We Are Cursed (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 2

Chapter 48 || Piper

"Uh... dragon scales?"

Leo tossed her the bag and Piper dumped the contents in, making sure she didn't miss a single scale.

"Underworld dirt!"

She emptied the dirt into the bowl and began to mix.

Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock...

One minute gone. 29 left.

"I need the snake venom!" she yelled.

"Shit, it's in the back!" Jason yelped, running to the back to fumble around for the jar.

Tossing it wasn't a very smart choice for Jason, but Piper had no time to make mistakes. She caught the jar and emptied its contents into the bowl. As the powder dissolved, she checked the next ingredient.

"We need dragon fire and we need hydra meat..."

"I've got the dragon fire," Frank said, "But we need to get to the kitchen."

Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock...

Five minutes gone. 24 left.

Blowing his flames onto the stove, Piper placed the contents of the bowl in a pot, beginning to cook the hydra meat inside.

"Someone dice the golden apples!" she exclaimed.

"On it!" Annabeth yelled, already there to chop the apples. "Damn, they're hard!"

Piper poured them into the pot.

Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock...

5 minutes gone. 19 left.

"GO GO GO!" Nico yelled, handing her the Phoenix feathers.

This was like a P.E. activity... Piper thought as sweat trickled down her forehead.

"Moonlace petals!" she called.

"Got em!" Leo panted, throwing them into the pot.

"Almost done! Nectar! NECTAR!"

Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock...

10 minutes gone. 9 left.

"HURRY!" Piper yelled as she spooned nectar into the mixture, adding in the precise amount of ambrosia. "NIGHT LEAVES!"

She didn't even need to finish her sentence as the Night Leaves were already being crumbled over the mixture.

"Do we--"

"Just pour it into his mouth. Unplug the IV!"

Unplugging the IV, Annabeth simply slapped Percy across the face. All Piper could say was that he looked awful. It was like he was a corpse, but he was awake. He yelled out in pain the moment he came back to the living world.

"DRINK IT!" Piper screamed, beginning to pour the mixture down Percy's throat.

"AH!" Percy screamed as he drank it, tears floating out of his eyes.

Some of it stayed in his mouth and he tried to spit it out.

"NO!" Annabeth grabbed him aggressively and made sure the liquid was down his throat.

Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock...

8 minutes gone. One more left.

"DRINK IT ALL, PERCY! YOU GOT THIS!" Piper hollered, forcing the last of the liquid down his throat.

"Fifteen seconds!" Frank yelled.

Percy finished drinking when the last second hit. With a shuddering gasp, he went still, going limp in Annabeth's arms.

"Percy?" Piper whispered, prodding him slightly.

No response. Nico and Hazel suddenly cupped their hands to their ears. Piper knew what had happened. They were a second too late.

"NO!" Piper yelled. "NOOO! NOOO!"

But Annabeth was even worse. She screamed. She sobbed. She kicked. She slapped. Thalia was looking as if she didn't believe what had just happened. Nico looked like he was about to die and join Percy. As the clock struck the eighteenth minute after Percy died, something amazing happened.

Percy's chest heaved as the color bloomed across his body, his tan skin returning and his hair looking shiny and healthy again. His muscle returned, puffing up all over him before his eyes snapped open, sea-green and brilliant. Piper was at a loss for words, as everyone else was.

Of course, they knew it was real the moment he said something absolutely idiotic.

"Why the f**k does everything hurt so much?!"