Oh, lordy. I did it again, didn't I? Well, tis life, I guess. It decides to bury you with things to do at the drop of a hat. But! Something awesome is happening when I post this chapter. It's Fated To Save's birthday! Whoooooo! I started this crazy, awesome, sometimes painful journey one whole year ago! In that time a lot of stuff has happened, some good, some bad and I honestly wouldn't have been able to get through it without you all. Thank you so much for staying with this series and putting up with my staggered updates. I love you all!
Now, on with the chapter!
(Silena)
Sometimes Silena just couldn't figure out how she got into these situations.
Here she was all the way in Tartarus, back to back with her best friend/cousin fighting off empousai while the rest of her family was topside trying their hardest to get to the House of Hades as fast as possible. Not to mention the back up they had been expecting had failed to show up, which meant that they were facing several empousai with only two daggers and a sword between the two of them. And their enemies looked particularly bloodthirsty.
So yeah, Silena was not feeling the love. Neither was Charlie.
Said teenage boy looked as if he were made of stone, his expression was so cold. The blonde was in a ready position, right foot positioned slightly backwards and his hips twisted slightly. His sword was held out in front of him protectively as he moved to cover Silena's blind spots. Honestly, he looked a bit like a hero from a teen action movie. Blonde hair spiked up with blood and dirt, his green eyes glaring angrily at the monster with his shoulders squared.
"So," Charlie spoke, looking at the three empousai snarling at him. "which of the three of you wants to die first?"
One lunged forward at the threat, screeching in outrage. Charlie stepped to his left and pivoted, bringing Riptide down hard on the monster's upper spine. It instantly exploded with ear shattering shriek, gold monster dust coating Charlie's skin.
"Who's next?" Charlie asked, a shit eating grin on his face despite the hard look in his eyes.
The last four empousai pounced on the legacies, two each. Silena ducked and rolled, popping up behind one of her opponents. She snapped her arm out, slashing her dagger across the back of the monsters thigh. The vampire howled in pain, spinning around at a dizzying speed and raking her claws across Silena's forearm in retaliation. The brunette cried out, leaping back only to be punched in the kidney from behind. Silena stumbled to the side, her body screaming in pain.
Charlie wasn't fairing much better. Apparently the other two empousai didn't take kindly to the fact that Charlie had killed their fellow monster. They double teamed him, one getting a lucky shot to his ribs while the other gave him a bloody nose.
"I recognize that scent." sneered the empousai who had given Charlie a bloody nose. "The blonde bitch and the sea spawn, you're their son. Aren't you?"
"Guilty as charged." Charlie gave a wide grin despite the blood dripping down his chin. "And I'd assume that you're Kelly? Didn't my mother make you her bitch when she was fifteen?"
Kelly screamed in rage, flinging herself at Charlie. The teenager hastily ducked, arcing his sword high so that it caught Kelly's upper thigh. Silena swore in pain as she felt an empousai sink its teeth into her shoulder. She wrenched herself away from it, spinning around to quickly kick it in the ribs. Silena moved closer to Charlie, pressing a hand to her open wound.
"Charlie, we are so screwed."
"Yeah, I know."
They shared a solemn look. If they didn't figure a way out of this one, they would fail their quest. That was unacceptable.
Silena took a deep breath and sprang forward, feeling Charlie do the same. She tackled one empousai and quickly shoved her dagger into its ribcage, causing it to shriek and explode. She barely get one breath out before she was grabbed and thrown, landing roughly on her injured shoulder. Pain exploded across her body, ripping a choked scream from her throat.
"Lena!" Charlie yelled, Kelly sinking her claws into his back.
Black spots danced over her vision, her stomach churning. A foot appeared in her blurry peripherals, slamming into the side of her face. She rolled onto her back, spitting out an alarming amount of blood. The empousai loomed over her, a sadistic grin spread across her face. The vampire placed her foot on the limp legacy's throat, slowly putting more weight on it. Silena gasped in pain, flinging her arms out franticly in a desperate attempt to grab hold of something that would help her. She distantly heard Charlie scream out her name in a mix of pain and rage.
Abruptly the crushing weight on her throat disappeared. Her lungs instantly rejoiced, sucking in the air it had been denied greedily. She turned her head to check on her cousin only to see him on his knees staring to her left in shock, ignoring the blood pouring out his back.
Silena already knew what had happened. A Titan had joined the battlefield.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Silena wasn't quite sure when she blacked out, she just knew it happened after Bob the Titan squashed Kelly like a bug.
She woke up surrounded in warmth, Charlie's arm tossed carelessly over her body. The older teenager was passed out on his stomach, a small drool puddle near his head. She carefully sat up, moving Charlie's arm as she went. Bob smiled at her from her left.
"Hello!" the janitor said happily.
"Hi, Bob." Silena smiled. "How are you?"
"Very well! Bob likes cleaning!" the happy-go-lucky titan answered.
"Awesome," Silena rolled to her feet and gently touched her shoulder, surprised to find it completely healed. "Bob, did you heal me?"
"Yes." Bob nodded hurriedly. "The owie looked painful so Bob fixed it all up!"
Silena tugged on his arm so that he bent down. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a sincere smile. "Thanks, big guy."
The titan blushed madly, stuttering as he drew back to his full height. Silena turned back to Charlie to hide her now slightly mischievous smile. She kicked her cousin in the leg. "Nap time's over, cupcake. Get up."
The blonde groaned, swatting his arm at her in annoyance. Silena rolled her eyes and kicked him harder.
"Alright, alright, I'm up." Charlie grumbled as he pushed himself to his feet. He looked at the drool puddle and blinked. "Huh, haven't done that since I was seven."
Silena sighed, exasperated. "Investigate your drooling later. Right now, we need to get moving."
Charlie nodded and looked towards Bob. "Hey, buddy. How long have we been asleep?"
"Not long. But more monsters are coming so we should go soon." the titan gripped his broom uneasily.
"Okay," Charlie accepted easily. "lets go."
"Good!" Bob said, back to being happy. "Bob knows a way! Come, friends! We will have fun!"
Silena figured out that was a lie two hours later.
They trekked through Tartarus following Bob as he seemed to almost aimlessly walk around. They kept the Phlegethon to their left as they trudged along, sipping on nectar to keep their strength up. The further they walked, the more uneasy Silena felt. She constantly looked over her shoulder, wondering if the shadows following them were all in her head.
She glanced up at the titan and thought back to when she first met the giant.
(Flashback)
"So," Zack said, glancing between Silena and Charlie. "You want me to what?"
The duo rolled their eyes. Honestly, they had already explained this to him before they left for the past. The three of them were hidden away in the Hades cabin. Annabeth had taken the rest of the cousins for the day, wanting to see how well they did in combat. She and Leo had locked down a section of the woods and were throwing as much as they could at the kids. They were two days away from telling the rest of the parents at Camp Half-Blood. Which meant that they needed to do this now.
"We need you to take us to the Underworld." Charlie patiently explained.
Zack nodded. "Okay. Why?"
Silena pursed her lips and gave him a look. Zack shied away instantly, muttering "Nevermind." The thirteen-year-old grabbed their hands, tugging them through the shadows. Cold assaulted Silena on all sides, invaded her every pore until finally her feet landed on solid ground. Charlie shook his head a little, shivering like Silena was.
"I hate that." Charlie said, rubbing his ears.
Zack smirked. "Don't be such a cry baby."
"I will hurt you, Solace." Charlie gave a mock glare. "Let's go."
Silena glanced around at where Zack had taken them. A large structure loomed over them, dark and terrifying. It was Hades' Palace. Silena raised an eyebrow, wondering why Zack took them here.
Zack read her look and answered the silent question. "I figured I could pop in and say hi to Grandfather. Maybe get some info about Tartarus."
"Nice thinking." Silena and Charlie agreed in unison.
"All right," Charlie continued. "Lena and I will go do our thing while you bond with Hades. We'll meet back here in an hour. Have fun, kid."
Zack gave a sarcastic salute and disappeared into the shadows, not even questioning what they were doing. 'Love that, kid.' Silena thought before looking to Charlie.
He nodded towards the Judgment Pavilion where she could barely see a hulking figure sweeping the floor. "Lets go see our titan."
They walked the short distance to the pavilion. The closer they came, the wider Silena's eyes got. Bob the Titan was ten feet tall and would be scary-as-hell if it weren't for the fact that he was happily cleaning the weirdest court-room Silena had ever seen. Charlie gave a soft whistle to catch the gentle titan's attention. The silver-haired being turned, expression going from happy to confused instantly.
"Hello." Bob said, sounded weary.
Charlie gave him a calm smile. "Hi, you're Bob, correct?"
"My name is Bob, yes." he nodded, expression easing slightly at the softness the duo portrayed. "Do you know Bob?"
"Kind of," Silena answered, a matching smile on her face. "His father is Percy Jackson. Percy told us all about you."
And just like that, the titan's face lit up like a Christmas tree at the mention of the demigod. "Friend Percy!"
"That's right, Bob." Silena's smile widened against her will. "And we need your help."
"What can Bob do to help?" Bob's head tilted as he hunched over slightly to get a better look at them.
Silena and Charlie shared a grin. "How do you feel about Tartarus?"
(End Flashback)
"Here." Bob startled her out of her own head.
They stopped at the top of ridge. Below them, in what looked like a crater, stood ring of broken black marble columns surrounding a dark stone altar.
"Hermes's shrine." Charlie murmured. "Silena, pull out the map. How far are we?"
Silena shifted her backpack around, digging through the slightly damaged pockets. She grabbed the map and smoothed it out, tracing their route. "About halfway. If we keep to our schedule we should be out of here in no time."
Charlie gave a sigh of relief. "Good. Let's camp there for the night. Bob, monsters avoid this area, right?"
Bob nodded rapidly, silver hair bouncing all over the place. "Right."
Charlie jumped down into the crater and scanned their surroundings while Silena and Bob followed him. The trio walked into the circle, Silena pulling off her pack and tossing it to the ground. Charlie copied her movements, waving a hand for Bob to sit down with them. Bob shook his head.
"You sleep." Bob explained. "Mortals need rest. I will guard you."
"Thanks, big guy." Charlie scrubbed a dirty hand through his hair. "I think we'll take you up on that."
Bob smiled and nodded, turning so that his back faced them. Silena moved her pack so that it worked as a pillow, laying down tiredly as she threw an arm over her eyes.
"Night, Lena." Charlie murmured quietly.
"G'night, CJ." Silena said back, her breathing already slowing down as her body finally succumbed to its exhaustion.
