The Remembrance of Chaos (PJO)

Chapter 18

A/N-Hope you are liking the story. Just as a heads up, this is the last chapter where Percy and Artemis fight.

Normally, in a sword fight, the person who has the high ground usually has the advantage.

Even more so, when said person is in a blade lock with a person on the ground.

But when you add godly weapons, everything changes.

More specifically, the person without the godly weapon would most likely be dead meat in a matter of seconds.

And that's how Artemis easily pushed aside Percy's sword and got up.

Percy backed off uneasily, unsure how to proceed. He kept the blade in front of him though, in case Artemis tried to charge at him. "You unlocked an ability, can I go to sleep now?" 

Artemis devilishly smiled at him. "I sad at least one. Plus, I want to try these out. These daggers feel awesome!" She flipped one into the air, catching it by the hilt again in childish excitement.

"This is totally unfair," Percy pointed out, not liking the twinkle in her eye. A six-year-old girl would have that twinkle when getting a doll on her birthday. Artemis was that excited, but only for a bloodier present. "First of all, you have two daggers. Second of all they're your godly weapons. How on Earth am I supposed to . . . argh!"

Artemis suddenly dashed at him, eager to try out her knifes. 

Percy, in his surprise, barely misdirected one from hitting his thigh. The other knife, Artemis had tried something new; she had aimed it in such a way that the hilt would bash into Percy skull. While his sword was busy, he simply blocked the wooden hilt from giving him a concussion with his hand, shoving Artemis backward and disengaging.

"At least use one knife . . . shoot!" Percy scrambled to defend himself as Artemis charged again, paying no heed to his words.

It was way harder to defend against two blades, and Artemis was using them only in a way somebody could after millennia of practice: dangerously, confidently, decisively—she made no mistakes, except for the occasional one that could be blamed on her memory loss. Percy did not know how he even blocked the first strike.

This time however, Artemis came with both blades leading; Percy had no chance.

The only way he could dodge was to duck and step forward. Unfortunately, this led to him being only a step from Artemis. Ergo, he was trapped, while her blades could easily reach him, but his sword was too long.

The daggers came at him in slow motion: one at his neck, and one at his heart—both killing blows. Even if he could dodge, it would be in a compromising position where Artemis could easily incapacitate him by kicking him.

While he was certain that he was on the path of reforming, his subconscious was not. As if on instinct, Percy put his hand out in desperation, as if the flesh would block the daggers.

But what happened surprised Percy so much, he thought he was hallucinating. 

Water magical condensed from the air, creating a big blob of liquid water, hovering in the air, which miraculously did not listen to gravity. It then went in between Percy and Artemis, and solidified, making a water shield which then deflected both of Artemis' strikes, then disappeared back into vapor.

The only reason Percy knew he was controlling it, was because he was running out of energy fast. It had drained him of three-fourths of his energy, and he could barely stand. 

Still, his adrenaline helped him jump back and get ready for the next round, while on the inside, he was squealing like a little girl.

"See? This is awesome!" Artemis exclaimed. "We both got an ability!"

"That's nice and all," Percy said, trying hard not to smile at his newfound ability, while also disguising his exhaustion. "But can I get some sleep . . . stop doing that!"

Like all kids, it seemed as though Artemis had lost her patience. She dashed forward, swinging one of her daggers at Percy's head, while another at his abdomen.

Percy barely deflected the one aimed at his head and dodged the other one by jumping back. Unfortunately, he was too slow, and time slowed down as the dagger cut through his skin. It wasn't a fatal cut, but it was still enough that it hurt, and it would slow him down until he healed.

Percy retreated far back, his full body on high alert. Even his subconscious parts now knew that it wasn't a practice fight. Adrenaline was coursing through his body, and his heart was pumping as fast as it could.

From what he knew, injuries on immortals would stop bleeding, and start healing after a few dozen seconds. But it had been at least a minute, and the only thing that had changed was the pain; his sudden movement had opened up the cut even more. 

Percy then had a thought that worried him; did Artemis' blades prevent him from healing.

His shirt had fully stained with blood, and each movement sent pain coursing throughout his body. Without any hope to heal, he would be severely hindered in his movement speed.

Artemis was almost in attacking range. "Isn't this awesome?" Artemis said while laughing.

"No!" Percy exclaimed. "I can't even heal!"

"Exactly!" Artemis exclaimed. "It's awesome!"

Percy lifted his sword back up, and watched her approach warily. Her skill with the sword was already too much, but with her daggers . . . he couldn't imagine anybody beating her. 

Percy didn't have anymore time to think, since Artemis dashed at him again. this time, his instincts, adrenaline, and pure luck worked together to save him. 

The time passed by in a blur, with Percy always barely managing to block Artemis from mauling him. His body was on full autopilot; he was only focused on the fight.

Meanwhile, Artemis was like a tornado; destructive, fast, and agile. Percy couldn't even get. a swing in; one second she was in front of him, delivering lightning-fast slashes, and the next second she was in a different place, trying to stab him.

To be honest, Percy was surprised he was lasting this long; he thought he would be dead a long while ago.

But now, he was feeling the affects of blood loss; the near-fatal wound had turned fatal in a matter of time. He was running out of time. His breathing was slowing down, and his legs felt like lead. It was getting harder and harder to block Artemis' hammering strikes.

In one moment, everything unfolded.

Percy exhaustion took dove, making him stumble forward, right into Artemis' waiting blades. 

Percy watched in horror as one slid into his heart, and one slid into his stomach. His vision was slowly turning black, and he knew he was going to start reforming.

But just then, his competitive side took over. If Artemis had her blades stuck inside of him, and they were daggers . . .

That meant she was in striking distance.

With the last of his strength, Percy kept standing, and stabbed his blade at Artemis.

She saw it coming and tried to dodge it—even taking her hands of her knives, but she was too slow. It seemed that in a fraction of a second his sword was buried in her heart too.

Artemis smiled weakly at him. "Nice game huh?" 

Percy barely managed to nod, saying one last thing before falling onto the ground in a sliver pool.

"See you on the other side."