obsidian black ● jason grace

saying

If the Argo II hadn't appeared right in the nick of time, Piper would have been dead.

    The giants still had them outnumbered, but with all 8 demigods combined, they were having a more difficult time trying to kill them. Piper spotted Jason, lightning coursing through his body as he held his own with the Giant King. Likewise, Percy was fighting the giant Thoon. The son of Poseidon still looked dazed, his nose was bleeding, but even then, the giant was having trouble keeping up.

    Annabeth stabbed at a giantess with her own hunting knife and led her in a deadly game of tag around the throne. Hazel rode Arion into battle, though Piper wasn't quite sure when the horse had arrived.

    Leo and Frank remained on the ship. Leo was taunting Enceladus with his weaponry and Frank was firing arrows at anything that moved.

    Piper tried hard to remember Daria's warning. Gaea must already know that they were there, always one step ahead of them, and if she could read their minds, Piper wasn't going to give her any more of an advantage.

    Speaking of the girl, she was a whirlwind of motion. Piper had ADHD but even she found it hard to keep up. The Earthborn and Karkopes didn't stand a chance. Piper bit back her surprise, they might actually win.

    But she had spoken too soon. Frank ran out of arrows. He changed into a rhinoceros and leaped into battle, but as fast as he could knock down the giants they got up again. Their wounds seemed to be healing faster.

Annabeth lost ground against Periboia. Hazel was knocked out of her saddle at sixty miles an hour. Jason summoned another lightning strike, but this time Porphyrion simply deflected it off the tip of his spear. The giants were bigger, stronger and more numerous. They couldn't be killed without the help of the gods. And they didn't seem to be tiring.

Another volley of Earthborn rocks hit the Argo II. This time Leo couldn't return fire fast enough. The ship shuddered and tilted in the sky. Then Enceladus threw his fiery spear. It pierced the ship's hull and exploded inside, sending spouts of fire through the oar openings. The Argo II began to sink.

"Leo!" Jason cried.

The six of them formed a defensive ring. Daria still fought, but she was on the other side of the arena, a herd of giants stood in her way as she attempted to get back to them.

"Too late you realize," Porphyrion's voice boomed. "Gaea knows all. You can never defeat us."

Piper's heart sank. She shared a glance with Annabeth, whose face was covered in dirt and blood, Daria was right. They couldn't win when they couldn't get ahead. She looked around at their crew. Too late she realized.

Percy's nose was still bleeding. A single drop of blood fell from his chin. It hit the ground between his feet and sizzled like water on a frying pan.

Gaea was awake.

Just then, before Piper could take anything else in, the heavens opened. That was all Piper remembered, and maybe it was for the best, but the Gods descended. Ares made a whooping noise.

"Let's kill some giants!" He yelled, and the rest was battle.

Finally, the giants could die. Though, Piper's own mother wasn't much help. As she fenced with  the giantess Periboia, the goddess floated around, blissfully speaking words of encouragement. She strewed white petals in the giantess's eyes, which was more amusing than helpful.

At one point, Periboia stumbled. Piper got a glimpse of her surroundings. Jason was fighting alongside his father; Piper couldn't see past the storm clouds and lightning bolts, but she figured that meant they were winning. Annabeth fought with her mother, Athena, the two were definitely of the same breed, which was to say, extremely powerful.