Rush update today, I will still be taking votes but I don't have time today so tomorrow the votes will be from two days! Read and review guys!
As soon as Blackjack landed Percy was vaulting off the Pegasi's back and hauling Nico off with her, sprinting inside, rushing through the lobby to the room where she knew Will had set up the main section of their makeshift infirmary, barely noticing the startled looks as she sped past other demigods- and when she kicked her way into the room Will was rising from where he'd been seeing to a patient and his eyes widened in shock when he spotted her. "Percy- oh gods!" there was pure terror in his voice, "Nico!"
"He pushed himself too far." Percy said quickly, setting Nico down on one of the makeshift cots where Will was already grabbing up
his supplies, "I don't think he's too badly injured but he's been shadow travelling constantly and using his powers to summon
skeletons and swallow monsters-"
"Di immortals." Will cursed, "I am going to murder your brother Percy I swear it." even as he spoke he was opening a bottle of nectar, "Can you part his lips for me so I can get this down him?"
"Of course." Percy parted her brothers lips, tilting his head back slightly so that Will could pour some of the nectar down his throat, closing the bottle when he judged that he'd used enough before he sat down next to the bed, brushing Nico's hair out of his face.
"He did this in the Labyrinth too- nearly killed himself. I told him I'd strap him to the bed if he ever did it again." Will looked shaky as he brushed Nico's hair away from his sweaty forehead and he started to sing softly- one of the Apollo cabins hymns to their father, and Percy watched as he glowed faintly and Nico's skin seemed to regain some of its color, and Will kept singing, his hand resting on
Nico's cheek as he did, and Percy could see the worry and love in his expression.
Percy sat silently, holding Nico's hand gently while Will did his thing, and when Will stopped, swaying on the spot Percy reached out to catch his arm and steady him with her free hand, "Woah there Will. You should sit down, take a break-"
"I have too much to do Percy-"
"Will you'll work yourself half to death like Nico almost did. I don't wanna have to tell my baby brother that his boyfriend made himself sick."
"I-" Will hesitated before slowly lowering himself so that he was sat on the edge of the makeshift cot. "I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't
wouldn't I?"
"Yes, yes you would." Percy gave him a determined look, "Rest Will." she grinned teasingly, "Or you'll be the zombie boyfriends-"
"Really?" Will shot Percy an unimpressed look, "Is that the best you've got."
"I happen to think I'm hilarious."
"You're a dumbass is what you are." the faint croak came from Nico and Percy and Will's heads both snapped around to focus on the boy led in the cot- his eyes were still closed, and he still looked worryingly pale, but there was a very faint smile on his lips- which faded when Percy pinched his arm hard.
"You terrible annoying infuriating little shit you scared me! I thought I'd lost you-"
"Ouch!" Nico's eyes opened and he glared weakly at Percy, "That hurt."
"Good, that means you're still alive." Will's voice was sharp, "If Percy didn't do it then I would do you have any idea how weak you were when she brought you in? I thought we were going to lose you-"
"Ugh." Nico groaned, "You want me to say sorry right?"
"I want you to look after yourself." Will snapped, "Nico you know what using your powers too much does to you! You're not using them any more until I say you can am I clear-"
"Will we're in the middle of a war-" Nico tried to sit up but Will was shoving him down hard, his eyes narrowed.
"Nico Di Angelo I swear I will chain you to the gods damned bed if I have to-"
"Oo-"
"Shut up!" that came from Nico and Will at once, both of them giving Percy dirty looks, and Percy held up her hands and gave her most innocent look, brushing her hair out of her face as she did.
"What, what did I do? I've done nothing wrong ever-"
"Oh I am going to murder you-" Nico tried, "I am going to brutally murder you-"
"You're going to wait until you're given permission and then we'll murder her together." Will countered.
"But-"
"Nico." Will growled the name, "I swear to the gods I will chain you up I am not joking."
"Percy." Nico turned his head, "Can you get me an apple."
"Why?"
"Will's annoying me and-"
Percy burst out laughing as she finished the sentence with him, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."
"Oh fuck you both." Will snorted and shook his head, "You're both ridiculous."
"What's so funny?" Leo burst in a grin on his lips, "Did I miss something-"
"Leo, go get me an apple." Nico called out.
"Sure thing- but first, Annabeth, Luke, Thalia and Chiron are in the lobby."
"Ah." Percy let out a groan and dragged herself to her feet, "I'll go see them." she swayed very slightly and Will's eyes narrowed.
"No you won't."
"What?"
"You're dead on your feet-"
"I'm fine." and even as she said it Percy knew it was a lie- she was exhausted, she'd been running on adrenaline, she hadn't stopped since the battle had began, not really.
And now that she'd been able to breath she felt the exhaustion hitting her with the force of a truck.
She'd been managing to ignore it until Will had mentioned it- bit now she could feel her shoulder's slumping, and she could feel three sets of concerned eyes on her.
"Sure, you're totally fine." Will crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow. She gave him a dirty look, poking her middle finger up at him.
"I need to do it okay?"
"Fine." Will was glaring. "But if you're not back here within half an hour I am coming out there to drag you in here and force you to sleep."
"You know for the human embodiment of sunshine you're a real scary guy-"
"Would you expect any less from someone willing to put up with Nico's 'I am death' vibe?" Leo's voice was almost teasing, "Don't worry Will. I'll take her to them and tell them you want her back within half an hour-"
"I thought I was the one leading this army!"
"Nah. You just thought that." Nico gave a tired grin, pushing himself up onto his elbows, "It's always the blonds who are in charge."
"... Yeah I can't even argue against that." Percy muttered, "Though Luke doesn't really count."
"So Annabeth and Will are the bosses-"
"They're our bosses."
"Y'know- I think blonds have a thing for big three kids." Leo grinned, "Annabeth, Luke and Will, what do they have in common, you're all blonde, what else do they have in common? They're all dating terrifying big three kids."
"Oh yes. I'm so terrified." Will's voice was thick with sarcasm, "My boyfriend is currently led in bed because he's a dumbass who decided to push himself past his limits and my boyfriends big sister is currently swaying she's so exhausted. Seriously I could take you both out with a feather right now."
"So rude." Percy pointed at him, even as Leo hooked his arm around her free arm and started towing her out of the makeshift infirmary.
"Go on then Jackson, and get back here to sleep within half an hour or I will come and physically haul your ass here."
"He will." Nico called as they left the room, "Did it to me once, it was hot-"
"I mean his dad is the sun-"
"Well he's not as hot as me." Leo declared with a grin that made Percy snort, shaking her head as she looked forward, letting Leo half drag her along until they reached the lobby- and as soon as Luke spotted them he was pulling away from Thalia, pulling Percy into an almost bone crushing hug.
"Oh thank the gods- Annabeth said Nico-"
"He'll be fine, he's awake and talking- and complaining-"
"Thank goodness." Chiron looked relieved, "That's very good to hear. Will-"
"He won't be able to fight." Percy shook her head, "Will's not going to even let him get up right now and honestly I don't blame him."
"Nico looks like a real zombie." Leo piped up, "Now I'm gonna go and do some damage control on Festus- oh and by the way, Will said if Percy isn't back in the infirmary within half an hour he'll come and drag her in-"
"I- am actually kind of terrified of him so I will make sure she's back." Luke loosened his grip on Percy and pulled back, "Why though?"
"Because I'm kinda tired." Percy admitted, face flushing, "It's not-"
"Achilles needed to sleep much more than most people." Chiron eyed Percy with concern, "Remember, your increased abilities come with a price." as he spoke Leo took the chance to head out, ducking away and heading outside as Chiron finished, "Young Will is probably right, you need to rest as much as you can before the final battle. And you'll need to eat."
"Ugh." Percy groaned, "Fine, I already agreed to go back there after this anyway."
"Good." Annabeth gave Percy a worried smile, "You've done a lot today. Fought a Titan, killed a Sow, helped fend off an army. Anyone would need rest-"
"Oh don't get too cocky Wise girl, you're gonna get some more rest too, miss, 'I nearly died from a poisoned wound but I'm just fine to storm into battle'. If I have to rest so do you-"
"That's ridiculous-"
"Okay, then I'm not resting-"
"I- you-"
"I'm only going to go back there and get some sleep if you come with me."
Annabeth's mouth dropped open in shock and she looked around for support, but Thalia just laughed and shook her head.
"Nope. Not happening, Percy's got you this time."
"You know, your relationship is so weird- you just blackmail each other into taking care of yourselves." Luke looked between the two of them. "Thalia usually just threatens to knock me out by smacking me over the head-"
"Probably wouldn't work." Annabeth remarked, "She's got the whole Achilles thing now."
"Children please!" Chiron held up his hands, his lips twitching very slightly. "As much as I'm glad to see that you can still smile we
must focus for a moment."
"Right." Percy straightened up, "Thank you for bringing the Party Ponies."
"I'm only sorry that it took us so long to get here-"
"How did you get there? The magic defences-"
"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."
"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," Luke's voice was almost desperate, "Because we're doing our best but it's not
looking good."
Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."
"Right." Percy pressed her lips together into a thin line. "We need the gods. How are they holding out against Typhon right now?"
Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians. No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia. He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"
"We're screwed." Thalia finished bluntly, "We barely managed to hold them off tonight-"
"I'll get Nico to IM Bianca." Percy said after a moment, "Right now the only reason Hades isn't up here fighting with us is the fact that if he leaves the Underworld it'll be overwhelmed and Bianca can't defend herself like Nico can, she doesn't have the control over her powers. If he can get her to agree to leave then we'll have some back up."
"We can't rely on that." Chiron shook his head.
"We're not going to last another night without help."
"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter. We should start moving our base other than the injured, we'll need to focus on Olympus."
"Yeah." Percy nodded, "We can't risk moving some of the injured but you're right. Give the orders for people to set up a base there, anyone well enough to move there should be moved if they can be. We'll come and join you after we've got some sleep too, I honestly don't think I have the energy to do more than stumble to the infirmary right now."
"I'll assist Thalia." Luke nodded- and both of them looked drained- but neither of them looked as bad and Percy herself and Annabeth as they staggered off.
Chiron sighed heavily, "I will help them, I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer." and with that he cantered off, and Percy stared after him before she turned her gaze to Annabeth.
"Sleep?"
"Oh thank the gods yes sleep."
And hand in hand the two girls headed back to the infirmary.
