United As The Ten- Part One Of The Conclusion To The United Series

Chapter Twenty

Max's POV:

I expected the Mogs to start firing at us again, but instead, they fight each other.

I can hear them arguing about who would be the better leader- who's the strongest, the wisest (which I didn't think Mogs had until Adam), and who's the best fighter.

The adrenaline I felt before disappears as quickly as it came. I stumble forward as my knees buckle and I feel a strong pair of arms catch me and wrap my arm around their shoulders. My head is swimming so I can't see who it is, but I lean myself against them. They half-drag, half-carry me somewhere and rest my back against a cold, hard surface. My vision is blurry with black dots.

A familiar male voice calls to someone else: "Get her some ambrosia!" but it sounds like they're talking underwater (no pun intended).

A few seconds later, the warm voice softly orders me to eat the ambrosia. I open my mouth and he shoves a bit into it. I slowly bite into it and it tastes like the pancakes Percy made for us when we lived in the penthouse in New York, which Annabeth dyed with blue food coloring.

My vision quickly clears and the pain all over my body subsides to dull throbs. My head and vision clear and I see a pair of familiar sea green eyes staring worriedly into mine.

"Gods Max, are you okay?" Percy asks me in a concerned tone. I nod my head and he looks slightly relieved. He puts a hand on my cheek and I feel a sense of safety.

"Max, you worried me so much," Percy tells me. I open my mouth to speak and it feels like I'm drinking fire.

"I-I'm sorry, Percy. W-What happened?" I ask, my memories kind of fuzzy. Percy hesitates before answering me.

"You killed him. You killed Setrákus Ra."

Leo's POV:

The rest of us are killing off the rest of the Mogs- who are too busy fighting and arguing with each other to notice us- while Percy takes care of Max in front of the stage, where the huge crowd of people used to be before we scared them off with the battle.

I want to be with her. I want to be with Max, to comfort her and shake off all her fear and worries. I can't believe she actually killed Setrákus Ra. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. She's the toughest, strongest warrior I've ever met.

I set another Mog on fire after he punches another Mog in the face for saying he would suck at leading. I want these stupid Mogs to go away already. They've already caused too much damage- to Max, to the other demigods, and to all the other Lorics.

I feel worn out and like I can't even lift a hammer until a warm hand is placed on my shoulder. I look back and see the love of my life smiling at me.

"Max," I breathe, the happiest I've ever been to see her okay. I hug her tightly and she hugs me back then looks at the surrounding battle. She breaks away from me and scans the crowd of Mogs. At first I'm not sure what she's doing until I realize that she's checking if anyone from our side is mixed in with them.

Oh gods.

Max raises her hands towards the Mogs and not a second later, a gigantic wave of water double the size of the Argo ll crashes into them and keeps them in place- either drowning or freezing them to death.

I'll say it again- sometimes, Max can be really scary.

After a few seconds, Max releases of her wave of water and there are only a few Mogadorians left, who are all shot down by everyone else with guns, blasters, or arrows.

Max breathes heavily and gives me one last look. "I hate Mogs" is the last thing she says before collapsing in my arms.

"Gods, Max," I mutter, lifting her bridal-style. I look back at everyone else who are all staring at Max in my arms with a bunch of mixed emotions.

I sigh and carry my crazy girlfriend back to the Argo ll with everyone else.

-Time Skip Brought To You By Annabeth's No-Longer Magic Cap-

I sit next to Max lying down on a bed in the infirmary of the Argo ll. Reyna is once again steering the ship, heading back to the John Hancock Building in Chicago.

I softly hold Max's hand and before I know it, her beautiful green eyes flutter open and land on me. She gives me a weak smile and sits up. I softly grab her waist and help her sit up then give her a quick kiss on the lips. When I pull away from her, we're only a few inches apart.

"I was so worried about you Max," I tell her, staring deeply into her eyes, and she's doing the same to me, melting my heart into lava.

"I'm sorry Leo, I-" she starts but I cut her off.

"No, don't apologize," I order her, brushing some hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear. A cute blush forms on her cheeks.

"I love you so much, Max," I say for the hundredth time.

"I love you, too, Leo," Max replies then cups my face with her warm hands, pulls me closer, and kisses me passionately. I automatically kiss her back, placing my hands on her waist. She thankfully doesn't mind me doing this but instead seems comfortable in my arms. I make our kiss even deeper and Max goes along with it. I smile through our kiss and my face heats up as Max trails her hands from my cheeks to my neck, gingerly sliding her hands to the back of my neck where she interlocks her fingers together and pulls me deeper into the kiss. I also trail my hand up to her neck, where I play with her hair as we continue our kiss.

After a few more seconds, we pull away from each other for breath. I automatically want to go in for another kiss but the door to the infirmary swings open, revealing Percy standing in the doorway.

"Max, everyone's really worried about you. I think you should see them," Percy informs Max. She nods her head and Percy heads back to the others. I stand up and hold my hand out for Max. She grabs it and I help her to her feet, though she seems perfectly fine now.

Together we head to the others hand-in-hand.

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