p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Percy! She's almost risen!" Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena yelled./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, whirled around to face the altar around 20 feet away from him. There, he saw a sight that would be forever imprinted in his mind./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A woman was rising up out of the ground, two giants flanking her sides. Her skin was like a light mud, and dirt was slowly inching up her waist. She wore a flowing green dress, a green the color of slowly dying grass. Her hair created a black veil around her head, as if she was suspended in water. Her eyes though, they were the thing that scared Percy the most./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Even though Percy was standing 20 feet away from the Primordial, her green eyes seared into his. But hers were not the captivating green of the sea like Percy's, oh no. Hers were the green of a poisoned lake, of a world so poisoned it was beyond the point of recognition. Filled with hate, malice, jealousy, and a neverending lust for power, they almost overwhelmed the son of the sea god. The emotions swirling around in Gaea's eyes seemed to taunt him. I know you don't want to be a pawn any longer, they seemed to say. Join my side and I'll reward you beyond measure./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Percy was, for the first time, tempted to just give in. He didn't want to be a pawn, the object of the gods entertainment. He was sick of being their errand boy. If it wasn't for them, he could be normal. He could have a normal life, an amazing girlfriend. He wouldn't have to worry about dying everyday, or go on life-threatening quests all the time. He wouldn't be the object of some stupid prophecy, and he could just be, well, normal. No more having people look up to him, no more having to be a leader. No more piling guilt on his chest, no more leading people to their deaths./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He was so tempted to just give in, and he almost did. But then he caught Annabeth's eye and remembered something worth fighting for./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sure, he may be a pawn, but at least he was helping people while doing it. And in the process he found the love of his life (who he wouldn't have met any other way). He found the best friends anyone could ask for, friends he would die for in a heartbeat. He found a second home, he found another family. He found somewhere where he belonged. And that mattered to him more than anything. His family mattered to him more than anything. (No matter how irritating or egotistical they may be."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"With a new spark of defiance in his eyes, he faced the goddess of the earth. He was ready to end this war once and for all, whether it meant his death or not. And it probably will, he solemnly thought./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Gaea looked down at Percy and a smirk slowly made its way onto her face. "And so the legendary Perseus Jackson shows his face. Are you so desperate to join your little friends in Tartarus, hmmm... what were their names? Bob and Damasen? Are you so desperate to go back to them? Because by the end of this, if you don't submit, you will spend eternal punishment in Tartarus."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Percy's fists clenched around Riptide's hilt, and he could feel his anger rising. Somehow, unknown to him, he managed to laugh. "Two things, Dirt Face. One, the threats getting kinda old. Tartarus, ya know? Been there, done that, wouldn't necessarily add it as a tourist attraction. Two, it's Percy, not Perseus. Maybe if I really like you, which I don't, I could settle for Perce. Now that that's cleared up, let's do this. For Olympus!" With that, the Savior and Hero of Olympus charged the earth goddess sealing his fate./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;".../p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Percy didn't know how long he and Gaea fought, but it seemed like forever. Swords clashed, sparks flew, and unfortunately, Percy was tiring quickly. He hadn't managed to land a fatal blow, but Gaea had managed to make several bad cuts, including one that ran from his right shoulder to his left hip. Not necessarily fatal independently, but together they made him beyond tired. Add that to the fact that he was attempting to create a whirlpool under the goddess to get her off the ground so he could hurt her, Percy wasn't sure how much longer he could go./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was then that he probably made the stupidest, most reckless decision of his life. He lowered his sword, and stared tiredly at Gaea, who stared in shock before gaining her bearing again and laughing./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Behold this day! The day Perseus Jackson doomed the world! The day your Savior bowed to me!" she bellowed, spreading her arms. This was her fatal mistake. Taking this quick opening, Percy struck fast, as if his arm was a viper, and lodged Riptide hilt deep in the earth goddesses chest. She froze, looked down, and growled at the boy about to pass out. "Smart move, Perseus Jackson, one I wasn't expecting," she coughed, golden ichor seeping out of the corners of her mouth. Percy wanted so badly to say 'When has anything I've ever done been predictable,' but he was to tired to do so./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""But beware, when this is all over, you will never rest. You will try to get back to your home and you will not succeed. You will fail, and for the first time, you will have a true taste for revenge. Understand what your enemies feel like this day, Perseus Jackson, because you will not have a moments rest again. For the foes you have already made will be alerted of your arrival, and will be eager to hunt you down, but the foes you have yet to make will find you."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"With that, Gaea disappeared in a blinding light, a strong wind burst through the battlefield, and Perseus Jackson, defeater of Gaea, fell unconscious./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Her boyfriend, Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, whirled around to face the altar around 20 feet away from him. There, he saw a sight that would be forever imprinted in his mind./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"A woman was rising up out of the ground, two giants flanking her sides. Her skin was like a light mud, and dirt was slowly inching up her waist. She wore a flowing green dress, a green the color of slowly dying grass. Her hair created a black veil around her head, as if she was suspended in water. Her eyes though, they were the thing that scared Percy the most./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Even though Percy was standing 20 feet away from the Primordial, her green eyes seared into his. But hers were not the captivating green of the sea like Percy's, oh no. Hers were the green of a poisoned lake, of a world so poisoned it was beyond the point of recognition. Filled with hate, malice, jealousy, and a neverending lust for power, they almost overwhelmed the son of the sea god. The emotions swirling around in Gaea's eyes seemed to taunt him. I know you don't want to be a pawn any longer, they seemed to say. Join my side and I'll reward you beyond measure./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Percy was, for the first time, tempted to just give in. He didn't want to be a pawn, the object of the gods entertainment. He was sick of being their errand boy. If it wasn't for them, he could be normal. He could have a normal life, an amazing girlfriend. He wouldn't have to worry about dying everyday, or go on life-threatening quests all the time. He wouldn't be the object of some stupid prophecy, and he could just be, well, normal. No more having people look up to him, no more having to be a leader. No more piling guilt on his chest, no more leading people to their deaths./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"He was so tempted to just give in, and he almost did. But then he caught Annabeth's eye and remembered something worth fighting for./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Sure, he may be a pawn, but at least he was helping people while doing it. And in the process he found the love of his life (who he wouldn't have met any other way). He found the best friends anyone could ask for, friends he would die for in a heartbeat. He found a second home, he found another family. He found somewhere where he belonged. And that mattered to him more than anything. His family mattered to him more than anything. (No matter how irritating or egotistical they may be."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"With a new spark of defiance in his eyes, he faced the goddess of the earth. He was ready to end this war once and for all, whether it meant his death or not. And it probably will, he solemnly thought./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Gaea looked down at Percy and a smirk slowly made its way onto her face. "And so the legendary Perseus Jackson shows his face. Are you so desperate to join your little friends in Tartarus, hmmm... what were their names? Bob and Damasen? Are you so desperate to go back to them? Because by the end of this, if you don't submit, you will spend eternal punishment in Tartarus."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Percy's fists clenched around Riptide's hilt, and he could feel his anger rising. Somehow, unknown to him, he managed to laugh. "Two things, Dirt Face. One, the threats getting kinda old. Tartarus, ya know? Been there, done that, wouldn't necessarily add it as a tourist attraction. Two, it's Percy, not Perseus. Maybe if I really like you, which I don't, I could settle for Perce. Now that that's cleared up, let's do this. For Olympus!" With that, the Savior and Hero of Olympus charged the earth goddess sealing his fate./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;".../p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"Percy didn't know how long he and Gaea fought, but it seemed like forever. Swords clashed, sparks flew, and unfortunately, Percy was tiring quickly. He hadn't managed to land a fatal blow, but Gaea had managed to make several bad cuts, including one that ran from his right shoulder to his left hip. Not necessarily fatal independently, but together they made him beyond tired. Add that to the fact that he was attempting to create a whirlpool under the goddess to get her off the ground so he could hurt her, Percy wasn't sure how much longer he could go./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"It was then that he probably made the stupidest, most reckless decision of his life. He lowered his sword, and stared tiredly at Gaea, who stared in shock before gaining her bearing again and laughing./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""Behold this day! The day Perseus Jackson doomed the world! The day your Savior bowed to me!" she bellowed, spreading her arms. This was her fatal mistake. Taking this quick opening, Percy struck fast, as if his arm was a viper, and lodged Riptide hilt deep in the earth goddesses chest. She froze, looked down, and growled at the boy about to pass out. "Smart move, Perseus Jackson, one I wasn't expecting," she coughed, golden ichor seeping out of the corners of her mouth. Percy wanted so badly to say 'When has anything I've ever done been predictable,' but he was to tired to do so./p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;""But beware, when this is all over, you will never rest. You will try to get back to your home and you will not succeed. You will fail, and for the first time, you will have a true taste for revenge. Understand what your enemies feel like this day, Perseus Jackson, because you will not have a moments rest again. For the foes you have already made will be alerted of your arrival, and will be eager to hunt you down, but the foes you have yet to make will find you."/p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;" /p
p style="margin: 20px 0px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, sans-serif; line-height: 18px; text-align: justify;"With that, Gaea disappeared in a blinding light, a strong wind burst through the battlefield, and Perseus Jackson, defeater of Gaea, fell unconscious./p