Sorry for the wait, check for the next update in about 2 weeks. I will finish this story, don't worry about it being discontinued.

Chapter 28

Leah was frozen. Every muscle was aching to move but seemed unable to no matter how hard she tried. Everything was quiet, still, and frozen in time with her. Her eyes were fixated on the place where Percy had disappeared and her mind was trying to compute the fact that he was gone. Unsuccessfully of course. She couldn't believe it, how could she? He had been there a second earlier and now he was gone—gone forever. Her imprint, her love, her future had all been snuffed out like the flame of a candle in a strong breeze.

If she looked deep within herself she could feel as if he was still there. For some reason she felt that same part of her trying to leave her body to go be with Percy. She took hold of that part, locked it in place and refused to let it leave her. But it longed to leave her and join its better half in the crystal prison. Leah just held on tighter. She wasn't going to let whatever this last connection to her imprint was leave her. She tugged back on that strange part of her and when she did her soul seemed to pull on something in the bright crystal.

She—she could feel his presence in the blinding light, he was there, he had responded to her tug she just knew it. But how was that possible? She pushed the question from her brain. She didn't care how it had happened, only that it meant there was a chance he could come back. Inside it, he was there! She heart jumped at the thought, she could still save him. She looked through the wall of mist at the bright star in the center, her vision had been slowly getting worse over the course of the battle and she could now only see roughly ten yards in front of her.

She raised her head up to the heavens and howled. The sound cut through the silence and cracked the frozen motion of the world. She called out to him, begging him through her howl to come back to her. A bird chirped on a nearby branch, a breeze gently ruffled her soft fur, a chill swept through her body and she could feel Percy draw nearer to her.

"He's gone." Tantalus seethed. "There's no bringing him back from that. He's completely gone!"

Leah only gave a low growl in response.

"Any effort you make would be futile. Like wind on a dry branch." Tantalus began walking towards the crystal. "There's no leaves to stir, there all gone. He's all gone."

She would shake the whole damned tree if she had to.

Leah refused to believe that Percy was gone forever.

She kept her eyes trained onto Tantalus as well as she could with her limited visibility. He slowly walked to the crystal while she picked Riptide up with her mouth. Her mouth was dry and the dust that now coated the pen form of the sword did not help it one bit.

Percy was still alive in there and was still fighting for her, she knew it with every fiber in her being. She would fight for him too.

Her paws dug into the soft earth and she sprung forward. Sprinting to come in between the ghost and the crystal. She was there in a moment and she barred her teeth at Tantalus, letting loose a feral growl. He would not take one more step towards the crystal. Her back leg brushed against the smooth surface of it.

The light that burst from the star silhouetted her wolf body and her shadow stretched long and dark across the ground. Her grey fur glowed in the light around the edges.

Tantalus laughed. "You naïve fool. There's nothing to protect! Nothing to save! He is nothing but energy to use now."

She let loose another howl, this one was filled with determination and rose into the air, but just when it reached its highest peak it turned, it turned deep and hollow and sad because—suddenly she knew what she had to do. Tantalus had no need for her, he would just shoot her and take the crystal. That meant that Percy's sacrifice would have been in vain. There was only one thing she could do to stop Tantalus. One option left, and she had to take it.

Her heart broke and the howl turned into sobs. Tears streaked down her face and she saw the world though blurry vision. Quickly she pulled the sword from her mouth and sprung it into Riptide. In one smooth motion she turned around and sliced the sword through the crystal, shattering it completely.

...

...

...

He was surrounded by darkness. The silence and the stillness were all around him and the black world pressed against him and the still feeling of it engulfed him in its cold silent embrace, permeating his mind, seeping into everything with its cold touch.

He was alone and knew nothing and remembered nothing and all feeling was overwhelmed by the stillness until all he knew was this and it was as if his whole life had been lived out in this place.

He felt as if he should know something and that whatever that something was it was missing, but the cold flooded in and drew his mind away from that something and suddenly he didn't care what it was or what it meant.

A faint sound seemed to echo all around him and it vibrated through his body and expelled some of the cold. It was a wolfs howl.

The sound rose up into a high crescendo and cried for something lost and the stillness was lost and the coldness grew warm and his mind somehow knew the sound and longed for it. The darkness too was somehow different and he felt set apart from it as he realized that this wasn't the whole world and the beautiful sound fell into deeper octaves crying for him and suddenly darkness held no control over him.

He felt incomplete as a part of him was missing and he knew that part was in the howl and that part of him wanted to be whole again, wanted to be where that howl had come from.

The sound fell into silence and his body was falling back into the cold and the darkness closed around him and he was suffocating under its weight.

This time when the stillness reached his mind he fought back and the stillness recoiled away. His mind knew and suddenly he was filled with joy and he needed to get back and he wanted to live again and to be with her again.

The beautiful howl rose again and he rose with it and the darkness fell away and he felt light and warmth and freedom and a wholeness that completed his being and when he was with the sound and with her no darkness could reach them. She was his star.

The howl turned into sobs and somehow he knew a sword was drawn and he could almost feel it in his hand and he could feel the motion as it fell through the air cutting through his world.

Everything shattered into millions of pieces and fell from all around him and behind it was the real world in all its glory.

Percy groaned softly and looked at the misty world around him. The trees were full of leaves and his face was pressed against the dirt. Everything was sideways but that was because he was laying facedown against the earth. He slowly sat up and his vision swam.

Leah was on her knees to his right and cried into her hands. She was surrounded by millions of dull white crystal shards. Riptide lay on the ground between them.

"Impossible!" Tantalus screeched from not more than 5 yards away. "You were completely stuck inside! How!"

But here's the thing: he hadn't been completely stuck inside. Percy remembered back on the first time he had almost been taken by the crystal. When Leah had destroyed it then, some of his essence had gone back into Leah. That meant that technically, his entire soul had never been stuck inside the crystal because some of it was in her.

"Percy?" Leah gasped in wonder. She looked over at him with familiar brown eyes and yelped with joy, crushing him into a hug. She pulled her head back and looked at him up and down as if checking that he was all there, then pressed her lips against his. He closed his eyes and melted into her embrace.

Too soon she pulled away. They still had a ghost to kill. The sensation of Leah's lips against his had made him forget the ghost was even still there. It was a good thing Tantalus didn't seem to realize they were there either.

He seemed to be in a trance like state as he looked down at the shattered remains of the crystal. His whole body was shaking and his stare turned murderous as it locked onto where Percy and Leah sat on the ground.

"You'll pay for this. You'll pay with your life." Tantalus spat. "That stupid girl has ruined everything."

His shaking arm rose into the air, the gun pointed towards them.

Percy pushed himself to his feet and pulled Leah up with him. He faintly noticed Riptide in her other hand.

He held her hand tighter and took his first step to run away. Pain shot through his leg and he tumbled to the ground—BANG—a bullet wizzed over the top of his head missing him by inches.

BANG! BANG!

Two more bullets whistled through the air past the fallen bodies of Percy and Leah. They stumbled and crawled across the ground away from the ghost.

Tantaluses arm was shaking in his anger. The loud crack of bullets echoed throughout the forrest and caused birds to fly from their perches in trees. Percy saw the bullets sting the ground in the distance and he saw the dirt spray up where impact was made. Then it was silent. The only sound was the faint scuffle of their crawling through the dirt. Slowly he turned onto his back and looked at Tantalus.

The ghost was messing with his gun with shaky hands and fumbling with it. It seemed as if the gun was malfunctioning. Thank the gods.

"Bah! It's useless now." Tantalus tossed the gun to his side where it thumped into the dirt, stopping abruptly. "Well you wanted to fight me without weapons? Then here I am."

"Fine then. We fight to the finish. It ends now." Percy was about to crawl to his feet but a warm hand in his pulled him back.

"Your in no condition to fight Percy. Don't do this." Leah practically growled at him. "I'm not gonna let you go kill yourself just when I get you back."

"Don't worry. I have a plan" Percy lied. He had to do this, he couldn't explain why but he just had to. This stupid ghost wasn't going to hurt anyone he loved anymore.

"Oh yah, and how did the last plan of yours go." Leah scowled at him but the worry shone through in her eyes.

"We're still here aren't we?"

"That's not the point. I-I thought you were gone Percy." A single tear fell down the side of her already wet cheek.

"We have to do this Leah, the others are still locked in battle too. We have to beat Tantalus so we can get back to them."

"One problem at a time please. I don't even want to think about anything other than right now." Leah sighed, accepting the fact that they were going to fight. "Come one, if we're going to kill a ghost then let's get to it. We can do this together."

She handed Riptide back to him, "Here, it belongs to you."

"I wouldn't be able to use it as well as you can with my leg as it is now. Keep it for now." He handed the blade back to her. She looked at him in surprise.

"Oh, and one more thing. Before we go, here, catch." He took his shirt off and handed it to Leah, looking away in embarrassment, his cheeks were scarlet red as blood rushed to his face. He had refrained from looking down thus far and focused intently on her eyes every time he spoke to her.

Leah's face turned red and she slipped the shirt over her head mumbling a quick thanks under her breath. It was a little large on her and covered her completely.

Leah had stood up when she put the shirt on and now pulled Percy up after her. He wrapped an arm around her neck and leaned against her, using her body for support. He limped forward and Leah held him steady.

"Did you say your last words?" Tantalus taunted. "How sweet."

They stood not two yards away from the ghost.

"Two verses one? And a weapon? That's not very noble of you Percy."

"There are no rules in battle. Only the ones we come up with to make ourselves feel better about killing. But I'll feel no remorse for your death." Percy said.

Tantalus narrowed his eyes onto them. Percy moved himself from Leah's side and stood on his own, putting all his weight on his good foot.

Tantalus made the first move and kicked forward with his left leg towards Percy. The foot was speeding towards him and with his injury, he knew he would never get out of the way in time. Leah stepped in front of the kick just in time. She swung her sword from the ground up to meet the foot on its way, but right before contact was made the ghost became more mist than solid and the sword went right through him.

Then Tantalus materialized in front of her and threw a punch towards her stomach. This time Percy was there to help. He jumped off his good leg and grabbed onto Tantalus tackling him to the ground. He reared his fist back to punch the ghost in the face but just as he was about to connect the ghost became a frail outline of mist and his fist went through, punching the ground. Pain shot through his knuckles.

He fell through the ghost and landed on the ground, a chill went up his spine and Tantalus reappeared behind him.

Leah sliced Riptide in a sideways arch and Tantalus jumped away to avoid the blow, the glowing celestial bronze blade missed him by inches. She huffed angrily.

"Did I ever tell you about what happened to your brother?" Tantalus questioned cooly.

Leah froze. "What about my brother?" She growled.

"Why don't you ask Percy. He knows all about it. After all, it is his fault your brothers dead."

Leah's head whipped towards where Percy lay as tears began to glisten under her eyes. She looked at him pleadingly, as if he was going to tell her that Tantalus was lying.

Percy looked away from her gaze and to the ground in shame. He couldn't meet her eyes and see the despair within them, he didn't want to.

Leah's response was immediate, she stared unknowingly at nothing and seemed to be in a trance, Riptide slowly began slipping through her fingers.

Percy looked away, this wasn't the way she should have found out. It should have come from him. He should have told her earlier.

He should have told her when he had had the chance.

Tantalus took a step forward and punched Leah in the gut, she hadn't even tried to defend herself, too much in shock to realize what was happening around her. She fell backward and landed in the dirt, clutching her stomach in pain. Tantalus squatted down and picked Riptide up, he held the blade over Leah's chest. The razor sharp tip hovering over her heart.

It was in that moment where Percy truly felt the fear of death. In a fraction of a second he realized that Leah was going to die and he would be powerless to stop it.

Everything seemed to have slowed down, every detail was clear and he felt as if he could have plucked a speeding bullet from the sky with his fingers.

That's when he noticed the gun.

Laying in the dirt, discarded, was Tantaluses gun. Percy picked it up by the cold black handle. As fast as he could he opened the slide stop and noticed what was wrong with it, a bullet had gotten stuck. He needed something pointy to lodge it out and he didn't have any time to waste.

Tantaluses foot was pressed against Leah's chest as he held her down. His head was leaned over her as he said something indiscernible. He was enjoying his revenge but he wouldn't talk to her for forever.

If only Percy had Riptide, he could have used its pen form to dislodge the bullet. He reached into his pocket anyway, a habit really. His hand closed around the only thing there.

The bullet that had almost killed Leah.

Now it would save her.

Quickly, he pulled it from his pocket, the golden celestial bronze tip was sharp and the silver part stretched back far enough to be able to reach the jammed bullet in the gun. He prodded the bullet into the slide of the gun and like a surgeon dislodged the wedged bullet out.

Tantalus raised Riptide high into the air, his glowing white eyes were fixated on Leah's heart.

Percy closed the slide stop and cocked the gun, loading a bullet into the barrel. He lined up the rear sight with the front sight onto Tantaluses heart and his pointer finger rested on the trigger. Percy took a breath in and released it, steeling his arm and calming his nerves. His finger pulled on the trigger as the last of his breath came out of his mouth—BANG—his hand was flung back from the force of the bullet.

Just as Tantalus was about to stab downward he stumbled to the side, the bullet piercing through his body and heart. He dropped Riptide and clutched at the hole in his chest where mist was steaming up from the wound and dissolving into the air.

"I've... been hit." Tantaluses voice was a whisper in the mist. His disbelief evident in the way his eyes stared at his wound.

The ghost stumbled again and he began to dissolve in the areas around the wound, like a chain reaction his body crumbled away from that single point. He was slowly disappearing, his body becoming a part of the very mist that surrounded them. Soon, there was nothing left of him at all.

The world was silent, it was as if the forrest itself was holding its breath because it didn't believe that the ghost was really gone.

But he was. He was dead, for a second time, and this time he wouldn't be coming back.

They had won.

They had won.

A heavy weight was lifted from his chest and he sighed in relief, relaxing for what felt like the first time in ages.

A quiet sob broke the silence. Leah was crying for her lost brother.

Percy was filled with shame at the fact that he hadn't saved Seth, he had tried, he had tried so hard yet he had failed.

"I'm sorry." Percy felt tears begin to form in his eyes. "I'm so sorry."

He slowly crawled on hands and knees over to where Leah lay on the ground, taking care to not put too much weight on his bad leg. She looked at him with wide wet eyes and a dirty tear streaked face. Percy opened his arms and wrapped her in a warm hug, comforting her in her sadness.

She tensed for a moment, just a fraction of a second before she relaxed into his embrace p. She pressed her face into his shoulder area and let the tears flow freely, crying deeply and full of sorrow.

Percy just held her tighter. Leah wrapped her arms slowly around his back and intertwined her fingers behind him. The first tear fell from his face and landed upon her shoulder, then another, and another until he was crying too.

They cried together.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, it took me forever to write. I actually rewrote the entire 2nd half and re edited a bunch of stuff multiple times because it didn't feel right.

It also took such a long time to write because of AP test week. I have AP tests this week and have been studying and doing homework, very busy. I'm also in the middle of my Lacrosse Season. About 3 games a week, or 4, so I haven't been able to write this. This was the climax and now I get to do the falling action and epilogue. There are probably only 2 chapters in the story left! I can't believe I'm almost done with it! I started this about a year ago and have been writing it on and off periodically throughout the months.

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:14 Verse of the Day.

Please tell me what you think! I love reading reviews!

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-CreativeMode