Chapter Twenty

Woah, chapter twenty? When did that happen? Boy, time flies when you're having fun :)

ImpossibleThings12 Haha, yeah she does. Thank you but I'm sorry to say that we won't be hearing from Percy for a few chapters. Oh.

LizCraft Awe thank you! And I know, I'm not in the country either. Bah.

Enjoy ;)

I love you all!

*Virtual Hugs*

Ro x

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She wasn't too sure what happened after that. Annabeth flung herself at Gaea, her mind roaring and heart pounding. She clawed at Gaea's face with her dirty, broken nails and each time she came into contact with the earth mother, her form flickered and buzzed like the picture on an old television.

Behind her, Annabeth heard Nico attack the Kampe. She heard the growls of the monster and the sound of Nico's sword striking again and again in a never ending cycle of the deathly black blade.

But, Annabeth realised with a start, that no matter how hard they all tried, these monsters would never die. Not ever. They'd just go into Tartarus and come back however long a time later to fight another group of demigods. Perhaps a group just like theirs. Or maybe it would result in a death, maybe even two.

Next to her but it felt like years away, Annabeth heard Piper comfort Percy, charmspeaking to try and make him stand and fight. Annabeth wanted nothing more than to do the same thing, to give Percy the strength he needed to stand and fight.

Gaea hissed, "Wretched girl!" The words bought Annabeth back into the present, what was at hand. She couldn't go to Percy. Not yet, anyway. Annabeth would have to fight Gaea before she could do that.

A surprised scream tore through Annabeth's lips as Gaea gripped her wrists with uncanny strength. Annabeth gritted her teeth and wrapped her restrained hands around Gaea's neck, shaking her furiously changing image.

They wouldn't be able to kill Gaea, either. They could only put her back to sleep for a few hundred years until she was someone else's problem. If Percy were here, Annabeth pictured him making a dumb joke about not wanting to take care of an elderly grandma in a nursing home.

The thought made Annabeth grin just a little. The grin made Annabeth forget about where she was, who she was up against. Fool. She scolded herself. The grin made Annabeth weak for a second. But a single second was all Gaea needed.

This time, it was Gaea who wrapped her hands around Annabeth's throat. The daughter of Athena gasped at the amount of strength and force that Gaea had used. But as Annabeth gasped, Gaea pressed harder into her throat.

She struggled to breathe, Gaea's snarling face swirling in her vision. Annabeth blinked; she reached up a shaking hand and gripped Gaea's hands that were still wrapped around her neck. The earth mother, again, flickered.

Through the burning desire to breathe again, Annabeth's lips formed a word: Why? Maybe she was just stalling for time or maybe she just really wanted to know. Annabeth wanted to know why Gaea's form flickered like that.

Laughing, Gaea's eyes shone. But, as close as they were, Annabeth could see a hint of sadness behind them. "I do not yet have enough strength to take a proper form." Annabeth felt a smile working its way onto her face even though tears pricked her eyes as her vision tilted and blackened at the edges.

A weakness. Annabeth could use it to her advantage, however way that would be. Couldn't she? Annabeth tried to pry Gaea off of her but to no avail.

Suddenly, there was a flash of darkness and a yell. Annabeth barely had time to blink as Gaea was ruthlessly thrown off of her by a black sword, dripping with blood. Nico.

Annabeth gulped down all the air she could get, grateful as it travelled down her throat. She looked behind Nico and saw the Kampe whose name she did not know on the ground and covered in blood and scratches, her red dress ripped in places and face in a state of pure terror. She was unconscious.

Gaea screamed in rage. Annabeth twirled her dagger in between her fingers and blew a strand of pale gold hair out of her face. It was starting to come loose from the stunning braids. "Thank you," she whispered to Nico. He nodded with a faint smile..

As Annabeth was about to run at Gaea and give her hell, the room started to shake. Annabeth braced herself and looked towards Gaea. An invisible wind was whipping back her clothes, her arms spread wide and face tilted in the air. Annabeth squinted in confusion.

Not a minute passed before the door opened and they poured into the room. There had to be at least twenty-five lions in the room, each one even bigger and more intimidating than the other. Their golden coats reflected the golden walls, two walked up to Gaea and stood by her sides.

Even in that small movement, Annabeth saw the powerful muscles underneath their fur shift and stretch. She gulped. Their paws looked to be the size of her face. There was no way that they could defeat all of them. And Gaea.

Mixed in with the lions was Kampe. Exactly like the fallen one on the ground behind Nico, they didn't even spare her a glance. There had to be fifteen of them and, with all of them in the room together, there was barely enough room for a decent fight.

Before she could lose her nerve, Annabeth flung herself onto the back of a lion just as she had seen Piper do before back at camp. The lion roared and bucked like a horse, it sent Annabeth flying.

She hid a yelp with a growl as Annabeth stood and, because she was behind her, ran the tip of her dagger down Gaea's spine. Golden ichor spewed from the wound, Gaea's image flickering and fading again.

The earth mother screamed - in fury or pain, Annabeth didn't know though she hoped it was the latter - and a lion pounded towards the daughter of Athena.

Annabeth raised her dagger and glared, daring the animal to come closer. Before she even had the chance to see what was happening, the lion lifted its paw and drew three claws from Annabeth's shoulder to her elbow. In the same movement, Annabeth stabbed her dagger through its heart.

Blood ran down Annabeth's wound and pain stung the cut. It was deep, she could tell. Annabeth winced and fell against the wall, Piper yelled something out but she couldn't hear it. Everything sounded like it was underwater.

There was a loud bang. Annabeth heard Piper and Nico take in a gasp as the door swung open.