Thalia.
The young half-blood adjusted her grip on the sword in her hands, turning to glance behind the small group at the hordes of monsters chasing after them. Beside her, Grover looked about ready to have a panic attack, Annabeth was almost completely silent, and Luke was holding Annabeth's hand tightly, his expression tense and filled with worry.
Grover had said that they needed to get to some hill, but once he'd sensed the Kindly Ones… he'd frozen up. Now, it was up to Thalia and Luke to keep them going, trying to find a hill that led to a camp that none of them but Grover had been to.
Yeah… not ideal.
"We have to just get past that ridge!" Grover finally said, breaking the silence and pulling a tin can out of his pocket
The sounds of him chewing on it anxiously made her cringe, glancing over her shoulder at the monster behind them.
Annabeth tripped on her own feet, looking over her shoulder in panic."They're— they're getting closer!"
"We're not going to make it!" Luke grabbed Annabeth's hand and pulled her to her feet, pulling her to run a bit faster. His hair was plastered against his forehead, fear and worry in his eyes.
Thalia swallowed nervously, glancing down at the sword in her hands silently. Grover had given it to her when they had met, telling her that she was going to need it.
Now is the time.
They got to the top of the next hill, everyone panting and tired. Annabeth looked close to collapse, her blonde hair sticking to her neck and forehead. Out of everyone, it was obvious that Thalia was in the best shape.
When she turned to survey their surroundings, she couldn't help a small intake of breath at the sight that laid before them.
The camp was beautiful, and like nothing she'd ever seen in her whole life. There were cabins laid out over the grounds, all different and yet absolutely beautiful. From her vantage point, she could just barely make out a few especially large differences in the cabins, but she loved them even from that.
Thalia could just barely see the glint of the sun off a lake, the forest around hiding it from her view completely.
How could something like this be so beautiful and yet far away? They weren't close enough to keep running for it… Not if she didn't want Annabeth collapsing or getting hurt.
She tore her eyes away from the sight of the camp and glanced at Grover, taking in a deeper breath. "Take Annabeth and Luke ahead. I'll hold them off."
"What!? No! Thalia, you can't do that!" Luke cried, looking back and forth between the monsters that were already beginning to rally at the base of the grassy green hill. "They'll kill you!"
"I'll be fine, Luke. You have to go!" She shook her head, wishing he wouldn't argue. If he objected too much… well, she was certain she'd end up changing her mind, and that wasn't helpful.
"No! I'm staying with you!" Still keeping ahold of Annabeth's hand, he grasped for his sword, determination in his eyes.
"So am I!" Annabeth declared, the exhaustion in her voice only cementing Thalia's decision.
It had to be her.
Thalia glared at Luke angrily, a small spark of fear lighting up in her stomach that she hurried to stamp out before it could grow. Fear wasn't an option right now. "Absolutely not, Luke! You have to get to Camp Half-Blood and take care of Annabeth!"
Grover touched Luke's shoulder, starting to shift from hoof to hoof anxiously. "Luke—"
"No! We— I have to take care of you too, Thalia!" Luke shrugged Grover's hand off his shoulder, looking nervously at the monsters.
"You don't have time, idiot! Go!" She spared one glance at Annabeth, who looked like she was about to collapse from exhaustion. "Annabeth… be strong, okay?"
She shook her head a bit, pulling her hand out of Luke's grasp to practically tackle Thalia, wrapping her arms around her tightly. "No! You can't!"
"Annabeth, I have to!" Thalia bent down to untangle Annabeth's arms, pushing her back towards Luke. "You have to go with Luke, do you hear me? I'll be right behind you!"
Luke opened his mouth, a sort of strangled cry escaping instead of words. "Thalia–-"
She glared at him and pushed him towards where the glint of a lake was just barely visible in the late afternoon sun. "GO!"
After a second, he turned and bolted down the other side of the hill, his sword glinting in the sun.
She swallowed nervously, turning to face the monsters.
This was a stupid stupid stupid idea.
All she had to do was hold them off until backup could come. That wasn't so hard?
"YOU WANT ME!? COME AND GET ME!"
She squared her shoulders, raising her sword to the sky in challenge. There was no way they would be able to resist that.
The monsters began roaring and laughing, calling out her name in mocking tones, even as the first few began to climb the hill to get to her.
Thalia adjusted her grip on the shield in her off-hand, taking another deep breath.
As she lived, Luke, Annabeth, and Grover would have the time to get to camp. These monsters would not hurt them
I am the daughter of Zeus, and by the gods, they will regret chasing us.
With her sword still stretched to the sky, she called upon her powers, relishing the spark inside as the lightning responded to her call, roiling and ready for battle.
The first bolt struck right where she wanted it to, striking down the first few monsters who had broken from the ranks to charge. For one second, there was silence, then, a cry went up and the whole horde charged for her, the sounds of their anger and bloodlust reaching her ears.
"FOR OLYMPUS!" Thalia screamed, running down the hill to meet them.
Moving quickly, she dodged a volley of wicked looking arrows and turned to slice the head off a medium-sized hellhound.
Each second seemed to pass in slow motion as she dodged a sword from a monster maybe three times her height and stabbed another monster through the chest.
The dust rained down on her, getting everywhere, but she ignored it.
Each moment that passed seemed like hours, the seconds sharpening into bits of time that passed without a thought.
The pounding of the blood in her ears was the loudest sound, even past the crackle of lightning as she called it down again and again in an attempt to even the odds against her.
However, there was nothing about this that was even about this.
The problem was simple. Around a dozen dangerous monsters straight from the Underworld against one Thalia.
That wasn't good odds by any calculation.
At first, she was able to defend against all but the smallest injuries. A cut on her wrist and hand, bruises from the pressure of her shield getting slammed into her arm again and again. She kept having to retreat further up the hill, finding it harder and harder to keep her footing the further up she went.
Moving as quickly as she could with the pain starting to bleed through her whole body, she spun and sliced the head off another monster, not even registering its shriek as it exploded into dust.
She turned around again, trying to keep track of every monster as they circled around her, trying to catch her off guard and get through her slowly weakening defenses.
For a little while, she was able to keep it up. There was no avoiding the plethora of small injuries that she gained, but it became fairly simple to avoid them, to only focus on the fight.
She was so engaged in what she was doing that the sound of horns from the direction of Camp Half-Blood barely even registered.
Unfortunately… there were too many of them, and she couldn't move fast enough. Even with the small advantages she held, she wasn't fast enough, wasn't good enough.
The first sword stroke she wasn't able to block came quickly, cutting a deep gash in her leg and causing her to trip and fall.
She caught herself with her sword, biting back a cry of pain.
Thalia blinked, the pain threatening to make her black out.
No, no, come ON.
Her vision flashed white as a lightning bolt she had summoned seconds before came down and struck right next to her head.
The sound of it hitting the ground made her head spin.
A monster cackled, her voice grainy and seeming to go in and out of focus. "Daughter of Zeus, your miserable life ends today!"
With a growl, she forced herself to her feet, barely even noticing how few monsters there were left around her. "Not while I still draw breath."
She gripped her sword tighter, her own blood soaking through the fabric of her jeans and dripping down her leg. She barely even noticed the stabbing pain from the injury.
With one quick movement, she leapt forward and lopped off the head of the monster, determined to give Grover, Luke, and Annabeth as much of a buffer to Camp Half-Blood as she could.
Were they there yet?
She didn't have a chance to think about them for long, though.
Even her split second of distraction had given another monster an opportunity to come behind me with a roar she barely heard in time.
Blinding pain filled her right arm, overwhelming every single sense until she couldn't even take a breath without it seeming to tear her in half. It seemed to spill into the rest of her body, making it significantly difficult to move.
What a way to go out…
Fighting through the pain, she turned again and slashed for the monster that had stabbed her, her whole arm steadily beginning to go numb.
She couldn't find the energy to try and wake it up or even see what the damage was.
All she knew was that she had to protect Annabeth and Luke, even if it meant her death.
Another two monsters came at me, and I didn't even hesitate to run straight for them, focusing on taking out as many as I could before the pain became too much.
Each step was torture, blinding pain going through her in flashes. It felt like hot brands were being pressed to her skin, each muscle screaming in pain as she fought, her shield becoming almost like dead weight on her arm.
"THALIA!"
At the sound of her name, she turned, just barely seeing Annabeth and Grover over by the border of the camp through the blurriness that obscured her vision.
Were those… tears?
Slowly, she touched her cheek, the tips of her fingers coming away wet.
She didn't even hear the monster to the right of her.
Excruciating pain shot through her, a scream tearing itself from her lips.
She collapsed on the soft grass, the pain making her feel sick to her stomach.
"No— no—" Thalia struggled to wrap her fingers around the hilt of her sword, but her hand wasn't working. She couldn't move, tears dripping down her cheek and onto the grass.
Death is warm… like a soft embrace.
Maybe it wasn't so bad to die in battle…
"NO! THALIA!" Annabeth's scream broke the air, but she could barely find the strength to open her eyes.
Please. Dad. I have to protect them. I— I can't die now. Grant me your strength.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she reached for my sword one more time, forcing her fingers to close around the hilt she knew so well.
Just one more time. I have to keep them away from the borders. I have to keep them from Luke and Annabeth.
She couldn't do it.
She wasn't strong enough.
Every single small movement stung like fire, the effort to breath even becoming too much.
"The daughter of Zeus falls so easily!?" One of the few monsters left barked with laughter, coming so close that she could feel the heat from their skin. "Weakling!"
NO.
The familiar sound of thunder rumbled around me, dark clouds seeming to come out of nowhere and covering the sun, casting everything in darkness, almost like the darkness she could just barely see flickering on the edges of her vision.
Her eyelids fluttered, the pain seeming to reside a bit as she got used to it. Blood dripped down from her leg and back, making the wind seem almost colder than it must have actually been. Slowly, her grip on the sword in her hands loosened until it fell from her hands, the weight of it odd to lose.
Death isn't so bad. Not really. Especially death in battle to protect the closest thing I really had to family…
On the edges of her vision, right up by the darkness that was bleeding through, she saw a flash of light, something like… lightning.
She couldn't even lift her head to see what it was, having to struggle to keep her eyes open.
Around her, the laughter of the monsters started to turn to screaming, followed by cracks of lightning and a roar that sounded oddly familiar, even if she couldn't quite place it.
After what seemed like so long, it stopped, the wind and the low rumble of thunder all that she could hear.
She closed my eyes for a second, fighting to stay awake.
Luke… Annabeth...
At least they were safe. That was worth all the pain.
"Thalia."
A low voice, one she recognized. One she had heard many times in dreams or in her own head. One she had imagined so many times.
She slowly opened her eyes, the searing pain making it hard to do anything to look up.
As it turned out, she didn't have to. The person she had seen in her dreams so many times, the one she had thought she would never be able to see with her own eyes…
"... D— Dad?"
Zeus smiled a little, reaching out with one hand to brush her cheek, gently wiping a tear away. "My darling Thalia. You are a true warrior. I am so proud of you."
She tried a small smile, but the muscles around her mouth weren't working now, the darkness edging closer and closer to the center of her vision. "Proud?"
Since when had he been proud?
Since when had he been… anything towards her?
"Yes." He knelt down beside her, cupping her cheek gently. "More than you know."
"I—"
"Shh." He hushed her, still cupping her cheek. "Close your eyes, Thalia. Rest. Elysium waits for you."
"I— I'm not ready." She managed, a surge of resentment coming up unexpectedly. "I promised to protect them, I can't leave them now."
"If you are sure." His hands began to glow gold, and even with her fading vision, she could see the glow. It was warm, bright. Inviting. "I am so proud of you, Thalia. Always remember that."
The glow filled her vision, overwhelming the darkness, erasing the pain and the tears and filling it with light.
Proud.
What a thing to hear from your father as you died.
There's a tree on the hill upon Half-Blood Hill that watches over us, silent and still. And no one at camp is safe until we can see the tree on the hill.
A/N: Hello again, my friends! I am so sorry for my disappearance for so long!
As you may have noticed, this is my first time trying anything from Percy Jackson, but it's a fandom that is really very close to my heart. If you liked the fic, please drop me a review and let me know! I got inspired to write this from the musical "The Lightning Thief," so I would suggest listening to "The Tree on the Hill" if you want to see where I got my ideas for some of the imagery. If you want to increase the sadness factor, listen to TTotH while reading this. Trust me, it's painful XD.
Unfortunately, long gaps of time like this will begin to get more frequent. As graduation season draws closer and closer, I get busier and busier. I have already been shifting my focus more towards original works of fiction (mainly in the genres of fantasy and fairytale retellings), so fanfiction has taken a back seat. However, that does not mean that I'm completely dead! Whenever inspiration strikes, I will still be posting on here, and OLS and I have something in the works that is going to blow your minds.
Anyways, like I said, if you liked this, drop me a review and listen to the musical if you haven't already! It's really good ;)
