The Rise of Gaea

Percy 11

****song credits go to Taylor Swift and My Chemical Romance****

     Percy stared at Luke in disbelief. "That isn't possible." He rasped.

     Luke scratched the back of his neck. "Well, you did. Can you do it again?"

     Percy shrugged. "I'm not sure."

     He tried to remember exactly what he had been doing that would have resulted in his girlfriend's voice coming from his vocal chords. He had been using the song as a means to pretend Annabeth was with him; maybe that was it.

     Percy cleared his throat. "Here goes nothing." He closed his eyes, and visualized Annabeth beside him, singing.

     "Don't you dare look out your window, darling, everything's on fire."

     He opened his eyes. Luke stared at him in amazement, before bursting into laughter.

     "What? Did I do it?" Percy asked.

     "Yes." Luke gasped out, trying to regain his breath. "It's just funny to hear you singing in a girl's voice!"

     "Shut up." Percy rolled his eyes. "Let's keep going."

-----------------

     Percy looked in disgust at the monster forming in a blister on the ground. It was times like these that made him glad he had learned to use the Mist. Percy had wrapped the Mist around Luke in layers, using his siren voice and what he remembered of Thalia's Mist usage. The folds of magic would protect Luke from seeing the worst of Tartarus, and keep his mind intact.

     Percy knew his own limits, and was sure he could stay sane, for Annabeth, but he couldn't be certain about Luke. It wasn't that he wanted to doubt Luke, he was just afraid to take any chances.

     Luke looked right past the monster as if it were invisible. The energy that it took Percy to maintain the protective barrier was draining, and it left him in a state of mind that allowed him to see Tartarus as it really was, a body. But Percy tried not to dwell on that; striving to stay strong.

     Luke wasn't aware of the Mist wrap, Percy knew that if he found out, he would demand for it to be removed.

     "Look!" Luke pointed up, just as Percy sensed an approaching flock of monsters. A horde of shriveled, birdlike hags flew down.

     "You must die." None of their mouths moved; the voice was like a narrator in a movie.

     Percy merely rolled his eyes. "Get a new catchphrase. The old one 'must die'." He grasped Riptide and charged, swing the blade through one of them, all while hearing Luke yell behind him, "PERCY, WAIT!!"

     The creature exploded in a poof of golden dust, and suddenly, Percy felt his eyes burn.

     He screamed in agony, the strength of his anguish tearing something in his throat, and sending coppery blood into his lungs. Percy coughed, and then gasped as his torn flesh vibrated. His eyes felt like they were stretching, stretching to a fiery breaking point.

     Percy gripped his head in his hands, trying to cope, when claws gouged his back, ripping another cry from his tortured throat. He tried to sense them, to bloodbend, but the horrible pain in his eyes made it impossible.

     "Luke..." Percy rasped, his eyes squeezed shut. "Please..." He could feel Luke beside him, feel him wince as a creature cut him, too. Why wasn't he fighting back?

     "They're the Arai, Percy." Luke flinched to the side, presumably dodging another attack.

     "The what?" Percy could remember hearing the name spoken, but had no idea what it was. He had a sinking feeling he had made a big mistake.

     Luke shoved him, and rolled with him. The scrape and click of claws told him it had been close.

     "The Curses. Any curse anyone has ever wished on you is contained in them. When you kill them, you release the curses. I don't know what kind of curse you were hit with, but it's bad." Luke explained, a note of fear in his voice.

     Percy thought for a moment. Killing them wasn't going to work, he had enough to deal with having one curse on him; he didn't need to unleash more. So how were they to be killed?

     Another hit sliced his shoulder, and Percy had a sudden idea. He couldn't kill them, but they could kill each other!

     Gathering his little remaining energy, Percy pushed through the blinding pain and yelled/sang:

     "And though you're broken and defeated, your weary widow marches on!"

     Holding the last note, Percy though desperately about the Arai falling on each other and destroying each other. He forced open his fiery eyes, and watched a golden dust rained down from above. When it was clear they all were dead, Percy let the note go, and then collapsed, retching blood.

     Drinking firewater was going to be fun after this, he thought dryly as he slowly recovered.

     Panting, shaking and covered in blood, Percy looked up.

     The Arai were all gone. He frowned.

     So was Luke.