"Are you alright?"
Percy was shivering. Despite this, sweat beaded on his forehead. "I've been better. How about you? Are you hurt?"
"You've just been shot! Why are you asking me?" If he was in better condition, Artemis would've hit him for being so stupid. Perhaps a blow to the head would've set it on straight.
"I almost killed you," Percy protested in a faint, scratchy voice. "He almost made me kill you."
She choked back a sob. "You wouldn't have let that happen. I know you."
Around them, the campers were closing in slowly. The fight was over; the gods left the monsters in dust while Percy and Artemis had been fighting. Now, in the aftermath of the death and destruction, they needed yet another tragedy to play out before their eyes; curiosity spared no one.
They weren't disappointed. Percy lay, dying in Artemis' arms. Why? The confusion that was running through them all was dizzying. Why would Artemis be cradling Percy after everything he'd done? After he betrayed her? Unless.
"The guardians never betrayed us."
That was Hermes. He passed through the crowd to the front, tears staining his cheeks and monster dust clinging to his winged Reeboks.
"They were being controlled. Isn't that right, Percy?" he asked.
Percy clenched his eyes shut in a long blink, trying to clear the dozens of spots tangoing in front of him. "Yeah…" His voice was getting weaker. "He was planning this all along. We were just his pawns-" He cut off into a spasm of coughs, coaxing more blood to trickle out from his chest wound. Bloody drool dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
Apollo rushed forward, finally breaking the static atmosphere. He pressed his hands to the wound as two of his sons appeared shortly after with bandages, gauze, and a bowl of hot water. Percy pawed at Apollo's hands.
"Stop… I'm already dead. There's nothing you can do…" He turned his head to meet Artemis' eyes again and blinked a few times. He took a few wet breaths before he spoke again. "I need...to tell you." His eyes shifted to Hermes. "He wanted you to kill your guardians. If we...we die by the hand of those we swore to protect, it gives him power."
"And then he can come here?" Artemis asked.
Percy nodded. "He will come to earth...with them all. Hundreds of soldiers at his disposal…"
"How do we stop him?" Hermes pressed, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white. Righteous fury was thudding through his veins. "There must be a way."
Percy coughed again, spitting up more blood. With a slow, shaky hand, he raised one finger. "One way…"
Apollo worked faster at cleaning Percy's wound, his hands steady and slow as he extracted the arrow. One of his sons dabbed at the wound while the other maintained a constant pressure.
"There's some internal bleeding," Apollo informed his sister. "Obviously. But...I'm not sure how much we can do."
"It's alright…" Percy said. "I will last long enough…"
"Long enough? What's that supposed to mean? What are you planning to do, Percy?" Artemis asked, half scolding, half worried.
"I must say his name."
"His name?"
"His true name. Someone...must say his true name in his presence..."
"Why does it have to be you? You have to save your strength! Let me stop him! Tell me his name."
Percy only smiled sadly. "I can't...tell you; you...can't be the one to say it, Artemis."
"Why not?" Artemis's eyes were wet.
"It would...bond your soul to his. You would be trapped in darkness forever." He took a deep breath, which sounded more like he was gargling nails. "It must be me… I was the one to cast the spell...so I must finish..." he trailed off, eyes swaying in their sockets.
Artemis shook their connected hands slightly to bring him back. "Why do you have to be so self sacrificing?" she demanded. Yet again, she felt the distinct urge to slap him, but he was still dying, so she refrained. "He's not even here for you to say it to him," she whispered, hoping that he would see sense.
Percy closed his eyes and took another breath, gargling another clump of nails. Apollo pressed a flask of Nectar to his lips. The wound glowed slightly, and seemed to close up, only to split open like a ripe tomato. Percy gasped, eyes clenched shut.
"It's no use…" He opened his eyes. "He is coming. I can feel it." His prosthetic fingers curled together and his entire hand glowed with dark energy. "He's doesn't suspect a thing…"
Moments later, there was a sucking noise, and a vortex opened. Then, there he was, in his full glory.
He stood ten feet tall, with dark hair threaded into slim braids. Blue and purple veins crept prominently along under his translucent skin, as vivid as fresh tattoos. He smirked, showing off perfect teeth. They were the only perfect thing about him.
"Foolish gods. You've played right into my hands! With the last of the guardians dead by your hand, my army is free to invade and conquer this planet. Soon, it will be mine to rule."
The corners of Percy's mouth lifted into his trademark grin. "That's what you think," he said, his voice still rough. It was just loud enough for the Great One to hear, but only because everyone else had fallen silent, even the animals in the forest.
"I did not say you could speak, boy!" the Great One spat. Then, he froze. "Wait a minute...:" He stalked toward Percy, who was still in Artemis' arms. Hermes, Apollo, and Apollo's children moved aside stiffly, like robots. He knelt, grabbing Percy's face in one clawed hand. Artemis didn';t move - she couldn't move.
The Great One snarled. "I no longer feel your mind; you are free from my grasp." He let go of Percy's chin with a flourish, leaving thin bloody marks down the boy's cheeks. He laughed. "No matter. There is nothing you can do to stop me." He strode away easily, gazing out at the world that he would soon rule.
"On the contrary," Percy began, "I have found your weakness. Pulling his hand from Artemis, he pushed her away from him as he struggled to stand. With a single rebellious hiss escaping the iron gates of his lips, he managed to stand on both feet without help. His chest wound - healed, opened, re-healed, and re-opened - bled sluggishly.
The Great One narrowed his eyes. A tick at the corner of his mouth was the only clue to his inner panic. "You know no such thing! I have no weaknesses, much less one you could exploit. You are a bug to me!"
"Names are funny things, aren't they?" Percy asked suddenly. He swayed. His grin returned, more sinister than the last. "You should be more careful about what you say." Raising his prosthetic hand, Percy began to chant. The black glow returned, a fine mist that swirling around in the air, covering everything.
"No! How could you have done this? You are weak!"
"You will not disgrace this planet with your presence any longer, Iago," Percy hissed. The moment he said the Great One's true name, his eyes flashed. Iago's whole body began to steam and dissolve. Percy's did the same.
"No! Percy!" Artemis screamed, reaching for her (former) guardian, but a barrier stopped her from contact. Percy and Iago were now trapped in a vortex all their own, their bodies slowly colliding in a swarm of their own dissolved flesh.
Iago's scream was loud. It was the scream of someone on death row, perhaps of one bathing in acid. Underneath the pain, though, there was rage. He lunged for Percy. That, perhaps, was not the best idea, though, because as soon as he reached his former soldier, they became one.
With a bright flash and a loud bang, they were gone, no trace left aside from Percy's limp prosthetics lying in the scorched grass.
Everything was silent. Not even the wind dared to blow. When it did, Artemis heard something else. A soft voice, one filled with love and so quiet that she could've been imagining it: "I love you…"
"Percy?" she asked.
Then, it faded away.
Artemis fell to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. "No!" Her voice broke from the sheer emotion in her scream, and immediately, Apollo was at her side. She collapsed against his chest, gripping tightly to the front of his shirt. "No…" She sobbed until her eyes ran dry. Finally, she looked up.
"Is it over?" she asked.
Apollo nodded. "It's over." He'd been running his hand in circles along her back the whole time, not caring about the blood on either of them, only knowing that he had to comfort his twin. "We're okay," he continued. "We're okay. Percy saved us. Again."
"Why?" Her voice was weak.
"Because he is a hero."
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