"Are you an idiot?!"
Julie scowls. "Well, this is going great."
Piper storms across the tent and snatches Juliette by the shoulders. Her eyes have shifted to an angry red that makes Julie think of werewolves and other not-fun things that would enjoy ripping her intestines out. "We have spent the last 6 hours terrified you were dying. And you're telling us it's because you made a deal with Khione?"
"That is what I'm telling you, yes."
Piper laughs, high and filled with disbelief. She whirls around to look at the boys for support. Jason's pale and solemn, not having said a word since his initial relief at seeing Juliette awake. Leo looks too confused to weigh in.
Julie groans in annoyance. "Look, I'm only telling you because I don't want you getting hurt."
Her sister whirls on her. "And what about you?" Piper snaps. "What about if you get hurt?"
"That doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter?"
Juliette growls out a frustrated noise and scrubs her hands against her forehead. She tries her best to push down the rampant irritation in her and scowls up at her sister. "Why do you even care? Two days ago you literally wanted to push me off the Grand Canyon."
Piper looks taken aback by that. She reels backwards, and her mouth drops open like a fish. Julie rolls her eyes and turns to Leo as he pipes up.
"Wait, so, why are you enslaving a god?" He asks, perplexed. "How are you enslaving a god?"
Jason flicks his eyes up at her in somber interest. She avoids his gaze and addresses Leo's questions.
"Khione can't do it herself." She sighs, crossing her arms. She glares down at her borrowed combat monstrosities the Hunters claim to be shoes. "Jason was right. It's Khione that's been whispering into the gods' minds. But, Aeolus' palace is too well protected. So," Julie points a thumb at herself, frowning. "That's where I come in. I can get inside.
"As for how," Julie raises up her right hand for them to see. In the center of her palm, bright white and shimmering in the moonlight, is a marking shaped like a snowflake. "High five of death, apparently. Just gotta get close enough to touch him."
Leo takes her hand to study and puckers up his lips in thought. "Man...I can't lie - she's got style. And a body. And that face-"
"Leo."
"Sorry, sorry. But, don't we, like...not want her to have more allies? Isn't this plan really bad for us?"
Juliette nods. "Yeah. Terrible. But, I'm working on something."
Piper huffs and puts her hands on her hips. "Working on what?"
"An idea."
"What idea?"
Julie rolls her eyes so hard she gets a bit dizzy. "I can't tell you that. Not with Ms. Eavesdropper listening to me. You just are gonna have to trust me."
Piper clenches her jaw. Leo shifts a little awkwardly and looks away.
She knows how all of this must sound to them. The three of them have known her barely 72 hours, and Juliette has been lying to them for 2/3 of that time. For a valid reason, sure. But, asking them to trust her is a bit ironic given she's just unloaded about 50 examples of instances in which she was explicitly not trustworthy. She glances down at the snowflake on her palm and runs her thumb over the marking. It's cold.
"Look," She sighs. "I know this is a lot. I just..."
Julie shuts her eyes and tilts her head up, trying to will away the frustrated tears.
"I need help." She whispers.
She keeps her eyes closed. Looking at them is too hard.
Gentle footsteps approach, and a soft hand slides into hers. Julie hesitantly looks down. Piper's still frowning, but worriedly. When their eyes meet, she gives a sad little smile and squeezes Julie's hand.
"Of course we'll help you, idiot." sighs Piper. "But, you can't go into this not thinking about your own safety. You've been hurt enough on this quest."
"Yeah, mamacita. We got your back." Leo grins.
Jason leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. His grim expression becomes a soft smile. He nods at her.
Julie looks around at her three friends, all of whom are staring at her with matching concern in their gazes. Something in her chest twists.
When was the last time she had this many people in her corner? Maybe she should have confided in them earlier.
Before she can think of a response, the flap of the tent swings open and a tall, black haired girl steps in. She raises an eyebrow at Juliette and looks her up and down.
"Y'know silver suits you, kid. Maybe you should reconsider Artemis' offer." smirks Thalia.
Juliette scoffs. "And give up my romance novels? Yeah, right."
"Oh, so you read now?"
"I could always read!"
"That's not what Malcom said."
"Since when do you take a man's word for it?"
Thalia throws her head back and laughs, reaching out to grip Julie's shoulder and pull her into a bone crushing hug. "It's good to see you, brat. Glad to see you haven't frozen to death."
Juliette huffs, but smiles into the Hunter's shoulder. "Yeah, yeah, don't you start lecturing me too. It's good to see you too, Thals."
Thalia pulls out of the hug and crosses the tent to plop down beside Jason. The blonde boy startles a little and looks at her with wide eyes, inching a bit away on the cot. The daughter of Zeus addresses the group as a whole.
"So, Aeolus' palace, right?" She asks.
They all hum their assent. She sighs.
"That place is a beast. I'm sending the Hunters ahead to keep looking for Percy, but I can take you there. I know where to go."
Jason lifts his head, then and frowns at her worriedly. "Are you sure you want to be split off from them?"
She shrugs. "Sure, why not? I can always get back on their trail later." She reaches out and punches Jason hard in the shoulder. He winces, but a grin grows as he rubs his arm. "Besides, Lady Artemis has a brother too. I doubt she's gonna be mad at me for wanting to hang out with mine for a bit. Boy or not."
Jason smiles at her widely.
Juliette chokes on her own spit. "Wait, are you guys...?"
"Real siblings? Yeah, turns out Superman's been holding out on us!" Leo laughs, wiggling his eyebrows at Thalia.
She ignores him.
Juliette blinks, wide eyed, at the two children of Zeus. It's not unheard of for two kids to be born from the same mortal parent. Connor and Travis are blood siblings (which makes way too much sense), and Nico and Bianca had shared a mother. Now that she's thinking about it, she remembers Jason mentioning a sister once. One that he'd thought to be dead...
They look nothing alike. Where Jason is all Californian tanned skin and beachy blonde waves, Thalia looks more Mediterranean and gothic. But, there's no mistaking those blue eyes. She'd always thought they seemed familiar. Now, that makes sense.
She smiles. Then, freezes.
Oh. Oh gods.
She made out with Thalia Grace's little brother.
Oh gods, she's going to die. She doesn't want to die by lightning strike. That sounds like an awful way to go. Oh, Hades, what has she done?
Feeling her entire face going red, Julie frantically decides to change the subject. "Um, yeah, Aeolus' palace! We should probably get going, right? Wouldn't want to run out of time for the quest, and all..."
Thalia nods and slaps her palms down onto her knees before standing. "Yep. Sounds good. The satyr's starting to eat too many of our ration boxes, anyway."
She leads the way out of the tent, and the others follow. Julie walks beside Leo and cackles when all the Hunters turn to give her a warm smile, which turns icy the moment they notice the boy beside her. He pouts the whole way out of the camp.
"They don't know what they're missing." Leo sniffs, nose in the air.
Julie grins. "Oh, I think they do, Supersize McShizzle. They just don't want it."
She pats him on the back comfortingly as they head into the woods and pick up their pace to a run.
As angry as she is at Nico di Angelo, Julie hates how much she's thanking him in her head as she sprints after the Big Three kids on the snowy path up the mountain. Leo and Piper are huffing and puffing at the back of the group while Coach Hedge shouts at them like a drill sergeant, but Juliette's morning runs during the son of Hades' visits have her in good enough shape that she's keeping up with Thalia and Jason without breaking a sweat. Not that she'll ever admit that to Nico. Can't have him thinking he can be right once in a while.
It's great, because she isn't embarrassed by poor athletic ability. But, not great because it only takes about ten minutes of conversation for Thalia to look at them with a smirk and go "So, what, are you guys a thing?"
Julie trips over a pebble, but Jason catches her by the arm before she face plants. She glares at Thalia. "No!"
"Mhm."
"We're friends."
"Yeah, like Percy and Annabeth were, right?"
"I'm so glad you moved away."
The Huntress snorts and gestures to Jason. At her attention, he flushes and drops Juliette's arm, but his sister moves on regardless. "So, what are you going to do once you actually save Hera? Will you stay at camp?"
Julie's heart skips a beat while she waits for his response. Jason frowns at the path ahead in thought.
"I don't know. To be honest, I haven't considered it." He mutters. Then, he looks over and studies his sister. His shoulders slump. "I guess, I'll try to figure out how to get my memories back."
Thalia nods at him with a small smile. "I figured. Once Olympus opens back up, I might be able to contact Lord Apollo. Maybe his son, Asclepius, has a way to help. God of Medicine, and all."
Julie wrinkles her nose. Apollo. She is not a fan.
"Lord Hades might know something." She suggests, drawing looks of horror from both siblings. Julie rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "Oh my gods, don't look at me like that. He's not that scary. Actually, he's kinda nice when you convince him to stop trying to kill you. You should see him go 'Dad-Mode'-"
Julie trips again. She's pretty sure that rock was not there a moment ago, but she brushes it off.
"But, yeah, he's got the Lethe down there. He might have some knowledge on memory loss. I could-" Julie looks at Jason self consciously. "I could talk to him for you...If you want."
He looks at her in surprise. Thalia shakes her head, though. "You think Hades is gonna help a son of Jupiter? Hasn't he tried to smite Kelp-For-Brains literally every time they've interacted?"
"Well, to be fair, Percy did break into the Underworld one time. I'd be mad too."
"Didn't you do that?"
"I had Nico with me, so it doesn't count. Besides, Hades totally loves me - he gave me a cool bow, and everything."
She trips again. Even stubs her toe, this time, and has to hop on one foot for a few steps. Man, this part of the trail is really bumpy.
They round a bend in the path, and suddenly, they're at the summit. Julie's breath gets knocked out of her at the view.
Clouds swirl all around them, blocking the land around the cliff from view. Sunlight streams through the sky in dazzling rays that bounce from the shining surface of a hulking bronze palace rising up from an island of glowing purple stone. Air spirits of all kinds frolic in and out of the castle's windows, archways, and watchtowers. The structure is stunning. Annabeth would be crying tears of joy.
"That," Leo pants from behind them. "Is a really big rock."
The entire thing is connected to the Pikes Peak summit by a tiny strip of land. No, not land. On closer inspection, Julie realizes it's ice.
Of course, it's ice.
"We aren't seriously crossing that?" squeaks Leo.
Julie cringes when Thalia shrugs and glances back at them. She looks a little green in the face. "I'm not the biggest fan of heights, I'll admit. But, if you want to get into Aeolus' fortress, that's the only way."
"It's enormous..." gapes Jason.
Thalia grins at him. "You should see Olympus, little brother."
He whirls on her with wide eyes. "Wait, seriously? You've been there?!"
"Of course, I've been there. So has Juliette."
"What?!"
Thalia and Julie both grimace. The younger of the two shrugs at Jason. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, let's focus on one stuck-up god at a time." He still looks endearingly intrigued, but relents. Julie shakes her head fondly and looks back to the floating castle. She winces at the thinness of the bridge. "That doesn't look super stable."
"No," Thalia agrees. "We should go in two groups. To make sure we don't overload it with weight. It looks pretty fragile."
"That's reassuring." Leo deadpans. He turns to Jason. "Can't you just fly us across?"
Thalia laughs. Then, realizes he's serious. She looks to her brother in bewilderment. "Wait, Jason you can fly?"
He goes a bit pink. "Well, sort of. I can control the air some. But, the winds up here are so strong, I'm not sure I want to try." He looks at her strangely. "Wait, you can't fly?"
Thalia blanches like the idea is making her sick even in the hypothetical. "I have never tried. Let's just stick to the bridge."
Coach Hedge doesn't hesitate one more second. He grabs Piper's wrist and leaps forward onto the bridge with a triumphant battle cry as the girl screams in terror behind him.
As Julie leans her weight against the glowing purple rocks on the side of the cliff, her mind is racing.
A bridge, Leo had said. He's a bridge.
Her breaths are burning from her lungs as she struggles to slow them, but a giddiness is sending tingles down her arms. A wide smile crosses her face. She looks up at her panting friends and zeroes in on a guilt ridden son of Hephaestus. He's staring at the space the bridge had just stretched like he'd accidentally set a puppy on fire.
"Leo Valdez," She gasps. He looks up at her with a wince. She beams. "You are a fucking genius."
He looks surprised. And then he laughs nervously as Juliette tackles him into a hug.
He's a bridge. Jason's a bridge. Percy's a bridge. They're connected.
And she knows where they meet.
Wherever Percy is, Jason's past is too. With Reyna and the other kids in purple shirts. They can find him. They just need to live through this.
Which might be easier said than done.
They separate from the hug and both look to where Jason is staring desolately at the chasm. Julie inches forward to place a hand on his back. He tears his eyes from the clouds to glance at her, and she smiles encouragingly.
"She'll be alright," She assures him. "Nobody could kill Thalia Grace but Thalia Grace."
The statement pulls a short chuckle from him, enough to dim the worry in his eyes to the point of turning back to their objective. Leo shifts uncomfortably.
"I got a little heated." He cringes. "I'm sorry, man."
Jason shakes his head. "It's alright." He straightens his shoulders and locks his jaw. Julie frowns. "We've got less than twenty-four hours to rescue a goddess, Piper's dad, and Juliette's dryad friend. Let's go see the king of the winds."
He sets off towards the gates of the palace, Coach Hedge on his heels spouting encouragement like he's cheering at a football game, and the other three exchange wary looks. This is a big one. The final step before the Wolf House.
They'd better not screw this up.
By the time they've reached the top of the palace, Juliette is about to crawl out of her skin.
Mellie the cloud nymph is nice, she supposes. Piper's done a much better job at charming the woman into escorting them to her boss. Truthfully, ever since they entered the front gates, Julie has been buzzing with adrenaline at the thought of what she's about to do. She hasn't been a very helpful child of Aphrodite on this particular mission, instead just running through her idea over and over again in hopes of somehow convincing herself it has more merit than it really does.
She's about to risk the entire war effort and her own life on a hunch.
But, Azalea will be safe. That's what she keeps reminding herself. For once, somebody who loves her will actually get a happy ending. Not like Silena. Not like Percy. Azalea will get out. That's all that matters.
When they reach the top chamber, Mellie almost leads them to their deaths.
Julie, as usual, is not paying attention to her surroundings. If it weren't for Jason's quick reflexes, she'd have stepped right off the edge of the platform into the floorless chamber and fallen hundreds of feet to her death. Instead, he snatches her wrist and yoinks her back into the hallway to collide painfully with his chest, making him stumble back into Piper, who sways backwards and accidentally smacks Leo in the gut, causing him to double over coughing. Oops.
"Slow down, maybe? I'd rather not have to jump to your rescue before we even get to Aeolus." Jason scolds, still gripping her wrist tightly.
She flushes and looks away. "Heh. Sorry."
"Oh, my," Mellie gasps, floating back to them. "I am so sorry." She unclips a walkie talkie from her chiton and holds down the button, speaking into the static. "Hi, Nuggets. Could we get a floor in the studio, please? Yes, a solid one. Thanks."
The teenagers all look at each other in bewilderment. Then, Leo yelps dramatically as an army's worth of harpies come soaring up from the lower levels. They're all carrying plywood and squares of sod between their chicken feet, and, in moments, there's a rough, duct-taped and rusty nailed together bridge constructed to connect the hallway to the center platform.
Julie gapes at Mellie. "Yeah, uh uh. No way. My powers are still down."
"Yeah, this cannot be safe." Jason agrees.
Mellie waves her hands at them. "Oh, no, it is! The harpies are very good." She assures. She floats across to the main platform without another word and leaves them staring at her in horror.
"We're not gonna...are we?" Julie flounders, looking at her friends in terror. Piper is just as pale as her, inching closer to Jason nervously.
Jason wrinkles his nose. "I guess we have to. I'll go first to test it."
He steps out onto the bridge, which bows dangerously under his weight, and walks a couple steps out experimentally. It sags, but doesn't crack. He shrugs and looks up at them expectantly.
Groaning, Julie follows him, a hand clenched tightly around her sister's as she drags her along. The first step onto the bridge makes a horrible creaking noise that makes her want to throw up off the edge. She squeezes her eyes shut and ignores it, reaching out a hand blindly for Jason's. He laughs - rude - and wraps his fingers around hers obligingly.
"If I fall and you don't catch me, I'm going to come back to haunt you." Juliette threatens.
"Seconded." Piper squeaks.
"You better catch me too, Superman. But, I ain't holding your hand." Leo calls from the back of the group.
Jason laughs louder then and starts to lead the way. He gives Julie's hand a firm squeeze every time the bridge sways. It makes little harpies disco dance in her stomach. Before too long, they're on the other side, stepping onto what appears to be the set of a TV newscast.
Um, okay.
Mellie is trying in vain to get the attention of a heavily Botoxxed man in a sky-patterned suit. They approach hesitantly as he waves her off in impatience.
"Sir, these demigods are-"
"Yes, yes, Mellie, I know who they are."
"Sir, this is Jason, son of-"
"I remember, I remember. So, you're back, are you?" Aeolus asks Jason flatly.
The boy blinks. He looks at Julie and the others, who all shrug helplessly.
"Sorry?" Jason says, confused. "I think you've mistaken me-"
"No, no, Jason Grace, aren't you?" The god asks off-handedly. Jason gapes like a fish. "It was-what, last year? You were on your way to fight a sea monster, I believe."
Wait. Julie remembers that. She'd made fun of him that night for having a little piece of tentacle stuck in his hair.
Unfortunately, Jason doesn't. "I-I don't remember."
Aeolus laughs. "Must not have been a very good sea monster!" He gets distracted then watching a video of a family of ducks getting swept away by a tornado.
Julie almost cries. 10/10 emotional. She loves ducks. She is devastated.
Mellie huffs at her boss in frustration. "Sir. Two minutes to air."
"Air?!" The god beams. "I love air! How do I look? MAKEUP!"
With a snap of his fingers, a small tornado filled with brushes and makeup products comes swirling into the room. It blocks his face from view for a moment and then floats away, leaving him even more made-up than before.
Julie cringes. That tornado has terrible technique. He looks awfully cakey.
She frowns in disgust at the cracks in his foundation while he goes back and forth with Jason about rescinding his order for the venti to go around killing mortals for him. The more flippantly he dismisses the murder of random innocent demigods as a "whim when he was grumpy," the less bad she feels about stealing his free will.
At least Khione murders people on purpose.
When the god gets back from his weather report, which he spoke so fast he sounded like an auction runner, Jason gets down to business.
"Sir," He interrupts Aeolus' pitch for 'why Olympus should promote him to God of the Winds.' "We aren't from Olympus. We're on a quest, and we need your help."
Aeolus' face drops and hardens. He glares down at them. "Like last time? Of course, you are. You demigods, everything is always about you."
"Sir, please-"
"I'm always helping!" Aeolus yells defensively. His poorly drawn on eyebrows reach his hairline. They're very distracting. "Well, sometimes I'm destroying. But, the point is, I get thrown into the middle of every conflict-"
Juliette has to bite her tongue to keep from scoffing in exasperation as the god launches into a rant about all the heroes he's "helped" over the years. She's getting annoyed now. Jason has, like, five more minutes before she just turns this guy into an ice zombie and skedaddles.
"We want information." Piper is finally able to insert. "We hear you know everything."
Her charmspeak seems to flatter the god well enough. Aeolus puffs up his chest and sweeps a hand over his filled-with-so-much-gel-it's-basically-concrete hair. "Well...that's true, of course. For instance, I know that this business here," He wiggles his fingers at their little group. "This harebrained scheme of Juno's is likely to end in bloodshed. As for you, Piper McLean," He addresses with a raised eyebrow. "I know your father is in serious trouble."
He holds out a hand, and a scrap of paper flies into his grasp. He holds out a photo to Julie's sister. In it is a slightly younger Piper with an arm around her shoulder. An arm belonging to Tristan McLean. Julie immediately holds her breath and looks away.
Don't squeal, don't squeal, don't squeal. This is not the time. Hold in your fangirling until he's safe, Julie.
Piper accepts the photo, a disturbed look in her eye. "This...This is from his wallet." She chokes.
"Yes. All things lost in the wind eventually come to me. The photo blew away when the Earthborn captured him." says the god grimly.
Tears build in Piper's eyes, and Julie's heart clenches. She places a hand on the girl's shoulder and squeezes softly.
Unfortunately, the motion draws Aeolus' attention. He looks to Juliette with new interest and holds out his hand again. "Ah, you're the Heartbreak."
Another paper flutters into his hand. He extends it to Juliette. She accepts it gingerly.
"This ought to guide you soon enough." Aeolus quips before turning to Leo.
Julie watches him offer a paper to the son of Hephaestus as well in the corner of her eye while she studies the photo. She has no idea what she's looking at. It's a polaroid of a little girl. She's maybe five or six, with frizzy black hair and brown eyes. On the girl's nose sits a pair of extremely oversized red glasses with little rhinestones on them. Julie has no clue who she is, but she's laughing as a flower crown of dandelions is placed on her head by a dryad.
The dryad, Juliette knows. She's a middle aged woman with dark brown skin and long green locs. Woven throughout her hair and dotted up her arms and legs are bright purple blossoms about the size of a quarter. She's dressed in a gown of spikey green leaves cinched at the waist by gardening twine.
Purple Aster.
She's smiling brightly in the photo. Youthfully. In a way Julie has only seen her look when the two of them are together.
It almost makes her...jealous.
When she manages to tear her eyes from the picture, Gleeson is just now catching up with them from disappearing for snack time when Julie wasn't looking earlier. Huh. She'd thought things were going too smoothly.
"What's up, guys?" Hedge calls as he trots up. "Wow, nice place. Oooh, sod squares!"
"Coach, you just ate." sighs Jason. "And, we're using the sod as part of the floor. This is, ah, Mellie-"
"An aura," Hedge smiles winningly. "As beautiful as a summer breeze."
Mellie blushes.
Juliette's jaw drops. She resists the urge to squeal once again. Okay, that was cute. Points for Gleeson Hedge.
Jason seems less enthused. He grimaces and gestures to their host. "And, Aeolus was just about to help us."
The wind lord sighs so hard it blows all of their hair backwards. "Yes, yes, I suppose so. You'll find Enceladus at Mount Diablo."
"Devil Mountain?" Leo asks nervously. "That doesn't sound good."
"Hey, I already said earlier - Hades is not that bad-"
"I remember that place!" Piper gasps. "I went there once with my dad. It's just East of the San Francisco Bay."
Julie claps her hands together and steps forward leadingly. "Great! So, do we have the information we needed, then?"
The group looks at each other tensely. They glance between Aeolus, who's busy watching a video of a tornado blowing away a children's hospital, and Juliette, who's blinking at them expectedly.
Julie nods. "Cool. I'm gonna take that awkward silence as a 'yes.'"
She steps around Millie towards Aeolus. "Excuse me, Millie. Hey, Aeolus?"
The god hums, his eyes still on the TV. Julie reaches into her backpack and pulls out her secret weapon.
She holds it out to the god. He turns slowly and freezes when he sees it. His painted smile slips, and he looks at her with wide eyes.
Julie nods.
"Yeah." She confirms. "It's what you think it is. Cooperate with me, and maybe this day will go well for you."
Aeolus' mouth drops open. He looks at her in shock as she steps forward onto the set.
"That's-" He chokes.
He gulps and shakes out his limbs before speaking again, shakily.
"That's...the limited edition La Praire Skin Nectar...from-"
"Paris." Juliette confirms. She waves it in front of his face enticingly. He swallows thickly again. "Only 20 bottles were sold in the whole world. I've barely used this one. And it can all be yours. For a price."
Aeolus nods immediately. "What do you want? Whatever it is, yes. This will make my broadcast ratings so much higher!"
Julie grins at him. "Okay, slow down. All I need you to do is make me a promise."
He narrows his eyes at her suspiciously, then. "What promise? If it's to stop my segment on 'Top Olympus Breakups of the Week,' no way. That's my highest rater. It's not my fault your mother can't keep it in her-"
"Gods, no! Spout her business all you want. That's great for me, honestly." Juliette smirks. The god visibly relaxes and gestures for her to go on. "I want you to swear on the Styx that you will never, consciously or unconsciously, execute the will of Gaea."
The ichor drains from Aeolus' face. His eyes start to dart from Julie to her friends. "What-Why would you...She's not...Why would you ask for that?"
Julie shrugs. "It's not like that's gonna be relevant, right? She's been asleep for milennia."
He shifts. "I suppose..."
"And, if she did wake up, she could hardly force you to break an oath on the Styx. I mean, even Gaea fears Lady Styx."
"Well, you're right about that..."
"So?" She prompts, uncapping the foundation and letting it drip slowly from the wand into the neck of the bottle. The god lets out a hollow breath and leans forward with pleading eyes. Juliette grins at him. "Do we have a deal, or not?"
Aeolus pauses for a moment and seems to mull it over. His hands are shaking, but his eyes never stray from the fancy makeup in her hand. Finally, he nods vigorously. "Fine! Yes! I swear on the Styx never to do anything Gaea wishes, by my will or another's."
Thunder booms overhead, and Juliette beams. She sees her friends tense beside them. Julie recaps the foundation, glances at her friends with an intense, meaningful look, and holds out her right hand for a handshake.
Aeolus surges forward and accepts. Just as his left hand closes around the foundation, his right connects - palm to palm- with Juliette's. A flash of blue light explodes from between them, and the room plunges into Arctic temperatures.
Juliette has said it before, and she'll say it again. Falling stinks.
She lets out the most embarrassing, highest pitched scream of her life and clings desperately to Leo as they fall into the pit. Luckily, his screaming matches hers in pitch and volume, so at least she's not alone.
Their descent slows just barely, and Julie looks up to see Mellie the aura floating above them, visibly straining to keep them in the air. Aeolus' manic voice screams "Mellie, you are so fired!" from above them, and the nymph looks to Jason desperately.
"Son of Zeus, do you have any power over the air?!"
Jason nods. "A little!"
"Then, help me, or you're all dead!"
The nymph snatches Jason's hand, and he looks around at the group. His frantic eyes land on Julie's terrified face and suddenly become steady and calm. His shoulders roll back, his jaw clenches, and his voice comes out commanding. "Group hug!" He orders, reaching out to take Piper's hand mid-air.
Julie squeezes Leo's fingers tighter as she and Piper reach desperately for one another. After a second of fumbling, they're all circled up and pulling towards each other into a tight penguin huddle.
"This is NOT GOOD!" Leo screams as they continue to fall.
"I'm so tired of falling!" sobs Juliette.
Hedge kicks his feet at venti as they plummet. "Bring it on, gas bags! I'll pulverize you!"
"He's magnificent." Mellie sighs wistfully.
"Concentrate!" snaps Jason.
"Right!"
A gust of wind picks up the whole group just as they start to pass one of the archway windows. Juliette's stomach flips as the gust flings them violently sideways and out of the building. It's bright outside now, maybe around noon or so, but she's having trouble enjoying the sunshine while she's spinning like a pinwheel in a 100 mph torrent of wind. Mellie quickly uses up all of the power and dissolves into the sky with a shouted request for Gleeson to Iris her.
Now, it's all on Jason. And, in true Jason fashion, he's passing out.
"No, no, no, no!" Julie pleads. She lets go of Piper's hand to smack Jason on the cheek. He just groans as his eyes roll into the back of his head in exhaustion. "Wake up, wake up!"
"Stay awake, Superman!" "Jason!" "Grace, don't you start slacking on me!"
It's no use. The son of Jupiter's head falls forward, and they all start to plummet.
Leo and Piper let out shrill screams. Hedge starts swearing vehemently in satyr-friendly language (lots of "grass" and "stamens" in there). Juliette shuts her eyes tightly and tries desperately to summon her powers.
Her arms stretch a little, but burning pain ripples through the muscles and contract the growth almost immediately. She shouts out her frustration.
They're going to die. They have two people in their party who can fly, and they're going to die via skydiving. The Fates think they're hilarious, don't they?
Just as Juliette is about to give up hope, Piper lets out a fearful sob. The sound cuts into Julie like a hacksaw, and the world comes back into clarity.
They have maybe thirty seconds before they hit the treetops. That's probably enough time. They have to exhaust all options.
So, Julie does something she hasn't tried since she was eleven years old.
She prays.
'Mom? It's Juliette. I know hearing my voice is probably making you nauseous, but Piper's here too.'
Tears sting in Julie's eyes. It's probably just from the wind.
'I know we don't get along. You don't have to help me. But, I promised Piper and Leo wouldn't get hurt.'
'She's one of your good ones. You love her. Save them, please.'
The trees are closer now. Julie strains desperately, trying with every part of her to summon even a little bit of power. Her arms stretch again. This time, it sticks. They start to expand into wings that wrap protectively around her friends, but it's not enough. She won't be able to save them.
'Please, Mom. I'll never bother you again.'
"I love you guys." Piper sobs, clutching Jason, Leo, Hedge, and Juliette as tightly as she can.
Tears spill from Julie's eyes and slap back against her face like shrapnel. The trees are closer.
Closer.
Seconds to go.
And then, in a flurry of dove feathers, Juliette's friends disappear, and she's falling by herself. She gasps. She looks around.
She has just enough time to let out a tearful, grateful laugh before hitting the tree tops.