Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Story: Guardians of Light and Justice
Chapter 20: The Golden State Battle, Part 3
Third Person's POV
Chronos's surprised face morphed into one of pure rage has he charged forward against the god of the dead. Hades moved like a shadow slipping around the thrust of Chronos's pike slashing with his Stygian iron sword along the primordial god's back. Chronos screamed in pain as the blade drained power from him. He used his remaining power to slow down time, so he could recover from the wound.
Athena laid on the ground in pain as her wounds started to make her light headed. Suddenly, someone landed on the ground next to her; Athena looked up to see her daughter.
"Annabeth" Athena said, barely able to talk through the pain, and lack of air. Her punctured lung caused her to wheeze, and gasp for air.
"Mom, hold on." Annabeth said as she carefully lifted her mother over her shoulder. She struggled to carry her mother, but her adrenaline allowed her to carry her toward the abandoned winery where the Apollo cabin had setup their makeshift infirmary. It took her about twenty minutes to get there, and by that time Athena was unconscious from the loss of ichor, and her lack of air. Once inside the infirmary; several Apollo campers helped her with Athena until the goddess was stable.
Suddenly, the door to the winery burst open revealing Nico carrying an injured Thalia in his arms. He carefully carried her to a bed; an Apollo camper began to work on her injured leg.
"Nico, we need to get back out there." Annabeth said.
"Want a lift?" Nico said as he gave Annabeth a mischievous smile. She reluctantly nodded in agreement as they ran out of the infirmary. Nico flew back to the battle carrying Annabeth with him. They landed next to Malcolm who had just beheaded a empousa.
"Malcolm, how goes the battle?" Annabeth asked her younger brother. Malcolm looked up, his grey eyes were bright, but she could tell that he was getting tired.
"We're winning, except for that thing." Malcolm said as he pointed to Garuda.
"I'm here now little brother." Annabeth said, as she joined him in battle. A noise of large wings flying into the air broke them away from their discussion as they watched Nico fly into battle with his fellow guardians. The guardians were fighting Garuda, but they were like gnats fighting an elephant. Garuda was too powerful to attack straight on, so the guardians fought by distraction, and quick hits. They never stayed too long in one place as they flew around the giant creature. Nico flew in formation with his fellow guardians, and joined in their attacks of the giant half man and half bird.
Suddenly, Garuda extended its wings, and flew into the air surprising the guardians. They were barely able to move out of the way as the wind caused by Garuda's wings surpassed three hundred miles per hour. The guardians were thrown apart; each one of them landed hard on the ground. Nico stood up after a few seconds, and gasped at the sight before him. Garuda grabbed a large tree, and ripped it out of the ground. He flew towards the demigod camp dropping it in the middle of the camp causing tremendous destruction; half the camp was destroyed. The only good part was that the camp was fairly empty because of the battle.
"Guardians attack." Nico yelled. The other guardians had recovered by now; they flew back into the air, and began to harass Garuda again. The giant monster flew faster and higher into the air. The guardians followed the creature closely as they tried to attack without any visible affect on the monster.
Annabeth's POV
I fought along side Malcolm. The demigods with the help of the hunters were winning the battle against the monsters. However, Garuda was still active dropping a large tree in the middle of camp that destroyed more than half of our base. Thank goodness no one was killed in the attack. I slashed through the chest of a draconae, and watched as it disappeared into a cloud of dust. Suddenly, I felt something move in my jacket pocket. I reached into my pocket, and then pulled out the small statue of Shiva. The statue moved on its own, and at that moment I knew that I was looking at one of the small avatars of Shiva.
"Annabeth, where is your mother?" Shiva asked excitedly.
"She is in the infirmary, she was hurt badly in battle." I said. Shiva looked upset at the news.
"I'm sorry about that. He should arrive soon." Shiva said.
"Whose he?" I asked.
"The help I promised, when he arrives make sure you give him this small avatar. I need to speak with him." Shiva said.
"I understand." I said.
"Very good, good luck Annabeth." Shiva said as the avatar flickered, and then became lifeless again. Malcolm walked toward me, he was covered in monster dust.
"You look like crap, little brother." I said. Malcolm just rolled his eyes, and sighed deeply.
"You don't look so great yourself, sis." Malcolm said. Suddenly a loud roar came from behind us, we turned to see the minotaur dressed in celestial bronze armor wielding a large double bladed battle axe. He charged toward us, Malcolm and I froze, we moved to the side, but the monster gave each one of us a glancing blow that sent us falling to the ground hard. I had my dagger in my hand, and I saw Malcolm holding his sword. The minotaur turned, and walked toward us. The monster's eyes were red with anger, and drool was falling from its mouth. The minotaur saw me, and moved toward me completely ignoring Malcolm. Malcolm yelled at the monster to leave me alone, then he ran towards the creature, but the Minotaur backhanded him sending him flying across the battlefield. I thought he was dead for sure until something caught my brother. I looked up to see Percy flying with his wings extended. He laid Malcolm on the ground carefully.
The minotaur stared with complete anger in its eyes as Percy flew towards the creature, and landed only a few yards away.
"Miss me?" Percy asked. The minotaur just stared hatefully at him. "Guess not." The minotaur charged Percy, but the monster missed as Percy flew into the air. The minotaur roared angrily at the guardian. Percy hovered in the air above the minotaur, and then he did the unthinkable he dove straight toward the beast. Percy extended both of his arms out in front like superman. He clenched his fists as he waited for the impact. Percy hit the monster directly in its celestial bronze breast plate causing a massive dent in the godly metal. The minotaur fell backwards onto the ground with a thud. Riptide appeared in Percy's hand as he charged the stunned monster. Percy slashed with Riptide in one quick slice beheading the monster, and sending its head flying in the opposite direction as the monster faded into dust.
Percy walked over toward me, and helped me stand up. "Wise girl, are you ok?" Percy asked.
"Yes, how's Malcolm?" I asked. Percy picked me up as we flew toward my half-brother. We landed next to him to see him sitting up breathing heavy.
"Malcolm" I yelled. Malcolm looked toward us, and then he smiled slightly.
"That hurt" Malcolm said, as Percy and I smiled at him.
"Percy, Shiva wanted me to give this to the aid he promised." I said as I remembered the small avatar statue. I handed it to Percy, he looked at it for a moment before taking it from my grasp.
"Thanks, I'll make sure they get it when they arrive." Percy said. We heard a loud roar, we all turned to see Garuda flying through the air trying to hit the other guardians. They were doing everything they could to avoid its attacks. Percy gave me one last smile as he flew into the air to help his fellow guardians.
Percy's POV
I gave one last smile to Annabeth as I few into the air to help my friends, but before I reached them I felt movement in my pocket. I pulled out the avatar statue of Shiva; it was moving in my hand.
"Perseus, you have arrived." Shiva said.
"Yes, I was getting ready to help my fellow guardians. We're waiting for that aid you promised." I said anxiously.
"You are that aid." Shiva said, I was stunned.
"What? I can't destroy that thing by myself." I said doubtfully.
"You are wrong my friend. You have great power within you. You have power from the gods and from me, but your greatest power is within you. When Nike asked you to choose your wings, what happened?" Shiva asked. At first I didn't understand the question, but then I remembered.
"I saw an image of a giant bird in my mind with large dark brown wings." I said.
"What kind of bird was it?" Shiva asked.
"Steller Sea Eagle" I said. Shiva gave me a hopeful smile.
"Why do you think that you picked an eagle, isn't that a symbol for Zeus?" Shiva asked.
"Yes, but his symbol is the golden eagle, this was a sea eagle." I said.
"True, so you picked one of the largest eagles in the world. In reality it may not be the tallest or have the longest wingspan, but it is the strongest. Where does it come from?" Shiva asked.
"Asia, Eastern Asia specifically." I said still not understanding this conversation.
Shiva sighed. "You can be such as seaweed brain sometimes. The sea eagle is your avatar, in a way it is the personification of who you are, and a manifestation of your true power. If you can concentrate, and put away your anger you will be able to reveal this power." Shiva said, reminding me of all the times he had taught me to control my power and my mind in the past.
"I will try" I said. Shiva shook his head.
"There is no try, there is only success. Remember who you are." Shiva said as the small avatar statue reverted to an inanimate object. I put the small statue back into my pocket. I flew to the top of a hill, and then sat cross legged. I concentrated on the powers that I inherited from my father, the powers I was given as a guardian, and the power given to me by Shiva. I felt all that strength, but I couldn't feel any other power. Suddenly, I was hit with images that flooded through my mind; my fight with Ares when I was twelve, the power I felt when I fought Polyphemus, the inner strength I felt when I struggled under the weight of the sky, the power within me as I bathed in the Styx, and the strength I used to throw Erebus out of my mind. Then I saw faces of my friends; Nico, Athena, Aether, Apollo, Will, Thalia, my father, Annabeth, Paul, and my mom. When I thought of my mom the pain began to flood back into me, but then I remembered all the good things about my mom; like when she use to sing me to sleep as a child, when she would hug me when I felt scared, the blue food she would make me, and all the bad things she endured to keep me safe. I saw her eyes shine when she would look at me, and the smile on her face when she was proud of me. I let the pain and hurt flow out of me. I felt the tears, but instead of feeling worse I felt like all the pain and sadness had finally washed out of me. The need for revenge and the hate flooded out of me too, and all I was left with was love and hope. I concentrated on those two feelings. My love for Annabeth and my friends, and the hope for a better and safer world. I felt a power surround me like nothing I had ever experienced before as I closed my eyes.
My eyes shot open, and I looked down at a small puddle in front of me. I gasped at what I saw; I was no longer there, but I was. I was no longer a demigod guardian, I was something much more. I was a giant eagle, with fiery green eyes that seemed to smolder with power. I heard the roar of Garuda, and I knew what needed to be done. I flew into the air, and forward toward the greatest battle of my life.
Athena's POV
I heard Garuda roar again, I had to get out of the infirmary. A few Apollo campers objected, but I stared them down until they let me go. I walked out of the old winery to see Garuda fighting the guardians. I saw Nico leading them, and I instantly felt better, but they weren't hurting the monster. They were only a distraction until Shiva's help arrived.
Suddenly, I heard the call of an eagle, a very large eagle. I looked toward the East, and then I spotted it. It was a huge dark brown eagle. It was at least one hundred feet long and about eighty feet tall. The wingspan was roughly two hundred feet, and it had massive talons, and a bright yellow beak that seemed to shine in the sun. The eagle seemed to glow with power as if the sun itself powered this behemoth, but the strangest part were its eyes. They were green, and they seemed to glow with power almost like they were on fire.
Garuda stopped chasing the guardians when he heard the eagle. Garuda was still about ten times the size of this eagle, and I couldn't believe that this was all the help that Shiva sent us. Garuda flew straight towards the eagle, it tried to grab the eagle with its massive clawed hands, but the eagle moved at incredible speed. One of the eagle wings struck Garuda's shoulder causing a massive cut that was at least thirty feet long. Garuda screamed in pain. Garuda turned as fast as it could, and flew to catch up with the eagle. Garuda continued to pursue the large bird, but it wasn't fast enough. Suddenly, the eagle turned, and seemed to hover in the air. Garuda kept moving at full speed until two beams of energy shot from the eagle's eyes striking Garuda in the chest, and then the power enveloped the giant monster. Garuda screamed in pain as the power intensified, and I could see the feathers and eyes of the eagle glow with power. They were both high in the sky, and directly in the path of the sun's rays. The green light intensified, and then I saw Garuda start to smoke like it was being burned from the inside out. The giant monster screamed in agony as it suddenly burst into green flame, and evaporated into ash.
I was frozen, and then I remembered the battle, I concentrated on the location of Hades. I disappeared, and then immediately appeared next to my uncle. Standing next to Hades was Aether, Apollo, Artemis, Annabeth, Malcolm, Nico and the other guardians. The only enemy left standing in front of us were Chronos and Erebus.
"Give up, you've been defeated." I ordered. They both looked at me defiantly.
"We shall never give up." Erebus said. Chronos looked less confident.
"The Hand has been defeated, you will not be able to rebuild this time." Hades said.
"As long as we live, the Hand survives." Erebus said. Suddenly, the ground shook behind the two primordial gods, I looked up in wonder at the sight. Erebus and Chronos turned around to see the giant eagle behind them. Chronos and Erebus shook with fear. The eagle screamed causing all of us to cover our ears. Erebus sent a blast of dark energy at the eagle, the creature caught it with its talon, and a bright glow dissolved the energy. Now Erebus looked terrified. Chronos was on the ground pleading for mercy, and Erebus stood there shaking. I looked into the eagle's eyes, and the green flames intensified. A blast of energy erupted from each eye; one blast struck Chronos, and the other struck Erebus. The two gods screamed in agony, and then dissolved into nothingness before our eyes.
The eagle walked toward us, and we were all terrified at its power. Hades and I walked forward to address the monster, but suddenly it began to glow with a bright white light, we all closed our eyes because of the intensity. When the light finally faded; we all gasped at the sight before us. Standing in front of us looking really tired was Percy Jackson, commander of the guardians.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this chapter, more to come.