003: Alright next chappie. As I'mAnIdiotButWhoCares so cleverly put it: Who the Hades loses? Well here is your answer.
1136: Hey look what I plucked from the time stream moments before he died!
003: You saved Aqua red Youtube Lamp of Chaos from his death? That's tampering with the time line! That's– Well at least now he can review.
Jacob's POV
I moved faster than the others and swatted the shadow out of the sky with my sword. It crashed to the ground, and I saw what it was. A hellhound.
"A guard dog?" Han asked, and we all relaxed. One hellhound didn't stand a chance against the three of us.
I looked to Alex. "You want this one, or should I take it?"
Alex waved her hand forward. "By all means, have at it."
Okay, be smart about this. I recommend slicing its head off.
"I recommend you shut up," I grumbled, again out loud.
The hellhound lunged again, and with one slash it was turned to dust. I expected more from The Pit, the same guys who had attacked camp. Something was off. They wanted attention on this base and away from something else. But what…
Annabeth's POV
"What do you mean we lose?" I asked.
"Evan and the others just arrived at Mt. Everest," Neroh told us. "They'll free Urunos within the hour. Very soon, we'll have the ultimate weapon. Enjoy the rest of your day half-bloods. It just might be your last."
Neroh vanished in a swirl of water, and we were left in shock. The very thing we'd worked so hard to prevent…
"Annabeth, call the others!" Percy ordered. "Tell them to get to Mt. Everest as soon as possible. We cannot let them break out Urunos!"
"I can get us there now," Thalia said. "We'll go in without them and hope they show up in time to help."
"Sounds like a plan," I said.
"We need to go outside for that to work Thals," Nico reminded her.
"Then let's go outside," Thalia said. We can get to the exit and then go save the world…again."
"Tired of saving the world Thalia?" Percy asked.
She sighed. "Someone's got to do it."
Jacob's POV
We walked through the base, headed toward the holding cells. That's when we heard footsteps and voices further ahead. We all froze and ducked against the rocky wall. The shadows clung to us, thanks to Alex, making it almost impossible to see us in the low light of the passage.
Hey Smart One, did you bother to listen to the voices?
The acoustics of the hall were weird, so I only heard bits and pieces of what the voices were saying.
"…we can stop them? ...head start after all."
"…talk is that? …always come out on top…right?"
"Don't get…Seaweed Brain."
"…love fest for later…"
I stepped out of the shadows. "Mom? Dad?"
My parents stopped dead in their tracks when they saw me. I looked at them and tried not to cry. My dad's shirt was tattered and soaked in blood in several places. Underneath it I saw several still healing cuts.
My mom's blonde hair was messed up like something had been living in it. Her leg was bandaged by a torn off shirt sleeve, she looked tired. She had cuts and scrapes across her body.
Bottom line? I wanted to kill whoever had done this to them. Behind my parents were two people my eidetic memory recognized as Alex's parents.
"Jacob?" my parents looked stunned.
I don't care how kiddish it was. I ran forward and hugged my parents. Think for a second what I'd gone through. I'd been attacked by a bull man, whisked away to camp without even getting a chance to say goodbye, found out my parents were missing, and then I find them here, looking like they'd gone to Hades the hard way. I needed a hug.
Alex and Han stepped out, and it was Alex's parents' turn to be shocked.
"Alex?" her dad asked.
She waved weakly. "Hey Dad."
"Alexandria di Angelo…" her mom began.
"Jacob L. Jackson…" my own mom started.
"What are you doing here?" they asked in unison.
"Saving you!" I blurted. "But I guess you don't need saving."
Alex's dad gave me a look. "Didn't we tell you we would handle it?"
Hey, I never knew my shoes had a scrape on the heel. I found all four adults' gazes on me.
"I was worried okay?" I caved. "and I was going to stay but Alex talked me into it!"
"Hey!" she shouted. I was so dead later. "Thanks for covering for me Smart One."
"HEY!" Han bleated. "We can save this for when we get home people. Let's go."
"Not just yet," my dad said. "You kids go on ahead. We have to go take care of a few things."
I froze. My parents were leaving again, most likely to go fight The Pit. I was going to lose them. Again.
C'mon kid! We didn't come all this way just to turn back!
"With all due respect Dad," I cleared my throat. "Hades no. I came across the country to save you, and I'm not about to let you go play hero and get yourself killed. If you're gonna go fight The Pit, I'm coming with you."
My mom opened her mouth, but I was already on a roll.
"Don't say it. I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm coming with you, or I'll follow you. Either way, I'm going to help."
Alex was talking with her parents, but I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. But in the end they sent her to stand next to me and the four of them stared us down while Han studied his hooves.
"You two think you have what it takes?" my dad asked us.
"It's in our blood," Alex said.
My dad turned to me. So did my mom, Alex's parents, and my friends.
Well? Up for a little old-school head bashing?
"Bring it on," I grinned.
The adults sighed. It was my mom who spoke up. "Alright you kids can come."
"Yes!" Alex shouted.
"Alright!" I cheered. "So we're not in trouble for sneaking away from camp?"
Alex's mom laughed. "Oh no you're both in big trouble when this is done."
The six of us walked to the exit of the base while my mom filled us in. The Pit, after all these years, was less than an hour away from freeing Urunos, and it was happening at Mt. Everest. Reinforcements would be on the way, but we were going in on our own.
"How exactly are we getting there so fast?" I asked.
Alex jerked a thumb to the sky. "Take a guess."
I looked up at clouds forming over the desert. Oh no. Oh n– The lightning struck, hitting the ground right in front of us. The next thing I knew we were standing on a frigid, snow-whipped mountain.
"There's the cave!" my mom shouted.
I looked to see a cave entrance. The six of us ran inside, but were shoved back outside by a burst of pressurized water. We landed in the snow, the water freezing on us in seconds. I brushed the frost off of me as best as I could, and slowly stood up, shivering.
The others stood up too. Two figures exited the cave. I recognized one as Michel, and my dad was kind enough to provide the name of the second one.
"Neroh."
I clicked Miz, and my Dad uncapped Riptide. Michel pulled a snake from his backpack, and it went stiff as a rod before turning into a sword. Water swirled into Neroh's hand before shaping turning into a sword.
"You can't handle both of us Jackson," Neroh said.
"Wanna bet?" my dad and I challenged at the same time.
"You guys go ahead," I told the others. "We can handle these losers."
Alex and Annabeth both looked worried, but nodded and ran into the cave along with Han and Alex's parents. I turned my attention back to Neroh and Michel. My dad gripped his sword even tighter.
Are you two planning on staring them to death? Attack!
I shot forward, going for Neroh, who burst into laughter before punching me into the snow. My dad streaked forward, trading strikes with Neroh. Neroh ducked under my dad's swing before striking at his ribs. Dad jumped back in time and slashed at Neroh's legs. Neroh blocked and countered by swinging for my dad's head.
Dad matrix dodged and kicked the sword from Neroh's hand. It turned to water again and flew back toward my dad. It would've hit him behind the head and knocked him to the ground, but I threw Miz and the Oceanic sapphire absorbed the water like a sponge.
Michel leapt toward me, but I kicked him back ward and rolled away, picking up Miz while I was at it. I stood in time to block Michel's next strike. Our blades locked for a second, and I felt his strength press against me. His sword wrapped around mine and turned back to a snake. It lashed out fangs first, and I had to drop Miz to avoid being bitten.
My dad continued to hold his own against Neroh, and meanwhile I was avoiding Michel's fists. Couldn't beat him empty handed, and my weapon was still being humped by a reptile. Wait a minute.
I dodged Michel's kick and grabbed my sword again. I ripped the snake off of Miz and hurled it and Michel before it could bite me. Agitated, the snake bit the first thing it could. Michel cried out in pain as the fangs sank into his shoulder.
"That was for Henry," I spat.
003: Alright that's it for now. See ya Friday!