The Uniting

Chapter 9.)

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BOOM!!

"YEAH BABY!" Leo screamed as he jumped up and down like a maniac.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

Yup. That's Leo Valdez for all you out there. Anyway, we quickly landed the ship and climbed into the large crater in the ground.

"Annabeth!" Percy exclaimed as he ran to his girlfriend who was covered with cobwebs. She sighed in relief and they kissed passionately. "You're okay." I whispered when it was my turn to hug her.

"Yeah I'm fine." She said with a light chuckle. I looked over her shoulder and saw a giant pile of cobwebs, but there was a huge bugle in it.

"Wait is that..." Jason started.

"Arachne? Yeah." Annabeth said softly.

"But, how..." Hazel faltered.

"Never mind that. Explain everything from the beginning. What happened to your ankle!? Percy exclaimed.

"It's alright. I broke it but nothing too serious." Annabeth then went into explaining her quest, how she talked her way out of being killed, learned of her weaving skills, and met her mother's enemy. We also shared our story on fighting the Giants which was a real struggle since we had to do it quick.

"Let me out you imbeciles! I shall destroy you one by one and- AHHH!" Arachne screeched as Frank shoved her into the giant hole in the ground that lead to Tartarus.

We all stared at him in shocked awe and he shrugged. "She was starting to creep me out. Can you really blame me?" He pointed out. We nodded in agreement.

"Well let's get this statue back to-" Leo started. Annabeth suddenly let out a cry of pain as she was pulled to the ground and closer to the hole to Tartarus.

"ANNABETH!" Percy howled.

"Get the statue into the ship now!" Piper screamed. Percy grabbed Annabeth just in time but whatever was pulling her down was strong. Percy began to be dragged down with her as well.

"PERCY!" I screamed as I ran after my brother. We locked hands just before it was too late and I managed to hold them. Annabeth let out another strangled cry as the cobwebs on her ankle were tugged down even more. "Sophie let go." Percy said as calmly as possible.

"Have you lost your mind?! The two of you might die down there!" I screeched as I dug my heels in the ground. "I know. But I promise you that we'll be back." He said as his voice choked up slightly. I almost let go from the dread that washed over me.

"Percy, an oath to keep with a final breath." I recited the line from the prophesy. His eyes widened and he paled as well. "No. That's not us. We will be back." He said.

"I just got you back though. 13 years Percy." I sobbed. My vision was blurry through the tears. "I know. But we have to close the doors from both sides. I love you Sophie." He told me.

"I... I love you too." I managed to say through my tears. "Sophie we have to go." Nico told me as the ground began to shake more.

"Lead them, Nico. They'll need you." Percy added. Nico nodded hesitantly and I closed my eyes.

"Gods of Olympus be with you." I whispered to him.

I let go of Percy and Annabeth.

🌊

🌊

Deep breath In. Out.

In. Out.

In. Out.

For the past hour it had been a continuous cycle for me. Nobody dare say a word, knowing that I might crack and release a severe tsunami on Hawaii.

Another deep breath In. Out.

In. Out.

In. Out.

I stood by the railing of the ship, watching as the fields of Rome passed beneath us. The Athena Parthenos was safely stored below deck by the stables. If it weren't for that statue Annabeth wouldn't have been down there. Then she and Percy wouldn't have been dragged down into Tartarus. I didn't want to let go, but I knew if anyone could survive the literal Hell and back, Percy and Annabeth could.

Breathe In. Out.

In. Out.

In. Out.

I felt a presence appear next to mine but I ignored them. At this point I could care less about anything. I waited 13 years to see my brother in person again, and when I do, I barely got to know him and a week later he's ripped right out from my grasp and down into Tartarus. That was not fair.

Pfft screw that. I'm a demigod. Since when was anything fair?

The presence handed me a bottle of water which I took from them, but didn't drink. "I'm sorry." Leo whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It was my fault for letting go." I said softly. Jason, Piper, Frank, and Hazel had now joined us. Even Coach was in such a bad mood he joined as well.

"No I mean it. Back there when me, Hazel, and Frank were guarding the ship and were attacked by the eidolons, we came across some Archimedes spheres. The eidolons were practically killing us, and so I used the sphere to get rid of them."

"I still don't understand how this is your fault."

"To use the sphere I needed an activation code. I didn't know what it was and so I used the fortune cookie Nemesis gave us." He admitted.

My knuckles turned white around the water bottle and I felt my body go numb.

There will be a sacrifice. Nemesis had warned us.

"I'm sorry." Leo repeated when I didn't say anything. I shook my head no. "Again you did nothing wrong. You used the fortune cookie for a good reason and I can't blame you. I would've done the same." I said, my voice showing no emotion.

"Sophie don't shut us out like this." Hazel pleaded. I laughed humorlessly. "There's no point. Today is July 1st. Gaea plans to rise on August 1st. If we make it back to the House of Hades to close the doors of death as soon as possible, then that would help. From there we take the Parthenos to Camp Half Blood as a peace offering and fight the Giants to end this whole thing." I explained.

"Sophie-" Jason started.

"We start our voyage tonight." I cut him off. Then I began to walk back to below deck when Nico stopped me.

"We can all sense you're unhappy and you're guilty. It's not healthy to keep your feeling bottled up like this. Sophie you can talk to us about-" he tried to explain.

"Just stop okay! Stop pushing my buttons about this! Yes I'm hurt! Yes I'm absolutely devastated! But just stop pressuring me about it! Nico! You of all people should understand what it feels like to loose a sibling!" I yelled.

Nico tensed, remembering Bianca. "They're not dead and you're acting like they are."

"I let go and dropped them into Tartarus! I practically signed their death warrants!" I cried out, the tears beginning to fill my eyes again.

"Sophie, sweetheart calm down." Leo said as he tried to hold my hand. I immediately pulled away and a flash of hurt fell across Leo's face.

"I can't calm down! My brother and his girlfriend are down in Tartarus and it's all my fault. Fortune cookie or not, I was the one who let go." I sobbed.

Then I ran down below deck and into my cabin.