AWAKE¸ Gaea's voice echoed through the valley.
Typical. Percy has one nosebleed, and the world ends. As if drowning at the bottom of the ocean wasn't bad enough, now Percy definitely felt like the worst demigod ever. As the ground shook, Percy tried to make his way to Annabeth. The rippling dirt made it difficult, but luckily, Annabeth met him halfway. She kicked off the ground and slashed her sword into a nearby monster. Percy didn't even have time to identify it before it vaporized. Her blonde hair was strewn all over his face, but he was still able to meet her gray eyes from beneath her locks. Usually, he could tell exactly what was going through her head, but now he was at a loss. She had been frozen in place for a bit, now she was fully back in action, determination in her eyes. Though it was mixed with another emotion. Sadness? Guilt?
He wanted nothing more than to curl up with her and talk about her thoughts, but they had more pressing matters to attend to. He stepped over to her and put his arm on her back. "You okay?" he asked.
Annabeth nodded, saying, "I'm alright."
Percy knew she wasn't, but he didn't want to push it. Since the two of them had come out of Tartarus, they had spent their downtime trying to talk about the experience. It was clear neither of them were alright. Percy danced around the subject when he spoke with Annabeth, but he felt guilty for scaring her. He lost himself when they faced Akhlys, and he scared Annabeth. He loved her more than words could describe, and yet, for a moment, she was terrified of him. They talked about it after he and Jason came back from the bottom of the ocean (again, embarrassing), and of course, he apologized to her. She assured him it was fine, but he still couldn't help but beat himself up about it.
Annabeth straightened her back, and the couple watching in horror as a spire of earth coalesced on the hill next to them and formed a twenty-foot tall figure of Gaea. Her skin was pure white, and her dress was woven with the bright green valley grass. Past her tangled oak brown hair, was her most chilling feature; her pure green eyes. From their position, it felt like Percy, Annabeth, and the Athena Parthenos were standing in direct opposition to the Earth Mother.
"Little fools,"Gaea spoke, as she towered over the warring armies. The fighting had ceased, and all eyes were on the goddess. "The paltry magic of your statue cannot contain me."
Percy and Annabeth locked eyes. They had done this enough times to know what the other was thinking; we need to join the others. Together, the two of them ran down the hill towards the front lines. As they pushed through demigods and monsters alike, Percy could feel the sheer power coming from Gaea's physical form. It was eerily similar to the magnetic and helpless feeling he experienced when faced with the embodiment of Tartarus. He quickly shook it off. They could still win. He and Annabeth had come too far to let Mother Earth take them down.
As they got closer, Percy was dimly aware of Piper calling something out. Percy was still forging forward, but Annabeth grabbed his arm and steered them sideways, towards Piper's voice, over by the right-hand side of Gaea.
Just as they rejoined the ranks alongside Jason, Piper, Hazel and Frank, the entire valley moaned as Gaea let out a horrific laugh. The dirt itself formed into waves, trees groaned in agony as they bent, and Percy could have sworn the bedrock foundation of the camp was starting to shift. His dad was the Earthshaker; maybe he could try to counteract her powers. That thought faded away as soon as he gazed up and saw Gaea with arms outstretched, towering over him and his friends. No way could he hope to overpower her. She had to be defeated another way.
Percy looked towards the back and sides of the demigod ranks, and he noticed his friends were starting to sink into the earth. It was like they were all trapped in quicksand. Luckily, the monsters were caught too. Beside him, Jason hovered in the wind. In Frank's place flew a small hummingbird, buzzing around Hazel's head. Hazel herself was busy trying to slow her descent into the mush. Piper and Annabeth were both stepping around as if they were trying to find a piece of solid ground. Percy tried to help them, but he found himself rooted in place. He looked at his feet, which were slowly being swallowed by the soil. Suddenly, he had flashbacks to when he almost drowned in Alaska. No way was he letting that happen again. With renewed strength, he was able to pull himself out of the mud, one foot at a time.
"The whole earth is my body. How would you fight the goddess of—" Gaea's victory speech was cut short by a bronze comet sweeping down and lifting her off the hill with a FOOOOMP.
As the ground beneath him solidified, Percy couldn't help but let a smile spread across his face. Looking to the sky, he realized that it was indeed Festus the dragon carrying Gaea in his claws, with Leo riding on his back. "Pipes! Jason!" Leo called from above, as Festus gained altitude. "You coming? The fight is up here!"
The monsters recovered first. Around Percy, fights broke out among half-sunken demigods and Gaea's forces. Demigods and monsters crossed weapons every couple feet. Triumphant yells and cries of pain blended in a single cacophony. Percy had never seen a battle so dense. He saw Jason put his arms around Piper and knew they were about to follow Leo. "Wait!" he shouted without giving it a second thought. "Frank can fly the rest of us up there! We can all—"
"No, man," Jason shook his head. "They need you here. There's still an army to defeat. Besides, the prophecy—" To storm or fire the world must fall. Yeah, Percy knew. But he didn't like it. The quest was supposed to be the seven of them, wasn't it? How could he just let the three of them take on a primordial goddess themselves? What kind of leader would do that? What kind of friend?
Frank grabbed his arm. With his newfound strength, Frank probably could have broken it. "He's right. You have to let them do this, Percy. It's like Annabeth's quest in Rome. Or Hazel's at the Doors of Death. This part can only be them."
Percy felt like the Athena Parthenos' eyes were staring at him. Annabeth's mom had once told him, 'To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world.' At the time, Percy didn't understand why Athena thought that was a fatal flaw. Standing there, as Leo hauled Gaea further up the sky, he realized why that was so dangerous. He wanted to help Jason, Piper, and Leo more than anything in the world. If he did, it would inevitably lead to his death and could even screw up the whole prophecy. And yet, he couldn't help but want to try.
Athena, he thought, if this is the wrong call, turn me into an owl or a book or whatever.
Percy's posture relaxed, and Frank removed his hand. Percy nodded at Jason and Piper, showing them he wasn't going to follow. He took a sharp breath, waiting for Athena to zap him. Nothing came. The lack of godly intervention comforted Percy, but he still couldn't shake the sinking feeling in his stomach. But, at the end of the day, he trusted them. They had come a long way together. They could do it without him.
Annabeth's voice pulled Percy out of his head. "Hey! Problem over here!" Without a second thought, he raced off to join her.
Annabeth had undersold the situation when she just called it a 'problem.' When Percy caught up with Annabeth, she was force-feeding a laid-out and barely conscious Hermes camper a square of ambrosia.
"Here, Julia. If you feel better in a couple of minutes, we'll try and move you," Annabeth said with a soft voice, but Percy could detect the stress behind her words.
Percy took in the scene. On the ground around Annabeth, two other campers laid on the ground, including Travis Stoll. Several yards in front of them, Katie Gardner and three of her siblings from the Demeter cabin kneeled on the ground, one hand touching the grass, and the other in the air. Using their powers over the plants, they had managed to erect a nine-foot wall in of vines in the shape of a semi-circle. They had managed to create a safe refuge for the injured amongst the warzone that was Half-Blood Hill. On the other side of the barrier, Percy saw a pack of cynocephali, dog-headed monsters that reminded of his old friend, the Minotaur. Each cynocephalus was about seven feet tall and had the body of a bodybuilder. At the shoulders, dark fur started to grow from their skin. Their face was cruel and angular, not at all like Percy's own dog, Mrs. O'Leary (who, despite being a Hellhound, had a very sweet face). They reminded Percy more of jackals rather than a dog. Each monster donned leather armour, and in their hands was either a sword or axe, dripping with dark green liquid. Poison, Percy thought.
"Hey, Percy. How you been?" Travis said with his strained voice, looking straight up in the air. Travis, the poor guy, had burns on the left side of his face, right below his eye all the way down to his jawbone. His curly brown hair was stuck together with blood, and Percy noticed a couple of red stains on his orange camp shirt that laid below his slashed-up chest armour. Despite his injuries and his current inability to move, he still had a mischievous glint in his eyes, as if this was all going according to plan.
"Travis, dude, holy Hades man," Percy said, getting down on one knee. He dug through his pockets, hoping to find some ambrosia or nectar, but he came up short. Thank the gods, Annabeth was prepared. She kneeled beside Percy and gave Travis a small square of ambrosia.
"Did Julia and Cecil get some?" Travis asked, craning his neck like he was trying to look over at his siblings.
Annabeth nodded. "They've taken care of. Don't be stubborn and take some. Don't make me get Katie," she said, forcing a weak smile.
Travis mirrored her expression and let out a cough that could have been a laugh. "Ha. We wouldn't want that."
Travis swallowed the square, and Annabeth locked eyes with Percy. "We need to get those monsters away from us. The Demeter cabin can't hold them off."
Percy agreed, but he counted roughly twelve cynocephali, way too many for him to take on. He and Annabeth stood up and took a couple of steps, to be sure they were out of earshot. "Is the ambrosia helping?" Percy asked in a whisper.
Annabeth pursed her lips. "The poison from those weapons burned its way through their skin into their blood. The ambrosia is slowing down the effects, but without any kind of healing magic, it's just a matter of time."
Percy's heart hardened. He pictured controlling the poison on those weapons, willing it to coalesce into a wave of pain he could wash right over them. It wouldn't save the Hermes kids, but at least Percy could avenge them.
Then he looked at Annabeth. Her gray eyes locked with his, and he knew he couldn't do it. That just wasn't who he was and not who he should be. Suddenly, an idea came to him. His eyes must have lit up, because Annabeth asked, "What are you thinking?"
He didn't answer. Instead, he focused on how much Annabeth meant to him and how much he wanted to help Travis and the others. He focused on his need and how much they could use some backup. He reached out with his emotions and thought about how good it would be to see his best friend again. He hoped it would be enough to get his attention.
Percy's prayers were answered. From right behind them, a loud AROOOOO echoed through the battlefield. Percy whipped around and saw his giant black mastiff of a dog emerge from the shadows and barrel towards him.
"Mrs. O'Leary!" he said, a giant smile breaking out across his face. Mrs. O'Leary skidded to a halt in front of Percy and gave him a loving lick, that would have left him soaked him if he had not been the son of the Sea God.
"Perrrrcy!" a familiar voice bleated. Grover hopped off Mrs. O'Leary and embraced him in a hug. Percy hugged him back, realizing just how long it had been since he had seen the satyr. Grover pulled way from Percy and turned his attention to Annabeth. "Oh man, am I glad you guys made it back in one piece," he said, as he wrapped Annabeth in a hug. He let her go and stood back, so the three of them stood in a small triangle. Grover looked the same as normal, except his wispy goatee was a bit longer than before. His horns poked out from beneath his curly hair and had his reed pipes hanging around his neck, just over his dirty camp shirt. His goat legs were uncovered, and his hooves nervously stomped the ground every so often. "So, what did you guys need?"
Before Percy could answer, another voice boomed, "Brother! Annabeth!" Percy's half-brother Tyson jumped off Mrs. O'Leary's back, ran his hand through his messy brown hair and pushed it back, so it didn't cover his single brown eye. "It is good to see you! We knew you would not die!"
Tyson's massive arms pulled Percy and Annabeth into a hug so tight it almost choked them. "Hey, big guy. It's good to see you too."
Tyson let go, and Percy gasped for air. "There are monsters," Tyson said simply, pointing towards the cynocephali and glaring.
"Yeah, there are," Percy said, "We're going to go fight them in a second. G-Man, you think you can heal the injured Hermes kids?"
The smile that had been on Grover's face a moment ago faded. "Yeah, it'll take some time, though, and I'll need to borrow one of the Demeter kids," he said.
"Daisy!" Annabeth called, and one of the Demeter campers looked over, "I need you to help Grover. The rest of you, let the wall down when I tell you to. Once you do, try to make one around Grover so he can heal the Hermes kids safely" She began marching over to Katie Gardner and the others, and Percy, Tyson and Grover followed. Mrs. O'Leary didn't move, but she must have sensed a fight was coming because she lowered herself into a pouncing position.
Grover put his reed pipes to his lips and started to play, and new roots began to sprout from the ground, which grew faster with Daisy's help. How those roots would heal the campers, Percy didn't know. But he did trust Grover, so he knew the Hermes kids were in safe hands.
Annabeth drew her sword, and Percy uncapped Riptide. Tyson took his large stick out of the sheath on his back and hefted it. "Now," Annabeth said calmly, as she threw herself towards the cynocephali. Percy and Tyson jumped in, right after her.
An axe blade would have immediately decapitated Percy if he hadn't rolled out of the way. Thankfully, he hit the ground and somersaulted towards the cynocephalus who had tried to kill him. The attack sailed harmlessly above Percy, and while the monster was following-through his swing, Percy jabbed Riptide right into his armpit. He put his foot on the cynocephalus' side and pushed off against the beast, ripping his bronze blade out of its' body and pushing the monster off-balance. The dog-headed beast dropped its' axe and stumbled right into it. With a satisfying kah-thunk, the monster vaporized.
Percy heard a low growl from behind him, and he whipped his head around to see another cynocephalus raising their sword. Before Percy was sliced in two, the blurry form of Mrs. O'Leary zipped past, and the monster disappeared in an explosion of gold.
"Good girl!" Percy told his dog, rubbing his hand on one of her ears. "Let's help the others." Together, Percy and Mrs. O'Leary backed up Tyson and Annabeth (who didn't need them at all), and the pack of monsters were nothing but a bad memory in a few short minutes. Mrs. O'Leary began patrolling their small section of the battleground, scaring off straggler monsters and giving the group a small respite.
"Clear out here! Or, I mean, as clear as it can be," he called out, but his heart fell as he looked around him. While their immediate area was clear, fights still lined the field, and bodies lifelessly laid on in the dirt. The battle was far from over. However, Percy was seeing more demigods taking down monsters than vice versa, which made him feel a bit better.
The Demeter kids brought down their wall, and Katie Gardner wiped the sweat from her brow. "Thanks for the assist," she said.
"Yeah, we owe you one," Travis added, as Grover helped him up to his feet. Much like the other two Hermes campers, Travis' burns had been totally healed, and it didn't look like he was bleeding any longer. His clothes were still in rough shape, but he was alive and well.
Katie tackled Travis in a hug, and despite the two seeming completely exhausted, they supported each other. Katie's face was glued to Travis' chest, but Percy could make out a couple of her words. "Love you… scare me… kill you with Corn Flakes."
Annabeth walked up beside Percy and nudged his arm. "Yeah, you have some catching up to do." Percy couldn't help but smile. For a moment, everything melted away, and Percy felt the warm familiarity of the quiet days at Camp Half-Blood, where he and Annabeth could just hang out with their friends.
Grover pulled him out of it. "Hey guys, what's that?" he asked, pointing towards a comet that was hurtling upwards, towards storm clouds that had gathered in the sky.
Percy and Annabeth looked at each other, eyes full of worry, and then looked back at the sky as it erupted into flames.
"No," was all Percy could manage to say as his eyes averted the disaster.
"Percy," Annabeth said frantically, as she pulled at his arm, "Look."
He did, and falling from the sky he could make out two figures dropping like stones. "Is that…"
"Jason and Piper. It has to be."
"Where's Festus? Where's Leo?" Percy asked, his voice growing heavier. He already knew the answer—they hadn't made it out.
Anger started to coarse through Percy's veins, and he had the desire to just hit something. "Hey, hey," Annabeth said, putting her arms around him. "He had this plan all along, I'm sure of it. There's nothing you could have done."
Percy didn't know what to say. He knew it wasn't his choice, but he couldn't shake his feeling of guilt. He let another son of Hephaestus make the sacrifice play.
"We'll honour him. We'll honour them all," Annabeth said softly.
Percy pulled back, leaving his hands on her waist. He didn't know what he'd do without Annabeth. "Yeah. Yeah," was all he could muster.
He took a moment to compose himself, and in that time, Grover came over. He looked close to tears, "Hey, man. I-I'm sorry."
Percy knew that Grover understood precisely what he was feeling, thanks to their Empathy Link. Nothing else needed to be said between them.
The three friends stood in silence for a moment, and Percy was thrust back in time to the first summer he spent at camp, and the first quest he went on for the gods. The three of them had been through so much together, and if this was their final battle, Percy was glad he had Grover and Annabeth by his side.
Percy took a deep breath and said, "Okay, let's do this. Katie, lead the group back to camp and find somewhere safe. I'm not losing anyone else today."
Travis looked like he wanted to argue, but Katie stood by his side and nodded. "See you later, Percy. C'mon guys," she said, as she turned her back and motioned for them to follow. The group ran for camp, where they'd hopefully be safe.
Percy, Annabeth and Grover met up with Tyson and Mrs. O'Leary, who were keeping various wandering monsters at bay. "Okay, we do this together," he said, looking at his four friends— his family.
"Just like old times," Annabeth said, drawing her sword. A little smile broke out on Grover's face as he lifted his reed pipes to his lips, and Tyson gave her a thumbs up. Mrs. O'Leary wagged her tail in excitement, and Percy hefted Riptide and got ready to attack.
"For Leo. And for everyone else who we've lost," he said, "For camp."
"For camp," Grover said.
"For camp," Annabeth agreed.
Together, the five of them charged.