[ chapter thirty-three: jason ]
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When Jason's lance broke, he knew he was dead.
The battle had started well enough. Jason's instincts kicked in, and his gut told him he'd dueled opponents almost this big before. Size and strength equaled slowness, so Jason just had to be quicker-pace himself, wear out his opponent, and avoid getting smashed or flame-broiled.
He rolled away from the giant's first spear thrust and jabbed Enceladus in the ankle. Jason's javelin managed to pierce the thick dragon hide, and golden ichor-the blood of immortals-trickled down the giant's clawed foot.
Enceladus bellowed in pain and blasted him with fire. Jason scrambled away, rolling behind the giant, and struck again behind his knee.
It went on like that for seconds, minutes-it was hard to judge. Jason heard combat across the clearing-construction equipment grinding, fire roaring, monsters shouting, and rocks smashing into metal. He heard Hermia, Leo and Piper yelling defiantly, which meant they were still alive. Even if Jason tried not to think about it he was beyond happy to know that Mia was alive. But he soon pushed the thoughts away because he couldn't afford to get distracted.
Enceladus's spear missed him by a millimeter. Jason kept dodging, but the ground stuck to his feet. Gaea was getting stronger, and the giant was getting faster. Enceladus might be slow, but he wasn't dumb. He began anticipating Jason's moves, and Jason's attacks were only annoying him, making him more enraged.
"I'm not some minor monster," Enceladus bellowed. "I am a giant, born to destroy gods! Your little gold toothpick can't kill me, boy."
Jason didn't waste energy replying. He was already tired. The ground clung to his feet, making him feel like he weighed an extra hundred pounds. The air was full of smoke that burned his lungs. Fires roared around him, stoked by the winds, and the temperature was approaching the heat of an oven.
Jason raised his javelin to block the giant's next strike-a big mistake. Don't fight force with force, a voice chided him-the wolf Lupa, who'd told him that long ago. He managed to deflect the spear, but it grazed his shoulder, and his arm went numb.
He backed up, almost tripping over a burning log.
He had to delay-to keep the giant's attention fixed on him while his friends dealt with the Earthborn and rescued Piper's dad. He couldn't fail.
He retreated, trying to lure the giant to the edge of the clearing. Enceladus could sense his weariness. The giant smiled, baring his fangs.
"The mighty Jason Grace," he taunted. "Yes, we know about you, son of Jupiter. The one who led the assault on Mount Othrys. The one who single-handedly slew the Titan Krios and toppled the black throne."
Jason's mind reeled. He didn't know these names, yet they made his skin tingle, as if his body remembered the pain his mind didn't.
"What are you talking about?" he asked. He realized his mistake when Enceladus breathed fire.
Distracted, Jason moved too slowly. The blast missed him, but heat blistered his back. He slammed into the ground, his clothes smoldering. He was blinded from ash and smoke, choking as he tried to breathe.
He scrambled back as the giant's spear cleaved the ground between his feet.
Jason managed to stand.
If he could only summon one good blast of lightning-but he was already drained, and in this condition, the effort might kill him. He didn't even know if electricity would harm the giant.
Death in battle is honorable, said Lupa's voice.
That's real comforting, Jason thought.
One last try: Jason took a deep breath and charged.
Enceladus let him approach, grinning with anticipation. At the last second, Jason faked a strike and rolled between the giant's legs. He came up quickly, thrusting with all his might, ready to stab the giant in the small of his back, but Enceladus anticipated the trick. He stepped aside with too much speed and agility for a giant, as if the earth were helping him move.
He swept his spear sideways, met Jason's javelin-and with a snap like a shotgun blast, the golden weapon shattered.
The explosion was hotter than the giant's breath, blinding Jason with golden light. The force knocked him off his feet and squeezed the breath out of him.
When he regained his focus, he was sitting at the rim of a crater. Enceladus stood at the other side, staggering and confused. The javelin's destruction had released so much energy, it had blasted a perfect cone-shaped pit thirty feet deep, fusing the dirt and rock into a slick glassy substance. Jason wasn't sure how he'd survived, but his clothes were steaming. He was out of energy. He had no weapon. And Enceladus was still very much alive.
Jason tried to get up, but his legs were like lead. Enceladus blinked at the destruction, then laughed. "Impressive! Unfortunately, that was your last trick, demigod."
Enceladus leaped the crater in a single bound, planting his feet on either side of Jason. The giant raised his spear, its tip hovering six feet over Jason's chest.
"And now," Enceladus said, "my first sacrifice to Gaea!"
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Time seemed to slow down, which was really frustrating, since Jason still couldn't move. He felt himself sinking into the earth like the ground was a waterbed-comfortable, urging him to relax and give up. He wondered if the stories of the Underworld were true. Would he end up in the Fields of Punishment or Elysium? If he couldn't remember any of his deeds, would they still count? He wondered if the judges would take that into consideration, or if his dad, Zeus, would write him a note: "Please excuse Jason from eternal damnation. He has had amnesia."
In the back of his mind he could picture sea green eyes and red hair. Jason didn't know what it meant, but even in this moment he couldn't stop thinking about Hermia. He didn't know how she would react to his death. If he died that is. Would she be feeling pain or would she just forget about him. He didn't want to think about that.
Jason couldn't feel his arms. He could see the tip of the spear coming toward his chest in slow motion. He knew he should move, but he couldn't seem to do it. Funny, he thought. All that effort to stay alive, and then, boom. You just lie there helplessly while a fire-breathing giant impales you.
Leo's voice yelled, "Heads up!"
Suddenly Enceladus was slammed away from Jason with a blast of power. The giant toppled over and slid into the pit.
"Superman, please get up!" Hermia called. There it was again, the nickname. It warmed his heart to hear her say it again. Even if she didn't have any charmspeak like Piper, Mia's voice energized him, and he was able to shake out of his stupor. He sat up, his head groggy, while Mia grabbed him from under his arms and hauled him to his feet.
"Don't you dare die on me," she ordered. "I already lost Lysander. I can't lose you too. I won't let you die on me."
He didn't know what she meant by 'already losing Lysander,' but he decided to ask her about it later. "Yes, ma'am."
He felt light-headed, but she was about the most gorgeous girl he'd ever seen. Her hair-which once was tied to her head-had now fallen over her shoulders. Her face was smudged with soot, the makeup now long gone. What worried him was the small drop of blood that was below her nose. But other than a cut on her arm, she looked fine. While her clothes looked somewhat fine, he noticed her romper was torn, and her black tights had multiple holes in them. Still she looked gorgeous.
About a hundred feet behind her, Leo and Piper were standing over a piece of construction equipment-a long cannonlike thing with a single massive piston, the edge broken clean off.
Then Jason looked down in the crater and saw where the other end of the hydraulic ax had gone. Enceladus was struggling to rise, an ax blade the size of a washing machine stuck in his breastplate. He didn't know how, but he had a feeling Mia was behind the giant's breastplate getting impaled.
Amazingly, the giant managed to pull the ax blade free. He yelled in pain and the mountain trembled. Golden ichor soaked the front of his armor, but Enceladus stood.
Shakily, he bent down and retrieved his spear.
"Good try." The giant winced. "But I cannot be beaten."
As they watched, the giant's armor mended itself, and the ichor stopped flowing. Even the cuts on his dragon-scale legs, which Jason had worked so hard to make, were now just pale scars.
Leo ran up to them with Piper not far behind. When Leo saw the giant he cursed. "What is it with this guy? Die, already!"
"My fate is preordained," Enceladus said. "Giants cannot be killed by gods or heroes."
"Only by both," Jason said as he and Mia shared a glanced. After looking away from Hermia he saw the giant's smile falter, and Jason saw in his eyes something like fear. "It's true, isn't it? Gods and demigods have to work together to kill you."
From beside him Mia watched in confusion.
"You will not live long enough to try!" The giant started stumbling up the crater's slope, slipping on the glassy sides.
"Anyone have a god handy?" Leo asked while Hermia shook her head no.
Jason's heart filled with dread. He looked at the giant below them, struggling to get out of the pit, and he knew what had to happen.
"Leo," he said, "if you've got a rope in that tool belt, get it ready."
He was about to pull himself away from Hermia, but she held him back. "What are you doing?" She asked as he took a step back.
Jason sent her a warm smile. "Do you trust me?"
An unfamiliar look passed through her eyes. For a moment Jason feared she'd say no, but than she squeezed his forearm and let go. "With my life."
Her reply filled his whole chest with warmth. With his heart pounding he decided to return the kiss she gave him earlier. Heat rose to his face as he planted his lips on her cheek. With one last reassuring smile he leaped at the giant with no weapon but his bare hands.
"Enceladus!" Piper yelled. "Look behind you!"
It was an obvious trick, but her voice was so compelling, even Jason bought it. The giant said, "What?" and turned like there was an enormous spider on his back.
Jason tackled his legs at just the right moment. The giant lost his balance. Enceladus slammed into the crater and slid to the bottom. While he tried to rise, Jason put his arms around the giant's neck. When Enceladus struggled to his feet, Jason was riding his shoulders.
"Get off!" Enceladus screamed. He tried to grab Jason's legs, but Jason scrabbled around, squirming and climbing over the giant's hair.
Father, Jason thought. If I've ever done anything good, anything you approved of, help me now. I offer my own life-just save my friends. Save her, save Hermia.
Suddenly he could smell the metallic scent of a storm. Darkness swallowed the sun. The giant froze, sensing it too.
Jason yelled to his friends, "Hit the deck!"
And every hair on his head stood straight up.
Crack!
Lightning surged through Jason's body, straight through Enceladus, and into the ground. The giant's back stiffened, and Jason was thrown clear. When he regained his bearings, he was slipping down the side of the crater, and the crater was cracking open. The lightning bolt had split the mountain itself. The earth rumbled and tore apart, and Enceladus's legs slid into the chasm. He clawed helplessly at the glassy sides of the pit, and just for a moment managed to hold on to the edge, his hands trembling.
He fixed Jason with a look of hatred. "You've won nothing, boy. My brothers are rising, and they are ten times as strong as I. We will destroy the gods at their roots! You will die, your girlfriend's blood will be spilled and Olympus will die with-"
The giant lost his grip and fell into the crevice.
The earth shook. Jason fell toward the rift.
"Grab hold!" Leo yelled.
Jason's feet were at the edge of the chasm when he grabbed the rope, and Leo, Mia and Piper pulled him up.
They stood together, exhausted and terrified, as the chasm closed like an angry mouth. The ground stopped pulling at their feet.
For now, Gaea was gone.
In an instant Hermia had pulled him in for a hug. She buried her head between his shoulder and neck while wrapping her arms tightly around him. Jason couldn't help the smile that rose to his lips as he pulled her tightly to his chest.
When they pulled away their eyes met and stayed glued together for a long time before they looked away from each other. The both of them hoped they weren't blushing but boy were they wrong.
As his eyes moved away he saw the mountainside was on fire. Smoke billowed hundreds of feet into the air. Jason spotted a helicopter-maybe firefighters or reporters-coming toward them.
All around them was carnage. The Earthborn had melted into piles of clay, leaving behind only their rock missiles and some nasty bits of loincloth, but Jason figured they would re-form soon enough. Construction equipment lay in ruins. The ground was scarred and blackened.
Coach Hedge started to move. He sat up with a groan and rubbed his head. His canary yellow pants were now the color of Dijon mustard mixed with mud.
He blinked and looked around him at the battle scene. "Did I do this?"
Before Jason could reply, Hedge picked up his club and got shakily to his feet. "Yeah, you wanted some hoof? I gave you some hoof, cupcakes! Who's the goat, huh?"
Jason's looked over at Mia and noticed how she rolled her eyes with a smile. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of her before looking back at Hedge. Hedge was doing a little dance, kicking rocks and making what were probably rude satyr gestures at the piles of clay.
Leo cracked a smile, and Jason couldn't help it-he started to laugh. It probably sounded a little hysterical, but it was such a relief to be alive, he didn't care.
Then a man stood up across the clearing. Tristan McLean staggered forward. His eyes were hollow, shell-shocked, like someone who'd just walked through a nuclear wasteland.
"Piper?" he called. His voice cracked. "Pipes, what-what is-"
He couldn't complete the thought. Piper ran over to him and hugged him tightly, but he almost didn't seem to know her.
Jason had felt a similar way-that morning at the Grand Canyon, when he woke with no memory. But Mr. McLean had the opposite problem. He had too many memories, too much trauma his mind just couldn't handle. He was coming apart.
"We need to get him out of here," Jason said as he glanced at Hermia again. He noticed she was watching Piper and her father longingly. Like all she wanted to do was hold her loved ones again, just like Piper was doing. It broke his heart to see her like this. But he didn't know how to make her feel better. Only getting her loved ones back would get her feeling better.
"Yeah, but how?" Leo said. "He's in no shape to walk."
Jason glanced up at the helicopter, which was now circling directly overhead. "Can you make us a bullhorn or something?" he asked Leo. "Piper has some talking to do."
Sorry for the really late update. I just didn't have enough time during the day to write for this chapter.
Anywho what do you guys think about Jason and Mia? I think they're so cute :) I love my babies.
Important question who do you think looks more like Jason Grace.
For right now I have Rudy as Jason's face claim, and I don't plan to change it. But ever since I saw Danny I couldn't help but think he would be an amazing Jason. Idk maybe I have a problem because every time I see a guy with blonde hair and blue eyes I instantly think they would make a good face claim for Jason lol.
Anyways tell me what you guys think about the chapter!
Thank you for reading!
Don't forget to leave a comment and vote!