He gazes around him, looking at all of the faces. At all of the demigods risking their lives to protect their home, to protect their parents. He had thought that nothing could compare to the Battle of Manhattan... Boy was he wrong.
Standing here, on this field, he couldn't be more sure that this is it. This is why the Fates created another prophecy. He realizes the reason too. Nothing else had the determination of a demigod, nothing else could right the gods' wrongs. The battle a few years ago was proof of that. This is it, their time to prove that Romans and Greeks can work together, as they fight against the enemy, Mother Earth and her children.
He realizes that the demigods are watching him and the other leaders for orders. He turns around, and scans the thousands of monsters on the other side of the field. Draconae, empousai, hellhounds, and hundreds of others. And of course the giants. He sighs in relief as he remembers that her sacrifice prevented Gaia's rise from the earth.
The gods are not anywhere to be seen, but Artemis promised they would be there when needed. He knew she wanted to help fulfill her lieutenant's request.
With a glance to the Roman praetors on his left, and his main strategist on his right, he raises his fist into the air, signalling to the demigods that it is time. With a thundering roar, the children of the gods charge towards the adversaries, into the battle.
He is one of the last to leave, remembering her final words as he runs toward the monsters. He remembers her final request, to keep her brother and her friends safe. He still can't believe that she sacrificed her life to close the Doors of Death, just so he and the daughter of Athena could escape.
He is pulled out of his thoughts as a manticore tries to impale him with a spear. No longer having the advantage of invulnerable skin, he has to rely on instinct and the skills he possesses to keep himself alive. Riptide is a bronze gleam in the sun, an arc of death in the hands of such a skilled fighter, quickly beheading the manticore and stabbing a hellhound.
The area around him is clear, and he takes the time to inspect the field. Demigods locked in combat with the opposing side's monsters and demigods. The silver-clad girls shooting arrows much faster than the children of Apollo, yet they seemed to be working together for once. He realizes that the goddess of the moon must have told them about their leader's last wish.
He switches over into battle mode again as half a dozen draconae charge toward him. He ducks and twirls, avoiding swords and spears, and swiftly taking out those who carry them. Barely two hours have passed, yet there is so much golden dust and crimson staining the ground.
An ear-splitting shriek echoes throughout the battlefield. He turns around, and his mouth opens in shock. The king of the giants is standing a few metres away, laughing maniacally. In his clenched fist is a struggling figure with curly blonde hair.
"Annabeth!" He screams her name as he runs toward her, but he's not sure if she can hear him.
"No!" Another voice yells.
He recognizes the son of Hades as the younger boy races towards the daughter of the wisdom goddess. As he nears her he can see the tears streaming down her cheeks, leaving a trail in the golden dust that covers her face.
"Put her down!" He yells to the giant king.
"Sure Jackson," and with that Porphyrion drops his girlfriend to the ground. He knows she won't survive the twelve foot fall, and he knows he can't let her die. Not only because she's his best friend, but because he made a promise. And he never breaks his promises. So he concentrates, and as she nears the ground, a cloud of water vapour catches her. Sweat pours down his face as he struggles to maintain the cloud.
Her arm is bent at an unnatural angle, and she's unconscious, or so he hopes. The moment she touches the ground, a wall of diamond surrounds her. He looks toward his cousin, gratitude showing clearly in his eyes. He receives a curt nod in response, as the younger boy goes to check on her, knowing the angry son of Poseidon is going to confront the giant.
He whips his head up to glare at the giants' king. His sea green eyes glow with such rage and power, even the most powerful of the giants looked worried for a second.
"You will pay," he growls. "You will die for hurting my girlfriend."
"Oh, I'm so scared," taunts the giant.
"You better be!" Screams the hero of Olympus as he releases a blast of water so powerful, it knocks the giant to the ground.
"You monster!" His scream is filled with so much pain, so much anger.
The giant, now back on his feet, looks at his opponent in awe. The demigod of Poseidon is surrounded by a sea green aura, power rolling off of him in waves, stopping all action on the battlefield. The demigod notices that there seems to be a temporary truce as both sides converge to see the outcome of this important battle.
Out of the corner of his eye he sees fourteen flashes of golden light, as the Olympian Council arrives. He smirks inwardly at the shock on their faces. He can feel everyone's eyes on him, wondering if he's suicidal; taking on the most powerful of Gigantes. He doesn't care, and the fact that Annabeth and Nico haven't returned from the cave only further fuels his anger and hate.
He stomps his foot, and a wide chasm hundreds of feet deep opens next to him, showing bubbling lava. He stares into the giant's eyes, and sees something that makes him smile. Fear. He can see fear.
His thoughts are interrupted by sobs coming from the diamond cave a few metres away. And somehow he just knows.
"Are you happy now?!" He screams to the giant, tears pouring from his eyes. "You killed her! Is your life now complete?!"
The tension in the air is thick, as everyone realizes what, or who, the demigod is talking about. His eyes glow with the power of a god, as his anger and pain is released in a powerful earthquake, carrying more magnitude than one of Poseidon's.
"You bastard! She's gone" He yells, punctuating each word with a clap of thunder, showing his powers as son of the Storm Bringer. He can feel a hurricane forming around him, just like a couple of years ago when he defeated Hyperion. Only this one is much stronger, fueled by the loss of his girlfriend.
He can't see anything but red, and can feel nothing but the need for revenge. He can barely see the armies separating, and the gods rising up to their fifteen foot stature. He lets loose a blood curdling scream, and blasts Gaia's army with thousands of gallons of water. The enemy army's side is flooded, and somehow he manages to contain the water, rolling it and pounding it against the giants and monsters. He keeps this up for five minutes, until he feels the power draining out of him.
He looks up, and is surprised. The monsters are all gone, and the greatly weakened giants are gasping for breath while lying on the ground. A blur of silver darts from behind him, and he realizes that the goddess of the moon must be finishing the giants off.
He turns around, and smirks. The other Olympians are still regaining their senses from the astonishing display of power they just saw. But he sees the tears trailing down the face of the goddess of weaving, and he remembers, and the smirk is replaced with a frown.
He races to the cave, and sees the fifteen year old son of Hades with tears in his eyes. The younger boy runs toward his cousin, and as he is embraced, the usually stoic Ghost King starts sobbing loudly. The eighteen year old realizes that his cousin must be hurting so badly; he watched Annabeth, the girl he replaced Bianca with, die. He pulls away, and looks into the watery dark brown eyes staring back at him. And suddenly, he is pulled back to a time weeks before.
*Flashback*
He is half running, half staggering, towards the light. After weeks in Tartarus, he couldn't wait to get out. But something is bugging him; the third line of the prophecy.
"Are we there yet?" The soft mumbling of the girl he's carrying on his back drags him out of his thoughts.
"Almost," he pants, and focuses on reaching the end of the tunnel. As he stumbles the final few metres, he sees something shining in the sun, and can hear voices arguing. He pays little attention, and as he reaches the end, he knows his determination has paid off.
He blinks rapidly, his eyes getting used to the sunlight after being in the dark for so long. He feels a weight come off his shoulders, and realizes that someone took Annabeth off of him. Eyes now accustomed to the sun, he turns to the people surrounding him, and realizes that glittering was coming from the inches of monster dust on the ground. He realizes that they must have killed all of the monsters guarding the Doors.
The other five of the seven are there, along with Nico, and Thalia with Artemis. He is crushed into a group hug as his friends gather around him. Hazel begins to lead him to the ship, but he stops.
"Someone," his voice sounds raw and scratchy from lack of use, so he clears his throat and tries again. "Someone has to close the doors." Nico steps forward. "The Doors of Death need to be closed by blood on both sides at the same time."
An uncomfortable silence settles over the group. "I'll do it," the son of Poseidon's voice is resigned, he had thought it might be him.
"No," says a quiet voice. All eyes turn to the normally outspoken daughter of Zeus. "It's me, I have to do it. I have to fulfill the third line of the prophecy." She looks at her older cousin with tear filled eyes full of determination. Her voice is stronger as she says, "I'll do it."
Her brother's eyes are filled with disbelief. "No," he gasps, "It can't be you."
She turns to him and hugs him, but everyone can hear what she says. "I promised myself that no one else would die if I could help it." She threw a meaningful glance to the goddess of the moon. "That's why I wanted, needed, to come. I had to make sure kelp for brains, death boy, or my brother, didn't die. Because I know that this self sacrificing idiot here," she jerks her head towards the green eyed boy, "would not let the others die."
She pulls back, and sighs. "Milady, I'm truly sorry. I love the hunt, and I wish I could stay. But this is my destiny, this is why I wasn't the subject of the First Great Prophecy. I had to do this. I hope you understand, and can forgive me." She says her entire speech staring into her mistress' eyes, and finally, the goddess nods.
"Very well, Thalia. I shall take away your immortality, so that you will not have to spend entirety down in that hell hole." And with that she walks up to her lieutenant and chants quietly. An aura of silver surrounds Thalia, and the circlet atop her head disappears. Having lost her immortality, she now appeared to be a couple months older. She bows her head to auburn haired goddess, who quickly pulls her into a hug. As they part, both have tears shining in their eyes.
Next, the blue eyed girl goes to her brother, and embraces him tightly. She does this to everyone, until she reaches Nico. The son of the sea god looks on as she stares into her younger cousin's eyes, and sees the pain there. She gasps as she realizes that he had thought of her as a sister. Her own eyes well up with tears again, and she hugs him, whispering in his ear. They separate, and both have sad smiles on their faces. He knows that she thought of the son of Hades as a second younger brother.
She walks to stand in front of him. He looks into her eyes, sea green meeting electric blue. A wave of sadness washes over him as he realizes that this is good bye. He looks around, and there is not a dry eye in sight. His attention is brought back to the spiky haired girl in front of him as she crushes him in a hug. He hears sniffling, and is shocked when she looks up at him with a tear stained face.
"Promise me," she pauses to steady her voice, "Promise me you'll defeat them. Promise me you won't let them win." And he knows he can't refuse. He barely manages to nod before she continues. "I don't want Annabeth to know until after the war is over. I don't think she'll be able to handle it. You have to understand. She still hasn't gotten over Luke. I believe in you. I know you can save the world. Because you're a hero. And the world will always need its heroes." But her voice cracks on the last word. And he realizes that she too isn't over Luke.
But she pulls away and takes a deep breath. "Okay, enough of this crappy emotional stuff." She looks around and glares at everyone. "If anyone says one more sappy thing, I swear to gods, I'm gonna make sure you die before I leave."
"There's the Thals we all know and love," says Nico, sarcasm evident in his voice.
"Shut up Corpse Breath!"
"Make me, Pinecone Face!"
He chuckles as he watches his two younger cousins argue with each other. But a loud growl draws everyone's attention to the doors.
"I have to go now," she says with a sad smile on her tear stained face. "Bye guys. Win the war for me." And with that she vanishes into the dark entrance. Nico runs behind her, to close the doors from this side. Everyone watches as he cuts his palm and places it on the now closed doors. The Doors of Death glow for a few seconds, then are sealed shut. The son of Hades stares at the doors, then walks back to the group.
But the son of Poseidon can see the pain and anguish in the younger boy's eyes.
He snaps out of his reverie, and realizes that there are tears running down his face. He is still hugging his cousin, but by now the other demigods as well as the Olympians have gathered around. They all realize what happened.
His green eyes stare at each of them, and rest on the moon goddess' silver ones. To her credit, she doesn't back down as his eyes bore into hers; she returns the stare with equal intensity. They have a silent conversation, and he knows that it is over. She breaks away from his stare, and looks at the ground. Nico's sobs can still be heard, though they are muffled.
The younger boy pulls away and wipes his eyes. "She said," his voices wavers, but he keeps going, "She said that she was so so sorry. And that she knew that one of the seven would have to die. And," his voice breaks here, "And she knew that Thalia sacrificed herself to get her out of Tartarus," everyone sees the son of Poseidon flinch, "And that Thalia visited her in a dream; said that you would die," he looks at the green eyed boy, "You would sacrifice yourself to save one of the others. And she wanted you to live out your life. She said for me to tell you that she loves you, and she will never stop loving you. But you have to move on. Don't let her death cloud your judgement, she said she wants you to be happy. Her last wish was for you to never forget her. And she said she will wait for you in Elysium. But," and he smiles faintly, "She said if you end your life, she will beat the Hades out of you when she sees you." Everyone chuckles, it was exactly what the daughter of Athena would say. "And that's it. I felt her soul pass after that."
And with that, new tears trail down her boyfriend's cheeks. Hestia is the first one to act. The goddess of the hearth, in her twenty year old form, hugs her brother's child, even though he is taller than her. The eighteen year old lets the grief wash over him. He broke his promise, and he lost the love of his life. As if reading his thoughts, which is what happened, the goddess pulls back, and stares at him fiercely. "Don't you dare think like that! Thalia knew this would happen. I'm positive she's not mad at you. Her best friend is now going to her -"
"Actually, they're both in Elysium right now," the Lord of the Underworld interrupts.
"You see? Do not beat yourself up over this," the goddess continues.
"She is right," a quivering voice speaks up. "This was Annabeth's choice. She died a hero, just like her 'sister'. We have to honour their sacrifices." The goddess of wisdom looks pained. "I know my daughter loved you, as she will for eternity, and I'm positive you are the right person to love her. This has come much too late, but I will say it anyway, you deserve her." He stares at her in shock, then nods.
Then something happens that should go down in history. The Olympians and their children, as well as the hunters and satyrs, come together in one giant hug.
The war is won, but at a great price, one that nobody saw coming.
So what do you guys think? Yeah, I know it's kinda crappy... but I like it. Most of the characters are OOC, but oh well. Just so you know, this is not the story I've been writing, this is something I came up with about a week ago while listening to Fix You. If you're wondering about the line To storm or fire the world must fall, Thalia is a daughter of Zeus, who controls storms, when she sacrificed herself Gaia fell back into the earth.
11/9/13 - Ok, so I got a message from someone saying that I can't use song lyrics in my story, since it's breaking one of FanFiction's rules. (The one about not allowed to use stuff not in the public domain) So, I had to delete all of the song lyrics or else my story will be removed. But the story can stand on it's own, so it's fine, and I'm not going to change the fact that it's based on Coldplay's Fix You.
Well that's it, please review and tell me what you think.