Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians nor do I own The Heroes of Olympus.
Story: Champion of Olympus: The Maze of Death
Chapter 11: Demigod Gladiators
Fortress of Antaeus – In the labyrinth
Thalia's POV
We received the list of opponents and for some reason Antaeus allowed us to choose our adversaries. He even seemed alright with us fighting in pairs. I guess he thought that we would die quickly since we couldn't use our godly powers. I looked at the fight sheet in my hand before I handed it over to the guard.
Nico and Bianca versus a Empousa and a Draecona
Annabeth and Tyson versus a Laestrygonian and a Chimera
Jason and Thalia versus a Minotaur and a Nemean Lion
The guard took the paper and walked off. A few moments later the guards returned and escorted us to the arena. We were placed in a holding cell that had a perfect view of the arena floor. We would be able to see the fights in the arena.
A guard walked in and pointed toward Nico and Bianca. "Time to die, little ones," The guard said, as he directed his other guards to remove Nico and Bianca from the cage. My heart felt like it was in my throat as I watched them lead my friends away. Nico nodded toward me encouragingly, but I was still scared for him. Jason put his arm around me and squeezed me reassuringly.
"They'll be ok sis." Jason said. I gave him a small smile, as I nodded trying to make myself feel better. "Hey, where are Rachel and Grover?" I looked around unable to find them.
"They never joined us on our trip to this cell." Annabeth said. I looked back into the arena from our vantage point to see two familiar people sitting in the stands only a few feet from where Antaeus and Ethan sat. I looked behind Grover and Rachel to see three guards with crossbows; their weapons were aimed at Grover and Rachel.
"Those bastards," I said. Jason and Annabeth both looked at me worriedly. I pointed toward Grover and Rachel. "They're going to use them as hostages. They want to make sure that we fight."
The arena filled with cheers and screams as Bianca and Nico stood in the center, awaiting their opponents. I looked up toward Antaeus as he introduced their opponents. An Empousa walked out dressed in armor and carrying a six foot long pike. Standing next to her was a dragon women, she wore leather armor that contrasted greatly with her green scaly skin. She held a spear in one hand with a net made of celestial bronze wire in the other.
Nico held his Stygian iron sword in one hand and a celestial bronze shield in the other. Bianca carried her Stygian iron spear, it was a gift from her father. She held a shield in her other hand. The twins of Hades readied themselves for the fight. Bianca paired herself against the dragon woman, while Nico stood in front of the Empousa.
The Empousa lunged forward with her pike, but Nico swatted it away with his shield. Nico swiped at the monster with his sword, but the Empousa was too fast for him. She spun to the side and used the butt of her pike to trip Nico. He fell to the ground and my breath caught in my throat. The Empousa drove her pike toward Nico's chest, but he spun to the side. The pike imbedded itself in the tough dirt of the arena floor. Nico took the opportunity as he swung his sword cutting off the hoofed leg of the Empousa. The monster screamed in pain and fury. She tried to stand up on one leg, but it was too late, Nico was on his feet in a flash. He swung his sword in a tight arc slicing through the shoulder of the monster. The Empousa's eyes widened with shock before she erupted into a cloud of dust.
I watched as Nico looked towards his sister. My eyes widened as I saw Bianca on the ground, she was ensnared in the wire net. The dragon lady's spear was held at Bianca's throat. Before the dragon lady could react Nico's sword flew through the air hitting the spear perfectly, breaking it in two. Bianca cut through the net with her dagger, and then she thrust her spear up and into the abdomen of the dragon lady. The monster dissolved into a cloud of dust. Nico helped Bianca up on her feet, as the crowd erupted into furious cheers. The guards led Nico and Bianca back to us.
"Good job, dead boy." I said, as they entered the cell. Nico gave me a wide smile. Bianca walked over and hugged her brother.
"Thanks, Nici." Bianca said, as Nico rolled his eyes at his nickname.
"I like dead boy better." Nico quipped. Bianca and I laughed at that.
The guards walked back to our cell. They entered and escorted Annabeth and Tyson to the arena. "Good luck, you two." I said. Annabeth and Tyson both nodded solemnly. Annabeth held her knife in her right hand with a shield strapped to her left arm. Tyson carried a large club with metal spikes that he had forged into it. They both stood in the arena until their opponent arrived. The Laestrygonian walked in holding a long staff made of celestial bronze. He wore loose clothes with no armor. The Chimera stalked into the arena without any weapons, it didn't need them. The Chimera's body was weapon enough. The creature had the head of a male lion with huge teeth. It had the body of a goat with a tail that was a snake. The snake's head flattened like a cobra and you could almost see the venom drip out of its mouth. The lion's mouth opened and a plume of fire shot out about six feet into the air. This monster was no push over. I watched as Annabeth spoke to Tyson. Tyson walked over and stood across from the Chimera, while Annabeth stood across from the Laestrygonian.
The Laestrygonian swung his staff at Annabeth, but she dove, and then rolled along the ground. She dodged the giant's strikes as she maneuvered for a quick strike with her knife. Her movements were fluid, but calculated. She was the greatest knife fighter I had ever seen. I knew her fight might take a while as finesse fought brute strength.
I looked over at Tyson; the Chimera's lion head looked straight at the Cyclops, and then its mouth opened firing a blast of flame toward my friend. Tyson just walked straight through the flames, completely unharmed. I smiled at how Cyclops were immune to fire and heat. The snake tail struck forward at incredible speed, but Tyson moved quickly too. He grabbed the snake head with his left hand. The snake's eyes rolled back into its head as Tyson crushed its skull. Before the Chimera could acknowledge the danger Tyson swung down with his club directly on the back of the creature, even from where we stood I could hear the sickening crack of the creature's spinal column. The monster disappeared in a cloud of dust.
I looked towards Annabeth as she just barely dodged another swing of the giant's staff. Tyson yelled from the other side of the arena and the Laestrygonian turned his gaze away from Annabeth for just a moment, but that was plenty of time for her to strike. She ran forward just as the giant turned back toward her. The giant had no time to react as Annabeth threw her knife at a perfect angle; the blade cut through the creature's throat and imbedded itself up to the hilt. The giant's eyes widened in surprise before it burst into a mound of dust. The crowd erupted again into shots and cheers. Annabeth and Tyson were escorted back to our cell.
Once Annabeth entered, I hugged her tightly. "Way to go, brain." I said. Annabeth smiled at her nickname.
"Thanks, I couldn't have done it without Ty." Annabeth said, as she smiled at our friend. Tyson's face grew red and he smiled at all of us.
"Anniebeth is good fighter." Tyson said. We all chuckled at Tyson's nickname for her. We were all broken away from our conversation by the guards unlocking our cell door. The two guards motioned toward Jason and me. My brother and I followed the guards toward the arena. Jason wore his Roman armor and his gladius was in his hand. I held my spear in one hand with Aegis strapped to my left arm. We walked into the arena side by side.
"I'll take the lion." I told Jason. He nodded as he stood opposite the Minotaur. I stood across from the Nemean lion. The monster bared his teeth at me. The signal was given and the lion jumped toward me. I held Aegis in front of me, but the lion just rammed into it sending me toward the ground. The magic of the shield had no effect on the monster. I set my spear into the ground just as the lion jumped again. The spear point struck the creature's stomach, but the blade just bounced off. I used the spear to push the lion away from me. I stood up quickly, holding my shield out defensively.
I heard a loud noise; I saw Jason with his sword stuck in the back of the Minotaur's neck. The monster dissolved into dust. Jason yelled at the lion. The creature turned towards my brother and roared. The noise was so loud that it shook the arena. I saw Jason's eyes widen in shock. I had to do something. I threw my spear and it struck the monster in its backside. The lion turned towards me, its eyes glowed with hate. All I had was my shield now. The lion ran towards me and right before it could pounce on me, Jason threw his sword. The sword struck the lion in the side of the head. The lion shook his head instinctively. That gave me enough time to run towards Jason. Jason held my spear in his hand. I looked around for something to help us, and then I saw the gate to the arena. The door to the arena was the size of a loading dock and had a large celestial bronze gate that was suspended in the air by a large chain. I pointed towards the gate and Jason nodded in agreement.
"Hey kitty, over here," I yelled. The lion chased after me and thankfully it completely ignored Jason. I ran just a few feet inside the gate and the lion followed me. Right before the lion was under the gate Jason threw my spear. The spear flew straight and true; I couldn't have been more proud of my brother. The spear cut through the chain that held up the gate, just as the lion came under the massive metal door. The gate crushed the lion to the ground. The creature wasn't dead, but it was trapped under the weight of the gate. Jason tossed me his sword; I walked up the lion as it roared in fear and rage. I plunged the sword into the lion's open mouth and the creature erupted into a plume of dust. Once the dust settled a beautiful coat made of lion skin laid on the ground in front of me. I put the coat on as Jason helped me lift the gate. I walked back into the arena as the crowd erupted in cheers and shouts.
Jason and I stood in the center of the arena as the crowd cheered. Antaeus stood in front of us with a sour look on his face. He lifted his meaty hand; the crowd became eerily quiet.
"Children of Zeus or should I say Jupiter? I commend you both on a well fought battle." Antaeus said. Jason and I just glared at him. "You may rest for today and tomorrow, before we continue with the battles."
"We have a challenge for you." I yelled, Jason looked at me worriedly.
"What challenge?" Antaeus said, as he looked at me curiously.
"My brother and I challenge you to a duel, to the death." I said. A large smile stretched across Antaeus's face.
"I'm immortal, I can't be killed." Antaeus stated mockingly. I glared at him.
"To our death or your incapacitation," I countered. Antaeus began to laugh.
"I agree to your challenge." Antaeus said. Jason and I readied ourselves, as the son of Gaea and Poseidon climbed down into the arena. He didn't wear armor, nor did he carry any weapons. He towered over the two us, just one of his arms was as big around as my waist. "Time to die, little ones," Jason and I both glared at him with our weapons at the ready.
Antaeus lunged forward to try and grab Jason, but my brother spun out of the way. That gave me the chance to drive my spear into Antaeus's side. As I pulled my spear out sand poured out of the wound. I looked at the injury in awe. Antaeus looked down at his wound, and then he smiled at me knowingly. Suddenly, he began to glow and the wound closed up instantly.
"I thought godly powers wouldn't work?" I asked, as Jason helped me to my feet.
"Your godly powers won't work; my powers work just fine." Antaeus said with an evil smile. Jason and I looked at each other; we're in trouble now.
"No one likes a cheater, Antaeus." A voice said from the grandstands. I looked around to see Athena, Artemis, Luke, Clarisse, Zoe and the rest of the hunters. Antaeus looked at them warily, but then he smiled fiendishly.
"No worries my ladies, all of you are welcome to watch our fight." Antaeus said. Suddenly, the people in the stands stood up holding swords, spears and crossbows. My sisters and friends all froze in surprise. "Seize their weapons." The crowd swarmed them and it was too late for them to escape. Their weapons were taken and they were positioned in the front grandstands near the arena. "You all will have perfect seats to watch our fight."
"I'm going to kill you Antaeus." Artemis stated. Antaeus began to laugh.
"Unlike that fool half-brother of mine, you can't kill me, moon goddess." Antaeus said. I knew he was talking about Orion. Artemis's face turned red with anger. She was about to stand up, but Athena put a hand on her shoulder. Artemis sighed in defeat, and then she sat down next to her sister. Jason and I turned toward Antaeus. He looked at us with murder in his eyes. "Now, where were we?"
City of Valhalla – Realm of Asgard
Percy's POV
I just completed the opening and closing of a portal to the realm of dwarves. Brokkr and Sindri both left for home. I had grown close to them over the several months here in Asgard. As the portal closed I saw the tired ghostly image of my uncle Thor.
"Uncle, you look tired." I said. Thor looked at me wearily.
"I'm afraid that my time here is short, my boy." Thor said.
"I have much to learn." I said. Thor nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you do, but you must learn these things on your own." Thor stated.
"So it's time for me to go home? I thought I wasn't going back until after the solstice?" I asked. Thor shook his head.
"Not yet, you must learn one more thing, but yes, you will be going home earlier than I originally had assessed." Thor stated.
"What is this last lesson?" I asked curiously.
"You know how to open a portal, but now you must learn to look into other realms. Hold Mjolnir in both hands and stare into the metal of the weapon. Think about the other realm, I think Midgard would be a good choice." Thor instructed.
I concentrated on the metal of Mjolnir; the weapon glowed in my hand. I thought about Earth, and then an image of the planet appeared in front of me. The planet floated in front of me like I was in outer space, in orbit around it.
"Think of someone on the planet." Thor said. At first I thought of Annabeth, but I couldn't stand to see her right now, so I thought of my sister, Thalia. Suddenly, it felt like I was falling towards the planet, and then into the ground. I was in a tunnel or something, and then the image appeared above a fortress of some type. It was underground, but the tunnel or cave seemed to glow with power. I could hear shouts and cheers. I focused on those until I moved forward into the fortress. I came upon a structure that looked like the coliseum in Rome, it was a structure that Annabeth use to talk about. The thought of her made my chest hurt, so I pushed that thought away. As I entered the arena I could see the crowds cheering and yelling. As I came to the edge of the grandstands, I peered over the edge and down into the arena floor. A giant man was fighting two teenagers. I looked at the boy; he was maybe a year younger than me with blonde hair and electric blue eyes, but he wasn't the one that intrigued me. I looked to his left to see a girl she was maybe two years younger than me. She had short spiky black hair and her eyes were the same as the boys, electric blue. Suddenly, I realized that the girl was my sister Thalia. They were fighting the giant man and he was winning. The boy had a black eye and his left arm hung at his side like it was broken or dislocated. Thalia was limping visibly and holding her side. They could barely hold their weapons up in defense.
"They're in trouble. I have to help them." I said anxiously. I stated the ancient Norse prayer as my armor and helmet covered my body. I held Mjolnir in my hand; I could feel the power course through my body.
"Good luck my boy. May the all-father be with you, always." Thor said. A bright light erupted from Mjolnir as a portal appeared in front of me. The portal looked like a whirlpool of air, light and energy. It swirled faster and faster.
"Thank you for everything uncle," I said before I walked into the portal.
Antaeus's Fortress – The Labyrinth
Athena's POV
We watched helplessly as Jason and Thalia fought bravely, but in futility. Antaeus was too strong for them. Artemis and I were powerless to help as our godly powers wouldn't work within this fortress. Jason and Thalia were injured and now Antaeus had them cornered. I couldn't look, but then I felt something pulse in my pocket, it was the Eye of Odin. I took the gem from pocket; it glowed with a rainbow of colors. The energy coming from it grew in power as each second passed.
"What's happening to it?" Artemis asked worriedly.
"I don't know." I said, frustrated that I didn't know the answer.
"Could a portal be opening?" Artemis asked. Could she be right, but Thor said the day after the solstice? I could feel the power grow, and then the weight of the gem became heavier and heavier. I had to decide quickly. I hope this works I thought. I threw the gem into the arena. It landed in front of Thalia and Jason. Antaeus turned toward us with an evil glint in his eyes.
"No one likes a sore loser goddess," Antaeus said sarcastically. Suddenly, the gem erupted into a whirlpool of light, energy and air. The vortex spun around faster and faster until a bright light exploded. Antaeus jumped back from the eruption, while the rest of us held our hands over our eyes. The light finally subsided, but in the place of the vortex was a tall man. He was well over six feet and he wore the most beautiful armor I had ever seen. He had a helmet on his head with wings that extended from the sides. He held a weapon in his hand that was a cross between a hammer, an axe and a mace. The weapon pulsed with incredible power. Antaeus was completely shocked. "Who are you?"
The man looked up at him. The man's face was obscured by the helmet, but he had sea green eyes, could it be him?
"You will leave my sister alone." The man said. I watched as Thalia and Jason stared up at the armored man in wonder.
Antaeus lunged toward the armored man, but he was too quick. The armored warrior struck Antaeus in the chest with his weapon. Antaeus exploded into a mound of sand. The sand began to glow, and then it began to reform into the tyrant. The armored man's weapon began to glow. A small tornado erupted in the middle of the arena; the cyclone pulled in all of the sand and carried it into the air. The tornado hovered above the arena, and then massive bolts of lightning shot forward from the weapon. The cyclone was completely surround in a wave of lightning. Electricity pulsed through the tornado until the cyclone floated back towards the ground. When the winds stopped, all that was left of Antaeus was a pile of glass on the floor of the arena.
The arena was completely quiet, until Ethan stood up and looked at the armored warrior and said, "Who are you?" The warrior stepped forward, and then he took off his helmet. We all gasped when we saw him and Ethan was frozen in surprise and fear.
"I am blessed warrior of the all-father, the heir to thunderer, wielder of Mjolnir, the last son of Asgard, the legacy of the Aesir, the son of Poseidon, the adopted son of Zeus and Hera, and I'm, Perseus Achilles Jackson, the champion of Olympus." Percy said. Suddenly, hundreds of arrows flew towards Percy, but he held out Mjolnir and the arrows stopped in mid-air, and then fell to the ground. Ethan and Chris both fled the arena along with the rest of the audience. We all jumped down from the grandstands to approach Percy. When Percy saw us, he smiled triumphantly. "I guess I'm early, huh?"
AN: Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. This week has been crazy. The longest chapter yet, I hope that makes up for being so late. Stay tuned, more to come.