Ch. 29 | I wish it was Christmas
…the primordial of night lunged forward with blinding speed towards Tartarus. A sword that very much resembled Percy's materialized in her grip as she continued forward. Tartarus seemed to snap out of his own stupor as an equally impressive blade appeared in his own hands. As the two beings rushed at each other, Annabeth was surprised when her uncle suddenly jumped into action and dived towards Mors, leaving her and Zoë standing behind the fight. The demigod could do nothing but watch in awe as some of the oldest beings in the world attempted to tear each other apart.
Cont…
Percy knew what he had to do. He sprinted towards the god of death with Zoë at his side. The god's eyes began to glow as he summoned the staff of Chronus, knowing that the chains trapping Mors could only be broken with a weapon that was literally not of this world. He had, fortunately, thought ahead, and had already received the primordial of time's permission to use his staff.
When the two reached the trapped man, Percy swung the staff down onto shackles that had ensnared him. The weapon sliced through them like butter, and Mors' eyes burned as he began to regain his strength. Percy extended a hand to him, which the god accepted gratefully as he stood. They suddenly paused as the ground beneath their feet began to rumble, but after a few moments, it stopped just as quickly as it began.
Percy glanced at Mors, a bit nervous. "Is that…?"
"Yes," Mors answered with a pleased sigh. "That was the doors closing." Percy smiled. "Does this mean you have control over death once more?"
"Death is balanced and just once again," he said with a nod as his face flashed back and forth from its form of a strikingly attractive man to that of a pale skeleton. "Thank you, my friend. It is good to be free again."
Percy grinned and patted the god on the shoulder. "Of course! This means you have to visit Rome at least once in the next decade, though!"
"As long as you're paying," Mors answered with a cheeky smirk. Percy rolled his eyes, but his gaze soon focused on Nyx and Tartarus clashing, and soon after that, Annabeth and Zoë.
~uhhh jingle bells~
Annabeth could only stare in wonderment at the battle unfolding before her. Bewitching coal-black wings sprouted from Nyx's back, just as alluring as Mors', and she beat them with impressive might to propel herself forward towards Tartarus even faster. The pit raised his sword as he sprinted, but his minute distraction was all that the primordial of night needed.
Nyx's extra burst of speed allowed her to lunge past Tartarus' guard and slash him across his thigh. He bellowed loudly as golden ichor began to spew out of his wound. "You will pay for coming here," he hissed as he stared daggers at the goddess with the same intensity of hatred that Annabeth once held for Zeus. His once simple but lethal looking blood-red sword suddenly erupted in dark flames that wrapped around the evil blade. Annabeth could feel the heat the sword was emitting even from where she and Zoë stood, and she recognized that the fire came from the deepest parts of hell itself.
With stunning grace Nyx flawlessly twirled her sword as she attempted to fell her opponent. Despite her stunning performance, Tartarus was not an easy adversary, and he effortless intercepted with his own blade as he dropped low to the ground, forcing Nyx to jump backwards when a wild slash was sent towards her knees.
The goddess began to back up, earning a confident step forward from her rival. Before he could take advantage of his perceived gain, however, she abruptly disappeared into the shadows on the walls.
"Come out here, you coward!" Tartarus barked. A laugh echoed around the room before Nyx morphed right behind Tartarus. He tried to spin around, but the earth beneath them suddenly shuddered and he wasn't able to gain his footing. This gave Nyx the advantage that she needed, and she was able to slice a deep gash across his back. Tartarus gasped in pain as the lesion began to gush uncontrollably.
The room stilled, the only sounds filling it being Tartarus' raged pants. Annabeth was startled when the pit unexpectedly bellowed and collapsed to his knees. Nothing happened at first, and the demigod assumed that he was just blowing off steam. She took this thought back, however, when the edges of the room began to shimmer. Creatures—monsters—of every shape and size began to morph out of the walls, wailing and howling their horrible calls. While some scrambled towards their master, others focused their intentions on Zoë and Annabeth.
With quick nods to each other, the duo had their backs to each other and weapons drawn. They eyed their opponents warily; there were four of them, each easily double their own size. The beasts had weapons of their own similar to Tartarus' sword, and they all glowed with the same dark flames as they eyed the two quest members hungrily.
Annabeth reeled in her thoughts as two of the creatures charged at her while the other pair engaged Zoë. Whatever advantage that she had in speed seemed to be negated by the powerful strikes that she had to block, each one causing her body to reach a new level of stress that she knew she would be feeling for days.
She kept up with their relentless attacks, but each time their blades came remotely close to her she could feel her skin tingling uncomfortably as the flames licked her exposed skin. Tiring of constantly blocking the monsters' onslaught, Annabeth decided to lash out instead. She quickly leapt to the side of a particularly strong thrust and managed to cut a deep gash across one of the brutes' bodies. Instead of making the demon crumble to dust, however, the deep tear simply began to stitch back together. Unfortunately for her the wound seemed to immediately regenerate.
Soon burns and abrasions littered both Zoë and Annabeth's bodies as they were forced towards one of the far walls. Their only hope was to survive long enough for one of gods to lend them a hand.
Percy flashed in front of them in a timely manner with an odd looking staff grasped in his hands, and Annabeth was even happier to see Mors, free from his chains, behind the monsters. As she focused on the staff, Annabeth noticed a small, flickering orb sitting on its tip. What appeared to be millions of miniature lights were moving together in perfect synchrony, swirling around and around to make up the radiant sphere. It reminded Annabeth of a watch that was crafted by a famous Roman—she would not know until much later how right she really was.
The ball began to shine brighter and spin even faster as energy seemed to be created out of nothing. When it looked like Percy would no longer be able to control its sheer power, the god looked at Mors, who gave him a nod and raised his arms, as if preparing for something. With that, Percy slammed the base of the staff onto the ground, and Annabeth had to shield her face as the orb's force finally gave way and spread out, effectively incinerating the four beasts.
Annabeth opened her eyes to watch as dark streaks—most likely the creatures' spirits—flowed towards Mors and faded away. The demigod gave her uncle a questioning glance.
"You would not have been able to kill those brutes yourself—they are made of something much more…sinister, than the normal monsters we usually face."
Percy glanced at Nyx, his expression anxious. "He has called for Gaia—we must leave immediately." The primordial nodded and gave Tartarus a goodbye kick to the chest, sending him sprawling onto his stomach. Mors approached his mother and she smiled at him before the two flapped their mighty wings and disappeared in the blink of an eye. As the floor below them began to crack, Percy grabbed both Annabeth and Zoë without hesitation and they disappeared.
What they did not hear was Gaia's roar of frustration as she arrived mere moments too late to destroy the beings that were ruining her chances of winning the war. Above, only the slightest shake of the earth below the mortal's feet was the only indication of the goddess' rage.
~Christmas stuff~
The five weary but content travelers appeared within one of Perseus' temples. It was dark outside, and Annabeth couldn't help but peak through one of the windows to catch a glimpse of the bright sky. It made her smile; despite the fact that the world was literally falling to pieces around them, she could always count on the stars to guide her.
"You have done well, Percy," Nyx said gently as she embraced Mors. "Thank you for saving my son." The god grinned fondly at his teacher before giving a deep bow. To everyone's shock, however, the primordial of night pulled Percy into a tight hold as well.
"I didn't know that you were a hugger!" Percy said with a cheeky grin. Everyone groaned and rolled their eyes.
The air began to stir around them, blowing unnaturally in the mostly closed temple. Mors gave Nyx a sad smile. "Mother, I believe that we must make haste—our presence here does not seem to be settling well with the mortal world."
The goddess nodded, and the two began to prepare to leave when Annabeth suddenly found her voice; "Wait!" Nyx and Mors stopped, glancing curiously at the girl. Percy and Zoë looked over at her questioningly, but decided to stay silent.
Annabeth took a deep, shaky breath and locked eyes with the primordial of night."Thanks…thank you for what you did for my uncle. I was lost without him."
A moment of silence passed as Nyx observed the young demigod. She was impressed—few would have the courage to address her so calmly. She is brave, facing Tartarus as just an adolescent. Nyx realized.
To Annabeth's surprise, the goddess laughed, a melodious tone that seemed to bring pure joy to the air around them. Looking towards Percy, she said, "You were right, I do like this one." Focusing her attention back on Annabeth, Nyx approached her.
"Child," she said warmly. Although Annabeth usually hated being called such, she took no offense, as the primordial, ancient as she was, was just stating the obvious. "It was my pleasure. Your uncle has a certain…endearing, quality that I am sure you are well aware of that I simply could not ignore."
With one last genuine smile that left Annabeth gaping, Nyx and Mors disappeared into the night. The temple was quiet for a moment, before the demigod suddenly rounded on her uncle, her gray eyes blazing, obviously demanding answers about how the primordial had known about her. Zoë laughed at her friend's fierceness—the demigod was determined to learn the truth, even willing to ignore her injuries for a story.
Percy just sighed and shook his head. How am I supposed to explain that I bragged about Annabeth and her accomplishments? I don't think saying that I'm a proud uncle will cut it. Percy thought with a mental groan. The thought alone threatened to give him a raging headache, but Annabeth would not let him rest until she knew every last detail.
"Let me take you somewhere safer and ask Apollo to heal your wounds, and then I will tell you all that you wish to know," the god bargained. With a reluctant nod from his niece, Percy teleported the three of them back to his residence while simultaneously sending a message to Apollo. This is going to be a long night.
Beta: AmericanBeautyAmericanPsycho
