Percy

By this point, I was beginning to get used to the whole "the last adventure won't be as crazy as this one." And if that wasn't bad enough, it seemed like the Fates were unable to give me a break.

"Are you sure about this Percy?" Annabeth asked

I nodded. "Positive"

"It's called the Tower Over Heaven, it has to be good, right?" Leo pointed out

"I hope so. After all, our friends are there" Frank said

"Looks like we're close" Hazel pointed out the window of the Argo II, where lightning was beginning to crackle dangerously close to the ship, and the tough wind was making us slightly slower

We all headed out to the balcony of the ship, and I could spot our destination. A massive, tall, white-and-gold, cylindrical tower that had to have been the tallest structure on the planet. Even though we were above the clouds and at thirty-two thousand feet above the ground, the tower seemed to go on forever.

Besides that, you're probably wondering how we got here. After arriving in New Rome, we decided to stay the night, where I got a dream that carried a message from Layton, detailing to bring everyone to the "Tower over Heaven," a place just North of Canada. He told me to tell everyone that he was alive, and that he would meet us at the tower along with the rest of our friends.

"This is as high as the Argo II can go, and I still can't even see the top" Piper frowned at the sight as the ship came to a stop, the tip just twenty-five feet away from the tower

There was a loud groan, and a large archway was cut into the tower. A drawbridge shimmered to life, and Leo turned the ship so that we could hop down onto it. One by one, we hopped down onto the platform and were met with three familiar figures, and a silhouette shrouded in the darkness of the hallway behind the archway.

"I'm glad you guys made it in one piece. It's really hectic out there" Chloe said

"What is this place anyways?" Nico inquired

"Safest place on Earth, including Olympus" Layton answered, startling the others. It went silent, with the only sound coming from his heavy breathing

"Dude, it's nice your alive and all, but what's with the breathing? You sound like Darth Vader" Leo said, receiving an elbow from Piper

"Not sure who that is" Layton replied . "I'll explain everything later. For now, we have to focus on defeating the dragons"

We headed inside the tower and the archway closed behind us, surrounding us in complete darkness for a few moments until the lights came on. The walls were made of a rough white stone, and the carpet was red with a golden outlining. As we walked, there were several different paintings. Some were of Greek, Roman, and other pantheon's gods, and others were depictions of battles.

"What's this place suppose to look like to mortals anyways?" Frank asked

"Mortals simply pass through, as if it doesn't exist to them" Ryan said

"No one knows the origin of the tower, but they say its the birthplace of all of the pantheons" Victor added

After what seemed like forever, we made it to a large elevator that took another eternity to come down and open up. I held Annabeth's hand, and she flashed a small smile at me as we stepped into the elevator. The floor was made of a non-transparent golden glass, and the walls were made of red chiseled stone.

It was only in this bright light that I was really able to make out Layton's appearance. He wore his black armor, but he had a mask instead of a helmet and he had a hood over that. As his eyes gazed around the just-large-enough room, it hurt my head to look directly into them.

"We think we may have a way to beat the dragons, but it's extremely risky" Chloe said as she stared up at the roof. Her expression was unreadable behind her helmet.

"The Netherworld is the only place where a Shadow-Dragon can be killed permanently" Layton said. "There's no way they would let us lure them in there, but if we could force them there... that's different"

"Force them?" I responded

"Using the Mist, it's possible to temporarily mix the natural world and the Netherworld, so no matter where the dragons are, killing them would be permanent" Layton explained

There was a ding, and the elevator opened up, revealing a massive room filled with furniture, so it was more like a living space. In the top-right corner of the room, there was a kitchen. In the top-left, there were bunk beds. By the middle-right, there was a Tv and a large sofa with a table in the center.

"Mixing two worlds does sound pretty risky" Hazel said

"There's a thirty percent chance of success. The other seventy would end in the destruction of the planet" Layton said as we all took a spot on the sofa. "But there might be a way to dramatically increase our chances: by channeling the Mist through one person"

"One person? Who could possibly have enough power to do that?" Piper replied

His dark red eyes turned towards me, and I had to turn away towards the ground to avoid getting a splitting headache.

"All demigods are born with something they call a limiter - the maximum power a demigod could reach through natural means only. But, Percy wasn't born with one of those, which is why the gods fear him. With the right training, he could become a god... or even stronger" Layton said

"So you want to use me as some kind of bridge?" I asked, raising my eyebrow

He held up two fingers. "You still don't have enough power as you are, but there's two ways I could temporarily raise it, just long enough for the merging to work"

"They say that if it's too good to be true, then it probably is," Hazel muttered, "so what's the catch?"

"As long as Percy has enough power for the merge, then there shouldn't be any permanent side affects. The problem is raising his power in the first place" Layton said

"Well lets get to it then!" Leo clapped his hands together

"First, you have to understand where my power comes from. When I was resurrected by Hera, I was approached by the Egyptian moon god Khonsu, who chose me to be next in line to inhabit the Spirit of Vengeance. Naturally, I should be weaker than your average demigod, but with the spirit, my power was raised exponentially.

Percy, I can temporarily grant you the Spirit of Vengeance. That's one way I can raise your power" Layton said

"And the second?"

"The second is a lot more difficult, because it requires trying to find something that I'm not sure still exists"

"Well we should give it a shot, since it seems like our only chance"

On the table in front of the sofa, a globe glistened into existence. Half of New York had a red x over it, and so did Germany and Australia. Down by Argentina, there was a red circle that was flashing with some kind of warning sign.

"Those dragons... they completely eradicated Germany and Australia, and currently there about to destroy Australia" Ryan said

Suddenly, the room began to rotate and we all jumped up from the sofa. The clock on the wall's tick began to play backwards, and the room shifted into a steel-made war council room. At the head of the table was a face I was all too familiar with now.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked

"The world is in dire times. I fear that if the Shadow-Dragons aren't stopped soon, it won't take long until they've destroyed each and every country" Athena said. "Even us Olympians are struggling to hold them off. I heard your plan, and as reckless as it may seem, it's our only hope. The Tower Over Heaven is the perfect place to do the merge"

"In that case, why can't Athena be the bridge?" Leo pointed out

"It has to be a demigod" Layton shook his head. "A god is too divine to merge two worlds, and a human is too mortal. A demigod is perfect"

"Even with the Spirit of Vengeance, I fear that Percy still may not have enough power" Athena said

"Which is why we need a Heaven's Rock" Layton replied

"That's impossible" Ryan quickly said. "They don't exist anymore, and even if they did, harnessing its power would be too difficult"

"There are still a few remaining" Athena informed. "Down in-"

"What's a Heaven's Rock?" Annabeth interjected

"It's a fragment from the heart of a dying star that crash landed on Earth millions of years ago. But it wasn't just any star... they say if you can harness the power of the rock, you'll be granted power based on a certain emotion" Layton said

"As I was saying," Athena flashed a strict look at Annabeth, "there's still four Heaven's Rocks. Three of them are guarded in Olympus, and the fourth... is here"

There a bright white glow that blinded me monetarily, and when it died down, there a medium-sized, white rock in Athena's hand. She handed it to Layton, who was sat next to her.

"You sure you can get that thing to work?" Victor asked

"Activating it and getting it to work are different things" Layton made a fist around it, and the room went completely dark.

White light escaped Layton's fist, being the only source of light in the room. The air went cold, and the white light turned yellow.

"Layton Striker, your element is fear" an echoing voice announced

The lights came back on, and there a yellow outline surrounding Layton that shone brightly. Before we knew it, we were passing the rock around.

"Annabeth Chase, your element is hope"

"Piper McLean, your element is love"

Then, the rock came to me. I made a fist around it, but as soon as I did, the tower began to shake with a tremendous force, and I dropped the stone onto the table.

"I must go" Athena announced, dissipating into mist

Furniture began to slide and crash into the wall, and the clock fell and smashed into pieces. We all gripped the table, and Ryan held out his palm, a screen appearing above it.

"Something massive is approaching us, but it can't be a Shadow-Dragon or else I wouldn't be able to pick it up" He said

Before I knew it, we were back on the Argo II and descending towards the ground. We broke through the clouds, and I caught a glimpse of what was heading our way before it shot a large column of fire at us.

"It can't be" Layton denied as he casted a protective barrier that split the flames away from us

As the smoke cleared, I looked down to a see a massive, hundred-twenty-five foot tall silver gorilla looking up at us. Crystal-green spikes protruded from its shoulders and back, and there was a black circle imprinted on its chest.

"Oh gods" Leo said. "What is that thing? It looks larger than Godzilla for crying out loud!"

"Enough with the pop-culture references Leo" Piper sighed. "On the other hand, that thing probably is larger than Godzilla"

"I've grown restless of you demigods denying my offers, so now I will eradicate you" the gorilla said, its voice eerily familiar

"That's Syn's true form" Layton revealed. "Leo, how far above the ground are we?"

"About two-hundred and fifty-five feet" Leo answered

Layton stepped forward. "Brace for impact"

I thought those moments in television where something so dramatic happens that time stops, was just added for effect, but when Syn jumped up and erupted from the ocean, smashing his fist against a magical barrier, I could feel time pause from the impact. The moments that followed were a blur, but I definitely passed out.

When I awoke, the first thing that came to me was the smell of smoke, and then the sense of panic. I was flat on my stomach, and when I got up, I pushed multiple burning planks off of me and took in the scene. The Argo II was in pieces, which were on fire and currently burning away into the air. We had landed in a forest in the middle of nowhere, and I could see a beach peaking out in the middle of the trees far away.

My eyes scanned the area, and I spotted Annabeth resting against a tree. Without wasting a second thought, I rushed over and knelt down next to her, and was relieved to see her breathing. Footsteps approaching from behind, and I turned to see Leo helping Piper walk over, and the rest of our friends with bad scratches over their body.

Smoke from the burning pieces of the ship suddenly curved towards a large part of the ship that had stayed intact. It turned into a miniature tornado, and a pair of bright red eyes looked back at us.

"Impressive that you survived" Syn said, stepping out of the tornado of dark smoke. "Heading to the Tower Over Heaven was a bold move. As soon as you did so, I knew I had to make a move"

"You can't kill us on your own" Layton grunted

"Oh, but I'm not alone"

Cliché.

In the sky, thunderclouds rolled in that completely hid the night sky from view. Thunder crashed in the distance, and three spirals of dark smoke shot down from the clouds, hitting the ground with enough force to shake it.

"Perseus Jackson, I was worried we wouldn't be able to meet again" Mera said

I'd never met the other two figures next in front of Syn and next to Mera, but I could identify the one on the left as Terram and the one on the right as Ira.

"Mera" I growled

"How'd you like my attack? I was hoping to destroy all of New York and possible take out your little family there, but half of it will do for now" Mera said

"Since I'm feeling generous because of our accomplishments, I'll give you once last chance to join us" Syn held up one finger

I uncapped Riptide. "No deal"

"Then you'll die"

Syn swiped his hand and a large blast of ki shot out of his hand, accelerating towards me at a rate too fast for me to do anything about it. But before it collided with me, a combined blast of fire and ice hit it, setting off an explosion from the impact.

"Killing him without a proper fight? Since when did you become so pathetic Syn?"

I turned to see two twins in fancy suits.

"Even I'd have to agree" the second one said

"I always knew you two were traitors" Ira snarled

Syn dismissed the subject with the wave of his hand. "If it's a fair fight they want, then they'll get it"