DISCLAIMER: I humbly present Mr. Rick Riordan's characters! Though the plot and some of the new ones are definitely mine!

A/N: I am terribly sorry for what is about to happen. Please forgive me...

CHAPTER SEVEN:

My mind was fueled with the hate I felt for this monsters. I hacked, deflected, jabbed and slashed my sword into their bodies before exploding in a cloud of gold dust. With my brain on autopilot and my ADHD working overtime, I was a killing machine in the field. I threw my sword into a dracaena which was creeping towards my mother.

Without my sword, I thought, what the heck?

Shrugging, I punched and kicked each of them away from me. They went flying towards the trees. I pity some of them who literally got their head stuck inside. You don't want to face very pissed dryads. Ever. I felt my ballpoint pen return to my jeans pocket and took it out to slash them right and left. Soon enough, only a few dracaena and Kelli the Senior Empousai was left on the other side. I threw my sword which impaled itself directly on the defending dracaena. They disappeared into a tower of golden dust.

Kelli staggered back in shock. "You killed my students." She whispered.

Then the air was filled with shrieks of fury coming from the empousai. "How dare you, Jackson? For that you will pay."

She picked up the spear from the fallen dracaenae, twirling it in her hands like a baton. Her hair was caught into flames and her eyes turned into a blood-red color. Her fangs slid out of her mouth and she hissed.

She lunged towards me with her spear raised high and I side-stepped to the left. She lost her balance and fell down. For a moment there, I thought it was over. But I was stupid not see her metal leg bumped into mine and sent me crashing on the floor. She pointed the spear on my throat but was met with the forest floor as I rolled away. I stood up and parried her strike. We exchanged attacks for a while and I felt my body weakening. I had my curse of Achilles given up for some safe access to Camp Jupiter so it was partially Hera's fault.

Maybe cows greeting the hallways you walk into weren't really that bad if you were to compare losing your invulnerability.

I slashed my sword and broke her wooden spear in half.

Kelly grinned evilly. "You may have defied the titan of time but the gods' reign will end. It was simply delayed at the moment."

"Not on my watch." I yelled.

The empousai licked her lips. "Maybe- or maybe not."

She glanced behind me and disappeared into a column of flames. I was bruised and tired and I wanted to have a nice long sleep but my mom's face appeared on my mind.

I ran to her side. Blood was still seeping from her wounds. Her face was deathly-white and she was breathing raggedly. There was a wooden arrow on her stomach. It wasn't fatal but I swallowed the acid coming up my throat as I saw it protrude on her back. I looked up and saw a huge cut on her chest. My pulse was beating loudly in my ears when I realized that this wound was fatal.

Fatal.

Oh no.

It looked too big for a spear or an arrow to have caused it. It must have been a big weapon. Waves were roaring in my ears as I realize that there is one weapon I know that could make such a fatal wound.

With a jolt, I looked down at the bronze weapon in my hands. The one I threw a few hundred yards away from me to kill the monster approaching her.

It was my sword that gave the deathly blow to my mom.

Riptide did it.

A few dryads were at her other side working on their nature powers to lessen her pain. When I arrived, they shot me an apologetic glance and went back to their trees. I felt their stares on me and I couldn't care less. I carefully put her in lap in case I moved the arrow that protruded in her spine.

"Mom," I choked. "You've got to hold on. I'll bring you to Apollo. He'll-"

"Percy-"

"-take care of your wounds. It's not that bad. A few godly drops would work on you. Maybe Poseidon or even Hestia can-"

"Perseus!" She scolded. Tears were coming down my cheeks and I tasted the salty water in my mouth. A while ago, we were just talking about the Throne Room Incident, as we started to call it, and she was comforting me like a mother should. Now, she's all bloody and bruised that even Apollo can't change back time to heal the wounds.

It was too late.

"Percy, can you sing me a song?" she whispered, putting a hand on my cheek. Her voice was too raspy I looked down and regretted it. Who in their right mind would want their mother's mouth bloody and gruesome?

I took a shuddering breath and hummed the first song that popped into my mind. I'm not really much of a singer and singing a Justin Bieber song in a very off-key voice was really not a good idea, but mom seemed contented. She sighed quietly and rested her head on my chest.

I stared into her eyes instead and knew that they would haunt me as long as I live. It was full of pain and agony but she kept on smiling as if it was nothing she couldn't handle. But there was something else as well. With a jolt, I realized that it wasn't all for my sake, that she was trying to be well for me. No, her eyes were full of-

Acceptance.

I wanted to leave for a while and avenge her. I wanted to say that I wasn't who she dreams me to be. I wanted to yell at her for being so noble that she didn't run away when she had the chance. I wanted to be angry at her for leaving me to face this alone. I wanted to curse her for being so understanding, kind, loving, honest and overly independent enough not to ask any help from others. I wanted to do all this.

But I couldn't. I wouldn't.

"Percy," she whispered, putting a hand on my cheek. "You are so handsome. So kind. So selfless. Like your father was when I met him-," she coughed more blood. I winced at how fragile she sounded, as if she was a shattered glass that will be broken by one mere touch. "-I was lucky to be part of his world. Of both your worlds. You are the reason I am what I am now. And I can't express how proud I am that you grew into the man that I always wanted you to be."

I saw her life slowly leaking out of her lively brown eyes. I clenched my fists so tight the circulation was cut off. I didn't yell in pain or scream in anger. Each second that passed was too precious to be wasted. I always imagined myself slowly dying in battle, even if I don't want to, fully knowing that it would happen someday and that I want to be seen fighting for my life and what I believe in before I catch my very last breath.

But this was too much. It was my mother. The one who married my jerk of a stepfather to protect me, the one who got trapped in the Underworld for saving Grover and me, the one who was devastated when Hera kidnapped me and erased my memories and the one who was always there when everything crumbles down. Heck, she shrieked obscenities in Hades' oily face when she was with him and was not afraid to say anything in his face. I never knew my mom was really good with cussing and I do hope it would never be directed at me, but it took a lot of gut to slap Hades across the Underworld.

I know I may sound a bit sappy but I really don't care.

If you really love someone, she can change you into somebody you never thought you could be.

"Take care of Ariadne for me, will you Percy?" She whispered. I strained my ears to catch her words.

"And-" She took a ragged breath. "And tell Poseidon that I will always love him. And pass to Paul that I will wait for him in the Underworld."

"I-I will, mommy." I sobbed. She smiled a bit. I have never called mom that way since I reached the age of five and I knew she missed me as her little baby boy. I choked on the sobs that were coming in my throat. This is too much. I can't lose my mom. I have to find some way to make her live.

But you know well that she'll be living a hard life, a voice in my head said.

Shut up!

Let her go, Percy. Find the heart to let her go.

"Percy-" She gasped. She was losing time. I saw the great effort she was using just to speak this long to me. And I would be forever grateful to Thanatos for extending the life of my mother for a little while just so I could hold her in my lap.

"Re-remember what I said about you going to be the greatest hero of all? You don't need to prove to anybody that you are. I love you, Percy. And you have always been and will always be-"

"-the greatest hero of all. Now, let go, sweetie." She sucked a deep breath and her hand on my cheek went slack. I closed her lids and put my forehead on hers to give my last farewell.

My dear mother has finally left me...

And I let her go.

I walked out of the elevator with unseeing eyes. The death of the most important person in my world has taken a huge toll on me. You know, I completely blame myself for her death and Ariadne and Paul would, too. And I won't fight back if they want me dead as well. Because I feel dead already, so what's the difference?

Clearly, I lost everything. I lost everything I care about. I have almost nothing to hold on to. I was certain Hestia would know by now of what had happened as she was keeping tabs on me and that her magical fireplace would dim with the tragic loss of a hero. But I don't know about the others. In fact, I told the dryads not to say anything to any of the gods, major or minor, and demigods, mortal or immortal. I felt like this was a secret I should keep, a memory that I shouldn't share with others because it was too special for me. The dryads nodded, and some hugged me for comfort, and a few satyrs worked on their reed pipes to bury my mother on the ground and be one with nature. I knew she wouldn't like it if we held a funeral for her. And she would prefer to pass away with the magic of our world.

You are the reason I am what I am now.

I bit back a sob, trying not to be a crying baby. She said I made a really huge impact in her life. And she was glad it happened. That I happened. All those years of suffering for my safety were worth it because I was the reason she was so selfless. And because she was so selfless, she let herself be captive for the mortal's sake and that led to her death. As if she welcomed it with open arms.

If she was fine with it, why can't I be?

Because she's my mother.

I felt a cold breeze travel up my spine. I uncapped Riptide and readied myself instinctively. It has never failed me in battle. Except now. And if others need my help, I would assist in any way I can. Because the pain of losing a loved one cannot be inflicted to anyone, good or not.

I stopped in front of my apartment, mouth hanging open. The door was unhinged and there were scratches that looked like claws engraved on the wood. I pushed it away, slowly anticipating what was waiting for me inside. It was like watching a jack-in-a-box open up, surprising you when it springs up. Except this is thousand more times horrible than some children's toy.

What I saw made my blood freeze. The apartment was trashed, literally. Broken glass was lying on the floor and the couch stuffing was scattered around the place. The flat-screen TV was broken and the pictures that were hanged up on the wall were shattered on the floor. Dried blood was smeared on the walls and with a mix of golden dust.

Monsters.

I rushed to the kitchen. The linoleum floor was flooded ankle-deep with the faucet broken and water hissing from the pipes. Lying in the middle was Mrs. O'Leary, barely breathing. If she saw me, she didn't make a sign because she was wounded beyond belief. I approached her slowly and touched her wounds. She growled threateningly but when I hushed her, she relaxed and cuddled next to me. I examined them closely. It looked like she was slashed by very sharp claws on her side and there were sword slashes on her limbs. She was lying on a pool of blood. I silently wondered why she hasn't disappeared. But I pushed it out of my mind. I felt alone, and I was grateful that my loyal friend was there for me.

"Mrs. O'Leary?" I whispered. She grunted in reply.

"Did you reach Camp?" She growled and shook her head. She whimpered from the pain that some of the embedded glass on her skull was making. I pulled it out one by one and she nearly passed out. But for my sake, she held on.

They were intercepted! I thought angrily.

"Is this your blood?" I knew she understood me. After waiting for like eternity, she shook her head with great effort. Mrs. O'Leary could still shadow-travel outside camp to contact Chiron when they were stopped, somehow.

This is my fault.

"Whose blood is it?" I waited with bated breath. Please let be those ugly monsters that somehow did not dissolve in fairy dust and bled to death before vanishing.

She raised her head and pointed her muzzle to something across the room. I picked it up and fell to my knees. It was a picture of Paul and Ariadne smiling with the Montauk beach behind them. They were grinning so wide, happiness oozing from their brilliant smiles. I remembered that I was still buried in the sand when they took that picture two months ago. What was months ago was eternity with what happened on this day.

I hugged the picture frame, hardly caring that the broken glass was piercing my chest. The unbearable pressure of losing my stepfather and sister was just too much for my shoulders to handle. It felt like I was carrying Atlas' burden of the sky again, but multiply it a hundred times and you wouldn't even come close. My breath slipped in gasping ones as I sobbed uncontrollably. Mrs. O'Leary stood up and edged closer to me. I hugged her with all that I have.

"Woof." She barked quietly.

I saw her huge eyes welling up with a few tears of her own. I didn't know hellhounds could cry. But then Mrs. O'Leary wasn't a normal hellhound. She had been a part of our family ever since her last master passed away and handed her to me. She had made a connection with Paul and mom and became a trustworthy friend to Ariadne. I would always owe my pet for all the things she had done.

I could see she banged whoever was monstrous enough to kill three of the best person in the world with her best shot and I hoped that she smashed their skull really hard they wouldn't forget her and the people they murdered for the rest of their life. And I would avenge them.

But what good would it do if you know they wouldn't want you to avenge them?

Nothing.