AN: Hey guys! I'm back with the penultimate chapter! I know you're all dying to find out what happens next, but a couple of things first. Number one, we have surpassed 100 reviews on this story! I am BLOWN AWAY! Thank you all SO MUCH for all of your support, whether you've reviewed or not. I cannot ever express how much I appreciate it. So thank you guys!
Number two, it's time for review responses. First, from RockRoy: "Great chapter once again :) Since nobody died in it, I guess the next two chapters will answer that question. I hope that Joce doesn't die..."
A: You're about to find out.
Next, from the-only-soldier-left: "Asdfghjklqwertyuiopzxcvbnm. I just spat the entire alphabet."
A: That's pretty impressive.
From cghe: "Thanks for responding to my question! And yes, I reread and see that you have mentioned that she wanted to switch to something with a clip. I'd also recommend the SwissMiniGun C1ST, but for fear of being put on the FBI watch list forever, I'd probably stop searching up concealed guns, or smallest guns, or most powerful guns, etc."
A: I'll have to look into that. Not too closely though. I don't want to end up on an FBI watch list, too, lol.
Another from cghe: "So, what powers does Gaius have? He has the Titan push back thing that Percy hated a lot, but is that it? I don't really remember any powers with time. He's good with a sword. I think I remember a scene where Elizabeth speculates on his control over stuff, and where 'Monsters naturally obey him', but he doesn't really seem all that powerful."
A: Gaius's powers were a tricky thing for me to handle. After all, if I'd given him Kronos's time powers he would've been way too powerful to still be mortal. But if I gave him nothing, he wouldn't be powerful enough. I gave him the push back thing, as you've noted, as a sort of middle ground. I also made sure he was incredibly intelligent and a very skilled fighter to compensate for his relative lack of powers. Also, he has some "passive" abilities that I haven't really been able to get into yet, but those definitely bolster him, too.
A last one from cghe: "Also, is it just me, or are the legacies way OP? It seems that they all get a combination of the two powers their parents possess, without any detraction from the mortal side. I know you try hard to make it not so (Elizabeth getting drowsy after using water) but I couldn't help but think, Gee, Emily seems really, really, powerful."
A: I've tried to do a pretty good job of balancing out the legacy's abilities. Like you noted with Elizabeth, using her powers takes a lot out of her. Her most impressive feats have either incapacitated her or otherwise she hasn't done alone. But Emily is definitely OP. I think that's in part due to being the kid of both Hazel and Frank. I wanted her to take more after Hazel powers-wise. Thus her magic. But since everyone in Frank's bloodline gets the shapeshifting abilities, which are already overpowered to begin with, it really made Emily incredibly formidable. She has her limits, of course, and I hope to explore those as the series continues, but you aren't wrong in saying she's REALLY powerful.
From EllaAnnieGrace: "So Madaline Clement basically named her daughter after her father."
A: Yep, pretty much.
Another from EllaAnnieGrace: "And my gods it still seems like alot has to happen to have the prophcey come true."
A: You're not wrong.
From AnamariaJovel: "Ok but we know it's not Matt that dies, because he will experience a huge leap to Praetor of Camp Jupiter, right? I mean, if I was following the foreshadowing properly then Matt CAN'T die? As for Emily, I don't know what I'll do if she dies! But... Oh IF ANY OF THEM DIE ILL BE SO HEARTBROKEN! Why do you do this to us!"
A: Because I'm evil...? Jk, I'm not evil. Well... maybe I'll let you be the judge of that after this chapter.
From Unicute17: "Y R U sooo EVIL! Y? Y? Y?"
A: Have you tried being evil? It's sort fun. But seriously, though, I do this because I think it makes the story more compelling, tense, and emotional all at once.
Another from Unicute17: "Also I wanted to thank you for making Elizabeth have a physical impairment because I myself have a physical impairment and it makes me feel good to see her so strong"
A: Thank you for sharing that with us. I'm glad Elizabeth's impairment is making you feel good. That's part of the reason I decided to take the route I did with Elizabeth's character, and I'm happy that I've made an impact by doing so.
And lastly, from N: "100 reviews whooooooooooooooooooa"
A: I KNOW! IT'S CRAZY!
Alright, that's it for reviews. Time for the chapter. And, I'm sorry in advance. DFTBA!
Chapter 21: I Find Out Who That One Line Referred To
We dashed down the corridor at top speed. Just as Emily promised, it was a straight shot. Around us the material that the passage was made from changed. We ran through sections of made of stone, brick, stainless steel, wood, marble, until finally we made it to a section composed of roughhewn bricks, just like the part of the Labyrinth we'd entered at the very beginning of the quest. A few feet ahead, the corridor came to an abrupt stop. In the center of the wall, a blue symbol glowed. Theo touched it and the wall split open.
We dashed outside into the open air, the sunlight temporarily blinding us. I heard the sound of bows being pulled taut. Then a voice said, "Hold your fire!"
I blinked away the spots in my eyes. A squad of Hunters, who'd no doubt been guarding the Labyrinth entrance, were lowering their bows. Thalia strode forward briskly. "Artemis almighty," Thalia exclaimed. "What happened? You guys have been gone a month! What happened to the other two? What about Pasiphaë?"
"We don't have a lot of time," I said. "An hour, assuming everything goes according to plan. Get Hylla up here. We've got incoming."
My friends and I explained the situation to Thalia and Hylla as quickly as possible. They listened intently. When they heard that Gaius was coming, they looked at each other excitedly. "We have them outnumbered," Hylla said. "Easily outnumbered."
"We'll end this war today!" Thalia exclaimed.
I wanted to think so, too, but I was worried. My prophecy still hadn't come to fruition. And besides that, I got the feeling that Gaius still had a couple tricks up his sleeves. Jocelyn glanced at me, and I knew she could tell I had misgivings about this.
All around us, the mountaintop erupted in a flurry of activity. Hunters and Amazons mobilized, forming a defensive perimeter around the chunk of wall that had the Labyrinth entrance. Hunters stood at the ready with bows. Amazons brandished spears and swords. A few were in battle forklifts. In total, there were about one hundred well-armed and well-trained warriors. The odds looked good, but I was still worried.
Thalia, Hylla, Jocelyn, Theo, and I stood at the center of the defensive arc, directly across from the Labyrinth door. Theo and Jocelyn had both been given more ammunition, so they stood with their weapons at the ready. I tapped my foot nervously, Marianas held tightly in my hand. The place where the spartoi had cut into my robot arm was sparking again. I'd have to have Jake look at it when I got back to Camp Half-Blood. But for now, it was working fine.
Suddenly, the black stone wall split open. All around me, bows were pulled taut. Through the opening, Gaius and his crew emerged. Gaius blinked the sun out of his eyes, then looked around at our defensive line with raised eyebrows. When his eyes found me, he smiled. "My, my, Elizabeth," he said, "quite the welcoming party you've organized for me." If he was surprised, he was hiding it well. That made my stomach churn. If he'd been expecting something like this…
"Son of Kronos," Thalia shouted, "it is time for you to surrender. You and your troops are outnumbered and surrounded. Turn yourselves over so that you may be tried for your crimes."
Pasiphaë opened her mouth to say something, but Gaius held up his hand to cut her off. His eyes flickered to the left for a split-second, then returned to Thalia. What did he just look at? I wondered.
"You must be Thalia Grace," Gaius said. "I cannot tell you how honored I am to meet you."
"Can't say I feel the same about meeting you," Thalia retorted.
Gaius laughed. "No, I'd imagine not. Besides the fact that I'm 'the enemy,' I also probably remind you of my father, eh?"
Thalia gritted her teeth next to me. Some of the Hunters glanced back and forth between them uneasily. "I don't know what you mean," Thalia said defiantly.
"Don't you?" Gaius asked. "I've seen pictures of him, you know. And I've had dreams about him and his past. I look nearly identical to Luke Castellan, the only boy you ever loved. Seeing me must be like seeing a ghost."
Thalia was shaking slightly. "Shut up!" Was Gaius right? Had Thalia loved Luke once? Perhaps finding that out shouldn't have been surprising to me, but it was.
Gaius laughed. Hylla spoke up, "Quit stalling! You heard what Thalia said. Surrender, or we will use force."
Gaius shifted his attention to the queen of the Amazons. "Ah, yes, Hylla Ramirez-Arellano. Queen of the Amazons. It is also an honor to meet you. You and I have something in common, you know. Neither of us had a great relationship with our fathers. I never knew mine. And you – well, you had an abusive father. Your sister solved that problem permanently, though, didn't she?"
Hylla cursed. The Amazons were growling at Gaius now, but still, the line held its composure, waiting for the order to attack. Before Gaius could keep going, I cut in, "Gaius, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish by antagonizing us, but you guys are badly outnumbered. Just give up. It's over." I barely registered that, while I was nervous, my anxiety was staying in check.
"Ah, see I'm afraid you're wrong," Gaius replied. "It is not over, Elizabeth. In fact, this war is just beginning. As for why I keep talking… well, you might want to glance over at the sun."
I was perplexed. What was that supposed to mean? I looked over at the sun, which was getting low to the horizon. It was… "Sunset?" I asked. And then it clicked. I turned back to Gaius, gaping slightly. How had he timed it so perfectly?
"That's right, Elizabeth," Gaius said. "We're on Mount Othrys, in the Garden of Hesperides. You can only get in and out at sunset. For the next ten or so minutes, my friends and I can leave."
"And how do you plan to do that?" Jocelyn asked. "We have you outnumbered and surrounded, remember?"
"That's true," Gaius conceded. "But there's an interesting thing about the Labyrinth that's going to play to my benefit. Perhaps you knew this, perhaps you didn't, but Thanatos cannot penetrate the maze. That means that the souls of anyone or anything that dies down there belongs to Pasiphaë."
I gasped slightly. I'd totally forgotten about that. Poseidon had warned me before I even left on this quest that that happened. I hadn't even considered what that might mean, though…
Pasiphaë ripped her necklace from her neck. The rubies – which I'd imagined were glowing down in her chamber – were definitely glowing now. "In short," Gaius said, "good luck."
Pasiphaë threw her necklace on the ground. The rubies burst apart. There was a great whooshing sound, and all Hades broke loose.
A horde of enemies exploded into existence between our defensive perimeter and the demititans. Monsters, zombies, spirits… anything or anyone that had died in the Labyrinth burst into existence before us. The defensive line broke as Hunters and Amazons were forced to fall back by the sudden army. Directly in front of me, the Minotaur had appeared. He charged at me, his sharp horns gleaming. I switched Marianas to trident mode and braced it against the ground. The monster impaled himself on it. Meanwhile, the demititans were using the distraction to get away.
"We have to stop them!" I shouted, slashing threw three giant bat monsters that had descended on me. But there were so many monsters and so much chaos, that no one heard me. I couldn't even find Jocelyn and Theo in the insanity. However, a few yards ahead and to my right, Thalia was fighting some Roman zombies with her spear.
I hacked my way through the crowd towards her. "Thalia!" I yelled. "They're getting away!" This time, she heard me. Her eyes flickered over to where the demititans and Pasiphaë were now, the monsters making way for them.
"I'll clear a path!" Thalia called back. She raised her spear and lightning blasted out of the air, ricocheted off her spear, and blasted a hole in the wall of enemies. I dashed through it before more monsters filled their spots and ran after the demititans. Gaius saw me coming.
"You don't know when to give up, do you?" he called to me. "Unfortunately, I don't have time to spare. Eight minutes and counting until we'll trapped here."
"Then I only have to stall you for eight minutes," I said back.
"Alone?" Gaius said, his eyebrows raised. "Seems foolhardy, even for you." He was right. There was no one near me. All the Hunters and Amazons were spread out across the mountaintop, each surrounded by a sea of monsters. Theo and Jocelyn were nowhere to be found. Thalia, who'd cleared the way for me, had immediately been surrounded again.
Still, I raised my sword up. "If I have to."
Gaius rolled his eyes. "Drake, hold her off, but do not kill her."
"But, sir, what if I get stuck here?" the huge man asked.
"Don't get stuck here," Gaius sneered. "Incapacitate her quickly without killing her, then get off the mountain. If you're not capable of doing that, then what's even the point of keeping you on the council?"
Gaius motioned to the rest of his crew to follow him. They did. Eliana shot me one last look of malice as they departed. I wanted to follow, but Drake stood firmly in my way, his huge double-sided axe held in both hands. "You humiliated me," he growled.
"You didn't really need my help with that," I retorted.
"Screw Gaius's orders," Drake spat. "You're dead meat!"
"Oh wow, first time I've heard that one," I muttered sarcastically.
Drake let out a yell and leaped forward, his axe blade whistling through the air. I sidestepped the attack. The blade hit the ground so hard that the stone cracked. I stabbed forward, hoping to catch Drake before he could get around, but he was fast. He turned and blocked my sword with his axe shaft. He pushed hard, sending me tumbling backwards. His axe ripped through the air, headed straight for my neck. I ducked just in time. I slashed upwards, but Drake stepped back quickly. He retaliated. I raised my sword to block the attack. Bad idea. The force of his blow sent me spinning. I lost my balance and fell to the ground, which turned out to be lucky, because Drake's axe went flying right over top of me.
I sprung quickly back to my feet, but Drake's axe was right there yet again. He whirled the massive weapon around quickly, forcing me to back up. Meanwhile, the battle continued all around us. I could see Thalia trying to make her way over to me, but there were just too many monsters. Finally I located Jocelyn and Theo. Both of them had managed to climb atop one of the chunks of walls on the mountaintop and were firing down at the monsters. They were safe. For now, anyway.
But I couldn't spare them any focus. I was too busy with Drake. He was pushing me back towards one of the walls. If he got me pinned against it, I was mincemeat. Luckily, I found an opening. One of his swings was a little too wide. I ducked around him, slashing at his side as I did so. The blow left a dent in his armor. He growled in pain, and I was sure I'd left him a nasty bruise, but otherwise my blow hadn't dealt any real damage.
Drake spun around just as a nearby Telkhine charged me. I dove sideways just in time, and Drake's axe killed the monster. I swung my sword right at Drake's neck, but he raised his axe just in time and blocked the strike. He pushed hard against me, and I fell back several steps. I bumped into one of the Underworld escapees that Pasiphaë had summoned. "Watch it!" the familiar voice growled. I glanced sideways as Emperor Nero shoved me off of him. He raised his ukulele at me like a club. I ducked sideways and the instrument shattered against the ground. Meanwhile, Drake was coming at me fast, his axe whirling through the air. I grabbed Nero with my left hand and tossed him into Drake's path. The axe tore the former emperor to shreds. I used the opportunity to slash up along Drake's side. The straps of his armor broke as my sword went through them. He howled in pain. I moved to strike again, but he took one hand off of his axe and backhanded me across the face so hard I went flying ten feet backwards.
I hit the ground hard, dazed. I clambered to my feet. I tasted blood. I raised my hand to my face and realized my nose was bleeding profusely. Drake was pulling off his ruined armor. Underneath he wore a plain white t-shirt. The side I'd just slashed was blood stained. He pounded his side with one hand. "You think that's enough to stop me, Jackson!" he roared.
I wanted to toss him a witty response, but I was too dazed to think of anything. Instead, I pressed the trident button on Marianas and sent an energy blast his way. He reflected the blast off of his axe, which is what I expected. But while the blast was still flying towards him, I'd charged, switching back to sword mode as I did so. As soon as he'd reflected the energy blast, I was there. He turned sideways just in time to avoid my stab, then slammed me in the gut with the butt of his axe. I doubled over, wheezing. Drake's foot came rocketing up towards my face. I felt my jaw crack. I flew backwards, winded, dazed, and aching. Drake stood over me, a look of triumphant malice on his face. He chuckled darkly. "Not good enough, I'm afraid," he growled.
But before he could raise his axe to kill me, there was a whooshing sound and a glinting rope cracked against his face. Jocelyn's whip. Drake roared, backing up a couple of steps, a hand to his face. When he pulled it away, I saw a diagonal gash across from his left eyebrow to the right side of his jaw-line. "Leave my friend alone!" Jocelyn yelled.
She charged him, lashing out with her whip again. This time, Drake was expecting it. He caught the whip and pulled. But Jocelyn was quick. She let go of the whip before Drake could pull her within range of his axe. She raised her gun and pulled the trigger. Drake deflected the bullet off of his axe. But before Jocelyn could fire again, Drake had lunged towards her. I tried to call out, but I could barely move. Drake's axe went sailing through the air. Jocelyn ducked under it just in time. She placed her gun right in Drake's gut, but in the split second before she pulled the trigger, Drake's foot shot up. Jocelyn was thrown backwards by the forceful kick, her gun going off into the air.
Finally, I staggered to my feet. Drake was approaching Jocelyn, who lay dazed on the ground. "Hey," I croaked. Drake heard me. "Don't you want to finish business with me, first?" I asked. I kept glancing over at Jocelyn, worried. Some monsters were getting dangerously close to her, but she seemed to be regaining her bearings. I had to hope she'd be alright, because Drake was turning back to me. I was sore. The blood from my nose was starting to choke me. My jaw ached painfully. I didn't see how I was going to survive, but it was better I die than Jocelyn.
"Yes, you're right," Drake said. "I'll finish you off first." He charged at me again. I was barely able to raise my sword in time. But in my dazed state, I'd forgotten that I couldn't exactly block his axe. Our blades collided, and I spun sideways. I ducked instinctively. Drake's axe flew over my head. It was so close that the blade actually caught my ponytail. The blade was so sharp that my hair was sliced off instant, barely tugging at my head as it did so. Damn, that's a sharp blade. My ponytail fell to the ground at my feet, but I didn't have time to worry about that.
I used my momentum to bring my sword all the way around. But Drake was prepared. He blocked my sword with the shaft of his axe. He shoved hard and I fell backwards. His axe whirled through the air. I ducked and dodged, backpedaling away from him. Then my back hit a wall. Shit, I thought. The exact thing I'd been trying to avoid before had happened. He'd backed me up against a wall.
He swung his axe horizontally at me. I raised my sword to block the strike. Suddenly, my robotic hand twitched uncontrollably. My sword fell from my hand. Drake's axe bit into my metal arm. Thank gods I'd had Jake decrease the pain sensitivity, because otherwise I probably would've blacked out. As it was, I howled in pain. Drake's axe was caught halfway through the metal limb. He yanked hard, pulling the blade out. I fell to my knees, tears stinging my eyes. He cleaved downwards with his axe. I rolled away just in time. The problem was, Marianas was still lying on the ground at Drake's feet. Meanwhile, my robotic right arm shooting sparks out of the new, thick gash rapidly. I heard whirring sounds coming out of it. The fingers were twitching rapidly.
Drake turned towards me, his axe coming down towards me again. I scrambled backwards, still on the ground, the wall to my left. Finally, I saw my opening. He raised his axe up too high, his legs were too far apart. I dove forwards, rolling between his legs, and scooped up Marianas in my left hand. I swung hard at Drake's back, but he turned and blocked my attack. "Why don't you just give up?" he snarled. "You can't keep this up forever!"
"I don't need to," I said through gritted teeth, my eyes on the horizon. Only a sliver of the sun remained above the horizon. "I just need to keep it up until sunset is over."
Drake glanced over his shoulder and saw how low the sun was. He yelled in anger. He pushed against my sword so hard that I fell over. My left wrist twisted painfully, and I dropped my sword again. I reached for it, but he kicked the blade aside and stamped on my fingers. I screamed in pain. He lifted his foot off my hand, then kicked me in the side, sending me rolling back into the wall. I coughed up blood. Drake raised his axe for the killing blow, and I was sure I was dead. My brain couldn't summon up any clever escapes this time. The only thought I could register was: I guess Gaius was wrong about our destined fight.
Suddenly, a voice screamed, "NO!" A person leaped in front of me just as Drake swung his axe. The blade embedded itself in their chest. Their momentum sent them falling sideways, ripping Drake's axe from his hands as the person fell to the ground. They slammed into the ground next to me. The world seemed to freeze for a moment as I looked over at the person who'd just given their life for mine. The axe sprouted from the front of a black t-shirt. The shirt was already soaked with blood. A silver circlet lay on the ground next to their head. It was Thalia.
Time started again. I screamed, my voice mingled pain and hatred. I leaped to my feet, suddenly full of adrenaline. I slammed my broken metal arm into Drake's face. I heard bone crunch. I punched him in the gut with my left hand, which was agony, considering my fingers were probably broken. But I didn't care. I pulled back my right arm to hit him again. Before I could, Drake thrust out his arm and shoved me backwards. Then he turned tail and ran. I glanced at the horizon. Sunset wasn't quite over yet. He had seconds, but that was long enough to get away. I had to stop him. I had to kill him for what he'd done.
I sprinted after him, not even bothering to scoop up my sword. All I cared about was catching Drake. He was running down the mountainside at full sprint. The garden was a blur as I sped past in hot pursuit. We were both moving so quickly that not even the dragon paid us mind when we passed the golden apple tree. Drake glanced over his shoulder at me. I was closing the distance between us. I was only a few yards behind him. Then a few feet. I reached out to grab him, then he passed through the barrier. The invisible barrier hardened behind him as the sun finally finished setting. I slammed into it at full speed. I bounced off, falling to the ground in a daze.
"No, no, NO!" I yelled. I leaped back to my feet and slammed into the barrier again. Once again, I bounced off, falling over as I did so. I screamed louder than I could ever remember screaming - except maybe after getting my arm chopped off the previous year. I screamed until my throat was raw. It was over. The demititans had gotten away, even Drake. And he'd… He'd…
I broke down in tears. Thalia, I thought. I heard footfalls approaching, but I didn't care who it was. "Oh thank gods," a voice said. I turned. The voice was Theo's. Jocelyn was by his side. "The battle ended and we couldn't find you or Drake. And then we heard you scream. We thought… we thought you were…"
I staggered to my feet, tears still pouring down my face. "Thalia… Is she…?"
Theo and Jocelyn glanced at each other. "She's hanging on for now," Jocelyn said grimly. "But she doesn't have long. I'm… I'm sorry Elizabeth." Her voice cracked when she said my name. I didn't pay it any mind. I shouldered past my friends and dashed up to the top of the hill.
AN: Please don't kill me.
I'll see you guys with the final chapter on Wednesday night/early Thursday morning.