The Monster King - The War of Hell

The Praetor Arrives

Percy POV
When we all were present in the meeting hall Jason spoke up, "Umm... we still have to figure out how to beat Gaea." Annabeth spoke up while a holographic screen rose up from the table. Leo sure made some hell of updates. The prophecy was displayed on it.

"Here goes the prophecy :
Seven Halfbloods Shall Answer the Call
To Storm or Fire the World Must Fall
An Oath to Keep With Final Breath
And Foes Bear Arms to the Doors of Death
Speculations about what it means have been made by the gods themselves."

Now that's surprising. The GODS interfering in 'mOrtAl maTterS'. I spoke up, "Are you sure we are referring to the same gods over here. I mean Zeus and Apollo and Hades and the gang... right?" Annabeth rolled her eyes and said, "Yes seaweed brain. Now can I continue or do you have anymore stupid questions to ask."

I nodded and she continued, her words appearing on the screen. "The first line is perfectly clear. Though we have a bit of confusion now. Seven halfbloods mean seven of us. But that means either Nath or Percy is not part of the prophecy. We will have to figure that part out later. The second line is concerning but thanks to Piper we have the meaning. The world means Gaea so she will fall to storm or fire. We know that fire means Leo and storm is probably Percy seeing as he is the son of the storm bringer. Meaning either Leo or Percy will defeat Gaea. But due to change in passengers it can also mean Jason. Gods think that Nath is the last of the seven and that there had been a mistake."

I tried not to feel hurt. The gods had such little faith in me. But they were probably correct. No one got out of Tartarus alive. Nico was captured by Giants as soon as he went in there. And that place was his realm. There was minimal chance I would have gotten out alive. "We know little about the third line, an oath to keep with final breath."

I tried not to have a flashback. I knew what the line meant. Memories of Tartarus started surfacing in my mind as I tried to control my breathing. It was simple. In and out, in and out, in and out. There. She continued, "Though this could mean that one of us will either die or be close to death. To counter the situation the gods have agreed to give us the physician's cure which will be with Piper the entire time. The last line... we know nothing about it. It probably talks about something that happened in... Tartarus."

The name was almost a whisper. Everyone turned their heads to me. They wanted me to tell them about it but I couldn't. I couldn't relive what happened. I feared the outcome. I feared what would happen when they knew. I just spoke, "I am not yet ready to relive what happened... down there. I can just tell you that that part of the prophecy is completed."

As soon as I said that a shout from Coach Hedge called us towards the hull of the ship. We all ran over there to look at an unexpected guest. I didn't know they had called her over here. Her purple cape billowed in the wind and her imperial gold gladius glinted in the sunlight as she tried to frantically defend herself and her pegasus from the griffins.

Before anyone could regain there senses I uncapped riptide and launched into fighting. A slash towards one griffin after which I twirled and stabbed another one that was going to attack from behind. I rolled as a griffin flew above me and stabbed it through its chest. In a matter of seconds all that was left was dust.

Then I turned towards the praetor of New Rome. I saw details I had missed before. There was exhaustion in her eyes and her posture was slumped. She gripped her gladius tightly like she had been frequently attacked. The way she gripped it also showed her fear and nervousness but also her determination.

There was a cut on her cheek and many scratches on her armour. Her eyes were glinting with tears which took me by shock. I had never expected to see Reyna crying. Then I turned and saw her pegasus Scipio was dying. The fight and the journey had taken its toll on him. I spoke to him.

(Bold - Percy, Italics - Scipio)
I can heal you. Just stay still.
No my lord. My time on Earth is over. Please tell my master to end my suffering.
But I am capable of healing you. Think about it. If you left Reyna would be heartbroken
He seemed to think for a second before answering.
Perhaps you are correct my lord. I also cannot bear the thought of leaving her. Heal me.

That was all I needed. I called the water around me and there was plenty considering we were travelling by sea. I learnt many things in the pit, including how I can heal others and myself. I learnt how the water heals me and now I am capable of doing it on others. The water entered Scipio's body and began replicating the parts that were damaged after getting rid of the damaged parts.

I heard gasps behind me but concentrated on completing the task. I was happy my theory was true but this was the first time I was trying it on Earth and on a pegasus. I opened my eyes to see Scipio fully healed and the surprised faces of the crew of Argo II. The last thing I heard before blacking out was Scipio's Thank you, my lord.

Jason's POV
When we heard Coach Hedge shouting we all ran back on deck. I thought about what Percy had said. It seemed reasonable that he didn't want to talk about what happened down there. When he arrived through the doors of death it was a shocker for everyone. He was the first person to get to Tartarus alive. Nico doesn't count as he had been captured by Giants when he went down there.

Even though what Percy said seemed reasonable I couldn't help but think that he was holding information from us. We still didn't know how he managed to hoist the Athena Parthenos on the Argo II. Annabeth had theorised that he used the water vapour present in the air to push it up. None of us even knew he was powerful enough to do that. So when he healed Scipio in a matter of seconds, you can imagine what our reactions were.

"How?" Annabeth asked. "I mean he is the son of Poseidon not Apollo. And even if he weren't is impossible to heal anyone that fast." Reyna was hugging Scipio's nuzzle while me and Piper sat together. The others all surrounded us. When Percy pulled his little show out there we were all surprised. Most of us don't even know him. (A/N : Remember guys he was in Tartarus during most of House of Hades period. He didn't talk much after and only spent like a month or something during Mark of Athena. Hope you understand.)

Percy was currently back in the med bay while we were back in the main hall reporting progress to the gods. They were yet to know about what had happened. Reyna was absent as she was resting in the guest room. I threw a drachma in the rainbow Leo had created. "The Olympian Council, Mount Olympus."

The image of the throne room of the gods shimmered into place. I gasped at the sight along with the others except for Annabeth. We had never seen the Olympian throne room, much less Olympus itself. I was kind of jealous that the Greeks were allowed to visit Olympus. I mean they were like, "It's winter break and so we are taking a field trip to Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, former lair of Medusa who was defeated by Percy Jackson; then we will be spending some time with the hunters who have graciously (read : grudgingly) agreed to send their lieutenant Thalia Grace (the only hunter to tolerate males) to teach us how to survive in the wild, really helpful during quests and lastly we will be visiting Olympus. Now don't misbehave and stand in a single line. Form groups of four to go through the elevator. No screaming, no pushing, no rushing or you have kitchen duty for the entire month!"

In the little time that I as a Roman had been introduced to the gods, I begrudgingly admit that Percy was right. They are actually little, stuck-up kids who actually rule the world because of some power they have. They are nothing like the stories they tell about at Camp Jupiter. But the customs have changed since the olden times, especially when Percy Jackson comes into the point of view.

Sighing as the Gods finally stopped their bickering to notice the message, I wondered what had happened to the benevolent and wise gods I had read about. You never know... do you?

A/N
Chapter 2 is out for it. Also if anyone is willing to make a cover then please do. I am running low on ideas at the moment.

Xoxo - Susan Downey