CHAPTER TWO:
HOMEWARD

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IN HER DREAMS, SHE found Jason. Her mother and Ezra must've been taking a rest day, for Jason's sullen face was front and centre in the darkness. He was on the opposite side of her cabin, something bruised and ugly forming in his features. Annais' heart pounded desperately. She couldn't help but think of that moment before death, when she screamed for him over Tartarus.

"Don't you see?" a distant voice echoed, not quite close enough to piece together. Annais recognised it as her own only muffled, like the sound of her heart in her ears had drowned out everything else. "Nothing about this is okay!"

"I never said it was--"

"Then stop trying to make it better," she half-sobbed, half-shouted.

It had been three days since they lost Ezra, Percy and Annabeth. Mel was a complete trainwreck. Hea, on the other hand, didn't seem even remotely affected, as if Ezra was a stranger to her, nothing more. Annais felt frayed, pulled in every direction, and hopelessly scared about the devoted look in Jason's eyes. Like he'd tell her he loved her if he could get a single breath in. As if that wouldn't weigh Annais down more.

Jason Grace was golden, and Annais loved him, and she couldn't do this anymore.

"Look, whatever we are--"

"Whatever?" he scoffed then, jaw clenched. "Annais, you're my girlfriend. That's not just whatever!"

"Jason--"

"Hey, I know you're hurting right now and you're scared and I wish there was something I could do to take that pain away from you," he continued desperately; he knew if he stopped talking, there'd be no saving them. "But breaking up with me isn't going to change that. Okay? It's only going to isolate you from the people you love."

"Like you?" she said when he finally paused. "You think I love you, Jason?"

Jason's face suddenly dropped. "You don't?"

Annais shrugged. Every movement was robotic, rehearsed to the point she felt dead inside. No amount of pleading or tears would throw her off guard. She tilted her head, as if she was bored, and she could feel Jason's heart break from here. He didn't believe her. Still, it hurt.

A sadistic part of her brain seemed to awaken in that moment. Annais felt infinitely better knowing that she wasn't the only one in pain. That someone else also had to suffer with her. That she wasn't alone, hanging from a chasm, weightless with a tether reaching for no one.

"Whatever we are," she repeated, firmer this time. "It's over. I'm sorry."

This time, Jason didn't fight. When Annais turned her back and the door slammed, the world went quiet. Annais sank into the silence and decided not to find a way out.

Now, in a dream that wasn't a dream, she sat opposite Jason in the Mess Hall, neither of them able to look at each other. Mel was curled up in a chair to the right of her, Leo on her other side, their hands interlocked on top of the table. No one had the stomach to eat anything that morning. Since they'd woken everyone else up and gathered to discuss Hazel's meeting with Hecate, the mood had been sombre and serious. Not even the artworks of Camp Half-Blood depicted on the walls could manage to lift their spirits. The scenes were real-time snapshots; laughing demigods, campfire sing-alongs, training in the pavilion like they had no care in the world. The seven and the Mins had been totally forgotten, pushed to the brink of suffering while life continued moving forward.

Annais felt bitter, and sad, and resentful.

She caught a flash of Jason's face from the corner of her eye, the gaunt expression of someone who'd taken on the leading position by de facto, and sank further into her seat.

"So," he said. "Now that we're here..."

Well, not all of them. Piper and Hea were notably absent, with Piper taking her turn at the helm alongside Coach Hedge. Hea had insisted on tagging along the second she stepped foot in the Mess Hall and took in the scene of Jason and Annais at opposite sides, the knife of misery hanging over their heads.

Not that Annais blamed her. She, too, would've left if she could've.

"--the House of Hades," continued Jason, rambling into the silence despite the fact that Annais and several others had tuned out. The lack of attention seemed to encourage his word vomit; where Annais had grown used to the silence and how it hurt, Jason continued to grimace and resisted against it. "Nico?"

Slowly, Nico sat forward. He was sulking beside Hazel, his stygian iron sword resting on the tabletop. "I communed with the dead last night," he stated, furiously calm despite the alarmed look Annais shot at him for his bluntness. "I was able to learn more about what we'll face. In ancient times, the House of Hades was a major site for Greek pilgrims. They would come to speak with the dead and honour their ancestors."

"Sounds like Dia de los Muertos," Leo commented curiously. "My Aunt Rosa took that stuff seriously."

"Chinese have that, too," added Frank, who was mid-bite into his jam on toast. He was the only one eating apart from Mel, who mostly swirled her cereal around the bowl with a spoon. "Ancestor worship, sweeping the graves in the springtime. Your Aunt Rosa would've gotten along with my grandmother, Leo."

"Yeah," Leo nodded, looking vaguely uncomfortable as he glanced between Frank and Hazel. "I'm sure they would've been best buds."

Nico cut in with a pointed cough, "A lot of cultures have seasonal traditions to honour the dead, but the House of Hades was open year-round. Pilgrims could actually speak to the ghosts. In Greek, the place was called the Necromanteion, the Oracle of Death. You'd work your way through different levels of tunnels, leaving offerings and drinking special potions--"

"Special potions," Leo muttered. "Yum."

"Nico, go on," Jason prompted.

"The pilgrims believed that each level of the temple brought you closer to the Underworld, until the dead would appear before you. If they were pleased with your offerings, they would answer your questions, maybe even tell you the future."

"And if the spirits weren't pleased?" Frank frowned.

"Some pilgrims found nothing," Nico said. Frequently, he would look at Annais, as she was sure he would've looked at Hea if she was present too. The realm of Hades was theirs to share, but Annais found no pride in her heritage. She resented it almost, the burdensome knowledge of her father. It took and it took from her until there was nothing left. She remained tight-lipped, allowing Nico to bear the brunt of it. "Some went insane, or died after leaving the temple. Others lost their way in the tunnels and were never seen again."

"The point is," Jason coughed as everyone began to grow restless, uncertain. "Nico found some information that might help us."

"The ghost I spoke to last night, he was a former priest of Hecate." Nico shot a not-so-subtle glance in Hazel's direction. Annais watched the both of them, they way their eyes seemed to communicate just in one look. "He confirmed what the Goddess told Hazel yesterday at the crossroads. In the first war with the giants, Hecate fought for the Gods. She slew one of the giants; one who'd been designed as the anti-Hecate. A guy named Clytius."

"Dark dude," Leo presumed, dropping Mel's hand when she turned to him with curious, peering eyes. "Wrapped in shadows."

Hazel raised an eyebrow at him, almost immediately suspicious. "Leo, how did you know that?"

"... I kind of had a dream."

"And you didn't say anything?" Mel frowned, her voice croaky from lack of use.

"I wasn't sure what to say..."

In spite of Mel's disapproving stare, no one seemed surprised. Instead, Jason encouraged Leo to share what he dreamt with them, refusing to let his eyes stray two chairs over to where Annais slipped her ring on and off her finger. Every movement was wired, distracted as he described Camp Half-Blood, their home, in mere ruins. If Ezra was there to hear it, she'd be chomping at the bit wanting to head back and warn everyone.

Jason pushed away his plate of cold pancakes. "So the giant is Clytius. I suppose he'll be waiting for us, guarding the Doors of Death."

"Just our luck," Annais muttered almost inaudibly.

"And the woman in Leo's dream?" Frank said mid-bite.

"She's my problem," Hazel admitted. "Hecate mentioned a formidable enemy in the House of Hades, a witch who couldn't be defeated except by me, using magic."

Something about this seemed painfully familiar. A demigod having to face a challenge alone... can only be done by them...

"Do you know magic?" Leo asked her curiously.

"Not yet."

"Oh." Just like that, his hopeful smile dropped. "Any idea who she is, then?"

Hazel shook her head again. "Only that she won't be easy to defeat."

"But there is some good news," Nico said before the words could sink in and rot. "The ghost I talked to explained how Hecate defeated Clytius in the first war. She used her torches to set his hair on fire. He burned to death. In other words, fire is his weakness."

Everybody looked at Leo then.

"Oh," he grimaced. "Okay."

If Hea was there, Annais could already predict what she'd say.

We're doomed. Fucked. Better make peace with the world while we still can.

Annais wished her sister stayed.

For her.

"It's a good lead," Jason insisted when Leo remained doubtful.

Annais scoffed, and Jason glared, and everything felt wrong. If this was a book, they'd be back at the very beginning. Annais Min had always known she could not trust Jason Grace. It was intuitive, like mortals knew they needed air to breathe, blood to lose, a heart to beat. This blonde boy, so boyish and innocent (battered and bruised) certainly didn't look like a monster, but Annais had seen enough monsters in her lifetime to know someone didn't have to look wicked to be wicked. Perhaps, Jason Grace was the most wicked of them all. He wouldn't fool her any longer--

"At least we know how to kill the giant," he continued forcefully. "And this sorceress... well, if Hecate believes Hazel can defeat her, then so do I."

Hazel didn't seem assured by Jason's trust in her. She sighed and dropped her eyes to avoid his. "Now we just have to reach the House of Hades, battle our way through Gaea's forces--"

"Plus a bunch of ghosts," Nico added, as if they needed more of a reason to fear the worst. "The spirits in that temple may not be friendly."

"--and find the Doors of Death," Hazel finished. "Assuming we can somehow arrive at the same time as Ezra, Percy and Annabeth and rescue them."

"We can do it," insisted Frank. "We have to."

Annais nodded grimly. "We've got no other choice."

"Okay, then," Leo said, clapping his hands together promptly. "With this detour, I'm estimating four or five days to arrive at Epirus, assuming no delays for, you know, monster attacks and stuff."

Jason smiled sourly. "Yeah. Those never happen."

Leo turned to Hazel. "Hecate told you that Gaea was planning her big Wake Up party on August first, right? The Feast of Whatever?"

"Spes," Hazel corrected, but nodded along anyways. "The Goddess of hope."

Annais could do with some hope.

"Theoretically, that leaves us enough time," Jason mulled it over warily. "It's only July fifth. We should be able to close the Doors of Death, then find the giants' HQ and stop them from waking Gaea before August first."

"Theoretically," Hazel echoed. They had less than a month, not even thirty days. Annais didn't believe in much, but this? This especially felt impossible, pointless, damning. "But I'd still like to know how we make our way through the House of Hades without going insane or dying."

Nobody volunteered any ideas.

"Look, we'll figure something out," Mel muttered eventually. "Who knows? Maybe going insane or dying will be the least of our worries."

"Charming," Leo winced.

Mel shrugged. "Realistic."

Leo grimaced. "You and Hea are too alike for your own good."

"Wait, it's July fifth--" Frank interrupted abruptly. His face had gone pale all of a sudden, his toast long forgotten. "Oh jeez, I hadn't even thought of that..."

"Hey, man, it's cool," Leo tried his best to seem comforting. He and Frank had gotten off to a rocky start, but he liked to think that was behind them now. Annais chuckled at the thought of Leo and Frank miraculously becoming best buddies. Maybe in another world, where everything was opposite. "You're Canadian, right? I didn't expect you to get me an Independence Day present or anything, unless you wanted to."

"It's not that," Frank rolled his eyes. "My grandmother... she always told me that seven was an unlucky number. It was a ghost number, she said. She didn't like it when I told her there would be seven main demigods on our quest. And July is the seventh month. . ."

"Yeah, but that's just a coincidence, right?"

Mel's lips pursed. "I wonder what she'd say if she knew how many ghosts I've seen."

Frank's expression said enough. "Back in China, in the old days, people called the seventh month the ghost month. That's when the spirit world and the human world were closest. The living and the dead could go back and forth. Tell me it's a coincidence we're searching for the Doors of Death during the ghost month."

No one spoke.

Annais' whole life revolved around death. She was sick of it.

Jason sighed, wired fingers tugging at the roots of his blonde hair. He seemed... unkept, like he hadn't had the time to think of brushing his hair let alone washing it. He seemed rather tired too, and he was watching Annais now, a fractured piece of a wounded hurt in his eyes. He looked away before she noticed him, grumbling, "Let's focus on the things we can deal with. We're getting close to Bologna. Maybe we'll get more answers once we find these dwarfs that Hecate--"

All of a sudden, the ship lurched to a stop, as if the mention of the dwarfs had summoned them out of thin air. For a second, Annais feared the Ourae had somehow followed them; that, in letting their guard down for even a second, they'd left themselves vulnerable for another attack. Fuming, she pushed her way out of her seat, only to freeze when Nico suddenly collapsed to the floor, skull smacking against the wood.

"Nico!" Hazel cried, closely followed by Mel.

"What--?" Frank tried to stand, but the ship pitched in the other direction. He stumbled into the table and went face-first into Leo's plate of scrambled eggs.

"Dude," Leo frowned. "Not cool."

Annais reached out and smacked him over the head.

"Look!" Jason exclaimed as he pointed at the walls. The images of Camp Half-Blood were now flickering and changing, forming something else entirely.

"Not possible," Leo murmured, terrified.

For a flash, a distorted face watched them; with crooked yellow teeth, a tangled beard, narrowed but mismatched eyes. The face opened its mouth and bit at the screen, as if he was trying to eat his way into the room, to them, defying the laws of nature itself.

"What the fuck?" Annais gasped.

But the scene had already changed again.

This time, they were looking at the deck, at the seemingly sunny sky overlooking a horrifying scene. At first, Hea was knocked out cold on the floor while Piper screamed against the gag forced into her mouth. The daughter of Aphrodite was trapped in a mess of duct tape and ropes, unable to fight her way out no matter how hard she tried. To the right of her, Hedge -- much to Annais' shock -- had also found himself bound and gagged, death staring a monster of some kind -- what appeared to be an overgrown garden gnome that danced around him, doing his hair in tiny pigtails with hot pink rubber bands?

If the situation hadn't appeared so serious, Annais would've burst out laughing.

"Are we just going to stand here, or...?"

The image changed again, this time to reveal a series of monkeys leaping around the deck. One stopped right in front of the screen, cackling as it stuffed Leo's beloved Archimedes sphere into a burlap sack. They were being robbed. By rabid monkeys. And a gnome that seemed to have a crush on Coach Hedge.

Annais couldn't hold it anymore. She giggled and had to smother a full-blown cackle when Leo wailed furiously at the screen.

"No!"

"Monkey!" Frank grunted, looking this way and that for a weapon of some kind.

"Not monkeys," Hazel groaned. "I think those are dwarfs."

Just as they'd predicted.

"And they're stealing my stuff," Leo spat, he didn't hesitate to run for the stairs without waiting to see if they'd follow.

"Leo, wait," huffed Annais, but he was already gone. "Well, this is just great. Now we have to rescue him."

As if her day couldn't get any worse.

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A/N: song of the chapter - homeward by dermot kennedy! also, for reference, this chapter was supposed to be part of chapter one but it was getting way too long with how much i wanted to include, so here's a double update to make up for my lack of attention for annais my beloved! i'm hoping to update her again by the end of the year? but we'll see if i follow through with that lol. as always, please let me know what you thought of the new updates, and if you wanna read this story from ezra's perspective, you can always check out last man standing which is published on @-trojanwar's account :)