𝐖𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐎𝐂! percy jackson

xxii. Death's Freedom

━━ chapter twenty-two
death's freedom

✿✼:*ﾟ:༅｡.｡༅:*･ﾟﾟ･⭑

    ━━Everything was going somewhat okay until Percy's Hero Complex came into play.

    It all started with Fiona and Percy fighting over Frank, keeping him safe as he literally burned his life away to free the God of Death. Fiona thought she fought fast, but now, she felt like a bullet. In a single heartbeat, she'd run and stab the nearest dead legionnaire she could find, and there'd be no evidence she was there except for the burst of black flame as she returned them back into the Underworld. Hazel took on the giant, mounting her strong steed, she finally looked natural holding a spatha━it was the perfect length as she swiped and stabbed, taking on the giant like he was just some First Cohort idiot in war games.

    Soon, Fiona and Percy were separated. On opposites sides of the dead army, they were wreaking havoc left and right. Fiona did the best she could, fighting like she has never fought before. She commanded those she could to fight on her side while Aclynoeus was distracted with Hazel, and in seconds, she had twenty returned souls at her back; a minute Cohort of her own that she ordered around with shouts of military formations: "Largia ad dextram━!", "━Ordinem servate━!", "━Primi fermi, secundi ad difalangiam exite; sic venias vero aequalis facis━!" She never felt more alive despite being exhausted and possibly about to die. Fiona felt that if she was going to die, she would be happy. She achieved part of her ambition. Here she was, commanding an army like a praetor━like her mother always wanted. It felt natural to her ... it felt like she was always meant to do this; to lead an army. Which was strange, but it felt the world to Fiona in charging towards the enemy with a bunch of returned souls at her back in phalanx formation.

    One the other side of the army, Percy was fighting like a whirlwind━no, she's serious, he was a whirlwind. He stood amongst a minature hurricane of water and ice vapour, churning as he waded through the enemy, knocking Roman ghosts away, deflecting arrows and spears. He definitely looked like he was the son of Poseidon, and Fiona was back to wondering: are we sure he's not a god, yet?

    Even though they had leaved Frank undefended, the enemy was completely focused on them. Fiona knew Percy's goal, as he headed straight for one of the black vapoury ghosts that wore the lion-skin cape and holding a pole with a golden eagle, icicles frozen to its wings. When he took the eagle, Fiona was quick to order her part of the army to keep in formation! This is our banner! He is protecting our banner! Protect our banner! And within moments, Percy rose amongst Roman ghosts fighting Roman ghosts with Fiona in the midst of it all. Her hair blew from the wind he controlled, but the curls in her face didn't bother her. She sent any soul who dared go against her back to the Fields of Asphodel, and hopefully forever this time, and not a prologned minute.

    If she stepped back and saw herself, Fiona might call herself scary. Here she was, commanding her own army of the dead. It wasn't the skeletons Nico rose from the ground, or the gold and earth that Hazel bended to her will, it were those who had already died━she commanded their souls, much like she was a soul of her own. And for the first time, Fiona realised why they had to hold her life so fragile━who could ever be allowed to roam around without a strong weakness with a power such as this?

    Her moves were slowly getting more and more sluggish as her powers started to worn her out. But she kept pushing on. She saw Percy overturn the chariot at the end of the Via Principalis. They had been separated again. Everytime he threw off a wave of attackers with his hurricane, the ghosts simply got up and charged again. Everytime he slashed one of them down with his sword, they immediately re-formed. He had backed himself almost as far as he could go━behind him was the side grate of the camp, and, about twenty feet beyond that, the edge of the glacier. As for Hazel, she and Alcyoneus had managed to destroy most of the barracks in their battle. Now they were fighting within the wreckage at the main gate. Arion was playing a very dangerous game of tag, charging around the giant while Alyconeus swiped at them with his staff, knocking over walls and cleaving massive chass in the ice. Only Arion's speed kept them alive.