Riordanverse One-Shots

(Story) The End of The Conflict

Told from Percy's POV

The little drop of blood dripped down Percy's lip slowly but before it could fall, he wiped his face. So easy and simple. The drip had stopped.

 "DIE PERSEUS JACKSON!" Something shouted from behind him. Pain erupted in his stomach and he looked down to see a spire of dirt sticking out of him. He crumpled to his knees in pain. 

 "No!" Annabeth shouted and tried to run towards him. Walls of dirt appeared around him blocking her way in. He dropped his sword and clutched his stomach trying to stop the blood from pouring out of him. He could hear Annabeth beating against the walls and calling for help. 

Slowly he rolled over to look up at the sky. Gaea had picked up Piper with a long tendril of dirt and lifted her into the air. Leo was trying to get the ship near enough to Piper to rescue her but fists of dirt kept hitting the ship and with each one the ship nearly fell out of the sky. Jason was riding Frank who was in eagle form, trying to get closer to Piper.

 "SO. THIS ONE'S BLOOD WOKE ME UP. I NEEDED A MALE AND A FEMALE AND STRONGER DEMIGODS TO BE AT MY FULL STRENGTH! NO MATTER. SOON ENOUGH I WILL GATHER ALL MY STRENGTH AND KILL YOU ALL. AND YOU, PERSEUS JACKSON WILL WATCH THEM ALL DIE BEFORE I KILL YOU."

 I can't let them die. He thought to himself.

 "Gaea!" He shouted, his voice not much more than a choke but she heard him. " Why don't you just kill me instead? You can do it slowly and painfully and you can watch the others try to live on. I think that that is a much better plan. Right, great grandma? " A dribble of blood trickled out of his mouth.

 "NICE TRY, FOOLISH MORTAL BUT I AM NOT LIKE MY CHILDREN. I AM THE EARTH! AND I SAY THAT YOU WILL WATCH THEM ALL DIE! AND AS A BONUS I WILL MAKE SURE YOU DIE SLOWLY. GOOD SUGGESTION." Her voice reverberated in his head. " AND THIS ONE WILL DIE FIRST. " Gaea gestured to Piper, held high above the ground. 

It looked like Piper had been trying to charmspeak because dirt was wrapped around her mouth now. Leo added more power to the ship and flew forward at the tendril, hoping to break it and drop Piper into it. He crashed, at full speed into it and Festus crumpled, the ship hurdled toward the ground. Percy couldn't see if Leo made it off the ship or not.

 "No!" Percy cried out without sound.

 "Don't you dare touch her!" Jason yelled at the top of his lungs. Frank screeched.

 "OH, IT'S A LITTLE LATE FOR THAT, SON OF ZEUS." Gaea laughed and a spike of soil erupted in Piper's chest. Her eyes went glassy. The tendril released her and Piper's body fell towards the earth, limp. Jason leapt off of Frank's back and caught the falling girl and powered them to the ground. Percy could hear him talking.

 "No! No! Piper look at me! Please! No. No." 

There was no reply from her. "You will pay for this! You will pay!" Jason shouted.

"Jason! Don't do that!" Hazel cried out but it was too late. Percy could see him flying up towards Gaea, a storm building up behind him, soaring right towards her face. The storm crashed against Gaea's face and blew around her. She didn't move. It was like a gentle summer breeze to her. When the storm clouds cleared he could see Jason hanging onto his sword buried deep into her forehead, completely spent. 

 "ARE YOU ALL THIS IDIOTIC? CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT YOU'LL ALL BE KILLED. THIS MAKES IT MUCH MORE INTERESTING THOUGH. YOU'VE JUST VOLUNTEERED TO DIE NEXT JASON GRACE."

"With pleasure!" Jason shouted, his last hurrah. A shout to be remembered. 

"NO! NO!" Percy shouted, barely audible. He watched as a length of dirt wrapped around Jason's sword and waist, holding them both. "LIVE LIKE A ROMAN. DIE LIKE A ROMAN." She boomed and she twisted Jason's sword around and stabbed him in the chest. He jerked around, the words "Die like a Roman " echoing around the space before he went still. Gaea dropped his body.