I am a horrible horrible horrible person. I haven't updated in so long, and I didn't get any review replies either. FFN would rarely ever load in China, goddamnit. Worst. Vacation. Ever. But now I'm back and school's started so I'll start updating again.
This chapter's so short. That makes me feel even worse.
Jason felt sick. What did Bellona mean? He wasn't going to doom the world, he was going to save it! Reyna tapped him on the shoulder.
"It's going to be fine," she said. ""You're not going to cause the quest to fail, I'm sure."
"How?" Jason's voice came out as a strangled cry. If he didn't succeed, if it was his fault that the world perished, then what would happen to everyone? Would Reyna be the first to die? Would all his friends at Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood, including his girlfriend Piper, die because of him?
"It's a feeling," Reyna said, her voice soft and eyes distant, but unreadable. "I get these feelings sometimes." The expression on Reyna's face nagged him, but he pushed it to the back of his mind.
"We should go to Camp Half-Blood," Jason decided, his mind screaming. "If I'm going to ruin the world, then I may as well tell them."
A downpour had begun from the murky gray clouds as Jason and Reyna found Tempest again. Fog had materialized, casting a mysterious feeling to the surrounding bushes and trees. It was one of the many signs of Typhon rising. After riding for a while, Jason and Reyna stopped at the nearest hotel, a small little dilapidated building with only one floor and six rooms. Jason sensed that Tempest was tired, and needed a rest. It was easy to sign in, just a trick of the Mist. Plopping down on the bed, he stared at the TV remote. Reyna had gone out to scout for food in the pouring rain. Pushing the red button that Jason assumed was power on, he watched as the TV screen lit up.
"WARNING WARNING: If you live in a costal area, or less than forty miles inland of one, please evacuate immediately. This is a government order. Evacuate immediately. All throughout the coasts worldwide, people are taking emergency evacuations to higher elevations and central areas. It appears that either multiple hurricanes have been brewing at once, or one indescribably huge storm is striking the entire earth. This type of monstrous storm has never been seen before, and could very likely wipe out all coastal regions up to twenty miles inland…"
Jason angrily switched off the TV. He would not fail. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep.
Reyna had told Jason she was out scouting for food. What she really wanted was some time to clearly think out what they were doing, to contemplate her mother's words, and just to have some time away from him. His piercing blue eyes, the scar on his lip, his presence around her, they were all too distracting for Reyna to think right.
Letting the rain drench her skin, Reyna attempted to sort out the thoughts in her head. Jason wanted to go to Camp Half-Blood, and she didn't object. It was on the way, after all. He wanted to go there to say goodbye. To tell Percy, Annabeth, and Leo that he enjoyed working with them, but would end up destroying the world. To tell Piper that he loved her, and that he would try very very hard, but it had already been predicted that he would be the death of her. Reyna tasted bitterness in her mouth. Bitterness and betrayal. And yet still, she felt love.
Her mother had told her that she would succeed, if it weren't for Jason. He had interpreted it wrong. Jason had thought that it meant he would be the downfall of the quest, that they would fail to defeat Typhon because of him. But Reyna knew better. What Bellona truly meant was that Reyna would die because of Jason. That because of him, she wouldn't make it back alive. A dangerous bargain, whatever it was.
Reyna didn't want to go to Camp Half-Blood. It'd be great to see Percy and Annabeth again, to visit the place on friendly terms. But she didn't know if she could bear seeing Jason and Piper together. Her sadness increased with every passing hour. It had never quieted down, had only gotten worse.
Ducking into a dark alley, Reyna closed her eyes and let a single tear fall.
Reyna came back with food. Good food. Somehow, in the desolation they were living in, where the hotel was the only one in a radius of twenty miles either way, she had found a Chinese restaurant, and gotten takeout. She was soaked through, her clothes clinging to her skin and her hair dripping wet.
"Thanks," Jason said, grinning. "Sorry about making you go in the rain."
"Oh, it's fine." Somehow, standing there soaking wet with her hair dripping, Reyna looked so queen-like, so regal and beautiful. Jason pushed the thought to the back of his head. There was enough on his mind already.
After wolfing down the noodles, he opened a fortune cookie. Breaking it apart, he unfurled his fortune. It read: Just in the nick of time is sometimes enough, but sometimes too late.
"I guess that means we're either going to make the quest just in time, or fail by the margin of a mere nanosecond," Jason grumbled miserably. Why was everything pointing red arrows at him failing at the quest?
Reyna took the other fortune cookie and crushed it in her hand.
Your greatest weaknesses are also your greatest strengths, and vice versa.
"Better than mine."
"If only you knew," Reyna said with a sigh. In that moment, Jason saw into Reyna like he rarely ever did. Her pain and bitterness stabbed him in the heart like a freezing cold icicle, shocking him to what he had been missing all along. Taking her hand, he squeezed it gently.
"Maybe I do."
Arriving at Camp Half-Blood, Jason had no idea what to say. It lay in complete ruins. Griffins had attacked Camp Half-Blood even worse than they had Camp Jupiter. He silently hoped Piper was okay. She was a strong girl, but looking at the destruction…
"Jason!" Percy gasped, stumbling over to Jason and Reyna. "What's up man? You here to help?"
"Sorry bro," Jason grimaced. "Reyna and I are on a quest. This," Jason gestured at the pouring rain, the griffins attacking, "is all wrought from Typhon rising from Tartarus. We're on a quest to prevent him from fully rising." Percy nodded.
"You'd better succeed," Annabeth commented, overhearing the conversation.
"Jason!" It was Piper. Running over, she flung her arms around him, kissing him on the cheek, then on the lips. Then, seeing Reyna, her eyes widened slightly, filling with hurt. Jason shook his head ever so slightly, denying any relationship with Reyna. But was there doubt, in a place he did not yet know? No. Now just shut up.
"Piper," he whispered, his voice strained. It was now or never. "I was told that I'd fail the quest."
"You won't." Her tone was resolute, so sure he wouldn't fail.
"Bellona told me. Or at least, she said it to Reyna but that's what she meant. Bellona's words to Reyna exactly were, 'you would succeed but for the son of lightning standing by your side.' She practically just assured that we would fail."
"You can't trust her," Piper said. Her voice was slightly prickly, jealous that Reyna had gotten to spend time with Jason, and not her.
"Pipes, if this is the last time I ever see you…"
"It won't be." She was so determined, so trusting and believing in his power, that she wouldn't accept the fact he could fail. Sighing, Jason kissed her gently, letting his hands run down her arms. It was a gentle kiss, a sweet kiss in the rain. Everything soft, but no spark. No spark of electricity shocking his heart. He loved the sweet, gentle kiss. But somewhere in the depths of his heart, Jason missed the sparks, the shock of electricity that set your entire body on fire and left you trembling, wanting more, but holding back for fear of being electrocuted.
"I don't know what's going to happen," he said hesitantly. Annabeth had a curious expression on her face, her eyes flitting between Piper and Reyna. Percy just stood there rather awkwardly. He capped Riptide, slapping Jason on the back. A griffin, seeing his weapon put away, immediately jumped on his back.
"No!" Annabeth screamed. She threw her dagger, which embedded itself deep into the griffin's chest. The monster disintegrated into dust. "You idiot," she said, helping Percy up and kissing him.
"Thanks for saving me, Wise Girl." Jason sighed inwardly. They had such a great relationship. Annabeth meant everything to Percy, and Percy meant everything to Annabeth. Sure, Piper was great. But sometimes it seemed like she got jealous of every single moment he spent with another girl.
"Tell Leo I said 'hi'," he said. "And…if we don't succeed, tell Hazel and Frank that I'm sorry." Percy nodded grimly.
"For the sakes of both worlds, I hope you do."
Eh, flames welcome. I don't really like this one.