THIRTY-THREE
Jason did not know when he ended up on the shore of a sandy beach, struggling to keep the jaws of a giant sea serpent from closing in on him. But here he was.
The Trojan Sea Monster had terrible timing. It had come for Jason just as he'd finished slashing his way through a swarm of gryphons, shooting bursts of air at them to knock them away from the battle raging below. He had ended up over the river separating Istanbul from the rest of Turkey, where he had fallen prey to the Trojan Sea Monster almost instantly.
Jason should have known he would cross this thing sooner or later.
"Oh, gods," he gasped out, pushing up harder with his arms. He could see his sword lying several feet away, the gold glinting in the sunlight. "Whoa!" Jason yelped, losing his balance. Thankfully, he fell forwards and not backwards, into the serpent's mouth. Jason summoned a wave of air to push him away from the monster's mouth before it could grab a bite of his legs.
"Jason!" someone shouted behind him. Jason couldn't turn to look, however. He grabbed his sword and charged.
Only to be beaten to it by a slew of silver arrows.
"Jason!" the voice shouted again. He turned around just in time to see a black blur jump at him. He was knocked to the ground, a pair of thin, lithe arms wrapping themselves around him in the tightest of embraces.
"What the... Thalia?" Jason blinked, breathing in the familiar scent of his sister. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face in her hair. "Thalia."
She pulled back and grinned at him, her blue eyes bright. "Always getting yourself in trouble," she teased, pointing to the body of the Sea Monster behind them.
"You know me," Jason agreed, sheathing his sword and pulling back from their embrace. He glanced behind Thalia to see a small army of Hunters setting up a barrier between the river behind him and the town where the battle raged. "How did you get here?"
Thalia shook her head. "It was the most incredible thing, Jason. We were camped out in the Andes, trying to figure out how to go on without Artemis." Her expression darkened. "It was getting bad. We were fighting, arguing about every little thing. I really thought it was the end for the Hunters."
"What changed?"
Thalia jerked her thumb over her shoulder to the battle. "That did. We got an Iris-Message from Chiron, something about a battle and life and death. The end of the world. Normal stuff. We were getting ready to head out when..." Thalia took a deep breath. "When she came back."
Jason frowned. "Who?"
Thalia's eyes shone with what could only be described as starlight. "Artemis," she breathed. "She came back to us, out of the trees, like she had never left. She brought us mounts, told us we needed to come here to help you guys. I almost didn't believe it was her. I still can't."
Jason's eyes widened. "How is that possible? She... She died, Thalia."
Thalia shook her head. "Something changed," she said softly. "Can't you feel it? Things feel... different. Better somehow. More right."
"Hold!" one of the Hunters shouted from a few feet away. She nocked an arrow in her bow and took aim. There was a large, black panther slinking its way towards Jason and Thalia. "Ready arrows!" she shouted to the other Hunters, who were already following suit.
"No, stop!" Jason shouted, running forward. He had recognized the panther instantly. "It's one of Frank's."
"Stand down!" Thalia ordered, running after him. She looked the panther once over and raised her eyebrows. "Since when does Frank have pet panthers?"
Jason glanced back at the battle behind them. "You said it yourself, things have changed. Our powers... they're different now. Better, stronger." He glanced back at the panther, who was watching him expectantly. Its expression seemed to be saying, what are you waiting for? It's time to haul your podex back to the battle!
"We have to go," Jason announced. "We have to follow it. Frank's calling me."
Thalia nodded and whistled to her Hunters. "Lead the way, baby brother."
"There you are!" Annabeth exasperated when she caught sight of Jason running into the hospital, the panther having led him and the Hunters there. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of who was following right at Jason's heels. "Thalia!" she cried, sprinting forward and launching herself into her friend's arms.
Percy's dark head poked out from behind the hospital doors. "Annabeth, did you just say – Thalia!"
"Percy." Thalia hugged him tightly. "We got the message about your Dad earlier," she said anxiously. "Are you alright?"
Percy shook his head, returning her embrace briefly. "He's fine, it's not what you think," he reassured her. He looked at Jason. "Get inside," he said. "We have a lot to discuss."
Jason nodded and took a step towards the hospital entrance but froze when he saw a familiar flash of orange in the corner of his eye. He turned and frowned. "Is that Connor Stoll?"
Percy sighed impatiently and grabbed Jason's arm, pulling him forwards. "Just get in here, Jason."
Jason stumbled through the hospital entrance and almost fell over when he saw what was within.
He did a head count. One, two, three... Twelve. Twelve Olympian gods sat before him. Beside Ares, Hades was peeling open a pomegranate with his legs propped up on the table between them all. Artemis was sharpening a hunting knife and speaking to Apollo and Demeter in a soft voice, a gentle smile on her face. Dionysus was pouring him, Hermes, and Zeus glasses of wine, beaming at his father the whole while. Poseidon was handing out plates of fish and chips, laughing gaily with Athena. Hephaestus, Aphrodite, and Ares were sitting close together, deep in discussion.
"It's beautiful, don't you think?" Hera said when she spotted Jason. She stood up from her place beside Zeus and came over to him, smiling. "It makes me happy to see our family together again like this, Jason. All thanks to you and your friends."
"But... How...?" Jason was at a loss for words.
"Apparently, when we reached for our powers, we reached further than we planned," Percy told him. He snagged a fry from Apollo as he walked around the table to a door that led to another room. "Come on, we're going this way."
"How is this happening?" Jason demanded, allowing Thalia and Annabeth to usher him past the reunited gods and into the other room.
In this room, too, Jason was speechless.
Demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter were mixed together all over the room. They were sharpening weapons, studying maps, throwing knives, bandaging wounds. A wild sea of orange and purple clad demigods stared at him when he walked in. Then, there was a raucous cheer. People came up to Jason and his friends, clapping them on the backs and saying things like "We knew you'd be able to do it!" and "Thank the gods you're all okay" and "Missed you so much!". Jason could do nothing but stare back at them as they swarmed him.
Jason's head was swimming. He didn't feel like he was on solid ground until Piper and Leo joined him, Piper slipping her hand into Jason's with practiced ease.
"Someone tell me what's happening," Jason croaked.
"It was Kelly and Chaos," Piper said, her eyes shining. She looked beautiful; Jason noted that in a part of his mind that wasn't currently having an aneurysm. "She didn't betray us, neither did Chaos. They went to get the camps, the Hunters... and Chaos brought back the gods. Somehow. I don't know."
"Jason, come on," Percy called from the other side of the room. When did he get over there? "They're waiting for us."
Jason almost groaned. "Who else is gonna show up?" he demanded, pushing his way through the throng of demigods to join Percy.
The son of Poseidon just laughed. He had a large bandage wrapped around his head that Jason had not noticed before but was otherwise unharmed. A surge of relief went through him; Jason hadn't seen Percy since he had saved him from Antaeus. Annabeth looked a little worse for wear: she was limping visibly and had blood dripping down her shoulder. But she grinned at Jason in a way he hadn't seen since before their quest had started.
"We're having a meeting," she told him, leading him down a corridor. "Just a few people." She pushed open one of the doors in the hallway and led the way through.
"Reyna!" Jason grinned when he saw his former praetor seated at a large, rectangular table in the middle of the room.
"Hello, Jason," she said, smiling warmly at him. She was twirling a dagger in her fingers idly.
"Being a Hunter has treated you well," he told her, clasping her forearm in his. "You look happy."
Reyna nodded slightly, a proud expression on her face. "I am. Especially because I know I left New Rome in good hands." She nodded to Frank and Hazel, who were seated a few feet away.
"Jason, my boy." The clip-clop of hooves behind Jason made him turn. Chiron's warm smile was like a breath of fresh air for Jason. "I'm so glad you're all okay."
"It's good to see you, Chiron. I still can't believe you made it," Jason admitted, shaking the centaur's hand.
"It was a close call," Chiron agreed. "And we were certainly surprised to see a living, breathing angel descending from the clouds into the strawberry fields, summoning us to battle." He raised his eyebrows at Jason. "You've been busy, all of you."
"Oh, come on," Percy said. "We've done worse."
"Let's get this meeting started," Frank suggested, rising from his seat. Looking around, Jason realized he and the others were the last to arrive. Hazel and Frank had taken seats at the head of the table, beside Chiron and Reyna. Jason was surprised to see Nico also seated at the table, but the son of Hades looked to be absorbed in whatever he was discussing with Will Solace. The son of Apollo was covered in blood, though none of it seemed to be his own.
Piper, Leo, Jason, Percy, and Annabeth took their seats at the table.
Leo glanced around briefly. "Where's Calypso?"
"She left," Nico said, breaking away from his conversation with Will. "Something about helping the injured. I think she's just trying to avoid the gods right now, though."
"You can see her later, Leo," Piper told him. She nodded at Frank, who was still standing patiently. "We need to plan our next move."
Frank nodded at her. "Thanks, Piper." He straightened slightly and nodded at Hazel, who stepped forward. They looked so right, standing there as co-praetors, Jason thought. He had never stuck around at Camp Jupiter to see them in action together. The need to get back to Piper and his other friends had always been too strong.
Maybe I really am more Greek than Roman, he thought to himself.
"The angel army cleared out pretty quickly when the reinforcements came," Hazel began, gesturing to Chiron and Reyna. "But we all know they won't be gone for long. They'll be back, they're just re-gathering their forces."
Frank nodded. "The falcons I sent out have already seen some movement on their side of the field. They won't stay down long at all."
"Just how far do your new powers go?" Nico broke in. "I mean, all of you."
Annabeth shook her head. "We don't know. Every time I think I've peaked I hear someone new in my head." She grimaced. "It's becoming a little distracting on the field."
"You'll just have to learn to compartmentalize," Chiron advised. "You've been given a great gift, Annabeth. You all have."
"Will, how are the casualties so far? Any losses?" Frank pressed on.
Will shook his head. "Everyone's basically fine. Apollo got to most of them before I did, patched them up. We've only really had grunt work to do. Everyone's fighting fit. Except," he added as an afterthought, looking over at Percy, "I'd really like to check out your head again, Perce. You took a real hit."
Percy shook his head. "No, no, I'm fine. Right as rain."
"Percy-"
"Will," he interrupted, "I'm fine. Pulled some water vapor from the clouds and fixed myself right up."
"You can do that now?" Leo broke in.
Percy grinned. "Make it rain, baby."
"Alright, okay." Hazel nodded and smiled thinly. "We need a new plan for when the angels make their next move."
"One that Percy didn't come up with, please," Leo grumbled.
"Hey!"