GUYS! PLEASE READ THIS!
SO I KNOW IT'S APRIL FOOLS' DAY, BUT PLEASE TAKE THIS CHAPTER SERIOUSLY. IT'S NOT A PRANK! I REPEAT, IT'S NOT A PRANK.
I know this chapter compared to chapter 1 is… very short. But it's kinda important to the plot, so please don't skip this.
Thanks guys, for reading.
Run, Sephie, run.
Through the woods she ran. Tree branches scratched her, the mud squelched under her feet as the unforgiving rain pelted her, blurring her sight.
Run, Sephie, run.
How did she get here? She was supposed to be in Kydria, supposed to be safe.
They found us. They took our powers. We're used all our strength to call you. Don't bother finding us, we'll be dead by then.
She went for a walk around Athens. There was a tear on her heart, she thought she was about to die. Maybe that would have been better. Better than what greeted her as she returned home.
Aura's eyes were blank, staring millions of miles away. Her hands were lifeless, as a single flower laid as if it was forced into her hand. A black flower. A dahlia.
Beside her, Aristorine's face was hidden as she sat, dead, in her seat. Dead on a throne Percy had given her.
Run, Sephie, run.
The Fates' did this. She just didn't understand why.
The Fates' killed them all. They revealed where they were to the Gods. Hazel and Frank were dead. She's the only one that remained.
Percy wasn't sure where she was going, she just knew she was trying to outrun something that was beyond her.
It's too late. We underestimated everything. We lost, Sephie. Save yourself. Don't try to be the hero.
Too late. Always too late.
Too late to save her friends. Too late to save Annabeth. Too late to save her people. Always too late.
Her heart thumped wildly, as if it was attempting to leap out of her chest. Her thighs ached and begged her to stop. She couldn't stop.
In her hand, was the only thing that could save them.
The only thing could right things but Percy couldn't trust the Immortals. Not even the Immortal.
Can she? It wasn't like things could go any worse. Maybe that is where her legs are taking her. Maybe unconsciously, they already decided there was nothing left to lose.
From behind her, a loud, screeching cackle rose above the rain. If Percy still had more strength, she would have paled. Stumbled.
Yet she no longer cares. For now, there was nothing for her to do. Everyone was gone. She is living with the reality that everyone was taken away from her not only once, but twice.
So she runs. She runs like her life is dependent on it and some part of that is true. She did not want whatever is chasing her to catch up. She wasn't sure what was chasing her but whatever it was, it wasn't good.
Percy wouldn't stop, she couldn't stop, not until the trees made way for an opening. The dense scent of the forest making way for the salty scent of the ocean. And Hali glowed, leaping from her hands.
You are my daughter then, from the future. Oh, don't look so shocked, my child. The Fates have told me everything. Including what a mistake you have been. Since you are mine, I will grant you a leniency the others did not get. I will grant you a painless death. After your soul travels to the Underworld however… I cannot stop my brother from doing what he wants with traitors like you.
Run, Sephie, run. Don't stop. Never stop.
I can help you, if you let me.
Who can help me? She thought humorlessly. Who is left to help me?
She was alone. For the first time since she arrived in the past, arrived at this place, she was alone.
Hali was still waiting for her, levitating high above the ground. Percy did not recognise it, but the gem sure did.
Right below Hali, was the exact spot Percy had stood at, 104 years ago.
"This has to work." Percy said to herself, nearly begging the universe. "Let there be just one decent Immortal."
Chaos appeared to her as a misty figure. "Run, child." He whispered gently. "I cannot shield you forever from the Fates. Run. Run and do not look back. There is one last chance to set things straight." From her neck, Hali glowed like a thousand supernovas. "Take her to where you started. Reverse everything. You can do it."
When the hellhounds burst through the clearing, growling and snarling, Percy was unprepared for them.
Hastily, she unhooked Kósmina, her sword, and raised it against them. Just then, a shadow caught her eye. Percy turned white.
Hades, in all his glory, appeared in his horse-drawn chariot. He wore a neutral expression, but she knew it wouldn't help her. Nothing can help her now.
Trust in me. What do you have to lose?
Nothing. Percy thought bitterly, stepping closer. Hali shone brighter.
Hades stared at the gem with wariness and hesitance, but he commanded the hellhounds.
They were twenty feet away…
Percy let Kósmina fall to her feet.
Ten…
She reached up, her fingers curling around the gem she thought was a gift from the Fates.
You will have the power of primordials…
The Titans will be nothing compared to you.
You will never be afraid of your element, never.
I am. I am afraid. The ocean has killed me once, and it will kill me again.
Five…
The ocean lurched, slamming violently against the ground. Torrents and torrents of water rose higher than any building before crashing down.
Percy couldn't risk letting Hali go, but she was vulnerable to her own attacks, unable to get away as the water fell on her.
Immediately, she started to struggle as she tried to breathe it in.
An act that should have been so easy before was now impossible. It went wrong immediately.
Water entered Percy's lungs and burned her. Her hand flew to her neck and she screamed, but nothing came out.
Coldness seeped in, her vision turned blurry. Hades was nowhere to be found but Percy could see golden dust in the water.
In her last moments, Percy released Hali.
Through her foggy sight, she thought she saw three old women standing before her. They weren't busy spinning yarn. They just observed her. As her body finally gave up, she thought they might even have smiled. The one in the middle started to glow. Her body turned misty, and Chaos's voice filled her head.
Naive girl. Who has ever heard of a lenient Immortal.
Percy was right. It was too much to ask for, apparently.
Her mind grew lightheaded. The Fates vanished. Two new figures, a girl and boy took their place. The boy reached his hand out. The girl hugged herself. They were both smiling.
"Let's get out of here, Percy." Frank's soul glittered as Percy's equally pale hand found his.
"You ran." Hazel added, taking Percy's other hand. She was as transparent as they were. "Time to rest."
So… how is everyone feeling? Yes, this is an April Fools' Day prank. I had to.
Truth be told, you were supposed to get a lighthearted fluff chapter but like… my friend Helen told me, "You should give them a super angsty chapter and then tell them it's an April Fools' Prank" so that's what I did.
But when I showed her the chapter she said I was so cruel to subject you guys to this.
Um… yeah. Sorry I lied at the beginning but it was kinda funny.
Rest assured, I'm cruel but not that cruel. They're all getting a happy ending. All of them. (Most of them)
And, yes, to those who might have seen it, I spoiled chapter 2. Quite a lot.
Feel free to drop a comment. Side note: I wrote this today. Other than my friend, no one else reads it so if you spy a mistake… just tell me.
