Guiding Light (Perzoe)(Under Editing)

I Can See The Stars

One
I Can See The Stars

Percy could feel his grip on the sky slipping as a coldness washed over his body. An iciness was beginning to creep across his nerves, locking his limbs in place. The teen spared a look in front of him, a dagger of protest forming in his neck.

Their quest had carried them across the entirety of the United States, and they'd already lost two of their five quest members before even reaching Othyrs. Bianca had sacrificed herself to stop the miniature Talos in the Junkyard of the Gods, while Grover had suffered a nasty hit from the Spartoi at Hoover Dam. The whole quest had gone to Hades before it'd even started.

Now his friends were locked in a battle that looked unwinnable and Percy was stuck holding the sky. If only he had the strength to call for water from the rivers leading down the mountain. The teen struggled and yearned as the tug in his gut grew painful with the amount of stamina he was exerting, and yet nothing came. Percy let loose an internal scream as he watched his friends fighting, struggling to overcome the odds against them.

Thalia had pushed Luke against the edge of the cliff but seemed to be arguing with herself. He wanted to scream at her, to tell her that Luke wasn't the same person, that he needed to die. He wanted her to kill the blonde teen, to end all of this suffering before it got any worse, but Percy knew it was for naught. Prophecies always came about and trying to hold them off only made them worse.

On the ground next to them, lay Annabeth. She was struggling to stay awake but looked to be at her limit. She was covered in bruises and cuts, not to mention the new grey streak in her hair. He prayed to all the gods he knew that she was alright. The poor girl seemed to be trying to convey something to Thalia with her eyes, but the daughter of Zeus was too busy with her internal fight.

In the very center of the palace grounds stood Atlas, the general of Kronos' armies. The Titan seemed to be playing with the two people attacking him. Percy tried to watch, to do something besides just sit there, but soon his head grew too heavy.

The iciness had seeped into his bones, numbing his already frozen limbs. Percy felt as if he had been turned into an ice sculpture, an ice sculpture that held the weight of the sky on its back and was beginning to crack. The demigod wanted nothing more than to just let go, but he knew it wasn't an option. He had to stay here until they could figure out a way to get Atlas back under his burden, but until then, he was stuck.

Percy tried to focus on bolstering his remaining strength but stopped when a cry of pain echoed across the mountain top, causing him to shoot his head up, ignoring the frostiness creeping up his neck.

The boy could only watch as Zoe was back-handed by her father, sending her flying into a mass of rubble. Percy let loose a muffled cry, hoping she was okay. The Titan then managed to get past Artemis' guard, a sweep of his spear sending her onto her back.

"And so the great Artemis falls. I had thought you would be... more." Atlas gave a lazy smirk, before thrusting at the downed goddess. Percy wanted to cry out, to help, to just do something.

"Always the arrogant one, Atlas." Artemis sneered, knocking the spear off its intended course and embedding it in the ground next to her, before using it as a lever to throw the Titan towards Percy's frozen form.

The demigod barely had seconds to recognize what the goddess had done before he let his arms go slack. The Titan smacked into him, shoving him out from underneath the excruciating burden. Percy couldn't help but give a small, if not pained, smile at being out from underneath the sky before he forced himself to his feet. The iciness was still there, but it seemed to be slowly heating up, allowing him to once again work his limbs. Stumbling over towards the collapsed form of Zoe Nightshade, the demigod collapsed to his knees by her side. 

"C'mon Zoe, you gotta get up," Percy whispered softly, a new bout of panic overcoming him at the non-responsiveness of the demi-titan. "You promised me that you'd introduce me to the Hunt. And that you'd teach me how to shoot a bow, regardless if I was cursed by Apollo. You can't leave now." Putting two fingers to her neck, Percy let out a strangled sob at the absence of both a pulse and the defiant light that once occupied her onyx eyes.

Percy cut off his own cries of anguish for his closest friend. He'd only known the demi-titan for a few months at most, and yet she had understood his plights more than anyone before. She was also the only one who knew of his past, one haunted by monsters outside of the mythological world. His heart squeezed as if it was stuck in a vice grip, but he managed to push past it.

Leaning over, Percy gathered up the demi-titan in his arms, before shuffling to his feet as he turned to look at the moon goddess. His broken stare was mirrored as Artemis caught sight of the lifeless body in his arms. Faster than the mortal eye could follow, the goddess was upon him, her hands hovering just over Zoe's body as they glowed with silver light.

"Lady Artemis...." Thalia started, only to be cut off by a fierce glare from said goddess. "Please, we must leave. There is an army marching up this mountain and none of us are in any condition to fight." She pleaded, hoping the goddess would see reason.

Artemis seemed to hold her gaze, before turning back to her huntress. The goddess muttered a small phrase, before closing her eyes. The surrounding teens watched in awe as silver light seeped from the goddess of the moon, before surrounding the fallen huntress.

The silvery light seemed to wrap Zoe's body in a cocoon before all of it disappeared in a silver flash. Percy made a broken sound in protest as he reached for the fleeting silver dust, trying to keep it together as if it would bring her back.

"Perseus," Artemis whispered, her voice hollow, "She's gone. I know how close you two were... She spoke of you often, but she's in the stars now." The goddess finished, letting her hand rest on his shoulder for a moment before following the other quest members down the mountain.

Taking a deep breath, the son of Poseidon gazed at the night sky, his attention caught by a new constellation that seemingly hovered next to the moon. It was a picturesque image of a girl holding a bow. 

"The Huntress in the Stars, forever set on being the guiding light to Heroes around the world."