Dancing with Death

Aeolus, Master of Winds

"Jason!" Eliza pushed against Coach Hedge's grip. All she could do was stare at the shattered bridge, tears stinging her eyes.

Suddenly, a figure shot up through the air and Jason landed in front of them, carrying Leo.

As soon as Jason released the shaken curly, black-haired boy, Eliza darted forward and hugged him.

Jason backed up a step from the impact of her embrace, steadying himself before returned the gesture.

Eliza dug her face into his shoulder. "Can we never do that again?"

Jason pulled back and gave her a sad smile. "We're half-bloods, Eliza, we'll be doing stuff like this our entire lives."

She met his gaze and sighed. "Well, that's crappy."

"You got that right." Leo spoke up behind her, his voice still a little shaky.

Piper watched Eliza and Jason disapprovingly. "Come on. We're here for a reason." She reminded. "Let's go talk to Aeolus." She turned and led the others into the dark tunnel cutting into the floating mountain.
* * *
Eliza walked behind the others. Her mind was reeling with her newest recovered memory. Jason, this girl Reyna, and her had obviously been great friends when they were kids. Now, Jason was like a brother to Eliza and... she couldn't remember for the life of her what Reyna's and his relationship had turned into. Another girl for Piper to be jealous of, she guessed.

Eliza sighed. She really needed to clear the air about Jason. She sped up her pace enough to catch up with Piper, who had fallen behind the boys. "Hey."

Piper didn't acknowledge her.

Eliza heaved a long breath. "I know you think Jason and I might've been... well... you know." She shook her head as if the idea were too ridiculous to wrap her head around. "But we're not." She assured. "We never were." She knew the words were true even though she couldn't fully remember. From what little she had, she knew they'd never been like that.

Piper studied the back of Jason's head.

"Don't worry." Eliza elbowed her gently. "He likes you. I can tell. And you won't get any hindrance from me." She chuckled. "My memories of the two of you together may be fake, but I still support it." She flashed Piper with a mischievous smile.

A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Go on." Eliza nudged Piper forward. "There's nothing like a romantic walk through a dark dingy tunnel."

Piper rolled her eyes, but walked towards Jason, a smile creeping across her lips.

Eliza sighed in satisfaction. That's one problem dealt with. Only about... a million to go.

The tunnel opened up into a room full of TV monitors and rushing wind spirits.

Eliza groaned. She was SO over Venti.

A white wispy woman glided over chattering about weather patterns and winds into her earpiece. Upon her approach, she took a particular interest in Hedge before Jason urged her to bring them to Aeolus.

The woman - a spirit of a breeze named Mellie - flew before them, guiding them through the chaos to a room with no floor.

Other wind spirits raised pieces of metal or turf or wood to form a makeshift, patchwork floor for the half-bloods to walk on.

Eliza continued warily, expecting the Venti to yank the floor out from under them at any minute. To her relief, the spirits remained in place until they reached a man in a white suit, rambling incessantly into his earpiece and motioning with his hands.

"Sir," Mellie interjected with her soft breezy voice. "You have visitors."

The wind god turned to face the group with a huge smile, characteristic of a TV star. "Welcome, Half-bloods!" It didn't take much to send the distracted god into a rant about weather.

Eliza rolled her eyes and studied her surroundings. Knowing their luck, they would need a quick escape.

Below the makeshift floor, a crater stretched down almost 100 feet. Tunnels branched off the rocky bowl, leading who knows where.

She was so in tuned with her surroundings, she barely noticed when Aeolus fell silent. She looked up to find him listening to someone in his earpiece.

His expression changed as he returned his gaze to his visitors. "I'm afraid there's been a change of plans. It seems she wants you dead."

"But we're on a quest for Hera." Jason insisted, invoking the authority of the goddess.

Aeolus chuckled. "She overrules the gods." He gave a shrill whistle and a group of Harpies swept into view.

The floor beneath their feet trembled. Behind them, it started to collapse.

Jason studied his four companions, a spark of terror in his eyes. He could barely carry two people, Four was out of the question. If it came to it, he'd have to chose who to save.

A split second later the floor vanished and they plummeted into the crater.

Before they splattered into blood stains on the bottom, a soft breeze surrounded them and ushered them into one of the branching tunnels.
* * *
Eliza felt the rocky earth beneath her palms as she pushed herself painfully to her knees. She sat back heavily against the rough wall.

From the sound of it, the others were unconscious. The tunnel was pitch black.

Her head throbbed and her right arm ached from rolling across the floor. The soft breeze that had saved them, presumably Mellie, had dissipated, leaving them in the cold shadows.

Eliza exhaled heavily, leaning her head back against the damp dirt wall. A fuzzy memory tickled the back of her mind - something about being in a dark palace with Jason, but she cut it off. She didn't want to trigger a flood of memories. She couldn't afford to regain them. Not while Gaia wanted her too.

Another breeze wafted around them, but it wasn't Mellie. The breeze smelled of flowers and mint, like perfume spritzed through a fan.

Her eyes felt heavy and her head drooped.

Next thing she knew, they were sitting at a table outside a cafe in San Fransisco with new clothes.

Eliza stared at the simple red dress she was wearing. The soft crimson fabric fell around her knees. Short brown hiking boots adorned her feet and a cedar tone leather jacket was draped over the back of her chair. She sighed annoyedly. This was SO not her style.

Leo gawked at her. Then his eyes fell to her left arm, which was resting on the table next to a pastry. "Is that?" He pointed.

Eliza looked down and noticed a tattoo very similar to Jason's. Ten black lines cut across her forearm under the SPQR surrounded by an intricate floral pattern.

She met Jason's gaze. "Well... that proves we came from the same place."

Jason just stared at the symbol like it held all the secrets of the world. Considering his amnesia, it might've.

Piper's gaze drifted to something in the distance. She drew a long shaky breath. "Mt. Diablo."

A/N
Hello!
I'm back!!
I would've updated yesterday, but I had to work with my dad.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!!!!!
-Cheshire