A BLACK HEART

PREPARATIONS AND CONFRONTATIONS!

                                   A BLACK HEART Chapter 13
A/N:- So... here's the thirteenth chapter! Hope you'll like it!

Percy spent his 15th birthday with Sally and Paul by going to their favorite place, a weekend in a rundown cabin on Long Island with some movie rentals and a couple of frozen pizzas, and a big homemade blue birthday cake. It was the best day of his life.

Poseidon had come to visit him too, even if it was just for a few minutes. Plus, he got Percy a gift, a sand dollar, that didn't fit in the school vending machines.

Paul and Sally had even taken Rachel and Percy to a private stretch of beach on the South Shore, and Paul gave his Prius to them for a short spin.

Rachel and Percy were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachels red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. Percy was wearing his signature black hoodie, which had gotten torn up over the years fighting with monsters, over a black Led Zeppelin T-shirt.

"Oh, pull up right there!" she told him.

They parked on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic. The sea was nice, glittery green and smooth as glass, as if Poseidon was keeping it calm for them.

"So," Rachel smiled. "About that invitation."

"Oh . . . right." Percy said.

"Percy," she said, "I know the timing is bad. But its always bad for you, right?"

"I really want to go," Percy promised. "Its just-"

"The war."

Percy nodded.

She put her hand on his arm. "Just think about it, okay? We don't leave for a couple of days. My dad . . ." Her voice faltered.

"Is he giving you a hard time?" Percy asked.

Rachel shook her head in confusion, like she couldn't form the words. "He's trying to be nice to me, which is almost worse. He wants me to go to Clarion Ladies Academy in the fall."

"The school where your mom went?"

"It's a stupid finishing school for society girls, all the way in New Hampshire. Can you see me in finishing school?"

"That's dumb."

She sighed. "He thinks if he does a bunch of nice stuff for me, I'll feel guilty and give in."

"Which is why he agreed to let me come with you guys on vacation?"

"Yes . . . but Percy, you'd be doing me a huge favor. It would be so much better if you were with us. Besides, there's something I want to talk-" She stopped abruptly.

"Something you want to talk about?" Percy asked. "You mean . . . so serious we'd have to go to St. Thomas to talk about it?"

She pursed her lips. "Look, just forget it for now. Let's pretend we're a couple of normal people. We're out for a drive, and we're watching the ocean, and it's nice to be together."

"Okay," Percy said. "Just a normal afternoon and two normal people."

She nodded. "And so . . . hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?"

Percy was quiet for a second before he said, "Oh."

Suddenly four hooves landed on the hood of the Prius with a WUMP-WUMP-CRUNCH!

'Hey, boss,' a voice said in Percy's head. 'Nice car!'

"Blackjack," Percy sighed as he looked up. "What are you-"

"Sup, Percy." Charles Beckendorf, senior counselor for the Hephaestus cabin, who would make most monsters cry for their mommies, said.

He was huge, with ripped muscles from working on the forges every summer, two years older than Percy, and one of the camps best armor smiths. He made some seriously ingenious mechanical stuff. A month before, he'd rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronoss evil meanies as soon as the first harpy went flush.

Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm with black camo pants and a sword strapped to his side. His explosives bag was slung over his shoulder.

"Time?" Percy asked.

Beckendorf nodded grimly.

Rachel looked up at Beckendorf. "Hi."

"Oh, hey. Im Beckendorf. You must be Rachel. Percy told me . . . uh, I mean he mentioned you."

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Really? Good." She glanced at Blackjack, who was clopping his hooves against the hood of the Prius. "So I guess you guys have to go save the world now."

"Pretty much," Beckendorf agreed.

Percy looked at Rachel helplessly. "Would you tell Sally-"

"I'll tell her. I'm sure she's used to it. And I'll explain to Paul about the hood."

"Tell him, I'll pay for it," Percy said.

"Good luck." Rachel kissed him on the cheek. "Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me."

Percy nodded and sat on top of Blackjack, grabbing tight as they flew off, leaving Rachel behind.

"So," Beckendorf said, "I'm guessing you don't want me to mention that little scene to Cam?"

"Shut up, Becky" Percy muttered. "Don't even think about it."

Beckendorf chuckled, and together they soared out over the Atlantic.

It was almost dark by the time they spotted their target. The Princess Andromeda glowed on the horizon-a huge cruise ship lit up yellow and white.

There was a giant figurehead-a dark-haired maiden in a Greek chiton, wrapped in chains with a look of horror on her face, as if she could smell the stench of all the monsters she was being forced to carry.

Now it was heading straight for New York.

"You know what to do?" Beckendorf yelled over the wind.

Percy nodded.

"Blackjack," He said, "set us down on the lowest stern deck."

'Gotcha, boss,' he said. 'Man, I hate seeing that boat.'

"Don't wait for us, go back to Hector, he must be waiting for you," Percy told him.

'But, boss-'

"Trust us," Beckendorf said, patting the horse on the head. "Well get out by ourselves."

Blackjack folded his wings and plummeted toward the boat like a black comet. There were monsters patrolling the upper decks of the ship-dracaenae snake-women, hellhounds, giants, and the humanoid seal-demons known as telkhines.

"You understand Horse?" Percy asked as they shot down the stern of the boat, and Blackjack spread his wings, lightly coming to a landing on the lowest deck.

The demigods climbed off, feeling queasy as Beckendorf answered. "No... but I understood his emotions."

'Good luck, boss,' Blackjack said, neighing. 'Don't let em turn you into horse meat!'

With that, the Pegasus flew off into the night.

Beckendorf pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, a photograph. He stared at it in the dim light-the smiling face of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. They'd started going out last summer, after years of the rest of the people saying, "Duh, you guys like each other!"

"Well make it back to camp," Percy promised. "Now, don't be such a cry baby Becky, you'll live to be able to kiss her again."

"Don't call me that," he said.

"Well, that's what Silena calls you, so..."

"Shut up, come on. Let's go blow Kronos back into a million pieces." Beckendorf said, chuckling and led the way.

They followed a narrow corridor to the service stairwell, just like practiced, but they froze when they heard noises above them.

"I dont care what your nose says!" snarled a half-human, half-dog voice-a telekhine. "The last time you smelled half-blood, it turned out to be a meat loaf sandwich!"

"Meat loaf sandwiches are good!" a second voice snarled. "But this is half-blood scent, I swear. They are on board!"

"Bah, your brain isn't on board!"

They continued to argue, and Beckendorf pointed downstairs. They descended quietly. Two floors down, the voices of the telekhines started to fade.

Finally, they came to a metal hatch. Beckendorf mouthed the words "engine room."

It was locked, but Beckendorf pulled some chain cutters out of his bag and split the bolt like it was made of butter.

Inside, a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churned and hummed. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console, but he was so involved with his work, he didn't notice Percy and Beckendorf sneaking in. He was about five feet tall, with slick black seal fur and stubby little feet. He had the head of a Doberman, but his clawed hands were almost human. He growled and muttered as he tapped on his keyboard. Maybe he was messaging his friends on uglyface.com.

Percy stepped forward, and the telkhine tensed, probably smelling something was wrong. He leaped sideways toward a big red alarm button, but Percy quickly punched his throat and he exploded into dust.

"One down," Beckendorf said. "About five thousand to go." He tossed Percy a jar of thick green liquid-Greek fire, one of the most dangerous magical substances in the world. Then he threw him another essential demigod tool - duct tape.

"Slap that one on the console," he said. "I'll get the turbines."

Percy nodded and they went to work. The room was hot and humid, and in no time they were drenched in sweat.

The boat kept chugging along as suddenly, there came the sound of footsteps, legs thumping on the metal, approaching the engine room.

Percy locked eyes with Beckendorf. "How much longer?"

"Too long." He tapped his watch, which was a remote control detonator. "I still have to wire the receiver and prime the charges. Ten more minutes at least."

Judging from the sound of the footsteps, they had about ten seconds.

"I'll distract them," Percy said. "Meet you at the rendezvous point."

"Percy-"

"Wish me luck."

He looked like he wanted to argue.

"Good luck," he said finally and Percy nodded as he charged out of the door.

A half dozen telkhines were tromping down the stairs. Percy punched through them faster than they could yelp.

He burst through a door onto deck six and kept running, golden dust falling around him.

Percy soon reached the promenade, a big shopping mall that took up the whole middle of the ship, and stopped cold. In the middle of the courtyard stood a fountain. And in the fountain squatted a giant crab.

The monster rose ten feet out of the water. Its shell was mottled blue and green, its pincers longer than Percy's body. Its mouth was foamy and gross with whiskers and snapping bits. Its beady black eyes glared at Percy

"Fffffffff," it hissed, sea foam dripping from its mouth. The smell coming off was like a garbage can full of fish sticks that had been sitting in the sun all week.

Alarms blared.

"Hey, crabby." Percy inched around the edge of the courtyard. "I'm just gonna scoot around you so-"

The crab moved with amazing speed. It scuttled out of the fountain and came straight at Percy, pincers snapping. One pincer smashed the glass walls to pieces and raked across the room.

"There!" a voice said from a balcony above Percy, they had noticed him. "Intruder!"

The demonic crustacean lunged at Percy, but he grabbed hold of one claw, and broke off its tip.

Mr. Crabby hissed and foamed, but didn't seem very hurt.

Percy ran and punched its head, as a crack started to appear, then he turned around and jumped, bringing his leg down on its skull, breaking it.

The monster shuddered and hissed. Its eyes dissolved and its shell turned bright red as its insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor in a massive heap.

Percy ran for the nearest stairs while all around him monsters and demigods shouted orders and strapped on their weapons.

In the elevator foyer on deck eight, a couple of dracaenae slithered across the path. They held spears and weighted nets.

"What isss thisss?" one said. "A prize for Kronosss!"

Percy shook his head and jumped over her, grabbed her hand, and swung her around. She slammed into the elevator and she fell to the ground and disintegrated.

"Get him!" Her draecaena comrade screamed as they ran after him.

Percy burst outside onto the main deck. Off the port bow, the sky was darkening from purple to black. A swimming pool glowed between two glass towers with more balconies and restaurant decks. The whole upper ship seemed eerily deserted.

Hellhounds barked. An arrow from somewhere whizzed past Percy's face and impaled itself in the mahogany-paneled wall of the stairwell.

Percy turned around and froze.

"You're late, Percy."

Luke or Kronos stood on the balcony above him, a smile on his scarred face. He wore jeans, a white T-shirt, and flip-flops, like he was just a normal college-age guy, but his eyes were solid gold. He had a bow with an arrow drawn.

"We've been expecting you for days." At first he sounded normal, like Luke. But then his face twitched. A shudder passed through his body as though he'd just drunk something really nasty. His voice became heavier, ancient, and powerful-the voice of the Titan lord Kronos. The words scraped down my spine like a knife blade. "Come, bow before me."

"Yeah, like that'll happen," Percy muttered.

Laistrygonian giants filed in on either side of the swimming pool as if they'd been waiting for a cue. Each was eight feet tall with tattooed arms, leather armor, and spiked clubs. Demigod archers appeared on the roof above Luke. Two hellhounds leaped down from the opposite balcony and snarled at Percy. Within seconds he was surrounded.

"Come forward," Kronos said. "If you dare."

The crowd of monsters parted and Percy moved up the stairs.

Kronos's weapon appeared in his hands-a six-foot-long scythe, half Celestial bronze, half mortal steel.

Percy saw red as he looked at the titan and charged.

Time slowed down as Kronos smiled, swirling his scythe at normal speed, waiting.

Percy lunged forward, bringing his fist in an upper cut motion, but he was too slow.

Kronos dodged and sliced downward with his scythe.

Percy leaped back, and the evil blade missed him by an inch, cutting a gash in the deck.

Percy recovered and kicked Kronos in the chest. He stumbled backward, but soon he regained his balance.

Percy then got down and spun around and did a horse kick at Kronos's face, which he steered away from.

The titan swung his scythe again, Percy blocked the attack but his strike was so powerful that Percy was pushed back and the edge of the scythe grazed his arm.

Percy stumbled backward, and struggled to stand.

Monsters around jeered and Kronos laughed. "A poor performance, Percy Jackson. A shame to kill you now," Kronos mused, "before the final plan unfolds. I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus."

"You'll never get this boat to Manhattan." Percy said.

"And why would that be?" Kronos's golden eyes glittered. His face-Luke's face-seemed like a mask, unnatural and lit from behind by some evil power. "Perhaps you are counting on your friend with the explosives?"

He looked down at the pool and called, "Nakamura!"

A teenage guy in full Greek armor pushed through the crowd. His left eye was covered with a black patch.

"Success, my lord," Ethan called. "We found him just as we were told."

He clapped his hands, and two giants lumbered forward, dragging Charles Beckendorf between them. He had a swollen eye and cuts all over his face and arms. His armor was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off.

"No!" Percy yelled.

Beckendorf met his eyes and looked at his watch. Percy shook his head lightly.

"We found him amidships," one of the giants said, "trying to sneak to the engine room. Can we eat him now?"

"Soon." Kronos scowled at Ethan. "Are you sure he didn't set the explosives?"

"He was going toward the engine room, my lord."

"How do you know that?"

"Er . . ." Ethan shifted uncomfortably. "He was heading in that direction. And he told us. His bag is still full of explosives."

Kronos hesitated.

"Open his bag," Kronos ordered.

One of the giants ripped the explosives satchel from Beckendorf's shoulders. He peered inside, grunted, and turned it upside down. Panicked monsters surged backward. But what fell out were a dozen cans of peaches.

Kronos was breathing, trying to control his anger.
"Did you, perhaps," he said, "capture this demigod near the galley?"

Ethan turned pale. "Um-"

"And did you, perhaps, send someone to actually CHECK THE ENGINE ROOM?"

Ethan scrambled back in terror, then turned on his heels and ran.

Percy understood that Beckendorf had already primed the explosives and if he managed to press the detonator button, the ship would blow at once as his eyes widened.

Kronos turned toward Percy with a crooked smile. "You'll have to excuse my incompetent help, Perseus Jackson. But it doesn't matter. We have you now. We've known you were coming for weeks."

He held out his hand and dangled a little silver bracelet with a scythe charm-the Titan lord's symbol.

"Is that a communication device? . . . there's a spy at camp?"

Kronos chuckled. "You can't count on friends. They will always let you down. Luke learned that lesson the hard way. Now drop your sword and surrender to me, or your friend dies."

One of the giants had his hand around Beckendorf's neck.

Beckendorf mouthed just one word: Go.

Percy shook his head.

Beckendorf closed his eyes tightly and brought his hand up to his watch.

Percy leaped towards him screaming, "NOOO!" but Beckendorf pushed him back and pressed the button.

Percy fell off the side of the ship-toward the water a hundred feet below.

There was a deep rumbling in the ship. Monsters yelled at them from above. A spear sailed past, and hit Percy in the shoulder.

Percy plunged into the sea and willed the currents to take him far away from the ship.

Even from that distance, the explosion shook the world. The Princess Andromeda blew up from both sides, a massive fireball of green flame roiling into the dark sky, consuming everything. In the dark night sky, the blast looked like a firework exploding with the sounds of monsters screaming and Kronos roaring.

Percy blacked out due to the physical and emotional pain, his tears mixing with the water and sunk like an anchor to the depth of the ocean.

Percy rarely saw a dream, like very rarely. He mostly was able to stop them from coming, but this time he wasn't.

Percy was in some sort of forest, then suddenly he remembered, it was the forest at the camp!

Dryads were sleeping and satyrs were roaming around.

Percy saw two people, one boy and one girl, come and stand behind Zeus's fist, where they started talking in hushed voices.

Percy felt like an intruder but he inched closer to hear them clearly.

"Listen, Luke, I.... I don't want to do this anymore," A girl's voice said, Silena the head counselor of the Aphrodite Cabin.

Percy's eyes widened, Luke was here?

"Silena, Silena... listen, you should have refused when I gave you this opportunity the first time, now? It's too late, you're already a traitor, a spy for Kronos, the titans, you can't change that now," Luke said. "I expect a daily report of every plan you guys make to defeat us, everything, and if you don't do that, I'll tell everyone that you are a traitor, including that boyfriend of yours."

Percy was furious, Luke dared to blackmail Silena, his friend!

"Luke, please, I don't want to do this, I am..."

"Silena, if I tell everyone, they will shun you and throw you away, and your boyfriend will break up with you... so what'll it be? Continue with us or lose your home?" Luke asked.

Silena had tears streaming down her face, but she nodded.

"Good, now go along," Luke said and Silena ran out of the forest.

He turned around and smiled eerily, like he knew Percy was there and disappeared.

"Percy?" a deep voice woke Percy up.

"Beckendorf?" Percy asked hopefully.

"No, brother."

A Cyclops was looming over him-a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern.

"Tyson?"

"Yay! Your brain works!"

Percy sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. He was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light.

A hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded them, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.

"Where-"

"Daddy's palace," Tyson said.

Percy's already torn up jacket was speckled with burn marks from the explosion. (A/N:- Are hoodies and jackets the same thing?)

The spear had been extracted from his shoulder and the wound had healed up, but still, it hurt like hell.

"How long-"

"We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water."

"The Princess Andromeda?"

"Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed.

"Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ."

Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother."

"Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He can't be gone." Percy said, tears were streaming down his face, especially when he remembered the dream.

"Don't cry brother, he sacrificed himself to take out the bad ship."

"Yeah, you're right, come on let's go Tyson," Percy said giving him a watery smile.

A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed outside, turning the whole sea as bright as noon.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters."

They swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser.

The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.

The main courtyard was filled with warriors-mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed them, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green and his teeth were shark teeth.

Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications-towers, walls, and anti-siege weapons-but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green; Greek fire, which can burn even underwater.

Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom.

There were battles raging-flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing.

At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the darkness above, an enormous form appeared-a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust- a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water.

"Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from.

"He did that?" Percy suddenly felt more hopeful.

"Have you been in the fight?" He asked Tyson. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"

Tyson pouted, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy."

The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the surrounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that collapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture.

Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but there was no guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young.

Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin-just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.

"Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans."

The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but they could understand it: 'Yes, lord!' It sped away.

"Dad?" Percy asked.

The old man looked up.

"Hello, Percy."

"What-what happened to you?" Percy asked gingerly.

Tyson nudged him.

"It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me."

"But you're immortal," Percy said quietly. "You can look . . . anyway you want."

"I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you-I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear-"

The lady in green armor stared at Percy coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle."

She swam away.

Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my other son."

"Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fishtails swished back and forth. He smiled, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Einar Jackson. Come to help at last?"

"Tell me what to do," Percy said.

Triton smiled and turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. I will not fail."

He nodded politely to Tyson and shot off into the water.

Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon-a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy.

"I'm sorry about that," he said.

A huge sea serpent appeared from above them and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium.

Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. Ka-boom! The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror.

"My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."

He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident, he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword, he wielded a live serpent.

"Oceanus, the Titan of the sea?" Percy asked.

Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."

"He looks stupid," Percy said. "I mean, who fights with a snake?"

"Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.

Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war for almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still, he finds new forces to throw at me-sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."

There was an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs, a hundred limbs.

"Briares!" Percy said.

"He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one."

Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.

"Percy, we may not have much time," Poseidon said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"

Percy told him everything, Kronos, Ethan, the peach cans, and Beckendorf. Hundreds of wounded mermen were lying on makeshift cots.

Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed. Sometimes sacrifices are necessary for the overall victory."

"But we didn't kill him, did we?"

"No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time."

"There were demigods on that ship," Percy said.

Poseidon put his hand on Percy's shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos, they chose their path."

"They were brainwashed!" Percy said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?"

Percy glared at the mosaic-little tile explosions destroying tile monsters.

Tyson put his arm around him. "Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick."

"Percy, if this gives you any comfort, know that a demigod is still alive, the one with the black eyepatch." Their father said.

"Ethan," Percy said.

"Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."

"The bigger threat?"

A shadow passed over Poseidon's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp."

"Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"

"You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere."

Percy looked at Tyson helplessly.

Tyson chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight. He is good."

"I know that," Poseidon said gently.

"Dad, I can help, I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer."

A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines.

Percy raised his hand and the fireball dissipated.

Poseidon gasped. "How did you do that?"

"Oh, just something I learned from Hephaestus, he said that I can control fire... Bla, bla, bal..." Percy said.

"Fine, that's impressive, but now, you must return to camp," The sea god insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time."

"For what?"

"You must hear the prophecy. The entire prophecy."

"But, what if, I am not the child of the prophecy? What if it's Hector?" Percy asked. "If it is him, then I can stay here to fight instead of leaving? What if I leave and you . . . fade away?"

"Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know who is going to carry the prophecy, but your fight lies in the world above. You and Hector can always go together, and if nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice."

Tyson gripped Percy's hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!"

Their dad seemed to age another ten years. "Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory."

Tyson pouted some more.

"I will go," he sniffled. He hugged Percy. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!"

He sobbed and swam away toward the armory, where his cousins were fixing spears and swords.

"You should let him fight, he hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?"

Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him."

"You should trust him, not try to protect him."

Poseidon's eyes flared, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace.

"Oceanus approaches," Poseidon said. "I must meet him in battle."

"I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?"

Percy nodded and pulled out his camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer at Camp Half-Blood, which were only two, but since last year he'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord.

"The time is coming," His dad promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration."

He smiled, but then the entire sea grew dark like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, as a huge icy presence approached. A wave of fear rolled through the armies below them.

"I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go-and good luck, my son."

"Goodbye and good luck, dad," Percy managed.

Then he turned away. Water swirled around him, and he shot toward the surface at high speeds.

There were flashes of green and blue as Poseidon fought the Titan, and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies.

That afternoon the lookout on duty was Connor Stoll from the Hermes cabin. When he spotted Percy, he got so excited he fell out of his tree. Then he blew the conch horn to signal the camp and ran to greet Percy.

Connor had a crooked smile that matched his crooked sense of humor. He had curly brown hair and was a little shorter than his brother, Travis.

"Percy!" he yelled. "What happened? Where's Beckendorf?"

"I'm sorry," Percy said sadly.

"Oh, no. Poor Silena. Holy Zeus, when she finds out . . ." Connor muttered.

Together they climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were already streaming toward them, smiling and excited.

Percy stopped at the dining pavilion and waited for them.

There weren't as many demigods and satyrs and dryads at camp as before. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others had gone over to the enemy.

The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks.

Chiron galloped into the pavilion first. His beard had grown wilder over the summer. He wore a green T-shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR and a bow slung over his back.

"Percy!" he said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ."

Annabeth ran in right behind him followed by Hector and Cam.

"What happened?" She grabbed Percy's arm. "Is Luke-"

"The ship blew up," Percy said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where-"

Silena Beauregard pushed through the crowd. Her hair wasn't combed and she wasn't even wearing makeup.

"Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding.

Percy looked at Chiron helplessly.

The old centaur understood cleared his throat. "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House-"

"No," she muttered. "No. No."

She started to cry, and the rest of the demigods stood around, too stunned to speak.

Finally, Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever-a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess-but ever since Silena had given Clarisse advice last summer about her first boyfriend, Clarisse had decided she was Silena's personal bodyguard.

Clarisse was dressed in her bloodred combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena.

"Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to see Percy now. Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship.

Only Annabeth, Hector, Camilla, and Chiron stayed behind.

Cam sniffled. "I'm glad you're not dead, Percy."

"Thanks," Percy said. "But, I'm not."

Chiron put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?"

Percy told them everything, leaving out his dream about Silena, keeping it for some other day.

Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy and other matters."

"Poseidon mentioned another threat," Percy said. "Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream."

Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks like they knew something that Percy and Hector didn't. Hector was just confused.

"We will discuss that also," Chiron promised.

"One more thing." Percy took a deep breath. "When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy and so does Hector."

Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well. Annabeth, we will show Percy and Hector the truth-all of it. Let's go to the attic."

A ladder led up from the top of the staircase. Chiron didn't try to climb up, being half horse and all, he just told Annabeth, "You know where it is, bring it down, please. And Cam, stay down here."

Annabeth nodded. "Come on."

The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual. Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere-dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988.

There was an awkward and uncomfortable silence in the attic between the three, especially between Hector and Annabeth.

Percy had missed anything that had happened in between them, but it looked like they had been fighting a lot.

They walked over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle-a shriveled female mummy in a tie-dyed dress. Tufts of black hair clung to her skull. Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face.

Most of the time, she used to spout out green smoke and say "Approach seeker and ask." In her raspy voice, but she just sat there as dead as ever.

"I never understood this," Hector whispered.

"What?" Annabeth asked.

"Why it's a mummy."

"Hector, she didn't use to be a mummy. For thousands of years, the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Then, my dad, Hades cursed the oracle, and she became that," Percy pointed at the mummy. "She was the last oracle."

"Why did he do that?" Hector asked.

Annabeth and Percy looked at each other and then she said. "Don't know, let's just do our job and get out of here."

"So what now?"

Annabeth approached the mummy and held out her palms. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy."

Then, she took one of its necklaces and turned, holding a leather pouch-like a Native American medicine pouch on a cord braided with feathers. She opened the bag and took out a roll of parchment no bigger than her pinky.

"No way, you mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck?" Hector asked.

"The time wasn't right," Annabeth said. "Believe me, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it."

"Great," Percy said. "Can we read it now?"

"Downstairs at the war council," Annabeth said. "Not in front of . . . you know."

Percy nodded and waited till they all went down the attic and to the war council.

"Come on!" Hector exclaimed and he just nodded.

"Go on... I'll meet you there."

Percy turned around as he looked back at the oracle. There was something about those eyes that kept him back.

He leaned forward and stared at the black beady eyes looking at him as suddenly, he heard a creaking sound.

Percy turned around and gasped.

His surroundings were entirely changed. He was looking into a black pool of darkness that stretched miles and miles in front of him. He looked down and his heart started racing.

He was standing on a thin ledge and he knew that one fall would spell out his death.

He turned around and gasped even loudly as he came face to face with a woman with frizzy brown hair and crazy green eyes.

Percy knew he had to do something but he could not move as the woman grabbed his shoulders tightly.

"Please! Save...." She stammered before her face warped and changed. "Save my Son!"

Her voice wailed as the person in front of him continued to change faces until it settled for the eeriest of them all.

His mother.

His birth mother.

His fucking dead birth mother.

Percy gasped as he couldn't understand what was happening as the grip on his shoulders tightened and he took a tiny step back.

"CONSEQUENCES!" The woman screamed with a demonic voice as she pushed Percy down the cliff.

He screamed as he fell and turned around, looking at the darkness below him and told him to calm down, while cursing himself for not going with the rest.

The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table. And all of them looked like they were participating in a shouting match.

Clarisse was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back. She had her boar-shaped helmet under one arm and a knife at her belt.

She was yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer. Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude.

"It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my ass!"

Around the table, people were trying not to laugh-the Stoll brothers, Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, Katie Gardner from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention.

She sat beside Clarisse and stared vacantly at the Ping-Pong net. Her eyes were red and puffy. A cup of hot chocolate sat untouched in front of her. It seemed unfair that she had to be here.

"STOP IT!" Annabeth yelled. "What are you guys doing?"

Clarisse glowered at her. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk."

"Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said.

"The only reason I'm here is to support Silena!" Clarisse shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin."

"What are you talking about?" Hector demanded.

Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days."

"It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully.

"What issue?"

Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?"

Chiron shuffled his hooves and his tail swished nervously. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters-"

"Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and light when you need us, and not complain!"

"That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered.

Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D-"

"As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this."

"I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors? Are any of you going to side with me?"

Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes.

"Fine." Clarisse turned to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost . . . Anyway, I apologize. To you. Nobody else."

Silena didn't seem to register her words.

Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."

The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room.

Finally Michael Yew said, "Good riddance."

"Are you kidding?" Katie Gardner protested. "This is a disaster!"

"She can't be serious," Travis said. "Can she?"

Chiron sighed. "Her pride has been wounded. She'll calm down eventually." But he didn't sound convinced.

"Now," Chiron continued, "if you please, counselors. Percy and Hector have brought something I think you should hear. Percy-the Great Prophecy."

Hector stepped forward and the entire hall was in silence as they waited for the son of Poseidon.

No one moved.

Then, suddenly, a black hole erupted on the ground and threw Percy out of it, gasping and covered in sweat.

Hector immediately bent down to him. "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... I'm completely fine," Percy said and hastily got up, looking around and in his eyes, Chiron saw something new. Something that he had never seen before.

Fear.

"So... what are we doing?" Percy asked, scratching the back of his head.

Annabeth looked solemnly at him and handed Percy the parchment. He fumbled with the string and uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read:
"A half-blood of the eldest dogs . . ."

"Er, Percy?" Annabeth interrupted. "That's gods. Not dogs."

"Oh, right."

"A half-blood of the eldest gods . . .
shall reach sixteen against all odds. . ." Percy said.

"Go on," Chiron said.

"And see the world in endless sleep,
The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.
A single choice shall. . . shall end his days.
Olympus to per-pursue-"

"Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means to save."

"Olympus to preserve or raze." Percy finished.

The room was silent. Finally, Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?"

"Not raise," Silena said. Her voice was hollow. "R-a-z-e means destroy."

"Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble."

"Got it."


Everybody was looking at Percy, with concern, pity, or maybe a little fear. Cam had left the rec room slightly after Clarisse left because she said that she wanted to practice her shooting.

Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer.

"You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders-"

"Without realizing I was going to die in the end anyway?" Percy said. "Yeah, I get it."

Chiron gazed at him sadly.

"Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die."

"Sure," Percy said. "A single choice shall end his days. That has tons of meanings, right?"

"Maybe we can stop it," Jake Mason offered. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?"

"Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said. "He needs time-"

"No." Percy rolled up the prophecy and put it in his pocket. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"

Annabeth's hands were shaking a little.

"Let's move on," Percy said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy."

Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?"

He told them what had happened on the Princess Andromeda-how Kronos had known everything and how he'd shown Percy the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp.

Silena started to cry again, and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulders, while Percy just looked at her with no emotion.

"Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke-like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well."

Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Annabeth. She'd known Luke better than anyone, but then he looked away quickly.
"Um, I mean, it could be anybody."

"Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. "Like one of Luke's siblings."

Travis and Connor both started arguing with her.

"Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. "Charlie's dead and . . . and you're all arguing like little kids!" She put her head down and began to sob.
Hot chocolate trickled off the Ping-Pong table. Everybody looked ashamed.

"She's right," Pollux said at last. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too."

Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever."

"No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact, his next assault is already on the way."

Hector scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Percy or well, Poseidon mentioned?"

Chiron and Annabeth looked at each other.

Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually melted nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat."

The mist shimmered. There was the image of a smoldering volcano-Mount St. Helens. The side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying "-even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done."

The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava, like it was emerging from a manhole.

The giant was bigger than anything they'd ever encountered.

The figure looked vaguely humanoid through the ash and fire and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing.

"It's him," Hector said. "Typhon."

Chiron simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today."

Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. There was a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed everything in their path-ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys.

"Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction." The cameras zoomed in on a column of storms bearing down on some Midwest city. Inside the storm, the giant was visible, not clearly, but visible-just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. Then some kind of huge bird-a monstrous owl-dived in to attack the giant.

"Are those . . . the gods?" Percy asked.

"Yes," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward, toward New York. Toward Olympus."

"How long until he gets here?" Hector asked.

"Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight."

"But then who's guarding Olympus?"

Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."

"It's a trick," Percy said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen."

Chiron looked at him gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not."

"We have to defend Olympus," Percy insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned."

"He did," Travis Stoll reminded. "But you sunk his ship."

"Yeah, but what if the Princess Andromeda was a ploy? What if Kronos let us blow up that ship so we'd lower our guard? Because if they wanted, they could have easily disarmed the bombs before... before well Beckendorf pressed the button, yet they didn't, probably to instill this fear of losing someone in us and break us from the inside? So that we'll be much easy to defeat?"

Everybody was silent, not saying a single thing. Percy's words sunk deep in everyone's soul.

"Plus, I'll turn sixteen in 5 days, the same time in which Typhon is going to strike New York, so don't celebrate a small victory when the actual fight is not won yet," Percy said and opened the door and left the rest, dumbfounded and silent.

Chiron cleared his throat. "Well, that's enough for one night, Council adjourned."

Everyone got up from their seats and went to their respective cabins.

Percy was sitting on the beach, thinking about what was happening down below, underwater.

Poseidon was fighting Oceanus, that much was sure, but who was winning?

Percy could still see the faint flashes of blue and green in the ocean, so he couldn't understand what it meant.

He got up as he wanted to talk to someone.

Percy knocked on the door of the Aphrodite's Cabin.

A voice came from inside, "Come in!"

Percy pushed the door slightly and peered inside.

Silena was sitting on a bed, sobbing, with Clarisse next to her. They were drinking hot chocolate.

"What do you want Deathweed?" Clarisse asked and glared at him.

Percy ignored her and instead went to Silena.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do... Do... what?" Silena asked, looking up.

"Betray Beckendorf?"

"What! What do you mean?" Clarisse asked while Silena's eyes widened.

Percy ignored as he slammed his hand on the wall. "Why did you betray us?"

"How... how?" She asked.

"I had a dream, you told Kronos our plans and you have been doing that for a long time now, haven't you?"

Silena was dumbfounded, but she took out a silver scythe charm from her jeans pocket.

"I... I... I'm sorry..." Silena muttered.

"Silena, how could you do this?" Clarisse asked her.

"I'm sorry, I used to like Luke before Charlie, then when he told me to spy for him, I agreed, then I got into a relationship with Charlie and I told him I didn't want to do this, but then he said that he will expose me and then Charlie won't love me anymore, and Chiron would throw me out of camp. I agreed when he agreed to not let anything happen."

Percy nodded.

"Now what are we going to do? We know you are the spy, but you are also my friend, what do we do?" Clarisse asked.

"We won't do anything, we can also use this to our advantage, but before all that, Silena, I need you to promise me that you won't tell Kronos the truth ever again, you tell him what I tell you to. Understood?" Percy asked.

Silena nodded, there was a look of determination on her face.

"Good!"

***

The next day, everyone burnt Beckendorf's shroud.

It was made of metal chains and links, resembling chainmail. Of course, it was hard to burn metal, but finally, the chains melted, turned to golden dust, and the fabric beneath burned completely.

Hector and Annabeth were doing Cabin checkups and all that.

Percy sighed, he felt alone, even when he was surrounded by lots of people.

He was sitting in the Hephaestus cabin, talking to them about the weapons and armor they would need.

"We need everything you guys have, and we need restocks as well, especially on the arrows and the bullets," Percy told them.

"No problem Percy!" Jake Mason said. "It'll be ready!"

"Good."

***

He was sitting on the beach when Percy felt someone sit next to him.

"Hey Percy," Hector said.

"Hey, so what happened?"

"Oh, nothing, I just finished the Cabins with Annabeth, and honestly, it has been hell, this day just can't get worse,"

"Why is that?"

"Annabeth called me a coward when I just said the truth!"

"Oh, ok..."

"And now, I met Nico in a dream, and he has this crazy plan so that I can have a better chance of fighting Kronos."

"What did he say?"

"He wants me to take a dip in the River Styx to get invincible just like Achilles and Luke..."

"That's dangerous."

"Yeah, plus when I asked him why are you not giving this offer to you, he said that 'Percy doesn't need it' "

"Alright, he's smart, this is a good idea."

"You aren't going to object?"

"No, I think you need this," Percy said and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You need a blessing of a mother for this as well, so you'll need to go to your mom first and then to Styx... but for now, I bless you as well," Percy said and hugged him tightly. "Just think about an anchor, someone that will keep you anchored to the mortal realm, so you don't die in the river."

"Wow, thanks, that's reassuring."

Percy laughed. "Don't worry, just don't die, now go, go get invincible."

Hector smiled uneasily and went into the woods.

***

"Percy!" Jake yelled.

"What happened?"

"We're done with the weapons!"

"So quick? But it's just been one day!" Percy exclaimed.

"Well, we had been working on it before you told us to, so we added some final tweaks here and there, and we're done."

"Alright, show me," Percy said and followed Jake to his cabin where all the weapons were lying on a red cloth that was rolled out.

In the first row, lay all the long-ranged weapons, like the bows and arrows, the guns, and even some throwing knives.

Percy picked up a four-sided star-shaped thingie, full celestial bronze. "This looks like a shuriken!"

"Percy, that is a Shuriken."

"Oh," Percy said sheepishly and put the star down.

"Is that a tomahawk?"

"Yeah, it is."

"SOO COOL! You know, when I was little, I used to have a rubber tomahawk that Hades made for me, I used to pretend to fight against Theseus with that, even when it would pass right through him." Percy said.

"Alright," Jake pointed to the second row, a little weary, which had all the swords and daggers, basically, short-ranged weapons. "Those are machetes, spears, nunchucks, batons, krises, staffs, sickles, maces, cludges, a pair of sais, hammers, great for pounding the heads of monsters in, and a trident."

"What's that?" Percy said pointing to a scythe-shaped blade that was attached to a chain with a spiky ball on the other side, it looked like a nunchuck, a scythe, and a mace all mixed in one. While it was mainly made of celestial bronze, it had red detailings here and there, making it look wicked.

"Oh, that? That's a blood reaper."

"Blood what?"

"Blood Reaper, also known as a Kusarigama. It was Connor's idea, and I thought it looked cool, so we made it, but it's really dangerous, almost cut our heads off making it, so we didn't place it here, it's like just a showpiece, not to be used in battle."

"Oh, that is nice."

On the third row, was something wrapped in gift wrapping papers...

"Uh, Percy, this a gift for you, Happy Birthday in advance!" Jake said.

Percy unwrapped the gift and saw that it was a pair of gauntlets with sea-green inscriptions that translated to Perseus on both of them.
"These are so good!" Percy said and immediately tried them on. "They fit perfectly!"

***

With his new gauntlets, Percy felt stronger, like they weren't too big and bulky, they were like boxing gloves, soft and comfy on the inside, but hard and rough on the outside. It literally tore through a test dummy on the first punch when he first tried them out!

He was now sitting at the beach, again, but this time, he was sitting with Cam.

"So what's the plan?" Cam asked.

"Well, I'm going to go get some help now, we need all the people we can get," Percy replied. "Minus the Ares cabin, you, Hector, and me, we have just forty campers in total."

"Alright, so what do you want me to do?"

"Get ready, gather all the ammunition, and get ready, and tell Chiron and Annabeth to get all the campers and meet me at the Empire State Building."

"Ok," Cam replied and got up. "Best of luck."

"Thanks, same to you," Percy said getting up as well. "We'll need it."

Cam nodded and started to walk away, fixing her hair as Percy stopped her by grabbing her hand as she gasped.

The son of Hades pulled her towards her and hugged her tightly.

Cam's eyes were wide but she melted into the hug as the two stayed there for a few minutes.

***

Percy shadow traveled away and appeared in the underworld, right in his father's palace.

Hades wasn't there, but Persephone and Demeter were present.

Percy bowed.

"Why're you here Percy?" Persephone asked.

"Hey, Perse. Do you know where dad is?"

"Oh, he went out to get some... uh... groceries, yeah, groceries."

"Really? I feel like you're lying..."

"She is, he went hunting down your stupid, idiotic brothers," Demeter said.

"Mom! Did you have to tell him that?" Persephone whined while Demeter munched on her cereal.

"Hector and Nico?" Percy asked. "Why?"

"Well, Hades has a sort of..." Demeter started but was cut off by Hades just appearing in the shadows with a crash.

He was wearing only his boxers, which were bright pink with red flowers on them. A gift from Persephone.

His upper body was pale, and he was actually, really skinny.

Hades gasped and snapped his fingers as shadows surrounded him and became clothes.

"Now I know what the mighty Hades looks like underneath all those... all those cloaks and clothes," Percy said, trying to control his laughter.

"I know, he needs to eat his cereal, he is really thin, no good food in the underworld..." Demeter said as Hades straightened himself and took his seat in the center.

"Now, now, Percy, long time no see, huh?" Hades asked. "Why do you come here today?"

Percy's expression turned serious. "Dad, I'm going to need your help, all the Olympians are either battling Typhon or Oceanus, and Olympus is unguarded. We, demigods, are marching to the Empire State building to defend Olympus, but it's not enough... Kronos is using Typhon as bait to take the Olympians away from Olympus, and then he will destroy their thrones and Typhon will kill the gods... soon no god will be left... we need to stop him, and I need you, all of you to help us..."

"Hmmm..." Hades thought about it, had a discussion with the two goddesses, and then sighed.

"Fine, Percy, we'll help you with all that we can," He said.

"Yes! Thanks, Dad, see you later!" Percy said and shadow traveled away.

Then suddenly he came back, said, "And don't chase Hector. Bye!", and shadow traveled away, and then came back again.

"How's Bianca, dad?"

"She's good, her training is going on with Atlanta, and she is good with a bow, could shoot down 5 dummies at once. I send her to Artemis's hunt as well, every alternate week, because technically she's a hunter, so, right now she is with Atlanta now," Hades answered.

"Ok, thanks! Bye!" Percy said and went away.

"That kid's nice, when he was a kid, he used to eat his cereal well, that's why he became so nice and kind and strong when he grew up, not like you, all grumbling wrumbling," Demeter said.

"Shut up, mom," Persephone grumbled.

"See!" Demeter said.

***

Percy was walking in Central Park when he saw Hector pop out of the Underworld along with Ms. O'Leary.

"Hector!" Percy yelled when he saw him.

"Percy!" Hector yelled and waved his hands.

They hugged each other and jumped up and down as Mrs. O'Leary woofed.

People around were looking at them strangely, probably wondering why a large truck was making barking sounds.

"So, Hector, you feeling invulnerable?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, I feel stronger now, and nothing can hurt me!" Hector said.

"Good," Percy turned serious. "We have a war to fight now."

Hector's smile slipped away. "I know, come on, let's go."

Percy nodded.

"By the way, your dad is a real asshole," Hector said. "He literally kept me locked up!"

"Yeah I know, he's like that only when someone threatens him or his family... he's like a dog, in a good way, he's loyal but barks at anyone in his territory who isn't his family, by the way, did you meet Bianca?"

"Nope, Nico did mention that she was training."

"Ok, good, come on, you got a cell phone?"

Hector nodded and handed Percy his mom's cell phone to call Annabeth.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Percy said. "Cam told you what to do, right?"

"Percy, where have you been? Cam just told us to march to the Empire State Building, not why or when! Chiron didn't want to go forward until you and Hector came back, but then Cam forced us to go to Olympus, but we've been worried sick!"

"We'll fill you in later," Hector took the phone and said.

"Hector?"

"Yeah, I'm here as well, how did you think Percy called you?"

"Oh."

"Where are you guys now?" Percy asked from over the phone.

"We're on our way like you asked, almost to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. But, Percy, what are you planning? We've left the camp virtually undefended, and there's no way the gods-"

"Trust me. I'll see you there."

Percy hung up. "Come on, let's grab a crab."

"You mean a cab, right?" Hector asked.

"Same thing."

It was late afternoon when the taxi dropped them off at the Empire State Building. Mrs. O'Leary bounded up and down Fifth Avenue, licking cabs and sniffing hot dog carts. Nobody seemed to notice her, although people did swerve away and look confused when she came close.

Percy whistled for her to heel as three white vans pulled up to the curb. They said Delphi Strawberry Service, which was the cover name for Camp Half-Blood.

The first van was driven by Argus, the many-eyed security chief. The other two were driven by harpies, who are basically demonic human/chicken hybrids with bad attitudes.

The doors slid open. A bunch of campers climbed out, some of them looking a little green from the long drive. Many had come: Pollux, Silena Beauregard, the Stoll brothers, Michael Yew, Jake Mason, Katie Gardner, and Annabeth, along with most of their siblings. Chiron came out of the van last. His horse half was compacted into his magic wheelchair, so he used the handicap lift. The Ares cabin wasn't there.

Cam came up to them. She was dressed in black camouflage with her guns strapped to her belt.

Annabeth followed, dressed in similar attire, just white.

She frowned looking at Hector. "What is it?"

"What's what?"

"You're looking at me funny."

"It's, uh, nothing."

Percy turned to the rest of the group. "Thanks for coming, everybody. Do you know why we all are here?"

"To kill the monsters?" A voice came from the group.

"Yes, now, I'm telling you what we're going to do... Hermes cabin! Scan the entire perimeter and report back to us. The rest of you guys, go and evacuate the mortals, not even one should get hurt. We are going to go to Olympus."

The campers nodded and ran off.

"Chiron, you coming?"

The old centaur shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."

"But you're our leader."

He smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader."

Percy took a deep breath, understanding the responsibility on his shoulders. "Okay, we've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer."

He asked Argus to watch Mrs. O'Leary, which neither of them looked happy about.

Chiron shook their hands one by one. "You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware of your weaknesses."

Percy nodded and said. "Let's go."

A security guard was sitting behind the desk in the lobby, reading a big black book with a flower on the cover. He glanced up when Percy, Hector, Cam and Annabeth filed in with their weapons clanking.

"School group? We're about to close up."

"No," Hector said. "Six-hundredth floor."

He checked them out. His eyes were pale blue and his head was completely bald.

"There is no six-hundredth floor, kid." He said it like it was a required line he didn't believe. "Move along."

Percy leaned across the desk and grabbed his neck. "Just open the fucking gates and I'll let you go."

He thought about that for a moment and when Percy tightened his grip, he hit a buzzer and the security gate swung open. "Make it quick."

"You don't want us going through the metal detectors," Hector added.

"Um, no," he agreed. "Elevator on the right. I guess you know the way."

Percy tossed him a golden drachma and they marched in.

Since their last visit, different elevator music was playing:- "Gasoline."

'And all the people say
You can't wake up, this isn't a dream.'

They all stood around uncomfortably, listening.

'With your face all made up, living on a screen
Low on self-esteem, so you run on gasoline
I think there's a flaw in my code
(Oh, ooh-oh, ooh-oh, oh)
These voices won't leave me alone
Well, my heart is gold and my hands are cold.'