Flashes of gold pierced the night from the top of the Empire State Building. Demigods and monsters alike shielded their eyes from the blinding rays as combat silenced across the city. What had felt like an eternal respite on the battlefield soon dissipated as if infinty had come and gone in a matter of seconds. On instinct, the monsters scattered into the wind and shadows. Every primal sense of self preservation they had from gorgons to cyclopes to telekhines screamed at them to leave. As the beasts vanished, the demigods under Kronos' banner began to slowly realize their predicament. Some lowered their weapons, but many chose to go down fighting. Soon enough, the sound of metal and death once again filled the night air.
Amongst the fervor, Thalia lowered her bow, eyes transfixed on the towering skyscraper. She released a long sigh, a breath she hadn't realized had caught in her lungs. The war was over. All that was left now was the battle. Her sisters around her, she steeled her body and mind for the fight once more. Thalia Grace was going to get inside that building one way or another. For her friends. And to see things with her own eyes.
*Ping* Elevator doors opened in the distance as Perla Jackson sat motionless on a fallen marble pillar, her head and hands resting atop Riptide's hilt. Annabeth gently placed her hand on Perla's shoulder and pulled her in for a hug. Their breathing both ragged with emotion as they sat in silence. Nymphs and minor gods flew past in every direction, still frantically trying to clean and restore the god's home to its former glory. The battle has ended hours ago and though the world around them seemed to have moved on, it was like the two of them were still stuck in Kronos' slowed time.
"Annabeth, Perla!" Thalia exclaimed as her and the hunters rounded the corner. The two finally looking up from their grief.
Thalia rushed to them, quickly kneeling and dropping her bow to meet them at eye level.
"He's gone, isn't he?" She asked. Annabeth nodded slowly.
"He was a hero," Annabeth choked out. "He did it. He fought back Kronos."
"I'm so sorry," Thalia began, her eyes beginning to well up. "I should have been here. I should have…"
"No," Perla finally spoke. "No, you can't say that. You were amazing out there. We never would've gotten here if not for the Hunters."
"But-"
Annabeth grabbed Thalia's hands, her eyes serious. "Seaweed Brain is right. You did your part Thalia. We did what we had to."
Hearing Annabeth say those words felt like being stabbed right through the heart. The three girls sat in silence, none sure what exactly to say next.
"Ahem, Lieutenant," One of the Hunters interrupted awkwardly. "We shall assist with tracking the dangerous monsters in the area and cleaning up Olympus. Please, take your time here."
"Thank you," Thalia said, composing herself a bit before standing up and saluting the other Hunters before they took their leave.
"I should go to," Annabeth said, dusting off her tattered clothes. "I need to go and…find out where they took Luke. Thalia, you should come to see him when you can. I'm sure…he'd like that."
Almost as if in a daze, she turned and walked off into the once adorned crumbling hallways. The two watched her go and Perla let out another sigh once sure Annabeth was out of earshot.
"That's the wrong way," Perla said, shaking her head. "They took him that way."
She pointed to yet another hallway lined with a mix of broken and intact pillars among the myriad of corridors. Though there was nothing particularly notable about the layout, it was clearly nowhere near the hall Annabeth had disappeared down. Thalia nodded and sat herself on the pillar next to Perla.
"You can go if you need," Perla started. "I know there's a lot of work left to be done and you're really busy with all the Hunter stuff, I mean there's gotta be a lot of monsters still out there like they said right? So-"
"Hey," Thalia stopped her. "I want to be here. Things are over for now. You can put away the sword."
"But…" Perla began to protest before realizing that Thalia wasn't budging. "Okay."
Begrudgingly, she capped Riptide and returned the pen to her also tattered pants. Noticing the marble dust left on her fingers and clothing, she quickly began to rub her hands to get rid of the debris. Perla rubbed, clapped, slapped and shook her hands for a minute or so before giving up on her hands being clean. Thalia chuckled at her defeated friend.
"Oh Seaweed Brain," She muttered, amused.
"What?" Perla asked, annoyedly puffing her cheeks out, her face tinged with red embarrassment.
"Come here."
Thalia got up and motioned for Perla to follow. Within a few minutes of walking, the two arrived at a lovely garden. While it wasn't in pristine condition (what was at this point?) the foliage was still mostly intact with the sweet smell of pollen and blooming flowers filling the air. Notes of pine and mint drifted through their noses and helped refresh the weary minds of the girls. Yet, the centerpiece was what grabbed Perla's attention. A beautifully carved marble fountain adorned with gold eagle and peacock imagery.
"Here we are," Thalia exclaimed proudly.
"How did you know this was here?" Perla asked, still in wonder.
She walked closer to the fountain and daintily poked one of the eagles, its beak cracking and falling to the ground. Perla quickly pulled her hand back and turned sheepishly to look at Thalia who was wincing at the sight. "Sorry"
"Its fine," Thalia said, composing herself. "There're fountains everywhere here. I just figured one must be left intact."
"So you were gonna have us walk until we found one?" Perla chuckled.
"That was the idea, yes," Thalia confirmed, walking up to the fountain as well. "But if it came to it I was just hoping I could use you to dowse for it."
"Hey," Perla complained.
"Oh just shut up and clean yourself off!"
"You got it," Perla said, pulling the water out and over her, making a sort of bubble that she spun around in before sending the water right back into the fountain. "There all clean! Man that feels better. Thanks Thalia."
"Don't mention it," She gestured.
"Hey you could use a clean to right?" Perla smiled.
"Jackson, don't you dare-" Not another word left Thalia's mouth before she was enveloped and spun like a washing machine in a few tens of gallons of water. After a few seconds, Perla freed her and returned the water once again.
"There you go, clean and dry! Well, I hope that water was clean…"
Thalia stood there, eyes angry at the process of events she just went through. Still at least Perla had removed every last drop from her clothes and she did feel cleaner…
"You get one pass, but don't ever do that again," Thalia growled. "But at least you're feeling better."
Perla, who had been giggling the whole time, stopped and her shoulders slumped. Her expression darkened as the reality of the day set in again. Thalia screamed at herself internally. STUPID!
"Thanks Thalia, I really do appreciate it," Perla started, staring into the ripples of the fountain and running her fingers through the water. "But I just killed my friend today. I think I need some time."
"I'm sorry," Thalia said, looking down.
"It's alright, it's just that for Annabeth and I, well, I mean, we both… y'know…" Her thoughts trailed off as she curled her fingers, making a fist in the pool.
Realization hit Thalia like a truck as if today couldn't get any stranger. "I didn't actually," She tried to stay composed but inside it felt like her stomach was twisting in horrible ways.
"Oh," Perla said, looking back at her friend. "Sorry, I thought… well it was years ago now. I mean he was older and cool and look where that got me."
The fountain water began to jump and tremble like an earthquake was rocking it from below. Thalia took a step back instinctively. "It got me poisoned and left for dead after getting your dad's bolt back. Serves me right for being stupid."
"No you're not," Thalia refuted defiantly. She strutted forwards confidently and the water began to calm again, only ripples emanating from Perla's hand. "You were what? 12? You acted your age in a new world and a new way of life. No one will blame you for that. Besides, its not like you've got a monopoly on being poisoned by him."
Thalia was right in front of Perla now. Though she wasn't much taller, her confidence, energy and the small sparks leaping off her every now and then made Perla feel like she was being towered over. Still, she'd never thought of their shared poisoning as a connecting point and it made her laugh again.
"Thanks Thalia," Perla said, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Don't thank me," Thalia said, breaking eye contact. "I'm still the one who put you in this situation. I ran from my responsibilities and here we are. If anything, this is on me as well."
"No, you don't understand," Perla started. "I realized I could be happy with someone when I met and went on that adventure with-"
Eyes wide, Perla slammed her mouth shut. Her face went slack and turned beet red. The water behind her began bubbling vigorously as if it was boiling.
Thalia stood there completely confused. She had thought the conversation was going well and even admitted to her guilt for putting Perla in the position of fulfilling the prophecy. She'd expected to be admonished or berated, and just maybe forgiven. But this reaction was not in any of the scenarios she'd imagined in her head. Before she could ask, Perla opened her mouth once more.
"UM Yeah So Um Sorry but I think I have to Go now to? Yup. BYE. Thanks for the talk and the fountain! Nice seeing you again!" In the blink of an eye Perla had vanished into the maze of ivory halls and the daughter of Zeus was left dumbfounded and alone.
A/N: Hello! If you're new to my work, welcome! I hope you enjoyed the start of this story! If you came from my other fic, hey thanks for checking this one out. So, I know I've been absent for a bit. Work has been crazy and just getting things fit into a day's worth of time is a struggle. For those of you returning, I will be continuing "Not Alone" eventually. I had the strong urge to write this story and so here we are. Currently, I'm deciding where to take Not Alone and how I want to wrap it up now. Until then, I'll be updating this one as it goes. Expect a follow up chapter to this one soon but updates after that may be a bit more sporadic. This isn't intended to be a long ongoing fic. Anyway, if you got this far, thanks for all the continued support. I read every review and see every new like and follow and I can't express the gratitude I have for all of you that choose to support my amateur writing!- SH