All Heroes Fall

Time slows as my heart beats faster.

The arrows pelt us but somehow miss as we silently thank the gods hundreds of times in the next few hours. The arrows keep coming, and coming, and coming for what seems a lifetime. But they stop. Reluctantly we peek around our shields and whatever else we may have shielded ourselves with. The Argo II has shifted the slightest bit, to the point that we are now resting about The House of Hades. While we were protecting ourselves from instantaneous onslaught, we drifted right into the heart of Tartarus' army and have unknowingly plunged our lives down into the depths of Tartarus where we will burn and rot and die slow painful deaths.

I have a headache.

Seems ridiculous to think of at a time like this, but I couldn't help it. The pounding was constricting the walls of my brain. It increases to a steady cannon burst as I wrench my hands away from Annabeth and my sword to cover my ears. I gasp and moan at the pain. It feels like my head is going to explode. Four minutes I crouch in a fetal position. I count the poundings in my head like ticks on a clock.

Pound. Pound. Thump. Thump. Pound. Pound. Thump. Thump.

Slowly the pain recedes and I am alone. Standing on a beach of white sand and crystal water. The sun is low in the sky and the colors touch the water in ways that make it sparkle. There are no boats in the water. Come to think of it, there is nothing here but me . . . and my dad.

I know I should be happy to see him, but I'm not. There's a battle going on somewhere else. And he pulls me out of it to push his own purposes on me.

"What do you want?" I spit out. The sparkle in his eyes and the smile on his lips falter, but he quickly places them back onto his face, as if it is nothing more than a mask.

"I bring a gift, Perseus." I flinch at the sound of my full name. I should be used to it by now. But I'm not. One more thing I fail to be perfect in.

"Well, if you haven't noticed dad," I say. "I was kind of about to fight a war for you. Now's not the time to bring missed Christmas presents." I turn to walk away, but he reappears in front of me.

"I'm trying to help you Percy. I have something that will help you defeat the monsters and shut the Doors of Death for good." I blink out of sync a few times.

"I'm listening." He gives me a warm smile and takes my hand. In his other hand, appears a golden helmet. By the looks of it, it is used in battle.

“A gift from Hades,” he says. “It gives you the power to become invisible at will.” A moment later, the large helmet shrinks down to a ring. The golden band has stayed the same, but a small ruby gem has appeared on the top. “Oh,” my father adds. “And he said he’d see you soon.” I rolled my eyes and slipped it onto my finger. I let my mind slip into the sheer nothingness of, well, invisibility. I looked up at my father to see him smile. But it wasn't as if he was looking at me, but rather through me. I gazed down to my hands to see they had disappeared. I thought myself visible again and smiled.

"Thanks, dad." I said with a half-smile. He placed his hand on my cheek before becoming a swirl of mist and floating away with the wind.

~
I gasp and choke as I strain to see what is in front of me. As my eyes slowly open, I see Annabeth's worried face pop into view as well as the other five. I sit up and place my hand to my cheek where the lingering warmth of my father's hand remains. Opening my hand, the crew sees the ring. I don't tell them what it's for, but they know that whatever it is, it just might save our lives.

Leo prepares for us to land and begin the terrible descent to our imminent death. I once again grasp Annabeth's hand and prepare for landing. All seven of us link arms as we descend to the ground and step off the ship and onto the earth. After I finish my count to ten, we charge.

And all hell breaks lose.

Notes

I just finished "The House of Hades" and I decided to just stick with my original plan, so as not to spoil any of you readers that haven't read the book yet. BUT YOU SHOULD. I'll try and not mention anything too drastic about the book as this fic comes to an end. Thank you all for taking the time out of your precious schedule to read my little 'ole story and I hope you all have a wonderful day! :)

~Alex