Chapter Six: Breaking Point
Piper, 24 Hours After Eripus
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF HADES, JASON!" Piper screamed out at the still unconscious demigod, who had decided to start snoring on top of everything else.
She shook him by the shoulders as his head flopped back and forth, giving no indication that he had heard her or was any closer to waking up than he had been nearly twenty minutes ago when Annabeth had knocked him into next week.
Hazel seemed to be having better luck with Frank who had woken up several minutes after Thalia and the Hunters had left with Artemis, a departure which had promptly been followed by the sounds of battle as the war cries of the combatants was faintly audible in the distance over the dull roar of the storm.
"Annabeth kicks like a mule….. " groaned Frank as Hazel cradled his head in her lap and held a rag soaked in nectar to the side of his face, which had taken on a deep purple and black color already. Hazel was clearly making an effort to apply the lightest pressure, which still seemed to be enough to reduce Frank to a groaning mess.
"Just be glad she's here with us!" Hazel chided as she slapped the top of Frank's head gently.
"...well not here, but at least we know she made it out of Tartarus… and if she did…." Hazel let the comment hang in the air, broaching a subject that none of them wanted to think about but all of them hoped for.
Percy might have made it out as well.
"Do you think he's okay? Or… is he like Annabeth…?" Piper dared to raise the question aloud, hoping that Hazel or Frank would be able to cheer her up and steer her thoughts away from the worst case scenarios. Leo meanwhile seemed to be content fiddling with some contraption in his hands as he listened.
Both Frank and Hazel looked to each other before turning back to Piper, determination shining in both their eyes. Well, Franks were kind of cloudy but Piper was pretty sure he had a concussion.
"Piper, you never really got to see much of Percy in action… It's… it's humbling, Frank said haltingly. "There's a reason they say he's the strongest Demigod of our generation, maybe ever." He sat up from Hazel's lap, holding the nectar soaked rag to his face.
"When we first met him, he was carrying Hera, while being chased by the gorgons, with zero memory who he was, or why he was there. But he remembered Annabeth, and he never once stopped talking about how he would find her." Frank said bluntly
"He pulled an entire river into the air and killed three gorgons as easily as you might lift your hand up… if anyone and I mean anyone had a chance at escaping that hellhole it's Percy Jackson." Frank finished with a note of certainty ringing in his voice, as he glanced at Hazel.
"He's always acting like a prankster, trying to keep us all smiling and laughing, but Percy can be downright terrifying when he wants to, and right now I think anything keeping him from Annabeth should be very afraid." Hazel chimed in with a smile on her face, "Before you arrived in New Rome on the Argo II we went north to Alaska to reclaim the Legion Banner. He fought an entire army of Legionnaire Shades to buy Frank and I time to free Thanatos and deal with Alcyoneus"
"He decided the best way to deal with them was to drop the entire side of a glacier at least three hundred feet into the water, he literally ripped the glacier apart with his powers alone" Frank added quietly.
The sound of the storm outside was briefly cut through by the sounds of roaring and battle being joined once again somewhere outside the camp. The sound of howls and screams filled the air and Piper hoped that no one else would need to be rushed to the tent in the condition Annabeth had been in. Then again based on the number of howls she could hear in the distance it sounded like Artemis's 'reinforcements' had arrived.
She looked at Frank and Hazel who were quietly talking to each other, feeling her gaze they both looked over and shrugged before Hazel simply said "Lady Lupa has arrived from the sounds of it."
Piper breathed out a sigh of relief, the air within the tent still stank of iron and sweat. The cot Annabeth had been lying on was practically soaked through, there had been enough blood spilt today.
Piper averted her gaze quickly as she felt her stomach churn and a cold sweat break out on her face at the thought of the injuries, more specifically the moment when Frank had burst into the tent, his chest soaked in blood cradling the limp and pale body of Annabeth.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the sound of an explosion ripped through the walls of the tent, the ground rumbled under their feet briefly and for a minute or so more the sounds of howls, barking and snarling continued and then it was over. The sound of battle was replaced once more by the sound of rain and the occasional crack of lighting.
Hazel and Frank shared a look, before Hazel stood grabbing her Spatha from where it leaned against the wall. She unsheathed the blade and walked towards the tent entrance. "Piper keep an eye on them, I'm going to see what's going on"
Frank surged to his feet, stumbling as he did so "I'll come with you Hazel it's not safe" he muttered out reaching for the door flap before he stumbled and fell to the side landing on his ass as he held one hand to his head.
Frank tried to stand once more but Hazel simply put her hand on his head and gave him a gentle shove, sending him sprawling to the floor again shaking his head like a dog. "Frank you're in no condition to do anything right now, sit tight I'm just going to go take a look. I promise I'll be careful" She said sternly as she took one last look at Piper before nodding and stepping out into the storm.
Piper watched as Frank hung his head dejectedly, sitting down against the back of the tent, his head hanging as he stared blankly at the ground. The second Hazel had left the tent it was as if Frank's entire body gave out on him, his upbeat attitude vanishing as the exhaustion and pain was clearly displayed on his face.
For a few moments there was nothing save the sound of the rain on the tent roof, and the gentle snoring from Jason who still had yet to wake up. He looked so peaceful, his head resting in Piper's lap as she stroked his hair, wincing visibly at the mess on his face between the broken nose and the blood smeared across it.
"Annabeth might know where Percy is…. And how he's doing" Leo piped up quietly, his gaze locked on the floor beneath his feet as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. His left arm being in a sling made it difficult for him to fiddle with machinery like he normally did and so he resorted to endlessly playing with his shirt or flipping a pen between his fingers.
"Annabeth is in no condition to talk, not to mention i don't know if we should talk to her about what happened…. there…." Piper finished lamely "She has literally been through hell and back, I don't want to make her relive it so soon."
"It doesn't change the fact that the only person who will possibly have any idea what happened to Percy is Annabeth." Leo said as he began to pace back and forth within the tent. "Not to mention we owe some payback to Gaea and her cronies for what they did to Annabeth." Leo's eyes were practically blazing as sparks leapt from his body.
"And the ship…" Frank added hastily. "But Leo is right, Annabeth is one of us, and when I find out who did this I'll rip them apart before Percy even gets a chance… it's the least I can do for him…." Frank's body once more glowed briefly with a red aura before it died down and the look of fury on his face was replaced by one of exhaustion.
"Frank the Argo II wasn't just a ship… I can't get the blood sweat and tears me and my brothers and sisters put in back. But it's fine, the Argo III will be an even better improvement. More guns, maybe a few more fire breathing mechanical dragon heads. But that's besides the point." Leo said with a big grin breaking out on his face, "We aren't dead, Gaea threw everything she had at us there and we walked out alive, in fact better than alive, we walked out with a forty foot tall statue."
"We get this Athena Parthenos whatever, back to Olympus or wherever it is the Gods decide they want it, and boom we got this war in the bag." Leo finished his hands outspread as he gave a small bow.
"Lets not forget the stories from camp, Percy has been 'Dead' so many times before, what's to say this isn't one of those situations again?" Frank added a slight note of hope entering his otherwise dead and dull voice.
Leo nodded, closing his eyes sagely as he put on his best Chiron impression, stroking his imaginary beard as he began to speak "For an example of uncontrolled use of your powers look no further than our resident son of Poseidon, Blew up a Volcano, Displaced half a million people and unleashed Typhoon before being blasted into the atmosphere along with half of Mount St. Helens'' Leo broke into a small grin as he finished, recounting the time Chiron had explained the Mount Helens 'incident', with a little help from Annabeth. They had spent a few nights relaxing around the campfire during the construction of the Argo II, and it had come up in conversation.
"I'm pretty sure that's nothing like how Chiron told that story" Piper said with a smirk, Leo just looked at her and flashed a wide grin back in response.
"Don't forget that he landed on Ogygia, and made his way back in time to help fight off the Titan Army in the Labyrinth. Annabeth told that story once a little while back and she said he was missing for weeks." Frank added with a laugh.
The effect of Frank's words on Leo was instantaneous, his laughing smiling face broke and anger flashed across it briefly before he took on a forlorn expression "Y-yea i heard that part too…"
Piper wanted to start questioning Leo immediately, the reaction was so off base for him that Piper knew something was going on. Not to mention Leo had yet to tell anyone where he had been when Khione had blasted him off the ship, merely stating that he had been "lost for a bit".
Piper opened her mouth to ask a question, but Leo beat her to the punch, the forlorn look vanishing from his face as quick as it appeared. Turning to look at Frank and started smiling widely "I mean come on Frank, what are the chances he found ANOTHER island with a beautiful immortal Titaness to woo? Likelihood is, he is neck deep in monster dust on his way back to Annabeth, and god's help anything foolish enough to get in his way." He finished by wiggling his eyebrows at Frank who snickered.
"No one is that lucky" Frank responded, "Not to mention i think Annabeth would kill him" which caused Leo to laugh loudly as he began to imitate Percy running from an enraged Annabeth, grinning all the while. Piper however couldn't help but notice that for all his antics and jokes, Leo's smile didn't reach his eyes, something was really bothering the normally upbeat son of Hephaestus, he had visibly winced at franks choice of the word lucky, Piper stored that away for when she confronted him later.
She had her suspicions but without some sort of confirmation from Leo they would remain as such, However; his reaction to the story about Percy on Ogygia may as well have been him admitting to her that he had ended up on the mythical island as well.
Piper did her best to stifle a giggle at Leo's antics, he was clearly trying to cheer them up and as much as his antics annoyed Piper, she couldn't deny that he was like the younger brother she wished she had. He really was the heart and soul of the seven and even when he was clearly having his own issues he did his best to keep morale up.
"Look Beauty Queen, this ones a win for us, we need to have a little faith is all. Apollo is gonna heal Annabeth and then we can figure out what to do once she's awake." Leo said with certainty as he looked at a piper.
She flashed a brilliant white smile at Leo, "Thanks, for saying that Leo… I needed to hear it."
Leo was right of course, once Annabeth woke up she would have a plan, they would figure out a way to rescue Percy from wherever he is if he even needed it. Everything would be like how it was when the Argo II set out, well hopefully not exactly like how they left. Shooting exploding ballistae into New Rome while running for their lives and possibly igniting a civil war had not been a high point.
The thought raced through Piper's mind as she felt mildly guilty, she should be here looking after Jason, who admittedly was unconscious and making the whole looking after him thing pretty difficult. Yet, here they were convincing her she didn't need to worry about Percy, as if it was her place to be that worried about him. Even worse than that was the guilt that chewed her up on the inside, Percy made her feel safe. He exuded this aura of invincibility, like he could conquer any problem regardless of scope simply because he needed to.
It had made her feel invincible, as long as he and Annabeth had been there she had just known somehow that they would be safe, that things would be okay. Now less than 24 hours had gone by and nearly every member of the seven was injured in some way and she couldn't deny she was more scared than she had been since the onset of her new demigod life.
Everything was falling apart and none of the more experienced demigods were here. Piper had not known she was a demigod six months ago, same went for Leo. This was Frank and Hazel's second quest and Jason was at his breaking point in terms of stress, he had been thrust into the role of leader so quickly and nothing since he had taken on the role had gone as planned.
On top of that Nico had vanished minutes after informing Thalia about the situation over iris message, No one had been able to contact him with the constant attacks and then Annabeth showing up. Piper made a mental note to tell Hazel to reach out and let him know what was going on. As much as the son of Hades was strange, he was reliable and powerful and above all, he had known Percy and Annabeth far longer than any of them. He deserved to know that Annabeth was as safe as could be, given the circumstances.
Her brows knitted in frustration as she glared at the unconscious Son of Jupiter "Jason Grace, wake up now or I swear to the gods I'll slap you harder than Annabeth punched you" Piper muttered angrily, her voice heavily laden with charm speak. Venting her frustration and emotions on the unconscious son of Jupiter.
This seemed to elicit a response from the demigod whose eyes snapped open while he groaned and rolled over onto his side as his hands slid up to cradle his face. "What the hell happened" he muttered as he clutched at his nose and face desperately, his voice was a little shaky with confusion and pain.
"Nice to see you've decided to 'Grace' us with your presence Jason" Leo said with a shit eating grin plastered across his face. Piper groaned at the terrible pun while Frank started to chuckle a little, which he attempted to pass off as a cough.
"Oh fuck you Valdez…" Jason groaned out weakly.
"Leo Valdez, Jokester, Prankster, Ship Builder and Captain Extraordinaire at your service" he said enthusiastically while dropping into an over exaggerated bow to an invisible crowd.
Piper couldn't help but giggle slightly at his antics as Jason just groaned into the floor. With a sigh she stood up and walked to one of the many medical cupboards to grab some ambrosia and a little nectar before returning and handing them to Jason.
"Hey Jason, how are you feeling man?" Frank asked, as Piper handed the godly food and drink to Jason who gulped it down at near inhuman speeds, and only winced slightly as his nose realigned with a small series of pops and cracks.
"Like shit Frank what did you expect….. What the fuck happened?" Jason said, glancing around the room nervously. "Last thing I remember was holding down Annabeth…. And…" He paused mid sentence as a look of sheer horror crossed his features.
Surging to his feet, a little shakily it seemed as he needed to pause for a second his arms outstretched as he tried to balance. "Where is she!? Is she okay?" Jason nearly shouted as he looked around the tent, his gaze lingering for a little while on the blood soaked cot as the color drained from his face.
Piper opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off by Leo "Yea, she's fine Superman. Chill out, She knocked you and Frank into next week, I don't know how Percy's still alive given how angry she is at him half the time." Leo feigned a look of fear as Jason and Frank both flushed red with embarrassment.
"Then while you two were taking a nap I jumped in to save the day, your terrifying and equally hot sister and Annabeth had a bonding moment. Then Apollo and Artemis showed up, you know, stealing my thunder and all." Leo said winking as he gestured to the door "They grabbed her, Apollo left to heal her, and Artemis went with her hunters to do what they do best" Leo finished, as the flap to the tent was opened and in stepped Hazel, her face flushed as she moved towards frank, several gemstones popped out of the ground around her.
With a half repressed sob Hazel turned and extended her hand, palm face up and fingers open, before she curled her fingers back into a fist and lowered her arm and the gems descended back into the earth. She then promptly turned around and dashed into Frank's arms, clinging tightly to his chest, Frank for his part blushed as red as a tomato and awkwardly patted her on the back.
"I think you forgot the part of your valiant rescue in which Annabeth pinned you to the floor and almost cut your head off Leo," Piper added quickly, casting her gaze over Hazel in concern, something was seriously wrong with the daughter of Pluto, her entire body was wracked with suppressed sobs as she clung to the front of a bewildered franks shirt.
Jason and Frank turned towards Leo both with questioning looks on their faces, as Leo immediately paled slightly. "Hey, cut a guy some slack okay" he said as he gestured to his arm in the sling "She took out Frank and Jason without a weapon, she's scary enough unarmed. She had a knife when she came after me, what was I supposed to do?!" Leo said only half jokingly..
The smell of ozone permeated the air briefly as the tent flap was ripped open and Thalia stormed in, caked in blood, mud and monster dust, which had only been partially washed off in the rainstorm outside. Thalia shot a murderous glare at Leo, who squeaked before immediately closing his mouth and finding something incredibly interesting in one of the medical cabinets. Thalia snorted and immediately began walking towards Leo, her hands clenched in fists at her sides.
A look of sheer terror crossed Leo's face as the sparks jumping of Thalia's skin lit up the tent like a miniature fireworks show. He backed up until his heels were pressed up against the fabric of the tent as Thalia stalked towards him, a murderous look in her eye. "H-H-Hey look, I didn't mean anything, it was just a little joke….please don't kill me." Leo said pleadingly, the last few words coming out as more of a squeak. Thalia responded by grabbing Leo by the front of his shirt and lifting him clear off the ground.
Jason, seeming to sense the imminent disaster darted in between the two of them one hand held out towards Thalia the other quickly shoved Leo sideways out of Thalia's grip as he stumbled and slid along the side of the tent, landing on his ass in the corner. The two looked at each other, Jason stayed in front of Thalia but slowly walked sideways until he stood in between her and Leo.
Leo froze, a clear look of panic crossing his face, action that was mirrored by everyone. In fact, save for the rain pounding the outside of the tent no one even made a sound. Piper had always thought the term 'It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop' was a bit of an exaggeration; She didn't think that anymore.
"What the fuck is wrong with you Thalia" Jason shouted at her, a look of anger flashing across his face.
Thalia scoffed, shaking her head in anger as sparks jumped off her skin, "One of my best friends is currently fighting for her life, after somehow ending up in Tartarus. Suffering Gods knows what and how badly" Thalia choked out, almost losing her composure as a look of pain crossed her features before it was replaced once more by anger. "You wanna know what my problem is? You lot are my problem! Sitting in here joking about this mess….. Percy could be DEAD and Annabeth could still die! Yet here you are, joking about this shit! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?! It's like you don't even care!" Thalia shouted out as she looked between them.
Jason growled slightly as his eyes glowed and the smell of ozone in the air became nearly unbearable. "Thalia… I understand you're upset right now, but you need to stop talking, you have no right to say that, You have NO idea what we are feeling and NO idea what we have been through together…." Jason finished quietly, his features clearly wracked with guilt and anger at Thalia's outburst. "They fell Thalia, it's not like jumping in would have done any good, what else would you want us to have done?"
"Jason YOU CAN FUCKING FLY!" Thalia screamed at him, "Are you seriously telling me, the 'oh so mighty son of Jupiter' couldn't fly down a fucking rope? ANYTHING?! What were you all doing when they fell?" She turned to each of them, casting an accusing glare around the room.
"We had to secure the Parthenos before it fell into Tartarus, and for the record… you weren't there so kindly Fuck off," Frank said from his position by the cot, as he stood protectively in front of Hazel. Piper however cast her eyes to the ground in shame remembering her less than stellar performance during the entire event. Piper, Jason and Leo hadn't even realized what was happening until it was too late.
"Yes because that fucking statue that's been lost since who knows when was more important than your friends! Don't even try to deny that if the positions had been flipped NOTHING would have stopped him from saving you." Thalia snarled.
"That's not fair…." Jason started to say, as he stepped up in front of Thalia, Hazel started to sob into franks chest. The younger girl's body quivering like a leaf in the wind.
"No, what isn't fair is that Percy is alone in Tartarus, and that you are all here, safe and sound. Annabeth is nearly dead and we have no idea where Percy is or if he's even alive!" Tears were rolling down Thalia's cheeks as she finished, she began to rub at her cheek with her sleeve, angrily drying her tears.
Jason grabbed Thalia by the front of her hunters jacket, attempting to yank her in closer. "Thalia you're my sister, but that doesn't give you free reign to say whatever you want. Apologize. Now." The son of Jupiter snarled.
"Don't give me a reason to remind you who is the younger sibling, little brother…" Thalia said flatly, as her eyes narrowed in Jason's direction. A glare mixed between anger and despair played across her face. As a look of shock played across Jason's features, Thalia gave him a shove backwards, Breaking his grip on her hunting jacket.
Piper felt like she was watching the whole scene in slow motion, she felt herself take a few steps forwards, anger seething like a raging storm in her chest at Thalia's words, 'how dare she presume to know how she felt, HOW DARE SHE SAY SHE DIDN'T CARE' Piper thought to herself, her jaw aching from how hard it was clenched. Piper took a few more strides towards Thalia, She felt herself lifting her arm, as Thalia's eyes widened in shock.
'SLAP'
If the situation hadn't been what it was Piper would have laughed at the audible gasp that rang out from Jason and Hazel, or the low whistle from Leo. Tears stinging in her eyes as she glared at Thalia, who clutched her cheek and turned to look at Piper, her eyes widening slightly, as her nostrils flared.
"Don't you EVER assume that I don't feel horrible, that I don't blame myself and ask what I could have done differently. Percy has saved us all more times than we can count, Annabeth was there for us when we had no idea what to do….." Piper could feel the sobs building in her chest, like a dam ready to burst. But she would be damned if she didn't finish her piece before she lost all semblance of emotional control.
"When they needed us we failed them, and everything they have had to go through is our fault! YOU THINK WE DONT BLAME OURSELVES, YOU THINK I DON'T WANT HIM BACK!?" Piper roared into Thalia's face as the girl took a step back from her. As Piper glanced past Thalia, she saw Leo white as a ghost shivering slightly as he looked at the floor.
For a second it looked like Thalia was going to kill her, as a look of absolute rage crossed her features and little arcs of electricity filled the air. Piper saw Frank take a step forward and heard Jason call "Thalia enough!" as he rushed forwards from somewhere behind her. Thalia stepped forwards, her eyes narrowed as she glared at piper.
Suddenly Jason and Frank seemed to appear, stepping out in front of her protectively, casting wary glances at Thalia. "She's got more balls than the rest of you, if she weren't so absorbed with you Jason I'd say she would make a great hunter." Thalia said, as the ghost of a smile graced her lips. However it vanished nearly as quickly as it appeared, before she looked over Jason and Frank critically.
"The Seven, the greatest 'demigods' of our generation… what a fucking joke. One of you deserved that title, just one, he saved Olympus, the Gods. Hell half of us demigods owe our lives to him. He practically led us in the battle for Manhattan. He's fought everything from Titans to War Gods, and never once did he fail to come out on top, call it Luck or call it Fate. I'd say skill but that's a personal choice." Thalia remarked coldly.
Leo looked like he was about to melt into the floor, his face flushed red as tears pricked at the corner of his eyes. He was furiously scratching at his arm in the sling, as he looked at anything but the other five demigods in the tent.
Frank seemed to be hovering somewhere between rage and shame as he refused to look at anyone, simply standing in front of Thalia looking to the side as the smaller girl appeared completely unintimidated by him. The same could not be said in reverse Piper noted. Even though she was struggling not to lose it and if not for Jason physically being in between them Piper might have already tried for round two with Thalia.
"Thalia look, I don't know you super well. But Percy told me all about you, so I know you're hurting right now, he said you two were like brother and sister.." Frank said, never once directly looking at Thalia, "A few months back, when I was on my first quest with Percy, we were trapped. Stuck in my house and surrounded by monsters." Frank chuckled dryly as he began to speak once more. "Percy was protecting us, but we still had to run. My grandmother had arranged for everything but she was too sick to leave. She had explained to me how to use my powers, the legacy of our family." He said flatly, his face tight with the pain of the memory.
"But whether it was that I didn't understand, or I wasn't strong enough. I couldn't do anything, and I had to watch her die as the house I grew up in burned to the ground. I swore that I would never be like that again, powerless to save those I cared about. I mastered my family's legacy, as grueling and difficult as it was. But now Percy's gone, and Annabeth is half dead, and you're right. With my power I could have done something and I didn't notice what was going on until it was too late, I was too busy with the statue." Frank declared his jaw set. "I failed him and even though I promised, Even with all my powers I was just as helpless as last time." Frank finished mutedly.
Piper was watching Frank with awe as the normally polite and timid son of Mars suddenly began to glow, a red aura filling the room as Piper watched a flicker of uncertainty cross Thalia's face. Before Frank finally turned and locked eyes with the daughter of Zeus.
Thalia cocked her head to the side as she crossed her arms, the anger on her features still plain as day. "Is the little light show supposed to scare me?" Thalia asked defiantly, one hand resting on the knife sheathe on her hip as she glared at Frank.
"No, but think of it as a warning next time you go after Hazel, because I won't be so polite if there is a next time. I don't know what the fuck you said to her outside, but while Jason and I deserve some blame Hazel isn't at fault, in any way!" Frank said with deadly quiet "She and Nico were the only ones from the entire group to see what was going on and even try to help, so you don't get to say 'they don't care'. You want to blame someone? Blame me, because I sure as fuck blame me…. I'll be the first in line to go rescue Percy and first in line to beg his forgiveness when we find him" Frank finished as he glared at Thalia.
Piper watched the stand off as Jason turned back to her, his gaze mixed with hurt and anger. "Are you okay Piper?" he asked reaching out to touch her shoulder. She continued to look down at the ground away from his gaze, not answering as she felt her mouth go dry. She loved him, she really did but the way he looked at her hurt. A look so full of pity, and embarrassment as Jasons gaze quickly cut across her features before settling on a spot somewhere behind her as he avoided looking at her. The guilt inside over her outburst and how it must have sounded was eating her up, she didn't deserve him thought Piper bitterly.
Then a small hand grabbed Thalia by the shoulder, as a divine aura filled the tent. "Thalia! There has been enough fighting to go around without you adding to it, get outside, cool down and rally the hunters. Lupa and I will be moving the Parthenos to Olympus shortly, along with all of you and the remainder of the Seven." Artemis said, her tone leaving no room for debate as Thalia glared at Piper before scoffing and walking away out of the tent without another word.
Almost as if she was a marionette with her strings cut, Piper collapsed to the ground as Thalia left, Sobbing into her hands as she wallowed in guilt. Thalia was right, she was a fake, she shouldn't have been picked as one of the seven. She wasn't good enough, sitting here laughing and making light of everything. Letting Leo and Frank console her like she had a right to be this upset, her boyfriend was fine, and Annabeth was fine, Apollo would look after that. She shouldn't be sobbing like a little child about this, it wasn't right, and based on Jason's angry face and the rising flush in his cheeks he had very much misunderstood.
She felt a hand on her shoulder as she looked to see Hazel crouched beside her tears flowing down her face. Hazel gently rubbed the small of her back with one hand as the other rested on her shoulder. No words needed, just a comforting gesture between grieving people.
"What the Fuck is wrong with her!" Jason shouted as he looked around the tent at everyone else. "As if we weren't just in here trying to save Annabeth's life not even an hour ago! Like fuck we don't care." Jason swore several more times in Greek, his face flushed red as he refused to look at anyone.
Piper could see the comments about their lack of ability had grated on him clearly, it was pretty common knowledge that Jason and Percy had a bit of a rivalry. Piper had seen them possessed by the Eidolons and seen the truth behind that 'Rivalry'. Jason had spent the last few months constantly being compared to Percy, hearing stories at camp about his great quests and adventures of the 'greatest demigod in our generation'. Now, his own sister was saying he, wasn't worthy of the title, let alone as a member of the seven. regardless of why she said it, Piper knew that Jason was furious over the comment.
"You're about as dense as Apollo…. Maybe it's something to do with being the younger brother. Or possibly it's something to do with your gender, but have you ever considered how Thalia feels about the situation? My lieutenant is a fan of concealing her emotions behind anger, not so unlike yourself boy." Artemis said, her silver eyes seeming to burn holes into Jason as she looked at him with a strange intensity.
Jason angrily stormed away from Piper and Hazel, headed right towards the tent entrance. Frank made a move to stop him but Artemis simply shook her head and motioned for him to walk past. As he went to do so Artemis placed a hand out blocking his path and looked at him. "Keep in mind Boy, that just as I told my Lieutenant to keep the infighting to a minimum, you will do the same. You will all need your strength for what is to come, and if you so much as lay a finger on one of my hunters you will spend the remainder of this trip as a jackalope, regardless of who your father is."
Piper was reminded once more of the fact that regardless of her age and appearance, Artemis was one of the strongest Olympians and was not to be trifled with in any way. Jason bristled for a second, before calming himself and nodding once to Artemis. He cast his gaze around the tent once more, it lingered on Piper for a second as a look of uncertainty clouded his features. "... I'll go talk to her, she just needs a chance to cool down..." Jason said, and then he walked out into the storm.
Artemis seemed indifferent to his reasoning and nodded once before looking at the rest of the seven within the tent. "Your friend Annabeth is being looked after by Apollo, and while my idiot of a brother may be many things, he is the best healer we have and if anyone can bring her back from the brink it will be him." She said with a soft smile in Piper and Hazel's direction.
Piper nodded dumbly, as Hazel continued to console her. "I will give you a few minutes to compose yourselves, before we leave for Olympus. My father and the other Olympians will want to be informed of these concerning circumstances." Artemis said flatly before she stepped outside the tent once more and her voice could be heard calling out to the hunters over the din of the storm.
"Listen Piper, she has no idea what she's talking about… you too hazel, I don't know what she said to you outside but don't let it get to you. Percy is strong, he's the toughest demigod I know and he will make it out of this!" Frank said as he crouched in front of the pair.
Piper felt the beginnings of doubt gnawing at her, from that look on Jason's face, to the way Leo was acting so strangely, not arguing with Thalia or even flirting with her like he normally did. Everything was turning to shit and Piper desperately needed to believe what Frank was saying, but at the same time she didn't want to risk false hope.
The seven were practically falling apart at the seams, the guilt over the fate of their friends and the weight of the world pressing on their shoulders. Piper knew that if things continued the way they were, it wouldn't be long until the damage would be irreparable. They needed their friends back, Piper rubbed her eyes furiously drying the tears on her cheeks as she hiccupped slightly.
"Come on, guys. Time to go meet the gods, and with some luck, Annabeth will be awake." Frank said softly as he held his hand out to help Piper and Hazel to their feet. He was right Piper thought, as she took a few deep breaths. They had a plan, wake up Annabeth and Rescue Percy then Kill Gaea. In that order, all they had to do was make it happen.
She giggled slightly at the insanity of it all before she sighed and took Frank's hand, letting him help her stand up. It was time to meet the Olympians, and Piper Mclean refused to show up looking like a sobbing child. "Alright, let's get this over with so we can check on Annabeth." Piper finished with a small smile as she walked over to Leo, who had yet to move from where he crouched on the floor.
Piper held out her hand and looked at Leo expectantly, it took a moment before he flushed red again and grabbed her outstretched hand, hauling himself to his feet with a mumbled "thanks..". With that, Piper mentally made a note of talking to Leo in private later, but for now they had other responsibilities. "Let's get this over with..." Piper said with a shaky voice and with that she walked forwards and stepped out of the tent into the rainstorm.
Authors Note:
Hey folks, here's another update a little earlier than expected, you will be seeing another one possibly Wednesday and definitely on Friday this week, what can I say I've had some free time. Trying to get past the setup for the story so we can get to the fun part, I know people are dying to find out more about Percy and that Mark he was given by Tartarus, as well as how Annabeth survived.
I promise all will be answered in due time, Two more chapters and its back to some Percy action! Id also like to thank anyone who has reviewed i really appreciate it. This is my first story on fanfiction and I love to get feedback!
As always until next time folks, Enjoy the Chapter!