***Thanks again for the reviews/follows/favorites, you guys rock! Hope you enjoy Chapter 17 here, from Piper's POV. Chapter 18, featuring Annabeth's POV, will be up Friday, May 2. Also, disclaimer, Percy and Co. belong to Rick Riordan, who is not me.***

XVII. PIPER

Piper's heart felt like it was in her throat as she, Leo, and Annabeth made their way as fast as they could back through the twisting tunnel. Demeter's words were echoing in Piper's ears.

You won't like what you find on the other end.

Jason was on the other end of the tunnel. And Percy. And Frank and Hazel, who had gone back to the ship.

You won't like what you find on the other end.

Oh gods, just let the others be okay.

The tunnel began to get lighter. They came around another turn and Piper could see the jagged entrance to the tunnel ahead. The three of them slowed to a stop. Piper and Annabeth drew their swords. Leo pulled a hammer that must have weighed ten pounds from his tool belt. Together, they crept toward the entrance. Piper's ears were straining for any noise from outside the tunnel, but there was nothing.

Piper reached the jagged door in the rock and peered out. The hillside was empty; there was nothing to be seen except the river, gurgling cheerily. Then realization struck and Piper's stomach turned over. The hillside was empty.

Judging by their stricken faces, Leo and Annabeth had noticed the same thing.

"Where are Percy and Jason?" Annabeth whispered.

Piper shook her head. "Maybe—maybe they went back to the ship."

"Yeah, right," Leo said. "Like they'd leave with you two here." When Piper and Annabeth both shot him a look, he raised his eyebrows. "It's only the truth."

Piper knew he was right. Jason and Percy wouldn't have left with the three of them still in the tunnel unless something was wrong. "We've got to find them."

"The only hiding place is against the cave," Annabeth whispered. "We could see someone anywhere else on the hill. Be prepared for an attack from behind."

"What about the barrier?" Piper asked. "Will we even be able to get out?"

Annabeth hesitated. "I'm guessing it disappeared when we returned the kiste and kalathos to Demeter's altar."

"Only one way to find out," Leo said grimly, tightening his grip on his hammer. "Let's go."

The three of them burst out of the tunnel. Thankfully, the invisible barrier was gone. Piper immediately turned around—and froze. "You."

"Me," Ephialtes said. The giant's voice was calm but there was a crazed smile on his face. He had an arm hooked around Jason's neck. Piper's heart thudded. Jason looked unconscious, his head lolling on Ephialtes's arm. Otis, wearing a tattered baby-blue leotard and looking grumpy, was standing a few feet away from his brother, holding Percy up by the back of his t-shirt. Percy, too, had been knocked out. "It's wonderful to see you again, Piper McLean. I hope that this time you'll be more open to playing your part in our performance."

"Not a chance," Piper said through gritted teeth. "Let them go!"

Ephialtes just laughed. Otis continued to look grumpy. "You're going to make up for ruining our show in Rome. Your deaths are being streamed live to Hephaestus TV, channel 192." He pointed to a camera set up on a tripod with a satellite dish attached.

"It's only a pay-per-view channel," Otis grumbled.

Ephialtes glared at him. "Yes, and we get five percent on every purchase, you nitwit. Don't you know how many monsters, and gods, are going to tune in to see Hera's little hand-picked team meet a well-choreographed demise?"

"Yeah, that's not happening," Annabeth said.

"Does my dad know you're doing this?" Leo asked. "Isn't he in charge of Hephaestus TV?"

"We may have pirated some equipment," Ephialtes said, waving a hand carelessly. "Besides, Hephaestus won't be in charge much longer. Gaea has promised that when she rises, we will take over the airwaves."

Otis perked up. "And I can have a twenty-four hour ballet channel, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, it'll be part of the sports package," Ephialtes said. He turned back to the demigods with a manic gleam in his eyes. "Once we kill you all, we'll collect Frank Zhang and Hazel Levesque from your ship. They'll be the Earth Mother's sacrifice, which will be the official first broadcast of our new brand, Big F TV!"

"I thought you said we could call it the O Network?" Otis said.
"Oprah already took that," Ephialtes snapped. He hitched a grin back on his face as he looked at Piper. "Now, daughter of Aphrodite, I believe you asked me to let these heroes go?" He shook Jason, who was as limp as a ragdoll. "I suppose I can do that. Now, Otis!"
Before Piper could move, Ephialtes threw Jason at her. His dead weight slammed into her, knocking them both to the ground. Otis sighed and flung Percy into the river before pressing the play button on an enormous boombox, which exploded with the tinny sound of off-key trumpets.

"No!" Ephialtes wailed. "I told you 'Track 12,' not 'Track 8.'"

Otis didn't get a chance to reply as Leo leapt forward and swung his hammer into Otis's gut. The giant doubled over with a loud, "Oof!"

Annabeth charged at Ephialtes, meeting his spear strikes with her drakon bone sword and trying to get close enough to stab him.

Piper struggled to get up, but Jason was a lot heavier than her. Finally, she managed to roll him onto the ground. His eyes were just beginning to flutter open. She grabbed a square of ambrosia from her backpack and stuffed it unceremoniously into his mouth. After making sure he wasn't choking, she got to her feet. Her stomach dropped when she saw Percy floating face down in the river, but before she could even take a step in that direction, Percy coughed and twisted in the water. He sat down on the river bottom, looking dazed. Next to her, Jason was groaning and trying to sit up. Piper moved to help him when she heard a strangled yell.

Otis had wrested the hammer out of Leo's hand and as Piper watched, horrified, the giant did some kind of ballet jump and kicked Leo squarely in the chest. He flew across the hillside and slammed into the grass. She ran towards him, but turned when she heard a shriek of pain.

Ephialtes had caught Annabeth by the arm, bending it behind her back. He twisted her wrist, forcing her to drop her sword. The point of his spear was at her throat. "Looks like you'll be our first victim, daughter of Athena. When Alcyoneous takes over the Underworld, he'll toss you right back into Tartarus. Nyx has personally demanded a little reunion with you. If you're lucky, it might even make Big F TV." He raised his spear.

Percy and Jason were both struggling to get up. Leo was barely moving. Piper was too far away. Ephialtes turned to face the camera. He grinned, like this was all a great show and not sick and twisted.

Something in Piper snapped. All of her fear and anger suddenly boiled over in a hot ball of rage. "STOP IT!"

She wasn't even sure she'd used charmspeak, but suddenly the entire hillside froze. Then Ephialtes smiled, slowly and horribly. "Fine, Piper McLean. You can be the first to die, instead." He twisted Annabeth's arm again. There was an awful crack and Annabeth screamed. Ephialtes threw her down, hard, into the grass. Her arm was bent at a sickening angle.

Fury rose like bile in Piper's throat. "That's enough!" she yelled as Ephialtes approached her. She didn't wait for the giant to get any closer, though. Piper charged forward and swung her sword with all her strength.

Ephialtes blocked her strike with the butt of his spear. She spun and stabbed at him again. They continued to exchange blows. Piper was trying to remember everything Hazel had taught her in their sword-fighting lessons. She tried to get inside the reach of Ephialtes's spear, but the giant was fast. He swung the spear like a baseball bat and caught Piper in the shoulder, sending her reeling backward. Her sword arm was numb from the blow.

Ephialtes was breathing hard. "A good fight, little demigod," he said. "Very entertaining. But now, it's time to finish this. We're on a schedule. I only booked a half-hour show. Otis," he called over to his brother, "finish the son of Hephaestus."

Otis was standing a few feet from Leo, who had managed to get to his hands and knees. The giant looked put out. "I've told you, deaths choreographed to Swan Lake or Coppelia would look so much more—"

"Enough with the ballet!" Ephialtes screamed.

Piper took a step forward. She couldn't lift her sword, but she had another weapon that didn't require her to move her arm: her voice. "You won't hurt them."

Ephialtes sneered. "Watch me."

Piper took a deep breath. She tapped into everything she felt for her friends, for Jason, her memories of the good times they had all spent together. She poured all her power into her words. "You will not hurt the people I love. Never again. I won't let you."

For a moment, Ephialtes stood still as the power of her charmspeak washed over him. His eyes glazed over and the spear point dipped toward the ground as his arm went slack. "Won't—hurt—them," he muttered. Then he blinked and his eyes cleared. "You're powerful, girl. Maybe I can't hurt your friends. But you never said I couldn't kill you." He raised his spear and plunged it into Piper's stomach.

The world seemed to slow down as pain swept through Piper. She fell to her knees, arms wrapped around her stomach. Ephialtes grinned. He raised his spear to strike again and Piper prepared to die. She wanted to lift her sword, her knife, even the cornucopia could help, but she had no strength left.

Suddenly, Percy hurtled out of nowhere and rammed Ephialtes, knocking the giant's spear out of his hand. Percy rolled out of the way just as flames engulfed the giant and Leo stepped forward, his eyes blazing as fiercely as his hands. Ephialtes was shrieking curses, stamping around trying to get away from the flames. Otis pirouetted in to try to help his brother, but Percy slashed at him and he retreated. While Leo and Percy kept the giants occupied, Jason and Annabeth dragged Piper away from the fight.

"Oh gods," Annabeth sobbed as she moved Piper's arms away from her wound. Piper didn't want to look. She focused on Jason as he whipped off his shirt and handed it to Annabeth.

"Try to stop the bleeding," he said. As Annabeth pressed the shirt against Piper's midsection, Jason cradled her head, brushing her hair out of her face. Piper was getting dizzy from blood loss, but she tried to focus on his eyes, which were the same bright, clear blue as the sky above him. "Stay with me, Pipes. It's going to be fine. Do we have any ambrosia?" he asked Annabeth.

Annabeth was already digging a baggy of the squares out of her backpack. Her broken right arm was cradled against her stomach. She handed Jason the ambrosia and used her left hand to press Jason's t-shirt hard against Piper's middle. "Give her an entire square. We need this to start healing now."

The edges of Piper's vision were going black as Jason helped her to eat the ambrosia. It tasted like her dad's black bean soup. She felt feverish, but she wasn't sure if it was because of the ambrosia or the wound.

She could still hear the sounds of Leo and Percy fighting the giants. Judging by the groans and curses from the giants, she figured the boys were winning. That's good, she thought drowsily. Her eyelids were getting heavy.

"Don't go to sleep!" Jason demanded, an edge of panic in his voice. He lifted her into a half-sitting position and Piper gasped as a wave of agony radiated out from her stomach. "I'm sorry, but you have to stay awake. Is the ambrosia working?" he asked Annabeth.

Annabeth shook her head. Piper tried to focus on her friend's face, but it was blurry. She thought she saw tear tracks on Annabeth's cheeks, though. "The wound's really deep and there's too much blood. I don't know if—if the ambrosia can work fast enough."

"We have to do something," Jason said fiercely.

Leo came into her vision as he knelt next to Jason. His face turned pale when he looked at her. "Gods, Piper," he said weakly.

"Do you have anything in your toolbelt that can help?" Jason asked.

Leo rummaged in the belt's pockets, but all he came up with was some gauze and a box of Band-Aids. He cursed. "Nothing useful."

Jason swore. Piper was starting to feel cold, despite the warm summer air and Jason's arms around her. She figured that was a bad sign. Jason's face swam into view as he leaned closer to her. He kissed her, but she could barely feel it; it was as if her consciousness was already leaving her body behind. "Please, Pipes. You can't leave me."

She tried to say she didn't want to leave him, but she didn't seem able to speak.

The world around Piper was becoming hazy but she distinctly heard a yell, followed by a massive splash of water, accompanied by screams. A second later, Percy dropped to his knees beside Annabeth. "Dropped the river on them," he said. "It'll keep them from reforming, but we can't win without a god."

"Somebody looking for a god?"

Piper couldn't see where the new voice was coming from, but her friends' heads turned and Annabeth gasped, "Lord Apollo!"

A new face swam into view above Piper. With her blurry vision, he looked kind of like Jason, with the same blond hair and blue eyes. He winced. "Spear to the stomach. Ugly, but I've seen worse."

"Can you help her?" Jason asked.

"God of healing at your service," Apollo said. His hands were warm as he placed one on Piper's forehead and one on her stomach. He closed his eyes and began to hum. A rush of heat spread through Piper, then seemed to settle at her midsection. She sucked in her breath as she felt the damaged muscles, organs, and skin begin to knit back together. It was uncomfortable, but much better than the excruciating pain she had been experiencing. Her vision began to clear. She blinked and suddenly she could see Jason, Leo, Annabeth, Percy, and Apollo all sharply outlined against the sky. Apollo finished his song and raised his hands. Jason helped Piper to sit up. She looked down at her stomach. The only sign of her wound was a hole in her t-shirt. She didn't even have a scar. Piper looked up at Apollo, who was sitting back on his heels looking pleased with himself. "Thank you," she said.

"My pleasure," he said, flashing her a grin. His teeth were blindingly white. "Now, where are those giants?"

Percy jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "The river."

Piper looked at the river where two lumps that almost resembled Ephialtes and Otis were swirling in their own personal whirlpools. They were bickering with each other with their half-formed mouths. Apollo snapped his fingers twice. A wail went up from the giants as a column of fire blasted them into dust.

"Two more giants down," Leo said.

Annabeth winced as Percy helped her up, still cradling her broken arm.

"Oh, almost forgot about you," Apollo said. He laid a hand on Annabeth's arm. The next moment, the bones had mended themselves.

"Thanks, Lord Apollo," Annabeth said.

Apollo waved his hand airily. "Don't mention it."

Leo and Jason helped Piper stand. She still felt a little shaky, so she leaned against Jason, who wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her cheek. "Glad you're okay," Jason told her.

"Me, too," Piper said.

"Yeah, that was some nice magic," Apollo said. "Very noble, trying to protect your friends and all."

"Would it have worked?" Piper asked.

Apollo shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe. Love is weird. But you must have impressed your mom because she kicked me off Olympus to come down here and heal you. And I was just about to get a perfect score on Guitar Hero."

"Sorry?" Piper ventured, a little stunned that her mother would go to so much trouble.

Apollo waved off her apology. "No big deal. You owe me a game, though. One on one, next time you're on Olympus."

"Um, sure," Piper replied, unsure whether Apollo was kidding.

"By the way," Apollo added, looking from Piper to Annabeth and Leo, "I think I need to apologize for my mother. She's pretty bitter. But the truth is, Hera has the right idea about your quest. And Demeter, too. Trust that weapon."

Thunder rumbled and Apollo glanced up at the sky. "That's my cue. But before I go, one piece of advice." He looked at Percy. "I'm usually all about the hot, but try to keep your cool when you get back to your ship. The schizophrenia's hit him hard, but he means well."

"Okay," Percy said. "And who are we talking about?"

"You'll see." Thunder boomed. "And now I really have to bounce. Good luck, demigods. You'll need it." On that happy note, Apollo disappeared in a flash of golden light.

"Just once," Leo said, "just once, I would love to get a straight answer from a god."

"You and me both," Percy muttered.

"Come on," Piper said. "We'd better get back to the ship so we can deal with whatever this new problem is."