Can depressed people write well?
You tell me.
NICO:
He wanted to jump away from Percy. But Percy was still holding him in place.
"Annabeth", Percy replied, a little breathless. Nico wasn't sure how he felt since he thought Annabeth had been dead. At least for a while. And it was his stupidity that was to blame.
Though he wasn't going to mention that right then.
But Annabeth wasn't looking at him. She was looking at Nico, her cold grey eyes, flat and emotionless.
"What happened?", she asked as she rushed to Percy and hugged him, cutting Nico off from him.
Before he could run away, a hand grabbed him from behind and pulled him backward.
Rachel's hair was wet and limp but her grip was strong. "Don't move", she told him and Thalia gave a stiff nod.
But what broke Nico's heart was the look of desperation Percy had in his eyes as Annabeth held him in her embrace.
PERCY:
The worry in Annabeth's eyes twisted his stomach into knots. Guilt poisoned his heart, which had been fluttering merrily a few minutes ago, as she embraced him.
"Oh, Percy", she whispered into his ear and it was almost like they were twelve again. "I knew you'd make it"
It was like a slap on his face. He'd so easily given up on her and she hadn't. Because of no reason, other than that he had actually wanted to.
He clung to her tightly, uncomfortably aware that Nico was standing right there. The son if Hades would have to have some faith in him. But Percy wasn't sure he deserved it.
Just before letting him go, Annabeth said, so lightly that Percy wondered if he imagined it. "I know. Its okay, we'll talk about it later"
As she pulled away he noticed the strange expression on her face. A mixture of knowing, grief and pride.
That is all great, a sleepy voice resonated throughout the amphitheatre, but your joy won't be for long. You think its the end, just because you've killed my sons? I won't grieve for them, but after I rise, I will bring them back. You've underestimated me. I do not need your blood to take a temporary form. And a temporary form is all I need to destroy you.
Everything vanished from Percy's mind except the task in hand. He looked around at the people gathered around him. Piper, Jason, Hazel, Frank, Annaneth, Rachel, Thalia and Nico.
Out of the chosen seven, one was missing.
"Where's Leo?", he demanded sharply.
"Would it be the right time to mention that he flew away on his fire breathing dragon?", Hazel replied helplessly.
"That useless piece of-", Annabeth swore but was cut off by a roar.
All head turned up as a large shadow fell upon them. A dark shape was blocking the sun, his wings beating rhythmically.
"What in the-", Jason said in wonder as the metal dragon dived for the ground.
To their credit, no one screamed, though they quickly scattered towards the sides as the shining dragon landed, shaking the whole amphitheatre.
Leo hopped off Festus first, then lent a hand to the the reddish gold haired girl who had been sitting behind him.
Percy was startled, not believing what he saw.
Leo was grinning like a he'd lost a few screws of his head. Percy thought perhaps he'd forgotten that there was a war going on.
"My fellow demigods", Leo announced, still grinning goofily, "I'd like you to meet Calypso"
The reaction of each demigod varied.
Piper grinning back at them and waved.
Jason smiled and said, "God job, bro"
Annabeth's eyes were narrowed and she gave a short nod.
Hazel laughed and told Leo, "I'm proud of you"
Frank was blushing and muttered something incoherent.
Thalia cocked her head and cleared her throat tiredly.
Rachel grinned, "I knew that"
Nico looked uncomfortable and seemed to find his shoes very fascinating.
Percy was speechless.
What a brilliant moment for Leo to introduce Calypso. In the middle of a war. This was one of the most socially weird things Percy had been a part of.
But thanks to Gaea, that moment didn't last long.
The only thing Percy would ever thank Gaea for.
The ground under Festus's legs opened up and he somehow managed to fly off with a defeaning roar, before the ground started churning.
"STAND BACK", Frank shouted. It was surprising because Percy had been about to shout the same thing.
Out of the churning hole in the ground rose a gigantic shapeless lump of mud, almost forty feet.
Jason shot a bolt of lightning but to no avail. The lump just absorbed the lightning.
Percy called upon water and tried to wash the ugly thing away. But instead of falling like wet mud should, the ugly lump started to take shape. Round hips and long legs that mixed into the ground upon teaching the ankles. Trunk and arms and then the neck and a face with flowing hair, creating a dust storm.
"Its no use, little ones", the wet mud said. "You'd rather give up"
"GET EVERYONE OUT OF HERE", Percy roared as Annabeth shot him a painful glance. "Go now", he told her, giving her shoulder a little squeeze.
He couldn't hear what Jason was saying to Frank and Leo but he saw the latter two nod amidst the dust storm.
Leo whistled, his clear voice cutting through the heavy dust and Festus hovered right over him.
Percy pulled out Riptide even though he doubted it'd be any use.
He coughed and rubbed at his eyes. The dust was too much do he waited a while before opening his eyes.
He must've frozen for a while because when he looked around he could see no one. The air had gotten thicker with dust but he couldn't make out anything. He started to cough uncontrollably. He could hear Gaea chanting in a sleepily enchanting voice.
He felt something very strong grab his waist from behind. So strong that he couldn't move at all. He looked down to find a bronze claw and the ground getting farther.
Festus had picked him up and was taking him away.
He struggled and screamed. He wanted to be down there. He wanted to defeat Gaea. Where was Festus taking him?
With a grunt, Festus dropped him onto the deck of the Argo where a hundred people seemed to rush around him.
"He's here", he heard someone say.
"Is he breathing?", another asked.
"What took the punk so long?", someone asked gruffly.
"Move out of the way", said a stern voice.
All the voices were familiar. And so was the face that showed up seconds later. Annabeth pulled Percy to his feet and dragged him near the railing.
Down on the ground, barely anything was visible.
"CLEAR UP THE DECK", Frank ordered from behind them.
Percy turned to find a very tensed Jason with Piper talking soothingly to him. An angry Frank with a worried Hazel.
The rest of the people seemed to be going below deck as Frank had asked him to.
"Where's Ni-", Percy shot before he could stop himself.
"Down below with Thalia and Rachel, calming Calypso down", Annabeth told him, not unkindly.
That's when it struck him.
"WHAT?!", Percy thundered, "What is Leo doing alone?"
"To storm or fire the World must fall", Puper reminded him sadly.
"He believed that he was the seventh wheel", Jason said bitterly.
"Hey", Annabeth snapped, "He's not dead yet. He might still be able to pull this off"
Seeing Annabeth so full of confidence in Leo had a magical affect.
Percy realized that this was war. Unlike in a battle, he had to trust others to be competent enough to do what had to be done and not try to do everything himself. It was an important lesson. And difficult as well. How was he expected to stand and watch while someone else did something this important?
Annabeth whipped out her invisibility cap and threw it down at the centre in the dust storm, where Gaea should've been. The cap shone silver and sprouted glittering wings as it flew downwards.
Piper began to sing a song which made no sense to Percy but it sounded like hope and victory and peace. Her singing battled with Gaea's chanting. She started to transform as well. Her hair grew longer and twisted into a braid with lilies and her armour and clothes changed into a Greek white gown lined with gold, fluttering around her thighs in the wind.
Frank loaded an arrow onto his bow and the arrow glowed red, the tip burnt with fire. He shot it straight into the heart of the storm.
Hazel picked up her spatha. It turned golden and the tip glittered like a diamond, dark energy radiating from it. It looked captivating. She threw it as hard as she could.
It reminded Percy of Nico.
Percy studied Riptide. The surface seemed to be made of waves. The celestial bronze blade made the light dance in his eyes, just like the sea did on sunny days. He could smell the saltiness of the sea and it's cooling affect on a troubled mind. The blade grew hotter in his hand. He could almost see a trident engulfing his blade like a shell.
He threw Riptide like a spear. With a spark, the blade vanished into the dust storm.
Jason stepped up. His face could've been carved from stone.
He raised his gladius above his head and it cackled with lightening. It had turned dark and stormy and the sky itself rumbled dangerously.
He threw the gladius like a spinning knife.
Annabeth put an arm around Percy's waist and buried her face into his neck.
Piper's song had overpowered Gaea's, her voice as pretty as herself. She reached the highest octave she could and continued to sing until something extremely strange happened.
There were no words for it. There was no explanation for it either. It was the declaration of victory. The song announced that they had reached a point from where victory was the only course, even though the words couldn't be understood.
The dust storm underneath turned red.
All of the six were perplexed. Till the flames reached almost as high as the ship and Frank rushed to the engine room to reposition them.
The fire burnt bright blue, the hottest of the flames. The the centre of the fire, they could see it even from up where the were, was a small figure. Leo.
He was at the centre of the inferno. He wasn't fuelling the fire. He was giving it out.
The fire shot at Gaea's muddy form and there was a hideous scream from the Earth that shook even the skies.
The air around the amphitheatre, or whatever remained of it, shimmered beautifully.
It was a spectacular sight to behold. Leo had might as well been a god.
Gaea crumbled like the dust she was with a blood curling scream and Leo's fire died down.
He stood so still, Percy wondered if he had died standing up.
There was a roar above their heads and they looked up to see Festus with Calypso on his back.
"Lets go get him", Calypso shouted and petted his neck and the dragon dived towards the ground.
A few minutes later a stony faced Leo was escorted on deck. He hadn't said anything, which was very surprising. Leo Valdez always said something. Calypso was holding him as Piper and Hazel fussed around him. Jason and Frank was worriedly looking on as Annabeth inspected him. Percy just watched.
"Guys", Leo said finally. He sounded a little tired, which was to be expected. "I think I'm going to need a lot of ice cream"