Yo yo y'all. I've got exams again, sorry in advance, I may not be able to write much, but I'm at a good part of the story now where I've got lots of awesome stuff to write so idk.

Cliffhangers suck, I know, but I use them a lot to a) Keep readers interested, b) To have a starting point for my next chapter and C) Draw attention to a particular event. I'm sorry about using them a lot, so therefore, I'm sorry about the next few chapters.

Are we at 400 reviews yet? Jesus, 400. I remember getting 6 after posting the first chapter and being really happy, you guys... Just wow.

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Chapter 29

Percy XVIII

The doors slid open.

Percy squinted at the change in light, the backs of his eyes throbbing, but kicked Maia on anyway, shooting out of that godforsaken elevator.

They emerged into some kind of pit, bright torches everywhere, lining the strangely carved walls of various precious metals. Swarms of monsters oozed into every available gap, with what looked like a giant in the centre, tall and dark, swiping at-

Percy saw a flash of blonde hair.

"Maia! Sweep!" He bellowed, standing up, wobbling, before jumping briefly into the air as Maia span, her tail cutting a lethal dent into the crowds.

Percy landed back on her, the forward momentum throwing him off balance for a second, but quickly corrected; it was a move that the two had perfected over time.

A sizeable dent was now cut into the horde; there weren't as many as there were at the doors, maybe half the amount? But Percy hadn't really had any control when he had wiped them out, he had just exploded- now it would be a fight, and now there were normal mortals joining, a set of very specific mortals.

Percy stretched two hands out, one clutching a sword, and swiftly lopping off a head, the other clenching, a couple of nearby monsters squealing before they went poof.

Percy heard the giant roar in anger and snapped his head up, seeing a familiar weapon lodged inbetween the metal plates: Hazel's spatha. For the first time in a while, Percy let a wide grin crack across his face, using the burst of emotion fuel him as he threw back two small cyclopes.

He and Maia had a wall to their backs now, Percy swivelling round every few seconds to clear some off Maia's tail, as she darted forwards, snapping up clouds of gold dust between her mighty jaws.

There was a flicker next to him, darker, like a bit of shoe polish smeared into his peripheral vision. He glanced round just in time to see Nico aiming a slice at Maia's underbelly.

"Nico!" Percy shouted, flinging his sword out, parrying the blow while trying not to disarm him in the group of monsters surrounding them.

A clash of metal on metal didn't seem to faze Nico, who clearly hadn't heard Percy over the din of roars and screeches, as he simply pulled back before lunging for Maia again.

"Ni- Nic- Di Angelo! Hey! Stop- NICO!" Percy shouted in exasperation.

Percy slid down the side of Maia slightly, his hands clinging on to the ragged reins to stay on, and kicked Nico in the shoulder as lightly as he could.

Nico stumbled back a little, head snapping upwards ready to fight a new enemy. Percy stared at him, eyebrows raised a bit desperately.

Nico blinked.

His dark eyes, that had been burning with the heat of the battle, wiped clean completely, seemingly looking at Percy all over, and then at Maia in disbelief.

His mouth fell open.

His sword lowered quickly, arm looking almost boneless.

Percy saw his mouth move in shock, probably saying his name, but couldn't give him any more time, gesturing behind Nico at the advancing monsters, before turning to run through a monster who had climbed on top of Maia. When he glanced back, he saw Nico wipe out three dracaenae with one wide slicing arc, a victorius smile radiating off the son of Hades. Nico turned back around, clearly shouting something at Percy, still- well if Percy had to describe it, he would say the younger boy was almost beaming.

Percy watched him make rapid shapes with his hands, confused, before he understood; the giant could only be killed by a God and a demigod working together, and judging by how Nico pointed at himself and then upwards, he was off to go get one. He was gone a few seconds later, with the familiar flicker of shadow travel.

Percy turned back to see a deep cut get slashed into Maia's shoulder. Maia roared, bucking slightly, as Percy caught the monsters who did it, exploding them as quick as a flash.

Percy could see that he was holding her back a little, so, leaning forwards, he pushed off, landing on the stone floor in a roll, swinging upwards with his sword as he stood up.

Shoving his way into the middle of the crowd, Percy began fighting. A similar feeling filled him to the Battle of New York. He magically dodged every weapon, or the weapons hit him and just glanced off of him. He could feel the fluidity taking over, every move one of a sequence, ducking, spinning, supple, elegant motions like a flood weaving through buildings; Percy wreaked a similar destruction.

He sliced through armor like it was made of paper. Lumbering monsters just melted. Snake men exploded. Hellhounds that came into contact simply turned away, attacking those nearest each other. Percy slashed and stabbed and whirled, barely keeping a lid on the whirlwind of emotions that bubbled within, a chuckle bursting out every now and then: he was back on earth, all his friends were fighting alongside him, and they were kicking ass.

As Percy decimated the last few that were close to him, the rest sensibly choosing to flee and fight someone else, he saw another flash, this time a blinding white.

Through the dust clouding his vision, Percy let out a raw smile as he saw Hecate appearing, Nico darting out behind her and clearing his path. Her hands crackled with burning red fire.

Several more flashes; the Olympians had arrived.

Percy heaved a heavy breath out, spitting a mouthful of something- what, he didn't even know- out of his mouth. He kicked a pile of gold dust in satisfaction, picking up his sword off the floor. Percy raised his eyebrows: he didn't remember dropping his sword.

From where he was stood, at the back of the hall, leaning against the wall, Percy watched the rest of the monsters flee, and the chaotic fight between his friends, Hecate and the giant- Percy couldn't remember which one, with some Olympians standing around, weapons brandished should they need to interfere. They hadn't noticed him yet.

With a loud roar and a crash that shook the ceiling, the giant fell to the floor, a myriad of weapons now in the chinks of its armour. Hecate and Hazel were stood on its torso. Two swords held above their hands, two glints of metal as they plunged, one gigantic poof of gold.

Percy swallowed at the unwelcome memory of Damasen, shoving it deep back in his mind.

The cavern was quiet now, the remaining hordes having scattered back into the tunnels to escape. Percy could hear the heavy breathing of his friends. He searched for the blonde hair, but found only Jason's.

"Drakon!" He heard Ares cry to his left.

His head snapped sideways, the war God waving his sword above his head manically as he barrelled towards Maia, who had reared back like a threatened cat.

"STOP!" Percy bellowed, darting in front of her.

Ares ground to a halt and his eyes boggled comically.

"Jackson?" He said incredulously.

"Percy!" Nico ran towards him.

Nico's body thudded around his middle, pulling him into a hug.

"Percy?"

"Percy!"

"PERCY!"

His friends' heads shot up, and they sprinted as fast as they could towards him. Percy squinted, not seeing Annabeth with them. More bodies crashed into the hug.

"I can't believe it, we- you- and-" Piper seemed to be lost for words as she babbled, smoothing back his sweaty hair in an almost motherly way, a bright smile radiating off her.

"Bro-" Jason choked, grabbing his shoulders and yanking him into a tight hug, one that was replicated instantly by a fiercely tearful Frank, whose face flickered with a thousand animal forms.

Percy let his forehead fall onto Frank's broad shoulder, and clenched his fists as a voice swam into his head, a voice he loathed; "You could have chosen a new life down there," Gaia said, almost pityingly, "Another wasted chance. You would have been safe from me there. My plan continues."

Percy gritted his teeth until she stopped talking, trying to control the wave of rage that rose in him at the mere sound of her voice. Meanwhile, below his shoulders, Hazel was surprisingly not crying, instead just burying her head as deep as she could into him, like she was trying to burrow into him. Leo had let go partially, but still had a tight grip on his wrist, his brown eyes shiny. Nico had pulled back too, angling his head away but Percy saw him wipe away some stray tears with the edge of his sleeve.

"Percy..." Jason shook his head, looking him up and down with a dazed expression.

"What is the damn Maeonian drakon doing here?" Ares asked him, levelling a spear at Maia threateningly.

Percy put his hand in-between them and shook his head firmly.

"She's friendly and she's tamed. She won't hurt anyone unless I say so." He looked at his friends' wide eyes. "Her name's Maia." He added on the end.

Leo whistled.

"You tamed a drakon. Dude that's metal-"

"It wasn't me." Percy cut him off shaking his head.

He had no intention of going into any detail about Damasen right then, but to claim that he had done something his friend had done felt dirty. Percy couldn't do it. His friends seemed to be waiting for an explanation, but Percy had more on his mind- something- someone, very important.

"Hey," Percy began, looking around, "Where's Annabeth?"

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DepressedTiger: dude, make an account, I wanna thank you every time you review!

In the UK right now, it was like -1 degrees Celsius oh my days. I don't know the equivalent in Fahrenheit, hol up lemme Google... 30.2? There we go.

Hey guys, there's a scene that's gonna happen in this story, but I'm not sure which character to pick for it. Do you want A) the unexpected and emotional twist that'll make y'all rage at me, or B) a bloody and emotional fight against someone y'all hate, which leaves space for more plot twists. I love both versions, but I gotta choose. Or maybe C) Attempt to merge them?