Narrator / January 10th
Even the littlest of cracks can cause the greatest of damage. The Mist, also known as the boundary between realities and worlds, seemed to be in danger of a great threat arising. Ever since that entity who must not be named was released from the book, that fabric of reality has been tearing, causing more and more worlds to coincide with each other.
Percy meeting Layton was the result of this. Normally, The Mist kept those two apart, for their worlds were very different. But with The Mist being injured, people are beginning to find out just how big their world is. From groups of superheroes that fight aliens to demigods that battle ancient monsters, only one person truly knows how big their supposedly small world is.
And they, were caught in the middle.
The wind whistled past the desert of Australia, causing the grass in the bushes to dance around. Other than that, the only sounds in the vastness of the land were two pairs of footsteps that walked towards a singular and straight direction. In the center of all of these universes, the very thing that connects them all, Layton seemed to be one interesting demigod. Each year of his life was completely different from the last. Starting at the young age of three, he began his training under the Sorcerer Supreme to master his magical abilities that he inherited from Hecate. Once, when he was about five, he had gotten into accident surrounding a magical stone called the time stone, and he inherited a wide variety of abilities. Years after that he travelled with another demigod, going place to place, with no purpose in the world.
Then, at the special double-digit age of ten, he died and was resurrected by the goddess Hera as her champion: Moon Knight. Shortly after, he met the Norse god of thunder, Thor. Through this meeting, he met other heroes that formed a team called The Avengers. Yet, they never knew his true identity, and simply knew him by the crescent moon on his chest.
Everything changed three years later, when Hera tasked him with finding Luke Castellan. Kronos had other plans, and through a failed curse, the hero quickly descended into the darkness - forced to watch from their body as they ruthlessly took out target after target. Combine with this style of life, the abilities he inherited from the time stone began to grow and become more visible. Time suddenly felt like something he could touch and interact with, like a play-toy.
While still greatly limited from interacting with it, such as time-travel, the newborn assassin found himself able to skip it instead. Even if it was just for once second, it was enough to catch any unsuspecting opponent off guard. Through adaptation, Layton learned another technique that he called The Phantom Fist. Simply by hitting the air in front of him, a cylindrical shockwave of force would be sent forward and collide with the opponent.
And now, his life had entered its latest stage in a long line of wackiness. The Hidden Archives were releasing some of the galaxies greatest threats, with the most recent being the Shadow-Dragons. The One Who Lurks wants nothing more than to rule the galaxy, eventually the universe, and the one thing in his way being The Olympians - the very people that put him in that wretched book. But he wasn't a brainless monster, yet, he was an intelligent being that knew how to play his cards correctly. And at first, it seemed like his first card had gone well. Resurrect a fallen demigod, exponentiate his powers, and force him to kill his friends.
But it wasn't the first time they died.
"Where are we going?"
"We don't have much time until Syn finishes his latest resurrection"
"I don't get how he can just resurrect people" Chloe said
"The Shadow-Dragons are primordial beings that outdate Gaea and The Olympians. They represent vengeance and imperfection. When the Earth was formed, and the Greek gods came to be, the two groups became attached. Glued together. They have a lot of control over the way of things, and they tend to exploit that. Both the time stone and the reality stone were stolen by Syn and the other dragons, and they have another one in their possession - the missing soul stone. As the name suggests, it can revive people" Layton explained
"I still don't know where we're going"
"Syn's base of operations isn't too far from here. If we can get our hands on the soul stone, we can stop him from resurrecting any more people" Layton said. "Syn knows that by resurrecting Luke, that he's not only gaining a powerful warrior, but also playing a psychological game with Percy and Annabeth"
"Can't we just fly Asperox in there and bust some heads?" Chloe suggested
"Rubrum and Caeruleum can only sustain their combined form for no more than two minutes unless I cast a long spell, but that also decreases their power by a bunch. The soul stone would be able to break up their fusion anyways" Layton replied
"I guess this won't be easy then" Chloe said as her blue katana formed out of the ring on her hand
"The Shadow-Dragons are only second to Black in terms of power. Just their awakening alone caused all of these disasters"
The two continued to walk in silence towards an impending doom. As they got closer to their destination, less and less noise from their surroundings came. Even the wind blowing against the treetops didn't utter a sound, and there was still no wildlife.
"How come Toxicus got mad when you used that attack on him?" Chloe asked
"Which one?"
"The one where your eyes started to glow really red" Chloe described
"I don't know really know myself. It's one of the abilities I developed during my days as an assassin. I just concentrate really hard and they get attacked, though I've never been able to do that with a right mind" Layton said. "I'm not that powerful myself compared to say, Percy, but whenever the darkness comes out, the power difference is almost unnerving"
"Are you still cursed?"
"Kronos's curse is gone, but it's been replaced by something else..."
"Mind telling me?"
Layton's hand twitched. "Addiction"
Augusta, Maine
"You know, I came to kill Jason Grace, but a daughter of Aphrodite... what an excellent combo meal" Toxicus said, slowly approaching the duo
"Nice joke, Bad Breath" Jason replied
The demigods lunged and slashed their weapons against Toxicus's chubby belly, but they simple bounced off and caused their wielders to stumble back.
"Stronger weapons have tried and failed to harm me" Toxicus informed. "Now, how about we skip the warm-up and get straight into the fun"
The ground began to shake heavily as a dark aura consumed Toxicus. Nearby buildings shook and some of the cobblestone slabs that made up the floor slightly levitated off the ground. The Shadow-Dragon slimmed down and his muscles buffed up, along with his other features growing shaper and more dangerous. Arm-blades grew out of his forearms and extended past his wrist.
Piper swallowed. "No chance we can talk this out?"
"I'm not like that fool Syn. There will be no bargaining, demigod" Toxicus denied
Jason and Piper barely managed to move out of the way as Toxicus dived in between them. They sidestepped and the dragon quickly recovered, turning around and slashing his left arm blade. Jason blocked with his golden sword and Piper took that opportunity to lunge forward and stabbed the dragon in the gut.
"Shall I repeat myself? Your weapons are useless"
In an instant, Katoptris melted inside Toxicus and was spat out, being sent skidding across the floor a few feet away from Piper. Jason severed Toxicus's arm and he dissolved into black goo. A long snake-shaped dragon erupted out of it and spiraled up into the sky until it made them look like dust in the wind compared to its size.
"Behold the might of a Shadow-Dragon" it said, the voice seemingly booming across the entire city
Once again, the ground shook with a tremendous force, and thunder boomed in the distance. Buildings suddenly froze as if it were suddenly the ice age again, and cracks began to appear in the cobblestone beneath the demigods.
Knowing he had to act quickly, Jason concentrated on the thunder in the sky around the dragon. Before Toxicus could pick up what he was doing, a massive thunderbolt hit the dragon made of pure black goo, and disintegrated him into ashes. For a moment, everything paused.
"An excellent display of power, but nothing like what I am about to do" Toxicus said. The ash blew into the wind and smoke arose from a sewer up ahead, forming a new dragon - resuming everything.
To the demigods, it felt like the earth was being ripped apart from the force. The cracks in the ground continued to grow in size, threatening to open and swallow them up. Buildings continued to freeze up until they reached a point where one swing of a sword would cause it crumble down.
"What do we do?" Piper asked as she shielded her face with her hands from the strong breeze
"No clue" Jason admitted glumly
"This is only but a fraction of my true power. Once I regain my full strength, we dragons will shatter the cosmos"
"Come down and fight us like a man!" Piper called out
"If you so wish" Toxicus chuckled
To Piper, it all happened so fast. The literal shadow dragon melted down back into Toxicus, who stabbed Jason through the gut with his arm blade. Piper watched in slow motion as Jason began fall backwards, clutching his stomach. She was only brought back by the thud made when he hit the ground.
"A fraction" Toxicus repeated
Piper's hands shook as she took in the sight in front of her - Jason on the ground, Toxicus ready to kill her, so much blood...
"What's wrong Piper McLean? Too scared to fight for your life?" Toxicus mocked. "Then again, you were always the most useless of the seven"
Another intense blast of lightning came down and hit Toxicus, sending pieces of black goo splatting across the vicinity. Piper came out of her trance and rushed over to Jason, kneeling by his side.
"Oh gods, Jason, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that" Piper apologized frantically as she pressed her hand over where he was bleeding out
Jason put his hand over Piper's. "It's fine, Pipes. This isn't how I wanted our vacation to go, but you can never predict what the Fates have in store for you"
"Please don't go. Don't leave me" Piper pleaded, charmspeaking to prevent Jason from closing his eyes
His eyes fluttered. "It's going to be alright"
Piper's lips quivered and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She had completely forgotten about the ground that was currently still shaking, and the strong winds almost blowing her away.
A small chunk of black goo crawled over to the scene. "Don't cry, demigod. Once I'm done regenerating, you'll be joining him in the afterlife"
"No. No afterlife" Piper shook her head, amplifying her charmspeak. "Stay Jason. Stay here in the mortal world"
Three words escaped Jason Grace's mouth - his final ones - before his eyes shut, and the thunder stopped booming in the sky. Toxicus finished his regeneration, and towered over a kneeling Piper and an unmoving son of Jupiter.
"What a disgraceful way to die. For such a powerful demigod, that must've been my easiest kill ever" He said, placing a hand on Piper's head. "But I've changed my mind, Piper. Perhaps I can use you to my advantage..."
Australia
"So theoretically, once this is all over, what're you up to?" Chloe asked, fidgeting her fingers
"Don't know. I shouldn't even be alive" Layton said nonchalantly. "What about you?"
"Probably go back to school and finish my studies. I've always wanted to be an actor"
"Where'd that come from?"
"I'm not really sure. I guess I just got used to always pretending"
Layton hummed in response. "Understandable"
Suddenly, the area became filled with noise. Fast approaching footsteps came towards their direction, and thunder boomed in the distance. Layton and Chloe stared at the demigod who ran up to them, and neither parities knew who was more confused.
"Nico?" Chloe questioned
"Chloe? Wait, Layton?" He replied
"Uh, long story" Layton said
"Normally I'd say we got time, but clearly we don't" Nico said. "I've been tracking down this strange presence coming from around here. It's half-dead but also really powerful"
"The pyramid we need to find is just up ahead. I estimate we only have ten minutes until the resurrection is complete" Layton explained
"Estimate?" Chloe raised an eyebrow beneath her helmet
"It must be because there's a son of Hades here. I can see the flow of time until it's completed, like a visible countdown" Layton said as the demigods finally came close enough to see the large pyramid in front of them.
It towered, seemingly touching the sky, and making the demigods look like small ants. It was striped yellow and red, and the outline of a purple door could be seen towards the tip. Around it, lightning crackled and dark clouds, darker than any nighttime to ever grace the earth, circled.
The three demigods sprinted the rest of the way, but a strong blast of electricity hit the tip of the pyramid and travelled harmlessly down to the bottom. Layton and Nico froze in their tracks, sensing something.
"What's wrong?" Chloe asked. "I'm getting real tired of asking a lot of questions"
"J-Jason..." Nico muttered
"I can feel it too" Layton said
"Guys?"
"Jason... h-he just died..." Nico revealed, his eyes tearing up as he clenched his fists
"Normally I'm not the optimistic one, but if he's really dead, then we need that stone" Layton pointed towards the pyramid
"The soul stone... that's right. It can resurrect people" Chloe said, placing her hand on Nico's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. We're gonna stop this resurrection so we can do our own"
"Y-Yeah" Nico agreed, his stygian iron sword appearing in his hand
Chloe glanced at the pyramid. "Looks like we have a dragon to kill"