Hazel's POV
Hazel felt like puking her insides out, her stomach churning.
What the hell just happened to me? This has never happened before.
When she reached for the stone under her, it had felt like she were drowning, hand sinking into the dirt even as she tugged away. When she felt something sharp pierce into her skin, she tore her hand out, pain erupting throughout her palm.
Now, she felt Frank's burly arm holding her steady, wiping her forehead gently as everything around her spun. When she felt herself about to lose consciousness again, she sank into the quiet of her mind, but was almost immediately shaken from it.
Screams ruptured all around her blaringly, causing her ears to ring.
"Don't ever take my confidence in your capabilities for granted."
"Frank.... We need to help," Hazel murmured, to which Frank got up, picking her up swiftly and trudging towards the source of the fright. As her head cleared, she lowered herself from his arms, leaning against him as they hurried over.
When Apollo came into view, Hazel first saw his conflicted expression, as if he were both confused and... ashamed.
What's wrong?
A figure in khakis that was already much closer to the group was standing in front of Percy, Annabeth, Reyna, and the god, and she could practically sense the suffering that radiated from the foreign person.
Is that Will?
It looks like his clothes, but I doubt that that's him.
Moments after she spotted the figure, they wavered, pouncing on Apollo and battering him into the ground!
In the split second that the person threw themself forwards, their body ruptured, blood spraying across the ground as it remolded itself, flesh swirling as the strange beings by his side melted into the chasm, and the cloak of night furled around the being, giving their body a gruesome new form.
What stood before them was no monster they'd ever encountered and, while the screams and voices that bellowed from its jaw were vaguely human, there was nothing to ever cue that a human had stood in its place second before. If anything, it reminded her of a deformed canine, with its ribs protruding, inky liquid dripping from them and commingling with the depths of night that had spread over the hill, seeping up the trees.
Apollo was caught off guard from the teeth that carved into his being, golden ichor spattering from his wound, but the filaments of his "flesh" sewed themselves back together. After getting over his initial shock, Apollo, still pinned down by the massive mutt, tore one of his hands free, reaching behind his back for his bow.
NO!
Hazel wasn't sure why, but she leapt towards the god wrestling the animal, tearing the sack of arrows from Apollo's shoulder.
WHAT AM I DOING?
The dog glared up at her when she pulled the arrows towards herself, tripping backwards from the effort and tumbling to the floor, a sudden pain racing up her wrist. Fear rattled through her chest, her blood pumping so quickly that she could feel her veins bulge in her neck
The both of them froze, Hazel cupping her unharmed hand over her mouth to stop herself from breathing. As if engaging in silent communication, the creature huffed, its breath forming a cloud of fog in the icy temperature above her head; however, it did not move to attack any further, its black orb-like eyes simply examining Hazel, who's eyes widened.
"Nico?" She felt crazy even uttering the name.
This can't be–It can't be him!
"STAY AWAY!" Frank screamed, running to Hazel's spot in the grass and pulling her away as shards of ice flew towards the beast, impaling its neck and ribs, most likely Percy's work.
The creature recoiled, howling madly and shaking, its body reforming around the cut flesh.
"iT HuRTs..." These words reverberated, as if echoing from multiple angles, its pain rattling Hazel as if she were the one who had been stabbed.
"Can you hold it off, Apollo? I'll get the celestial bronze ropes so we can hold him back," Annabeth instructed, seeming as if she understood the situation, already heading down towards the Arena. Apollo nodded curtly, punching the mutt square in the skull, causing its head to snap at an odd angle before it bit down again.
Percy, however, reached into his pocket, retrieving his pen, uncapping it. Before he could, though, Hazel screamed out from behind him, scrambling towards him and slapping the pen out of his hand.
"NO!"
"It–it killed... Nico! I couldn't do anything!" Percy cried out, but nevertheless heeded her command. He looked just as pained as she felt.
"He's still alive. Don't hurt him!" she screamed, her voice course and alarming, tears running down her eyes profusely as she bit her lip to stop them from trembling.
"He really is?" Percy asked, dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, the one-sided attacks from the creature continued, it's voice shattering its surrounding, shadows billowing around its flesh.
"dIE, sUn GOd!" it bellowed, taking the distraction to finally tear one of the god's arms off, its murk coiling around the limb, consuming it. This time, however, the ichor continued to gush from god's missing limb, making no effort to heal itself.
Suddenly, the midnight liquid climbed further than the trees, eating away at the horizon, muting the stars it covered. The lights around them flickered, many dying out, everything around them dimming.
Apollo now seemed worried, scrambling with vigor to escape the beast that pinned him down. "He's going to send me to Tartarus!" he shrieked, glowing more vibrantly, nearly blinding the nearby demigods who were forced to close their eyes. The effect was counterintuitive, though, his light snuffed out like a candle once it reached its peak.
This is like Kronos! He'll be torn into pieces and sent to hell!
I can't stop Nico.
I can't help Apollo.
I can't save us.
"yOu KNeW tHIs WoULd hAppeN!" the creature screamed when Apollo slithered out of its grasp, grabbing his bow and holding it like a bat. The pose would have been humorous had the context been different.
"You were supposed to defeat her!" Apollo scolded, now well out of reach of the beast's maw. The phrase seemed to infuriate the monster, bowing it's head as it prowled around the god for a weakness.
"YOu kNeW wILl wOUlDn't maKE IT! THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY!" it cried, attacking Apollo once again, who swung his bow, planting a heavy blow straight in the monster's face. The bile in it's mouth sprayed as its head was carried with the momentum of the golden bow.
"You didn't want to make it, Nico! Someone had to be left behind because, no matter the circumstances, you were destined to stay in hell!"
The god cupped his hand around his mouth, realizing that he'd gone off on a tangent. "Nico--"
"...iT IS mY fAUlt. FoRGiVe Me, tHeN, rEYnA" The creature was no longer addressing Apollo, pivoting its head ninety degrees towards the daughter of Bellona.
The mutt remained silent for the next couple exchanges of blows with the god, Percy sometimes attempting to drag the creature to the floor with water, every demigod growing tired with solemn grimaces plastered on their expressions, so it came as a great relief when two blond-headed demigods could be seen running towards them.
"I have it! Frank, grab one side, I'll take the other!" Annabeth yelled, tossing the other end of the rope to Frank, placing her Yankee cap on her head. Beside her, Will was panting, carrying with him...Nico's sword?