Riordanverse One Shots

Broken Promise (Greco-Roman)

Requested by: nobody
This is a continuation of I Promise

"We're close now! Keep running!" Grover shouted.

The other four half-bloods kept running. They were tired and had scratches all over. Their clothes were smudged and ripped. But they couldn't stop.

Suddenly, Max tripped and fell. Thalia immediately went over to him.

"Come on, Max. We're almost there. Just a little bit longer." she said as she helped pull him up.

Max nodded and the two kept running.

They were so close. They just had to run a little farther. Just a little farther and they'd be safe.

"There! We're almost at the hill!" Grover exclaimed.

His excitement didn't last long though, as a hellish roar tore through the night. The five of them glanced over their shoulders to see a horde of monsters coming towards them. The forces of Hades were not holding back anymore. And they weren't slowing down. The five of them would die if the monsters weren't stopped.

Thalia glanced at her companions. Luke was bleeding from several cuts and was exhausted, Grover was shaking with fear at seeing the monsters, Annabeth and Max were too young and frightened to do anything other than run. None of them was capable of fighting a battle on this scale.

But Thalia could. She was the daughter of Zeus. If anyone could hold off the monsters, she could. She knew what she had to do.

"Luke, Grover, go. Make sure you get Annabeth and Max over the hill. Get them to safety." she told them.

"What?"

"You guys run. I'll hold them off."

"Thalia you can't!" Luke argued.

"It's the only way." she replied.

"No!"

Thalia gasped as Max wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

Thalia sighed, kneeling down to his level and pulling him into a hug as well.

"You have to."

"No! No!" Max protested.

"Max, look at me."

Max pulled away slightly, just enough to be able to look at her in the eyes. Thalia felt her a pit in her stomach as she looked at his teary eyes.

"I need to make sure you're safe."

"What about you?"

"I'll be right behind you." she told him.

"Promise?"

She fought back her own tears and gave him the most confident smile she could.

"I promise."

She pulled him into another tight hug, before finally letting him go.

"Protect them, Luke." she said to the older son of Hermes.

"I will." he assured her.

Thalia nodded in gratitude. She then turned towards the fast approaching horde of monsters and took a deep breath. She pulled out her spear and shield and assumed a battle stance.

The first monster to reach her was a hellhound. She simply skewered it. Next came a group of undead warriors. She lifted her shield to block their volley of arrows before summoning lightning and turning them to ash.

She fought with ruthless efficiency, and at first she believed she could make it. But they just wouldn't stop coming. Monster after monster, soldier after soldier. The fighting quickly began to take a toll on her.

She wasn't sure what exactly made the first cut, but it burned like fire. More cuts and hits soon followed. Her weapons began to feel heavy in her hands. Her breathing became ragged and uneven. Her clothes were in tatters and she was bleeding from several cuts. She was exhausted.

When she saw the furies approach, that was when she realized: she wasn't going to make it. But she would not give up. She had to make sure her friends were safe. She would fight until her soul was ripped from her body.

So Thalia raised her shield and spear and locked her stormy gaze on the three furies.

"I'm sorry, Max." she muttered, before charging forward with a battle cry.

*

The next morning, there was a new tree. A pine tree, right on top of Half-Blood Hill. Exactly where Thalia drew her last breath.

Max kneeled down in front of the tree, his forehead pressed to the wood. Sobs wracked through his body as tears streamed down his face. He clutched the little black pocket knife to his chest as if it were his lifeline.

"You promised." he kept muttering over and over again.

"You promised."