January 11th
Some jobs required the upmost patience, and this was definitely one of them. Or at least a form of patience - tolerance.
"The Olympians left a book detailing their upmost secrets on a watchtower in the middle of a random sea?"
"You're letting the Mist cloud your vision"
Asperox came to a stop over a red and white stripped watchtower out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The light was on and passing from left to right, shining over nearby ships that carried supplies.
"Land," Layton said, "and try not to make a big entrance"
The dragon nodded its head before swooping down. Once they were only about fifty feet above the chunk of land, it shifted and they were over a vast valley. They landed on a small hill that overlooked a village with normal-seeming people.
"I still don't get it. Why hide it here?" Chloe asked
"You'll see why when we make it to the village. If we didn't have armor, then our chances wouldn't be so good" Layton replied
They hopped off the dragon, who laid on its stomach to take a nap, and descended the hill cautiously, attracting some glances from the villagers. Some were carrying baskets with food, and others seemed to be at their normal jobs. The houses were more like huts, but they were fairly big.
And as soon as they stepped a couple of feet into the village, trouble came to them.
"A couple of demigods, aye?" a villager with a shotgun asked
"I bet they're here to steal that book everyone seems to be after" another added
"Sorry, but we need to get through and get it or else the world could end" Chloe said, making the two villagers laugh
"They aren't the guardians of the book, they just like to think they are" Layton said
"We've dealt with a lot of demigods before, but we've never seen any in such armor" the first villager said, cocking the shotgun and aiming it at them
"Shoot it" Layton dared
The villager chuckled and shook his head before following through with it, but the bullet collided with something. Smoke arose from Chloe's fist that she had extended out, and she opened it - dropping the bullet. In response, both of the villager's eyes went wide.
"Save me the trouble" Layton mumbled, taking steps forward
Reloading the shotgun, the villager fired again, or so he thought. A millisecond before the bullet left the barrel, Layton had put his hand on it and crushed it so there was no space for it to travel.
Needless to say, the demigods had a fairly easy time moving through the village. Adults gazed at them and pushed for their kid to go inside. Some of the more daring ones had a look of interest, and others who had seem the encounter go down looked downright scared. They were accustomed to demigods, but not ones who could catch bullets and crush a shotgun barrel with their bare hands.
"Thought I'd warn you in advance, but we're heading straight into a trap" Layton informed nonchalantly
"Purposefully falling for traps seems to be your thing, doesn't it?" Chloe crossed her arms
"It's how you get things done. I'd rather not sit around and wait for the enemy to strike, when you go right to them, and..."
Layton stopped in his tracks and stomped his foot. The ground shook momentarily and something burst out of the ground - a relatively large mole with a pig-like snout. His face was crinkled, as if he was old, and his claws were pure black.
"Shadow-Dragon number seven - Terram" Layton announced
"That thing is a Shadow-Dragon?" Chloe questioned, pointing her finger at the ugly monstrosity
"I'll have you know that's just a title! We don't all look like dragons!" the mole retorted. "I figured a demigod would try and come get the book so they could try and defeat us, so I took it upon myself to come and guard it"
"You're the elusive one. Not much is known about you, but I'll figure it out" Layton replied
"Don't let the size fool you, I'm just as strong as my siblings" Terram assured, pointing a thumb at himself
"I don't know. You're more of an adorable mole than a Shadow-Dragon" Chloe said
"Let's play a game then. Do you know the rules of whack-a-mole?" Terram asked
"Duh" Chloe confirmed
"Then let's play!" Terram exclaimed
Instantaneously, Terram dug a hole using his claws and burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight. Chloe looked around her desperately, her katana in hand. It took about ten seconds before Terram exploded out of the ground and slashed her in the back with his claws. Just as he landed on the ground, he dug another hole and disappeared.
The pattern repeated, and occasionally Chloe would get close to slicing the mole, but Terram was too quick, agile, and small for her to be able to win at this game. Instead, her armor was quickly filling up with long white scars from Terram's attacks.
"You can do better than that!" Terram mocked as he came up for the umpteenth time and slashed a spot of Chloe's armor before burrowing underground again
"This guy's real stubborn" Chloe sighed as she missed another sword swing, beginning to become exhausted
This time, when Terram came up to slash another spot of armor, he was hit by something and crashed into the wall of a nearby hut. He groaned miserably as he slid down and slouched against the wall.
"You couldn't have done that before?" Chloe said
"Not my fault you're no good at carnival games" Layton shrugged
"That's cheating! I was playing with the girl!" Terram complained, jumping upright and pointing a crooked finger at them
"Get lost midget" Layton pointed his dual-sided sword back at them
"Midget?" Terram repeated in irritation.
The Shadow-Dragon was encased in a bright glow as its shape began to contort. It grew larger, towering over them at about seven feet. It sprouted wings and it became slimmer and more muscular. From the sides of its head, dorsal fins grew and its claws became inches longer.
"You'll regret that" Terram said, its voice much deeper and more menacing
New York
"Such adorable weapons" Mare said. "I had a tussle with the original Perseus once. His blade could not affect me"
The dragon opened up its mouth to reveal several rows of teeth, each about twice the length of a finger. It sprayed dark-blue water at the trio of demigods, and they rolled out of the way. Percy concentrated and created a blockage that stopped Mare from spraying water.
"Fear not, Percy Jackson. When I regain my full power, even Poseidon's control over water will be child's play compared to what I can do" Mare announced
"That's a lot of bark for no bite" Nico retorted
Mare shrieked and the demigods dropped their weapons, placing their hands over their eyes to stop the pain arising from the sound. Instantly, the sand below their feet froze and contorted into stone.
"How are we suppose to defeat something that big, and we can't touch?" Percy asked Annabeth
"You're the one with the water powers, you figure it out" She scowled
Percy sighed. "Annabeth, this is no time for us to be argu-"
An explosion went off behind them, only barely cutting off a few inches in front of them. They looked up just in time to dodge another fireball that Mare shot at them.
"Maybe we should have brought that stone" Percy said
"No chance. We can't risk loosing it" Nico shook his head
"You can't run forever" Mare called out
Percy held out a hand and concentrated on the water around the dragon. Before Mare could retaliate, massive chains erupted from the water and wrapped around her, squeezing tightly. It attempted another sound attack - shrieking violently - but Annabeth covered Percy's ears while he continued on the water. More and more chains began to come out of the water, and the dragon was slowly being pulled in.
"Just you wait, demigods" Mare said just before the head of the dragon was taken beneath the water
The demigods waited until the large shadow of the dragon completely disappeared. Once it did, they all exhaled with relief.
"Good job, Seaweed Brain" Annabeth said, lightly hitting her boyfriend's arm
"Couldn't have done it without you" Percy shrugged, offering a smile
Not long after, Nico spotted something far out in the distance, just within range. A whirlpool was beginning to form, and waves around it were crashing against each other violently. Something began to slowly arise from the whirlpool in the shape of a human.
"Uh, guys" Nico said but his friends were already in the middle of their apology kiss. "Guys!"
The two broke apart abruptly and turned to where Nico was pointing. Right as they did, the water in front of them exploded, and a blue-robed figure stepped out of the ocean, completely dry.
"It's been a long time since a demigod has offered me a good fight. Perhaps you three are you worthy enough" Mare said, extending out a hand - a long black trident with red tips forming
Nico readied his Stygian-Iron sword, trying to come up with a plan. He didn't know how to kill a Shadow-Dragon. The only one he had seen killed was when Layton had tricked Toxicus into going somewhere where they could be killed. Nowhere like that existed around here though. Maybe Percy had been right - the soul stone might have been their greatest weapon. On the other hand, it could be their greatest weakness.
"Too stunned to speak, demigods?" Mare pulled down her hood. For a Shadow-Dragon, she looked quite normal. In fact, she was somewhat beautiful - like an actress or a model. Her long blonde hair went down to about the halfway mark of her back, and her eyes were a pristine blue.
"Not exactly what I was expecting you to look like" Percy replied
"We don't all look like dragons in our true form. Calor and Glacies, the twin Shadow-Dragons actually posses the body of a demigod. It's a long story, but if you're lucky enough, you'll come face to face with them" Mare explained, tapping the trident on the ground twice
The ground shook violently, and the water behind Mare began to rise up, but it didn't stop. It grew until it looked like a tsunami on pause - one that could wipe out a good chunk of New York.
"Let's make this fun. If you don't defeat me in five minutes, then I'll release this wave, and destroy a third of the entire state" Mare said
Even with that said, the demigods stayed stationary - each of them trying to figure out a way to get them out of this mess. Percy tried and failed to get the massive wave to lower, but Mare's control over the water was greater than his.
"Need me to make the first move? Very well"
Mare lunged at Percy and stabbed her trident forward, but Percy parried the strike and slashed. She sidestepped and swung her trident again, only for it to be blocked by Nico's sword. Annabeth attempted to stab her from the back, but her knife simply went through her, as if she had tried to attack water.
Percy noticed her ability quickly, and thought of something to counter it. Nico continued to keep her at bay, and just before Annabeth could go for another stab, he focused and solidified Mare's body, making it possible for Annabeth to cut her.
"Interesting" Mare examined the cut on her arm
Nico tried to disarm Mare, but she parried his strike and stabbed forward. Time seemingly slowed down as one of the tips only barely missed impaling Nico through the chest for a couple of inches. Mare backed up and held out out her hand, making chains erupted from the water that wrapped around both Nico and Annabeth - effectively holding them in place.
"No need to concern myself with such weak demigods. Entertain me, Perseus" Mare requested
The son of Poseidon glanced back and forth between his friends and Mare before attacking, knowing that with each second that passed, the greater the chances became of that tidal wave dropping. The two seemed to be evenly matched in combat, neither able to hit the other.
"Three minutes. Better hope you're as good as they say you are" Mare mocked as she blocked another strike from Riptide
Time continued to pass, but Percy was getting nowhere. He wasn't able to get within Mare's guard and attack her, mostly due to the length of her trident and how effective she was with it. Percy even tried to grab onto the trident with his free hand and pull it away, but her grip was too strong.
"I honestly have no idea why Syn spared you. You're nothing special" Mare said as her trident clashed with Riptide.
Percy knew he only had one option - one shot - at beating Mare. It had been a thought at the back of his head since the beginning the battle, and the chances of success were low, but it was better than no chance. He did the last thing he thought he was going to do - he dropped the tsunami.