Dad quickly pulled Percy aside and quickly spoke to him in hushed tones. I strained my ears to try and listen in, but it was just a garbled mess. Percy's face darkened and he gave my father a curt nod, glancing at me. A hand gently clasped on my shoulder. I looked over my shoulder to see that Poseidon stood beside me.
"He's all right." Poseidon informed me. A smile tugged on the corner of his lips. "I think Dionysus hates to admit it, but he's warming up to my son."
"I sure hope so." I breathed out.
"Take care out there. Be careful of the ground." Poseidon warned. "I think your father is telling Percy the same thing. Take care of each other."
"Always." I nodded. "The stuff Percy's been through..."
"I know." Poseidon's face turned grim. "I know...and you've been through it as well. The love you two have for each other is something I haven't seen in a while. You two make Aphrodite proud."
The love goddess must have heard her name, because she turned to face us. A gentle smile grew on her face as her eyes gleamed with joy and worry. The others were being rushed onto the ship.
"Be careful out there." My father warned. "I hate saying this, but...ugh, stay close to Peter Johnson-"
"Dad, seriously?" I gave him a look. "You know his name."
"And I'll keep ignoring it until he proves he's earned it." Dad huffed.
"He's proven to you a thousand times that he has." I gave my dad a pointed look. A few feet behind my father, Percy crossed his arms and nodded in agreement. Poseidon fought a grin and nodded along. I held back the urge to roll my eyes at the father son duo. "Trust him, because I do."
"Eh." Dad flicked his hand.
"And so does Ariadne." I told him. Dad simply shrugged. Someone called Percy's and my name. I bit my lip and gave my dad a weak smile. "I'll see you soon, yeah? You'll be back at camp once we save it?"
"Give it a few days, but yes." Dad nodded, a smug grin growing on his face. "Show them how powerful a child of mine truly is."
"You got it." I smirked.
It wasn't long until Percy and I had join them. Jason and Leo were the only ones who stayed on deck. The rest of us were below the hatch in the hold.
I didn't have a chance to ask Percy what my father told him. I was suddenly pressed against the wall as I tightly held Percy's hand. It was like the carnival ride I rode when I was six. It was in the shape of an alien ship and with the speed of the ride, everyone was plastered against the wall. That ride was fun, this one not so much. It felt like my stomach was still back in Greece and any air in my lungs was gone.
The ship rattled and creaked, causing Percy to tightened his hold on my hand. Suddenly the pressure lessened and we were able to move. My head spun. Festus creaked in alarm from above the deck. Frank and Hazel were the first to stumble toward the hatch. They used the guided rope that was tied to the mast to climb on deck. Piper and Annabeth followed right after with Percy and I at the end. I had to stop for a second to catch my bearings.
"Go!" Leo yelled, his voice deadly serious. "Go, go, go!"
Everyone was still disoriented. I don't know how Leo was managing to have a fully functioning brain. Mine felt like mush. Buford the table clattered across the deck with his holographic Hedge yelling.
"LET'S GO! MOVE IT! CUT THAT OUT!"
Then his tabletop split into helicopter blades and Buford buzzed away. Frank changed form. He turned into a dragon, still looking dazed. Hazel climbed onto his neck with Annabeth behind her. Frank grabbed Percy and I in his front claws, then spread his wings and soared away.
I grumbled curses as I clung onto Frank. My thigh was still hurting, but the blood was dry now. Jason held Piper as he followed after us. I stared at the ground below to see a vast army of monsters spread across the hills surrounding two tiny islands of demigods. At the crest of Half-Blood Hill, gathered at the feet of the Athena Parthenos was the main force of Camp Half-Blood along with some Romans. There were another groups of Roman demigods in a defensive formation several hundred yards away and seemed to be taking the brunt of the attack.
Giant eagles circled above Jason, screeching urgently, as if looking for orders. Frank flew alongside Jason. I glanced at Jason and Piper. Leo was still on the Argo II preparing something. Piper gave me a reassuring nod.
"Hazel!" Jason yelled. "Those three cohorts are in trouble! If they don't merge with the rest of the demigods-"
"Got it!" Hazel said. "Go, Frank!"
Frank veered to the left as I clung tightly to his leg. A screech flew past my lips at the sudden movement. I hated the feeling of free falling so much. It reminded me of my joyride with Daedalus's wings. Curses escaped my lips. I swear I saw Jason laughing at me.
"Let's get 'em!" Annabeth yelled.
"I hate flying!" Percy screamed, scrambling to hold onto Frank tighter.
As we descended, Jason and Piper veered right toward the summit of Half-Blood Hill. As we neared the Roman demigods, I spotted my Roman half brother. Dakota was fighting against a grain spirit. He slashed his sword, cutting the grain spirit in half. It turned into a pile of barley.
Frank lowered to the ground and let Percy and I land. He let go of us as he landed a few feet away. Hazel and Annabeth jumped off his back. Frank transformed back into his demigod self.
"Ivy! Percy!" Dakota lazily grinned. He then noticed his other friends. "Hazel and Frank and the scary blonde girl!"
"I-you know what, I'm not going to comment on that." Annabeth sighed, gripping her sword.
"Dakota, catch us up." Frank stated as we drew closer to the Romans.
The other Roman demigods spotted us and relief flooded their features. They fought off any monsters that grew too close.
"Octavian has lost his mind-"
"I could have told you that." Percy muttered, scanning for the scrawny blonde in the crowd.
"We lost him after we started to fight the monsters." Dakota continued. "I have no idea where he went. Reyna is with Nico and two other blonde guys that have to be Apollo's sons."
"Seth and Will." Annabeth said, quickly looking for her boyfriend.
Around us, the demigods continued to fight against the monsters. I struggled to will the vines to grow. Gritting my teeth, I managed to create a weak hedge of vines between the Romans and the monsters for a little breather. They sent me a thankful smile.
"I've been struggling to create vines since Gaea sent the monsters." Dakota blinked at me. "How are you doing that?"
"With great struggle." I huffed out. "She's fighting me, for sure, but I don't think she's fully awake yet. Otherwise this wouldn't be possible."
Percy eyed me as he noticed my hands shaking as I forced the vines to stay strong as long as I could. I could feel the ground fighting against me. Sweat started to dot on my forehead. Percy placed a hand on my arm and gave me a simple shake of his head. Once I noticed that the others were ready, I dropped my hold on the vines. They were quickly sucked into the ground and disappeared.
Hazel gave a sharp whistle and a blur rushed toward her. A grin spread on her face as Arion stopped beside her. A golden nugget popped from the ground and she fed it to him. Arion quickly ate it and huffed. Percy grimaced at what the horse had said. Arion gave a curt nod in his direction.
"Eiaculare flammas!" I heard Reyna yell.
"We need to regroup with the others. Our forces will be stronger." Frank told the others. I don't know if it was because he was a child of Mars or if the Romans were able to sense the praetorian authority he held, but he quickly grabbed their attention. Many nodded in agreement. Monsters started to crowd toward us. "Repellere equites!"
The Romans quickly formed into a perfect formation. Percy, Annabeth, and I stayed in the back as an extra defense. We hacked and slashed at any monster that tried to surprise us in the back of the formation. The massive herd of evil centaurs parted in panic as we stormed forward. The first line of defense held their spears out, stabbing monsters as we charged. Frank marched in the front with Hazel in his left flank on Arion. She beamed with pride.
"Ave, Praetor Zhang!" Reyna called as we climbed up hill.
"Ave, Praetor Ramirez-Arellano!" Frank said. "Let's do this. Legion, CLOSE RANKS!"
A cheer went up among the Romans as the cohorts melded into one massive killing machine. Frank pointed his sword forward, and from the golden eagle standard, tendrils of lightning swept across the enemy, turning several hundred monsters to toast.
"Legion, cuneum formate!" Reyna yelled. "Advance!"
Percy, Annabeth, and I split further to the side to regroup with the Greeks. Excited cheers grew as they noticed we were back. Connor clapped our backs with a large grin. Seth quickly pulled Annabeth into a kiss, catching her off guard as she stared at him with open eyes. Seth pulled away and grinned at his girlfriend as she blinked in a daze.
Clarisse stood beside us with a large smirk. She gave us a nod of acknowledgment as her cabin spread behind her. Annabeth was finally out of her daze and a large grin spread across her features. She brought Seth into a hug, placing her face into the crook of his neck. Seth wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple.
"Greeks!" Percy yelled. Annabeth and Seth broke apart with their weapons at ready beside us. "Let's, um, fight stuff!"
Loud screaming erupted behind us as I fought back a smirk. Percy and I exchanged a look as our smiles grew. We weren't organized Romans, but we sure knew how to fight. The Greeks charged toward the enemy lines alongside the Romans. I slashed at grain spirits and ogres. When I was about to stab an evil centaur, the earth rippled.
I stumbled to catch my bearings, barely able to dodge the attack of the centaur as he tried to stab my arm. Luckily it was only a graze. I twirled and hacked at the centaur. He disintegrated into dust as I watched other centaurs charge face first into the grass. Demigods fell. Orges slipped.
AWAKE. A familiar voice boomed all around us.
I grit my teeth when I saw an all too familiar evil Earth Mother. A hundred yards away, at the crest of the next hill, the grass and dirt swirled upward like the point of a massive drill. The column of dirt thickened into a twenty foot tall figure of a woman-her dress woven from blades of grass, her skin as white as quartz, her hair brown and tangled like tree roots.
"Little fools." Gaea opened her purely green eyes. I glared at her, tightening my grip on my sword. "The paltry magic of your statue cannot contain me."
It clicked that the Athena Parthenos was protecting the demigods. The statue was holding back the wrath of the earth, but even Athena's might could only last so long against a primordial goddess. Fear as palpable as a cold front washed over the the demigod army.
I looked up to see the Argo II and a gleaming shine of bronze. Leo waved down at me until he caught my attention. He then pointed to Gaea and twirled his finger next to his head with a large crazy grin. A smirk grew on my face as I gave a curt nod. I started to run toward the goddess when someone quickly grasped my arm to hold me back.
"Where in the Hades are you going?" Percy quickly asked, concern in his eyes.
"It's my turn to distract." I quickly kissed his lips and ran toward Gaea.
"Ivy!" Percy yelled, chasing after me.
I past the army of demigods and gave Piper a look. She nodded in understanding and turned toward the demigods. She started to calm them down and gave them encouraging words to fight. Percy rushed past her to try and stop me. Once I was in a safe distance from Gaea and I knew my powers could reach her, I stopped. Percy slid to a stop beside me, huffing in annoyance.
"Vine Girl, I swear-"
"Just trust me." I told him, looking into his eyes. "Watch my back. I've got to do this."
"Fine." Percy grimly nodded, his jaw tight.
I glared at Gaea as she finally acknowledged our presence. She went to open her mouth, but stopped when she saw my eyes flash. There was a strong tug in my gut as I controlled the madness toward the earth goddess. Gaea took a few hesitant steps back as her eyes glazed. I clenched my jaw as I focused on pouring more madness toward her. The goddess seemed to sway a little as she tried to fight against the madness growing in her mind.
"Stand fast!" Piper shouted, her charmspeak strong. "Greeks and Romans, we can fight her together!"
I could feel Gaea's hold on the ground lessen. Vines broke through the ground with a strong force that the earth trembled. They quickly wrapped around her, tightening their hold as if they were creating a cocoon. That seemed to snap Gaea out of her daze. She hazily blinked her eyes and my vines simply fell limp off her body. They fell to the ground.
She breathed out a laugh as she glared down at me. The vines started to slither under her control as they pointed at Percy and I. From above I saw Leo bring a familiar bronze dragon appear on the ship. I fought a smug grin.
"Little pawn, you're powerful, but not powerful enough to stop me." Gaea told me.
She spread her arms and the earth bent toward her-trees tilting, bedrock groaning, soil rippling in waves. She shot the vines toward Percy and I, but we quickly dodged them. We slashed them to pieces when they got too close. The ground beneath us started to soften as we started to slowly sink into the earth. Monsters and demigods were experiencing the same thing. One of the onagers capsized and disappeared into the side of the hill.
"Who said I was trying to stop you?" I grunted as I pulled myself out of the hole I was sinking into. Percy helped me to my feet. "The vines was a risk I had to take."
"I've already told you that your vines wouldn't protect you, little pawn. The whole earth is my body." Gaea boomed. "How would you fight the goddess of-"
FOOOMP!
In a flash of bronze, Gaea was swept off the hillside, snarled in claws of a fifty ton metal dragon. A grin spread across my lips. Leo gave me an appreciative nod. Festus rose into the sky on gleaming wings, spewing fire from his maw triumphantly. As he ascended, the rider on his back got smaller and more difficult to discern, but the grin Leo wore was unmistakable.
"Piper! Jason!" Leo shouted down. "You coming? The fight is up here!"
I actually enjoyed writing this chapter idk why
Had to update. Only a few more chapters guys