Chapter 7: Lost Control
Luke
Formidable, are they not?
"You don't say? If I didn't have super-fast reflex and your help, I would have a hard time just keeping up with them."
Sadly, in your current state won't be able to defeat them all in your lonesome. It's best if we retreat for now.
"No way! I finally got them where I wanted."
Remember why you are here, Luke. Use the teleportation spell I've cast for you.
"Seriously? Oh, this is going to be good!"
Before the fighting began, it seemed the Titan King had already prepared a teleportation spell around the snotty and ignorant Half-Bloods. There was no way they could escape the bounds now.
"What's the matter? Are we wearing you down?"
Drawing back from their combined attacks as their fight momentarily paused, it was true that he wildly underestimated them for what they could do. Scorch marks and small cuts left his body in tatters, but not that it mattered in the slightest.
Grinning at her certain victory, it seemed Thalia wasn't aware of their backup plan. Her taunt came off as empty as a blank check. Luke grinned back.
"I admit, you three are much more powerful than I could have imagined."
Thalia set her long spear in an upright position and it stood straight on its own without any physical support, blue hue electricity still visible to the naked eye crackled through the unbreakable obsidian shaft, followed by four small cutting thorns at the sides.
"Guess you shouldn't have started this fight then…"
"I supposed so." He threw his arms up in surrender, "But then you wouldn't have left the two of them on their own, would you?"
Just then, Piper tensed up in alarm. It was clear what she sensed was happening. Luke felt a smirk move across his lips at the realization. Of course, the twin noticed the sudden shift in their companions. Now, they grew painfully aware of what was really going on too.
"Hahaha…. It's too late. You won't make it back in time."
Jason gritted his teeth, "I'm going, Thals…"
"Na-ah! Not so fast!"
Jason was already ascending to the skies, but Luke was faster as he threw his hands high, one aimed at Thalia and Piper, while the other hand aimed at Jason. He chanted, "Open gates! Set coordinates: Hue Ferries."
Three golden magic circles illuminate underneath their feet, it's spun rapidly around their figures and enveloped them in a misty cylindrical-shaped barrier. There was no escape.
"Don't tell me…" Thalia quickly took her spear off the ground, "I won't let you!"
As her name suggested, her lightning-quick reflex helped her body shoot forward as she launched her spear with a thunderous blue flash. Energy pulsating from the tip, she effectively created a lightning bolt through a conduit with her obsidian spear and aimed right at his torso, pushing herself to the utmost limit with an overpowered strike.
It would be exactly three seconds before that intense energy bolt hit him straight on, but the clock underneath their feet was ticking much faster than she could execute her art. In less than two seconds, their presence would reappear in Hue Ferries, a town out of the city.
"Thalia!" The son of Zeus cried out his twin sister's name and flew back while the daughter of Aphrodite rushed forward with an outstretched arm.
But their efforts were futile.
At the exact moment when the two dials met in a straight line, the world seemingly stop around them. It was activating. Golden shimmers morphed around their vaporizing bodies as they began to fade away into mists. With one last smile, Luke looked right into Thalia's eyes, an evil smirk forming on his lips as he whispered, "Don't worry. I won't kill them just yet."
Time froze all around them, but even so, her menacing stares cut through the inconceivable veil of time and Luke could tell exactly what the daughter of Zeus was saying. Though it didn't matter in the end because they were suddenly gone in the blink of an eye. Any trace of their existence was erased by a teleportation spell, even the killing bolt that was aimed at his body disappeared along with its owner.
Now all alone, a suppressed chuckle left his body tingling with delight.
Luke sneered like a crazy lunatic.
Saved from a fatal attack, and most importantly, to have gotten rid of the annoyances in the way so easily, Luke bucked over and twisted his lips into a wicked smile, that smile grew into an evil smirk, then to a mad grin, and eventually, Luke couldn't help but laugh like a maniac. It was too funny.
"Now…"
With pure joy, he turned around and caught sight of the destruction that lay across the park. To think that he caused this havoc in just a matter of minutes, if and when he's fully imbued with Kronos's power, there won't be a being in the world who could stop him then.
His face twisted sickly along with his personality and he covered himself with both hands, indulging himself in a madness that the Titan King had overwhelmed him with.
Good…. Good…. This is working flawlessly.
Luke craned his neck and shoulders, then with a grin, he trudged across the destroyed landscape without spending extra efforts on his burden body, nor so much of a care about what he did. His only thought was of a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes, the little owlet who's just about to hatch from the comfort of her shell. He smiled at what was about to come next.
"It's about time I visit my old girlfriend. Isn't that right, partner?"
Yes... It's about time I pay my respect to an old friend as well.
...
Desperation traced along thick tree trunks like a ghost. In what little cover was left around their battlefield, despair grew into restlessness. He was hopelessly outmatched, his sweaty back pressed against rough barks as they dug into his devastate armor hugging him loosely.
Unlike last time, they were in a giant green park, not a forest. Each tree was intentionally separated based on the width of their scenic path, it wasn't like they were densely packed together and thus offer no safe cover for them to hide behind in for longer than a couple of minutes.
Catching his breath, Percy looked down in his arms.
He heard a sharp painful wince. His heart wrenched together like it was being squeezed by a hydraulic press intended to crush his very soul to the underworld.
"Stay with me, Annabeth…"
As he tugged her close, she offered a weak smile, "I- I am fine, Percy… It's just a scratch."
Percy shook his head, "You are not fine, Annabeth! I…"
Her empty reassurance was nothing but an attempt to ease his worries, but Percy just worried more. A huge bite mark had sunken into her right shoulder blade and the wound looked absolutely ghastly. It was all his fault. Blood spilled over her armor and ran down her incapacitated arm like a can of thick red paint overflowing.
"Percy…" Her voice graved, "We can't keep running…"
Percy shook his head vehemently, "I won't leave you here either. You are staying with me."
"Percy…" She called his name like a frail angel, "You… don't have to worry, I can take care of myself."
His heart tighten in a knot when she passed him a weak smile, one that hurt him even more than any wound he might suffer, "Stop it. I won't leave when you are hurt. It's not like our weapons can do anything anyway."
It was true. No weapons, not even celestial bronze, the material most effective at killing monsters of the mythology, was capable of puncturing the Nemean Lion. His thick fur coat was as tough as sapphire and his skin was no doubt harder than diamonds. He was completely impenetrable to fight against, thus their only option was to hide and wait for help.
"Percy…" Annabeth offered a weak protest through teary eyes.
He tugged her closer, "I'll make sure we get through this, Annabeth. I promise."
To that end, Percy had already relayed his message. Now, he could only hope Owlfred had enough time to alert everyone, but whether they could survive the unrelenting praetor hunting them was another story. Percy was determined though. If he could hold out just a bit longer, surely Thalia and the rest of the gang would come and save the day.
Meanwhile, Owlfred was desperately traveling through the Iris-net to reach their protectors. In hindsight, he really should have just gone to Lady Athena in the first place. After all, Thalia, Jason, and Piper were so far away that by the time he reached them, it would be about the same as if he traveled back home.
In the end, Owlfred decided to split up his core architecture despite the slower speed, then overclock himself to race through time.
…
"Damn it! Where did they all come from?"
A quick slash filled the air with a spray of red mist. Another body toppled over and laid motionless around them.
"Less talking, more killing please!"
Teleported to a small abandoned town square and surrounded in an ambush, it didn't seem like their plan of escape was going to work. The situation wasn't working out in their favor either. Piper got hurt when a small group overwhelmed her, so now she had to stay behind them for extra time to heal her wounds, though Thalia had to wonder if they could last that long protecting her.
"Haauh!" Another figure disintegrated into shiny golden orbs which began to flow and disappeared into the deep color night sky above.
Her wide arc attack left three monsters in the dust, literally. However, more and more replace them so it seemed like their numbers weren't dropping no matter how hard she tried to carve a path.
"Finally! I've found you guys!"
A new voice joined the chaos erupting around them. Thalia exclaimed in relief as she pulled her long sword out of a monster's gut, sending it back to the depth of the underworld to join its dead companions, "Owlfred! Thank Gods… Are they okay?"
Through their phone's speakers, Owlfred spoke without projecting himself. Suddenly appearing as a talking orb would only distract the three Half-Bloods from defending themselves.
"Not good… They are facing the Nemean Lion! I've come to you as fast as I can, but I don't know how much longer they could hold out."
"Shit!"
Frustrated, Thalia angrily stabbed her second short sword right into the skull of a humanoid monster. They were referred to as undead ghouls, a type of monster completed with a full set of heavy battle armor and red, glowing eyes. Most used to be normal souls roaming around the underworld, but when Hades fell in battle, Kronos's forces began defiling these souls for the express purpose of turning them into soldiers for his army. It was a cruel fate, but Thalia didn't have time to think about that now.
"You should go, sis." Jason cut down his opponent in seconds, "Don't worry about us. We'll manage this by ourselves."
"Don't be silly, Jason! I can't leave you all by yourself! Piper is hurt too!"
Jason grunted as he deflected an attack, "You are faster than me! You'll be able to get back in less than twenty minutes. Please, I can handle this! Just go!"
"But…"
"I'll stay with Jason and Piper too… If anything, I can give them a bit of time to heal and catch their breath, so go now, Thalia. You don't have much time." Owlfred's voice grew urgent as he manifested his physical form through a pulse resonance of their Dekura bracelet, "Hurried, they are waiting for you."
A version of Owlfred in battle gear threw his hands up and slowly brought about a dome barrier that was both digital and metaphysical. It was one of the many secret protocols Owlfred was capable of. It certainly came in handy now, "Thanks, Owlfred."
The monsters around them looked stunned. Their attacks vibrated off the translucent light blue barrier and knock them backward, but it didn't stop them from trying.
Thalia looked into her twin brother's eyes filled with hope and dread altogether, "I'll come back as soon as I can, so don't die on me, okay?"
"Speak for yourself, sis…" Jason gave her a risky grin.
Piper caught her attention too, "Don't worry, Thals. I'll protect Jason once I'm healed up."
Thalia was about to thank her best friend too when Jason scoffed, "Who is protecting who, Pipes?"
"Oh? Are you saying you don't need my help, Jason?" Piper glared, "Would you like to take them all on then? I can always sit back and watch, you know?"
"Psshh… They are just easy mobs that needed to be clean up. I can get it done without your help at all."
"Ohhh? Fine, I guess I'll watch you take them all down then." Piper crossed her arms, "And don't blame me if you get overwhelmed. You only brought it upon yourself."
On the sideline, Owlfred and Thalia shook their head in earnest. Even in a life or death situation, they were still bickering like an odd couple. Surely, Piper was joking when she whispered to herself and wished how Jason would get overwhelmed. Thalia was ninety-nine percent sure anyway…
"Don't do anything stupid, you two."
Thalia lifted herself off the town's gravel pavement and launched toward the darkening skies with blinding speed. In the blink of an eye, she left her companions to fend for themselves and rush to help the prince and princess from certain death.
From the aerial point of view, the small town Luke teleported them to was so remote and dimly lit, it would have been a perfect hideout place for monsters to congregate. Next time, they needed to come back with a clean-up crew.
Hovering for a moment as the battle rages on below, Thalia could do nothing but bit her lips before speeding through the clouds. Her trip should take her no longer than twenty minutes, but she still prayed, hoping to reach them in time.
...
S-S-Sssnapp…
A full-grown tree with leaves the color of fall toppled from the base of its trunk; the thickness was at least three feet wide in diameter, yet it snapped in half almost as easily as a hot knife melting through butter.
It was simply insane.
Percy barely manage to roll out of the way with Annabeth, careful as he could be to avoid hurting her injured shoulder anymore. Annabeth couldn't help but winced as Percy carried her in his arms and ran toward another cover.
"Percy!"
Perhaps it was that six sense that all Half-Bloods have, but that hyper-reflexive ability had already saved his life more times than he could count. Moving his body in ways that he wouldn't be able to do on his own, his dex augma helped him stay alive, but it also strained him beyond what he was physically capable of. Percy was already over his limit, any more and he would soon collapse in exhaustion.
Then something instinctual came over him again.
Instead of dodging out of harm's way, Percy called for his long sword on his right hand. He tilted his body around and made an upward arch slash at the trajectory the Lion was leaping. The edge of his blade connected with his fur in midair, and while crouching over, Percy used the momentum of his pounce and hurl the big animal over twenty yards away.
"Huaaaa!"
Percy expended all his energy doing something he had no control over.
"Rraaahh!"
The Nemean Lion stretch his paws to catch something, but there was nothing for him to stop his fall and he slammed into the pier hard. Because of his unusually tough body, the weight of the concrete couldn't stand his abnormal density and cracked loudly under the pressure.
The impact was loud and heavy, small tremors created a momentary earthquake that could be easily felt over the entire campus itself.
The Nemean Lion got up in a disoriented fashion. Underneath him, the picture-perfect path of the Hudson pier was utterly destroyed with broken pavements and scattered dirt.
Percy inadvertently created a small crater on the pier with just one small move alone.
Narrowly avoiding death, the Nemean Lion's claws missed their target by only a millimeter and took off a good few strands of Percy's onyx hair. He didn't care, of course, then pulled his sword back inside his bracelet and quickly disappear out of view.
It would be a good while before the Nemean Lion could find them again.
As luck would have it, there was a small structure in view. Percy hurriedly rushed to hide behind the square building and almost collapse halfway through. Percy backed them up against the brick wall and cursed, "Damn it, I guess we really are alone…"
Percy slumped backward and chuckle out of breath, "If this is their idea of a joke, then it has gone way too far already."
A soft hand touched his cheek, "Percy…"
Her angelic but pained voice was the only thing keeping him going for as long as he did. He made a promise to her since they met, and he wasn't going to break his promises… not like last time.
Annabeth looked half-astonished and half-worried for his sake, "Percy… how did you-"
He didn't answer, but Annabeth knew why.
Seeking to comfort her partner, she moved to touch him dearly, caressing her fingers down his face, touching the spot behind his ear, down his smooth neck, over his tense shoulder, and that's when she felt something warm pooling over his back. It was blood, the warm liquid seeping out of a deep gash around his back and was dripping off his shirt, his uniform soaked with redness.
She didn't see it because his chest armor hid it from her view all this time.
"Percy." Annabeth called weakly, "You are hurt…"
"It's nothing, wise girl… Just rest for now. You shouldn't move too much." His voice strained.
Annabeth didn't even know where that wound came from, but it made her sad. If she didn't over-reach earlier with an attack, none of this wouldn't have happened. She wouldn't have become a liability and forced Percy to take care of her so much.
"Please… Just let me take a look."
He smiled despite wincing at the pain, "It doesn't hurt, wise girl. It's just a small cut. I'll be fine."
Annabeth shook her head and almost cried, "I am sorry…"
So useless…. Annabeth was about to go down a rabbit hole, but of course, her shining knight in armor rescued her from a pit of despair before it was too late.
Percy smiled with his signature lopsided grin, "What are you talking about? Don't be stupid, wise girl. I wouldn't have been able to do any of this without your help. You are not a burden, not to me. Don't ever think like that again."
Tears rolled off her eyes regardless, "Percy…"
"Let's think of a way out of this. You are our only hope, Annabeth."
He reached up, his thumb brushing over her cheeks as he wiped off her tears, "As long as you stay with me, Annabeth, I won't let anything happen to you."
With just words alone, determination lifted her very soul and stopped her tears. Percy brought that change from her effortlessly, "I won't let anything happen to you either, Percy. I'll think of a way we can get out of this."
Percy smiled, "That's my girl…"
Right now, the most important thing they needed to do was to get away from the Nemean Lion, except it's been tracking them everywhere they go. No doubt he's using his sense of smell to do that, in other words, if they could mask their senses, it would render his tracking useless.
Secondly, they needed more covers. After seeing what he could do, if and when he found them, not having a solid cover to hide behind would be certain death.
Third, her last strategy would be a long shot, but it was better than nothing. They've got nothing to lose to try.
"I think I have a plan…"
Annabeth peeked over the wall they were hiding behind, analyzing her strategy as she tranced their surroundings. Of course, the Nemean Lion was nowhere in sight, it was prowling for them after all.
"It has to be tracking us through his nose, so if we hide our sense, then he wouldn't be able to find us."
Percy vaguely recalled what he'd learned from the encyclopedia Athena lend them to use for the express purpose of studying the different beasts in Greek mythology.
Having first handed experience with how tough the Nemean Lion's skin was, Percy began to remember another detail; his impeccable sense of smell made it impossible to hide for long.
"What do you suggest?"
Annabeth contemplated and suddenly shook her head, "No, it's no use… He's already got a taste of my blood, and I can't hide my wounds."
Their next option was to find covers, but that's useless too because the landscape right now offered so little opportunity to hide. If anything, their cover right now was so far away from anything else, once it's gone, they would have nowhere else to stay out of sight.
That leaves them with one last option, but that's impossible as well. Annabeth wished it was possible, and even though Percy might be able to…
"Can you make it back to school?" Annabeth bit her lip and asked.
Percy looked north, the school building was barely visible through the park's windy path, and if he tried to trudge all the way back, he would have to run at least a hundred yards nonstop. Percy honestly didn't know if he could do that at this point.
But before he could reply, a force of unbelievable power crashed through the building they were hiding behind. It blasted right through almost like it exploded. A large shadow emerged from the smoke and came out on their side. It was the Nemean Lion, a little scuffed from Percy's counter-attack, but otherwise fine.
It was the worst possible outcome. He had them trapped in a corner with nowhere to go.
Unable to run, their back pressed against what's left of the wall as they eyed the Lion who was inching closer, mouth growling and watered at the sight of them.
"Percy…." Annabeth clung to her partner.
Percy froze too. All he could manage was to hug Annabeth close. This might finally be their end, and he wasn't going to let Annabeth do it alone.
The Nemean Lion pounced.
Head turned to each other, Annabeth squealed his name while he held her eyes away. This was going to be the end for them. No one was coming to save them.
…
…
…
No.
This is not the end just yet, Percy…
A voice spoke.
You have done wonderfully, Son. I am proud of you.
Percy barely had a chance to whisper back to the voice.
Claacccckkk!
Something snapped and broke, but it wasn't them.
RAAARRRR!
When the pain never came, Percy looked up from his hug with Annabeth and grew wide-eyed.
"H-How…"
There was a tiny barrier field covering them, the transparent aura film was even more solid than the Nemean Lion. His claws and sharp teeth couldn't break through no matter how many times he tried. All efforts seemed to knock him back instead.
A single claw from his left paw decorated the ground with a gruesome color.
Suddenly, Percy caught attention to their necklace glowing pearly white. The light flickered dimmer and dimmer as time passed, but it was certain that the tear-drop crystals hanging around their necks were the thing that saved them.
Thank you, Athena…
Percy had a feeling someone else was involved, but that would have to come later.
"Annabeth!" Percy shouted, "We have a chance to go. Let's go!"
Except Annabeth laid against his body motionless.
"Annabeth?"
Despite seemingly knock-out cold, Annabeth mumbled repeatedly through her lips. Her soft voice filled with a sense of purpose as words in Greek rolled through her tongue. Was she… chanting?! Percy stared wordlessly as something inconceivable happened right then.
"W-Wait… Annabeth? Where-e are you—"
Without any support from him, Annabeth got up all on her own almost as if she was underneath someone's trance, the barrier expanded to accommodate the change. With one hand out of commission, she raised her left hand at the Lion and stretch out her five fingers.
"Θα πληρώσεις για αυτό που έκανες." Annabeth spoke in another language perfectly, "Δεν θα σε αφήσω άλλο να μας πληγώσεις."
Percy understood every word that came out of her mouth.
"You'll pay for what you did. I won't let you hurt us anymore."
Just then, something wet slid down his fingers, but in fact, the bottom of his pants was getting soaked from water running over the ground. Yet, it didn't make sense because water shouldn't flow upstream.
Percy watched in awe as new trails of water streamed over the wall and flooded out of the destroyed building they were hiding behind. Water dripped constantly over the sinks as a dozen pipes rumbled like a symphony playing at the final crescendo.
"…." Percy was speechless.
Swirling until it formed a circle around Annabeth, a large mass gathered at her feet and rough waves that looked sharp enough to cut the sharpest object in the world spun around her body in a spiral vortex. The mass just kept building as more water was summoned from the pipes.
Is she… but how? This shouldn't be possible, but if that's not the reason why, then what in the world…
Percy could feel raw God-like power emanating from Annabeth in an unbelievable fashion. She was strong, way stronger than he could ever hope to be.
The pipes stopped rumbling behind him. The water stopped dripping over the sink. Instead, every drop of liquid in the building was sucked out as it flowed and gathered around Annabeth's tornado-like vortex, with sharp cutting waves spinning in an odd spiral.
"Annabeth…" Percy managed to get up too, but the strong gale building over Annabeth's figure was unlike anything he had experienced before, "Annabeth…!"
She didn't respond to his calls.
Taking his first step toward his girlfriend, Percy had to block his eyes with his arms just to get a proper look at what was happening. Her posture and movement didn't weaver from before, only now she was surrounded by a storm of pure fury, ready to unleash its full power at a moment's notice.
Even the Neman Lion backtracked his steps in seeming fear. Unwavering, Annabeth stood readily in front of the beast to protect the one she loved.
"Annabeth…." Percy croaked, his throat dry.
A new battle was about to start….
Without moving from her spot, Annabeth clenched her fingers into a fist and suddenly an overwhelming rush of water separated from her vortex. It seemed to follow her command and the waves slammed into the Lion and knock it sideways. Unfortunately, a tree nearby helped steady his fall where he easily found his opportunity for a counter-attack. Once he fixed his orientation with the help of a branch, the Lion climbed to the top as nimble as a cat, and at the very top, he pounced all the way from above the tree lines.
"Annabeth!"
But his warning meant nothing. Annabeth didn't even spare a passing glance at the Nemean Lion's sneak attack nor flinch from her position.
Shoussshh…
In an awe split-wave, a second and more powerful rush leaped from her protective storm and hurled the Lion straight into the ground. The earth shattered, a loud boom echoed through the park, huge tremors created by the impact caused Percy to lose his balance and tumbled backward on his butt.
Grruggg….
When the dust finally cleared, no one would have doubted that a small meteor had crashed-landed into the city. Just like before, the Lion inadvertently created a crater, except this one was much larger than what Percy created earlier.
Annabeth just single-handedly knocked the Neman Lion with a powerful slam. Even with his tough and impenetrable skin, there was no way he wouldn't feel hurt by that.
As expected, the Nemean Lion got up slowly and now seemed to want to escape.
"Δεν μπορείς να ξεφύγεις!" Annabeth taunted without a hint of emotions.
"You can't escape…"
Percy translated the words easily and found himself entranced when Annabeth summoned two new waves out of her raging vortex. The formless tentacles reached out to grab the Nemean Lion's hind legs and forced it to stumble before it could leap and run away.
A third wave rose from Annabeth's swirling storm, zipping high above the air as it formed into a giant liquefy hammer. Without hesitation, she slammed it straight down and crushed the Nemean Lion underneath.
Wham! Heavy and lacking remorse, the quaking thunder-like smash happened again, then again, and again and again relentlessly. Wham! Wham! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Merciless as she pulverized him out of control, the ground rumbled repeatedly and the crater only grew larger as Annabeth slammed her hammer on the already defeated animal. Dirt sent flying all over the ruined concrete blocks.
The almost indestructible Nemean Lion roared back defiantly each time, but Percy could make out small crying whines from the animal as if pleading to be released.
It was a breathtaking sight, but at the same time, it also felt cruel.
Percy felt his chest tighten, then a solid lump built in his throat and he couldn't stand by anymore.
It was hard to stomach the gruesomeness of what was being done. This wasn't his wise girl, not the one he fell in love with and was sweet and kind to everyone she loved back.
"Annabeth…" Percy called out to his girlfriend, "Annabeth… stop it already…. Annabeth!"
No use… She didn't hear his voice. Percy knew there was only one thing he could do to snap her from the destructive rage that was controlling her. He needed to be there with her.
"Annabeth, it's already defeated." Percy took his first step as gale wind sliced off some of his exposed skin. It left him with at least a dozen cuts.
The storm raged on but it didn't intensify.
"Annabeth! Please, just come back to me…" Percy took another step, followed by another step and another. Despite an invisible force pushing him back, Percy persisted as he trained his eyes on his princess who was all alone, unleashing hell on the beast that attacked them.
"Annabeth! Please, you don't have to keep going anymore…"
His pleads finally got through when he was standing outside the vortex range. Her attack paused in the middle. Relieved, Percy didn't hesitate and throw himself into the vortex, even if he didn't know if it was going to attack him on the spot or not.
He got through without shredding to pieces.
Finally, he could see his wise girl without averting his eyes, but what he saw turned his heart inside and out. His breathing halted when Annabeth looked back at him. Broken and defeated, Annabeth looked so disconnected from everything that ground a person to reality. It pained him to see her so desolated and filled with uncertainty. Lost to her stormy and teary eye, Percy felt an urge to hug her, to reassure her that everything was going to be okay. He was finally here with her.
"I need you with me, Annabeth." Percy pull her in and wrapped his arms around her frail and wounded body, "So it's okay now. I am here. I am here… and I won't leave you alone anymore."
"P-Percy?"
She was beginning to acknowledge his presence with her. Percy tried to throw all his warmth into his hug with Annabeth, and it seemed the comfort was easing her slowly.
Then a single tear fell on his neck.
Percy hugged his princess close in response. The vortex slowed around them.
In the next second, another drop of tears rolled onto his collarbone, then another tear fell, and another, and another until sobs were heard.
"P-Percyy-yyy…. P-Percyyy!"
Annabeth clung to him without letting go. She was bawling her eyes out in less than a second after she calmed down to his embrace.
Watching as her God-like power dissipated, the two fading water tendrils holding the Nemean Lion hostage pulled his limping body as close as it could to the pier, then with a herculean throw, the tendrils whipped from right to left and hurl the Lion over the edge of the pier. It landed in the river with a heavy splash. As if its jobs were finally done, they dissipated and fell to a puddle.
Everything around them was decorated with mud and puddles now. Landscape destroyed, building exploded, trees cut down, a real battle had just taken place in the park right next to their school and they somehow came out of the experience alive.
The crying beside his shoulder continued…
Percy patted her head slowly and brush her silky blonde hair, "Sshhh… I am here, wise girl."
….
….
When her exhaustion left her unconscious, Percy collapsed on his keens. He was tired and out of commission too, yet he cradled the girl he loved in his arms protectively. A sigh left his lips as he brushed a strand of her hair out of her face.
Then footsteps approached.
"Who's there?" Percy snapped his head and tensed.
A figure dressed in tattered clothes with sandy straight hair appeared. He wore a smile, yet it wasn't the typical one used to greet friends.
"I am surprised, Percy…."
The empty air was followed by a series of claps as if in genuine applause.
AN: Thanks for reading this slightly heavier chapter! I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have fun writing the fight scenes. Things will start to get more intense now as I start to delve into the mythology (my own take on the mythology anyway) part of the story, so stay tuned. As always, thanks for the favs, follows, and reviews! Every support means a lot to me! Well, till next time!
Owlfred, signing out!
