Word Count: 732

Characters/Pairings: the seven + Nico; Jeyna- and Jasper-ish

Timeline/Spoilers: presumably set during HoH; major spoilers for entire series

Summary: Hypothetical scenarios exploring the possibility of each of the seven of the prophecy having to close the Doors of Death. — ii. "Will this make you proud, Dad?"

Notes: Jason, our other archetypal hero. I had absolutely no idea how to write neither him nor Piper, so bear with me.

the son of Jupiter

.

Somewhere, in the deep trenches of his mind, a voice implores, "Will this make you proud, Dad?" He ignores it, and plunges onward, into Tartarus.

He doesn't care about his abandoning, inattentive, playboy, I'll-offer-Poseidon's-kid-immortality-and-ignore-m y-own-son's-accomplishments, king of the gods father's approval. (no, really. he doesn't.)

It's not as if this is all a big cry for attention from a father that was never (and still isn't) there. (it's not.)

As if he would willingly sacrifice himself for a one-way trip to the darkest and deepest pit of the Underworld just to get daddy to bat an eye in his general direction. No, this is about something much bigger.

This is about doing what he needs to do in order to protect his friends.

It's about Leo being able to keep his bright and sunny disposition. (jason chooses to overlook the fact that it is, for the most part, a façade.) It's about making sure Piper gets the chance to truly reconcile with her father and to show the world that she's much more than a movie star's petty daughter acting out in the spotlight. (he's definitely not thinking about how she isn't so likely to see his sacrifice as the blessing he intends it to be.)

It's about Percy and Annabeth getting the peace they deserve after weeks of agony they spent down in Tartarus themselves. (it has nothing to do with showing up the son of the sea god, just this once. and he's certainly not bitter about how annabeth couldn't even bear to look at him while her boyfriend was at camp jupiter in his stead (oh, like he had intentionally chosen to swap places with the guy; his home and memories were taken from him, too, thank you very much!). and don't even mention him, for once in his life, feeling inferior in the face of camp half-blood's apparent hero-worship of percy jackson, because that's not it at all.)

It's about keeping Frank and Hazel and the rest of Camp Jupiter safe, as dictated by his position of praetor, even if it is no longer his official title. (it might be about showing up their resident augur (you can take that and suck it, octavian!). maybe just a little bit.)

It's about Reyna, his… (well, he's not really sure what anymore). His co-praetor. No, his 'former colleague,' as she had so graciously put it. (mighty demigod though he may be, her cold words had stung. he was telling the truth when he had said they had never been together, but it would be an outright lie to say that there had never been anything between them.) But, no matter. Whatever, she is to him, he will make it so that even the daughter of a war goddess can rest for a cgange. (even if it means leaving her once more.)

More than anything, it's about ensuring that the remainder of his sister's life (eternal as it is) is devoid of the sufferings she has experienced so much of already. (and he's sorry, really truly is, because they've only just been reunited once more, and they haven't even had enough time to properly catch up yet, and he's missed her all this time, even if he didn't yet know it, and…)

It's got nothing to do with Jupiter or Olympus or Greeks or Romans or Titans or Giants or any of that. (right?)

Still, the voice resounds throughout his head, "Will this make you proud, Dad?" (it won't.)

.

"Well, I believe it all is coming to an end.
Oh well, I guess, we're gonna pretend."

A/N: I pretty much just winged this whole piece. I have like zero grasp on Jason's character, but I figured, hey, after going through all this, a guy's got to be a little peeved with his dad, right? So, I took that and ran with it. Hopefully it goes over well. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.

Hazel's up next!