based off of the post @goldenqingxin made about dark jason grace — jason vs. akhlys, ft. leo & piper (with the TINIEST hints of valgrace if you really overanalyze it. it’s like, one line.) i had house of hades open while writing this just to confirm the events; the first part starts at page 355, but i skipped to 362. hope you like it! fyi — this is very rushed. i wrote it in about an hour and a few minutes. enjoy, and all constructive criticism is very welcome.
—
Jason didn’t know what to think.
His brain was clouded with the fumes and the air of the place, and it just kept getting worse the more they walked; he felt like a zombie, mindlessly following the poisonous plants sprouting wherever Akhlys walked. It would’ve been better if Bob was there, if they hadn’t been made to leave him because he “cannot take this path”. He was good for emotional support. So was the Skeleton Kitten.
But now, they were heading right to the Death Mist, lead by the misery goddess, who was probably going to kill them because she wanted to see them in misery, too. Predictably so.
He felt his movements getting slower as they trudged on. His vision was getting weird; the ground seemed to be moving up and down, the sprouting plants looked to be swaying in that dizzying way, and his eyes kept switching focus like a rather annoying phone camera.
It’s not like he would feel any better if they left, because they would still be in Tartarus, but at least leaving would mean going back to where Bob was. Jason wanted to run back, run as far as he could and never look back — not until a hellish monster clawed into him and he’d die. Where would he go, even, if he was killed here? He just wanted to go back up. To land. To camp.
But he couldn’t do that. His arms felt glued to nothingness. Besides, he couldn’t leave Piper and Leo. Gods, Piper and Leo. They weren’t handling Tartarus well at all, no matter how much they tried to hide it. If there was a way he could send them back up and just let him close the doors, he’d do it. Leo wouldn’t stop blaming himself for what happened ever since they fell. Piper had to keep reminding him that she and Jason chose to fall with him. Jason frequently thought of telling Leo he wasn’t going to lose him again, but always decided against it.
Finally, they arrived; the fog dissipated as they stopped on a peninsula over a pitch-black void. Jason wondered what it would if be like to fall in it.
“Here we are.”
—
He fell to the ground. His throat felt like it was closing in on itself. Everything felt dry. He wanted to yell, to tell Piper and Leo to run, to live. But he couldn’t.
“You will feed the eternal darkness,” Akhlys said. “You will die in the arms of Night!”
He could hear Piper yelling his name, but it felt so far away, she felt far away — Leo was yelling for Akhlys, trying to distract her, but her focus was entirely on the child of Zeus, the one who insulted her power, called her a minor goddess, and (stupidly) tried to electrocute her before remembering he was in hell — the sky couldn’t help him here.
The poison continued to spread across the ground. Jason thought of what Percy would do if he were here — could Poseidon kids control other liquids? It was really too bad Jason wouldn’t live long enough to test that with Percy.
Something clicked in his head. Fumes were air, weren’t they? The gears — gears, like the ones Leo used all the time, back in camp — started turning in his head. If he could control air, why not fumes?
Jason took a deep breath and coughed — Gods, the air made his throat rough and his voice painfully husky — he could see Akhlys open her mouth, clearly ready to insult him, ready to tell him that he was hopeless, to remind him that he was about to die — but before she could do that, Jason sent the poison fumes straight into her nostrils, causing her to snort and take a step back.
What did this freakish lady need to breathe, anyway? He could choke her with her own air. Her own poisonous, downright acidic air that she’d made him and his friends breathe in, that Jason saw Piper and Leo look like actual fucking corpses in — sights he’d never be able to erase. Gods, fuck this woman.
Her mouth remained agape as she wheezed, unable to speak. Jason forcefully filled her system with the air and stopped her from breathing it out. He stopped her from exhaling.
He forced himself to get up off the ground as he continued to withhold Akhlys’ body from expelling the poison air. He thought of how angry he was that they were there; how angry he was that Piper and Leo had to be there — they should’ve been back at camp, enjoying life. That the doors of death even had to be closed in the first place, the fact that they were opened — that probably wasn’t her fault, but she was Misery — she probably enjoyed all the misery she gave them. Jason was just returning it.
He wanted the poison to turn all her insides to mush. He wanted to see her rot more than she already disgustingly was. He wanted to see her stop simply looking like a corpse and actually become one.
“Jason!” Piper yelled. He couldn’t see her, but he sensed something in her voice — “Jason, stop!”
It wasn’t charmspeak. It was desperation.
He glared at Akhlys one more time before allowing her to exhale, watching as she collapsed , her milky white eyes staring up at him in horror.
“Leave!” He commanded, and the goddess scrambled immediately as she ran away. She wailed along the way, but her voice was still hoarse.
Jason finally turned to Piper and Leo, taken aback by their faces. Piper’s eyes were wide and looked like they would’ve been crying had she allowed them to. Leo’s were just pure horror. Jason didn’t like it.
“What — what the fuck?” Leo stared at him in fear, and his voice wavered.
“Jason, don’t…” Piper took a shaky breath. “Please.”
“I’m sorry.” He wasn’t. But the last thing he wanted was another thing for his friends to be scared of.
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