The Roman and Greek camps have suffered much. They lost friends, family and loved ones. We almost went at war for such petty reason. We must be united to fight the actual threat, Gaea and her army. Luckily Reyna stopped both armies with Athena's Pantheon.
Gaea attacked. We were not ready for such an attack. We were pushed back all the way back to Camp Half-Blood. The Pantheon, stabilized the god's forms. Soon they unleashed their full power, pushing the giants back. I fought Gaea. She is too powerful, being from the Earth. She has almost unlimited power as long as she is connected to the earth that is. Annabeth thinking up a quick plan. Leo would take Gaea into the air and detonate Festus' core after the demigods distracted Gaea. Bringing an end to the war.
Distracting Gaea,Leo, using Festus managed to pick Gaea off the ground. Separated from the source of her power, she remained nearly powerless. Her army stood defeated, and the giants were returned to Tartarus. Only Gaea was left… our last enemy. To end this bloody war.
Festus flew straight up, wasting no time. Gaea looked straight at me. Fear licking her face, knowing the sad truth of her inevitable defeat. The war is over, all death and suffering has come to an end. An era of peace will flourish between both romans and Greeks. How wrong was I?
"Perseus… Help me. I beg you of you," a voiced screamed inside my mind.
"Gaia… Get out of my head, you despicable woman." I said, "It's all over, you lost."
"You think that the war ending will resolve everything," she said, "How naïve can you be?"
Naïve? What do you mean? There is nothing for anybody to fight anymore. There will be peace. Well… at least for a while, until our enemy reforms. Immortal beings are such a pain, why can't they just stay dead? Why do they hold long grudges? It's something will never know.
"What the hell do you mean?" I said, "That you will reform and fight another useless war… why must there always be conflict?"
"You don't get it do you?" she said, "Without power, us gods are nothing. We fight for the right to live."
"Can't we just live in peace…"I said.
"Damn your idealistic philosophy… Do you know why I fight the Olympians?" she said.
I had no answer. I didn't have the slightest clue to why Gaia fought the Olympian gods. I thought it was some old grudge or thirst for power but for Gaia, the reason she fights is a complete mystery. Silence is my only response.
"I fought to protect my children from those Olympians, who fear any power beyond their control." She trailed off, "especially for the sake of the child I carry."
"Child?" I asked
"I am pregnant… "She said, "It's a half blood."
Half-blood… so the child is a mortal. Festus going critical will kill the child. My eyes widened. The death of a child would lie on Leo hands. A child who had no fault nor crime. Leo don't do this. Why am I kidding myself? Leo is too high up to hear me. I myself must stop him to save the child. That is if Gaia truly is pregnant.
"How do I know you don't lie? You've done it too many times I lost count plus you tried to kill us demigods," I said," especially Annabeth. "
"Why would I lie? Like you said, I lost," she said softly, "I beg of you… I will do anything… please don't let my child die."
Her voice seemed strained. She had become extremely desperate to ask me for help. After all she has done, her fate is well deserved. But a nagging feeling at farthest reaches of my mind, told me she has not deceived me. She spoke the truth. I opened a connection to Blackjack's mind. Since he was a horse, I could communicate with him telepathically. Interesting enough, a connection remained open.
"Blackjack I need your help," I said.
"Okay boss heard everythin', saving evil ground lady who carries your kid… got it."
"Wait… were you in mind?" I said, "And what do you mean by my kid?"
"Yeah… I get bored so I slip into your mind… it's like watching a soap opera, really entertaining." He said, "And you owe me big, boss… about a year supply of donuts for this,"
Damn it Blackjack… you are a friend but sometimes you are a bit too eccentric. But there is no turning back, once I save Gaea.
"Gaia… I will save you, but only for the sake of the child," I said.
"Thank you but please hurry, time is running out," she said.
"Also can I ask who is the father?" I said.
She remained silent for a moment, and softly, "He's here… in your mind."
I felt the distinct, foreign mental connection break off, leaving Blackjack mumbling about donuts. My mind froze. Sweat trickled down my neck, my breathing ragged and uneven. Did she mean me? I doubt she meant Blackjack but you never know. There are some weird fetishes people are fond of. If it is me, how? A flickering image of a dark haired lady appeared. Wait… she appeared I that weird fantasy I had. No… so it was true. No wonder I felt tired in the morning. No, I mustn't get ahead of myself. I will save her and Leo. We will clear up this mess at a later time.
On cue, Blackjack landed in front of me. A cloud of dirt lifted by his rough landing.
"Ready Boss…" he said.
"Ready as I will ever be," I said
With a running start, I jumped in Blackjack's back. Blackjack took off, a flutter of wings resonated through the plain. I looked up, Festus is but a small, glimmering speck in the sky. Blackjack sped up, trying to catch the golden dragon. I heard the other demigods yelling on what I was doing. I ignored them. I had something I needed to do.
"Blackjack, I love you man. Not in a funky way but as a friend or a bro as you call it. Thank you for coming to my aid." My vision narrowed on Festus as if were a hawk narrowing on its prey. The sharp air, whipped my face.
"I love you to man… No homo…" he said
"Damn it blackjack, you didn't need to answer. Why are you still in my mind? I have more important stuff to worry about such as Zeus not shooting me out the sky," I said.
"Don't get all feisty boss… I only should you my appreciation for saving me that other time," he said," I guess people do get all weird if you got a chick knocked up and a sky god might kill you at the same time."
"Blackjack… it's complicated… just concentrate on catching up to that dragon." I said, "Don't guilt trip me either…. But you are a good friend anyways. Even though you spy on me."
"Good to know boss… now let's catch that overgrown lizard." He said
Festus golden body, glimmer in the distance. Slowly, the metal dragon grew in size until I flew by It large body. Leo was on top, trapped by a harness strapping him to Festus. I took out the familiar ball point pen. Uncapping the pen, a three foot sword appeared. Calming my mind, I concentrated all of the moisture in the air around me. I threw riptide with all my strength. Guiding the sword using the moisture, the sword hit Festus' left arm making a large gash. Making the water crawl through the gash into Festus, I took control of his front legs. Freezing the water, the ice expanded quickly, destroying his arms. Festus howled in pain, Letting Gaea go. A golden flash flickered indicating she escaped.
"Leo jump on," I yelled. Throwing him a small dagger, Annabeth made me carry. By sheer luck, he caught the blade. Most of the time, he is a bad catcher but fate was at his side this instant. He cut the harness.
He Jumped on Blackjack. "Nice time we had together Festus, good bye," Leo said. Blackjack veered off making as much distance as he could. Festus went critical, and exploded. I put a water shield, blocking off the explosion. As the explosion subsided, I saw that nothing was left. Festus the dragon was no more. Gaia had escaped.
"Did I see a golden flash…?" he yelled.
"No…" I said.
"Yes… I did, I am not that crazy," he said, "she escaped… didn't she and you helped her."
"Okay... I had my reasons though," I said, "please don't tell anybody and I will hook you up with someone."
"Tempting offer, I'll take it. Just one question, why did you let her go?"
"She is carrying a mortal child," I said.
His face was priceless. The look of shock was something I will never forget. "Wait... You mean to tell me, you banged up mother earth," I said.
"No… What are you saying?" I said, "I did not… well, I have no idea if I did or not… she gave me a vague answer. For all know she could be messing with me."
"You know what she has done… do you?" he said.
I nodded, unable lie to Leo. He is a good person, a bit crazy though. He would tell us funny stories from his childhood before things went downhill. I liked his company. He is fun. He would keep secrets closely, not a blabbermouth. A good quality.
"I know… but I can't leave her alone," I said, "I must take responsibility, no matter was she has done. It does not mean I forgive her, I may never will."
"Okay… okay… don't worry, I won't tell anybody," I said, "Like my mom said, you did it, now it's your problem."
"Thanks…"
The ground began to warp the closer we got. Damn… I strained myself too much using my powers. Stay awake. I leaned forward on Blackjack's neck. My eyes felt heavy, like lead. Soon I succumbed to the darkness. I heard Leo call my name before I passed out.
A.N. From Editor anthonysibley11 : This is my first time editing from the beginning of a story that is 's enjoy the story! :-):-):-):-):-) yup...