"You took everyone from me! Everybody!" Jason screeched, taking a closer step to Percy. "You took Nico, you took Leo, you took my sister- what next, my dad!?"

He grabbed his collar, smashing the boy against the brick wall behind him. "ANSWER ME! SAY SOMETHING, DO SOMETHING!"

Percy's mouth slowly opened, physically straining his neck to get out the one word he wanted to say. He pushed and pushed for it. Just one word, just that one word...

As the minutes passed a small sound began to come from Percy's mouth. He had been practicing for a long time, staring at himself in the mirror as he tried over and over to say what he wanted to say.

Before  he had been fine without talking. He had nothing to say. There was nothing to talk about, but now, now it was time for words.

"Absolutely nobody cared about you! You were a nothing!" Jason shouted, "I had everything! People knew me, they talked to me, and on some level I thought they cared. They had to've, but no. It was never me. It was always Nico or Leo, but it was never me."

"..J..."

"So then why, why is that all of a sudden it's all you. You can't even talk and you have everything!"

Jason shoved him even harder into the wall. His breathing was unsteady and shakey, and tears were streaming down his face.

Blood poured into Percy's eye from his head, but he didn't care. All he cared about was getting out that word. That stupid word that wouldn't come out.

"I tried so hard..." Jason whispered softly,  "I tried every method, every which way, but no matter what I tried everything went wrong. Everything wrong that could've happened happened. So why are you suddenly getting it all?"

Percy slowly placed a hand on top of Jason's and took in a deep breath.

"J..."

"WHAT!? WHAT IS IT!? SPIT IT OUT!" Jason howled, his eyes flashing. 

"J...a.... a.... j.."

The boy stilled, watching as the younger boy struggled to form the sounds in his mouth, but after the first two or so letters they got lost.

Percy gently squeezed Jason's hand, and just like that all of the anger seemed to flood out of him. He dropped the boy, who simply took his hand again and began to walk off.

No matter the blood running down his face, Percy could deal with that later. It hurt, sure, but this was so much more important.

The wind picked up around them as they walked. The streets seemed almost barren. Of course there was the regular car every once in awhile, but hardly anybody was on the sidewalks. It was like the whole world had decided to clear out for a day, and it was weird. A little frightening, but at the same time, oddly comforting.

There was no obnoxious city noise or random chatter. All they had was the sound of the wind blowing against them.

Jason considered asking where they were going, where he was leading him to, but he figured all he'd get in return was a look. Course, he couldn't necessarily get anything more then that from Percy.

After what seemed like a lifetime the two came across a slightly secluded/secret area. A pond, with clear water that caught the sun in the most fascinating way. The water seemed to have a certain sparkle that reflected a thousand different diamonds.

The sun came through the trees in the most perfect way, and the birds twittered and tweeted around them.

"Wh..." Jason looked over at Percy, who had let go of his hand and was now climbing up a simple structured but tall tree. There was long branches on both sides of the trunk that seemed to curve like it was made to be sat or laid on.

Percy gestured to the other branch and Jason hesitantly scrambled up the tree, sitting down on the branch.

"Why did you take me here?" Jason asked.

Percy placed a finger to his lips and laid back.

Jason sighed and mimicked the boy, laying back and closing his eyes.

"Jason, Jason, Jason."

"What?"  he lifted his head and slowly opened his eyes, the sunlight hitting his eyes and blinding him for a few seconds.

"It's me..." a familiar smile filled his vision, a glow of warmth seeming to envelope him. It was... comforting, a comfort he hadn't felt in a long time. Just like that, he felt safe. He felt secure, but he didn't know why.

Soon though, he got his answer. As his vision cleared a familiar face began to form out of the sunlight.

"Mom?" he whispered.

"I'm here..." the soft voice of his mother filled his ears as the wind blew through his hair, as if whispering something to him he couldn't quite understand.

Jason slowly sat up, "No... no this isn't real... it can't be."

"It's me..." her image formed in front of him. It wasn't that insane mother Thalia had always talked about, it was that sweet, nice mom. The one he'd run to if he was sad, if he cried, the one who he felt safe with. His mom, as her. Before the drugs, before the alcohol, before the fights.

"If it's you... then where the hell were you?"  he whispered softly, looking up at her. 

"You couldn't let dad go. You cared more about that stupid reputation of yours then your own children!" he shouted. Maybe he was just screaming at a blur of light, maybe it was a trick his mind was playing on him, but either way he was going to shout at it.

"I didn't mean-"

"YOU LEFT!" he screeched, jumping out of the tree and trying to storm away from her.

"I didn't realize what I was doing!" she grabbed hold of his arm, stopping him. "But you had your sister..."

"A SISTER YOU FOUGHT WITH!" he shouted, pulling away from her. He turned towards the pond, away from the figure. Tears sprung in his eyes but he quickly wiped them away. This was ridiculous. It was nothing, had to be nothing.

"You... your mind left long before your body left us." Jason whispered, staring into the water.

His mom sighed and came up from behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "I admit, I was foolish... but you are still my son. No matter how bad I was you held through."

"Yeah because that lasted so long..." he glanced back at her, then back at the water at their reflections, but instead of seeing him as, well, him, he saw himself when he was younger. Those sparkling eyes and that bright smile.

"I wasn't there for you when I was alive, but you have so many people willing to be there for you now." she whispered. "Don't lose them due to foolishness. You know, deep down, that path you are following is not right."

"So? What if I just don't care!"

"You care..." she gently turned him around and cupped his face, looking into his eyes. "You are my son. You believed when there was no hope to. I couldn't be there for you when I was in a physical form. I heard you crying, I heard you trying... but I did nothing to stop it."

He swallowed and wrapped his arms around her, and suddenly it wasn't just his reflection that was little. He was that kid again, taking in his mother's scent, because he didn't want to lose it.

"I'm still incredibly mad at you..." he murmured as he looked up at her.

A soft smile appeared on her lips and she nodded, "I know. I know."

Slowly the wind began to pick up, and Jason didn't realize it at first, but his mother seemed to be drifting away with the wind. 

"No... no stop it, STOP IT!" he shouted, reaching out to grab something, anything that could possibly be part of his mom. He ran forward but a hand grabbed hold of the back of his shirt, holding him back.

"STOP IT! IT'S GONNA TAKE HER AWAY! I'M NOT LOSING HER!"

Despite his shouting, screaming, and sobbing his mother seemed to disappear, piece by piece. The image of his mom seemed to fade away until he couldn't even smell that sweet flowery smell of hers.

"She's... gone..." Jason whispered, slowly lowering his hand.

"Ja...son..." a voice breathed. 

"What!?" Jason spun around, pausing when he saw Percy standing there.

"What'd you just say?" he whispered.

Percy swallowed and took in a shuddering breath.

"Jay... Jas... on..." he managed. The word was hoarse and scratchy, barely hitting the main sounds in the word, but Jason got it.

"You... my name?" Jason asked, "But... I've been... I'm so..."

Percy shook his head and bit his lip.

Jason glanced at him, then glanced back at the pond. "Did I almost go into..."

Percy nodded.

"Well... thank you."

Percy nodded again.

"And... thank you, for caring enough, to learn to say my name." Jason hesitantly held out his arms.

Percy glanced at him, then his arms, seeming to tense and back away slightly at the thought of the hug.

Jason let out a playful scoff and walked forward, lightly hugging him.

After a few seconds Percy relaxed, a small smile appearing on his lips.

He glanced down at the pond water, staring at their reflection.

"Ja...son..." he rasped.

"Percy." Jason murmured, hugging him tighter.

The two stayed like that. Nothing was keeping them there other then themselves. Percy didn't know why, but it was... sort of nice. 

And somewhere, maybe on another plane, in another universe, or on a spiritual level, maybe just a dream state, two little boys, one with blonde hair one with darker hair, sat on one of the branches on the tree by the pond. They exchanged smiles, and of course, blueberries, before giving each other a triumphant high five.

Song: Hymn For The Missing by Red [Nightcore Vers]