Disclaimer: Cora and Derek are mine.

Author's Note: Finally, a Derek POV. Thanks for reading. Yes, Annabeth is dead. Sorry!

26. Derek

I saw my mom turning paler at each passing second. I gripped my sword tightly frustrated by her fragile state. It was my fault then I saw her whispering that she loved us and her head moved to the side as death weight. I knew what it meant it when Cora sobbed loudly with her hands on her mouth. As a reflex her hand found mine as we were trying to support each other. It was impossible to believe. Our mother and twin brothers or sisters were gone.

I looked at Cora and her sad eyes were numb. She was in too much shocked to move. She was trembling and fighting the tears of coming down. Then I looked at my dad who was just a couple of feet next to us. My dad was shocked with his eyes and mouth wide open. His eyes were full of tears. Then he was shaking furiously.

"Monster!" yelled my dad to the top of his lungs.

Polybotes threw him a little victorious smile. This was the revenge he spoken once. It was my fault. I made this happen. I wanted Polybotes so much in this, that I made foolish promises, thinking I could outsmart him. I thought I was using him, aparentely it was the other way around.

The giant took the sword out of my mom before throwing it away, falling closer to Cora and me. "They say revenge is a dish served cold, but I disagree, mine is quite warm still" said Polybotes with a rich laughed and he placed my mom into his mouth.

Cora gasped loudly trembling and shivering in impotence and fear. Before it happened, my arms pulled Cora closer to me. I covered her eyes with my chest and her ears with my hands. I didn't want her to witness our mom being chewed by a giant. I saw and heard it all, the ghastly sight of my most beloved person in the world being eaten, just enough to have nightmares for the rest of my life. There wasn't enough guilt in the world to match how I was feeling in this moment.

"Really tasty salty sweet" said Polybotes as he cleaned his tooth with his giant finger. I couldn't move at all. I was too shocked to even feel something else than guilt.

On the other hand, dad was fuming in complete anger. I had never seen him like that. The air around us turned denser and filled with water. Suddenly, Polybotes belched an obnoxiously deathly cloud of poison. I felt my skin tickling and getting rashes and blisters. Cora raised her eyes at me and looked her hands getting full of skin damage.

"I will make sure… I will send you into the void by the Mansion of Night. You don't deserve to regenerate once again" roared my dad.

"You will have to get by me first, little brother" said Chrysaor appearing suddenly in front of us. "Big guy. I told you she was mine"

Polybotes shrugged playfully "I told you she was who got to her first" He giggled making my blood boiling. They were joking about my mom, about her death like it was just a game.

Cora pulled away as she heard Chrysaor and took out her bow. She wasn't a match for him. She would die in just one movement.

I saw in the ruins of house, the sword that Polybotes threw. I ran to it and picked it up. It was the one my mom was stabbed. As I saw the trident on the hilt, I realized it belonged to my dad's youngest sibling, the one the Jupiter twins talked about. Was she dead too by them too? I was betrayed. They promised me to spare my family and my parents' siblings. This was a new chance for our lineage. I wanted to save my family of the wrath of the Gods.

I turned my eyes to my dad looking with intensity at Chrysaor and Polybotes, expecting one of them to make the first move. My dad couldn't fight both of them at the same time.

I ran to my dad's side. Once he saw me with the sword at hand, his face softened just a tab. "I was wrong. Everything is my fault. I thought I was helping my mom and Cora by erasing the Gods and their fate" I said hoping for his forgiveness. "I will help you"

"Trying to defeat your master. Innocent foolish child" said Chrysaor laughing at me, well, the both of us.

"I will do my best. It's the least I can do to fix my mistakes" I said pointing Zoey's sword at him. "Chrysaor, you are mine. Polybotes, you will have to wait your turn"

"Whatever" spatted Polybotes sitting on a house's roof. "I can wait… Chrysaor, remember I like my food fresh and don't waste any time. I am still hungry"

I heard Cora gulping as she got that Polybotes wanted to eat us too. This was his revenge, making my dad see us in his mouth.

"Dad, back off. This is my fight" I said pushing my dad back with my arm. I took a peek behind me and I saw him hesitate but he nodded and walked back without taking his eyes from Chrysaor.

"Ready, boy? Just like we practiced" said Chrysaor just like days ago when he trained me.

"Whatever" I said and advanced at him. We fought, attacked and counterattacked each other moves. All the training paid off. I was faster, more precise and less self-doubting.

"You got better" said Chrysaor almost proudly, but then he smiled wickedly "Not enough to win"

He moved faster and more precise drawing blood for several parts of my body. I tried to collect myself, forgetting the pain, and attacked again.

I heard Cora gasping and cheering at me. She counted on me, so I couldn't lose. I fought harder with renew strength. I only needed an opportunity to penetrate his defense which wasn't perfect. I knew all his moves, as he knew mine. I had to be smarter.

In a micro moment of hesitation, Chrysaor took one step back. I advanced punching his face with the hilt of Zoey's sword. His mask got loose, enought to make it lose balance and fell. He dropped his sword as he tried to catch his mask but it was too late and too far. He covered his face but it was too late. I already saw his face. Chrysaor was just like looking at dad with black hair, tanner skin, nose and sea green eyes except for a large scar across his face and sharp monster teeth.

"I will kill you, boy" said Chrysaor as he took his mask and sword from the ground.

In a quick second, he was already wearing the mask and advancing at me with his sword. He was too quick but I was smarter. I was my mom's son. I rushed at him and evaded his sword almost completely from my torso but I saw my arm flying away as he sliced it off. I roared in pain and shock.

"That was easy" sneered Chrysaor. I wanted to drop the sword and cover my severed arm, but it would be my end if I did.

Polybotes grabbed my severed arm and ate it. "You were right, girl, just a taste" whispered the monster loud enough for me to hear. I felt Cora and my dad fighting the urgency of running to me or fighting Chrysaor.

"Back off!" I yelled to them. "He is still mine!"

Chrysaor smiled proudly as I raised the sword again. If I was going down, it was going to be fighting.

"Let's dance, Golden Sword" I said and moved against him once again.

I was, of course, out of balance and bleeding out fast. I only had a couple of minutes before I passed out and eventually die for the lack of blood. I had probably just one encounter left.

If this was the last one, I would take my master down with me. Chrysaor and I nodded each other. We both felt it, the final stand. One of us will end up alive. I sighed.

I advanced to him and I ducked just in time as his sword touched my neck missing the carotid artery by less of an inch. Blood poured down fast. I felt my clothes getting wetter by my own neck blood. I turned back in time and I slashed with all my force cutting off Chrysaor's head. I saw the surprise look on his face as my sword severed his neck flesh. I used his trick on him.

The head flew at least 5 feet away of the body as my sword flew in the opposite direction. I didn't know how it slipped out of my hand, maybe the blood lost was making my fingers numb. It didn't matter right now. I had won. I tried to stay standing up but I was too weak now. I heard Polybotes standing out as he roared angrily.

"Dad, I got it" yelled Cora taking my place in the fight. She caught the Zoey's sword as it was flying out of my hands.

"I got you" said my dad as he grabbed me in his arms dragging me out of the battle field. I felt a smile on my face as he settled me down softly on the ground.

As I was on the ground, I saw the blood in my body and smiled. I was ready. I hurt too many people for my hatred, for my wicked revenge, for Aria. I knew this was coming the moment I chose this path. Everything started with revenge. I was just going to kill the Roman seer, but then I heard about my family fate. I wanted to save them, even if I ended up as the villian. I wanted to destroy the Gods to stop them. It didn't matter anymore, mom is dead because of me, because I started all this.

My dad took my hand, I think. His eyes were on mine, just like Cora's, honest and good. I hoped dad to keep Cora alive. She deserved a chance.

"Dad. I'm so sorry. It's my fault" I whispered. I couldn't feel my arms anymore, too numb and bloodless.

"No, it isn't. I was a lousy dad. I should have let come to Camp before. You wanted to train and fight monsters… I just wanted to protect you from the prophecy" said dad. I wanted to say that I wanted to protect them too, but it all started by a single thing: I wanted a quest.

"I was a fool for glorifying your stories. Aria was right I should have never craved for quests. Sorry, dad. I love you" I said and sighed loudly as my breathing and heartbeat was slowing down. I wondered if mom felt the same. I hoped for my mom to forgive me too.

I felt my dad hugging tighter. His body was sobbing for me, for mom, for everybody. I felt loved, forgiven. He said over and over in my ear how much he, my mom and Cora loved me.

"Tell Cora that I love her too" I whispered.

For a slit of my eye, I saw Cora attacking Polybotes and she was amazing. Everybody was right all along. I was never me, but Cora. I knew my sister would make things right, clean up my mistakes and forgive my sins. I did so many thing that I am ashamed. I closed my eyes because I was so tired of holding all this bad feelings. I let everything go away.