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She’d had barely a minute to breathe. Ever since Tartarus, she’d found her lungs struggling more than they ever ought to, and her fights had her losing too much energy too soon. But this was the end now, either way about it. They had reached the acropolis, and regardless of the outcome, she could reasonably hope that they wouldn’t have to fight for much longer.
Either because they had won and ideally there would be no more enemies left to fight, or because they were dead.
But now the tide was turning against them, and the giants were beginning to fight back.
Porphyrion had backhanded her boyfriend into a column, and she knew the crunch would be haunting her dreams for years, if she survived today.
Annabeth didn’t want to look over, but she made herself do it. He was already trying to stand, but from the unbalanced way he kept trying to grab the stone and haul himself up, well, she would bet good money he had a concussion now. She’d thought she’d run through any ability to fear by this point, maxed out the counter or something, but she was still scared for him.
Breathe, Chase she told herself. Percy couldn’t defend himself now, but if she started crying, she wouldn’t be able to defend herself, or him.
She tried not looking at the way her blood bubbled gold on the earth when it hit the ground, but with each step she felt more and more sluggish.
She tried to catch Piper’s eye but all the giants had focused in on her, a dozen or so blades right at her friend’s chest.
Annabeth had grabbed Periboia’s hunting knife, but unless she got magically healed, or shot full of adrenaline right now, even more than she already had, she wasn’t fighting any time soon.
But she wasn’t about to let Piper die standing alone.
The wound Periboia had left on the back of her leg had to be ignored. She’d already bled into the earth, it didn’t matter now. If any of the boys bled, Percy, Frank, Jason (Leo was probably safe considering he was still yelling insults from the Argo II, coupled with aerial strikes), that would be an issue.
They’d unbalanced the giants for the time being, and even though she still felt like she could collapse and fall apart into her individual atoms at any second, Percy was perking up.
He kept wiping at his nose but if it was bleeding, she couldn’t see any blood coming from it. There was a vague shimmer on the back of his hand that glinted when he raised Riptide again to slam it into the next closest giant, but she had to start fighting again, and there was no time in battle to stare at your boyfriend, no matter how many movies, that Percy had shown her, had lied to her.
When she got closer though, he was bleeding, right down from his nose, but she couldn’t compute why it didn’t connect in her brain. The blood of Olympus , the blood of two demigods, male and female. Red blood like hers should be hitting the ground from his face, watering the ancient stones , but it wasn’t doing anything.
Gaia wasn’t waking.
Because the blood that was hitting the ground of the acropolis, the ancient earth of Athens wasn’t the blood of a demigod.
It was ichor .
“Hold on,” he muttered, even though she was still feet from him, she could hear him as clearly as if he’d been standing next to her and speaking right into her ear. “What the fuck?”
Then the sky exploded, and all the gods fell out.
“There is one more matter to address,” said Zeus, looking incredibly displeased after having his son call him unwise in front of all his fellow Olympians. Most of them, since Apollo had disappeared in that shimmer of light. Personally, Annabeth had always liked Jason, after she’d gotten over not finding Percy at the Grand Canyon, but now she admired him for that. “Perseus Jackson. Last year you,” his face twisted, and if Annabeth hadn’t been slightly only holding onto consciousness, and sheer relief that the worst hadn’t happened, Gaea hadn’t awoken, and her army was destroyed.
Although they should really get out of the special Gaea-wake-up-zone before any of the others got like a papercut or something.
“-turned down our generous offer,” the king of the gods continued. “And chose to make your wish that other matter.”
Percy tensed next to her but, either from general self-preservation (50/50) or shock over his blood being fucking gold, and everything that came with it (90/10), kept quiet.
She tried not to glare at Hera, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. Some of it came off on her fingers, staining them gold. He didn’t squeeze back, but his fingers tensed, she could feel the muscle underneath her hands shifting ever so slightly, like
“But now, it seems the Fates have deemed otherwise on your choice.”
“When I said I didn’t want to peak in Sophmore Year,” Percy whispered, “I didn’t mean I wanted to do it in Junior Year instead.”
“Shh,” she wasn’t sure how good godly hearing was, but she wasn’t about to risk it.
She glanced around, looking at the other Olympians. Artemis looked utterly at sea after what had just happened to her twin, Dionysus looked annoyed, Ares seemed like he couldn’t decide on whether to be furious about this turn or event or… happy but in a horrible sadistic way. Her mother already had a million ideas going on behind her cold grey eyes. Poseidon looked overjoyed, which she supposed made sense. He’d just gotten something he’d clearly wanted, even if literally no one else had.
The Fates, the middle one holding Thoon’s cleaver, held out a thread, sea green, twisting up with dark green and black before the threads and fibres all changed, as if in a snap. “It happened right before you bled,” said Clotho, holding a now completely golden spool. “It was necessary. And well-deserved.”
It was said that she was the youngest Fate, but Annabeth had a hard time believing it. They all looked as if they’d be labelled any day now in any other situation, backs stooped from millennia of spinning, weaving, and cutting. Starting and ending lives. Birthing and killing.
Except this one time. Except for Percy.
And all the other gods, but she hardly cared for them.
“Well,” Zeus seemingly clicked his tongue at the bottom of his mouth, a gesture so human , she wanted to throw up seeing him do that. Or was that the excessive blood loss and injuries? “We will see you again, Perseus Jackson. More times than I would have ever wanted, but apparently it wasn’t up to me,” he said, sotto voce, even though everyone clearly could still hear him.
Atropos glared at him and he changed tone, “As for Gaea,” everyone looked down at the earth, but it didn’t rumble. “She is not… quietened. But she is broken. For the time being, at least. It will take centuries for her to rise again, if not millennia. Time will tell. It might have been preferable if she had risen, only to be defeated once and for all, but we will take what has been given.
She kept her eyes on Percy as they clambered back onto the Argo II for the last time, barely blinking in case he disappeared in front of her.
She had to shut her eyes as they were hurled over sea and ocean, thousands of miles to the Long Island Sound. To home.
And she barely cared that the prophecy hadn’t yet been fulfilled. Because Percy was here with her, and they were safe. They could figure the rest out later.