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ALL TOO WELL
EXTRAS
[ T H E T R I A L S O F
A P O L L O : T H E B U R N I N G
M A Z E ]
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*I think you can tell where this is going by the gif and what book it's in. I apologize in advance*
NATALIA FLYNN LAID on her boyfriend's bed in his dorm room. Her legs were propped vertically on the wall while her back rested comfortably against his blankets and pillows. She wasn't facing the door whatsoever. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was in her hands and she was completely invested in the story in front of her. She heard talking outside, and faintly heard Come on in, but please don't be surprised by my girlfriend in there, but she only assumed it was just some people walking down the hallway. So she kept on reading. It was a way to pass time until her boyfriend's classes were finished. She had off from classes today and decided to visit his boarding school, which wasn't too far from hers. It was pretty much in the next town over in California.
The talking ceased when the door opened. Natalia wasn't worried if it was a supervisor or teacher, because her intimidating glare would leave them speechless and send them scurrying down the hall.
Somebody dropped something on the floor, making a loud noise, probably to catch her attention. Natalia didn't even flinch. She heard a sigh.
"Nat—" Jason Grace, her boyfriend, began.
"Shut it, Sparky," Natalia responded. "I'm at the part of the Yule Ball. I truly can't miss it."
"But we have visitors."
That was enough to spark her attention. She placed her bookmark in the pages and put the green-covered book down on the bed. Natalia removed her legs from the wall and stood up with ease. When she saw who was in front of her, her mind went blank. It was Jason, a flabby boy she didn't recognize, a girl with glasses who she also didn't recognize, and Piper McLean.
"Uh," Natalia said. She then looked to Piper. "Hey, Pipes."
The girl waved with a smile. They didn't hug since the two had seen each other only a couple of days ago. The two saw each other all the time. Natalia would miss her so much when she moved to Oklahoma in a couple of days.
Natalia then turned her attention to her boyfriend. "Do you want to explain to me what's going on, Jay?"
"Natalia Flynn," the flabby boy breathed out. "Thank the Gods."
Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"I'm only your most favorite uncle ever!"
Natalia's eyes widened. "Apollo?"
He nodded.
"Wow," she commented. "You're so . . . mortal now. I mean, Percy told me that you stopped by his apartment . . ."
"And Artemis?" Apollo continued. "Is she all right?"
Natalia shrugged. "I haven't heard from her since that day at the Parthenon. You know, when Gaea woke and everything went to shit?" She then shook her head. "Okay, how about you start from the beginning. Tell me everything."
After introducing the girl with glasses as his companion, Meg, daughter of Demeter, he began to dive in about his adventures. Natalia stood next to Jason, his arm resting comfortingly on her waist while Piper sat on the floor with her back against the wall. Meg stood by Jason's desk looking at his diorama of Temple Hill at Camp Jupiter. They all listened to Apollo speak about the Triumvirate, the things he had to endure after emerging from a dumpster in Manhattan, and his time in Indianapolis, which included staying at a place called the Waystation, facing the emperor Commodus, and the Hunters of Artemis saving them on a football field.
Then Apollo casually mentioned that Leo Valdez was on a mission to Camp Jupiter. All of the electrical outlets in the room sparked — courtesy of Jason — while Natalia's eyes widened. The couple looked over to Piper with stunned expressions.
"I know," Piper responded. "After all we went through."
Jason sat down on the bed, keeping his arm around Natalia securely. "I can't even . . . I don't know whether to laugh or yell."
"His dumb plan worked," Natalia said in amazement. "Despite my line in the Prophecy of Eight . . . he really survived."
"Hey, what is this?" Meg called out from her place at the desk.
Jason's cheeks flushed a light shade of red. "A personal project."
"Don't be modest," Natalia scolded, pushing his head to the side a little. "It's Temple Hill at Camp Jupiter. He's redesigning it."
Jason had decided a couple of months ago, when they were still sailing aboard the Argo II, that he would honor all of the Gods at both Camps. It took up most of his time, but he was most proud of the diorama he made. Each building was represented by small plastic pieces glued to a foam board with the names of the shrines hand-written. He was so passionate about it, and made Natalia love him even more.
"Are these Monopoly houses?" Meg questioned.
He shrugged. "I kinda used whatever I had — the green houses and red hotels."
"Kymopoleia?" Apollo asked. "My goodness, I haven't thought about her in centuries. Why did the Romans build her a shrine?"
"They haven't yet. But I made her a promise. She . . . helped us out on our voyage to Athens."
Whipping up a crazy sea storm and almost completely destroying their ship didn't seem like helping to Natalia. However, Kymopoleia had agreed not to kill the Demigods aboard the Argo II, which was great, because then they could keep going on their merry way to destroy Gaea and her Giants. Their plan didn't really go very well because Gaea woke, courtesy of Percy Jackson getting a nosebleed, but they had destroyed the Giants with the help of the Gods and managed to dissolve Gaea's full presence back at Camp Half-Blood.
"I told her I'd make sure none of the Gods and Goddesses were forgotten," Jason continued. "Either at Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood. I'd see to it they all had some sort of shrine at both Camps."
Piper looked to Apollo. "He's done a ton of work on his designs. You should see his sketchbook."
Jason went silent for a moment. Things had been sort of tense between Jason and Piper after their encounter in the Burning Maze. Piper and Natalia had gotten separated from Jason. When he came back, he wouldn't disclose any information to them. Natalia had bugged him later, when they were alone, to the point where he confessed. He still hadn't told Piper, though, and made Natalia swear on the River Styx she wouldn't tell her.
"Well," Jason finally said. "The designs won't win any awards. I'll need Annabeth to help with the actual blueprints."
"Honoring the Gods is a noble endeavor," Apollo assured him. "You should be proud."
Jason didn't look proud. In fact, he looked pretty worried. Natalia nudged his side with her elbow and gave him a questioning glance. He merely shook his head and kissed her cheek quickly.
Meg looked closer at the display. "How come Potina gets a house but Quirinus gets a hotel?"
"There's not really any logic to it," Jason admitted. "I just used the tokens to mark positions."
"Demeter is cool. You should put the cool Gods next to her."
"Meg," Apollo chided. "We can't arrange the Gods by coolness. That would lead to too many fights."
Natalia raised an eyebrow. She knew that Apollo was thinking that he was the coolest God.
"Anyway," Piper interrupted. "The reason we came: the Burning Maze."
Jason stared at the wall, where his sheathed gladius was propped next to a lacrosse stick and a tennis racket.
"I didn't tell you everything," he concluded. Piper was silent. "I — I reached the Sibyl. I can't even explain how. I just stumbled into this big room with a pool of fire. The Sibyl was . . . standing across from me, on this stone platform, her arms chained with some fiery shackles."
"Herophile," Apollo cut in. "Her name is Herophile."
"I wanted to free her. Obviously. But she told me it wasn't possible. It had to be . . ." Jason gestured to Apollo. "She told me it was a trap. The whole maze. For Apollo. She told me you'd eventually come find me. You and her — Meg. Herophile said there was nothing I could do except give you help if you asked for it. She said to tell you, Apollo — you have to rescue her."
Piper rested her head against the wall and stared at the ceiling. "What else did Herophile say?"
Jason's face tightened uncomfortably. "Pipes — Piper, look, I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It's just—"
"What else did she say?" Piper repeated.
Jason looked over at Natalia. She raised an eyebrow as if to say, well, go on.
"The Sibyl told me where I could find the emperor. Well, more or less. She said Apollo would need the information. He would need . . . a pair of shoes. I know that doesn't make much sense."
"I'm afraid it does," Apollo replied.
"Can we kill the emperor while we're stealing his shoes?" Meg inquired. "Did the Sibyl say anything about that?"
Jason shook his head. "She just said that Piper, Natalia, and I . . . we couldn't do anything more by ourselves. It had to be Apollo. If we tried . . . it would be too dangerous."
Piper laughed drily, making Natalia wince. "Jason, we've been through literally everything together. I can't even count how many dangers we've faced, how many times we've almost died. Now you're telling me you lied to me to, what, protect me? To keep me from going after Caligula?"
"I knew you would have done it," he murmured. "No matter what the Sibyl said."
"Then that would've been my choice. Not yours."
"And Natalia would've insisted on going with you, no matter the risk. But the way things have been between you and me lately . . ." Jason shrugged. "Working as a team has been hard. I thought — I decided to wait until Apollo found me. I messed up, not telling you. I'm sorry."
Natalia frowned. Jason wasn't telling Piper the whole truth. She wanted to blurt it out, but she really didn't want to get venged upon by the River Styx. It wasn't really something that was on her bucket list.
Piper took a deep breath. "This isn't about you and me, Jason. Satyrs and Dryads are dying. Caligula's planning to turn himself into a new sun God. Tonight's the new moon, and Camp Jupiter is facing some kind of huge threat. Meanwhile, Medea is in that maze, throwing around Titan fire—"
"Medea?" Natalia asked incredulously. "Oh, come on! I thought we left that bitch to die in Chicago."
Jason sat up straight, and the lightbulb in his desk lamp burst, making glass rain across his diorama.
Natalia rolled her eyes. "Sparky, not again."
He ignored her. "Back up. What's Medea got to do with this? What do you mean about the new moon and Camp Jupiter?"
Piper gave them the lowdown about the Indiana Prophecy which predicted bodies would fill the Tiber. She then explained Medea was trying to drive out the essence of the sun God, Helios, and do the same with Apollo so that Caligula could become the New Sun.
Jason looked shocked. "I had no idea."
"Me neither," Natalia added.
Meg crossed her arms. "So, you going to help us or what?"
"Of — of course," Jason stammered. "Nat'll come too. We'll need a car. And I'll need an excuse to leave campus."
He looked hopefully to Piper.
Piper got to her feet. "Fine. I'll go talk to the office. Meg, Nat, come with me, just in case we run into that Empousa. We'll meet you boys at the front gate. And, Jason—?"
"Yeah?" Jason responded.
"If you're holding anything else back—"
"Right. I — I get it."
Piper turned and marched out of the room. Natalia kissed Jason's forehead lightly and poked his chest.
Natalia raised an eyebrow. "You should really tell her."
He sighed. "I know. I will." Jason kissed her gently. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
With that, Meg and Natalia left the room, determined to get Jason off campus, find a mode of transportation, and search out a murderous emperor. A normal Demigod day.
»»---------------------►
THIS IS THE part of Natalia's story where her heart completely breaks in two. She's experienced a lot of heartbreak in her life, of course. But nothing would ever compare to what she felt when she lost Jason Grace.
They had found Caligula's ships. While Apollo and Piper had left to go find the emperor's shoes, Natalia, Jason, and Meg had gone after Caligula. As she suspected they would, they got caught and were trapped in a swirling cone of Anemoi (or Venti, take your pick) by Medea.
Now, Jason had freed himself and Meg from their Anemoi prisons. Meg had gone overboard while a Pandos named Crest went to go save her. Natalia had run over to Apollo and Piper, dodging arrows in her wake. Jason rode on top of Tempest, challenging Caligula with his gladius. Natalia noticed he was getting more and more tired. Not to mention how arrows were sticking out of him, dripping his blood onto the ship's floor. They had to leave, now.
Apparently, Jason Grace had decided that Natalia Flynn and Piper McLean were going to live, and he was not. Natalia isn't sure who allowed that because they certainly didn't agree on it.
"GO!" Jason shouted to Apollo, shocking Natalia out of her thoughts. "Remember!"
His blue eyes then locked on her brown ones. The blue eyes that she adored so much. The blue eyes then sparkled in the sunlight and reminded her of glowing sapphires. The blue eyes that made her heart race. The blue eyes that made her weak to her knees. The blue eyes that she had fallen so deeply in love with.
A horrible sense of dread overcame her. She truly believed it would be the last time she would ever look into those blue eyes.
"Don't forget about me, Natalia," Jason said seriously. "I love you."
Her voice seemed to fail her. She wanted to yell baby, no, or at least respond with one last I love you, but it was too late. Caligula threw his spear right in between Jason's shoulder blades. Piper let out a scream of anguish, but Natalia didn't yell. Nothing came out.
Jason stiffened and his blue eyes widened. Natalia suddenly remembered the time when he got stabbed with Imperial Gold by an old Praetor, Michael Varus, in Ithaca. She had cut off the guy's head and Jason eventually got better. However, she was sure this was the end. The Fates were cruel like that.
He then slumped forwards onto Tempest and wrapped his arm around the horse's neck. However, he fell forwards and hit the floor facedown. His gladius clattered next to him. Natalia surged forwards, but Apollo and Meg grabbed her and held her back. A sob let loose from her throat as she fought and thrashed against them.
"I warned you," Caligula told Apollo before glancing at the Pandai above. "Leave Apollo alive. He's no threat. But kill the girl."
Caligula, with such calmness, took his spear out of Jason's skin. He then drove it in again into Jason's back, shattering all of Natalia's hopes that the love of her life could possibly still be alive.
Jason Grace did not move again.
Natalia's eyes widened and she suddenly found her voice again.
So she screamed.
She screamed so loud with so much heartbreak echoing out of it that it made all of the army drop their weapons. Natalia let out multiple sobs within the scream. It rang across all the ships and made monsters cover their ears. A silvery sort of glow expelled from her body as well, almost as if the moonlight inside of her could sense how much pain she was in.
Natalia was forced to close her mouth as the winds swirled around them. She wanted to yell at Tempest to let her see Jason again, but she knew with horribly clarity that it had been Jason's last wish to get them all to safety.
She sobbed and cried as the group shot across the Santa Barbara Harbor with the sounds of explosions rumbling behind them.
They landed on a beach. Natalia collapsed on the sand and stared blankly at the sea. She didn't say a word and let tears continuously fall down her cheeks. Piper had to speak to Tempest for her, ordering him to go back to the yacht and retrieve Jason. It must have been hours as she sat there, but suddenly, Tempest arrived again with a dark form laid across his back. Natalia knew what it was but she didn't want it to be true.
The horse knelt. He spilled Jason's body onto the sand gently. Natalia scrambled to her feet and ran over to her boyfriend. She dropped to her knees, more tears falling from her eyes as she cupped his face in her hands.
His skin was as white and as cold as the Goddess Khione's snow and had slime, sand, and foam sticking to it. The blood had washed away in the sea but his school dress shirt was now stained purple. Arrows stuck out from his arms and legs. However, his face looked at peace, like he was only sleeping. Natalia wished that was what he was doing.
"Jason," Natalia whispered, shaking his body a little bit. "Hey, Sparky, come on. Wake up. Don't use your stupid Roman falling-on-your-sword heroics now. The two of us have been through so much for this to be the end. You can't leave me here by myself."
He didn't budge.
"I didn't say it back," she sobbed. "I need you to wake up so I can say it back, okay? Please, just wake up."
"Fix him," Meg ordered to Apollo coldly.
Apollo put his hand on Jason's forehead. "Meg, I cannot fix death. I wish I could."
"There's always a way," Piper argued. "The physician's cure! Leo took it!"
"Leo had the cure ready at the moment he died. He went through many hardships in advance to get the ingredients. Even then, he needed Asclepius to make it. That wouldn't work here, not for Jason. I'm so sorry, Piper and Natalia. It's too late."
With a chilling certainty, Natalia knew he died from her line in the Prophecy. A final decision determines if to storm or fire, the world must fall. She had chosen fire as she had promised, but Leo came back to life from the physician's cure. Prophecies didn't like to be cheated. They had to be played out. Gaea had already fallen, but since fire didn't stay dead, storm was next in line.
Jason's death was her fault. And the guilt, the same amount she felt with Leo, weighed her down like a ton of bricks. She didn't know if she was going to be able to handle the pain. Natalia lowered her head onto his chest and sobbed at the lack of heartbeat.
"Not him," Natalia cried into his chest. "Gods, please, not him."
"No," Piper insisted. "No, the Cherokee always taught . . ." She took a shaky breath. "One of the most important stories. Back when man first started destroying nature, the animals decided he was a threat. They all vowed to fight back. Each animal had a different way to kill humans. But the plants . . . they were kind and compassionate. They vowed the opposite — that they'd each find their own way to protect people. So, there's a plant cure for everything, whatever disease or poison or wound. Some plant has the cure. You just have to know which one!"
Apollo grimaced in Natalia's blurry peripheral vision. "Piper, that story holds a great deal of wisdom. But, even if I were still a God, I couldn't offer you a remedy to bring back the dead. If such a thing existed, Hades would never allow its use."
"The Doors of Death, then! Medea came back that way! Why not Jason? There's always a way to cheat the system. Help me!"
Natalia felt a hand touch her shoulder, but she flinched and shot up, her eyes red. "He's been brought back from the dead before. At the Wolf House in Sonoma. I-If Piper can charmspeak him to come back again—"
"Natalia, Piper," Apollo began. "You and Jason fought to close the Doors of Death. Because you knew it was not right to let the dead back into the world of the living. Jason Grace struck me as many things, but he wasn't a cheater. Would he want you to rend the heavens and the Earth and the Underworld to bring him back?"
Natalia's eyes flashed a brilliant shade of silver, even more so through her tears. "How do you know what he would've wanted? You don't care, Apollo. You're a God. Just like you always do, you'll use us to do your bidding and then return to Olympus when you free the Oracles."
"Hey," Meg warned, gentle enough but also firm enough to shock Natalia out of her state. "That won't help."
Piper put her hand on Jason's chest. "What did he die for, Apollo? A pair of shoes?"
Apollo tugged his quiver from his back and turned it upside down. All of the arrows shook out, but rolled-up sandals also tumbled onto the sand.
"They're here," Apollo announced. "At least — at least we have them."
"Oh, perfect!" Natalia sobbed in despair. She turned back to her dead boyfriend, brushing his blonde hair away from his forehead like she had done many times before. "Now you can go see the Oracle that murdered him!"
"Piper? Natalia?" a man's voice cried out.
The girl glanced up as Tempest fled. Running down the cliffside stairs, wearing only plaid pajama pants, white t-shirt, and flip flops, was Tristan McLean. In Natalia's time in California, Natalia had been over Piper's mansion so many times that it was pretty much another home to her now. She had gotten close to the ex movie star. He reminded her a lot of her own father, whom she missed terribly.
Natalia was definitely going to go home after this. Not to Camp-Half Blood, but her dad's house in New Jersey. Even if it was only for a day, she wanted nothing more to curl up in her dad's arms and cry her heart out.
Why was it only for a day? Well, Natalia had a plan. Her time had finally come to use the gift Artemis rewarded her after the Titan War.
"Piper, I was waiting for you! I was on the terrace and—" Tristan froze, first seeing Natalia and Piper's beat-up faces, and then Jason's body lying on the sand. "Oh, no, no. What — what is—? Who—?"
He knelt next to Jason and put his hand on the boy's neck to check for a pulse. Tristan then put his ear next to Jason's boy to check if he was breathing. Unfortunately, he found nothing. He looked up at them in dismay, and Natalia let out another sob. Piper put her arm around her shoulders and pulled her close, their heads resting against one another's. Tristan did a double take when he noticed Crest the Pandos crouched nearby, and Natalia subtly snapped her fingers, bending the Mist to her will.
"Surfing accident?" Tristan ventured. "Oh, Piper, you know those rocks are dangerous. Why didn't you tell me—? How did—? Never mind. Never mind."
He dug his phone from the pocket of his pajama pants with shaking hands. However, when he dialed nine-one-one, the phone squealed and hissed.
"My phone isn't — I — I don't understand."
Natalia couldn't take it anymore. She needed a fatherly embrace. Natalia broke into rapid sobs and threw her arms around Tristan's neck. She buried her head in his chest and cried, mourning the loss of the love of her life. Piper then joined the hug as well.
"Okay," Tristan said softly, cradling both of their heads to his chest. "Okay, we'll — we'll figure this out. We'll get through it."
Natalia highly doubted that. She didn't think she would ever get through this, no matter how much help she got.
"You," she heard Tristan say. "You. Take the others up to the house. I'm going to stay with Piper and Natalia. Use the landline in the kitchen. Call nine-one-one. Tell them . . . Tell them to get here right away."
Natalia looked up. She must have looked like a mess. Her hair was probably frizzy and knotted in places. Her eyes were probably swollen and red. Her throat felt like it was like a desert from the amount of screaming she had done. And most of all, her heart was ripped out of her chest, venturing to the Underworld with Jason Grace.
"Apollo," Natalia said steely. "For the love of Artemis, do not come back. Don't even try to contact me. I'm done with you."
She saw his face fall, but she didn't care. He deserved it.
"Natalia, it's not their—" Tristan began.
"GO!" Natalia screamed. "Leave! I never want to see you again!"
Apollo, Meg, and Crest scurried off. Letting out another row of heartbreaking sobs, Natalia let herself indulge in the comforting embrace of the McLeans. Natalia Flynn was officially broken, and no one could fix her. The one person that really could was gone, hopefully being granted time in Elysium. She could only hope that one day she would join him.
★彡
haha I'm in ✨ pain ✨
I told myself I wasn't going to do this ❤️
me after posting this chapter with all the angry people coming after me:
I'M TRULY SORRY DON'T WORRY IM ANGRY AT MYSELF TOO