And here's my first real Percy Jackson fanfic. Please, supportive reviews and constructive criticism are welcome, but no flames please. I've already been harassed on another story by an 'author'. I wouldn't abuse, troll or bully you over a story on the internet, so please don't do it to me. This is full of Canon Characters as well as adding original ones, but that comes after. There's only one or two OCs in this chapter though a few will later play prominent roles, I promise we will focus on the Canon ones here.
P.S: The character of Alex was actually conceptualised and written about before the first Magnus Chase book even came out- or the second which featured Alex Fierro. I chose the name Alex because 1), It's Greek, 2), It means 'Defender of Mankind'- and I could tell you more but it would be spoilers. And 3), It's almost bestowed on him like a title.
Disclaimer: I'm obviously not making money out of this. End of conversation. Please move on.
The Gods don't Clean up Their Mess- and Why the Hades am I Not Dead?
The day Percy Jackson walked to the living room of his mother's apartment was the start of a new phase: the best and worst days of his adult life.
It started off as a normal day really- which was great. He didn't get much 'normal' in his life. Not unless you counted slaying a few monsters before ending up at Burger King's, but you get the idea. Nothing in Percy Jackson's life was ever normal.
So, after he and Annabeth exited his room, laughing and joking, talking about the day ahead, they figured they might not encounter anything bigger than a Scythian Dracaena on the way to breakfast.
They never even got to leave the apartment.
Instead, they froze when they saw the sight ahead of them.
Sally, Percy's mom, was standing there, talking to a girl Percy didn't recognise. Nearby Baby Estelle played in her playpen, but Sally picked her up and instinctively squeezed her, holding her tight, making the baby wail.
"Mom," Percy said. "You're squeezing her."
Percy's mother jumped. "Oh!" She exclaimed. She bit her lip and bounced the baby as if trying to think of something to say. Her eyes drifted to the floor.
That's when Percy knew something was bad. Beside him, Annabeth stiffened. "Mrs. Jackson?" She asked. "What's wrong."
The girl turned towards them. She looked a few years younger than Percy and Annabeth. She had silky caramel-coloured hair; a roundish-oval face; very smooth creamy-fair skin; a dainty retroussé nose and fine lips on her small mouth. The thing that dominated her face though were her eyes; large melted chocolate-brown eyes, that dominated her exceptionally exquisitely beautiful face, something which startled Annabeth and caused her to inhale sharply. She'd seen this girl at camp, though, to be honest, she didn't go to camp frequently nowadays, now that she was busy with college and everything.
But this girl was relatively new and when Annabeth asked about her, all she heard was that she was British and in the Hermes Cabin. Annabeth didn't know if she was a child of Hermes or unclaimed.
"Percy Jackson," she said in a voice that had a London accent. "Annabeth Chase. Sorry to bother you, but we need to talk." There was no sign of humour or anything in her eyes anymore.
"Erm," Percy began. "You are?"
"Lexie, Lexie Mathews," She said smoothly. "Daughter of Hermes. Mrs. Jackson," Estelle cooed as they took their seats at the dining table.
"The Mist is disintegrating," Lexie said as soon as they sat.
Annabeth and Percy had barely enough time to process this, but they both instinctively said: "What?!"
"How is this possible- how do you know about this?" Annabeth demanded.
"Just wait a moment, there's a lot to tell and not enough time," Lexie said grimly. "It gets far worse.
"Camp Jupiter has been attacked and overrun by monsters."
There was a split second of silence before-
"WHAT?!"
That.
"It started weeks ago," Lexie confessed. "Although some digging by members of our cabin and our siblings in the Roman legions suggest that this was months in the making. First off, their communications- and ours- were cut. We assume this had something to do with the remnants of the Triumvirate, but apparently, we were wrong. The monsters were crowding in and crowding in fast. I don't know how they did it, not even the Romans know, but they've somehow managed to cross the Little Tiber-" Annabeth inhaled sharply. "And into Roman territory. The Wolf House is destroyed. Camp Jupiter was forced to retreat. Many soldiers died. The rest were forced to abandon the camp for New Rome or be completely overrun. Now it's been taken over by monsters. Magic users like Hazel Levesque were forced to abandon their work on the camp's boundaries and focus on reinforcing the city's instead. But even they are strained. As far as we know, your friends the praetors Frank Zhang, Reyna Ramirez-Arellano and Hazel Levesque are fine, but they're strained. Portions of the city have already been taken, and they've been forced to retreat inwards. But they've managed to find a way out."
Lexie's beautiful brown eyes glowed with a grim, haunted light. Unusual for her or any child of Hermes. "More and more refugees are fleeing New Rome; families with young children, the younger kids, escorted by a few brave warriors, all fleeing for Camp Half-Blood. I think Hazel opened a portal somewhere. The monsters don't know how they managed to escape them, but they do know that some are escaping the city. Not everyone makes it to Long Island." Lexie's eyes grew even more haunted.
Percy looked at Annabeth. She was pale as a sheet. He hadn't seen her like this since, well, since Tartarus. He knew he didn't look any better. Around them, even Estelle was silent, as if grasping the severity of the situation.
"And those that do, are flooding in by the hundreds. Not just from New Rome. Demigods, Greek and Roman, are flooding in from all over the world- including those that have made it to the big time. Legacies too. Nymphs and satyrs, centaurs and many of our allies. They come with families, and most of them arrive injured, severely wounded. Some die on arrival-" Everybody winced. "The longer the distance from where they came, the worse it gets. And we can't hold on for much longer. They've started attacking us too." Annabeth and Sally Jackson gasped. Percy gripped Riptide until his knuckles turned white.
"We don't know precisely how, but monsters are breaking in through the boundaries, despite the Golden Fleece, Peleus and Thalia's tree. They're pouring in, first by the dozens, then by the hundreds. Soon, there'll be thousands. The warriors keep pushing them back, but it's taking a toll. They monsters are growing in strength. And not just there, the woods are already stocked with monsters. Nymphs and satyrs arrive, helping as much as they can, but we are hopelessly outmatched. We don't have enough to tend to our own injured, and yes, there are casualties. The numbers of monsters, refugees, wounded and dead keep rising. We don't have enough medical personnel, room to house all these people, equipment, weapons or any kind of supplies. Chiron says we're likely to face a shortage very soon. There won't be enough to pack when it comes for us to evacuate."
"Hold on," Percy interrupted. "Evacuate?!"
"Right now, we're trying to find a way," Lexie's face showed her strain. "It's a matter of if, not when. They've cut all communications, so they've stopped us from warning those who live in the outside world. You can't fly in by air because of winged monsters, and you can't arrive by sea because of the monsters there." Percy cursed and threw his arms in the air. "I barely managed to slip through to warn you guys. We need both of you to come back."
Percy, no doubt strained and clenching his hand around Riptide, turned to his mother and girlfriend. They were both pale and shocked. They looked beyond horrified, shaken to the core. If Camp Half-Blood falls…
"We need you. We need Percy Jackson." Lexie's brown eyes, now serious, bore straight into Percy's green ones.
"Understood," Percy managed to say in a strong voice. He was a Hero of Olympus, more than twice over. "Mom, I'm sorry but we have to leave."
"I know," Sally whispered. They stood, and she hugged him. At the doorway, Paul had heard everything. He came forwards, his face grave. "Good luck." He hugged them both. "Take care of yourselves, okay?"
Percy nodded. No jokes, no attempts at light-heartedness. This was worse than they could've imagined.
Sally packed bags of sandwiches and cookies. They never even went out to lunch.
Months ago...
Jason gasped.
His eyes snapped open. Everywhere was white.
He blinked. He realised he didn't have his glasses. And short-sighted as he was, that would put him at a disadvantage in a fight. Still, he could see without them, he wasn't blind.
Jason shifted and sat upright. He looked around. Was he dead?
No, he wasn't dead. Thar much was clear. He hadn't been to the Underworld, but he did know that it wasn't sterilised white, and they didn't have a thick glass wall to one side on the way to Hades' place.
"Relax, you're not dead," a voice called out to him. Jason whirled, hand instinctively reaching for his weapon, when he realised he no longer had Hera's gladius.
"The glass wall isn't for permanently caging you." The voice continued. It sounded vaguely familiar, for some strange reason, but at the same time he couldn't place how or why, much less who it belonged to.
"It's a precautionary measure for non-staff checkups," the unnamed speaker- Jason knew it was male- continued. "When we rescue kids, most of the time they're either totally unconscious or in shock. "Sometimes they lash out, attacking people, often caused by illusions, or they carry pathogens or powerful curses. It took us a while to make sure you didn't have anything, but no one took any chances."
Jason now realised he was in a bed; a hospital bed with pale grey-grey green cover, the only splash of colour around there. His hands flew to his back between his shoulder-blades.
Nothing. As if Caligula had never thrown a gladius between his shoulder-blades. As if Jason had never been shot with arrows in each limb from Caligula's pandai. As if it had all been some bad dream.
That made him instantly wary.
"Who are you?"
In response someone moved at the corner of the room. Jason nearly jumped out of his skin. He cursed himself for not noticing someone there.
"Call me Alex," the speaker was a tall young man. He was incredibly, even outstandingly handsome in a regal, striking way. He had a perfectly angular, well-defined and strongly chiselled face and features; his hair glinted like molten or beaten gold and his eyes were a dazzling shade of blue, so startling they could strike you dead. But this guy was no male-model, Jason could tell that much. Whatever or whoever he was, this Alex radiated cold, deadly, powerful strength, purpose and energy. He was built like a fighter; lean, yet strong and muscular. The way he stood, the way he held himself with more assurance, confidence and purpose (though no such arrogance- Jason still remembered Caligula) than even the most experienced soldiers in the legion or a US Navy Marine or general, spoke a lot to Jason. He stiffened, wondering if this guy was a threat, but nothing in his instincts told him he was.
But what grated him more than anything, as if he should know something which Jason was sure he didn't- was the strong sense of familiarity about him. And that struck Jason deep within his very core. As if his soul or every part of his DNA were screaming at him as if he should know this person.
Except that he didn't.
The speaker 'Alex', eyed Jason with an unreadable expression. Despite his instincts, Jason found his voice.
"Where am I?"
"Someplace where no deity from the numerous cosmologies- or pantheons, you can call them- can ever find you." Alex said calmly. He walked over to a table. "Including the Triumvirate."
The Triumvirate!
Jason shot out of bed. "I have to get back!" Instead he staggered as soon as he got up and would have hit the floor if it weren't for Alex's hand shooting out and steadying him. It felt really strong and warm, despite that it wasn't big. He pulled Jason back to his feet.
Alex scoffed. "Right. Barely recovered, just back in your own skin, hopelessly outnumbered, outgunned and with the gods, save the exiled wannabe ignoring you. You do realise that whatever you're planning on improvising will disastrously fail, don't you?"
Jason gritted his teeth. He drew himself up, clenched his hand into a fist. "My friends will die because of me," his voice threatened to crack. "Piper-"
"Is alive our sources tell us. Same as your friends, Leo, Reyna, Meg McCaffrey and Apollo, otherwise known as Lester Papadoupolos." Alex was carrying a cup which he held out to Jason.
"You haven't eaten since you fell unconscious," he held out the goblet. It had a cloudy liquid that steamed and smelled like herbs, and something else, something rich and dark. "You'll need this."
Jason eyed it suspiciously. "Is this Ambrosia or Nectar?" It might have been poison. Well, Jason had a good reason to be suspicious. But maybe if this Alex wanted him dead, he would've killed him while he was unconscious.
But then again, Medea kept Apollo alive just so she and Caligula could use him for the evil- and disgusting- scheme of cooking sun god soup. It didn't look threatening, but inm his experience, Jason had learned the most threatening things are the ones that seemed the most harmless. Any demigod or legacy would say the same.
"Well, it's not poison, that much is for certain," there was a hint of sarcasm in Alex's voice. Being around Percy so much, Jason learned a great deal about sarcasm. "Just drink it and you'll be back to normal without having nutrients pumped into you constantly. "
Jason took the goblet and eyed it warily. He came to a decision and drank it in a single gulp. If Alex wanted to harm him, he would have done so... Or not. Jason did learn about enemies misleading and tricking you, while he was in the legion. Hades, he'd been on the receiving end of that, several times when he was careless.
On the other hand, his instincts were screaming at him to trust this guy. Which was insane because he didn't even know him. But Jason had learned to trust his gut instincts early on. It was one of the few things that helped a demigod survive in the outside world, just like his weapons. It was the first thing that Lupa had taught him. And right now, he had no choice.
It was warm, rich, delicious and satisfying. The potion also left a warm, buttery aftertaste, like he'd just eaten fresh-baked cookies or brownies from New Rome's bakery, filling him with warmth from head to toe. He cleared his throat.
"Better?" Alex drawled, taking the empty goblet. He placed it on the table.
"Yeah." Jason blinked. Then his eyes narrowed in suspicion. "How did you know about the Triumvirate- and Piper-" his voice choked as he spoke.
Piper. Jason felt cracked, if he could. Like he wanted to curl into a ball and break, disappear into nothing. Alex must have noticed, and his eyes softened in sympathy.
"She's fine." He said. His voice markedly softer and less hard and sarcastic, Jason supposed, in tone. "As for the others, well, it's best if you came with me, I'll explain on the way out."
Jason stiffened but a door slid open. He didn't even notice it was there. Everything was so white it blended in. He also realised it wasn't a magical door appearing out of nowhere, the way he expected. He looked back. On the other side of the glass wall, looked like a surgery room of some kind. Up ahead was a long corridor, white and sterilised just like the hospital room.
"To answer your question," Alex said. Jason noticed he had an accent. He couldn't figure it out. He didn't think he had a bad ear for accents, but Alex could've been anything from British to German, to Irish to Welsh to Swiss. Somewhere in Europe. "We've known about the Triumvirate for quite some time. It's not exactly a big secret, even to mortals. Of course, mortals don't know about the supernatural. Most of them think it's a bunch of rubbish and hokum. We like to keep it that way, but I'm afraid it might not be for long."
He gave Jason a look. Up close, Jason saw that his eyes were a deep, piercing sapphire blue. "Well, you know about the Greek gods," Jason could have sworn that he heard a sarcastic, cold drawl when he mentioned the word gods. "And their Roman counterparts. Did your friends Percy and Annabeth mention other pantheons to you?"
He blinked. "What?"
"I take it that's a no," Alex muttered. "Well, Percy and Annabeth went for separate walks some time, before they encountered a guy- in Percy's case- and a girl- in Annabeth's. Long story short, they were actually siblings- though the girl looked Caucasian British, and the boy was African American- and they had ties to the Egyptian gods."
"What?!"
"They were magicians, practicing a magic that wasn't Hecate's or Trivia's as you might call her." Alex mentioned it in a disinterested sort of voice, like he was relaying a fact. "In short, the Egyptian gods exist. The Norse gods exist too. Your friend Annabeth's cousin, is a Norse demigod, the son of the god Frey."
Jason felt dizzy. He didn't know whether to believe this guy or not, but he didn't seem to be lying. He reached out and grasped a wall. "Yeah, it's a lot to take in," Alex said carelessly. "But it's true. Maybe next time you see her, you can ask her all about it. Other gods exist, Jason." Alex turned and fixed him with burning sapphire eyes. "Many cosmologies exist. And they often have heroes- to call it that- to carry out their dirty work, save the cosmos, the world from destruction, et cetera, et cetera. Some of them are magicians, like the siblings your friends met- often hosts." Jason didn't have time to ask about that- he didn't even know if he wanted to know about that, but Alex continued. "Some of them are demigods. Others are legacies, some are champions, and some are Nephilim."
Jason opened his mouth to speak but found that he couldn't. Alex's piercing sapphire blue eyes met his and dug harshly into his soul. "Best take it in as fast as you can," he said harshly. "Before this universe swallows you whole."
Jason threw out his hands in exasperation. "If that's true, then it's already swallowed me whole," he retorted. His temper normally so calm and unimpulsive, was set off by this guy's manner. Jason couldn't decide if this guy was friendly or not.
Alex snorted. "Yeah, I heard. Caligula had arrows shot at you and stabbed you in the back. Then he shot arrows at you again for good measure. Smart move, by the way, turning your back on your enemy, even for a split second. You should never have underestimated him."
Jason's normally even temper flared again. "I was trying to save my friends."
"And look how well that worked out. Your friends would have been fine without you. You should have trusted them. And you- the tactical expert- going with Meg McCaffrey, who, despite her young age, is a very consummate fighter, leaving Piper and Apollo- sorry, Lester- behind?" Alex's eyes were hard. "They weren't stupid, but neither of them are combat experts, even with Piper's expertise and the former being a god, as compared to yours. That could have ended worse, and you know it. Getting captured... It was poorly planned, poorly executed and Caligula got away." His eyes were cold. "I expected more from a tactical commander of the two camps. And a Hero of Olympus." He scoffed the last word.
Jason flushed, glaring angrily at the new guy. And yet he couldn't deny, he was right.
"You saved Olympus, you earned your place in the legion and in Camp Half-Blood," Alex said mercilessly. "But you could have failed. Disastrously. And that would have meant the end of everything, wouldn't it? And you died, anyway."
"How am I even alive then?" He bit out. He wasn't usually like this- it took a lot to rile Jason up, but this guy was getting on his nerves.
"You were alive because you weren't you." Alex answered, turning away. "That thing Caligula killed, it wasn't you."
Jason stared at him. It occurred to him that this guy might be crazy. But then, he reminded himself, how was he alive?
"Like I said, Egyptian gods exist. Shabti, they said, make excellent stunt doubles. The Egyptians usually made these models out of clay, wax or glass and placed them in the tombs of the dead to serve as servants in the afterlife, where they could kick back, relax and enjoy eternity. But their magicians used them as decoys, and stunt doubles, and numerous things besides. The problem was that we had to fool the Triumvirate. And to do that we needed to do the impossible- fool you and the Herophile Sibyl."
Jason stared. "You fooled the Sibyl." It was impossible, inconceivable. And yet they had done it.
"Shabti who act as doubles have no connection to the individuals they're posing as. Other than some memories and basic powers, copied and transferred- it's not like you used your power to a large extent- which was why that thing could use your powers to break the tornado cage. Why it could summon the ventus you rode. Basically, the shabti pose as the individuals, with the memories, magical abilities, personalities, and even physiques copied into them. Quite impressive for something that's actually made of clay."
Jason's hand clung to the wall again. After all that... It was definitely too much. Saving Olympus and the world was one thing, but dying only to turn out not to be dead, and meeting this guy...
"That thing even thought it was you." Alex mused. "It didn't find out, not like Zia Rashid's." Jason didn't bother to ask who that was or how he knew that. All he knew was that he was alive, but...
"But I remember everything," he whispered. "I was there. I died."
"You didn't die, Jason." Alex's clear blue eyes, less hostile, even gentle now, met his. "Believe me, you didn't. Like I said, shabti don't normally have a connection to the living individuals they're posing as, but the one we sent to be you did. You were captured. You lost consciousness and was injected with benzodiazepines to make you lose your recent memories as well, while you were at school. Then we rescued you, while you were still unconscious. Your memories and genetic code weren't just copied into the shabti to give it your personality, powers, physicality and memories. They took some of your blood- including the godly ichor you inherited from your father- and genetic matter." They'd stopped, and Alex went to a slot in the wall, to some kind of machine. "It was even more complex, and more than Egyptian magic was involved, but we had been planning this for a long time. While you were unconscious, we sent the un-activated shabti back to school in your place. It had a strong mental connection with your mind, therefore, we kept your body in stasis, but your brain was fully awake and active. Just not in control of that body." He turned around and pointed at Jason.
"All the time, you were seeing things, hearing things, tasting and touching things, every memory you had of that time, you were experiencing in another body. An artificial one. So, it wasn't just a decoy. It was you. Everything you felt, everything you experienced whilst unconscious, came from the link connecting you to your shabti or double. It was utterly unique. Even the gods- who can't detect magical impostors and doubles until up close, would find it almost impossible, to know it was not you, because it was. There's never been a shabti like the one we made to take your place. Because no one can completely change into the person they're posing as. A few copied memories and powers are nothing." He moved forward. "You were unique. So, the shabti had to be. The Sibyl saw you die. But we cut the connection after that thing shut down. It was a good fake so that you really appeared dead. Normally shabti would turn back into its original form- albeit broken- when they're 'killed'. But you stayed long enough to be placed in a coffin. Now because your brain was connected long enough to stay until that thing shut down and died, everyone either saw- or in your friend Nico's case- felt you die. It fooled everyone even the Triumvirate." He moved closer.
"Don't you see? You or Piper...The Triumvirate were never planning on killing her. She was the bait. They were after you. As powerful Piper is, you're the son of one of the three major gods. Of course, they would have killed Piper if you hadn't shown up, but the Sibyl also saw that. She didn't see you get replaced with another body, yet she knew it was you. She also saw the Triumvirate's attention. They were hell-bent on getting rid of every major obstacle first and you were the first they happened to encounter. You were just way too close to Caligula and so I took the opportunity. Yes, it was me. And no, I don't particularly care if you have something against that, my goal was to keep you alive."
Jason felt something press into his arm, and then scratch it. "Ow!" He jumped back. Alex held up a metal object, pointed like an arrow-head. The tip of it was stained in Jason's blood. Underneath a small green light could be seen, pulsing. "This severs your connection to the Greco-Roman cosmology- and their gods. The Olympians- even the Triumvirate- will think that you are truly dead." He took out a small round container. Inside was a thick cream-silver paste which he smeared onto Jason's cut. "It'll heal without scarring, and it'll seal things up. Your father won't even be able to sense you. You've disappeared, for all intents and purposes, dead to the Olympian cosmology and all those that belong to it. You still have the ichor infused with mortal blood which you've inherited from your parents. But any link which could enable them to sense you is dead." He held the object up. "It contains a powerful, but non-lethal pathogen. Works kind of like a vaccination. It'll spread within you, working like white blood cells in your immune system." Alex stored it in a clear plastic. "We thought to do it while you were unconscious, but I said we'd done enough to you. You deserved some honesty."
"But I have to go back," Jason insisted, looking at Alex's eyes, darker than his, but strangely similar and familiar.
"You're dead in the Triumvirate's eyes," Alex scoffed. "What are you going to do, pop back up again and try to take them on? Like I said, you should have trusted your friends to play their part, and now your part's done. Camp Jupiter and your friends survived. It's had heavy casualties, but they'll recover, and they'll be back stronger than ever. The campers are reorganising. Everyone's on the move, and they're going to fight and win this war. I know this because we've been handling things as much as we could without being seen. With your trigger-happy, paranoid father in charge, none of us could exactly interfere directly without endangering many more. You have no clear plan- and it's clear that your improvisation skills sadly aren't as good as your friend Percy's- you've just woken up and now you have the advantage in fooling the Triumvirate and those damned gods that you are dead. Pop back up and you'll not only endanger yourself, but you'll endanger us. Everyone here. The Triumvirate will be even more determined to wipe you and your friends out, alongside us- and the gods. We've brought them time by pulling you out. Caligula thinks he's won a great victory. He's an arrogant fool in the extreme, they all are. And I'm not going to allow you to endanger anyone else by exposing us as well as yourself either." Alex retorted.
He pressed a hand against the wall. Another door slid open. "Feel free to wander about, and dinner is at five-thirty, there's a clock on the wall," Alex said shortly. "Just go right. If we can trust you, you'll be allowed to get around."
Jason clenched his fists. "And if you don't?" After all this, Jason had to remind himself that he was once a Praetor of New Rome and Camp Jupiter. He shouldn't lose control of his emotions so easily.
"We'll see." Alex said, his eyes cool as he met Jason's. At this point, Jason was suddenly struck by how cold this guy's aura seemed to be. Like he was standing naked at the highest mountain in the cosmos and it was midwinter. Just by looking at him, Jason could feel Alex's attitude towards him change, being far less... Well, he wasn't exactly friendly to begin with. But even though he knew he wasn't going to get killed and this guy saved his life, he could feel the hostility rising while the temperature dropped.
"Enjoy your stay, if you want." Alex said mockingly while the door slid shut.
And that was how Jason ended up alive. Of course, nobody else knew that.
Miles away and months later, Percy Jackson stared at the masses of monsters. The sight of those armies massing around Half-Blood Hill- his home (not the hill or the pine tree- the camp behind it), made his stomach clench.
"How many?" He asked through gritted teeth. "You said it was completely surrounded."
At that moment, a loud crashing noise distracted them. Trees were on fire, crashing to the ground, accompanied by the triumphant shrieks of monsters. More nymphs would've died. Percy felt sick. Lexie flinched, but didn't turn away. "It'll be harder as we get closer. Even now, they could've sensed us."
She'd covered them with some kind of deodorant. Givenchy perfume (it really wasn't Percy's thing, but with his scent…), mixed with some other stuff, which repelled monsters or hypnotised them into taking no notice. Lou Ellen of the Hecate Cabin had created that.
"Many monsters have camped in the woods. Many dryads and naiads are dead," she said flatly. "The satyrs and campers hurried to get as many of them across the border, but it's difficult. Most of them can't survive being moved any farther and the satyrs themselves had losses." Percy's hand tightened around Riptide.
He felt angry, useless and helpless. More than that, he was furious at himself for not being there.
"So how do we slip in?" Annabeth asked, her grey eyes clouded.
"There's a portal," Lexie explained. "Lou Ellen installed it. But we have to make sure that no one and nothing else is coming in with us. And it's a safe distance away from the camp."
"You sure it works?" Percy asked.
"Positive. It's how I got in and out." She said shortly. "I'm relatively young and haven't fought in any of the wars, so with the deodorant, monsters don't recognise my scent- if they notice it." She grinned, the light dancing in her beautiful brown eyes again, and Annabeth remembered Malcolm discussing how one of their brothers had a crush on her.
They put away the telescope and struggled down the hillside.
"We can't get to close to the camp or anywhere monsters might be," Lexie explained. "If any monster finds us, and spots the portal, we have to kill them. They may come back, but we have to keep them from finding out about the portal for as long as we can." She handed Annabeth and Percy some small statues.
"What are these?"
"They were made by the Hecate Cabin," Lexie stated. "Install them at all compass directions- north, south, east, west- around the portal when we get there. I'll trigger the protective spell and then I'll open the portal." Annabeth nodded, and they hurried off.
They ran for it. But it wasn't too far off, when two hellhounds stopped their sniffing and foraging for food on the forest floor and sniffed the air above them. One dog's eyes narrowed, and he bared his teeth. He howled like a wolf, summoning the others.
"They know we're here. The deodorant can only hide us so far," Lexie hissed. They ran faster.
Three hellhounds appeared on their tail. They were snarling, eyes red as lava, barking and racing after them.
"Come on," Lexie said through ground teeth. They raced faster. She jumped up ahead on a pile of rocks, and Annabeth went after her, jumping off one boulder and grabbing Lexie's hand. Percy slashed the demon dogs with Riptide, causing them to back nervously, before they zeroed in on him again and growled, coming closer.
"Percy, come on!" Annabeth pleaded. "Wait!" Lexie shouted. She shouted. "Duck!" And threw a grenade of something at the hellhounds.
Yellow sulphuric smoke burst through the tiny grenade. It hit the nearest dog and it sniffed suspiciously before howling in agony and exploding into dust. The smoke spread.
"Here, Percy, grab my hand," Annabeth pleaded. Percy took her hand and off they went.
"Here!" They finally burst through some dense trees into a clearing.
Right in the middle of a single stone, like something from Stonehenge. "Statues, now!" Lexie shouted. They got to work.
Lexie started chanting in Ancient Greek and older languages. Soon, the statues glowed. A line of blue light lit up the lines of the Hecate Statues and ran throughout the perimeter of the clearing from each statue, creating a circle. A translucent wall rose, preventing any monsters from coming near.
Lexie kept chanting. The stone in the centre glowed. The centre of the stone faded and turned liquid-like, before clearing into a silvery metallic colour. Symbols and strange carvings of birds and other creatures alongside magical glyphs appeared. The liquid in the centre seemed to harden and clear, becoming-
"A mirror," Percy spoke. "The portal," Lexie corrected grimly.
The howls of various monsters, alerted by the hellhounds, came closer. "Come on," Lexie ushered Annabeth forwards and she all but pushed her in.
"Percy!" She hissed. "I have to turn off everything before they discover this! Hurry!" Percy hurried and jumped through the mirror. It felt like swimming in icy cold metal- silver, not water. But before long it thickened, then abruptly disappeared, disappearing into nothing and the blurred silver around him turned into green.
"Percy!" Someone shouted. Some campers in full armour ran up to him.
"You injured?" Will Solace asked.
Percy shook his head. "Okay," Will breathed in relief. Just then Lexie pulled through.
"That was a tricky one," she grumbled. She brushed off a few leaves and monster dust from her sleeve. "Barely killed them before turning off- and jumping in whilst deactivating the thing."
Will frowned. "We should've had someone to help you."
Lexie shrugged. "Next time. We brought some extra supplies." She opened her bag. A whole group of campers ran forwards. She started distributing canned food. "Put those in the storage- the locked one. Make sure everyone gets an even share and no one steals anything."
When a child of Hermes warns people not to steal, that's when you know how bad things are. Percy stepped forward. "What's the situation?" He asked.
"Locked in, stranded," Will said as they walked towards the Big House. "Surrounded completely by monsters at land, sea and air, from all corners. Running low on supplies, too many injured and not enough space and medical staff." Everywhere around them, Percy could see people lying on stretchers, many covered in blood, and a large number of them horribly injured. Too few healers and volunteers, ran around helping them sit or take a drink of water. A lot of tents littered the place, looking like they were hastily set up. And even those looked packed. Percy cast his eyes around. Warriors reported to officers and messengers ran around. There were satyrs, and centaurs- but none of these looked excited, like the Party Ponies in the Titan War. It all looked like a sea of tents, injured, soot-streaked and blood-stained warriors even from below. Percy noticed that some weren't even campers. There were some older demigods, ones that he'd seen but had left camp once they'd come of age, apparently returned with families, including young children. There were those that he had never met before. Romans and Greeks, demigods, legacies, mortal family members, nymphs, satyrs, a few lost-looking fauns, some friendly monsters, centaurs… There were too many to count. It was too horrible to imagine. And somewhere, the smell of roasting meat- but Percy knew it wasn't barbecue. He'd smelt it before. Bodies, dead bodies burning on the pyre.
Percy grabbed Will's arm. "How many dead?"
"Tonight- we were lucky," Will's shoulders sagged. "Only three. Yesterday it was nine."
Percy's hand stiffened and he pulled away. Twelve. Twelve people had died between yesterday and today, and he didn't even know about it. He had been thinking of going to Burger King's. He'd never felt so helpless, so angry with himself.
Not even during the wars.
Will sighed, "Come on, let's get you to the Big House. Chiron wants to talk."
Nearby, Percy spotted Annabeth engrossed in deep conversation with Malcolm Pace, her second-in-command. Annabeth looked pale and ashen-faced and Percy knew that she comprehended the scale of just how bad things were.
"Lexie said there were many refugees from New Rome- and the outside world." He spoke.
Will nodded. "From everywhere. Only Chiron were able to recognise them, just in case there were spies. We don't know what's happened. We only know that after the mortals started spotting us fighting monsters- actual monsters- that's when we knew things got bad." Of course, it was. Sure, there were a few mortals who had Clear Sight, like Rachel and Percy's mom, but when adults older than small kids could see through the Mist…
"What happened?"
The son of Apollo looked troubled. "A few weeks ago, a team of campers set out to the city. They were on their way back home." His face darkened. "They decided to take a detour. They were armed, so there was no danger of them being attacked without surviving. Or so they thought. But at Macey's in New York, they were attacked by a group of Scythian Dracaenae. These weren't like the other monsters, they looked… Haggard, tired, wild and desperate. They just charged them. They fought, but one of the monsters grabbed a backpack and started rummaging through the supplies, stealing weapons, food, medicine- anything they could find, before taking off. They chased them, of course. But more monsters attacked them- like they were helping the dracaenae get away. Eventually they were overrun. Mortals started panicking, screaming about giants and snake-women- a whole group of fully-grown adults," Will stressed. "Screaming and panicking. They saw everything. The distraction cost them." He looked down. Only one managed to get away. He died last week." Will's face was shadowed by his hair. "His injuries were too bad."
A lump rose in Percy's throat. He forced it down.
"How many healers, commandoes, anyone ready to fight?"
"Right now?" Will gave a mental count. "Six to eight healers on the field- we had to set up another infirmary, we've got one more there- two if you count the one running back and forth from the first to the second infirmary next door. After that, there are three-to-four in the main infirmary, last I checked. One medic." Will paused. "I'm the one running everything." Percy nodded. "Supplies? Commandoes?"
"Well, we've got Malcolm, Meg McCaffrey, Clarisse and Sherman Yang and-"
"Percy," Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite stood before them.
The last time Percy saw Piper was at Jason's funeral. He didn't expect to see her so soon. She looked focused, determined now, but there was a hardness in her eyes and the way she held her shoulders that didn't belong there. She was brittle, like an eggshell. "Glad to have you back."
"Piper." Annabeth stopped behind him. "Hey Annabeth," Piper acknowledged.
"We're receiving between five to eight more refugees tonight," she informed them. "The last group just came. There were four survivors." Will winced.
"Right, I gotta get going," he muttered. "See ya," he raced off. "Nico's escorting them." Piper continued, stepping closer. "But even with him not everybody makes it."
Percy took a deep breath. "Chiron?"
"He's right there," Piper answered, looking at Chiron. He was in his centaur form, so he could move faster. "Percy, Annabeth." He looked more lined and grave than Percy had ever seen him. "I am so glad you could make it," he sounded relieved.
"Chiron," Annabeth choked. Her grey eyes were filled with tears, but she was holding them back. She was strong.
"Yes, my dear, I know," he soothed, gathering her in a hug. She choked into his shirt. "But we mustn't let what we cannot undo get to us. There is plenty to be done."
Percy almost slammed down his backpack of goods and supplies. "We brought more supplies," he mumbled, having forgotten about his backpack.
Chiron nodded gratefully. "Thank you, both of you. You both undertook an extraordinary journey. And I must thank Lexie too. With every passing day, this threat grows." He sighed, suddenly looking weary, almost beaten. It disturbed Percy, this unbeatable guy, this teacher that had endured teaching some of the biggest heroes for thousands of years, who'd faced Kronos in what looked like the losing side of a war. He had never seen Chiron look defeated.
"Lexie told us Camp Jupiter was gone," he choked. Chiron looked up.
"Indeed, my boy. The Roman camp has been overrun. They were forced to abandon it to the enemy after they crossed the Little Tiber. Now most of the city of New Rome has been taken over. Those that remain guard diligently but are strained. More and more are dying each day, even those that risk their lives to flee for safety."
"But why?" Percy exploded. "Why is this happening? Why are the monsters acting like this?"
Annabeth froze, which meant that she'd just figured out something. "Malcolm said that the monsters were robbing supplies," she said slowly. "And Lexie said that the Mist was disintegrating."
"Lexie was correct," Chiron sighed. "The Mist has broken down. The mortals see everything. Unfortunately, the Mist is more than just a filter. It's a barrier."
"Hold on," Percy interrupted. "A barrier?"
"Yes, it separates the mortal world from the supernatural," Chiron said smoothly. "More than that. I think you recall my conversation, Annabeth, that when the gods decided to separate their Greek and Roman children from each other, they used the Mist. It is a barrier for all supernatural, all cosmologies." He looked sternly at both of them. "Including for your cousin Magnus and your friends Carter and Sadie."
They froze. "How did you-" Annabeth started to say, but Chiron held his hand up. "Peace," he said. "I did not come to berate you. I understood why you kept this a secret. Goodness knows how the gods would have reacted if they found out the boundaries had been crossed. Already there is tension between the gods of Olympus and Asgard-"
"Hold on," Percy interrupted again. "What?"
"-And the barriers separating each pantheon, each cosmology, have been there far longer than the barriers separating Greek from Roman," Chiron continued as if Percy hadn't spoken. "Chaos is ensuing. So far, only Apollo keeps contact from Olympus, but he is forced to keep it minimal for fear Zeus will find out-"
"Of course, he is," Percy growled. "Because the rest of them just don't give a damn if the world is going into chaos. Until their thrones are threatened."
Thunder and lightning. But Percy ignored it. He was too mad, too upset to care.
"My dear boy, I understand how you feel," Chiron implored. "But I hardly think that making the situation even worse and alienating the gods might help."
"Why not?" Percy demanded. "They let Jason die!" Annabeth snapped.
More thunder and lightning. Chiron closed his eyes. He couldn't fault them for saying this.
"Annabeth's right," Percy said. "They did let Jason die. They blamed Apollo for everything, and no one else spoke a single word because they were too afraid for themselves. So they cut us out like we never even existed and decided that Apollo- without his powers- would be the one to deal with the Triumvirate themselves. And now Jason's dead. And none of them care."
He turned on his heel and marched off to help the others. Chiron sighed.
"Rachel is here," he explained. "The Oracle of Delphi has given a prophecy."
"A prophecy?" Annabeth asked numbly. "What prophecy?" She knew prophecies. How could things possibly get any worse?
"A prophecy that may be the key to saving us," Chiron replied, as they turned and headed off to meet the other campers.