Percabeth in Goode - Completed

Chapter 36

HEY GUYS!!! SOOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THIS LATE UPDATE, AS USUAL. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S BEEN ALMOST A MONTH!!!! I HAD SPACE CAMP FOR FIVE DAYS AND THEN WENT TO FRIENDS' HOUSES FOR THREE DAYS STRAIGHT! I AM SO EXHAUSTED!!! MY MOM'S HAD SPECIAL TESTS THAT SHE'S HAD TO TAKE ON THE COMPUTER :( BUT I REALLY HOPE YOU ALL LIKE IT!!!!! ENJOY! :P

Piper's POV

Being thrust through the cell block's door, I arrive in an area referred to as the gardens. Wow, I think. This place is gorgeous. In front of me there is a huge courtyard with lovely green grass that's almost a neon color. Budding in beautiful bunches and skirting a huge clearing of land are dozens of sweetly scented flowers in all different hues and shades, from bright purple orchids bursting with color to crisp white lilies adorning the wrought iron fence on the other side of the lawn. Ripe apples and juicy grapefruits - since when do those grow together? - dangle from huge leafy trees with rich brown bark that contrasts in an impossibly lovely way against the bright landscape. Monarch butterflies flap their way through the air and bluebirds chirp their pretty songs right in front of me - If I had a bird of my own, I'd name her Darla. She would be safe here, I think, strangely, but am too caught up in the beauty of nature to realize the unusual reality of the things happening all around me. This would be a good place to die.

Suddenly, something cuts through the magnificent fog - a pain in my wrists. I glance down at them and the alluring senses of vulnerability slide away as I see rope tightening around my arms - no, not a rope, but vines. Dozens of ivy tendrils curl up my limbs and cover me in an iron casing of plant. I try to wriggle myself free, but to no avail. I look up urgently for my friends and see them sitting down near me on the edge of the huge clearing, donning the same plant-like attire as me.

"Gaea," I grumble. So that's why this place is so pretty. However menacing she may seem to us, she's still the earth goddess. How messed up is that?

"Welcome, sacrifices, to the Gardens, and also to Gaea's burial chamber," Rupert greets, as the ground begins to rumble. Behind him, a coffin the size of a blue whale shoots out of the ground, covered in moss and soil. No, not covered. Made out of moss and soil.

"Well this totally sucks," Thalia says.

"Hmm. Could be worse," Mikayla disagrees thoughtfully.

"I hate to come off as a Debby-Downer, but how?" Leo questions.

Mikayla shrugs. "You could have too-"

"Enough! You're voices are annoying me!" Rupert complains.

Humph, I think. Says the rat faced man that sounds like he's choking on helium and his retainer.

Annabeth's POV

"What do you want with me, Luke?"

"Ah, come on. There's no need to rush it," Luke replies. "I'm sure your friends will be patient! But if you insist..."

I pause for a moment to think. "I do."

A malicious grin spreads across his face. "Okay then. Well, you remember how I said seven demigods must be sacrificed? Well, that's not all. They must be murdered by a half-blood. Then the demigod killer has a choice: Slaughter herself, or don't. But after massacring six of her friends, I don't think she'd be too fond of her life choices. You know, easier to just put an end to the grief."

I catch my breath and let that sink in. I - I have to kill my friends... A lump forms in the middle of my throat, and I try not to look as scared as I feel. "But what if I don't commit suicide? Doesn't there have to be seven -"

Luke rolls his eyes. "That was just so I didn't give my plan away. There really only has to be six, the seventh is optional."

I stare at him and begin to shake my head. "No. I won't do it."

He laughs. "That's so cute! You think you have a choice."

"You can't control me." Then I think of a book series that I read once. "I - I'm Divergent."

Luke frowns. "You're a what?"

"Divergent."

Luke snickers. "You'd think that being an evil master mind would take up most of your time. But I've read that book too, sweetheart. Nice try."

"Schist," I mumble under my breath.

"Alright, well, I hate to stop the reunion, but Gaea awaits," Luke says, cheerily. He plucks a match out of a box labeled 'Toxic' and scrapes it against an ignitor, creating a purple flame. The same one I saw the first night I was brought to Luke's lab. "Now, let us begin this delicate precedure."

Percy's POV

Shadowtraveling has always sort of freaked me out. I mean, ghosts, darkness, who wouldn't be scared?

Apparently Anthony. The whole time we searched through various demon realms, he had this big creepy smile on his face that sent shivers down my spine. Finally, Jason asked him why he looked so happy. He replied, "Oh, no reason," and went back to staring at nothing in particular, which just made me even more uncomfortable.

"Now," Nico says. He stops concentrating and we fall down through a blur of darkness. Suddenly, I see a light, and then a rocky terrain that rises toward me at full speed. But right before I hit the ground and crush every bone in my body, Jason controls the air and I land awkwardly on an invisible cushion.

As soon as everybody is back into their normal positions, the wind slowly lowers us to the stones, and we all look at Anthony. He takes a long look at our surroundings; Burning sand, crunchy gravel, and the scorching sun. Anthony bends over and presses his hand flat against the ground, shutting his eyes closed.

"So? What do you think?" Jason asks after a while.

He reopens his eyes, nodding slowly. "Yep. This is the place."

HEY GUYS!! SOOOOOOO SORRY FOR THE ALMOST MONTH WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU DEMIGODS!!!!!! ME?

ME: I DON'T OWN PJO OR HOO!! KK, BYE!!! HOPE YOU ENJOYED!! STAY FIERCE!! :)

P.S. SPECIAL SHOUT OUT TOO @NICK42345!!!