━━ chapter thirty
broken minds, broken hearts
( piper )

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

    ━━Piper's father used to tell her stories. She used to miss those stories. Cherokee legends that gave reason as to why things were the way they were━to remind a young girl such as herself what was good and what wasn't in this world. She remembered them in such strange moments━perhaps for some source of comfort. And right now, she knew she needed comfort more than anything, standing on burnt grass, breathing in ash to her lungs and having nearly died too many times to count━and only with more to face before the morning sun rose. Right now, surrounded by so much destruction, it was strange why she thought of the origin of strawberries in Cherokee legend, but she did. 

    The first woman was angry with her husband. They were often happy, but they often quarrelled as well. When at last, the wife began to walk away from her husband forever, leaving for the Sunland. Her husband tried to follow━he was sorrowful, upset. But his wife had had enough. She walked on. She did not look back. 

    But the Sun was sorry for the first man. He asked him: "Are you still angry with your wife?"

   The husband had said: "No."

    The Sun said, "Would you like to have her come back to you?"

   "Yes," he replied.

     And so the Sun blessed the ground with his rays. He created many upon many more berries to grace the land━blackberries, huckleberries, but the first woman did not pay them a glance. She kept moving along. 

     So the Sun realised he must create something new━something so delicious, and vibrant, and beautiful that was never seen before.

     And so he created strawberries. 

    Their sweet scent, their lovely sight, and their bright red colour drew the first woman's attention. Her foul mood disappeared as she picked one up to taste it━and the taste upon her tongue made her remember all the happiness she felt when she first set up her home with her husband. By the time she desired no more strawberries to eat, her husband had caught up with her. They sat down, and she passed him a strawberry to eat. They then realised how much they cared for each other and walked back home, taking a strawberry plant with them to plant at their home so no one would forget the lesson they were taught. Never make decisions in haste and to always forgive one another of each other's faults.

     Piper continued to think about strawberries and the story as she found her father amongst all the terror. He stood up across the clearing: his eyes hollow━shell-shocked, and he saw her, and yet at the same time, he did not see her at all. She didn't know what to say━Piper couldn't even move, her throat closing up as she realised how horrified he was ... of her. 

     "Piper?" called out her father. His voice cracked. "P━Pipes, what━what is━?" 

    He couldn't complete the thought. Piper found the feeling in her legs and she ran over to hug him tightly. He did not hug her back━he almost didn't seem to truly know her. She bit back tears, overwhelmed. She was happy he was alive━relieved that she had saved him despite all the horrors the giant told her ... but to not feel him hug her back. To barely even acknowledge she was here ... it broke her to her core. 

     The others watched. Jason looked pained. "We need to get him out of here," he said as Piper slowly pulled away, fighting back the want to burst into tears. 

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

     Jason glanced up at the helicopter circling directly overhead. "Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" he asked Leo. "Piper has some talking to do."

     Borrowing the helicopter was easy. Getting her father on board wasn't. She only needed a few words through Leo's improvised bullhorn to convince the pilot to land on the mountain. The Park Service copter was big enough for medical evacuations or search and research, and when Piper told the very nice ranger pilot lady that it would be a great idea to fly them to the Oakland Airport, she readily agreed. 

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

     She needed both Leo and Jason's help to hold him, while Savreen and Coach Hedge gathered their supplies. Fortunately, Coach Hedge had woken up enough to put his trousers and shoes back on, so Piper didn't have to explain his goat legs. 

     Piper was barely with it, though━not with her dad like this: pushed beyond the breaking point and crying more than she was. She didn't know what the giant had done to him━she didn't think she wanted to know. It broke every daughter to see her own father so destroyed. 

     "It'll be okay, Dad," she tried, making her voice as soothing as possible through the ache in her throat. She didn't want to charmspeak her own father, but it seemed the only way. Her gaze was blurry with tears. "It━it's okay. These━these people are my friends. You━you know: Leo, Sav and Jason. You know Leo and Sav. We're going to help you. You're safe now."

     He blinked and looked up at the helicopter rotors. "Blades. They had a machine with so many blades. They had six arms..."

     Piper looked down as she blinked back a few tears, her throat aching and bursting. 

     When they managed to get him to the bay doors, the pilot came over to help. "What's wrong with him?" she asked.

     Piper couldn't come up with an explanation. She suddenly forgot how to speak.

    But Jason was there to help her. "Smoke inhalation," he suggested, briefly placing a hand on Piper's back. "Or heat exhaustion."

     "We should get him to a hospital."

     "No, it's okay," Piper managed. "The airport is good."

    "Yeah ..." the pilot agreed immediately. "The airport is good ..." then she frowned, as if uncertain as to why she'd changed her mind. "Isn't he Tristan McLean, the movie star?"

    "No," Savreen piped up, quick to help her best friend. "He only looks like him. Don't worry about it."

     Strangely, her words seemed to work just as well. "Yeah," the pilot murmured, blinking. "Only looks like him."

     "Just forget about it," went on the daughter of Harmonia. Something glowed pink inside her jacket pocket. 

     The pilot blinked once more. She frowned to herself. "I━" she shook her head. "I forgot what I was saying. Let's get going."

     Leo and Jason frowned at Savreen, startled and confused. She didn't say a word. She stepped forward and was at Piper's other side to help her father up into the helicopter. Even if she was confused, she did not say anything, either. Piper appreciated it. She met her best friend's gaze, broken and miserable with her father muttering incoherent sentences between them. Savreen pursed her lips before softly muttering, "Come on, Mr. McLean," she coaxed her father onto the vehicle. And her voice washed over, managing to calm him down enough to oblige. "Let's get out of here. Come on, it's all right. Piper's right behind you."

     Piper couldn't voice her gratitude. She couldn't voice how much she was glad Savreen seemed to know exactly what she wanted. She felt just as dissociated as her father━absolutely miserable as she tried to figure out a way to help him. She didn't know how. She couldn't charmspeak his trauma away ... not only would it not work; it was rooted too deep within him ... it felt ... wrong ... to twist his mind to think what she wanted it to. It seemed different when it was just a few tricks here and there, to manipulate someone's mind into getting them to one place or another, or giving her a car, or a pair of sunglasses━but to change her father's mind? To manipulate him to believe that everything he saw was just some dream, a figment of his own imagination ... that was cruel. That was more cruel than anything Piper could think of. 

    But was letting him live with his trauma ... this horror that glazed over his eyes and made him inconsolable ... was that even crueler?

    Jason noticed the look on her face. He hesitantly reached out to squeeze her shoulder before brushing past to one of the seats in the helicopter. She barely comprehended it, just watching her father grasp onto Savreen as she stood away from him. "Piper," he whispered to her. "Where━where's Piper? Where's my daughter━Piper━Pipes━is she okay? Piper?"

     "I'm here, Dad," she croaked, her voice stuck in the back of her throat. As the helicopter took off, Piper made her way over to sit down beside him. She grasped his hands and could feel him trembling at the mere touch. "I'm okay. I'm here. You're━you're okay..."

    The pilot kept asking her questions over the radio━asking where they were going. She ignored them. They veered away from the burning mountain and headed towards the Berkeley Hills.

    "Piper," her father held onto her hand like he was afraid he'd fall. "It's you? They told me━they told me you would die. They said ... horrible things would happen."

     Piper choked but her tears. "It's me, Dad," her voice was no louder than a whimper. But she had to be strong. She had to be strong for him. "It's me, Dad. Everything's going to be okay."

     "They were monsters," he said, voice quivering. "R━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 Piper again ... though he didn't really focus; his eyes were like broken glass, reflecting a crazy kind of light. "They said you were a demigod. Your mother was..."

     "Aphrodite," whispered Piper, sniffling. "Goddess of love."

    "I━I━" he took a shaky breath, then seemed to forget how to exhale. 

     Piper's friends were careful not to watch. Leo fiddled with a long nut from his tool belt. Savreen stared at her fingers next to him. Jason gazed at the valley below━the roads backing up as mortals stopped their cars and gawked at the burning mountain. Coach Hedge chewed on the stub of his carnation, and for once the satyr didn't look in the mood to yell or boast.

     "I didn't know about Mom," Piper looked back to her father, squeezing his hand. "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."

    Her dad couldn't stop shivering. "You're heroes━you and your friends," he told her. "I can't believe it. You're a real hero━not like me. Not playing a part. I'm ... I'm so proud of you, Pipes."

    Those words should mean something. They should fill her up with hope and happiness. But the words were muttered listlessly, in a semi-trance, and they held no meaning━even if they were genuine, deep down. 

     He gazed down the valley. His grip on Piper's hand went slack. "Your mother never told me."

    "She thought it was for the best..." 

    Piper remembered what her mother had said to her: if he has to spend the rest of his life with those memories, knowing that gods and spirits walked the earth, it will shatter him. 

     She saw that now. 

    She felt inside the pocket of her jacket. The vial was still there, warm to her touch. But how could she erase his memories? That felt almost as bad as charmspeaking his mind. But not only that ... he would forget everything, including the truth about her. He finally knew who she was. He was proud of her, and for once ... she was his hero, not the other way around. He saw her, and he acknowledged her ... he saw her. Even if it was lost and broken ... he still saw his daughter finally, after so many years of trying to grab his attention. She didn't steal things to get that, she didn't get sent away dozens of times, broke the rules and begged for his love ... it was there all along. And he turned to her, spoke to her, saw her for her just being her━and everything that entailed.

     Piper couldn't get rid of that. She couldn't ... she couldn't go through all of that again. 

     But ... but this wasn't about her ...

     She hiccuped a small sob, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. She shouldn't have to do this. She shouldn't have to make this decision. She ... she was a kid. She was a kid━she should just have to think about her father's love, and getting through high school and listening to her dad's stories on the beach ... she shouldn't have to put away her own happiness━their happiness as a family in order to save him one last time ... for something that she knew she had caused, just by being her, as well. 

     But that was the difference. She wasn't just a kid. Piper was more than that, and that came with sacrifice. Her father called her a hero ... heroes never lived happy lives. 

     And so she continued to hold his hand. She rested against her father like she was a little girl all over again, and instead told him stories. She told him about her time at the Wilderness School, her cabin at Camp Half-Blood and all her great siblings that she once thought ill of. She told him how Coach Hedge ate carnations and got knocked on his butt on Mount Diablo, how Leo had tamed a dragon, how Savreen was the daughter of Harmonia and had the necklace of legend sitting in her pocket, and how Jason had made the wolves back down by talking in Latin. She told him everything━because this would be her last chance before she would have to take it all away. 

    Though, she wasn't even sure whether he heard her. 

     As they passed over the hills into the East Bay, Jason tensed. He leaned so far out of the doorway Piper was afraid he'd fall. 

    He pointed. "What━what is that?"

    She looked down, but she didn't see anything interesting━just hills, woods, houses and little roads sneaking through the canyons. A highway cut through a tunnel in the hills, connecting the East Bay with the inland towns.

    "Where?" she asked.

    "The road," he said. He looked pale. "The one that goes through the hills, I━I━what is that?"

    Piper picked up the com helmet the pilot had given her and relayed the question over the radio. The answer wasn't very exciting. 

    "She says it's Highway Twenty-Four," she reported. "That's the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?"

    Jason stared intently at the tunnel entrance, but he said nothing. He watched the sight of a bird circle it━a raven. A raven as dark as the night. It flung past their helicopter so suddenly, Jason barely managed to dip inside before it would've swooped his face with its claws. It squawked at him━cawed it's horrific caw before diving back down. 

     Leo frowned, taken aback, "That was ... weird. Jason, what did you ever do to ravens? Do you own a raven hate club, or something. Dude, they remember that shit."

    He still didn't say a word. Jason watched the bird fly back to the tunnel, and then it disappeared from view as they flew over downtown Oakland. But he still stared into the distance, his expression almost as unsettled as Piper's dad's. 

     For a moment, she thought he recognised the bird. And the bird recognised him. 

    They remember things━Piper thought over Leo's words. They remember faces and they remember things those faces did. She grew a little unsettled. A little scared. Black ravens were also a bad omen. 

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

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

    ━━Air traffic control didn't want to let an unscheduled helicopter land at the Oakland Airport━until Piper got on the radio. Then it turned out to be no problem. Leo said she'd be amazing at complaining to managers. She wasn't in the mood to take that any sort of way. They unloaded on the tarmac, and everyone looked at Piper. 

    "What now?" asked Jason.

     She felt uncomfortable. She didn't want to be in charge━it felt strange to have Jason ask her a question and expect her to answer it. But for her father's sake she had to appear confident. She had no plan. She just remembered that he'd flown into Oakland, which meant his private plane would still be here. But today was the solstice. They had to save Hera. They had no idea where to go or if they were even too late. And how could she leave her father like this?

     "First thing," she said, swallowing down the lump in her throat and nodding to herself. "I━I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."

     Their faces fell. But when Piper searched for Savreen's gaze, her friend understood. She nodded, telling her it was okay. Piper wanted to hug her, but held herself back. Knowing that if she did, she was sure to break down. 

     "Oh," said Leo. He tried not to sound disappointed. "I━I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."

     "Pipes, no," her father had been sitting in the helicopter doorway, a blanket around his shoulders. But he stumbled to his feet. "You━you have a mission. A quest. I can't━"

    "I'll take care of him," spoke up Coach Hedge.

     They all turned to look at him. Piper stared. The satyr was the last person she'd expected to offer. But she grew emotional despite it. Coach Hedge was many things━he was frustrating, exasperating, aggressive (very aggressive), but he was caring. She knew that much. "You?" she asked breathlessly.

    "I'm a protector," he said. "That's my job. That is my responsibility as a satyr. Not fighting."

     He sounded a little crestfallen, and Piper realised that maybe she shouldn't have recounted how he got knocked unconscious in the last battle. In his own may, maybe the satyr was as sensitive as her father. Piper managed a small smile, not sure how to thank him, or whether she could even come up with enough words to be able to. Despite it all, she was glad Coach Hedge was here. 

    Then Hedge straightened and set his jaw. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too." He glared at them all, daring them to argue.

    "Yes," said Jason immediately. 

    "Terrifying," agreed Leo.

    "You are ... very talented," finished Savreen. The boys turned to her, incredulous at her choice of words. She shrugged. 

     The coach grunted. "But I'm a protector, and I can do this. Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."

    "But..." Piper's eyes stung. "Dad..."

     He held out his arms. She ran to him. Wrapping her arms tight around him, she felt him hold her back finally. He was frail. He was trembling so much, it scared her━but she still felt a little comfort to feel him hold her as tight as he could manage. She felt safe for a moment, safe enough to feel as if she could do this. 

     "Let's give them a minute," Jason muttered to the others and they took the pilot a few yards down the tarmac. Jason turned Sav around gently at her shoulders when she glanced back at Piper, concerned. 

     Piper and her father continued to relax in each other's embrace for a few more moments until her dad spoke, "I can't believe it," he muttered to her shoulder. "I failed you."

     She pulled away, shocked. Piper shook her head, "No, Dad!"

    "The things they did, Piper, the visions they showed me..."

    "Dad, listen━" Piper took out the vial from her pocket. "Aphrodite gave me this, for you. It takes away your recent memories. It'll make it like none of this ever happened."

     Her father gazed at her, as if translating her words from a foreign language. She pursed her lips, trying to hide how much her grip on the vial trembled. "But ... but you're a hero. I would forget that?"

    She nodded, "Yes," she whispered, letting her voice break for a moment. "Yes, you would. It'll be like━it'll be like before."

    Her father closed his eyes and took a shaky breath. When he opened them again, he cupped her cheeks. A tear fell and he wiped it away, "I love you, Piper," he told her. "I love you. I always have." Her chest twisted painfully. "I━I sent you away because I ... I didn't want you exposed to my life. Not the way I grew up━the poverty, the hopelessness. Not the Hollywood insanity either. I thought━I thought I was protecting you." He managed a brittle laugh, moving his hands down to grasp her shoulders gently. "As if your life without me was better. Or━or safer."

     Piper's sob broke through, "Dad━" she didn't know what else there was to say. She had heard him talk about protecting her before, but never believed it. She always thought he as just rationalising. Her father seemed so confident and easygoing, like his life was a joyride. How could he claim she needed protecting from that? But she supposed she finally understood. She understood he had been acting for her benefit; trying not to show how scared and insecure he was. Trying to give her a better life; a life of opportunity. He really had been trying to protect her. And now his ability to cope had been destroyed. 

     She realised there was nothing else left to say. And so, Piper held out the vial for him to take. "Take it," she said before her courage failed her. "Maybe some day we'll be ready to talk about this again. When ... when you're ready."

     "When I'm ready," he murmured. "You make it sound like━like I'm the one growing up. I'm supposed to be the parent." He took the vial. His eyes glimmered with a small desperate hope. "I love you, Pipes."

     "I love you too, Dad."

     He drank the vial. Piper watched his eyes roll up to his head and he slumped forward. She caught him, finally letting out all of her tears. She hugged him as he forgot. As he forgot everything that had happened the past few days━everything that she told him, everything that he learnt about her. She cried as she said goodbye. 

     "I got him," Coach Hedge was suddenly at her side. "It's okay, I got him."

     He stumbled, but he was strong enough to hold her father upright. Piper hugged her stomach, breathing heavily as she forced everything back inside. "I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"

    Piper was about to tell him. Then a thought occurred to her. She checked her dad's pocket and his BlackBerry was still there. It seemed bizarre that he'd still have something so normal after all he'd been through, but she guessed Enceladus hadn't seen any reason to take it.

    "Here," she passed it to Coach Hedge. "Everything's on here. Address, his chauffeurs number. Just watch out for Jane."

    Hedge's eyes lit up, excited for a possible fight. "Who's Jane?"

    By the time Piper had explained, her father's sleek white Gulf-steam had taxied next to the helicopter. Hedge and the flight attendant got Piper's dad on board. Then Hedge came down one last time to say his goodbyes. As he did, Savreen came up next to Piper. She linked her arm with hers and rested her head against her shoulder in her best attempt to comfort her. 

     "You are the bravest person I know," she whispered to her.

     "I don't want to be brave," Piper told her, and only her in a soft voice. "I just ... I just want my Dad to be okay."

     Savreen held her arm tighter at this. For someone who held a necklace meant to bring tragedy to anyone who wore it, and everyone around them, Piper found that Savreen was the only one who seemed to help her through her own tragedy. 

     With a sad thought she realised it was probably because she was so used to it. 

    Coach Hedge gave Piper and Savreen each a hug before glaring at Jason and Leo. "You cupcakes take care of these girls, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."

     Leo scoffed, "They can protect themselves━" as his scowl hardened, Leo immediately added: "But, yeah, Coach! You got it!" he saluted him. "Leo Valdez has got his protector cap on!"

     "No push-ups," Jason promised.

     Piper gave the old satyr one more hug. "Thank you, Gleeson. Take care of him, please."

    "I've got this, McLean," he assured her. "They've got root bear and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred per cent linen napkins━yum! I could get used to this."

    Trotting up the stairs, he lost one shoe, and his hoof was visible for just a second. The flight attendant's eyes widened, but she looked away and pretended nothing was wrong. Piper figured she's seen thing stranger things. 

     When the plane was heading down the runway, Piper started to cry all over again. Without a second wasted, Savreen pulled her in for a hug. Jason joined in, able to wrap them both up in his arms. Leo stood uncomfortably nearby, until he shuffled forward and set his head on her shoulder, rubbing her back. The group of friends embraced each other. 

    "Your dad's in good hands," Jason said. "You were amazing."

    Piper sobbed into his shirt. She felt like it was okay to cry to him. She felt like she could. She could let it all out to him and feel like somebody listened. Jason was a great listener, but it was more than that. She felt safe to be vulnerable with him. 

     But she couldn't indulge herself anymore. After seven breaths, she had to pull away. They needed her. The helicopter pilot was starting to look uncomfortable━like she was beginning to wonder why she had flown them here. 

     "Thank you, guys," said Piper to her best friends. "I━"

    She wanted to tell them how much they meant to her. They'd sacrifice everything, maybe even their quest, to help her. She couldn't repay them, couldn't even put her gratitude into words. But she didn't need to. Their expressions ... they understood, and they felt the same. 

     Then, right next to Jason, the air began to shimmer. At first, Piper thought it was the heat off the tarmac, or maybe gas fumes from the helicopter. But she'd seen something like this before in Medea's fountain. It was an Iris message. An imagine appeared in the air━a dark-haired girl in silver winter camouflage, holding a bow.

     Jason jumped in surprise, "Thalia?"

    "Thank the gods!" she said. The scene behind her was hard to make out, but Piper heard yelling, metal clashing on metal and explosions. "We've found her! Where are you?"

     "Oakland," said Jason. "Where are you?"

     "The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you're not too far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but he can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."

     "Then it's not too late?" cried Piper. Hope surged through her, but Thalia's expression quickly dampened it.

    "Not yet," she said. "But, Jason━it's worse than I realised. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."

    "But where is the Wolf House?" he pleaded.

    "Our last trip," said his sister. Her image started to flicker. "The park. Jack London. Remember?"

     This made no sense to Piper, but Jason looked like he had been shot. He tottered, his face pale, and the Iris message disappeared. 

     Leo grasped his shoulder as he stumbled, "Bro━you all right? You know where she is?"

    "Yes," said Jason. "Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air."

    Piper turned to the ranger pilot, who'd been watching all of this with an increasingly puzzled expression. They needed to get to the Wolf House, and they needed to get there by air ...

     She put on her best dazzling smile, "Ma'am," she said, sickly polite. "You don't mind helping us out one more time, do you?"

    "I don't mind," she replied easily.

    "We can't take a mortal into battle," said Jason. "It's too dangerous." A thought struck him. He turned to Leo, and almost seemed to nearly regret asking. "Uh ... Do you think you could fly this thing?"

     "Uh ..." Leo made a face━it didn't exactly reassure Piper. But then he put his hand on the side of the machine, concentrating hard━as if he could listen and hear it speak. "Bell 412HP utility helicopter," he muttered. "Composite four-blade main rooter, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full."

     Savreen nodded at Jason, "That translates to: yeah, he can fly it."

     Piper smiled at the ranger again. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed, impulsive, hyperactive and crazy fifteen-year-old borrowing your copter to fly his equally impulsive, hyperactive and crazy friends, do you? I promise you we'll return it."

     "I'm not impulsive," argued Sav weakly. Jason patted her shoulder to say, it's okay, I hear you. 

     "I━" the pilot nearly choked on her words, but she got them out: "I don't have a problem with that."

     Leo grinned a wicked grin at this. "Hop in, kids!" he dramatically gestured to the helicopter doors. "Tío's gonna take you all for a ride."

     Savreen frowned at him. "Please ... please don't say that ever again..."

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅。.。༅:*·ﾟﾟ·⭑

    a/n: we were due for a piper chapter and I wanted to write these two chapters into one to show just how much my girl is over-hated and deserves the world. 

     also these four are just so precious. 

     also I did some research for the story at the beginning of the chapter, but if it's incorrect in any way, that is unintentional and I will fix it if anything is wrong. just let me know <3

     by the way the raven is definitely timmy's raven (if you remember, I don't expect you to), and it going out of its way to purposefully try to sabotage jason is a hint to the relationship between our boy and claire's brother━and then hinting to the relationship our lost bro and sis will have.

     because i can never really let claire be happy yet i'm sorry. 

     she will get her happy ending, i promise ... just not yet.

     (limited editing)