/Author's Note - Trigger Warning - Combat, Fighting, Talk of blood/wounds

Chapter 8 - Stabbing Time

I drew my drakon bone sword up and swept it in an arc around me. A whole line of ghosts that had been focussed on Jason dissolved with a hiss. Then the next row realized the threat was behind them and turned to face me. I used the carving knife in my left hand and the drakon sword in my right, stabbing and slashing a line towards Jason. I was dimly aware of the fact that I could catch their blades on mine, which was unusual with spirits. These must've been a special kind sent by Gaea. Thankfully, that meant we could dissipate them.

As I fought, I tried to catch glimpses of my friends. Piper seemed to be holding her own by standing on a table and using the height to her advantage. Jason had turned his sword into a javelin - which I didn't know this sword could do. I thought only the original sword he had could do that. Maybe it was Jason's own power? I didn't know and didn't have time to ask. I was mostly just glad that since the Doors of Death were closed and Thanatos was unleashed, the ghosts were staying dead. I figured it'd be a busy day for Hades, getting these guys all back where they belonged.

I hacked, sliced, and whirled. I was starting to have a hard time breathing - my lungs still weren't used to mortal air again and they were being used hard. I'd catch a knife with my own carving knife, then stab the assailant through the gut with my drakon sword. Thankfully, drakon seems to work just as well as Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold at destroying monsters. I whirled, catching two blades with my own and kicking the ghosts' legs out from under them. I fell towards them with my blades and rolled away, hearing the sounds of them dissipating as I got up to face more attackers. I could tell the occasional blade found my body, but since I was still alive and fighting and my friends were too, well, I didn't have time to think about my injuries. Thank gods for adrenaline - I was sure I'd feel my wounds later but I didn't right now, and that was all that mattered.

I could hear Piper telling the ghosts, "Save yourselves! I'm too dangerous!" Which did in fact make them flee - but only a few yards before they would figure it out and come back to fight one of us again. I heard the distinct sound of someone being shoved into the fountain and glanced over. It must've been one of the suitors because my friends were all still ok. I noticed a dozen suitors gathering at the fountain, looking my way. Then a flash of lightning destroyed them. Thanks Jason, I thought. I was momentarily blinded by the lightning but raised my sword to defend. Thankfully, I was just in time and caught a spectral blade on mine. I rammed my knife through the zombie's belly and he dissolved into dirt.

The wind was picking up - probably something Jason was doing. I tried not to be annoyed as my hair flew into my face. I noticed the next ghost was the first who had flirted with me and stabbed him through the heart. I yanked my sword back and smiled a bit at the betrayed look on his face as he dissolved. Maybe it would teach him not to try anything with unwilling serving maids in the Underworld. I hoped so, anyway.

Slowly, I noticed that the ghosts were disappearing on their own. So apparently, the answer is yes, three-to-200 is totally possible odds.

I turned to see how my friends were doing and my heart stopped. The Roman ghost had run Jason through. A golden sword tip, covered in blood, exited the front of my friend's body. Jason fell to his knees. Piper screamed for him and we both ran towards him. Piper cut down the ghostly praetor, and his helmet rolled across the ground.

Piper sobbed Jason's name and pulled the sword from his back, then gently lowered him to the ground.

"Gods." I muttered, looking at the wound. Chiron and Will Solace had helped train me in more healing before the quest, but I didn't think I'd be able to fix this. "Oh gods."

"Thanks." Jason groaned. "I was afraid it might be bad." Suddenly, I wished we hadn't closed the Doors of Death or released Thanatos. That might have been the only way to save Jason. His face was pale - he was going into shock.

"You're going to be fine." Piper ordered him. Suddenly, he actually looked a bit improved. I wondered if Piper and Hazel could somehow work together and use magic to save him. But Jason's wound was smoking - something I didn't remember Will or Chiron saying that sword wounds did.

"Annabeth! Ambrosia!" Piper ordered me, thankfully spurring me to immediate action.

"Yeah, yeah, I got it." I dug through my supply bag, which had thankfully reappeared through Hazel's disguise, and found a square of ambrosia.

"We have to stop the bleeding." Piper said, quickly cutting strips off of her dress with Katoptris. Piper began to wrap the wound while I broke the ambrosia into smaller bites and tried to feed each one to Jason. I was trembling, I could tell. I knew this might be my last chance to talk to him and I wanted to apologize for so much. For not trusting him when I should have. For doubting him today when I thought he might accept his mother's offer.

"Jason, I'm sorry about your mom. But the way you handled it - that was so brave."

Jason fought to keep his eyes open. "It wasn't her. At least, no part of her that I could save. There was no other choice."

"No other right choice, maybe, but a friend of mine, Luke? His mom - similar problem. He didn't handle it as well." My voice broke, remembering that scene - Luke's body, his hand weakly grasping the knife he had given me. Blood all over his chest - just like there was now all over Jason. The similarities of their looks - the blonde hair, the blue eyes, the scar on each of their faces - seemed to merge in my vision until I was looking at both scenes. Luke's death and now Jason's. I was on the verge of another panic attack and I couldn't afford one - not right now.

"I've bandaged as much as I can." Piper warned, breaking me out of my thoughts. "Blood is still soaking through. And the smoke? I don't understand that."

"Imperial Gold." I explained sadly. "It's deadly to demigods. It's only a matter of time before -" My voice broke.

"He'll be alright. We've got to get him back to the ship." Piper said it so strongly I almost believed it. But I had seen too many wounds in my life.

"I don't feel that bad." Jason tried to assure us. His bandages were already a dark red. "Maybe I could fly -" Then he sat up. His eyes instantly went unfocussed. "Or maybe not." He tried to lay back down and Piper had to catch him and help him get to the ground.

"Woah, woah Sparky. We need to contact the Argo II and get help."

"You haven't called me Sparky in a long time." Jason muttered.

Piper kissed his forehead and teased him, "Stick with me and I'll insult you all I want." It reminded me so much of Percy and I that it hurt. I knew Jason wouldn't be coming back from this - the wound was too much. But I also knew Piper would think I was just giving up. And I decided that even if it was doomed, well, we needed to try everything we possibly could. I scanned the ruins for something that could help us.

"We could use the emergency flares, but -"

"No." Jason insisted. "Leo would blast the top of the hill with Greek fire. Maybe if you guys helped me I could walk."

"Absolutely not!" Piper said. "That would take too long." Piper dug through her bag and handed me a small mirror. "Annabeth, you know Morse code?"

"Of course."

"So does Leo." She passed me the mirror. "He'll be watching from the ship, go to the ridge."

"And flash him!" I finished. Oops. I blushed. "That came out wrong, but yeah. Good idea." I ran to the edge of the ruins and sent Leo the shortest message I could think of.

SOS - Jason's hurt

I got a reply soon after - the shields on the ship tilted to reply -

Frank's Coming

I ran back to Jason and Piper. I hadn't realized I was limping until Jason asked, "Are you hurt?"

I glanced at my bad ankle. "It's fine. Just the old break from the Roman caverns. Sometimes when I'm stressed… It's not important. I signalled Leo. Frank's going to change form, fly up here and carry you back to the ship. I need to make a litter to keep you stable."

I went to work. I always feel better when I am working. I grabbed whatever scraps I could find that were left behind by the ghosts. Some belts, some tunics, sandal straps, a red blanket, and a couple broken spears would work for the sides. I tore the blanket's edges so I could wrap and tie them around the spears, quickly fashioning the tunic the same way so it'd be long enough to carry Jason. I braided sandal straps around the edges, making sure that they were snug enough to secure the blanket to the spears.

"How are you doing that?" Jason asked in amazement.

"I learned it in my quest under Rome. I had never had a reason to try weaving before, but it's handy for certain things. Like, getting away from spiders." I was still focussed on my work. I used the belts to create safety straps in the middle to keep Jason secured.

Piper whistled at my work. "Next time I need a dress altered, I'm coming to you."

"Shut up, McLean." I told her, but it felt good. I didn't typically get to impress people with my godly powers because, well, they weren't flashy. Intelligence, planning, skill in battle, well, they were all just improved normal-person abilities. I couldn't blast lightning, control the oceans, charmspeak, or any of the other cool stuff my friends could. So despite the danger Jason was in, I did feel a little good to be able to show off my new talent.

"Now, let's get him secured." I told Piper.

"Wait." Jason said. I wondered if he didn't trust the stretcher. But really, it looked pretty stable. "A bed." He muttered. "There was a special bed in this place."

"Jason, you've lost a lot of blood." Piper said, trying to calm him. And that was true - Jason was sitting in a pool of his own blood and more kept dripping down from his body. His bandages were soaked through and couldn't do any more to help him.

"I'm not hallucinating." Jason promised. "The marriage bed was sacred. If there was any place you could talk to Juno…" He took a deep breath, which looked like it pained him, and called out "Juno!"

Nothing happened for a few moments. Then, about 60 feet from us, the stone floor cracked open. Branches sprouted from the crack growing into a full-sized olive tree within moments. There she was. My least favorite goddess. She appeared as a dark-haired woman wearing a white dress similar to Piper's and mine. A leopard skinned cape draped over her shoulders and she held a staff with a lotus flower, reminding me of a certain hotel Percy and I were once trapped in. I wondered if Hera had anything to do with that wonderful trap too.

"My heroes." She said warmly, as if she hadn't wiped Jason and Percy's memories and gotten this whole mess started.

"Hera?" Piper asked, a little awed.

"Juno." Jason explained.

"Whatever." I growled. "What are you doing here, your bovine majesty?"

"Annabeth Chase. As charming as ever."

"Yeah, well, I just got back from Tartarus, so my manners are a little rusty. Especially towards goddesses who wiped my boyfriend's memory, made him disappear for months, and then -"

"Honestly, child. Are we going to rehash this again?"

"Aren't you supposed to be suffering from split personality disorder? I mean, more so than usual?"

"Woah." Jason said, probably trying to stop a fight. But honestly, at this point I had come face to face with Tartarus. Hera didn't really scare me. She did anger me. I wanted to get into a fight with her, though the rational part of my brain still knew she was a goddess and I was not.

"Juno, we need your help." Jason said, trying to sit up. He immediately fell back and Piper had to catch him again.

"First things first." Piper decided. "Jason is hurt. Heal him."

"Some things even gods cannot heal." She explained, looking as if it didn't bother her much. "This wound touches your soul as well as your body. You must fight it, Jason Grace. You must survive."

"Yeah. Thanks. I'm trying." Jason said, sounding tired.

"What do you mean, the wound touches his soul?" Piper demanded of the goddess. "Why can't you -"

Hera cut her off. "My heroes, our time together is short. I'm grateful that you called upon me. I have spent weeks in a state of pain and confusion, my Greek and Roman natures warring against each other. Worse, I've been forced to hide from Jupiter, who searches for me in my misguided wrath. Believing that I caused this war with Gaea."

"Gee, why would he think that?" My voice dripping with sarcasm.

Hera glared at me. "Fortunately, this place is sacred to me. By clearing away those ghosts you have purified it and given me a moment of clarity. I will be able to speak with you, if only briefly."

"Why is it sacred?" Piper asked. "Oh! The marriage bed."

"Marriage bed? I don't see any -"

"The bed of Penelope and Odysseus." Piper explained. "One of the bed posts was a living olive tree so it could never be moved."

"Indeed." Hera pet the olive tree. Since olive trees were sacred to my mom, I didn't like her touching it. "An immovable marriage bed. Such a beautiful symbol. Like Penelope, the most faithful wife. Standing her ground, fending off a hundred arrogant suitors for years, because she knew her husband would return. Odysseus and Penelope - the epitome of a perfect marriage."

I remembered the story now. I had been a lot more focussed on the parts of the story with monsters and fighting, since that was the most relevant to my life. I also disagreed with Hera - Odysseus had kinda cheated on Penelope, like a lot, if I remembered right. And he didn't speed right home, he took his time. So I wasn't sure it was the kind of relationship I would want. Though I did admire both Penelope and Odysseus - both were smart, clever and wise.

"Can you advise us, at least?" Jason begged. "Tell us what to do."

"Sail around the Peloponnese." Hera said. "As you expect, that is the only possible route. On your way, seek out the goddess of victory in Olympia. She is out of control. Unless you can subdue her, the rift between Greek and Roman can never be healed."

I thought that was the whole reason I had gone on the quest for the dang statue - to heal that rift. Now we had to do something else too?

"You mean, Nike?" I asked, hoping she would give us a straight answer for once. "How is she out of control?"

Thunder crashed over head, shaking the hillside, and I didn't think Jason was the cause.

"Explaining would take too long." Hera said, helpful as ever. "I must flee before Jupiter finds me. Once I leave I will not be able to help you again."

I wanted to scream that she hadn't helped us - EVER - but decided that I didn't need to make things worse since Jason was injured.

"What else should we know?" Jason asked.

"As you heard, the Giants have gathered in Athens. Few gods will be able to help you on your journey. But I am not the only Olympian who is out of favor with Jupiter. The twins have also incurred his wrath."

"Uh, Artemis and Apollo?" Piper asked the goddess. "Why?"

Hera's image began to fade away. "If you reach the island of Delos, they might be prepared to help you. They are desperate enough to try anything to make amends. Go now. Perhaps we will meet again in Athens, if you succeed. If you do not -" She disappeared on that happy note.

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