The Demigod Diaries

Chapter 11- Goodbye, Hooray

•Stella•

Passing through the enemies ranks unseen was impossible and completely out of the question. But I had no other option. This is what I took a dip in the Styx for.

I remember the encounter well, it was familiar. I had been dipped in the Lethe as a child by the gods and it had taken everything away from me. This time, my dip in a river had given me all the strength I could hope for, except mental strength. I had to muster that bravery myself.

When I first stepped into the Styx, I thought I was on fire, burning to death. I remembered what Nico had told me about Percy. He had to calm down, find someplace safe and relaxing. My mind drifted to the night watch under the stars, listening to the Stoll brothers joke and laugh and point out constellations. It drifted to the empty battlefield when Connor kissed me. It drifted to archery practices and volleyball games and talking to the witty flying horses. It drifted to stone streets and dancing with the younger gods when I was little, a memory that had been wiped clean from the Lethe. I was remembering.

A small spot on the back of my neck, behind my ear throbbed where I had gotten a secret tattoo with my not really sister last June. Nobody ever knew about it. It was a little arrow pointing forward. Keep moving forward. My Achillies heel.

I looked down at the little ring that rested on my finger, the moonstone shined in the dark cavern. When I pulled it off, Rainstorm grew into a full length sword, balanced perfectly.

I was nestled in a cluster of boulders, going over different plans and their outcomes. The end of them all resulted in my death. There was a sea of vicious monsters as far as I could see. There was no way I would get past all of them without being killed, but even if I did I wouldn't last long against the titans waiting at the massive doors. Only long enough to get Percy and Annabeth out.

I chose the failing plan. My hopes were to make it unseen through most of the ranks so I wouldn't get too tired. I barely made it 100 yards from my spot before a pack of crazed harpies attacked. After that, I had no other options. The harpies swarmed and clawed at me with their long talons, leaving large gashes in my arms and shoulders. I guess the Achillies curse only kept me from getting seriously injured.

Fire. Fire was what I was, spreading through huge expanses of land leaving only mass destruction in my wake like a wildfire. Everything was a blur, I swung and stabbed and punched and kicked. When I could see straight again, I had left a long river of dust behind me, and other monsters didn't dare pursue me.

I heard screams and turned around. Percy and Annabeth were trying desperately to get to the doors, but two titans were making sure it didn't happen. A monster so large and horrifying was swatting at them, bellowing and radiating evil. I didn't have to think about what it was. Tarturas.

"Percy!" Annabeth had made it inside the doors and was screaming for him to come, but he couldn't go without getting killed by Tarturas.

Help them. I ran for him, swinging my sword at the beasts legs. The beast roared out of anger as golden ichor poured down his legs. He was distracted, but so was Percy. His sea green eyes held mine for a moment.

"Go! Percy go!" I yelled at him, shoving his frail body toward the doors. I wondered how long it had been sinced they'd eaten a proper meal.

"Who are you?" He yelled back as he ran for the doors. Bob was yelling at him to go, holding monsters back, fighting Titans, standing near the button to the elevator doors.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. Only understanding as Percy saw the familiar features. Only horror, as he saw his sister snatched up my Taturas itself and flung onto the cavern floor hard enough to make a crater.

Percy made it to the doors, and jumped inside. Bob held the button down. A strange giant was helping them, fighting Tarturas. I could only watch the blur as I lay on the ground, unable to move. Seconds passed. The doors dinged open again. They made it. That is all that matters. But it is not all that matters. Gaea's forces will keep going through the doors, they need to be cut off.

I pulled my body off the cavern floor and made for the chains hold down the doors. I was too small and sneaky to be noticed by the creatures of the raging battle. They pulled and strained against the hooks in the ground, fighting to be released like the pegasi before a flight. I can end this. My hands gripped my sword tight, and swung with all the strength I could muster.

A thundering crack filled the air as the thick, golden chain swung free. The doors shuddered and creaked. The crowd of monsters surged forward in attempt to get through, but a beat up Bob held them back.

"For Percy, my friend!" Bob screamed into the dark, and pounded the monsters with his cleaning supplies.

I hadn't been noticed before, but I was now. I made a mad dash to the other side of the doors. The single chain was on the verge of breaking when I got to it, and my sword set it free.

Another crack. A mighty rumbling consumed the cavern, as The Doors of Death were sealed and set free. Gaea's army would not advance any further. We cut them off at their supply. Now, the seven's quest would be almost simple.

I giant hand snatched me by the waist and pulled me into the air, above all the monsters. It shook me around and screamed.

"You fool! Look what you have done!" The voice of Tarturas shook the ground.

"I stopped you and Gaea. I closed the doors. You failed. You can not beat the gods!" My confidence came easy. I'd done my duty. We'd succeeded.

"Hah! You think it's that easy? You think we would let some puny little demigods bring us down? It is you who has failed! We will tear the gods down one by one. Starting with you! You may not be so powerful anymore, but you're still a god!" The giant hands squeezed me until I couldn't breathe. I'm still a god? No. That's not right. It can't be. "Once you're gone, they'll be weaker. We will destroy them!" Cheers from the monster army.

I couldn't form a sentence, my body felt weak, my head was dizzy from a lack of air. Tarturas swung me into the ground, hard. A sharp pain spread across my head, starting at my Achillies heel and ending in my fingertips and toes. My hands scrambled to the spot and came back wet. Over me stood a woman cloaked in earthen robes, her face in a sleepy smile. In her hand was a dagger, the tip dripping with a mix of blood and golden ichor. The same substance on my hands.

My body went weak. Gaea's joyful laughs rung in my head. My blood was mixed with that of a god's. Once a god, always a god. And I was dying. Was this failure, or was this success?

As the world grew dark around me, i thought back on my life. There was my little room at the top of the steps with oars as headboards, where I spent most of my time. I was smarter than anyone I knew. I never had to pay attention in school. There was my bow on its hook in the garage. There was my fake family that I still loved. There was Camp Half-Blood and it's wild campers. There was Connor, and his crooked smile and welcoming eyes. There were my parents, my real ones, who loved me in those early years.

I remembered it now, my memories. Apollo taught me how to shoot a bow as soon as I could run. I danced with the young gods on the dazzling streets of the village. I followed Zeus around constantly, telling him that one day I would be as strong as him.

"My dear, you already are so strong. You will do great things." And as I died, I knew that he was right.

"Goodbye."