The Heroes' Downfall

Chapter Twelve

**Percy Jackson**

The entire camp watched as Nico shadow traveled directly for the goddess, his stygian iron sword out and swinging the minute he appeared beside her. The goddess dodged him, dropping Hazel in the process. I started praying frantically for help from any god that could come, hoping that at least a couple would come.

The shadows in camp all seemed to reach for Nico, feeling the distress that their prince was radiating. I was so busy watching the fight in front of me that I didn't notice the two or three gods that teleported in behind me. There were two hands on my shoulder, and I turned to look at my girlfriend on one side before looking back at my dad.

"What can we do for you, my son?" Poseidon asked, gesturing to Hades, Amphitrite, and himself. "We heard your prayers."

I gestured in the direction of Nico and the nameless goddess, letting them figure out why I prayed for them. There was a moment of silence as even more powerful deities appeared. I glanced around confused.

"We have been searching for her for months," Athena explained, watching as some of the Olympains surged forward to stop her. "Her name is Oizys. She's the goddess of distress, anxiety, and worry."

"That explains how she was doing this," I murmured, glancing back at the amphitheatre stage. "If you guys actually get her back, will she be able to mess with us?"

"She shouldn't be able to," Poseidon said, sounding positive that he was right. "We jsut have to get her back to Olympus."

The Olympians that had gone to get her grabbed at her, making it impossible for her to get away - or so they seemed to think. I felt the wave of despair I had felt earlier wash over me, making me stumbling a little until I landed directly on top of her. It took a moment to realize that the goddess had escaped the gods, and probably wouldn't have if I hadn't been stabbed in the stomach.

She dropped me onto the ground just in time to block the blade of Annabeth's bone sword. Annabeth didn't seem to be affected by her powers just yet, and that made me a bit hopeful. My dad grabbed the evil goddess, and the murderous look on his face startled me. The goddess cackled as if she was enjoying my sudden drop in emotions.

Annabeth dropped to my side the minute all of the gods disappeared, turning me around so that she could get a better look at my wound. I was giving her a look that seemed to terrify her, as that was the only look that crossed her face.

"Percy, stop giving me that look," she chided. "You're going to be fine."

"I can't help it," I whined back, curling into her.

She sighed and took off her shirt, tearing it as best as she could to make it a single line of fabric. I let her tie the shirt around the wound, wincing as she tied it tightly around it. Her voiced didn't sound very sorry as she apologized.

Will, Kayla, and Austin came running up towards us, and soon they took over what Annabeth had started. Austin undid the makeshift bandage as Will gave Annabeth some ambrosia, letting her feed it to me.

"It doesn't taste like my mom's cookies anymore," I muttered absently.

Annabeth ran a hand through my hair. "I'm sure it's just because of the goddess's spell. I'm sure it'll go away."

8/20/17