CHAPTER TWELVE: HEAD ON FIRE

( mark of athena )

✲*'。

THAT NIGHT, EZRA WAS HAUNTED by the memory of her brother again. She was forced to listen to her brothers laboured breathing, hear every little bit of wheeze that escaped his lips as he weakly swallowed one of his remaining pomegranate seeds. Her senses were clouded in panic as she heard the booming laughter of the giants of Otis and Ephialtes, Nico's breath stilling as he entered his death like slumber once more.

And then the scene would shift, Ezra would be taken back to Bianca Di Angelo's death. Taken back to the moment he had raged angrily and had vanished. For months, Ezra only heard about Nico in passing from Hea as she gently reassured Annais their brother was safe and alive.

And then after Penelope, in the height of her grief, it had been Nico who had been the balm to Ezra's anger. One of the few she allowed close. In those two months, while Ezra trained and trained, honed her body into perfection as she prepared to launch herself into one last final battle to avenge her sister, it was Nico who remained constant.

While others quivered in the presence of Nico's anger and misery, Ezra clung and clung, finding solace in her brother figure. And in those four months, when she ran, left everyone behind, it was only Nico and her sisters former she truly let in. The only ones who knew the secrets that Ezra carried, that burdened her 

And then Ezra returned to camp, became wrapped up in another bloody quest, ignorant to her brothers plight, oblivious to the horrors he had faced head on. His screams, his dead spirit haunting her every slumbering moment.

And then she would awake, lungs constricted of air, her eyes heavy as loud sobs escaped her plump lips, her senses hazy in grief for Nico. In anger at herself and worry for his wellbeing. It was only the familiar comforting palms on her thighs that managed to soothe her erratic breathing, the comforting scent of lemons that managed to awaken Ezra Min from her constant nightmares.

"Hey, it's alright," Annabeth hummed, helping Ezra to sit up. The daughter of Hera sat up with a yawn, her shoulders warming up with the pressure of Annabeths hands. "I'm about to leave with the others. Are you sure you don't want to come with me, escape from the ship for a little bit..."

Ezra shook her head, stubborn as always prompting the smallest of smiles from Annabeth's lips. "I'm fine." When a disapproving sound escaped her girlfriends lips Ezra leaned forward to grip her hand. "I'll be fine. Seriously I doubt Kelp Head will let me out of his sight."

Annabeth sighed but decided it was best not to argue, merely watching the Min girl leave her bed to get ready for the day. She stepped forward to help Ezra pick an outfit that's  colour didn't clash. Handing the girl a pair of grey cotton shorts and a dark blue sports tee, Annabeth politely averted her gaze as she Ezra immediately began to strip herself, knowing now was not the moment to initiate any sort of romantic contact.

"Look, Annabeth--"

"I'm here for--"

Both of them paused, caught off guard. Annabeth weakly smiled as she took Ezra's hand into her own, helping her sit on the bed. "I'm-- Percy and I are here for you spitfire," she hummed, lifting her eyes upwards as she knelt down to help tie her shoelaces.  Ezra weakly smiled, encouraged by the small action. "I know this time of year will be hard for you, and with Nico it certainly can't help."

"Let's not talk about it." Ezra declared her voice pained. "I'll come to you and Percy if I'm struggling, deal?"

Annabeth sighed, biting her lip she nodded.  It was the best Ezra guraenteed her, had been more than what she been expecting. "Okay, I can live with that."

The smallest of twitches quirked Ezra's lips into a barely there smile. Annabeth took it as progress. The air started to lift, no longer as suffocating.

Opening her arms up, Ezra launched into her grip, burying her head into her neck as Annabeth caught her lean body in her arms.

"Come on," Annabeth murmured, dragging her over to the door after a moment. "We have quests to complete, people to save..."

"Including Nico," Ezra declared, squeezing her hand before she could let go. The daughter of Hera would be damned if she lost another sibling.

Find, not save. Ezra couldn't promise her sisters they'd save Nico's life. Not even Hades, her siblings father could promise the blind demigod that. But at least he was on her side now. Dead or alive, he'd reunite Ezra -- and her sisters -- with their brother.

That or damn the consequences, Ezra would become a godslayer once more.

They were one of the first to arrive on the deck. Ezra immediately slinkered off into Percy's arms as Annabeth kept a tight grip on her shoulder while they waited for the others. In the end, of course Annais and Jason were the last to join them. Just like Ezra expected, Annabeth released an impatient scoff when she noticed them drawing closer, her furrowed brows stark in the sea of amused smirks the others wore. Leo made a show of winking at Jason, patting Annais' shoulder like he was congratulating her.

"About time," Annabeth mumbled. "Are we ready to go?"

Ezra listened on stonily as one of her sisters departed, all the while holding Mel close as she clung to her tightly. As the second group began to depart, Ezra leant forward to press a peck to her sisters forehead as the daughter of Melinoe cuddled into her neck.

"Stay safe," Ezra hummed, gently running a hand though her sisters long locks.

"I will," Melanie spoke softly, leaning forward to peck her sisters cheek.

As her remaining sister departed, Ezra allowed herself to relax, try to calm her imploding thoughts. Laying her body back against Percy's chest, Ezra gently traced the callouses on his palm, her mind adrift. A vacant haunted gleam to her face as she stared ahead lifelessly. Soothingly, Percy ran his hand up and down the girls thighs, warmth seeping into her cold and still body.

Ezra Min felt like death, felt her soul at war, her limbs tearing her away from the inside out. Her body had began to tremble, sparks of chaos radiating despite the peaceful atmosphere. She could feel the darkening insanity of madness clouding her senses, trying to lay claim to her true heritage.

For Ezra was at war with herself, fighting a losing battle with her mind, her sanity. All of her attempts to claw at reality were futile. The raw grief that had made a home for itself in her rotten heart pulsated in agony, a consistent reminder of what she was to blame for.

Penelope, Nico, this cursed quest; all of it. The weight of the world seemed to burden Ezra shoulders and Percy Jackson was determined to lighten the load.

Inhaling sharply, a breathy giggle escaped Ezra's lips as Percy's hands began to snake upwards, tugging her back into his lap, a hand dancing upwards, playing with the hem of her shirt.

"Stay with me hmm,?" Percy hummed, head coursing downwards towards Ezra's neck, as he gently pulled her back to face him.

"I'd rather be no where else." Ezra truthfully declared as she allowed Percy to pull her into a crushing embrace, sharp loud whimper escaping her lips.

For at the end of the day, no matter the burden, no matter the weight, Ezra Min was no longer alone to face her demons. She was loved, loved by a sweet, infuriatingly annoying boy. Loved by an amazingly stubborn, caring girl. Loved by two people who would refuse to see her drown in sufferings.

And for once in nearly a year, Ezra felt whole again.

✲*'。

BUT LIKE EVERYTHING EZRA'S peace had to come to and end, with the return of her lover, sister and two friends. And of course her wayward estranged sister.

Before all of the chaos and the madness began, Ezra had been rather reluctantly sitting on a lifebuoy, hands tightly clenching the rope at the sides. Exposure therapy, Percy had called it after their fiasco of a quest at that blasted Aquarium, it seemed Percy was determined for
Ezra to get over her fear of the ocean.

And so, as Percy talked to his ... underwater
friends, Ezra stayed tense, waiting for a reprieve to be done with this damn exercise.

Finally, Ezra heard a loud splash, cocking her head to the side, she reached out with grabby hands in the general direction of Percy swimming towards her.

"About time," she angrily grumbled, instantly wrapping her arms around his neck to hug him closer.

"Baby," Percy began, immediately prompting Ezra to stiffen. He never called her such a lovey dovey nickname, knowing she hated that kind of thing ... what was he planning to do?

Pushing what felt to be Annabeth's dagger into her hands, Ezra had no time to question Percy's motives as she was plunged into the ocean once more

Suddenly the pieces came together for
Ezra, when the entire Harbour suddenly erupted in a violent whirlwind of water. The wave easily captured the Romans in its hold, dragging them into the Harbour and keeping them there as Percy hurtled towards the dock with her in his arms. In one of her hands was Annabeth's dagger. The other was smacking Percy over the head as she screamed profanities at him.

"I'm sorry spitfire," Percy mumbled once more, tightening his grip on Ezra as the landed.

"You dropped this," Percy grinned at Annabeth, unphased by her shouts as he lowered her to her feet then handed Annabeth her dagger. "Ez, come on, you can't deny you liked it."

Despite Ezra's grumbles, Annabeth threw her arms around both of them. Ezra squawked in surprise as she was smothered in their embrace. "My heroes!" She crooned softly, tightly hugging them closer. "I love you both!"

Before she had to reply, Hazel cleared her throat softly, efficiently redirecting them. When Annabeth finally stepped away, Percy was smirking and Ezra was blushing. The moment she heard Annais snickering under her breath, she barely had enough time to dodge a hit from her infuriated sister.

Stupid demigod reflexes.

"Guys," Hazel intervened. "We need to hurry." She pointed down at Octavian and the Romans, capturing Octavian's attention. He screamed up at them, "Get me out of here! I'll kill you!"

Ezra scoffed, ready to give him a piece of her mind when Percy retorted mockingly, "Gee, that's tempting!"

With wax still in his ears, Octavian wailed, "What?"

"Nothing!" Percy turned back to the others, one hand holding onto Ezra's wrist while his other arm curled around Annabeth's waist. "Let's go, guys."

Hazel hesitated. "We can't let them drown, can we?"

"Sure we can," both Annais and Hea Min muttered.

At the sound of her eldest sisters voice, Ezra immediately tensed, her body warily shifting around in Percy's grip, her free hand inching towards her bracelet. Hea, the ever infamous lover of Aphrodite and Hephaestus, former secretive spy for Kronos before doubling back when her twelve year old sister worked out the truth.

To Ezra, her elder sister was nothing more then a nuisance, a relative she couldn't quite force away. Couldn't distance herself from. To Annais, it was as if Hea was the one person holding up the sky, the one sister she truly favoured above them all.

Just like her and Penelope Just like Melanie and her. Unlike her sisters, Ezra would never forget the way her sister abandoned her. Hea had been practically overjoyed the day Penelope swooped in, relieving her of the duty of raising the former daughter of Eris.

The elder daughter of Hades could burn in hell for all Ezra cared.

Percy finally spoke up, distracting Ezra from her train of thought. "They won't. I've got the water circulating around their feet. As soon as we're out of range, I'll spit them ashore.

Piper grinned at him. "Nice."

At the same time, Ezra smirked and reached around to nudge Annabeth. "That's hot. Don't you agree, Annabeth?"

Annabeth's face went bright red as the rest of the group groaned in disgust.

"I've gotta get out of here," Annais exclaimed, beginning to lead the way towards the boat.

"Why?" Ezra hurried after her, looping her arm through Annais' and holding on tight, much to Annais' chagrin. "So you can go back to smooching my favourite brother-in-law?"

"Brother-in-law?" a wide-eyed Hea interjected as she joined them on Annais' other side. "What about Hephaestus?"

Ezra sighed, trying her best to crack a smile onto her face as she was forced to play happy families. "Look, as annoying as he is, Jason had grown on me--"

"Jason Grace?" Hea screeched, prompting Annais to groan. She tried to bury her face in her hands but had no luck with Ezra's death grip on her. "Oh, I knew it. Aphrodite was right."

"There's a sentence I never thought I'd hear," Piper muttered from where she, Hazel, Percy and Annabeth amusedly listened from behind the Mins.

Hea, fortunately, was too busy badgering Annais to hear her. "So. When were you going to tell me, hm?"

Was it too late to send her back to Aphrodite? Surely not...

All the fucking better.