Percy: XV
As far as Percy had worked out, only the hellhounds seemed to obey him.
He had tried with a dracaena, but it hadn't gone so well. He had lured one over with a little wave, and the monster had followed. Whether it was hungry or just perplexed, he never found out, because it leapt towards him as soon as they met face to face behind the rock. Percy had been prepared for it however, and it exploded in the air before it so much as scratched him.
He had been sending his kamikaze hellhounds in every few minutes since then, in an attempt to wipe a pathway through, but it was like trying to split up sand: more just moved into the gaps from nowhere. Where had they even got so many monsters from? Had they all been getting busy recently? He snorted.
An idea popped into his head.
Percy caught sight of another hellhound and summoned it, flashing his shoulder from behind the rock provocatively to tempt one that he had been watching for a while. He felt like an exotic dancer taunting the audience from the edge of the stage. He saw a few heads (some on only one body) turn, and ducked quickly, back out of view. The aura he projected was more powerful than he had thought; they seemed to sense his presence before they could see him. He... he had no idea how to stop that. His Nyx tattoo tingled, and Percy frowned as an idea came into his head. Would that work? He tried to imagine himself small and defenseless. When he peeked back round, their heads had dropped. Okay, he thought in surprise. That worked.
The hellhound was dutifully marching forwards, rounding the corner, before stopping in front of him. Percy beckoned it closer. The low growl it emitted would have scared the pants off of Percy before, but now he just clicked his fingers impatiently at it.
"C'mon." he mouthed. "Stop sulking."
The hellhound came further behind the rock, and with a quick hop, Percy clambered on to its back. It bucked a little with a growl as he flattened himself against it, trying to hide. Hunks of thick black fur in each hand, Percy dug in with his elbows. He felt a little bad to hurt a dog, but quickly reminded himself that his specific type of dog could and would bite his head off given the chance. He elbowed it again.
"Go towards the doors." he muttered. "Do not give me away, or draw attention."
The hellhound began to step forwards reluctantly, and then they were moving. The hellhounds body rocked from side to side, and a dim thought in the back of Percy's mind was that it would be a good place to sleep. Percy lifted his head slightly to have a look, and just caught sight of them entering the crowd before he slammed his head back down so as to avoid being seen.
It was when he was halfway through the crowd that Percy began to rethink what he had just planned. In fact, upon second thought, it was one of the stupidest plans he'd ever concocted. What if he messed up? Discard his chances of getting out? The one thing he had been apprehensive to do was to throw himself straight into the thick of it, and- yep- Percy looked around at the rows upon rows of monsters surrounding him in every direction- he had put himself in the worst possible position if he got caught.
So just don't get caught, a voice said in his head, in a casually obvious tone that sounded suspiciously like Annabeth.
Yeah, easy for you to say, he replied, before mentally smacking himself. Rule number one of not going crazy- do not reply to disembodied voices.
Going back to being worried, Percy lifted his head again. The plodding of the hellhound was slow, but its size more than made up for it: they were almost at the other side of the herd of monsters. He could see ahead and caught a glimpse of the doors and a massive shape by them.
Percy groaned as quietly as he could.
A Titan.
It looked like Krios, guarding them. Percy hadn't ever met him in person, only knowing him from a vision of Mount Othrys last year, but he hadn't exactly undergone a wild wardrobe change since then. He still wore his black armour, studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side. Next to him, the Doors of Death stood. They looked... familiar.
Framed in Stygian iron, the magical portal was a set of elevator doors – two panels of silver and black etched with art deco designs. Except for the fact that the colours were inverted, they looked exactly like the elevators in the Empire State Building, the entrance to Doors of Death seemed like a personal insult, designed to remind him of everything he couldn't have. Upon seeing them, Percy felt so homesick he couldn't breathe. He didn't just miss Mount Olympus. He missed everything he'd left behind: New York City, Camp Half-Blood, his mother and stepdad. His friends.
Annabeth.
His eyes stung, but he blinked them as much as he could, ignoring it with a desperation that spoke of now really not being the time.
As he got over his initial shock, he noticed other details: the frost spreading from the base of the Doors, the purplish glow in the air around them and the chains that held them fast. Cords of black iron ran down either side of the frame, like rigging lines on a suspension bridge. They were tethered to hooks embedded in the fleshy ground. Krios was stood smack bang in the middle of them, letting small groups go past like a club bouncer. Percy hoped it was okay that he didn't have an ID.
As he watched, the entire frame shuddered. Black lightning flashed into the sky. The chains shook, and Krios planted his feet on one of the hooks to keep it secure. The doors slid open, revealing the gilded interior of an elevator car.
A dozen Cyclopes rushed forward, waving little red tickets and shouting excitedly. They shouldn't have been able to fit inside those human-sized doors, but as the Cyclopes got close, their bodies distorted and shrank, the Doors of Death sucking them inside. At least Maia and Damasen wouldn't crush him, Percy reflected with no small amount of relief.
The Titan Krios jabbed his thumb against the UP button on the elevator's right side, his dark helmet shifting on his head. The doors slid closed.
The frame shuddered again. Dark lightning faded.
Percy furrowed his brow. Krios was still holding down the button. If someone had to hold it in order for it to go up... Percy felt his stomach drop out of his body.
Someone would need to hold that button for him.
If his life didn't depend on it, Percy knew he would have leaned over the hellhound's back and been sick.
He- Percy didn't even get to finish his thought before something else went wrong.
Over the edge of a hill slightly to the left of the sea of monsters, a head popped up. Then another. Maia and Damasen had arrived, both looking a little weary, but Damasen was scanning the crowd for him with a steadily worried expression.
Percy winced as Maia roared as she spotted him. Despite Damasen's quick reflexes to grab her mouth to silence her, heads still turned. A few began to wander over menacingly. Percy cursed and slowly began to reach for his sword. What would he do? He didn't know. That would come later as he did it.
"The Giant traitor!" bellowed a huge cyclops to his left, the unexpected volume making Percy jump. He clenched his hand around his sword tighter.
"Uh-" Percy saw Damasen cringe before poking his head out higher, "-No?" Damasen trotted Maia out from the cliff, standing as tall as he could. His face settled into an angry expression, one that seemed perfectly at home on the face of a Giant, but wildly out of place for Damasen. The monsters shouldn't be able to tell the difference though, thought Percy, who then realised that out of everyone in the world, he might be the person who knew the Giant best. A warm feeling spread in his chest at that. He prayed Damasen knew what he was doing.
Percy eased up onto his elbows a little from where he was lying on the hellhound, hands braced against its back should he need to move quickly, and quickly checked the monsters around him. Their eyes were fixated on Damasen. Good for him, less so for Damasen.
The cyclops that had shouted, who was a good five and a half feet taller than Percy (the equivalent of Annabeth sitting on his shoulders like some kind of deranged centipede), may have been shorter than Damasen, but the blood thirst in his eyes was much more evident. He had a crowd of large monsters behind him, like a gang. He seemed to tower over the rest. The ringleader, then.
"Traitor!" echoed a weaselly-faced monster Percy couldn't identify.
"Me?" Damasen played dumb, and Percy winced. "No. You're wrong. I'm not a traitor."
"Liar! Mother Earth has spoken! You have been helping the scum of the sea, the Godkiller Jackson!" bellowed the cyclops .
The monsters raised their weapons up at Damasen and roared, a good half of the crowd now raising their weapons, fully turned away from the doors to glare at the peaceful Giant.
Percy gripped a handful of the hellhound's fur. He rose a little higher.
"That was all a trick to lead him to his death!" Damasen shouted out towards the crowd.
Some cheered, but the uncertainty in the air was thick. The cyclops clearly didn't listen, suddenly seizing Damasen by his leather jerkin and yanking him forwards. Caught off guard, the Giant stumbled to his knees and they crowded round him, jeering.
"Stay down!" Damasen shouted, as he must have caught Percy trying to sit up, preparing to jump and help.
"What did you say?" hissed the cyclops, digging its long and heavy sword into Damasen's neck.
Behind him, a whole group of large monsters, more cyclopes too, had Maia pinned to the floor, multiple large hands pushing her head cruelly to the floor. She hissed and writhed, but there were just enough of them to keep her still, pressing her jaws shut.
Percy narrowed his eyes, but followed Damasen's advice. His skin crawled uncomfortably. This... didn't feel right, but he trusted Damasen with his life. He must have a plan.
"I said stand down." Damasen scowled, not even bothering to bat away the monsters clinging to him, playing the part of the entitled Giant. "I am here under orders from higher powers. The lady Nyx gave me the plan herself, I was chosen above all of my kin, above Polybotes, Alcyoneus, Enceladus, Orion, Otis and Ephialtes, above even Porphyrion, to do this mission! It is my duty to deliver the demigod to his doom- and I have! The demigod is dead! He was torn apart, and I for one, can think of no better message to send to the gods!"
"You were born to be peace-loving-" the cyclops began to sneer, but Damasen cut him off.
"I have seen the errors of my way. Mother has shown me that peace is not the answer, that it will never be, and that the gods have been in charge for too long! Now is our time! We are promised!"
Percy watched as the monsters around him cheered, amazed at Damasen's speech, and grinned as he saw most of them back away from the Giant. Trust Damasen to make a speech about war while not meaning a single word. Oh and Percy was dead, apparently. He snorted. Well, it would give them the element of surprise in the future, he reasoned. He tried to form a new plan quickly. He could get the hellhound back, somehow slide onto Maia- under Maia?- then get the three of them on that lift ASAP. He grinned. Damasen was going to love seeing the sun again.
The cyclops was still looking at Damasen as if he was assessing him.
"You've changed?" he asked.
"I have." Damasen stated, the pride in his voice not even controlled. "From now, I swear to serve those who deserve it!"
Percy let his head thunk back onto the hellhound's back as all the adrenaline seeped out of him. The cyclops was even pulling the blade of his sword away from Damasen's neck. Percy lifted his gaze, making eye contact with Damasen, who gave him a quick half-grin while still trying to stay in character. Maia was let go behind them.
The sword swung back.
"Liar." hissed the cyclops through a puff of gold.