Life of a Young Demigod: Book 3 (Percy Jackson reader-insert)

One Cannot Gain Without Loss

Having a dance with Andromeda was nice. That is until we noticed Grover panicking. I saw him first and dragged a confused Andromeda over to him.

"What..."

"He took them."

My eyes went wide.

"Where?"

"Out back. Percy already ran after them."

I cursed under my breath. Of course he did.

"Alright. Get Thalia and Annabeth. We need to go after them. Me and 'Meda will go ahead."

With that, me and Andromeda rushed out the back door to the gym and into the cold night air. The snow behind the building was deep, but thankfully that had posed a problem to Thorn and the di Angelos and they had formed a path that we (and hopefully Percy) could follow. Sure enough, I heard a loud clang of something striking metal in the near distance, hopefully meaning that Percy and the di Angelos were still fighting back. I motioned for Andromeda to make her way into the trees as I rushed towards them. As I made my way into a cliffside clearing, I saw Percy and the di Angelos hiding behind the shield Percy had been given by Tyson, which looked like it was about to shatter. Thorn had revealed his true form: a manticore, and was seemingly preparing to launch another volley of poisonous stingers, his tail raised in a threatening posture. Just as he released yet another volley, I raised a shield between him and Percy, slowly advancing towards him.

"BACK TO ME! NOW! I CANT HOLD MANY MORE!"

Percy dragged the di Angelos my way, Thorn scowling at me as he fired volley after volley my way. My shield was weakening, and a few were starting to get through. I couldn't hold it for much longer. Nico stared at me with wonder in his eyes as I struggled to hold the shield solid. I had pulled it back towards me and made it smaller, trying to concentrate my magic to hold it longer.

"How are you doing that?"

I struggled to smile at him in response, not really able to form words. Thankfully, Andromeda came to my rescue, firing a blinding explosive arrow at Thorn that threw his aim off for a moment, giving me a second to rest. Before I could do much, though, Thalia rushed out of the bushes, screaming with her shield and spear raised. She made an attempt to stab at Thorn, but he knocked her back with a sweep of his legs, sending her tumbling into a nearby tree. Annabeth, for her part, jumped on his back, trying to find a weak spot in his thick hide. I rushed towards him, summoning Moonlight and preparing to slice his head clean off, but just as I got within reach, a helicopter emerged from below the cliff. Before I could so much as react, a hail of bullets came from a machine gun mounted inside it, seemingly manned by... a mortal? I tried to throw up a shield between it and myself as I leapt back, but I was still exhausted from my earlier attempts. I got back fine enough, but one of the bullets smashed through my shield and caught me in the right shoulder, sending me crumbling to the ground in pain.

Thorn roared with the voice of a thousand men. "FOOLS! YOU KNOW NOT WHO YOU OPPOSE!"

He glared towards the di Angelos, seemingly contemplating his options, but just as he made a step towards us, a horn sounded from the forest, and a dozen young girls emerged, sending a hailstorm of arrows toward Thorn. He spun around, and it was only then that I noticed that he had Annabeth wrapped up tight in his tail.

"BAH! SHE WILL HAVE TO DO! THE GENERAL WILL BE MOST DISPLEASED!"

With that, he leapt off the cliff. Percy's eyes went wide. "NO! ANNABETH!"

He made towards the cliff, but the hail of bullets from the helicopter started up once more, and Thalia held him back, probably saving his life. A girl, young, but different from the others, emerged from the group of white clad huntresses.