TW: Violence, Blood, Death
A couple of weeks ago on a date, Annabeth had jokingly told Percy to sweep her off her feet; this is not what she had meant.
Percy's six foot tsunami burst through the camp, flooding the amphitheater, cabins, fields, and even reaching the far off strawberry gardens, eventually subsiding a bit and evening out to only about a foot of water everywhere. The poor souls at the beach who had been in the way of the incoming wave had all been knocked down and drenched, disorientated and a little pissed off, while those who remained standing had to splash around during their battles. Campers and monsters alike slipped in the fresh mud; any empousai that got pushed to the ground shrieked in an attempt to keep their fiery hair from going out. It was like fighting in a kiddie pool, but with fewer toddlers and sharper weapons.
Aralus left the two demigods to their own devices as Percy Jackson got to his feet next to a group of dracanae, who were swinging spears at some Hermes campers. The water was choppy and wild from their collective stomping. The son of Poseidon's eyes glowed a faded pink color, from far away looking closer to white than anything else, but that didn't make him any less intimidating. The wave had knocked his helmet off, and it had sunk by his feet so that only the black plume stuck out of the water. His hand danced by his pocket, waiting for Riptide to reappear.
"Percy," Annabeth started, hands out in front of her, "I know you can hear me-"
"Of course I can hear you," Percy sneered, rolling his eyes. "I'm not possessed. I'm still me." He took a step towards her, the water around his shins swirling in agitation.
Annabeth's expression grew cold. A calm, tender approach was not the solution here. "This is not you, Percy. You're not my Seaweed Brain."
"Don't call me that!" Percy shouted, moving closer. He had no trouble maneuvering in the water, but Annabeth's slow steps backward were clumsy and fumbling. Reaching in her back pocket, Annabeth brought out a pocket knife. It was small and a little pathetic, especially when everyone around her was showcasing an array of unique weaponry, but hey- Percy didn't have anything, so she was doing better than him.
Of course, being weaponless did not mean that Percy was defenseless. He had flooded the camp in mere seconds, and judging from the drop in air pressure and increase in wind, a hurricane was beginning to form.
Annabeth hated seeing Percy like this. She hadn't been there when he'd first been under the Hyde's influence, so this was a completely new experience for her. His armor was unfamiliar, and the black stealth clothing underneath sucked out any of his usual colorful charm. His dark hair was being blown about wildly, and his eyes were fixated on her, as if there wasn't a war waging around them. The worst, though, was his expression. There was no hint of that mischievous smile that she loved so much. This wasn't the fun-loving goofball she grew up with. This looked like a war-hardened soldier, a man who had lost all his joy and knew only pain and rage. It made her want to cry.
His glowing eyes flicked down to her pocket knife, then back up at her with a mirthful smirk. "Is that all you've got?"
Annabeth held it out in front of her, putting on a confident façade. "It's more than enough to fight you with."
Percy lifted an eyebrow, looking slightly impressed with her bravado but nevertheless too far gone to feel any real fear. He stared intently at the pocket knife, and Annabeth was about to ask why when she felt an intense ache shoot up her forearm.
"AH!" she yelped, nearly dropping the knife. Percy's gaze didn't waver. Her arm was throbbing now, and against her will, she began to lower her arm.
"What the-" she began, worry creeping in to her voice, and with one last look at Percy's narrowing stare, she understood what was happening. She just couldn't believe he was doing it to her.
"No," she grunted, resisting his willpower, but he pushed harder, and Annabeth let out a shriek of pain. Suddenly, Percy broke eye contact with her arm, dropped to the ground, and swung out a leg, tripping Annabeth. Caught off guard, Annabeth fell backwards, knife still in hand. Percy scrambled to get on top of her and pin her down, but Annabeth shifted their combined weight and flipped them so that Percy was on his back. She made a grab for his arm but he knocked her hand away with his elbow and reached for the knife. She blocked him. He lunged. She took the knife and cut a gash on his arm. I'm sorry, Percy, she thought to herself, but it's for your own good. Percy snarled- an awful look for him, really- and shot a blast of water in her face, which forced her to lean back away from him. Her mistake.
Percy used the water surrounding them to push himself up, flipping them once again. Annabeth slammed under the water- it was only a foot deep, but it was enough to cover her face. She writhed under his weight, trying to push up, to cut him, to do something, but he had her wrist holding the knife pinned down under the water too. With his free right hand, Percy reached into his pocket and finally pulled out Riptide. Unsheathing it, he raised it up with grim finality.
Percy was then abruptly tackled, hammered into the ground on Annabeth's left. She flung herself up and out of the water, spluttering and leaping to her feet. She was about to call out when a Stymphalian Bird swooped down and clawed at her armored shoulder. Attention diverted, Annabeth fought her way into the crowd of monsters and campers and left Percy to his attacker.
Percy struggled underneath the weight of a new- oddly furry- foe, and he rolled a bit with them until they both broke apart and scrambled to their feet. Percy expected to come face to face with a some sort of monstrous dog like Mrs. O'Leary, but instead found himself staring down a bear. A giant, brown grizzly bear.
"Wait, what?" Percy's menacing act dropped for a moment, and he lowered his sword in confusion. He couldn't see it himself, but the bright glow in Percy's eyes flickered for just a moment.
The bear turned towards him, stood up on its hind legs, and shrunk down to the size of a boy. The fur disappeared and revealed a pale praetor, decked out in full golden armor, with a very concerned expression. "Percy, please. I don't want to fight you." Frank Zhang reached behind himself and brandished his spear. "But I will if I have to."
Percy's eyes narrowed, his mouth drawn into the tight line of a grimace, and hunched in preparation for an attack. He didn't say anything, but he didn't have to- his agitated body language spoke loud enough. With his free hand, Percy reached out towards the beach, and with a slow, shaking turn of the wrist, the water began to churn.
Everything that happened next occurred in such quick succession, Percy could hardly process it: Percy yanked his hand back; Frank glanced behind himself; the water shot forward; somebody screamed on Percy's right; Frank jumped towards Percy while Percy turned towards the scream; Frank morphed into a giant eagle; claws plunged into Percy's shoulders, denting the armor and digging into his skin; both Frank the Eagle and Percy launched into the sky right as the water slammed into the spot Frank had just stood.
Frank soared up above the battlefield, the son of Poseidon kicking and twisting violently in his taloned grasp.
"Let me go!" Percy shrieked, trying to swing Riptide up and into the stomach of Eagle Frank, but Frank kept himself just out of reach. Occasionally, Frank would adjust his grip or even drop Percy before clutching his shoulders once again, which threw Percy off every time. He hated being so high up; Percy had never liked being up in the air, unless it was on the back of Blackjack, and painfully dangling so high up in the middle of a storm was less than ideal. The wind was worse up there, buffeting in Percy's ears and drowning out the cacophony rising from the battlefield. Storm clouds had gathered in a dark grey mass above the camp, blocking out all sunshine and rumbling ominously, no doubt the combined work of the Grace siblings and Percy himself.
From up there, Percy couldn't do much except look down at the war below. He saw Thalia's tree- or really, what was left of it. The ground surrounding it was black, poisoned deeply, and the wood was scored and scratched. Most of its foliage had been torn away, and the exposed bare branches looked weak. It hurt, panging in Percy's heart beneath the surface of Hyde-induced anger, to see the sole pine like that. The copper-scaled body of Peleus the dragon lay unmoving a dozen yards away.
The strawberry fields were being trampled by a trio of centaurs fending off Kampê, whose large dragon wings showcased a large tear; she fought on foot now, still putting up a good fight. Aralus had made his over to the lava wall, where he was chasing a group of Hephaestus campers scattered both around and on the rock climbing wall. Their self-engineered fireproof armor allowed them to get incredibly close to the lava, sometimes making contact with it, and still come out unscathed. The same could not be said for Aralus, whose hands were burned and scarring from reckless attempts at grabbing the demigods near the lava.
The amphitheater was overrun with drachanae, and the cabins looked like a clip from Scooby-Doo: two campers chasing a monster would run across the courtyard between the rows of cabins, disappearing behind one, and then three monsters would pop out chasing the demigods, running in the opposite direction. The mess hall was filled with empousa and the children of Hypnos and Dionysus, who were making half the flame-haired monsters drunk and the other half fall asleep- though the line was blurred as to which was happening to whom.
Vinomi was surrounded by Piper Mclean, Annabeth Chase, Hazel Levesque, and Nico Di Angelo. They kept a clear perimeter around those poisoned talons, but even so they managed to get in a few hits and blows. Hazel and Nico were directing a small undead army of their own, who could go near the dripping talons with no issue, and Percy smiled at their ingenuity.
Jason Grace was shooting in and out of the forest on the right side of Camp Half-Blood with the dragon monster Percy had seen in the water charging through the trees behind him. Every time the dragon lunged back into the forest, Percy could track its wreckage by the shaking and crumbling of the trees.
Forterae had her hands full with the combined efforts of the Amazons and Hunters of Artemis. As mighty as Forterae was, she was struggling against the strong warriors, whose relentless confidence and unshakeable determination was a force to be reckoned with. Bonoas was over by the Big House, fighting Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, and Will Solace. They were shouting something, but Percy couldn't make out their words. He wanted to be down there. He wanted to help. He- he wanted to help.
"Frank!" Percy shouted, his wriggling changing from raging to desperate. "Frank! Are my eyes pink?" Percy tilted his head back and made eye contact with Eagle Frank, who shook his feathered head "No" and let out a caw. Percy laughed, sounding a little insane with relief. "Oh my gods, Frank, it worked." He sheathed Riptide. "We need to- We need-" Suddenly Percy screamed and clutched his head. Eagle Frank tucked his wings in and dove towards a clear patch in the middle of the camp where few monsters or demigods were, dropping Percy and transforming back into his human self. Percy stumbled and dropped to his knees, still clutching his head, fingers buried in his dark hair.
"Percy! Oh my gods, what's happening?" Frank asked frantically, kneeling down and reaching for his friend.
"No!" Percy snapped, harshly shoving Frank away. "Don't-" His eyes flashed back to their unnerving glow- but now they were white, not pink. Both demigods stood, Frank taking an extra wary step back. Percy's left hand still clutched his aching head, but his right flitted down to his pocket, where Riptide was stowed. The light in Percy's eyes dimmed again, leaving him weak-kneed and gasping for air. "It's- it's like it can't make up its mind," Percy choked out.
"What do you mean? Why aren't your eyes orange or pink?" Frank asked, hands out in front of him in both a placating and defensive gesture.
"We- we altered the Hyde last night-" Percy cringed and squeezed his eyes shut, doubling over in pain. "Kelli, Sandro, and I changed the potion so that it'll die off quicker but- gah!" Percy tried to straighten up but fell forward; Frank rushed in and caught him. Percy swallowed and coughed out, "...but we don't know all the effects or if it even worked." Percy let out a pained breath. "It didn't hurt like this last time."
Frank brushed the hair out of Percy's face and analyzed his eyes. Under his breath, Frank murmured, "Why are our lives so screwed up?" Then, louder: "The glow was white- is that good or bad?"
"I don't kn-" Percy's whole body tensed up. He shot Frank a withering glare.
"Oh, gods," Frank sighed just before Percy tackled him. They rolled once, twice; Frank kicked Percy in the gut, sending him flying off. Tumbling to a stop, Percy tried to get his feet underneath him but was caught up in another Hyde Outage, eyes flickering like an old lightbulb.
Frank was about to approach Percy again when a crack of lightning struck the ground between the two boys. Frank shielded his eyes from the burst of light, and when he looked back, Thalia Grace stood in its place. Her black hair had grown out past her shoulders, though it still looked choppy and roughly cut, and her silver circlet shone gloriously despite the lack of sunlight. The storm clouds clashed overhead, and the already strong winds grew rougher.
"Long time no see, Jackson," she growled, brandishing Aegus and her spear. Her eyeliner had begun to run after several tumbles in the shallow water flooding the area near the beach, and her leather jacket already sported several tears and slices.
"Likewise, Pinecone Face," Percy spat, unsheathing Riptide once again. His eyes lit up like LEDs.
"Thalia, wait-" Frank began, but Thalia, gaze still trained intently on Percy, held up Aegus as if to say Talk to the shield.
A couple of monsters ran by Frank's left, looking like they wanted to jump in to this fight, but one glance at Percy and Thalia sent them scurrying backwards. They'd go find some easier campers to pick off.
Frank took a step forward, about to tell Thalia that the Hyde's hold on Percy was wearing off, but suddenly Percy swung back Riptide and charged. When his sword clashed with Thalia's spear, thunder boomed, and a 10 foot radius of power surged outwards from the duo, chucking Frank backwards into a group of Telkhines. The air was charged with electricity, and the tension was so thick, no other monsters dared to enter the ring.
When Thalia had showed up, the loose switch in Percy that had been flickering snapped on, and Percy found himself fixated on the idea of absolutely destroying Thalia Grace.
Percy pushed off from Thalia's spear and swung again; she blocked. Thalia lunged forward; Percy sidestepped. Jab, parry. Clash. Swing, duck. Clash. Boom. As they fought, the atmosphere crackled and a personal hurricane formed around them. Thalia's leather jacket slapped against her back, the wind ripped at Percy's jeans, and the roar of the winds almost matched the volume of their shouts.
"Percy, you fucking idiot! Fight through it!"
"Shut up!"
"This is your home!"
"I don't-" Percy chopped Riptide down right over Thalia's shoulder, and had she not brought her spear up in time, she would've lost her arm. "-give a damn-" Thalia blocked another slice. "-about this camp."
Thalia couldn't help but be shocked. Hearing those words come out of Percy's mouth was the most paradoxical thing she'd ever heard. Percy Jackson adored Camp Half-Blood and would die to protect it; he'd even said so himself. But this wasn't really Percy she was fighting. He only looked like Percy.
Thalia shoved Percy off, raised her spear, and gave it everything she had.
Lightning crackled above her. Thalia let out a scream.
One fiercely bright bolt leapt down from the sky and electrocuted Percy, burning the grass around him and searing Lichtenberg figures down his arms. His heart rate accelerated dangerously, and for a few moments Percy didn't breathe. As soon as the lightning bolt touched down, the winds from the hurricane burst outwards and dissipated. Now, the air was eerily still in comparison. The war raged on around them, but it was as if it was occurring on a different plane of existence. Thalia could only register Percy, standing only about two yards away, faint smoke curling off of his body. His eyes were blown wide, and his jaw was slack.
Years ago, the pair had fought on the bank of a river after a rough game of Capture The Flag. A much younger Thalia had electrocuted a much younger Percy, and Percy's retaliation had been interrupted by the surprisingly active Oracle.
Now, there was nobody to interrupt.
Percy took a wavering deep breath, still recovering from the lightning blast, and held out his shaking hand towards the ocean. Far away, Thalia could hear the rush of water. Lots and lots of water. But, she couldn't see anything happening. She turned to her right. The closest thing to them, which was still a decent ways away, was the Big House. With that in her eyeline, she couldn't see much of the beach itself.
But the sound of churning water grew.
Percy hadn't moved.
Thalia armed herself, regrouping and preparing, and faced completely to her right.
"Percy…" she began, but she didn't get a chance to finish her thought.
A massive wave crashed into the back of the Big House, arching up and over the two story building, beautifully terrifying. The distant sunlight backlit the wave, shining through the water and haloing its edges. The Big House stayed standing, always sturdy and built to withstand time, as it was eclipsed by water. Curling down and around the Big House, the ocean seethed and roiled into a giant flowing wall of water behind Percy, held back by sheer will power.
"I control the sea," Percy declared, his voice reverberating around the clearing. Thalia watched as the curling wave rose higher and higher behind Percy, casting a shadow that illuminated Percy's glowing eyes.
The son of Poseidon smirked.
"...and the sea does not like to be restrained."
All at once, the ocean surged. Its rough waters crashed into Thalia, throwing her to the ground and lifting her up before flipping her upside down and re-righting her in its waters. Forced to hold her breath, Thalia tried to get her bearings and swim out of the oceanic mass, but wherever she moved, the water moved too. Percy slowly approached the writhing waters, back straight and smirk gone. Thalia tried to use Aegus as a way to paddle herself forward, but the ocean wrenched the shield out of her hand and spat it out into the clearing. The water frothed and collided with itself, and Thalia was quickly running out of air.
Percy stopped at the edge of the wave. He brought his hand up and curled his fingers inward, motioning Come here.
Thalia lurched forward, precious bubbles of air escaping her mouth. There was only a couple of inches between their faces, but the currents kept Thalia from breaking the barrier. She glared at Percy, his face expressionless. Spray from the water spattered on his forehead, some drops catching on his eyelashes and glittering from the glow in his eyes.
"Thalia Grace, the daughter of Zeus and Hunter of Artemis." Percy flinched, which surprised Thalia. Something was off. "Your immortal life has- has come to end." Percy's brows furrowed, as if he was concentrating. He shut his eyes for a moment, but too soon he snarled and started back up angrily, "I'm sure Zeus will be glad to be rid of his second-biggest disappointment. First your mother, now you."
A molotov cocktail of rage and desperation exploded in Thalia, and a column of air burst through the water, allowing her to launch up and away. She slowed at the top of her arch, as if she had taken the world's largest leap, and lifted her spear above her head. Thalia had never used her powers to fly this high, and she had no plans to ever do so again, but her ferocity smothered her fear of heights long enough for this moment.
Percy looked upwards, and his control over the ocean broke. The living water loosely splashed to the ground.
Percy blinked hard and stumbled.
Thalia plunged.
Percy then collapsed completely, falling on to his back with a huge gasp. Thalia was careening towards him with her spear pointed right at his chest.
"Thalia!"
Something about his voice was different.
"Thalia! Wait, Thalia, Thalia- ThaliaTHALIASTOP!"
Percy's arms flew over his chest, legs pulled in and face scrunched tight; Thalia jammed the spear just a foot to Percy's left. She landed roughly beside it, breathing hard, and she looked at Percy with wild eyes.
"Oh my gods," breathed Percy, turning on to his side with a hand over his racing heart. "Oh my gods, oh my gods." The Hyde was finished; his eyes were their lovely green once again. "That was way too close."
Thalia crawled over to Percy and pulled him into a tight hug. "What the actual hell, Percy," she gasped, squeezing him tighter. "Don't ever make me do that again."
Percy let out a weak laugh and hugged her back. "I don't plan on being in any situation like that ever again, trust me."
Pulling back, she slapped him upside the head. "That's for nearly drowning me, you punk."
Percy scoffed, glancing down at the faint branching lines adorning his skin. "Serves you right for electrocuting me. That was way more intense than last time."
"Yeah, well," Thalia cleared her throat and looked away. "I got a little carried away. You know how battle is."
Percy shrugged, carrying out their nonchalant act. "Don't we all."
Thalia stood and reached out a hand to help Percy up. She was still soaking wet; Percy's touch gave her a little shock of electricity. They were both lucky to have survived that fight, and each of them knew it.
A roar coming from far behind Percy echoed across the Camp, and Percy turned towards the burning rock wall in time to watch Aralus drop to his knees with a thunderous boom, then dissolve into dust.
Percy grinned and turned to Thalia, "Thank the gods; I hated that guy."
The campers around him shouted in victory, and from all the way over by the strawberry fields, Forterae let out a rattling roar. "NO!"
Every head on the battlefield whipped around. Forterae's face was a deeper indigo than Percy had ever seen it, and her hands shook in a combination of anger and grief. She and Bonoas were the only giants left, and just a couple days ago there had been six. Percy had the realization that Forterae had spent these past few days watching her brothers get killed one by one, and soon she very well might be the only one left. Something in her posture changed. She was furious, bereaved, vengeful, and desperate all at once, and it showed. Her air of stoic professionalism broke, a wild look in her dark eyes.
"Shit," Percy mumbled, unsheathing Riptide and hefting it up into a defensive position. "She's pissed."
"You said you wanted to ask for a treaty?" Thalia asked, not taking her eyes off of Forterae.
"Yeah."
"Well, she's not gonna be on board with that now."
Forterae let loose a battle cry, and the monsters began to fight again with reinvigorated strength. Percy and Thalia started jogging back into battle, quickly picking up speed until they were full-on sprinting. They burst into a group of Laistrygonian Giants and proceeded to slice their way through in seconds. A gorgon approached Thalia from behind; Percy swiped at its neck. Orthus, the two-headed cousin of Cerberus, came barking madly towards Percy; Thalia pushed in front of him and swiftly impaled it. They were bustled about my monsters and demigods alike, elbowing their way through the crowded battlefield.
"I'm going to head over to Vinomi!" Percy shouted, ducking underneath a rogue sword flying overhead. "If we get rid of him, we should be able to convince the rest of the monsters to back down."
Thalia jumped out of the way of a daughter of Aphrodite, who was currently going hand-to-hand with an empousa. "Do you have a plan on how to kill that monstrosity?"
"Nope! Not a clue."
Thalia laughed and shook her head. "Whelp, best of luck to you then. You'll need it." Thalia smacked Aegus into a Cyclops' face.
"Go help take down Forterae," Percy called back, looking over his shoulder as he began to move away from Thalia and towards the cabins. "She's our second biggest threat right now."
"Got it!" Thalia shouted back, and in mere seconds she disappeared amidst the monsters.
Percy muscled his way through fights and skirmishes, passing by dissolving monsters and dying campers. He could see the tops of the cabins above the heads of the soldiers, but getting there was a challenge. At one point he was nearly stabbed through his side, but a vine shot out of the ground, snagged the sword, and yanked it away. Percy looked behind himself and spotted Quincy Clark, the red-headed son of Ceres they rescued from the Opening Ceremony. Quincy gave him a quick nod before dodging back into the fray.
Percy continued to fight his way through, but even he had to admit that he was getting tired. Hyde-Controlled Percy hadn't used his energy sparingly. It was a lot of action, a lot of mindpower all at once, and very little rest between huge exertions. He had a fading headache, his legs were sore, and his mouth still tasted metallic from the lightning. His shoulders were no doubt scarred from Frank's eagle talons, too. As he plunged Riptide through another monster, he wondered how long the camp could keep going. He had seen quite a few campers already injured, limping and bleeding all over the camp, and Percy didn't know how many casualties there had been so far. Were they losing? Were they winning? Percy didn't know. Suddenly, Percy shoved between two Telkhines and came face to face with the Chimera, a monster he hadn't seen since his fall from the Gateway Arch.
"Percy Jackson, duck down!"
Percy dropped to the grass, crouched with his sword at the ready, as Chiron leapt over him. The centaur slammed into the Chimera with full force, knocking it's goat body down and earning a disgruntled roar from its lion head. It spat a fierce flame at Chiron, who bucked backwards before hefting his spear high. The Chimera's snake tail lashed out at Chiron, but Chiron's hooved leg smacked the viper away.
"Dionysus," Chiron began, sounding far too calm for the situation. "Your help would be appreciated."
Moving around Percy's crouched form, Mr. D sauntered towards the Chimera. "Not how I wanted to spend my day off," the god grumbled, fidgeting with his hawaiian shirt.
Chiron rolled his eyes. "You don't have any days off."
Mr. D growled, snapped his fingers, and a hefty hammer materialized in his pudgy fist. "All I wanted was a leisurely Saturday." He whomped the Chimera hard enough to burst it into dust with one hit. "But then Peter Johnson over here decided we needed to get involved with every single monster that ever existed."
"Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration," Chiron sighed, trotting over to Percy. "We can't blame everything on the boy."
"Gee, thanks," Percy muttered, standing up.
Chiron clapped him on the back. "Glad to see you're back on our side," he smiled.
"Me too," Percy agreed. "How're we lookin', Chiron?"
Chiron's smile disappeared. "Well, overall not too bad, but we have relocated dozens of campers to the Big House for some impromptu healing. Our supply of nectar is running low, though we are still set with ambrosia. Jason Grace may have a concussion, and Hylla of the Amazons has a broken ankle that she refuses to rest. Nico, Hazel, and Piper are still over by Vinomi. Annabeth was helping Tyson somewhere over by the campfire- I believe Ella the Harpy took a hard blow, as did Juniper. I haven't seen Frank Zhang in a while, nor have I spotted Grover." Chiron looked away from Percy. "There have been some casualties. Drew Tanaka and Katie Gardner were felled by Forterae, as were some other campers from the Ares cabin. Some Hecate campers were carrying a boy of their own whom I believe didn't survive, and Butch from the Iris Cabin lost two of his siblings as well- Jade and Sienna, I believe their names were."
Percy nodded solemnly. Casualties were to be expected, but hearing them confirmed never got easier. As selfish as it was, Percy was glad to hear all of his closest friends had survived thus far.
"Chiron, do you know how to defeat Vinomi? He has a weakness; he has been defeated before, but I don't know how."
Chiron's tail flicked in irritation. "I feel like I've heard stories of that particular defeat, but I can't for the life of me recall when or what the details were. It's like trying to remember a dream. Dionysus," Chiron asked. "Do you know how to defeat Vinomi?"
Mr. D shrugged, which was his annoying way of saying, No idea. "I just hope I don't need to be there. I don't want to get near those talons. Now, giants? Much easier."
Percy pointed at Mr. D. "Speaking of which, Mr. D, could you go help Thalia with Forterae? She'll need a god's help. And Bonoas is still going strong."
Mr. D groaned. "Fine. I've already helped you kill one, I guess I can do two more. First Gaea's children needed my help to die, now this batch? Ridiculously insensitive to my freetime." Mr. D vanished, no doubt off to delay helping just to be a pain.
Percy began to run off towards the Cabins once more, where Vinomi was currently toying with Piper, Nico, and Hazel, but Chiron grabbed his shoulder. Percy hissed in pain, and Chiron let go.
"Percy, my boy, stay safe. I don't want to lose you, too." Chiron's eyes looked so sad, it was hard to maintain eye contact. Percy gave Chiron a reassuring smile.
"If all goes according to plan, this might be the last major war for a long time. We're close to the end."
Percy ran back into the fight.
He passed more and more monsters, some he recognized and some he didn't. A batch of venti whirled by him, cutting across his path and pursued by Pollux.
Out of the corner of his eye, Percy spotted a familiar Cyclops dressed in old armor and a white tank, with tired eyes that had seen enough horrors for a lifetime. Clarisse La Rue hefted her electric spear and prepared to charge, but Percy sprinted over and rammed into her, forcing her to miss Sandro.
"Jackson!" she howled, turning on him in outrage.
"Don't kill him," Percy demanded, gesturing at Sandro. "He's on our side."
Sandro's eyes were wide in surprise. Percy gave him a determined nod before continuing his sprint towards the Cabins. Sandro was his friend and accomplice; Percy would never be able to thank him enough. Saving his life was a good start.
At long last, Percy broke through the crowds at the edge of the cabins. Hardly anybody was fighting in this area- Percy guessed that the cabins proved too much of an obstacle to fight around, and clearly the equipment inside was far too advantageous for the monsters to let the demigods near.
Vinomi was just beyond the cabins, seeming agitated but in no real danger. He swatted skeletons aside as they relentless climbed up his legs, carefully keeping his talons clear of his skin. Nico looked like he was about to collapse from the effort of continually summoning the undead, and Hazel was too focused on the wellbeing of her half-brother to give Vinomi all of her attention. Piper was screaming commands and diversions at Vinomi, voice ringing out clear and powerful. It just… wasn't enough.
As Percy passed the Hephaestus Cabin, he heard a small voice call out his name. Percy skidded to a stop, left of the entrance to Cabin 9. A small kid with soft hair and a tiny voice was leaning on the cabin's porch railing staring adoringly at Percy.
"Colby!" Percy exclaimed, approaching the child he had been messing around with the morning before his quest to the Monster HQ. "What are you doing out here?"
"Chiron had all the youngest campers bunker down in the forge beneath the Hephaestus Cabin!" Colby explained. Then, quieter, "but I want to help you!"
Percy smiled at Colby, but it was strained. "I appreciate that buddy, but you can't be out here. This is a war, not a game. You can get very hurt." With Colby up on the porch and Percy on the ground, the two were eye-level with each other. "There's this bad guy called Vinomi, and he is too dangerous for you. Someday you can fight him, but… but not today."
Colby shook his head. "No, I know him. He is ee- uh, eegatist- um…"
"Egotistical?"
"Yea!" Colby jumped. "He is egol-tistical. I heard his name before."
"Sure, Col- wait, what?" Percy got in closer to Colby. "You know about Vinomi?"
"Uh huh! Rachel told us a story once where a big ol' giant guy named Vinny thought he was better than everybody else, and he didn't care whether you were a good guy or a bad guy- he just hurt people. But, because he pushed others away, he hurt himself." Colby closed his eyes and recited in a preachy voice, "He was his own worst enemy."
Percy's jaw dropped. "He's his own worst enemy…wait, did you say Vinny?"
Colby shrugged. "That's the name Rachel used. The story doesn't have a lot of details; it's just s'posed to teach you a lesson."
Percy got a burst of energy. "Thank you, Colby! That- that helps so much!" He reached over the railing of the porch and hugged Colby, then grabbed a fistful of the kids shirt and pushed him backwards. "Now get back inside and stay there!" Then, with a crooked grin, "You may have just saved us all!"
Colby grinned his gap-toothed smile and ran back inside as Percy ran around the cabin, right into the clearing with Vinomi. He had a theory, and it was time to test it.
The first thing he noticed was all the dead grass that marked every spot a drop of poison hit. Patches of that beige, brittle grass were everywhere, and in some places smoke was curling off of it. A giant fissure split the clearing, no doubt where the undead army had risen from. Behind the clearing was the edge of the woods, where in the shadows nymphs and dryads stood cowering. Skeletons in varying states of decomposition were littered all over the clearing, some downed and others relentlessly pursuing Vinomi.
Vinomi himself looked unimpressed with the efforts of the three demigods running around his ashy, sandaled feet. His giant form towered over the camp, his black chestplate alone probably the height of a cabin. The bony spires that protruded from his spine shifted with each movement he made, catching on the trees whenever his back hit the woods. He was looking down his crooked nose at Nico Di Angelo, who looked like Death reincarnate- a being Percy had actually met. The color had drained out of his skin, and his armor was scuffed and dented in several places. Sweat stuck his black hair to his forehead, and even though he no longer had bags under his eyes, he looked exhausted.
Nico had his arms out in front of him, clearly too preoccupied with managing the undead to defend himself. That's where Hazel came in. Most of the time, she was dodging in and around Vinomi's talons to take stabs at his legs, but too often she had to jump back to Nico and drag the distracted demigod out of harm's way. Operating that way left little room for actual progress.
Piper Mclean was shouting up at Vinomi, powering every ounce of strength into her charmspeak. Occasionally, Vinomi would turn towards her, taken in by her magical magnetism, but it never lasted long. The three of them had kept Vinomi occupied, but he wasn't entertained. He wanted to spill some blood and hear the screams. When the giant, scarred monster shifted to move away from this mediocre effort, Percy sprinted forward.
"Hey, Vinny!"
Vinomi whirled back, his already curved posture bending over more so that he could get nearer to Percy. His dark eyes looked murderous.
"What. Did. You. Say."
Nico, Hazel, and Piper turned to look at Percy and Vinomi; the skeletons crumbled to the ground once Nico lost his focus.
"I said: Hey, Vinny." Percy spat, eyebrows drawn down and mouth turned up into a mischievous grin. "Isn't that your name?"
Vinomi let out a roar and swiped at Percy, who rushed backwards a couple feet to narrowly avoid the viscous liquid flying off the talons. The ground sizzled on Percy's right.
Vinomi straightened back up, adjusting the crimson cloth tucked underneath his black armor. "How dare you speak that cursed name, Iakovos."
"Iakovos?" Percy asked. "I don't know if you've noticed but-"
Vinomi shook his head and growled out, "Never mind; sometimes you heathens are all so alike, one cannot distinguish between one wretch and another bastard."
Percy shook off the insult. "Who is Iakovos? That's that one bard, right?"
Vinomi let out a mirthless laugh. "'That one bard;' I am glad his name was the only one he could never popularize."
Piper shifted closer to Percy and whispered, "Iakovos… who is that?"
"Honestly, I only know that he was a bard and a son of Apollo. He's the one that created the whole stigma that names hold… names hold power… oh my gods."
Percy looked up at Vinomi. "You said you've been defeated once before- Iakovos outsmarted you, didn't he?"
Vinomi's glare burned more than the sun. "If you do not stop right now, boy, I will kill you and every living soul on this planet." But Percy was on a roll.
"The Greeks believed that names held power. When I first came to Camp, I was told to be careful about throwing godly names around because a name was a powerful thing to wield. Iakovos took that from you! He killed you and then spread word of your conquests under a false name- a nickname, a name no one would see as intimidating."
Vinomi spread his fingers, arching the long thin talons dangerously far out. They vibrated in fury.
"That's why nobody knows anything beyond your current-day status. Because your past has been warped so much, it's no longer yours. It's been turned into a child's tale. You took forever to come back from Tartarus because the world's memory of you was slipping, and you had no strength because of it."
"I have ruled on this earth for centuries!" Vinomi bellowed, taking another vicious swipe at the demigods. Percy dove left; Piper ducked behind a fallen pile of skeletons; Hazel yanked Nico backwards into the shadows of the Hephaestus Cabin.
Percy got right back on his feet, Riptide out, and approached Vinomi once more.
"Centuries for a monster is so little time- you know that. So you scrambled to make everyone think of you as 'The Great Vinomi,' the immortal and merciless. You tried to hide your past too! But I know your secret."
Percy pointed his sword at Vinomi, who was on the verge of an explosion of rage. "You... are your own worst enemy."
Vinomi screamed, his deep voice rattling Percy's bones. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hazel and Nico melt away into the shadows, transporting somewhere safer.
Piper and Percy turned tail and booked it back towards the cabins. Vinomi had been enraged, and yeah, it was on purpose, but Percy hadn't thought very far beyond that. His entire plan had been to get Vinomi angry enough at him that he wouldn't pursue anybody else. On the bright side, it worked! On the bad side, Percy now had a towering, poisonous, homicidal grey monster clawing after him. Piper went left and Percy broke right once they hit the cabins. Vinomi paused, breathing heavily from anger, not exertion, but Percy didn't wait to see which way he turned. He made a beeline for Cabin 3.
Percy hopped over the steps that led to the cabin's door, burst in, and frantically began searching. He knew it was here, somewhere…
The abalone walls shone despite the lack of sunshine coming in through the windows, and the constant ocean breeze ruffled Percy's hair as if to comfort him and say Welcome Home. Percy wished he could relax and spend some quality time in Cabin 3, but now was not the time. He was trying to find the remnants of Poseidon's Fountain. If Percy could just contact Poseidon and ask for some backup, they could catch the monster army by surprise.
All of a sudden, the roof of Cabin 3 caved in, pieces of it splintering and 5 foot chunks crashing down. Percy screamed and flailed backwards, ramming his back into one of the bunk beds. Through the front and side walls, talons shot through, shattering the windows. The poison seeped onto the floor and burned trails down the abalone walls, creating puffs of smoke. Percy held up Riptide, peering up through the giant hole in the roof to try and see Vinomi, but before he could, the back wall was slammed inwards and the bunk beds went flying. Percy ducked underneath a particularly large chunk of ceiling, but it didn't stop the broken structure of a bunk bed from pinning him in a corner of huge debris. The framework of the bottom bunk was jammed and pressing painfully against his entire left leg; he couldn't get it out. The fallen piece of ceiling was at his back, slanting up and over his trapped body and covering him in shadow. A jagged piece of abalone blocked him to his left, a large shard pinned uncomfortably close to his neck. Had Percy been able to free his leg, he could have possibly squeezed out through a small gap between the bunk bed's wrecked frame and a collapsed mattress on his right. But he couldn't move.
"Come out, son of Poseidon!" Vinomi laughed maniacally, and through the splintered wood Percy could see the talons clicking on the cabin floor. Percy held his breath. There wasn't much he could do to defend himself at the moment. He had Riptide, but it could only do so much while he was immobile.
Closing his eyes, Percy sensed the ocean. He let its presence surround him, feeling as if he were swaying in the lake, not trapped under the ruins of his own cabin.
He mentally pulled.
Percy could hear the rush of water, loud and rumbling and wild, and then Vinomi shouted. A loud boom indicated that Vinomi had been tossed to the ground by the wave. Percy kept his eyes shut, trying to control a fight he couldn't see. Percy started to back away from his mindmeld with the ocean, trying to let it roam freely but still giving it life. He couldn't completely give up concentration, but maybe he could shift his focus-
"Percy!"
Percy yelped, eyes flying open to see Hazel Levesque crouched closely on his right.
"Gods, Hazel, a little warning knock would've been nice."
She shook her head with a small laugh. "Okay, next time I come to save your butt, I'll give you a heads up."
"That'd be greatly appreciated, thanks."
Hazel grabbed one of the heavy beams of wood pinning Percy's leg to the ground and hefted it up and off his leg- even though it was only one of multiple, Percy felt the relief. She tried pushing it away, but it wouldn't budge. Her hands then slipped, dropping the wood back on to Percy's leg with a thud.
"Mmph!" Percy grunted, biting his lip and pounding on the ground.
"Gods, sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Hazel grabbed the wood again and pulled this time, and the beam shifted enough to be dislodged.
As Hazel reached for the second beam, Percy could feel the earth rumble as Vinomi stomped closer to Cabin 3.
"Shit," he cursed, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to reconnect with the ocean. He slammed the water into where he presumed Vinomi stood and continued fighting blind, whirling the ocean this way and that and just hoping to land some of the blows.
"I think you mean schist," Hazel replied, tugging the last beam of wood off of Percy's leg.
Percy wiggled his leg out of the wreckage and stretched it out in front of him. "Thanks, Hazel," he smiled, leaning in to give her a quick hug. When he wrapped his arms around her, though, she held on tight.
"Hazel, are you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, I suppose. It's just- I feel like we've been fighting for a week straight and I have this awful feeling in my gut that someone's-"
Hazel was abruptly cut off by Vinomi's howl just outside the cabin, and suddenly his talons came swooping through the wreckage. They carved into the floor, cut through the bunks, and sliced right into Hazel and Percy's hidden spot. Percy shoved Hazel forward just as one of the talons came through right in front of Percy. The stench reeking off of the dripping claw burnt Percy's nose.
That's when Hazel let out the most blood-curdling screech Percy had ever heard in his life.
Her face was scrunched up in pain, and tears flooded her eyes immediately. Percy could see her muscles tense up as she curled to the ground. And there, in a sickening line across her back, was a cut from one of Vinomi's talons. It was bright red, and the armor that it had cut through was melting on to Hazel's skin.
Percy ripped off all the melting armor and chucked it away. "Okay, oh gods, I don't-" Percy swallowed. "I don't have any ambrosia."
He stood up, shoving the ceiling chunk away, and shouting out on a panicked voice, "DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY AMBROSIA?"
As he listened for any responses, Percy watched Vinomi head for the open battlefield, where monsters and demigods were still fighting strong. Forterae was nowhere to be seen; Percy assumed that the Hunters, Amazons, and Mr. D had taken care of her and had moved on to Bonoas. Vinomi pulled one arm back, paused, and clawed a path through the crowd. Shrieks erupted from the battlefield, monsters and demigods crying out as the poison took its hold. Vinomi stopped discriminating between good and bad- everybody was fair game. Percy felt tears in his own eyes. It was awful.
Another shriek tore itself out of Hazel, and Percy shouted once more for help before ducking back down.
"Hazel, I can't carry you to the Big House without hurting you, so I'm going to go get-"
"No," Hazel whimpered, a weak hand reaching for Percy's knee. "Please stay." Percy hesitated, then sat down beside her. He pulled Hazel into his lap so that her head could rest but her scraped back wasn't pressed against anything. He tried to rub soothing circles on her shoulders and stroked her hair, but nothing eased her pain. Hazel would let out a scream every ten or fifteen seconds, and each time Percy's heart broke a little more.
"I'm so sorry," he choked out. "I'm so sorry, I should have pulled you closer to me and moved us both back, or- or pushed you further back, I- I am so sorry, Hazel." Tears streamed down Percy's face as he felt Hazel shake her head.
"N-No," Hazel stammered out, taking in a hiss of a breath before adding, "It wasn't your fault. Y-You saw the other talon and reacted. You couldn't see that there was a second one." She bit back another scream. "I should have been more careful."
"No," Percy said back forcefully. "No, you did nothing wrong. I-"
He stopped when he heard someone climbing through what was left of Cabin 3. It was Will Solace and Grover Underwood.
"Hazel's been poisoned," he told them as they settled in next to Percy and Hazel. "I- I don't know what to do."
Will handed Grover a block of ambrosia, and Grover fed Hazel a bite. Pushing his blonde hair out of his face, Will gave Percy a sorrowful look. "The ambrosia will help push back the pain a little, but… Percy, there's no cure for this poison. The victim suffers until they die."
Percy knew that, but he didn't want to believe it. "No," he insisted. "No, there has to be a way."
Will reached and put a hand on Percy's shoulder, but Percy shoved it off. "Percy, I've been trying to combat this all day. There is no cure."
"That's bullshit!" Percy yelled, wiping away the tears on his face. "That's complete and utter bullshit. There's always been something we can do. There's always some way out."
"Percy," Grover said quietly. "I'm really sorry, but there's nothing-"
Hazel shrieked again, curling in closer to Percy. Percy, Will, and Grover shared a mournful look. Will leaned in closer to Hazel's tear-streaked face and spoke softly.
"Hazel, we can't get rid of the pain. The only options we have are, uh, pretty grim. We can let you go on in this pain, and we can sedate you for as long as you'd like but… but there will never be a time when the pain goes away completely. Even sedated, it's bad. And you'd have to stay sedated for the rest of your life until the poison kills you- which will be less than a week even if we keep you full of ambrosia the whole time. Or...or we could end it all now."
"What- kill her?" Percy exclaimed, incredulous. Percy began to argue again with Will, but Hazel forced her shaking hand to Percy's leg and squeezed to get his attention.
"The promise," she gasped out, looking up at Percy with determination in her watery eyes. "Fulfill the promise you made on the Styx. I know you don't want to, but you need to kill me."
"What? No," Percy replied, voice wavering. "Hazel, I'm not going to k-" Percy's voice caught. "I'm not going to kill you."
Hazel's breathing was shallow and pained. "You ha-have to, Percy. Technically, I'm not dying yet, even though it feels like it." She broke to stomach another shriek. "So if you kill me now, you'll solve your problem. It'll work. Percy, this is how it has to happen."
"Percy, she's right," Will explained. "At this point, death is the merciful choice."
Percy wanted to argue. He wanted to deflect, to run, to find another way, but he knew- he knew - this was the best option. Hazel was never going to heal. She either had to live a hellish life for a week at most and then die or die now helping Percy. Percy hated this. Gods, hurting the ones he loved was everything he feared.
"Hazel…"
"Percy. Do this and save the other demigod who you'd end up killing." They stared at each other, gold eyes meeting green, having a silent battle of wills. When Hazel broke off to let out an ear-piercing scream, Percy gave in.
"Okay, okay, fine." Percy's voice shook as he shifted out from underneath Hazel's head. Will and Grover backed up, giving them some room. Hazel shifted onto her back and used her elbows to prop herself up. She took three deep breaths before sitting all the way up. Percy crawled around her so that he now knelt facing her, Riptide in hand. Scooting closer, they sat so that their knees were touching. Percy pulled Hazel in for one last hug.
"I'm sorry Hazel. You are one of my best friends, and you've saved my ass countless times. Having you by my side got me through one of the worst time in my life, and when I felt so lost and alone out in Camp Jupiter without my memories, you helped me feel like I had a home and a new family. I love you, Hazel, I really do, and that's why this is killing me, and- and you can still opt out! We don't need to do this."
Hazel buried her face in Percy's neck and mumbled out, "I wish it didn't have to be like this but-" She had to stop for a second, took a deep pained breath, and continued. "But I'm glad it's me and not somebody else. You're like a big brother to me, Percy. When all is said and done, I can't look back at my past and be angry because without it, I'd have never met you. I love you too."
Percy squeezed her tight before pulling away and wiping at his eyes again.
Hazel tried her best to straighten up, then said, "Go for it."
Percy put his hand on Hazel's shoulder to steady his shaking friend and lifted Riptide, it's point resting on her chest. Hazel closed her eyes.
They sat in that position for two minutes, Hazel trying to breath through her pain and Percy shaking with a different sort of pain. He had stopped trying to brush the tears away and just let them coat his face.
"I'm sorry," he kept whimpering. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry…"
His shoulders shook; he could hardly keep Riptide steady. Grover and Will watched on, Grover crying heavily and Will sniffing every now and again. The sounds of battle sang out in the distance, clashing and shouting and now screams of the poisoned. The demigods needed to end this war soon. The wind chilled the tear tracks on Percy's face.
"Tell everyone I love them so much," Hazel gasped, hands squeezing her own legs to try and block out the pain. "Tell Nico and Frank and- and everybody."
"I'm sorry," was all Percy could reply. "I'm sorry." He couldn't do this. He couldn't kill Hazel.
"I'm sorry."
He couldn't.
"I'm sorry."
He had to.
Percy pushed Riptide through Hazel's chest, through her heart, and out her back. A sob wracked Percy's body.
Hazel choked, eyes wide for a moment before fluttering shut. Percy withdrew the sword and chucked it aside, unable to look at the blood coating it's bronze blade.
Hazel fell forward and Percy pulled her tight, feeling every last pained heartbeat until there were none left.
Annabeth didn't want to be fighting anymore. She was tired. She was frustrated. Everytime she looked at Vinomi, she felt sick to her stomach. The echoes of screams were everywhere. The victories that came from the defeats of Forterae and Bonoas were short-lived as Vinomi tore through the fields right after.
Chiron was fighting close by, a large gash marring his flank, and Tyson was acting as a personal defender for Annabeth. Apparently, he and some other Cyclops had fashioned old peanut butter jars into makeshift bombs, and so every so often a plume of smoke would erupt and spread a vaguely nutty scent in a 5 yard radius.
Flashes of lightning lit the battlefield as Thalia and Jason tag teamed from above- well, Jason was flying overhead as Thalia took brief vaulted leaps into the air. Piper was slashing through groups of monsters on her own, and when things got hairy, Jason would swoop down and carry her to a new location. She had a cut on the side of her face, and a large section in the back of her brown hair had been cut off in a slant from a close call with a sword. Annabeth hadn't seen Nico in a while, but Frank was slamming through the thralls of monsters as a bull, making good progress. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.
Morale was low on both sides. When Vinomi had started attacking monsters and demigods alike, his army looked shocked and betrayed. Their own leader didn't care about them at all. The monsters really were all fighting for themselves at this point, the little unity they had mustered fracturing back into nonexistence. By now, people had figured out that Percy had switched back over, which took away the monster's advantage. Things weren't looking great.
But, on the other hand, things weren't looking great on the demigod's side either. The medics had their hands full with Vinomi's victims, having to put far too many demigods out of their hellish misery. The Hunters had a couple casualties, and the Amazons had suffered as well. Things were burnt, drowned, and wrecked, leaving Camp Half-Blood looking abysmal. Annabeth had watched from afar as Vinomi destroyed Cabin 3, and it was all she could do to hope Percy hadn't been inside. After swiping her newly obtained sword through a dracanae, Annabeth mad eye contact with Chiron; the look he gave her wasn't hopeful.
That's when Grover and Will came sprinting back on to the scene. Their eyes were red from crying, and neither seemed to be able to fight much longer, but something in their body language caught Annabeth by surprise. They looked… excited?
Will ran past Annabeth, waving at Jason, but Grover grabbed her arm with a strength she had never felt from him before.
"Grover!" she exclaimed. "What's going on?"
"We have a plan. Okay, most of a plan. Well- some of a plan, but it is a plan!"
Annabeth grinned. Finally, something good.
Grover pulled Annabeth out of the way of a monster barreling past. "Vinomi's only enemy is himself, and we noticed that he always keeps his talons far away from his body. We- We think that means his poison can hurt him! We need to g-get him to scratch himself!"
Annabeth's strategic brain kicked into high gear. "We need to catch him off guard, make him unsteady. Direct his attention away from his own claws. He won't bring them anywhere near his skin on his own, so we need a force to push his hand into himself." Annabeth gasped. She knew why Will was looking for Jason now.
"Grover, where's Percy? We can use him for this."
"Already ahead of you," Grover grinned. "He's going to take on Vinomi and be the distraction."
"Wha- alone?"
Grover cleared his throat and looked away. "Um, yeah. He's, uh, he's in a pretty intense state of mind right now. He'll… he'll do just fine."
Annabeth was about to disagree, but movement to her left caught her eye. When she turned to look, her jaw dropped.
It was like a scene straight out of a movie. The world moved in slow motion as Percy Jackson stalked across the battlefield, his walk giving off icey vibes of grief and vindication. Riptide was held at the ready, the dark red tint covering the blade matching the smear of blood across his chest plate and arms.
Behind him, water writhed and roiled, curling in on itself and then splashing out again in a fit of watery rage. It resembled a wild animal trapped in too small of a cage, lashing out and bursting at the seams. It followed Percy's path, rising up until it stood taller than him. Monsters and demigods hurried to get out of his way, giving him a clear shot to Vinomi.
Percy's eyebrows were furrowed, and the curve of his mouth was violently sorrowful. Annabeth felt paralyzed as he walked by her, and from where she stood she could see the remnants of tear tracks on his tanned face. All the fighting slowed to a halt to watch the son of Poseidon's entrance, his presence unforgettable. He was completely in control of himself, and he was terrifying.
Vinomi watched Percy approach, an amused smirk adorning his scarred face. "Well, son of Poseidon, you seem a little riled up. Come to face your defeat?"
Percy didn't even dignify Vinomi with a response. He stayed silent and lifted his arm up, curling it back into a fist. The water behind him mimicked its shape.
Then, Percy slammed his fist of water into Vinomi's face.
Vinomi stumbled back, stunned for a second before shaking his head and growling at Percy. The punch had released the tension in the battlefield, and the fights began picking up again, roars and shouts rising once again in the discord of war. Percy was relentless, slamming Vinomi again and again and again, barely giving him a chance to breathe between punches. Every blast sprayed water everywhere, making the surrounding area a Splash Zone.
Will and Jason ran up to Annabeth, and she quickly relayed her plan to them. Looking around, she asked Jason, "Can you muster enough strength for that intense of a blast? I could try and find some pegasi to help you-"
"No," Jason shook his head and rolled his shoulders. "I can do this. I just need a couple of minutes to prepare and for Vinomi to be distracted. We only have one shot at this; if we fail the first time, he'll start expecting it."
All three of them looked towards Vinomi and Percy. Will let out a laugh. "Yeah, I think you've got some time to get ready."
Percy showed no signs of slowing. Everything he had was going into this barrage of attacks, no doubt sapping his energy immensely, but Percy couldn't feel his own body at this point. Hazel's death had turned him numb- the only feeling that still registered was hate. Vinomi would try and grab at the son of Poseidon, but -BAM!- his hand was smacked away by the wave.
The giant reached for the sword at his hilt - BOOM! - water shoved his arm back. Before he could recover from that - WHACK! - water whipped his legs. FWOOM! Water pummeled his chest. Vinomi was growing angrier and more reckless, becoming sloppy in his efforts to land one hit on the demigod. His talons came dangerously close at one point, but Percy wove through them and out of harm's way in a maneuver that could only be referred as Stupidly Risky.
Annabeth shoved her way through the hordes of soldiers, elbowing her way to Percy. After jabbing an empousa in the side, Annabeth arrived behind Vinomi. She knew that if she had tried to call to Percy from the other side, he would have had to turn around and lose focus. Here, he could see her and keep an eye on Vinomi. Annabeth glanced behind her. Off in the distance, crouched on the roof of the Big House, was Jason. He gave Annabeth an eager thumbs-up. It was time.
"Percy!" Annabeth shouted, hands cupped around her mouth. Percy spared a quick glance at her before dodging Vinomi again. Annabeth pointed at the ground and then put her hands out in front of her, palms down and flat, and shook them. She hoped she was clear enough; screaming out her plan would be counterproductive, so she had to resort to hand signals.
Fortunately, Percy nodded firmly in understanding. He looked so tired, but he couldn't give up now. Taking a deep breath, he backed up, raised Riptide above his head, and jammed it into the ground.
The earth shook.
An earthquake rolled through camp with Percy at its epicenter, a low rumble filling the valley. Percy poured every ounce of pain he felt into it, and if he had had the energy, he would have screamed. Everybody was taken aback, struggling to maintain their balance, but what really mattered was that Vinomi was off balance too. His arms flew out to the sides, his talons catching a couple monsters on the way, and he tripped backwards. His massive height made it harder for him to recover immediately- this was the demigods' window.
Annabeth waved vigorously at Jason. It was now or never. A vacuum of air was sucked in Jason's direction, taking Annabeth's breath away. The son of Zeus ducked his head, blonde hair blown about wildly as the winds flew to him, collecting and gathering and growing in speed and strength until-
Jason launched forward like a rocket, racing through the air with a boom. His trajectory was a straight shot, and in midair Jason flipped so that he was flying feet first. The winds followed him, keeping the pressure; Annabeth's ears popped.
Vinomi's arms were still out, and Jason came careening right at the back of his hand. With a blast, Jason kicked off of the monster's wrist, the force of the winds combined with his speed shoving it forward. It wasn't a great distance, but it was enough.
Vinomi's long claws scratched his side and leg, their wicked sharpness cutting through his red toga into his skin.
Vinomi screamed, his eyes blown wide in shock and pain. He took one last desperate swipe at Jason, who dropped like dead weight into the crowd below to avoid it.
Watching Vinomi die was an experience, to say the least. Demigods and monsters had to scramble out of the way of his stomping feet as he swayed heavily back and forth. The poisonous talons swept through the battlefield, leaving sizzling trails in the grass and claiming a couple last minute victims. He clutched at his side; from the amount of pain he was in, one would've thought he had been speared rather than scratched.
His roars were deafening, and a majority of the demigods rushed to cover their ears. The top of his bald head began to dissolve, and as Vinomi died, the winds scattered his dusty demise away into the air.
For a solid fifteen seconds, nobody said anything. The camp was eerily silent; even the people who had been touched by Vinomi held back their screams. Then, a cheer of victory erupted from the demigods, the overwhelming relief too much to silence.
The remaining monsters looked distraught and confused. They… they didn't know what to do now. The undefeatable Vinomi had, well, just been defeated. Was it worth it to keep fighting?
A Cyclops Annabeth had never seen before pushed past her, heading straight for Percy, who was still kneeling beside Riptide. She had been about to charge forward and take the Cyclops out when Percy turned at smiled at him. That stopped Annabeth in her tracks.
She couldn't hear what they were saying, but the Cyclops' body language read as urgent. Percy nodded at whatever the monster had said and took another deep breath, stood up shakily, and brushed himself off. Disgustingly, Vinomi's dust had gotten on his clothes and in his hair.
The Cyclops and Percy made their way to the top of Half Blood Hill, where Thalia's demolished tree stood. Another monster hopped out of the crowds and hurried after them- was that Kelli? All three of them turned to face the hundreds of demigods and monsters below, Percy standing between them. He looked like he was scanning the audience for someone- ah, Jason!- and the son of Zeus ran up the hill to stand beside Kelli.
"Everyone!' shouted Percy, mustering up enough energy to fake a confident air. He was leaning slightly on Sandro, but hopefully nobody noticed. "Please, listen!"
A hush fell over the armies, no one really sure what was going on, and all eyes turned to the group at the top of the hill.
Percy cleared his throat and straightened his back. "All of us are tired. Tired of fighting, tired of dying, tired of watching all of our friends in pain." Percy's voice cracked. "We lost too many people today, on both sides. Monsters, you saw how Vinomi treated you. He told you that the way to win is by working alone- every person for themselves. That's not true. We need unity, all of us."
Sandro stepped forward from beside Percy. "Over the past few days, Kelli and I have worked with a select group of demigods to discuss the possibility of a treaty. If the whole of Camp Half-Blood is willing, we'd like to put a stop to this eternal war between demigods and monsters."
A murmur raced through the crowd, but Percy spoke again before it could grow too loud. "We've always operated as if monsters are mindless, born only to kill and wreak havoc. That's not true! What about Tyson? He's a monster, but he's one of the kindest people I've ever met, someone I'm proud to be related too. And Ella the Harpy? She's shy, sweet, and ridiculously smart- and a monster. Kelli here studies science in her free time. And Mrs. O'Leary is like a pet to us all! The Titan Iapetus- or Bob, to some of you- saved Annabeth and I in Tartarus. Monsters have lives, and a lot of monsters who seem hellbent on violence are that way because of centuries of injustice."
Jason nodded and stepped forward too. "Now, we aren't saying that every single monster is good- we've all definitely met our share of baddies. BUT-" Jason held out a hand, stopping any shouts and heckling. "We've all met a bunch of demigods who are bad, too. Romans, you remember Octavian." Cue a collective groan. "He was all sorts of messed up. Bryce, too."
"Hercules is a demigod, and he's a jerk!" Percy added. "Both sides have good and bad people. Being a demigod doesn't immediately make you good, and being a monster doesn't immediately make you bad. All of us are just trying to survive."
Percy made eye contact with Annabeth. "Annabeth, Nico, and myself have been to Tartarus. When you're down there… you're willing to do anything to get out. And then, you're willing to do anything to never go back."
Kelli spoke up, too. "Guys, we know this isn't, like, a quick fix. There will still be battles and fights and whatever, but a treaty could totally, like, improve things over time. This 'kill on sight' attitude we all have is, like, totally bigoted, and like we need to change it ASAP. I mean, I hate demigods just as much as you, but…" She paused. "But I'm willing to change."
Percy smiled at her. "We've been wrong for centuries about monsters, allowing our perceptions of them to turn into grudges we can't shake. However, I've been saved by too many monsters in my life to assume the worst anymore."
Jason waved a hand out over the battlefield. "Look around, guys. Do you want anymore of this?"
Bodies, some dead and some dying, were everywhere on the ground. Monster dust caked the grass. The forest had a fire burning to the South, Cabin 3 was destroyed, the Mess Hall had been overturned, and the Strawberry Fields were irreparable damaged. Everybody had an injury of some sort, from scratches to gashes to broken bones and concussions.
"It'll take a long time for word to get around to everybody, but the least we can do is begin writing up a treaty that calls for peace. Begin to change."
"Now, uh, I don't know a better way to do this," Percy began. He unsheathed Riptide and raised it above his head. "So, um, if you support this treaty, raise your hand."
At first nothing happened. Kelli, Sandro, Jason, and Percy stood with their hands raised, hoping against all hope that others would join.
Annabeth raised her hand. Then Chiron. A group of Telkhines did the same. Will, Butch, and Piper followed suite- even Clarisse joined in. Slowly but surely, hand after hand raised from the crowd. Percy could have cried, it was such a relief to see.
Soon, about 80% of the monsters and demigods below stood with their arms held high in the air. That was good enough for Percy. A couple demigods cheered, others clapped, some monsters hollered in victory. The joy and relief and fatigue culminated into a growing roar from the crowd, animosity evaporating as the sun finally peaked out from behind the storm clouds.
Jason, Percy, Sandro, and Kelli made their way back down to join the others, and Annabeth came sprinting to Percy. She wrapped him in a hug, and he held her tight.
With a laugh, Percy said, "I'd love to celebrate, but I think I'm about to pass out." Annabeth pulled back, and as she did so she noticed the dark circles under Percy's eyes and the slight shake coursing through his body. He was smiling, but it didn't completely reach his eyes.
Tyson came bounding up to the couple, his iconic ear-to-ear grin strong as ever. "Brother, you did it! I am so happy!" He tugged Percy into a bear hug, which Percy gladly accepted. "I am proud of my big brother," the Cyclops said, "but you do not look so good right now. You need sleep."
Tyson leaned down so that Percy could piggy-back, and together they walked to the Big House. As they worked their way over, the exhaustion won Percy over, and he fell asleep on Tyson's back- still smiling.
They did it.
I just Did That™
There we go, a 12.4k War! I want to apologize here and now for making you read Hazel's Death, which emotionally hurt me to write, but it needed to happen in order for scenes in Ch. 17.
It was pointed out to me recently that not all giants need a god's help to kill, but for the sake of this fic in which I am too far gone, these giants did need it lol. I hope y'all enjoyed this chap- battles are one of my fav things to write (aka why this chap is soooooo long).
Thank you again for all of your continued and enthusiastic support, which I still LOVE and APPRECIATE, and I always smile when I get follows and ESPECIALLY when I get reviews- really, seeing those Makes My Day :D
This chap marks a milestone, ya wanna know why? THIS FIC IS NOW LONGER THAN HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE!
Next up: healing, rebuilding, loose ends tied up, POST WAR SADNESS, and more
-8DemigodRunner8