(Y/N)'s POV
Sitting around was killing him, waiting to hear back from his friends was killing him. What was worse was the feeling of powerlessness. It had always bothered him, nagging him into the back of his mind. The feeling of uselessness always irked him.
Probably stemming from back when he couldn't save his mother, but he wasn't about to bring up that trauma for the umpteenth time. Instead he focused on recovery, knowing it would do him no good sitting here with his friends all scattered and possibly in danger.
Percy, Jason and Piper had run off to gods knows where, Annabeth was on her Athena trial thing. As for Leo, Hazel and Frank, he'd lost them in the tunnels. So things were looking dicey. He wanted to help however he could.
So, it was a real kick in the gut when Coach Hedge told him that even with all the ambrosia he had taken, and the satyrs own sports healing magic, he would still be bedridden for hours, he was crushed, now both literally and figuratively.
Zoe was clearly feeling the same, probably more so as she had no injury to excuse her, he couldn't see her but he heard her pacing up and down the ship, sighing to himself, he really had to wonder why that noise dampener was so faulty.
Try as he might to take his mind off his problems, with his timeline to save Nico drawing near, and everything going on, he couldn't if he wanted to, everywhere he looked there was another problem he couldn't solve.
It only took him five minutes to lose his cool at the tapping above his head that quickly trailed off, only to return a minute later. He was in half a mind to shout at Zoe for stressing him out, but he couldn't blame her for the nerves she felt.
He felt the same, so anxious her might explode, and so utterly useless for not immediately being able to help his friends. He wished there was some way he could be of use, in fact he pondered this thought for a few minutes.
He did eventually find a temporary solution to his issue of not being able to help, though it went against Hedge's strict orders not to strain himself, he closed his eyes, trying to drown out the world.
As Coach Hedge would soon learn, taking an ADHD person, telling them to sit still in a room when they wanted to do just about anything but, was not as easy as it sounded.
He couldn't move himself physically yet, that was still a slow-going process, but that was not his only option. He had never done these two things simultaneously before, usually either one or the other. It was going to be draining, but hopefully worth it in the end.
Nico was too far out of his reach, surrounded by the power of the giants. He didn't know where Annabeth was, and couldn't help her, the walls of the workshop were surrounding Leo, Hazel and Frank and he was in no condition to breach them. So he focused on his last remaining group of friends.
He had to call forth a memory to do this, think of a connection as best he could, of course his mind raced to Percy, his closest friend of the three, they had plenty of memories together he could share, only for that thought to be pulled aside.
It may have been interference from Gaea, or any other god, or just plain bad luck, but in a moment of quiet, he heard those footsteps overhead and they pulled him into another memory, the conversation that warranted Leo fixing the sound dampeners, the one he had with Piper.
They had sat together in her room and spoken in length about their journey, and the problem (Y/N) found himself facing with the girl. It was a harsh conversation, that started bad, and got worse before it was better.
Even now he almost lost focus thinking of the words, this was fresh off the back of him attacking Leo and the incident with a certain shiny pirate and a sea monster. "Piper, I really hope you don't hate me for saying this, and I hope you know I mean the best with it, but I'm not very good with words."
She just looked at him expectantly perturbed by being pulled aside like this. He sighed, knowing there was no good way to put this. "Piper. You know I love you like a sister, but you really need to grow up."
She paused, stuttering, "Excuse me?" "I know, it's an oversimplification, and it sound harsh, but hear me out, this has really been grating on me. I've noticed it a few times and it really is becoming an issue, or at least it could be in the future, which we can't risk right now."
"To be blunt Piper, you've changed. You've become braver and more confident, and I'm proud of you for it. I love seeing you like that, but that's not the only change I've noticed, and the others aren't so positive."
"You are incredibly powerful, and stronger than you give yourself credit for. That's why it bugs me so much, I think you've fallen into something that might be bad for you." "What are you talking about, who are you to judge me?"
"Your friend. Also, to be clear, I'm not making any judgements, I just want you to be aware, because I know it can be an issue, even for me, and I'm not even close to your level when it comes to being closely tied to Aphrodite."
"So this is about some Aphrodite issue?" She frowned, "Yes and no. It's a common pitfall for Aphrodite campers-" "Don't lump me in with the other Aphrodite campers, I'm not some lovesick girly girl."
"Watch your tone." He said with a frown. "There is nothing wrong with the way people express themselves, girly girls or otherwise. That's not what I'm talking about. I wanted to speak to you about Jason."
"What about him." "Nothing personally, I also want to preface this by saying that I am not saying anything about your relationship, or anything like that, I wish you both the best. But I think sometimes you may take it a little too far."
"You seem kind of lovesick Piper, which is in no way a bad thing, but I don't want that to blind you in any way when it comes to this mission-" "And you're one to talk, you've barely left Annabeth's side for a minute!" She countered.
"I know. I'm the exact same Piper, which is why I understand. It's why I'm having this conversation with you. I know that people with Aphrodite's blood can be blinded by love, it blinds me too. I am trying to get better at it not letting it, and I just wanted you to be aware of the potential issue."
"I wanted to talk to you for a while. So, we could just chat it out and so you know that I am here for you, if you are ever worrying about any of this. I will always be here to help you. Not just with this, with anything."
"I don't need your help, there's nothing wrong with any of this! Do you have any idea how patronizing this is" She shouted. He paused, he hadn't, he didn't think of it like that, maybe he should have.
He nodded, "Okay, you're right, I'm sorry, It was from a place of care, but you are right. I may have overstepped my bounds there, I apologise. Subject dropped." He said as she glared at him. "Why can't you just mind your own business?" She seethed.
"Truthfully. I don't know, it always comes back to bite me in the end. But I can never stop myself, and less of the mean mugging please. Everyone already thinks I'm the bad guy on this ship, so I don't care if you hate me, I just want you to be happy and safe."
"Which leads us to my second point." He sighed, the bad guy part of him speaking before he could think. "If you charmspeak one of my friends without them knowing with no good reason again, even if you think it's for the best. I'm going to slap the taste out of your mouth." He said, trembling with anger as he thought about it.
"Threatening me with physical violence, real mature. You're how many years older than me?" She seethed. "Yeah, not my proudest moment, but this talk was much better than the alternative, a while ago I planned to have this conversation with you during a midnight knife fight."
"Back to my point. It makes me viscerally angry. I do not condone it. That's not to say it doesn't have it's place, or I don't understand the reason you've used it, the eidolons fine, the exorcism, fine, everything else, not cool."
"You use it with every opportunity you get, and it is a slippery slope. Think of Drew, you didn't like how she always got her way right? I get the appeal of calming people down, of stopping them, I know it's one of your staple abilities, but don't abuse it, just because it's an ability doesn't mean it's your only solution."
"I'll admit to doing it in the past, so again, no judgement. But nowhere near the level you can. I just need you to be aware how easily it can be abused, and keep that in mind in the future." "So now you're saying you don't trust me?"
Tears pricked her eyes. "Now you're saying you think I've been brainwashing my friends." "No Piper, I know you have, just in little ways. I would hardly call it brainwashing...so far. Sometimes it just comes out, accidents happen, that's fine. But I have been manipulated by charmspeak a lot in my life, and I do not enjoy it."
"Please. Just try to be more cautious, because I don't want to see you go down that route. I respect you too much. I would much rather see Piper 'I'll punch you in the nose' McLean, than Piper 'Get's a Mercedes when she asks' McLean."
"It was a BMW. Now please leave." She said quietly, ending the terrible conversation where (Y/N) practically shot himself in the foot with an AK-47. Followed up by the hypocritical act of sulking about it to Annabeth.
All in all, as he said, not his proudest moment, but it did the trick, and made a strong enough connection for him to put his plan into action. He soon found himself stepping outside the bounds of his mortal vessel.
It was a trick he used a lot when he was younger, recently, he had found no reason to. The benefits of being in his own body outweighed the use of this ability. Still, it was difficult, the further away his soul got, the weaker it was, so shadow travelling it to his friends was risky.
Piper's POV
Piper needed a miracle not a bedtime story. But right then, standing in shock as black water poured in around her legs, she recalled the story of the flood. Not the Noah story, but the Cherokee version that her father used to tell her, with the dancing ghosts and the skeleton dog.
When she was little, she would cuddle next to her dad in his big recliner. She'd gaze out the windows at the Malibu coastline, and her dad would tell her the story he'd heard from Grandpa Tom back on the rez in Oklahoma.
"This man had a dog," her father always began. "You can't start a story that way!" Piper protested. "You have to say Once upon a time." Dad laughed. "But this is a Cherokee story. They are pretty straightforward. So, anyway, this man had a dog. Every day the man took his dog to the edge of the lake to get water, and the dog would bark furiously at the lake, like he was mad at it."
"Was he?" "Be patient, sweetheart. Finally the man got very annoyed with his dog for barking so much, and he scolded it. 'Bad dog! Stop barking at the water. It's only water!' To his surprise, the dog looked right at him and began to talk."
"Our dog can say Thank you," Piper volunteered. "And she can bark Out." "Sort of," her dad agreed. "But this dog spoke entire sentences. The dog said, 'One day soon, the storms will come. The waters will rise, and everyone will drown."
"You can save yourself and your family by building a raft, but first you will need to sacrifice me. You must throw me into the water.'" "That's terrible!" Piper said. "I would never drown my dog!" "The man probably said the same thing."
"He thought the dog was lying—I mean, once he got over the shock that his dog could talk. When he protested, the dog said, 'If you don't believe me, look at the scruff of my neck. I am already dead.'"
"That's sad! Why are you telling me this?" "Because you asked me to," her dad reminded her. And indeed, something about the story fascinated Piper. She had heard it dozens of times, but she kept thinking about it.
"Anyway," said her dad, "the man grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck and saw that its skin and fur were already coming apart. Underneath was nothing but bones. The dog was a skeleton dog."
"Gross." "I agree. So with tears in his eyes, the man said good-bye to his annoying skeleton dog and tossed it into the water, where it promptly sank. The man built a raft, and when the flood came, he and his family survived."
"Without the dog." "Yes. Without the dog. When the rains subsided, and the raft landed, the man and his family were the only ones alive. The man heard sounds from the other side of a hill—like thousands of people laughing and dancing"
"But when he raced to the top, alas, down below he saw nothing except bones littering the ground—thousands of skeletons of all the people who had died in the flood. He realized the ghosts of the dead had been dancing. That was the sound he heard."
Piper waited. "And?" "And, nothing. The end." "You can't end it that way! Why were the ghosts dancing?" "I don't know," Dad said. "Your grandfather never felt the need to explain. Maybe the ghosts were happy that one family had survived. Maybe they were enjoying the afterlife. They're ghosts. Who can say?"
Piper was very unsatisfied with that. She had so many unanswered questions. Did the family ever find another dog? Obviously not all dogs drowned, because she herself had a dog. She couldn't shake the story.
She never looked at dogs the same way, wondering if one of them might be a skeleton dog. And she didn't understand why the family had to sacrifice their dog to survive. Sacrificing yourself to save your family seemed like a noble thing—a very doglike thing to do.
Now, in the nymphaeum in Rome, as the dark water rose to her waist, Piper wondered why it popped into her head. She wished she had a raft, but she feared she was more like the skeleton dog. She was already dead.
Even as backup-If you could call it that- arrived, it did little more than frighten her. A shadow like figure of (Y/N) appeared, flickering on the surface of the water, at first, she thought she was seeing things, until Percy said, "Thank the gods. (Y/N)" He continued to explain where they were.
"Come get us, shadow travel us out of here." "No can do I'm afraid gills, I'm currently bedridden and If I shadow travel here, you'd just have a fourth drowned demigod. I couldn't get us out." "Wonderful, then can you help us like that at least?"
"I can try, what do you need me to do?" He said, acting very nonchalant, considering they were getting closer and closer to a watery grave. Percy looked around as if to say, 'any ideas gang?' Piper remained silent, all her efforts going to staying afloat.
"First of all, get help, see if you can get here, we think Nico's around here somewhere." Jason said, looking nervously at the ghost. Who perked up immediately at the mention of Nico "Ok." It nodded. Fading in and out of the room as quickly as it had come, then returning to speak once more.
Piper suddenly understood, this is what she saw. The four of them drowning, how in some parts of the vision, (Y/N) was there, in others he was not, it was because he was neither here nor there. She was warned.
"Don't worry, I'm going to get Zoe, and we'll make our way over to you, just hold on. We won't be long I swear it." (Y/N) said, before the image he was slowly faded away.
She should have been comforted by the words, knowing that help was coming for them, but she wasn't, she could feel the strength in her body waning, she looked over and saw Percy and Jason flailing a little.
Even if they did arrive it would be too late. The words were just that, words, and she of all people knew that sometimes, words just weren't enough to solve your problems. She had to do something. Words weren't going to save them from drowning.
(Y/N)'s POV
"ZOE!" He shouted the moment he could see through his own eyes again, she rushed through the door mere seconds afterwards, bow drawn and ready to pin whatever was in her way to a wall. A snarl already exiting her mouth.
As quickly as he could he explained what he had seen as he shadow travelled his spirit to them. Explaining that they were in a giant bathtub looking thing and they didn't have much time to get free.
When he got around to mentioning even Percy was struggling, her face went pallid, but she nodded, "Okay, we must hurry. Can you walk?" "Not yet," he said, looking down at his legs. "Then I shall go alone, you may return to that form and help them."
"No. I won't be strong enough this far away. That's why I need you with me, I can cut the distance by shadow travelling us close, but I don't know how mobile I'll be, so when we get there, drop me and go to them."
"I'll follow when I can." "Follow, how can you follow? You can't walk." "Trust me Zoe, please." Tell Hedge where we are going and meet me back here after you are ready." "I'm ready now, we can message Hedge somehow when we get there." She had a desperate look in her eye.
He nodded. "Okay. Hold on." He said, grasping her hand. They shadow travelled closer, but due to the pain, he was off by a few blocks. Zoe looked at him in concern as he slammed into the ground, unable to support himself. "Go!" He shouted, and with a regretful look, she ran to help the others.
(Y/N) dragged himself to a sitting position, propping himself up against a building like a beggar, and phased back into the room with the drowning trio, stronger now because he was closer, still, he didn't like what he saw.
Piper's POV
The basin filled with alarming speed. Piper, Jason, and Percy 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 Piper 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. "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 Piper was glad for something to do. Percy jumped in the water. Jason and Piper climbed from niche to niche, kicking and pounding, wiggling seashells embedded in the stone; but they had no luck.
Sooner than Piper 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, Piper thought. It was so poisoned and malicious, even a son of the sea god couldn't control it. As the water rose around her, Piper felt it affecting her too. Her leg muscles trembled like she'd been running for miles.
Her hands turned wrinkled and dry, despite being in the middle of a fountain. The boys 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.
"They're taking our power," Piper said. "Draining us." "Jason," Percy 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 Piper's skin. "Not what I wanted," Jason said. The water was up to their necks now. Piper could feel her strength fading.
Grandpa Tom's story about the water cannibals was true. Bad nymphs would steal her life. "We'll survive," she murmured to herself, but she couldn't charmspeak her way out of this. Soon the poisonous water 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!"
You will need to sacrifice me, the skeleton dog had said in the story. You must throw me into the water. Piper felt like someone had grabbed the scruff of her neck and exposed the bones. "We can't fight this," she said. "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. But the water wasn't halfway to the ceiling yet. Piper hoped that meant that they still had time.
She tried to think of something, anything, no matter how crazy or how far fetched it was, eventually landing on an idea. "We have to overwhelm the nymphs with fresh water, give them more than they can use. If we can dilute this poisonous stuff—"
"How do we do that?" Percy struggled to keep his head above water, which was obviously a new experience for him. He looked scared out of his mind. "Only with your help." Piper was really pulling at straws here.
She was relieved when their ghostly friend appeared once more, "Zoe's on her way, a few blocks-Oh gods." He said, looking around, "Uh...uh..." He said in a panic at the sight of them nearly submerged.
She had an idea. "Percy I need you to summon water. As much as you can." "I can't I'm too weak." He said, "Yes you can!" She said, trying to sound hopeful, no charmspeak necessary. She turned to the spirit.
"(Y/N) can you use a shadow, keep the water off us for a few seconds." He nodded, suddenly an orb of shadow surrounded them. Piper felt it solidify at her feet and stood up. "Percy. You can do this. The water is going to take us, we can't fight that, but that doesn't mean we're giving up."
(Y/N) grunted. "You got this gills, you're in your element, you can make water, remember the horse poop, there's seashells everywhere." That nearly took Piper out of the moment completely. "Horse poop?" She thought.
"That was the ground, these seashells are in rock and stone, I don't know how much the power of the sea will take us." "Percy, look at me." She said, "I know you're scared, but this will work." She said.
She turned to her boyfriend. "Jason, I need you to summon the rain, strongest raincloud you can." They needed to create enough clean fresh water to fill this room, she needed to inspire them to go even deeper, tap there emotions even more.
"I need you both to channel everything you've got into this," she said. "Percy, think about the sea." "Salt water?" "Doesn't matter. Jason, think of rain. Think of rainclouds, think of anything. Trust in yourselves, you got this." She said with a half false smile. But they seemed resolved.
"Got any more bardic inspiration kid? I'm not going to hold much longer!" (Y/N) said, his form flickering. She looked at him as the shadow strained as if it were holding an invisible basketball. "That's fine." She said.
"Focus guys." She said, looking up at the sky. Nothing happened. The rain came down in sheets, still dark and acidic. Piper's legs felt like lead. The rising water swirled, threatening to pull her under. She could feel her strength fading.
"No good!" Jason yelled, as the orb around them began to crack and he began spitting water. "We're getting nowhere," Percy agreed. "You have to work together," Piper cried, hoping she was right.
"Both of you think of clean water—a storm of water. Don't hold anything back. Picture all your power, all your strength leaving you." "That's not hard!" Percy said. "But force it out!" she said.
"Offer up everything, like—like you're already dead, and your only goal is to help the nymphs. It's got to be a gift...a sacrifice." They got quiet at that word. "Ok guys, get ready to take a deep breath!" (Y/N) warned.
"Let's try again," Jason said. "Together." That was their last words before the orb cracked entirely in half and all three of them submerged entirely. This time Piper bent all her concentration toward inspiring the others.
She squeezed both their hands and nodded, closing her eyes and trusting that they could do this as both of them summoned all the power they had left. She thought to herself in the odd silence brought on by being submerged.
The nymphs wanted her youth, her life, her voice? Fine. She gave it up willingly and imagined all of her power flooding out of her. I'm already dead, she told herself, as calm as the skeleton dog. This is the only way.
Clear water blasted from the walls with such force, it pushed them against the roof. The rain changed to a white torrent, so clean and cold, it made Piper gasp. "It's working!" Jason cried. "Too well," Percy said. "We're filling the room even faster!"
He was right. The water rose so quickly, the roof was now only a few feet away. Piper could've reached up and touched the miniature rain clouds. "Don't stop!" she said. "We have to dilute the poison until the nymphs are cleansed."
"What if they can't be cleansed?" Jason asked. "They've been down here turning evil for thousands of years." "Just don't hold back," Piper said. "Give everything. Even if we go under—" Her head hit the ceiling. The rainclouds dissipated and melted into the water.
Percy bit his lip so hard he drew blood as he focused all his power to kept blasting out a clean torrent through the stone walls, embodying the power of the sea. Jason's hand clenched around hers as a rainstorm pelted down at them.
Piper pulled Jason closer and kissed him. "I love you," she said underwater. The words just poured out of her, like the water from the skies. She watched as the skies over Rome split apart and gallons and gallons of water pelted the city like it was owed money.
She held her breath. The current roared in her ears. Bubbles swirled around her. Light still rippled through the room, and Piper was surprised she could see it. Was the water getting clearer?
Her lungs were about to burst. Water continued to stream out, though there was no room for more. Would the walls crack under the pressure? Piper'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. Piper felt herself sinking. With her last strength, she kicked upward. Her head broke the surface and she gasped for breath. The flow stopped.
The water was draining almost as fast as it had filled the room. With a cry of alarm, Piper realized that Percy's and Jason's faces were still underwater. She hoisted them up. Instantly, Percy gulped and began to thrash, but Jason was as lifeless as a rag doll.
Piper clung to him. She yelled his name, shook him, and slapped his face. She barely noticed when all the water 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?
"Piper," Percy said, "I can help." He knelt next to her and touched Jason's forehead. Water gushed from Jason's mouth. His eyes flew open, and a clap of thunder threw Percy and Piper backward.
When Piper'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—" Piper tackled him with a hug. She would have kissed him, but she didn't want to suffocate him.
Percy grinned. "In case you're wondering, that was clean water in your lungs. I could make it come out with no problem." "Thanks, man." Jason clasped his hand weakly. "But I think Piper's the real hero. She saved us all."
Yes, she 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 blue gowns, their glossy black curls pinned up with silver and gold brooches.
Their eyes were gentle shades of blue and green. As Piper watched, eight of the nymphs dissolved into vapor and floated upward. Only the nymph in the center remained. "Hagno?" Piper 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 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. Percy and Jason, thanks to you, I remembered the sea and the sky. I am cleansed."
"But mostly, thanks to Piper. She shared something even better than clear running water." Hagno turned to her. "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.
Piper suspected this was how the water 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 this nymphaeum and the hypogeum that the giants call home." "Ugh." Percy pressed on his temples. "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. Piper smelled exotic spices and blooming roses.
She heard distant music and happy voices talking and laughing. She guessed 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. Piper slipped her hand into his. "The ghosts are dancing. Come on. We'd better go meet the giants."
(Y/N)'s POV
"NO!" He said as his eyesight returned to him, the last image he saw being that of his friends being overtaken by water as he was helpless to save them. He awoke in the biting cold and bitter rain that was suddenly rocking the city, which was apt for conveying his mood.
He looked down at his useless legs and thought to himself, "Was the slap really worth the lives of three of your friends?" He grit his teeth. Trying with all his effort to stand but failing each time, hoping Zoe had made it to them in time.
Though with the amount of water still in that room, he doubted it. He remembered the memory connecting him to Piper and wondered if in his efforts to help her, he had hindered her instead, could she have charm spoken her way out of it if he hadn't convinced her not to?
Again he was useless, for someone their enemy deemed as the demigods hope, all he felt like was their hindrance. He had done nothing but make them hate him since the whole trip began.
As the rain cleared up he made a decision. The way he saw it, He had two options, stay here and wait to know if his friends were dead or alive. Or, heal his legs at the risk of losing some time off his lifespan as a cost for it, his answer was simple and his decision made in moments. "Who cares, I'm probably not going to live that long anyway."
As the grey aura enveloped his legs, (Y/N) began to feel a little bit better. That didn't mean that he was ready to go in a few minutes though. In battle, his powers were normally amplified by the high risk of death, meaning he could heal serious injuries quickly if he absolutely had to.
But the danger had passed, he was at no risk of dying, so there was no boost or cheat out of the healing, and these things took time. As much as he hated it. Feeling your bones slowly un-crush themselves was not a nice feeling.
He bit into his arm to stop from crying out, but the process was slow even with Gaea's power. Still, forgetting the pain, the moment he got his feet under him, he began to run.