Seymore Swallow's Hera's Kidnapping Best

"You found the dragon already, didn't you?" Annabeth insisted. "There's no way those Anemoi Thuellai would have just hung around that long hoping Jason would show up after the deadline, they would have gone after you two before winter break was up! You two are a part of the next Great Prophecy as much as Jason is!"

Leo didn't follow all of that, he hadn't even heard a word of this Great Prophecy, but he smiled with a calmness he rarely felt as he pulled some wires out of his boot and a screwdriver. "Yeah, I found the dragon and got him a little cleaned up. Don't know what Piper and I ever did though." He'd currently left Festus snoozing in the bunker with his brand new wings, and a very large part of him still wanted to be there. The pull of feeling involved, important by Percy Jackson inviting him to read this book had been just that little too tempting to pass up, but a large part of him only wanted to be sorting through that palace and finding a dragon manual.

To Storm or Fire, the world must fall... It had been too big a coincidence, Annabeth thought with a feverish smile. Then Piper being such a powerful charm-speaker. Annabeth felt a great thrill of excitement at having two pieces of the puzzle right in front of her. Seven half-bloods shall answer the call... She looked to Percy again and it all faded back into the dull dread she knew so well. They'd bought themselves some time with Enceladus being defeated and Porphyrion not even awakening, but a part of her kept expecting the next god to appear any moment and zap them off to their next deadly quest, another few friends dead until their numbers dwindled to just the seven Hera seemed to be going around selecting herself.

There was nothing to do for it unless her mom wanted to finally send her a clear message. The books were at least easier to cope with in some ways as Thalia took it next with an eager enough smile to see the name of her brother at the top again.

Hazel cleared her throat for a moment and told Leo, "those were cool drawings, you're really good."

"Th-thanks," Leo stuttered, a lug nut shooting out of his device and beaming him in the head. He didn't seem to notice. It had been a long time since someone had given him a compliment, let alone one that wasn't connected to a joke.

AS SOON AS JASON SAW THE HOUSE, he knew he was a dead man.

"If you're a dead man walking, at least you smell better than a corpse," Percy shrugged.

"Eau de Alive will be selling off the shelf in no time," Jason chuckled.

... lounge chairs, a card table, and an empty wheelchair.

"That's an eerie sight until you get used to it," Hazel shivered. She imagined some poor soul trapped with no way to get help, not a centaur running around.

"Fair," Percy agreed. "I once found one at the bottom of some stairs and was half convinced a god blessed the poor occupant with a miracle or a curse to just walk after seeing all those."

... the windows seemed to glare down at him like angry eyes.

"Any chances you just have an irrational fear of two story houses?" Leo asked.

"I'd almost hope that was it," Jason sighed.

Every molecule felt...on enemy ground. "I am not supposed to be here."

Percy gave his shoulder a friendly pat to show otherwise, and the fearsome look in his sisters gaze promised extravagant torture to anyone who said that about him. It was nice, he knew they meant to make him feel accepted.

It still didn't erase the empty part of himself that was disappointment. He could have gone back home, wherever that specifically was, but he'd wanted to stay with them. He'd convinced himself if he made this choice it would feel natural to be here like it never truly had down in Oceanus's palace.

It didn't. But he still took some small comfort in the idea he was here by choice and could leave whenever he wished. Nico had always made it clear he was more than happy to leave this place too at a moment's notice, so he'd swallow as many molecules as he had to until he couldn't bear it anymore.

Drew smelled like Christmas...some special perfume for the holidays.

"I've never gone around to sniff her and find out," Will sounded sort of interested though like he might go ask. Nico gave him a very unimpressed look.

Thalia was trying to swallow her outrage at the idea of Jason dating a daughter of Aphrodite. It was an unfair distrust, her father the renowned fiend and a meddling love goddess dating would never be a well-matched mix, let alone in their children, but she tried to tell herself to stay out of this. Her jokes on the cabin were mostly just that, inherited rivalries from where the two stood on the godly side, and she had complicated enough feelings about Silena to really pass judgement on a whole cabin.

If her brother found himself attracted to Drew she couldn't very well try to tell him otherwise. She just really wanted to get her shovel speech ready.

...She was pretty, but she made Jason feel uncomfortable.

"Oh good, I've been wanting target practice with a hostage scenario!" Thalia said brightly.

"At least I'm not the hostage," Percy told him with mild sympathy.

Jason really didn't think either of them were as funny as they clearly thought themselves to be and ignored them.

... please, tell me you are not dating the Dumpster Queen."

"I've met Dumpster Queen's, Piper hardly seemed that bad," Annabeth rolled her eyes. She'd never liked Drew even before she'd shown interest in Percy, the girl was all the worst traits of her mother with none of the good she'd found in some of the others she rarely talked to.

... He shouldn't befriend these people, certainly shouldn't date them.

Hazel hadn't felt anything like that, and she studied her brother and his friend again wondering why.

Still, a part of her did understand what Jason meant. It was nice to be here, she liked the guys and this place seemed great...but it had the feel of visiting a friend's house. She wasn't meant to stay here. Just another place to pass the time.

... He couldn't play with Piper's emotions like that.

Jason looked miserable at having all that out on display. Like he wanted to duck his head, or at least put a bag over it. But he kept his shoulders straight and looked at a display of an enormous dung beetle with wings masterfully stuffed, the name Trygaios attached to it and tried to distract himself with why he was vaguely sure he knew that story.

Thalia all too easily took the hint and kept her silent promise to leave his love life to himself until asked, and she wouldn't let anyone else bug him until then.

... You can do better. A guy with your looks and obvious talent?"

Thalia was already finding that a really hard thing to do as she kept trying to read without a grimace.

"Relax," Jason finally did himself a bit and looked around to grin at her. "She can smell as pretty as she looks all she likes, I'm not interested." It wasn't just because of her obviously dislikable personality, but he found it an easy reason to sweep the problem aside of how he felt about Piper right now too. And to stop his sister from strangling that book before he was done with it.

..."You're waiting for a sign, like what popped over Leo's head?"

Thalia still looked like she was going to swallow that entire dung beetle when that happened. She didn't need Drew crawling all over him anymore, didn't want to hear his obvious unease walking about now doubled ten fold in this when Annabeth and Percy weren't there to introduce him in the best way possible.

...I wanna be with you every step of the way!

"Be sure not to trip over the wardrobe she brings along or you'll be a pack mule," Leo chuckled.

"Not being turned into a donkey is a major life goal right now," Jason agreed.

...isn't everyone here your cousin or something?"

"Aren't you cute!

"Thalia," Jason laughed. "You could at least try not to make her sound like she's about to drop dead!"

"I promise not to execute anyone for shit they do in this," was all she could vow.

"Promise not to go around spearing random people who are poorly flirting with me," he revised.

Thalia huffed but agreed in the end it was still his business even if she didn't like it.

... who's your parent, mom or dad?" As usual, Jason didn't have an answer.

Jason set to rubbing at his tattoo, half surprised he hadn't peeled the skin off at this point. Being in a slightly better place now of having a few more answers than this only made him feel more confused why this was happening still. What god had decided to do this to him and Percy in such a crude way? If their goal was to leave him starving to finish these, it wasn't really working, because the idea just kept circling back now he'd have no place to start unless he went back home to essentially restart his life among strangers he should have cared about. It was maddening!

...the weather vane was pointing in his direction, that bronze eagle glaring as if to say, 'Turn around, while you still can.'

"You're not even crazy if the inanimate object talks back. It would just be yet another sign from some god," Annabeth agreed.

"Thanks," Jason sighed, wishing he meant it.

..."Chiron!" Drew called. "This is Jason. He's totally awesome!"

"Oh man, you should have told me!" Leo grinned that troublesome look Jason couldn't help but smile back at. "I thought you were just regular awesome, but totally awesome people get the VIP treatment of meeting Festus first!"

"I look forward to it," Jason nodded.

That threw Leo off, but it left a thrum of excitement in place too for someone else to actually want to meet him without destroying him!

... The centaur's eyes flared like a cornered animal. "You should be dead."

Annabeth had never confronted Thalia about keeping Jason a secret from her and Luke, though a large part of her had wanted to. Like she'd been left floundering she'd never known the real Thalia anymore than she had Luke, she'd never had anyone's complete trust aside from Percy.

She pushed that thought away as many times as she had to though, keeping herself from throwing a daggered look at her would-be sister for apparently telling Chiron at some point.

Thalia cleared her throat softly and explained what nobody had demanded of her anyways, because she didn't see the point in not telling her friends anymore. She'd already been left more raw and vulnerable in her life by these stupid books than she'd ever have believed possible, what was one more miserable experience. "It happened that first weekend I'd woken up, I'd heard someone mention Jason, and I-" she threw her brother a pitiful look. "When I found out it wasn't him, I broke down and, well, tried to ask Chiron if, well, if he'd ever, or any satyr had, well," she couldn't make herself finish the obvious. "He told me no, I think he put together what I wasn't saying. About why I'd care if someone named Jason had ever passed through."

There was a hollowness to her voice Jason hated to hear. It stunned him, how much she really cared about him, despite not actually knowing who he really was. Just who she knew him to be.

Annabeth swallowed the question of why Thalia hadn't come to her, but she knew the answer.

Chiron ordered Jason—well, invited, but it sounded like an order—

"It's that teacher in him," Percy huffed.

"I want to know how fast Jason sprinted to follow that order, or did he just stand there debating the invite versus order," Nico chuckled.

... He told Drew to go, which Drew didn't look happy about.

"Shocker," Will snorted.

"Bad Will, bad!" Percy groaned, even covering his ears.

"You are not in the best suited place to be playing this battle," Annabeth grinned. The high ground up on the window sill was just easier to push him out of.

"I'll take my chances," Will nodded without concern.

...Jason imagined a truck's reversing noises—beep, beep, beep —as the centaur's lower half disappeared into the chair,

Leo cracked up laughing, his mind clearly already out the door and installing that into Chiron's seat as if this were an invitation. Honestly, it might not be unuseful.

..."Follow me," he ordered. "We have lemonade."

"Hopefully made by Conner, nobody else ever puts enough sugar in it," Will said.

"I've seen him make it and I swear anyone who drinks it should have nothing but cavities. I don't even know how it all dissolves!" Annabeth protested.

Will just smacked his lips in appreciation while Nico bit his lip to stop himself laughing, and noting that Will apparently had a sweet tooth.

...the leopard snarled, and Jason nearly leaped out of his skin.

"Guy really has a way of leaving a mark," Percy rolled his eyes at the redecorating. It wasn't exactly to his taste. He'd been very tempted to cut down all those grapevines when he'd seen, only to be stopped by Chiron and a reluctant Annabeth.

"Imagine what he'll do to the camp when he leaves for good," Annabeth nodded. He might bury the cabins alive as some divine retribution, though the satyrs might think it as a feast eating it all to get them out.

..."That thing is alive!" Jason said.

"Oh honey," Leo said in his best Drew impersonation. "If that throws you off, wait until you find out about the trees!"

Hazel giggled softly while Jason just looked on good naturedly for being teased. Great, while Percy was complaining about Will's growing audience for puns, Jason was being tormented by two Percy's!

..."You must excuse the décor," Chiron said.

"Must we?" Thalia asked with interest.

"Yes!" Will frowned. "If one more big three kid threatens to burn this place, I'll personally ship you to the other camp to solve their problems!"

"You're just no fun at all Will," Nico told him indulgently.

"Don't worry, he'll get exhausted being the responsible one eventually, they always do," Percy grinned. "He might not notice green fires," and winked at Nico.

Will sighed and was clearly changing plans to just ship himself off to a land with sane people.

..."Better not to ask," Chiron said. "Please, sit."

"Better for who?" Leo demanded, he'd been told the same thing.

"The mortal I assume." Annabeth shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me to learn he's trapped on the other side of Seymore." Grover would be proud there was no sympathy in her voice. Those were endangered animals.

...He didn't react beyond nodding encouragingly for more.

It was so strange to hear of him like this, so similar and so distant to Jason. He'd been much the same when they'd introduced each other, but there had at least been a false air of normalcy for their explanation.

..."I see," Chiron said. "And you must have questions for me."

"Infinity," Jason sighed, "but I only expect him to be able to answer one."

... "What did you mean when you said I should be dead?"

Chiron studied him as if he expected Jason to burst into flames. "Do you remember anything?"

"I hate it when Chiron does that," Percy rolled his eyes. Obviously Jason didn't, he'd just got done explaining all that, but Chiron was trying to get him to work around his own question and find the answer for himself or some wise old nonsense.

...The centaur had switched to another language and Jason had answered in the same tongue.

Jason sighed. Not a lot in Percy's crazy life had really surprised him, but his resentment still lingered for his friend he wished he didn't feel. Why had Percy gotten to hear all this when he was twelve but Jason might have been hiding under a rock or getting burnt alive or anything at that age and he was just left with the same footsteps to follow without any other attachments?

Jason made a conscious effort to speak English. "What was that?"

"Chiron plugged into your brain man," Leo told him with interest, a gleam in his eyes clearly wondering what other languages he could program in. Jason hoped Leo didn't expect him to start speaking in dragon if he pushed enough buttons.

...Chiron wasn't threatening....seemed afraid for his safety.

Which had been strange, and kind of depressing it was strange when he realized later why. Not because this person he'd just met today cared, but because he wasn't really used to anyone seeming to care about his safety much. Fighting Enceladus with Thalia had been a unique kind of feeling, if not wholly new. He'd had friends, he'd had backup and support when needed, he'd been trained and knew when to fall back. He knew this...but they'd never made him feel safe.

... Your presence here could be a disaster."

"Thanks," Jason said. "You must be an inspiring teacher."

"He has his moments," Percy agreed with, all of that.

Annabeth's little huff of breath was one of concurrence, her love for Chiron was limitless, but gods was he exhausting sometimes. He didn't even tell her everything!

..."Percy Jackson, you mean. Annabeth's boyfriend, the one who's missing."

Leo couldn't help but laugh as he looked between the two. "How popular do you have to be around here exactly to achieve the status of boyfriend being greater than killing Kronos or anything that came before?"

"A person who could never be so lucky to find out," Percy shrugged as he gave Annabeth a dopey smile. Everybody knowing the important reason of why he was gone clearly didn't bother him any.

...The worst is yet to come." The arcade game made a sad pew-pew-pew sound, like Pac-Man just died.

Percy tried not to cower in his seat as he imagined Blinky chasing him down and devouring his soul. Between Chiron's dire warnings and his butt currently being held hostage in some unknown world, it might be his best outcome.

...last chapter, happened before, worst yet to come. Sounds fun,

"Then boy do I have some adventures for you Jason," Percy chuckled.

"I'm aware," Jason said without regret for whatever was coming.

can we go back to the part where I'm supposed to be dead?"

"And yet Chiron keeps dancing circles around it! Someone please tell him this isn't triage!" Percy was clearly on Jason's side.

"Dressage?" Hazel looked at him strangely. "How do you even know about fancy horse riding?"

"Blackjack's got a crush on some Olympic medal horse or something," Percy shrugged. "Or maybe it was a metal horse that ate a gymnast. I'm not really sure."

Hazel's eyes got wide as saucers and Percy realized he and his steed might have a fan. He grinned and promised he'd see to it when she wanted a go.

...you're here in violation of the oath. That too, should not be possible.

Thalia frowned anew with the others. "Who's oath?" It was a nasty thorn in her throat, this idea she never should have been allowed near her brother.

"This is good though," Annabeth leaned forward eagerly in her seat, they were surprised she wasn't already out the door on Chiron's back demanding to know about the Roman camp. "He clearly does know."

"Shocker," Percy sighed, giving Will an understanding look. Sometimes puns were called for.

Will laughed in delight, the whole room got a little warmer and the flames danced a little more cheerfully. Some of the other campers would be a little more shocked and offended at this revelation, that their own protector and trainer of the camp had hid this secret, but they had already been dealing with this situation for days and understood it wasn't going to just be a case of casually introducing each other to correct something clearly set in the ancient past.

But they did need to know if these Roman demigods were going to be friends or foes. They would need allies, it had already cost them a high enough price to take out two. The giants were very likely staking their claim on the idea this would not work out.

...The fire stopped crackling, its flames hardening like red glass.

Thalia had sounded annoyed when she was talking about Drew.

She sounded down right terrifying when she knew this was going to be a god. It didn't matter which one or why, unless it was Artemis there to promise him some answers, she was going to hate this. Jason had been bought and sold and kicked to appease enough gods more than he should bare in the few short hours she could really claim to know him, now here was another one popping up again!

... Chiron's mouth opened mid-sentence. His eyes didn't blink.

The back of Percy's neck prickled as he remembered Mr. D. pulling him into that old party for Bobby Earl. Had he stopped breathing when he'd been yoinked there? He knew he'd been staring into nothing, but it was still a creepy thought he was glad wasn't a recurring problem.

... why he knew it was goatskin, but it was important.

"Juno," Jason said to himself, eyes far away. "Hera." The translation did not fall on deaf ears, but it got a resounding, ugly silence all the same for several moments.

"I wish I was more surprised," Thalia said, her voice sounding too rough. She hoped they thought it was disgust. Truly, it was anguish.

Would you attack your patron? The woman chided.

Thalia choked on the word patron and hated herself for it. That word meant something special to her, not for a goddess who'd demanded an innocent boy's life to blame the father.

Jason didn't look very surprised. This was not the first time he'd had this knowledge.

..."You're in prison?" Jason decided maybe he wouldn't lower his sword.

"Good instincts," Nico muttered, but Jason wasn't so sure. Those instincts would have led him to cut down his sister if she hadn't lowered her bow first.

..."Whoa," Jason said. "I don't belong to anyone."

Hazel wanted to congratulate him on making sure to be very clear on that, but, there was a nasty truth nobody had said out loud she understood in the air. Juno, Hera, whatever, could have killed this boy for angering her. Instead she'd claimed his life and was obviously using it now. She'd known people who said death was better, but they'd been alive to say it.

..."Is that a threat? You took my memories?"

"She what?!" Percy didn't need the ocean to sound threatening. He looked fierce, the kind of disturbing power dwelling in him that could kill anything if he put enough effort into it.

There was a very terrifying moment where nobody could think of a reason to stop him. This question that had plagued him from the moment he woke up, had taken Annabeth and everything away from him. If some other god hadn't stepped in to get them where they were now, there was no telling where he'd be or what he'd be dealing with alone.

But Percy steadied himself, resentfully putting his pen back away. He knew that if he marched up to Olympus right now to kill her, all he'd achieve was scaring a poor security guard and a few tour groups. This didn't feel like a great solution to their problem, what good were these books? They weren't giving Jason the answers he deserved, they'd already released Hera...but one look at Annabeth and he knew she expected to find something along the way they'd missed by skipping a few deadly side problems for Jason to get here.

Will wished he had a few more godly swears to give Hera, or Juno, whatever, for that as he watched Jason wince, the surprise and anger on every one else was to be suspected, but Jason suddenly seemed very resigned to all this. Juno, Hera, whatever, had most likely made it clear to Jason in the past she could do whatever she wanted to him. This may just be another in a string of torments they couldn't even imagine.

...The dark dissolved, and the mist curled into the leopard's mouth.

"I almost wish we'd failed her," Annabeth said, ghosts in her eyes. Hadn't the gods taken enough from her? How many more of them was Hera going to claim before she was satisfied?

... Seymour's howl turned into a cough like he'd sucked in a hair ball.

"Can we at least petition someone to make her the goddess of hairballs along with all her other useless titles," Percy groaned.

"Hairballs, marriage, family, yeah it all tracks when she gets near them," Nico sneered.

... "Weren't you just sitting- why do you have a sword drawn?"

"The lemonade was that bad huh?" Leo asked.

"Never even got a sip," Jason shrugged.

... "That does explain a lot."

"Then why don't you explain a lot to me?" Jason said. "Please."

Before Chiron could say anything,

"Whoever barges through that door better be dying!" It was a good thing Percy wasn't in the ocean anymore. That kind of anger would have flung the occupants against the walls of their old room and caused monstrous waves. A familiar frustration he'd never outgrow at always having the answer dangled right out of reach!

...Piper between them. Her head lolled like she was unconscious.

"Oh," Percy said in a small voice.

"Don't worry Percy, we're all used to watching you put your foot in your mouth, sometimes even three of them," but Thalia's snark had lost its luster. Piper had a good strong core to her, but it was already being strangled tight by this harrowing day. They'd expected to hear of her waking back up and shaking off the events to go to dinner...

..."What's wrong with her?"..."Vision. Bad."

Annabeth was deep in thought mulling over Jason and Piper's messages happening in tandem, and wondering if the next time they cut back to Leo if he'd had any other warnings...that woman in black he'd seen during all this surely couldn't be a coincidence...she didn't notice her boyfriend snickering in delight at how well that summed this up.

"I think ..." The redheaded girl gulped. "I think I may have killed her."

"I never thought I'd owe Rachel a heart attack," Jason shivered away from the book in his sister's hands, fear he should not have stopping him from ripping it away to find out if this was really where it ended for her had some other god not intervened. It wouldn't surprise one of them if Hera's intervention and Piper's stress about her dad had somehow pushed her mind over an edge it couldn't come back from.