𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐅𝐀𝐋𝐋

꧁𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐂𝐘 𝐜𝐡𝟓𝟏꧂

Percy

I'd almost forgotten what it was like having the curse of Achilles. Power and energy tingled on my fingertips, strength coursing through my veins. I could feel everything, see Tartarus' lungs, watch it breathe in the toxic air. The small of my back was an open target. It felt like it was being pricked by a needle.

_________

I crashed into the black waters, and blacked out within the second.

I woke up. I wasn't drowning. I was crumbling away. My hand was ever so slowly turning to dust before my eyes. Everything was numb, far away.
"Seaweed Brain."
"Huh?" I said, my voice muffled, black bubbles escaping my mouth under the water. I turned
to see Annabeth. She wore her hair in a golden slick back, curls draping in small pieces down the front. Her denim shorts were short and ripped, mostly obscured by her over-sized camp half blood t-shirt. Her old dagger was strapped to her belt, and she put a hand on her hip.
"You're always sleeping. Honestly, you're turning into Nico. The dude could fit in with Clovis any day."
"Annabeth! What are you doing here!?"
"Talking to you, dummy. You need to hurry up, you're dying, and we can't have that."
"How are you here?"
"Really? You're supposed to be dumb, but you're not actually dumb, but you sure are acting dumb right now."
"Huh? Annabeth where are we?"
"In the river Styx," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Wait. What-"
"I'm a figment of your imagination, seaweed brain. This is all in your head," she said, rolling her eyes again. "Real me is up there fighting for her life."
I cursed. I went to swim up to the surface, but I couldn't move. My legs had begun to crumble away too. The river wouldn't obey my commands, either.
"I need to help her!" I cried.
"Yup. And how are you going to do that? What did you do last time you were in this river, upstairs?"
"Upstairs?"
"The underworld."
Ok, so fake Annabeth is all friendly with the Tartarus slang. Whatever, I'll roll with it.
"I got the curse of Achilles with Nico."
"Bingo!" she said, snapping her fingers. "So how you gonna do that?"
"The rope. Imagine a spot."

Half my legs were nothing but dust. My thighs were beginning to fade too, and it was getting harder and harder to retain consciousness.

"The... small of my back again. It worked last time."
"Okay. So the rope."

After a while of concentration, a golden rope appeared, going all the way to the surface.

I gripped onto it, and began to pull myself forward. One arm after the other, I got slowly closer to the surface, the small of my back suddenly burning even more than the pain all over the rest of my body.

My legs were gone, and my torso was beginning to dissipate into dust too. I began to scream, making the final push. For a second, it felt like I wasn't going to make it. My body was too heavy, too much pain. My grip loosened.

Reality was like a heartbeat on the other side of Tartarus. It was throbbing, but getting duller and further away. Fake Annabeth was nowhere to be seen.

Something crashed into the water beside me. It was a long white point, with a simple hilt, looking ghostly in the river. Annabeth's sword. Annabeth needed help.

I grabbed it and pulled harder, before finally propelling myself out of the water.

I flew out of the river, body solidifying and glowing, invincibility armouring me with sudden strength and power. Styx water flew in all directions. I saw Annabeth's bloodied, battered form on the ground. Fury erupted but I pushed it down, running to her side.