Ghosts - A Percabeth Story

Fall. . .

Kill Annabeth Chase.

Those three words rung in Percy's ears as Dozer pulled away from him. He was going to die if he didn't do as Dozer ordered. He opened his mouth, but no words came. Riptide felt heavy in his ghostly hand.

"So, Jackson. What's it gonna be?" Dozer snarled.

Percy was about to respond when a shrill cry filled the air and the monsters behind Percy howled. He whipped around and Dozer raised his head.

"Move aside, bitches!" 

Percy recognized that voice. Then he spotted her as a ghoul fell before him. Her blond hair was streaked with red and golden ichor, and she held a large machine that looked like a huge gun. Other monsters quickly filled in to obscure his view of her. There were too many.

"Annabeth?" Percy croaked, his ghost heart sinking like a lead weight in his chest.

"This is your chance," Dozer breathed into his ear. "Prove you are worthy."

Percy moved forward, raising Riptide as he walked. He should just turn around and slice Dozer, but what then? He was outnumbered, and he knew what Dozer and his friends were capable of.

Annabeth looked up, wisps of her hair falling into her face as she met his gaze. Her could see her lips move, shaping his name, but he couldn't hear anything over the sounds of battle. He felt Dozer's breath on his neck, but he didn't dare turn around to check if it was real or just his paranoia.

The monsters seemed to back away from her, forming a ring around the two of them. Annabeth turned to face Percy again, looking confused. Tears pricked Percy's eyes, and he could hear Dozer whisper "do it" into his ear. 

He gave Annabeth a gaze he hoped she could understand but Dozer couldn't, then raised Riptide and charged her.

Her expression changed and as she raised her weapon she screamed in horror, "Percy!"

Then so many things happened at once. 

The monsters around them exploded into a shower of golden ichor and blue-green fire, and Percy dropped Riptide, shielding Annabeth from the sparks of Greek fire with his translucent form. The fire scorched his back and his sharp inhale whistled between his teeth. 

"Hell yeah, baby! Burn in the Underworld!" Percy could hear someone yell over the monsters' wails. Then Leo burst through the burning ghouls, wielding a large metal contraption. He let out a whoop and fired the machine, launching a ball of Greek fire into a mob of monsters, then taking off after another group of ghoulies. A mob of demigods swarmed after Leo, hacking at monsters.

"YOU!" Percy heard Dozer howl, causing him to whip his head around. 

Skeletons were dueling with the doglike creatures shredding the Athena Partheon and Thalia's Pine. A group of skeletons ran around the base of Thalia's Pine, waving the Golden Fleece out of the reach of the mob of dog-creatures chasing after them.

Nico stood amid a hoard of bone-chucking skeletons, his Stygian iron sword clenched in his fist while his other hand's fingers were splayed, hovering over a hole in the ground from which skeletons crawled out of to join the battle. 

"Yeah, dog-breath, it's me!" Nico shouted back, his voice wavering. Still exhausted. He looked past Dozer to Percy, who he locked eyes with.

Get over here, you piece of shit. Echoed in Percy's mind, and he jumped. It's me, Nico. And yeah, I can telepathically speak to ghosts, and yeah, I didn't know about it until I started looking for you in the Underworld. Now hurry your ass up or--

"I'll make you wish you'd never been born!" Dozer barked and lunged towards Nico, batting skeleton warriors aside with a swipe of his giant hand-paws.

Percy took off at a sprint, leaving Annabeth to fight a few of the doglike creatures. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his ballpoint pen, which he uncapped into Riptide. 

Dozer was growing closer and closer to Nico, but Percy put on a burst of speed and launched himself off the ground, soaring through the air until he landed on Dozer's upper back and clambered up onto his shoulder. He slashed downward with Riptide, only to have his sword ricochet off Dozer's cloak and fly out of his hand. Oh crap. . .

Dozer lunged for Nico, his hand-paw swiping for Nico. 

"Jackson!" Nico brought his arm back and swung it forward, his Stygian iron sword flying out of his fist and arcing into the air. 

Percy dove to the right and caught it, almost sliding off of Dozer's shoulder as Dozer grabbed Nico, curling him into his fist. 

Percy raised Nico's sword and made to try to cut into the cloak again, but changed his aim when he saw that Dozer's hood had fallen, exposing a portion of his partially rotten neck. He swung with all his might as Dozer raised his closed fist in the air in triumph. 

The Stygian iron sword cut through Dozer's neck without any resistance, and his head toppled to the ground, the expression of rage and satisfaction frozen on his contorted dog/zombie/humanoid face. His body began to fall, and Percy lept as far as he could away from where it would land.

The thud of Dozer's body shook the ground, and all the demigods and monsters paused mid-fight, turning to see what had caused the sound and miniature earthquake. A hush fell over Halfblood Hill, all of the demigods and monsters staring at Dozer's bloodied body and Percy's ghost who stood over it with the red-streaked Stygian iron sword hanging from his loose fist. 

Then all the monsters turned and fled in a fear, all howling and slipping on the ichor-drenched grass in their haste towards the woods. Nico's skeletons took off after the doglike creatures as they fled from the Athena Partheon and Thalia's Tree, leaving the Golden Fleece forgotten on the ground. The Ares kids snapped out of their stupor and charged after the fleeing monsters, disappearing into the woods after them.

Author's Note:

Holy crap, I can't believe I published the last chapter in 2017. Man. Time flies, and high school really does take your life away. I know I probably lost a lot of my readers over that two year silence, but for those of you who are the old (and new) readers who have waited for me, I thank you and apologize. My goal is to get the last few chapters completed before the New Year of 2020. I swear I will get this story completed at some point!

I'm so so sorry for my complete and utter silence, but I am so grateful for your patience, readers.