Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jason woke up in a garden, facing the sky. It was a clear blue day, and despite the summer air there were leaves crackling under his weight as he shifted to get up. He fumbled for his glasses, placing them on the bridge of his nose as he ran his fingers through his neatly combed hair (when did that happen?).

He was in a garden, with trees in all different stages of bloom, and a plaque with an English translation of another alphabet he didn't recognise. It read:

Welcome to the Grove of Glasir. No soliciting. No loitering. Hotel deliveries- please use the Niflheim entrance.

Sure, Niflheim, Jason conceded. Maybe the name of a door? A place? He had the strange feeling of deja vu, but shrugged it off as best he could.

The sight before him was the largest building he could remember seeing. A massive town house with a dark wooden front and two silver wolf knockers. Wolves, Jason thought, always a good omen. Looking at it, he was reminded of Percy's stories of Olympus-

Percy.

Olympus.

Oh my gods, Apollo-

He slapped his chest, feeling around for the hole he knew would be there. When he couldn't find it, he turned to the building again. If this was Elysium, he should better get this over with.

As he entered the lobby of what he could only assume to be a hotel, despite the sign outside being gibberish to him, a small man in a bellhop uniform bumbled over to him. His badge read 'Hunding. Saxony. Valued team member since 749 CE.'

By Jason's memory, that placed this man as several centuries too late to be Roman. And then again was the question- where in Jupiter's name was he?

"Hey man, I'm not entirely sure what this is but-"

The man named Hunding interrupted him. "Jason Grace, yes? You are dead."

"Yeah, I gathered that from the lack of spear hole in my chest. Is this Elysium, or what?"

"Oh, ha, no. But if you'll follow me we can begin the check in process. Elysium indeed- you're funnier than the last guy!"

Jason followed the dirty looking bellhop to an enormous mahogany desk, with wolf detailing identical to the ones outside. Just a couple of real ones and Jason was sure he'd feel right at home.

The foyer in itself was an absolute cavern of a room, except warmly lit by torches all around. The carpet was green and dense looking, with a yellow pattern of ferns and ivy. There were spears and shields mounted on every available surface, like an Ares kid's wet dream. Various animals were in states of beheading, stuffing, taxidermy and rug usage scattered around, from goats to bears to squirrels to giraffes. Ivory columns soared high above, and all around there was the warm chatter of friends, people hugging and running and- stabbing?

After he'd been dropped off at the desk (less of a desk, more of an apartment if you asked Jason who'd spent the last 8 months cramped in a dorm with three other guys, one of which had yet to learn the miracles of deodorant) Hunding ran over and gave what Jason believed to be an underwhelming reaction. All he could hear was Hunding yelling about the "no killing in the lobby rule" and "did you not see the signs??". The man with the longsword started apologising, but this just sent Hunding on another rant.

"Apologies mean nothing! Do you have any idea how long it takes to clean this carpet? And who's gonna be the one cleaning your mess? Ever think about that? Get out!"

Jason turned back to the desk as the man behind it cleared his throat.

"Ehem. Luggage?"

"Uhhh." Jason felt around in his pockets before producing a single golden drachma. "Just this?"

The man gave a barely veiled look of disdain. His name badge read 'Helgi. Manager. East Gothland. Valued team member since 749 CE.'

Another non-Roman. Odd.

"You're late for check in, but no matter. You heroes never care about dying punctually. You've been upgraded to a suite, so. Have fun with that, I suppose. You get one key, don't lose it. And apparently everyone needs the mini bar key, so have that too."

The man smiled like he was being held at gunpoint, displaying an impressive three teeth as he handed Jason two keys attached to small hexagonal wood blocks. They were engraved with odd letters matching those he saw outside.

"We look forward to hearing about your brave exploits at dinner. In the meantime, get acquainted with the your neighbours." He paused then, a pensive expression on his bearded fat face. "Or don't. I don't care. You're on Floor 19, and as your Valkyrie (his what now) is on another assignment, your new floor mate will be taking you up and explaining things. Please do not take him as an example. Everyone else was busy. He should be here shortly, thank the gods (gods, Jason noted. Maybe he was in the right place after all). On behalf of all the staff, we hope you enjoy your stay at Hotel Valhalla. Now please get out of my sight"

Jason stepped back, shocked. Not Elysium. Very much not Elysium. Jason began breathing heavily as a wave of panic rushed over him. He threw off his flannel jacket, suddenly hot, and noticed something very very wrong.

His tattoo was gone. His arms were both bare, and not only that, but he was wearing an odd mixture of his purple Camp Jupiter shirt and Camp Half Blood beads. He probably would have continued spiralling, had a neon flashing sword not come sidling up to him singing the Macarena.

"Heyyy man." He turned suddenly "Yo, Magnus! I found him!" He resumed his rendition of the Macarena before a blond, maybe 16 year old, joined them.

"Jack, I swear to Odin, if you don't shut up-"

"Just admit you're jealous of my prowess. You'll never be as talented as me and that's intimidating. However-" he continued, his hilt dancing out of the other kid's reach as he grabbed frantically for it- "I will let you off this once. Hello, purple man, I'm Jack!"

The scruffy haired kid stopped reaching for the sword with a huff, pushing the wavy blond locks away from his forehead. "Sorry about the talking sword. I tried to convince him to maybe tone it down a bit, but uh... yeah, you can see the problem."

Jason just stared, mouth slightly agape.

"You're taking all this pretty well. Better than I did at any rate. So I'm Magnus, this silly looking stabber is Jack and I believe we get the pleasure of showing you around. And telling you the perks to being dead, of course."

Chapter Text

Understandably, Jack was immediately turned into a necklace.

As Magnus led the poor kid to the elevator, Jack's weird little system of pendant telepathy reminded him that he had forgotten to ask the boy's name.

"So uh, Helgi didn't tell me your name. Or anything about you for that matter."

And just like that, the kid with the glasses and pale blue eyes said his first words to Magnus.

"Jason. Jason Grace. Your necklace- my friend Percy has a sword that does something similar, but his doesn't... talk. Or glow. Much."

A feeling of uneasiness crept up the back of Magnus's neck like Loki breathing down it, but he shrugged it off as best as he could.

"Hey! No wonder they put us together!" Magnus said in a voice that did nothing to convey how tense he suddenly was, slinging an arm around Jason's shoulders with an easy smile. "Chase and Grace! Our surnames rhyme! How cool is that?"

Jason's smile which had just began to form slowly dropped as he thought.

"Wait- Magnus Chase? Did you know anyone called Annabeth Chase?"

"Yeah, wait hold on- she's my cousin- that was you? You're the kid she was crying about- but you're Roman! Why are you here?"

"I don't know man, I've been wondering that too, you said she was crying about me? You still talk to her?"

The lift shot upwards and the tinny sound of Frank Sinatra started warbling out of the speakers as Jason continued:

"I mean can you leave? Can I talk to her? Or anyone... else... for that matter?"

"Well, it's complicated, yes, but it all depends on how you get on with the rest of our little floor 19 gang, as that privilege was only technically extended to us. But, seeing as you're such a ball of sunshine, I'm certain that won't be a problem."

At this, Magnus affectionately squeezed his cheek as Jason laughed. It was odd to think of anyone in the hotel knowing Annabeth, having any connection to the outside in the same way he did. Although, he supposed it was rather comforting to think that someone else could understand his frustrations at the way she and Percy consistently put themselves in mortal danger. Listen, from his experience, getting out alive was definitely not a guarantee, Helheim, his first proper tangle with danger and he got himself killed! Despite how well that turned out for him, he still held out little hope for any of their lot to end up in Valhalla.

Which again, returned him to the question- what was a Roman demigod doing in a Norse afterlife? It sounded like the beginning of a bad joke.

He didn't get the chance to push further however, as the elevator came to a smooth halt on floor 19.

"Come on then man, let's check out your room, maybe get you acquainted with whoever's in!"

The pair of blond teens stopped outside a tall wooden door with Jason's name carved on the stone plaque in the centre. There was no keyhole, but Jason did as Magnus instructed and tapped one of his two keyrings (runes, as Magnus told him) against the slate and the door swung inwards. Just as they entered he was pointed at two identical doors opposite, the only difference being that they were emblazoned with the names 'Alex' and 'Magnus' as opposed to his own.

Magnus let out slow whistle of appreciation. "Woah, this is cool. I don't know what in the nine worlds your deal is, but you've sure got good taste."

Jason couldn't help but agree as he slowly turned in circles, surveying his new abode in awe.

The room was laid out in a cross with the entrance being one of the arms. In the centre was a small fire encircled in stones that painfully reminded him of Camp. Around it, logs were carved into chairs, and at one of the corners of the room a giant tree seemed to have sunk into the wall. There was no carpet in this area, only grass, and the ceiling had been replaced by cloudy skies that looked on the verge of rain. At least there was little danger of the fire catching.

In the other arms, there was a large bathroom tiled blue and grey, a small living room area complete with a TV and the regular 1200 page room service and channel booklet, and a bedroom in various shades of blue with odd orange accents, covered in photos. In fact, almost every surface had some form of sentimental memorabilia covering it. There was a bookshelf on one wall, and a kind of altar that Magnus didn't recognise. It featured a golden eagle... well, apparently pissing on a kind of metal sink, and just to the left of it was a small flashlight. Jason seemed to know what it was, and ran over to it, mumbling "Oh, thank you dad, thank you!"

A whole wall was decorated with pictures of Jason and other people that Magnus didn't recognise. There were some with Percy and Annabeth, but those were few and far between. Mainly it was Jason's now familiar grinning face with a brunette girl and a boy with a mischievous smile and curly black hair, his dark skin smudged with some kind of grease or oil. Jason picked up one of these pictures, holding it reverently.

Another that he seemed to spend a lot of time poring over was one of what he could only assume to be baby Jason, shockingly blond as ever, being held by the armpits by a gap-toothed black haired kid. They shared the same startling blue eyes, and as an only child Magnus suddenly felt an ache towards a sibling he never had.

Jason turned towards Magnus, his nose pink and his eyes watery. "Where did you find this? All of these? It's-"

Jason thrust the picture in his hands towards him, eyes wide.

"I've never even seen most of these. And this one-" he pointed at a picture of him and the curly haired boy. Jason was looking at him in adoration as the other kid polished a bust of a metal dragon. A reflection on the window behind the pair showed a young teenager with coily brown hair wearing the same purple shirt as Jason grinning as she took their picture. "-this one burnt to a crisp with the Argo II. There's no way anyone managed to get a hold of it."

Magnus shrugged. "In all honesty, I have no idea how it works. When I died, a bunch of my pictures and favourite books appeared too, and a lot of my stuff burnt as well. The Hotel takes care of us, I guess. And the ravens, and the wolves."

"Wolves?" Jason's head jerked up in surprise.

"Oh yeah. Sorry man, did you have a bad experience with them too?" Magnus vaguely remembered Annabeth mentioning wolves in relation to Jason.

"No- uh, they raised me, kind of- so how can I leave, I get I'm a... you know what I'm not even going to try pronouncing it-"

"Einherjar." Magnus interrupted helpfully.

"Yeah, that, but I need to see him- them. All of them. Please, if you can leave, can't you find some way for me to visit Camp?"

Magnus could see the kid was desperate and he sighed. He didn't need Frey empathy to understand that Jason was going to find a way onto Midgard with or without him. He had already explained the basics of how the hotel worked (540 doors, surprise, there's nine worlds and a big ass tree!) so he was certain that he was smart enough to do it. Whether he'd get himself killed again was another matter.

"Fine. We can talk it out with the rest of the lot at dinner when you meet them. It'll be useful to have Sam's help, and nobody is gonna object to a trip to Midgard. Give me a week, that way I can tell Annabeth what's going on. Give them some time to prepare, you know?"

Jason let out a heavy breath. "Thank you, Magnus. So, so much. I owe you everything."

Magnus laughed, an abrupt noise like a car backfiring. "Hey man, no need for all of that. Though, if you insist you can start by telling me how the hell you were raised by wolves. What are you, a furry?"

Chapter Text

Leo's jaw dropped as Annabeth's voice continued whining out the hologram on the wall.

"-he is dead, just to clarify, and he might look a bit odd, but the plan is for him to come to Camp in like a week-"

He wasn't gone. Jason wasn't gone. I mean, sure he was dead, but it's better than nothing.

"-and he's got a talking sword, which is cool. His name's Jack-"

He needed to get back to camp. He wasn't comprehending anything that Annabeth said anymore, so he was almost glad when the illusion fell and he was left alone again. Leo sat in silence for almost an hour, his inventors mind quietly ticking over his luck, and how in Tartarus it hadn't run out yet.

oOo

As Jason's Valkyrie was still away from the hotel by dinner, he was escorted by and seated with one of the oddest groups of people he had ever seen in his life. There was Magnus, who on his own was perfectly normal, however the talking sword that was attempting to skewer his food was another matter entirely. A redheaded girl who sat next to them was arguing loudly in a strong Irish accent with a noisy blond hulk of a man. Every so often, he bellowed with laughter and Jason wasn't sure if he should run away or laugh along. A kid maybe a year older than him sat quietly, alternating between scoffing up his dinner and lovingly polishing his bayonet. Magnus had introduced him as TJ, and the Union uniform he wore gave Jason an unfortunate glimpse as to when he died.

Most threateningly of all were the two girls talking to each other (girls?). Jason had been given a very stern warning by the green haired one about pronouns, and listen, he was all for it! Jupiter knows Elagabalus amongst so many other Ancient Romans were less than cisgender, why should he be prejudiced amongst friends? Especially when said friends held a very sharp garotte. Very sharp.

The girl she was talking to, named Sam, also had her own array of very threatening looking weapons, but that wasn't what intimidated him so much. No, that would be the sharp glint in her eyes and the way her hands twitched towards her belt. That look reminded him eerily of Percy, and he decided to treat her with as much respect as he could muster.

The group was very different from Romans, and from the Greeks. Their behaviour and the way they talked, laughed and drank seemed closer to that of the wild centaurs and Party Ponies that Chiron was familiar with than any previous group he'd known. He felt very out of place, sitting there and trying his best to observe and compensate whilst the shouting and laughing crescendoed all around him.

Even at Camp Jupiter after being hailed praetor he had felt out of place, restless within the confines of the rules that dictated his life. This has only gotten worse with his memories gone and no foundation upon which to build relationships. With Piper, it has often felt forced, which is why he'd been happy to hear that she was in a loving relationship now. But it was with Leo that he had really found someone he could be himself with and not feel like he was imposing or being imposed upon. With Leo, he wasn't praetor, son of Jupiter, Hera's chosen, he was just Jason Grace, a kid. And for a bit he was able to pretend he wasn't looked at any different than anyone else, that he didn't have to make the fatal calls. And for a bit, he was happy.

He was snapped out of his stupor, literally, by the girl called Alex snapping her fingers at him.

"Oi, purple boy, you with us?"

"Sorry, err, what did you say?"

"Halfborn here," she said, clamping a hand with pink and green nails over a large muscular shoulder, "was wondering how good you are as a fighter. It's free for all tomorrow, and we wouldn't want you to make your debut embarrassing."

"Yeah, I mean pretty good, better on my own since joining Camp Half Blood. I'm better than Percy if that tells you anything."

Alex let out a low whistle and Jack laughed.

"I doubt that, amigo. I've seen Riptide in action. Not only is she beautiful, but those edges are legendary for a reason."

Jason really, really did not want to know about the sword's relationship.

"Look, I'll tell you what, you make it to the top ten floors, I will agree that you are at least on par."

Jason nodded. He went to shake Jack's hand to seal the deal, only to realise he was in fact talking to a sword as his arm slowly dropped.

"Oh. Um. Right, so what's the ranking system like? What do we have to do to get to top ten? Is there like an end point, any enemies we have to face, or..."

Jason slowly stopped as every single one of his companions looked fit to burst into laughter (except Jack, although even he was glowing a smug pink colour).

The Irish woman (Malia? Marjorie? Millie?) spoke to him in a patient but condescending voice, the same tone as if speaking to a toddler.

"No, Blondie 2.0.. It's a fight to the death. Last ten floors standing. Or, more commonly, last members of any ten floors."

"You- you kill each other? Gods, and you're still here? How is anyone still here? Where do you even go when you die, Valhalla squared?"

That seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back, and all members of the table broke out with uproarious laughter. TJ even fell off his chair, which Jason thought was a bit much. He looked on in horror, shocked at how funny they were all finding the idea of their deaths. And according to Magnus, these death matches happened daily, no opting out!

It wasn't until Sam, wheezing for breath sputtered: "You come back to life, Jason, don't- don't worry, you- oh gods I cant-" and then devolved into another insatiable round of giggles that Jason caught on. That explained it. Okay, maybe that reaction was reasonable, but really it was Magnus's fault for forgetting to mention that rather crucial detail earlier.

To interrupt their continuous laughter, the loud blow of a horn echoed through the hall. It was built like a stadium, only larger, with a giant tree in the middle, complete with a waterfall and may different types of wildlife.

The masses of deceased began cheering wildly, clapping and stamping their feet. They were silenced with (several dozen) waves of Helgi's hand.

"We shall now be regaled with tales of our newest warriors' heroic exploits. Valkyrie Vision has been more or less successful, providing that the Valkyries handling it are trained and skilled enough." With that he gave a pointed look towards Sam, who blushed slightly and ducked down in a pointless effort to conceal herself. Seemingly noticing her discomfort, Alex took it upon herself to detract the attention off of her friend by turning into a flamingo. Jason joined TJ on the floor.

"-therefore we will begin the tales of the two newest heroes of tonight, Jason Grace, and Eloise Parks."

They began with Eloise, a short woman in her mid thirties with straight black hair tied in a bun. The assembled einherjar watched as a projection formed against the tree. It showed Eloise, stuck in a lift with several others begin to order them calmly, telling them what to do. She instructed one to call the police on their phone whilst a girl in a red jacket was told to help keep a crying baby and their mother calm. Soon after getting the call that the firefighters wouldn't be there for hours, the lift began juddering up and down. After it had stopped, Eloise wedged the door open with two pens, and ushered everybody out of the elevator through the base of the lift doors where they had reached a floor. The last person made it through, before the lift squealed and jumped up, shattering the pens and breaking one of Eloise's fingers. She didn't have much time to ponder this, as the lift slammed to the ground from the 16th floor.

Eloise received a multitude of rounds of applause for her actions, being patted on the back by several Viking warriors. Even Helgi let out a polite "whoop" in her honour.

After establishing that she knew both of her mortal parents, her fate was read by three wizened old witches. They predicted that she would die by arrows at least twice in the next week, which gave her something great to look forward to. Jason could tell she agreed, as she had gone white as a sheet.

Then, it was Jason's turn. His name was announced, he received a smattering of polite applause, and he settled down ready to watch his death. He felt sick to his stomach, dead heart knocking at his ribcage. The spectators, for that was wat they were, spectators to his fateful end, oohed and aahed appreciatively whenever he did something they approved of. He received applause and claps on the back for summoning lightning and knocking over Caligula's soldiers, which filled him with the sudden urge to stand up and yell "Are you entertained?", which he felt would have been very ironically Roman of him. When it was finally over and a spectral hand grabbed his limp arm, a glassy look in his eyes as blood trickled down his throat, he received a standing ovation. Cheers, hoots, and people shouting his name greeted him as he snapped out of the stupor he had been stuck in. He heard people whispering and pointing at him, but couldn't quite make out the words.

"I'm sure I know the answer to this, but tell me anyway." Began Helgi, "Jason Grace, do you know both of your parents?"

The whispering became more apparent, and the words became clearer. "Thor," they whispered, "he's another son of Thor."

Jason's stomach sank as he realised he had yet to answer Helgi.

"My mother is a mortal woman, and my father... my father is Jupiter, lord of the skies."

The stadium was split, some parts in eerie silence, others yelling questions at Helgi and the others at the head table.

Jason sat down, steeling himself for the questions that he was certain would erupt from the table, except they-

Couldn't care less.

The ravens flew out of the hall and nobody noticed, but his small table looked completely uninterested in whyever it was that the Roman demigod had been landed in Valhalla. Apart from Halfborn, who looked as if he was dying to question Jason's existence and the only thing stopping him was the look of murder in Mallory's (that was it!) eyes.

After screeching for silence, Helgi indicated for Jason's fate to be read. He braced himself for a prophecy, some world destroying event that would take up his remaining time and energy, robbing him of peace even after his death. But no. He would be decapitated next week.

Jason felt light headed, and turned to Magnus with a grin, which was met with a thumbs up. He was finally free. All it took was dying, who knew!

He left whilst Magnus was explaining the plan to take a trip to Camp Half-blood in the next week, Jack piping in whenever he felt like it, usually with song lyrics or a comment about Riptide.

He collapsed into bed, exhausted. He didn't bother getting changed, and drifted off in his purple shirt, his mind empty for once.

He dreamt of a peacock, and from its smiling beak came the words:

"I'm not done with you yet, my little hero."

Chapter Text

The morning that they were headed to camp, Magnus awoke with a jolt and heavy breathing. Cold sweat snaked down his back from a dream he couldn't quite remember. Probably the wolves again. It had gotten better since he was forced to spend so much time around them, but things like what happend to his mother don't easily leave a person. After showering to clear his mind, he knocked on the door next to his. The familiar whir of the pottery wheel hummed through the wood, and after hearing his partner yell "Come in!" he opened the door.

Alex was sat at the wheel, collaring a new creation. His curly green bangs had been tied back in an adorable knot at the top of his head, a few strands escaping and sticking to his forehead. His brow was furrowed in a look of concentration, his tongue peeking out from between his lips which were pressed tightly together.

"It's 4 AM, Beantown." Alex said without looking up, "you don't need to be up until 7."

Magnus snorted, "Look who's talking. Do you ever actually sleep?"

"Clearly not, I mean, who else is on standby for you to come annoy when you have nightmares? You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He paused for a second, and sat down by Alex's feet, leaning on his legs. One of Alex's hands began absent mindedly stroking at his hair. Magnus swallowed slowly, not wanting to cross the line between caring and gossiping. "I'm worried about Jason. He seems different since the first dinner. Whenever I ask him about it, he brushes me off, but it's weird, like he's hiding something."

"Maybe he's just like that? You didn't know him for that much longer. Do you really think that there's something more going on?"

Magnus sighed and got up, holding Alex's hand, tracing the drying clay crackling on his knuckles. "Maybe. I can't quite put my finger on it, there's just something..."

A cold slimy feeling, faint but unnerving made it's way down his spine, quick as lightning. Magnus did his best to shake the feeling off.

"Whatever. I'm sure I'm just overreacting. Imma go pack."

"'kay. Let me know if you need a big strong man to come shut your suitcase."

"Har har har. Where were you on open mic night? See you in a bit baby."

On the way out, he placed a small kiss on Alex's forehead from above, temporarily smoothing out the wrinkles there. Alex smiled, and looked up at him, the two mismatched eyes full of love.

"Yeah yeah, love you too, now get out before I decide to test the fragility of some bad pots on your head."

Magnus ruffled his hair with a grin, and legged it before the annoyed yell and the smash of ceramics led to him missing the trip via resurrection.

oOo

Jason hadn't slept properly since his first night in Valhalla. That creepy smiling bird plagued his dreams, his nightmares, and his every waking moment. He hadn't told Magnus yet, and he felt he ought to, but the words seemed stuck in his throat, and he choked every time the opportunity came. He was sat at his miniature campfire, trying desperately to convince himself that the chill in his blood was just because he was cold. He had a terrible feeling about the trip, but what was he going to do, pass up the opportunity to see Leo? And- and Nico, and Percy, and Piper, maybe even his sister. He missed them all, so so much. Even with his new friends, he felt that nothing would ever come close to Camp Half Blood, to the people and to that environment. An environment he now had no claim to, thanks to his death.

He shoved the thought out of his head, and rubbed his eyes under his glasses. The ravens had cawed 7 a few minutes back, he should go, and he could already hear the rowdy voices of his hallmates begin to build into their now familiar cacophony. It wouldn't be too long until one of them, probably TJ, rapped on his door. He couldn't hear Halfborn's overwhelming boom yet, but from the muffled Irish noises he could tell that would soon change.

With a loud exhale, he stood up and opened his door. As expected, TJ stood grinning in the hallway as Mallory physically dragged her situationship towards the door that TJ was holding open. As she blew long red locks out of her face, she thanked him, getting a nod in return.

"Morning Grayson! You all packed up?" TJ's cheery voice met him.

That stupid little nickname. Jason would never say anything about it, just grimaced whenever it was used. And he would take the fact that he quite enjoyed having this little thing marking him as one of them to his grave. At least his nickname was only his first name and surname mashed together, he fared much better than Magnus, who went from being called Beantown, to Blondie, to gay by his boyfriend. And occasionally his sword.

Speaking of the weird little glow stick, both him and Magnus joined them in the hallway engaged in a heated argument.

"Hellooo? Jason? You alright buddy?"

Jason's head snapped back to TJ, his eyes focused where they had been straying off into the distance. "Hwa- oh, yeah. I've got my stuff, I'll grab it after breakfast. You-"

Jason suddenly noticed the brown knapsack by TJ's feet. It looked like it was about to explode.

"You're taking that? We're only going for two days."

Two days, Jason thought with a thrill. Two whole days with his... friend. S. Friends, plural.

"I don't know man, you might not have gotten a prophecy, but between you and me I won't be surprised if we end up on another quest."

"Gods I hope not. I'm retired now, if get dragged to another stupid insane place for some goddess, I'll cry."

He didn't mention the dream. He didn't mention that he agreed with TJ, and he certainly didn't mention how scared he was to leave the hotel.

oOo

Last year, Magnus had discovered that one of the arguably more than 540 doors led to New York. In fact, a lot of them led to various places in America, more than any other place in Midgard.

"Like most other religions, America is the centre for Norse god activity as well as the furthest western place that the Vikings discovered. It's no wonder that the hotel has locked in on it." Sam had explained.

He'd kept an eye on that door, and although it ended up in different places in New York every time it was opened, Magnus was now fairly certain that he could predict where it would come out, as well as where he could find it in the hotel. After 18 months of using it to visit his cousin, he sure hoped he'd gotten the hang of it.

Whilst pacing the 27th floor corridor, unhelpfully plagued by Jack's metallic woes, scanning desperately for that familiar powder blue door, an arm wrapped around his waist. Alex's head rested on his shoulder, as he softly murmured, "It's alright. We have time. It will be here when it'll be here. Just sit down and breathe."

Magnus nodded, before calling Jack over and returning him to pendant form. That was one stresser that he could easily get rid of. He didn't know why, but the pit in his stomach kept growing and clawing at his intestines with every passing minute.

Finally, just before 12, the sprawling blue runed door finally appeared, and Magnus ushered everyone over. Their eyes, which sparkled with excitement, looked completely different to the pallid anxiety evident on Jason's face. He looked worse than Magnus felt, which was really saying a lot.

The door opened in a subway station, just as the wind of a train rattled their teeth and blew their hair. Nobody even looked up from their phones to see their entrance. Magnus's hand firmly interlocked with his boyfriend's, they made their way through the station, searching for signs to take them to Penn Station. And if anyone other than Magnus heard the faint malicious giggles that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere, they didn't show it.

Chapter Text

Arriving back at Camp settled Jason's nerves exponentially, and for a wonderful minute he was no longer stuck in his own head, but a ball of overwhelming joy and peace, knowing he was where he belonged. Some small part of his mind screamed that it was wrong, it was wrong, it felt too different, but he ignored it as best as he could. The sun was high in the sky, looking idyllic, and it made the shadows under the awnings of the big house stand out further. The powder blue paint melted into the clear sky, as the sweet thick smell of strawberries hung around like a sticky kiss. The rest of his companions who had never been to camp looked around appreciatively, staring at the many cabins with delight. They had changed so much since Jason went to boarding school, he didn't even realise how accurately people had translated his silly little dioramas into real pieces of architecture. He had Annabeth to thank for that, most likely. He felt a strong sense of pride that he had fulfilled his promise to Kym, and even prouder upon seeing the continued construction efforts.

Their group had been met by Chiron, who gave a brief nod to Magnus before smiling sadly, but not unhopefully at Jason.

"Welcome back, Jason Grace. You have been missed."

They were led into the Big House, and the einherjar were offered Cheez-Itz and Diet Coke, both of which Alex and Halfborn made quick work of. They were given a short brief on basic camp rules (don't kill anyone, don't annoy the harpies, don't enter any cabins without either the god's or demigod's permission) before they were released into the wider camp. And as soon as that door opened, a scruffy warm teen knocked Jason onto the porch. Leo shook with sobs as he hugged Jason, his shoulders heaving and vibrating deeply. As he looked up suddenly, grabbing Jason's face, running his hands through his hair like he was making sure Jason was himself, that he was all there and nothing had changed, Jason saw the clear streaks stark on the oil smudged skin, and the matching stains on his green Hotel Valhalla shirt. He didn't care. Without quite realising, he had begun to cry too, relief pulsing through him, that this was what was missing and now he would be fine, everything would be okay because he had Leo.

Leo frowned and sniffed, stopping tracing over Jason's face to focus on what was wrong. What was missing. There was no scar from Jason's stapler eating escapades. Such a small detail, that changed so much about how he was perceived, that changed the story his face told. What else had changed?

Jason stiffened beneath him, suddenly fully aware of what he was, how they were different now, until Leo stepped away from him with a familiar impish grin. His face was slick with sweat, spit, snot and tears but he wiped it off as best as he could.

"I missed you."

Jason spoke first, factually and with a voice that cracked on the second word.

"Yeah, well I guess we're even now, huh? Both dying and coming back to life?" Leo chuckled sheepishly.

The rest of his friends joined them, Percy dapping him up and slapping him on the back significantly harder than Jason would deem necessary.

"Good to see you, Sparky. Although it would be better if you had turned up before your funeral, your stuff's kinda gone. Man, we have a lot to catch up on!" Percy slung his arm around Jason's shoulders, noticing with a hint of surprise that Jason was at last half an inch taller than he had been. Did dead people grow?

Annabeth had finished greeting Magnus and Alex and made her way to Jason. "Gods, I am so happy to see you. When Magnus told me you were in Valhalla... I can't imagine how it was for you, and I'm sorry we couldn't help. You didn't deserve that."

"Annabeth's right, we-" Percy began.

Jason shook his head. "You had no part in it. Don't blame yourselves for anything."

Smiling softly, Annabeth gently punched his shoulder. "It's good to see you again."

"Indeed it is, my champion." A warm voice came from behind the group that nevertheless chilled Jason's blood. He had been expecting this. He hadn't wanted it, had in fact been dreading it, and from the way Percy's arm turned rigid and Annabeth's abruptly dropped, he could tell they felt the same.

"Hera." Annabeth spat.

The goddess smiled thinly as she continued: "What does the Queen of the Heavens want with us now?"

"Actually, this one has nothing to do with you, or your... partner. No, I just think you will decide to involve yourself, as you so often do. But this is Jason's quest alone."

Jason felt his heart sink as Leo stepped closer, placing himself between Jason and Hera's softly glowing form. Her eyes were bright, and she was about 8 feet tall, and Jason had ever been so scared.

Leo swallowed and reached backwards, grabbing for Jason's wrist without looking back.

"What do we have to do?"

Jason opened his mouth to protest at that, wanting to cry out that this has nothing to do with Leo, and he shouldn't imply that it did, but the calculating smirk that spread across the goddesses face made the words rot in his throat.

"Storm and fire, an unlikely pair of foes
Where one strays the other also goes
A promise sworn on futile seed
Relents to immortal's fatal greed
Victory requires twofold loss
Or Victory falls to the serpent across"

Everyone around had gone white as a sheet, bar the few Norse visitors who had less experience with such prophesies. Leo's mouth opened and closed, and Percy looked ready to cry.

"No."

The group turned to look at Jason in shock.

"No?"

"No. We won't do it. I've done this before, we've done this before. And it got me killed. You haven't even said what the quest is, so I sure as hell am not about to risk my life for some amorphous goal which is probably going to put us all in danger. I'm not doing it. Go patronise some other demigod, because I'm done being your pawn."

"The quest is-"

"I don't give a dam what the quest is!" Jason yelled. The corner of Percy's mouth twitched upwards at that, but they stayed silent and allowed for his outburst."I know, gods I know, that I was never going to get a normal life. But I had the chance! A sister who loves me. Friends! And you took all that away from me to ship me off and manipulate me into a relationship so I could look presentable while you played me in your stupid little chess game. I am done, Hera."

Hera seemed to be suppressing a smile, but she shrugged and nodded to him.

"Fair enough, my champion. And you have every right to not undertake this quest. But as you mentioned, your sister does love you very much. And I think if the two of you switched places, she would more eagerly accept this opportunity."

Jason sucked in a breath, suddenly winded from shock.

"What have you done with Thalia." Annabeth snarled.

"I never did anything, so I don't like what you're insinuating there Annabeth Chase. No, but a certain trickster god has got her trapped. I felt it would be best for Jason to get acquainted with his son before attempting to retrieve her."

"You sent me to Valhalla?!" Jason whispered incredulously. "What haven't you meddled with," he added under his breath.

Hera, of course, heard, and her eyes glinted dangerously, pieces of hard diamond ready to break anything in their way.

"For your sake, I will ignore that, Jason Grace. I acknowledge that you are in a difficult situation, and therefore grant you leeway. To begin on your quest, you will first need to find her location, as I cannot quite lock onto it. It is constantly changing, so you will need to bring whomever you get your information from with you. I would suggest your Oracle of Delphi, but seeing as she has also been taken by the serpent deity, there are only two gods who you can convince to help you. Nemesis, and Apollo."

Leo's hand tightened around Jason's wrist at the mention of Nemesis. Jason recalled that all information received from her was done so with a heavy toll. Ethan Nakamura's eye could attest to that.

With the parting words, "Good luck, heroes, for you will need it," she vanished in a blaze of light that had them all shielding their eyes.

Everyone huddled around in a small group, as did several other campers who had been eavesdropping but were soon ushered away. Percy looked like he was about to faint, Leo was frantically pulling things out of his jacket, assembling them into small contraptions and dissembling them, and Annabeth was hugging Magnus that this was not his fault. Something felt off, but Jason was too panicked to investigate further. He was lost in his own thoughts and rooted in fear, before TJ sidled up to him and said "I told you so." in a voice calm enough to shake him out of his spiral. Magnus had summoned Jack, and the sword as well as Mallory and Halfborn were constructing plans in the dusty dirt. Neither looked worried, just focused. It didn't fill Jason with confidence, but it alleviated some of the pressing guilt and terror that threatened to overtake him. Leo's weight as he leaned on Jason's side was all that grounded him, so even as the lines of the prophecy swirled around and around his head like an endless whirlpool, he wasn't drowning. Whether he wanted to or not, whether he could or not, he would save Thalia like she tried to do for him so many times over. And god or not, Loki was going to pay.

Chiron cantered over, placing a hand on Jason's shoulder.

"I am so sorry my boy. We knew nothing about this. The Hunters told us nothing of your sister's absence, I swear we had no part in her disappearance."

Jason nodded his head slowly. His blood still seemed to run cold, he was not at all certain what was real and what wasn't. But, nevertheless, he thanked Chiron and moved further into the cluster of teenagers.

"So, who's coming with me? I don't expect it from any of you, especially not you, Leo," he said with a pointed look, shutting down the objections he knew were soon to erupt from his best friends mouth," but I'll need to know so we can plan."

Alex cleared his throat: "So we do actually have most of a plan already. We thought, you know, coming to terms with all this might mean we had better get cracking. I mean, your sister and an oracle? You need all the help you can get.

His friends, circled around them, nodded and beckoned him over. After apparently fulfilling his side of a deal with Magnus, Jack turned to Percy and started pestering him to let him talk to Riptide.

"Man I don't know if she wants to talk to you."
"Of course she does! You just won't let her because you want her to stay trapped in your pocket!"

Percy shook his head, but otherwise accepted that this was a losing battle, and pulled a familiar black ballpoint out of his pocket.

"Be back in 20 minutes." He told the pen.

Jason almost laughed, it was so ridiculous, so out of place. But the thought of Thalia had him sobered up enough to listen to the plan.

Halfborn, Mallory and TJ would go back to the hotel, tell an elf and a dwarf the situation, and act as backup, which had apparently taken seven people to convince Halfborn would be a good place for him.

Percy and Annabeth would go back to New Rome, as they had a lot to do at university. Whilst there, they would see about contacting Reyna, and the rest of the hunters. Most likely they were already looking for their lieutenant and would appreciate the help. In the meantime, Jason, Alex, Magnus and Jack would try and enlist Apollo, as after his trials it seemed likely that he would help them on their way-

"Not Apollo." Jason cut in. "I can't stand there whilst he looks at me feeling guilty about my death. I won't do it. We'll have to find Nemesis."

Leo shook his head. "Trust me, her cost is too high."

"I'll take it. For Thalia, I'll take it."

Leo sighed and looked away, mouth pursed in a way that made the mole next to his nose stretch and squish. Jason wondered what it would feel like to Rach out and stroke, but batted the thought away and turned to Alex.

"Adding that to the plan, what does it look like now?"

Alex and Magnus exchanged a look that Jason couldn't decipher, but continued nevertheless.

"So we convince the literal goddess of revenge to help us on our noble quest, and make our way to wherever it is Thalia is being kept. And then, fight my mother again I suppose. Or whichever mortal he's convinced to do his bidding this time." She glanced at Magnus with those last few words, who was starting fixedly at the grass beneath them.

"Okay. When can we set off?"

Alex shrugged. "Tomorrow? Provided this place has everything we need."

"Thank you. So much."

Smiling softly, Alex batted away his thanks. "Eh, don't worry. What are friends for other than saving siblings from Loki? Speaking of, I'll call up Sam, tell her what's going on. If she agrees, the five of us can-"

"I'm coming too." Leo butt in.

Alex huffed and muttered something under his breath, but not quietly enough that Jason didn't catch him asking Odin why everyone kept interrupting him today.

"No, Leo. It's far too dangerous, and according to the prophecy we'd end up fighting each other. I don't want to hurt you, so you have to stay back. Please."

Leo just shook his head, set on it. "If you're meeting Nemesis, I can help. If you need fire, which you will, I can help. Come on man, you did a quest without me last time and you died. That's not happening again."

Jason's heart sank as he realised how watertight the argument was. And granted, he was a better person, a better soldier, a better friend, with Leo by his side. Besides, when had telling Leo he can't do something gone well for anyone? Last time, he had died, and Jason was nowhere to save him.

He nodded at Alex to continue, and he did so, adding in Leo to every stage of the plan as well. Despite himself, Jason felt relieved that Leo would be with him, even if the possibility of them becoming enemies opened the deep pit in his stomach further. Those first two lines circled in his brain like vultures preparing to feast on a carcass, but he zeroed in on what was being said.

"So provided we convince Nemesis to come with us, we just... go there? Find Thalia and your oracle?" Asked Magnus, who was fiddling with the grass and ripping stalks out with blackened nails.

"Yep, I guess. I mean, I've been on quests with less instruction, but something still feels off, I can't explain it." Jason shook his head and shrugged. "Maybe it's just Loki's influence. But I can't think of anything that would make me fight Leo. He annoys me, for sure, but he's my best friend, and I would never hurt him."

Alex clapped him on the back, "Prophecies make people go crazy if they try and understand them before they have all the information. Your best bet would just to ignore it for now. "

"Nothing in the one I got last year made sense until after it was all over." Magnus chipped in.

That did not help at all. Still, Jason quieted down, and remained lost in thought until a hand was offered to help him up.

"Come on Sparky," Leo grinned, "marshmallow time!"

Jason's stomach seems to fizzle like his nickname suggested as Leo helped him up. Whatever happened tomorrow, tonight they were here together, warm and safe and covered in gooey sugar.