Okay, very quick post before I head off to work. Have fun with this. :)

Ship votes are at the bottom.

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize as canon. Kids are mine.


X

MARK

"I'm sure you won't have to climb a mountain…"

Mark was two things right now: Happy and dismayed.

Happy because Annabeth was right; he wouldn't have to climb a mountain to get to Jason.

Dismayed because it was way worse than climbing a measly mountain.

When the Argo II landed, they were next to the Grand Canyon. Mark, Annabeth and Espie disembarked and went into the building that sat on the edge with the glass skywalk over the drop.

Mark had asked if Leo would go with them, but the son of Hephaestus shook his head. "I had a bad experience there. If you have to battle a bunch of venti to get to Jason, especially over the Grand Canyon, count me out."

Espie leaned in to tell him, "Coach Hedge saved him twice. He still has nightmares about it."

Mark chuckled.

Annabeth wanted to stretch her legs, so she had decided to go as the adult chaperone. Mark was okay with that. Now he had two people who could help keep him calm.

Though he was still secretly excited Espie volunteered to go with him.

Anyway, there they were, on the glass skywalk overlooking the canyon. And there Jason was; floating unconsciously high above. Too high for the trio to just climb on top of each other's shoulders.

And too far for Mark to just reach out.

"Why don't we just get the Argo II to grab him?" Mark asked. "Didn't Tulio mention that he installed a grabber-arm? Perfect time to use it!"

Espie shook her head. "Tulio said he saw Jason clearly when we neared and tried lowering down to get him. There's some sort of force keeping us from reaching him. We can't manipulate winds, so…"

Mark did not like where this was going.

"Are you sure?" he asked timidly. "We could try again…?"

Annabeth led him to the edge of the glass. He peered down and instantly got vertigo. He looked away, feeling bile rise in his throat.

Annabeth patted him on the back. "Try not to look down, Sora. Keep your eyes on Jason."

"And what about when I need to get down?" Mark said, putting his hands over his eyes. "I kinda have to look down to get down!"

Espie's arm wrapped around his shoulder. "Try unlocking Jason up there and maybe he'll help guide you down."

That was a thought.

Mark gripped his father's key tightly. He looked back up at Jason, still floating really high above the canyon.

He stood on shaky legs, trying not to hyperventilate. "O-Okay…" he managed. "I'll try…"

He kept his eyes on his father and willed the winds to help him up. He felt his body go into zero-gravity mode and tried desperately not to pee his pants as he rose higher.

Closer.

He heard the encouragement from the ladies.

"Go, Mark!"

"You got this, Mark! Keep your eyes on Jason!"

"Don't look down!"

Closer.

Mark fought hard against himself. He didn't want to look down. He didn't want to look down.

Eyes on Dad. Don't look down. Dad's closer now. Don't look down. Almost there. DON'T LOOK DOWN!

He arrived a little too fast, not knowing how to put on the brakes. He bumped against Jason and scrambled to hold on to the man. In his desperation, he saw just how high he was and screamed in a way not unbefitting a little girl, forgetting that he could control the winds. If he hadn't wrapped his arms and legs against his father's horizontal body, Mark might have dropped like a stone.

He was still clinging, his eyes closed, tears staining his cheeks, when he heard Espie's so far away voice call out, "Unlock him, Mark! He can help you get down!"

Mark peeked. His sight was met with golden chains across his father's body. Mark dared to look a little higher.

A golden lock was fused with his chest, shaped kinda like the cloud-lightning bolt symbol in the Disney Hercules movie.

Jason looked peaceful, like he was sleeping. His glasses were sort of crooked, but Mark didn't want to reach up and fix them.

Mark adjusted himself to unlock his father. He was still clinging to Jason, but his free hand reached up and shakily search for the keyhole.

Finally, he found it. He stuck the key in quickly and unlocked his father.

Three things happened at the same time.

One: The chains disappeared and the lock melted into Jason's chest.

Two: Jason groaned and his eyes fluttered slightly.

Three: The winds holding them both up suddenly decided they wanted to take a lunch break.

Both Graces began a huge freefall, which would no doubt end with a Jason pancake topped with Mark syrup.

Mark screamed at the top of his lungs for his father to help.

Jason was too disoriented to do anything except yell, "WHAT THE HEEEEEEEELLLLLL!?"

Mark heard screaming from the girls, but he was too worried about not peeing his pants to listen. Jason started flailing, Mark still clinging to his side like a leech.

Suddenly, they stopped.

I died, Mark thought, his eyes closed. I'm dead. This is it. I'm totally dead.

"Mark," Jason groaned. Mark opened his eyes to see a red-faced Jason. His father looked at him momentarily.

"A little help would be nice, son," Jason growled.

Mark, without even glancing at how high they were, held out his hand and willed the wind to lift them up.

He saw the girls up on the skywalk. Mark locked his eyes onto them and didn't dare to look away.

Very soon, they were back on the skywalk. Jason was on his hands and knees, Annabeth helping him back onto shaky legs.

Mark had run inside at the first solid step. Espie followed him and found him curled up at the entrance.

She crouched down and smiled at him, probably trying not to laugh. "You did great," she said.

Mark just ended up glaring at her.

About a minute later, Annabeth and Jason were hobbling towards them. In Jason's hand was a little red key. From what Mark could tell, it seemed to end in a fist-shape.

"Is that Frank's key?" he asked.

Annabeth nodded. "Take it from your father before he drops it."

Mark did just that. The end did end in a fist-like shape, like a cartoon punch was about to ensue.

"Then I guess it's Sammy's turn to face his fear," he grumbled.

Espie lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Don't be mean."

He glared at her again. "I faced my fear, experienced it, and braved it again. I deserve to be mean for the rest of the day."

He started walking out of the building and towards the Argo II. He desperately wanted to make sure he hadn't soiled himself.


A/N: Yeah. You go Mark :)

Saspie: 6 votes

Espark: 3 votes

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