Chapter six: Primum proelium

Disclaimer: If I were Rick Riordan, which I am not, I would not be studying 10 hours a day for stupid exams

Author's Note – I'm sure a lot of you know that there is a bug affecting the whole review part of the story. And yes, I can't see your reviews on fanfiction, but I still see them on my email. So, please don't refrain from reviewing the story.

Also, sorry for the late update. I have been extremely tired the past two days, not to mention the writer's block that effectively killed my writing mood. But the chapter is here now, I hope you enjoy!

"Battle scars just remind us that we survived"

- Shelly Crane

Percy's POV:

My stupid brain almost got me killed in the first three minutes of the battle. I had charged at the huge Tar monsters who outnumbered us, and like the fool I was, all I could think about was Annabeth. Specifically, what she had said. From calling me Seaweed Brain to promising that she would never make things easy for me, I could slowly feel the ice beginning to crack.

It had been weird at first, with her memories gone, along with the strand of grey hair that bonded us when we had lifted the weight of the sky. I kept thinking that the gods would take pity on me and return Annabeth's memories. Right after thinking that, I imagined the Gods of Olympus watching us on Hephaestus TV chuckling "LOL, NOOB!"

I was so busy thinking about her that I almost failed to dodge the first monster that swung its hand down at me, attempting to smash me with its fist. I ducked under his hand and thrust Riptide up, sure that it would explode into golden dust.

Instead, my sword passed through the thick, viscous liquid before getting stuck. Right at that moment, a second monster flung its hand outwards, throwing balls of the sticky stuff at me.

I knew that even if one of those spheres connected, I would be done for. Thankfully, Annabeth had apparently planned for this and as soon as I rolled below the spheres and ran with her behind a rock for shelter, she took out a canister from her backpack.

"Hey uh Annabeth….is that Mace? Coz I don't think that'll work against these guys." I said.

She rolled her eyes and my lips tugged upwards at the familiar gesture. "No, you Seaweed Brain, this is WD40, demigod strength."

"Ummm, why do you carry WD-40 with you? And where did you get it from. I don't think Hermes Express is still open since the gods have cut themselves off." I said.

"To answer your question, we were going to collect tar, and I wasn't going to go in unprepared, especially since you seem to have the worst luck ever, attracting every monster within ten miles from us. And I got this from Leo, well, his toolbelt to be precise." she said.

"So…. you planned for the tar waking up and attacking us?" I asked incredulously

"Kelp Head, can we do this later? We do have five monsters hell bent on killing or capturing us." She said, shaking the canister for emphasis.

"Yeah okay" I said. By that time, Riptide had returned to my pocket and was back in pen form. I uncapped it and the blade sprung free, an arc of pure destruction.

"The plan remains the same. I'll distract them, you just blast them with the mix." I confirmed.

"I make the plans here." She said, irritated.

"Well do you have a better idea?" I asked.

"Well….no, not really" she mumbled.

"Okay then, on the count of three. 1….2…."

"3!" I shouted and ran out again.

Being a demigod, you always have to be on your guard. Even the mightiest heroes like Achilles can die from something as inconsequential as an arrow.

So, while I ran between the tar giants, occasionally yelling at them and calling them names for good measure, Annabeth would pop out of the hiding place, fire off a few shots and retreat.

We managed to disable four of the five giants like this, though we were both exhausted while the monster showed no signs of fatigue.

"Hey Ugly! Why don't you come here" I jeered, trying to draw it away from Annabeth while she took out her last canister. Panting hard, I ran towards him rather than away and the monster froze, unable to believe that someone like me could be stupid enough to charge someone like him all on my own.

"Hey stupid" I yelled. "I fought against Kronos. You don't scare me half as much as he did." I bluffed.

Turns out, even semi-sentient puddles of tar have an ego. The monster lumbered at me; one hand raised.

I veered to the left, remembering what my mom had told me the first time I had battled the Minotaur. Just like the bull, this giant was so heavy that its momentum would not allow it to stop midstride.

"Is that as fast as you can go, coz I have seen trees move faster than you do." I taunted him.

"Annabeth how much more time do you need?" I asked, tired from running around.

"Just give me a minute Seaweed Brain, I had to make sure the other four were no longer a problem." She said.

As I was running, I tripped over a rock and skidded to the ground. The tar monster almost grinned, which shouldn't even have been possible and came at me. I scrambled onto my feet just as the monster tried to grab me.

As soon as his hand closed around me, the tar started to harden.

"Can't…...breathe" I choked out.

I felt the ground pulsing, turning to quicksand beneath my feet and heard a voice in my head- "Ahh Perseus, I told you I would get back at you for thwarting Porphyrion." The voice murmured.

"Gaia" I spat. "What do you want."

"Oh nothing, you're just going to be my first sacrifice. When your blood is spilt at The Acropolis, I will AWAKEN!" she shouted.

Just as I was about to be encased completely, I heard Annabeth scream once and I was sprayed with the lubricant, turning the tar to sludge.

"Well that went well." I joked.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and I was weirdly glad to see the genuine concern on her face.

"Of course. I'm covered in tar and look like hell walked over me, but I'm okay." I said. "Besides, after fighting Kronos Lite and Porphyrion, I wasn't about to let Queen Dirt Face defeat me." I said.

She raised one eyebrow. "Kronos Lite?"

"Ohh right, ummm I was talking about Hyperion." I said.

Her eyes widened. "You fought against Hyperion?" she asked. Disbelief evident in her tone.

"No need to sound so surprised Owl Head." I said, pretending that her suspicion did not affect me, that it did not hurt.

Apparently, she picked up on my mood and hastily said "It's not that I don't believe you. I just…. did not think. I'm sorry."

"A child of Athena who doesn't think huh." I teased, "that has got to be a first."

"Oh shut up Kelp Head." She says.

And even though the nickname annoys me to no end, I can't help but smile as all I can think about is the fact that she's starting to remember. That maybe the gods aren't so heartless after all.

Author's Note: Aaaannnnd that's a wrap! I've decided I'm going to have two author's notes in every chapter since there's some stuff you wanna say before the chapter and some stuff after. I'll post chapter 7 in 2-3 days hopefully, but till then, I want some ideas for a oneshot. So, if anyone has anything they want me to write about, PM me.

Also, as always, REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!