"Don't push yourself too hard," Will murmured, a hand on Nico's back.

Except this is urgent, thought Jason. Don't slow down. The six of them – Jason, Piper, Nico, Will, Lilian, and Marcus – were riding a giant griffin skeleton, the most efficient way to get to the Parthenon. Flying was usually fun, but not on a dead creature. Bones made for a tough, uncomfortable seat. Fortunately, the ride was only a few seconds long before they were almost above the Parthenon. On the top of the stone structure, Annabeth faced an opponent who looked vaguely familiar.

"That's Susan!" Piper exclaimed. "She was the reporter intern we met in the Atlantic."

Jason gazed at him fondly. "Only you would remember someone like that."

Will gripped the scapula tightly. "She's gonna destroy the Parthenon."

Nico mumbled, "I'm gonna crash."

Marcus jumped off first, turning into a falcon mid-air. Piper and Jason leaped after, Jason slowing their landing behind Susan. Marcus reached her first. Transforming partially back into a human, he tackled her an instant before her glowing fist could crack the stone. His talons wrenched her arms; his face turned back into a bird's so he could squawk at her.

Below, the battle was coming to an end, with backup having arrived on the demigods' side. Piper dropped from the Parthenon's roof to join Leona in battling a man who seemed to nullify her fire powers. Whatever his power was, it didn't seem to work on Piper, who used charmspeak to effectively tranquilize him.

Meanwhile, Nico and Shoon teamed up against a brightly-dressed woman who wielded a parasol—a surprisingly deadly weapon that put up an excellent fight against Nico's sword. But even that wasn't enough against the two youngest demigods, who battled like gremlin siblings. Nico held his sword parallel to the ground so Shoon could hop on, balancing with her fingers for an instant before flipping upward. Nico used the momentum to knock aside their opponent's parasol, while Shoon landed in a powerful kick that knocked out the tall woman, probably giving her a concussion.

Will got to work tying up and healing their opponents while chiding Shoon on being too rough. And with the power-cancelling Zealot immobilized, Leona joined Percy and Lilian against a patchy-skinned man who wielded a multi-coloured pen sword that matched each of their elements: red ink for fire, blue ink for water, green ink for plants. The black ink... Jason narrowed his eyes as he watched the ink swerve – Percy was basically a waterbender, which extended to ink – and hit the other Zealot's parasol, dissolving it instantly.

It's not actually dissolving. It's... sublimating. Going from solid to gas. Air. My power.

Still trapped in Marcus's grip, Susan cried out, "Oliver! Aim up!"

Jason swooped down just as Oliver fired black ink at him. Percy began to bend the ink in two arcs on either side of Jason, but it wouldn't be fast enough, the ink would still hit him—he let himself disintegrate.

Though nothing was physically connected anymore, he was still in control over every part, down to the most infinitesimal atom. He re-materialized behind Oliver's pen, whacking it aside. In his periphery, he could see Shoon crouch to examine it; Will and Piper dragged her away before she could hurt someone. Jason delivered a fierce uppercut up Oliver's jaw, sending the young man flying.

The Zealots were defeated. A bearded man in a royal blue uniform whisked away the would-be vandals. His eyes were the same electric blue as Thalia's, more radiant than Jason's paler ones that more closely resembled the sky than the storm.

Shoon brushed her hands together. "So that's it? Not gonna lie, that was freaking awesome—but it went by faster than I expected."

Jason ruffled her hair. "Battles always go by fast. It's the war that drags on."

Annabeth walked over to stand beside him. She looked more like his sister than Thalia did, with their shared blond hair and sky-coloured eyes: Annabeth's like a storm, Jason's the sky after the storm. Annabeth placed a hand on her hip. "And this war will continue for generations. Some cultures are dying. And some people think that's okay."

Percy ran his fingers through his wet hair. "I don't really get what the Zealots were fighting for in the end. And – don't hurt me – why it would've been so bad."

Annabeth punched him. "Greek culture brought us together, Seaweed Brain. It's not everything, it's only one of many things, but it's important."

"And it'll be threatened," Jason said in a grave tone, "over and over by people like Susan and Oliver, Zealots against religion and, by extension, culture."

Shoon's eyes widened. "We can't keep sending people to Greece every time Zealots threaten the Parthenon. Think of the poor centaurs' union fund!"

"I'll figure it out," Jason assured her.

That night, in a peaceful inn near Athens, Jason dreamed himself into Olympus. Piper was there, too. They smiled at each other—Piper tentative, Jason trying to be confident. The Zealots kneeled at the gods' feet, their wrists bound behind their backs. There were the four that Jason and his friends had battled, along with hundreds upon thousands of shadowy figures blinking in and out of existence.

Zeus roared louder than thunder. "Strike them all down!"

"No!" Jason cried out. As the Prince of Olympus, his voice carried authority. But now that he had everyone's attention, he didn't know how to proceed.

Piper stepped up for him. "Please, don't punish them. That won't achieve anything. Even now, some are escaping, and they'll only gather in anger and retaliate. They are only lost and misguided. But if we share our culture with them, then maybe they'll come to understand what they wanted to end." He genuflected in front of Oliver so they were at eye level. "Hi, Oliver. Your poem to Lilian guided our quest. You care about xem, right? Your families are close, after all; xe's like a cousin to you."

Susan screamed, "Traitor!"

Piper offered Oliver a weaving of lilies, the shadows resembling the patches on Oliver's skin. Oliver gasped in wonder.

Piper walked over to the woman who battled Shoon and Nico. "Hi, Dani. I know your family's religion can be stifling at times, but there's beauty hidden in it, too."

Dani smiled shyly, casting a nervous glance at Susan. "Maybe not so hidden. I've always liked the bright colours and fun stories."

"No!" Susan screeched. "You hate it, you hate it, you hate it! It's awful..."

The fourth Zealot remarked, "How do you know all of this?"

"Because," Piper answered, "the trees speak. You just need to listen. They guard everyone's secrets, even if they're far away, because the wind carries them."

Which meant that Jason had access to all these secrets, too. He listened. He heard Piper's pain, Alex's desire for peace, Susan's hatred—but beneath the hate, there was that same pain and desire for peace.

Jason did not crouch to be at eye level with his enemy. He stood in front of her and lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You can't achieve peace through war." The words rang for him, too. He lowered himself slowly until they were level. "True peace comes from harmony. From appreciating – even if not always understanding – diversity. Don't you want to be part of that, too?"

Susan didn't reply. Jason stood up and turned to face his father. "Let them all go."

Zeus frowned. "The war won't end here, boy."

"It also won't end through destruction. At least this way, there's hope."

There were less silhouettes than earlier. Some had gotten away before hearing Piper or Jason speak. And many here might forget, or choose to ignore their words. But still—there was hope.

When Jason and the others returned to Camp Half-Blood, Piper pulled him into the woods. Jason was aware that nature was listening in. The nymphs would gossip; Lilian might immortalize their words in a poem or capture their feelings in music. Jason had to trust they would be kind.

More kind than Jason was. "Are we breaking up?"

Piper's eyebrows arched. "Is that what you want?"

Jason kept his expression neutral. "What do you want?"

Piper's mouth twitched into a smile. "Just some time and space to myself. I'm doing a bit of travelling—no Leona, no Lilian or Percy or you—just me and nature."

"For how long?"

"I don't know. I'll be studying online; Annabeth and Leona are helping me set everything up for when I don't have Internet. I think I want to be by myself for a while, you know?"

No, he didn't know, but he could try to understand. "I'll miss you."

"We can stay connected. The wind is your messenger. And when I feel like it, I'll visit your dreams."

It didn't sound like that would be often. Jason bit his lip.

"For now," Piper continued, pressing something soft into Jason's hand, "remember me by this." Jason looked down at the weaving of the moonlit night on the Glorious. Even without the embroidery, he would never forget this quest or the time they spent together. "And this." Piper kissed his lips.

Jason closed his eyes. A storm swept over him, sending his heart and everything inside in disarray. But the storm cleared, the softness left his lips, and when he opened his eyes, he was alone.