Chapter Seven

Percy

Percy faded in and out of consciousness, dreaming of drowning, and hurricanes tearing through his home.

The first time he woke up, he saw Will Solace rushing from room to room, gathering supplies. The second time, it was when a bunch of demigods burst into the house, with Frank and Annabeth in the lead. Some of them were injured, and most of them were dripping wet.

When Percy woke up for good, it was to the taste of chocolate chip cookies in his mouth. His mom's. Homemade. A wave of homesickness washed over him.

He opened his eyes blearily and found himself lying on the couch in the Big House living room. Annabeth was sitting next him, feeding him sips of nectar.

"Deja vu." He murmured.

Annabeth smirked. "This is how we met isn't it? You really need to stop getting yourself knocked out."

"Don't tell Jason, he'd jump at the chance to pass on the Sleeping Beauty title."

Annabeth sobered at this. "Percy… Jason is-"

Just then, someone started screaming from the other room. "What do you mean I don't have it?!"

Percy pushed himself off the couch despite Annabeth's protests and stumbled down the hall, towards the noise. In front of him, a door opened and Leo sprinted out so fast he almost knocked Percy over. Percy peered into the room, leaning heavily on the doorway.

The bedroom was crowded with people. Jason lay spread-eagle on the bed. He wasn't breathing. Piper stood in the middle of everyone, and was glaring at them murderously.

"Where is it?! WHERE IS THE CURE?!"

"Leo's getting it." Frank whispered.

Behind Percy, the door burst open. Leo dashed back inside, holding a syringe. He ran up to Jason and stuck it in his arm, injecting the golden liquid. Piper stared at him incredulously. They waited a minute. Two minutes. Three. Percy felt sick.

Annabeth stepped up behind Percy. "He's been dead an hour. It's probably too late."

Leo sobbed. "I'm so sorry Piper, I thought for sure it would be me-"

"You kept it for yourself?"

"No! I mean- the prophecy. One of us was going to die… Storm or Fire… It was supposed to be me!"

"You tricked me. You tricked all of us into thinking we had a fair chance at it, while you kept it so you could be sure you wouldn't die." She stared at Frank and Hazel. "You two knew I didn't have it, were you in on this?"

Leo stopped them before either of them could speak.

"It's not their fault! I convinced them. I thought I would be the only one to die!"

"This is a war Leo!" Piper yelled, tears streaming down her face. "And you're not the only one fighting it!"

With that, she stormed out, pushing past Percy and limping down the hall. Annabeth ran after her.

Percy stood there stunned, trying to process what had just happened. He stared at Jason's lifeless body. His friend was dead. But… how? He was supposed to be their leader. The indestructible son of Jupiter.

Hazel, who had been kneeling on the floor by the bed, looked up and noticed Percy.

"Percy…" She looked scared for a minute, scared of him. But she composed herself quickly.

"You shouldn't be up. The medics will have a fit."

Percy noticed that both she and Leo were covered in cuts and bruises, and their clothes were damp.

"What happened to you guys?"

Nobody gave him an answer.

"You happened. Perseus Jackson."

Percy turned to see Chiron, standing in full centaur form, staring sadly at him.

"You lost control. And you endangered your comrades."

"No…"

That couldn't be real. Not the hurricane. Not camp half-blood… He wouldn't have… He couldn't have…

He had to see for himself. He ran past Chiron and out the front door. He skidded to a halt on the porch and clutched the railing for support.

The camp was barely recognizable. From the Big house to the ocean, everything was just a mudflat. Wiped clean of any trace of plant or structure. Piper and Annabeth sat together on the bottom step of the porch, staring at the sunrise over the sea that had torn through their home just an hour ago. The Argo two hovered in the air to his left. And beyond that, a mass of fallen trees.

Percy sank to his knees, trembling.

He had done this. He was like a grenade, going off and destroying everything in his path.

He heard hoof steps behind him.

"It will be alright. You just need to learn to control yourself." Chiron said.

"I'm never doing it again."

"What?"

"I'll never use my powers again."

"Percy, you shouldn't handicap yourself."

"It's not a handicap." He looked at Annabeth, who glanced at him and gave him a weary smile. "Annabeth's been fighting without powers for years."

He turned to Chiron. "I'm not going to put anyone else in danger."

Chiron nodded. "I wish you the best. You are a great hero."

Percy turned back to the wreckage. "What will we do now?"

"We'll rebuild." Annabeth said, as she helped Piper up. "I already talked to Reyna. We're going to mesh the two camps into one, and rebuild right here."

"That'll be amazing!"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah."

Piper sniffed and wiped her eyes. Annabeth put an arm around her.

"Come on, I'll make you some breakfast." She said, as she led the girl into the house.

That reminded Percy of a different war. One that he had fought only a year ago, though it seemed like twenty. A different child of the love goddess, Silena Beauregard, who had also lost somebody she loved.

Percy felt exhausted. He needed a break. He would come back of course, this was his home, but for now, there was someone he needed to see.

"I've got to go." He told Chiron.

Chiron nodded. "I'll ask Argus to give a ride back to New York."

Forty minutes later Percy stood in front of the apartment. He fished the key out from under the mat, opened the door, and stepped inside.

"Mom? I'm home!"

A/N: So I Hope you liked this chapter! There will be more to come… For now, please review! Loved it? Hated it? I want know!

-FreakofNature