Blood of Olympus FanFic {completed}

57: PIPER

CH 57- PIPER

"Wait," Annabeth said. 

Piper looked back at Annabeth, pouring as much venom as she could muster into her expression and words. "Sorry, but in times like this, I only talk to people I can trust." She turned away, and was about to sprint after the other demigods, when Annabeth grabbed her arm, and performed some judo-move which ended in Piper facing Annabeth. "Great," she grumbled.

"Look, Piper, I'm sorry," Annabeth said. Piper pretended not to notice the tears rolling down Annabeth's cheeks. "What I did to you was horrible, and I'm the first person to admit that. You saved my life - more than once, and I know I can never repay you... but I never thought I was capable of being so horrible to you. I can't even imagine how you must feel right now... please, can we put this behind us and be friends?"

Annabeth's gray eyes were so hopeful and sad. They reminded her of something... her father's eyes, she realized, as a wave of pain so strong that she had to force herself not to clutch her stomach overcame her. 

You can't cry, you can't cry, you can't cry, she chanted in her head like a mantra. 

All this lasted barely a moment, and Piper's eyes were cold as she looked at Annabeth. "I don't need 'friends' like you. You don't even know the meaning of the word!" And Piper wrenched her arm out of Annabeth's, and ran after the charging demigod army, not looking back.

The slashing of blades and the snarling of monsters was all too familiar to Piper, but there was a kind of silent deadliness that had never been in her previous battles. Piper pulled out Katoptris, forcing herself not to look at the engraved inscription Arabelle on it - just in time. A Hellhound snarled, and swatted at her with his paw: this Hellhound was no Mrs. O'Leary. It meant business.

Piper slashed at him, and missed as it snapped at her. She did a kind of front flip/somersault and landed right under the Hellhound. Viciously, she stabbed upwards, as if freeing her self of all the pain and anger she'd felt that day. The Hellhound howled, and collapsed into dust that was raining on Piper. Breathing hard, she shook her hair free and charged right into the centre of the battle.

The next thirty minutes were a blur. Piper slashed, stabbed, jumped, came close to death, killed and helped. She caught a glimpse of gods, but they just seemed to be doing their own thing, fighting the few more powerful monsters, while the demigods eliminated the ones that were less so.

Apollo and Artemis were fighting a monster that looked scarily like Kampê, from the stories that Leo had told her, with the help of the Hunters.

"Ten points if you get a bear's head, sis," Apollo called to Artemis.

"Brother, this is not a game," Artemis called back, as she shot an arrow directly at the serpent tail, which sizzled and shot poison at a Hunter who yelped, and barely evaded it. Apollo was looking at her, distracted for a mere second before the Chimaera shot fire at him.

"Ouch! Ouch!" he yelped. "I'm hot! More than usual, I mean!"

"Brother?" Artemis looked over at Apollo, and Kampê took the opportunity to bite Artemis' arm.

"They look like they need help," Piper said aloud, and charged.

"Hey! Kampê!" she screamed. As all the molded monster heads turned to face her, Piper almost turned right back around and ran away. But she persisted. 

A rumbling emitted from Kampê that Piper could not make anything out of.

"She's leaving you ten seconds!" Apollo screeched from where he was writhing in the fire that was engulfing him.