Too Many Memories

My Frenemy Makes The Earth Fall Asleep

My Frenemy Makes The Earth Fall Asleep

Percy

Damasen was dead, and we were losing the battle. There was only so much my team and I could do. Finally, Gaea showed herself. As soon as I saw her, I closed my eyes and the world froze. The only people I left unfrozen were me, Annabeth, and Gaea. I also left Hylla unfrozen, as we had planned a while ago, but no one saw her, just like we had planned.

Annabeth looked around and saw me, shaking. A hellhound had its mouth open around her head, and I was relieved that I had frozen everything just in time. If I had waited a second longer, Annabeth's head would have been bitten off. She slowly made her way over to me and readied her dagger.

"I assume that this is going to be the final showdown with Gaea?" She asked when she reached me, still trembling from her close encounter.

"You assume correctly."

She flinched, and I winced. I could only hope our plan worked, I hated seeing her suffering from the curse. I locked eyes with Hylla and nodded. She saw me and hid in the shadows, making her way towards Gaea.

Gaea had appeared on top of the taco shop, so we had to go inside it and find the stairs that led to the roof. Annabeth slipped from the effects of Gaea's curse a few times, and nearly gave me a heart attack.

We made it to the roof and I glared at Gaea, giving her my deluxe I'll-Kill-You-Later glare, except I would be killing her now, not later. She flinched, and I smiled at the effect of my stare.

"We have the same intentions. We want this war to be won in the next few minutes. It's just a matter of who will be victorious." Gaea pulled a long sword out of a sheath on her back and pointed it at us.

I capped Riptide and put it back in my pocket, opting to use Oblivion instead, the sword I had inherited when Chaos died and made me his successor. Annabeth shifted her feet and held her dagger.

Gaea yelled and launched herself towards me, spinning through the air with her sword outstretched. I lifted Oblivion and blocked her strike. Annabeth took the opportunity to stab Gaea in the back.

Gaea bellowed and shook the ground with her scream. She reached around and pulled Annabeth's dagger out of her back, knocking her away in the process. She tossed the dagger far away and Annabeth was defenseless.

I pulled Riptide out of my pocket and wordlessly handed it to Annabeth. She uncapped the pen and Anaklusmos grew to full size in her hand. She grinned and held the sword tightly.

A sword flew through my vision and smacked against my face. Gaea must have done something with her sword because I felt golden ichor flow down a cut near my right eye. My eye burned, and I couldn't see out of it. The rest of my body felt vulnerable too.

I pushed her away and grunted. Gaea had somehow removed the curse of Achilles. She had cut into my eye and blinded it. I ran my hand down the right side of my face and found a long cut running down the length of it. I guess I would end up being like Ethan Nakamura and wear an eyepatch. To make sure I wouldn't keep relying on my now-blind eye, I conjured up a piece of cloth that wrapped around my head and covered my eye. I would make a real eyepatch later.

I turned back to look at Gaea and continue fighting, but saw something else. Gaea was holding Annabeth in a choke hold and had her long sword at her neck.

Styx.

Annabeth

Percy turned and I saw that he had a white piece of cloth covering his right eye. It was stained with gold. I struggled against Gaea's hold, but she tightened her grip and pressed her sword into my throat. Something warm and wet dripped down my neck.

I breathed heavily, trying to hold in my screams. Gaea's curse seemed to have doubled when she came in contact with me. The only reason I was still standing was because Gaea held me upright. Riptide was held limply in my hand.

"So easy. I could kill you right now." Gaea murmured and stroked my chin. I flinched away from her touch. "I don't even need this stupid curse." She waved her hand and the pain disappeared.

Nothing hurt, I stopped gasping for breath. She had lifted the curse. I stood up straighter, and gave Percy a small smile. "It's gone. I don't hurt anymore."

"Well, we can change that." Gaea pulled out a small knife and jabbed it into my side.

I gasped and keeled over, gripping the hilt of the tiny blade and pulling it out of my body. The blade dripped red.

Percy stared at Gaea with hatred, but there was something else in his eyes. Almost . . . recognition. And relief.

Something knocked into Gaea from behind and pushed both of us over. Percy dashed forward and pulled me away from Gaea, and I saw who had crashed into us.

Hylla. She hadn't been frozen like everyone else. And Percy didn't look surprised. He must've planned it with her. She held twin daggers in her hands and pointed them at Gaea.

"Daughter of Bellona." Gaea hissed. "You are the key to the end of this war. But the question is, whose side will you chose? Their side," she pointed at Percy and I, "The two people who caused the events which led to the destruction of your home, and your kidnapping by pirates.

"Or, my side, where you will help me overthrow the Olympians, who never did anything to help you. And you can have your revenge on them." Gaea finished.

Hylla glanced between us, caught in the middle. She looked at Gaea a bit longer, and I feared she would choose her.

"I have something with Percy and Annabeth that I don't have with you." Hylla said and walked over to us.

Gaea's eye twitched. "And what's that?"

"Trust." Hylla jumped for Gaea, but she was ready. Gaea swung her arm and hit Hylla in the gut, and she went flying off the roof of the taco shop and out of sight.

I stared, clutching my bleeding side. Hylla could very well have just died. I couldn't process it. It kept repeating in my mind. Hylla soaring off the roof and then . . . gone.

"Well then, where were we?" Gaea smirked.

I shouted and shot up, lunging at Gaea. I ignored my throbbing side and struck with Percy's sword. I caught Gaea in the face and made a nice sized cut down the right side of her face. "That's for Percy." I spit out. Their cuts were identical, just like I wanted.

I rolled as I passed Gaea in an attempt to get away, but she grabbed my middle and yanked me to her. Riptide flew out of my hand and I knew it would return to Percy's pocket. "Now then, be a good girl and be silent for a moment while I make a negotiation." I bucked and tried to break free of her grasp, but it was no use. I was weakening from the blood loss.

Gaea spoke again. "Perseus Jackson. Give up, surrender, and I'll let Annabeth Chase live. If you don't, well . . . no promises that she won't be left unharmed." Gaea lifted her sword to my neck again.

I locked eyes with Percy and shook my head. Don't do it. I mouthed. I'll be fine.

He sighed and Oblivion drooped. "I . . . I sur--"

A battle cry cut him off and Gaea's breath caught. She let go of me and I whipped around to see what happened.

Hylla, scraped and bruised everywhere, had plunged her daggers into the back of Gaea's head. She was dragging her down, and Gaea's eyes were fluttering open and closed. She was falling back to sleep.

"No. No!" Gaea whirled around and plunged her hand straight into Hylla's stomach. The two women collapsed. Ichor dripped out of Gaea's head and the two daggers stuck out of it. Gaea still had her hand in Hylla stomach. Blood pooled out of her stomach and she groaned, dying.

Hylla had just saved the world, but was paying the price with her life.