The Heroes Of Olympus & The Surrounding Darkness
Hey, so, I'm sorry that I did exactly what I said I wouldn't do. I've left you guys hanging for the last few months and I'm really sorry about that. I've been having a few issues at home. Plus, I have a bit of writer's block so please forgive me for anything stupid I might writer in this chapter. I'll try to get more done faster. Please enjoy~
Percy Jackson P.O.V.
I wake with the worst headache I've ever gotton. It's seriously torture, probably even worse than what these dimwits are trying to do. There are spots in my vision as I try to see whats going on, and it easily passes. The first thing I see is Nico. How did he get here?
"The eidolons!" Circe shouts. "Send in the eidolons!"
"I don't think so." Nico mumbles. He throws up one arm and Circe flies back. As she hits the floor she screams in a mix of frustration and pain.
What in Hades is Nico doing? I question. How did he do that? What is going on?
While the room goes quiet for a quick moment, Nico closes his eyes to focus. Every chain and cuff holding my friends down suddenly snaps off of their wrists and ankles. They all jump forward to get away from the chains as if they'll come alive and snatch them up again. Kind of like the time I was snatched up by Scylla when I was in the Sea of Monters with Annabeth and Tyson. That day really sucked.
I notice Jason and Leo are on the floor too. Leo is bleeding from his stomache and Jason looks like death. I don't mean Death- like, the god, Death- but he just looks really pale and sickly. Trust me, I've met Death, also known as Thanatos, and Jason doesn't look nearly that good right now.
I try to move my arm but fail. It's completely numb and I can barely twitch my fingers. The rest of my body is working fine. I'm still a little tired but I feel stronger. More powerful. I feel like I can jump from rooftop to rooftop like the superheroes do in the movies.
I get to my feet, my arm limp at my side. I'm just glad that the pain has finally subsided.
"Uh, we should probably leave. Like, now." Piper says.
"Agreed." I say as I move to the door. I place my hand on the doorknob. I try to open it but it's locked. I think for a moment until I hear voices coming from down the hall on the other side of the door. "Guys, we've got incoming."
"What do we do?" Leo asks, trying to sit up.
Suddenly, the room goes dark. It gets colder.
"Oh gods, I can't see anything." Annabeth says, stating the obvious.
"Ouch!" Leo shrieks. "Okay, who just tripped over me?" A flame appears covering Leo's hand.
"Sorry, man." Jason says while turning his head in every direction, trying to find an escape. "Thanks for the light, though. You really do come in handy in situations like these."
"Well, I'm glad I can be of some use. Now how do we get out of here?"
"There is no way out." I say.
Annabeth sighs. "But there has to be some way."
"Any ideas?"
"I have one." Nico states. "Leo, you'll have to get to your feet for this."
Jason and I help Leo stand. Leo almost falls over but Jason catches him. "Alright, whatever we're doing, let's get it over with while I can still stand."
"Everyone, grab hands." Nico says as he grabs Annabeth and Hazel's hands.
We all connect hands, which Leo had to put out his flame to do, and wait for Nico's orders, but they never come.
Nico lets out a muffled shout as he flies forward and hits the wall. He falls hard on the floor.
"Nico!" Hazel shouts, but her body shoots backwards into the darkness unseen.
Leo lights the room with his flames again.
"Where'd she go?" Frank asks in a panicked voice.
I don't know what to do. My first instinct is to uncap Riptide, but before I could, something heavy hits my right side and shoves me into the wall. I groan as I push a table off of myself. I try to move but it's as if gravity is sucking me to the wall. "Guys, what is this?"
With the help of Leo's flame, I dimly see Nico run across the room and plow into Circe. They both grunt as they topple to the ground. She punches Nico in his jaw but he quickly recovers. He grabs a clump of her hair and bashes her head against the stone floor. She goes out cold and the force keeping me against the wall vanishes. I land on my feet and run to Nico. "Hey, are you okay?"
He spits out some blood and says, "Yeah, I'm fine but where's Hazel?"
"I'm here." She says as she walks into the light. She has a long cut across her forehead. "Let's just get out of here before anything else gets in our way."
The door suddenly starts rattling as the backup tries to get in. "Took them long enough." I say to myself.
"Everyone, grab hands now." Nico says.
Leo extinguishes his flame and we grab hold of each other's palms. "Everybody ready?" Nico asks.
"Yes." We say in unison.
"On the count of three, we need to all run forward into the wall."
There's a brief silence until Jason breaks it asking, "What?"
"Just run into the wall. You have to trust me."
Another moment of silence, but everyone agrees.
"One. Two." Just then, the door flies open and the backup starts to crowd in. "Three!" We all run at the wall.
I brace for impact but it never comes. Instead, we go straight through, completely untouched. "Don't stop running! Keep going until I say!" Nico shouts for us all to hear.
We keep going. I'm not sure how long this went for, but eventually we pass through the wall to the outdoors. I smell the fresh air, which is weird because this is a dream. A really, really lucid dream. In fact, I smell more than just fresh air. I can smell the sea. It can't be that far from where I stand.
"Okay, Chiron told me that we need to get as far from here as possible." Nico begins. "It'll disconnect the dreams and we'll wake up at camp."
"Where do you expect we go?" Frank asks and points to my left. I see that there is a cliff. Below the cliff is where the ocean must be!
Nico points to my right. I see a dark forest with swamplands surrounding it. I remember the time I almost drowned in the marsh when I was in Alaska with Frank and Hazel. I recall the excruciating pain of suffocating in the thick muck. It took so long for my friends to find me and pull me out. Ever since that day, I still have a fear of drowning.
"I guess we'll just have to go that way." Nico confirms.
"Are you sure?" I cut in quickly. I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I just don't want a repeat of that cold day in Alaska. I look to Frank and Hazel and I can tell by their expressions that they know exactly what I'm thinking. I continue, "I mean, don't you think they'll be able to catch us if we go that way? Uh, maybe we can go down instead. Underground. Hazel, can you sense any tunnels?"
"No." She answers. "The ground is dense. There's not a single tunnel anywhere that I know of."
"Perfect." I say through gritted teeth.
"Percy, that's our best chance. We have to try." Nico says.
"I understand, but how will we get through the swamp?"
"I guess, if neither of you mind, Jason and Frank can fly a few people over while the rest of us swim."
"I'm cool with that." Jason says. Frank nods.
Annabeth steps froward. "What about the braclets on their ankles? They can't use their powers until we get them off."
Jason crouches on one knee and lifts his pant leg to get a good look at his braclet. He studies it and says, "I think magic is the only thing that can get them off."
"Or this." Nico says and snaps his fingers. The braclets fall off.
"Thanks." Jason says, getting back up.
Leo then falls but Frank catches him. Leo contains no strength to keep moving. He's almost completely unconcious.
"Jason, Frank, will one of you take him across first?" Nico asks.
Jason speaks up first. "I will."
Frank offers, "Hazel, if you want, I can take you across..?"
Hazel cracks a small smile. "Sure. Let's go."
Jason grabs Leo the way a groom would hold a bride after their wedding. "I'll come back for you after, Piper, if it's cool with you?"
She nods and he flies off towards the woods. Hazel climbs onto Frank's back and he morphs into an eagle and soars away in Jason's direction.
"Alright." Nico says, rubbing his hands together as if satisfied with his work. "Let's get going."
Suddenly, a sharp pain erupts in my head and I can't help but let out a pathetic wail of agony.
I fall to my knees, my eyes beginning to water. My ears are ringing and my vision is blurring. I can barely make out the words that come out of my friends mouths.
"Percy! What happened?"
"What is it? Where's the pain coming from?"
"Can you hear us? Percy, can you speak?"
The last words I hear before everything goes black come from Annabeth.
"What is he becoming?"
A/N- So, you bros like the ending? I promise I'll try to finish the next chapter as soon as I can. I want to get it done by tomorrow but I'm a bit of a procrastinator. Well, I really hope you enjoyed. The next chapter is gonna be pretty awesome if it turns out the way I want(: