Chapter 7: Fire and Water

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The words "Fire," and "Savoir, stay here," didn't go together no matter what way Percy rearranged them. If anything Percy might've been the most helpful in the entire situation.

As soon as the man collapsed, Bianca rushed forward to check his pulse.

"He's alive!" She reported, looking to Hero.

Hero nodded, "Okay, Fire, Archangel evacuate the pedestrians, Revenge find the water control and try to douse the building. I'll try to get the people in the building. Savoir..." Percy felt the older kid look him over, "Stay here."

"Excuse me?" Percy said, but they were already gone. "Stay here, really? Like Hades I am!" He did spend a second too many trying to prop the man into a safe position.

But then he was running through the streets. People ran opposite from him as he fight his way towards the fire. Smokey ash filled the sky, over an apartment so it was easy to see where it was. Percy could feel water around him in the air and in the plumbing of the buildings. The faster he ran them more sure he was that they needed his help.

Percy found Revenge cursing at a metal box bolted to the ground. Inside were dozens of switches labeled in the swirling Chaos language.

"They updated the water control, I've got no clue of the water routes now." He cursed again. "How the Chaos am I suppose-"

Percy knelt next to him. "Where do you need it to go and how much?" He placed his hand on the panel, a surge of energy washing over him. Water was near, he could feel each individual drop, in pressurized motion waiting to be used.

"What are you doing?"

"Where and how much?" Percy snapped again.

"Obviously over to that building, and enough to smother the fire, genius."

Percy ignored the biting tone, and insult, figuring he would get his revenge on Revenge (A/N: see what I did there? =)). Percy pushed the water pass the blocker that kept it in the basin for storage. The liquid flowed through the maze of pipes following Percy's directions.

He had no clue how he knew where each pipe lead, but it was working so he didn't question it.

"How are you doing that?" Revenge asked.

"Magic," Percy replied distractly. "Something's blocking the last pipe, a box or something! I can't get through!"

"Oh you're ever so helpful!"

Percy looked up at him and glared. He set his jaw, biting enough curses to almost make him choke. He turned and bolted into the crowd flowing the trail of people, running opposite of him.

"Hey!" Revenge yelled after him.

"Savoir!" Bianca was next to him, her mouth in a straight line. It was like she appeared out of the shadows on the ground, specifically Percy's shadow, but whatever.

"Angel," Percy panted, "the waters blocked. Someone needs to unblock it!"

"Savior!" Hero suddenly landed next to him. Percy did a double take. He placed a little girl on the ground next to him, blowing back his hair. Did he fly or something? "What are you doing? I told you to stay back!"

"I'm trying to save lives!" Percy yelled, "the water-"

"You disobeyed a direct order!" Hero cut him off.

"Hero," Revenge said, "the waters blocked, Someone needs to go unblock it!"

"Thanks Revenge." Hero said, shooting Percy a glare from under his hood.

"I just said that!" Percy muttered.

Hero barely gave him a glance. "Saviour, get back to the arena!"

"No!" Percy said.

"You are disregarding a direct order, Savoir!" Hero shouted, "I will have you kicked off-"

"Angel!"

Percy whipped around just in time to see Bianca disappear in the swirling smoky flames. Panic attacked his system, running a list of scenarios that could happen.

That was when he realized the danger that Bianca hadn't. She didn't have to worry about burning, she didn't have to worry about lack of oxygen, but she could die if ten thousand pounds of pressurized water collapsed right on top of her. When it comes down to it, water can feel exactly like a giant broken mechanical robot if pushed hard enough.

"-Forge is still two minutes away." Revenge was saying. "Hey, you genius, what the Hades are you doing now?"

Percy made a decision, one that would determine the outcome of the rest of him undead life.

"Clear the rest of the buildings." Percy said, "Clear them, now!"

He bolted towards the doorway. He didn't look back to see the shocked faces of the two, he looked forwards and plunged into the smoking building.

Fire crackled like fireworks, licking the walls, the floors the ceilings. The smoke obscured his vision so much it was like walking blind.

He took a breath, a swell of panic and curses ran through his mind. For a moment he felt like he was drowning in the black fog. His lungs burned, and his body shook. But suddenly he could breath almost like jumping into a river and trying to hold his breath before remembering he could breathe underwater.

He jumped forward rushing through the unfamiliar rooms. The wood cracked after him, almost taking him to the basement the hard way. Flames caught on his cloak like the worse super hero cape ever. Percy didn't waste time trying to put them out.

"Archangel!" Percy yelled. "Bianca!"

He could barely hear his own voice. A heavy support beam crashed from the ceiling narrowly missing Percy's head. The entire set of floor boards next to him gave out dropping into a dark oblivion. Smoke exchanged from the new gap.

Percy couldn't help but remember that even though he couldn't die unless someone jabbed a spear down wards through his heart, he could still be gravely injured by falling projectiles. And that would be seriously inconvenient for the time being.

"Bianca!" Percy shouted. His heart nearly stopped, a coal black hood lay on the floor, mostly burned. The semi-familiar sliver lettering was barely recognisable. "Archangel!" He yelled again.

He continued running through the house, finding one door left swinging on its broken hinges. The stairs were almost like a messed up death trap, wedged boards corroded in flames, broken like jagged monster teeth.

"Bianca!" Percy screamed, he jumped pass the stairs, he hit the bottom floor awkwardly.

There she was. With her cloak disregarded up the stairs, Bianca write only a black, long sleeve turtle neck and black jeans with her boots. Not too unlike the outfit she wore the day she died.

She'd hadn't noticed him, and was hurriedly shoving a heavy box. Water pooled at her feet, a trapdoor bounced the box. And judging from Bianca's ashen face it was a lot heavier than the trapdoor made it seem.

Percy could feel the energy restless warping under the box. He knew that if Bianca moved the box any farther, the water would be released spouting upwards and coming down so hard he wouldn't be able to stop it. And ten thousand pressurized pounds would end her life again.

Percy dashed forward grabbing Bianca's side more roughly than he intended. She might've screamed. She might've kicked him. She might've cursed him more times than even those curse-loving Arai cared to count.

But all Percy heard was a giant, ground shaking roar. The dark water shoved through the trapdoor, shattering the wooden splinters into the air like deadly knives. He twisted around covering Bianca.

Then ten thousand pounds lurched on top of him.

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