This chapter is dedicated to: Lindsey7618AwesomeasPercabeth
Disclaimer: I had a very heated argument with Uncle Rick, but he refuses to give me PJO or HOO so I don't own.
About: You only get truly stronger if you have someone special in your life to protect. Then, you have a reason to fight.
Time: During the Giant War.
Uh... This could be rated PG for a little swearing. Hehe...
Katie's POV:
Fighting a war is hard. And tiring.
I was experiencing that firsthand, for the second time.
It kind of sucks, you know. Okay, it really sucks. A lot.
The Giant War had taken its toll on everyone. I could feel myself slowing down, but the monsters just kept coming.
I twisted to avoid an attack from my enemy empousa.
She was a surprisingly good sword fighter, which was bad- obviously. She slashed out at me with her sword and I ducked.
She had the advantage, though, since I only wielded a dagger.
I leaped away from her attack and struck.
The empousa flung my dagger out of my hand and lunged at me.
"Argh!" I cried out as a searing pain shot through me.
My strength drained out and I crumbled to the ground as my blood drained from my body.
That must have been deeper than I thought.
I gasped for breath as the empousa cackled above me.
"Katie!"
I struggled to my knees.
Was that...
Travis?
"Katie! Get up!"
I pushed myself to my feet and got kicked back down immediately.
The empousa grinned. "You will die here for going against Lady Gaia!"
I gritted my teeth. I was so focused on bringing myself to my feet that I didn't notice the monster bringing her sword down at my head.
"Katie!"
A pair of legs appeared in my line of vision and I watched in horror as Travis crumpled to the ground, blood flowing from his chest.
"Travis!"
The empousa laughed and my head throbbed.
"You bitch!" I screamed! "I'll kill you!"
I lunged, readying my dagger. We stabbed and slashed for a while Travis fought for breath behind me.
"I won't let you hurt him!"
"I already have!" the empouse taunted.
I gritted my teeth hard and plunged my dagger into her stomach. The empousa exploded with a gut-wrenching screech.
Without wasting a moment, I dropped next to Travis and searched for some ambrosia in his pockets.
Travis smiled weakly at me and my eyes filled with tears. "You fool! You have to be more careful!"
"Katie..." he gasped. I ignored him and picked up a jar of nectar. "You idiot! You're all out of ambrosia already?"
Travis reached up his hand and wiped away a stray tear. "Don't worry about me. I-" he broke off as I shook off his hand.
"Don't be so noble, dammit! What the hell were you thinking?" I scolded him.
A part of me was mortified that I was getting so out of control, another was tripping over itself at the way Travis saved me, another was crying it's eyes out with worry, but most of me could kill Travis myself for being so reckless.
I made Travis drink some of the nectar, pouring as must as I could risk onto his wound.
"You know... I was once told... If you-"
I cut Travis off again. "Now is not the time for quotes! We need to get you to the Apollo kids!"
Travis grinned at me. "So feisty." he mumbled. "All this anger isn't good for you Katie-kat."
My eyes welled up at the stupid nickname. What if this is the last time I hear it?
I shook the thought our of my head.
Don't be stupid Katie. Hewilllive.I chastised myself.
I managed to drag Travis a few feet before collapsing. Not only was Travis heavy, I was exhausted.
I gasped for breath and struggled to my knees. Travis was a dead weight, losing consciousness fast.
"Hold on, Travis." I whispered. "Just a little further. Travis mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Katie-kat".
Did you hear that sound? Yeah, that was my heart breaking.
I bit my lip and looked around frantically. "Where are all the Apollo children?"
"Katie!"
I turned my head to see Mark Hill(A/N: Remember him ;) ~J is for Jealous) running towards me.
I almost cried out in relief. Mark and I had a rough history, but he was a kind soul; he would help us.
"It's Travis! He's been-"
Mark nodded hastily. "Yeah, I see it."
Mark helped me set Travis down and he quickly went to work.
Travis moaned and I squeezed his hand. "Come on, you can get through this."
Mark finished up and stood. He called over a girl in full body armour. Only her brown eyes showed, but I could see from the way she and Mark looked at each other, they were special to each other.
"Enma," he said gently. "Help Katie get Travis somewhere safe so he can rest."
Enma nodded. "Alright. I know the perfect place."
Without another word, she crouched and slung one of Travis' arms over her shoulder. "Let's go."
~NIGHT TIME, THE ENEMY HAS RETREATED
I gasped for breath, falling to the ground next to Travis.
I turned my head so my nose brushed his cheek.
I now knew for certain he would be okay, so I was less worried. I had a lot of special people to protect, and Travis was one of them.
I could not let him die.
Travis stirred and as his head turned, his beautiful blue eyes met my green ones.
My eyes pooled with tears as Travis smiled at me.
"You fool! Just what the hell do you think you were doing?" I choked out.
Travis brushed his nose against mine. "Becoming stronger." he murmured.
I slapped him for that. "You were nearly killed!"
Travis winced, rubbing his cheek.
"I was told once, you only get truly stronger if you have someone special in your life to protect. Then, you have a reason to fight." he explained.
I stared at him for a few seconds. Travis' gaze didn't waver.
I wiped the tears from my eyes. "You're an idiot." I finally said. "But I'm glad you're not dead."
Travis laughed. "Well, if I'm an idiot, then you must be a fool for dating me."
I balled my fist and glared at him. "What did you just say?"
"Nothing, nothing!" Travis cried. "Don't hurt me!"
I sighed, deciding to save my strength. I looked at Travis, who was cowering in fear.
He really was someone special.
Soooo, how is everyone? Hehehe...
Okay, you all probably hate me, right?
I'm really sorry. My parents signed me up for Arabic classes, so I no longer have too much time to work on my free stuff.
So, anyway...
Q: What is the Roman form of Hermes?