A/N So here is the second part of the Battle for Philadelphia! I will post this and several post war chapters that will set up future conflicts and instead of a sequel I will include a very big time skip and simply continue the story from there. So as always enjoy…
Percy POV
I was shaken awake in the predawn hours of the day by Zoe who looked quite alarmed. I noticed she seemed to be intently staring at my chest area and when I too looked down I finally registered the weight on top of me and the auburn hair sprawled all over my chest. It was then that the events of last night came rushing back to me after Artemis and I had admitted our feelings for each other we sat there and watched the moon rise and we had unintentionally fallen asleep in each other's arms. Last night when Artemis had said those words I had felt more joy than I ever had in my short and pain filled life.
"What happened last night?" Zoe said in a concerned whisper.
"I promise you that nothing happened between us." I said trying to reassure her but she still had doubt in her eyes because of the position that Artemis and I were in.
I heard a groan from Artemis as she slowly began to wake up. When she became fully aware of the position she was in she looked like a deer that had been cornered by hunters. She quickly got up and brushed her hair into position as it had taken a crazy appearance due to it being sprawled all over my chest throughout the night.
When we were both standing it was to my immense satisfaction that she still stood by me and when she unconsciously laced her fingers through mine.
"Milady, what happened?"
"A simple misunderstanding, we were out watching the moon and simply fell asleep. Nothing more and nothing less." Artemis explained and Zoe appeared to trust in Artemis' word more than mine but she still wasn't convinced.
"You are still a maiden though?" She asked much to the annoyance of both Artemis and me.
"I swear on the River Styx that I am still a maiden." Artemis said and Zoe was finally convinced that we were telling the truth.
A mischievous grin spread across her face when she noticed Artemis lacing her fingers through mine. "So when did this happen though?" She asked pointing at our hands.
Artemis just blushed and it was I that answered, "I don't know about Artemis but for me it was when we were travelling through Tartarus."
"And it was the same for me too, the fact that he would delve into the depths of Tartarus just to save me is a true act of selflessness and I was in love from that point forward." Artemis said.
Hearing our answers Zoe's grin grew into a wide smile. "Well I'm happy for the two of you."
"I'm surprised that you aren't mad about this though, I would've thought you would be vehemently opposed to this." Artemis said.
"Admittedly if this happened before I truly got to know Percy and before I had seen just how great a man he truly was I would've been mad. Having known him for as long as I have though I have come to learn that there truly isn't a man that compares to him so no I am not mad." I could see a smile on Artemis' face and while Zoe's smile may be pretty, it would never compare to the beauty of Artemis'. "However I would not tell the other hunters about this." Zoe said, clearly a warning.
"Why not though?" I asked
"Some of the other hunters will definitely not be accepting of you and Artemis' love. Hades, some of them don't even like the fact that you are here in the first place." She explained.
I saw Artemis frown at this but before she could say anything Elizabeth ran to where we were. "Milady the monster army is approaching." She said breathlessly before running off to rouse more hunters.
"We need to go." Artemis said before running off without a second glance at either of us.
When Zoe and I arrived we saw Kampe leading her entire army in a single column straight at us. She wasn't going to try and surround us, she was going to try and march directly into us and destroy us. She didn't care if we fled or not because her true goal was Independence Hall and the room the Declaration was signed in as that room is the heart of western civilization and without it the western civilization would fall and Kampe would rule the world. Before her army stood some 20 hunters with a dozen of the younger ones shooting from the windows. The monster army spanned the entire clearing in front of Independence Hall and half a mile to east was the Delaware River, too far for Percy's water powers to be of effect.
Kampe walked forward flanked by only her flag bearer, who flew a flag with a burning oak tree device on it. Artemis, Zoe, and I walked forward to meet her. When we meet in the middle Kampe wasted no time explaining her terms. "Flee this place now or no hunter shall live to see the next morning." She hissed at us in a voice laced with pure anger towards our continued, and by all accounts futile, resistance. "I have waited a thousand years in Tartarus for this moment and you shall not stop me." She began to beat her wings, about to take off. "You have half an hour to make your decision, make sure it's the right one." She said as an afterthought before she took off back to her forces.
Half and hour passed with nothing but silence save for the occasional nervous chatter amongst the younger ones. When our allotted half hour was up and we were still camped in front of the building Kampe sent her forces forward. Her front rank was 200 meters in front of us when a large chunk of her forces exploded in golden dust. From our left the sound of cannon fire steadily grew and with increasing frequency a knot of monsters would be destroyed. Looking to the east we saw what could only be considered a gift from the gods. Sitting on the Delaware River, pouring cannon fire into Kampe's ranks, was battleship with a hull of gleaming celestial bronze and flying the banner of Camp Half Blood. Kampe's army was in utter chaos as monsters were destroyed left and right, some of the braver ones charged at us only to be met by silver arrows into the chinks in their armor. Once the cannon fire ceased we looked out to see that Kampe's formidable army of thousands had been reduced into a meager force of no more than a few hundred.
On my right I saw Artemis give the signal for the hunters to charge and we all ran forward to meet Kampe's army head on with newfound hope and energy propelling us forward like a hurricane of death. Soon from an adjacent street several hundred demigods came pouring out, all dressed in their armor and with swords drawn. They crashed into Kampe's right flank and we began to push her horde back one step at a time. Kampe gave a screech of rage and drawing her swords charged at the two people who had ultimately destroyed her plans of destroying Olympus, Artemis and me. Artemis didn't notice her approach as she continued to loose arrow after arrow, killing a monster with every shot. Seeing this I sprinted forward to draw Kampe's attention away from her. I skidded to a stop beside Artemis just as Kampe was upon us swinging her poison covered swords with reckless abandon but also with god-like speed.
Kampe Soon drove me back under the hail of swords until Artemis arrived and together the two of us were able to hold our ground against Kampe and soon we were in a stalemate. Kampe using her twin blades versus Artemis with her twin hunting knifes and me with riptide. Our stalemate continued with our battle raging all across the clearing with no one able to gain the upper hand or land a single blow. Artemis and I fought together as if we had been doing it for our entire lives. But our luck would not hold, I attempted to plant my foot on the ground only for it to land on a dead demigod and tripped and fell to the ground. Artemis then turned towards me making sure I wasn't hit by Kampe and completely forgetting about the true danger that stood before her. Kampe, seeing this, struck out at Artemis and hit her with the flat of her blade and with enough force to her her into a brick wall of one of the nearby buildings.
The impact caused the wall to crack and for Artemis to fall to the ground in a broken and unconscious heap. Seeing this my vision acquired a red tinge to it as I felt uncontrollable anger begin to course through my veins and I soon forgot about my exhaustion from fighting the last two days. I grabbed riptide and another sword from the ground and got to my feet. "You will pay for hurting her." I said in a voice barely above a whisper yet Kampe still heard it and even she faltered at the rage in my voice.
I immediately charged and with the ferocity of my attacks I drove her back. My brief success would not last long however, once Kampe recovered from my initial attack she soon began to strike back at me I began to be the one losing ground. Despite my best effort and despite being fueled by rage Kampe began to gain the upper hand. Soon she had pushed me back away from the clearing and into the city itself. My exhaustion however soon caught up with me and my speed and strength began to waver. Sensing this Kampe renewed her attacks with the glint of victory in her eyes. What I barely registered was that we were but a few hundred yards away from the riverfront.
As we continued to fight Kampe found a hole in my defense and seeing her chance at victory quickly struck at me. I felt a pain like no other, the physical pain was not the worst pain however. The worst pain was the emotional pain in knowing that I had failed Artemis and the other hunters. I could feel the poison quickly spreading through my veins, centered where he sword was currently impaled through my stomach. I looked up to see Kampe with an evil grin on her face as she looked down at my dying form. She turned around and struck me with her tail and I was sent flying through a wooden door and landed in what felt like a blanket of fine powder. Before I could take in my surroundings Kampe was standing before me and she reached out towards me. Not able to resist she grabbed me by the throat and held me aloft with her sword no longer in my stomach. I felt the clamp on my throat tighten as she slowly began to squeeze, I tried to pry her talon like fingers off of me but my attempts were in vain. As my vision began to tunnel due to the rapidly spreading poison and the loss of blood from my open wound I beheld what I had landed in.
Kampe had knocked me into one of the gunpowder storage buildings in the city and lying about us was a large supply of gunpowder and bullets. A desperate and dangerous plan began to form in my mind, I knew that death was the likely outcome but if I didn't do anything I would be dead within seconds regardless whether it be from lack of oxygen, poison, or blood loss. A hero must pull off a deadly stunt. That line of the prophecy suddenly rang out clearly in my mind and I knew what I had to do.
I felt the pressure around my throat to the point that I could just barely breathe and Kampe lowered me to eye level. "Any last words Jackson?"
Using this opportunity to gather my thoughts I began to focus on the fire powers given to me by Hestia but the haze of the poison was disrupting my thoughts.
"Maybe the first I shall kill after you will be Artemis." I began to struggle against her grasp. "Yes your reaction tells me everything I need to know, you are in love with her aren't you?" She said with a sadistic grin. "Her head will be the perfect war prize." And with that the intense pressure returned and my access to oxygen was again cut off abruptly. I knew that I could never let Artemis fall to Kampe and the thought that my actions would protect her gave me a clarity of thought that was able to cut through the effects of the poison. I was finally able to draw upon my fire powers and summoned a small ember in the middle of the gunpowder barrels.
"Go to Tartarus bitch." I said just before the gunpowder went off and I closed my eyes waiting for the inevitable death I would receive. As the barrels surrounding us began to explode in a chain reaction I had one last thought, Till the end of time I shall forever love you Artemis. The last thing I felt was all the pressure on my neck being released and I opened my eyes to see nothing but open sky and then I saw nothing.
A/N And so the battle for Philadelphia is finally over! Is Kampe dead though? Is Percy dead? I guess the only way to find out is to wait for the next chapter which should be up around next Saturday. Good, bad, or terrible send me a review and let me know! MOG out.