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He was tired. Beyond tired. He had been fighting for hours and the end of the battle was still nowhere in sight.
He became a robot. Slashing. Stabbing. Ducking. Dodging. And yet he still only gained a few feet of ground.
He had fought every type of monster known to man. Hydras, Drakons, Empousai, Cyclopes, and even his old friend the Minotaur.
His body was covered in golden dust. Blood flowed freely on his cut up and bruised face. It left tracks of intricate red branches wherever it went.
He looked like a demon. Like a hurricane that reaped souls wherever he went.
He faced forward to a basilisk who was a bit wary after seeing its brothers become dust in the wind in mere seconds. It lasted 2.3 seconds before his footprints pressed into its pile of dust.
Now with his path clear of monsters, the warrior could see Her now. She stood proudly watching over her army.
His body surged with a new-found energy. The end was near, he could feel it coming.
He fought even harder, the closeness of Her death singing in his bones.
And after what felt like eons, he arrived at Her army's heart.
Percy Jackson was ready to face Her.
The Primordial.
Mother Earth.
Gaea.
Far across the battlefield, the other demigods wrecked havoc on the monster army.
Jason scorched dozens at a time with his lightning. The Manticore that dared approach him turned into a black stain on the ground right next to a heap of ash that used to be the Hydra that tried the exact same thing only seconds ago.
Piper was by his side, destroying the monsters that hadn't had their brains fried yet. She was… well, she was… beautiful, intoxicatingly so. She almost glowing like a star, an irresistible star that lured poor creatures to their deaths. The ones she didn't cut down with Katoptris she entranced with her charmspeak, persuading them to fall on their own swords.
Leo and Frank became a threatening pair too. Leo became a roaring fire so hot that his heat could be felt before he could even be seen. He transformed the monsters around him into walking bonfires that would scream try to run away from the flames only to find Frank who would tear them apart with whatever animal's claws he had.
The siblings of Hades were death incarnate. They had a legion of skeletons at their command slaying monsters left and right. Hazel pull gems and precious metals from the depths of the ground that she then molded into very expensive looking spears that struck down monsters by the dozens.
Nico became a shadow, seen in one place stabbing one monster and then suddenly ten feet away plunging his sword into the belly of another. He never stayed in one place for more than a few seconds, a vengeful ghost.
Annabeth and Reyna worked in tandem, a whirlwind of sharp biting metal. Each girl fought with a fury that would send even the strongest of people to their knees with fear.
Then Reyna noticed something… off…
It felt like she was having to chase the monsters around her instead of them attacking her themselves. It was almost as if they were avoiding her or…
And then there was something about Annabeth.
At first it was so subtle that Reyna thought it was just exhaustion tricking her eyes, but soon enough she noticed that some monsters simply threw themselves on her dagger.
It was strange. Why would the monsters let Annabeth kill them…
Reyna's head began to whirl with thoughts.
The nights Reyna she Annabeth tip toe out of her cabin. In the morning she would claim it was to get a midnight snack or a bathroom trip, but Reyna wasn't stupid. Midnight snacks didn't take hours to eat unless Annabeth was having midnight feasts.
She thought maybe Annabeth was going to sleep in Percy's cabin, but the next day Annabeth would have big purple circles under her eyes. There was no way she could have been sleeping, well unless she wasn't sleeping because she and her boyfriend were doing… uh… that.
But that was really very extremely unlikely. Coach Hedge's ears would have definitely picked that up right away and she would have seen their heads decorating the mess hall.
Then there was voices she heard up on deck at night, coincidentally every time Annabeth snuck out. It was always a woman's voice, deep and full of power.
Then it all started to make sense. Secret meetings, whispering voices, the monsters.
No. Not possible. Annabeth is her friend. She's Percy's girlfriend. She couldn't… she wouldn't, right?
She needed to know the truth and if the truth was that Annabeth wasn't as friendly as Reyna thought her to be… well, Reyna would do anything to make sure her friends were safe.
Reyna needed to get Annabeth somewhere alone so they could talk without any distractions. She grabbed Annabeth's arm and pulled her away, running till they were hundreds of yards away.
"Reyna, where are we going? We need to protect the-hey that hurts! Let go!" Annabeth tore at Reyna's iron grip are her wrist. Reyna had to make sure that if things went south, Annabeth wouldn't be able to get away so easily. She hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"I need you to be honest with me, Annabeth," Reyna almost pleaded and then squeezed harder as if squeezing the girl's arm would force the truth out her mouth.
"Be honest about what? I have no idea-" Annabeth started.
"No idea why you're sneaking out at night? Or maybe you have no idea why the monsters seem to be giving you their necks?!" The more Reyna spoke, the more she realized that she was probably right and she felt sick to her stomach.
Reyna's hold tightened in anticipation for Annabeth to bolt, but instead Annabeth went still.
Reyna took it for guilt but no thoughts of failure crossed Annabeth's mind. Oh no, her mind was racing at a thousand miles per hour.
She quickly discarded her old plan and began anew. Reyna was smarter than Annabeth had thought.
Annabeth had cleaned up her tracks well, but the praetor had a wolf's nose. Oh well. She wouldn't mind creating one casualty after all, wars reeked of death anyway.
"Looks like the daughter of Bellona isn't as thick as I thought she was. What gave me away, Reyna?" Annabeth smirked.
"I heard you. Every night you would go out of your cabin and talk with someone. Looks like the daughter of Athena isn't as smart as I thought she was," Reyna shot with a jab of her own. How dare Annabeth put all her friends in danger. People Reyna cared for could have died because of Annabeth's two-facedness.
"You'll pay, Annabeth. The only reason I'm not killing you now is because Percy should be the one to deal with you." Annabeth flinched at Percy's name, but let Reyna continue and get distracted by her own anger.
Then oh so carefully, Annabeth's hand twitched to her side and slowly grasped the hilt of her dagger. The cool blade slid into her palm, ready to strike.
Reyna saw the flash of the bronze blade but had no time to dodge. She was too late.
Annabeth slid her dagger in through the plates of Reyna's Roman armor and whispered into her ear, "You're right, I guess I'm not as smart as I thought was."
Reyna gasped. "Percy will know. He'll know and he'll-"
"Not if I get to him first," she said confidently and then laughed, "I'll see you later, Praetor. Right now I've got somewhere to be," and with that Annabeth was gone.
Reyna was left alone only with her thoughts, a dagger, and a pool of blood. She had lost too much blood to stand so she sat crumpled up against a boulder.
The bleeding wasn't slowing. Reyna knew she wasn't going to make it, but she would die like a Roman. She fought valiantly on the battlefield; her ancestors would be proud.
She wished she could warn all the people that she left behind, but now all she could do was pray to the Gods that they did not suffer the same fate as her.
"The famous Perseus Jackson, Savior of Olympus. I feel honored that you've finally come to meet me," she taunted and gave him a vicious smile, "I hope you've come to surrender."
Percy shuddered and hesitated for a second. He would be fighting on of the most powerful beings on earth; He would be literally fighting the earth. Percy shook his heads, all thoughts of doubt pushed aside only leaving the cold and calculating mind of a warrior.
"Now why would I do that, lady?"
He did not wait for a response. Instead, he charged with his sword raised. He was not going to lose this fight. He couldn't.
He blocked her blows but with difficulty. The earlier battle had worn on him and although he still fought with terrifying skill, Gaea could tell he was almost at his limit.
If she was scared, she didn't show it. She matched every blow and strike and so did Percy. They were equal opponents. Neither could land a scratch on the other.
That is, until a certain blonde wisp, a flutter of a golden curl, caught Percy's eye. His eyes widened with recognition and while he was distracted, Gaea struck at his knees and knocked him to the ground and held her sword to his throat.
The moment the dirt and mud touched his body, it encompassed him like a cocoon. Shit shit shit. They had Annabeth and now he was losing the battle. All chance of even trying to save Annabeth slipping through his fingers the second he became prone to Gaea's element.
He fought with all the strength he had left but it was like being encased in concrete. He gave a roar of frustration and tried looking for Annabeth. He had to know if she was safe. Maybe he could distract Gaea so Annabeth could run, maybe he could trade himself-
Gaea drew blood at Percy's jugular stopping making his mind go numb. "I shall ask again, Perseus," she smirked, "Have you come to surrender?"
Percy stayed silent. He could feel the earth squeezing the air from his lung and his bone groaned under the pressure. Any more of it and he was sure his bones would snap. It was already becoming almost impossible to breath.
"It would be in your best interests, dear Perseus," Gaea signaled a cyclops to bring a prisoner forward with a quick flick of her fingers, "unless you would like to see your girlfriend die."
Annabeth. She was covered in blood, too much blood. It dripped down her face and her clothes down to the ground creating puddles of red.
His breathing became too quick, turning into gasps. Not possible not possible not possible. How did she get caught? She was supposed to be on the-
"Surrender or she dies." Gaea's voice echoed in the back of his mind. Which one which one which one.
His eyes moved wildly looking for a way out a way to save her. He could no longer think. The war or her. He couldn't talk. The war or her. He couldn't breathe. They had her. His wise girl. His-
"Which one, Perseus! Choose. Now!" Gaea demanded, her voice grating against ears. The war or her the war or her the war or her-
He knew deep inside that he had his answer, but he couldn't do this. The Gods, oh the Gods are going to kill him if he does't die here first.
But Annabeth Annabeth Annabeth...
Percy looked at Annabeth, at the blood flowing down her chin. His heart ached just looking at her in this state. In his heart he knew that he would give anything to keep her safe. It would always be her. He held the sky for her, and now would let it fall for her.
The gods would never forgive him and his world would crash down around him, but he would have her, his wise girl, and that was all he needed.
Percy looked up to Gaea, face now a mask trying to hide emotion and eyes fighting tears. He swallowed and began to speak, "I choose," his voice broke, "I choose her. I surrender," Percy looked up with tears streaming down his muddy cheeks, defeated, and Gaea smiled. She had won.
Gaea signaled for the cyclops to release Annabeth. He dropped her body, letting her fall to her hands and knees.
Percy felt the earth release its grip on his body and he wasted no time clawing his way out and running to Annabeth. He held her tight in his arms, kissing her forehead, crying and whispering apologies into her hair. Then as soon as he had gotten her in is arms again, he was ripped away. A pair of dracaenae held him down to the ground and again he felt the familiar roughness of the earth hold him down.
The dracaenae beat him. Throwing punches at his face, kicking his chest so hard, he felt his already weak ribs crack. They stomped on his legs and finally grabbed him by his hair and pulled him to face Gaea.
"What a lovely and heart wrenching reunion," Gaea cooed as she caressed his bloodied and bruised face with her hands, "but I never said you would live, only her." Percy caved in on himself. He had been tricked.
But Annabeth would live. She would be ok. Percy could at least die knowing he died saving the girl he loved.
The snake women held him tight to the ground again and laid him before Gaea as she raised her sword up. Percy looked to Annabeth one last time with a look of something raw and pure; love.
Then to Gaea, his eyes though swollen, still cold and defiant.
"It has been a pleasure knowing you, Perseus Jackson," Gaea sneered. She raised her sword high, the tip gleaming hauntingly, but before she could swing her blade down on his neck, a silver arrow sprouted from her chest. And then more grew from the necks of the monsters holding him.
Percy wasted no time. He jumped to his feet and ignored the pain tugging at his entire body and brought out his sword. His ribs ached and he felt his splintered bones dig into his lungs. His other broken bones burned into his muscles, he would not fall. Not yet. Gaea had to pay.
Percy fought like no creature ever seen before. Vicious, merciless, and bloodthirsty. And even with the power to heal with the earth, Gaea wasn't quick enough to block the blows that kept lying towards her prone body.
Before she could rise to her feet again, a blade separated her head from her neck.
Percy collapsed to the ground. His chest flared with pain and burned like fire. Blood was leaking from his mouth. Soft hands soon embraced him. He tilted his head up and saw grey eyes. They shined and shimmered like silver. He had never seen Annabeth's eyes look so beautiful. He tried to speak to her, but only a series of gargles escaped his mouth.
He gave up on trying to speak to her and lost himself in her silver eyes, so wide and bright, it was like they were filled with millions of stars. He felt like he was half-asleep, like he was in a dream, unable to comprehend anything. He tried to fight the drowsiness, but the hands around him were so warm. He could feel their heat seep into his bones, mending them, and taking away the pain.
He didn't know Annabeth could heal people. Maybe she learned a new trick Percy thought. It didn't bother him much though as he soon fell asleep.
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