Chapter 1: The Price is aid
Code:
Italics: Rick Riordan work
Normal: The Story
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'Legion, cuneum formate!' Reyna yelled. 'Advance!'
Another cheer on Jason's right as Percy and Annabeth reunited with the forces of Camp Half-Blood.
'Greeks!' Percy yelled. 'Let's, um, fight stuff!'
They yelled like banshees and charged.
Jason grinned. He loved the Greeks. They had no organization whatsoever, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.
Jason was feeling good about the battle, except for two big questions: Where was Leo? And where was Gaia?
Unfortunately, he got the second answer first.
Under his feet, the earth rippled as if Half-Blood Hill had become a giant water mattress. Demigods fell. Ogres slipped. Centaurs charged face-first into the grass.
AWAKE, a voice boomed all around them.
A hundred yards away, at the crest of the next hill, the grass and soil swirled upward like the point of a massive drill. The column of earth thickened into the twenty-foot-tall figure of a woman – her dress woven from blades of grass, her skin as white as quartz, her hair brown and tangled like tree roots.
'Little fools.' Gaia the Earth Mother opened her pure green eyes. 'The paltry magic of your statue cannot contain me.'
As she said it, Jason realized why Gaia hadn't appeared until now. The Athena Parthenos had been protecting the demigods, holding back the wrath of the earth, but even Athena's might could only last so long against a primordial goddess.
Fear as palpable as a cold front washed over the demigod army.
'Stand fast!' Piper shouted, her charmspeak clear and loud. 'Greeks and Romans, we can fight her together!'
Gaia laughed. She spread her arms and the earth bent towards her – trees tilting, bedrock groaning, soil rippling in waves. Jason rose on the wind, but all around him monsters and demigods alike started to sink into the ground. One of Octavian's onagers capsized and disappeared into the side of the hill.
'The whole earth is my body,' Gaia boomed. 'How would you fight the goddess of –'
FOOOOMP!
In a flash of bronze, Gaia was swept off the hillside, snarled in the claws of a fifty-ton metal dragon.
Festus, reborn, rose into the sky on gleaming wings, spewing fire from his maw triumphantly. As he ascended, the rider on his back got smaller and more difficult to discern, but Leo's grin was unmistakable.
'Pipes! Jason!' he shouted down. 'You coming? The fight is up here!'
AS SOON AS GAIA ACHIEVED LIFTOFF, the ground solidified.
Demigods stopped sinking, though many were still buried up to their waists. Sadly, the monsters seemed to be digging themselves out more quickly. They charged the Greek and Roman ranks, taking advantage of the demigods' disorganization.
Jason put his arms around Piper's waist. He was about to take off when Percy yelled, 'Wait! Frank can fly the rest of us up there! We can all –'
'No, man,' Jason said. 'They need you here. There's still an army to defeat. Besides, the prophecy –'
'He's right.' Frank gripped Percy's arm. 'You have to let them do this, Percy. It's like Annabeth's quest in Rome. Or Hazel at the Doors of Death. This part can only be them.'
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Percy Pov:
I couldn't stand the thought of being left out, I desperately wanted to go up there with the trio. Although the prophecy said, "To storm or fire, the world must fall," I wanted to be apart of the battle against Gaia. That was all we were fighting for anyway. I could tell my dislike was showing on my face, but then I heard Annabeth calling to me,
"Hey! Problem over here!" All my resistance vanished from my mind. I couldn't let my Wise Girl down, I could never leave her. I ran to join her and started to slash at the monsters that were getting dangerously close to my girlfriend. As I was fighting, I saw Frank and Hazel salute to Jason, and run off to join the Legion. As I saw Jason take Piper up into the sky, I felt a twinge of jealousy. But that feeling was soon deterred as a hellhound pounced atop of me, teeth bared and eyes shining with malice. I gave it an equally intimidating look and slashed upwards, cutting it across its stomach. As it turned to gold dust, I raised my sword and yelled,
"We will Win!" and charged again into the fray.
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Time Skip:
Annabeth and I were still fighting the monsters, although it seemed as if the tides were turned, and the monsters were starting to corner the half-bloods. As we were fighting back to back, me slashing and dodging the attacks, more like dancing than fighting really, and Annabeth strategically piercing her bronze dagger into the weak spots of the monsters, I quickly glanced back at her, trying desperately to memorize every feature of her face. Her blond ponytail, which was now loose and messy from the constant movement, her dirt-streaked face, and her fierce stormy gray eyes, shining with determination. I looked back just in time to dodge a blow to my face from a club from a Cyclops. I quickly jumped up to match its height and decapitated it. As I landed, I concentrated and caused a minor earthquake, making sure I avoided Annabeth , which momentarily unbalanced the monsters near me. Utilizing this moment, I ran around killing as many stunned monsters as possible before they got back their bearings. But after a few more minutes. We were back in the same position again. I looked around and saw that the Greeks were slowly dwindling in numbers, and the Legion were falling back as well. Every time we killed a monster it almost immediately came back, despite us going through Tartarus to close the Doors of Death. As Annabeth and I were back to back, surrounded by a large variety of infuriated monsters, I felt her heavy breathing behind me, and her elbow digging into my ribcage. I suddenly felt a wave of hopelessness wash over me, as I stared at the simply massive amount of monsters raging about the battlefield. I didn't think we were going to make it this time. Our luck was finally out. I slightly turned my body towards Annabeth, who was still entirely focused on the battle at hand. I then whispered to her,
"If we don't make it out of this alive, know that I love you, wise girl." Annabeth glanced at me with shocked eyes and responded back angrily,
"Don't you dare talk like that Percy! We will make it out of this alive, we will win this-" She was cut off as an empousa lunged at her, and we were back in fighting mode. After a few more minutes of heavy breathing and yellow dust flying, I tried again.
"Please Annabeth, we might not make it. I want you to know that I do and will always love you, no matter what happens. Even in Elysium I will stick by you." Annabeth looked back at me with sad eyes, and then pecked me on the lips.
"Oh Seaweed Brain, you know that I will always love you no matter what. But you were always the one to stay positive for me. Although our chances are slim, you always gave all of us the courage to go against fate. Keep doing that, if not for you, then for me. Please." A tear ran down my face. I knew my chances were slim, but Wise Girl was right, as she always is. I had to be strong. I flicked the tear away, and I started slashing with a renewed vigor. Monster around us were falling left and right. I stepped again to take another swipe when-
BOOOOOMMMM
I covered my ears and looked up. I saw that the sky had turned gold, and I felt a ripple of heat go through the battlefield. I protectively wrapped my arms around Annabeth, and closed my eyes. I heard screams and roars around me. When I cracked open my eyes after a few moments, I saw most if not all the monsters disintegrated and in gold dust. I slowly unwrapped my arms around Annabeth, and saw that Jason and Piper were falling from the sky, being plucked from the sky by giant eagles, unconscious but unharmed. I felt hope rising in me. I couldn't stop myself as I saw that the fight was over, and the remaining monsters eliminated. I whispered,
"It's over.." and then a smile creeping on my face, I turned to Annabeth, and shouted louder,
"We won!" Immediately after the words came from my mouth, the earth rumbled, and the atmosphere got darker. I mentally screamed at myself, 'You jinxed it! Never say it going to be okay! Remember, you have the worst luck of any demigod ever.'
I felt something cold surround my body. Not something physical, but more.... Sticky. I felt myself start to lose my grip upon reality. My vision became blurry, and I started to feel numb. With much effort, I lifted my hand in front of my face, and could see that I was dissolving. I felt a vague sense of panic. Where was I again? What was I doing here? I saw my line of sight tilt over and I fell over onto my back. I saw a person with blond curly hair and tan skin look at me with horror, and was screaming something that I couldn't make out. She looked like a typical Californian girl. Wait, what was California? Soon all my thoughts were wiped away, as my world faded away into darkness. The last thing I heard was a feminine voice speaking, rumbling like an earthquake. It said,
"I won't let them have their victory without a price..."