The Rise of Gaea

Percy 25

*****song credits to The Jonas Brothers*****

     Percy watched Annabeth, Jason and Piper's faces, waiting for them to respond.

     Would they recoil from him?

     Fear him?

     He almost wished he could take back his declaration, but at the same time he felt relief at finally saying it.

     "Could you... could you show us?" Annabeth asked hesitantly. She didn't sound revolted, just curious.

     "Do it on me!" Jason eagerly volunteered himself.

     Percy took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and cleared his throat.

          "I'm a sucker for you, say the word and I'll do anything blindly."

     He imagined Jason attempting to lick his own nose, and then watched in amusement as he tried and failed to do so.

     Percy released the last note, and Jason stopped.

     "That was so cool!" He didn't seem scared at all.

     "No it wasn't, you couldn't even reach." Piper joked.

     Percy smiled faintly, stifling a yawn. He was so very tired, and charmsinging had only exhausted him further. Thankfully, Jason and Piper seemed to understand.

     "Well, I'm so glad you're okay, and thank you for demonstrating your new awesome skill. Get some rest, bro." Jason hugged him one last time, Piper blew him a kiss, and then they left.

     Percy laid back, struggling to stay awake. He needed to stay conscious so he could continue to control monsters to hold the button, otherwise he and Luke would die.

     Percy shook his head. He was home. He could sleep. But he knew he wouldn't. Sleep would bring nightmares, and Percy wanted to avoid that for as long as possible.

     Annabeth stroked his hair lightly, combing through with her fingers.

     "You need to rest." She said softly.

     Percy sighed. "I know."

     "Your body needs sleep so it can heal. You'll feel better after a nap."

     She was so beautiful. Her golden hair curled gently, framing her face and flowing down her back. Her eyes were deep grey; different from the silver they shone in the sunlight.

     It was the most comforting thing in the world to know that she was his; his clever, beautiful, brave, fierce Wise Girl.

     She cared so much about him that she made a plan to fix the god's split personalities just to get to him, and even now, she respected his privacy and knew just how far to push him.

     How could he ask for any more?

     There was another knock on the door. Annabeth smiled apologetically, and went to answer it.

     Percy couldn't see who it was, as his eyelids were heavy, but he could see Annabeth blurrily; fists clenched, shaking her head angrily.

     Percy blinked slowly, accidentally falling asleep for a moment, but catching himself. He registered clomping, and squinted up to see Chiron.

     The centaur was frowning down at him.

     Percy braced himself for a lecture on the values of sleep, but instead, Chiron handed him a cup.

     "Drink this." He instructed. "It should help with any residual pain."

Percy obey instinctively, downing the flowery-smelling drink.

     It definitely wasn't nectar, which was the usual pick-me-up for injured demigods, and Percy was about to ask what exactly he had just drunk when his eyes closed seemingly of their own accord and sleep crashed over him.

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     Monsters clawed at him on every side, and Percy tried desperately to fend them off. Tartarus' deep cackle echoed in his ears, and the sea of grotesque beings parted to reveal the monstrous, horrific primordial. Clutched in his fist was a squirming, struggling... Annabeth.

     Percy tried to charge forward, to get to her, but the Cyclopes, hellhounds, Arai, and many more closed ranks. Percy couldn't even see Annabeth anymore; he could only hear her agonized screams, which was a thousand times worse.