Chapter Text
Leo peered skeptically at the mountainside below as he maneuvered the Argo to hover just above one of the flatter peaks. Trees were bunched at the bottom of it, stretching into a forest that was miles wide. From the air, there was no indication that it would be worthwhile to land here. He said as much.
"How is this supposed to help us?" he asked, fidgeting with his Wii remotes while Jason flew around the underside of the vessel, yelling occasional direction. "I mean, besides getting us smashed to death by rock giants."
"Ourae," Annabeth corrected automatically, glancing down at a map while Percy hovered near the railing, looking down uneasily. Perhaps because they had left the sea behind them for now in favor of breaching mountain god territory. "And they're not giants. They're gods."
"What they are is annoying," Leo muttered, and Festus huffed his agreement by blowing a puff of steam through his nose. Jason yelled an affirmation and Leo brought the Argo to a dead hover. "And seriously. Why are we doing this?"
It was Hazel who came forward and answered. "If we can find a way to make peace with the numina montanum, then we can travel above land rather than oversea to get to Athens faster. And the faster we do that, the faster we can---"
"Stop Gaea, yeah yeah," Leo said. "So then I guess the question is, who's going to make peace?"
Jason chose that moment to fly back onto the deck. "I'll go."
Being the son of Zues and all, or whoever the Roman equivalent was, made him the obvious choice. Being the boyfriend of Piper and all, made her the obvious one to volunteer next.
"That should work," Annabeth said, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Though it'd probably be a good idea to have someone else."
The surrounding demigods nodded their affirmation --- Romans and Greeks alike shared the sentiment that quests led by demigods were better done in threes.
"I have to stay here to man the Mist if we want to avoid getting decimated by giant boulders," Hazel said, and nobody disagreed because nobody wanted to get decimated by giant boulders.
Annabeth tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. "I'd go but my ankle's been acting up..."
She probably hadn't meant to make the mood so solemn, but as soon as she said it, all seven demigods were simultaneously reminded of Annabeth and Percy's time spent in Tartarus as well as the dangerous mission that Nico, Reyna, and Coach Hedge were attempting at the very moment.
"Too bad you guys are incompetent," Leo said to break the tension, instantly prompting incredulous looks from the others --- especially Frank and Hazel, who still hadn't forgotten his Archimedes fanboy rant from a while ago. "Otherwise I could go and we'd still have someone able to man the Argo."
Piper laughed in that magical, Aphrodite way. "If only."
Leo shot her a grin.
"I'll go," Percy said easily, stepping forward and sliding one arm around Annabeth's waist. "I'm great at negotiations."
Annabeth looked at him, while Hazel raised her eyebrows and Frank crossed his arms. Piper squinted at him.
Percy didn't seem too offended. "Okay, so maybe I'm not a diplomat but I have pretty good instincts when it comes to like. Helping out. And stuff."
Annabeth looked halfway between laughter and exasperation. Frank wasn't even concealing a dopey smile, the teddy bear in him shining through.
"Okay, not to rain on your parade or anything, Percy. Seriously, you're a good guy. Great fighter. Can talk to horses. All valuable stuff." Leo said. "But there has literally never been a time when you, Jason, and Piper went on a quest that ended up going well. Literally never."
"Way to not rain on my parade," Percy said, but he didn't seem as concerned as Jason and Piper were. Or as concerned as the others were, for that matter. "But the chances of any of us being drowned to death or mind-controlled again is pretty low, right?"
"I mean, I wouldn't tempt it," Hazel said ominously under her breath.
"C'mon," Percy urged. "We're a great team. We got this."
He was met with uncertainty and tried again. "What's that saying again? Third time's the charm?"
"Or bad things come in threes," Piper muttered, which earned her an offended glare from Percy.
"So that means we're good to go, right? As in me, Piper, and Jason."
The others exchanged glances but since nobody else was actively volunteering to risk getting demolished to go make peace with the mountain guys, nobody argued. Percy smiled triumphantly. Leo found it annoying how he could do that without seeming arrogant or obnoxious.
"Awesome," he said, pressing a kiss to Annabeth's cheek. "So what's the plan?"
<>-<>-<>
Ten minutes later, Jason was lowering all three of them to the ground while Hazel summoned immense clouds of Mist to hide both their descent and the Argo.
Percy was glad to have solid earth under his feet, something that he'd started to miss since being rescued from Tarturus, having that one picnic, and confining most of their recent journey to travel by air. There was something different about walking on real dirt again and not a polished wood deck thousands of feet off the ground. It reminded him of Camp Half-Blood, or even Camp Jupiter.
"So how far away is the other mountain again?" Percy asked.
They'd be traveling from the short mountain that Leo had parked over to the largest one, where supposedly dwelled the head ourae, who might be willing to strike a deal, Kymopoleia style. Going straight to that mountain over air was apparently suicide by rock, which meant they'd be tromping through a few miles of woods and climbing halfway up said mountain to conduct negotiations.
Percy didn't know why the mountain gods had decided to set up camp in some random mountains in Europe as opposed to other places with significantly more demigod traffic at whom to throw boulders at, but he wasn't complaining (that much.) And to each their own, right?
Piper looked at Jason, who glanced at the map in his hands. "Uh... three miles? Not including the mountain climb."
"Cool," Percy said, eyeing the peak of the largest mountain which plunged upwards through the trees. "Then we should probably get going if we want to get back before sundown."
Piper and Jason both nodded, and they were on their way.
So... mountain gods were really not great at striking deals, even at the promise of action figures.
Had Jason not done his Superman thing, they would've been smashed into a grease spot on the doorstep of the mountain god's cave. As it was, Jason flew them back down to the foot of the mountain, all with significantly lower hopes.
Not only had they failed to get safe passage, but the head dude had promised that if he saw a hint of anyone above the treetops, he'd unleash the full force of his entire army. That meant no Superman shortcut, as Percy had hoped.
They'd have to wait until they got back to Leo's mountain before doing any flying, which was honestly fine with Percy. It sure beat getting annihilated by rocks. Plus, he'd never done well in the air anyways.
It was mostly quiet on the back towards the Argo. Being unable to reach a peace with the ourae meant that their journey to Athens would be prolonged by two days, on top of the distance they had yet to go.
And while Leo had predicted that the three of them going meant almost certain death, he had been wrong (Percy didn't count the rock leader's tantrum as a valid near death experience.) Of course, no sooner had the thought crossed his mind did Jason suddenly gasp and stumble forward into a tree, holding himself up like he was in pain, fingers digging into the bark like if he let go, he'd collapse. That's when Percy remembered, don't ever, ever tempt the Fates. Even in your own mind.
"Jason?" Piper asked as both her and Percy moved forward. "Jason, what's wrong?"
Percy reached for Riptide, immediately on high alert. As he approached Jason's unmoving form, he scanned the perimeter for threats. There didn't seem to be any indication of one, not even snapping twigs or rustling branches, but he knew better than to let his guard down.
Piper was at Jason's side, but she wasn't succeeding at getting his attention. He wouldn't even look back at her. She and Percy exchanged a worried glance.
He came up from behind, but Jason didn't seem to notice. He was gripping that tree for dear life, and did he seem to be shaking slightly? Percy couldn't tell. He sure was breathing hard though.
"Jason," Piper said, and the worry in her voice grew more jagged. "Look at me. What's going on?"
Jason's hand reached for his belt, where his sword was sheathed through a belt loop. Percy glanced at Piper in warning, she stepped in front of him, perhaps trying to get a look at his face. It was hard since his head was tilted towards the ground and his blonde hair was falling over his forehead.
Percy stepped into Piper's old spot by Jason's side, clapping a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Grace, what's going on? We're almost to the base of the mountain. The Argo's waiting."
"Jason," Piper tried again. "What are you---"
Jason moved so fast that Percy didn't even see the sword coming until it sliced the back of his knee, sending him to one knee with a pained yell, blood quickly soaking the dirt and his jeans.
Piper screamed as Jason knocked Percy all the way down and wielded his sword, the golden tip of which was red with Percy's blood.
Percy didn't know what was happening, why Jason had attacked him, until Piper yelled, "His eyes are gold!" and raised her own sword to protect herself.
She was too hesitant, and Percy knew that Jason wasn't going to be pulling any punches. He had to do something --- fast.
Though pain radiated white hot through his leg, Percy pulled himself upright, gasping and stifling a scream through clenched teeth. By the time his vision was done swirling, the hazy edges becoming suddenly high definition, Jason knocked down Piper's sword and Piper was on her way to getting cornered against a tree.
"Hey!" Percy shouted, lunging forward despite his mangled knee and tackling Jason from behind just as he swung his sword down at Piper.
They hit the ground hard, Jason’s sword sandwiched between them. The impact further aggravated Percy’s knee, drawing a sharp yell from his mouth as he fought to keep Jason down without killing him, every movement agonizing. Jason seemed to realize this because he managed to land a perfect blow to Percy’s leg. That was all it took for Percy to let go, and for Jason to get the upper hand. Jason’s kick sent Percy sprawling onto his back. Before he knew it, Jason was above him, trying to grab his sword without letting Percy up.
Piper skirted behind them, screaming at Jason to stop. Percy didn’t want her to come too close, in case Jason hurt her, but whenever she got within striking distance, Jason pushed her away like she was just a nuisance and not something worth trading for Percy Jackson’s life; in other words, that was bad news for Percy.
Jason leaned over to grab his sword which had fallen, and Percy used his good leg to land a kick on Jason's chest, knocking him back.
Pained tears gathered in his eyes, and Percy could hardly draw in a breath. The blood wasn't stopping but neither was Jason, which meant Percy couldn't afford to either.
As Jason recovered, far more quickly than Percy was able to, Piper dove forward and kicked the sword away, once again unwilling to harm Jason too bad. Luckily, Percy didn't share the same sentiment, at least not for non-lethal defense moves.
"Piper," Percy gasped, as he pulled himself up, not daring to put any support on his leg. "Appeal to the eidolon. Get it to leave again."
A few weeks ago, Piper may not have thought herself able to. But Percy had seen the change since he'd come back from Tartarus, the confidence and quiet power Piper carried. She just had to remember to use it. And Percy had to keep Jason distracted long enough to give her the chance to.
"Eidolon!" Piper said, and Jason twitched in acknowledgement, even as he shoved her away again.
Percy drew his sword, which efficiently sent Jason after him instead. Percy knew he wouldn't be able to hold Jason off for too long, especially if he started messing with air.
"Listen to me!" Piper said, voice almost irresistible to obey because of the charmspeak. "Let Jason go."
It was disturbing to see and hear the eidolon speak using Jason's mouth. His strike glanced off Percy's sword just as he said, "I can't do that. Not until the son of Poseidon is dead."
Piper's eyes widened, and Percy was slightly surprised that he was the main target. He figured it was one of those BOGO things where the eidolon was just attacking Percy because he was there, maybe ignoring Piper because the eidolon deemed Percy a bigger threat, but apparently not.
"You will," Piper said, voice hardening as she tried to get close enough to help. “Get away from him.”
"Focus on getting the eidolon out, not---" Percy didn't move fast enough to escape Jason's next swing.
The golden blade sliced a line from the lower right of Percy's chest to the top left. Percy stumbled back and Jason kicked out his injured knee, tearing a strangled cry from Percy's throat.
Piper was yelling, trying to appeal to eidolon, but she was clearly distracted by Jason's attack on Percy. Jason, who dropped his sword in favor of getting above Percy and delivering two punches to Percy's face.
Percy groaned, head whipping to the side as his arms came up to block the next blow. Jason took advantage of the delirium of pain that was draining Percy's strength and managed to wrap his hands around Percy's throat.
Percy immediately seized up, hands clawing at Jason's arms while he struggled to pull in any air.
"Piper, keep--- keep trying---"
Staring up into Jason's face, Percy felt a surge of fear. His eyes were pure gold, his face angry and red and unrelenting, and Percy couldn't help but wonder if his focus on Percy was something that was derived from any hostile feelings Jason already had, or if Gaea really just wanted Percy to die that bad. Either way, Percy wasn't willing to sacrifice Jason to save his own life, so fighting back while he was being strangled left him limited options.
"You're lucky you're my friend," Percy choked out, gripping Jason's arms and moving them just enough to allow Percy to bring his head up and slam it into Jason's.
Jason let go and Percy inhaled gratefully while he tried to get out from under him. He managed to get out in time to dodge the sword that Jason sloppily swung at him. As soon as the blade reached the end of its arc, Percy got behind Jason and pinned his arms behind his back.
"Now, Piper!" he yelled, as Jason struggled to buck Percy off.
The livid thrashing on Jason's part meant that every injury he'd sustained was being jostled. It was agonizing, and Percy's vision was washed with black between movement while Piper knelt in front of her possessed boyfriend.
"Jason, fight this," Piper urged. "That is your friend. And this isn't you."
When Jason's struggles slowed slightly, the charmspeak doing what Jason’s will alone couldn’t, Piper addressed the thing controlling him.
"Eidolon, you swore on the Styx," Piper cried angrily, eyes blazing. "You can't break that kind of promise lightly."
Percy couldn't tell, but it sounded like he was smiling, which must've been disturbing to look at. "Ah, but you're wrong. My brothers swore never to return. Gaea sent me in their stead."
For once, Piper was getting to him. The thrashing slowed, if only slightly, and Percy was able to readjust his grip, getting his arms firmly around Jason's with a strong hug from behind, if you would.
"You will leave now," Piper said, fierce and commanding despite the tears dripping down her face. "And you will tell all of your kind that they may not come back for either of us, or you will kill them yourself."
The eidolon struggled to resist but couldn't for long. This breed must have been weaker, because that was all it took. The eidolon used Jason's mouth to let out a displeased hiss before Jason went limp. Good. Percy wouldn't have been able to hold him off much longer.
Jason crumpled and Percy pushed himself away, dropping onto his back and gasping for air.
He squeezed his eyes shut as his entire body throbbed. Piper let out a cry of relief and rushed forward, bypassing Jason and dropping to Percy's side.
"Percy." She pressed a hand to the deepest part of the cut on Percy's chest, eyes wide with fear. "Stay with me."
He cracked his eyes open and offered her a bloody smile. "It'll take more than your boyfriend to finish me off." His body language, every muscle tensed with pain, begged to differ, but Piper didn't say so. "Speaking of---"
"He'll recover," Piper said, coming back into herself. Percy could only imagine the trauma of her having seen her boyfriend be mind controlled into attacking them --- again. "But you won't if we don't stop this bleeding.”
Percy groaned as she applied more pressure, but he gritted his teeth and looked skyward to keep from flinching.
"Whatever you say, princess," Percy managed weakly.
She rolled her eyes, but he could tell that his poor attempt at joking was relieving some of the mental pressure that was hardening her face.
"Piper?" Jason's voice came from behind them, sounding he'd just woken up from a nap. Speaking of naps, Percy sure could use one. "Percy? What happened? Who did this to him?"
Clearly, Piper was on the verge of tears, but Percy had learned that just because Piper didn't close herself off every time she felt a surge of weakness or emotional vulnerability didn't mean she was weak. On the contrary, it made her strong as steel, and Percy wouldn't forget that any time soon.
"Don't you remember?" Piper said distractedly, tearing her sleeves off into neat strips (as neat as she could get in a hurry at least) and wrapping them below Percy's knee. "You did." Jason made a startled noise but Piper didn't focus on it. Percy was too focused on not blacking out to pay attention to either of them. "But it doesn't matter. You need to help me keep him awake."
Easier said than done, because Percy was already deciding that the forest floor didn't make a horrible bed. His eyes were fluttering and it was only the raw, terrified edge of Piper's voice calling out that made him hold them open as best he could.
"Don't do that," Piper said. "Stay awake."
"You're right," Percy said dazedly, with an out of place grin that basically screamed blood loss. "Annabeth would totally kill me if I died." He managed to lock his gaze on Jason, who was looking down at Percy with wide, guilty eyes. "Oh, hey Jason. You look like you're going to throw up. Please don't throw up on me."
Piper cast him a frazzled glance. "Sparky, I know you're freaked out, but you have to help me out here."
Percy couldn't help the choked gasp that came when Piper tightened the bandages around the back of his knee, throwing his head back against the dirt and squeezing his eyes shut again.
"This sucks," he gasped out before pressing his lips together, and that seemed to shock Jason back into reality.
He pressed his hands against the shallow cut on Percy's chest, bunching some of the material of Percy's shirt to soak up the blood and hopefully stop the bleeding.
"I'm sorry," was all Jason could manage to say, guilt hollowing out his chest, as he watched the blood steadily stop flowing over Percy's chest. "I don't--- I don't know what---"
"It wasn't your fault," Piper insisted, gently tying off her makeshift pressure bandage.
"Definitely not," Percy said, but Jason couldn't be too convinced considering his voice was gravelly and hoarse, which probably had something to do with Jason nearly strangling him to death. "But possession's a nasty habit, Grace."
Jason let out a dry laugh. "I think I might have figured that out."
Percy managed a grin.
"Can we move you?" Piper asked gently. "I need to get a better look at that knee."
Percy felt like he was going to pass out, but he nodded anyways. Jason moved automatically, him and Piper perfectly in sync as they snaked their arms behind his back and lifted him upright. Once he was in a sitting position, every cell in his body screaming at him to lay still, they eased him backwards until he was up against a tree.
Percy dropped his head, chest rising and falling wildly, even from that small motion.
"I don't suppose you have any nectar or ambrosia in that bag of yours, do you?" Percy asked.
Piper could have been a cartoon character for the ways her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open.
"Do I--- of course! Jason, can you---"
But he was already lunging over to where she'd dropped it when Jason --- no, the eidolon --- had first come at her. Jason passed it to Piper, keeping one eye on her as she fumbled to unzip it and the other on Percy as he tried to regain control of his breathing.
"It's not much, but---" She handed him a small vial filled with the golden liquid but no bigger or wider than Percy's index finger.
Not even a dose, but all they could afford to take from their dwindling stores on the Argo. Jason popped the cap off and passed it to him. Percy's hands were shaking so bad that he kept bumping his lip and threatening to drop it before it even reached his mouth.
Jason reached over and placed a hand over the struggling demigod's, helping his steady his grip enough to get it into his mouth.
Jason might have expected him to refuse the help in that typical, sacrificial Percy Jackson way, but instead, Percy smiled gratefully if not a little tiredly, eyelids drooping in slight relief as the nectar warmed his throat, tasting like memories.
"---and real bandages too," Piper was saying, digging through her small satchel. "And here I was performing emergency field medication."
"You're doing great, Pipes," Jason said, if only to compensate for the gnawing guilt because of the way that he was not doing great. "Stay calm. It won't hurt to have the makeshift bandages either."
Piper looked grateful for Jason's reassurance. He squeezed her hand before letting her get to wrapping Percy's knee --- the worst injury he'd sustained --- while he focused on making sure Percy didn't fall asleep.
If Jason was being honest, it was hard to look at Percy. Jason hadn't seen him so hurt since they'd rescued him and Annabeth from Tarturus. This seemed worse, if only because Jason had to live with knowing that he'd done all of it.
"I don't blame you," Percy said, slipping back into the seriousness that used to make Jason uneasy. That was, of course, before they'd both been silently competing to become the leader, before they realized that was unnecessary. "None of this was your fault."
Jason couldn't share the same sentiment, not without thinking slightly darker. "Then why was I the one they chose, huh? And why'd I go after you more than Piper?"
Percy's expression didn't change --- still as grim because he'd most likely considered this already. Piper bit her lip but let Percy answer himself and gods, it sounded like he'd eaten glass. Strangulation did that to you.
"I don't know," he said honestly. "But it doesn't matter that they chose you. And it doesn't matter that you didn't go after Piper, because if you had, I'd still be right here."
He smiled dryly, and the blood trailing down his chin from the split lip made Jason's chest pang, as well as the bruises darkening the bottom of his throat, his right eye, and his jaw. "No way I'd let you hurt her."
When Piper looked at Percy like maybe he was being misogynistic by implying she couldn't handle herself, he added, "You're the only one who could've stopped it. Who did stop it. Thanks for that, by the way."
"No problem," Piper breathed with a stressed laugh. "How about you pay me back by not dying on the way back?"
Percy shrugged. "No promises." When they both looked equally as horrified, he amended, "I'm kidding. Seriously. Kidding. I feel fine."
Piper paused in looking over her dressings by crossing her arms in disbelief. Percy looked down.
"Okay, I'm totally lying, but there's nothing we can do about it until we get back to the Argo." His eyes grew thoughtful. "Oh man, Leo's never going to shut up about being right. We don't do well on quests together."
They all shared a laugh until Percy realized that was a Bad Idea and his face twisted in pain. That effectively killed Jason and Piper's laughter, but with the sun setting, they couldn't afford to stall much longer or dwell on the injuries that peppered Percy's body.
"I can always fly us up..." Jason offered, looking up at the seemingly safe sky poking through the canopy above them.
Percy shook his head adamantly. "No way. I'm not in the mood to get creamed by a boulder, are you?" He sat up fully, pulling his back off of the tree and gritting his teeth to disguise how bad that hurt. "Also, I've been possessed before. I know what it takes out of you. Don't tell me that you're not exhausted."
Well, of course Jason was, but that seemed kind of babyish to admit in the face of Percy's injuries.
"Besides," Percy continued, offering them a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring but conveyed so much internal pain that Piper and Jason both exchanged a glance, already becoming more willing to risk Jason's option, "I don't do well in the sky anyways. Your dad, like, hates me."
Then he looked up at the sky like Jupiter would strike him down any moment.
"So it's settled," Piper said, faking the lightness in her voice. "We need to get moving."