Too Many Memories

The Sky Falls

The Sky Falls

Gaea spread her hands and the one remaining giant appeared--Clytius, the bane of Hecate. He laughed and stomped the ground, sending the four of us scrambling back. Gaea jerked her hand one last time and I gasped, pain shooting through my entire body.

My knees buckled and I fell, but strong hands grabbed my arms and pulled me back my feet. Hylla held my arms and glared at Gaea murderously.

"Clytius." I choked out. "He's the bane of Hecate." I whimpered as the full force of Gaea's curse hit me. Hylla slowly let go of my arms and I tried to stand. As soon as Hylla let go, I stumbled and dropped.

Leo hauled me up again. Tammy slipped my arm around her neck, and Hylla did the same with my other arm. I grumbled at the fact that I was pretty much useless, but my complaints were cut off by my own screams as Gaea's curse seemed to intensify.

"Kill them all, but leave the Daughter of Bellona for me." Gaea ordered Clytius, and disappeared. She reappeared atop the highest mound of junk.

The giant grinned and stepped forward, shaking the ground. "Killing time." His bright eyes gleamed with pleasure as he advanced towards us. "Run little demigods, run as fast as you can." Clytius taunted.

We ran. Well, they ran, I was dead weight as I groaned and flinched at every move. We hid behind piles of scrap metal, but kept moving when Clytius swiped at our hiding spot and we were revealed.

"You know what," Hylla removed my arm from around her neck and lowered me to the ground, "if we want to stand a chance at killing this guy, we can't be lugging you around. Sorry, Annabeth."

I moaned in annoyance and shut my eyes, panting, in too much pain to argue. "Hylla's right." Tammy agreed and set down my other arm. "Stay here Annabeth. Leo, stay with her, don't let her get up. Hylla and I will try to weaken Clytius. Find a way to contact Percy and get him to bring everyone here. This ends today."

Before Leo and I could protest, the two Amazons ran out from behind the junk pile we were hiding behind and disappeared from our sight.

"All right, Annabeth. Let's see if I can make a rainbow. Got any drachmas?" Leo got to work when he noticed a puddle of water nearby.

I painfully reached into my pocket and pulled out the golden drachma Percy had given me. Leo saw it and smiled.

Leo said, "Great, I'll just--" I tossed the drachma into the puddle of water.

"What did you do that for?"

"Percy . . . special drachma . . . get it wet . . . he'll come." I feebly explained.

I focused on the drachma and prayed that Percy would show up. As I looked, the drachma faded and disappeared.

Hang in there, Annabeth. I'm coming. Everyone is. Just hold on for a few more minutes.

"He's on his way." I unsheathed my dagger.

"I'm just not gonna even ask." Leo shook his head. "What are you doing with your dagger?" I started to get up. "Hey!" Leo stood with me and grabbed my arms. "They told me not to let you get up. And I'd rather not disobey them."

"No offense, Leo, but you couldn't keep me from doing something even right now, when I can barely move." I grunted and pushed him off, ignoring the stabbing pain assaulting me.

Leo said nothing, until, "well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." He pulled out a huge hammer from his belt and lit his body on fire. "Let's go kill a giant!"

He raced off and I didn't bother telling him that we wouldn't be able to kill Clytius until Percy's team got here. I staggered after him, my dagger raised, forcing my body to move despite its constant protests.

"Ready to play . . . ANSWER THAT RIDDLE?" A feline voice growled.

"We're just encountering all kinds of old friends." I mumbled to myself and turned, unsurprised to see the Sphinx before me. She stood on a glittery dais, exactly like the one we had first met her on. She looked exactly the same, her hair pulled back in the same tight bun, wearing the same too much makeup, the same blue ribbon saying: THIS MONSTER HAS BEEN RATED EXEMPLARY!

A line snaked along the ground around the Sphinx and I, and broke apart. The oval that had been made lowered and we were separated from the fight above. I winced and hugged my stomach, holding my dagger in my dominant hand. It exhausted me with the one motion. I didn't know what kind of curse Gaea had cast on me, but I sure hoped that it would be gone soon.

"I'd rather not, but I know this is Gaea's doing, so I won't be able to get out of here unless I play, so I will." I sighed.

"The rules have been changed. To proceed, you will have to correctly answer three riddles. If you fail, I get to eat you. All right? Here's the first one:" She cleared her throat and looked down at a paper in front of her. " 'A poor man is sitting in a pub. He sees that the man next to him is extremely rich. The poor man bets all of the money in the rich man's wallet, that he can sing a popular song with any lady's name in it of the rich man's choosing. The rich man says his daughter's name, Joanna Armstrong-Miller.

" 'The poor man goes home rich. What song did he sing?' " The Sphinx finished.

The answer came easily. "'Happy Birthday,' it can be sung with anyone's name in it."

The Sphinx's lips formed a thin line. "Correct. Two more. 'A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose between three rooms. The first room is full of raging fires, the second room is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third room is full of lions that haven't eaten in three years. Which room is safest for him?' "

I thought for a moment. "The third room. If the lions haven't eaten in three years, then they're dead."

"Once again, correct. 'There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. What are they?' "

This one took me a longer time, but it was vaguely familiar. I had a feeling it was one of the riddles the Sphinx asked in the ancient times, one that no one could answer. Which means, it most likely was related to the Greeks.

I followed a hunch. Hemera is Day, and Nyx is Night. They are sisters. Day turns into night, which is like giving birth to night, and night turns into day, like giving birth to day.

I smirked. "Day and Night."

The Sphinx howled and wailed, unable to process the fact that I had beat her. She lunged for me, but the rules of her game show stopped her, and she slowly started to turn to stone. She reached for me, but her paws froze and she stopped moving.

The oval raised again and I raced towards Leo, Hylla and Tammy. I reached them and realized that the fight was hopeless. Gaea and Clytius had cornered us, there was no way for us to defeat them by ourselves.

Luckily, you won't have to.

Holes opened in the sky, like the ones that appeared when Percy made a portal. People started falling out of the portals. It seemed like all of Camp Half-Blood had come, plus some. The Amazons, Tyson, Bob, Damasen and Percy's team. Everyone landed in a heap, groaning and moaning. Percy dropped out last, seemingly the only one who landed gracefully. He wore a large black trench coat that billowed away from him like a cape as he floated down from the portal, looking like an avenging angel.

The army of demigods, Titans, giants, and cyclopes quickly reorganized themselves and readied their weapons. The Party Ponies, with Chiron leading them, galloped into the junkyard. Percy stood at the front of the crowd of warriors, an impressive gathering.

Ever his Seaweed Brain self, Percy stepped forward and said, "Did I miss the party?"