Chapter Text
The swords fell to the ground.
The moment in which the place sank into complete silence could almost be proclaimed beautiful. Just a small moment in which everything was filled with calm...of course it only lasted a few seconds before the battle continued.
Leo Valdez had exploded in a blaze of fire, with Gaia in his hands.
Jason Grace and Piper Maclean were in a free fall, Jason trying to control the winds to prevent both of them from falling to their deaths. Piper only had in her mind that she had not been able to save her best friend, he had sacrificed himself for the well-being of the whole world, and would he know it? of course not. The mythological world is something that should remain hidden.
The impact was hard. Both demigods were in pain, Jason was exhausted; He look up and look at the place. There were few monsters, nothing they couldn't take care of. Both Romans and Greeks helped each other, after so many disputes they finally found a way to coexist in "peace".
Frank came running in her direction, he had blood on almost all of his arms and his clothes were in tatters.
"That...was that...?" he gasped.
Piper nodded through tears. She had a head injury but seemed not to care.
"It can't be." whispered the Canadian
Jason's head was pounding. He knew that at any moment he would faint right there, but he needed to make sure that the rest of his friends were okay.
"And Hazel? Tell me please that she is alright."
" She is, she is with Nico and that guy from Apolo, he is still very weak because... well, you know."
"And the others? Percy? Annabeth?"
"Annabeth is fine, Percy is hurt but fine." he looked at the sky, right in the place where his friend had finished off mother earth "I can't believe he's not here anymore."
"It's my fault." interrupted a voice "It should´ve been me."
They all turned in the direction of the voice.
Percy Jackson was behind the now Praetor Zhang; He had no shirt and a bandage on his abdomen stood out thanks to the large bloodstain on it.
"Don't talk nonsense," Annabeth said. "You shouldn't be standing up, Will said that stab could have killed you."
"Under the storm or the fire..." quoted the son of Poseidon "The options were Jason, me and..."
"Leo," Piper said.
"He knew, he made Hazel and I promise to keep the secret," Frank said.
At the new information Piper cried harder. No doubt everyone would miss the little Latino elf.
The nightmares were very strong. Every time he closed his eyes he returned to that horrible place, the screams of battles flooded his ears and the sweat running down his back reminded him of the immense heat of hell.
He woke up thanks to the pain. He had to remind himself that he was no longer in that place, that the war was over and that he was now at home; home. After years of growing up between his apartment and camp they made him distort his definition of that word.
He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. Normally he could control when he could get wet and when he could stay dry, but this situation called for it.
Months had passed and he still did not have the courage to tell his own mother that he had fallen into the depths of hell for the love he had for his girlfriend.
He saw his reflection in the mirror. He had all kinds of scars on his body, burns, stab wounds, cuts, arrows. A normal boy his age shouldn't have that kind of record marked on his body.
Normal.
What the hell did that mean? Going to a school, having friends, a job, graduating, having a family. Could I ever be able to have that? He felt overwhelmed. There were days when he locked himself in his room thanks to panic attacks. He didn't want his family to see him that way, so vulnerable.
A crazy idea crossed his mind. He couldn't do it, could he? He was a soldier, he had led armies, did he still know how to be normal? maybe.
He decided to follow the impulse, he had to do it quickly so as not to cower. He closed his eyes and concentrated on calling out to his old, winged friend. Despite his dyslexia, he struggled to write an explanation for his family and for Annabeth.
When he was done, he went down the fire escape with a backpack on his back and jumped to land on the back of the pegasus. He just wanted time in a place where he didn't have to focus merely on surviving, a place where he could get a taste of the life he would never have.
"Blackjak, take me to a place with the least amount of divine creatures you can find."
"I think I know a place like that. The Castellan boy once spoke of a place in California."
"California? If that's where the entrance to Uncle H's place is."
"I know, boss, that's why it's so weird. Can we stop by for donuts on the way?"
Percy smiled at his friend's request.
"It's okay, but you know I don't like being called boss."
"As you say, boss."
The demigod decided not to say anything else. He just hoped Blackjak wasn't wrong, he would come back to New York...when he felt ready.