[Percy's POV]
"What were you thinking?" Clarisse cradled Silena's head in her lap. Silena tried to swallow, but her lips were dry and cracked. "Wouldn't... listen. Cabin would... only follow you."
"So you stole my armor," Clarisse said in disbelief. "You waited until Chris and I went out on patrol; you stole my armor and pretended to be me." She glared at her siblings. "And NONE of you noticed?"
The Ares campers developed a sudden interest in their combat boots. "Don't blame them," Silena said. "They wanted to... to believe I was you."
"You stupid Aphrodite girl," Clarisse sobbed. "You charged a drakon? Why?"
"All my fault," Silena said, a tear streaking the side of her face. "The drakon, Charlie's death... camp endangered-"
"Stop it!" Clarisse said. "That's not true." Silena opened her hand. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm, the mark of Kronos. A cold fist closed around my heart. "You were the spy."
Silena tried to nod. "Before... before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so... charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised... he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn't hurt... Charlie. He lied to me."
I met Annabeth's eyes. Her face was chalky. She looked like somebody had just yanked the world out from under her feet. Y/N looked almost enraged, and he was shaking. He was struggling to restrain himself from doing something irrational.
Behind us, the battle raged. Clarisse scowled at her cabinmates. "Go, help the centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!" They scrambled off to join the fight. Silena took a heavy, painful breath. "Forgive me."
"You're not dying," Clarisse insisted. "Charlie..." Silena's eyes were a million miles away. "See Charlie..." She didn't speak again.
Clarisse held her and wept. Chris put a hand on her shoulder. Finally Annabeth closed Silena's eyes. "We have to fight." Annabeth's voice was brittle. "She gave her life to help us. We have to honor her."
Clarisse sniffled and wiped her nose. "She was a hero, understand? A hero." I nodded. "Come on, Clarisse." She picked up a sword from one of her fallen siblings. "Kronos is going to pay."
[Y/N's POV]
I won't sit here and pretend like I was Silena's best friend or even that good of a friend of hers. But I knew her. I trusted her. She was a nice girl. And that's probably why we should have seen it coming.
Once she had moved on from this life, I swallowed my anger and prepared to keep battling. And I'd love to lie to you and say I was the one driving the enemy away from the Empire State Building.
But no, that was all Clarisse. She was fighting in a blind and violent rage. Without her armor or her spear, she rode her chariot right into the titan's army, crushing anything that dared to get in her way.
She fought so hard that even the freaked out centaurs picked up the pace. The hunters snagged some stray arrows from the fallen and launched volley after volley of silver tipped death into the hordes.
The Ares cabin slashed and hacked, which seemed to come from a deeper place than normal. They'd been waiting to fight in a real war for a while. They got the monsters to start retreating too.
Clarisse rode toward the drakon's corpse and tied a grappling line through its eye sockets. She lashed her horses and they took off, dragging the drakon behind her like she were a tow truck.
As she rode in, she swore at the enemy and taunted them, daring to fight her now. As she rode in the night, I noticed she was actually glowing. An aura of red fire flickered around her. "The blessing of Ares," Thalia said. "I've never seen it in person before."
The enemy threw spears and arrows, but nothing hit her. "I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON SLAYER!" she yelled. "I will kill you ALL! Where is Kronos? Bring him out! Is he a coward?"
"Clarisse!" I yelled. "Stop! Get back!"
"What's the matter, Titan lord?" she yelled. "BRING IT ON!"
The enemy didn't answer. Slowly but surely, they finished their retreat, disappearing behind their shields, all while Clarisse drove in circles around the street, daring anyone to come at her. The drakon corpse made a hollow scraping sound against the pavement. Like nails on a chalkboard almost.
While she taunted them, we treated the wounded, hauling them inside the building. Long after the enemy had disappeared, Clarisse kept riding up and down the avenue with the drakon in tow, demanding Kronos step out and battle her now.
Chris said, "I'll watch her. She'll get tired eventually. I'll make sure she comes inside."
"How about camp?" I asked. "Anyone still there?" Chris shook his head. "Only Argus and the nature spirits. Peleus the dragon is still guarding the tree."
"They're not going to be able to last on their own." I mumbled. "But thanks for showing up anyway." Chris nodded sadly. "I'm sorry it took so long. I tried to reason with Clarisse. I said there's no point in defending the camp if you guys die. All our friends are here. I'm sorry it took Silena..."
I shook my head and let out a soft breath, clutching at my chest. My heart was starting to burn now. I couldn't keep pretending it wasn't an issue, because I winced every time I tried to take a breath.
"My Hunters will help you stand guard," Thalia told Chris. "Y/N. You, Annabeth and Percy should go to Olympus. I have a feeling they'll need you up there, to set up the final defense."
***
The doorman wasn't in the lobby anymore. His book was abandoned, and his chair was thrown to the ground. The rest of the lobby though, was jam packed with wounded. Whether it be campers, hunters, or satyrs, there was someone getting treated everywhere I looked.
The Stolls met us by the elevators. "Is it true?" Connor asked. "About Silena?" I nodded. "She died." Percy interrupted. "She died a hero." Travis shifted uncomfortably. "Um, I also heard-"
"That's it," I insisted. "End of story." I figured talking about it now wasn't going to help anything."Right," Travis mumbled. "Listen, we figure the Titan's army will have trouble getting up the elevator. They'll have to go up a few at a time. And the giants won't be able to fit at all."
"That's our biggest advantage right now." I said. "Have you guys been able to figure out a way to put this thing out of commission?"
"It's magic," Travis said. "Usually you need a key card, but the doorman vanished. That means the defenses are crumbling. Anyone can walk into the elevator now and head straight up."
"Then we need to keep them from the doors." I planned. "We can funnel them in the lobby. It'll be like a shooting gallery. They've got to come through the door."
"We need reinforcements," Travis said. "They'll just keep coming. Eventually they'll overwhelm us."
"There are no reinforcements," Connor complained. I looked outside at Mrs. O'Leary, who was breathing against the glass doors and smearing them with hellhound drool.
"Maybe that's not true," I said. I went outside and put a hand on Mrs. O'Leary's muzzle, rubbing the poor dog. Chiron had bandaged her paw, but she was still limping. Her fur was matted with mud, leaves, pizza slices, and dried monster blood.
"Hey, girl." I whispered to the giant dog. "I know you're exhausted. But I've got one stupid idea and huge favor left to ask of you." I leaned into her ear and whispered my plan. It was a last gasp, but when you're running out of air, another breath is the only thing you can think of.
After Mrs. O'Leary shadow-traveled away, I rejoined Annabeth and Percy in the lobby. On the way to the elevator, we spotted Grover kneeling over a fat wounded satyr. "Leneus." I said in disbelief.
He looked awful. His lips were blue, like they were freezing, and there was a broken spear in his belly. His goat legs were twisted and turned at a disturbing angle. I don't know if it was acute, or obtuse, but I didn't like it.
He tried to focus on us, but I don't think he saw us. "Grover?" he murmured. "I'm here, Leneus." Grover was blinking back tears, despite all the horrible things Leneus had said about him. "Did... did we win?"
"Um... yes," Grover lied. "Thanks to you, Leneus. We drove the enemy away."
"Told you," the old satyr mumbled. "True leader. True..." He closed his eyes for the last time. Grover gulped. He put his hand on Leneus's forehead and spoke an ancient blessing. The old satyr's body melted, until all that was left was a tiny sapling m a pile of fresh soil.
"A laurel," Grover said in awe. "Oh, that lucky old goat." He gathered up the sapling in his hands. "I... I should plant him. In Olympus, in the gardens."
"We're going that way now," I said. "Come on."
In the elevator, there was a Muzak version of Queen's song, "The show Must Go on." I've heard the song a couple times before, and if we weren't charging headfirst into our deaths, I might have tapped my foot or something.
I thought about when I'd first visited Mount Olympus, a handful of years ago. The camp had come here on a field trip of sorts, but I told myself I wasn't leaving until I figured out who my parent was.
My whole life up to that point, I'd been neglected by the gods. Being on Olympus, I figured I could rectify the issue. Though, it certainly didn't help. If anything, it made my life worse.
I'd honestly rather go through that again than whatever was about to go on in here. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover weren't here then. Now they were, and I was thankful for it. And I had an awful feeling that it might be the last time the four of us would be together.
"Y/N," Annabeth said quietly. "You were right about Luke." It was the first time she'd spoken since Silena Beauregard's death. She kept her eyes fixed on the elevator floors as they blinked into the magical numbers: 400, 450, 500.
Percy, Grover, and I exchanged glances. "Annabeth," I said. "I'm sorry-"
"You tried to tell me." Her voice was shaky. "Luke is no good. I didn't believe you until... until I heard how he'd used Silena. Now I know. I hope you're happy."
I pulled her close. Or at least I tried to, but she squirmed in my grip. "I'm not happy about this. I just want this to be over." I swallowed a lump in my throat. She wouldn't meet my eyes.
Grover cradled his laurel sapling in his hands. "Well... sure good to be together again. Arguing. Almost dying. Abject terror. Oh, look. It's our floor."
The doors dinged and we stepped onto the aerial walkway.
[Percy's POV]
Depressing is not a word that usually describes Mount Olympus, but it looked that way now. No fires lit the braziers. The windows were dark. The streets were deserted and the doors were barred. The only movement was in the parks, which had been set up as field hospitals.
Will Solace and the other Apollo campers scrambled around, caring for the wounded. Naiads and dryads tried to help, using nature magic songs to heal burns and poison. As Grover planted the laurel sapling, Y/N, Annabeth, and I went around trying to cheer up the wounded.
I passed a satyr with a broken leg, a demigod who was bandaged from head to toe, and a body covered in the golden burial shroud of Apollo's cabin. I didn't know who was underneath. I didn't want to find out.
My heart felt like lead, but we tried to find positive things to say. "You'll be up and fighting Titans in no time!" I told one camper. "You look great," Annabeth told another camper. "I'm sure your leg will work again, eventually." Y/N grimly informed another.
"Leneus turned into a shrub!" Grover told a groaning satyr. I found Dionysus's son Pollux propped up against a tree. He had a broken arm, but otherwise he was okay. "I can still fight with the other hand," he said, gritting his teeth.
"No," I said. "You've done enough. I want you to stay here and help with the wounded."
"But-"
"Promise me to stay safe," I said. "Okay? Personal favor."
He frowned with uncertainty. It wasn't like we were good friends or anything, but I wasn't going to tell him it was a request from his dad. That would just embarrass him. Finally he promised, and when he sat back down, I could tell he was kind of relieved.
Y/N, Annabeth, Grover, and I kept walking toward the palace. That's where Kronos would head. As soon as he made it up the elevator, and I had no doubt he would, one way or another, he would destroy the throne room, the center of the gods' power.
The bronze doors creaked open. Our footsteps echoed on the marble floor. The constellations twinkled coldly on the ceiling of the great hall. The hearth was down to a dull red glow. Hestia, in the form of a little girl in brown robes, hunched at its edge, shivering. The Ophiotaurus swam sadly in his sphere of water.
He let out a half-hearted moo when he saw me.
In the firelight, the thrones cast evil-looking shadows, like grasping hands. Standing at the foot of Zeus's throne, looking up at the stars, was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was holding a Greek ceramic vase.
"Rachel?" I said. "Um, what are you doing with that?"
She focused on me as if she were coming out of a dream. "I found it. It's Pandora's jar, isn't it?" Her eyes were brighter than usual, and I had a bad flashback of moldy sandwiches and burned cookies. "Please put down the jar," I said.
"I can see Hope inside it." Rachel ran her fingers over the ceramic designs. "So fragile."
"Rachel."
My voice seemed to bring her back to reality. She held out the jar, and I took it. The clay felt as cold as ice. "Grover, Y/N," Annabeth mumbled. "Let's scout around the palace. Maybe we can find some extra Greek fire or Hephaestus traps."
"But-" Annabeth elbowed Grover. "Right!" he yelped. "I love traps!" She dragged them out of the throne room. Over by the fire, Hestia was huddled in her robes, rocking back and forth.
[Y/N's POV]
We trounced around the outskirts of Olympus, Annabeth's disdain for Rachel taking precedent right now. Plus, even though we didn't know for sure why she was up here, it probably involved Percy.
We just kept walking around. Nothing out of the ordinary but checking on wounded and making sure that it would be really hard for the opposition to get in.
As I walked in stride, like it normally did, one foot fell in front of the other, but then as my foot slapped onto the marble floor, my brain went all fuzzy.
On instinct, my other foot followed, trying to take another step, and of course, it slipped out from underneath me. Maybe it was the exhaustion finally catching up to me.
I tried to stick my hands out to brace my fall, but it was like the second I slipped, my body shut off. As Annabeth and Grover yelled out in concern, my ears were pierced by a ringing sound. I was out before I even hit the ground.
But it wasn't like my normal episodes, it wasn't even the void. The closest thing I'd liken it to is one of those box tv's when they don't get signal. The static, with the loud noise and the fuzz.
I wasn't in pain at all, I wasn't in... anything?
I felt weightless, thoughtless, like I was a breeze in the wind. It was weird. Whereas the void was pitch black and serene, with danger lurking, this place was just easy. The static noise picked up in intensity.
Something muffled cut through the sound. "Y-" it tried to say. "Can you-"
I didn't understand what was going on here. I had no chance to respond. "Can you hear me, Y/N?" was the first full sentence the voice let out.
It was still hard to make out through the static, but I knew it was a girl's voice. "Y/N!!" it shouted, and I was thrust into a different world.
I was standing in the middle of a clearing, right near... the base of Half Blood hill...
"Hey!" the girl's voice shouted. I turned swiftly to see Lou Ellen, and my eyes widened further than I thought possible. I leapt back and tried to sprint away from her, but no matter how many steps I took, how many times I pumped my arms, I stayed in place.
Lou Ellen sighed and said, "You can't run, Y/N. This is a spell I used to bring you here in my mind. And I brought you here because we need to talk."
"Talk?!" I shouted, facing her furiously. "Talk about what?! You betraying the camp?? Trying to kill me three times in the last two weeks?? What more do you think there is to talk about, Lou Ellen!!"
I felt white-hot rage coursing through every part of my brain, and I had half a mind to try and knock her out, but seeing as she was a magician, I knew I probably didn't have a great chance in her mind.
"A lot has been happening over the last few years. Especially the last year on its own." she said softly. I noticed that same hesitation on her features as I did many times before.
She looked hurt, emotionally. Thankfully, most of her actual wounds had healed by now. As much as I wasn't a fan of hers at the moment, deep down, I still knew she used to be my friend. And I didn't want her to be hurt.
"When I saw Kronos take over Luke's body like that, that was when it hit me. I turned and ran, and didn't stop running until I was off the mountain." she said, her hands shaking. She looked up at me, and her green eyes were filled with tears.
"I knew I messed up. When Luke sent me and the others to hunt you in the maze, I didn't want to. But he threatened me... he threatened my dad... So I did it. He never told me what he wanted you for, but when I figured it out, I was terrified. I knew I couldn't let Kronos get a hand on the demon. If he got it, the world was gonna end."
My heart pounded in my ears as she rambled on. Everything was slowly starting to click into place. "So, why were you on the Andromeda?" I wondered out loud.
She let out a tired breath. "I ran from the army last summer, and I spent the rest of the year trying not to get hunted down by them. Then, I got word about some demigods planning a bombing of the ship... I figured you had something to do with that." she chuckled.
I tried to put the pieces together, but there was still something I didn't get. "So those spells... on the ship, in Maine, in the city? What the hell was that?!" I shouted, an uncharacteristic crack in my voice.
She mumbled something, and looked up at me hesitantly. It was almost like she didn't want to say what she was gonna. "Y/N, I know you can't understand everything that's happening, but what I did, I need you to trust me that it was for a good reason." she said firmly.
I felt bile rise in my stomach. Anger followed pretty quickly after. A steady breeze drifted in the mental clearing of Half Blood Hill as I stared at Lou Ellen, just trying to find the right words to communicate.
"TRUST YOU?!?!" I shouted. I wished I could step over there, grab her by the throat and strangle her. "Why the hell would I ever trust you now?! Whatever you did to me, it's like something's completely wrong with my body!! I have no control!!"
I tried to just yell as loud as I could at her, but I couldn't take a deep enough breath. I started coughing, and fell to my knees. As soon as I hit the ground, the stabbing pain returned.
I screamed out, the sensation was too much right now. "You're trying so desperately to find a way, child... There is none. None you can bring yourself to do." it chuckled, a rasp on its voice. I felt one hand press down on me, clawing away at the middle of my chest.
"STOP IT!!!" I cried, out of instinct. I couldn't keep doing this... I wanted it to stop. "It can't stop, Y/N... Not yet." Lou Ellen said mournfully.
I flipped on my back, the mind grass scratching at my skin. Finally, the pain subsided, at least the majority of it. I still felt like I'd been given a full body pike by a very spiteful porcupine.
I laid there, taking shallow breaths, fighting the urge to cry. I forced myself to look up at Lou Ellen. She had a remorseful frown on her face.
"What do you mean, it can't stop?" I whispered pathetically. "Why can't it stop?" I pleaded. My voice died into the wind.
"It will stop, Y/N... but you have to let it." she said, her words seemingly magnified in my head. "Let it?..." I breathed out slowly, forcing myself to get up to my knees.
Lou Ellen stepped towards me and knelt at my side, mending some of the scratches on my face that the demon had left. "I can't tell you what it is, but something's gonna happen soon. And it's gonna be scary. But you can't stop it. You have to do it yourself." she instructed.
"But-" I tried to interrupt, but she kept going. "It's gonna seem stupid, but when the time is right, to save the world, you're gonna have to let go. You're going to have to let it have control."
"Let it have control?!" I said breathlessly. "That's what it wants!! That's what Erebus wants!!! Why would I-"
"Because..." she whispered.
"Because neither of them know what I've done. Neither of them are prepared for what's going to happen. But you will be." she said simply.
"Just let go?" I asked. "Just let go." she repeated.
Her green eyes held no malice, and over the years that I knew her, I could tell the difference between her 'I'm screwing with you' face, and her 'I'm dead serious' face. And I could tell she wasn't kidding right now. I nodded, and swallowed the bile in the back of my throat.
"I'm gonna try to set some things straight..." she said hesitantly. "Wish me luck?" she asked, a testing smile on her features. I nodded, and looked up at the hill. Argus, the camp muscle, stood there, his eyes glaring down at her, enraged.
"Just trust me, Y/N... You'll know what to do." she said. I nodded and she waved her hand, muttering some archaic spell. Lou Ellen took a step away, her form fading into static as her words echoed in my mind.
I really hoped that I did know what to do.
I woke up suddenly. Annabeth was holding a very little bit of ambrosia and nectar, worry etched on her face as she argued with Grover. He was doing chest compressions for some reason.
"Grover, his heart never stopped beating! Stop trying to break his ribs!" Annabeth chastised him. "I don't know what to do!" he shouted. "Grover, please stop!" I shouted, feeling more pressure in my chest than was there when I passed out.
Annabeth let out a sigh of relief and Grover took his hands away, wringing them nervously. "You okay?" he asked. I sat up and nodded. "Yeah, I think it's just fatigue... I'll be fine." I stood, and walked back towards the throne room. "Y/N, you need to rest!" Annabeth said.
I shook my head and picked up my pace back towards Percy and Rachel. Whatever was about to go down, I don't think we could afford to have her up here, especially not with the invincible idiot in there with her.
[Percy's POV]
"Come on," I told Rachel. "I want you to meet someone." We sat next to the goddess. "Lady Hestia," I said. "Hello, Percy Jackson," the goddess murmured. "Getting colder. Harder to keep the fire going."
"I know," I said. "The Titans are near." Hestia focused on Rachel. "Hello, my dear. You've come to our hearth at last." Rachel blinked. "You've been expecting me?"
Hestia held out her hands, and the coals glowed. I saw images in the fire: My mother, Paul, and I eating Thanksgiving dinner at the kitchen table; my friends and I around the campfire at Camp HalfBlood, singing songs and roasting marshmallows; Rachel and I driving along the beach in Paul's Prius.
I didn't know if Rachel saw the same images, but the tension went out of her shoulders. The warmth of the fire seemed to spread across her.
"To claim your place at the hearth," Hestia told her, "you must let go of your distractions. It is the only way you will survive." Rachel nodded. "I... I understand."
"Wait," I said. "What is she talking about?" Rachel took a shaky breath. "Percy, when I came here... I thought I was coming for you. But I wasn't. You and me..." She shook her head.
"Wait. Now I'm a distraction? Is this because I'm 'not the hero' or whatever?"
"I'm not sure I can put it into words," she said. "I was drawn to you because... because you opened the door to all of this." She gestured at the throne room. "I needed to understand my true sight. But you and me, that wasn't part of it. Our fates aren't intertwined. I think you've always known that, deep down."
I stared at her. Maybe I wasn't the brightest guy in the world when it came to girls, but I was pretty sure Rachel had just dumped me, which was pretty lame considering we'd never even been together.
"So... what," I said. '"Thanks for bringing me to Olympus. See ya.' Is that what you're saying?" Rachel stared at the fire. "Percy Jackson," Hestia said. "Rachel has told you all she can. Her moment is coming, but your decision approaches even more rapidly. Are you prepared?"
I wanted to complain that no, I wasn't even close to prepared.
I looked at Pandora's jar, and for the first time I had an urge to open it. Hope seemed pretty useless to me right now. So many of my friends were dead. Rachel was cutting me off. Annabeth was angry with me. My parents were asleep down in the streets somewhere while a monster army surrounded the building.
Olympus was on the verge of failing, and I'd seen so many cruel things the gods had done: Zeus destroying Maria di Angelo, Hades cursing the last Oracle, Hermes turning his back on Luke even when he knew his son would become evil.
'Surrender,' Prometheus's voice whispered in my ear. 'Otherwise your home will be destroyed. Your precious camp will burn.'
Then I looked at Hestia. Her red eyes glowed warmly. I remembered the images I'd seen in her hearth, friends and family, everyone I cared about. I remembered something Chris Rodriguez had said: There's no point in defending camp if you guys die.
All our friends are here. And Nico, standing up to his father, Hades: If Olympus falls, he said, your own palace's safety doesn't matter. I heard footsteps. Annabeth, Y/N, and Grover came back into the throne room and stopped when they saw us. I probably had a pretty strange look on my face.
"Percy?" Annabeth didn't sound angry anymore, just concerned. "Should we, um, leave again?" Suddenly I felt like someone had injected me with steel. I understood what to do. I looked at Rachel. "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you? I mean... you talked to Chiron, right?"
She managed a faint smile. "You're worried about me doing something stupid?"
"But I mean... will you be okay?"
"I don't know," she admitted. "That kind of depends on whether you save the world, hero." I picked up Pandora's jar. The spirit of Hope fluttered inside, trying to warm the cold container.
"Hestia," I said, "I give this to you as an offering." The goddess tilted her head. "I am the least of the gods. Why would you trust me with this?"
"You're the last Olympian," I said. "And the most important."
"And why is that, Percy Jackson?"
"Because Hope survives best at the hearth," I said. "Guard it for me, and I won't be tempted to give up again." The goddess smiled. She took the jar in her hands and it began to glow. The hearth fire burned a little brighter.
"Well done, Percy Jackson," she said. "May the gods bless you."
"We're about to find out." I looked at my friends. "Come on, guys." I marched toward my father's throne. The seat of Poseidon stood just to the right of Zeus's, but it wasn't nearly as grand.
The molded black leather seat was attached to a swivel pedestal, with a couple of iron rings on the side for fastening a fishing pole (or a trident). Basically it looked like a chair on a deep-sea boat, that you would sit in if you wanted to hunt sharks or marlin or sea monsters.
Gods in their natural state are about twenty feet tall, so I could just reach the edge of the seat if I stretched my arms. "Help me up," I told the others. "'Are you crazy?" Annabeth asked. "Probably," I admitted.
"Percy," Grover said, "the gods really don't appreciate people sitting in their thrones. I mean like turn-you-into-a-pile-of-ashes don't appreciate it."
"I need to get his attention," I said. "It's the only way." They exchanged uneasy looks. "Are you sure this is the only way?" Y/N wondered out loud. I nodded, certainty overshadowing my doubt. "Well," Annabeth said, "this'll get his attention."
They linked their arms to make a step, then boosted me onto the throne. I felt like a baby with my feet so high off the ground. I looked around at the other gloomy, empty thrones, and I could imagine what it would be like sitting on the Olympian Council.
It was so much power but so much arguing, always eleven other gods trying to get their way. It would be easy to get paranoid, to look out only for my own interest, especially if I were Poseidon.
Sitting on his throne, I felt like I had the entire sea at my command, vast cubic miles of ocean churning with power and mystery. Why should Poseidon listen to anyone? Why shouldn't he be the greatest of the twelve? Then I shook my head. Concentrate.
The throne rumbled. A wave of gale-force anger slammed into my mind: 'WHO DARES,' The voice stopped abruptly. The anger retreated, which was a good thing, because just those two words had almost blasted my mind to shreds.
'Percy.' My father's voice was still angry but more controlled. 'What, exactly, are you doing on my throne?'
"I'm sorry, Father," I said. "I needed to get your attention."
'This was a very dangerous thing to do. Even for you. If I hadn't looked before I blasted, you would now be a puddle of seawater.'
"I'm sorry," I said again. "Listen, things are rough up here." I told him what was happening. Then I told him my plan. His voice was silent for a long time. 'Percy, what you ask is impossible. My palace-'
"Dad, Kronos sent an army against you on purpose. He wants to divide you from the other gods because he knows you could tip the scales."
'Be that as it may, he attacks my home.'
"I'm at your home," I said. "Olympus."
The floor shook. A wave of anger washed over my mind. I thought I'd gone too far, but then the trembling eased. In the background of my mental link, I heard underwater explosions and the sound of battle cries: Cyclopes bellowing, mermen shouting.
"Is Tyson okay?" I asked. The question seemed to take my dad by surprise. 'He's fine. Doing much better than I expected. Though "peanut butter" is a strange battle cry.'
"You let him fight?"
'Stop changing the subject! You realize what you are asking me to do? My palace will be destroyed.'
"And Olympus might be saved."
'Do you have any idea how long I've worked on remodeling this palace? The game room alone took six hundred years.'
"Dad-"
'Very well! It shall be as you say. But my son, pray this works.'
"I am praying. I'm talking to you, right?"
'Oh... yes. Good point. Amphitrite, incoming!' The sound of a large explosion shattered our connection. I slipped down from the throne. Grover studied me nervously. "Are you okay? You turned pale and... you started smoking."
"I did not!" Then I looked at my arms. Steam was curling off my shirtsleeves. The hair on my arms was singed. "If you'd sat there any longer," Annabeth said, "you would've spontaneously combusted. I hope the conversation was worth it?"
"Moo," said the Ophiotaurus in his sphere of water. "We'll find out soon," I said.
Just then the doors of the throne room swung open. Thalia marched in. Her bow was snapped in half and her quiver was empty.
"You've got to get down there," she told us. "The enemy is advancing. And Kronos is leading them."
[Y/N's POV]
By the time we were on the street, it was already too late.
Campers and Hunters were laying wounded in the street. Clarisse lost a fight to a Hyperborean giant. The reason I knew this is because she was frozen solid in a cube of ice.
There were no party ponies to be seen. Either they all made a run for it, or were all killed here.
The titan army circled the building, standing maybe twenty feet from the doors. Kronos' front line was standing tall. Ethan Nakamura, the dracaenae queen, and two giants. Prometheus was nowhere to be seen, and I knew where Orion was.
Kronos, though. He stood right in front of us with his scythe in his hand. My heart was either beating so fast I couldn't feel it going, or it just shut down. The only one standing between us and Kronos was...
"Chiron," Annabeth said, her voice trembling. If Chiron heard us, he didn't answer. He had an arrow notched, aimed straight at Kronos's face. As soon as Kronos saw us, his gold eyes flared.
Every muscle in my body froze. Then the Titan lord turned his attention back to Chiron. "Step aside, little son." Hearing Luke call Chiron his son was weird enough, but Kronos put contempt in his voice, like son was the worst word he could think of.
"I'm afraid not." Chiron's tone was steely calm, the way he gets when he's really angry. I tried to move, but my feet felt like concrete. Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia were straining too, like they were just as stuck.
"Chiron!" Annabeth said. "Look out!"
The dracaena queen became impatient and charged. Chiron's arrow flew straight between her eyes and she vaporized on the spot, her empty armor clattering to the asphalt. Chiron reached for another arrow, but his quiver was empty. He threw the bow aside and drew his sword.
I always knew he didn't want to fight with a sword. It wasn't his favorite weapon. Kronos chuckled and stepped forward. Chiron's horse half shuddered nervously. His tail flicked back and forth.
"You're a teacher," Kronos sneered. "Not a hero."
"Luke was a hero," Chiron said. "He was a good one, until you corrupted him."
"FOOL!" Kronos's voice shook the city. "You filled his head with empty promises. You said the gods cared about me!"
"Me," Chiron noticed. "You said me." Kronos looked confused, and in that moment, Chiron struck. It was a good maneuver, a feint followed by a strike to the face. I couldn't have done better myself, but Kronos was quick.
He had all of Luke's fighting skills, which was a lot. He knocked aside Chiron's blade and yelled, "BACK!" A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the centaur. Chiron flew into the side of the building with such force the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him.
"DAD!!"
"No!" Annabeth wailed. The freezing spell broke. We ran towards the rubble, but there was no sign of him. Percy, Thalia, Annabeth, and I pulled helplessly at the bricks while a ripple of ugly laughter ran through the Titan's army.
"YOU!" Annabeth turned on Luke. "To think that I... that I thought-" She drew her knife. I tried to grab hold of her, "Annabeth!" I shouted, but she shook me off and lunged toward Kronos anyway. His smug smile dropped off his face.
Maybe some part of him remembered that Luke used to care about this girl, that he used to take care of her when they were younger. Annabeth plunged her knife between the straps of his armor, right for the collarbone.
It would have found its mark, but the blade instead bounced off of his skin. Annabeth shuddered and doubled over, holding her knife arm to her chest. The resistance dislocated her bad shoulder.
As Kronos lifted his scythe to swing down at her, I grabbed her by the waist, moving just about as fast as I ever thought I was able to. She fought against me and screamed out, "I HATE YOU!"
Tears streamed down her dust covered face. I tried my best to keep her from running at him again.
"I have to fight him," Percy told her. "It's my fight too, Percy!" Kronos laughed. "So much spirit. I can see why Luke wanted to spare you. Unfortunately, that won't be possible." I held my breath as Percy stood to face the titan king.
He raised his scythe, but before Kronos could strike, a dog's howl pierced the air somewhere behind the Titan's army. "Arroooooooo!" It was too much to hope for right now, but I called hopefully, "Mrs. O'Leary?"
The enemy shifted uneasily. That was when the weirdest thing started happening. They began to split apart, like something was making them step aside.
Then, there was a free aisle right down the street. Standing at the other end of the block was my dog, and a small kid in black armor. "Nico?" I called, not believing my own eyes. "ROWWF!" Mrs. O'Leary bounded toward me, ignoring the growling monsters on either side.
Nico strode forward. The enemy army fell back before him like he radiated death, which of course he did. Through the face guard of his skull-shaped helmet, he smiled. "Got your message, Y/N. Is it too late to join the party?"
"Son of a bitch." I muttered in disbelief.
"Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"
"Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me."
"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live." Nico drew his sword, three feet of wicked sharp Stygian iron, black as a nightmare. "I don't agree."
The ground rumbled. Cracks appeared on the road, the sidewalks, the sides of the buildings. Skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands of them, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."
The sky turned dark and cold. Shadows thickened. A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiers formed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enormous chariot roared down Fifth Avenue.
It came to a stop next to Nico. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. The chariot was inlaid with obsidian and gold, decorated with scenes of painful death.
Holding the reins was Hades himself, Lord of the Dead, with Demeter and Persephone riding behind him. I didn't know how to contain myself. So I laughed. I wrapped my arm around Nico's head. "You little shit, you did it!" I screeched. Nico smiled widely as we watched his father ride down the street.
Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood. On top of his pale head was the helm of darkness: a crown that radiated pure terror. It changed shape as I watched, from a dragon's head to a circle of black flames to a wreath of human bones. But that wasn't the scary part.
The helm reached into my mind and ignited my worst nightmares, my most secret fears. I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, and I could tell the enemy army felt the same way. Only Kronos's power and authority kept his ranks from fleeing.
Despite all of that, I couldn't help but be excited to see him here. Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking... young."
"Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."
"I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." He glanced at me with distaste.
"As much as I dislike certain upstart demigods, it would not do for Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on, it is that you were a TERRIBLE father."
"True," muttered Demeter. "No appreciation of agriculture."
"Mother!" Persephone complained. Hades drew his sword, a double-edged Stygian blade etched with silver. "Now fight me! For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."
"I don't have time for this," Kronos snarled. He struck the ground with his scythe. A crack spread in both directions, circling the Empire State Building.
A wall of force shimmered along the fissure line, separating Kronos's vanguard, my friends, and me from the bulk of the two armies.
[Percy's POV]
"What's he doing?" I muttered. "Sealing us in," Thalia said. "He's collapsing the magic barriers around Manhattan, cutting off just the building, and us."
Sure enough, outside the barrier, car engines revved to life. Pedestrians woke up and stared uncomprehendingly at the monsters and zombies all around them. No telling what they saw through the Mist, but I'm sure it was plenty scary. Car doors opened. And at the end of the block, Paul Blofis and my mom got out of their Prius.
"No," I said. "Don't..."
My mother could see through the Mist. I could tell from her expression that she understood how serious things were.
I hoped she would have the sense to run. But she locked eyes with me, said something to Paul, and they ran straight toward us. I couldn't call out. The last thing I wanted to do was bring her to Kronos's attention.
Fortunately, Hades caused a distraction. He charged at the wall of force, but his chariot crashed against it and overturned. He got to his feet, cursing, and blasted the wall with black energy. The barrier held.
"ATTACK!" he roared. The armies of the dead clashed with the Titan's monsters. Fifth Avenue exploded into absolute chaos. Mortals screamed and ran for cover.
Demeter waved her hand and an entire column of giants turned into a wheat field. Persephone changed the dracaenae's spears into sunflowers. Nico slashed and hacked his way through the enemy, trying to protect the pedestrians as best he could.
My parents ran toward me, dodging monsters and zombies, but there was nothing I could do to help them. "Nakamura," Kronos said. "Attend me. Giants, deal with them." He pointed at my friends and me. Then he ducked into the lobby.
For a second I was stunned. I'd been expecting a fight, but Kronos completely ignored me like I wasn't worth the trouble. That made me mad. The first Hyperborean giant smashed at me with his club. I rolled between his legs and stabbed Riptide into his backside. He shattered into a pile of ice shards.
The second giant breathed frost at Annabeth, who was barely able to stand, but Y/N pulled her out of the way while Thalia went to work. The hunter sprinted up the giant's back like a gazelle, sliced her hunting knives across his monstrous blue neck, and created the world's largest headless ice sculpture.
Zoe appeared out of the blue to stab her arrows into the eyes of another giant, sending it collapsing down into the ground, but another one stepped in my path.
"Go, Percy!" Y/N shouted to me, taking on the giant that had made its way between me and my parents. He slid down past its swinging hands, which would have crushed him otherwise.
He popped up behind it and sliced at the giant's calves. He climbed up its back, and the giant tried to swat him off. But because of its legs, the giant was off balance. It crumpled limply, falling towards the ground as Y/N plunged his sword into the giant's head. It turned to dust just as he rolled to the ground safely, joining Zoe in a totally different fight.
I glanced outside the magic barrier. Nico was fighting his way toward my mom and Paul, but they weren't waiting for help. Paul grabbed a sword from a fallen hero and did a pretty fine job keeping a dracaena busy. He stabbed her in the gut, and she disintegrated.
"Paul?" I said in amazement.
He turned toward me and grinned. "I really hope that wasn't a kid. I was a Shakespearian actor in college! Picked up a little swordplay!"
I liked him even better for that, but then a Laistrygonian giant charged toward my mom. She was rummaging around in an abandoned police car, maybe looking for the emergency radio, and her back was turned.
"Mom!" I yelled.
She whirled when the monster was almost on top of her. I thought the thing in her hands was an umbrella until she cranked the pump and the shotgun blast blew the giant twenty feet backward, right into Nico's sword.
"Nice one," Paul said.
"When did you learn to fire a shotgun?" I demanded. My mom blew the hair out of her face. "About two seconds ago. Percy, we'll be fine. Go!"
"Yes," Nico agreed, "we'll handle the army. You have to get Kronos!"
"Come on, Percy!" Annabeth said. I nodded. Then I looked at the rubble pile on the side of the building. My heart twisted. I'd forgotten about Chiron. How could I do that? "Mrs. O'Leary," I said. "Please, Chiron's under there. If anyone can dig him out, you can. Find him! Help him!"
I'm not sure how much she understood, but she bounded to the pile and started to dig. Annabeth,
Thalia, Grover, Y/N, and I raced for the elevators.