Here's another one!
They had the upper hand- until they didn't. The earth rumbled and began to collapse underfoot; Annabeth had to fly upward lest she get sucked into the sudden chasm that appeared under her along with several telkhines. Tyson ended up waist-deep in the mud, flailing and bonking hydras on the heads when they too were buried. The storm was getting worse, to the point where even Annabeth could hardly see through it, and Piper's charmspeak was lost to the wind. Luckily she was a good fighter, or she'd have been seriously hurt.
"SOMETHINGS HAPPENING!" Hazel's voice yelled shrilly. The rumbling continued, as if someone had set a giant whisk into the earth and put it on high; the mud covered Annabeth, coating her feathers, and it was all she could do not to get blinded by the sudden wave of earth that was being displaced, from something below pushing it aside. Her blood ran cold.
"Enemies stir...EVERYONE LOOK OUT!" Annabeth screamed. Leo had descended from the clouds, completely on fire, and yelped as a hand clawed its way upward, dragging a body along with it.
"Hunters approach!" Thalia's voice chimed in, and Annabeth looked around for her wildly, spotting her fighting Nico, a bloody cut on her forehead.
The team of hunters almost fell into the earth before they got the chance to fight, as someone came out of the earth right where they'd been running.
"The first team- Gods, its- its-"
Annabeth knew what Piper was saying; she'd memorised the faces of their parents from frequent visits to their memorials, and now they were dragging themselves from the earth, full of fury and somehow, back from the heart beat wildly, and not from adrenaline.
"You're not the only one with help, heroes!" Luke cried, half-mad, as more bodies climbed onto the surface; the anti-heroes, the titans that had worked with Gaea, grinning and raising heavy-looking swords.
"Mom" Annabeth breathed, as Athena passed by her and surveyed the battle as if it was a puzzle.
"Well, there's your prophecy. Once more for old times' sake, Wise girl?"
Annabeth fought by her mother's side as if she'd never died.
"Father, if anyone is fighting you, its me!" Zoe Nightshade bellowed, striding over the churning earth toward the man in the starry armour. He held a huge clump of earth on his shoulders, about to throw it, before he spotted his challenger and smirked.
"I'll have fun killing you, daughter"
Annabeth didn't have time to watch, she was too busy keeping a hellhound from using her as a chew toy. More bolts of lightning came from above, jets of water and small bursts of flame- this was more chaos than Annabeth had ever seen at once.
"This is where they died, if they can come back-" Nico was muttering, wrestling a hellhound to the ground and slashing at a dracanae as she tried to bite him.
Annabeth was used to winning; she was a hero of Olympus, daughter of one of the first team, she never lost to anyone she faced in battle. She was tiring, beaten and a little bloody, but she was determined her streak wouldn't be ruined by her old friends. Luke and Thalia had vanished, she couldn't see them when she spared a glance around, and she worried; did they run and re-group, run to attack elsewhere, raise Kronos another way? Would Thalia be too far away for Annabeth to save her, or would the prophecy come true?
"Nico, my son-" Hades said from behind, and Annabeth couldn't help but turn. Hades' son was being overrun, Hades himself was surrounded, as if the monsters had a personal vendetta against them. As Hades was the one who managed to lock them away, it wasn't surprising. Annabeth ran to help Nico, panicking as his head vanished under the weight of monsters pressing in on him, because she'd promised that nobody would die goddammit, she wouldn't have it-
Annabeth got within a foot of the monsters before a bright light blasted her backward, winding her as she landed spread-eagled on the floor. Something else surrounded Nico now, apart from the dust of burned monsters- something good and protective. The light gathered above him, in the form of a girl that resembled him the way only a true sibling can. Annabeth watched, transfixed as the ghost of Bianca Di Angelo repelled any monster that got anywhere near them, allowing Nico time to clamber to his feet.
"You- you came" He croaked, and his sister smiled.
"You called. I had to come this time- to protect my little brother"
Nico smiled widely, and Annabeth pulled herself up, feeling like she was interrupting a private moment.
"You have my knife. I suggest you hand it over, and end this fight" Athena said, once Annabeth caught up with her. Annabeth offered the knife to her mother; she'd died with it in her hand, it needed to return to its owner, but the woman shook her head.
"No, not me. You'll know, Annabeth- you always know" Was all she said. They got separated soon after, but Annabeth kept hearing the words as if her mother was repeating them in her ear.
"Eat my fire, suckers!" Leo yelled as he zoomed overhead like a rocket, setting several monsters on fire and plenty of Annabeth's feathers, which she'd yell at him for later. Percy was back on the ground now too, a small storm swirling furiously around him, destroying everyone in sight alongside what could only be his father.
"These monsters are endless! I thought we'd come in time to miss the big bit!" Someone bleated nearby, and Annabeth heard the unmistakable sound of pipes being played. Grass grew around her feet.
Slowly, too slowly, the monsters thinned. It became more like 'make sure everything was dead' rather than 'don't get killed', Annabeth and her team picking through the monsters and stabbing the ones still breathing and/or not charred into dust. Hazel had sat on the ground nearby, protected by Nico and Bianca, and began sinking the monsters, small jewels replacing them.
"Thalia?" Annabeth called, startled to see that the black haired girl had remained, kneeled over a body. Annabeth stopped breathing for a moment.
"Annie. Annie he's- Kronos is going to take him. Annie I don't know what to do" Thalia cried. Annabeth crashed down next to her, looking down at Luke Castellan, who seemed to be having trouble not combusting. He coughed.
"I'm an idiot- I-I see it now. Dragging everyone into this. Gods I nearly killed you-"
"Luke, breathe" Thalia commanded. Luke's breathing was ragged. Annabeth knew it was the end of him. Despite what he had done, she felt tears welling; he was her friend, they used to eat dinner together and occasionally go to movies and when he was at their apartment he always used to make sure she was looking after herself and listened to her ramble about work. Seeing him like this- she couldn't hate him now.
"I gotta- stop him" Luke choked. Annabeth sighed.
"Its too late" She said. Luke shook his head.
"N-No. If I die before he takes over he can't come back-"
"Luke you're not dying on me, you hear me?" Thalia growled "You're not dying"
"I did this. I -gotta put it right. Annabeth- please..." He said "I can stop it"
Annabeth remembered her mother's words and pressed the knife into Luke's shaking hand. He smiled at her like he used to years ago, when nothing was broken and he cared for her like a sister. Annabeth missed those times.
"Thank you. I'm so sorry..." he told her. He looked sincere, his gaze was strong even when he was fading, bright blue eyes fixing on her was shaking her head, words stuck in her throat. Annabeth pulled her back, and she struggled, trying to throw herself over Luke's chest.
"No! Annie no! You can't let him do this!" She screamed. Annabeth had never seen her like this, and even though it hurt, she kept a tight hold of her. It had to be done- Annabeth tried to not let anyone die, but Luke would save everyone else; it made her chest hurt, but she had to let him do it.
"He has to! Its his choice! He has to make this right!" She replied. Thalia fell limp as Luke raised the knife, smiling at the pair.
"My girls" He said, grinning like he used to when he was being cheeky "You two be good, got it?"
And then he plunged the knife into his chest.
It was sort of like a movie; everything slowed down at that point. Luke's eyes turned glassy, his face went slack, the ghost of his smile fading away. At the exact same moment, every first team hero and titan turned to stone, just like statues. They crumbled away slowly in the wind, until nothing remained, and the storm died too. Thalia threw herself across Luke's chest, pulling out the knife and sobbing, truly sobbing. Annabeth didn't reach out to her, because she knew it wouldn't be any use. Thalia was inconsolable.
"Lieutenant!" Erica cried, the huntress running to her fallen leader. Her father had struck her with his sword, and Annabeth watched with a numb mind as several girls failed to revive her, despite their best efforts.
'and to the stars, the huntress will fall'
It wasn't Thalia who was destined to die, but Zoe. The circlet that she had worn was on the ground a few feet away, stained red with her blood, and Annabeth was certain that she heard the grieving howls of wolves, far away in the hills but heard by all on the battlefield.
"A-Night owl! Are you okay?" Percy demanded, appearing beside her and checking her face worriedly. She nodded, though tears were running down her face.
"I'm fine" She said hollowly. He glanced over at Thalia and Luke, and engulfed her in a hug. She buried her head in his shoulder, closed her eyes tightly and tried not to think of anything at all.