Percy's POV

I was disoriented. I could hear the sounds of the battle around me, but each clang of a sword sent a ringing through my head and every gunshot was like taking a bullet. I watched Annabeth through bleary eyes, how her golden eyes flashed dangerously and her drakon bone sword swinging loosely in her hand. Riptide would be back in my pocket by now, and she knew that. We were far from any sources of water and I was way too drained to use my powers.

That hilt to the head had not done me good. As I stood, I swayed on my feet as if I was drunk. I lurched to my left and nearly impaled myself on the spear of a dracaena. The ranks that surrounded me burst into horrendous peals of laughter and my vision went fuzzy as the noise blasted through my ears.

"Get the kid a water!" Annabeth barked. Annabeth seemed to want to defeat me fair and square. It gave me hope that she was still fighting against Kronos, just as Luke had. A pail of ice water was dunked on my head and suddenly, I was alright. I straightened myself out and uncapped Riptide. Nervousness rippled through our audience and a crash sent many of them sprawling. Leo had launched a rock into the mass of monsters and was proceeding to launch more everywhere else.

"Leo, be careful!" I heard Piper scream.

Crash!

"Chillax, Beauty Queen!" He yelled back.

Crash!

Crash!

Crash!

"Watch it!" I heard Clarisse bellow as one landed dangerously close to where she was fighting an enemy demigod.

Crash!

"VALDEZ!"

Annabeth cocked her head in Leo's direction. "Deal with him," she ordered, "I've got Jackson." A large squad of monsters broke free of the mob and charged toward the son of Hephaestus, who yelped and ran off, supposedly to get reinforcements or just avoid another death.

Thunder boomed overhead. The storm was dangerously close now. I saw Zeus unconscious on the ground. Someone needed to get him to safety, but everyone was occupied. I would have to finish this battle quickly.

"Bring it on, Chase. Just because I've never beat you doesn't mean I can't," I taunted her, hoping to start the battle before Zeus was killed. "Such bravado. How misled can your Seaweed-filled Brain get? I hope you enjoy the Underworld, Perseus Jackson." Half way through her sentence, she had swung toward me, but I was expecting it.

I tapped my watch and my shield spun into shape. Her sword clanged against my shield with so much force it left a dent. "Aw, man!" I cried, "Tyson's gonna need to repair it again." Annabeth didn't wait for me to stop complaining. Her sword was a blur, going in for quick slices against my arms and trying to rip through my armor.

I could barely get Riptide around fast enough to block all of the attacks. I backed away, sweat pouring down my face and stinging the wounds that Annabeth had given me. The titan/daughter of Athena only had one scrape, and not even on her flesh. There was a gouge carved diagonally across her chestplate that only seemed to make her more menacing, as if her maniacal grin and sharp golden eyes weren't enough.

I saw Leo running back out of the corner of my eye and suddenly, a drop of water hit my arm. I had no time to keep worrying about him as Annabeth's sword whipped toward my face. My shield came up and protected me, but could not take the massive power of the blow. It crumpled inward on my arm and I was sent sprawling.
My arm was a bloody mess and the bone was probably fractured. That was how much power Kronos had, especially inhabiting Annabeth. She started toward me, and it started to pour. Zeus was still out there. I needed to get up. I needed to save him.

But I couldn't. The water wasn't giving me strength like it used to. I was too defeated for that. The blood was washing away and my wounds were closing, but I couldn't draw power from the falling rain. Annabeth raised her sword for the final blow, and I closed my eyes in anticipation. It never came.

I opened my eyes and saw that her eyes were a swirling metallic gold and grey mess. "What?" she growled in Kronos's voice, "Kill the boy!" It settled on gray and Annabeth gasped out at the sight of me. "Percy?"

"I've got you, Aquaman!" Leo had shot a grappling hook around a branch of Thalia's Pine and was swinging in like Tarzan. There was a translucent net flying behind him like a parachute, but that didn't slow him down. He landed on the ground in front of me and I watched as the net followed him and caught around Annabeth, suddenly dissolving into her skin.

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and suddenly I had energy again. I slid under her like a baseball player to a base and caught her with my good arm before she hit the ground. I felt for her pulse and found it, slow and steady, but still strong. She was alive. Unconscious, but alive. And for now, that was enough.

I handed her to Leo, who was eyeing my bloody arm with concern. "Take her in," I told him, "I need to go help Zeus." The opposing army had fallen back as the storm raged on, more powerful than before. Rain was falling diagonally in sheets as the wind picked up, blasting hair into my face and plastering it there. I had no time to will myself dry as I looked for Zeus. Suddenly, I found him. Burns littered his entire body and he was almost unrecognizable. I hauled him over my shoulder and willed us dry as I hightailed it back to one of the cabins. I entered the closest one, the Zeus cabin, and found Piper, Leo, and the Electroclan already there. Annabeth was lying down, still unconscious, and surprisingly, Jason was lying on a bed, his eyes closed and his shirt ripped.

"What's up with Jason?" I asked no one in particular. Piper looked up at me, her eyes bloodshot and teary, for only a second before returning to Jason, but I got the message.

And I didn't like what I was hearing.

Piper's POV

I saw Percy fighting Annabeth, and it killed me that I couldn't help him. Many of the monsters that once surrounded them had dispersed to oppose the main defense, and every extra warrior made it harder for us to keep them away from Camp Half Blood.

The Demeter, Nike, and Hera cabins had been blown to smithereens by those who had gotten past us. Demolishing our safe haven wasn't their ultimate goal, but every time a building went up in flames, it ate away at our courage and morale.

I had to yell at Leo to stop chucking rocks everywhere, and he didn't listen until Annabeth dispatched monsters to kill him and Clarisse yelled some very angry words that no one should have heard. A plane crashed down on soldiers and demigods alike, and I saw the solemn face of Jake Mason disappear under the now-useless hunk of metal. I didn't know him all that well, but he was Leo's brother. He had helped us build the Argo II. Without his expertise, Gaea would have risen. And now he was gone. We wouldn't let him die in vain.

The storm was just on the horizon, and the winds were already picking up, though I didn't know if that was Jason or the storm. He was struggling to stay in the air at this point. They had destroyed the majority of the aerial fleet, and the harpies and arai that plagued the air weren't make it any easier on them. Frank's dragon form was wreaking havoc on anything that dared go near the duo in the air.

A yell was let out as the last fighter jet started shooting at the ground with no regard for who was on which side. A mighty roar from Frank shook the ground and I looked up, my vision restricted by the bright glare of the sun. Frank landed with Quentin and Jason in one of its giant hands. Seemingly too gentle for such a fearsome beast, he set them on the ground and flew off again to where the air borne monsters were still attacking.

I knelt next to them. Quentin rolled away, gasping. "The last jet is gone, but it got Jason." There was a spreading pool of blood surrounding him. I didn't mean to, but I started to tear up. I tried to staunch the blood flow, but Jason stopped me. "There's no saving me this time, Pipes," he coughed, blood spraying in the air. "Stupid bullet ripped right through my stomach. Just listen for the last minute I have left."

"I love you, Piper," he whispered, "I always have. I didn't show it very well, but I do. And I betrayed Percy Jackson." My eyes widened. "No," I tried to reassure him, "Braydon charmspoke you." Jason let out a painful laugh that left him choking.

"Piper," he said, electric blue eyes staring at me, "I've been with you long enough to be able to at least defend against it. He's a wimp compared to you. I guess..." he faltered for only a second to gather his thoughts. "I've always been jealous of Percy. He's a hero. He's a leader. He's had the worst life, but still managed to be the better person. Maybe I wanted to go against him. And he still dealt with it." Tears slipped down my cheeks as he continued.

"What finally got me was when you freaked out after he disappeared," Jason admitted, "Like you would abandon me for him in a heartbeat. Actually, tons of people probably would. I'm the sky." I got the line of the prophecy now. The sky will fall. Jason was the son of Zeus who could fly. He represented the sky. "You knew," I said tearfully, "You knew that you wouldn't make it out of this battle. But here you are, fighting bullets with in the air."

Jason nodded. "I love you, Piper," he repeated before he went still. I closed his eyes for him and got Quentin to help me get him back to the Zeus cabin. His shirt was ripped to shreds and it was so weird to see him this way. Strangely peaceful, his lips no longer quirked into that smile that curled the scar on his upper lip.

I sat beside him for awhile, knowing that I would have to get back to the battle soon. The troops needed me. And Percy was still battling Annabeth. I knew that Leo could probably help him, but who knew how much damage she would deal on Percy physically and emotionally before he could help.

I got up with one last look at Jason before I left.

Demigods were still fighting for their lives, their ADHD keeping them aware of the duos and trios of monsters that were trying to take their lives. When I saw Zeus fall unconscious and Torstyn try to defend him, I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't care if I didn't make it back alive, but I knew that Percy and Leo probably would. I didn't care how much I scared anyone on either side. I let my instincts take over and a feral scream ripped from my mouth.

No one would stop me.

Percy's POV

Zeus was gone. The burns had been too much for him. The Electroclan was too sad to do much more than stare off into space, but I couldn't really blame them. Jason was gone. Piper, Leo, Hazel, and Frank helped each other grieve. Annabeth was here, but we had no idea if Leo's net had even worked.

As we watched the blondes, not sure what to do while the everlasting storm had us confined in the Zeus cabin, Both sides of this war had been forced into submission, and we had already taken on everything Hatch had thrown at us. In that wave, of course. We all knew that Hatch still had fleets of airplanes, hordes of monsters, and legions of soldiers. Though no one said it out loud, we all knew it, and it did nothing to lift our spirits.

<*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*>

Two days had passed and the storm had not let up. It was pouring just as hard as it had at the start of the war. Nico had shadow travelled the bodies into the infirmary so they could receive shrouds and a proper hero's burial. No one questioned giving Zeus a shroud. He had died a hero's death, and he deserved the best we could give him. In fact, Tara, Nichelle, and Tessa wanted to make it themselves. Neither of them had any family left besides their friends. Well, Jason had Thalia. Speaking of Thalia, Nico had told me she was a wreck.

Who wouldn't be, if they had went through what Thalia had? She thought that she'd lost Jason thirteen years ago, and only met him again little over a year and a half ago. They hadn't had much sibling bonding time considering the quests that had separated them by thousands of miles. The last time she had lost her little brother, she had run away from home. I didn't want to imagine what she would do this time.

<*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*>

Another day had passed. Annabeth had shown no signs of improving. We were living in the Zeus cabin out of Piper's cornucopia. A lot of the time, it was just me and Piper watching over her silently. The others gave us space. We were the ones closest to her, but no one knew her as well as I did. She had forced her way out of the control of the Titan Lord in time to stop him from killing me. She was strong even in submission.

I had started to worry for her. We had been forcing food into her system. We had tried to wake her up, but she had shown no response to anything. Not when we gave her food. Not when we gave her ambrosia or nectar. Not when we waved smelling salts under her nose. Definitely not when Leo tickled the bottoms of her feet.

I held Annabeth's hand and hadn't let go for three days. Her hand was limp and cold in mine, but it gave me hope to feel her pulse and stay connected to her.

All at once, her grip tightened, fierce and unbridled until I couldn't feel my hand anymore. Her face became stressed and she started to writhe as if in pain. Sweat started to pour down her face. It was a terrifying sight and I couldn't do anything to help her. Something was hurting her and I couldn't stop it. I did nothing to try to untangle my hand from hers. I let her squeeze it, and I even squeezed back in an attempt to ground her.

It was unusual, because Piper, who was holding her other hand, was not getting the life strangled out of her hand. Annabeth's other hand was limp and Piper let go when Annabeth turned toward me. She was on her side, discomfort still clear on her face. A strangled scream escaped her lips, drowning out the sound of pounding rain and whistling rain. Everyone else clamped their hands over the ears, but I made no move to even block the sound. I sat their, staring at her. I drew her into my arms, gazing down at her face.

Her eyes snapped open.