Annabeth was kneeling on the floor of her darkened quarters, the obsidian shard laying on the floor in front of her exuding an inky blackness. "What is it?" the annoyed voice of King Ixion emitted from the stone.
"My king, I'm afraid that there's been a. . . hiccup," Annabeth said. "The War Spawn and his crew have yet to arrive or report in. I believe that they have been captured, which also means that our timeline is back to the original pace without the Daughter of Hecate."
"That is. . . unfortunate," Ixion said menacingly.
Annabeth's Face paled. "I apologize, my king," she stammered. "I will work to prepare the ritual as quickly as possible."
"See that you do, but until then it seems to me that you need a reminder of who holds the power here," the voice emanating from the stone said darkly.
"No, please, I am doing the best I can!" Annabeth pleaded.
"Your best isn't good enough," Ixion threatened as the darkness that seemed to be emanating from the obsidian shard flowed into Annabeth. Almost immediately, she startes screaming bloody murder.
# # #
The black SUV rumbled down the interstate, a fleet of identical SUVs and a couple box trucks trailing behind it. "Hey, Thals, you sure you're okay?" Percy asked the girl in the seat next to him as he sat behind the wheel.
"I'm fine!" Thalia snapped.
"See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Percy argued. "You haven't been acting like yourself since that talk with my mom!" Percy's voice then softened. "I'm worried about you Thalia, I just want you to be okay."
"I'm. . . just trying to work through some things," Thalia replied.
"Well, whatever it is, we can work through it together."
Thalia shook her head. "Not yet, this is something I need to come to terms with myself first. I promise you, I will tell you when I'm ready."
"Okay," Percy relented. "When you are ready."
Suddenly, a voice cleared its throat from the backseat. "Just a friendly reminder that we are all here too," Hannah said awkwardly from behind the couple. Looking back, Thalia could see Hannah, Reyna, Kate, and Clara looking extremely weirded out by the situation that was unfolding in front of them, which caused her to burst out laughing. Thalia's laugh, infectious as it is, quickly spread to the rest of the car.
# # #
The column had stopped for the night, now somewhere in the midwest of the United States. It was estimated that they would reach the battlefield sometime within the next two to three days. Currently, everyone was gathered around multiple campfires to socialize before it was time to turn in. Around one such fire, sat Hannah, Clara, Percy, Thalia, Reyna, Atalanta, and Kate. "Hannah," Clara said as she turned to the older girl who was sitting next to her. "What was my brother like before I joined the Hunt? I've heard stories, but he would never tell me when I asked."
"Jacob never liked talking about his past," Hannah sighed. "He was ashamed, but he shouldn't have been. He had his reasons for doing the things he did, and he was a great help even if he didn't realize it." Clara gazed at her expectantly as Hannah started telling Jacob's story. "I'm told we first met in kindergarten when we were in the same class, but I don't remember that. We went through school together until fifth grade where he was kicked out for accidentally severely injuring a kid during basketball in P.E. and moved to Manhattan. That was also the year I was taken to Camp by a satyr. We met again one year later when your brother came to camp with Percy. That was the beginning of our adventures as we went against the rules to sneak out and help Percy on his quest. Jake was adamant that we keep some 'uncaring god' from smiting Percy. Upon returning and finishing the summer, we both decided to stay year-round."
"I remember that," Clara said sadly. "He never came home again."
Hannah gave her a sad smile. "There were some things he was trying to work through. Besides, he did try to visit you once during the winter. He made it part way to Manhattan before he ran into Luke Castellan. That day changed him, that was the day that he decided to help Luke overthrow the gods. Your brother was never a huge fan of the gods, he hated how distant he was from their children. Finding out I was unclaimed didn't help either."
"So," Clara said hesitantly. "He did join the Titans?"
"For a time, yes," Hannah nodded. "However, it didn't last. The following summer Thalia's pine was poisoned and Percy snuck out to go help find the Golden Fleece. We spoke out against the accusations leveled against him, but it only got us thrown out. Under the guise of trying to help Percy, Jacob got the two of us aboard Luke's cruise ship, the Princess Andromeda. I was captured, and Jake was allowed to roam free. However, it wasn't even a day later that he was thrown into the cell with me. I found out later that he had rebelled against Luke because he felt that Luke was risking fellow demigods by having them work with monsters. Eventually, through some clever manipulation and planning, we were able to break free and escape. Unfortunately, in order for me to escape your brother had to stay behind." A tear leaked from Hannah's eye as she remembered the memory. "He sacrificed himself for me."
"I don't know a whole lot about what happened next since I wasn't there, but Jake was able to tell me some things. He told me how he eventually escaped when the ship made port in Florida, and how once he was off he felt this inexplicable urge to travel west to California. Not knowing where else to go, that's what he did. Your brother told me that eventually he made his way to the Wolf House and discovered that he was a Roman son of Apollo, not Greek. Eventually he made his way to Camp Jupiter where he was inducted into the Fifth Cohort," Hannah explained.
"Unfortunately, his time there didn't last long. As you know Mount Tam is just across the bay from Camp Jupiter. Well, one day a few months later, some of the Titan forces found him when he was guarding the tunnel into Camp Jupiter and he was taken. Because of what happened next, much of this time was fuzzy for him. Your brother told me that all he really knows is that somehow the Titans found a way to purge his memory of Camp Jupiter and send him back to Camp Half-Blood as a spy. Naturally, I was pissed that he had been gone for so long and slapped the living Styx out of him when he returned." This got a laugh from everyone that was listening in. Things get dark at this point in his history, this is when your brother went off the deep end. He was an enemy spy, and his main purpose was to help the Titans get demigods before we could."
"This brings us to Percy's third quest," Hannah went on. "Just as Percy snuck out, so did Jake. Except, he was intent on ensuring the quest's failure. He made it all the way to the Hoover Dam without being noticed before he was discovered, and subsequently fake captured by the Titan forces that were converging on that area. Meanwhile, I was hanging out back at Camp with Nico and getting pestered by the Hunters to join. I would have to since by this point I had strong feelings for your brother, but felt that he didn't return them. Luckily, Percy and Annabeth later convinced me not to."
"I remember that," Atalanta interrupted. "We thought you were such a fool to be waiting for a boy that had the audacity to just up and leave you for nearly six months. Still do," she finished with a wink.
"Anyways," Hannah said, rolling her eyes and returning to the story. "During the battle on Mount Othrys Jacob was freed by the questers and brought back to Camp Half-Blood. The following summer was the Battle of the Labyrinth. As you likely know, Annabeth led a quest to try and navigate the maze so as to prevent Luke from reaching camp using it. Once again, your brother insisted we follow to try and help. Later he did admit that he was doing it to help Luke capture Percy though."
"Why was he spying, didn't he know that the Titans are worse?" Clara asked innocently.
Hannah went to answer, but Percy beat her to it. "He told me why, once. Jacob told me that he was angry, and that he felt that the gods just left us all to die for their own amusement. He had been so confused after the memory wipe that the Titans corrupted him, used his anger against him."
"That's what he told me," Hannah confirmed. "Anyways, we eventually met Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Tyson, and Nico at Triple-G Ranch where we joined forces and headed back into the Labyrinth. It was at Mount Saint Helens that we got separated. When Percy went in after Annabeth, Jacob followed. However, when they engaged the monsters inside your brother got separated from Percy and found himself back at the entrance with me. It was then that we saw Annabeth give Percy a kiss before he made his last stand."
"You, you saw that?" Percy asked, very embarrassed and cheeks burning.
"Ya, we then worked on convincing Annabeth to make a move on you. Sorry 'bout that."
"Don't be," Percy said as he wrapped his arm around Thalia. "I wouldn't be with the amazing woman I am with today if I hadn't gone through everything I did."
Hannah gave Percy a small smile before returning to the tale. "Anyways, when Percy so kindly decided to blow up the volcano, Annabeth and I were separated from Jake. We made our way back to Camp, but Jacob didn't arrive until after Percy came back and went back in with Annabeth. He was half mad by the time he stumbled over the border. Your brother blatantly refused to tell me what happened to him down there. Instead of going back in, Jacob stayed at Camp to help with the defense preparations, this led to the betrayal that he regrets the most. He fed information about our defenses to Luke, and they used it against us. We were still able to defeat the Titan forces, but Jacob always blamed himself for all the deaths that day. Seeing what he did that day shook him out of it, he marched right up to Chiron that night and told him what he had done. Your brother fully expected to be put to death, and he wanted it. He felt that he deserved to die." Clara just looked on with wide eyes as Hannah stared into the depths of the fire. "Luckily, Chiron is very forgiving."
"He was a good person in the end," Clara smiled.
"Ya, he was," Hannah agreed. "I just wish that he would see that, he always thought the worst of himself. There were many times that he told me straight out that he expected to be sent to the Fields of Asphodel or the Fields of Punishment. There's not much to tell after that. We fought in the Battle of Manhattan, and we fought in the Giant War. You know the rest of what happened these last few years."
"But what about his memories that the Titans messed with?" Clara asked.
"I'm not exactly sure," Hannah replied. "Mr. D worked with him after the Giant War, that's all I know." Finished speaking, Hannah just stared into the fire as a few tears made their way down her cheeks. She was more than happy to help Clara understand her brother a little better, but revisiting the memories hurt."
"Thank you," Clara said softly as she tenderly put her arms around Hannah. "Thank you for telling me about my brother, the hero."
# # #
It had been two days since Hannah told Clara, who she now considered her little sister, about Jacob's life as a demigod. Currently, the column of Hunters and Romans being led up the trail by Nico and Violet in the dead of night. The goal was to reach the valley without being seen and construct a temporary fort before the traitorous Greeks and their monster allies could react. Then, they would spend the whole next day constructing siege equipment so that they could attack the fort and end Annabeth's rule once and for all. "Almost there, the pass into the valley is dead ahead," Violet whispered as the trail started leveling out.
Giving a slight nod, Percy let her know that he understood. Then, with Atalanta and Thalia, he gathered the Hunters and had Violet lead them forward so that they could set up a defensive perimeter for the Romans to work in safety. They passed through the entrance to the valley with no problem. This was easy, almost too easy.
# # #
Annabeth got out of her bed groggily, very grumpy that the knocking at her door had roused her from her sleep. "What?" she demanded as she threw open the door.
On the other side stood Jason, who had clearly just been woken as well. "AnótatosI Igétis," he said respectively. "Scouts report a large demigod force moving into the valley, what should we do?"
"Let them come," Annabeth grinned maliciously.
"Let them come?" Jason questioned.
"Yes," Annabeth replied, slightly annoyed. "I have them exactly where I want them. When they go to launch their foolish attack we will be waiting, nothing shall stop me this time."
"Very well," Jason replied. "I will inform the troops to let the pitiful Romans build their little fort and siege equipment."
# # #
The morning dawned bright and clear, revealing that the quaint mountain valley now contained two defensive forts. As the sun rose Leo circled overhead on Festus, but the enemy gave no reaction. This concerned the leaders of the attacking force, but they didn't have time to worry about it. If the enemy wasn't going to bother them they would take full advantage of it, and that's exactly what they did. Over the course of the day half a dozen siege towers and two dozen ladders were constructed. However, as the day wore on they noticed something strange. Starting in the mid-afternoon a black mist started rising from the Fort on the hill and gathering above it. Annabeth was up to something, but nobody was sure what. All Thalia knew was that she wanted to get out of there, if the mist had the same properties as her dream showed then it would be a massacre.
The next day came, except this one didn't give off a pleasant feeling like the day before had. This morning was cold and dark with deep gray clouds swirling in the sky. The black mist could still be seen swirling about the fort, and it looked like there was more now. Whereas the day before there had only been a few wisps gathered, now there was a small cloud.
Outside the fort the full might of the Roman legion was assembled, with the Hunters and the small band of Greek rebels standing off to the side. "Romans!" Frank shouted as he paced in front of the Legion. "Today we find ourselves on the field of battle once again! Those cowardly Greeks think they can hide inside their little fort, but we will show them different! The odds may be against us, but that has not stopped us before. Now, let's go kick some podex!" Frank finished with a roar.
"For Rome!" Hazel added in a shout as she raised her Spatha above her head and hopped on Arion.
"For Rome!" the Legion roared as they raised their weapons and banged their shields. Everyone then scrambled to their positions and cohorts started marching their equipment towards the fort. The Legion went first, with the Hunt following behind to give ranged support.
"Hey, it'll be okay," Hannah reassured the small auburn haired girl that marched next to her. "I won't let anything happen to you." Clara gave a grim nod in return. She was a Roman, and she would fight to defend her friends, her family, and her legacy.
"Percy, there's something you should know, just in case," Thalia said nervously as they marched.
"What is it, Pinecone Face?" he asked.
"It's what your mom told me. Percy, she said I'm pregnant."
"What!" Percy shouted. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I didn't want you to worry," Thalia said sheepishly.
"Well, I'm worried now!" Percy exclaimed. "What if something happens?"
"I'll be fine, Kelp Head, I can take care of myself."
"Uh, uh, no way. I'm not taking any chances, you go back to that fort right now, missy!"
"You know I can't do that."
"Why not?" Percy demanded. Thalia merely replied with a point towards the direction they were marching. Everything was happening just like in her dream, the monsters surrounding the fort were advancing on the approaching force.
"Because the battle has begun," Thalia said grimly. "And I don't intend to leave you alone."
Orders were rapidly shouted up and down the Roman lines as the couple hundred demigods dropped their equipment and moved to form battle lines. "Fire, give the Romans time to form up!" Atalanta ordered the Hunt. The girls quickly did as she said, drawing their bows and sending a wave of silver death flying into the ranks of the charging monsters. Another volley quickly followed, allowing the Romans to form up just in time. As the last demigods moved into place, the monsters hit.
A group of cyclops hit first, and the Romans dealt with them easily; however, it didn't stay that way. Wave after wave hit the Roman lines, and monsters started moving around the flanks to threaten the girls that were picking them off at a distance. One group got close, but with a battle cry Clarisse and Malcom led the small group of Greek defectors to intercept. That was then Percy noticed something that terrified him. The doors of the fort they were attacking had opened, and now the Greeks were advancing on them with a pair of phalanxes backed by archer support. "Greek reinforcements!" Percy shouted above the fray as he shot an arrow into the monster ranks. "Incapacitate, but don't kill!" His warning, and orders, were quickly spread up and down the Roman lines.
Percy gazed around the field in dismay. The Romans were a crazy effective war machine, but even them and their allies couldn't stand up to this many enemies. The demigod lines were being overrun, and there was nothing he could do about it. Frank was doing his best to fill holes with his shifting powers, and Hazel was using Arion to conduct high speed hammer and anvil strikes. However, it wasn't enough.
"We can't hold them off much longer!" Thalia shouted from next to Percy before calling down a lightning strike on a group of monsters that was threatening the Hunter's flank.
"We have to try!" Percy said desperately.
"There's more mist gathering" Hannah shouted above the fray while pointing to the hill the demigods were trying to fight their way up, the gathering shadows at the top growing ever darker. "That can't be good!"
"I have an idea," Nico panted as he fought his way over to his cousins. "After the Titan War my dad gave me a gift that would allow me to summon aid in a time like this when all hope is lost and the battle is lost, but I can only do it this one time and it'll knock me out."
"Do it!" Percy exclaimed. "We'll protect you."
Nico looked to Thalia, who nodded. "Do it."
Nico nodded back, resolve hardened. "Heroes of the past," Nico chanted in Ancient Greek. "Rise, and fight to protect Olympus once more!" He then promptly fainted as a wave of black energy exploded outwards from him.
Looking down at the ground, Percy expected the ground to burst open and skeletons to surge out, but what actually happened was the last thing he expected. "Ave, Praetor Jackson!" a familiar voice said from behind him, a voice Percy had not expected to hear again in this lifetime.
A/N: Well, the battle begins! Not gonna lie, I listened to the Narnia battle song while writing the battle sequence. Be prepared for your minds to be blown as well, next chapter is gonna be intense! Also, thanks so much for 25k reads, it blows my mind that my little story had gained this much traction!
Have a great day!
P.S. Are you guys like mind readers or something? So many correctly guessed that Thalia was pregnant. Or, have I just become predictable?