Hey!
*Ducks to avoid rotten vegetables*

I'm sorry this was so late, I had exams and international school trips and a whole mess of things so we only finalised this on Thursday.

Bunearybunny - Thank you so much! Your wish is our command!

Guest - Die Hard to you to (Hello is overrated )

RAGINGFAN - Great that you like it! I'll see you soon with the next chapter :)

Riptide always seemed heavier when he held it in preparation for a fight. Percy didn't know whether it was purely psychological or a message from his sword, trying to reassure him. He preferred the latter, liking the idea that the sword, or maybe his father, was giving courage. It filled him with confidence. He turned away from the Big House, trying to ignore the foreboding feeling that he wouldn't be coming back.

That's stupid, of course you'll be coming back. This is just another fight and you'll be fine. Annabeth says so.

But at the same time, this felt like a different fight. Percy had stayed alive for years thanks to his instincts, he wasn't going to ignore them now. He took a deep breath, calming himself and focusing. He counted his inhalations, practising them and rehearsing them. He would only have one chance at this fight and he couldn't risk tiring himself out.

These were mortals he was fighting. They were smart and united, all the advantages demigods usually had against monsters. Their technology was superior, their planning skills and preparations were in depth, they had the experience to defeat them. And the majority of their weapons were useless, seeing as celestial bronze couldn't harm them. Riptide had been imbued with an extremely small amount of stygian iron, so that it could be an actual threat and weapon against the enemy.

Enemies, not mortals. We can't think of them as we would our family.

This battle went against everything they fought for. They fought to protect the World from evil, to protect its inhabitants. This was a wholly different battlefield.

Nico suddenly appeared by his side. His sudden appearance shocked Percy, even though he hadn't shadow-travelled. He had just been so lost in thought.

That's not good. I should really be more alert.

"Listen, Nico. I need to tell you something, as a last resort."

"I'm listening."

"Good. So, when I give you this signal you need to…"

The explanation was short, but it needed to be. They didn't have the luxury of time. Nico understood.

"Percy!"

He turned back around, understanding by Nico's tone that this was serious.

"After the fight is over, we regroup at the big house. All of us. You understand"

It tasted like he had ash in his mouth. He didn't know if he would be able to meet them. But Nico needed to believe that he would be back. Under the facade, under the mask that had been developed due to being a child who grew up to fast. Nico was a child. And he was family. Of course he was scared.

So Percy pushed his own hesitations away.

"I understand. I'll meet you there Nico."

And his gut told him not to make promises he knew he couldn't keep but.

"It's a promise."

And he turned away.

He had a war to fight.

He breathed. Counted to ten. Then he looked forward and stepped forward to meet the enemy.

One step.

To block, shift the grip of your sword, curl your fingers and bring the pommel to your forehead.

Two steps.

Slash using your momentum from a spring, don't underestimate the power of an extra inch.

Three steps.

Lower your centre of gravity to- oh forget it.

He gave up in trying to revise movements. They wouldn't help. In the battle he'd be running off adrenaline and instinct, with nothing to keep him alive but years of battle-tested movements.

The enemies had massed at the bottom of the hill. He was out of time. The battle would begin soon. He swung his sword and charged.

The battle was a swinging, bloody mess, full of confusion and loss. The advantage of sending one soldier into a mass of enemies was, if the soldier was fast enough, it was easy to trick the enemy into eliminating each other with crossfire. Percy plunged past the small gaps in their formations, grinning as their 'lock on' systems took too long to well… Lock on. They should come back in fifty year, when they had the tech to back them up.

Or he could scare them enough that they'd never touch his home again.

He could hope.

The bad thing about sending one soldier into a mass of enemies was, well, having one soldier in a mass of enemies. Any backup he could have was at some other point in the mess of guns, so he was practically alone.

He wasn't an idiot.

He understood why Chiron allowed only three or so to go out. If the whole camp attacked well, even with their disadvantage of celestial bronze, they would be able to hold the enemy off, but that wasn't the objective here. It was also why he was using his water powers as little as possible. The fact was, the main threat was that mortals were smart. If they really wanted to destroy half-bloods they could have bombed them or mined them.

(At least he assumed so, he was out of touch with mortal tech.)

This was them attempting to get information, maybe replicate their godly DNA. It was understandable really, the sheer amount of potential attack power they could get if they were able to harness it was immeasurable.

That's all we are in the end, human weapons.

He whipped around, narrowly blocking a bullet with the flat of his sword.

I'm running out of time.

Annabeth is smart, she'll stick close to camp, either way Nico will… Do what I asked

She will be okay.

That's all that matters.

Meanwhile…

I think this is it.

He was too deep in the throng of opponents, and they were growing accustomed to his 'whack a mole pop up everywhere' tactic. He was getting overwhelmed, he felt himself wearying. As soon as he thought that an errant stream of bullets hit near his foot, causing him to fall and slide. Panic overtook his mind, filling him with a fear.

I thought I was ready I'm not I haven't told Annabeth I love her Nico needs me people need me I need to protect camp no no no nonononononononnononono

And then the World disappeared in fire.

Music started playing, but Percy was blinded and buried under the bodies and armour of thousands of men. He checked the pulse of a close one and despite himself was relieved to find a pulse. The blast was likely non-fatal, which was good. They weren't the monsters.

But… He wasn't dead or in an elevator to the underworld. So, the music was coming from…

"You guys are no fun at all! Honestly, I die for a month A MONTH mind you and already you're having a blast without me. Yo Percy! You okay! Aww man... I didn't kill you did I? Oh Styx I think I killed him, ah what do I do in this situation, Annabeth's going to MURDER me."

Percy coughed, and pushed off the men covering him. His ankle throbbed with the pain, he thought it might have been grazed by a bullet blared loudly from the metal dragon that had crashed into the battlefield.

If that was who he thought it was... He turned around and-

"LEO!?"

The son of Hephaestus grinned and flashed a peace sign.

"Alive and in the flesh, trust me, you don't get good-looking this good in the Un-umph"

The smaller hispanic boy was unable to finish the sentence on account that he had been strangled by Percy's arms wrapping around his throat.

"Never again" Percy choked out. "Don't ever do something like that again."

"Perce I-"

"PROMISE ME"

Leo's expression froze.

"We… We mourned you, we thought you were dead."

There was a strange heartbreak in his chest, and he wasn't sure how he could label it. As the initial adrenaline from the fight drained away, the relief and grief swept over him, drowning him in the fear and pain he had struggled through for months. The only thing keeping him up was the information that Leo was alive he was here he wasn't dead.

"You're too important to us, never do that again."

He didn't wait for an answer, he didn't need one. It wasn't a question. He wouldn't lose anyone ever again. He couldn't.

Because it almost killed us when he left

They didn't have the liberty to talk any more, there was too much danger surrounding them and most likely Annabeth had only just seen Festus.

"Perce, we'll catch up later. Right now we're defending our home."

The icy tone in Leo's voice made him wince almost because when did that kid grow up from the sassy mechanic on the ARGO II but he spoke the truth. They didn't have time for emotions, they were soldiers in a war.

"Our enemies are mortals-don't ask Chiron will fill you in later. Non-fatal shots only. Good luck."

Festus took to the air, firing at any large groups of gun wielding soldiers he could see.

Having an aerial advantage, that's great. But they could try and gun him down so they have to keep their distance.

Stay safe you guys.

Before the worry whirled up in him again he turned to face the nearest enemies. He had a battle to fight.

Percy gritted his teeth as yet more enemy forces surrounded the group. Leo's arrival had given a sense of relief but despite his strength he was only one person. The odds weren't in their favour, there were just too many men. Percy was out of time. This was the last chance he had. With the last of his strength he let out a guttural roar, cleaving his way through as many foes as he could. He steered his way towards Nico, and caught a glimpse of the son of Hades. He was worn out, ragged to the bone. He wasn't using his powers either, he knew the risks. He expected to have to shout but the look in his eyes said it all. The kid hardened his jaw, looking far to grown up for his age and disappeared into a swirl of darkness. Percy hadn't been abandoned, he knew exactly where Nico was.

Nico shook off the nausea that came from shadow traveling while fatigued, he didn't have time. He grasped Annabeth, and just in time swirled away before they would have both been killed. Immediately she tried to struggle but he held firm.

"Nico! Let me down! I need to go to Percy!" Annabeth said, trying to break free once they landed.

Nico tightened his grip on her as he said, "I can't do that Annabeth. Percy signaled to me to get you to safety and I'm doing just that."

Flashback

"Nico," Percy said seriously to the teenager beside him.

"What?" Nico asked.

"Something is going to happen. I have a bad feeling about this attack so when I signal to you, grab Annabeth and Shadow Travel to safety," Percy requested.

Nico nodded and asked, "What will the signal be?"

"I'll find you. You'll know." Percy said, having thought this out for once.

"I'll do it," Nico said.

Flashback End

"But what about Percy? He's alone, you have to go back for him!" Annabeth asked.

"Annabeth… He..."

"What?"

"He said that he'd come home to you. But that he wanted me to get you out. He probably has a plan, he's Percy after all." Nico said with a reassuring smile.

Annabeth smiled tensely before looking back to where Camp Half Blood would be.

'Please come back alive.'

Meanwhile at Camp Half Blood, Percy was fighting as hard as he could but there was no end to the enemies. He couldn't kill anyone, just disable them, these were human beings. He dodged the bullets as much as he could but it proved to be too much.

This is it then..

Another bullet hit him in the leg, tearing through muscle and sinew, making him collapse to his knees. Yet another hit him in the arm where his sword was, the sheer shock and pain causing him to drop Riptide.

I… I'm never going home.

And if things couldn't get worse, they just did. A sudden hit to the back of his head caused him to start blacking out.

His last thought before losing consciousness was, 'I'm sorry Annabeth.'

But I'm not coming back to you this time.

I'm sorry.

And there you have it! Thank you to all of you who reviewed and followed, it means the World to us. Virtual hugs for you all!
Anyway, I hope you all have an amazing April and we will see you (hopefully) soon with Chapter three!