A Rift in Time (Percy Jackson/Ranger's Apprentice Crossover)

Chapter 13

School :(

"Will, Halt, take the horses ahead," Evanlyn ordered, "Warn my father that we're coming. That there's war on the horizon."

"It will take you another two days on foot to get to the Castle," Will reminded her, "And that's if you hurry. Are you sure we shouldn't all just stay together? It's Percy and Annabeth who know the most about the threat, after all."

"Father needs to know as soon as possible," she responded as they walked, eyes still pinned to the wispy smoke of the campfires, "And we will hurry. There's no use in you waiting for us to catch up, anyway."

"We can get more horses in the next town," Alyss suggested, "And catch up faster that way."

"Right, for this many people?" She scoffed a little, "How many of them even know how to ride?"

Percy looked around at the assembled demigods. "Actually, I'd say most of us. Camp's got a pretty good pegasus riding course."

"I specialize in dragons," Leo offered, "If you can get me a dragon in the next town, we'd be good."

"Where are we supposed to find you a-"

"Horace, watch out!"

The warrior of the Oakleaf had his sword out immediately, pulling his arm back to swing into the sudden mist appearing in front of them. And also Nico Di Angelo's face.

"Wait!" Percy yelled, grabbing his arm and twisting, forcing him to drop his sword. "Don't do that. We need that. What is it with you people and swinging weapons at my family?"

"The presence of godly power is so weak here," Hazel gaped, "How can we even Iris Message at all?"

"Nico, what's going on?" Piper asked over her, "Are you- monster!"

An empousa latched onto Nico's back, leaving him stumbling forward. Percy had to physically refrain from slashing Riptide through the Iris Message himself.

"It's almost at the cabins," the Son of Hades gasped, "You guys really need to hurry it up. We've posted a guard to keep the monsters away from the kids, and evacuated a ton of the Campers to Camp Jupiter, but they're hard to transport and we don't have the funds for a hundred cross-continental plane tickets or enough people to protect them anyway. If this thing keeps going the way it has been, it's going to hit the mortal world, and they won't know how to deal with it."

"Almost at the- Nico," Annabeth interrupted quickly, "How long has it been, there?"

"Since you left?" He clarified, batting away a hellhound, "A couple of weeks?"

"A week there was months here," Annabeth muttered, "But a day here is weeks there?"

"Don't try and figure out the conversion rates, Wise Girl," Percy told her with a sigh, wincing when he saw a blade graze his cousin, "You're going to break your brain. They're never going to match. That's the whole point of Kronos ripping apart space-time."

"How are we supposed to know how quickly we have to end this war, then, Percy?" She demanded, her worry making her snap, "We were indirectly fighting him for years the last time! Even if we defeat Kronos by next month? How many years will have passed by then? Will Thalia's tree still be standing to protect whatever's left? How much of New York will have been swallowed? Camp Half Blood is my home, Percy! It's the only home I've ever had, the only home I've ever known! This time tomorrow, there might not be anything left of it."

"Yeah," he agreed, drawing her into a hug, "There might not be."

"Percy!" Piper hissed, "A little tact, please."