So guys, this is where the story officially ends. This is a the last chapter, one I hope you guys will enjoy. I worked extra hard on it, to make it the best and I hope I accomplished that. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and especially to Percy Waterblue who reviewed my story every step of the way and helped me form Ryder who I, myself, am a fan of now! I never would have thought of that idea, so thanks! Now please, enjoy.


XXVII

PANDA

"So, how are we going to find this dagger?" Percy asked, as we walked past tourists and onto the green grass that surrounded the monument.

"Just leave that to me," I said, as we reached the monument. It was really something, looking up at this tall hunk of rock. I threw my bag on the floor and slowly walked around the monument. They all stared at me.

"What are you doing?" Ryder asked.

"Yeah, people are looking at us weird," Percy added. I didn't answer. I slid my hand along the bumpy monument, feeling for something. I wasn't sure what, but I had a feeling I'd know when I'd find it.

"What—" Nico stopped. I glanced up at him. He was staring past me with wide eyes. He quickly pulled out his sword and I knew it was bad news. Percy and Ryder looked up and they pulled out their weapons. The ground underneath me softly trembled. I slowly turned around and just ten feet away from me, with smoke blowing out of its nose, was a dragon. Not those green dragons with a forked tongue or Mushu from Mulan. This dragon was solid black with black folded wings and had glowing red eyes that sparked with so much evil you wanted to look away. I took a step back and Percy grabbed me and pulled me behind him. It softly growled and just crouched like a tiger preparing to pounce on its prey. It slowly parted its mouth revealing giant white teeth. Its eyes slowly rolled over us, but its slit eyes landed on me. My breath quickened. I'd faced hundreds of monsters without batting an eyelash, but this one was different. I wasn't sure why, but this one… there was something else to it. Percy kept his arm out, like he was trying to keep me from running forward. Like I would.

"I thought you'd come here," the dragon hissed, but his mouth didn't move. Unlike so many other monsters that had voices that sounded like dying animals, a mixture of voices or were just sounds, this… this was totally and completely human. It was a man's voice, deep, soothing. Like Sean Connery without an accent. It was like a voice you'd hear from a vampire trying to calm you down before he sank his fangs into you.

"Wha-what?" I stuttered. It looked like the dragon tried to grin. Nico looked at me odd.

"Come," he said. I sucked in. I normally wouldn't obey monsters, but I didn't get the vibe that it wanted to kill me. I tried to move Percy's arm, but he didn't move.

"Don't," he said.

"I need to talk to him." Percy looked at me confused.

"You can't speak with dragons." Now I was the one confused.

"They cannot hear me," the dragon said. Oh. That made sense. I grabbed Percy's hand.

"Trust me. It's okay," I said. He reluctantly put his arm down, though he still had his weapon ready. I took a few steps towards the dragon.

"Pandora Jackson," the dragon said, as if he had heard much about me and he was finally getting the chance to meet me.

"You know me?" I asked, though it didn't come out very loud.

"I've heard of you," he said. He turned his head. "You must leave now. Return to the place you came from."

"I can't," I said, taking another step forward. Now I was only about five feet from his massive head. "Who are you?" I asked. He made a gurgling sound like he was chuckling.

"I am Spyridon. I protect the dagger you seek," he said.

"I need to take it," I said softly. The dragon took a step forward.

"You should not. It makes the life of any wielder of the dagger a living hell. Cursed long, long ago."

"I have to. Lamia wants to take it." The dragon turned his head and looked at me with one eye.

"She knows where it is?" Spyridon asked surprised and with a low growl, like she'd tried before, but had failed. I gulped. I didn't want to admit to my screw up in front of the dragon that was supposed to protect it. I sighed.

"Yes," I whispered. "It- it was my fault," I said, lowering my head.

"Nonsense child. You are only human," he said. I looked up in surprise. I thought he would just open his mouth and chew me up and instead he was comforting me. I looked closer at his eyes. The evil glint disappeared, but they were still intimidating.

"I need to take this dagger. I need to put it somewhere safe, so it won't fall into the wrong hands. Please, let me."

"Child, I cannot—"

"If I don't do this, the world will just fall into chaos!" Spyridon paused, pondering my words.

"Panda—" I heard Percy start, but I raised my hand to silence him.

"I have to do this," I said. "It's my mess. I have to clean it up." He took a deep breath, smoke blowing softly out of his nostrils.

"I understand," he finally said. I nodded. I walked back to the monument and walked around with my hand sliding across the rocks, aware I had four sets of eyes planted on me. Then, I felt something I'd been searching for. I could feel the faint outline of a rectangle. I pushed and the rocks caved in with a hiss. Breathing heavily, I pulled my hands off the rocks and a thin slice of rock fell on my hands. I set it down and reached my arm inside the small rectangular cave until it was up to my shoulder. I outstretched my fingers and felt around the moist cave, hoping there was nothing waiting to bite my fingers.

Finally, I touched something smooth and cold. My breath quickened. I wrapped my fingers around it and pulled it out. I was kneeling down, in front of one of the most famous monuments in the world, with the Hines Blood Dagger in my hands; the dagger capable of taking anyone's life, including the immortal. The blade was long and golden. It had subtle inscriptions along its edges. One side was a blessing, the other was a curse. The sunlight glinted off the blade like light off a diamond. The hilt was short, but felt comfortable in my hand. The perfectly rounded bottom was gold as well, but it had the best leather wrapped around it, giving it a very ancient look. I could see my reflection in the blade and my fingers wrapped around the hilt like it was made for me.

"Panda?" Ryder called. I slowly stood up and showed them the dagger that could very well cause the demise of the gods.

"Whoa," Nico breathed, as he stared at the dagger.

"It's beautiful," Percy said.

"And dangerous," Spyridon said. He must've said it to everyone, because all three boys looked startled at the sudden voice.

"Listen to me child," Spyridon said. I turned to him, placing the dagger on the inside of my boots, out of view. "You must take the dagger somewhere safe. It cannot be destroyed. It can only be hidden. You must cross the seas and take it to the land of no god and find—" Spyridon stopped. His eyes widened.

"Get down!" Spyridon hissed, but it was too late. In a flash of light, my feet were swept under me. A second later, I fell out of the air and rolled onto a hard tiled floor. I reached for my sword, but it was missing. Fear flooded my body, but most of it subsided when I heard the familiar grunts of the boys. I tried to stand up, but I stumbled around. I couldn't see well. The light was like a flash bang which left me totally disoriented. I was breathing heavily as I stumbled and tripped over the floor trying to find Percy or Ryder or Nico.

"Percy? Ryder! Nico!" I called out.

"Here!" Ryder called.

"I'm alive," Percy added.

"Almost alive," Nico grunted. I followed their voices, still stumbling about. When my vision cleared, I realized where we were and my knees suddenly felt like jelly. We were on Mount Olympus.

Olympus was empty. I couldn't see or hear anyone. Even the usual crackle of the fire was missing.

"Where are we?" Ryder asked.

"Olympus," Percy growled.

"Why—" Ryder began, but he stopped short. I spun around and saw a middle-aged man in a pinstripe suit. Zeus.

He held his lightning bolt, full size, in his hand. He had a horrifying look in his eyes. I backed up into the boys, until we were standing in a line.

"What do you want?" I spat. I usually held some respect for the gods, but after I dealt with Zeus trying to kill me nonstop, I wasn't particularly excited to see him. He gave us an evil smile.

"Welcome," he said.

"How dare you welcome me after you've been trying to kill me?" I growled. My hands balled into fists and it was taking all my energy not to explode and pummel him into a grape like I oh so wanted to.

"No, no, there's been a misunderstanding," he said, taking a step forward. Percy grabbed my hand and his touch reassured me, calmed me.

"It's one hell of a misunderstanding," Percy said. Nico had his hand tight around the hilt of his sword, while Percy had his out and Ryder held his nightstick at his side. At least I knew they still had my back.

"You paint me as such an irrational person," Zeus said.

"Maybe because you are most times," Nico said. Zeus glared at us, clearly not happy with the smart remarks.

"Okay, enough talk. Hand over the dagger Pandora," he said, outstretching his hand like he was asking for candy. Part of me wanted to give it to him, but that part was really, really small. I wouldn't trust him with my life, let alone this dagger.

"No," I said firmly. Flames literally engulfed Zeus's eyes. I guess he wasn't used to the word no.

"I will ask you one more time," he warned.

"And my answer will be the same." Zeus's nostrils flared and his grip on his lightning bolt tightened.

"Then forgive me Pandora, for what I am about to do." He pointed the lightning bolt at me and I knew what was going to happen. I grabbed my watch, waiting for the right moment to open it. A lightning bolt flew out and straight towards me.

"NO!" a voice yelled. I felt something knock into me and I fell sideways, landing on my shoulder. I looked behind me and lying on the floor, was Ryder.

"No!" I screamed as I ran over to him and knelt next to him. He was breathing heavily and he had a drop of blood trickling down the side of his lips. From the corner of my eye, I saw Percy and Nico stand over us, but they said nothing.

"Ryder, Ryder," I whispered, cupping his cold face between my hands. "That was a stupid thing to do! Why did you do that?!" Ryder coughed weakly and looked at me.

"Because I love you," he whispered. I was shocked. I could barely process what was going on. His eyes fluttered closed.

"No, Ryder. You're not leaving me," I whimpered, as I softly tapped his cheek. "Ryder, don't leave me!" I screamed. His eyes slowly opened again, but he looked dazed and in a trance.

"There's- there's something I've been wanting to do since the first day I met you," he croaked, gasping. He raised his hand and grabbed my hair. He pulled me down and my lips crushed against his. It felt like someone had set off fireworks. He pulled me in closer and I could feel his heart beat beating with mine. His lips moved against mine and it felt like we had been made for each other. I'd never felt so alive and happy, despite everything else.

Then, his lips stopped moving and his hand fell, sliding across my cheek and thudding against the tiled floor. His chest stopped moving and I felt his heart beat stop. My life shattered around me in an instant. I stared at his paled face. His eyes were closed. I touched his cheek, tears falling down mine. Ryder was gone. I leaned into him, smelling the smell of chocolate clinging to his clothes.

"I love you," I whispered into his ear. I'd never said those three words to anyone before and I had waited too long to say them. I could barely breathe. I felt like the world had been swept from under me and I was spinning down into a big black hole. I clutched my chest as I felt something constricting around my heart so hard I thought it would just pop.

"Panda," Percy whispered. I heard the thuds of Zeus's shoes as he came up behind us. Anger boiled inside me. Everything that had happened in the past week, all the anger I had inside me since the day I disappeared surfaced. My hand balled into a fist, wrapping my fingers around Ryder's shirt. The tears stopped falling and my jaw clenched, so hard it started to hurt. I reached for the dagger in my boot.

"This never would have happened if you would have just—" I spun and stabbed him. His eyes opened wide, like this was the first time he'd experienced this kind of pain. His breathing became labored as he looked down. He gripped the hilt, his long white fingers covering mine. The wind around us started to whirl violently. My hair whipped around, as the wind surrounded us like a tornado.

"Why?" Zeus croaked, gasping.

"It was just a misunderstanding," I whispered as I pulled out the blade and Zeus fell to his knees. His face was contorted into horrible pain. He tried to speak, but he choked on his own blood. With one last breath, he collapsed to the floor. His blazing blue eyes were still open, staring into space. But the light in them slowly faded. The fierceness they once held, the leadership, was now nothing more than rotting tissue. The lightning bolt rolled away and its light faded until it was nothing but a lifeless gray cylinder. Olympus shook and there was a loud thundering sound like something was breaking. I looked back and Zeus's throne was broken in half. I looked down at my hands, covered in blood; covered in ichor. I stumbled back, dropping the blade.

I stared at my shaking, bloodied hands. I glanced up. Percy and Nico stared at me in horror. Then the weight of the world crashed down on me. At the end of summer days. A death shall rock history. For better or for worse. At the hand of a twin.

A god shall fall to his knees.

Zeus is dead.

And I am to blame.


Okay, I was just pulling your leg up there. This is not the end :P This is the end of the first half though. The second half will be a separate. It will be called Percy & Panda: A World Of Chaos. So keep an eye out for it! Thanks again! And I hope you enjoyed it :)