=PERCY'S POV=
I instinctively took Riptide out and uncapped it. The Celestial bronze sword glowed faintly in the dark as I waved it in front of Echidna's face as a warning to back off- but of course, she didn't listen.
"Perseus Jackson." She hissed. "My, my, look how much you've grown." Her reptilian face twisted into a malicious smile as she circled around me. A few meters back, her Chimera licked its lips, probably remembering how close it had come to eating me last time and how it wouldn't let me escape this time.
"Echidna." I retorted. Then I made my voice one octave higher. "My, my, look how much uglier you've become." I mocked. In the back of my head, I could hear Beckendorf silently laughing.
She bared her fangs. "I went easy on you five years ago, letting you get away with your life. This time I won't show you any mercy."
Without warning, she lunged at me and I barely had time to block her strike. I felt her talons slice the air only a few centimeters away from my head. Going all on offense, I swiped Riptide at her and felt a burst of satisfaction as the sword cut a good sized cut right in the middle of her scaly stomach.
She screamed in surprise, pain and fury. Then she shrunk back, hiding behind her Chimera.
"Scared of me?" I taunted. "Go hide behind your little pet and be a coward then."
I yelled a battle cry and advanced towards the hunched figure, prepared to make the final strike. But before I could even lay a finger on her, her Chimera kicked me with its goat legs and I was sent flying backwards. I hit the ground with a sickening crunch and my vision turned black at the edges.
Echidna cackled in victory as she congratulated her hybrid pet. Then she turned to me, eyes glinting dangerously. "You haven't seen anything yet." Her gaze flicked to her Chimera. "Sonny, ATTACK!"
Sonny immediately charged towards me, his snake tail making a sound that might have been laughter. I groaned as I got to my feet, just in time to get rammed by Sonny's huge lion head.
The impact was so hard that I doubled over and almost started retching. Pain seared through my stomach and I saw stars. I moaned as I managed to pick up Riptide and stagger back into a standing position. Holding Riptide in a defensive manner, I turned back towards the Chimera.
Sonny's lion head growled as he crouched down, ready to pounce.
"S-stay away." I said, while brandishing my sword at the monster.
I didn't think Sonny was convinced with my attempt to scare him away because he didn't move an inch. His snake tail hissed and bared its fangs, ready for a demigod snack.
Knowing I had no chance, I backed away. Echidna stood twenty meters behind me, savoring every moment. Her Chimera crept closer, his blood-matted mane swishing back and forth. I stumbled and I knew it was hopeless, until I heard a voice right at the back of my head.
'We'll buy you some time, Perce.'
Suddenly, the Chimera was swept up by invisible arms and hurled back towards it's master. It roared in astonishment as it sailed past me, the sound so loud, it felt like someone put a speaker right next to my ears and it was on full volume.
Echidna's expression was priceless. Her eyes were as wide as bowling balls and her scaly face turned a shade of brown in shock. "W-what is this trickery?!" She yelled. "How-how..."
Then her sick smile evaporated off her face as she realized that I wasn't alone. "You-you..." She sputtered.
"Me-me." I imitated. I tried to get to my feet, but I just fell down again. My head pounded and my vision was blurred red. I couldn't even feel my body anymore.
'Percy, get up.' Silena urged.
'Keep fighting!' Michael yelled.
'Hey that was my line!' Ethan muttered.
'Sorry.' Michael said sheepishly.
One by one, more voices joined in and started shouting encouragement, telling me to get up and punch Echidna in the face (that was Ethan).
Gradually, I managed to get to my knees and raise my head. "You know what makes us different, Echidna?" Her glowering expression didn't waver as she listened silently. "You're a monster and I'm a demigod,"
If it was possible, her face turned even darker. "That's-"
"I'm not finished." I cut in smoothly, even though my tongue felt like it was going to fall off any second now. "What makes us different isn't what we are. It's what we do. And I know for a fact that what I'm going to say next is one-hundred percent true." I paused, slightly surprised that my voice didn't falter during any of my mini speech. "When you're kind attack, my kind defend- and if we do attack, it's mostly because your kind started it. Life is short Echidna, that's why I use every moment I have to make the most of it. But you..." I swallowed. "You and every other monster out there- well, almost every other monster, don't care. You know why? Because you'll just reform and have another chance. People like me don't have another chance. And people like me don't want to be fighting people like you, when we could be spending our lives the way we deserve to be spending it. That's why I will get up and fight you- no matter what the costs. Because you deserve to die.
After a few fleeting moments of pain, I shakily stood up. My brow was creased with sweat and my whole body trembled as I raised my sword. My eyes darted to Sonny, finding him engaged in full combat with Beckendorf and all my other spirit friends.
'Be strong Percy, and don't give up.' Silena whispered- and somehow, I knew that that would be the last thing I heard from any of them in a long time.
I nodded, determined, and turned to face Echidna.
The snake lady hissed, but I could tell that what I had said had clearly scared her. Good, I thought. She doesn't need to know that I'm exhausted and I'm about to pass out.
"Perseus Jackson-" she growled.
"It's Percy."
"Prepare to die."
I don't know how she did it, maybe she was using some kind of sorcery, but she managed to pull a sword out of thin air. It was a long, sleek, blade, made of celestial bronze. And etched along the side were two greek words: Θάνατος Δάγκωμα- Death Bite.
Not even giving me a chance to get ready, she slithered towards me and swiped her sword across my chest- leaving a long cut and ripping open my shirt in the process. Dazed and woolly from the pain, I sluggishly pulled out my own blade. But Echidna was expecting it and quickly knocked it out of my hands- leaving me defenseless.
Improvising, I held up my fists.
She scoffed, shooting me a look that said, 'are you really that stupid?'
"Come at me." I said, newfound strength burning through my limbs at the idea that had just popped into my head. An idea so horrifying that I'd sworn that I would never do it again- but in this situation, it was do or die.
Echidna grinned, certain that she was on the winning side. "Aren't you going to jump off another Arch, son of Poseidon? Oops," She said in mock surprise. "My mistake. There's no where for you to jump from... Unless you want to leap toward your own demise."
"Fat chance." I retorted. And thrust my hands up.
The effect was immediate. She doubled over as she chocked on her own blood- her eyes widening in shock. "B-but I thought-" She stared up at me, her face no longer confident.
I found myself smiling sadistically. "I don't play by the rules Echidna." I moved closer to her, so my face was only inches from hers. "And I never will."
And with that, I grinned like a physcopath and raised my hands once more.
This time, Echidna couldn't even move her mouth. Her dying scream broke me out of my trance as I stumbled back in horror. "What-what have I done?" I whispered, staring at my hands. I barely had time to react before Echidna's body lay at my feet, dead.
My eyes stayed on her corpse as my body started trembling. Hot tears tore their way down my face and I screamed. I watched her body disintegrate into dust and as soon as she was gone, I collapsed onto my knees. The wound on my chest seemed to burn even more than before.
"I-I promised," I stammered in disbelief. "I promised her. A-and I... I just-" I stopped short, suddenly realizing that the Chimera could still be alive. Silently, I turned around- just to find myself face-to-face with the empty land where the Chimera was once fighting. 'I'm sorry Beckendorf,' I thought sadly. 'I'm so, so sorry.'
Then the exhaustion of what had just happened took over and I could feel myself slipping away. I swayed from side to side, my vision swimming. But just as the darkness was taking over, I thought I heard a small "Meow."
Then it all went black.