~JASON~

Shortly after Jason collapsed to the ground in agony, everything went to Hades. Or would it be to Tartarus, now? Since they were falling down a seemingly never-ending hole leading to the pit itself - hold up. His ADHD had gotten away with him again. Damn ADHD.

Anyway. So what had he been saying? Ah yes. Everything went to Hades. But that wasn't quite right. Everything had already gone to Hades the moment they stepped foot in the throne room. Or was it the moment Jason and Percy got swapped by Hera and lost their memories? Oh, wait. Everything went to Hades the moment Jason was born a Roman with a Greek sister.

ADHD really was the worst enemy of a demigod, except in battle situations. Then it was your best friend.

Jason's body felt like it was burning up, and not in a nice way. (Was there ever a nice way to burn up? Actually, scratch that. Leo burnt up on a daily basis.) It felt like something - or someone - was slowly leeching away his life force, draining his energy and leaving him a husk of his former self. And oh, it hurt. Hurt even more than when he'd received his SPQR brand at Camp Jupiter. Even more than when he'd been stabbed with an Imperial Gold sword and had the life-force slowly sucked out of him. This felt like that - only magnified ten times. He couldn't move anything except his eyes.

Through blurry vision obscured by tears (of pain), Jason observed the scene around him as if it was happening in slow motion. Percy and Annabeth, slightly in front of them, ever the leaders, clinging on to each other for dear life. Percy's arm was thrown around Annabeth's waist, holding her upright even though Jason could tell that her legs had given out on her from the agony. Miraculously, Percy was still standing, his back to Jason, who could still feel his glare of hatred aimed at the Olympians and the spectators. Leo had rushed over to Piper by this point, cradling her body as it lay curled up in a fetal position to the left of Jason's prone form, emitting soft cries. Even now, she was so strong, even though she probably wanted to scream and thrash, like he did. Leo's face was bleak, the knowledge that he was powerless to help the person he cared for the most when she needed him filling him with despair. He could only stroke her hair away from her sweaty face and whisper reassurances. Jason's body filled with another familiar emotion at the sight - jealousy. Not too long ago, it would have been him in Leo's position, holding Piper. But he pushed it away, knowing that he didn't have the right to be jealous. Besides, much use he'd have been to Piper, in the same state she was in.

Shortly after the Giant War ended, he and Piper had broken up. He couldn't say it was a mutual breakup, but they'd left on good terms and they were still friends. It had hurt him, but he was happy that she was happy.

Flashback:

Jason was in Cabin One, as usual, working on the layout of Temple Hill at Camp Jupiter. Having been appointed Pontifex Maximus, it was his job to make sure that all the gods were represented and respected. It hadn't sounded too difficult when he'd first taken the job, but boy was he wrong. There were rivalries and relationships to consider; the whims of the gods; and so much more. He'd been getting frequent visits from gods that he'd struggled to remember the names of demanding this and that and had been keeping his temper on a tight leash lest he end up as a pile of Jason-shaped ash. He really didn't want that. They'd just come back from the war and things were settling down pretty nicely. He had an awesome girlfriend, Piper McLean, and hopefully his whole life to look forward to. Admittedly, their relationship hadn't had the best start (mist memories fabricated by his stepmother, a.k.a Juno, goddess of marriage, had the tendency to do that) but he'd slowly found himself growing to like her. Maybe even love her, in time.

There was a timid knock on the door. "Jason?" a melodic voice, like bells chiming, called out.

Jason's heart skipped a beat. He'd know that voice anywhere: Piper McLean, the aforementioned amazing girlfriend. He almost tripped over himself in his haste to open the door.

Piper eyed his rumpled state in amusement, but the normally bright expression on her face was absent. Instead, she looked worried and nervous, biting her lip and worrying at the feathers in her hair. She was drop-dead gorgeous - Jason would even go so far as to say she was the most beautiful girl in camp, even with all the demigoddesses and her siblings around - and every time he saw her he momentarily forgot to breathe.

"Piper? Is there something wrong?" He asked worriedly, taking note of her shifty demeanor and the way she was pressing her lips together.

"I ..." She avoided his gaze, looking at the ground and fidgeting. He frowned. Something must be seriously wrong. Though Piper, like most demigods, had ADHD, she rarely ever fidgeted. She normally preoccupied herself with rebraiding her hair and weaving more feathers through it.

"Piper? You know you can tell me anything, right?" His worry only grew when, as he went to place his hands on her arms to comfort her, she stepped out of reach, leaving his hands hovering awkwardly in the space between them.

"Can we talk?" she asked in a rush, the words coming out so fast Jason barely understood them.

"Uh, yeah. Of course."

They walked in silence to a relatively secluded part of the camp, behind a sand dune on the edge of the beach. Piper seemed to have lost her nerve; she was still chewing on her lips and her eyes were darting everywhere but at him.

"What's wrong, Pipes?"

She flinched minutely, but he still saw it. He'd been observing her a lot lately (no, he was not a stalker), memorising her various mannerisms, deciphering her expressions. His concern grew. Piper rarely, if ever, acted like this. She would always put on a confident façade for everyone, even when she was in turmoil inside.

"I ..." She took a deep breath.

"Jason, I think we should break up."

Jason felt like a wind spirit had just sucked out all his air. He couldn't breathe as he stared at her, waiting for a punchline that never came. She couldn't be serious, could she?

"Break ... up? But why?"

She exhaled, suddenly looking tired, and ran a hand through her hair. "It's not - I -" She looked frustrated, at a loss for words.

"Recently, I've been getting ... flashbacks. Memories."

Jason frowned, unsure how this was related to the matter at hand. However, he resolved to hear her out. They both deserved that much. "About what?"

Piper looked relieved that he hadn't just gotten up and stormed off. "About ... the Wilderness School. When I was there, with Leo." The unspoken words, without you, didn't go unnoticed by Jason. He felt a pang of hurt, but brushed it away. He couldn't be mad about that. He should be happy for her, that she was getting her memories back after having them altered by Hera.

He waited for her to continue, sensing that he shouldn't push her. She took another deep breath.

"I'm sorry, Jason, but before you came ... before our memories were changed by Hera ... Leo and I, we were ... we were together."

Leo and Piper? It didn't quite compute, but at the same time it made perfect sense. Suddenly Jason's mind was replaying thousands of missed moments that should have made it obvious. Leo staring at Piper when he thought no one was noticing. Their affectionate nicknames for each other. The times when Jason had walked in on Piper just sitting in the engine room, keeping Leo company as he worked. In retrospect, he should have noticed long ago.

"I ... I love Leo," Piper continued, staring at her feet. "I can't help feeling like I cheated on him, with you. The whole quest, I just felt like there was something wrong. Something I was missing. And when he was gone ..." She swallowed hard. Tears formed in her eyes, and Jason resisted the urge to brush them away from her cheeks.

"I just ... I felt something in me break. I think that's what triggered the memories." She lifted her head, fresh tears glimmering on her face. Although it was probably an inappropriate thing to think, Jason nevertheless thought she had never looked more beautiful.

Leo had sacrificed himself to defeat Gaea. Everyone had thought him dead - you couldn't survive such a huge explosion - but two weeks later, he'd returned on his bronze dragon Festus. Just flew into the middle of camp, beaming his typical Leo smile. Piper had been the first one to run up to him, tears streaming down her cheeks, and slapped him. Hard. Then proceeded to scream at him in front of the whole camp for five whole minutes. Then hugged him and cried into his shirt. Maybe that's when Jason should have noticed. He banished the thought.

"I'm sorry, Jason," Piper said quietly. "I understand if you hate me after this. I ... it's not fair, what Hera did to either of us." She looked at him, for the first time since she had started talking. When he didn't respond, her face seemed to crumble, and her expression closed. "I really am sorry, Jason," she said gently. "I hope you can forgive me. But if you can't, then I'll understand."

She brushed off her jeans and stood, starting to walk away. Jason stared after her, his mind struggling to catch up, slow with shock. But he still knew that if he let her walk away right now, he would lose her. And even if he couldn't be her boyfriend, he still valued Piper as a friend. They'd been through too much together to lose her like that.

He stood up in a fluid motion and sprinted after her. Her head was lowered in defeat and her shoulders shook. Guilt filled him for being the reason she was crying. Others might have thought he ought to hate her for what she had done, but he just couldn't bring himself to. In the end, it wasn't Piper's fault at all. If anything, the blame laid solely on Hera for falsifying their memories and taking away Piper's true memories. She didn't have to do that. She didn't have to hurt them like that, for surely she knew that it would never end well.

"Wait!" he called, slightly out of breath. Piper spun around, hope igniting in her expression.

"I do understand, Piper," he said gently. His hand rose as if to take hers, but at the last second he lowered it. "I might not like it, but I understand why you did it. I don't blame you. If anything, I'm the intruder here." He gave her a weak smile. "You and Leo are my best friends. You deserve to be happy. You were happy, before me. And know that I'll always be here for you."

Jason found that he could finally move his limbs again, and slowly got up from his position, curled on the floor, his pride slightly smarting at the thought of so many people seeing him so vulnerable. The first thing he noticed was that Percy and Poseidon seemed to be in some sort of stare-off. Percy was using his super-ultimate-deluxe wolf stare, which was intimidating even to Jason, and which even Thalia, goth girl supreme who wasn't afraid of anything, had admitted scared her a little. ("But don't you ever tell anyone I said that or I will skin you alive and hang you in my tent," she had threatened. Jason had hastily promised.) He appeared to be winning the mental battle. In contrast, Poseidon's stare looked like a one-year-old having a tantrum.

Zeus wasn't doing anything. He was looking on in amusement, probably enjoying the sight of his brother, his greatest rival and sometimes-enemy, reduced to a withered old man. Everyone else just looked bored out of their minds, except for the demigods, who looked outraged but were powerless to do anything. They could only look on as their heroes were condemned to a fate worse than death.

Athena coughed none too subtly, jolting Zeus out of his triumphant trance. He bolted upright in his throne, clearing his throat hastily. The spectators, who had been chattering idly and drifting towards the doorways, instantly snapped to attention, worried that they would be vaporised by the Master Bolt.

"Right! So, anyway, now that that's done with, I sentence the traitors to Tartarus!" he thundered, drawing himself up to his full height and launching said Master Bolt at the floor. Immediately, a loud boom was heard, before cracks spiderwebbed across it. The earth rumbled and it was all Jason could do to stay upright as sections of the floor fell through the ground, opening up a massive hole presumably leading straight to Tartarus. He could already feel the dark energy pulling him in, as much as he tried to resist. It felt like a set of jaws that would swallow him whole, and he instantly felt apprehensive.

But as terrified as he, and the rest of his companions, felt, Percy and Annabeth would have it ten times worse. After all, they had actually been down there. Seen horrors no one should ever have to see. And now they would have to go back down there, to face their worst nightmares all over again.

Annabeth's face had turned pale white, almost as white as Nico. Nico. Nico had been down there, too. All alone. Granted, it wasn't for long, but it had still left his mark on him. He was standing in the shadows, as usual, staring down at the hole. His expression showed fear and terror, and he was slowly backing away. Jason could read the words from his lips. No. No. Not again ...

Percy cleared his throat, gaining their attention. Eight pairs of eyes snapped to him. His sea green eyes were blazing with hate and rage, the expression on his face fierce. He looked every inch the hero who had defeated Kronos in that moment.

"We go down there, we go together," he declared, meeting each of their eyes. "We are never stronger than when we are together. We can do this. We will beat the odds, and we will show them that we will not be crushed this easily."

He turned back to the yawning abyss, a determined expression settling over his face.

"We will show them that we are not insignificant," he said, his voice not rising in volume, but instead getting softer, more malevolent. "We are not ants to be crushed under their feet. We will go down there, but we will do it on our own terms. Who's with me?"

Jason almost wondered if he had charmspeak. His voice, his words were so powerful, and in that moment he understood how this normally laid-back demigod had achieved all that he had.

"I am," their voices flowed back as one. Percy grinned savagely.

At his signal, they all linked hands.

Then they jumped into Tartarus, Percy giving the assorted crowd the bird as he did so. Jason laughed internally. Trust Percy Jackson to do something like that even in the face of certain death.