Percy / December 4th
I had honestly thought Zeus himself had come to save us. Then I remembered the whole situation with the Olympians and how they were shutting us demigods out while still expecting us to do their dirty work.
The pirate crew scrambled around in terror at the figure before us - a muscular 6'3 man wearing silver armor and a red cape, wielding a dangerous axe that circulated with electrical energy.
"You will surrender now or face the full force of a god" He said
I had no idea if he was talking to us or to them, until the man grabbed a dolphin warrior and tossed them overboard.
"Who you think you are?" Chrysaor growled. "You're no god"
The man raised his axe and thunder crashed down that was quickly absorbed by it. The force of the collision created shockwaves that nearly knocked me overboard while managing to do so with some of the dolphins.
"It's Zeus..." Leo mumbled, half-conscious
"Zeus is a fool" The man waved his axe dismissively. "My name is Thor, and I won't ask for your surrender again"
His voice was deep and from the sound of it, he had a slight Australian accent buried beneath it. The axe he carried sparked as if ready to release thousands of volts of energy at a moment's call.
Some of the dolphin warriors began to jump overboard and swim away for their life, and Chrysaor watched as his crew quickly disbanded and left him alone, surrounded by a supposed god and seven demigods.
"This isn't over, Jackson" Chrysaor turned to me. "I will have my revenge one day, and you will -"
He was cut off when Thor rolled his eyes and used his free hand to toss him into the sea with the rest of his crew. We ran over to the rail but he had disappeared into the vast sea around us.
Leo got back up to his feet and Piper tended to Jason's wounds. We all had gotten some ambrosia and took a bit of time to calm down before we interrogated our savior, and we gathered around our usual spot, the dining table in the mess hall.
"So... Thor, what are you doing our here?" Leo asked
"Well technically I'm suppose to bring you all in for questioning, but we have more serious problem on our hands" Thor answered, taking a seat at the front, his axe leaning against the chair
"You're name is Thor" Annabeth said, "... like the Norse god of thunder?"
"Ah very perceptive!" Thor replied. "I take it you're the captain of this ship"
Annabeth grinned and shrugged. "I guess"
"So there's Greek, Roman, and Norse demigods?" Jason asked
"There are several pantheons on Midgard. Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, you name it" Thor nodded. "My father is Odin, the sky father. And your captain would be correct, I am the god of thunder"
"So you're like Norse Zeus" Leo said
"Not exactly. I'm the prince of Asgard, while Zeus is the king of uh... Midgard" Thor said
"What's Midgard?" Hazel inquired
"Earth" Annabeth said
"It's one of the nine realms" Thor added
"Nine realms?" I asked
"Look, you all can study Norse mythology another time, we have more serious matters" Annabeth dismissed. "But I did remember Thor having a hammer"
Thor frowned. "Well you see, my sister, the goddess of death, crushed my hammer Mjolnir to pieces. So I travelled to Nivadellir and the dwarves there crafted me a new axe, Stormbreaker"
"So... are you going to take us in?" Leo asked and Piper elbowed him
There wasn't a single doubt in my mind that if it came down to us, even seven on one, we wouldn't be able to take down a literal god of thunder.
"Back in New York there's an organization that works to keep the peace. To do so, they track dangerous targets, and some of you have a file" Thor explained. "Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Piper McLean"
"A file? Why do we have a file? We're not dangerous targets" Piper asked
"To the eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D you all are dangerous and need to be brought in for further questioning" Thor said. "But I take it that if I brought you in, I would only be endangering the world"
"Gaea is awakening and her children, the giants, are trying to destroy the gods. And then there's also this evil demigod that's awakened something called a Majin. If we don't stop him soon, everyone could die" Annabeth explained
"Sadly, pantheons cannot interfere too much with others, with the exception of the Greeks and Romans, or else I'd be happy to help you slay some Titans" Thor said
"What do you mean pantheons can't interfere?" I asked
"Norse weapons and powers would be mostly ineffective on Greeks creatures, and vice-versa" Thor answered
"You know, it sure would help if we all had a weapon like that" Leo touched Stormbreaker and was instantly zapped with enough electric to knock him out of his seat.
"Yes, but you simply lack the strength to wield one. Your body would crumble as your mind collapses into madness" Thor said
"Take his word on that one" Leo groaned, smoke coming off of him as he laid on the ground
"I overheard you were going to Rome. When I was there yesterday, there was definitely a heavy evil presence there" Thor informed
"Xander and Majin Kai should be in Rome. As soon as the lamp is broken, they're going to try and destroy it" Jason said
"My job is to protect Midgard and the nine realms, however I would be useless against this Majin. Which is why I will do my best to help you all on your mission" Thor offered
"That would be a big help" Leo got back into his seat. "But we're kind of running short on time"
"Not a problem at all" Thor picked up Stormbreaker and raised it up
Suddenly, there was a bright light that swallowed up the ship, identical to the one that had brought Thor. And then, nothing happened, except my senses told me that we were somewhere else.
We walked over to the rail and look down at the sight. The sheer vastness of Rome was so great that even I, who wasn't that interested in architecture, was amazed by it.
The city didn't seem to care about any of the boundaries that geography held. It spread out through hills and valleys, and jumped over the Tiber with bridges that sprawled to the horizon. Glass buildings stood right next to excavation sites and a cathedral stood by a line of Roman columns that was next to a modern soccer stadium.
It gave me a sense of infuriation that Xander wanted destroy a place so beautiful.
"Rome. It's beautiful, isn't it?" Thor said
"Yeah, it is" Annabeth agreed. "Thanks Thor"
"Ah, it's no problem. Anything to save the world, right?" Thor replied and she nodded her head
"We should settle down at that park," Leo said, pointing to a wide green area that was dotted with tall palm trees, "and hope that the mist just makes us look like a large pigeon"
Down below, none of the cars or Romans had noticed the large warship standing over to them. I thought maybe the mist would make them see some kind of U.F.O, but they didn't seem to see anything at all.
Then, Thor literally jumped off the ship, and we watched as he safely landed on the ground as if the rules of gravity didn't affect him. The Argo II settled down next to him, on a grassy field.
The noise of traffic was all around us, but I kept hearing people mumble Thor's name as if he was some kind of celebrity. Some people even walked up to him and asked for autographs, to which he gladly signed.
"I told Stark I was famous" Thor chuckled as he signed maybe the hundredth or so autograph
"Famous? How could a god be famous?" Piper asked
"You see, mortals can clearly see anything I do, unlike you demigods that are protected by the mist" Thor revealed. "The Avengers are well known group of heroes that protect the world from large threats, and it's a known fact I'm the strongest on the team"
"I've never heard of them" Leo replied
"I might've seen the name once in a newspaper my dad was reading" Annabeth said we continued to walk
I thought my trip to Alaska was all cool and exotic, but now I was here in the heart of the old Roman Empire, which would be enemy territory for a Greek demigod.
Jason pointed to the base of the archers' wall. "I think that's the Tomb of the Scipios"
"Like Reyna's pegasus?" I asked
"No. They were a noble Roman family" Annabeth clarified. "But wow, this place is absolutely beautiful"
Jason nodded. "I always wanted to come here after all the studying I did on the maps of Rome"
"So do we have any plans?" Hazel asked. "We've only got a day at best, and the entire city is set to be destroyed"
"You're right" I said and then turned to Annabeth. "Did you zero in on that spot from the bronze map?"
Her countenance shifted into one that only I could interpret - keep that dream to yourself or else - "Yeah. It's on the Tiber River. I should -"
"Take me" I finished. "You'd be right"
Annabeth glared at me. "That's not what I meant"
"One demigod walking through Rome alone isn't safe. I'll go with you to the Tiber. From there... you can go alone" I replied, having to force the last part out
"Fine" Annabeth hesitantly agreed. "Hazel, do you think you could find Nico's location?"
"Maybe if I get close enough. But I'll have to walk around the city" She said. "Frank, could you help me out?"
"Of course" Frank accepted without hesitation
Must be nice to be able to help your significant other without any kind of hesitation I thought. I never said or thought relationships were easy, especially when it came to a girl like Annabeth, but I also didn't expect them to be this complicated.
Then again, this was my first and hopefully last relationship, so I didn't really have any experience with this stuff past what my mom advised me with.
"Leo, we could also use your help. The fish-centaurs said we might need your help with something mechanical" Hazel said
"No problem" He responded
Frank's smile faded and turned into more of a glare. Like I said, I was no expert on relationships, but even I knew there was something going on with those three. Ever since the Atlantic, they were never really the same. Not that Frank and Leo were competing for Hazel, but they seemed connected like a murder mystery, and none of them knew which was the victim.
"Jason and I can watch the ship" Piper said. "But Hazel, if you guys find Nico, don't go in there by yourselves"
"Well then, it was a pleasure meeting you demigods. I will be off to find our mutual friend and inform him that you have arrived" Thor announced
"Mutual friend?... you know Layton?" Annabeth questioned
"Moon Knight was a powerful ally of the Avengers at one point" Thor stared into the distance. "He was even capable of lifting Mjolnir at one point. But, stuff happens and you learn to live with fallouts"
"Mjolnir. I remember reading that your hammer was enchanted with some kind of spell" Annabeth said
"Whoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor" Thor recited. "But ever since that wretched Hera sent him on that mission... he was never the same"
Meanwhile / Layton
"I'm still not getting the spell right" I muttered as the glass vase in front of me shattered to pieces
"But with Perseus having learned that one-shot move, you shouldn't have to" Rubrum said
"He might be able to defeat Majin Kai, but Xander is a different problem too. Someone will need to seal him" I replied
"Well if you weren't so stubborn, you could go and ask for help" Caeruleum said
"I don't need help. Not from her" I insisted. "I'll die using the spell before I ever go back there"
In the very far distance, a familiar beam of rainbow-colored energy shot down from the clouds, and the Argo II appeared out of thin air.
"They're here" I said
"And they've found help" Rubrum pointed out
"We only have a day before Xander blows this place to bits. If we act fast... maybe our key won't be so risky"