Hey guys, no P&P update today, but there's one coming tomorrow. Instead I'm starting this new series of one shots that's going to be for all the missing/random moments from the HOO series, most of them will be from BOO. This particular oneshot is probably way longer than most, if not all, of the others will be.
R&R plz
This one shot takes place between the lost hero and the mark of Athena.
I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Rick does.
Jason hated dreams when they were about him, but he hated them more when they were about someone else, especially someone he didn't know… well, not really anyways. He saw a vision of a field, one that he thought he recognized. The Field of Mars. But something was different than from what he thought he remembered, because this field had a face – the face of a woman.
There was another figure in the field too. A boy, around the same age as Jason, maybe a year older. He had dark wind-swept hair, and he wore a tattered orange t-shirt, as he held a glinting celestial bronze sword in his hand. Jason could just faintly make out the word that was scrawled across the blade – Anaklusmos. Jason didn't understand Greek as naturally as he did Latin, but he had gained a basic comprehension of it in his time at Camp Half-Blood… plus, he had heard the stories. He knew what it was; Riptide, the blade that once belonged to his own brother Hercules, and now belonged to none other than Percy Jackson, aka Captain Saltwater and Mr. Rule Flouter extraordinaire as he was commonly known… also beloved boyfriend of one crazy, grey-eyed daughter of Athena.
The woman whose face appeared in the field began to speak; Jason didn't know how he knew it was her, since her eyes and mouth did not move, but he knew somehow.
So this is the demigod who destroyed my son Kronos. You don't look like much, Percy Jackson, but you're valuable to me.
It looked like the lady in the field had more to say, but then the dream seemed to go fuzzy and skip around. It was like Jason was watching a video on fast-forward, as blurred images flew by, until finally, it settled on another more haunting scene. It was a vision of Camp Jupiter, at least, Jason thought it was. There were skeletons littering the ground that were draped in Roman armor, tattered purple robes, and imperial gold weapons laying at their sides. There was a darkness seeping through the street, and with the darkness, came a deep, bellowing voice.
This will be fun, son of Neptune. It's been eons since I broke a demigod of your caliber. I await you atop the ice.
Then the scene shifted again, and Jason no longer found himself staring at a field or a street of Camp Jupiter. Instead, he was in a hallway, a dimly lit hallway, and he didn't appear to be moving anywhere, despite trying to. He heard some mumbling coming from the room at the end of the hallway, and what sounded like a group of men laughing, and beer bottles clinking. He also heard what he assumed to be the front door opening, and then the voices got quiet.
"So, you're home?" A raspy, oily voice broke the silence.
"Where's my mom?" Another voice asked; it sounded like it belonged to a young boy, who hadn't even hit puberty yet.
"Working," the raspy voice replied, "You got any cash?"
There was a short pause, and then finally the other voice said, "I don't have any cash."
"You took a taxi from the bus station," raspy guy replied "Probably paid with a twenty. Got six, seven bucks in change. Somebody expects to live under this roof, he ought to carry his own weight. Am I right, Eddie?"
"Come on, Gabe. The kid just got here." It seemed whoever this Eddie was, he had a least a little bit of sympathy for the young boy.
This didn't deter the man who had obviously smoked too many cigarettes. "Am I right?!" the man said, more intently.
There was a long pause, and then the sound of pockets being ruffled and loose change bouncing around. "Fine," came the young voice, "I hope you lose." The sound of cash being slammed down on a table reverberated through the hallway, and then Jason caught a glimpse of a young boy with familiar dark hair storming up the stairs, into a bedroom, and slamming the door.
The vision began to fade into darkness, but not before Jason heard another voice. It was sweet and melodic, and filled Jason with a warm fuzzy feeling, different than the way Piper's voice did. This one didn't make him feel butterflies, instead it made him feel calm, and peaceful. He figured if chocolate chip cookies made a sound, it would sound a lot like this voice; this woman's voice, that only spoke one word.
"Percy?"
…
Jason woke up in a sweltering heave, his body covered in a layer of perspiration, and his fists clenched tightly. He peeked out the window of Cabin 1; the sun was rising just above the lake, and he could already hear the sounds of the camp beginning to stir. Mainly, he heard the sounds of Katie Gardiner cursing the Stoll brothers as she tried to remove the literal rat's nest from her hair.
Jason threw his blanket off of him, and went to rinse his face in the sink. Images from his dream still flashed in his mind, and he didn't know what to make of them. The best he could tell, the woman in the field was the earth itself – Gaea. But he didn't know who the other voice was, the one that came from the darkness. And he certainly didn't know who the kind, melodic voice belonged to, but he most definitely wanted to find out. Jason figured he should tell someone about what he saw and heard, though he didn't exactly know how to go about doing that. Obviously, he figured he should tell Annabeth, seeing as the dream had something to do with her missing boyfriend. Though he wasn't sure how she would take it, since it was kind of an ominous dream, and Jason didn't want Annabeth beating up on him anymore. He still felt the jabs from training two weeks ago.
Jason decided he would talk to Piper about it first, since she was somewhat close with Annabeth, and would probably know the best course of action to take. But first, Jason thought, breakfast. What can he say? He may be a demigod son of Zeus… or Jupiter or whatever, but he's still a teenage boy.
….
Breakfast was almost an excruciatingly uneasy time, as Jason was anxious to talk to Piper about his dream, but he was also starving, and some things come first before talking. After breakfast, he had a training session, and he knew Piper would be there too, so he figured he could catch her then. The session was being led by Clarisse, which didn't exactly excite Jason, as the daughter of Ares still hadn't exactly warmed up to him just yet. Clarisse liked Piper somewhat; she sometimes talked about about how the girl reminded her of another head counselor of the Aphrodite cabin.
Sure enough, Jason, the lone resident of Cabin 1, was paired with the Aphrodite cabin for the morning's training session. He caught a glimpse of Piper, who was surrounded by her siblings, and she met his gaze, giving him a playful smirk. Jason knew what meant; it's about to get competitive. Jason's spars with his girlfriend were not exactly a crowd-drawing event, unlike when Jason went up against Annabeth, or Clarisse. Piper wasn't exactly considered deadly when compared to the daughters of the battle strategy and war, but she was getting better with each passing day. The blonde boy decided he should enjoy these moments where he didn't yet have to worry about his girlfriend being able to completely kick his ass at any moment. Jason wondered if a certain son of Poseidon got his ass handed to him on a daily basis by his girlfriend.
"Alright you pansies, partner up!" Clarisse had entered the training arena.
Piper strutted over to Jason, her kaleidoscope eyes dancing with mischief, and her choppy hair swaying back and forth like prairie grass.
"Ready to lose again, Sparky?"
Jason snorted, "That was one time, Pipes, and I'm pretty sure you cheated."
His girlfriend feigned innocence, "Me? Cheating? I don't see how that's possible?"
"Charmspeaking me into standing still for a second longer… sounds like cheating to me."
Piper rolled her eyes, "Maybe you should learn to be more resistant to such tactics, huh? Besides, I gotta use what I have. Not all of us can be battle-hardened sons of Zeus."
Jason no longer even bothered to correct people when they called him a son of Zeus, it didn't matter to him anymore. To him, they were one and the same, a figure he had never met, and someone he would never be able to have a conversation with.
"Alright, start sparring!" Clarisse barked out the order, and the sounds of bronze on bronze began to reverberate throughout the arena.
"Well, shall we?" Piper said, twirling her dagger.
Jason smiled, as he pulled his coin from his pocket, and flipped it into the air. The coin transformed into a gleaming imperial gold gladius, and as he caught it, he spread his arms in the universal come and get it pose. Piper rolled her eyes, muttered something about "show off", and then charged.
Jason slashed his gladius in a wide arc, and Piper ducked under it, before rolling to his left, and then jabbing at his side. Jason was quick though, and he recovered in time to intercept the dagger, and deflect the blow. They exchanged several thrusts and parries, as Jason worked to keep the brunette girl in front of him, while she worked to get in his blind spot, searching for a weak point.
At one point, Jason took a risk, and allowed himself to get closer, which generally works in the favor of the person with the dagger. Jason usually worked at keeping Piper at a distance to where she didn't have enough reach, but now, he was right in her target range, and she gave a quick swipe at his chest. Jason ducked just in time, and caught her knife on his blade as she swung back. What he didn't expect though, was for her to perform an extremely complicated disarming maneuver, and for his gladius to go toppling to the ground.
"Well done, Mclean!" He heard Clarisse call out, as Piper leveled her dagger down at his chest.
"Huh, I didn't even have to cheat," she remarked casually, causing Jason to roll his eyes, but he let a soft grin form on his face afterwards.
"Not bad, Mclean. When did you learn that?"
"Yesterday… Annabeth taught it to me."
Jason nodded, because of course Annabeth did. That girl was deadlier with a knife than Travis Stoll was with a bucket of turpentine and a match. Jason then remembered that he had something he needed to discuss, and he needed to discuss it now.
"Speaking of Annabeth," he said abruptly, and Piper raised her eyebrows, her knife still pointing at Jason's chest. "I had a dream."
Piper gave him a puzzled look, "You had a dream…. About Annabeth?"
Jason's face turned red at the implication, and he began to stutter. "Uh… no, that's not what I… That's not what happened!"
Piper's eyes narrowed, and she pressed her knife even more into her boyfriend's chest, so that the tip was almost piercing through his shirt completely. "So what was this dream about then?"
Jason wanted to take a deep breath, but he was afraid the expansion on his chest might cause him to get skewered on Piper's dagger. So he just quickly blurted out two words.
"Percy Jackson."
Piper's eyes widened a little bit, and she allowed her dagger to drop just a hair, allowing Jason to breathe freely. "You-you had a dream about Percy Jackson? Annabeth's boyfriend?"
The blonde boy nodded furiously, and then Piper got a quizzical look on her face. "Have you told Annabeth yet?" Piper almost flipped when Jason shook his head, and looking back on it now, he could understand why. "You had a dream about the guy who has been missing for months, with no sign or trace of him to be found. The guy who just so happens to be one of the leaders of this camp, if not the leader, and above all; the guy who just so happens to be dating the most dangerous girl we have ever met… and you haven't told her about it?!"
Jason was thankful that they had some distance between them and the rest of the campers who were training, as he would prefer if no one else found out about his lapse in judgement. Piper's dagger was now under his chin, and he could feel the cold metal all the way down to his Adams apple.
"Guess we better go tell her then," was all Jason could get out. Piper glared at him for a minute, before releasing his chin, and sheathing her dagger.
"We'll go find her after lunch, but you are going to do the talking, and don't expect me to defend you from her if she reacts the way I expect her to."
….
Now that Jason thought about it, he hadn't seen Annabeth all day. It's not like he saw her often; she was usually helping out at Bunker 9 with the construction of the Argo II, or in her cabin looking over maps and plans. Sometimes, she could be spotted in the training arena, hacking on dummies, or walking in and out of Cabin 3. Either way, Jason normally only saw her maybe once or twice a day, usually when she was walking between locations, or blowing off steam in the arena. But he had yet to see her at all today, and it was already past lunch, so he had no idea where she was.
Him and Piper were making their way across the camp, checking each location where she could normally be found. They had already checked the training arena, and it was practically empty, save for a few Ares kids tossing spears at dummies. The Athena cabin was void of any Annabeths as well, and her brother Malcolm said he had not seen her all morning. They were on their way to check Bunker 9, when they bumped into Leo of all people.
"Leo!" Piper wrapped the Latino boy in a tight hug; it had been a few days since either of them had seen their friend, since he was always super busy with the construction of his warship.
"Hey there, beauty queen," Leo said, as Piper finally let him go. Jason walked over and gave him a fist bump, like true bros do.
"What are you doing out of Bunker 9, Leo?" Jason asked, "Shouldn't you be working on your ship?"
Leo just shrugged casually, "Can't do anything else right now, still waiting on Nyssa to get back from the hardware store with the fuses I need. Until then, I figured I could use a break, and some time with my friends wouldn't hurt."
Jason and Piper both smiled at the thought of getting to spend some time with their closest friend.
"That's great Leo," Piper chimed in, "It's been a while since we hung out. We're actually going to check and see if Annabeth's in the bunker."
"Annabeth?" Leo said perplexed, "I just came from the bunker; she's not there. She left when we weren't able to continue any work, since we're waiting on those fuses. She seemed to be pretty frustrated about the whole thing."
Jason grimaced; the last thing he needed was a stressed out, pissed off Annabeth. He could understand why she was upset though, what with the ship that was meant to help her find her boyfriend being at a standstill in construction and all.
"So if she's not at the bunker," Piper wondered out loud, "Then she must be-"
"In Percy's cabin," Jason finished for her.
Leo had a grim look on his face, but he donned a perky smile, before saying "Sweet, let's go find her. And on the way, you can tell me exactly why we're going to disturb the only girl I have ever dared not to flirt with."
…
Sometimes Jason wished he could be a son of Poseidon, instead of a son of the king of the gods. Cabin 3 just seemed a bit more… welcoming, and a lot less intimidating to be in. There had been no answer when he had knocked on the door, so the three of them had let themselves in, hoping they didn't get impaled by a flying dagger for doing so. Immediately, Jason was hit with the scent of saltwater and the ocean, which he didn't mind nearly as much as Leo.
"Hephaestus' underpants," Leo gagged, "I feel like a saltine cracker that's been submerged in an Epsom bath."
They scanned the room, hoping to catch sight of a mess of blonde curls. As Jason glanced around the room, he noted a couple strange objects that sat next to one particular bunk. There was a shield, that reminded Jason a lot of his sister, Thalia's, shield, Aegis. It had some scenes that were emblazoned on it, and Jason was actually able to recognize some of them. He had heard a few stories about Percy and Annabeth's trip to the Sea of Monsters, and it appeared that a few of those stories had been captured right here, on this shield.
There was also what looked to be a horn, and not just any horn, the horn of a minotaur. That object needed no explaining to Jason. There were a few pictures hanging on the wall, but Jason didn't feel comfortable imposing on this guy's privacy like that. He knew that this must have been Percy's bunk, and by the looks of it, if you didn't know better, you wouldn't think its owner was missing. The sheets were crumpled, and the blankets a bit off, as though it had been used recently, and then fixed rather hastily.
"She's not here," Jason announced to Piper and Leo, "This is his bunk. If she was here- "
"Well then where is she?" Leo emerged from the other side of the cabin, interrupting him as he did so.
"There's no other spot I can think of," Piper ran her hands through her hair as she stood near the door, "This was last place I figured she would possibly be. It where she normally goes when she's upset or stressed."
Jason took another scan around the room, looking for any signs that Annabeth had been there recently, but there were none, other than the bunk. He breathed in deeply, inhaling the smell of the beach, and stood up slowly. Then his eyes widened.
The beach.
He sprinted to the door and threw it open, grabbing Piper by the hand and dragging her out of the cabin, with Leo trailing closely behind them.
"Jason, what on earth- "Piper complained, as her boyfriend drug her by her wrist in the direction of the fireworks beach.
"I know where she is," Jason replied.
…
They spotted the girl, as they crested a dune, standing shin-deep in water, her gaze pointed directly away from them, out at the open ocean. As the trio drew closer, Jason couldn't help but notice the way the water seemed to swirl around her legs, like it was happy to see her. He wasn't sure if he was just seeing things, or if the water was actually appearing to embrace her presence.
Jason may have been a Roman demigod originally, but he had spent enough time at Camp Half-blood now to know the basic ins and outs of the Greek Olympians. And one of the first, and most important things he learned, was that no two Olympians hated each other more than Poseidon and Athena. The feud between those two was in every sense of the word, a rivalry, and one that had not been bridged ever since it had begun ages ago. Children of Athena and Poseidon hated each other, and always had, and it was assumed they always would.
Annabeth Chase was supposed to have been no different; she was after all, said to be her mother's favorite. But Percy Jackson had been the exception apparently. It only took one quest, and despite Annabeth's best efforts, she allowed herself to grow close to the son of Poseidon. And then of course, there were the things that happened over the course of the next three years. Most notably, Percy taking the sky from Artemis in his quest to save Annabeth, she then taking a knife for him at the battle of Manhattan, and then finally, Percy giving up immortality for her.
Stuff like that was not supposed to happen for a daughter of Athena and a son of Poseidon. They were supposed to be the practically enemies, nothing more than rivals who detested each other. And yet, here they were, the strongest pair of demigods this camp had probably ever seen. And they were strongest when they were together, almost like a 'second chariot'. Jason applauded himself for that analogy.
From what he had been told, Athena still was not a fan of Percy Jackson, but her favorite daughter was very fond of him, and so Athena allowed him to continue breathing. Annabeth's siblings were not his besties to be sure, but they respected him as the leader of the camp, and it's not like they could doubt their head counselor's judgement. Malcolm was probably the closest with Percy out of any Athena camper besides Annabeth, but he apparently was always trying to pull the 'overprotective brother' card, which is hard to do when your sister's boyfriend is the savior of Olympus… and invincible.
All of this to say, Jason was quite sure you would ever find another daughter of Athena who could step into the ocean, and have it be friendly to her. He hated to have to ruin Annabeth's moment, but he figured she would forgive him once she heard what he had to say. He cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention.
The blonde girl straightened at the sound, and then turned her head slowly, until she was looking at them, her face expressionless.
"We have something we need to tell you," Jason said calmly.
Piper stuck her elbow in his side, and Jason grunted. "I… I have something I need to tell you."
"Did you finally remember where your camp is?" Annabeth asked, her face now turned back to look towards the open water.
"No," Jason replied bleakly.
"Then I don't think there's anything to discuss." Her tone was cold, and also solemn.
"I had a dream, Annabeth."
"Then tell Chiron about it." Jason could tell she was getting impatient, and he was not trying to get on her bad side at this juncture.
"It's about Percy."
He saw Annabeth's body tense, and then she slowly turned her head around, her body followed a bit, so that she was standing at somewhat of an angle, not facing them or the water, but directly down the beach. Annabeth was silent for a minute, as she studied them, her grey eyes swirling like storm clouds.
"So," She finally spoke, "I'm assuming Piper has already scolded you for not telling me about this immediately?"
Jason felt his breath hitch, Gods, she's good he thought, before eventually nodding in confirmation.
"Good," Annabeth said, and then she took one last glance out at the water, before turning and walking out of the surf. She grabbed her shoes off of the sand, and made her way up the beach towards them, her feet still completely bare. As she approached Jason, she put on her most menacing glare, and got uncomfortably close to him. "Next time, you find me first, got it?" She threatened.
Jason nodded, as he tried not to whither under her gaze. The look reminded him of someone from back at Camp Jupiter. A girl, who was a lot like Annabeth in many ways. Reyna was her name, and though he was fairly sure he didn't ever have any romantic feelings for her, he knew that they had been pretty close. And he also could faintly remember some of the glares that she had given him, which he had gotten pretty used to over the years.
But Annabeth's glare was something else, and it mostly had to do with her eyes. Jason wanted to know how this Jackson guy ever got anything his way.
Annabeth pushed on past the trio, gesturing for them to follow as she went, "Come on, let's head to the big house. Chiron should hear this too."
…..
As Jason recounted the events of his dream, he made sure to keep an eye on Annabeth, to gauge her reaction. Her face remained pretty much the same expressionless face throughout, but her eyes told a different story. At the beginning when Jason spoke of the woman in the field speaking to Percy, her eyes were stormy and calculating, like she was thinking the same things Jason had when he first experienced the dream. At the mention of the destruction of Camp Jupiter, and the voice coming from the darkness, her eyes became wide with concern, like she figured Percy was in danger.
The strangest part though, was when Jason talked about what he had heard from the hallway, because that vision had not seemed like a glimpse into the present or future. It felt more like a flashback, like he had gotten to experience a memory from someone else. Annabeth's eyes all but confirmed this, as he saw the bewilderment, confusion, and pain that expressed itself in her stormy orbs.
Once he finished, the room was silent for a solid two minutes. Chiron was in centaur form, and he was pacing his horsey self back and forth in front of the ping-pong table, his hand running through his beard.
"I think we can all agree on who the face in the field was, correct?" Chiron asked, though his question didn't seem to be pointed so much at Jason, or anyone else, as it was at Annabeth. She just nodded in reply, and they left it at that.
"And the voice in the darkness?" Chiron continued, and this time he seemed to be asking everyone, and by everyone, that meant Annabeth, Jason, Piper, and Leo.
"He said he awaits Percy atop the ice," Leo chimed in, "So whatever he is, he's somewhere cold, right?"
"There could also be a hidden meaning behind that," Piper noted, "Like how prophecies are sometimes."
"Either way, it's not much but it's something," Chiron replied, "But until we have more to go on, there's not much we can do."
The entire room nodded their agreement, except for Annabeth; she still hadn't moved.
"But wait," Jason interjected, "What about the last part of the dream when I was in the hallway? What was that all about?"
Chiron had a solemn look on his face, as he stared at the table in front of him. He appeared to be deep in thought, until he looked back up at the head Athena counselor.
"Annabeth?" was all he said, making it sound like he was waiting for her to do something.
The blonde girl didn't say anything for a moment, until she shifted in her seat, and looked back up at the centaur. "Can I take the evening off?"
Chiron did not seem to be caught off guard or surprised by this. In fact, he looked like he had been expecting it. "Of course, my dear. It's not like you'd listen to me anyways if I'd told you no." Annabeth just shrugged at this.
The centaur then turned to Jason and the others, "You three go on about the rest of your day as scheduled; we will discuss this more later tonight after dinner."
Jason was beginning to feel really disappointed, and also a little peeved, about the lack of exposition being done in regards to the last part of his dream. Annabeth was about to run off to gods knows where, while he, Piper, and Leo had to go on about their day like nothing had ever happened. Jason knows Annabeth is kind of the unspoken leader of the camp, answering only to Chiron (and even then, only sometimes), but this is his dream, and he feels like he should get some clarity on whatever he possibly can. Jason was about to express these feelings, but Annabeth beat him to the punch with her own statement.
"Actually," she began, causing the centaur to pause, "I would like for them to come with me." Annabeth gestured to the trio as she said this, and Jason saw that now, Chiron had been caught off guard.
"Really, Annabeth?" the centaur replied, his voice indicating how puzzled he was.
The daughter of Athena nodded, and Chiron, appearing to think about it for second, eventually nodded too. "Very well, then. Jason, Piper, Leo," He pointed at each of them. "You go with Annabeth today."
…..
This would be the first time Jason had been outside of camp since he had gotten back from his quest. It was also Piper and Leo's first time as well for that matter. Needless to say they were excited. Annabeth had told them to meet her down at the Pegasus stables in half an hour, while she went to change and grab some things. That was half an hour ago, and the trio were now making their way down to the stables, with a little bit more of a spring in their step.
Annabeth was already there when they arrived, and she was currently feeding what looked an awful lot like a donut to a sleek black Pegasus. She gave a soft smile to the three demigods as they entered the stables, and then turned back to the winged horse. Jason have spent a bit of time in the Pegasus stables, but he didn't seem to recall ever seeing this particular pegasus at any point.
As if reading his mind, Annabeth gestured with her head to the winged horse. "This is Blackjack, he was… is Percy's pegasus."
"I've never seen him before in the stables," Piper noted.
Annabeth nodded in response, "He typically only lets Percy ride him, or whoever Percy asks him to carry. Ever since Percy went missing though… I've been his closest friend. He lets me hop on every other week or so, and you can bribe him with donuts pretty easily."
"I'm sorry," Leo interjected, his face contorted into a baffled look, "Did you say donuts?"
Annabeth chuckled, something Jason hadn't heard her do very often since he arrived. "Yeah," She said matter-of-factly, "Percy says Blackjack is always asking for them."
"Okay, I'm confused. Does he like… talk to Blackjack or something?" Leo was obviously having trouble getting what Jason had understood a while ago.
"Poseidon created horses, Leo," Jason reminded his friend.
"Ooh… ah."
Annabeth nodded at Jason's words, as if to confirm what he had said. "Yeah, Percy can talk to not just sea creatures, but horses as well. It's an… unusual talent, to be sure. He gets really upset when the seahorses in Poseidon's temple up on Olympus try to flirt with me."
The way she said the word Olympus so casually, Jason wondered if Annabeth makes frequent visits there, to the point where it's not a big deal to her at all. Then he remembered, oh yeah, she's the official architect for the freaking place, duh.
Annabeth pointed to a couple pegasi in the other stalls, "I'll ride on Blackjack; you guys can grab Guido and Porkpie."
As Jason moved to one of the indicated stalls, he asked Annabeth, "So where exactly are we going?"
She just smiled softly as she swung up onto her black steed, "New York City; to visit someone special."
…
Jason really wished he could talk to horses now; maybe then he would be able to figure out why Guido kept doing random dives before surging back up to level out with Blackjack and Porkpie. Piper wasn't a fan of the ride either, as she kept her arms tightly wrapped around Jason's waist. Leo didn't seem to mind, but he had gotten used to riding a large mechanical dragon, so at this point, a pegasus wasn't going to bother him much, even if it wasn't a machine. They trailed behind Annabeth and Blackjack, as they soared over the New York City skyline. Jason wondered exactly what the mortals saw; did the mist make them look like large crows or pigeons?
It wasn't long before Annabeth looked back at them, and then pointed down. Jason wasn't sure what she meant by this, but he found out soon enough when Blackjack went into a virtual nosedive, with Guido and Porkpie following immediately after. Jason decided he would prefer flying by his own methods from now on. They soon leveled out again, and he saw where they were headed towards, an apartment building.
The three pegasi landed on top of the building, and all of the riders dismounted. Piper was a little wobbly on her knees, and even Leo looked a little green.
"Do you think, Annabeth, that we can possibly make that trip a little less exciting next time?" Leo held his hand over his mouth, like he was afraid he was going to throw up at any moment.
"Take it up with Blackjack," was all Annabeth said, before she made her way to the stair entrance.
"Oh well alright then," Leo said sarcastically, "Let me pull out my horse dictionary."
…..
As they followed Annabeth down the stairs, Jason began to feel a tingling sensation in his arms, and in his legs as well. It wasn't the kind of feeling he would get when he sensed monsters or anything dangerous; it was like a he knew something was about to happen, but it was a good sort of something. Eventually, Annabeth quit descending the stairs, and decided on a floor, with the other three following closely, albeit a bit hesitantly, behind.
She stopped in front of a door, and then looked behind her to make sure her companions were still there, before she turned and knocked on the door softly. Jason was a bit surprised when she immediately went to open the door after knocking, instead of waiting for someone to answer.
"Sally," Annabeth called into the apartment as she walked in, and then she turned and gestured for the Jason and the others to follow. Jason stepped into a small hallway, different than the one from his dream, so he ruled out the prediction that this was going to be the same apartment. The walls were a soft blue color, instead of being covered with tattered orange wallpaper, and the overall feeling of the place was welcoming, unlike the apartment from his dream. Suddenly, a voice called out from a room on the other side of the apartment.
"Annabeth? Have you heard anymore news?"
Jason froze. He recognized the voice as the one from his dream, not the one from the lady in the field, or the voice in the darkness. It was the voice that came at the end of his dream; the kindly sweet and melodic voice that gave him a warm feeling inside. And despite his shock, it still gave him that same feeling even now.
He was brought out of his shock by Piper bumping into him from behind, and then shoving him forward somewhat playfully. He continued to follow Annabeth down the hallway, and into what looked like a living room, furnished pleasantly with a couch, some chairs, and a coffee table in the middle.
"Not exactly," Annabeth replied to the voice, "But I might have something you'll want to hear." With this, she turned to glance at Jason, giving him a knowing look.
"Alrighty then," came the voice from the opposite room, "I'll be right out."
Jason took this opportunity to take a closer look about the room, and apartment in general. Off to the side was the kitchen, and it looked like it had been used recently, as there were baking utensils and ingredients all over one of the counters.
"Oh my word," Leo said softly, "What is that heavenly smell?"
Jason could smell it too now, and he figured that this must be what Elysium smelled like. He saw Annabeth's lips curve up a bit, as she also took in the scent.
"Sally makes the best chocolate chip cookies," the blonde girl said.
Jason continued to scan the room, and his gaze eventually fell onto the pictures that were lining the wall, and he stepped closer to get a better look. The first picture was of a young boy, that looked an awful lot like the boy from Jason's dream, though he couldn't be completely sure, since he had only seen the back of that boy's head. This boy in the picture seemed a bit younger, but he had the same wild, black hair, and he was giving a big toothy grin as a cake sat in front of him, nine candles burning brightly. There were several pictures like that; it seemed to be a tradition to replicate that picture on his birthday every year, and Jason couldn't help but notice that the cake was always blue for some reason.
There were some other pictures, of the same boy, but there was another person as well. A pretty woman was always with him, holding his hand, hugging him from behind, or giving him a big kiss on the cheek. You could see in her eyes that there was nothing in this world she cared about more than this young boy, which could only mean one thing. She was his mother.
Jason had already begun to piece together who this boy might be, but his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the picture that was placed in the center of the mantle. In the picture, Jason saw what he assumed to be the same boy, a few years older, standing with his hands in his pockets, his face turned slightly towards the camera, and a soft smile on his face. But that wasn't what tipped Jason off about who this guy was. instead, it was the girl with long blonde curls, who stood directly in front of the boy, and had her hands placed on either side of his chest, right below his shoulders. Her eyes were closed, and she was kissing the guy's cheek, which was the reason his face was turned towards the camera a little bit.
Jason immediately recognized her as Annabeth, despite the fact that this girl in the picture looked way happier than he had ever seen her in person. So this is Percy Jackson, Jason said to himself. He then took notice of the boy's eyes; huh, he thought, so that's how he gets his way sometimes. Not many people could refuse those sea-green eyes, he figured, not even Annabeth.
So if this is Percy Jackson's apartment, then that must mean that the voice belongs to-
"Well, this is a surprise."
Jason whirled around to see the owner of the voice walking out of the room on the side of the apartment. She was indeed the same woman from the pictures, albeit a little bit older, but she still had the same loving look in her face as she did in the photos. Her long brown hair was ruffled a bit, and she still had a smudge of flour on her cheek, but it only made her look even more friendly and kind, if that was possible.
Annabeth was giving her a bright smile, almost matching the one Jason saw in the picture earlier, and he thought she looked a lot nicer when she was smiling, less threatening overall, though he wouldn't dare say that to her out loud.
Annabeth walked over and gave the woman a gentle hug, and Jason now saw that the lady was beginning to show a little bit. "How's the baby?" Annabeth asked.
"Doing well, I think," the woman, who Jason now presumed to be Sally, ran her hands over her belly.
"That's great to hear," Annabeth replied, before she turned and gestured towards the others, specifically in the direction of Jason. "There's some people you should meet."
Sally Jackson… or Blofis, as Jason soon discovered, was the absolute nicest lady he had ever met. The kind woman had demanded that all of them don't call her 'Mrs. Blofis', but just 'Sally' would do. She brought out a tray of chocolate chip cookies fresh from the oven, and even though they were blue for some reason, it didn't stop any of the demigod visitors from scarfing down as many as they could fit in their mouths. As they ate, Jason and Piper told their story of how they found out they were demigods; Leo was too busy eating to bother saying anything. They also told her about the quest that they undertook to save Hera. It seemed Sally already knew about how Jason had been switched with Percy; Annabeth probably already filled her in on all of that.
Jason was a little nervous that Sally was going to hold a grudge against him, since he was the one who essentially 'replaced' her son. But she showed no signs of impropriety towards him; in fact, she regarded him with a fascination of sorts.
"You know, Jason," Sally said with a kindly smile, "As hard as this may be to believe, you actually remind me of my son in a lot of ways."
Jason wasn't sure how he felt about that. It seemed like it would be a compliment to be compared to the savior of Olympus, but from the things he had heard about Percy Jackson, it sounded like the dude was practically the exact opposite of Jason. Reckless, flying by the seat of his pants, stubborn, and willing to sacrifice the world for someone he loved; those were Percy Jackson attributes, and completely contrasting to everything Jason had been taught to be as a Roman. Annabeth seemed to be thinking along the same lines, as she gave him a look that showed she was deep in thought, and analyzing what Sally had said.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean," Jason told the woman who sat on the couch with Annabeth.
"I know it can be hard to see," Sally remarked, "What with your personalities being so different and all. But you and Percy have a lot more in common than you think; you're both extremely loyal, Percy's fatal flaw is loyalty actually, and you're a Roman, so it only makes sense that you'd be loyal. And you're both leaders, though you may have different ways of going about leading, you both always do what is best for others, completely disregarding yourselves sometimes."
Annabeth's face began to take on a look of understanding when Sally mentioned the last part, as her mouth formed into a small oh shape.
"And," Sally continued, "You and Percy would sacrifice just about anything to protect those you cared about. I know that may seem very un-Roman of you, but even all that training can't change the kind of person you really are, and from what I've been told, I think you are that kind of person."
Jason felt Piper grab his hand and give it a small squeeze, as if to say she's right, you know? Then Jason heard his girlfriend speak, "Percy is incredibly lucky to have you, Mrs. Blo… Sally. It's obvious he cares about you quite a lot."
Sally nodded, and Jason thought he could see the beginnings of tears in her eyes.
"We used to only have each other; you know?" Sally replied, "He was my whole world for so long, and I was his. I was the only one he ever worried about protecting…" Sally sniffled a little bit, then turned to look at the blonde girl beside her on the couch. "Well, that is until he met this girl." Sally grabbed Annabeth's hand, and everyone could see the blush that had appeared on the blonde girl's cheeks.
There was a slightly awkward silence for a minute, until Annabeth cleared her throat, "Um, Sally… Jason here," she gestured towards the boy, "Has something to tell you about."
Jason had almost completely forgotten about the real reason Annabeth had brought him… at least, he assumed it was the reason she allowed them to come with her. Sally was now looking at him, and Jason didn't think he could bring himself to talk about the first parts of his dream; it seemed to him that the last part was the only part that mattered here. Hopefully, Annabeth would understand, and be okay with that.
Jason scooted forward a bit, until he was on the edge of his seat, and placed his arms across his knees. "I had a dream," Jason began, "About your son."
Jason only told her about what he had seen and heard in the hallway, and the whole time he spoke, Sally's face grew more pained and distorted. She flinched like she had been hit in the face at the mention of the name Gabe, and Jason wondered if maybe it was not such a good idea to tell her all of this.
"And then the dream started to fade, and all I heard was a voice… your voice, calling out Percy's name."
Sally was still for what seemed like an eternity, until she finally let out a deep breath, and her face returned to its relaxed and kindly expression.
"That is a frightening memory, for sure," was all she said.
"So it is a memory?" Jason asked, his curiosity evident in his voice.
Sally nodded, "One of Percy's, I'm sure. That man who you heard speaking, Gabe," she said his name with a subtle disgust, "was Percy's stepfather at the time. He was a horrible man, and he treated Percy like a slave more than his stepson."
Jason was confused; if this Gabe had treated Percy so badly, why had his mother married the dude? It didn't make sense that she would allow someone she obviously loved very dearly to be treated in such a manner. Jason looked up to see Annabeth staring at him, and she could clearly see the confusion on his face.
'In case you're wondering," Annabeth spoke, "Sally married Gabe to protect Percy. His scent was already strong enough to attract monsters, and Gabe's natural odor was the only thing able to mask Percy from any danger."
Jason berated himself for ever doubting this angel of a woman in front of him, and he turned to see her wiping a few stray tears from her cheek.
Then it was Leo, of all people, who spoke up next, "That must have been just as hard on you as it was on Percy." His hands were still, the first time Jason had ever seen such a sight, and his face was lacking his usual goofy expression.
Sally chuckled grimly, "I think it was a small price to pay for the safety of my son."
"So," Piper chimed in, her curiosity also beginning to show, "What happened to him? Gabe, I mean?"
Jason saw Annabeth looking at Sally with, was that a smirk? Sally herself had a knowing gleam in her eye, and her lips curved up slightly. "I sold him to a museum."
Annabeth laughed at their confused faces, a true laugh, and eventually Sally was chuckling as well. She then went on to explain how after Gabe, she and Percy had moved on, and how she then met a man named Paul, who eventually became her current husband, and the closest thing to an actual father figure that Percy had.
Jason realized, that of all the things Percy Jackson had accomplished, all the honor and respect he had earned, the thing Jason, or any demigod really, was jealous of the most, was Percy's family. Sure, Percy had to deal with Gabe for a long time, but his current family situation is one that almost all demigods could only dream of having. And that was what Jason truly envied about him.
Eventually, Annabeth announced that they had to leave, and so they all said their goodbyes to Sally. The kindly woman made sure to give each of them a warm hug, and a Ziploc bag of blue cookies. Sally hugged Annabeth last, and Jason could just make out a few words that she said to the girl, "Remember your promise?" Annabeth nodded, a few tears now threatening her own eyes by the looks of it.
As they left the apartment, the group was silent, making their way up the stairs, where their pegasi awaited on the rooftop. As they reached the roof, Jason let Piper and Leo go ahead, and he hung back, grabbing Annabeth by the shoulder to stop her. She turned to look at him puzzlingly.
"Thanks," Jason blurted out, "For bringing us… for bringing me here, with you. It… It's nice to not be in the dark about at least one part of my dream."
Annabeth smiled and nodded, and she turned to continue towards the pegasi, but then she stopped, and turned back. "You know, it wasn't just for you, right? It was also for her." Jason knew that by her, she meant Sally.
"I-I don't see how that was good for her, Annabeth? All it did was bring up a painful memory from her past."
Annabeth shrugged, "Maybe, but she also got to remember how she got to where she is now, and that will give her hope. Hope that she'll get to see her son again soon."
Jason nodded, and was silent for a second, before asking Annabeth, "What about you? Are you feeling hopeful?"
Annabeth was about to respond, when Leo suddenly called out, "Hey, don't mean to interrupt, but Nyssa just IM'ed and she's back with the fuses for the Argo. Can we get going soon?"
Jason gave him a thumbs up in response, and turned to look at Annabeth, who had what may have been a semblance of a smile on her face.
"I have to be," She responded, "I have a promise to keep."
That was a long one. If you guys enjoyed reading that, please leave a review, and also maybe check out my other stories and see what you think of those. Thanks!