War Mantle (Dancing with Death part 3)

Leo to the Rescue

Ali convulsed, futilely trying to pull herself free of the grasping earth. The ground inched towards her shoulders. It quickly became impossible to move as the earth hugged her arms tight to her sides. She felt the jagged stones pressing against her skin and the dirt crushing her ribcage.

Out of nowhere, a massive bronze dragon swooped out of the sky and snatched Gaea from the hilltop. Leo sat astride Festus' neck as the mechanical dragon dragged the earth mother into the sky.

The earth instantly relaxed, sinking to Ali's waist and hardening. She jerked and tried to kick her way free, but the ground remained unyielding. Her dagger was still buried and her sword lay just out of reach.

Tyler rushed over to her, dirt showering off his pants. He knelt beside her and chopped at the earth with his gladius. Little-by-little, he dug Ali out.

She pulled herself onto the grass. "How'd you get free?"

He chuckled. "I didn't sink nearly as far as you did."

Ali rolled her eyes and took his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

Overhead, Gaea struggled to free herself from Festus' talons. Jason held Piper and flew straight up, towards the bronze dragon, summoning a swirling tornado.

Ali stared up at the scene. Everything stopped for a moment as Festus carried the Earth Mother higher into the sky.

A monster growled, drawing Ali's attention back to the ground. "This isn't over yet." She gripped her sword.

Reyna called over the crowd  near the legion. "Romans! Cuneum formate! Advance!"

"Greeks!" Percy's voice rose over the clamor. "Let's... fight stuff."

Ali stifled a laugh and readied her sword.

The following battle was a blur. Things happened so quickly and Ali was acting completely on instinct. She was vaguely aware of Tyler fighting beside her.

Something exploded above them.

Ali looked up just in time to see a cloud of fire spread across the sky. Piper and Jason float towards the ground just below it. "Leo." He'd been riding Festus and she didn't see him with Jason.

The horde of monsters shrieked and stumbled over each other to get away. Many of the half-bloods chased them to hurry the progress.

Ali chuckled as she watched them - Greek and Roman - running full sprint down the hill.

"Ali?" A familiar voice sounded behind her. She turned to find Percy standing near the Athena Parthenos. Annabeth was next to him with Owen, Thomas, and Meg and Baron behind them.

A smile spread across her face. "Hey guys!" She raced over and threw her arms around Annabeth, then Percy. "How were the Ancient Lands?"

Percy and Annabeth shared a look. "Awful." They replied in unison.

Owen stepped up next to them, leaning forward to meet their gazes. "Can't wait to here all about it."

Ali laughed and glanced to the left, where Lyra and Lydia were urging the monsters farther into the forest.

Suddenly, something fired out of the monstrous horde.

"Owen!" She pushed him aside and a searing pain shot through her right shoulder. She collapsed.

Owen caught her before she hit the ground, lowering her into his lap. An arrow protruded from her right shoulder. "Ali? What..."

She forced a pained smile. "You saved my life once. It's about time I returned the favor."

The others crouched beside her. Annabeth took a scalpel-looking knife from Thomas and sliced the wound wider.

The daughter of Athena gripped the shaft. "This is gonna hurt." She yanked the arrow free of Ali's shoulder.

Ali screamed, the sound muted as her vision blurred. She heard someone say something about Imperial Gold, but the pain made her ears ring and her sight darken. The last thing she saw was Owen's concerned gaze before things finally went black.
                                     *   *   *
Ali woke up lying on her back in the infirmary. Her shoulder stung, but not nearly as bad as before.

"Could you please go one summer without almost dying." Aubrey's voice sounded next to her.

Ali looked to find the daughter of Apollo standing over an injured half-blood, pouring nectar over his wounds. She chuckled. "I guess that's what I get for being friends with Percy Jackson."

Aubrey rolled her eyes as she rewarded one of the boy's injuries and moved around his cot to Ali. "From what I hear, you were always accident prone." She reached into her bag and pulled out another canteen of nectar. "Now, let's take a look at that shoulder." She cut away the cloth and unwound the bloody bandage.

Ali looked at the ugly wound. The rough gash still bled profusely from the millions of razor cuts along the inside of the injury.

She met Aubrey's gaze. "The tip was barbed?"

"And made of Imperial Gold." Aubrey added. "This won't heal quickly."

"But it will heal?" Ali checked.

Aubrey nodded. "I have no idea how long it'll take, but you got lucky. A couple inches to the left and we may not have been able to save you."

Ali scoffed, which made her whole chest burn. "I may be accident prone, but a heck of a lot luckier than most people."

Aubrey raised an eyebrow. "More like you're too stubborn to die."

Ali couldn't hold back her smirk. "That too."

Aubrey chuckled and uncapped the nectar, drizzling the liquid painfully over the messy wound.
                                     *   *   *
Ali sat up on her cot as Percy and Annabeth finished retelling the story of their adventures in the Ancient Lands. It sounded horrible, especially the part where they had to trek across Tartarus to find the Doors of Death and got attacked by the primordial god himself.

"I don't envy you." Ali replied when it was over. "I mean, wrangling these campers was no picnic, but I can't imagine being in Tartarus... or facing him."

"Yeah." Percy reached for Annabeth's hand. "Definitely one for the record books."

"I'm just glad you all got home." Ali bit her lip. "Well... most of you."

Annabeth clenched her hand into a fist, squeezing Percy's hand, which was shaking.

Ali leaned forward, pain rushing down her arm and through her chest and rested her good hand on Annabeth's trembling fist. "What happened down there, with Eliza, was not your fault." She met Percy's gaze. "She made her choice. She stayed so you could make it out."

"She shouldn't have had to." Annabeth's voice broke over the words. "She should've had the chance to come back- to..."

"To take her place with the other gods." Percy finished. "For once, I met a deity I actually got along with, one that would fight for half-bloods." He cleared his throat. "And just like that she's gone."

"You don't know that." Ali tried to encourage them.

"We left her to fight Tartarus." Annabeth challenged.

Ali sighed. She couldn't really argue with that. Tartarus was one of the most powerful beings in existence. There was very little chance anyone could survive a fight with him.

Percy stood. "You should get some rest." He stared at her bandage-wrapped shoulder. "You've got a lot of healing to do."

He and Annabeth walked down the aisle towards the exit.

"Hey guys!" Ali called after them. She waited for them to turn. "Hang in there."

Percy nodded and they disappeared outside.

A/N
So, I had a really long weekend and I got almost no writing done. 🙄
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. See you all next time.
-Cheshire