Special thanks to WiseGirl100210 and LammySelfCJ. They were my first reviewers, and their support is still burning! THANKS SO MUCH!
*Cue epic music that builds up tension and suspense*
I can't find the right words to explain writing this chapter, so I'll just say ASDFGHJKL: QWERTYUIOP{ZXCVBNM?
SHIZZ IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN!
-oOo-
Harry's POV
It was the day before the full moon of Divitio.
The Darkness Warriors were casually walking around the dark area of Zalphia, chatting, schmoozing, small talking... as if tomorrow was nothing. As if we weren't going to go on a crusade to destroy Zalphia.
I, on the other hand, was freaking out. Celex and Zaf followed me everywhere, making sure I was okay and giving me words of encouragement. They were really cool about the whole thing though.
"Celex," I said hesitantly. "I know this is... er, bad... but can I see my friends? You can watch over me, make sure I don't try to release them... But I need to see them again. I need to see them one last time."
Celex looked thoughtful, but after a few seconds, his expression softened and he nodded. "Of course, master," he said. "I understand how you must feel. Follow us."
Zaf and Celex led me to the darkest area of Zalphia. It was called the Core of the Wrath. It was where Fuego really lost it and exploded. It was his place. His home.
In the middle of a glowing red circle, my friends were huddled together. They looked up when I entered, and they looked like they've seen sunlight for the first time in ages. They stood up and got as close to me as the circle allowed.
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Hey, best mate," Ron said, a little misery seeped into his cheerful voice.
"What do you plan to do, Harry?" Hermione asked. You could really tell she was troubled by this. "Please don't tell me you're going to kill Deliantex."
"I hope I don't," I muttered.
"What does that mean?" Neville asked, looking just as confused as the rest.
I took a few deep breaths and looked right into their eyes. "I told them to try as hard as they can to kill me. They have to defeat me to set peace into the world."
There was a shocked silence. Then pleading. And crying. They were begging me, pleading the heavens for another way. But I barely heard them. I had to do it.
I looked down to the dark, lifeless ground. "No, it's the only way," I whispered, barely audible, but all of them stopped and looked at me. They looked at me with such intense emotions. Gratitude, regret, friendship, awe, admiration... love.
"Harry..." Ron said quietly. Then he took a steadying breath and said, more loudly, "Thanks, mate. For everything. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably be... well... you know. And Harry... you really are the bravest guy I've ever known."
Hermione nodded. "Harry, I... I don't know how to ever thank you enough. You're a beacon of hope to the world... worlds. Your parents... I'm sure they're as proud as can be. Good luck."
"You were my first ever friend," Luna said softly. The joyful air in her voice was gone. The lost-in-a-dream sparkle in her eyes vanished as well. "Thank you."
"You inspired me to keep going," Neville stated, looking directly at me. "Before I met you, everybody thought I was a lost cause. A hopeless, talentless shame of a wizard. But that's all in the past. Thanks, Harry."
I looked at Ginny. She didn't say anything, but the pain, sadness and regret in her eyes said everything. She blinked some tears away, and the emotions in her eyes changed to pride, awe and love.
"Make us proud, Harry," she whispered. "Thanks."
I couldn't say anything for a while. I looked at all of them. My hands were shaking against the invisible wall of the circle. Tears streamed down my face. What was the use of stopping them?
They all cried, too.
I guess this time, there would be no huge celebration after I've done my "heroic deed."
"I wouldn't have been able to do anything if it weren't for you guys," I said, forcing the words out of my mouth. "Thanks, guys. So much."
I turned around and walked away slowly, pausing to look back at my friends one last time.
Percy's POV
We had no idea when Harry would attack, but it was the day of the full moon. We trained as hard as we could, sharpening all our skills and powers.
Annabeth was equipped with a special sword made to knock out Darkness Warriors. They couldn't be killed, though. Her sword was made out of pure light. I called it a light saber.
Grover held a slightly bigger version of his reed pipes, also made of pure light. He could play songs to control nature with it. He was nervously toying with it.
Ellie wore a purple choker that glowed when she used her powers. She was miserable, but she looked ready for anything. She looked out at he horizon and muttered something I couldn't hear.
Delian was an Elementalist. He could control all elements, but preferred water because we spent a whole lot of time practicing together. Water was his srongest element, but he also strengthened fire and earth.
I wore a necklace that Ellie made for me. The pendant was a trident, with intricate waves etched into it. It powered up my skills and connection with Poseidon.
The air of the afternoon was filled with tension and suspense. Somehow, I felt that Harry chose today to come. I felt my instincts screaming at me "BE PREPARED!"
Annabeth approached me and put her hand on my shoulder. She looked at me with an intense gaze, searching me. Then her lips were on mine, and her hands were in my hair.
We broke apart after some time (A/N: Sorry, but I'm thirteen! I don't know how to write steamy or passionate make-out seshes.) She smiled reassuringly and squeezed my hand. "It'll be okay," she said.
"It's for the best," I nodded, sighing. I was trying to convince myself that killing a friend was for the best. Annabeth nodded. Grover, Ellie and Delian walked up behind us and all held grim masks on their faces. They looked like it was the end of the... oh, never mind.
"He's coming," Delian said. "I can feel it. Everyone ready?"
We all nodded and went over the plan one last time. Annabeth and Grover were in charge of keeping the Darkness Warriors away from Harry. Ellie was their second line of defense, ready for anything. Harry was left to me and Delian.
We split up and took our positions. Annabeth and Grover were situated at the edge of the beach, and Ellie stood a few meters behind them. Delian and I stood somewhere near the core of the meadow Ellie always trained in.
This battle would decide the fate of the world.
Harry's POV
The plan was simple. We didn't have one.
Technically, all we agreed to do was attack.
It was dusk in Divitio; the sun was just about to leave the sky with the moon. The Darkness Warriors were hyping themselves up for battle. They looked like little kids readying themselves for a game of dodgeball.
I stood at the front of the army, together with Zaf and Celex. I nervously wiped my glasses and fixed my shirt over and over again.
"Master," Zaf said, "Your shirt looks too neat for battle. Merlin, master, just leave it alone."
He was right of course. I looked at the assembly of Darkness Warriors behind me. They were all so happy to be so close to freedom. I sighed and prepared myself for death.
I thought of my mom, dad, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore... I thought of reuniting with them. I thought of feeling my mother's soft palms on my face. I thought of seeing the pride in my father's eyes. I thought of joy. But I wasn't feeling it. No, not entirely.
Celex nodded and looked at me. "All the preparations are set, master. The moon is rising in Divitio. It's now or never."
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was filled with renewed determination. "Let's go," I said. "It's time this great big sucky thing is over with."
Percy's POV
The moon hung low over the horizon, and the stars were starting to light up the sky. I was about to give up on Harry arriving when a huge glowing portal appeared above the beach. A swarm of Darkness Warriors exited from it, and Harry landed on the beach like a ninja dude.
He straightened up and all my mental preparation for killing a friend melted away. The scene was too much for me. Harry standing like a hero in front of the huge, swirling vortex portal, with his army of Darkness Warriors behind him. From afar, I couldn't make out his expression that well, but I could tell that one thing kept him going.
Bravery wasn't even the half of it. He quickly ran past our first line of defense, and Ellie stood in front of him, putting on a brave face. She struck out with an Energy Pulse, but Harry shielded himself with an orb of energy. The orb around him started spinning, setting out Sphere Shots in all directions. Ellie was forced to hit the floor and Harry ran past her, too. Meanwhile, the Darkness Warriors were engulfing Annabeth and Grover. Annabeth swiftly took them out one by one with her light saber and Grover took out masses of them, but slower compared to Annabeth. Some of them were being held back by Ellie.
Suspense filled me as I watched Harry approach. He was running but slowed down to a walk as he entered the meadow. He stood in front of me and Delian with an unreadable expression. The three of us just stood there, unable to do anything... yet.
"Delian, Percy," Harry said softly. For a moment, a flicker of sadness and fear betrayed his unreadable mask. "This is it."
"It is," Delian said, his face matching Harry's. "I'm sorry, Harry."
Then they lashed out at the same time, Delian hurling a huge mass of earth at Harry, who swiftly used his energy to take control of the rock. He shot it back at Delian, who broke it into a million pieces with one punch. I summoned as much water as I could and sent whips of water to hit Harry. He dodged them nimbly and used some invisible, magical force to pin me against a tree. Delian shot back with a huge, horizontal column of fire. Harry blocked it easily and countered by forcing the fire back. Delian was forced to jump out of the way and cease fire. I quicky ran over to Delian, pulling him into a cave, barely dodging a burning hot pulse from Harry. "Go help Ellie," I instructed him.
"What?" he was shocked.
"You're the one he's trying to kill," I explained, "Let me wear him out. When I'm down, you take over and..."
I couldn't even say it. "Finish it."
Delian reluctantly nodded and wished me good luck. He ran into the cave, looking for the other way out. I watched him leave and took a few steadying breaths and ran out again.
Harry was waiting to attack. Just when I ran out, a massive collection of boulders threw themselves at me. I narrowly dodged most of them, but one struck my right side a bit. The force was enough to send me flying. Harry took that as an opportunity. He released his stag essence thing and knocked me to the ground hard. He was really putting effort into this. And I had to up my game and do the same (Oh great, that rhymed).
Harry was about to crush me with the giant hooves of his majestic stag, but I made giant ice spikes emerge from the ground. The hooves struck the sharp edges and the stag fickered and retreated a bit. I stood up and saw Harry clutching his arm. He was bleeding. Bad.
I didn't know attacking the Essence could damage the user!
I looked at him symphathetically but quickly shook it out. He wanted me to kill him. It was for the best.
Right?
Harry's POV
Bloody hell. Very bloody.
My right arm was bleeding uncontrollably, but I couldn't let that stop me. I summoned a little energy to lessen the blood spill and readied my stance again.
Percy was running at me with huge tidal waves following from behind him. I summoned my storage door and captured the water into my mind. Percy swore loudly and I ran towards him, starting to do swift.
He shielded himself with water from the meadow flowers. I stopped kicking him and released an Energy Pulse. His orb evaporated, and I used his moment of confusion to pin him back to a cliff wall. I released his tidal waves at him and he dived right into the waves, emerging above them with five water columns.
He said something like "Cheese cake," which didn't make any sense to me.
The columns raced towards me and I used my strongest ever energy pulse to hold them back. Percy looked shocked as the columns dissipated and my energy pulse knocked him right over.
He stood up a little dizzily and ran. He ran? He was... running? I cautiously followed him out into the edge of the cliff he always trained in. Great, I thought sarcastically. Let the enemy lead you into his turf.
He shot ice knives at me, and I shielded myself with another orb. I used the momentum of his attack to spin into a swirling green vortex of energy. I released a flurry of sphere shots, giving Percy the difficult task of dodging them all. Then I stopped and sent out another strong Pulse.
He jumped over it and sent out another tidal wave at me... but at the last second, he split the water into a fajillion ice knives and they pierced through my skin with an icy cold sting. It was a horrible kind of pain, but I grimace-smiled at Percy. He was doing a good job of killing me.
Percy's POV
He smiled at me. He SMILED at me.
That was his strongest attack yet.
Seeing him standing there, shrouded in blood... it was enough to drive me mad. But seeing him SMILE at me, as if encouraging me to spill even more of his blood...
I was trembling. I felt weak. Harry looked at me, and I saw the concern and confusion in his eyes. He approached me slowly, but he was stopped by three horrible Darkness Warriors.
I watched in horror as the Warriors attacked him, but abruptly stopped as he shooed them away. A few Umbrae took them away to fight. Harry looked at me with a look that said "Sorry, but I have to fight you."
Apologizing was his second strongest attack. I felt myself weaken again, but I woke myself up. I dodged the spiraling column of energy Harry sent at me, and countered with a giant wave of sheer force. He dodged it, but he didn't have the grace he had last time. It was obvious that the wounds were slowing him down. He winced as he landed on the ground. I wanted to stop. I couldn't go at it any longer.
Suddenly, Delian jumped in between us and started lashing out at Harry with his full arsenal of massive boulders, ice knives and fire balls. I had to stop this.
-oOo-
WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN?
Now here we go with the question: What do you think will happen?
:)