madness and ecstasy // leo valdez

-the makeover gets a makeover-

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On the last word of the prophecy, Rachel collapsed.

A pit of dread swirled like a glass of fine wine in Teqi's gut. She massaged her face aggressively as Ollie's beeping little game rattled through her head like a pack of dynamite ready to explode.

But she only ever imploded.

Rachel was carried away from the hearth and laid in the corner to rest. An icepack was strapped to her forehead with washi tape. Prophecies must take a lot out of a girl. The green smoke evaporated slowly, only leaving an odd smell behind and an eerie glow over the pack of confused teenagers.

Even the smallest vine can make a plait. Even the smallest vine can make a plait. Even the smallest vine can make a plait. Teqi rubbed her temples. She felt Ollie squeeze her shoulder from behind.

"Is that normal?" Piper asked. She looked up into the silence a moment later, red in the face. "I mean... does she spew green smoke a lot?"

"Gods, you're dense," Drew sneered. "She just issued a prophecy—Jason's prophecy to save Hera, duh! Why don't you just—"

"Drew," Annabeth snapped. "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a shit ton of death... why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes. And it too late, the ending will be worse? That sounds bad."

Jason rose unsteadily. He was obviously still shaken up. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I want it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."

Nyssa stood up again. The brace around her knee made of little metal parts and golden gears clicked and squeaked. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son down a mountain just cause he was ugly."

"Real ugly," snickered someone.

Teqi looked away from Ginny's badly painted nails. They looked like soggy pink hearts. The rhythm of plaiting was kind of calming, though, despite the weight in her chest. Like Will and his bandage wrapping. She watched Leo wiggle back into the shadows a bit. He wasn't ugly. Leo was pretty, one of the prettiest people she'd ever seen.

Objectively.

"I'm hotter than you," Nyssa scoffed, and turned back to Annabeth. "Anyway, we've also got to think —why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"

No one answered. There wasn't an answer.

That's how it is with these kinds of things. You don't find out valuable information until it's too late.

Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions."

"Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience here," Travis said, fiddling with his favourite rubix cube.

"No, Travis, every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it... Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."