Percy Jackson: Guardian of the Apocalypse

Chapter 10

Yay, new chapter!
*****
I walked through camp, assessing how the kids fought. For only 2 weeks in, they were doing pretty good. But, they would have to, since I wouldn't be able to help them in the fight against the army. I wasn't allowed to interfere, a rule older than time. I would only be allowed to fight against Order, and Apokalypse. I would have to most likely fight Apokalypse myself. The horsemen would have to help Annabeth in her fight against Order, while I took on Apokalypse. I walked to the beach, easily my favorite spot throughout the universe, throwing of my shoes. I walked a few feet into the cold water. I put my hands to my side, closing my eyes, simply concentrating. The ocean against my feet, the tide lapping in and out. The breeze that suggested all was well. The mellow splashing of the waves. The sand being drawn in and out with the water. And then, a rustle. A person in a humanoid shape. It came closer. A powerful entity. The clinking of armor. A tank of brute force. A sword, that terrified it's opponents. It radiated chaos and destruction. A gauntlet, that had crushed many heads. No peace whatsoever. Everything raging, swirling in a storm of fury, exploding, destruction.
"War."
"Apeiron."
Death's voice was bitter, gravelly, with a bit of an accent to it. This one was...deep, no hint of an accent, with a growl at the base of it.
"Come War. Meditate with me."
I had my eyes closed, but I sensed it when he came to stand with me.
"You know I don't meditate. It weakens me. I am chaotic, and peace is not."
"Yes, I do know. But, try it, close your eyes. Feel the ocean, sense it. Feel the utter chaos, the motion in the stillness."
I could sense his aura, getting stronger.
"Take your sword. Let it drink in the chaos. The destruction that this sea has done."
I could sense that he had put the tip of his sword in the water. His aura grew stronger yet. There was so much power coursing next to me, I could feel it.
"Now, do not let the power overwhelm you. Do not release it. Use it to strengthen yourself. Invest in it. Store it away. Keep it at bay. If you are able to do this, then you will be able to sustain your destructive form much longer, as well as have greater outbursts of power. Do not give in to it."
I was being consumed by his radiation. War and fury, and death and destruction and chaos. Then it retreated, and I sensed that he fell to his knees. He groaned.
"It is hard. It will weaken you. However, feel how much the power in you has increased."
I opened my eyes to look at him. His silver armor pieces glowed, his gauntlet which used to be a worn grey and red, was now a dark gold and red, his cloak that used to be red, was now a dark maroon, almost black. His eyes still stood out, glowing blue even now.
"Very nice, War."
He studied me for a second, then nodding.
"Thank you, Apeiron."
I nodded, and sat down in the sand, gesturing War to do the same. He sat, next to me, making quite the noise.
"So, War. What troubles you? I know something does, I can sense it."
"Yes. The war to come. It will be gruesome. I know you sense the deaths, or rather the grief that echoes through time, and Death senses the passing away of so many people. I sense the brutality of it. The sheer terror, the gruesome chaos. He who will die in this battle will be lucky."
"Indeed. But War, you are the most expert swordsman in the universe. You took the armies of Anubis on singlehandedly. So, why do you worry?"
"Because, these are not the armies of Anubis."
I chuckled. No, they weren't
"But what do you have to fear, horseman?"
"Order. He will be my doom, I know it."
I laughed again.
"You do have a sense of humor, War! I knew Death was wrong."
He muttered
"If you want humor, talk to famine. I swear..."
I laughed again.
"Yeah, I get it."
"So, Apeiron"
"Yes? So, Pestilence, and Famine, and possibly me...well, we were thinking, would you accept a duel? You versus us three?"
I smiled.
"I don't know...but well, I guess so!"
"Oh, well, shit...I told Famine and Pestilence you would accept, and that we shouldn't do it..."
I chuckled
"I'll go easy on you guys."
He seemed relieved.
"Okay, well, sure, I guess, you know, if you wanna go easy..."
"You worry to much, War."
I didn't look at him, but I knew he smiled.
"Yeah, I worry about that sometimes..."
*****
The next day, the camp gathered at the beach, on every piece of ground they could find. I walked out onto the ocean, and the three horsemen flashed there as well. I discreetly slipped a ring on my middle finger, that would keep my power under control. I had the whole thing planned out.
Famine walked towards me, his pistols, revenge and avenge, strapped into his belt, a bow with red dot sight in his hand, and an endless sheath of arrows on his back. He had two rifles strapped to his thighs, as well as throwing knives on his calves. His face was concealed by a mask with six eyes, all glowing green. Pestilence had a whip strapped to one side, and gauntlets already on her hands. They weren't big, like War's, but instead, they were more like gloves, with claws, veins of energy running from the tips of the claws to the end of the gauntlet. She had long hair, and no mask, but her eyes were scary. They were a piercing yellow, like a feline's. Then came War. His sword looked scarier than ever, the souls that were inset in it seemed more tormented than usual, and he himself looked the same as yesterday. I personally, had my sword always true to me, Riptide. Except, not the old one. See, this was my main weapon. I used scythes, big swords, all these legit weapons, but this was my weapon of death. This was my preferred weapon of killing. The sword, once made of celestial bronze only, now consisted of imperial gold, celestial bronze, and chaotic metal. The gold and bronze had been melted together and they wrapped around each other in swirls, and there was one shard of chaotic metal in the middle. The blade radiated a strange aura of darkness, one that would make you depressed, lonely, and make you want to jump off a cliff into the river acheron, in the hopes of freeing yourself with pain. It was rimmed with chaotic fire, that burned, and relieved the soul, so that when the body died, the soul would go straight to the fields of asphodel, and be spared from tartarus or the fields of punishment. I twirled it in one hand,  and waited. It was a nice day, the sun was shining, the water was sparkling.
"This is a casual duel. There will be no need for formalities. Thus, you may begin."
As I said this, War took his sword off his back, and walked slowly towards me. Pestilence took her whip, and slashed from where she was. It extended towards me, and I stayed still. Then at the last second as if in slow motion, I stepped to the right, and grabbed the whip. It stung my hand, the pink energy was like fire. Clenching my teeth, I pulled. Pestilence came flying along with the whip, and I smirked. I had this. Then when she got close, she let go, and the whip came at me, smacking me in the face. I untangled myself from it, and opened my eyes, only to see an angry Pestilence, coming at me through the air, her claws ready. She slammed into me, making me splash into the water. I lost my concentration, sinking through it, and then, suddenly, both of my shoulders were hit with some strong force. They left a trail in the water, and the force pushed me lower. I finally hit the ground, at which point I was barraged by stings. Bullets. I could see Famine standing above, holding his rifles, shooting down at me. I looked down to see blood staining the water. I finally came to my senses, and controlled the water. I willed the currents to push me back up, and I felt an admirable force on my back, and I shot up, streaking through the water, and as I flew out again, I knocked Famine off his feet, and he fell, cushioned by the water. Pestilence lashed out at me, but I was ready, and as the whip curled around me, about to tighten, I released my footing. It was as if someone had knocked me over, and I slipped through the grip of Pestilence's whip, and slid on the water. There I lay, as I closed my eyes. Suddenly my senses heightened. When I stopped using one of my senses, my others were empowered. I heard the whoosh of a blade, I tasted the iron and copper on the air, from blood long spilled, I smelt the horrifying scent of fresh blood, gunpowder, and iron. I rolled to the right, and War's blade sliced through the water. The water threw me back on my feet, and I gripped Riptide with all my might, slicing up at the last second. I heard the clanging of bullets against my blade, I felt the pressure of the bullets pushing against my blade, then being deflected. I grit my teeth. Then I clipped Riptide to my side. The mind had to be the master of the body. A widely taught lesson indeed. I focused on ,y surroundings, and felt a pressure in my chest. Clamping, crushing, my heart. I gathered all of my arcanic energy that had welled in me for years, and I released it. A wave of golden light encompassed the valley, slowly seeping into the campers, the dirt, the plants. The three horsemen had been thrown away. I fell to my knees. The barrier around the camp suddenly glowed, and cracks that had been acquired over the centuries all sealed up, any plants on the brink of dying came to life, the glass became greener, the sun shined brighter, the grapes grew more purple. The valley suddenly teemed with life. I, however did not. I fell face first upon the water, and saw the horsemen standing above me. They all looked smug. I sent a secret wink to War, who had a smirk under his hood. His eyes widened when he realized I had planned this, and his smug look disappeared. I grinned before I blacked out.

*****

I woke up to Annabeth tending to my wounds. When she saw me opening my eyes, she shook her head.
"You really do have seaweed in your head you know that?"
"Yeah, but I'm still your seaweed brain."
She chuckled lightly at my remark.
"Yeah...you are."
I got up on one hand, groaning. Annabeth helped me to my feet, and I nodded at her. She pecked my lips once, before leaving the cabin. I looked around. I felt so completely powerless. I hobbled out of my cabin, and looked at the valley. Campers training, some teaching. Suddenly dark clouds formed overhead. And it started raining. Everyone started panicking, all the campers soaking. This was a message. If rain could still get past the camp's barriers, why couldn't Order's legions? I concentrated,but the rain wouldn't stop. How could there even be a force powerful enough? I tried harder, but I was already weak. I groaned, dropping to my knees. The campers ran towards their cabins, trying to avoid getting soaked. Something big was about to happen. Lightning flashed, and I saw the scared faces of the campers, all huddled against the sides of their cabins, trying to avoid the rain. One camper had seemingly tripped on the volleyball court, and he was scrambling up, clumsily stumbling to his cabin, slipping and tripping along the way. Lightning struck the volleyball court, turning the sand into glass, and the camper into a charred crisp.
"GO INSIDE! NOW! LOCK YOUR DOORS, AND BARRICADE YOUR WINDOWS!"
My voice echoed through the valley, just as lightning struck again.
'Annabeth, where are you?'
'I'm coming, Percy!'
'No! Where are you?'
'At the big house.'
'Okay. Stay there.'
I quickly sprinted down the hill, and past the volleyball court, and tetherball poles. I could have teleported, but then the lightning would have easily hit me. This wasn't just ordinary nature, either Order or Apokalypse were behind this. I rolled to the side, narrowly dodging a bolt of lightning. Scrambling back onto my feet, I ran through the lava walls, as they closed in for me, and jumped for the porch of the big house. Where I had been standing a few seconds ago, there was a circle of black dirt, and dead grass. An unnaturally perfect circle. A line cut through it, one that glowed white. I went into the big house, scanning the room for Annabeth. I saw her, in the midst of a few other campers. I enclosed her in a hug, squeezing her. After giving her a quick kiss, I went back to the front door. Annabeth came with me. I took a step outside, pulling out my sword, and summoning my body armor. The lightning flashed, outlining a body. A huge one. 10 feet tall, two legs, covered in armor, with huge boots. A wide chest, a bare torso. At the waist, it merged together, bubbling and steaming. Broad shoulders, a hilt that could be seen over the shoulder. And a face covered by a helmet. A tattered cloak blew to one side. Apokalypse. He stayed still. Me and Annabeth walked forward cautiously. I glanced at her. Should we attack? We might not be able to take him on without the horsemen. Suddenly, his hand shot up. Annabeth's eyes widened, as she gasped for air. She looked at me, trying to talk. LApokalypse started to clench his hand, and Annabeth's body started to disintegrate.
"No!" I ran forward, and punched Apokalypse in the face. He didn't move. I stabbed him in the gut. I flew back, as my sword ricocheted straight off, sending jolts through my body. I got back on my feet, and watched hopelessly. Annabeth's body disappeared into thin air, and Apokalypse clenched his hand completely.
"No!" I struggled forward, and dropped my sword.
"T-take me!"
He tilted his head to one side. Then he outstretched his hand, opening it. Annabeth reappeared on the ground, unconscious. She would be fine. I walked towards him, and put my hand over my heart. I made a fist over it, and put my hand in Apokalypse's and handed over my soul. I felt a tingling sensation, and my body started to dissolve. The last thing I saw was Annabeth's face, pale, as her eyes fluttered open. I said the formal blessing for goodbye, and everything went black.