Jason, hanging upside down, was looking at three pairs of eyes. A pair of maroon colored eyes sat behind a set of goggles, a pair of wide yellow eyes sat under peach colored bangs, and light brown eyes under smooth brown hair. All heads were tilted.

"You'd think with how he used it last week, he'd get it by now." Hange began.

"Section Commander, have you no sympathy?" Moblit chastised her.

"I'm sorry Ms. Hange, I tried to explain it to him, but he doesn't seem to understand his gas is limited."

"Guys… I'm right here." Jason said.

The group ignored the boy hanging from the tree, "It's okay Nifa, it's not your fault he's stupid. We'll just have to train him until he gets it." Hange put a comforting hand on her underling's shoulder, "I'm sorry you have to put up with him."

I'm still here. Jason decided there was no point in trying to get their attention. He had been with Nifa all day, failing to use the ODM equipment properly as Levi put it. The parameters of his training with Nifa contained the following restrictions. Blades were not to be given nor used (they tried to take away his coin but it just kept coming back to his pocket). Only thirty percent of his tank was to be filled with gas. And finally, he was only allowed to practice with a superior officer.

Jason was happy Levi wasn't that superior officer.

Moblit was about to approach the tree to try and get Jason out of his hanging position, however Hange raised a hand to stop him. She then looked to Jason, "I know today wasn't your best, but let's end it on a positive note. I want you to get out of the tree on your own."

"I don't have any gas left!" Jason complained.

"And if you were outside the walls? On your own with no gas or horse? Would you just give up?" Hange raised her eyebrows at him.

Jason thought about it. Would I give up? Gods, this world is so harsh!

Even if he was on a quest on his own, there was always help available from Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood. Even the gods sometimes came down and helped if they were in the mood. But there were no gods here, and no camps either. Even as a member of the scouts he had to rely on his own strength. Having the strength not to give up, even when the situation is hopeless.

He grabbed the wire that was wrapped around his leg. His free leg used the trunk for the tree as a foothold. Slowly but surely, he began to climb. When he reached the branch that held his grappling hook, he kicked it out of place and unwrapped the wire around his leg. With the wire free, he clicked the trigger on his handle, and the wire returned to its place.

He took a breath from the effort.

Climbing down the tree he was greeted with a slap on the back. He winced.

"See! If you put your mind to it, you can get out of any bad situation. You still might die, but at least you tried." She had a wide grin on her face.

She then looked to the others. "You guys take a perimeter check. Me and Jason are going on a walk."

Walking on the edge of the forest, Jason noticed small wisps of smoke rising beyond the cliff. He jogged towards it with his mouth agape. A skeleton the size of a giant was slowly withering away. The setting sun made it hard to see what the skeleton was, but to Jason the skull looked like it belonged to that of a human.

Hange came from behind, rubbing the back of her neck. "Today's experiment was a failure. We wanted to use Eren's titan abilities to try and seal the hole in Wall Maria, but we just can't figure out how a titan hardens themselves."

"What do you mean by 'harden'?" Jason asked her.

Hange folded her arms thinking. "I don't know how much you interacted with the Female titan, but it seems that titan shifters have more powers than we think. And then each titan shifter seems to have an ability specialized to them. For example, the Female titan has the special ability to call mindless titans to her." She tilted her head, "That's what I'm calling the non-titan shifter titans at the moment. By this logic, one would think the Armored Titan has a unique ability to harden his body. However, as we saw with the Female Titan, hardening is something all titan shifters can do."

Jason recalled Mikasa hitting the Female Titans' nape. So that's why I heard glass when she tried to cut her.

Hange continued, "Or that's my theory at the moment. If Eren can learn how to use this hardening ability, we won't have to send thousands of workers across titan infested territory to fix the wall. All we would need is the scout regiment to take Eren to Wall Maria, and bam, the outer wall is fixed and humanity can reclaim stolen territory."

Her smile slowly turned into a frown. "But, the experiment didn't work. And Eren is now recovering because I pushed him too far." She had a gleam in her eyes, "But don't worry, we'll try again and see what we come up with. I think the Commander already has another angle we can work from. But I'll leave the political stuff to him." She then looked at him. "Right now, I want to focus on you. Tell me everything."

Jason gave a questioning face. "Could you be more specific?"

"Oh, sorry, I was a little too excited. Titan shifters are one thing, but boys that run faster than a horse and produce lightning." She giggled in excitement, "There are just so many experiments I want to try on you." Jason shivered. She raised her finger, "But before I start thinking about experiments, I need to understand my subject. So, I need to know everything about you."

Jason scratched his chin. "I don't really think now is the time to focus on me. I know I said I would tell you guys everything, but doesn't this take more precedence?" He pointed to the steaming skeleton at the bottom of the cliff.

Hange placed her fits on her hips, "Jason, you're an official member of the scouts. A superior officer expects compliance from their subordinates."

Jason frowned. He wasn't used to this. Being a subordinate. Because of his lineage, he was always expected to be the leader of whatever group he was a part of. It was a problem he and Percy had when they joined the crew of the Argo II. But they resolved that issue by taking partial responsibility. In the scouts, he was just a member of Levi's squad. His only responsibility was to follow orders.

Hange, noticing his discomfort, raised her hands in frustration, "Ahhh, I'm sorry. I can't command a room like Erwin or scare someone like Levi." Jason gave her a strange look. "From what I can surmise, you're in a pretty terrible situation. You're on your own with people you can't trust." She placed his hand on his shoulder, "But joining the scouts doesn't just mean you follow orders. It means you're part of a team. And members of said team help each other out."

Jason looked to the ground. He had made a promise. To both Percy and Hange. And if he wanted to fulfill both of them, he had to at least tell someone about his circumstances.

Erwin really shocked me with that book on the Roman deities. Jason admitted. If anyone is going to believe me, it's going to be the scouts.

"I'm sorry Ms. Hange. You guys have already helped me out so much, and I've been…" He sighed, "Like you said, I need all the help I can get."

Hange gave the boy a huge smile, "That's what I like to hear."

The section commander was deep in thought when she blurted the following, "Yeah, no, I can't help you. Your story sounds ridiculous."

Jason tripped on a tree root, but caught himself in time. I only talked about Apollo and my death and she still didn't believe me.

"But it must be real. You're too stupid to come up with something that far-fetched."

Jason tripped, and this time he hit the ground.

"The fact that you died and came here… an afterlife? Am I a ghost? No, that doesn't make sense…" she began mumbling possibilities to herself.

Jason popped from the ground and noticed his surroundings. In the time they began their walk, the sun had set and the stars dimly lit the night sky. If not for the light shining inside the safe house in the distance, Jason wouldn't have been able to see Hange's face.

Interrupting her train of thought, Jason asked, "You really believe me?"

She folded her arms. "Of course I do. If you were a normal civilian, I would consider you crazy, however you have proven time and again that you are… how do I put this kindly… unique."

Jason's face was confused.

Hange sighed, "Not only did you successfully attack the Female Titan twice, you learned how to use ODM gear in a single night, and survived a trip through titan infested territory on your own with no horse. I think your training and experience make up for that miracle, and your lineage and abilities explain it. The one thing I can't wrap my head around is your death. A spear to the heart should have been fatal. Or can your kind handle that kind of injury?"

Jason shook his head. "I should have died."

Hange's goggles gleamed in the light. She held her chin in her fingers, "Then how did you survive? And how did you arrive here?"

Despite not having any answers for him, Jason felt relief. When he failed to convince Armin and Jean of his past, it made him skeptical about whether anyone else would believe him. He was glad there was someone he could talk to about his problem.

Hange, noticing his expression, gave the boy a smile. She patted his head. "Thank you for trusting me."

Jason's face colored. It had been a long time since he was praised by an adult. It had been even longer since he felt like a child. For some reason he was reminded of Thalia.

He shook his head from the thought, leaving Hange's touch. "No, no, no, this doesn't make any sense. Why did you guys take me in? Why are you trusting me? I…"

"You saved Berthold?"

Jason's shocked eyes met hers. Hange gave him a knowing smirk.

"Eren didn't tell us everything about what happened, as he didn't understand most of it himself, but he did report what happened in the forest of giant trees."

"Then why…?"

Jason had been wondering why Eren had been so nonchalant with him. He didn't mention their 'visit' to camp half-blood, nor did he speak of what Jason did in the forest of giant trees.

Jason recalled Erens angered face before he made the deal with Gaia. HE KILLED MY MOTHER!

They were now standing in front of the safe house. Hange had stayed silent for a bit, keeping her eyes on the boy. Jason couldn't tell what she was thinking. Then, "Before I return you to Levi, there are three things you need to know. One!," Hange raised her index finger. "Eren and the others defied orders to keep you safe. Two!" She raised her middle finger, "Sasha made a drink that healed you, and three!" She raised her ring finger, "Levi gave the Commander the idea asking you to join the scouts."

She then pointed to him, "If you investigate all three facts to the fullest, I think you will understand your standing among us a bit better. My Commander likes to keep his hand close to his chest, but I think people should have the chance to figure things out for themselves." She winked at him.

Before Jason could ask what she meant, they heard a commotion inside. It sounded like Levi was scolding Sasha about the dusty walls. Hange pushed the boy forward.

"You better go inside before the Captain starts yelling at me!"

Jason put his hand on the handle. Before he turned it he faced Hange, "Thank you Ms. Hange."

The Section Commander gave a thoughtful smile.

Hange looked on as the boy entered the safe house. A frown appeared as he closed the door. What is going on? This past month has been a treasure trove of information. Eren Jaeger, titan shifters, suspicious noble families. Those all felt like puzzle pieces Hange could put together, given time and research. But how does Jason fit into all this?

Hange felt like his existence was a brick falling onto her perfect puzzle. He didn't belong, and he made things more complicated.

Demigods, primordial beings, legions, camps, everything he talks about is so strange. And the strangest thing of all is his death. He had shown her his scars. The spear to the heart should have killed him.

So then how is he here? Why did she not like that thought?

"Section Commander!" Moblit's voice took her out of her thoughts.

"Don't forget we need to report to Commander Erwin tonight. Nifa is already scouting ahead." Her second in command was holding a pair of reins connected to two horses next to the stables. She approached her subordinate.

"Thank you Moblit."

"How was your walk?" he asked.

Hange grumbled in frustration as she grabbed the reins. "Infuriating. I need to read more of Erwin's book about Jason's family. Hopefully it will help me make more sense of all this."

Moblit mounted his horse. "Did you ask the right questions?"

Hange, mounting her steed, thought about his inquiry. "I don't think I did." Hange gave one last look to the safe house. She saw Levi arguing with the young demigod. "Let's ride." She ordered, and the two galloped their horses towards the Trost district.

I should not be asking how he got here. I should be asking why he is here.