We Olympians (A Percy Jackson AU) || BOOK 1

Chapter 20 || Piper

Piper quickly shot two approaching gang members so they were maimed, scaring the rest away. Ethan and Percy were busy wrestling--well, Percy was having more fun. He was leaping off the pipes, doing cartwheels, teasing Ethan whenever he missed... Yeah. That stuff. Piper could only watch in amusement as Ethan growled in rage.

"You're playing so unfair!" Ethan whined, making Piper laugh quietly.

"Oh, dear Nakamura, there is no such thing as fair and unfair. There is only life. For I, Perseus the myth guru, know you weren't built for a battle to start with."

"AHHH!" Ethan charged at Percy, who simply flipped out of the way.

"You done?" Percy sighed, looking bored.

Ethan took out his sword, trying to skewer Percy. He landed a small cut, but Percy had Riptide out, sword-fighting skillfully.

"THE ITSY BITSY SPIDER--" Percy began to sing as Ethan yowled in annoyance, almost shooting Percy in the head.

"CLIMBED UP THE WATER SPOUT!" Again, Percy was singing while climbing up the water pole.

"DOWN CAME THE RAIN AND WASHED THE SPIDER OUT--"

Ethan got lucky this time, throwing his sword, which stabbed Percy's hand.

"Ouch--oh, shit..." Percy realized his mistake too late as he dangled off the water pole by a finger.

At this point, Piper was more scared that Percy would die from the fall than if Ethan managed to succeed in running away. She knew he wasn't going to be able to hold on. Not with a sword in his other hand. But when Jason and Leo came running back, blocking Ethan's exit, Piper knew they were intent on capturing Ethan. Percy, now hanging from the second story of the building, was motioning for Piper to do something. He had his index finger and his thumb in a checkmark shape as he moved them up and down.

Piper felt so stupid for not realizing what Percy meant sooner. Because now that Percy wasn't annoying the shit out of Ethan, he was actually a pretty decent fighter. Ethan picked up a brick from the side of the building, chucking it straight at Jason when his back was turned. It hit Jason's face and Jason crumpled to the floor.

"JASON!" Piper screamed.

Hazel charged forward, her spatha gleaming in the sunlight. Their blades clashed and Piper grabbed her dart gun. She groaned when she realized that she could hit Hazel. Frank saw her and gave her a slight nod, motioning that he was ready to go if Hazel got shot down. Hazel saw her, also giving her a nod. So Piper tried. She knew she had to. But before she could shoot the dart, Ethan had managed to shoot a gun on the floor.

Luckily, Hazel dodged, but it grazed deeply into her shoulder, blood spewing from the injury. When Hazel fell clear, Piper pressed the trigger. It shot into Ethan's arm and Ethan stared at it before he spotted her. His eyes were wide before he tried to charge at her with his remaining consciousness. That's when luck happened so fast, Piper almost didn't see it. But she was glad she did. Percy, having fallen from the second story, rammed his head into Ethan's chest, sending Ethan flying back.

Leo's eyes widened when Ethan's shoe managed to fling Leo to the other side of the alley, where he hit the wall painfully. Mr. Valdez now sported a bunch of rubble all over his 'Leo flair'. Percy hit the ground with his back facing the air, grunting as the impact struck. Piper felt it was safe to get out of her hiding space now, as she brought out the ropes. The sedative had kicked in by now, and Ethan was out cold.

"Okay," she said. "We've gotta get out of here."

Leo was already pulling up with the truck.

"This is like a kidnapping scene."

"It technically is one, but we're doing it for information. When we've got all we can get out of them, we just let them be until everything's settled. We're not monsters."

They threw Ethan in the trunk and closed it, Frank having taken all of Ethan's weapons. Piper knelt next to Jason, who's head had already formed a knot.

"Here," she said, trying to prop him up against the wall. "Can someone help me load Jason into the van? He's heavy!"

Frank nodded, jogging over and slinging Jason across his shoulders. Jason groaned slightly in his sleep, but the large mark from the brick just throbbed. Piper sighed in relief, knowing he'd be okay. She joined the others, who were over Percy, who was gladly not unconscious like Jason. The last time he was knocked out, Piper literally had to try to carry him, which just knocked her out from the effort.

"You okay, Perce?" Leo asked, gently flipping Percy over.

He groaned slightly, but his sea-green eyes stared at them nonetheless.

"My ribs definitely aren't," he said, his troublemaker smirk playing on his face. "And I think my nose is broken by the way it's bleeding all over my face. But yeah. It's not bad at all, really. A lot less worse than I expected."

"Your knee looks... funky..." Leo cringed at the kneecap, which appeared to have shifted from its original position.

"Out of all words you chose funky," Percy grunted, trying to sit up. "That's just juicy."

Percy grabbed onto a trash can, hauling himself up. They got in the van and sped off, Piper with Jason's head in her lap. Hazel had her hand clasped tightly over her arm, blood dripping in between her fingers. Frank had a few scrapes and bruises from holding back the rest of the gang, same with Leo, but overall, they all seemed okay. The moment they dropped Ethan off at the interrogation facility, held by Aletheia, the reincarnation of the goddess of truth, they sped back to the house.

"How are we supposed to explain this?" Leo asked, looking at everyone, who all seemed to be sporting some sort of injury.

Even Piper had a nasty cut across her face.

"Can we say... Can we say we accidentally walked into construction zone and got hit by one of the trucks?" Leo winced.

"Wild... but sure," Percy shrugged. "I just hope no one asks."