Love Against All Odds

Piper - Reviving Jason

"JASON!" Piper kept calling his name, her voice tight with panic as she held him close. He'd been unconscious for two minutes now. His body was steaming, his eyes rolled back in his head, and for the longest moment, she couldn't tell if he was even breathing.

"It's no use, child," Hera said, standing over them, draped in her simple black robes and shawl.

Piper hadn't witnessed the exact moment when Hera went nuclear, but she had closed her eyes in time. 

The valley around them was entirely transformed. The bitter winter had vanished, along with any sign of battle. The monsters, wolves, and storm spirits were gone—vaporized. The ruins had been restored to their former state, untouched and eerily quiet as if the chaos from moments ago had never happened.

Even the Hunters had been revived. Most of them waited at a respectful distance in the meadow, but Thalia knelt beside Piper, one hand pressed to Jason's forehead. She glared up at the goddess, her eyes blazing. "This is your fault! Do something!"

"Do not address me that way, girl. I am the queen—"

"Fix him!" Thalia snapped.

Hera's eyes flickered dangerously with power. "I warned him. I would never intentionally harm the boy. He was to be my champion. I told you to close your eyes before revealing my true form."

Leo frowned, confused. "True form is bad, right? So, uh, why'd you do it?"

"I unleashed my power to help you, fool!" Hera cried, clearly irritated. "I became pure energy to disintegrate the monsters, restore this place, and even save these miserable Hunters from the ice."

"But mortals can't look at you in that form!" Thalia shouted, her voice cracking. "You've killed him!"

Leo rubbed his chin, his dismay obvious. "That's what our prophecy meant—' Death unleashed through Hera's rage.' Seriously, lady. You're a goddess. Can't you do some voodoo magic and bring him back?"

Piper was only half listening to their conversation. Her entire focus was on Jason's pale face. "He's breathing!" she announced suddenly, hope flaring in her chest.

"Impossible," Hera muttered, shaking her head. "No mortal has ever—"

"Jason!" Piper shouted, pouring every ounce of her willpower into his name. She couldn't lose him. Not now. "Listen to me. You can do this. Come back. You're going to be fine."

Nothing happened. Piper's heart hammered, but she couldn't tell if she'd imagined his breath stirring.

"Healing is not a power of Aphrodite," Hera said, her voice regretful. "Even I cannot fix this, girl. His mortal spirit—"

"Jason!" Piper called again, imagining her voice travelling deep into the earth, to the Underworld. "Wake up!"

Jason gasped, his eyes snapping open. They glowed with pure, golden light for a fleeting moment before returning to normal. "What—what happened?"

"Impossible!" Hera repeated, sounding thoroughly astonished.

Piper didn't care. She laughed, her relief spilling over as she hugged Jason tightly. "You're crushing me," he groaned.

"Sorry," she said with a watery smile, wiping away a tear.

Thalia gripped her brother's hand, her eyes softening. "How do you feel?"

"Hot," Jason muttered. "And my mouth is dry. I saw something... really terrible."

"That was Hera," Thalia grumbled. "Her Majesty, the Loose Cannon."