Leo
Not to brag, but we totally deserved the standing ovation that we got when we landed. Ghosts cheered around and us and threw confetti as Bacchus walked around the stadium.
"That was a show my friends! And of course, I participated. I killed two giants!" Bacchus said
As we disembarked from the ship, the crowd of ghosts that had watched whatever went down shimmered and vanished. Piper came back with Nico, who had somehow avoided the fight.
"Well, that was fun" Bacchus said as he looked around the room. "You have my permission to continue on your voyage"
"Your permission?" Percy snarled
Part of me wanted to jump in and stop Percy before we got turned to ash by the god, and another wanted to watch how this would unfold.
"Yes, but your voyage may be harder than your expecting" Bacchus raised an eyebrow
"What do you mean?" Percy questioned
"You should try the parking lot behind the Emmanuel Building - the best place to break through. Now, good-bye, my friends. Oh, and uh, good luck with your other little matter"
The god vanished into a cloud of misty that carried a faint smell of grape. I looked around and noticed three unfamiliar people - demigods wearing colored armor.
"Hey, who are you guys?" I pointed to them and raised an eyebrow
"Well, it's kind of a long story" said the blue one, removing their helmet
My jaw dropped a bit at the sight - a beautiful girl with baby blue eyes and short blonde hair. Though, she seemed to be a bit older than me, maybe around three years.
"Then we'd better get caught up" Layton suggested
Time Skip
"Smokes" I said
"So Hera has some kind of elite group of demigods then" Jason said. "And clearly she hasn't introduced them to each other"
"Introduction leads to curiosity, which leads to challenge, rivalries, disputes, and incorporation" Layton explained
"Yeah, but I totally beat you in our fight" Victor chuckled
"Whatever," Layton dismissed, "point is that we all have one common enemy. Xander. In around twenty-four hours from now, Majin Kai gets free and he's going straight for Rome"
"And the Romans are still planning on attacking Camp Half-Blood" Piper reminded
I sighed. "So we have to choose between camp and an entire city"
Percy turned to Nico. "So you knew about the camps all along - meaning you could have told me who I was and everything since the first day at Camp Jupiter... but you didn't"
"Sorry, Percy" Nico apologized and slumped against his seat. "I discovered Camp Jupiter last year after my dad led me there. He kept telling me that the gods kept the camps separate for centuries, and that I shouldn't tell anyone. The time just wasn't right... I thought it was to find a place for Hazel, but he told me it had something to do with those doors"
"The Doors of Death have two sides," Hazel said, "the first in Greece - the mortal side of the portal"
"Where exactly is it?" Piper asked
"They call it The House of Hades" Nico answered and there was a momentary pause. "It's this underground temple in Epirus. I can mark it on a map, but the mortal side of the portal isn't the problem. The other side in... in..."
"Tartarus" Percy guessed
Nico nodded. "They pulled me in there, Percy. The things that I saw... not good..."
"No mortal has ever gone to Tartarus and returned alive" Hazel said. "It's a maximum-security prison where old Titans and enemies of the goons are bound"
"There's two mortals that have returned from Tartarus, technically" Layton said
"Who? A demigod?" Nico questioned, still shaken
"Both of them are written in the archives. The first I find myself mentioning a lot - the most powerful and dangerous threat written. We don't say his name, but we just call him Black. He was a demigod, the most powerful to ever live, and the best user of ki known to man" Layton explained
"I... I think I heard him" Nico said quietly. "When they pulled me down there, something kept trying to talk to me. He said that if I knew his name, the gods would punish me and made sure I stayed silent. But, he added that he needed me alive for something"
"Both Black and another powerful threat from the archives named Syn are out of the archives, and they're in Tartarus. It just shows what's down there. Going down there is certain death" Layton explained
"Then we sail to Epirus, and close the gates from the other side" Percy said
"If only it were that easy" Nico sighed. "The doors need to be controlled from both sides to be closed, like a double seal. Maybe if we all worked together we can defeat Gaea's forces and Xander, who's also guarding the door. But unless we have a team fighting at the same time on the side in Tartarus..."
"There has to be a way" Jason insisted
No one volunteered anything.
Annabeth
I wasn't even done, and I already reached my limit. I had been attacked by ghosts, broken my ankle, and chased by an army of spiders. Now, I was facing Arachne, the monstrous half-spider who wanted to kill me and all my siblings alike.
"So um, tell me about the tapestry" I requested
"Why does it matter? You're about to die" Arachne retorted
"Yeah, but... um, the way you captured the light is amazing. And is that real golden threads?"
Arachne smiled smugly. "Not gold, but a bled of bright yellow and other dark hues. It gives it a three-dimensional effect"
"So did you see the scene yourself?" I asked
"Silence" Arachne ordered. "You are only trying to delay your death. I will not be fooled"
"Oh, this is sweet for my ears!" Arachne said
In a nutshell, I fooled Arachne... mostly. I explained that I could work a double-agent against my mom, attempting to get her work into Mount Olympus, considering I was working on redesigning it.
"If I die down here, you can go on and keep living in the dark. Gaea destroys the gods or whatever, and you will never realize that you're the better weaver"
I moved, trying to keep weight of my injured ankle, causing a need crack to break the surface of the floor.
"Careful! The foundations of the shrine have been damaged for centuries!" Arachne said. "My webbing is the only thing holding the entire room together. One false move, and you'll fall all the way down into Tartarus"
"Ok. Um... as I said... I would love for your tapestries to decorate Olympus. And then, you could rub your craftsmanship into Athena's nose for eternity. But there's only one way I can do that... no, too difficult"
"No!" Arachne cried. "This is unacceptable! I must have my work on Mount Olympus! What must I do!"
I shook my head. "Sorry, I really shouldn't have said anything. Just push me into Tartarus or something..."
"I refuse!"
"Just kill me"
"I will not take orders! Tell me what I must do! Or... or...-"
"You'll kill me?"
"Yes! Wait, no! I must present my work on Mount Olympus!"
"Well... I guess I can pull a few strings" I said
"I excel at that! I'm a spider!"
"Let's see. To get your work on Mount Olympus, we need a proper audition... pitch the idea... submit a proposal, and put together a portfolio" I explained
"That does sound a bit difficult" Arachne grumbled. "Maybe I will just kill you..."
Oh gods.
"Or perhaps you should listen" a deep and echoey voice suggested, originating from below the cracks in the floor. The voice didn't sound human, more like an entity of sorts.
"S-Syn, why I... perhaps I should" Arachne said
Whatever that was, if it was making Arachne nervous, it was definitely something that shouldn't be messed with. Despite that, I still asked: "Who is that?"
"None of your concern" Arachne dismissed sternly. "Now, about that-"
"Slow down Arachne. We have time..." the voice said. "Annabeth Chase, it truly is a pleasure to see you've come this far. And I am lucky to have been released from that wretched book. The gods surely made the mistake of writing about Kronos. It shows their carelessness and stupidity. They understood the rules and abused the system..."
"Um, right..." I managed out
"Regardless, I've watched your progress over the years. You and the son of Poseidon's lives have been like a little TV show for me - one that I can interact with..."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Syn, the latest in a long line of Shadow-Dragons. We dragons are birthed by the mistakes of the gods. I myself was born when the sea of Poseidon stirred Percy Jackson" the voice explained. "You will find out more later. I hope to meet you in person. For now, goodbye..."
As the voice quieted, I felt the cold and icy presence - which I had only noticed when it began to leave - exit.
Without hesitation, Arachne got to work after Syn left, following my instructions for the plan I had.
"There's a flaw" I said
"What?! Where! Impossible! I followed all your instructions-"
"Inside" I answered. "Crawl in and see it for yourself. It's right by the middle"
"I do not make mistakes" Arachne shook her head
"It's small, you can probably fix it. I just don't want to show the gods anything but the best of your work"
"Very well, I will fix this flaw. Where is it?"
"In the middle"
Just as I hoped, the spider's abdomen fit, but only barely. As she pushed her way in, the braided strips of silk expanded to accommodate for her.
"I see no flaw!" She said
"Odd" I frowned. "Come out and I'll take another look"
Arachne wriggled, trying to get out, but the woven tunnel around her held her in. She continued to try and get out, but the trap was already stuck to her abdomen.
"What is this? I am stuck!" She called
"It's just a piece of art called Chinese Handcuffs. Or at least a different variation of it"
"Treachery!" Arachne trashed around, desperately trying to get out
"It was just a master of survival" I said. "You were going to kill me either way, weren't you?"
"Of course! You're a child of Athena!... I mean, no! I keep my promises!"
"Right" I stepped back. "You stay there, I'm going to call my friends"
"To tell them about my artwork?" Arachne asked miserably
"The artwork that I'm going to display on Mount Olympus won't be yours. The Athena Parthenos belongs there - right in central park of the gods" I replied
"That's terrible!"
"Well, it won't happen right away. First we need the statue to be taken to Greece. A prophecy told us it has the power to help defeat giants. After that it'll be safer in Mount Olympus, and it'll unite the children of Athena to bring peace to Romans Greeks" I explained. "You really did Athena a great service. Thanks"
A strand of silk shot from Arachne's spinnerets and attached itself to a tapestry on a wall. Arachne contracted her abdomen and ripped away the weaving, continuing to roll and randomly shoot silk. The chamber shook from the force.
"Stop! You'll bring the entire cavern and kill us both!" I said
"Better than to see you win!" Arachne replied
Somehow, Arachne managed to twist around in her prison, pointing her abdomen to me. A strange of silk shot out and hit me like a boxer's glove. I fell, and my leg flared up with pain. I slashed around at the webbing desperately with my dagger as Arachne began to pulled me towards the snapping spinnerets. I managed to cut the strand and crawl away, but little spiders were closing in around me.
Sorry Percy, I thought.
Above me, the ceiling of the cavern exploded with a blast of fiery light. The sunlight coming in blinded me, and I got a slight glimpse of the Argo II hovering up above. I jumped to one side, twisting my bad foot in the process.
"Annabeth!" Percy called from somewhere up above
"Down here!" I shouted
The Argo II descended and Percy was leaning over the rail - his smile better than any of the tapestries. Suddenly, there was a large boom and a shake, then everything paused. All of the loud sounds of the collapsing cavern stopped, and chunks of asphalt floated midair.
Percy ran over and gently turned me away from the pit, wrapping his arms around me. I buried my fact in his chest and broke into tears.
"It's alright Annabeth. We're together" He said
Around us, our friends gathered, including some unfamiliar faces. Even Nico di Angelo was there.
"Oh wow, your leg" Piper knelt next to me. "What happened?"
The cavern unpaused and everything collapsed again, hopefully dropping Arachne into the pit. I explained what had happened, but the words didn't really come out that easily. When I was done, my friends seemed amazed.
"You did that all by yourself, and with a broken ankle" Jason said
Percy smiled, impressed. "You really made her weave her own traps. I knew you were good, but Holy Hera! You found the Athena Parthenos!"
Everyone gazed over at the statue.
"What do we do with it? It's huge" Frank asked
"Take it to Greece. Clearly something about it will help against the giants" I said
"The giants' bane stands gold and pale" Hazel recited. "Won with pain for a woven jail... it was Arachne's jail. You tricked her into weaving it"
"Well, it might take some rearranging to get it to fit, but we might be able to get into the stable if the end sticks out. We might have to wrap a flag around the feet though" Leo said as he made a figure picture frame around the statue
"And you guys?" I asked. "What happened to the giants?"
In just a short time, I apparently had missed out on a lot. From Hera's elite demigods to Bacchus slaying some giants and everything...
"The mortal side of the portal is in Epirus" Percy said
"But the other side... Tartarus" Nico added
"I was thinking about something that might work on closing the doors from the other side" Layton glanced over at the pit momentarily. "But it would have to wait until after we deal with Xander"
Ryan nodded. "Right. He's still out there-"
In the distance, a large explosion went off like a nuke, suspiciously colored a familiar shade of red. It looked as if someone had blown the side out of a mountain - chunks of land flew everywhere and the sound clogged my ears.
We all instantly stood up at the sight.
"It's Xander, and... gods... Majin Kai is out already" Layton said
"I thought we still had another day?" Victor questioned
"That was a rough estimate. I think we underestimated Xander's skills" Layton replied. "We have to go... destruction has already begun"