Percy / December 4th

The room began to fill with water at a rapid pace, as if someone had ants in their bowl and rushed over to the sink to quickly wash them out. We climbed up onto the alcoves to gain some height, but the water just kept coming, and soon enough it up to our knees.

"Maybe I can blast a hole through the roof with some lightning" Jason said

"Which would crush us by bringing the whole room down" Ryan pointed out

"Or just electrocute us" I added. "I can search the bottom. If this place was built as a fountain, there should be a way to drain this entire thing"

"Then we'll check for any exits in the niches" Chloe replied and I nodded my head

I jumped into the water, but I quickly erupted, gasping and flailing like a child who couldn't swim. Piper held out her hand helped me back up.

"Can't breath" I said. "Not... normal water"

It must've been some kind of poison from the life force of the nymphs, and it was so powerful that even I couldn't control it.

"They're taking our power and draining us" Piper said

"Jason, lightning" I coughed

Jason raised his sword and the room rumbled, but no lightning appeared. Instead, a rainstorm formed at the top of the chamber, and rain poured down onto us, causing the fountain to fill us even faster. Even with that, it wasn't normal rain - dark and yucky.

"That's not what I was going for" Jason said

"Clearly" Ryan sighed

The water up to our necks now, and I could feel all my strength fading, as if it was being sucked into a vacuum slowly and painfully. Maybe we would drown after all...

"We can't fight this. If we hold back then, then it'll only make us weaker" Piper said

"Huh?" Chloe replied

"The horn of plenty... we need to overwhelm the nymphs with fresh water. If we can dilute this poisonous stuff -"

"Can the horn do that?" I said, struggling to keep my head above the water

"Only with your help"

I glanced over and Chloe and Ryan had taken off their helmet because the water had began to seek into it somehow. Jason on my right was looking scared out of his mind.

"I need you all to channel everything you have into the cornucopia. Percy, think about the sea, Jason, more rain. Chloe you can think about the moon and dark clouds. Ryan, you can power it with will" Piper instructed

We all huddled around as the water began to lift us up, and put one hand onto the cornucopia. Nothing happened, and the rising water began to swirl, with our strength continued to fade.

"We're not getting anywhere" I said

"Because we're not working together" Piper cried. "Just picture all your strength leaving you, all your power"

"Alright. Together" Jason said

We continued to concentrate, and a few moments later, clear water blasted out of the horn with an immense force, even pushing us up against the wall. The rain contorted into a white torrent - clean and cold.

"It worked!" Jason celebrated

"We're only filling the room faster" Ryan pointed out

He was right. The water was rising rapidly, and the roof was only a few feet away.

"Don't stop!" Piper insisted. "We have to dilute the poison in the water until the nymphs are cleansed"

Our heads hit the ceiling with a thud, and the rainclouds dissipated into the water as the horn continued to blast out a clean torrent. We held our breathes as we went under the water - bubbles swirling around us and light rippling around the room.

My vision went dark for a moment, but when I regained it, the water was being drained out, so we all kicked up to the surface and gasped for breath once we made it up.

"Jason!" Piper said, concerned for her boyfriend who looked like a lifeless rag doll as the water drained away and left us on a damp floor.

"I think I can help" I knelt next to her and touched Jason's forehead

Water gushed out of Jason's mouth and his eyes flew open. A clap of thunder threw all of us backward a few steps.

"Sorry, didn't mean to do th-"

Piper tackled Jason with a hug and I grinned. "Yup, that was clean water, which I could make come out of you with no problem"

"Thanks" Jason grinned. "But I think Piper's the real hero"

"Yeah, she really did save us all" Chloe rubbed the back of her head and squinted one eye as she did

"She did" echoed a voice

The nine niches glowed and the figures inside reappeared, but they were no longer ugly hags. Rather, beautiful nymphs. Eight of the nymphs dissolved into vapor and floated away, leaving only the one in the center.

"Hagno?" Piper spoke

The nymph smiled. "I didn't think such a sense of selflessness existed in mortals, much less demigods"

"You did kind of try to drown us and suck away our lives though" I said

"Sorry about that one, for I was not myself. You have reminded me of the sun, rain, and the streams in the meadows. Percy, Jason, Chloe, you three reminded me of the sea, sky, and night, and Ryan gave me a greater sense of all of those. Piper, you have good nature, and I'm a nature spirit, so you should believe me" Hagno said and then pointed to the other side of the room where the stairs leading up to the surface reappeared.

Right underneath, a circular opening shimmered into existence, just big enough for us to crawl through.

"You can either return to the surface, or follow the waterway to the giants. But you must choose quickly, because both doors will fade soon after I leave"

"Well I didn't go through all that just to leave" Chloe said

"Right" Jason agreed. "We need to follow those giants"

"Thanks Hagno" Piper said

Narrator / Meanwhile

"Now I end this" Victor declared as he walked up to the trapped Layton, his fist beginning to glow a dark forest green

Layton winced. "You don't understand"

"It's you who doesn't understand"

Victor shot his fist forward and the powered-up punch collided with Layton's gut, knocking him out and finishing the fight.

"Now to get out of here" Victor muttered as he raised his arm that contained a larger wristband with a small screen and buttons

He tapped around and sent a message to his friends, but was beginning to get suspicious when they didn't answer after three minutes. They never took that long to reply.

"Our friends are in trouble"

Maybe, just maybe the assassin was right. But that didn't make Victor regret knocking him out. In fact, he should be allowed to strike him down on the spot - but he knew better than to bring himself down to his level.

"Great!" Victor exclaimed in frustration, his wristband beginning to spark up with electricity

He put his hand on the assassins chest and the wristband released a strong jolt of electricity that awoke Layton, who slowly opened his eyes and took in the sight through his mask.

"You're right. They need us" Victor admitted, willing the vines to crawl back into the walls

Layton dropped to his knees at the command, but quickly stood back up. "I doubt we'll be much help now, but we can still do something"

"How are we going to get there?"

Percy

"That's too easy" Piper frowned at the sight

A hundred yards ahead of us, there was a raised dais with two empty and oversized praetor chairs. In between them was a bronze jar that was clearly made for holding someone.

"We have to save Nico" Jason said

I started across the room, watching out for traps - which was hard because everything looked like a trap. It made me remember just how many times I almost died in the labyrinth.

We jumped over a trench of water and ducked under some empty cages. About halfway to the jar, the ceiling opened over us. A platform lowered, with the purple-haired giant Ephilates standing on it like a big-shot actor.

"At last!" He said. "Honestly, I didn't think you would make it past those nymphs, but it's very good news that you did, because it'll be much more entertaining. In fact, you're here just in time for the main event!"

"Let our friend go" I growled

"Of course, of course" Ephilates said. "But I do fear he's past his expiration date"

On the side, the floor opened up, and another giant rose up on a platform - Otis.

"You see, we were going to let him finish dying in public, but he has no entertainment value what so ever. He's only spent his days curled up sleeping. I mean, what kind of show is that? Otis, tip the car over"

Otis walked over and knocked over the jar. The lid popped off and Nico spilled out onto the floor. His skin was so deathly pale it made my heart pick up. I wanted to rush over and check if he was ok, but Ephilates was in the way.

"Now we must hurry. We should go through your stage directions before the show" Ephilates said

"Stage directions?..." I asked

"Yes!" Ephilates nodded. "Now I know that we were to keep you and the girl Annabeth alive, if possible. But if we're being honest here, she's already doomed. So I hope you don't mind we deviate just a bit from the plan"

My heart raced even faster. "Already doomed? You mean-"

"Let me stop you there" Ephilates interrupted. "She's not dead... yet. But not to worry! We've got your other friends locked up, you see"

"Hazel, Frank and Leo?"

"Yup, those one" Ephilates confirmed. "We can just use them for the sacrifice. We let the Athena girl die, we please Her Ladyship. Then, we use you three for the show! Gaea will be a big disappointed of course, but this is a win-win in the end. Your deaths will be far more entertaining"

"Or, you could let us go" Piper argued. "It would be an amazing plot twist, and definitely far more entertaining"

"Yeah, and it would show just how cool you are" I backed up

Below Otis, Nico began to stir and the giant looked down at him with a kind of distaste.

"Oh! Oh and we can do some dance moves while we escape too! Yeah, we can dance" Piper said

"I'm afraid we cannot do that" Ephilates shook his head. "I am the anti-Dionysus, therefore I have a reputation to uphold. If he believes he knows parties, then he's wrong! His revels are lame compared to what I can do - like when we tried to reach Olympus by stacking mountains"

I glanced back over to Nico, who just started to move ever so slightly. If a fight broke out, I needed him to at least be able to crawl out of the way.

"I'm already getting sick of his shirt" I rubbed my forehead

"Time to fight?" Piper asked

"I believe it is" Ryan agreed, a red samurai katana spiraling to life in his hand

Together, we all charged in, but we quickly found ourselves outmatched. The giants vanished with a puff of smoke, and reappeared on the other side of the room. I dashed over to meet Ephilates but the slot under my feet opened and the walls shot up on each side - separating me from the rest of my friends.

The walls started closing in on me, and I jumped up and grabbed the bottom of a hydra's cage. Piper jumped over a fiery pit and made her way over to Nico who was still weaponless and dazed. Jason, Ryan, and Chloe charged Otis, who thrusted his spear. The three rolled out of the way but the hydra snapped at me, so I swung out of the way - taken out of my thoughts.

I landed in a grove of painted plywood trees that sprang to life, and as I tried to run through them, they shifted positions as if they already knew my next move.

"This is magnificent! Shall I unleashed the hydra now?" Ephilates announced, pulling a lever

I turned around and the cage that had I had hung from earlier was rising towards a small hatch in the ceiling. Knowing the Hydra would go for the city, I threw Riptide like a boomerang, and the blade sliced through the chains.

"You spoiled-sport!" Ephilates shouted as the monster spilled out in front of me

Only then did I realize that I had thrown my sword away, and I would need to wait for it to return. I quickly dodged and rolled to one side as all eight of the hydra heads spit acid at me. In return, the hydra lunged but I ducked behind a giant hamster wheel.

At the dais, Piper and Chloe were guarding Nico as leopards tried to advance, eyeing the son of Hades are their latest prey. To their right, Jason and Ryan battled Otis, who looked mad about loosing his tiara, with swords against a large spear.

Not too far from me, a strange contraption was tucked into the wall, containing rows of explosives - grenade launchers, a giant Roman candle, and other wicked weapons. They were all wired together, and targeting the same direction, with one single lever connected to them. I bolted towards the device and the hydra quickly charged after me.

"How about we start with explosives along the Via Labicana! Our audiences can't wait forever after all" Ephilates said

I scrambled behind an easel and turned it so that it was facing the giant. The hydra continued to charge at me, blocking my view of the giant. If I got lucky, this thing would take down two birds with one stone.

"Duck and cover!" I shouted to my friends

I jumped to one side as the easel fired. The hydra was vaporized without delay, but the recoil force knocked the easel over sideways, sending projectiles shooting around the entire area. Across the room, sandbags began to rain down onto Piper and Chloe. Piper attempted to get Nico to safety, but one of the bags fell on her and knocked her down.

Jason saw the scene and tried to rush over, but Ephilates swung his spear and hit him flat in the chest, sending him flying through some crates. And out of all of the places he could land, he landed on the worst possible - me. The impact sent us both rolling and when we stopped, we groaned and organized ourselves.

Chloe helped Piper up, and Nico sat up next to them, looking around with confusion.

"Percy! The controls!" Jason pointed

I found Riptide back in my pocket, so I uncapped the sword and lunged at the switchboard, slashing the controls which released a shower of sparks.

"No you fool! You've ruined the spectacle!" Ephilates complained and then swung his spear like a bat, smacking me right in the chest.

I fell to my knees and Jason attempted to run over to me, but Otis began to charge in. We stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the twin giants. On the Dias, Piper was still on the floor and Chloe was protecting her while Nico was still only slightly conscious.

"Are you tired Percy Jackson? You cannot kill us" Ephilates mocked

"That, I agree with" Otis said. "You both will pay for what you have done"

In the center of the room, by Piper and the others, a bright green light was floating a few feet off the ground, flickering intensely. The light exploded and fate graced us with backup.

"More demigods" Ephilates muttered

"Looks like we're late too the party" Layton said as he looked around the room

"Better late then never, clearly" said the boy next to him

Layton wore his usual armor - a white suit made from kevlar and detailed with a mask, hood, and a cape. On his right stood a boy with identical armor to Chloe and Ryan, except it was a forest green color and had a golden bear insignia on the helmet.

"You're both dead, wether or not we have a god on our side" I said

"Well, that would be a shame" said a new, but familiar voice

On my right, a platform lowered from the ceiling. A man in a purple camp shirt and khaki shorts descended, leaning on a pinecone-topped staff.

"Mr. D" I said under my breath

"So glad you all could join us" said a different voice, except it was more... clear than usual

I turned around and there stood the man who haunted my dreams - Xander. His dark robe concealed his identity but you knew it was him by the hunch on his back and the way his hands were out in front of him, as if he was going to pounce onto you at any given moment.

The floor shifted multiple times so that we all stood on one side of the room and the giants and Xander stood across from us. From the god to Xander, everything suddenly went quiet. Machines halted to a stop and the wild animals stopped growling.

"Looks like this is it" Layton muttered