the weight of the world [a pjo fanfic]

chapter twenty-nine.

"You screwed up." And in her head, Gaia knew she did. Percy pulled his arms back, his face emotionless as he twisted his body in a series of turns, until Gaia saw what he was doing. The enormous tide he had raised was nearly her height; and it was crashing right down at her. He brought his arms down with a powerful smash, almost throwing the water at her. It knocked her off balance and she teetered, steadying herself with the vines.

JACKSON! She roared, now angry. Her fists rained down on the ground as Percy hopped onto another disc, swerving out of the way. He lifted himself to her height and jumped at her, using water as an extension of his arm to hold Riptide. He stabbed into her and immediately pulled back, bringing another surge of water onto her. This time, Gaia was ready. Vines shot out from the top of her head, clashing with the wave as they struggled against a battle of pure strength. Of course, Gaia succeeded, narrowly missing the demigod who brought up an even more massive wave. He didn't even blink, remembering that he'd practiced this many times before. She used her arm as a shield, solid dirt quickly spreading across it to spread the impact. However, Percy was not out of skills. He held two of his hands held in front of his chest, concentrating as hard as he could. A small ball of water formed, growing bigger and bigger, until it completely obscured his view of the earthy giant in front of him. Gaia grit her teeth, bracing hereslf. When Percy hurled the ball at her, she quickly deflected it with a gust of wind. The half-blood held out his hands, the ginormous ball of water pushing him back, his heels digging into the ground. He finally skidded to a stop, and pushed the ball back with even more force. Using the other hand, he shot a beam of water into the hollows of Gaia's eyes, and watched the ball slam into her as she stumbled back. Percy almost stepped back in satisfication until tight vines wrapped themselves around his wrists, holding him down. He thrashed, grunting in annoyance. Thin stone pellets shot by him, slicing his skin. He could only strain against his cuffs, watching blood drip down onto his arm. "FUCK!" He cursed, balling his hands into tight fists. The vines exploded, water gushing everywhere.

What? Gaia stated, horrified, yet intrigued. Did her vines just combust? Did the puny demigod in front of her just explode her vines, using the minimal water inside them? He wiped the blood off his face and let out a shaky, horrible breath. There's no turning back now. Ukulwa stared, still sprawled on the floor, at the thing he had created. He wanted to tell him to stop, to tell him that he was sorry and that he wished he'd never met him. But he couldn't. So he could only watch as Percy rose into the air, his veins running a deep black, a bluish-obsidian. The scream that left the half-blood's mouth was beastly. Ukulwa covered his ears, tears pricking at his eyes and his glands turning on like a faucet. He was sobbing as Percy's voice strained. So much pain. So much pain, stop it. Stop, my ears hurt. He wanted to say. Gaia too, roared, in frustration as she tried to stop the noise. STOP!

And then Ukulwa saw it. The very sight he had wished he'd never see, ever. The very sight he'd seen in his fountain. Percy was now at least fifteen feet in the air, his throat tensed to the point where his veins looked like they were going to pop, and pour liquid ink out. The raven-haired boy stopped his cry, his eyes robotically turning at Gaia. Ukulwa felt all of his organs jump into his throat. He hadn't prepared him for this. Percy wasn't ready, what the hell was he doing?

He lifted his black and blue tinted hands into the air, and then pulled. Gaia gasped, her massive body convulsing and twisting. Her roots dried and crackled, the sound of a million trees snapping. She screamed, the entire earth vibrating and crumbling. The vines that wrapped around her body and kept the dry earth in her together paled, and quickly turned brown. Her voice cut off. It was a terrible sight. Mother earth with her mouth gaping open, her eyes the size of the moon as she was turned into the puppet of a half-blood.

Percy felt a groan build up in the pit of his stomach as something ripped through his veins. It was painful, so painful. His body felt like it was being split in half as he fought to hold everything under control. He finally understood what Nico felt like when he shadow-travelled too much. His life essence felt like it was being stolen by Gaia.