Chapter 16

Okay, so I was dead, right? Well, I wasn't so sure. When I died I expected to be standing in the A-Z line thing in the Underworld. Instead, I was surrounded by light. My Camp Half-Blood shirt wasn't dirty or ripped. My jeans didn't have any dirt on them. My hair was black again. Another strange thing was I didn't have to breathe. "Hello?" I called out in the light.

A figure was walking toward me. I couldn't see their face until they came close. They were wearing a leather jacket, sunglasses, and ripped jeans. "How's it going, punk?" Ares asked.

"Well, considering I'M DEAD, not so great," I rolled my eyes.

Ares didn't show any emotion on his face. The light around us shifted. We were standing in the castle. I looked around. Bullets and arrows weren't being fired anymore. Everyone stood in silence. Annabeth was sobbing over my body. My heart hurt looking at the image. Grover fell on his knees and cried. Thalia stood motionless. Tears formed in her eyes. "No..." she whispered.

Nico looked like he was frozen. The skeletons had stopped attacking demigod hunters. Even Clarisse looked sad. She didn't cry though. Pollux was in shock. "Funny how one person's death can effect so many people." Ares shook his head.

The scene shifted to a lab. John was sitting on a chair and Cain walked into the room. "John, Percy Jackson has been killed," Cain said.

John stood up. "WHAT?" he roared.

"One of the soldiers aimed an arrow at the girl, Annabeth. Jackson blocked her and it hit his Achilles spot." Cain kept his head down.

John picked up a chair and flung it across the room. "EVERYTHING IS RUINED NOW!"

"Maybe not, my Lord, we could find and capture a Cyclopes. After all, they are sons of Poseidon," Cain suggested.

"No!" John snapped. "It wouldn't work on a Cyclopes."

The scene faded and we were standing surrounded by light again. "What wouldn't work?" I asked Ares

Ares shrugged. "I don't know."

"Okay, fine. What do you want with me?" I asked.

"How much would you give to be alive again?" Ares put his hands in his jean pockets.

"Whoa. Wait. You're going to bring me back to life?"

"I didn't say that. But you're growing on me."

"Me? I thought you hated my guts? And wanted to kill me?"

"I told you, you are growing on me."

I smirked. "So you can bring me back to life?"

"Yes."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" I asked.

"Just let me give you a warning first, Jackson," Ares said and was suddenly standing a foot away from me. "If I bring you back, you still will have Luke within you." He poked my chest. "He will still be able to come back through you."

"I'll beat him," I told Ares. "Luke won't take over my body."

Ares didn't look pleased with my statement. He sighed and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly I gasped for air and opened my eyes. Annabeth was sobbing over my chest. "It's kind of hard to breath with you on my chest, Wise Girl," I grunted.

She froze and looked at me. I smiled at her. Annabeth threw her arms around my neck. She ran her fingers through my blond hair to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Wait. My blond hair. Ares was right Luke was still there. Annabeth kissed me. I kissed her back. It was great to be alive again! Well, my happiness was short lived. A pain hit me in my gut. I broke the kiss. It seemed like I was choking. I fell on my back. "Percy!" Annabeth cried and was at my side.

I reached in my pocket and grabbed Backbiter. My hand was shaking uncontrollably. "T-Take Backbiter," I put the sword in Annabeth's hands.

Pain took over my body. I screamed. Your time it up, Percy! Luke's voice roared in my head.

"NO!" I screamed and grabbed my head.

Annabeth's POV

Percy was changing. His face shifted to Luke's; his eyes were blue. The scar on his face was white as the moon. The ground rumbled as Percy's transformation started to end. Percy's scream wasn't his anymore, it was Luke's. Thalia pulled me back. I held Backbiter tight in my hand. The screaming stopped. Luke looked at us. "Hello, Annabeth, Thalia," Luke smiled.

I was in total shock. Nearby, a demigod hunter laid face down on the ground. A gun was in his hand. Luke walked over to the demigod hunter and pulled the gun from his hand. He turned around and aimed the gun. Luke fired it. Bullets smashed into the chest of three demigod hunters. Luke flexed his shoulder. "I must admit, I missed being alive."

Demigod hunters fired their guns and arrows at Luke. All of them bounced harmlessly off him. Luke had Percy's Achilles spot. He laughed as more guns fired at him. Luke ran and grabbed Percy's shield. The bullets defected off the shield. Luke shot the gun. More demigod hunters fell. Nick and Michael came running into the room. Luke spotted them. He charged them and slammed Michael in the jaw with his shield. Luke pressed the gun to Nick's stomach and fired. Nick screamed. "Great. Now I'm out of bullets," Luke muttered.

He grabbed the gun out of Nick's belt. Nick fell on the ground and held his stomach. Luke was a monster. He killed with no mercy. "What are we going to do?" I muttered.

"What do you mean?" Thalia sounded like she was going to cry.

"Luke will kill us," I admitted. "We can't just sit here."

Thalia nodded. My shoulder started to hurt more than it had before. Everyone Thalia had brought with her gathered around us. "What's the plan?" Katie squeaked.

"I don't know," Thalia said.

"Well, we better think of something because when Luke runs out of demigod hunters he'll come for us!" Jake hissed.

Backbiter was in pen form. I wrapped my hand tightly around it. "Annabeth, what are you holding?" Nico asked.

"Percy...gave Backbiter to me...before Luke took over," I said.

Nico's eyes widened. "Can I see the sword?"

I handed Nico Backbiter. He bit his lip. "I might be able to remove Luke's soul from Percy's body," he said. "But we need to make sure Percy is still in there."

Everyone, except Thalia, looked at me. "What?" I asked.

"Well...Percy is YOUR boyfriend..." Connor said.

"No!" Thalia protested. "Annabeth isn't going anywhere; not with her shoulder."

"Thalia, if I have to cut my own hand off to save Percy, I'll do it," I said. "What's your plan, Nico?"

"Since I'm the son of Hades, I might be able to remove Luke's soul from Percy's body. But I think Luke would shoot me before I even got close to him," Nico explained. "So my idea is to have you distract Luke, maybe you can even find Percy in there somewhere. While you're doing that, I'll come up behind him and remove Luke's soul."

"And...uh...how are you planning to do that?" Travis asked.

"Simple." Nico raised his short black sword. "I'll stab him in his Achilles spot because that is the only spot I can hit."

"Wait. Wouldn't that kill him, again?" Jake said.

"No." Nico shook his head. "No, it won't kill Percy. When I take Luke's soul, Percy will still have his Achilles spot."

"What should the rest of us do?" Katie asked.

"Just hide here, and help me if Luke attacks Annabeth or me," Nico said.

"Are you going to use your sword?" Pollux said.

"No. I'm going to use Luke's old sword, Backbiter. That's where Luke's soul was originally, right?" Nico asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah, when Chiron gave Percy Backbiter, part of Luke's soul was still inside. Luke used the sword to enter Percy's body."

"Alright," Nico said. "We have to hurry; it won't be long until Percy, like, really dies."

"What do you mean by that?" Grover's voice trembled.

"Once again, I'm the son of Hades, I can tell when people die. But Luke will completely take over Percy in maybe an hour, so lets not waste anymore time with questions, okay?" Nico sounded annoyed.

Pain shot up my shoulder as I stood up. "Let's go."

Author's Note: You guys didn't really think I'd actually KILL Percy off, did you? Anyway, Ares bringing Percy back to life was really cheesy.