The Stoll brothers hitched up their backpacks, descending the few steps of the porch for them to reach the earthy ground. Nico was quietly waiting for them, bomber jacket covering his scrawny body from the midmorning sun. Insects buzzed around but the pale-skinned demigod paid them no attention, eyes trained to the side where Eurytion was setting up a hose for Luke and Percy to be able to Iris Message their troops.

Travis found green eyes colored like the sea watching him. A ghost sensation prickled down his healed arm, making him shiver. He gave a sharp nod of acknowledgement towards the son of Poseidon who merely smiled in response. "We're going," Travis muttered, raising his eyes towards his older half-brother.

Luke huffed, grinning bemusedly at being addressed. "I'm not your mother."

"Good, 'cause that's a scary thought right there," Connor retorted.

Nico stepped around the Stolls, biting down on his lip as he gathered courage. He met Luke's scrutinizing stare and Percy's offhand smile. He faltered.

Luke thought he could see just the lightest dusting of pink on the son of Hades' pale complexion. It irritated the hell out of him for some reason. He stepped closer to Percy, putting his arm around the teen's slim waist, fingers hooking into the belt loop of Percy's jeans. He felt Percy lean back against his shoulder and just like that his ire was gone.

"Bye, cuz." Percy raised one hand, gesturing goodbye.

A half-hearted wave back was Nico's response and with downcast eyes he started backing away. He had just turned around and taken the first couple of steps away when Luke's voice called him back.

"Oh, and one last thing."

Travis and Connor shot suspicious looks at the leaders of the Titan army whereas Nico schooled his expression into a neutral one.

Luke's eyes were on the trio but his lips mouthed silent words into Percy's ear. The green-eyed demigod's bright expression faltered for a second but Percy regained his composure quickly, looking rather smug as he returned his attention to the departing half-bloods.

"We'll be invading Camp before the end of the summer," Percy stated, his eyes lingering on Nico. "You guys know what to do before then…"

"Why are you telling us?" Connor asked, visibly shaken at the announcement.

"It'll be more fun that way," Luke answered him.

Travis shook his head at them. He placed a hand each on Connor's and Nico's shoulder and led the younger demigods away. Orthus followed them like an advance guard of sorts, wanting to make sure that the demigods were really leaving the property. The four of them walked off amongst the enclosures until they became too far to be recognized before Luke and Percy finally turned away from them.

Eurytion had his hand on the tap, just waiting for a signal to get the hose running. At Luke's nod, he turned the knob clockwise and a thin spray of water blew out from the other end of the hose attached to the outdoor faucet. A rainbow appeared in the mist and Percy threw a golden drachma at it, invoking the goddess Iris.

"Pamela Truman," Percy said aloud. "Mount Othrys."

The spray shimmered, slowly revealing a girl with deep blue eyes and a shock of rust-colored curls leaning back against a black marble wall. A few feet beside her were empty weapon racks, the sound of clashing metal resounded from the background.

"Morning, Truman," Luke greeted.

The daughter of Iris jumped, shouting a curse half-way before she recognized the image floating beside her. Pamela righted herself, inhaling huge gulps of air to calm down. "My Lords," she touched a hand to her chest as though it would silence the jumpstarted beat of her heart. "I'm so relieved that the two of you are alright!"

"Thank you." Luke smiled at her with Percy doing the same beside him. "Where are you, anyway? I hope that's not an uprising that I hear…"

"I'm at the training grounds, sir," Pamela replied. "Lady Enyo has paid us a visit and is having a demonstration…"

Luke and Percy shared a surprised glance but their focus quickly reverted to the task at hand. "Very well. I need you to broadcast this message to the faction leaders," Luke commanded.

"Right away, sir." Pamela produced a circular pendant from the folds of her robes. It had two pairs of wings: one gold and the other iridescent, both of which surrounded by a thin circle. She touched the charm to the center of the mist and it emitted a bright glow. Closing her eyes in concentration Pamela, murmured, "O bright Iris, O faded Arce, deliver my message." Then she proceeded to name the council members. "Therese Nolan. Kelli, Senior Empousa. The Master Telekhine. Queen Sess. Lord Atlas. Lord Morhpeus…" With every name that rolled off her tongue, a duplicate of the Iris Message before her appeared in front of the aforementioned creatures.

At the Triple G Ranch, Luke and Percy straightened their postures as the image in the spray of water in front of them was divided into sections, each hosting a new face. The division continued until they had the whole council before them, projected like stacks of TV screens. Behind the image of Therese Nolan, head of the demigod faction, was the Goddess of War and Devastation looking mighty put off at having to pull back her javelin.

Luke addressed the goddess first. "Lady Enyo, my sincere apologies for cutting into your exhibition."

Irises the deep purple color of abused skin flashed and a curl pulled at the edge of red-painted lips as the armored goddess nodded her acknowledgment. "I permit the interruption."

"Thank you, my Lady," Luke bowed and then straightened up as he faced the faction leaders. "Percy and I are at the Triple G Ranch and we intend to return there as soon as possible."

"It's been almost a week," Atlas frowned at them, beads of sweat rolling down his great forehead. "You've lost us great time."

"It is my greatest regret, Lord Atlas, but know that our time was not wasted." Luke kept his expression stoic.

Atlas grunted, shifting the weight of the sky on his back. "I expect you here before sun down."

"We'll be there before the sun even touches the horizon," Percy assured the Titan who barked a final order, not wanting to be outspoken.

"See that promise fulfilled."

From the top left corner of the multitude of screens, a green-skinned woman with glinting pitch black eyes addressed them. Her pointed face was framed by inky hair topped with a golden crown inlaid with precious gems. When she spoke, the canines showed themselves to be longer and sharper than what was normal. "My Lordsss," the Dracaena Queen hissed. "I find it a disssappointment that you were not here to welcome my arrival… but not to worry… we can discusss the compensssation for it at your return."

"Queen Sess, we thank you for your understanding. I assure you, your presence is regarded most highly as a follower of Lord Kronos." Luke maintained eye contact with the serpentine woman until she smiled back and showed complacence at being treated with rightful esteem.

Bright green eyes settled onto the Master Telekhine and the monster nodded, starting its report. "It's been determined that Typhon is stirring, my Lords. As you know, he has been locked away under Mount St. Helens, a forge of Hephaestus that we are utilizing extensively to provide armor and weaponry." The telekhine pressed its webbed hands together. "An assumption has arisen, that is, if we get the volcano to erupt, we may release the Father of All Monsters."

"If that theory is proven correct, we would have a much greater advantage over the Olympians," Percy noted. "We'll see about that soon enough."

Luke turned towards the daughter of Enyo and head of their demigod faction. "Nolan, any report on Holyfield?"

"He has returned about a day ago," Therese replied. "But he has yet to regain consciousness."

"What happened to him?" Luke asked.

"Got on the wrong side of a hellhound from the marks across his back," Therese said in a solemn voice. "We checked his belongings, he's made a lot of additions to the first map and he's made a mark on a certain chamber. Holyfield appears to be certain that it was the crossroads that Quintus spoke of."

"We'll need to see that new map immediately."

"Of course, my Lord."

Heavy footfalls announced Orthus' return but neither Luke nor Percy bothered to take notice.

Kelli gave the final statement, a brief account of the various mythical monsters that have risen from sleep and had sworn their service to the cause as well as an update on the Aethiopian drakon they've set loose around Camp Half-Blood.

The Iris Message disconnected and Percy finally allowed himself to exhale loudly. A wet patch of grass and mud stood before them, the only remains of the tense negotiations they'd just barely kept their cool through. Everything was falling to place now; the invasion they'd promised the campers was going to come much earlier than any of them had ever imagined. He ran a hand through his damp hair still fresh from the shower, blowing another calming exhale through pouted lips.

Over at the side of the ranch house, Eurytion was setting things back into order - turning off the tap, looping the lengthy hose around one arm. He had pretended not to hear a thing, knowing it was better for him to act so and besides, what use did he have of such information? The only bit that concerned him was that he knew of how definite the Second Titanomachy was.

Percy frowned, noticing that Luke hadn't moved an inch. Curious, he moved to stand in front of the man, green eyes finding a rather closed-off look on the scarred face. Touching a hand on the muscular arm, Percy called for him in a quiet tone. "Luke?"

Short blond lashes fanned over tanned cheeks as Luke closed his eyes and shook his head, a brief gesture of clearing his thoughts. Blue irises once bright as ice appeared dim when he finally set them upon the dark-haired demigod before him. "Sorry, just processing things…"

Things.

It was silly how such a vague word caused great pain to blossom inside Percy's chest. There were certainly a lot of things to consider - the new map and everything it entailed were tangled so closely that dissecting it would be a waste, like trying to stop the rest of the dominos from falling when you've already tipped the first one. But something, something in Luke's eyes, in the way they pierced him, the way they stopped his breath, something told him Luke's thoughts spanned farther than the fruits of Holyfield's labors.

Luke nodded towards the porch where they'd left their belongings. "Come on." The line of his lips was thin and firm, barely moving as he spoke, and as he turned away, eyes averting from the clear rays of sunlight, Percy finally understood what had come over his companion; the reason why Luke was still wearing such a formal mask in the absence of the perusing eyes of their troops.

Percy recognized it from the heavy beats that filled his ears as Luke slipped away quietly from his grasp, he recognized it in the lingering warmth that his open palm held onto in midair only to curl into itself and fall to his side in defeat.

It was fear.

xxx

In the orange glow of torchlights, the updated map was presented to the council. The goddess Enyo and the god Morpheus, having formed corporeal bodies of their own, sat on either end of the horizontal table allocated for the immortals; between them were tongues of fire that hosted the images of the Titans and other godly beings that supported their cause.

At the second table, perpendicular to the first, sat the faction leaders. A projection of Ives Holyfield's constructed map came from the center of the table, showing complicated routes and outcomes; at the core of the hand-drawn illustration was an X mark. The map showed something of a wide circular space, the words 'giant' and 'skulls' were scribbled into one side of the boundaries – the general consensus was that it was either a storage place of humongous skeletal remains or one where a giant lived and decorated the place with human bones. Neither prospect seemed better than the other and Holyfield was still in deep sleep, rendering him unable to help clarify the situation.

"We have the whole army prepared for the invasion," Luke stated, regal robes of white and gold ochre clothing him as he stood to present their tactics to the immortals. "Tomorrow morning, I will lead the first squadron into the labyrinth and once we reach the marked crossroad, Quintus will follow through with the agreement, we will obtain Ariadne's String. At this very moment, the Master Telekhine is overseeing the final stages of re-forging of Lord Kronos' scythe. He guaranteed that the weapon will be delivered here by noon tomorrow. Everything is now in place."

"And what of the last demigod soul that Kronos needs?" Hyperion asked, the flame carrying his image burning brighter than the rest.

Blue eyes stared up at the Titan, unfazed. Luke's impassive features didn't flinch at the tone used on him, rather, he replied in a steadfast manner. "An inconsequential worry. We need only to send a message to our spy at Camp and their words will be enough to complete the reformation."

The Titan of Light nodded, conceding to Luke's plan. "Very well." Then, in a thundering voice teeming with confidence, he declared. "Tomorrow! Kronos will rise and rule again!"

An affirmative shout was the collective answer but Percy, with his eyes that never strayed from Luke, found the blond's expression to be empty.

Unfeeling.

xxx

"Have you seen Luke?"

Kelli blinked, honey-colored eyes looking down at the short figure at her door. It was nearly midnight and Percy Jackson looked alarmingly fragile, standing amongst the shadows in the middle of the hall. "What do you mean, 'have I seen Luke'?" Kelli asked, frowning. "You're the one who's constantly by his side every waking minute."

Percy's worried face took on a glare. "I wouldn't be asking if I knew, Kelli."

"You've lost him?" Kelli smirked, using height to her advantage as she stared down at the demigod.

"I did not!"

"Then why don't you know where he is?" Manicured nails settled on slim arms as Kelii crossed them under her ample bosom. The dim lighting made the pastel color of her nightdress appear earth-toned.

"He asked to be left alone after dinner, so I gave him space." Percy huffed, hating having to explain himself any more than he already had but this was the last place in the palace that he hadn't searched yet and he was growing frustrated. "When I came back to our room, he wasn't there. I waited and waited and now it's midnight and he still hasn't shown up. So have you seen him?"

Kelli listened, the slightest twinge of empathy taking root in her as she saw the distress show on Percy's usually well-masked face. Personally, Kelli didn't harbor much love for the kid - she rather disliked him for his unyielding attachment to Luke, but for the kid to actually come up to her like this, keeping cool in spite of the torment that was brewing behind his bright green eyes – well, Kelli couldn't help but allow some reprieve in their long-standing (yet unspoken) mutual dislike. In spite of that resolve, though, she didn't have the answer he was looking for. "Haven't seen him."

"Are you sure?"

"I think I'd know for sure if I have a hunk of a demigod in my quarters tonight," Kelli smirked, the truce in her mind already over.

"You are a monster before you're a woman," Percy said flatly. "And it's not like I'm above hitting capable warrior women anyway."

Kelli huffed and opened her door wider using her hooved foot, showing the empty room. "No one's here; you can even check my closet."

"I'd rather not." Percy stepped back. "I apologize for this interruption." He turned and started running back down the darkened halls.

The empousa watched the demigod's departure, the smell of panic leaving the air with him. News of Luke's disappearance bothered her, there was no denying that, but she knew that the man wasn't the type to run away from responsibility. More than that, Luke would never run away and leave Percy behind.