Credit for BasicallyAnythingTheatre (BAT) for their idea for this chapter!

Also I'd like to thank everyone for reviewing and for their support! It means a lot to me.

Celeste, I hope everything will be okay and your dad gets better soon!


Even though he felt awful for leaving Leo Valdez behind, Percy couldn't ignore his gut instinct - to protect Annabeth. It probably didn't help that he was bored out of his mind from healing up after getting hurt in the crash. And he blamed the hippalektryons for that. Those flying horse-chickens are what caused the whole mess in the first place. If not for them, Hazel would still be-

"Not the time to think about Hazel," Percy told himself, his voice already ragged and gasping as he sprinted in the direction he saw Leo coming from, hoping that he wasn't going the wrong way.

Finally he reached a clearing. Trees had been torn up by their trunks and obviously thrown around, and Percy realized it was because of the huge Cyclops, who was currently marching toward Frank and Piper. The ground was uneven, consisting of upturned dirt and debris. Piper's leg was currently trapped, crushed under a fallen tree and Frank was struggling to lift up the trunk just enough to get her out.

"HEY!" Percy roared, drawing the Cyclops' attention. It swiveled its head away from the two demigods and toward Percy.

"Percy?!" three voices shouted at once, surprised. Annabeth stepped out from behind a bush she was using for cover while she was formulating a strategy. She obviously hadn't planned for Percy to show up.

"Hey Frank, Pipes," he winked at Annabeth, "Future Mrs. Jackson."

She turned bright red but didn't say anything. It would just waste more time.

"I'll take care of it," he said confidently.

"Are you fully recovered? Where's Leo? Didn't he tell you about-" Frank started.

"I'll take care of it!" he repeated, more forcefully this time. Percy raised his arms in front of him, his trembling hands aimed toward the Cyclops.

Annabeth's heart sank as she recognized the expression on his face. This was a side of Percy she'd only seen a few times before. The scary side that she first met in Tartarus, when they discovered he could manipulate the water in a person's blood.

The Cyclops trembled, unable to move its body. "W-What?" it choked out.

Percy twisted his hands slightly to the right and the monster roared with pain. "It's called blood-bending. And I would recommend you not try anything. Or I'll kill you."

"Perseus…" Annabeth said helplessly, "We're not in Tartarus anymore. Please stop."

The son of Poseidon felt as if his blood was boiling. The power he held over water was terrifying, but also thrilling.

"L-Listen to the g-girl," the Cyclops said, "D-Don't k-kill me. I didn't hurt nothing!"

Hissing through his teeth, Percy responded, "You. Killed. Hazel."

The demigod boy's hands were shaking almost uncontrollably. Maintaining control over blood was draining, and he wasn't at his strongest to begin with.

The Cyclops, sensing that Percy's hold wasn't as strong as it used to be, smirked, "Oh, right. I ate her, didn't I? And that little blonde boy too."

Piper screamed, ripping a bloodied leg out from under the trunk Frank was lifting desperately. "YOU'RE A LIAR! YOU DIDN'T! PLEASE NO!" Tears spilled from her eyes as she pulled out a dagger. The normally perfectly pointed end was chipped, Percy guessed from when they were fighting before he showed up.

"YOU KILLED JASON!" Piper started to charge at him with her dagger.

Percy had to make a split second decision. Piper attacking the Cyclops would probably cause him to lose the little remaining control he had over its blood. He sucked in a deep breath and twisted with his hands a little further.

With a loud crack, the monster's neck snapped and it flopped to the ground. Piper, blinded by her tears and rage, began punching its lifeless body and repeatedly digging into it with her dagger. "Jason!" she sobbed, "Hazel!"

Percy's knees buckled under him, but Annabeth was quick and caught him before he hit the ground. She cradled him as she fought to keep her eyes from watering up. I have to be strong. Percy's eyes flickered closed as he lost consciousness for the second time that day. He'd put far too much strain on his body, and Annabeth wondered how long it would take everyone to recover.

Frank knew he didn't have to keep lifting the fallen tree, but he needed something to hold onto. So he hugged the trunk, trying to hold in the sobs that wracked his body.

"You…killed…" Piper stopped and dropped the dagger, clenching her fists tightly with emotion, "You killed Jason."

"Where's Jason?"

Leo stood, panting, his hands, both lit on fire for a fight, dropped to his sides. His expression crumbled at the looks on everyone's faces.

A part of him knew it was irrational, illogical, but Leo knew Jason's death wasn't just the Cyclops's fault. Jason never would've gone out on his own if it weren't for Leo. He's the one who didn't crash with the rest of the group. If he hadn't gotten snatched by that hippalectryon, didn't break his arm, and wasn't an absolute failure as the commander of the Argo II, none of this would've happened.

That's why Piper's words stung him so much.

"You killed Jason."

"I killed Jason," he tapped on his leg in Morse code. He didn't bother acknowledging Annebeth's worried face.