Thanks to mewsugarpudd for beta'ing this chapter.
It didn't take them long to reach the city of Athens from the Hunters camp. The sprawling capital of modern Greece itself was positively alive and buzzing with energy even from a distance, and Blackjack neighed nervously as they flew closer. The three of them could guess why – the closer they got to Athens, the closer they got to the monstrous dragon that no doubt lay in wait for them at the ruins of Delphi, not to mention the hordes of monsters that lay between them and the end of their journey.
They landed smoothly and without incident. Will and Clarisse quickly unharnessed Blackjack who proceeded to curl up on the ground a small distance away whilst Nico surveyed the area. Judging by the lack of tourists, Nico gathered the mist had hidden their landing pretty well. He took a moment to allow his eyes to wander over the city and looked over towards the decaying ruin of the Parthenon. He tore his eyes away and turned his back on the ruin when Will began speaking.
"Well, I guess this is where we leave you, Blackjack." Will wore a sad smile while Clarisse stood next to him with her arms crossed. "It's not safe for you to go any further. Thanks for taking us this far, buddy. I'm sorry you got hurt and got caught up in our fights on the way." Blackjack whinnied and flicked his tail, and Will got the impression that Blackjack understood him. The blond turned away from the resting Pegasus and looked first at Clarisse and then to Nico, a puzzled expression on his face. "Now then… how are we going to get to the ruins of Delphi? We can't walk it, it's way too far…"
Clarisse herself looked puzzled and vented her frustration by kicking a stone at a tree. Nico rolled his eyes and drew his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Both Clarisse and Will jumped at the noise and then jumped again when the ground in front of them cracked and split open only to then be stunned into silence when a car rose up from the gaping maw which closed neatly under the tyres. Will and Clarisse looked to him for explanation but Nico simply ignored them, opened one of the passenger doors and clambered in. Will followed and recoiled in horror when he caught sight of the driver. Clarisse, who jumped in the front, didn't so much as blink in surprise. Once Will had composed himself, he turned to face Nico.
"Any reason you've got a zombie chauffer, Di Angelo?" He asked weakly. Nico merely grinned.
"Perks of having a dad who rules the underworld, sunshine." Nico replied, sparing a glance at Will's face before he turned to face the driver, Jules Albert. "You know where we're going. Avoid the motorways if you can, they're probably going to be full of monsters waiting for us." The zombie chauffeur nodded once before he put the car into gear and they drove off, the Parthenon shrinking behind them until it was little more than a small speck in the distance.
They drove for hours and the sun had already long begun its descent in the sky before one of them finally spoke up – they had spoken only briefly at the start of the journey to discuss the battle strategy for when they finally got to Python (not much was to be said on that front – the best they could hope for was to dive for cover and strike when they got the chance and pray to whatever god would favour them that they wouldn't be incinerated) and since then the car had fallen quiet, with only the quiet music coming from the radio (courtesy of Clarisse) breaking the silence.
"How about a game to pass the time?" Will ventured into the quiet car. Clarisse groaned and rolled her eyes while Nico looked at Will with a raised eyebrow. "Alright," Will turned and looked out of one of the car windows, squinting out into the fading light. "I spy with my little ey—"
The car shook violently as a boulder slammed violently into the ground just in front of it. The three of them jumped in shock whilst Jules Albert slammed his foot down on the brake and spun the steering wheel quicker than the three demigods could follow, expertly bringing the car to a skidding stop inches from the boulder. Nico took a moment to thank Hades for having the sense to gift him a driver with a history of racing before they jumped out of the car, narrowly avoiding another boulder.
"I spy with my little eye… another boulder!" Will yelled as he jumped to the side and rolled, a boulder crashing into the ground where he had been moments before. The three of them gathered their composure and looked to the source of the boulders, spotting the hulking behemoth of a monster silhouetted against the sun at the same time. Will drew his bow, nocked an arrow and took aim before he released the drawstring. He watched as the arrow soared through the air and found its mark, embedding itself deeply in the skin of the monster. The three of them stood in stunned silence as the monster was not reduced to a pile of dust but merely pulled the arrow out as if it were a wooden splinter and cast it aside before advancing slowly towards them.
Nico didn't recognise the huge monstrosity and neither did Clarisse. Will, however, swore loudly and nocked another arrow on his bow, aiming it at the oncoming behemoth.
"Tityos," Will said in answer to Clarisse and Nico's silent question. "The would-be rapist of Leto that my dad and Artemis slew." Nico and Clarisse swore at the same time and exchanged a grim glance between the two of them – demigods and monsters they could handle, a Giant was something else entirely: they needed an Olympian for that.
"And here I was thinking the journey here was far too quiet." Nico thought aloud sarcastically and Clarisse, despite their seemingly helpless situation, grinned. Tityos roared at them before he broke into a charge, the very ground shaking beneath his heavy footfalls. The three of them steeled themselves in preparation, their weapons raised and ready though their faces were devoid of all colour.
"How do we kill him?" Clarisse asked, sparing a glance at the other two. Nico swallowed, hard, and gave her the answer they were dreading.
"We can't without an Olympian." Nico raised his stygian iron sword a bit higher while he wiped his brow free of sweat with his free hand. "The best we can do is trap him."
"And how do you propose we do that, Di Angelo?" Clarisse replied, her recently-sharpened spear ready in her hands. Nico shrugged.
"Still thinking on that one, Clarisse. Give me a few minutes." Clarisse rolled her eyes while Will nocked two more arrows onto his bow, taking aim at the incoming Giant. Their reflexes kicked in and the three of them dove in completely different directions at the exact same time just as Tityos reached them and swung a heavy club – a thick tree trunk more than five times the width of Clarisse's torso and seven times as tall – down on the space they had occupied seconds before. Each of the Giant's attacks were brutal, and more than once their reflexes saved them from what would have been a potentially deadly sweep of Tityos's club. Nico cursed when one of the attacks brushed dangerously close to Will, who barely managed to dance out of the way of the wooden trunk in time. Clarisse backed away from a swipe, her eyes analytically sweeping over the giant's body like a predator, hunting for weaknesses. She spotted a jagged-looking scar across the Giant's chest and vaguely remembered one of Chiron's lectures about this very Giant – something about having his livers picked out by vultures each night in Tartarus.
She clenched her teeth and reluctantly drew Halirrhothius's dagger from its sheath at her waist and dove forward, weaving her way through the giant's defences with a dancer-like grace that came from years of honing her body for fights exactly like this. She ducked under the Giant's tree trunk and rolled forward, stopping just short of the Giant's chest where she lunged with the dagger, sinking it deeply into the skin of the freshly-healed scar. The Giant roared in agony as the wound smoked and hissed from contact with the celestial bronze blade. With a heave of exertion, Clarisse pulled the dagger down and through the muscle tissue of the Giant's chest, ripping the scar open afresh before she dove back, her damage done.
Will, seeing this new opening in the Giant's chest, nocked an arrow on his bow and squinted against the sunlight, taking aim at the scar. He inhaled deeply and released the arrow, exhaling, and watched as the arrow soared through the air and once again found its mark – sinking deeply into the reopened wound on the Giant's chest.
Tityos stumbled backwards, howling in agony and rage, and brought his hands to his chest, trying to grasp the small dagger and the arrow to try and rip them out. Nico, spotting his opening, stepped forward and levelled his sword at the Giant, drawing on the powers inherited from his father. He felt his face drain of colour and the temperature around him and Tityos plummet and felt a tugging in his navel before a wave of power swept over him and the ground cracked beneath the Giant's feet. With a final yell, Nico released his power and the ground tore itself open beneath Tityos, who saved himself only by grabbing onto the ledge, his eyes looking desperately into the gaping maw of nothingness beneath him.
Nico advanced steadily towards the Giant desperately trying to pull himself up to safety, looking down at the beast without a hint of mercy in his eyes.
"This is for my friends." He said, looking straight into the Giant's eyes as he plunged his sword into Tityos's hand. The giant howled in agony once more and released his grip on the rocky ledge, plummeting with a final roar of rage into the depths below before he disappeared completely. Nico stepped back as the abyss closed and turned to face the other two, surprised to find them staring at him. Will's eyes shone with what Nico took to be admiration, noticing the boy's eyes sweeping up and down his body whilst Clarisse looked on with a look of deep respect.
"Are you sure you're not an Ares kid?" She asked, her arms folded and a grin on her face. "You'd make a damn fine brother." Nico grinned and rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, damn fine…" Will muttered, glancing at Nico. Nico heard him and blushed, but held his head high and led the way back to the car where Jules Albert waited, unscathed, for their return. Clarisse stopped for a moment and felt at her waist before letting out a few choice swear words in English and Ancient Greek. When Will and Nico turned with raised eyebrows to ask her what was wrong, she snarled.
"I lost it, damn it! My war trophy, Halirrhothius's dagger!" She stamped her foot in not-so-silent rage while Nico grinned and Will rolled his eyes.
"I'll buy you a new dagger for Christmas, how about that La Rue?" He asked, throwing an arm around her shoulder and Nico's and steering them towards the car. "Now come on, we've got a dragon to kill."
