A/N: Little disappointed about the lack of reviews, guys... yes! It's me! I'm not dead! I was just working on NaNoWriMo, so I've been busy. I'm uploading this chapter today, next chapter will come next week. Oh, and this is the second-chapter-to-last so... enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO, both are property of Rick Riordan.
Chapter Fourteen
[Piper]
Piper paced in front of the Senate building. She didn't have time for this! She and Hazel had to find the King as soon as possible, not sit in some stuffy meeting! A hand tapped her shoulder and she spun around to see a guy in a wheelchair.
He was about eighteen, quite burly with black hair and red around his mouth. His eyes didn't quite line up so Piper got the feeling he was leaning. She recognised him at once; they'd fought together in the Giant War.
"Dakota?" she asked in bewilderment. "What-?" He laughed at her flustered expression.
"What's up?" he asked casually, popping open a can of Kool-Aid and drinking some. Piper wrinkled her nose at the tangy scent; she had never liked the drink.
"Hazel and I are looking for a lead on the King of Prophesy," she replied with a sigh. "Except Hazel got roped into a Senate meeting and I'm stuck out here waiting for her." Dakota grinned, finishing off the Kool-Aid.
"Hey, don't worry," he said, "It'll all work out in the end. And, if it doesn't work out, well, the world's gotta end some day, right?" Piper stared at him blankly as he continued. "Why not today? Tomorrow? Next week? We'll all be dead anyway, so it wont matter."
"Piper!" Hazel yelled, throwing open the doors and grabbing Piper's hand. "We have to leave. Now."
Piper managed to wave goodbye to Dakota as she ran after Hazel. "Why? What happened? You didn't blow something up, did you?" Hazel shook her head, looking stressed.
"The King. It's Octavian." Piper stared at her blankly.
"You what?" Piper cried in shock. Octavian? Okay, that was unexpected… Then again, maybe not. Octavian had always hated Greeks, and hated not getting his own way… Had this been the plan all along?
"It's true," a cold, shrill voice said, and the two girls swung around to see Octavian himself grinning at them, an imperial gold knife in his hand. "You can't stop me, of course. I gained the power to destroy Olympus, and not even the gods can oppose me now."
"You're insane!" Piper cried, drawing her own dagger. Octavian chuckled, in the deep, throaty voice of the King.
"Maybe I am," he whispered, "Yet you will be the one to burn Greece to the ground." From his robes he removed a jar of Greek fire and handed it to Piper. "When you reach Greece, smash this jar. You'll die, of course, but you will have done my bidding…" Piper felt her mind close up, and suddenly she was unable to control her own body. No, no, stop! she cried silently, as she reached out and took the jar. She tucked it into her jacket, despite trying with all her might not to.
"Piper, what are you doing?" Hazel cried, tugging on Piper's arm. Piper didn't answer, unable to speak. Octavian turned on Hazel then, a cruel smile gracing his features.
"And you, Hazel Levesque," he said, "Will not breathe a word of this to anyone. Under no circumstances, ever." Hazel glared at him.
"You cruel- cruel beast!" she screamed. "I hope you rot in Tartarus! You can't tell me what to do! You can't stop me from announcing to the world-" She choked on her words, unable to form them. Then she glared at Octavian. "I hate you! I'll kill you!"
"I think not," Octavian replied, snapping his fingers. Mist settled in front of Piper's eyes, and when it cleared, she was stood at Camp Half-Blood, and she was speaking to the campers.
"We couldn't find the King; he's not anyone Roman." The others seemed disappointed, and Piper tried to tell them that it was a trick, that the King was Octavian, but she couldn't find the words. She found herself smiling serenely, as she reached into her jacket. Her fingers brushed against the warmth of the jar, and she found herself screaming silently, begging herself to stop. It didn't work, however, as she held the jar out in front of her.
"Uh, Piper? What are you doing?" Jason asked her. She turned to him, still smiling as if nothing were wrong. When she spoke, she couldn't control her words.
"Following the King's orders, of course. Greece will burn to the ground." She dropped the jar. Somebody screamed, and many demigods hit the ground. The glass shattered, and a blazing green flame burst into life, throwing Piper backwards and shattering Octavian's hold on her.
"Jason!" she screamed, coughing from the smoke. "Jason, where are you?" She felt someone grab her hand and looked up into her boyfriend's soot-streaked face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I couldn't- It's Octavian, Jason, he's the King." Jason stared at her in shock, and the wall of flames reared above them. Piper flung her arms in front of her face in a last attempt to protect herself, when suddenly the heat vanished. Lowering her arms she saw a singed Leo stood where the flames had been, arms held out and smoking.
"L-Leo?" she stammered. He waved at her, before stumbling backwards in a daze. Calypso appeared from the smoke behind him and caught him before he could fall to the floor.
Using Jason as a support, Piper pulled herself to her feet and ran over to her friend, who was leaning tiredly in Calypso's arms. "Leo!" she cried. "I- I swear I could hug you right now! You saved my life!"
"It was nothing, Beauty Queen," he mumbled tiredly. She smiled sadly at him, choking back tears. She remembered all those times at the Wilderness School, and what they could have been if Hera had never intervened. Then again, this felt right. For the first time in her life, she didn't reflect on what-ifs, and knew life was perfect (well, almost) as it was.
"It was more than nothing," Piper replied, "It was the Bravest thing I've ever seen. You think we've been ignoring you, Leo, that we don't care about what happens to you. I can see it. That's not true. It's just that- you're always there, always someone we can rely on. And if you feel we don't appreciate you, it's because we take you for granted, and when you're gone… We can't cope. Leo, we need you, and don't ever think otherwise." She was choking back tears, now. Leo smiled at her- yeah, actually smiled.
"I'm not going anywhere, Pipes," he whispered, staggering to his feet. "Don't you worry about me." She smiled back at him, and the tears broke through her barrier. With a small laugh, she flung her arms around his neck.
"I'm so glad you're back," she murmured. He pushed her away.
"You kidding? It's like I never even left." Piper rolled her eyes, wiping away the tears.
"Uh, guys, if you hadn't noticed, Octavian is about to destroy Olympus," Percy said, exasperated. Piper nodded, hoping she wasn't blushing.
"We need to get to Olympus," Annabeth said. "If you want to destroy Olympus, you'd have to be there." She rolled her eyes. "That guy's an idiot, I swear."
"The Ophiotaurus," Leo said suddenly. "That's how he got all those weird, god-destroying powers." Annabeth cursed loudly and Percy groaned.
"Why didn't we see it before?" Annabeth asked.
"Bessie," Percy groaned.
"Come on," Frank said urgently. "We have to go now." Percy nodded.
"Yeah." He whistled loudly. "Who's up for a Pegasus ride?"
Olympus was in ruins. The buildings were breaking apart, and constant tremors tore the ground apart. When the seven of them entered the throne room, Piper could feel the importance in the air- the prophecy was coming true, right before her very eyes.
"Octavian!" Jason yelled. "Where are you, you little sneak?" The King's throaty chuckle came from across the room as Octavian stepped out from behind Apollo's throne. As one, the seven drew their weapons, pointed in the Augur's direction.
"Why are you doing this?" Annabeth demanded harshly. Piper knew that if she were Octavian she would be terrified. Yet he simply smirked.
"If the gods accept a Greco-Roman partnership, then I cannot accept the gods. The Greeks and Romans cannot work together! Greeks are evil!"
"At the moment, you're the evil one," Percy snorted. "Give up, Octavian. You'll never succeed." Octavian shook his head.
"No, I don't think I will," he snarled. He clicked his fingers, and suddenly a large portion of the roof caved in.
"Watch out!" Frank yelled. The stone clattered to the floor, sending up large amounts of dust. When it cleared, Percy and Annabeth had vanished beneath a pile of rubble. Frank held Hazel close and Jason had grasped Piper's hand. She squeezed it tightly.
"You'll pay for that!" Hazel yelled. "I'll kill you myself, Octavian!" He laughed, obviously not believing her. Piper saw her moment; if she were to throw her dagger now, she could hit Octavian and maybe even kill him. Slowly, she let go of Jason's hand and drew her knife.
"Piper, what are you doing?" Jason whispered. Piper didn't answer, instead flinging the knife at Octavian. The Augur turned, and the knife spun towards him. Then it struck, nailing him straight in the chest. He looked down at the dagger and then back up at Piper, his face taut with disbelief.
"Impossible!" he cried. "You couldn't have-" Then he toppled over backwards, dead as a doornail. Piper, breathing heavily, walked over to his corpse and pulled the knife out, wiping it clean on her jeans.
"That," Jason said, "Was amazing." He pulled her into a hug and she smiled up at him. At that moment the doors flung open and the Olympian gods came running in. They were normal human size, and they looked weak and weary. Piper realised that the destruction of Olympus had been destroying them, too.
"Close your eyes, mortals!" Ares yelled. "Unless, of course, you want to get fried!" Light began to gather around the gods, and Piper realised that they were assuming their true forms. Her friends had turned away quickly, and Piper remembered a line in the prophecy: The world shall drown in the final blaze. The prophecy was at an end.
Jason had let go of her and had turned around. "Piper, turn around," he urged her. "Piper, turn around!" Piper, however, couldn't move. She was paralysed, transfixed, unable to move or even blink. "Piper!" Jason screamed, and then Piper saw him close his eyes.
Suddenly all the gods exploded into a collection of supernovas, and she felt her soul burning, and her identity being stripped away. She didn't mind that much, however, because for the first time in her short life, everything was as it should be.
A/N: Finally, the death I promised to you! Nobody was expecting that, were they? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... I feel so evil now.