Ascension of the Fallen

Vacation in the Pit

Perseus warily sat a couple feet away from the titan. After all, Pallas had just saved his life, almost taking his life in the process, but that could be promptly overlooked; the least the god could do was sit with him and have a little chat.

"So," Perseus started, "what brings you down to this lovely place?"

Pallas chuckled at the god's thinly veiled sarcasm, "Your father is rising."

Perseus' back suddenly went ramrod. That couldn't be good; was the titan trying to recruit him?

He replied carefully, "And why does this concern me?"

The titan shrugged, "No reason, just thought I would deliver some news. The souls in the underworld whisper of the giants stirring. A storm is on the horizon, and I am positive the gods won't survive this one."

Perseus sat in shock, comprehending the load of information that had just been delivered. If the god could escape Tartarus, he could use subterfuge to wage a war on both sides without either side knowing.

"Pallas, where does your allegiance lie?" the former king of Olympus inquired.

The titan of warcraft snorted, "If I was allied with the titans, I would have stabbed you in the back already."

The god had to concede that point to him.

"Alright then. Why do you not ally with the titans? You hate the gods as much as I do, no?"

As much as the Olympians tried to keep the situation under wraps, the entire Greek pantheon knew about the usurping of Perseus.

"Yes, but the titans are rather moronic immortals," Percy snorted at this, as Pallas continued, "if you were to pry open their heads, nothing would be inside their skulls."

The god held in a laugh at this, gesturing for Pallas to continue.

"They think they can bring back the Golden Age, where man thrived and the Crooked One was not so crooked. My father and brothers are disillusioned with Kronos, although they have turned moronic themselves."

Perseus nodded, impressed with Pallas' line of reasoning, "How do you feel about joining me on a quest to defeat the puny gods and the titans?"

Pallas grinned borderline enthusiastically at the god, "I thought you'd never ask. I did always admire you, having the guts to stand up to the Crooked One himself."

Perseus grinned back at the titan, having found a new ally for himself. The two new allies stood up. The god of mountains clasped forearms with the titan of warfare, "Then may we conquer our enemies together, and bring them to their knees."

Line break

Thalia was hungry, frustrated, and utterly tired. She growled at the goat – or satyr, Thalia didn't care.

"How much farther?" she snapped at the poor satyr.

She felt slightly bad, but Thalia would apologize later.

"Thalia, calm down. Grover, we need to stop. You need to rest," Luke stated worriedly.

"No, camp's not much farther," Grover trembled and shivered, "We can't stop anyways. Monsters are near us."

Less than half a day later, the four were struggling over the hill, a thunderstorm brewing. Thalia heard the growling and cackling of monsters and urged the group forward. The entrance of the camp was just a little farther, but they wouldn't make it. Besides the daughter of Zeus, a young Annabeth Chase trembled in fear; she must have come to the same conclusion.