The Final Battle
*Greek Demigod's Point of View*
Everything was a blur ever since I woke up to the sound of screaming. I vaguely remember shooting up out of bed, scrambling to get dressed and strap on my armor, but after a weapon was pressed in my hand, all I saw were flashes of blood and dust and teeth.
My sword flashed in front of me, digging through monster flesh every few seconds. It was coated in dust from the monsters I destroyed. I could hear my heart beating wildly in my chest. My whole body vibrated from the unsteady pulses. My head pounded, but if I stopped to even think about it, I would die.
I fought for what felt like hours, and I could feel my limbs getting sore. My legs were burning, and my lungs felt like they'd been ripped from my chest long ago. I kept fighting though, because the waves of monsters just wouldn't stop. No matter how many I killed, more just appeared, ready to tear me apart.
Blood poured down my arms and torso from the many cuts and gashes that littered them. As I fought, I cursed all of the monsters that had gotten lucky enough to hurt me. Every wound gave the rest of the monsters a better chance of killing me.
I twirled my sword, using the new move that Artemis' guardian showed me the other day, and another empousia was sent back to Tartarus, her nasty scream echoing through my brain. Her two sisters took her place, their bronze legs clanging loudly and their donkey hooves clopping mutedly against the rocky earth.
I couldn't even stop to celebrate my victory, as the two of them attacked me, lashing out with their claws and their fangs. If I was any slower in my sidestep, they'd have had nme on the ground, draining every single drop of blood out of my body.
Then, one attack ended it. I had just cut a dracaena in half when I felt sharp claws rake across my back. I cried out, turning to see a hellhound standing over my fallen form. It lunged, and I knew that I'd be no more. Right before I met my end, I closed my eyes, accepting my fate.
*Earlier That Morning*
*Third Person Point of View*
Percy had woken up the next day quite restless. He'd barely slept a wink due to all of the nightmares he'd had. He trudged towards breakfast, tired and sluggish. There were deep bags under his eyes, and to those around him he was a roaming zombie.
That all changed however, when the conch horn was blown three times, signalling an attack. Percy was wide awake within second, his whole body glowing. Once the glow dimmed, he stood there in full battle armor, the darks bags gone and his eyes flicking back and forth, aware and alert. He took off in a mad run towards the border.
As soon as he arrived he saw so many monsters he nearly fainted. There were twice as many foes as he'd ever seen in his life, and he knew right away that they'd lose a fair number of campers in the fight. Before the battle even began, he knew they'd need more shrouds than ever before. It was a sad truth.
Percy threw himself into the fray, seeing that many campers were already there, fighting. He could see Apollo campers and the hunters, all sitting in the trees or other high places, picking off monsters with their impeccable aim. He could see Ares campers leading the others into battle with fierce cries, tearing through each and every creature that stood in their way. He could see Athena campers directing their kin into the fight, telling them a strategy that always ended with an entire squadron of monsters defeated.
All around him, campers and monsters alike were dying. Each and every time he saw one of his brothers or sister fall in battle, his rage grew, and he fought hard, hoping to fight off the monster scourge and defeat that blasted villain once and for all. Yes. Télionix would pay for his crimes.
He saw said criminal standing at the highest point of the camp, watching over the battle. Percy narrowed his eyes. Télionix wasn't even fighting his own war! Suddenly, a smile overtook Percy's angry expression. Well, that was about to change.
He charged straight towards him, tearing through any and every monster that stood in his way. He passed his fellow guardians, who were fighting at extreme speeds. They were aiming for the more powerful monsters, destroying the large drakens and the fifty-foot tall hellhound that had appeared out of nowhere.
Télionix caught Percy's eye, and Percy glared. His expression sent a clear message to Télionix. They would fight, and Percy would do everything in his power to win.
Pretty soon, the two foes were standing eye to eye. Neither dared to blink as their short-time rival's breath brushed their faces.
"You shouldn't even be here. People shouldn't have to die for you to solve your own petty problems," Percy said.
"But they do. I must make others feel the same pain that I myself have felt. Only then may I have peace."
Percy's eyes narrowed. "How can you be so selfish? Why would you subject innocent lives to the pain that you yourself deserve to endure? A real warrior would never do what you have done!"
"What I have done?" Télionix roared, "What I have done? You don't know what I have done! I did not deserve such punishment from my father! A son should never have to suffer such pain from his own father!" Télionix suddenly lashed out, his black sword materializing out of thin air. It sliced through the air as he swung, aiming to cut Percy's head clean off.
Percy's reflexes saved him. He was able to quickly draw his own sword and block the attack, just in time. Télionix's icy-cold blade pressed against his own sword, so that Riptide's blade was pressed into his own throat. He pushed back against the pressure, but Télionix was much stronger than him.
Choosing a different tactic, Percy slipped out of the way, allowing Télionix's sword to continue its downward path towards the dirt. Percy turned, seeing Télionix readjust his posture. His sword left a deep gouge in the dirt, and Percy gulped. That could have been him.
He charged back at his foe, their blades locking together once again. Percy stared into Télionix's eyes as they fought, and for a moment, he saw a flash of pain. He knew that it was no trick of the light. Looking deeper, he saw a struggle. The inner turmoil he saw in his opponent's eyes was too strong to ignore.
He pulled his sword away and tackled Télionix to the ground. A cloud of dirt rose as they tumbled to the ground, landing with a loud thud.
"Unhand me this instant!" Télionix growled.
"Listen. You don't want to do this. Everything that's going on, it's all because you've let the darkness within take over. You've been in exile so long, you've allowed your inner darkness take control. Fight it, Télionix. You must fight!" Percy urged.
During his time as a guardian, he'd seen many a warrior fall to his own dark thoughts and become corrupt. He wouldn't let it happen again, and he certainly wouldn't let it cause innocent lives to be at risk.
A flash of pain overtook Télionix's eyes once again, and he pushed against Percy. They were both standing again in an instant, but Percy managed to get the upperhand once again,and pulled Télionix into a headlock. His strong arms wrapped around his opponent's neck, holding him in place and squeezing just enough so that the airway was compromised.
Percy could feel his enemy straining to fight. His body went limp and sweat began forming on his face. The darkness was strong within him, having festered for so many millennia.
"But… my father… he banished me!" he cried, his eyes glistening with the beginnings of tears.
"I know…" Percy said, trying to calm his foe. "I know. But it was because he was afraid. He saw the darkness within you, and he was afraid. He didn't want to lose his only son, but by taking measures to protect you from yourself, he only gave the darkness a way to take you from him. Now though, you can fight it. I believe in you. Fight it, and return to your father."
Télionix's eyes calmed. The sea of rage within the dark globes died down, and Télionix's tears were finally released, running down his face. He smiled, and in that moment, Percy saw the darkness dissipate.
"Thank you…" Télionix whispered, "Thank you…"
Percy stepped away and turned to face his foe. He held out his hand for Télionix to grasp in a handshake, but Télionix just shook his head.
"I have done too much wrong to have earned your forgiveness. There is only one way to make this right," he said. His head hung low.
Suddenly, he began to glow. It glistened bright gold, so much so that Percy had to look away. Pretty soon, the glow took the entire valley, and then, as quickly as lightning, the glow vanished, allowing Percy to open his eyes, seeing that Télionix was gone, as were all the monsters that he'd brought with him.
"He sacrificed himself…" he muttered. Sorrow filled his heart, but he smiled. "He has atoned for his wrongdoings. I hope this allows him to be at peace."
Percy stood stalk-still on the hill for hours after the battle, staring out at the vast expanse of Camp Half-Blood. Down below, he saw the campers milling around, some still confused as to how they had won, some helping bring the injured to the infirmary tents, and still others laughing and celebrating their victory.
Percy shook his head at the thought. It was no victory. They had won, yes. They had saved innocent lives, yes. But they had also lost so many of their brothers and sisters in battle. They had lost so many lives in a war that shouldn't have even happened.
He stood silently, and didn't even turn as he heard someone approach him from behind. He knew who it was. He didn't have to be on edge around her.
"We shouldn't have even had to fight this war," he said quietly, knowing full well that she could hear him.
"I know. But we did. And we won."
Percy nodded. It was only a slight movement of his chin, bit it was a nod nonetheless. "We must have many shrouds made. More than I've ever seen in my life," he continued.
"That may be true. I myself have seen many more than this during the millennia, but it is indeed a sorrowful sight. I cannot bare to think what would have happened, though, had you not saved Télionix from himself and won us the war."
Percy turned then, and smiled sadly at Artemis. "I know milady, but I just wish…" he paused, choking up a little on his words. "I just wish that for once, it wasn't me. I know it's selfish, but for nearly my whole life, there had been some devastating prophecy foretelling a war, and I'm stuck right in the middle of it all. This time, there wasn't a prophecy, sure, but there was a war. There was loss, and I'm done being a part of it."
Artemis took a small step closer to her guardian. She remembered when she'd first summoned him. She remembered the feeling of absolute devastation at the thought of losing her hunters, and she remembered the feeling of hope as the ritual worked and he appeared the very first time to protect her.
"Percy, you're wrong," she said.
"Pardon?" he asked, turning to her in surprise.
"You are wrong. There was a prophecy for this war. It was predicted almost days after your execution, over fifteen years ago." Artemis was whispering at this point, as if speaking any louder would bring about bad omens.
"What did the prophecy state?" Percy asked, also whispering.
Artemis took a deep breath, speaking softly.
"Beware the Damned Son, revenge in his heart,
Returns to tear this world apart,
The chosen warrior returns from the grave,
To fight for those he's sworn to save,
One last quest to end his pain,
The foe, victorious or slain."
Percy's breath caught at the two final lines of the prophecy. If the prophecy was fulfilled, his pain would end. But… If that was the case, why did his chest still ache with phantom-pain? Why did he still feel like a part of his soul had eroded, leaving him nothing more than a desperate man, forever searching? He was an empty shell of the boy he'd been when he'd first arrived at camp. He was no longer the man he'd become after finally getting together with Annabeth.
Taking a deep breath, he forced his thoughts back to the dark corners of his mind. Turning to his charge, he said, "Now that the war is over, we may leave camp. Where will we be headed, milady?"
Artemis smiled. "They hunters are just resting up in my cabin. We should be all set to leave tomorrow morning. As for our destination?" she placed a finger to her chin, mocking deep thought. "We'll figure that out when we get there."
Artemis left Percy standing where he was at the top of the hill. She paused only once, to place a hand on Thalia's pine tree.
Once she was out of his sight, safely disappearing behind the solver-painted door of her cabin, Percy smiled. Now that the threat was over, being the Guardian of the Moon would change. They no longer had to look over their shoulders. They no longer had to stop at either of the demigod camps every other week. It would just be him, his mistress and her hunters, alone in the wilderness, fulfilling his lifelong oath to protect and provide.
Sure, he would miss his friends. He was pretty sure that they would miss him, but it wasn't goodbye. It was just until next time...
Word Count: 2376
THE END?