Heroes Of The Future (SEQUEL TO THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS)

Twenty Three--Piper

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Jason's alive.

Piper heard his voice faintly in the distance. She couldn't ever forget that voice.

He was getting closer closer closer.

But she was getting farther farther farther away.

Was she on the verge of death, or on the verge of life?

She wanted to stay awake, she really wanted to. She didn't want to see anything other than his face. She remembered something her mother said. You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.

And for once, she knew exactly what it felt like.

Love: a wildly misunderstood, though highly desirable malfunction of the heart that weakens the brain, causes eyes to sparkle, cheeks to glow, and your blood pressure to rise.

But really, it was a lot more than that.

Love was a wildly misunderstood malfunction of the heart that causes tragedies, massacres, makes people die, makes you turn insane, it wills you to help the enemy, cause civil wars, World Wars. It makes you do anything for the person you share your love with.

But there're good parts to it, too. It makes you feel like you're wanted, like you belong with someone in some place. When you've lost someone, or there's someone who wants to hurt you, you have someone to comfort you, to protect you. And with them, there's no place you'd rather be. And you couldn't ever live without them.

That's what Piper felt.

She felt everything, the good and bad, unraveling in her mind. Everything she'd ever done, everything she ever felt, was because of Jason.

Piper suddenly felt numb, a cold feeling making her shiver. Was she dying?

She heard a familiar laugh.

Her body went from a dull throbbing to an agonizing pain. It was like her body was on fire, burning and stinging her insides until she couldn't hold in the scream any longer. But her throat was hoarse, she couldn't manage any noise. Her head was pounding furiously, feeling like a sledgehammer was being repeatedly slammed into her skull.

Piper's eyes slowly opened. Everything was blurry, like a dream that was covered in a blanket of fog. She closed her eyes again and groaned.

"Piper, you're awake!" Someone said in surprise. Piper dared to think it was him

Her mind raced. Were they all okay? Did they defeat Kampe? Was Nico okay? How was Jason alive? Mountains of questions piled up in her head until she gave up on trying to answer them.

"Piper? Piper, can you hear me?"

She still couldn't find the strength to use her burning throat. "Jason..." She breathed, her voice sounding cracked and surprisingly weak.

Just saying his name made Piper's pulse quicken.

Someone grabbed her hand softly, giving it a reassuring squeeze. "I'm right here, Pipes."

She opened her eyes. Her heart lurched forward, pounding against her chest like she was about to self combust. He was kneeling over her, a pained expression painted across his face. The fading scar on his lips, the sharp jawline dark under his cheekbones, his perfectly shagged light golden hair, and bright blue eyes that radiated the color of the sky. He couldn't have looked more perfect in that moment.

Jason Grace, Son of Jupiter, praetor of New Rome, and Piper's boyfriend; was finally there again. He wasn't going to die, he wasn't going to leave. And he would most definitely not ever leave Piper's sight again.

His eyebrows furrowed with worry again. "Are you--"

Piper yanked him into the deepest, most desperate kiss she'd ever felt the need for. After he was done being surprised, Jason kissed her back passionately, his arms sliding around her waist to pull her closer. Piper's heart was beating so fast she thought it might break right through her chest. When they finally broke apart, she could hardly think straight.

"Hi." She breathed, her forehead pressed against his.

Jason kissed her again, ever so softly. "You go through Tartarus, then die multiple times, we save the world, we both die, we both come back, I die again, and all you have to say is hi?" He's smiling like he couldn't be happier to be trapped in the Labyrinth with absolutely no way of getting out--just as long as he was with Piper.

Jason lowered himself beside her, wrapping his strong arms around her protectively. Piper accepted his embrace, burying her face in his chest and shifting so she could curl up against his warm body. She could've stayed like that forever.

"Is everyone okay?" She asked, trying not to sound too fearful.

"Mostly." Jason whispered. "Leo got hurt pretty bad, but he'll be fine. Actually, we found a few more demigods, too. I know it's too dark to see, but everyone's sleeping just a little ways up the tunnel."

Piper felt relieved. "They're all okay? Everyone?"

"Yeah. I don't know about any of the demigods we found, but they all seem to be on our side, one way or another." Jason seemed unsure of his words.

"Do you know who their parents are yet?"

"No." He chuckled to himself. "But I think I have a pretty good idea. One of them is as flammable as Leo, so I'm guessing Hephaestus or Vulcan. That's Berney. Another, her name is Abbi, was trying to help Annabeth figure out why there's a younger clone of her here all night. Maybe Athena. And that leads me to explain why the heck Annabeth has a younger version of herself here. The truth is: I have no clue, and neither does Annabeth, which is almost scary."

A clone? "What, like a twin? How the heck did she get here?"

Jason shrugged. "Again: no clue. We were trying to figure it out, but Annabeth kept drawing a blank every time she looked like she got it. It almost seemed like something was keeping her from knowing." She sighed deeply. "You should get some rest. Maybe we can find a way to explain it in the morning."

"But I don't want to sleep." Piper mumbled into his shirt, though her body was already starting to shut down. "I just wanna stay with you. You have no idea..." How much she regretted telling him she hated him. How badly she felt for letting him die. "How much I missed you."

Jason smiled at that. "I missed you, too."

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Hey peeps! 🐥🐥🐥

I'm so, so, so, so, so, so, so, sorry I haven't updated in FOREVER!!!!

But I've just been super busy lately with school and homework and stage crew and tennis and a lotta other things that you don't know and don't care about.

This chapter is dedicated to __Percabeth__ for being an awesome wattpadian! EVERYONE FOLLOW HER AND READ HER STORIES!!!

-Berney (AKA the person who can never update fast enough)