No matter how much Aza pried, she knew Jason was hiding something from her. She could see the hesitation in his crystalline orbs, more hesitant to meet her eyes than usual. Ever since they had gotten the sceptre from Diocletian's palace, he and Nico had been acting odd - more cagey than usual, like cornered animals. They had never been quite close to begin with, but now her boyfriend and Nico would actively seek different sides of the room. For the fifth time, Aza silenced herself at Jason's pointed electric glare, literally sparking with electricity, and she knew her questioning was finally beginning to get on his nerves.
Finally, she chose her words carefully, "I really feel like something happened that you're not telling me. But, can you at least tell me... is it something I will need to know?"
"Aza," Jason's voice was firm, and for the first time in a while she was reminded of the authoritative quality he could so easily take on - one that she had to force slightly, "This is the last time I'm telling you. Leave it. Please. There's nothing you need to know. Nothing happened."
"Okay," Aza said in a slightly sing-song voice to ease the tension, and she nodded, not convinced in the slightest, "I'll drop it. Hey, how's it going?"
"Your hair is very..." Jason trailed off, and he struggled to pull hair into the section for the french braid.
"Thick?"
"And long," Jason gulped, and she felt a tug on her scalp when he tightened the braid. "I mean - very pretty. But this is going to take forever."
"Yeah," Aza nodded, her lips pulling into a satisfied smirk. She glanced at her boyfriend in the mirror. "Why do you think I asked you to do it?"
She almost felt bad for him. He looked like a deeply, deeply confused puppy; or a first-grader who had been given trigonometry. Or Aza, when she had been given trigonometry. His eyes were slightly wide in concentration, his eyebrows sewed together in frustration; his tongue poked slightly out of the side of his mouth, but he quickly noticed and retracted it, beginning to chew his lip instead. Thank the gods he learned quickly, because Aza had always hated braiding her own hair - she typically saved the task for Annabeth (or Clarisse during the school-year, who grumbled under her breath the whole time).
Jason met her eyes in the mirror, and he quickly turned his gaze to the back of her head. A few moments later, he slowly asked, "Have you talked to Nico since Rome? Just Nico."
"No," Aza sighed, and she shook her head as best she could with his tight grip on her hair, "He feels even more closed off than he used to be. I feel like he needs space, I guess... But he always needs space." She trailed off and rubbed her eyes. She inhaled shakily and sighed again, the memories almost too painful to articulate, "He used to actively seek me out. The short time we were at camp together, Clarisse called him my little shadow. Bianca spent most of her time with the Hunters, and he seemed sort of lost so I helped him out. But then... I was there when she died. And Percy and I had promised Nico we'd protect her. I know he blames us."
"Bianca?" Jason asked, glancing at her through the mirror.
Just the name made Aza's stomach twist, the same way it did when she thought about Michael. Her mouth tasted slightly bitter, "His sister. I was fourteen - Nico was ten. Kronos was rising, and Annabeth had been captured - so had Artemis. Zoë Nightshade, a huntress, was issued a quest to save their goddess. The two of them, your sister, Grover and I went on a quest; Percy snuck along. We were in the Junkyard of the Gods, and we knew not to take anything - but... Bianca took a mythomagic figurine for Nico; this little card-game he used to love. It was the only one missing in his collection," Aza smiled sadly; she missed the little kid that babbled almost nonstop about his game. It had annoyed her to no end at the time, but now she would do almost anything to hear it again, or to see the smile he always had when he rambled about the gods' hitpoints.
Aza took a deep breath before continuing, her chest tightening in grief, "She insisted on facing Talos, Hephaestus' automan. I didn't want her to; Percy and I fought for it to be one of us, but she didn't let us. And it worked - she defeated him, but she got crushed by Talos. We couldn't find her - the line in our prophecy was: one will be lost in the land without rain."
"Poor Nico," Aza glanced at her boyfriend in the mirror; his eyebrows had sewn together, and he shook his head. He clicked his tongue and met her eyes, softening his expression slightly. "But it wasn't your fault."
Aza chuckled hollowly, "He was so upset. He hasn't been the same ever since. And I could have done something. I had the power to - I was there. I could have stopped her. There are so many deaths I could have prevented, Jason."
"Don't say that," Jason's voice was firm, but it quickly softened to more of a coo, "You were in a war. Now we're in another one. It really, really sucks, but death is inevitable. Especially when you're a demigod. There's nothing you could have done–"
"To prevent a girl younger than myself from dying?" Aza asked, her eyebrows sewing together. "To prevent my boyfriend from dying? There's a hundred things I could have done. I could have saved Silena, too. I was within reach." Her voice cracked slightly, her eyes closing.
Jason's voice was tentative, and she felt him tie her hair at the bottom. He curved around the chair and crouched in front of her, "Silena? Beauregard, right? I think Piper mentioned her..."
Aza nodded slowly, and she squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to push back the pressure that had begun to build. She didn't want to cry - not again, "Yes; she was the cabin counselor before Drew. She was the sweetest person I've ever met. Clarisse refused to join the war because the Apollo cabin took a flying chariot she thought our cabin deserved. So Silena stole her armor and wore it so my uncles would join the battle - even I thought it was her. There was this drakon devastating our troops, and it was destined to be slayed by a child of Ares, so we told her to face it. I told her to. I saw her black hair poking out the back of Clarisse's helmet just before the drakon spit poison in her face."
"That's not your fault. You–"
"I always thought she and Clarisse had a thing, too," Aza shook her head. "That was the only time I've ever seen Clarisse cry. I could've stopped that."
"Aza." Jason's voice was far firmer than before, and her eyes popped open on instinct; she could tell she looked startled when he continued, "Take a deep breath. There's a million things we all wish we could have done, or we wish we could have prevented. But the truth is, some things we just can't prevent. Call it fate, call it luck, call it whatever you want, but sometimes shit happens. All we can do is try to pull ourselves together and carry on."
Aza sniffled, and she wiped her eyes with her hands rapidly. "This is embarrassing."
"It's not embarrassing to cry," Jason shrugged. "I cry. Crying is natural. Crying is good. Do you want a hug?"
Aza nodded, and she held out her arms. Jason raised slightly and embraced her, smoothing his hand over her bread. His voice was so soft she almost didn't hear him, "I - I love you."
She froze. Aza's heart began to beat at the speed of light, and she decided that to say she had butterflies in her stomach would be an understatement. Her cheeks grew hotter, and she swallowed heavily. She felt bad that the thought hadn't really crossed her mind before, honestly, but when her chest tightened and her heart grew warm when he bit his lip in anticipation for her answer, she knew. She felt bad that it took her quite a few moments to respond, but she was truly shocked speechless, "I love you, too."
"Thank the gods," Jason released her and pulled away, a bright smile coming across his face. He leaned forward and kissed her quickly. "We should probably go above deck for the meeting."
"I suppose," Aza said slowly, and she tilted her head in consideration, before a small, playful grin tugged at her lips, "Or we could go in a minute. Maybe two."
"You called the meeting for 4:30," Jason rolled his eyes, his tone light and teasing and he stood and extended a hand for her to take, "Besides, early is on-time and on-time is late. Come on, Commander Malin."
"Commander Malin," Aza echoed as she accepted his hand. She nodded, raising a satisfied brow, "I like it. Call me that from now on."
"No."
The instant Aza was exposed to the winds above-deck, she began to shiver. She had never been to Europe before, but she assumed it was strange that the Mediterranean was beginning to freeze as the Argo II cut through the water. The sun wasn't visible through the thick grey clouds, which painfully reminded Aza of the way her best friend's eyes looked whenever she was solving a puzzle. The waves were choppy, and the drizzle that sprayed across the deck solidified into ice on the rails.
"It's fucking freezing," Aza crossed her arms over her chest and rubbed her biceps, glaring out at the horizon, "I only packed one sweater and it's in the wash - I thought it was summer."
Jason moved to stand behind her, and he, too, rubbed his hands up and down her arms. Just the body heat that radiated from him made Aza feel better; she subtly inched backwards closer to him as Nico made his way towards the staff of Diocletian. He lifted it and studied it, his eyebrows sewing together. "It's the scepter. It has to be."
It made sense, Aza supposed. Ever since they had gotten the scepter, the weather had been tumultuous at best. The black orb that topped it seemed to leach color from the surroundings; the water and sky had blended into an endless stretch of grey, as if she had been transported to an old black-and-white television show. The eagles on the base were a faded gold that glinted almost in the same cold way Kronos' eyes had; Aza had no problems believing that this staff could control the dead.
When the wind made Aza freeze and curl inwards upon herself, she decided through chattering teeth, "Let's meet later. How about we'll try for two hours from now, if the weather has died down."
Hazel's face had turned a magnificent shade of green, almost like Percy's eyes - or the way the ocean had once looked, before they had gotten the scepter. She got seasick even when the son of Poseidon had specifically smoothed the waves to glass; Aza thought that she looked like she was trying to swallow a dagger. Hazel gagged and pointed bellow, "Need to–"
"Yeah, go." Nico kissed her cheek, which made Aza's eyebrows raise slightly. She hadn't seen him display such a sign of affection in... years; he especially didn't initiate physical contact. Aza knew it was hard for him.
Frank wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist, "I'll walk you down." He guided her down towards the stairs. Aza hoped she'd be okay; she felt bad that the girl got so awfully seasick, but in the end there wasn't much they could do about it. They had to sail in the Atlantic.
Nico brushed some ice from his hair, and he frowned at the scepter. He said slowly, "I should put this thing away. If it's really causing the weather, maybe taking it below deck will help..."
"Sure," Jason nodded.
Nico glanced between the four of them, looking almost like he was about to curl in on himself. He looked momentarily vulnerable, as if he were worried they would talk about him the moment he descended the stairs. Aza glanced at Piper, who held the same befuddled look, and the two girls subtly shrugged at each other.
She knew something had happened in Croatia, and it was driving Aza insane that she didn't know what. She just wanted to help, and it was infuriating that two of the people she cared about most were acting strange and weren't telling her anything. When Nico had descended, Leo pulled a screwdriver from his belt and chuckled, "So much for the big team meeting. Looks like it's just us again."
Aza's brows furrowed for a moment until she understood - the weather was actually quite like this in Chicago last December, when they had landed on their first quest. She felt almost bad, that her 'just us again' had immediately made her think of Percy and Annabeth, rather than the friends she had helped guide through their first quest. It hadn't even been a year ago, but Aza thought they had grown much more into themselves.
Leo, luckily, hadn't lost his sense of humor. It had worried her, at first, when she met him - it wasn't unoften that the hardships of being a demigod, and the burden of their responsibilities slowly eroded their ability to find the humor in situations; but the curly-haired son of Hephaestus still reminded her slightly of Percy, in his ability to ease situations.
He had always had too much nervous energy. Aza could remember him fiddling with paper clips when they first met - but now, he most definitely knew how to channel the relentless need to fiddle. His hands were still constantly in motion, pulling tools and screws from his belt, working controls and twiddling with his Archimedes sphere. She thought it suited him; holding the sphere made Leo look like the mad scientist she had always pictured him to be.
When Aza looked at Piper, she saw someone completely different. Or, well, she was still the same Piper she had met, with choppy-cut hair that looked like someone had used kiddie-scissors (most recently, Aza had), and a bright, slightly fierce smile. Sometimes Aza naturally assumed she had been given the blessing of Aphrodite, from how confidently she could project her charmspeak, and the way her almost too-symmetrical features would morph into micro-expressions whilst she spoke that only made her words hit harder.
Aza doubted Piper would even need charmspeak, anymore, to get enemies to lay their weapons down. Although she had always been effortlessly charismatic - not that she was always kind, seeing as sometimes Aza had to throw herself between Piper and Drew - she had begun to develop an air of tranquility.
As for Jason, Aza saw the most physical change; he was certainly taller and more muscular. She had liked the close-cropped haircut he had when they first met, but she liked the slightly longer and shaggier style he was sporting now more. He had always looked statuesque to her - like he had been sculpted from marble like Galatea; like Piper, almost too perfect. She knew everyone thought so, too; and not just because of the way he looked.
Sometimes, and she never wanted to say it, it irritated Aza that her boyfriend was next to flawless. And not just physically - though definitely physically - but it seemed like he never made mistakes. Or maybe he did, and they were just too miniscule or unnoticeable; or maybe he made tons of mistakes, but managed to fix them before any fallout could happen.
Either way, Aza knew that it wasn't like her. She couldn't count her mistakes on the hands of the Hecatoncheires - the hundred-handed ones. There were just too many, and she felt like she was constantly making more. Like no matter how much she berated herself and swore she'd be better, she always fell just a little bit short. Aza didn't know if she had changed much over the past six months, but she knew that that one part of her would always be the same. She would always be a screw-up.
Jason nudged Piper's arm; the daughter of Aphrodite had been staring out into the cold misty rain, her eyes far-away. He said, "Hey, everything's going to be alright. We're close to Epirus; another day or so if Nico's directions are right."
"Yep," Leo fiddled with his Archimedes sphere. Everytime he touched it Aza worried he would accidentally blow up their ship, but luckily he had yet to, "By tomorrow morning, we'll reach the western coast of Greece. Then another hour inland, and bang - House of Hades! I'ma get me a t-shirt."
"Yay," Piper muttered. Sulfur mixed with jasmine was an odd mixture of scents, but Aza was slowly becoming used to feeling like a dog with a greatly increased sense of smell. It didn't feel natural to be able to identify people based on their scent, but their fear simply burnt her nose - it was mild, and yet pungent at the same time. Subtle, and yet it punched Aza in the face as if only she were in the same tune.
When Aza blinked, she saw something. She didn't think she had ever even processed blinking before, but instead of momentary darkness, she saw a giant wrapped in shadows marching down a torch-lined corridor. Piper's eyes widened, and she glanced at Aza as if she sensed an intrusion, and Aza stared back. She knew it was ridiculous, but for a moment Aza wondered if she had seen Piper's fears - seen her thoughts.
As if worried that Aza were going to say something, Piper tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "Guys - I've been thinking about the Prophecy of Eight."
Leo froze, and he glanced away from the Archimedes sphere for longer than Aza thought was possible for him. He asked slowly, "What about it? Like... good stuff, I hope?"
Piper readjusted her cornucopia's shoulder strap, and she fiddled nervously with it. She bit her lip, her eyebrows sewing together, "In Katoptris, I keep seeing that giant Clytius - the guy who's wrapped in shadows. I know his weakness is fire, but in my visions he snuffs out flames wherever he goes. Any kind of light just gets sucked into his cloud of darkness."
"Sounds like Nico," Leo's eyebrows rose, and his lips pulled into a smile, "You think they're related?"
"Leo," Aza said in a warning tone, her eyebrows furrowing. Leo's smile instantly dropped, and he folded in on himself slightly like a scolded child.
At the same time, Jason scowled and for some reason beyond Aza's knowledge (though she had the sneaking suspicion it had to do with whatever Jason wasn't telling her) he said, "Hey, man, cut Nico some slack. So, Pipes, what about this giant? What are you thinking?"
At least Aza wasn't the only one who found it odd. Piper and Leo met her eyes, as if wondering if she knew why Jason defended him, but when she microscopically shrugged the three didn't push further. Instead, Piper said, "I keep thinking about fire. How we expect Leo to beat this giant because he's..."
"Hot?" Leo supplied with a grin.
"She wasn't going to say that." Aza rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, okay," Leo's grin widened, and he briefly raised his eyebrows, "Let's not forget you're property of the Super-sized McShizzle."
She weakly pumped her fist in the air and half-heartedly cheered, "Team Leo. Woo-hoo."
Piper cleared her throat and continued, "Uh - I was going to say he's flammable. Anyway, that line from the prophecy bothers me: to storm or fire the world must fall."
"Yeah, we all know about it," Leo nodded, "You're gonna say I'm fire. And Jason, here, is storm."
Piper nodded reluctantly, and Aza could practically feel each of them building up their walls. It was never easy to talk about prophecies - sometimes the interpretations were practically endless, and sometimes they were painfully clear; but almost all of the time, the true meaning was never quite what anyone could plan for.
The ship pitched to starboard, and Aza quickly reached to steady Jason when he stumbled slightly. He said, "So you're worried one of us will endanger the quest, maybe accidentally destroy the world?"
"No," Piper shook her head and pursed her lips, "I think we've been reading that line the wrong way. The world... the earth. In Greek, the word for that would be..."
Aza appreciated that she hesitated and didn't say the name. It irritated her that some of the others didn't follow the same superstitions, but ever since she was young Aza was taught that names had power. Even out at sea, saying the Earth Goddesses name could be dangerous.
Unfortunately, her boyfriend had never quite followed her same beliefs. His eyes gleamed with sudden interest, "Gaea. You mean, to storm or fire Gaea must fall."
Aza huffed and stomped her foot on the floor, reflexively glancing at their surroundings. In a low tone she hissed, "Stop saying her name - please. Can't we just call her Mother Earth?"
"Nothing's going to happen," Leo rolled his eyes, and he cupped his hands over his mouth, "Gaea. Gaea! Gae—umpf!"
Aza stood and wrapped around behind the boy; she leaned over his shoulder and used one hand to cover his mouth; with the other arm, she locked the boy in place so he couldn't lean away. Her voice wavered in fear slightly as she glanced around the surroundings, though she wished it were firmer, "Stop it. I'm not kidding. No offense, Leo, but you've known you were a demigod for about six months; most things - joke about it. I don't care. But this. Leo, this isn't a joke. This superstition has lasted a millenia. Why do you think?"
"I think he gets it, Az." Jason's eyes narrowed slightly, and she released him. Leo cracked his neck, "You're sooo lucky I didn't lick your hand."
Aza leaned closer, "No - you're lucky you didn't."
"Stop terrorizing Leo," Piper held out her arms and made a parting motion, like she was dividing the sea. Aza took a step back from Leo and raised her hands in surrender as the daughter of Aphrodite continued, "I believe the prophecy means to storm or fire Mother Earth must fall."
"Thank you." Aza muttered pointedly, sliding her eyes to glance at Leo. The boy's grin widened, "Oh - you know, Piper, I like your version. 'Cause if Ga– Mother Earth," he stuck his tongue out at Aza, "falls to me, Mr. Fire, that is absolutely copacetic."
"Or to me... storm," Jason said slowly, and he bit his lip, glancing at Aza briefly, "Piper, that's brilliant. If you're right, this is great news. We just have to figure out which one of us destroys the Earth Goddess."
He glanced at Aza to check if that was suitable; she nodded and the two shared a brief smile. She felt bad, but she almost wanted it to be Jason; it would be... sort of awesome if her boyfriend ended the war and killed Gaea. Of course, she would have preferred it be her, but Aza supposed he was the next best choice.
Plus, she felt bad, but the thought of Leo using enough fire to destroy the goddess scared her. His fire was sometimes unpredictable, and at such a large scale it could prove to be disastrous. Maybe he would destroy Gaea and the rest of the world.
Piper wrung her hands. "Maybe. But, see, it's fire or storm."
She unsheathed her dagger and set it on the console. Aza leaned closer, her bangs flopping over her face. Immediately, the blade began to flicker - it showed the dark shape of Clytius, wrapped in shadow, moving through a corridor. As he walked, the torches that lined it snuffed out.
"I'm worried about Leo and this fight with Clytius," Piper didn't look at them. "That line in the prophecy makes it sound like only one of you can succeed. And if the storm or fire part is connected to the third line, an oath to keep with final breath..."
She didn't have to finish her sentence. Aza reached for her boyfriend's hand and squeezed it. She couldn't bear the thought of either of them dying - she wouldn't let it happen. Aza would have to die first.
Leo shuffled his feet, but for once his eyes didn't bounce around. They were glued to Piper's dagger, though his hands brushed back his hair, brushed the side of his jeans, and his fingers tapped on the console. He said, "Okay. So, I've decided I really don't like your idea as much as I thought. You think one of us defeats Gaea and the other one dies? Or maybe one of us dies while defeating her? Or–"
"Let's table that," Aza said firmly, tearing her eyes from the blade. She looked at Leo, though he still stared at the blade, "Prophecies never quite mean what you think they will. That's the whole point of a prophecy: to be vague as fuck about the truth; not enough to understand in the moment, but clear enough where you'll want to slap yourself for not considering that once the meaning presents itself."
She sighed and shrugged, "Honestly, it's best to just consider it up to the gods. Or to fate, whichever makes you more comfortable. But considering fate is considered by the Moirai... sorta the same thing."
"Well," Leo finally looked up and he scowled at the dark-haired girl, "that makes me feel so much better. Thank you, Aza-Everett, for your words of wisdom."
"Piper's probably wrong." She responded with a roll of her eyes, before glancing at the girl, "No offense."
"I hope I'm wrong." She said cautiously. "But the whole quest started with us finding Hera and waking the giant king Porphyrion. I have a feeling the war will end with us, too. For better or worse."
"Hey," Jason said. "Personally, I like us."
"Agreed," Leo said. "Us is my favorite people."
"You guys are alright," Aza grinned.
Almost immediately, Piper said, "Leo, sound the alarm."
He immediately dropped his screwdriver and punched the button, but nothing happened. Aza frowned. Leo's eyebrows raised, "Uh - it's disconnected. Festus is shut down. Gimme a minute to get the system back online."
"We don't have a minute!" Piper's voice raised slightly, and Aza took a step back, "Fires - we need vials of Greek fire. Jason, call the winds. Warm, southerly winds."
"Why?" Aza asked.
At the same time, Jason stared at Piper, "Wait, what? Piper, what's wrong?"
Piper snatched her dagger off the console. "We don't have time! It's her! She's back. We have too–"
The boat tilted to port, and the temperature dropped so fast the sails cracked and froze; the bronze shields along the rails popped like pressured soda cans. Aza's whole body shook as she reached for her necklace; she ripped it off her neck and held her sword tightly, her body curling in on itself for warmth.
Jason closed in next to her; usually, he was comfortably warm but he felt more like a freezer. Small ice particles invaded her field of vision on Aza's lashes, and her teeth chattered. He drew his sword, and then froze. Aza leapt away - a wave of ice particles covered him, freezing him in place like the statues in Quebec.
Aza let out a startled yelp as Piper shouted, "Leo! Flames! Now!"
Leo's right hand blazed, but it quickly spluttered out in the howling wind; he clutched his Archimedes sphere as a funnel cloud of sleep lifted him off his feet. "Hey! Hey! Let me go!"
Aza ran towards him, but a familiar voice purred, "Oh, yes, Leo Valdez. I will let you go permanently."
He catapulted into the sky and disappeared into the storm clouds. Piper shouted, "No!" She ran towards the stairs to call their friends for help, but a block of ice had sealed the hatch. Aza growled when their attackers appeared, and she cracked her neck.
She drew her sword and raced towards them, but all too quickly her feet froze to the deck, and she felt her waist stiffen. She had just enough time to widen her eyes in alarm before she froze.
She fell to the deck, nearly slicing her arm on her sword. Aza gasped, and she looked up just before the same feeling returned, and she had barely enough time to open her mouth to call for help when she froze once more.
Aza collapsed on the deck, and she flattened on her stomach. She groaned, taking a moment before flipping herself over and taking heaving breaths on her back. Her body shivered violently, and Piper instantly approached her with a blanket, a grim expression on her face.
Aza looked around the deck; Jason sat beside her, leaning against the mast with a green blanket wrapped tightly around him like a burrito. He stared at the deck, barely even looking up at her. She looked up - Hazel and Frank huddled together further away from them, though both looked back at Aza and gave her a small smile. Nico used his sword as a cane, and he stared out into the horizon.
"What happened?" Aza asked, shivering under her blanket. Her eyebrows sewed together - where was Leo? The last thing she remembered was him being launched into the sky, and then extreme cold.
Piper said, "We don't know. Khione said... she said she'd sent him to a place he'd never return from."
Aza blinked slowly. "You're joking. Where's Leo?"
"He's gone." Jason's voice was hollow, and he looked up at her. He, too, shivered - she assumed he'd been frozen. He said, "Khione froze us - she launched Leo into the sky."
"I reactivated Festus and sent her packing." Piper said. "But I was too late."
"He can't be gone," Aza shook her head, and she chewed on her lip. "I mean, he can't be. He's Leo."
"He's gone, Aza." Jason shook his head, and he gave her a sad cow-eyed look. "He's gone."