus. The Doors would have to be brought together to completely be sealed, and they were huge. Gaea stood in a swirling pit of dirt and earthy materials, directly in the center. The ground on the Tartarus side, from what Jason could see, was cracked and split, with great roots coming out of the faults and snapping through the air.

But the roots didn't try to go after them or throw them through the air. They idly swayed waiting for a command.

"Ouch," someone moaned slowly. That had to be Percy. Through the gigantic doorway and dimming light, he could make out the two of them standing up and brushing themselves off.

My little pawns.

Gaea said that. They were only pawns to her. That angered Jason even more as he aimed his Imperial Gold sword out in front of him. The Earth Mother wasn't moving out of the pit, though. She couldn't, because she was still rising. And she looked like she was half asleep.

Jason wanted to say something like, "Prepare to meet your fate, Gaea! It's all over." That would sound right. But truthfully, he felt like he was going to pee himself. Being this close to someone his powerful was nerve racking. He told himself that Gaea could so no real harm since she wasn't fully awake.

It didn't help that much since he had just seen Percy and Annabeth nearly killed by her.

So many little sacrifices to make the Queen more powerful. Let the games begin.

What was up with all of the chess references? Jason didn't like chess that much. He was more of a checkers kind of guy, but he knew enough about the game to know that the Queen was all powerful, and the pawns could barely do anything and just died off without anyone caring. They were the first line of defense for the more powerful pieces.

Jason knew for a fact that they wouldn't be able to completely end Gaea now. That wasn't the point of their quest. The reason they were doing this was to close the Doors of Death and save Percy and Annabeth. The real battle against Gaea would be later on.

But Gaea wasn't going to let them close the Doors. She was going to fight back.

He was aware of Piper by his side. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to do something. But now was not the time.

He trained his eyes on the Doors, Gaea, and Percy and Annabeth. They had their weapons ready too. Jason realized that she wasn't favoring her ankle. Hopefully they had found a way to heal her.

Finally Gaea was too restless, so she started the fight to the death.

A giant root snapped down at him and Piper. They jumped away from each other as root connected with the ground right in between them. At the same time, a tremor rocked the entire area, making it hard for him to stand. Jason fought his way closer to the goddess, snapping his sword through the little vines that started to grow, blocking his path.

A sudden idea crossed his mind. "Leo! The Sphere!"

Leo, who'd had fire racing up and down his arms as she shot fire balls at Gaea, stilled. "Great idea," Jason heard him say. Leo started fiddling with his pockets trying to find the Archimedes Sphere and use it. A lot of it was still a mystery to them, but now was the time to try and use it. They were all going to get out of there, and they would do so alive.

Jason wanted to tell him to use the Athena Parthenos too, but he didn't see how a giant statue would help them. They didn't have the time, resources, or patience to try. So he kept quiet about. Perhaps once they had Annabeth back she would be able to use her smart self to help them figure it out. Until then, the mystery ball would have to work.

Piper was the closest to Gaea. She was talking to her, using charmspeak. "Lower your defenses, Gaea. Go back to sleep. Calm yourself. Don't you want to take a long nap? Aren't you just so tired?"

Charmspeak wasn't working. If anything, it was making everything worse. Gaea fought harder. Jason watched as a thick root reared back and smacked Piper in the midsection. She screamed as she flew backwards through the air. Only then did Jason realize how big the cavern really was, because it took a while for her to land. He wanted to go to her, but he had to keep fighting.

He faced Gaea. She was still just standing there.

Foolishly brave to the end.

Frank transformed into a tiger that had taken steroids, because it was three times the size of a normal one. Using that agility, he leapt from spot to spot, swiftly dodging the blows. Every so often he would change back into a normal person and launch an arrow at Gaea. Jason saw one nail her in the gut, and she cried out before the arrow dissolved into air. Well, that had worked out like they'd planned.

Leo was still fiddling with the Sphere, trying to find out how to make it get bigger. He really needed to hurry. When he met Jason's annoyed gaze, he shrugged hurriedly. "Don't look at me like that. I'm trying my best."

Hazel and Nico were working together. They were the most evenly matched. Gaea, being the goddess of the earth, pretty much controlled everything that resided on it, but she was mostly using the ground and plant matter. Nico and Hazel fought back, using their own geokinesis they possessed from being children of the god of the dead. Hazel was better with the things that were in the earth, while Nico used everything as a whole to attack.

He couldn't see much of what Percy and Annabeth were doing from their side of the fight.

Jason was in a fight of his own during all of this. Somehow, Piper was at his side once more, clearly not that hurt from what Gaea had done. They went back to back for a second, slicing and slashing at the vines and roots that Gaea was using as defense. After staying like that for a while, Jason realized that Piper was gone. Where she was, he didn't know.

He flew up in the air, using the winds to carry himself around the cavern. He could visibly see the ground shaking. Leo had finally managed to get the Archimedes Sphere back to its original size. It was on laser mode again though. Jason found himself dodging the lasers just as much as Gaea.

Then Gaea started to throw some more boulders, which made flying all the worse. Jason eventually had to land, because the boulders weren't exactly doing it for him. Fighting on the ground was no better than doing so in the air. The Earth Mother was still acting way too calm in this situation. She really didn't want anyone coming near the Doors.

Jason saw Nico started moving close to the Doors of Death. His eyes said he was on a mission, but it didn't look like he was trying to close the Doors. It seemed like he was heading straight for Gaea. Jason wondered what he was doing, but he didn't have time to ask him.

"Uh oh…" Leo trailed off. That didn't sound good.

"What?" Percy yelled.

"Get down!" he shouted from the other side of the cavern. His voice carried authority, but also something that sounded like fear, and it wasn't from the fact that Gaea was acting them and winning. Leo never showed fear, but his voice betrayed him.

Jason couldn't see anyone else, but he hugged the floor like it was his best friend.

For some odd reason, Jason kept his eyes opened the entire time. He wanted to see what was happening, because he needed to be ready at a moment's notice. However, he was on the ground, curled up with his hands over his head and his back against the stone wall. Just before everything happened, he scanned the area for his friends to see where they were.

Unfortunately, he couldn't see Percy or Annabeth, because from his position he didn't have a clear view through the doorway. Frank and Hazel were crouched down behind a bolder, hugging each other. Nico was closer to the Doors, still eyeballing Gaea with a dangerous glint in his eyes, like he knew something they didn't or he was about to act irrationally. He too, however, was down on the ground, following Leo's orders.

Piper… where was Piper?

Jason's heart flailed when he realized that his girlfriend was nowhere to be found.

His eyes sought her, but in the darkish room, he could barely see the rest of them. In fact he hadn't even seen where she had gone while they had been fighting. For a minute, she had been by his side, but now she was gone. Hopefully, she was on the ground and protecting herself. Maybe she was behind one of the giant chunks of rock. He hoped so.

Leo had the Archimedes Sphere in his hand, and it looked like it was spewing fireworks. He threw it into the air like a javelin, aiming it towards Gaea, who was still calmly standing in her pit with a dreamy smile etched into her face. The Sphere never reached the Earth Mother.

In the last second, Jason tried to call out Piper's name. "PIP—"

But an explosion cut him off.

Fire waves rolled out of it from all sides, coming dangerously close to Jason's face. It made him squint and his eyes tear up. The fire blew through the air and swirled around him with vibrant colors. The heat made him wince and shy away. Only Leo was fireproof. The rest of them, not so much.

When the flames licked his skin, he cried out in pain. They only reached his arm, but his teeth grinded together, and when he bit his tongue, blood was definitely drawn. Somehow, he managed not to scream, but somewhere in the back of his mind he wished he had on long sleeves instead of his ratty shirt.

The fire on his arm actually went out as he ran his hands across it. It didn't spread to any other part of his body, but the skin was bubbling and melting off, even charred and black in a few places. Nausea rolled through him and he fought the urge to throw up. It was hard, and lying down on the ground wasn't helping. The skin of his forearm had already begun to blister, and it was a harsh angry red. He sucked in a sharp breath.

The waves of heat had not ceased yet. They just seemed to keep coming at them all. He put his good arm in front of his eyes, but out of the corner of his eye, he could see Gaea, still just standing there as if nothing was going on. Apparently, fire did nothing to her. There was Greek Fire on the walls; Jason wondered if that would do anything.

The best explanation for what had just happened: Leo had pressed the 'self destruct' button on the Archimedes Sphere.

When the fire waves had finally died off and the cavern was put back into the usual setting, Jason sat up slowly, hugging his arm to his chest. He scrambled to his feet in time to see Nico moving towards Gaea once more.

Until everything just froze.

The cold air that had been there before the explosion had returned and then some. Without a warning, the temperature plummeted into the negatives. Ice formed on the ground and icicles hung from the roof. The wind howled, and Jason found it so cold that he couldn't move. He realized that Nico had stopped moving too. Everyone had stopped, and they were all screaming for warmth. Normally, so would have Jason, but the cold air actually felt really nice after the crazy heat.

Jason breathed out and watched the cloud of air escape him.

Was Gaea doing this? Just how powerful was she?

Well, Gaea actually wasn't doing much anymore. The attack had stopped, because the ice was enough. This gave Jason a minute to inspect his wounded arm.

Even with the coldness, his was still searing. The blisters were full of puss and he could see some of the bone. He fumbled with his hands until he found the nectar he'd kept. He poured a little bit of it onto the wound, and it helped soothe the pain a little. The air and ice began to make his arm numb too, which he was glad for. This would be the first and only time he'd enjoy the cold air.

It got warmer though, soon enough, but his muscles were still frozen. He leaned against the wall and started making his way to the others, who were all huddled together. He almost smiled when he saw that Piper was there. They all looked pretty unharmed to him, but when they saw him, they swarmed to his side.

Piper grabbed his shoulder, where he wasn't burned. "Oh gods, you're hurt…" She gulped as she glanced at what had once been an arm. All of the malice that she'd had towards him had vanished.

"I'm fine," he said, though he really, really wasn't.

"No, you aren't," Frank said, speaking his thoughts. "Jason, this is really bad. You need to rest. You need some serious help." How could he say that with everything that was going on. He didn't have time to get help. He had to keep fighting. Gaea wasn't going to stop. She wasn't going to rest until they were all dead and gone, and they weren't going to stop until the Doors of Death were closed.

Leo was shaking his head. "The Archimedes Sphere… it's gone…"

Frank and Hazel were making a fuss over each other. Jason looked through the doorway and saw Percy and Annabeth hugging each other in relief that they were both still alive. Nico was moving towards the Earth Mother again, ready to fight. But the Doors of Death were still opened, and Gaea was still rising. They had to finish all of this.

Gaea didn't freeze them again, but her attacked started again. Even though his arm was killing him, Jason still fought along with the others. Every time that Gaea snapped at him, he jumped backwards with defense and then offensively swung his sword, which did little to help. He started to put little electrical charges in his attacks, that way maybe it would burn the goddess. Then she would know how he was feeling.

Nico was fighting, but it was slower than before. He knew something they didn't. Nico turned his back for a second, and Gaea swung at him. Hazel tackled him at the last second before the boulder smacked him upside the head. They rolled across the ground, and Hazel looked down at Nico. "What are you doing?" she demanded. He was shaking.

Nico, Nico, Nico, Gaea murmured. Out of the corner of his eye, Jason saw Nico freeze in fear.

"MOVE!" Jason yelled. Nico moved just in time to not get nailed in the face by another giant, flying rock.

This whole time, I've thought of you as a pawn. But no, you aren't one. You're the King of the game.

What was that supposed to mean?

Nico froze again, and in the dim light, Jason could see realization flare in his eyes. He lowered his sword to his side, and Gaea didn't even attack him. She continued her attack on everyone else except him. He stood there and didn't move at all. Jason realized that he was in deep thought. "What are you doing?!" screamed Annabeth from the other side. Nico didn't seem to notice her. He didn't notice any of them.

"Fight Nico!" yelled Percy. "Do something."

Nico ignored him.

What are you going to do, Nico? Are you going to be the martyr? Or are you too much of a coward?

What was Gaea saying? A martyr was someone who died for a cause, and Nico wasn't going to die. None of them were going to die. They were going to get out of there alive, as a group. If Jason could get close enough to her, he'd put his sword right through her head and keep it there.

Nico looked at all seven of them, sorrow and finality in his eyes. "I'm sorry…" he whispered, just as Gaea said, This is check.

Before a single person could react, Nico surged forward with a battle cry. His sword was out in front of him. Every attack that Gaea threw at him he dodged with skill that Jason didn't know he had. They cried out for him from both sides, wondering what he was trying to do. Jason found out too late.

Nico launched himself into the pit and slammed his sword straight the Gaea, all the way down to the hilt.

Hazel scream and so did Gaea.

The tendons that held Gaea in the pit wrapped around Nico's legs. He was using his weight to push Gaea back down, but Gaea was taking him down too. She wasn't going to die alone. The roots wrapped around his entire his entire body and choked him, but Nico didn't do anything. He started to sink with Gaea, down into the pit. This was suicide. Nico was sacrificing himself. This wasn't right. This wasn't what was supposed to happen.

But what he was doing was giving them their only chance to finally close the Doors. They had to take it. But that meant destroying Nico too.

"CLOSE THEM!" Nico yelled.

"Get out of there!" Hazel screamed, tears streaming down her face.

But everyone knew that wasn't going to work. Even if he somehow managed to break free from the hold and got out of the pit, Gaea would just rise again. Hazel surged toward the pit, her arm outstretched to pull him back up, but an invisible wall slammed into her and knocked her down on the ground, right at the edge. Tears streamed down her face even more, and Jason was pretty sure he saw tears on Nico's face too.

Gaea was stopping Hazel from saving Nico. Jason knew why. Even though this would delay her rising, it wouldn't prevent it. In the end, it would just make her stronger. She had needed a sacrifice to make her stronger, but at the same time, she was sinking back into the pit. The Doors of Death would be closed.

The attacks had stopped. Frank was holding Hazel in his arms, letting her cry. It wasn't fair to her either. Nico was like the only family she had left.

Piper was crying too. Her head was one Jason's shoulder, and he held her tightly, not even caring about his arm.

Jason realized that Nico had known this was going to happen. So had Gaea. It was all one big plot twist that he hadn't seen coming. To Gaea, this had all been a big game, and she'd already had every move laid out in front of her.

Annabeth was the one who finally spoke. Jason couldn't see her, but her voice was thick with emotion. "You'll be a hero. You'll go to Elysium."

Nico sort of nodded as best as he could. He couldn't say much. The vines of earth were wrapping around him tighter. Gaea was completely submerged in the churning dirt again, and so was the bottom half of Nico. "Close… them…" The words sounded choked and were barely audible.

Frank hauled Hazel to her feet, and the five of them ran towards the large heavy Door. Jason could just make out Percy and Annabeth doing the same thing on the other side. Just as he had suspected, the Door weighed a ton and they struggled to close. But at the same time, Jason didn't want to, because once they were close, they wouldn't be able to see the pit anymore. Nico and Gaea would be in the middle of the closed Doors with no way out.

But they had to, because Nico's last order had been to close them. Jason had to honor that. It was respectable.

Annabeth was right. Nico was a hero. He was the best of the best. He would definitely go to Elysium. Jason wished that he had respected him more, that they hadn't gotten into so many fights. It was too late for wishes and hoping now. This was the end of it all.

The two Doors met each other, and a burning seal was put into place. A light flared, and the five of them stumbled backwards, with Percy and Annabeth still on the other side, in Tartarus. How were they ever going to save them?

The last thing Gaea said was sinister and oh so calm. And this is checkmate.

The Doors of Death were finally closed. Gaea was gone.

But so was Nico di Angelo.


But… as the cycle goes, there are going to be 50 chapters… which means the 50th chapter will be from Nico's POV!

Reviews and ideas are loved, as there are two chapters left! Also, for my fellow Legend of Korra fans: The season 2 trailer has been released! YAY!

-BBH