▬▬▬ CHAPTER SEVENTEEN ▬▬▬

⚠️ WARNING ⚠️

Piper POV later on... 😒 Sorry I have to put you guys through this, but it's Leo's POV in the beginning at least!

I also have a mini rant about Piper at the author's note cuz I had to read her goddamn POV and every single line gave me more ammunition.

LEO WAS DOING HIS BEST not to show how much everyone's distrust towards him were really effecting him. But he could tell the animosity was still there, especially from Percy.

Man the guy was terrifying. He heard all kinds of things about him from the kids back at Camp Half-Blood. They said great things about him like how 'cool' he was or how 'funny' he was. Well, Leo had the misfortune to get on his bad side so he didn't get to see how cool or funny Percy was. Instead, he saw how scary he was.

The glare, the aggression in his voice, the way his hand was inching for his sword—gods, he was almost as scary as Ethan and that was saying a lot.

Speaking of Ethan, he was really beginning to miss the guy. Contrary to popular belief, the son of Nemesis wasn't really bad company. Like, sure he was a little unstable and murderous, but he was cool! Esmerelda was awesome too, and he could see why the two of them were together. He was dearly missing their company now. He could use Esmerelda's sweet compliments and Ethan's... uh, loving snark.

It would sure beat having to stay in a ship full of people who hated him for attacking Camp Jupiter. Percy was pissed with him, Annabeth... didn't say much but it was clear whose side she was on. Jason was still unconscious after taking a brick to the face and Piper was busy hovering over his bedside like a creepy nurse.

Some friend she is, he couldn't help but think miserably.

He was sure Jason would back him up at least, as for Piper... well, if Jason was on his side then she would be too. Hazel and Frank though were probably upset too since hey, he kinda blew up their home, but they had the decency not to show it as much as Percy was.

Regardless of what they thought, he knew very well that it was all his fault even though he could hardly even explain what had happened. All he could remember was wanting to blow up the camp and after that, his hands did all the work. He remembered Octavian screeching at him to stop before he dropped the first explosive, and then everything after that was a blur.

He practically started the next Civil War, so everyone's animosity towards him was understandable. But it was getting harder and harder for him to pretend that he didn't notice everyone's growing hatred which was why he accepted the first excursion out of the ship all too eagerly.

Right now, he and Hazel were heading to the Great Salt Lake to scavenge for Celestial bronze and lime in order to make repairs for the Argo II. It was pretty awkward for the both of them since Hazel seemed pretty spooked around him, which was weird since she was the ex-dead girl and all.

They managed to pick up the lime in silence until it was time to find the Celestial bronze. Thanks to Hazel's metal detector powers, she was able to lead them to where it was.

But then they ran into Ethan's mom instead. Of course, Leo didn't know it was his mom right away, but he really should've realized it sooner since she shared the same sadistic attitude with her son.

They found her just over the dunes, sitting on a boulder in the middle of a grassy field. Leo wasn't too concerned with her though. He was too busy paying attention to the weird motorcycle that was parked nearby. There was no way that thing was drivable since each wheel had a big pie slice removed from the spokes and rim like Pac-Men.

His gaze then trailed over to the woman and he could feel himself involuntarily shiver with fear and he didn't know why. She didn't really look that threatening after all.

She had curly black hair and wore black leather biker's pants, tall leather boots, and a blood red leather jacket. Around her feet, the ground was littered with what looked like broken shells. She was hunched over, pulling new ones out of a sack and cracking them open. Shucking oysters? Leo wasn't sure if there were oysters in the Great Salt Lake. He didn't think so.

He and Hazel shared a look. The two of them were pretty sure this was some immortal being in front of them so neither of them wanted to get any closer, but Hazel steeled herself and forged ahead so Leo had no other choice but to follow after her.

As they got closer, Leo began to notice disturbing details that made his wariness grow. Her red-leather jacket had a subtle design to it—twisted branches of an apple tree populated with skeletal birds. The oysters she was shucking were actually fortune cookies.

A pile of broken cookies lay ankle-deep all around her. She kept pulling new ones from her sack, cracking them open, and reading the fortunes. Most she tossed aside. A few made her mutter unhappily. She would swipe her finger over the slip of paper like she was smudging it, then magically reseal the cookie and toss it into a nearby basket.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked before he could stop himself.

The woman looked up. Leo's lungs filled so fast, he thought they might burst

"Aunt Rosa?" He asked.

It didn't make sense, but this woman looked exactly like his aunt. She had the same broad nose with a mole on one side, the same sour mouth and hard eyes. But it couldn't be Rosa. She would never wear clothes like that, and she was still down in Houston, as far as Leo knew. She wouldn't be cracking open fortune cookies in the middle of the Great Salt Lake.

And the worst thing was her eyes. Even though they were the same shade of dark brown as his aunt, the eyes staring at him looked far more crueler and menacing. His Aunt Rosa had always been a bitch, but right now she looked unnaturally devilish.

But it almost looked familiar. As if he had seen that sort of devilishness before, just from someone else.

"Is that what you see?" The woman asked. "Interesting. And you, Hazel, dear?"

"How did you—?" Hazel stepped back in alarm. "You—you look like Mrs. Leer. My third grade teacher. I hated you."

The woman cackled. "Excellent. You resented her, eh? She judged you unfairly?"

"You—she taped my hands to the desk for misbehaving," Hazel stammered. "She called my mother a witch. She blamed me for everything I didn't do and—No. She has to be dead. Who are you?"

"Oh, Leo knows," the woman said. "How do you feel about Aunt Rosa, mijo?"

Mijo. That's what Leo's mom had always called him. After his mom died, Rosa had rejected Leo. She'd called him a devil child. She'd blamed him for the fire that had killed her sister. Rosa had turned his family against him and left him—a scrawny orphaned eight-year-old—at the mercy of social services. Leo had bounced around from foster home to foster home until he'd finally found a home at Camp Half-Blood. Leo didn't hate many people, but after all these years, Aunt Rosa's face made him boil with resentment.

How did he feel? He wanted to get even. He wanted revenge.

And that was when it finally clicked in his head. The hatred coursing through his veins, the thirst for vengeance, the familiarity in the woman's vicious brown eyes.

Ethan.

"You're Nemesis," he said. "You're the goddess of revenge. Ethan's mom."

Ohhhh shit, he thought, feeling his situation just grew worse. Ethan was terrifying enough, and now he was meeting his mom?

Maybe this won't be so bad, he tried to reassure himself as he discreetly wiped his sweaty palms against the side of his jeans. Just pretend you're going over to a friend's house and meeting their parents for the first time.

...Yeah no, that wasn't gonna work.

"You see?" The goddess smiled at Hazel. "He recognizes me."

Hazel stayed silent, also coming to the same realization Leo was smacked with.

Oh dear gods, her terrified face seemed to be saying. This is Ethan's mom!

Nemesis cracked another cookie and wrinkled her nose. "You will have great fortune when you least expect it," she read. "That's exactly the sort of nonsense I hate. Someone opens a cookie, and suddenly they have a prophecy that they'll be rich! I blame that tramp Tyche. Always dispensing good luck to people who don't deserve it!"

They're so alike, Leo marveled. He was pretty sure he once overheard Ethan angrily rant to Esmerelda and Damien about his hatred for fortune cookies.

He then turned his attention to the mound of broken cookies. "Uh... you know those aren't real prophecies, right? They're just stuffed in the cookies at some factory—"

"—Don't try to excuse it!" Nemesis snapped and he withered on the spot since Nemesis and Ethan even had matching glares. It was horrifying.

"S-sorry ma'am," he squeaked.

"It's just like Tyche to get people's hopes up. No, no. I must counter her." Nemesis flicked a finger over the slip of paper, and the letters changed to red. "You will die painfully when you most expect it. There! Much better."

"That's horrible!" Hazel cried out. "You'd let someone read that in their fortune cookie, and it would come true?"

Nemesis sneered.

They have matching sneers too! Leo gawked.

"My dear Hazel, haven't you ever wished horrible things on Mrs. Leer for the way she treated you?" She questioned.

"That doesn't mean I'd want them to come true!"

"Bah." The goddess resealed the cookie and tossed it in her basket. "Tyche would be Fortuna for you, I suppose, being Roman. Like the others, she's in a horrible way right now. Me? I'm not affected. I am called Nemesis in both Greek and Roman. I do not change, because revenge is universal."

"What are you talking about?" Leo asked. "What are you doing here?"

Nemesis opened another cookie. "Lucky numbers. Ridiculous! That's not even a proper fortune!"

She crushed the cookie and scattered the pieces around her feet.

"To answer your question, Leo Valdez, the gods are in terrible shape. It always happens when a civil war is brewing between you Romans and Greeks. The Olympians are torn between their two natures, called on by both sides. They become quite schizophrenic, I'm afraid. Splitting headaches. Disorientation."

"But we're not at war," he insisted.

"Um, Leo..." Hazel winced. "Except for the fact that you recently blew up large sections of New Rome."

He stared at her, wondering whose side she was on. "Not on purpose!"

"I know..." She trailed off. "But the Romans don't realize that. And they'll be pursuing us in retaliation."

Nemesis cackled. "Leo, listen to the girl. War is coming. Gaea has seen to it, with your help. And can you guess whom the gods blame for their predicament?"

Leo's mouth tasted like calcium carbonate. "Me."

The goddess snorted. "Well, don't you have a high opinion of yourself. You're just a pawn on the chessboard, Leo Valdez. I was referring to the player who set this ridiculous quest in motion, bringing the Greeks and Romans together. The gods blame Hera—or Juno, if you prefer! The queen of the heavens has fled Olympus to escape the wrath of her family. Don't expect any more help from your patron! Not that she was much help in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Hazel asked.

"Her plans to defeat Gaea have one huge flaw: her." A disgusted look crossed over her face when she said that. "Gaea has managed to trick Hera. How? We don't know and Hera won't bother trying to see what she missed. She's narcissistic, just like the rest of the Olympians."

Leo's head was running a mile a minute.

"That could be anything though," he muttered. "She's done a lot to us for the sake of her plan. She kidnapped Percy and Jason, she made Jason lose his whole childhood for this, and—"

He froze. The one thing Hera had done the most was assemble the Nine. She made Jason's mother send him to the Wolf House, she watched over him while he was a child, she sent Piper the messages, sent Esmerelda and Ethan to watch over Percy, kidnapped two leaders of the camps and whatnot. Her goal was to enact the Great Prophecy and to do that, she needed to find out who the demigods were.

If Gaea had tricked her then it must have something to do with the Nine—with them.

"Leo?" Hazel called out to him. "What is it?"

Leo's face had gone pale with the revelation, but he didn't say anything. Instead he looked over at Nemesis. She was already looking right at him, Aunt Rosa's face uncharacteristically grim.

"Are you saying that," he struggled to find his words. "That some of us might not be—"

"—I don't really know," she interrupted, looking slightly frustrated. "Like you said, it could be anything. But I know where you're going with this," a smirk crawled over her face. "You're quite smart. I can see why my son favors you."

Leo blushed in embarrassment.

Hazel stared at him in amazement. Earning Nemesis and Ethan's approval was almost as hard as getting Zeus to be abstinent.

"T-thanks," Leo stuttered, his previous misery disappearing just a little. "So is that why you're here? To, uh, help us?"

"Of course," Nemesis smiled wickedly. "I enjoy tearing down the proud and powerful, and there are none who deserve tearing down like Gaea and her giants. Still, I must warn you that I will not suffer undeserved success. Good luck is a sham. The wheel of fortune is a Ponzi scheme. True success requires sacrifice."

Leo nodded along to her words easily. He had already heard the same rant from Ethan while Esmerelda offered him a muffin she baked since she knew they were both going to be listening to him for a while.

"Sacrifice?" Hazel's voice was tight. "I lost my mother. I died and came back. Now my brother and his parents are missing. Isn't that enough sacrifice for you?"

Leo could relate. His whole mom was like a Greek tragedy. His mom was dead, his dragon, Festus, was just a head now, and he had nearly killed himself trying to finish the Ago II. And now... well now he had just fired on the Roman camp which not only triggered a war, but resulted in the trust of his friends.

"Right now," he said, trying to control his anger. "All I want is some Celestial bronze."

"Oh, that's easy," Nemesis said. "It's just over the rise. You'll find it with the sweethearts."

"Wait," Hazel said. "What sweethearts?"

Nemesis popped a cookie in her mouth and swallowed it, fortune and all. "You'll see. Perhaps they will teach you a lesson, Hazel Levesque. Most heroes cannot escape their nature, even when given a second chance at life."

She shivered at her words.

Then Nemesis' face turned serious. "And speaking of those three, you don't have much time."

Both Leo and Hazel tensed up.

"What's happened to them?" Leo asked worriedly. He didn't know much about Tartarus, but everyone told him that it was the worst place in existence. It didn't exactly sound like the best spot for a family vacation.

"They've made it out of Tartarus," she said, and Hazel nearly collapsed with relief. "Esmerelda and Ethan are currently resting in Topeka, Kansas. I expect you all to head there and find them."

Leo repeated the location in his head over and over again, imprinting it into his memory. But one question came to mind: what the heck were they doing in Topeka, Kansas?

Nemesis turned to Hazel. "Nico isn't with them, I'm afraid. He was taken elsewhere and he doesn't have much time left. Let's see... it's June twenty-fifth? Yes, after today, six more days. Then he dies, along with the entire city of Rome."

Hazel's eyes widened. "How... what—?"

"And as for you, child of fire." She turned to Leo. "Your worst hardships are yet to come. You will always be the outsider, the ninth wheel. You will not find a place among your brethren. Soon you will face a problem you cannot solve, though I could help you... for a price."

The worst part was that she wasn't saying it to be cruel. She spoke as if it were fact.

Suddenly Leo smelled smoke. He realized fingers on his left hand were ablaze, and Hazel was staring at him in terror. He shoved his hand in his pocket to extinguish the flames.

"I like to solve my own problems." He said, hiding the shakiness of his voice.

"Very well." Nemesis brushed cookie dust off her jacket.

"But, um, what sort of price are we talking about?"

The goddess shrugged. "One of my children recently traded an eye for the ability to make a real difference in the world."

Leo's stomach churned.

"You're talking about Ethan," he said, feeling sick to his stomach. "His eye... that was because of you?"

She nodded as if there was nothing wrong with what she had done. "Yep."

Lady, WHAT THE FUCK?! He wanted to scream. He felt horrified and almost enraged at what this woman put his friend through, but he kept himself from speaking up.

Hazel swallowed thickly. "You want... Leo to give up an eye?"

"In his case, perhaps another sacrifice would do. But something just as painful. Here." She handed him an unbroken fortune cookie. "If you need an answer, break this. It will solve your problem."

Leo's hand trembled as he held the fortune cookie. "What problem?"

"You'll know when the time comes."

"No, thanks," he said firmly. But his hand, as though it had a will of its own, slipped the cookie into his tool belt.

There was no way he was going to open that cookie. Not when he knew nothing good would come out of it. Like Ethan said, everything always came with a price, and Leo didn't think he would be ready to pay it.

Nemesis picked another cookie from her bag and cracked it open. "You will have cause to reconsider your choices soon. Oh, I like that one. No changes needed here."

She resealed the cookie and tossed it into the basket. "Very few gods will be able to help you on the quest. Most are already incapacitated, and their confusion will only grow worse. One thing might bring unity to Olympus again—an old wrong finally avenged. Ah, that would be sweet indeed, the scales finally balanced! But it will not happen unless you accept my help."

"I suppose you won't tell us what you're talking about," Hazel muttered. "Or why my brother Nico has only six days to live. Or why Rome is going to be destroyed."

Nemesis chuckled. She rose and slung her sack of cookies over her shoulder. "Oh, it's all tied together, Hazel Levesque. As for my offer, Leo Valdez, give it some thought. You're a good child. A hard worker. We could do business. But I have detained you too long. You should visit the reflecting pool before the light fades. My poor cursed boy gets quite... agitated when the darkness comes."

Leo didn't like the sound of that, but the goddess climbed on her motorcycle.

"Oh and," she turned back to them. "Topeka, Kansas. Make sure you get there soon."

And then she revved her engine and disappeared in a mushroom cloud of black smoke.

Hazel bent down. All the broken cookies and fortunes had disappeared except for one crumpled slip of paper.

She picked it up and read, "You will see yourself reflected, and you will have reason to despair."

"Fantastic," Leo grumbled. "Let's go see what that means."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Piper was beginning to regret mentioning Kansas during their meeting after everyone returned to the ship. She kept the other visions a secret, like the one about Jason having golden eyes or the part where she spotted a whole bunch of them drowning in black water, but she told them about the strange man in purple and a hat full of vines. He was holding out a goblet and beckoning to her while a sign that said TOPEKA 32 stood behind him.

"Topeka, Kansas?" Leo said sharply, sitting up straight from his seat. "Nemesis said that we could find Essie and Ethan over there."

Percy furrowed his brows in confusion. "What are they doing in Kansas?"

"I don't know, but Nemesis mentioned that they were resting so I think they're okay," Hazel said, looking relieved. "But we need to go get them. They're still part of the Nine after all."

Piper pursed her lips, but didn't say anything.

Frankly, while it was great that they were out of Tartarus and everything, she didn't feel comfortable having them around. Ethan genuinely scared her and Esmerelda wasn't even doing anything to stop him (or maybe she was secretly egging him on and just hiding behind an innocent façade). Plus, her son was a child of Hades and she had a severely unstable half-brother.

"So it's settled," Jason said, looking pleased. "We're heading for Kansas. I'll go. Piper, you said he was wearing a purple shirt with vines on his hat, right? That sounds like Bacchus."

"Dionysus," Percy muttered. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr. D—"

"—Bacchus isn't so bad," Jason said. "I don't like his followers much..."

Piper shuddered. Jason, Leo, and she had had an encounter with the maenads a few months ago and almost gotten torn to pieces.

"But the god himself is okay," he continued. "I did him a favor once up in the wine country."

"You remember?" Piper asked, hiding her worry.

"Yeah," a wistful smile appeared on his face. "All of my memories are coming back to me."

"That's great, dude," Percy grinned, but Piper didn't feel the sentiment.

Ever since their quest to save Hera, Jason began to regain his memories and started to stray away from her. The more he started to remember his old life, the more he pushed her away. And she didn't know why. He never pushed Leo away, so why was it only her? Was it because of Ethan's influence? Reyna?

It had gotten so bad that when she, Jason, and Percy had been approved to venture off to Kansas, Jason rode on Blackjack with Percy while she was stuck alone riding Tempest. It was so painfully obvious that he was trying to avoid her that it hurt.

Anyways, they found Bacchus at the mile marker 32, but he hadn't been waiting for them. Instead, he had been waiting for Ceres because apparently they were prepping for the great 'plant war'. Other than that, coming here had been pointless. Bacchus refused to offer them any aid against the giants and even left them upon realizing it was a trap.

And he was right. Unfortunately.

Right when Piper suggested they leave, Gaea's voice rang throughout the area.

Too late, said her sleepy voice, humming through the fields all around them and resonating in the ground at their feet.

Percy and Jason drew their swords. Piper stood on the road between them, frozen with fear. The power of Gaea was suddenly everywhere. The sunflowers turned to look at them. The wheat bent toward them like a million scythes.

Welcome to my party, Gaea murmured. What did Bacchus say? A simple, low-key affair with organic snacks? Yes. For my snacks, I need only two: the blood of a female demigod, and the blood of a male. And unfortunately for you three, I already have my chosen snacks.

Percy's breath hitched. "You're taking about Essie and Ethan, aren't you?"

It was a mistake to come here, Gaea sounded amused. But I'm glad you did. Jason Grace and Percy Jackson... the two demigods who defeated my sons. Your deaths shall be fun to watch. As for you Piper, since you've been so useful to me, you shall be spared.

Piper's heart stopped. "What are you talking about?"

What did she mean? Was Gaea implying that Piper had helped her somehow? Helped her with what?!

"Gaea!" Jason yelled before an answer could come. "Stop hiding in the wheat. Show yourself—"

He suddenly gasped, his back straightening. He climbed off of Blackjack and that was when she saw his face. His expression was deadly calm, and his eyes were a glowing gold just like in the vision her knife gave her.

"Jason?" Percy shot him a worried look. "Are you—" But then he gasped too and not even a second later, an eerie expression crawled over his face, matching Jason's.

Jason began to walk towards her and Tempest.

"J-Jason," Piper stammered, but then yelped when she was suddenly pushed off by him. He left her on the ground and started climbing the storm spirit.

Percy galloped away from them. He stopped thirty feet down the road and wheeled his pegasus around. He raised his sword and pointed the tip toward Jason.

"Guys! What are you doing?!"

"We will die," Percy said, but the voice wasn't his. It was deep and hollow, like someone whispering from inside the barrel of a cannon.

"And you will watch," Jason answered, in the same hollow voice.

"No!" Piper yelled.

All around her, the fields crackled and hissed, laughing in Gaea's voice as Percy and Jason charged at each other, their weapons ready.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

Watching Jason and Percy try to kill each other was the most terrifying thing Piper had ever witnessed.

It was obvious that neither of them were holding back. Sparks were literally flying as they fought. Their blades blurred and the pavement trembled from the sheer strength, and they weren't even using their powers yet. It was just their sword fighting—unbelievably fast and horrifyingly lethal.

She didn't really know what to do. All she was doing was screaming at them to stop, but that obviously wasn't working. It wasn't until Percy knocked out Jason did she really become desperate.

He rose Riptide up, the tip pointing at Jason's chest.

She forced herself to focus. She poured all of her anger into her voice. "Eidolon, stop."

Percy froze.

"Face me," Piper ordered, and he turned, his golden eyes facing her.

"You're a spirit from the Underworld," she guessed. "You're possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?"

Percy sneered. "I will live again. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."

A wave of cold washed over Piper. "Leo... that's what happened to Leo. He was being controlled by an eidolon."

The thing in Percy's form laughed without humor. "Too late you realize. You can trust no one."

Behind Percy, something rustled in the wheat. Piper saw the tip of a black wing, and Percy began to turn toward the sound.

"Ignore it!" She yelped. "Look at me."

Percy obeyed. "You cannot stop me. I will kill Jason Grace and then turn my sword on myself."

Behind him, Blackjack emerged from the wheat field, moving stealthily.

"You won't kill him," Piper ordered. But she wasn't looking at Percy. She locked eyes with the pegasus, pouring all her power into her words and hoping Blackjack would understand. "You will knock him out."

The charmspeak washed over Percy. He shifted his weight indecisively. "I... will knock him out?"

"Oh, sorry." Piper smiled. "I wasn't talking to you."

Blackjack reared and brought his hoof down on Percy's head.

Percy crumpled to the pavement next to Jason.

Piper almost collapsed with relief after him.

"Oh gods, Jason...!" She whimpered, scrambling for his body.

Thankfully, he was alive, but two knocks on the head in two days couldn't have been good for him. She rummaged through her bag and trickled some nectar into his mouth.

Percy was in a better condition. Despite the harsh horse kick he had been given, all that had been formed was giant knot on his head. He wasn't even bleeding.

It took about ten minutes for them to wake up, and Piper used that chance to rest up. Percy woke up first, Jason a few minutes later.

"I feel like I got a tomato growing on my head," was the first thing Percy said after she explained what happened.

Blackjack snorted in amusement beside him.

"Forget about that," Jason grunted as he sat upright. "Did you guys catch what Gaea said? About Essie and Ethan? She's gonna—"

Blackjack suddenly let out an alarmed whinny.

Percy scrambled up to his feet. "Shit," he cursed. "Guys, Blackjack just told me—"

There was rustling from the wheat next to them, and a group of figures emerged dressed in ritualistic robes.

"Well," the man leading them smiled at the three teenagers. "How convenient. Bring them in. I'm sure Ethan will know what to do with them."

Their eyes widened.

Did he just say 'Ethan'?

They glanced at each other discreetly. If this was the same Ethan they were thinking of, then they had to let these guys capture them so they could be taken to him and Esmerelda.

"The Antichrist shall be pleased," the man continued. "Take them to the house."

ANTICHRIST?!

The three of them were grabbed and only Piper was trying to fight back. Meanwhile, Blackjack hid himself behind the wheats while the boys merely allowed themselves to be taken away.

Ethan has a cult, Piper thought bitterly. Of fucking course.

They were taken to a plantation styled house full of tall Greek columns. It looked normal on the outside, but it was creepy once they were pushed through the doors.

There was a black, Medieval looking chandelier hanging above them, shining down a dim light. The walls were painted red and black and the floors were a dark wood color. There were macabre looking paintings showcasing the worst sort of torture. There was even paraphernalia of Satanic things which really creeped the three of them out.

And then a figure descended from the stairs, and when Percy, Jason, and Piper saw who it was, their jaws dropped.

"What the hell is this?" Ethan said, scowling down on them.

"You're the Antichrist?!" Jason gaped.

"Sir," the man leading the group bowed so low his head nearly touched the floor. "I found these kids trespassing. What shall we do with them?"

"Dude, what the fuck?!" Percy whisper-yelled. "What the heck is going on here?!"

Piper was too stunned to speak.

Ethan ignored their outbursts.

"Hm," he said, and she could see the sadistic amusement shining in his eye. "You can use them for the virgin sacrifices. Three is better than one after all."

"How do you know if they're really virgins, sir?" One asked curiously.

He snorted. "Oh trust me. These dumbasses are definitely virgins."

"Dude!" Percy squawked.

Jason looked like he was going to pass out again.

Piper wanted to kick him in the face.

Ethan dismissed them with a wave of his hand. "Now take them away, and make it quick. Essie and I are still waiting for our snacks."

The three of them immediately tried to argue with him, but the cultists dragged them off to some empty looking room. It was just as creepy as the rest of the house. There were red candles everywhere, blood markings were on the floor, and weird looking dolls were placed on the shelves.

Some of the cultists dragged over a large wooden table at the center of the room and the three teens were placed there.

"I can't believe he really had to expose us like that," Percy muttered mutinously as they were forcefully tied up on a table to be sacrificed.

"This whole situation doesn't even surprise me," Jason said, his face still pink. "Ethan would totally be mistaken as the Antichrist."

"Actually," a familiar voice chirped. "He's not the Antichrist. I am!"

They turned their heads towards the door where Esmerelda stood. She was wearing a short black dress which certainly matched the occasion. She looked all too calm, happy even, with a strawberry milkshake in her hand. Ethan stood beside her with an oreo milkshake. The two of them were looking pretty damn good for people who just escaped from Tartarus.

For the second time that day, their jaws dropped again.

"You're the Antichrist?!" Jason was the most bewildered out of the three of them.

"Yep! Now," she addressed the cultists in the room. "I'd like to speak with the sacrifices before we kill them please. It'll only take a while."

They murmured and bowed obediently, leaving the room without a second thought. Once they were gone, the happy expression on her face was replaced with terror and she dashed to their sides.

"Oh-my-gods-I'm-so-glad-you're-here!" She said quickly under one breath, hastily untying their binds while Ethan stood by, casually sipping on his smoothie. "When Ethan came and told me that you guys were about to be sacrificed, I was so scared that they were actually going to kill you!"

"Yeah, I wonder why," Percy sent Ethan a glare.

Ethan merely smiled back (sarcastically, of course). "Nice to see that you've gotten your memories back."

"Why do they think you're the Antichrist?!" Piper asked, rubbing the rope burns on her wrists.

"How did you guys even get here in the first place?" Jason wondered. "We thought you were in Tartarus!"

A dark look crossed over their faces.

Ethan abandoned his smoothie at a nearby table. "We were, with Nico," he said in a stony voice. "But we got separated and..." He looked like he was struggling to say the next words.

"We got captured by Gaea's forces and they dragged us out, but they separated us so we don't know where Nico is. Ethan and I managed to get away, and we landed here, but then the police came and I accidentally Mist travelled us into the middle of some summoning ritual." Esmerelda explained.

"And they think she's the Antichrist because they heard her mutter in Ancient Greek and mistook it as some sort of demon language," Ethan filled in next. "Anyways, Hecate contacted her and said we needed to stay put and wait for you guys to pick us up."

"Thank you so much for coming here so quickly," Esmerelda looked like she could cry tears of joy. "These guys are... they're crazy."

"They're obsessed with her," Ethan scowled. "But they gave us proper medical attention, so we had no other choice but to stay."

"If they're as crazy as you say they are, then we're definitely not staying here any longer," Jason shivered, hopping off the table. He hurried over to a wide window at the back of the room. "Let's climb out through this window. I'll call Tempest to take us to the Argo, Percy, you do the same with Blackjack."

"So what did we miss while we were gone?" Esmerelda asked as they climbed out. Luckily they were on the first floor.

"Leo sorta kinda bombed New Rome," Jason winced.

Ethan frowned. "Leo's got braincells unlike you idiots, he wouldn't do something like that on purpose."

"Um, ouch," Percy muttered as he climbed out next. "And yeah, you're right. According to Piper, he was possessed by an eidolon, but we didn't know that until now. Just before we came here, Gaea had her eidolons possess Jason and I and tried to make us kill each other."

"That's horrible!" Esmerelda gasped.

"Oh," Ethan said. "Who was the closest to winning?"

Percy elbowed him as they started walking amongst the wheat farm.

"Anyways, Essie, your brother should be relieved that we found you," he grinned at her. "He was really worried, you know? He even saved us from getting mobbed in New Rome and made us promise to find you."

While Esmerelda's felt her heart go warm at that, she frowned, "Hold on, is he with you guys right now?"

"He stayed to hold everyone back," Piper answered, and good riddance for that. Life on the Argo would've been hell with him around.

Her face turned white. "He... he won't get punished for helping you guys, right?"

Jason sent her a comforting smile. "I'm sure he'll be fine, Essie. Reyna's there to watch over him."

Piper let out a loud scoff, and he frowned her way.

"Actually," she said loftily. "In one of the visions Katoptris gave me, Octavian was in charge while Reyna stood by, so I wouldn't put much trust in her."

His blue eyes turned steely. "Piper!" He said in a warning tone, and she flinched at the anger in his voice. At first she thought he was angry at her for insulting his 'precious Reyna' until he saw the concerned glance he sent at Esmerelda's way.

She turned and saw that the girl looked ready to faint.

"T-they're gonna execute him, aren't they...?" Esmerelda's body trembled with fear. "Oh no... no, no, no. I can't—oh gods, first Nico and now—"

"—Don't think like that," Ethan grasped her hand, holding it so tightly Piper thought he would break the bone. "Étienne wouldn't let himself be executed. The kid's powerful, I bet you he managed to escape."

Surprisingly, she listened to him easily. "Y-y-you're right," she said, her lips still quivering as she tried to calm down her breathing. "He—he m-must have escaped. You're right..."

Percy and Jason sent each other worried looks. It was a bit weird seeing Esmerelda agree to Ethan's reassurances so easily. They had expected it to be harder to calm her down...

"Anyways," Jason continued on uncomfortably. "There was also another prophecy. Wisdom's daughter walks alone, The Mark of Athena burns through Rome. Twins snuff out the angel's breath, Who holds the key to endless death. Giants' bane stands gold and pale, Won through pain from a woven jail."

Esmerelda tensed up. "The third line, the one about the angel, could that be Nico? His last name means 'of the angel'...! And he was taken by the twins giants too!"

"Oh shit," Percy whispered. "It fits. Nemesis did give us a warning about him."

"You spoke to my mom?" Ethan asked.

"She was the one who told us to come here and find you," he replied. "She also told us that Nico only had six days to live, and that Rome would be destroyed with him."

"Percy—!" Jason exclaimed, eyes wide before they darted to Esmerelda in concern.

It was just as he expected.

Esmerelda's eyes rolled to the back of her head and Ethan caught her before she hit the ground.

He glowered at a guilt-ridden Percy. "Why the fuck would you say it like that?!" He demanded.

Percy stepped back, horrified. "I-I didn't mean to—gods, I'm so sorry—"

As if things couldn't get any worse, a voice from a distance away screamed:

"THEY'VE TAKEN THE ANTICHRIST! THEY'RE AT THE FIELD! KILL THEM AND GET HER BACK!"

Gunshots were blasted their way and they scrambled for cover. Piper shrieked as they ducked their heads.

"I hate America's gun laws!" Jason bit out before summoning Tempest.

Blackjack came afterwards, whinnying about all the noise.

"Climb on!" Percy shouted. Ethan propped Esmerelda up behind him before climbing on next, while Piper was all too eager to wrap her hands around Jason. In the next second, all five of them were gone.

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

They made it to the Argo II in record time and thankfully, the whole ship was bulletproof (though they doubted those crazy trigger-happy cultists could even find them). After Esmerelda woke up and many hugs were exchanged (Ethan stiffly accepted Hazel's hug), everyone met up at the mess hall to discuss what happened.

Esmerelda and Ethan didn't really want to talk about Tartarus at all, but they knew it was important. Nevertheless, they gave them just the gist of what happened, not wanting to get to details since it was too painful for them to relive again.

"We were never able to close the Doors, unfortunately. I don't even know how we got out," Esmerelda said, hugging a fuzzy blanket Leo gave her closer for warmth. "I just... I just remember trying to survive, Nico screaming in pain, and then... I was out like a light."

"It's fine if you can't remember now," Annabeth said soothingly. "Just... just try another time, okay? We need the answers. Percy, Jason, Piper, why don't you tell us what happened with you guys in Kansas?"

They explained their meeting with Bacchus, the eidolons, and the Satanic cult.

"Of course!" Hazel slapped the table, which startled Frank so much, he dropped his burrito. "That's what happened to Leo too."

"So it wasn't my fault." Leo exhaled. "I didn't start World War Three. I just got possessed by an evil spirit. That's a relief!"

"But the Romans don't know that," Annabeth said. "And why would they take our word for it?"

"We could contact Reyna," Jason suggested. "She would believe us."

Piper winced at the mention of her name. "Reyna won't be able to do much. Octavian is the one we have to worry about. In my dagger blade, I saw him taking control of the Roman crowd. I'm not sure Reyna can stop him."

Jason's expression darkened.

"She's right," Frank said. "This afternoon when we were scouting, we saw eagles again. They were a long way off, but closing fast. Octavian is on the warpath."

Hazel grimaced. "This is exactly the sort of opportunity Octavian has always wanted. He'll try to seize power. If Reyna objects, he'll say she's soft on the Greeks. As for those eagles... It's like they could smell us."

"I don't doubt that," Ethan muttered, remembering how they watched over him, Esmerelda, and Étienne during the punishment Octavian gave them. "They seem really intelligent."

"They are," Jason agreed. "Roman eagles can hunt demigods by their magical scent even better than monsters can. This ship might conceal us somewhat, but not completely—not from them."

Leo drummed his fingers. "Great. I should have installed a smoke screen that makes the ship smell like a giant chicken nugget. Remind me to invent that, next time."

Hazel frowned. "What is a chicken nugget?"

"Oh, man..." Leo shook his head in amazement. "That's right. You've missed the last like, seventy years. Well, my apprentice, a chicken nugget—"

"—Doesn't matter," Annabeth interrupted. "The point is, we'll have a hard time explaining the truth to the Romans. Even if they believe us—"

"—You're right." Jason leaned forward. "We should just keep going. Once we're over the Atlantic, we'll be safe—at least from the legion..." He sounded mopey, like a part of him actually wanted to be captured if that meant getting to see Reyna again.

"How can you be sure?" Piper asked. "Why wouldn't they follow us?"

He shook his head. "You heard Reyna talking about the ancient lands. They're much too dangerous. Roman demigods have been forbidden to go there for generations. Even Octavian couldn't get around that rule."

Frank swallowed nervously "So, if we go there..."

"We'll be outlaws as well as traitors," Jason confirmed. "Any Roman demigod would have the right to kill us on sight. But I wouldn't worry about that. If we get across the Atlantic, they'll give up on chasing us. They'll assume that we'll die in the Mediterranean—the Mare Nostrum."

Percy pointed his pizza slice at Jason. "You, sir, are a ray of sunshine."

Jason didn't argue. The other demigods stared at their plates, except for Percy, who continued to enjoy his pizza.

"So let's plan ahead," Percy suggested. "And make sure we don't die. Mr. D—Bacchus—Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella's prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh, something that started with an F?"

"Ephialtes," Ethan whispered. "They have Nico."

Esmerelda wrapped the blanket around herself tighter, and Hazel reached out to place a hand on her shoulder, understanding how she was feeling.

"I remember a story about twin giants," Annabeth murmured, sending Esmerelda, Hazel, and Ethan careful looks. "They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains."

Frank nearly choked. "Well, that's great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?"

"Something like that," Percy said. "I don't think we should count on his help this time. He wanted a tribute, and he made it pretty clear it would be a tribute we couldn't handle."

Silence fell around the table. They could hear Coach Hedge above deck singing "Blow the ManDown," except he didn't know the lyrics, so he mostly sang, "Blah-blah-hum-de-dum-dum."

"She wants two of us," Piper murmured.

Everyone turned to look at her.

"Today on the highway," she began. "Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male."

(She decided to keep the part where Gaea said she had 'helped' her to herself.)

Jason sucked in a breath. "That's right. Gaea said she wanted you guys," he looked at Esmerelda and Ethan when he said that.

Ethan sighed heavily. "The giants Gaea sent after us all mentioned the same thing. They wanted to capture us alive for some sort of sacrifice."

Leo's eyes widened. "Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason's blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power."

"Oh..." Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing.

"Percy?" Annabeth gripped his arm.

"Oh, bad," he muttered. "Bad. Bad." He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. "You guys remember Polybotes?"

"The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter," Hazel said. "The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember."

"I had a dream," he said. "When we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: 'I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!'"

Esmerelda looked like she could throw up. "You think she wants to use our blood... me and Ethan's... to wake her up...?"

Annabeth was uncharacteristically pale. "That could explain why she was so hellbent on capturing you through Clytius and Pasiphaë. And then when Ethan left for Britain, she targeted him next. Not to mention what you guys went through in Tartarus...

"But why them?" Frank wondered aloud. "There's nine of us, she could use any of our blood to wake her up, can't she?"

"She can," Annabeth nodded, her brows furrowed. Then a second later, a look of horror crossed her face. "Oh gods no... Oh no. I think I get it now."

"Well, spit it out, don't leave us waiting," Leo laughed nervously.

Whatever she realized must have been awful because nobody had ever seen her look so horrified before.

She leaned towards the table, grasping at the surface like she needed something to anchor her.

"Any of our blood can wake her up, but it's like Leo said. Demigod blood has power. Some have more than others," she stated. "We're not only the nine children of the prophecy, but we're children of Olympians too."

"But Essie and Ethan are children of minor gods," Piper pointed out, earning a scathing look from the boy.

Annabeth shook her head. "No. They're not really minor gods at all. Dammit... I can't believe I missed this."

"Annabeth, what is it?" Percy asked worriedly. He reached out to take her hand, noticing that it was shaking.

"Age has always been a factor to power. The Olympians are stronger than the rest of the minor gods because they were the first gods. So the more ancient the blood is, the better," she said, looking at everyone. "But Olympians are babies compared to the Titans, and the Titans are babies compared to the Primordials."

Ethan's face fell, understanding where she was going with this.

"Hecate and Nemesis aren't actual goddesses," he murmured, growing paler.

Annabeth nodded. "Exactly. Hecate is a Titan and Nemesis is a Primordial. Your blood is older than the rest of ours. That's why she wants you two so badly. Blood from any of us could wake her up, but blood from you two could be enough to wake her up and bring her to full power in an instant."

— author's note —

DUN DUN DUUUUUNNNNNNN!

Hope you guys don't mind me speeding through the Narcissus and possessed!Percy and Jason ordeal. There was nothing much for me to change about those chapters, but I didn't wanna copy and paste the entire thing so I just summarized it instead.

Anyways... I had to read through more of Piper's POV and, well...

Ya'll Piper really is canonically crazy, look at this excerpt I read from chapter 9 of The Mark of Athena:

She'd almost made Piper feel guilty about being Jason's girlfriend, though that was silly. Jason hadn't ever been Reyna's boyfriend, not really.

Maybe Reyna wasn't so bad, but it didn't matter now. They'd messed up the chance for peace. Piper's power of persuasion had, for once, done absolutely no good.

Her secret fear? Maybe she hadn't tried hard enough. Piper had never wanted to make friends with the Romans. She was too worried about losing Jason to his old life. Maybe unconsciously she hadn't put her best effort into the charmspeak.

Omfg she literally just admitted it. This just proved my point that Piper was 100% aware that Jason had a life before his memories were wiped and she was purposely trying to keep him away from it. Who the fuck does that??? I don't wanna hear any "Piper was just scared to lose Jason :("

I DON'T CARE HOW SHE FEELS. Her feelings about this situation does not matter, she was being blatantly selfish by putting her own happiness over Jason's (which also shows that she doesn't actually care for him like she claims she does) and this shows it.

She even felt guilty (showing that she is aware of what she's done), but she's trying to justify it too like "Reyna and Jason were close, I feel kinda bad :( ...wait no, I shouldn't feel bad! They might have had a close relationship that I ruined, but it's not like they were dating! Hahaha, so I'm totally innocent in this, thank gods"

Smh, this girl's just awful. Also, why do people always try to sympathize for PIPER like "yes Piper should've stopped pursuing him but she really thought her relationship was real, poor girl :(" why do people never think about how JASON feels about this? He wakes up in a bus with no memories, a random girl calls herself his girlfriend, then they get attacked, taken to a weird camp, finds out that he was never really dating the girl cuz her memories are fake, but... she just keeps pursuing him anyways??? What???

Jason is literally being manipulated and abused by her but people NEVER try to sympathize with him. Yes he agreed to the relationship, but only out of GUILT! When asked about his fake relationship it states "he didn't think he'd ever seen Piper before today, but he felt strangely guilty about it". He only pities her and feels bad. Had Piper just accepted the fact that the relationship was never real and say "It's okay Jason, our relationship was fake and I understand that." he wouldn't have felt so guilty about the situation. But she did not do that. She kept pursuing him, manipulating him, which literally worsens his guilt enough for him to finally date her.

Piper is an abuser and Jason is her victim. I'm so sick of people always coming to her defense by saying "she was just really in love with Jason :(" when she pretty much ruined the poor boy's life.

If you really think what she's doing is okay and you can still sympathize with her, then imagine if the roles were reversed. If PIPER was the amnesiac and JASON was the one with the fake memories who's continuously trying to pursue a relationship with her. You guys would hate him in an instant, calling him a creep, delusional, obsessive, manipulative, abusive etc. You would be pitying Piper and hating Jason because he's clearly the bad guy in that situation.

IT'S NO DIFFERENT NOW! JUST BECAUSE THE ABUSER'S A GIRL AND THE VICTIM'S A BOY, IT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS TERRIBLE.

I feel like I might go on to mini rants every time I have to read a Piper POV which sucks cuz her POVs literally everywhere ugh.

The Piper apologists are just as annoying and I never know if they defend her because they genuinely don't see any problem with her, or if they're just mistaking fanon!Piper for canon!Piper (cuz fanon!Piper is a lot better than in the books. Not that great, but a lil better).

Piper is just so irredeemable so I never understand why I keep getting people who defend her. I genuinely believe that it's actually fanon!Piper that they like and not canon. There's soooo many HOO fics that use fanon!Piper but never inform the readers of it, so I feel like that maybe Piper apologists just got used to THAT Piper instead of the canon Piper???

Genuine question to the Piper apologists here, but is it CANON Piper that you like or FANON Piper? Do you even know the difference? Most of the time, Fanon!Piper's internalized misogyny is erased but she still clings on to her stupid fake memories so it's really not that much different, she's just less judgmental and misogynistic. Still a huge Mary Sue tho.

Anyways, this is Piper trying to stop Jason and Percy from trying to kill each other:

https://youtu.be/i5spU33xx9I

From M. A. Azalea White: