╔═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╗
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
the fall of yay-son
╚═══ -ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ- ═══╝

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

DOROTHY HADN'T REALIZED that the four of them had gotten good at reading each other. A shared glance between them and a new plan had sprung in place. She gripped the handles of her colts and stared down the ugly ogres before her.

Jason charged Enceladus, Piper rushed to her father, Leo dashed for some of the last of the machinery, which stood between Mr. McLean and the Earthborn, and Dorothy shot a few down from where she stood. A group of the ogres looked confused by her guns, as if they'd never seen something like it before. Some of the beast's started to melt into a pile of gooey clay. Some took a bit longer to die when Dorothy didn't manage a headshot.

The Earthborn were fast, but she was faster, she ran like a bat out of hell, pulling a significant group away from Leo and Piper. Holstering one gun and pulling the Axe of Atalanta off her belt, she beheaded any beast too close to shoot.

From Dorothy's right she saw Leo use the arm of the machinery he was sitting in to swing through the bonfire, toppling burning logs onto the Earthborn and spraying sparks everywhere. Two giants went down under a fiery avalanche and melted back into the earth—hopefully to stay for a while.

They would be all right. Dorothy on the other hand was getting tired and having to constantly pull her feet out of the earth was exhausting on top of the fact that she was inhaling an insane amount of smoke. The Earthborn were too close for comfort, she holstered her second gun and got a better grip on her axe, swinging around violently as she tried to put a good amount of distance between her and the earthborn.

Some exploded into dust but others melted back into clay depending on the injuries they got. The axe victims melted into the ground as she jumped back again, using her powers to put some space between them.

Her powers. She has to get better at utilizing them. In a split second, her Axe was back on the belt and her hands were out, her purple tendrils of energy wrapping itself around the remaining four or five ogres, body parts came off very quickly after that, legs, arms then the heads, they all melted back into the earth after that. Behind them, Leo and Piper were standing with a look of shock on their face.

Leo opened his mouth to say something but then Enceladus took another thundering step in his battle with Jason, reminding them of where they are.

An earth-rumbling explosion rocked Dorothy to her knees as she lost her footing. Across the fiery clearing, she could see Jason on his back through the light refractions above the flames. Her heart leapt into her throat as she scrambled to her feet, joined by Piper and Leo, the three of them ran for Jason, flames parted by Dorothy's powers as she led them.

The giant and Jason were on opposite sides of a giant crater that from Dorothy's distance, looked like it had a glassy look to it. What the hell happened?

Enceladus blinked and observed the destruction around them, then laughed. "Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigod."

Enceladus leaped the now visible crater in a single bound, planting his feet on either side of Jason. The giant raised his spear, its tip hovering six feet over Jason's chest.

"And now," Enceladus said, "my first sacrifice to Gaea!"

Leo had already sprung into action, hopping into the last piece of equipment. Dorothy trusted that he was about to save Jason from the immediate danger. Her and Piper were running and digging in Dorothy's satchel for ambrosia or nectar, or anything that'll make him want to get the hell up.

The spear was about to start coming down and all Jason did was lay there like he was ready for his death. Dorothy wasn't. She was getting frustrated with being unable to find it, they were getting close but Leo was even closer with what he had.

Leo's voice yelled, "Heads up!"

A large black metal wedge slammed into Enceladus with a massive thunk! The giant toppled over and slid into the pit, taking that wedge with him as it ripped off from the rest of the machine. Was that what they used to chop trees down now? How efficient.

"Jason, get up!" Piper called. Her voice seemed to have energized him. He sat up, looking groggy, while Dorothy scooped him from under his arms and yanked him up to his feet.

"Don't die on me," Dorothy ordered, unable to hide the panic in her tone. "You are not dying on me."

"Yes, ma'am." He swayed slightly, covered in blood but his sky blue eyes stood out to her, almost making her want to buckle her knees with the close proximity she has to him.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts as she peered into the crater below. Enceladus was struggling to rise, an ax blade half her size was stuck in his breastplate.

Amazingly, the giant managed to pull the ax blade free. He yelled in pain and the mountain trembled. Dorothy finally found herself staying upright on shaky ground. Golden ichor soaked the front of his armor, but Enceladus stood.

Trembling, he bent down and retrieved his spear.

"Good try." The giant winced. "But I cannot be beaten."

As they watched, the giant's armor mended itself, and the ichor stopped flowing. Even the cuts on his dragon-scale legs, which Jason must have made while Dorothy was goofing off with the Earthborn, were now just pale scars.

Leo ran up to them, saw the giant, and cursed.

"What is it with this guy? Die, already!"

"My fate is preordained," Enceladus said, "Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes."

"Only by both," Jason said. The giant's smile faltered, and something flickered in his eyes— something like fear. "It's true, isn't it? Gods and demigods have to work together to kill you."

"You will not live long enough to try!" The giant started stumbling up the crater's slope, slipping on the glassy sides.

"Anyone have a god handy?" Leo asked.

Jason looked to be contemplating something before she saw the determination settle on his face. He has a half baked plan. Dorothy stepped back, unsure of what he was going to do.

"Leo," he said, "if you've got a rope in that tool belt, get it ready."

He leaped at the giant with no weapon but his bare hands. Dorothy wanted to yell out in protest but they were out of options, she had to force herself to trust that he knew what he was doing, that he knew better.

"Enceladus!" Piper yelled. "Look behind you!"

It was an obvious trick, but her voice was so compelling, even Dorothy was looking around behind the giant. Panicked, Enceladus said, "What?" and turned like there was an enormous spider on his back.

Jason tackled his legs at just the right moment. The giant lost his balance and Jason took the advantage to start climbing up as he stumbled. Enceladus slammed into the crater and slid to the bottom. While he tried to rise, Jason put his arms around the giant's neck. When Enceladus struggled to his feet, Jason was riding his shoulders.

"Get off!" Enceladus screamed. He tried to grab Jason's legs, but Jason scrabbled around, squirming and climbing over the giant's hair.

Suddenly Dorothy could smell the scent of a storm in the air. The warmth of the sun was pulled away by dark clouds and she knew all at once what the plan was. The giant froze, sensing it too.

She didn't hear when Jason yelled to them, "Hit the deck!"

As every hair on her body stood, she used a wall of her magic to send her, Piper and Leo flying back and on the ground, now turning the wall into a dome over them.

Lightning slammed down into the crater, the thunder clapping in her ears like a gun went off next to her head. The giant's back stiffened, and Jason was thrown clear. Dorothy scrambled to her feet from her back, running to the edge of the crater, her arms shaking. The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus's legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.

He fixed Jason with a look of hatred. "You've won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, and Olympus will die with—"

The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice.
The earth shook. Jason fell toward the rift.

"NO!" Dorothy screamed and shot her hands down, tendrils of her magic shooting out at him and wrapping around him, desperately gripping onto any limbs of his that she could reach.

Her muscles pulled and tightened, her tired body shaking as she held him up and tried to get him out. Tears pricked her eyes from the strain, her ears were still ringing and blood pulsed in her face.

Jason was slowly pulled up as Dorothy groaned. Leo and Piper found rope and Jason did his best to try and catch it as Dorothy tried to steadily raise him. Once he was halfway up the crater, he grabbed the rope and Dorothy sighed in relief for only a moment before she continued to pull him up, it was now lighter due to Leo and Pipers help and in no time was Jason by their side again.

They stood together, exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at their feet. For now, Gaea was gone. Dorothy's lungs heaved in the smoky air, desperately trying to catch her breath. Her nose and throat burned, her sides were cramping and everything already started to ache.

The mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Jason looked up, whether he was silently thanking his father or just cloud gazing, Dorothy didn't know. She looked around at the mess they made of the clearing.

All around them was chaos. Where there wasn't fire, there was melted piles of clay from the Earthborn, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth. They shouldn't linger here much longer, they'll be back soon.

Machinery equipment lay in ruins everywhere else. The ground was scarred and blackened.
Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now stained and mixed with mud.

He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. "Did I do this?"

Before Jason could reply, Hedge picked up his club and shakily got to his feet. "Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"

He did a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.

Leo cracked a smile, and Jason did too. He started to laugh. To Dorothy, it was the most beautiful sound she's ever heard in that moment. Her heart fluttered at the noise and dammit, it was contagious, her laughter was croaky and it actually hurt to do it at all, but between fits of ragged coughing, her giggles were a pleasant feeling in her gut.

Then a man stood up across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, haunted. Like he witnessed a thousand wars. Dorothy had seen that in some of the soldiers her gang would come across, there clearly isn't a war led by Lincoln anymore, but when she left, the country was slap in the middle of it.

"Piper?" he called. His voice cracked. "Pipes, what—what is—"

He couldn't complete the thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn't seem to know her. Dorothy got a better view of him now, even covered in blood, dirt and torn clothing, she could see why people fawn over him.

The man looked out at Jason, Leo, and Dorothy and her heart broke. He was looking at them but he wasn't registering that they were there.

"We need to get him out of here," Jason said.

"Yeah, but how?" Leo said. "He's in no shape to walk."

A strange noise in the sky pulled Dorothy's eyes to the sky and a shriek escaped her throat as her eyes widened.

"What is that flying metal demon?" She screamed, tripping back and falling on her ass as her eyes stayed glued to the monster circling them.

There was more laughter coming from Leo before it turned into a yelp after getting smacked by Jason.

"Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" he asked Leo. "Piper has some talking to do."

After that, Jason was on his knees by Dorothy, his hand on her bicep as she kept her eyes on the demon.

"Dorothy it's alright, it's a mindless machine," he said over the noise of the chaos, "it's going to get us out of here."

A hand on her jaw pulled her attention down. The second Dorothy's eyes met Jason, her face heated up, his hand dropping onto his leg. Her breathing slowed to a normal pace, looking back up, it was closer now, she could see someone inside. A sigh of relief and she locked her eyes onto Jason, nodding, confirming she was alright. At least for now.

Piper convincing the driver of the machine— a helicopter is what Jason called it, was easy. But convincing Tristan McClean to get on was a whole different beast.

"No," her dad muttered, as they picked him up off the ground. "Piper, what— there were monsters— there were monsters—"

Dorothy helped Jason and Leo hold him up, trying to make sure he kept his focus on Piper, while Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately Hedge had put his pants and shoes back on, so they didn't have to explain the goat legs.

Dorothy couldn't imagine the turmoil Piper was going through right now seeing her father like this. She was grateful her own father regained his mind before he died, but she knows the unimaginable grief to see him turn into someone he's not.

"It'll be okay, Dad," Piper said, making her voice as soothing as possible. Dorothy knows by now that Piper hates using chsrmspeak, but it seemed the only way to get him to calm down. "These people are my friends. We're going to help you. You're safe now."

He blinked, and looked up at the moving parts of the helicopter.

"Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms..." When they got him to the doors of the machine, the woman driving it came over to help.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked.

"Smoke inhalation," Jason suggested. "Or heat exhaustion."

"We should get him to a hospital," the pilot said.

"It's okay," Piper said. "The airport is good."

"Yeah, the airport is good," the pilot agreed immediately. Then she frowned, as if confused by her sudden change of opinion. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"

"No," Piper said. "He only looks like him. Forget it."

"Yeah," the pilot said. "Only looks like him. I—" She blinked, confused again. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

Dorothy spared a glance at Piper to see the pained guilt on her face. Her heart clenched for her friend, she wished she could offer some comfort, but for all they had in common, there are some things Dorothy probably could never begin to understand.

When Tristan finally got into the machine and got strapped down, everyone put weird devices on over their ears, a piece of metal sticking out to hang infront of their mouth. Jason had to help Dorothy put hers on, as well as her straps. She couldn't help but note the linger of his brushing touch of his fingers. A small smile quirked on his face when they locked eyes. His thumb grazed against the beauty mark under her eye before he pulled away quickly.

The woman flying the machine kept getting questions from some strange machine block by her seat, asking her where she was going, but she ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed west towards the coast.

"Piper." Tristan grasped her hand and from the looks of his knuckles, his grip was tight, he seemed to have regained some of his lucidity. "It's you? They told me— they told me you would die. They said... horrible things would happen."

"It's me, Dad." Piper's voice was cracking now, she was fighting back tears. "Everything's going to be okay."

"They were monsters," he said. "Real monsters. Earth spirits, right out of Grandpa Tom's stories— and the Earth Mother was angry with me. And the giant, Tsul'kälû, breathing fire—" He focused on his daughter again, his eyes like shards of a shattered window. "They said you were a demigod. Your mother was..."

"Aphrodite," Piper said. "Goddess of love."

"I— I—" He took a shaky breath, and held it there.

Dorothy didn't feel inclined to watch them, they needed their moment together, she pulled out her book of magic and continued to read, picking up where she left off, memorizing spells as she came across them.

"I didn't know about Mom," Piper told him. "Not until you were taken. When we found out where you were, we came right away. My friends helped me. No one will hurt you again."

"You're heroes— you and your friends. I can't believe it. You're a real hero, not like me. Not playing a part. I'm so proud of you, Pipes." But the words were distant, like he was falling into another trance. "Your mother never told me."

"She thought it was for the best."

Piper took her father's hand and began talking. She talked about her time before the camp at a Wilderness school. She told him how Coach Hedge ate carnations and got knocked on his ass on Mount Diablo, how Dorothy had used her magic on multiple occasions to assist them and how she evaded police to get them food, how Leo had tamed a dragon, and how Jason had made wolves back down by talking in Latin.

Dorothy felt a small smile creep on her face as Piper recounted all of this to Tristan. He seemed to slightly relax as she talked, but he didn't smile. Dorothy wasn't convinced he was all there in his head.

As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out the doorway, Dorothy grabbed onto his arm, glaring at his reckless behavior. He pointed.

"What is that?"

Dorothy looked down, but there didn't seem to be anything unusual— just hills, woods, houses, little roads winding through the canyons. A large paved road cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns.

"Where?" Piper asked.

"That road," he said. "The one that goes through the hills."

Piper picked up the helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio. Dorothy didn't really feel impressed by the answer.

"She says it's Highway 24," Piper reported. "That's the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?"

Jason's stare was intense as his eyes locked onto the tunnel entrance, he said nothing but there was gears turning in his head. It disappeared from view as they flew over another town, but Jason still stared into the distance, his expression almost as unsettled as Piper's dad's.

"Monsters," Tristan said, a tear tracing his cheek. "I live in a world of monsters."

-ˋˏ *.·:·.⟐.·:·.* ˎˊ-

3.3k words

omg an update for the first time in months??? lol oops. but here's another chapter!!! we're closing in on the end!!! I have somewhat of a plan for the second part of this book, so I hope yall are ready to follow along!!

I want to apologize for the lack of attention I've given this book, I haven't felt particularly motivated to write for it and my anime fics had been taking up my attention span.

they probably still will do updates for this might be slower, which :/ yeah. But I mean, I got four and 1/14ths of books to make fanfiction out of and it's kinda hard u know?

anyways, thank you all for reading and see you at the next update, whenever that may be!

— greta!