I love this chapter- in which Jason subtly tries to wingman his new OTP, gets spotted by Percy. Who also considers it an OTP and is very happy.
Also- I think Percy and Jason would be very happy if they were reading the last couple of chapters I wrote. Make of that what you will.
Also, I feel like the hope thing should have amused Percy. For reasons you will see.
Replies:
Undeath9087: You shall have to wait and see. But I promise there shall be pain in the end.
Thickneck: Honestly I don't know, possibly but then again the Labyrinth is not a good place.
ArachnidHiveMind: I'm glad you liked it!
Hazel looked somewhat glum at the reaction, but she nodded, "You're right I guess."
And Reyna cast her eyes around the group, "That's understandable but are there any other ideas?"
"I could go," Frank offered, not sounding very happy about it. "If I'm a praetor, I should go. Maybe we could rig some sort of sled, or—"
"No, Frank Zhang." Reyna gave him a weary smile. "I hope we will work side by side in the future, but for now your place is with the crew of this ship. You are one of the seven of the prophecy."
And Percy's gaze was drawn to Bianca and Jason- she noticed Jason elbowing the daughter of Hades lightly- and Bianca's face- was it Percy or was there a faint blush on her cheeks.
"I- I could do it." And okay- okay Percy did approve of that- and she wished she could high five Jason even if she wasn't entirely sure of his motivations.
"Bianca-" Hazel looked stunned at that.
"I can go with Reyna." Bianca swallowed hard, "I can shadow-travel."
"Are you sure." Nico's voice was gentle, "Not that I doubt you Bia but- I know you don't have as much practise with it as I do-"
"I'm a lot better than I used to be."
"Enough that you can handle transporting a forty-foot statue and two people halfway across the world? I'm not- I really don't doubt you I just- I just-"
"You're worried about me." Bianca finished, "But Nico- you've been down there too. You have to know- it changes you. It- it nearly broke me- nearly drove me insane but I'm a lot better with my shadow travel now. I think- the pit pushes you beyond your natural limits-"
"I-" Nico hesitated before nodding as he glanced at Leo and then Percy. "I can't deny that. I know my skill over shadows is a lot stronger now."
"And I'm pretty sure I can summon up Greek fire now." Leo offered- and Percy could feel a few gazes focusing on her, which she forced herself to ignore- oh she knew exactly how her powers had grown, but she didn't think most people would be happy to hear about that sort of thing- it wasn't pleasant after all.
"We have faith in you." Percy announced, "But- that that doesn't mean it's less dangerous. It's a lot Bianca."
"I know." Bianca nodded, "But I can do it in short jumps- a few hundred miles each time. It's true, after each jump I won't be in any shape to fend off monsters. I'll need Reyna to defend me and the statue.
Reyna had an excellent poker face. She studied the group, scanning their faces, but betraying none of her own thoughts.
"Any objections?"
No one spoke.
"Very well," she said, with the finality of a judge. If she had a gavel, Percy suspected she would have banged it. "I see no better option. But there will be many monster attacks. I would feel better taking a third person. That's the optimal number for a quest."
"Coach Hedge," Frank blurted.
Percy stared at him, not sure she'd heard correctly. "Uh, what, Frank?"
"The coach is the best choice," Frank said. "The only choice. He's a good fighter. He's a certified protector. He'll get the job done."
"A faun," Reyna said.
"Satyr!" barked the coach. "And, yeah, I'll go. Besides, when you get to Camp Half-Blood, you'll need somebody with connections and diplomatic skills to keep the Greeks from attacking you. Just let me go make a call—er, I mean, get my baseball bat."
"Would you mind me joining you?" Calypso asked, tilting her head. "I promised I'd come back to Mellie as soon as I was sure my Leo was safe."
Reyna looked hesitant- but Hedge had a slightly desperate look on his face as he nodded.
"Yeah. Yeah she should come back with us."
And oh... oh Percy had almost forgotten that- Leo had said that she'd stayed behind to care for Hedges pregnant wife hadn't he? Well that explained it- he probably wanted to be with her, and Calypso would want to get back too, now that she knew Leo was okay.
And Hedge was rising, looking very grateful as he jogged towards the ships ladder, tapping his hooves together like an excited kid.
"I-" Bianca took a deep breath, "If I'm going to be shadow travelling I should probably rest too before the first passage if that's okay. It's been a pretty busy day."
"Of course." Reyna nodded- and if Percy hadn't been looking for it she'd have missed that flash of concern in her eyes, the slight softening. "Would sunset be a good time to leave?"
"Yes." Bianca nodded, "Yeah it would." She got to her feet, "I'll go get some sleep."
And Percy watched as she felt- watched Reyna's gaze follow the daughter of Hades before she quickly looked away- and when she saw that Percy was watching her there was a warning look in her eyes, daring her to say a word- she might not fully know her own feelings yet but she knew Percy knew something- of course she did. Percy had been kind of mean when she'd used Bianca against Reyna back at the Fort.
"Is she-" Hazel's voice drew Percy's attention, "Is she okay? She's been... different lately-"
"She's fine." Jason spoke up quickly, maybe a touch too quickly, which Hazel seemed to notice too, her eyes narrowing.
"I wish I knew what happened between you two." she grumbled the words, passing her hand over the ground. Diamonds broke the surface—a glittering milky way of stones. "We're at another crossroads. The Athena Parthenos goes west. The Argo II goes east. I hope we chose correctly."
"We don't have much choice." Percy pointed out, "Not really. Though-" she paused, "I don't like how we're playing into his her hands. If this feast of Spes- or whatever, is in two weeks, and Gaea needs the blood of two demigods to wake—what did Clytius call it? The blood of Olympus?—then aren't we doing exactly what Gaea wants, heading to Athens? If we don't go, and she can't sacrifice any of us, doesn't that mean she can't wake up fully? And for the record as the one who she's very eager to sacrifice, I would just rather not."
Annabeth let out a soft laugh at that, resting her chin on Percy's shoulder, pressing her lips to her cheek. "Come on Seaweed Brain-" she gave a little smile- as if she'd been longing to say that again. "You know how prophecies work. You better than anyone know. You had to play into Kronos' hands to defeat him. If we don't go now we may lose our best and only chance to stop her. Athens is where our battle lies. We can't avoid it. Besides, trying to thwart prophecies never works. Gaea could capture us somewhere else, or spill the blood of some other demigods."
"Don't worry." Rachel added, "If any of them try and hurt you then I'll make sure I have a bunch of blue hairbrushes."
And that made Percy laugh, turning her head so that she could press her face into Rachel's fiery curls. "Titans and Giants who fear no bladed weapon tremble at the might of the Blue Hairbrush of Doom."
"And just for the record." Jason spoke up, "Spes is the goddess of hope-"
"Wait-" Percy blinked, "So- Gaea's planning on rising on a day dedicated to hope?"
"Yeah, she wants to destroy all hope." Hazel told them.
And Percy swallowed hard, lips twitching sightly- and-"
"Don't." Thalia was trying not to laugh too. "Don't say it-"
"Sounds like mommy and son have some things in common." Percy declared- which made Leo start to laugh too.
"Oh gods yeah, I forgot about that-"
"How could you forget." Luke shook his head, "It was all very dramatic at the time."
"Uh- what?" Jason frowned, "What happened?"
"Well." Percy declared, "During the Battle of Manhattan Kronos sent Prometheus to try and convince me to hand myself over. He gave me a gift. Pandora's Pithos. Told me to release hope when I was ready to end the fighting. I gave it to Hestia in the end for her to guard. So the fact that Gaea's also trying to attack on something to do with hope- well it sounds kinda like mommy's taken a page out of her favorite sons book. Shame he's too dead to appreciate it. And you know what? I don't think anyone can take hope from us. So try as much as she wants she's not going to win."
And Percy noticed that the others all seemed to straighten up- perking up somewhat at that- and Piper summoned up some more food for them.
Percy did notice Leo and Calypso slipping away, she couldn't blame them for that, Leo would want a private goodbye with her.
And Percy could see Will and Nico talking quietly a short distance away, Will had done all he could for Percy- she would hopefully be able to walk come morning, until then she'd need to be carried around.
It was Rachel who noticed the way Percy was drooping slightly- she was exhausted- her brief black out upon arrival back to the land of the living had done nothing to erase the bone deep weariness she was feeling.
And when Rachel quietly suggested that the three of them go to Percy's rooms so that she could get some sleep- and get changed Percy agreed- though she did have one request before she wanted to do that- which was why Annabeth moved quickly, talking quietly to Jason- who looked somewhat confused as he headed towards Percy- and Rachel headed to tell Luke that they'd be heading inside for an hour or so- so Percy could have a nice quiet little chat with Jason, who sat down next to her.
She did appreciate that- it would have been awkward if he'd stayed standing.
"Hey Percy. Annabeth said you wanted to talk to me?" His voice was curious, and Percy crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowing as she looked at him carefully- gaze flicking around before- "Okay. What's your game Grace?"
"What?" Jason blinked, a confused look on his face, "What do you mean, what's my game?"
"You told Bianca to offer to go." Percy declared, "I was watching.
"I-" Jason opened his mouth as if to deny it before his mouth snapped shut and he shifted nervously, "I just thought it made the most sense."
"Uh huh." Percy eyed him suspiciously, "Sure you did. Technically Nico would be the better choice-"
"I mean- Nico's never going to agree to leave you and Leo right? He keeps glancing over at you two as if he's afraid you'll disappear."
"... You have a point there but I saw that look on your face Jason Grace and you're up to something. I saw the looks you were shooting between Bianca and Reyna so spill it."
"There's nothing."
"Hmmmm." Percy frowned, "It's Bianca. Something to do with her." She decided, "She's the one you elbowed and Hazel said something about things changing with you two. Something happened and now you and Bianca have some weird bond and-" her eyes widened, a grin spreading across her lips. "Bianca likes Reyna." she breathed out- and Jason looked horrified.
"Percy I swore to her I wouldn't tell anyone- she's- she's got a lot of issues with her feelings I-"
"No no no-" Percy gushed, "This is perfect- oh this could be amazing- Reyna likes Bianca too-"
"You ca-" Jason paused, "What?"
"She's got feelings for Bianca." Percy grinned at Jason, "Y'know, you and I could be a great pair of matchmakers- give you a bit of practise and you could maybe be on my level-"
"Wait Reyna's never-"
"Oh I don't even know if she realises." Percy declared. "But what I do know, is that whenever Bianca's around Reyna stares at her- she worries about her, she softens a little. She likes Bianca."
"That-" Jason paused, "So them being together on this mission for as long as it'll take them to get to camp-" there was a slow smile forming on his lips and Percy grinned.
"Uh huh. I think this could work out very, very nicely." she reached out her hand, "Are we in agreement that if they're not together by the time we see them again we pull some matchmakery stunts."
"I-" Jason hesitated before he took her hand and shook. "I can agree to that."
