SANITY; heroes of olympus

03.5

Percy struggled to turn his pegasus around.

"Percy!" Piper yelled. "Jason's your friend. Drop your weapon!"

Percy's sword arm dipped. Piper might have been able to bring him under control, but unfortunately Jason got to his feet.

He roared. A bolt of lightning arced out of the clear blue sky. It ricocheted off his gladius and blasted Percy off his horse.

Zara went to take a step forward, shouting both of their names, but before she could take a second step, Piper's arms wrapped around her waist, holding her back.

Blackjack whinnied and fled into the wheat fields. Jason charged at Percy, who was now on his back, his clothes smoking from the lightning blast.

For a horrible moment, it seemed like Piper couldn't find her voice. Gaea's voice was taunting in both of their minds, and it was even worse because the goddess was now inhabiting one of their friends' bodies.

"No!" Zara screamed. "Jason, stop!"

He froze, his sword six inches from Percy's face.

He turned, the gold light in his eyes flickering uncertainty. "I cannot stop. One must die." Something about that voice...it wasn't Gaea. It wasn't Jason. Whoever it was spoke haltingly, as if English was its second language.

"Who are you?" Piper demanded.

Jason's mouth twisted in a gruesome smile. "We are the eidolons. We will live again."

"Eidolons...?" Piper's mind raced.

Zara's eyes widened. "You're—you're some sort of ghost?"

"He must die." Jason turned his attention back to Percy, but the son of Poseidon had recovered more than they realised. He swept out his leg and knocked Jason off his feet.

The blonde's head hit the asphalt with a nauseating conk.

Percy rose.

"Stop it!" Piper screamed again, but there was no charmspeak in her voice. She was shouting in sheer desperation.

Percy raised Riptide over Jason's chest.

Before he could strike or do so much as anything, a large vine wrapped around the blade, tugging it from his grip and tossing it into the field. Zara and Piper spun, facing Andy. She had fallen to one of her knees, clutching her stomach like she might be sick. One of her eyes was still solid gold and the other...it was amethyst. She was still fighting, she wasn't giving up on them or herself.

More vines crept towards the boy, wrapping around his ankles and elbows, keeping him where he was.

Andy croaked out, "Stop him. Stop him, I can't hold them both off."

Panic closed up Zara's throat. They really had no time or no strategy on how to stop this, any of it. Whatever was controlling Percy had all of his skill. There was no way she or Piper could beat him in combat. The only person who could was incapacitated at the moment.

Piper poured all of her anger into her voice. "Eidolon, stop."

Percy froze.

"Face me," she ordered.

The son of the sea god turned. His eyes were gold instead of green, his face pale and cruel, not at all like Percy's.

"You have not chosen," he said. "So this one will die."

"You're a spirit from the Underworld," Piper guessed. "You're possessing Percy Jackson. Is that it?"

Percy sneered. "I will live again in this body. The Earth Mother has promised. I will go where I please, control whom I wish."