Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series that honour belongs to Rick Riordan. I'm just playing with the characters and story.

SURPRISE! I got this chapter written in less time than I thought it would take me. (It has nothing to do with Rainbo225dabom (Guest) review). It has been ready to go since New Years Day I just needed Internet access (Using a family member's again).

Enjoy the first chapter of The Last Olympian.

The Ship

"We are up to the good part," exclaimed Ares with glee.

"Good part?" questioned Demeter.

"Our children are preparing for war against our evil father, your evil grandfather…. Please explain how that is good?" demanded Hera.

"Umm?" said Ares looking scared at the angry looks he was getting from everyone in the room.

"This part of the story begins a week before my sixteenth birthday. Mom, Paul, Rachel and I went to the south shore and Paul had let me take his car for a spin," said Percy.

"You are technically not allowed to drive," accused Hephaestus.

"It was a private stretch of beach and we didn't go far. We stopped on a ridge overlooking the Atlantic Ocean," said Rachel.

"The sea was so calm, the surface smooth as glass and a lovely glittery green," described Percy.

"Sounds lovely," sighed Aphrodite.

"I had invited Percy to vacation with my family on St Thomas," informed Rachel.

"You were invited to the Caribbean and you are hesitant?" questioned a surprised Apollo.

"It is a week before the great prophecy is to occur," reminded Athena.

"I have to admit that a vacation was tempting. However I was on call for a mission," informed Percy.

"What mission?" Zeus enquired. The mood among the demi-gods dropped.

"It had been a hard summer and I was finding that I was spending more time with Rachel. The more serious it got at camp, the more I needed to get some breathing room. It felt like I needed Rachel to remind me that the mortal world still existed," admitted Percy.

"It was pretty tense at camp," admitted Annabeth and Clarisse.

"We decided to pretend we were two normal people," explained Rachel "And I wondered what it would take to get the stupid boy to kiss the girl."

"A love triangle," Aphrodite squealed.

"So tell us the truth, had you thought about dating Rachel?" asked Katie.

"I can't pretend I hadn't thought about Rachel," admitted Percy. "Rachel let me know how she felt, she didn't hide it." Annabeth huffed clearly not liking what she was hearing.

"I was finding her easier to be around than other girls," said Percy looking at Annabeth "I didn't have to work hard, watch what I said or wrack my brain to figure out what she was thinking."

"So Rachel was easy," said Chris.

"Yes… No…" stuttered Percy after a glare from Rachel.

"So did you kiss Rachel?" asked Aphrodite.

"Percy was distracted when a certain Pegasus landed on the hood of the car," replied Rachel.

"Paul wouldn't be impressed with craters on the hood of his car," said Nico.

"Riding on Blackjack was Charles Beckendorf the senior counsellor for the Hephaestus cabin. He was two years older than me and one of the camps best armour-smiths," informed Percy.

"My armour was made by him," said Chris.

"He made some ingenious mechanical stuff. He rigged a Greek fire bomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a group of Kronos's monsters. The explosion took out a whole legion, with the first flush," bragged Travis.

"Wow," said Hephaestus impressed while Apollo, Dionysus and Hermes laughed.

"Beckendorf was dressed for combat. He wore a bronze breastplate and war helm and had a sword strapped to his side," described Rachel.

"His explosive bag was slung over his shoulder. Although we had planned the mission for weeks I had half hoped that it would never happened," admitted Percy.

"Same," said Annabeth, Clarisse and the Stolls.

"I informed Percy that I would inform Sally that he had gone to do demi-god stuff," said Rachel.

"She is probably used to you disappearing to do demi-god stuff," stated Hera.

"You will also have to explain to Paul what happened to his car," hinted Will.

"I doubt he will lend you his car again," mentioned Hermes.

"I wished Percy good luck … and kissed him," admitted Rachel.

"You never mentioned that," grumbled Annabeth as Aphrodite managed to hold in her glee.

"More important things happened, that pushed it to the back of my mind," responded Percy.

"Notice that it is the females that are making the first moves," mentioned Poseidon.

"Oblivious to the feelings of others and himself, even if they are carrying a huge blinking sign," stated Will.

"Enough about love and feelings. What about the mission?" Ares asked.

"It was almost dark when we spotted our target – the Princess Andromeda. It was heading for New York," said Percy.

"Your mission is to take out the Princess Andromeda," exclaimed Apollo.

"It is a good idea…. Take out Kronos's headquarters before the invasion starts," stated Athena.

"Percy and Beckendorf had done dry runs at the New Jersey dockyards using abandoned ships as targets," informed Annabeth.

"I knew what little time we had. I informed Backjack to put us on the lowest stern level. We plummeted towards the boat and zipped so fast that none of the monsters patrolling the upper decks raised the alarm," said Percy.

"That would have made anyone queasy," mumbled Connor.

"I informed Blackjack to leave us after he dropped us off and not to wait for us," said Percy.

"Not a good idea to let a potential escape or get-away plan to leave," accused Hermes.

"Looking back, I would make some changes….," admitted Percy.

"Maybe that is why you are here?" hinted Artemis.

"I pulled out Riptide while Beckendorf pulled out a piece of paper," informed Percy.

"I didn't realise he had a map," said Will.

"He didn't. It was a photograph of Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite," answered Percy.

"They had finally started going out the last summer after years of all of us telling them they liked each other," gossiped Connor.

"For a daughter of Aphrodite she was a little slow in doing something about her own love life," added Chris.

"She gave good advice about other's love lives," defended Clarisse.

"Beckendorf and Silena had been the happiest I'd ever seen them," admitted Annabeth.

"He pulled out a photo of a love one … if this was a Hollywood movie, I would say Beckendorf is not around for long," predicted Apollo.

"Beckendorf led the way. We followed a corridor to the service stairwell as we had practised," said Percy. "We froze when we heard a telkhine speak. Apparently another monster could smell half-blood scent on-board…"

"You can't tell me that there is no enemy demi-gods on that ship," announced Poseidon.

"The other monster didn't care what his nose said, the last time he smelt half-blood it had turned out to be a meatloaf sandwich," chuckled Percy.

"Now we know what we smell like!" exclaimed Travis as the room laughed.

"As they continued to argue we descended down the stairs quietly. We came to a metal hatch, the engine room. It was locked but Beckendorf pulled out some bolt cutters and split the lock," informed Percy.

"Beckendorf is well prepared," praised Athena.

"Inside the room was a row of yellow turbines the size of grain silos churning and humming. Pressure gauges and computer terminals lined the opposite wall. A telkhine was hunched over a console but was so involved with his work he didn't notice us," described Percy.

"He was probably on social media," whispered Will.

"I don't like this…. They locked him in the engine room," said Artemis.

"I stepped forward and he finally reacted, leaping sideways towards a big red button, but I blocked his path and turned him into dust," said Percy.

"No wonder he was locked in, he wasn't very good," remarked Hephaestus.

"There was an alarm button…. Were they expecting trouble?" questioned Athena.

"Beckendorf threw me a jar of Greek fire and duct tape to slap onto the console while he covered the turbines," informed Percy.

"Duct tape is amazing," said Hephaestus "so glad that my child invented it."

"As a son of Poseidon I knew our position in the sea. That we were travelling at eighteen knots an hour and that meant that the ship would arrive in New York by dawn," explained Percy.

"That means this is your only chance to stop the ship," stated Poseidon.

"I had just attached a second jar to the control panels when I heard many creatures coming down the stairwell," said Percy.

"That is not good if you can hear them over the engines," groaned Hephaestus.

"We needed more time … At least ten minutes for Beckendorf to wire the receiver and prime the charges," informed Percy.

"I guess Percy decides to distract the monsters, to give Beckendorf time to do that work," said Apollo.

"Half a dozen telekhines were coming down the stairs and I cut through them faster than they could yelp. I passed another telkhine but left him alive so he could raise the alarm and get his friends to follow me rather than head towards the engine room," explained Percy.

"That was smart," grumbled Athena.

"I reached the promenade and in the middle of the courtyard was a fountain with a giant crab in it. It was bigger than the fountain. It rose over three meters out of the water with pincers longer than my body. Its shell was mottled blue and green and its mouth was billboard size. It had beady eyes which showed intelligence and hate," described Percy.

"So the fact that you are my son, isn't going to help you," grumbled Poseidon.

"I tried to inch around the courtyard but the crab was fast and came straight for me, his pincers snapping. I had succeeded with creating a distraction as an alarm sounded," said Percy.

"The middle of the ship is not where you want to fight," objected Dionysus.

"That is for sure," agreed Artemis.

"The demonic crustacean lunged at me and I managed to slice the tip of his claw off, however it didn't seem to hurt him. I realised that I needed to hit him in the chink of his armour. Paul had shown me where it was, except…" explained Percy.

"It is right in the middle of their bellies," groaned Poseidon.

"How are you going to get to the belly?" asked Thalia.

"The floor was marble. So I made the fountain explode dousing everything. The crab came straight at me and just before we collided I slid on the wet floor straight under him. Before he realised what was going on I stabbed Riptide into the chink, letting go of the hilt and sliding out the other side," informed Percy.

"That would have been so cool to witness," said Travis.

"The crab shuddered and its eyes dissolved, its shell turned red as the insides evaporated. The empty shell clattered to the floor. I ran to the nearest stairwell as monsters and demigods shouted as they strapped on weapons from different levels," described Percy.

"You are weapon less," said Ares.

"It is a good thing that his sword will reappear in his pocket," responded Aphrodite.

"But when is that going to occur?" asked Athena.

"I ran into a couple of dracaenae who had spears and nets. I grabbed a model of the ship and hurled it at the first dracaenae," explained Percy.

"Model of the ship?" questioned Nico.

"From one of the 'you are here' displays. The boat smacked into the dracaenae and she went down. I jumped over her, grabbed the other's spear and swung her around so she slammed into an elevator," replied Percy.

"Why didn't you use the elevator?" asked Aphrodite.

"And get trapped inside a box with only one exit," protested Ares rolling his eyes.

"You are doing well at directing the monsters away from the engine room and Beckendorf," praised Chris.

"I admit I did something that was probably stupid and could have definitely jeopardised the mission, but I couldn't help it. A young kid about twelve came charging down the stairs, his armour half on, looking like he just woken from a nap," admitted Percy.

"The kid would be the age you were when you first arrived at camp half-blood," said Hestia.

"What did you do?" sighed Thalia.

"He was being brain-washed, trained to hate the gods and think I was the enemy. I couldn't hurt him. I disarmed him telling him if he wanted to live to get off the ship and to tell the other demi-gods as well," admitted Percy.

"Why would you do that?" questioned Ares.

"Because it is Percy," exclaimed the demi-gods.

"I reached the main deck and noticed the whole upper deck seemed eerily deserted," informed Percy. "Luke's voice made me freeze. He was standing on the balcony above me. He informed me that I was late and they had been expecting me for days."

"What do you mean they were expecting you?" questioned Zeus.

"They must have known I was coming and I was soon surrounded," said Percy.

"Is there a traitor at camp?" asked Athena.

"I noticed that Luke's voice kept changing and I didn't know if Luke's consciousness was still alive and the change that kept occurring was Kronos adapting to his new form," said Percy.

"Interesting theory, unfortunately we have no idea what is actually happening," admitted Athena.

"I thought why wait for the prophecy? Why not end the threat by taking down Kronos then and there," admitted Percy.

"You don't have your sword," exclaimed Demeter "Oh is Riptide back in your pocket?"

"Kronos is not going to fight you," argued Hades.

"He dared me too…. Unfortunately his ability with time caused my charge to literally slow down like I was moving in syrup. My arms so heavy I could hardly raise my sword," declared Percy.

"What is Kronos playing at?" asked Poseidon.

"I was having trouble fighting his magic but finally was able to use my water powers to cause the boat to lurch sideways throwing monsters off their feet. Also gallons of salt water surged from the swimming pool dousing everyone on deck. Thankfully revitalising me and breaking the time spell," informed Percy.

"What happened next?" Hermes asked.

"I struck at Kronos but was still too slow. I had made the mistake of looking at his face. It was Luke's face and I found it hard to kill him," admitted Percy.

"He was once your friend … I can see how that could be hard," said Hestia.

"Kronos sliced downwards with his scythe. It missed me by a millimetre. I kicked him in the chest but it was like kicking a refrigerator," explained Percy. "Kronos swung his scythe again and I managed to intercept with Riptide but the swing was so powerful I could only deflect it."

"He is one of the most powerful people in the universe …. It is going to be difficult to fight him," declared Zeus.

"Unfortunately the edge of the scythe grazed my arm. It shouldn't have been a serious cut, but the entire side of my body exploded with pain," whined Percy.

"So the line from the sea demon about the blade severing your soul from your body?" questioned Athena.

"Felt true, I was losing blood, strength and my will and identity," replied Percy.

"Well that is handy for Kronos," grumbled Clarisse.

"I switched my sword to my left hand and stabbed at Kronos. My sword deflected off his stomach. It was like hitting solid marble," said Percy.

"There is no way he could survive that…" said Athena "Unless … it's possible if…" she muttered to herself with a gasp.

"Kronos informed me that I had put on a poor performance but Luke had informed him I was never his match at sword play," said Percy.

"You only ever fought him at age twelve and untrained, he of course is going to be better," protested Clarisse.

"My retort was that Luke had a big head…. But at least it was his head," said Percy.

"Oh good one," laughed Apollo with Hermes and Dionysus.

"I told Kronos that he would never get the boat to Manhattan and was informed if I was counting on my friend with the explosives I had a problem," said Percy.

"They knew about Beckendorf and the explosives?" questioned Hephaestus.

"Ethan came forward with Beckendorf saying they found him just as they were informed," said Percy.

"Who informed them?" asked Dionysus.

"Beckendorf was held by two giants. He had a swollen eye and cuts on his face and arms, his armour was gone and his shirt was nearly torn off," described Percy. "I realised he was indicating with his eyes to his hand. His watch was still on and that was the detonator."

"Could the explosives be armed?" asked Artemis.

"One of the giants stated that they found him trying to sneak to the engine room," advised Percy.

"Trying to get to the engine room?" questioned Zeus.

"Ethan informed Kronos that Beckendorf was going towards the engine room as he was going in that direction and he had told them so. His bag was still full of explosives," said Percy.

"He fooled them. When he realised he was going to get captured he made it look like he hadn't reached the engine room yet," said Hermes impressed.

"Than the Greek fire could still be primed," suggested Hephaestus.

"So what is in the bag?" asked Travis.

"Canned Peaches," answered Percy.

"Canned Peaches?" exclaimed Dionysus.

"They had caught Beckendorf near the galley," replied Percy.

"I'm liking this kid," exclaimed Hermes.

"Kronos wouldn't have been happy," proposed Hera.

"Especially since no one had actually checked the engine room," said Percy. "Ethan ran towards the engine room."

"Damn you only have minutes before the bombs are disarmed," said Dionysus.

"Unfortunately there was no delay on the timer, we had no time to get away, if we got the chance to hit the detonator," said Percy. "Kronos informed us that they knew we were coming and showed us a silver bracelet with a scythe charm."

"A communication device … that means that there is a spy at camp," exclaimed Athena.

"I was informed that you can't count on friends as they always let you down. Luke apparently learnt that lesson the hard way," said Percy.

"His friends let him down … And of course he never let his friends down," said Dionysus sarcastically.

"Kronos told me to surrender or Beckendorf dies," said Percy.

"You are in no shape to rescue him," remarked Apollo.

"And if you tried, both of you will die," said Ares.

"Beckendorf mouthed to me to go, as he raised his free arm slowly towards the watch," said Percy.

"No!" shouted a number of gods.

"A monster noticed and wondered what he was doing. Beckendorf closed his eyes and brought his hand up to his watch. I had no choice. I threw my sword like a javelin at Kronos, it bounced harmlessly of his chest startling him. I pushed myself to the side of the ship and jumped into the water as I heard rumblings deep in the ship. A spear sailed past my ear and an arrow pierced my thigh but I plunged into the sea willing the currents to take me far away. Even then the explosion shook the world as a massive fireball consumed everything. I blacked out as I sank towards the bottom of the sea," cried Percy.

"Beckendorf was a hero," stated Hephaestus.

"He will be rewarded in the afterlife," advised Hades.

Author's Note: So did you enjoy the chapter? Reviews are appreciated.

The next update will hopefully be by Australia Day (January 26th). I update when the chapters are ready and don't start the next chapter until they are uploaded. Hopefully I will have my internet working again and won't need to rely on family member's internet access.