The Darkness Is Coming

Swim Away

Percy sat at the beach, staring out at the water. His insides had been twisting since Percie's visit.

He'd heard Leo approaching, but ignored the son of Hephaestus in favor of contemplating how he could get around that cursed witch's threat.

"Hey Percy."

"Hi Leo." He said flatly. "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your girlfriend? Or with Piper?"

"Calypso's with the Demeter kids at the moment, and Piper won't see anyone." Leo sounded sad and serious, two things he never did.

"Why're you here?" Percy asked.

"Because I want to see how you are."

"I don't need sympathy."

"I'm not giving it, Jackson. I'm just here to make sure you don't do something stupid."

Percy let out a dry laugh. "Like kill someone else?"

"Yes. Specifically yourself."

That stopped him. "What do you mean?"

"It hurts, the guilt. You've probably contemplated it several times. There's no one that wants to be around you, you feel alone. It sucks because no one trusts you either. They won't listen, they'll be afraid to be alone in the same room as you. And you think you deserve it, don't you? You did it, even if you didn't have control. You just want it to end." Leo said softly.

Percy looked at his hands. The scrawny boy was right. "How did you know?"

"I felt the same way. Once in a while, it comes back, even now." Leo announced bluntly.

"Why?"

"I was eight." Now Leo was looking at his hands. "I got a visit from Dirt Face herself. She had been told I would be instrumental in her downfall and she wanted to stop it. I tried to use my fire to stop her, but it hit the shop..." He swiped at his eyes quickly. "My...my mom was inside.... Gaea locked the doors."

"Gods, Leo, that's horrible." Percy said quietly.

"I blamed myself. I thought I killed her. Still do sometimes. If I had more control, I could have stopped her. I could have pulled the flames away, gotten the door unlocked, something. Anything. But I just sat there. I was terrified."

"That's different though. You were eight. You couldn't stop it, you didn't have the power. I'm almost twenty, Leo. I could have fought her. I should have fought her."

"But you did."

Percy laughed bitterly. "How do you know?"

"You're sitting next to me, Percie-free."

"Not completely." Percy muttered.

"What?" Leo asked.

"I said 'whatever you say, Valdez.'"

"I'm serious. You fought her. You fought her and you beat her and you can do it again." Leo put his arm around Percy and the son of Poseidon flinched. "And the rest of us will help. Piper sure has a bone to pick with her."

Percy stared out at the water. "I don't know if I can fight her off this time, Leo." He knew the son of Hephaestus didn't know what he was actually talking about.

"Sure you can." Leo tried to assure him.

"She was a part of me for so long. She knows everything. And she's very, very good at combatting anything I throw at her."

"You know her too. She works just like you, there are just small differences." Leo insisted. "Like, your fatal flaw is loyalty, if she's your darkness, hers would be the exact opposite."

"So?"

"She won't be able to get any allies. She won't be able to work with them, her first thought will be how best to betray them."

Percy blinked. The train of thought actually made sense. "What about her powers?"

"What about them?" Leo asked.

"They seem to be on the colder end of the specter. Ice related. How can I combat that?"

Leo laughed. "That's easy. Bring me when you go fight her. I can bring the heat, you bring the skill, we'll take this witch down together."

Percy's heart began to flutter with hope. Could he get around Percie this way?

There was a chance.

"So if I got into a fight with her, you'd help me?"

"Yes." Leo said seriously. "I want you to remind yourself that this isn't your fault. You shouldn't feel guilty. This is Percie's fault."

Percy nodded. His mind was racing. Percie wouldn't know he told, especially if he swore Leo to secrecy.

I promised myself I would find a way around her. He reminded himself.

"Leo, I need to tell you something. And promise you won't be mad at me until I'm done explaining."

[A/N Leo's gonna be helpful!]