Percy's POV
Floating... Floating... Floating...
"We're almost there, Percy," said Fierra, but it was not the gentle, delicate voice I knew. It was menacing, evil, and reeking in malice. "Just a few more steps."
"What d'you mean?" I demanded, echoing in the darkness. "Where are you? Show yourself!"
"Just a few more steps... Almost there... All I need is a little more of your happiness... Don't worry, I'll replace it with even more loathing. I'll fill you with the evil ways, and you'll be the greatest Ultima ever."
"Harry was right about you!" I yelled at the darkness.
A shrill, evil cackle sounded through the darkness, coming in at me from every direction, as if she was everywhere and nowhere at once.
"Harry? Yes, he was rather sharp. Not to worry, though. He will be out of the way soon."
"What are you doing to him?"
"Me? Nothing. You, on the other hand... Well, that's a different story. You'll understand soon enough."
-oO0-
I woke up in my ruby room, panting. Cold sweat was making my shirt stick uncomfortably to my chest. It was one in the morning, and my head was in a state of chaos from oversleeping.
I had no idea what happened after the room with the sleeping dragon. All these times when my mind was blank... It was driving me berserk. How come I couldn't remember anything?
Slowly, I got up and decided to go for a calming bath. The tub was filled with dark blue water, just like the sea. I added a spray of Ocean Breeze, and I felt like I was home when I submerged myself.
"Percy."
I looked up. The misty figure of my father was floating on the surface of the water. He was looking down at me. I broke the surface, hoping to get to talk to him, but he was gone.
"Under the water, Percy."
I dove back down and looked up at the surface. Poseidon was looking down at me, looking very troubled.
"Dad?" I asked, and a stream of bubbles escaped my mouth.
"Percy, I have no time," he answered briskly. "So I'll be fast. I've come here to warn you."
"About what?"
"I only have a few seconds left... Percy, know who to trust. Remember who to believe in. Don't let your guard down, and remember never to trust F-"
With a bubbly "poof", my father's face vanished.
"Dad? Dad! Come on!"
When he didn't return, I broke the surface and tried to analyze what he said. "Know who to trust. Don't let your guard down. Never trust.".. Never trust... Never trust what?
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I sunk back into the water.
Harry's POV
I had to get the massage to the others somehow. But... the question was... how?
I tried blasting the walls down, but the spell just rebounded and hit me with powerful force. I was bruised, cut and slightly burnt from my useless spells, but I didn't dare give up yet.
Panting slightly, I licked my bottom lip and felt a warm liquid trickle down. Blood. I sat down slowly, cradling my head in my arms. I wasn't severely injured, but I knew that hurting myself would do no good.
"I need a way to contact them." I muttered desperately at the air. "I need to warn them, to inform them... Please get me a way to talk to any of them. Please. Please, please, please."
Then, I slowly lifted my head. A shiny, glittering green orb was floating inches from my face. "Elypsa," I said softly, not sure why I chose her in particular.
Immediately, the orb began to morph into Ellie's beautiful face. Soft caramel hair framed her face, her plump lips were formed perfectly. Her eyes were sculpted intricately.
"Ellie," I breathed.
She looked up at me with eyes that reflected the world. Tears were trapped in her eyes; she refused to let them fall. When she saw me, she jumped.
"H-Harry?" she mumbled. "Y-you're channeling your energy for communication... Wow. That's a really advanced skill, Harry. Y-you look awful. What happened?"
"Blasted myself to bits," I muttered, but added hastily as she looked stunned, "Er, I mean, Fierra captured me. I tried to warn Percy, he doesn't believe me, he thinks she's a sad little girl who needs friends. I'm stuck here, and I tried to get out, and... this."
I gestured to my injuries.
"Ugh, I wish we could help," she grumbled. "These chains are anti-magic, too. At least you don't have chains on you."
"At least Percy isn't going to kill you," I muttered.
"What?" she looked very concerned. "Wh-What d'you mean, Percy's going to kill you?"
I sighed. I didn't mean to add to her worries. "It's nothing," I mumbled. "Fierra told me her plans. She said she's trying to build evil in Percy. Her last test for him is to kill me. Once he's done with that, he'll become Ultima."
"Hm, you know, it seems that every great plan involves killing me. I'm getting really tired of hearing about my death," I added as an afterthought. "Voldemort needed to kill me to rule the world, Dumbledore needed me dead to get rid of Voldemort, I needed to die in our battle last time, I need to die for Percy to beome Ultima. This death thing - it gets old."
To my immense relief, Ellie giggled. The last thing I needed was for her to be even more anxious.
"Well, hopefully you'll squirm your way out of this one like you did all the rest," she said. "Do you think you'll come back to life again if we used that Old Magic bit? Love?"
"Nah," I said, smirking. "You know what they say. Three strikes and you're out."
"Alright," she said slowly. Then, apprehension made itself evident in her voice. "Hang in there, Harry. Contact me whenever you can. We'll find a way out of this. I promise."
I wanted to tell her that everything would be okay, that we'd all get out of this fine... but the words got stuck in my throat. I couldn't give her any false hope. I was pretty sure I would finally meet my death. I've evaded it too many times.
"Yeah," I breathed stupidly.
"Yeah," Ellie nodded, and she was gone.
Percy's POV
The next day, I went down to breakfast without help from Deveraux, and saw that Fierra was already there, toying with her food. She looked up when I entered, and she smiled, filling my stomach with butterflies.
"Finally," she groaned mockingly. "I was starting to think I'd starve to death before you arrived."
"Well, you could've gone ahead and eaten first," I said, taking my usual seat.
"No way, that's bad manners," she said haughtily. "That is beyond me."
We ate in silence for a few minutes, neither one looking at the other. I let the stew trickle down my throat, I savored the taste of the delicious steaks.
"Fierra," I said slowly. "Listen, I... Thanks so much for having me here. But we really need to get going soon... You know, me and Harry. Others are waiting for us."
Fierra looked crestfallen. It sent shivers down my spine to see her so sad.
"Oh, but I..." she mumbled. "I... Harry... he left."
"What?" I asked, certain I didn't hear right. Harry wouldn't have left without me... would he?
"He left," Fierra said with a shrug. "Said he needed to get going."
"Oh," I muttered, feeling my chest deflate, as if the little bubble of hope I had was punctured. "He... he left. Yeah, well, I need to try and catch up with him, I've got to..."
"Do you?" Fierra asked, eyebrows raised. "Why? Can't you see? He was trying to avoid you. He left without even a simple goodbye. What kind of friend is that? Not one at all."
"Yeah, well," I shrugged, but inside, I was fuming. Why DID he leave? Is he trying to avoid me? After everything I've been through for him? He'd be dead if it wasn't for me!
"Said he was in a hurry," Fierra said. "He said you were sort of... well, I don't know what exactly. Seemed to think you're a bit of an old joke. It wasn't very funny, actually, it was rather mean."
I didn't say anything. Instead, I stared at the almost empty plate before me.
Harry thought I was a joke? What the Hades?
"Look, put it behind you," Fierra said kindly, leaning over to put her hand on my shoulder. "He doesn't deserve a friend as awesome as you."
Then, she leaned even further in as if she was about to whisper in my ear. She closed the distance before us and our lips met, softly, and just for a second. When she pulled back, I saw she was blushing.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled softly. " I shouldn't have..."
"No, no, it's okay," I said, smiling. "It's better than okay. And you know what? Screw Harry. I'm staying, and he can go wherever the hell he wants."
Fierra smiled warmly, but her eyes were cold.
"That's great," she said, and sparks flew in her eyes. "Care for a drink?"
She pulled out the familiar long green bottle and filled our goblets with the usual deep purple liquid. I was tempted to drink them, but something stopped me. Something held me back...
"Uh, I'd really rather not, thanks," I said, pushing the goblet away.
The sparks became more violent in Fierra's angry eyes, but she spoke in a soft, calm voice.
"You sure? You could use a drink."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I really shouldn't be drinking, my head's pounding from all the sleeping." I chuckled softly.
Flames threatened to burst in her eyes, but Fierra settled down a bit.
"Okay," she mumbled, stowing the bottle away. "Fine. But Percy, you're a hero, correct? You said you were son of Poseidon. Well, why don't you and I train for a bit?"
"Train? With you?" I asked incredulously. "I mean, yeah, sure! I didn't know you did that sort of stuff."
"'Course I do, silly," she giggled sweetly. "Besides... you're going to need it."
I had no idea what that meant, but I followed her anyway. She led me into an enormous room with a pool of lava in it, opposite a lake. Fierra grinned and went over to the lava side.
"Now what?" I asked stupidly.
"We duel," she replied with a smirk.
Suddenly, a huge wall of lava was making its way to me, searing off the floors. I quickly summoned the water from the lake and encased the lava in it, turning it into igneous rock.
"You... control lava?" I stammered. It all began to make more sense, like I was almost done with a puzzle. The annoying thing is the fact that I seem to have lost some pieces.
"And you control water," Fierra announced.
The igneous rock I made abruptly burst into flaming red hot liquids again and Fierra split it into three long pillars of lava. She sent them to me from different directions, and I did one of the first things I learned from Delian.
I spun water around me rapidly, creating an impenetrable shield in the form of a ball of water. The lava columns threatened to spill it over, but I held it firm. As the lava began losing force, I wrapped tendrils of water through th pillars and turned them once again into stone.
"Harry said something about this," I thought out loud, and I couldn't seem to remember what Harry had said.
"Harry?" Fierra spat venomously. "Your traitor buddy? Honestly, Perce, why do you care so much about him? He left you, he treated you like a joke."
"B-But... No."
"Yeah, he did," Fierra said irritably. "He's just one of those arrogant people who crave to feel superior. Of course, you could choose to go along with it, or you could put him in his place."
Fierra raised her arms and thrusted them out towards me, making a huge wall of lava come out at me. I lashed out with a tidal wave, and the two tsunamis (lava and water) collided into each other and created a whole lot of steam.
"Percy..."
I spun rapidly around. It wasn't Fierra who called me. It sounded like... Harry. I searched wildly around for a sign of him, but all I saw was a green light fading away.
And then I was surrounded by flames.