A/N: I'm going to start trying to update once a week when possible. I also have a new choice for a story on my poll, so please check it out.
Chapter 10-
"Generals. Prepare your troops and ready your subordinates. We march in three hours."
It was Persephone who first noticed something was off: Demeter was missing. She smiled -her husband was finally freeing her from Olympus.
No secret like that could last very long, though.
"Where is Demeter?" Zeus rumbled, sitting on his throne with the rest of the Olympians -barring Artemis and Poseidon- gathered in the Council Room, "She should be here."
Another few minutes passed before the King of the Gods realized something was a bit off, "Apollo, you look for Demeter in the mortal world. Hermes, you will search for her in her palace."
The two gods nodded, Hermes racing off while Apollo just closed his eyes. He could see anything and everything in the mortal world at any time, if he was so inclined -usually, he wasn't.
"She isn't in the mortal world." Apollo said, looking shocked as Hermes returned as well, shaking his head.
"Umm, Pops?" the God of the Sun asked, "There's an army coming out of the Door of Orpheus."
Athena's eyes widened as she pieced it all together, "Hades is attacking us!"
Ares chuckled, drawing his massive broadsword, "Fun."
Zeus looked to Athena for advice- this was her area of expertise, after all.
"We have to contain the troops." Athena said, "If we can bottle them up at the Door, we can hold them there."
The King of the Gods nodded, "Ares: Gather every minor god that can fight and lead them against Hades' troops. Hermes: Run a message to Camp Jupiter and get them ready. Dionysus, gather our forces in Camp Half-Blood. Apollo, get your sister. Poseidon . . . Hephaestus, get your Cyclops friend -the General of Olympus. Aphrodite, send Morpheus and Hypnos up here."
The Olympians nodded, flashing away.
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
A blinding flash of light heralded the arrival of Dionysus in Camp Half-Blood.
"Gather around, brats!" Dionysus shouted, his voice rippling through the camp, "Hades is attacking Olympus, and you have to fight him. I hope most of you die horribly."
Clarisse's eyes widened, and in seconds the armor was on her and her fellow Ares campers -courtesy of their powers- while the Athena cabin rushed to put on their own. The rest of the camp followed suit.
"Ares, to me! We ride into battle!" the daughter of Ares ordered, heading for the stables and saddling horses.
The rest of the camp formed a giant phalanx behind them, Jason and Piper standing at the head with swords drawn.
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Frank and Reyna were discussing the last night's Deathball match when Mercury ran in, "Get your guys, Pluto's attacking Olympus and it'll get really ugly, really fast."
By the time he came to a stop, the two Praetors were already out of the room -now wasn't the time for bowing and paying respects.
"I'll get the veterans from New Rome. You get the Legion ready." Reyna ordered
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
A small crowd gathered to gawk at the skeletons in ranks outside of a pile of boulders.
"Mommy? They're scary! Make them go away!" a young boy pleaded.
A few feet away, a young woman snapped pictures on her Iphone, "I haven't seen a flash mob like this since Reno!"
Up in Olympus, Zeus looked at the Titan and god Aphrodite had summoned, "Morpheus, Hypnos, put the entire city to sleep."
"Are you sure, milord?" Hypnos asked carefully.
The King's face was hard, "It worked before. It will work again."
"You take the east, I will take the west." Morpheus ordered, then they both closed their eyes and sat down heavily.
Outside, the crowd decided that now was a really good time to take a nap.
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
"Apollo?" Artemis growled, "What are you doing here?"
Apollo smiled, "Long time no see, sis. Hades is making trouble and Pops wants you and your girls to be there."
"What kind of trouble?"
"Big trouble."
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
As it turns out, Apollo was partially wrong. Big trouble was in Little China, in the form of Ares at the head of a hundred minor gods with Phobos and Deimos moving on streets parallel, leading another fifty gods apiece.
Their pace was a steady jog, steel-knobbed boots scraping against pavement until their target came into view. Central Park opened up in front of him, full to the brim with skeletons. He smiled.
This will be fun.
As Ares slammed into the horde head-on, Phobos and Deimos flanked the huge army.
The problem was, every one of the vanguard had a long spear, and altogether they looked like a giant porcupine, bristling with spikes. Ares had the skill to knock the spears aside, but other gods weren't so lucky and were impaled on the lines of spears.
Ares growled, assuming his true form for a few seconds -only the skeletons had no eyes to gaze upon the divine form of an Olympian.
"Damn." the God of War swept his broadsword back and forth with impunity, shredding the line of skeletons. It was a perfectly timed and executed pincer movement, successfully trapping and cutting apart a good number of skeletons -but not nearly enough.
Far behind the lines of skeletons, Rommel smiled. He now had some two to three hundred men behind the line of the minor gods. Infiltration was much easier when the dead didn't stay dead for long.
The minor gods, led by Ares, formed a line between the Door of Orpheus and the Empire State Building, fighting furiously against a suddenly much stiffer opposition. Unnoticed by the gods, previously cut-apart skeleton re-knit themselves, getting to their feet with weapons in hand.
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Clarisse was at the head of an arrow of chariots, narrowing her eyes as she saw Central Park. Chiron was right when he said Centaurs had ways to span distances more effectively.
She barreled into the Park just in time to see skeletons attack a line of minor gods from the rear, hacking the line apart like hot knives through butter.
"Retreat!" bellowed her father, who was doing his best to cut his way from the crowd. But there were just too many opponents.
The daughter of Ares narrowed her eyes, "Ares! Break through to our father!"
The arrowhead narrowed to a point, piercing through the horde of skeletons. Horses trampled skeletons, grinding them under the wheels of the chariot while the demigods in the back stabbed away with spears and swords.
Rommel frowned. His trap, so hastily planned, fell apart. That was to be expected -he didn't have the time he liked to come up with a good one- but it was a success even still. The son of Hades lowered his binoculars, willing his troops into a defensive block.
"How goes your battle, son?" Hades asked, peering the distance.
"I have won, though they have forced my troops into a standstill. I will send a force around-"
"No." ordered the Lord of the Dead, "This skirmish has ended, and Zeus will wish to parley. Wait until Ares has left before attacking again."
Rommel frowned, "You wish for me to break the parley?"
"Exactly." Hades smiled as he saw lighting crackle across the sky, "Right on time."
The son of Hades checked his watch, "Seven minutes and forty-two seconds. Rather slow for this age."
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Hades was never called "cheerful." The words "bright" or "happy" never really applied to him either. But if he could be happy, he wouldn't be happier than the time he stalked into the Council Room.
"What do you want, brother?" Zeus growled, the bolt lying on his lap.
"To be simple, younger brother, I want your throne. I bled for you in the last Titan War, and again in the Giant War. Despite all of your promises, what did I get? A cabin in Camp Half-Blood, that you didn't lift a finger to build? My son Nico, still an outcast. Even Apollo's whelp, Will Solace, is becoming an outcast, simply because he is close to my son. And my love is still trapped up here, simply because you needed to appease Demeter."
He smiled as Ares flashed in, along with Artemis and Apollo, "Where's Poseidon? Still bleeding from our little tussle?"
The God of the Underworld was tempted to take out the trident, but quelled the urge. A weapon that powerful must be kept hidden for the perfect moment.
"If you disband your army, I will see to it that you get appreciation for past actions." Zeus vowed, desperately needing a way to come out of this in one piece.
Hades snorted, "More empty promises. I want no part of you all."
He flashed away just as a messenger ran into the room, "Lords and Ladys! Hades' army is attacking! Ares' forces are retreating in this direction."
Athena focused her gray eyes on Zeus, "We must evacuate Olympus. We've lost this battle -let's try not to lose the war."
Zeus frowned -he didn't like giving up his home, "Approved. Ares, get down there and organize your troops. You must hold them."
Ares disappeared while Zeus turned to Artemis, "Where are the Hunters?"
"The rookies and Perseus are in Virginia, but everyone we need are scattered across the globe." Artemis replied, "It will take at least a few days to gather them all."
Zeus' eyes widened at her fourth word, "You are harboring an Enemy of Olympus?!"
The goddess frowned, "You made him the Servant of the Hunt, and he is performing that task respectfully."
"He will not be fighting, is that clear? We cannot trust an Enemy of Olympus on our battlefield." ordered the God of the Sky.
Artemis scowled, "Fine."
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Percy had packed up his tent as ordered, sitting and waiting as the rest of the Hunt bustled about, breaking camp. Wolves and falcons were put back in the kennel, prepared for transport. It only took a few minutes before they were all assembled, waiting for Artemis' return -she hadn't given them any orders besides "break camp," but hopefully he would be getting more soon.
Artemis flashed into the center of camp, "Hunters! Hades has revolted against Zeus, and Olympus is being evacuated as we speak. The minor gods, under Ares, are holding his army at bay with heavy losses, and we're running distraction to try and draw some of the fighting off. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood are about thirty minutes away and marching. Ready?"
The Hunters were silent, clearly recognizing this wasn't a time for cheers.
"Hold hands."
Thalia, at the end of the Hunt, grabbed Percy's left and Celyn's right, then a flash of light and they were in New York City.
"Lieutenant! Make a line and hold it!" Artemis ordered, unslinging her bow from on top of a building. As Percy watched, both bow and arrow turned gold -this was Artemis' symbol of power, it seemed.
She took a deep breath, then unleashed hell on earth. Arrows rained down on the skeletons, some exploding on impact, others rupturing the ground. Arrows morphed into bears, hunting dogs, and boars, who promptly started tearing apart the army. Arrows even grew into nets, slamming into groups of enemies and pinning them to the concrete.
Dust billowed from destroyed street, hiding the devastation from the Hunters -then Hades' army launched a counter-attack. Flights of arrows arced over the dust, but a now-healed Pheobe burned them out of the air.
"Volley!" Thalia ordered, just as the first ranks of undead warriors came out. Silver arrows shattered skulls and spines, most with pinpoint accuracy -the range was only a few meters. The first rank fell apart, bones becoming unknit and clattering to the ground after supposedly vital parts of their bodies were destroyed.
Pheobe bared her teeth, sheathing her knives and making circular motions with her hands, passing one over the other.. An inferno blossomed in the middle of the horde, sending the army into chaos.
Nico growled, willing the troops under his command to charge the small force. Will squinted, spotting Artemis on top of a three-story building, "We need to take her out."
The son of Hades nodded, "Do it. I'll keep her attention on the skellies."
Will nodded, stepping out from the dugout of black rock Nico had summoned.
Artemis slumped, barely conscious as her arrow barrage came to a screeching halt. The familiars she summoned winked out of existence, her powers no longer sustaining them. Her golden bow turned silver once more.
The son of Apollo raised his bow.
Pheobe snarled as she saw a threat to her Lady.
Will's bow whipped, an arrow speeding off.
Pheobe breathed out, an arrow whizzing out of her own bow -and hit the shaft of Will's, shattering it. Their eyes met, a reasonably competent bowman recognizing a true master of the bow. The daughter of Hephaestus raised her bow again, sending Will scurrying back to the dugout.
"Is she gone?"
Will shook his head, "Nah. Those Hunters are too good, bro."
"Good thing you're alright. I'm not getting anywhere with this."
Back on the front lines, Percy drew Riptide and joined the battle -though he could barely hold his own.
The dust finally cleared, showing the street -or what was left of it. Huge chunks where blown out, and some of the concrete looked like it was peeled back for ten feet or more. Shattered bones were scattered everywhere, entire skeletons pulverized by Artemis' arrow barrage.
It was when Percy saw the bodies of mortals when he realized something: This wasn't like the Titan or Giant War. This was brutal, and deadly to anyone who got in it's way.
Jason was jogging at the head of the Greek's phalanx, Piper next to him. Lighting crackled down his blade as he saw the group of Hunters holding back a massive army of skeletons. Artemis was nowhere in sight, and without her the Hunt was being pushed back step by step.
"Make way! Friendlies!" Jason called, using every bit of Praetor he had left. The Hunt neatly broke into two, peeling back against the building as the rows and rows of long spears shattered Nico's lines. In a move practiced time and time again at camp, the first and second ranks of the phalanx stepped away, drawing swords as the third and fourth slammed into the broken line of enemies. Then the process repeated until the Greeks had a battle line of sword and shorter spear wielding fighters. The Apollo cabin took up bows, but made sure to stay away from the Hunters as they opened fire as well.
Meanwhile, Percy took a spot at the edge of the Greek's battle line. No one even noticed him.
With the weight of reinforcements, the combined Camp Half-Blood and Hunter force tore into the army of Hades, bones flying left, right and center until Athena flashed in, taking charge of the situation, "Athena and Ares cabin, rally to me! Everyone else, retreat!"
The two best cabins of fighters formed up around the Goddess of War while the rest of the group backpedaled. Far above, Artemis smiled tiredly and got up, following her Hunt from the rooftops.
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Three days later, a war council was being held.
"I am telling you, father, again and again. We do not have the strength here to defeat Hades' army." Athena snapped, finally tired of Zeus perpetually wanting to start a march to take back his throne, "The Hunt and both Camps may be here, but Poseidon's troops are still gathering, along with your own. Once they arrive, we might be able to make progress against this horde."
The Goddess angrily gestured to a map of Pennsylvania, showing the locations of Hades' armies. There were six of them, each about a thousand strong. On the other side were tokens for the forces of Olympus: Two hundred thirty-six Campers along with a about a hundred assorted Satyrs and nature spirits. Four hundred twenty-three Romans, and two-hundred eleven Hunters, and about thirty minor gods still able to fight. They barely equaled one of Hades' armies, and were running for all they were worth.
Artemis was studying the map intently, looking at the black pitchfork of Hades, "I could send a small group of Hunters around here and assassinate Hades."
Athena looked at Artemis incredulously, "In the center of one thousand enemy combatants? And that's if were lucky. It's entirely likely Hades is in his palace, which would reduce your chances to zero."
"Let one of my Hunters sacrifice the Ophiotaurus." Artemis said, ignoring the goddess, "Then when we see Hades-"
"No." Zeus ordered, "We will not give a demigod the power to kill a god. We will wait for the might of the oceans and the sky to gather and crush Hades' armies once we are at full strength."
"So we can kill an enemy that won't stay dead?" Athena frowned, "I recognized the eagle. That's Erwin Rommel, a son of Hades and one of the greatest commanders of World War Two -I believe Hades has brought back equally skilled commanders from across time."
"Can you beat him?"
"Not easily." Athena looked at the King of the Gods, "I know his tactics, and they are extremely difficult to counter. He excels at breaching our defenses, either by infiltration or a piercing attack, then wrapping around and tearing a battle line in half. As Ares saw, we can cut down his troops, but they'll just climb up to their feet again behind us. Artemis' plan does have merit in this situation."
Zeus frowned mightily, "No one will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. It is on Mount Olympus and it will stay there, where Hades cannot get it. This council is dismissed. Artemis, I would speak with you."
The Olympians -or most of them- stood from their makeshift thrones, "I saw the Enemy of Olympus fighting, and I will not allow it. The next time that happens, I will execute him. Is that clear?"
Artemis left without saying a word and almost slammed into Athena, who was standing outside of the entrance.
"Artemis." she said softly, just loud enough for the two of them to hear, "It's likely that Demeter has been captured or killed."
The goddess of the Hunt nodded -she had assumed that the first day of the war, "I doubt anyone doesn't know that, Athena."
"I can think of one. Don't let him know -he's hovering on the brink of complete breakdown as it is."
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Artemis concentrated, reaching halfway across the world to flash the last six Hunters: Mairi, Maiya -the twin daughters of Neptune- Akako -a legacy of Hermes- Josë -another fire user, like Pheobe, Leo, and two others in the Hunt- Jia -a cloud nymph- and Hua -a mortal.
"Pitch your tents in block Four-A." Artemis ordered, "I have a feeling Zeus is going to need us soon.
The six Hunters nodded, walking towards the middle of the camp. In wartime, Artemis arranged the Hunt's tent into a grid, then the Hunters built whatever earthworks they needed around it. The tables were set a few tents inward from the four corners. All in all, it looked at bit like the Legion's temporary base -only without as extensive earthworks or as many solid structures. The Hunt preferred mobility over strong defenses.
Meanwhile, life had gotten a bit more tough for Percy Jackson, with four times the number of people to do chores for. Luckily, the majority of the Hunt accepted him as one of the few "respectful" males -a rare compliment.
Still, this required a new way of doing the wash -and the best Percy could come up with was using every single washboard the Hunt had, soaking them in water and running the wet clothes on them. The problem? It was exhausting.
"Percy?" Artemis chanced upon him just outside of the Hunt's borders, tiredly rubbing a silver t-shirt on a washboard, "You look tired."
The son of Poseidon looked up, into Artemis' eyes -something that Lyra had spent the best part of a week teaching him to do. They had dark rings, and his face was pale as a ghost.
"I am fine, Lady Artemis." Percy slurred out.
"No, you aren't." Artemis scowled at herself; she shouldn't have allowed this to happen. "Leave all this here, go back to your tent and sleep."
"I can still work, Lady Artemis."
The silver goddess almost recoiled, shocked. This was the first real sign of defiance the demigod had shown -he had clearly gotten more comfortable with her. It couldn't be good.
"You can't." she said, getting over her shock, "Either get in bed or I'll knock you out."
Percy stood, and the washboards stopped moving. Then he staggered as a leg gave out, tripping over himself and ending up face-first in the grass, out cold.
Artemis sighed, picking him up with godly strength and walking to Percy's tent. It was, coincidentally, between Artemis' and Thalia's.
He hadn't really personalized it -just having the basic furniture the tent came with. The Goddess of the Hunt, the man-hating goddess, set him gently on the bed that dominated the center. He started snoring the minute his head hit the pillow, reminding Artemis of how little sleep she had in the last week. As the silver goddess left, she saw a little drool leak from the corner of Percy's mouth.
Perhaps now would be a good time to take a nap.
-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-Dream-
The silver goddess sat upward in bed, looking around her tent. This was a dream -the absence of Amber, her wolf, was proof enough of that. Then she focused on the person sitting crosslegged on the floor. The male sitting crosslegged on the floor.
"Why can't I get rid of you?" Artemis growled at the son of Poseidon from her position on the bed
"If I displease you, milady, I will leave." Percy replied, getting up to do just that.
The goddess groaned, "Why bother? It's a dream. And I still can't get away from you. I think about you, talk about you. I even dream about you. What did you do to me, male?"
Percy sat down looking genuinely confused, "If I made an error, Lady Artemis, I will endeavor to solve it."
"It's nothing you've done, Perseus." Artemis sighed, "Even in my dreams, you act like that. Perfect for a group of girls who know their gender is better than yours. Perfect for someone who wants to fade into the background and be ignored. I would've thought you were planning something, but now I know why you try not to be noticed. And I wish I didn't."
She swung her feet off the bed, sitting upright, then patted the bed beside her, "Sit next to me."
The son of Poseidon hesitated -sit next to a goddess? She was far more worthy than anything he could offer her.
"I'm ordering you as your master to sit next to me." said the goddess, the command in her voice perfected from millenia of leading the Hunt. Then her voice softened slightly, "It's a dream. What's the worst that could happen?"
"The worst that could-" Percy started, getting to his feet.
"Be quiet, that wasn't an order." Artemis sighed, "Why am I so obsessed with you, Perseus Jackson?"
"Because I am an Enemy of Olympus, and it is your job to control me, milady." Percy, as ever the dutiful servant, suggested.
"You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
The demigod shook his head, "No, milady, but I will-"
"No, I'm ordering you not to." The silver goddess stood and stretched, walking to the flap of the tent, "Get whatever weapons you want and come with me. I need some fresh air."
"Of course, milady." Percy had all the weapons he needed on him -Riptide was in the pocket of his black tunic, and Annabeth's dagger was sheathed on the wide belt that held it together.
Together, they walked outside to the training arena while Artemis made the air warm enough to fight in -this was a dream, after all, though neither dreamer knew that the other was real.
Riptide sprung up in Percy's right hand, Annabeth's dagger in his left. Artemis went weaponless, both of her knives on her belt.
"Begin." Artemis ordered, but Percy stayed back. He had the advantage in both reach and ability to do damage, and he wasn't about to lose it by charging and letting the slight goddess get inside his guard.
They circled each other, eyes locked -and Percy stumbled on his own feet. Artemis darted forward, slamming an open palm into Percy's right wrist and kneeing him in the stomach. Riptide clattered out of his hand, but he only growled. His left hand brought the dagger around in a slice that would've made Lyra wince -it was that badly-timed and poorly positioned. This wasn't his A-game, as they say, and Artemis missed none of it.
She danced backwards, "Pick up Riptide and fight me like you mean it. I don't care if you break any of my rules."
Percy bent and picked up his sword again, "As you wish, my lady."
This time, he charged and brought Riptide in a brutal chop that Artemis ducked around, slamming a cross into the demigod's well muscled stomach.
The goddess shook her hand as she backed up -how could she know he was that well built? It was like hitting a brick wall -something that she had, in fact, done before.
Artemis narrowed her eyes, tracking Percy's stance. It seemed oddly familiar, but she chalked it down to common Camp Half-Blood training and darted inward. Again an open palm slammed into Percy's right wrist, forcing it to open while her other arm grabbed Percy's left arm and yanked downward.
To her surprise -and latter regret- he went with the jerk as his right hand closed around Artemis' left arm, pulling her towards him. Percy's forehead slammed into Artemis' nose in a brutal headbutt, practically shattering it. Blood flew everywhere as Artemis got mad, her fists going to town on Percy's body. He shuddered and went down as his solar plexus broke, but Artemis grabbed him and kept him upright just long enough for a hard knee to the balls, then fell on top of him.
The silver goddess reeled up, raising a now-bloody fist and breaking Percy's jaw with it, then his nose.
She smirked at another arrogant male humbled before realizing what she did, "Perseus? You okay?"
He made a pathetic whimpering sound.
"Don't be such a whiny male. This a dream." Artemis frowned at the mess she made and the pain Percy was probably in, then drew a dagger and plunged it down at his heart -you were supposed to wake up just before you die, right?
-Dream Ends-Dream Ends-Dream Ends-Dream Ends-Dream Ends-
Percy jerked upward in bed, his hands frantically checking his entire body as his mind went into adrenaline-junkie mode. Thankfully, it was just a dream, and Artemis wasn't actually about to stab him.
The demigod sat back, enjoying the last few seconds of the adrenaline high. It wouldn't last, but while it lasted it was . . . beautiful. Then he remembered last night, and his brow furrowed. Why would a man-hating goddess carry him to his tent?
Then Artemis burst in, ruining the moment, "Get up. You still have to finish the laundry."
Percy didn't say anything, but leaped to his feet nonetheless and ran out the door. He glanced at the sky -it was about five o' clock, and the Hunt's shift changed at seven. Which meant he needed to clean the dining tables by six thirty. So he had a hour and a quarter to finish the laundry. Plenty of time.
It was just as he left it -neatly washed, dried, and folded laundry lying on a clean tarp, while those that he had left to do were in a more untidy pile. Artemis had been kind enough to provide a list of which Hunters had which pieces of clothing.
As the son of Poseidon grabbed a washboard and wet silver jacket, the rest of them did the same -seventeen washboards, in all. It could be worse.
Percy concentrated on the task before him, roughly running the jacket up and down the metal washboard. Dirt turned the water black before Percy saw a small tear in the side. Reaching into his pocket again, he took out a list and started writing: Baccina Machiavelli, silver jacket, tear in the left side.
Baccina was one of the older Hunters, working in Italy -she was born in Florence- when Artemis called her back here.
The list was about sixty names long, for clothes damaged either from battle or just getting snagged on a bush. He would give it to Artemis at the end of the week, then she would give it to whoever she got clothes from.
With laundry done, Percy looked at the sky. About six o' clock, now. Plenty of time to wash the tables before going to the Armory.
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
Artemis frowned at the little figures on the map. They were plastic, crude, and practically useless despite all of Hecate's work. They moved around the map of Ohio, mirroring the movements of who they represented, and that was it. An black eagle holding a swastika for Rommel, and some military award for Hermman Balck -Athena called it a Knight's Cross, but Artemis supposed it looked more like big leaf with diamonds embedded in it. How that looked like a cross, she had no idea.
Nico's army had a skull token, while each of the Furies simply had their names: Alecto, Magaera, and Tisiphone.
Meanwhile, a silver bow represented the Hunt, just as an golden eagle -without the swastika- was the Romans -Mars had flashed them here, though it nearly killed him in the process- a orange pegasus for Camp Half-Blood, and a red boar had the earmark of Ares' gods. Closer to the western part of Ohio was another token, for the denizens of Olympus who couldn't fight -they were booking it to New Rome.
Zeus was also frowning the map, "How soon will Poseidon's troops arrive?"
Triton, his two fishtails gone and two human legs in their place, scowled, "The "General" and his troops will be here in a few days. In case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly next to the ocean. Camp -" Triton made a series of sonar pings, "is joining them in Pennsylvania."
The King of the Gods frowned at the acting God of the Oceans, "Then get them to march faster."
"And your own familiars, Lord Zeus?" Triton smirked, "I don't see them here."
Zeus rubbed his temples, "The harpies are gathering with due speed, Triton. Have you ever tried to marshal the Anemoi Thuellai? Command the wind?"
"I've destroyed their kind in the past."
"They're never going to stop with this, are they?" Artemis asked, leaning into Athena.
"No." Athena's piercing gray eyes were focused on a map of the entire United States, pointing at a plastic figurine of a Centaur, "At this rate, Chiron will gather the "Party Ponies" and get back here before they stop talking."
On the coastline were two more figurines -a club, for Tyson's Cyclopses, and an icthyocentaur -which Artemis still had no idea how to pronounce- representing the place known as "Camp Fish-Blood" by the demigods.
Eventually, it was Athena who got fed up after trying to suggest something for close to half an hour -to no avail, "Shut up. Both of you."
Her voice cut right through their conversation, and they both saw the roiling storms in her hard, gray eyes. They both shrunk back in intimidated respect.
"If you two boys are done arguing," her voice snapped like a whip, "we can do something useful. Like fighting this war, perhaps."
Seeing she had everyone's attention, she pointed at the map, "The Centaurs will be here in two days, the Cyclopses and Camp Fish-Blood in four, and Zeus' men in five -if we're lucky. But, by this rate of marching, Nico's armies will catch up to us in a day, with Rommel's and Alecto's half a day behind them. Nico will attack us head-on, while the rest of Hades' forces will encircle us, then tighten the noose until the troops we have here are completely annihilated. So I would really appreciate it if you both shut up and let me find us a way out of this mess.
The Olympian and acting Olympian, surprisingly, were silent and stock-still, as if they had been giving a stern talking-to by a strict teacher.
Half an hour later, Athena sighed, "We need to attack."
Artemis jerked from her half-sleep, "Who? Rommel?"
"Rommel's a trap -he's way too far from the other armies." Athena pointed at the skull, "Nico's the most inexperienced commander, and the most eager to prove himself. Artemis, how much power do you have?"
The goddess sighed, "Not enough to pull the stunt I did in New York, if that's what you're asking."
Athena nodded, turning her gaze to the King of the Gods, "I'd appreciate it if you could give me the authority to order other Olympians."
"Fine. It's yours." Zeus agreed, mainly because he knew just how screwed they'd be if he needed to deliver her orders in the middle of a battle.
Athena nodded, an acknowledgement of Zeus' trust in her, then turned a faucet and tossed a handful of drachmas into a rainbow.
"Ares, five miles away from you due east is a thick forest. Get there. Clarisse, meet up with him. Reyna, Frank, you see the gap between these two forests? Fortify there, as much as you can." Athena turned to Artemis, "Send half of your Hunters to the Romans and half to Clarisse and her demigods."
Artemis frowned as she studied that map, "Even Nico won't fall for this."
Athena smiled, and it was not a pretty sight, "So he'll have to loop around here to attack us from behind, which will take-"
"A day to get to the gap and another to go around." Artemis smiled too.
"Then the Centaurs and our own forces here will crush him."
‡—-‡—-‡—-‡—-XXXXX-—‡-—‡-—‡-—‡
The next day, Nico's army arrived.
"There's the gap in the forest." Nico pointed at the thick screen of trees in the distance, "We can pass there."
Will Solace raised binoculars to his eyes, "The Romans beat us here, and I don't like how close the trees are on either side."
"It's a trap?" Nico asked, looking down at the map he held.
"Probably."
"Well, we won't be fooled that easily." The son of Hades closed his eyes, concentrating, and his forces turned right abruptly. "We'll go around the forest entirely, then trap them between us and Alecto's and Rommel's armies."
The son of Apollo scowled, "I don't get it. Why are they turning to fight now, after running for days straight?"
"Because they think we'll be trapped here. I'm guessing the trees are full of demigods and whoever else is loyal to Olympus."
"Has Hades been able to get up there yet?"
Nico shook his head, "No. He said Olympus went into total lockdown. No one can get in or out."
A/N: There's one group that you'd expect to have been mentioned here, and they haven't been. Why? It's a surprise in next chapter. If you can figure out who, please review.
Anyways, The Son of Leto is in first place in the poll, then The Hunt's Brother, then The Court, then The Broken, and the rest of them either have one or no votes.
If you haven't yet, take the poll on my profile. If you have, please review -I count reviews telling me to write whatever story next as votes as well, so you could have two votes.