Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Rachel Makes a Dramatic Entrance
We gathered everyone in the main room and Andee joined us a few minutes later, looking a lot different than when I had left her. She had changed out of the black chiton Kronos had her wear (and probably burned it) and into a pair of spandex shorts and a white and gold baseball tee. And Andee's hair…she had cut it off. Not all of it. But whereas it used to flow down to her chest, it now just barely touched her shoulders, in one of those bobs where it was slightly longer in the front than the back. As soon as Andee walked in, she started scribbling madly on a whiteboard we had managed to snag from one of the hotel's many conference rooms. Most of what she was writing didn't make any sense, but I was pretty sure almost none of it was in English. I was sure once Andee started talking, everything would become clear.
She popped the lid back on the marker and looked at the board for a moment before letting out a satisfied sigh. "There's not much time for me to explain everything that happened," Andee said, her back to everyone. "To be honest, I don't remember most of it. But some of the things I do remember – the things I'm probably not supposed to remember – are Kronos' plans of attack. And tomorrow night, Kronos' forces are going to attack the Empire State Building."
People started whispering to each other in panic, but Andee ignored them.
"Kronos doesn't think we know this, so we've got a slight advantage. Whenever you can rest, do it. We'll organize sentry duty and as soon as your shift is over, sleep. Rest. Clean up. Do whatever you need to do to be able to give two hundred percent tonight. This is going to be the biggest fight yet and if we don't win, everything is lost. Everything is about to get ten times as hard and you are still going to have to give two hundred percent, no matter how crappy you feel. Before they attack the Empire State Building where the final fight for Olympus will happen, we are going to face the Drakon."
This caused even more panic among the campers.
Andee looked around the crowd and suddenly realized something. "Where's the Ares cabin?"
"Clarisse is refusing to fight because of some stupid pride thing," I told her.
"No," Andee said nervously. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Someone needs to convince her and her siblings that they have to fight with us. Only a child of Ares can defeat the Drakon."
The room fell completely silent. We were doomed. "I'll talk to her." Everyone turned to look at Silena, who stood at the back of the room with a few of her cabinmates. "If Clarisse will listen to anyone, it's me. Besides, I'm not a great fighter so my time is probably better spent at camp trying to get her to come back."
Andee watched her carefully for a few moments in silence before saying, "I think that's a really good idea. Do whatever it takes. I know you make this happen, Silena."
Silena nodded before leaving the room. Andee had a strange look on her face as she watched her leave. "Okay, now it's time to plan our attack. The most effective way to attack is going to be with a blitzkrieg. Blitzkrieg is German for 'lightning war' and it was used in the first half of World War II. Pretty much, it involved the coordinated efforts of tanks, mobilized infantry, artillery and aircraft to overwhelm the enemy."
"That could actually work," Malcolm said, stroking his chin.
"Aha, see?" Andee said. "So here's what we do. We position people on pegasi, we have our best archers up in Olympus to shoot down on the enemy, we have people working the front lines with swords and daggers, and we have people working in artillery. We need to sort out these duties as soon as possible because we don't know the exact time they'll attack. And with a Drakon and Typhon in the mix, we need to be on our toes.
"You all know what your strong points are, so go with that. Cabin leaders, organize your troops and make sure everyone has a duty. So sharpen your weapons, get new ones if you need to, rest, heal and get ready because this is going to be one hell of a fight. And no matter what happens, do not back down," Andee said. The campers actually started to cheer before they went off to get prepared.
Andee watched as everyone dispersed, gripping her necklace thoughtfully.
"You okay?" I asked, hugging Andee from behind.
She leaned into me, the tension leaving her body. "Yeah, there's just a lot on my mind right now."
I nodded to show I understood. "It's good to have you back," I whispered, playing with the hem of her shirt. "I missed you so much."
"I missed you too," Andee whispered back, one of her hands covering mine. Her warmth immediately spread from my hand to the rest of my body. The cold metal of the bracelet touched my skin. I immediately felt horrible that this had all happened to her – I could have prevented it. "Stop overthinking it – these are a much better alternative to death or losing everyone I care about. A couple of bracelets are no big deal."
"What, are you a mind reader now?" Andee turned and gave me a look that told me she most definitely was not. "I just wish it hadn't turned out like this," I told her honestly. She turned around to look at me, her eyes suddenly harsh.
"The best thing you can do right now is keep your head together and kill Kronos. That's what everyone, including myself, needs you to do. He ruined my life, as well as the lives of everyone else here, and he doesn't deserve to breathe the same air as us, let alone rule Olympus." I didn't think I had ever seen her look and sound so fierce in my life. And she had gone through a long period of pretending she hated me.
"I'm going to try, Andee. I promise."
Her hands grazed my neck and she continued to look at me. "Just remember you're not alone in this, Perce, you have every single one of us standing behind you. Even at the final moment, when it's between you and Kronos, we're all going to have your back." She leaned forward and lightly brushed her lips against mine. "I love you, Percy Jackson."
"I love you too," I told her, lightly kissing the tip of her nose. She scrunched her face a little as she smiled and took my hands. "I like what you did with your hair."
"You do?" she asked.
"Very sudden, but it suits you," I said, running a hand through it. "It looks gorgeous."
"Thank you," she said, let out a small breath of relief. "I was just going to cut it off with my dagger, but Silena stopped me and helped me out. After what happened, I just…I felt…"
"Violated?" I suggested. She nodded. "Were you…I mean…well…"
She shook her head. "Not like that. Not at that point. Just like, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. I just don't want to look like the person he controlled."
"You don't," I said. "You're way more beautiful and are even more powerful."
"I love you," she whispered, kissing me lightly. "I can't wait until this is all over."
"Me neither," I told her honestly. "It'll be nice to do normal mortal things for a while."
"How do we do normal mortal things? I don't think I've ever done those before," Andee said with a smile, her hands moving to my shoulder. "Normal or not, we're going to make it through this."
"I hope so."
"We will."
Someone rushed into the room, catching both of our attention. It was Annabeth. "They're attacking the Empire State Building."
Andee and I exchanged exasperated looks before arming ourselves. I slipped on armor while Andee strapped her dagger to her thigh, slung her quiver of arrows over her back and grabbed her bow. As a last minute thought, I saw her grab her bag and sling that over her shoulder as well.
We ran the entire way there and midtown looked like a warzone. Fights were breaking out everywhere, but the smoke and noise showed the majority of the fighting was happening farther south. After a quick sweep of the area, I saw the Hunters setting up defenses down on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. On Park Avenue, Jake and the rest of the Hephaestus cabin were leading an army of statues into battle. Grover, the nature spirits and the Demeter cabin had turned 6th Avenue into a jungle, trapping all the enemy inside. The south was clear, but the enemy flanks were coming around and in only a few more minutes, I knew we'd be surrounded.
"We have to go wherever we're needed most," Annabeth said, looking around. It must've escalated pretty quickly since she left to get us.
"That's everywhere," Andee said as she stared ahead. "I need to help my brothers – they're my family and we have to stand together. I…I just don't know what I can really do anymore."
"Look, I'm going to go help my siblings, so you two stay here and fight with the Apollo cabin," Annabeth said. It was like she understood that I didn't want to leave Andee right now, especially when she didn't know what she could do.
So we rushed into battle, taking on herds of empousai, dracaenae, telekhines and enemy demigods. I noticed Andee was only fighting with weapons – she wasn't using any of her powers like she normally did.
We continued to make our way over to the Empire State Building, and too many of our own were lying wounded in the streets while others were missing.
"I have to help them," Andee said urgently, swinging her bag off. "Cover me."
I nodded as she pulled out the little kit we had used on Annabeth before and filled an empty needle with her own blood. She injected it into anyone who was lying hurt, sang a hymn and whispered for them to get out of the way and hide until it started working.
While I made sure Andee was safe, I looked to see what everyone else was doing. Annabeth had put on her invisibility cap and was sneaking up on the enemy, Thalia was warding off monsters with Aegis, Grover was bonking monsters on the head with his cudgel, and Mrs. O'Leary was using giants as chew toys.
The entrance to Olympus was only twenty feet behind us, guarded by a small ring of demigods, Hunters and nature spirits. "Hold your lines!" Andee roared, her hands flickering a little.
Behind the enemy troops surging towards us, a few blocks to the east, a bright light started to shine. I realized that it was Kronos on a gold chariot, led by giants holding torches and a group of Hyperboreans behind him carrying purple and black banners bearing the symbol of the scythe.
"We have to fall back to the doorway," Annabeth said, her voice taking on an almost unnoticeable edge of panic. "Hold Olympus at all costs!"
"Oh gods," Andee muttered under her breath, taking down monster after monster.
A loud horn rang across the area. At first I thought it may be the Hunters but as it got louder, I saw that it was a band of centaurs, led by the one and only Chiron. Monsters began running away from us, trying to escape as volley after volley of arrows showered over the enemy, vaporizing them on the spot.
"Sorry we're late," Chiron said, smiling a little.
"Yes!" Andee cheered as all of our allies got a fresh burst of energy to fight with. The Party Ponies kept shouting different things about their chapters kicking monster butt.
Kronos was not impressed. Especially when he told his troops not to run, and then a Hyperborean stumbled and sat on him. We managed to push them back several blocks and with the Party Ponies holding their line, the enemy fled.
I knew right then that if we even tried to go after them, we'd be spread too thin. What we really needed to do right now was regroup. That was too sudden of an attack and I had a feeling that wouldn't be the last time that happened. At least for now, with dawn approaching, we had bought ourselves some time.
Everyone was now rushing over to Chiron to hug him and welcome him to the fight. Having him here was a huge symbol of hope for us, I think. He was the person who had trained most of us, and to have him fighting alongside of us was an unimaginable honor.
"Andee, I cannot express how great it is to see you back to your original self," Chiron said, hugging Andee tightly. She just nodded as she returned the embrace. "I apologize for taking so long. Centaurs can travel a lot faster than other creatures because of our ability to bend distance as we ride, but getting all of the Party Ponies together was a different matter altogether."
"The important part is that you're here now," Annabeth said, grinning hugely.
We all moved closer to the Empire State Building as everyone starting going off to heal the wounded and fix their weapons and armor.
"What's the progress on Typhon?" I asked Chiron.
"The gods are tiring, Percy. Dionysus' chariot was smashed and thrown somewhere over the Appalachians so he won't be able to fight anymore. Hephaestus is also out because she was thrown from battle so hard that he created a new lake in West Virginia. Neither of them can heal soon enough to help. The gods have slowed Typhon's approach but he can't be stopped. By this time tomorrow, Typhon will be in New York."
"I don't think we can hold another day," Annabeth said grimly, stretching her arm where she had been hurt.
"We're going to have to," Thalia said. "I'll get my Hunters to start setting up new traps around the perimeter."
"I had better go check on the Party Ponies and make sure they're not getting into too much trouble," Chiron said before trotting off.
"Well, I guess this gives me an opportunity to help with the healing," Andee said.
"I'll come with you," I said immediately.
She smiled sadly at me, like she knew that I didn't want her to be alone. She laced her fingers with mine and led the way over to the make-shift field hospital her brothers had set up. She pulled out her needles and started injecting her blood into the demigods that were the worst off.
In the blink of an eye, I was transported to a dingy bar with country music playing and a sign hung up that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOBBY EARL'. I looked over and saw Dionysus playing Pac-Man. I stood there in confusion for a few moments before saying, "Mr. D?"
"Really, Peter Johnson, how long will it take you to recognize me on sight?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the game.
"About as long as it will take you to figure out my name," I retorted.
He went on to tell me that part of him was buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine and that it would be quite a few more hours until he regenerated. His consciousness was here for the moment because wherever there's a party, his presence is invoked. I definitely didn't know that before. It kind of made me never want to have to go to a party ever again.
He reassured me (in the best way that Mr. D can 'reassure') that I would be sent back to my life in a moment as if nothing had happened. He then proceeded to warn me that if Olympus falls, all the gods will fade and civilization as we know it will unravel. Not like we hadn't already figured that out. Apparently the gods needed mortal to rescue Olympus because if they didn't care enough to save Olympus, then everyone would fade. Otherwise they wouldn't have kept us around for so long. Once again, that was very comforting.
He then informed me that Kronos didn't have full power yet, but that when he did, his mortal body would burn away and then take on his true form. A titan's true form is about ten times more powerful than a normal god's, meaning his very presence could turn you into a pile of ashes. Once that happened, there was no way he could be stopped.
Before sending me back, he made me promised to keep Pollux alive. He was the last of his kin left. When I was back on 5th Avenue, Andee didn't seem to realize I had gone. She glanced back and asked, "What?"
I pulled her aside and told her everything that Dionysus had told me and she nodded, telling me that she had suspected the same thing. "We need to go tell Annabeth and Chiron."
I nodded and looked outside when my eyes came to rest on a blue Prius. A blue Prius with a bumper sticker that read "What does a timid writer need? INKcouragement!". It was Paul's car.
I raced down the street, barely aware of Andee chasing behind me, yelling at me to stop. When I got to the car, I saw my mom and Paul passed out inside. In a heart-wrenching moment, I realized they must have seen the blue lights in the sky and thought it was my signal.
Chiron was by my side in an instant, telling me that I needed to calm down because the best thing I could do for them was to stay focused. I glanced in the back of the car and saw a black and white Greek jar sitting there. Pandora's jar.
"How did that get there? It's locked in a vault in the Plaza!" I said frustratedly.
Chiron and Andee looked at me expectantly, so I explained how Prometheus had given the jar to me and I was to open it if I wanted to surrender. Chiron then told me that the jar would follow me where I went and tempt me to open it. Oh, and it would appear when I was at my weakest, which apparently was right now.
I sliced through the car window and got the jar out, before reaching inside and putting the car to neutral. A few demigods standing nearby came over and started pushing the car out of the way and I was about to take the jar to Olympus when I heard a helicopter flying nearby. I looked up and saw the initials DE on the door. I didn't have to see the name up close to know it stood for 'Dare Enterprises'.
I cursed. "That's Rachel. She came here because she's been getting weird dreams and visions and she needed to get a message to me."
Chiron nodded, looking at the helicopter with interest. "Andee, I think this is a perfect job for you with your newfound ability of aerokinesis."
Andee paled dramatically. "Me? I don't have that ability. I never have."
"The other campers saw you use it when you were under Kronos' control. He has unlocked that power in you, so use it to your advantage."
"I can't –I can't even access any of my normal powers right now."
"Yes, you can, Andee. Annabeth told me those bracelets do not inhibit your powers, just keep them at bay. There are two lives on the line, so you are going to need to figure this out quickly," Chiron said calmly.
Andee looked like she was going to faint from the pressure. I had never seen her look so scared to use her abilities. That was something she had always used without any hesitation.
"Come on," I told Andee, taking her hand and getting as close to the helicopter as we could on the ground. I could see that Rachel wasn't asleep.
Andee tentatively reached her hands towards the helicopter but nothing was happening. "Focus, Andee," I said carefully, watching the helicopter.
"I'm trying," she whispered, her body tense as she tried to force the power out. I put my hands on her shoulders and rubbed them a little, trying to help her relax. "Come on, come on," she whispered as she watched the helicopter.
"Andee!" I shouted when the helicopter was a few seconds away from crashing into the Empire State Building. Something must have jolted her because the helicopter stopped dead in its track. She started moving her hands, leading the helicopter closer to where we were and then gently landing it on the ground.
I let out a huge breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding and Andee looked like she was going to pass out. I turned her so she was facing me. "You did it, Dee, you saved them." She nodded numbly, running her hands through her hair. I brought her closer and pressed my lips to her, giving her a light kiss which seemed to shake her out of her reverie.
"Oh gods, Percy, I've never been so scared to use my powers," she admitted. "Even when I had no control before, I had control because I'd grown up having to control them somewhat. Now I have nothing."
I cupped her face in my hands. "Don't be scared. They're still there waiting for you to use them. You just have to relax and remember that you are in control of them, not the other way around."
She nodded before leaning in and wrapping her arms around me, trying to get her breathing back under control.
Rachel climbed out of the helicopter, her face pale and green-tinged as she made her way over to us. Andee loosened her grip a bit so that she was holding me from the side, looking at Rachel. Her body tensed a little.
"You saved my life," Rachel said gratefully, looking at Andee.
"Let's not make it a habit, okay? It was too close for anyone's liking," Andee said, watching Rachel intently. "Probably not a good idea to come flying into a warzone, either."
"I had to be here. I knew Percy was in trouble." I could tell Andee was stopping herself from saying something a little rude, so I gave her a look.
"So what's the message you wanted to give me?"
"How did you –?"
"A dream."
Her shorts were covered in all sorts of Greek letters, drawings, camp beads, and sketches of monsters and faces of gods. Rachel explained that she'd been drawing and writing things she didn't understand because they were all Ancient Greek. She told us that something was about to happen, a trick that ends in death. Of course, she didn't know whose death.
"The message I wrote on the beach was different because it had your name in it," Rachel said. "I don't know what it means, but it said 'Perseus, you are not the hero'."
I had no idea what that meant. Not the hero of the Prophecy? Not the hero who defeats Kronos? I had so many questions but no one could answer them. I had a feeling Andee knew but wasn't telling. That was typical. Had to be some code for people who received Prophecies.
Chiron came up and began to talk to Rachel, becoming very interested when it was mentioned that she's been seeing things. The fact that she didn't fall asleep fascinated Chiron enough as it was. I knew in an instant that he thought she may be the next Oracle. I remembered what happened to May Castellan when the process that been tried on her, and I asked him to please be careful.
"Percy, Miss Date and I need to have a long talk," Chiron said. "Your parents are safe so why don't you go back to the Empire State Building and get some sleep? Some bunks have been set up in the lobby."
"Everybody keeps telling me to sleep. I don't need sleep," I mumbled.
Andee grinned. "Have you looked at yourself lately, Perce? You look like shit."
I looked down and saw that my clothes were scorched, burned, sliced and tattered from the night of battling. "Well, not everyone can look perfect in the middle of a battle," I retorted and Andee rolled her eyes. "Besides, I have the curse of Achilles, so I should be fine, right?"
"Percy, the curse may make you invulnerable in combat but it makes your body tire faster. I remember Achilles and whenever he wasn't fighting, he was sleeping. Twenty naps a day, at least. You need your rest, Percy, but you may be our only hope."
I sighed and pretended I was going to do as he said. As soon as we walked through the doors of the Empire State Building, I knew we had more preparations to do. So I started to go do that. "Percy!" Andee shouted, waking a few people up in the process. "You have to sleep. You are going to need it if you are going to survive the next twenty-four hours. And boy, you are going to survive these next twenty-four hours." I gave her a look. "I'll sleep with you if that helps."
"Fine," I sighed, walking over to one of the bunks and laying down. Andee came and laid down with me, both of us squiggling and trying to find a comfortable position on a bunk made for one person. We finally settled down into a spooning position, and I wrapped my arm around her stomach and kissed her neck before letting myself fall asleep.