The Blood Of Olympus

Jason

"Piper!" Jason shouted, concern thick in his voice. "Piper, where are you!"

"Jason!" Piper shouted, followed by a scream of pain. "Please! Please stop!" Her sobs rang through the air, making
Jason run faster and harder. A lump rose in his throat when he heard her scream again, but this time, it was cut off right
in the middle of it.

Jason stopped in his tracks, looking in every direction. How was he gonna find her now? What was he gonna do?

Scream, girl! You must attract the others! I must take my revenge on you in front of that filthy son of Jupiter! A voice boomed. He would be most disappointed if you were to die. I was able to take Hades little curse off of you so he wouldn't feel your pain, so now, he can just watch helplessly as you die!

Jason's throat tightened and he started running again. He didn't care if it was a trap. He just couldn't let Piper die again. Not on his watch. He slowed down quickly when he heard ragged breathing, but it still sounded far away. As he slowly crept forward, he heard soft whimpering, like someone was crying. He stopped walking and peeked his head around a tree, a strangled gasp escaping his throat at what he saw. Big mistake.

The dark figure of Tartarus turned towards him and smiled cruelly. Welcome to the party, Grace. You're welcome to join your friend in watching the big finale. He chuckled. Jason tried to dodge, but a dark shadow grabbed him around the waist and held him against a rocky wall.

"L--let him go!" Croaked a voice, barely audible.
That's when he noticed her. Piper. She was bloody and bruised, several deep gashes covered her limp body and pale face. She was tied up to a big stone pillar, her clothes already soaked in her own blood and her face blotted with tears.

"Piper!" Jason choked out, trying to keep the tears in his eyes. Then his expression turned to pure anger as he looked into Tartarus's smirking face. "You monster!" He spat furiously, his face turning a dark shade of red. "Let her go!"

Tartarus smiled wickedly and unsheathed his dagger, pointing it towards Piper. But you haven't even seen the big finale yet. Your other friends are late. Maybe I'll help them find us faster so we don't have to start without them. He advanced on Piper, making her eyes widen in fear. Jason just realized what he was going to do when Tartarus stabbed Piper in the shoulder. She gritted her teeth in pain, her face turned beat red in strain and she collapsed to the ground, gripping her shoulder tightly. But she didn't scream. She probably knew the others would fall into the trap too, just like Jason did.

"Stop it!" Jason growled, worry thick in his voice.

Tartarus glared at Jason, his fist clenched tightly around his dagger. I will not stop! This is my revenge! I will not stop until every drop of blood is drained from her lifeless body! He growled angrily, making Piper cringe.

"Why?! Why are you doing this?! Why her?!" Jason said, building up all his anger inside.

Tartarus stalked up to Jason and slapped him across the face, making Piper gasp. She killed my wife you insolent fool! I would rather die than let her get killed in vein! He screamed at him, two inches from his face.

Jason didn't move an inch, his cheek still stinging. Tartarus stalked back towards Piper, pulling his whip out, which started to glow bright orange, sparks flying off of it. Piper's eyes widened and she scrambled backwards, pressing her back against the stone wall. Tears streamed down both Jason and Piper's faces as their eyes met, sadness and fear clearly shown.

I love you. She seemed to be saying with her eyes.

Jason's heart thumped faster and he closed his eyes. He couldn't let this happen to Piper. Not after everything she had gone through by herself. She had died, survived Tartarus, her father had been murdered, she had been been tortured numerous times, captured, stabbed, whipped, burned. But the more Jason thought about it, the harder it was to imagine what else she could have been through before they met. She was always teased, tormented, and she went through the trouble of stealing things just to get her dad's attention, but in the end, he had just died. Jason wondered how she could have done it. How she never broke, or ran away, or gave up.

It had been even harder for her when they had met. Her dad was captured, she got hypothermia, almost eaten by cyclops, defeated Hercules, killed a river God, nearly drowned in an underground sanctuary, killed Khione, and she had nearly been murdered by Octavian. It was too much for one person to handle. It was impossible. But why did it happen to her? Why did she have to go through this, only to die in the end. Jason had never thought about it, but somehow, he knew. He knew how terrifying it was. How hard it was.

Why couldn't it have been him? She could've been safe. Never to be bothered. But even if it did happen, there was no way she would be the same. The way she laughed, the way she smiled, the way she always did everything. It wasn't fair. Jason couldn't stand it any more. He would not let anything else happen to her. Even if it costed him his life. Never again would she be hurt, or forgotten. She would always stay in his heart. He would protect her. It was inevitable. But he had already tried so hard. He would never stop trying. Ever.

(AN: deep stuff. Very deep.)

Jason's eyes flew open and he heard thunder crackling in the sky. He looked at Tartarus with fury, yelling in defiance. The God looked at him with a sneer. Which made Jason even angrier. He concentrated harder than he ever had before, using his anger to boost him. The sky flashed with lightning that was as bright as the sun. He willed dark clouds to form above, making the trees blow in the furious winds.

That's when everything turned a bright white and Jason fell unconscious.