(A/N Okay, so somebody said to me that Hazel and Jason seem OOC and they're meant to seem OOC. I acknowledge this in my chapters and I show the little inner debates on their feelings in this chapter. Hazel feels betrayed and afraid. Betrayed because here was this person she looked up to suddenly going rogue and murdering his girlfriend and afraid because if Percy Jackson could do something like that, what did it mean for the rest of them. I bring up some of Jason's fears and struggles in this chapter, too. Also there's some other shit but they're spoilers.)


"Jason," Zeus said. "I trust that you can bring the traitor to my court?"

"Y-yes, father," Jason flinched. Traitor.

"Good." Jason avoided Zeus' eyes. "How's Thalia? Artemis has informed me that she refuses to speak with any of her sisters, except for when they're on missions."

"She won't talk to me."

The reminder of his sister reinforced his feelings. He needed to find Jackson. The Traitor of Olympus.

"Fix that. Before someone gets hurt." Jason doubted Zeus would care if someone did get hurt.


"Anything?" Jason asked. Reyna shook her head. He sighed, stepping back from the Iris Message.

"It's been six months, Jason." Reyna folded her arms. "We're not going to find Per— Jackson."

"My father trusted me with bringing him to Olympus. I can't let him down."

"Really?" Reyna asked. "So this isn't about your sister?"

Jason frowned. "It's Thalia and Nico. They're convinced that Jackson is innocent. When I bring him to Olympus, they won't be so convinced." Reyna frowned at him, but simply shook her head, staying quiet.

"Fine. I'll send Hazel's team out again."

"Hazel has a team?" Piper asked, drying her hair with a towel. Jason quickly shook his head.

"Yeah," Reyna frowned. "Look, I have to go. I'll see you guys soon." Reyna slashed through the Iris Message, leaving Jason with Piper.

"So… what's up?" Jason asked. He was always walking on eggshells around Piper, careful not to bring up Perc— Jackson or Annabeth. He was always awkward when she was around after he had talked about them. Sure, Piper and Annabeth weren't as close as Thalia and Annabeth had been, but she was still quite sensitive about her death.

"The sky." Piper grabbed a hair tie, braiding her damp hair. "Look, I'm gonna go find Rachel. She wants help with some charity thing. Love you." Piper kissed him on the cheek, rushing outside.

Jason stared after his girlfriend sadly. Eggshells indeed.


"Let me get this straight." Jason sighed. Somehow he'd gotten tasked with teaching campers about the second Giant War and he'd accidentally let Percy's involvement slip. "So this traitor guy is also one of the Seven?"

"And he saved Olympus a million times," a child of Aphrodite piped up. He shrugged at Jason's raised eyebrow. "My siblings gossip." He'd need to talk to Piper about this. They shouldn't be… miseducating the campers.

"He didn't 'save Olympus a million times'," Jason said. 'Yes. He did.' Jason ignored that stray thought. He was a murderer. A traitor. "He betrayed us by murdering the official Architect of Olympus. She was a hero and he has lured many others into falsely believing he is 'good'."

"And how did he do that?" a girl asked.

Jason opened his mouth but closed it just as quickly. "We're off topic. Back to the Giant War. So—"

"Is it true that Jackson went to Tartarus with his girlfriend?"

"Yes," Jason said. He was starting to feel somewhat irritated.

"Do you think that's why he killed her? Because it drove him crazy?" The girl asked another question.

Jason blinked. He had never thought about what had made him kill her. 'I only hoped he was being framed.' "Maybe," Jason said. "So, Gaea had risen and the prophecy said, 'To Storm or Fire the World Must Fall'. Either me or Leo."

"The fire guy?!" Aphrodite's son excitedly exclaimed.

Jason chuckled. "Yes, the fire guy. Leo is a son of Hephaestus."

"Who was Percy Jackson the son of?" a girl asked. It was the same girl who had been asking the most difficult questions. She was sitting dangerously close to the fire.

"Who are you?"

"You can't answer a question with a question," the girl smiled.

"Poseidon. He's the son of Poseidon."

"What kind of father accepts his son as evil without even investigating? Then again, I suppose Poseidon didn't have a very good role model."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jason said, reeling in his growing temper. "Who are you?"

The girl smiled. "Hestia." The girl—goddess— stood, leaving without another word. Jason only stared after her in shock.

That was the day that saying Percy Jackson's name had been ruled as a crime. Hestia never looked at Jason again. Her questions still stuck with him.


Jason frowned at Sally. "So you haven't heard from Jackson?"

"Not in two years." Percy's mother stared outside sadly, cradling her toddler. There was a broken look in her eyes. "Athena visits often."

"Athena?" Jason's eyes widened.

"The rumours are false, you know. She hasn't been murdering people who look like Percy. She… was angry at first. Then we talked. She stopped blaming me. She cried. I didn't know that goddesses were able to cry."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Why are you interrogating me?" Sally retorted. "She's still angry. But she has a reason to be angry. But you? You've become this dictator—banning my son's name, stories about him saving Olympus. And you weren't even that close to Annabeth. I don't… get it. Get you."

Jason stood. "We're done here."

Sally called out to him as he reached the door of her apartment. "I'll never believe that Percy killed Annabeth. He loved her. More than anything."

"His arm was found by her body!"

"Then he's dead!" Sally exclaimed. "He didn't—he'd sooner die than be without her. He loved her. Anybody with a pair of eyes could see that." Jason looked back and caught sight of a picture of his former friend. Guilt flooded him. But he couldn't believe that Percy hadn't committed this crime. "I know my son, Jason Grace. He'd never kill somebody, nevermind Annabeth. You should really think about what you're doing. Who your actions are hurting. Thalia tells me that she can't even look at you anymore."

Jason breathed in, deeply. "I suggest that you think twice before mentioning that name, Mrs Blofis. It is illegal, you know."

"I stopped caring about the laws of Greek and Roman Mythology. When you people turned your backs on my son without verifying anything. When his own father believed you people before even talking to Percy— or me, at least."

Jason shook his head. "Times have changed."

"So you don't think that your father—the man who's giving all of these orders— wouldn't do the exact same to you?"

"It was a pleasure," Jason said, swinging the door open. He slammed it shut.

The second he was alone in the hallway, Jason slid to the ground, clutching at his head.

'Fuck.'