CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
FINLEY                BRIGGS

At the very least, Finn thought she deserved to drink an ocean's worth of wine. She was about to die again, after all.

The basin filled with alarming speed. Finn, Jason, Percy, and Piper pounded on the walls, looking for an exit, but they found nothing. They climbed into the alcoves to gain some height, but with water pouring out of each niche, it was like trying to balance at the edge of a waterfall. Even as Finn stood in a niche, the water was soon up to her knees. From the floor, it was probably eight feet deep and rising fast.

"I could try lightning," Jason said. "Maybe blast a hole in the roof?"

"That could bring down the whole room and crush us," Piper said.

"Or electrocute us," Percy added.

"Not many choices," Jason said.

"I could turn this shit into wine?" Finn suggested.

"And what good would that do?" Piper asked. "We'd all still be drowning."

"At least we can go down drunk, I don't know!"

"Let me search the bottom," Percy said. "If this place was built as a fountain, there has to be a way to drain the thing. You guys, check the niches for secret exits. Maybe the seashells are knobs, or something."

It was a desperate idea, but Finn was glad for something to do after Percy jumped in the water. Finn, Jason, and Piper climbed from niche to niche, kicking and pounding, wiggling seashells embedded in the stone; but they had no luck.

Sooner than Finn expected, Percy broke the surface, gasping and flailing. She offered her hand, and he almost pulled her in before she could help him up.

"Couldn't breathe," he choked. "The water... not normal. Hardly made it back."

The life force of the nymphs, Finn thought. It was so poisoned and malicious, that even a son of the sea god couldn't control it.

As the water rose around her, Finn felt it affecting her too. Her leg muscles trembled like she'd been running for miles. She figured that even if she'd tried to turn the liquid into wine, nothing would have happened.

The others moved sluggishly. Jason's face was pale. He seemed to be having trouble holding his sword. Percy was drenched and shivering. His hair didn't look quite so dark, as if the color was leaching out. Piper was the same. Her skin had turned wrinkled and dry, despite being in the middle of a fountain.

"They're taking our power," Piper said. "Draining us."

"Grace," Finn coughed, "do the lightning."

Jason raised his sword. The room rumbled, but no lightning appeared. The roof didn't break. Instead, a miniature rainstorm formed at the top of the chamber. Rain poured down, filling the fountain even faster, but it wasn't normal rain. The stuff was just as dark as the water in the pool. Every drop stung Finn's skin.

"Not what I wanted," Jason said.

"Okay, okay, Briggs, I change my mind," Piper heaved. "Try the wine. Anything's better than this."

Misery rose in Finn. She knew it was a lost cause, but still, she was just as desperate to live as Piper was. Maybe even more. She concentrated with everything in her, trying to manipulate this toxic water. But it only made Finn feel the sting of poison. She cried out, her body flickering from tangible to intangible.

"Can't," Finn groaned. "Not normal. Percy's right."

The water was up to their necks now. Finn could feel her strength fading. She didn't want to die again. She couldn't die again. She was so terribly horrified by the idea. Her shaky hand flew up to her neck, because the phantom feeling of a bullet shot right through again made her choke.

This was just like before. Finn would die a Roman. She would die an alcoholic. She would die a nuisance, lazy, drunk, unserious, insane, a murderer, a disgrace, a humiliation, a lunatic, crazy, mad. She would not die as Finley Briggs, or a good person, or sober, or better.

This was just like before. This was just like before. This was just like before.

"F-Finn, stop," she heard Jason beg. "You're fading."

Finn hadn't realized it, but he was right. The more she thought about dying, the closer Finn actually got to doing so. Her skin was translucent at this point, but she was still alive enough to feel the pain of the water.

Soon it would be over their heads. They'd have to swim, and this stuff was already paralyzing them. They would drown, just like in the visions she'd seen.

Percy started pushing the water away with the back of his hand, like he was shooing a bad dog. "Can't—Can't control it!"

"We can't fight this," Piper realized. "If we hold back, that just makes us weaker."

"What do you mean?" Jason shouted over the rain.

The water was up to their chins. Another few inches, and they'd have to swim.

"We have to overwhelm the nymphs with fresh water, give them more than they can use. If we can dilute this poisonous stuff—"

"Sounds awesome," Finn scoffed. "But how the fuck are we supposed to do that?"

"Finley, listen to me," Piper demanded, and she compelled Finn to do so with whatever power was left in her voice. "You have to turn this water into wine. You need to try harder. But you can do it."

A sense of assurance washed over her. For a second, Finn believed everything Piper said was true. Then reality hit her. "But—you said it yourself. What good would it do?"

"There's still water in wine, right?" Piper asked, rhetorically. "It should be enough to wash out the impurities of the poisoned water and help the nymphs."

"Is that possible?" Percy struggled to keep his head above water, which was obviously a new experience for him. He looked scared out of his mind.

"If she believes it is."

Something in Finn's brain clicked, beginning to understand what Piper was saying. In all honesty, she had always thought her dictukinesis abilities as useless. Yes, obviously she constantly used them to make wine appear for herself whenever she wished. But, practicality-wise, it was of no importance.

Until now, that was.

When she'd tried to manipulate the poisonous water the first time, she'd gone into it with the mindset that it wasn't possible. Maybe that held her back. Piper had said holding back only made them weaker.

Finn tensed all her muscles in effort, and immediately she felt a low tremor run throughout her body. The power stirred within—she knew it was there—she just needed to concentrate.

She pushed herself harder, honing in on the energy flowing through her veins, her heartbeat, and her breath, willing the force to obey. She fought back against the water's toxicity. Before she knew it, the liquid all around her had turned into wine. The miserable feeling of poison was gone, but just around Finn.

To create enough wine to fill this room, she needed to go even deeper, tap into her emotions even more. Unfortunately, she hated tapping into her emotions. She was losing her ability to focus. It didn't help that her friends were all around her, and Finn could practically feel the lack of ecstasy inside of them.

"I need you guys to channel everything you've got," she said. "Percy, think about the sea."

"Salt water?" he asked. 

"Doesn't matter! As long as it makes you happy. Jason, think about thunderstorms. I know you love them. Piper, you, uh... you just think about how pretty you are. I don't know. And everyone get closer to me!"

They huddled together as the water lifted them off their ledges. Finn could fight past the poisonous thoughts more easily when sensing that her friends were trying to do the same. She found that so unbelievably odd—their levels of ecstasy affected her, considering her father was the god of it. But she couldn't dwell on that right now. She focused instead on the act of turning the water into wine.

Except—her legs felt like lead. The rising water swirled, threatening to pull her under. She could feel her strength fading.

"Finley!" Piper yelled, spitting water. "You can do this."

She was right. Whether she was using charmspeak or not, Piper was right. There was a warm pulse in Finn's palms, spreading through her fingertips, making her skin buzz with raw energy.

This time Finn really did bend all her concentration towards her abilities. She imagined all of the power flooding out of her in waves, transferring to the poisonous water all around.

Wine blasted from around Finn with such a force, it pushed her friends against the wall. Still, she'd manipulated the water into wine so easily that it made Finn gasp. All around her, there was no dark oil. It was just burgundy liquid, much less thicker and much less poisonous.

"It's working!" Jason cried.

But the water was still rising. The roof was now only a few feet away. Finn could've reached up and touched the miniature rain clouds.

"Finley, don't stop!" Percy said. "I can sense the purified water in the wine—the nymphs will too!"

Obviously, Finn wasn't going to stop. She screwed her eyes shut, with full intent of diluting the poison until the nymphs were cleansed. It would be hard. They'd been down here turning evil for thousands of years.

"Just keep thinking about happy stuff," Finn said. "Your ecstasy makes me stronger. Give everything. Even if we go under—"

Her head hit the ceiling. The rain clouds dissipated and melted into the water. The wine kept overtaking more and more poison, sourcing right from Finn.

"Finn, for whatever I did, I'm sorry," Jason yelled.

Then they were underwater.

Finn held her breath. The current roared in her ears. Bubbles swirled around her. Light still rippled through the room, and Finn was surprised she could see it. Was the water turning more into wine?

Her lungs were about to burst, but Finn poured her last energy into her dictukinesis. Wine continued to shoot out, though there was no room for more. Would the walls crack under the pressure?

Finn's vision went dark.

She thought the roar in her ears was her own dying heartbeat. Then she realized the room was shaking. The water swirled faster. Finn felt herself sinking.

Then someone fisted the back of her shirt and yanked.

Finn's head broke the surface and she gasped for breath. There was no more poisoned water to manipulate. The wine was draining almost as fast as it had filled the room.

Finn realized that it had been Piper who pulled her up, looking concerned beyond belief. Before Finn registered anything more than that, she saw Percy next to her, gulping and thrashing. Then Piper went back under, and a few seconds later, she pulled up Jason. He was as lifeless as a rag doll.

Finn clung to him, accidentally knocking Piper away in the process. She yelled his name, shook him, and slapped his face. She barely noticed when all the wine had drained away and left them on the damp floor.

"Jason!" She tried desperately to think. Should she turn him on his side? Slap his back?

"Oh, gods," Piper's voice shook with worry as she crawled back over to them.

Percy joined knelt at his side too. "Why isn't he waking up?"

At the question, Finn was hit with an idea as to what the answer was. She touched Jason's forehead. Wine gushed from Jason's mouth. His eyes flew open, and a clap of thunder threw Finn, Percy, and Piper backward.

When Finn's vision cleared, she saw Jason sitting up, still gasping, but the color was coming back to his face.

"Sorry," he coughed. "Didn't mean to—"

Finn tackled him with a hug.

Just as quickly, she pulled away. She hovered over Jason, a knee pressing him down and a finger pointing at him. "Never speak a word of that," she threatened, then glared at Percy and Piper. "Any of you."

Jason just grinned happily, pinned under Finn. "Yes, ma'am."

"It is the least we can do," Percy agreed. "Since you just saved all of our collective asses. With wine, no less."

Finn shook her head as she removed herself off of Jason. She sat on her heels as he sat up. "It was nothing—"

"No," Piper interrupted. All of Finn, Jason, and Percy looked over at her, their looks of shock identical. "It wasn't nothing, Finley. That was amazing. I... you're amazing. I guess I should've realized that sooner."

Finn's frown morphed into a grin. "You're the one who gave me the strength to do any of that, Piper. Without you, I'd have killed us all. So..."

Piper rolled her eyes at Finn's hesitance, but it was a lot less serious than it ever had been before.

"Come on, Briggs. Spit it out."

Finn huffed. "I guess you're pretty amazing too, McLean."

"Was that so hard?" she asked.

"Okay, never mind. I take it back. You're horrible."

"Too late. I'm getting it tattooed on my arm. You're pretty amazing too, McLean."

"And you're already being annoying," Finn said. "After everything I've done? I saved you all."

Yes, you did, a voice echoed through the chamber.

The niches glowed. Nine figures appeared, but they were no longer withered creatures. They were young, beautiful nymphs in shimmering wine-colored gowns, their glossy black curls pinned up with silver and gold brooches. Their eyes were gentle shades of blue and green, but occasionally they flickered with burgundy. The aftereffects of Finn, she presumed.

As Finn watched, eight of the nymphs dissolved into vapor and floated upward. Only the nymph in the center remained.

"Hagno?" Finn asked.

The nymph smiled. "Yes, my dear. I didn't think such selflessness existed in mortals... especially in demigods. No offense."

Percy got to his feet. "How could we not take offense? You just tried to drown us and suck out our lives."

Hagno winced. "Sorry about that. I was not myself. But you have reminded me of the sun and the rain and the streams in the meadows. Finley, thanks to you, I learned to find water in every little thing—however unconventional. I am cleansed. I can't thank you enough."

"I really can't take that much credit," Finn said, sounding awkward. Wine was nowhere near to clean, pure water, but these nymphs really seemed to think so. "It was just wine. And that was all Piper's idea, anyway."

Hagno turned to Piper. "Actually, I'm aware. You have a good nature, Piper. And I'm a nature spirit. I know what I'm talking about."

Hagno pointed to the other side of the room. The stairs to the surface reappeared. Directly underneath, a circular opening shimmered into existence, like a sewer pipe, just big enough to crawl through. Finn suspected this was how the wine had drained out.

"You may return to the surface," Hagno said. "Or, if you insist, you may follow the waterway to the giants. But choose quickly, because both doors will fade soon after I am gone. That pipe connects to the old aqueduct line, which feeds both the nymphaeum and the hypogeum that the giants call home."

"Ugh." Percy pressed on his templed. "Please, no more complicated words."

"Oh, home is not a complicated word." Hagno sounded completely sincere. "I thought it was, but now you have unbound us from this place. My sisters have gone to seek new homes... a mountain stream, perhaps, or a lake in a meadow. I will follow them. I cannot wait to see the forests and grasslands again, and the clear running water."

"Uh," Percy said nervously, "things have changed up above in the last few thousand years."

"Nonsense," Hagno said. "How bad could it be? Pan would not allow nature to become tainted. I can't wait to see him, in fact."

Percy looked like he wanted to say something, but he stopped himself.

"Good luck, Hagno," Piper said. "And thank you."

The nymph smiled one last time and vaporized.

Briefly, the nymphaeum glowed with a softer light, like a full moon. Finn smelled exotic spices and blooming roses. She heard distant music and happy voices talking and laughing. The dead part of her knew she was hearing hundreds of years of parties and celebrations that had been held at this shrine in ancient times, as if the memories had been freed along with the spirits.

"What is that?" Jason asked nervously.

"The ghosts are dancing," Finn answered.

She faced her friends again. Like her, they were tinged slightly in maroon because of their collective bathe in wine. Jason's hair was even slightly tinted. She figured their bodies were a little sticky, just like hers, due to the sugar concentration in the wine. It wasn't the most ideal situation, but none of them were dead. Not yet, at least.

"Come on," she said. "We'd better go meet the giants."

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

BAILEY YAPS...

Finley Briggs aka the Jesus of the Percy Jackson universe

Also hi I am so so sorry for this short chapter but it has so many good parts and it's a break from all the angst so at least there's THAT 💜 

The world cheers when Finn's "useless" powers come in clutch to save everyone's lives (improv acting with Chrysaor and dictukinesis with the nine nymphs)

Jason + Percy and Leo + Frank get their "we hate each other but end up glazing each other" moments so why not do the same with Finley + Piper!!! We got Pipley before we got GTA6!!!

AND A JINLEY HUG IN THIS ECONOMY????! Btw that was the first time they've hugged in 4 years btw. I'm totally normal about this and not all freaking out on the down low.