Alright, boys. Chapter Eight. This is the start of The Blinding Light arc. It won't be long, probably only this chapter, and then we'll get to Sea of Monsters. This is mostly just to try my hand at original plot writing, so we'll see how this goes. Anyway, lets get on with some reviews.

Shadowhunter2077: "Okay one thing that I liked was how done Zane was with this quest, he like "is one problem after the other" and this is show very well here because in the first book Hades was very unfair with percy even after he tried to say to him that it was Ares the one who give him the backpack, and he was willing to kill percy, so I think the confront with Hades was inevitable.

Also the sumerian were kind of another version of the babylonian pantheon (the pantheon who has Marduk, Gilgamesh, Tiamat and I think Abzu) so i think that's why they are not that well know they could possibly be the oldest pantheon in the world but oldest don't mean more powerful so I don't thinks this is a problem.

The babylonian pantheon could possibly a very ancient pantheon and could possibly be around the level of power of being above the Norse gods and below the Chinese gods or if you want you can make them as powerful as almost close to the top tier pantheons (Greek-Roman, Shinto, Hindu, Christian) there is also the Yorumba/African pantheon (Olorun, Yamoja and ogun) they are still worshipped (At least here in Brazil they are still worshipped by a decent amount of people) and they have (for what I heard of) a a lot of good feats, so could they be compareble to at least the Shinto gods, and for last would you include the Great Old Ones from Lovecraft (not the Outer Gods because those are broken as f**k) and how would you scale them in your story

Also how would you divide the powers of the pantheons like: Low tier, Mid tier, High tier, Top tier

Sorry for the long text"

Response: Thanks for the review, man. I think the Hindu pantheon is the oldest pantheon, but I'm not too sure. Great Olds Ones maybe in the story, but likely as references, not actual appearances. Great Olds Ones are not actually too strong, at least compared to the Ultimate Gods, so they aren't too comparable to the Olympians. I'll have to think about the scaling for the 'Low tier, Mid tier, High tier, Top tier' thing, so I'll get back to you on that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. *EDIT* Okay, I'm just going to answer the tier listing for the greek pantheon right here. Just PM me for other ones. Low Tier: All Minor Gods, Legendary Monsters. Mid Tier: Every Giant except for Porphyrion, Polybetes and Alcoynous. Lower level Titans, and gods like Demeter and Dionysus. High Tier: All Olympians except for Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Most Titans except for Kronos and Atlas. Porphyrion, Polybetes and Alcoynous. Top Tier: All Primordials, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Kronos and Atlas. Sorry if this is hard to read.

Shadowhunter2077 2: "Hey dude just to warn you that in canon all the defeated Titans were all weakened in canon from their time in tartarus, so will you have a solution to that or you're going to change more the canon, because for me any of this paths are good to me."

Response: The titans are still weaken, although they are still the same power as they are in canon at full power. Most Titans are universe level at full power in this but only large star level when weakened.

Echoxenvy: "Alright, this is gonna be a long review, but I hope you read it all because I only have good things to say.

I am seriously impressed. This chapter blows every other before it out of the park. Where do I even begin? The fact that I like the Ares fight in this story more than the canon one speaks volumes because I really love the canon fight. You really shocked me by giving Percy some good moments and fighting on almost equal grounds as Zane against Ares, it was amazing. Love how you made it brutal and epic, using Ares' god of war back things too, I caught that. Also, I love Zane's character development. I can see it now, in this arc he was really destructive and brutal with his powers, and in the Sea of Monsters arc he will learn to control and restrain himself. If that's what you're going for, then I cannot wait. The new weapon is awesome, the conversation with Zeus was awesome, the Fourth of July scene was awesome, Nico being at camp and actually having a social group was awesome, Luke's betrayal was well done, and I see you took my advice on the Titan thing, huh? Anyway, favorite chapter so far, love this first arc, can't wait for the mini arc and Sea of Monsters."

Response: Thanks, man. The whole fight kinda reminds me of some kind of Dark Souls fight, like two dudes against one really overwhelming opponent. Did you like Percy's super form? I had to think of some kind of form for him so he could keep up with Zane, and that was it. If you're having trouble imagining it, think of Poseidon's boss form in God of War 3. Yeah, I brought Ares' back things in. It was fun to imagine the fight with those in there. Zane will probably be even more destructive and violent in the Sea of Monsters arc, but that's where he will have to come to terms with the fact that he's kinda been an asshole. The new weapon is basically like the Leviathan Axe from God of War, just bronze and gold rather than black and gold. So, if you couldn't tell, Hyperion is going to be the main villain of this arc. That's why it's called Blinding Light. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, because I'm going to be making this one up as I write it lol.

Adyda: "are you going to do a time skip to The Titan's Curse or just tell us linearly the story? because right now Zane and the gang are just children it's weird to ship him and Taylor. Either way great work! I'm glad the chapters are longer than usual."

Response: I'll tell the story linearly. There won't be any full blown shipping or romance in the first two books, you know, since they're twelve and thirteen at the time. There's just going to be little moments from here to there. Anyway, thanks for the review, I hope you like this chapter.

Jay: "Nice, I do like the fact that Percy wasn't completely shafted in this fight. Not to sure about the Taylor pairing as of right now since he's competing with a far more recognizable character like Nico"

Response: Hey man, thanks for the review and your honest take. All I can say as of right now is that you should just give Taylor a chance for now. Yeah, he's not as recognizable or as deep as Nico right now, but he will get better once he gets more developed.

Alright, enough with reviews. Let's blow this pop-stand.

(Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (Except the OCs) or anything Percy Jackson based, but if you couldn't tell that from the fact of this being on a fanfiction site. you're fucking retarded.)

(000)

The Titan of Heavenly Light smirked at my deadpan response to his snarky question. Why did Luke have to summon a titan to fight me in his stead. Yeah, I had grown stronger in the past couple of months so I knew I could beat him without much difficulty even without my Thunder Form, so maybe summoning some kind of legendary monster to hold me off while he escaped made sense. But a titan?

It made even more sense. A grin made it's way onto my face. I hadn't killed something

noteworthy in a couple of months. I guess the next step from killing a god would be killing a titan. I was considerably stronger than when I fought Ares, as was Percy. With him by my side, Hyperion shouldn't be too much trouble.

I withdrew Keravnos and pointed it at Hyperion, who seemed a little surprised by my bold action, then amused. "I suggest you start out at full strength, titan. I haven't had a good fight since Ares. I took his head and gave it to my father. I'll be doing the same to you." I turned to Percy, who had uncapped Riptide after my bold claim. "Back me up here, Perce. Let's take this bastard out." Percy nodded at my request and smiled a bit. I guess he was excited, too.

Boom! Rumble!

Lightning struck me as I shifted into my Thunder Form, lightning surrounding my form as it danced across my axe. Percy created an earthquake as his skin shifted into a watery texture, his skin seemingly becoming living water. His arms and legs turning into a fluorescent blue stone. His sword, Riptide, took on a blue sheen. Percy took on his fighting stance, a style that mirrored Luke's. Now, however, Percy's style was much more refined after months of training, so he was now a fierce opponent.

Hyperion simply raised his eyebrows at our transformations. Then he smiled. "You know, at first, I was wondering why my lord Kronos would lend me to that brat Castellan to fight a couple of demigods." He leveled his flaming spear at us, before chuckling. "I now understand why. Your power is extraordinary. Not quite on the level that I am own, even in my current weakened state, but for a demigod your power is amazing." Hyperion laughed before he slammed his spear into the ground, created a flaming aura around his that created a burst of wind. "For the first time in millennia, I will actually have a challenge!" Hyperion roared, created a burst of power that blew us back a bit.

I held my arms in front of my face to hold back against Hyperion's power. I grinned at the display. This is where the fun begins. I charged at Hyperion with Percy following my movements. I raised my axe and charged it with lightning. Once I reached the Lord of Heavenly Light, I slammed my axe down on his form. Hyperion threw up his spear, blocking my attack with the shaft of his flaming weapon. Percy attacked Hyperion from the side, trying to get a sneak attack in. Hyperion bashed me away and deflected Percy's attack, which caused earthquakes on impact with Hyperion's spear, causing the trees to shake. Woah, Hyperion was strong.

I threw my axe at the titan after he redirected Percy's attack. Hyperion dodged my throw, albeit barely due to it's speed. He smirked and was about to say something clever or throw an insult my way, but was interrupted by my axe slamming into his back as it returned to my hand thanks to the wind. The return throw did not draw any blood or even do that much damage, but I still had the satisfaction of the first blow, and Hyperion knew it.

Percy tried to rush the titan lord, using his form's speed to attempt to overwhelm him. But Hyperion was too fast or too experienced for the strategy to work on him. Hyperion sent out a burst of flames from the tip of his spear, which Percy barely avoided. The trees behind the son of Poseidon were lit ablaze, causing the fire to spread to the surrounding trees.

Percy and I teamed up to try and overwhelmed the titan together, me with my power and strength, Percy with his abilities and his unpredictability. It even seemed to be working, as we had the titan lord on the defensive. Whenever Hyperion would try to focus on one of us, the other would come in to interrupt the Lord of Heavenly Light. I was able to even land a couple of powerful blows, which didn't do much more than anger the titan thanks to his powerful armor. Percy was landing light attacks and stunning the titan with his earthquake powers, keeping him off his game. We seemed to be winning this fight.

Appearances can be deceiving, however. Suddenly, Hyperion let out a roar and flames exploded from him and spread in every direction. Luckily, we weren't too injured. My lightning around me acted as a shield and Percy was basically water right now. We were pushed back and began to regroup. We noticed that the forest around us was completely covered in flames. Hyperion charged me, his spear pulled back and ready to strike. I ducked under his lunge and swung Keravnos in an uppercut, catching the titan lord on the chin and sending him flying into the sky.

I turned to Percy. "Stop this fire! Use the river to put it out! I'll deal with Hyperion!" Without waiting for a response, I took to the skies. Flying above the burning forest, I surveyed the air for the titan lord. All of a sudden, flames from out of nowhere smashed into me and tried to surround me. I could hear Hyperion's laughter as his flames tries to pierce the shield the lightning former to protect me. I had to get out of this. I conjured wind around me, building it up in a bubble and I let it condense and build widely. After a few seconds, I released the wind with a wave of my hands and blew the flames away.

I glared at the titan lord, who floated around ten feet away from me. Hyperion was being held up by the flames that his body seemed to produce. "That was a dirty move." I said, before charging the titan before he could give me a response. I raised Keravnos and swung down at Hyperion in a downward arc. Hyperion deflected my axe to the side and tried to impale me with his flaming spear, which prompted me to catch the spear with my open hand. I could actually feel the heat of the fire from the spear, not a good sign.

Hyperion smirked as I struggled to hold back his flaming spear. "All is fair in battle, young demigod. Whenever you truly learn and understand that, you won't hold it against your enemies for their tricks." Hyperion waved his open hand, which summoned fire behind me. He tried to summon the fire to him, and burn me in the process, but I let go of his spear and moved out of the way. Hyperion's flame uselessly connected to him, not doing any damage.

I smirked as I fly away from the Titan of Heavenly Light. "Oh, but I do understand that, Hyperion." I motioned all around us. The titan lord's face scrunched in confusion. "You have fallen into my trap, titan. Why do you think I fought you by myself without my cousin? You're in my domain now." Suddenly, dark clouds formed around us. The sky fogged up with a dark mist as the wind picked up. Hyperion braced himself for whatever was going to happen, which was a smart move on his part.

Lightning suddenly jumped out from all directions at the titan, slamming into him and stopping him in place. Hyperion grunted as he tried to force his way through the lightning, so I decided I would do something about that. I spun my axe, Keravnos, and a vortex of wind formed around me. I used lightning from my Thunder Form to fill the tornado, allowing the entire vortex to have electricity surging through it. I pointed my axe at Hyperion, basically throwing the lightning tornado at the titan of Heavenly Light. The tornado slammed into Hyperion, causing him to grunt in pain some more. I focused more lightning into the tornado, causing lightning to fly from my hands into the cyclone. After a few seconds, the lightning tornado exploded into a surge of lightning, causing Hyperion's form to become hidden with the clouds that had surrounded him. Did I get him?

The massive burst of flame that parted the clouds in front of me was my answer. Hyperion's roar was that of anger rather than pain. The titan charged out of the cloud of fire he had created with his anger to lunge his spear at me. I clashed my axehead with the Titan of Heavenly Light's weapon, allowing me to take his form in. His armor was not too damaged, just blackened and burnt in some places. The armor had allowed Hyperion to basically take the attack completely uninjured, but I had ruined his golden armor's perfect visage.

Hyperion growled. "You'll pay for that one, demigod." Hyperion knocked my weapon aside, trying to impale my neck with his flaming spear. I quickly brought Keravnos' axehead to deflect his spear tip, knocking the weapon above me. I pulled Keravnos back and smash it into his chest, knocking the titan back and slightly chinking his armor. Hyperion was stunned, which allowed me to go in for the attack. I slammed Keravnos into Hyperion armored skull, not doing much more than rattle the Titan of Heavenly Light. I smashed a lightning surrounded fist into Hyperion's liver, or the divine equivalent for it. Hyperion grunted in pain before I smashed my lightning covered leg into his unarmored neck, sending him flying away in the sky. The blow created a shockwave that could be felt for miles around us, as the trees shook and buckled at my power.

I lifted my axe above my head and charged it with my power, the axehead turning white and radiating with raw power. It was time to end this fight. My axe bursting with power and lightning jutting off of it, I threw my axe at Hyperion's falling form. Keravnos connected with Hyperion and created a massive cloud of lightning on impact. Hyperion screamed in pain as lightning surrounded him, wind blowing off his form and shaking the trees and parting the clouds. The axe let out a massive explosion of lightning and Hyperion's screams silenced.

I summoned my axe to me, clouds forming after the explosion and obscuring my vision. It was over. I grinned in my exhaustion. I just defeated Hyperion, the Titan of Heavenly Light, all by myself. Damn, I really was good. That was my last thought before a flaming spear pierced my gut and jutted out the other side.

Blood spewed from my mouth as I gripped the burning spear with my free hand. What? Hyperion emerged from the clouds seemingly no worse for wear. His armor was a bit chipped and cracked from my assault, but Hyperion himself was uninjured. Hyperion grinned as his spear cauterized my wound in my stomach. He outstretched his hand and his spear violently jerked from my body and floated to his hand. Hyperion looked at me with a smirk. "You're no doubt powerful, son of Zeus. Far more powerful than any demigod I have ever met. But you are not ready to face the might of a titan."

Hyperion appeared in front of me as I clutched the gaping hole in my stomach. Hyperion violently backhanded me to the ground. I flew towards Camp Half-Blood, which was right by the not so burning forest we had been fighting over. I smashed into the middle of Camp, right where the square with the Thirteen Cabins were. I tried to stand up front the crater my fall had created, but the burnt hole in my gut effectively drained me of all of my strength. I could see demigods of every parent crowd around my crater. Before I could yell out for everyone to get away, Hyperion smashed down beside my crater, creating his own and sending the crowd of demigods flying away.

Hyperion laughed at the sight of the now downed and injured demigods. He turned to me and raised his spear, the flaming weapon's fire dangerously dancing off it. "You fought well, son of Zeus. I haven't had a challenge like that in thousands of years, not since the Titanomacy. Die well, demigod." Hyperion was about to slam his spear into my face. I grit my teeth in anger at my fate. Was I to be killed by this pathetic light titan?

Apparently, I was not. Percy, from out of nowhere, came up from behind the titan and shoved Riptide into his unarmored neck, drawing blood. Golden ichor spewed from the wound as Hyperion roared in pain. He grabbed Percy from off his back and threw him to the ground. He growled at the son of Poseidon. "I will kill you for that, sea spawn." Before Hyperion could attack Percy, golden energy slammed into him, knocking him back a couple of feet, but not doing more than disorientate him. Both me and Hyperion looked to the source of the attack, only to find Chiron, who had his bow pulled back with golden divine energy ready to fire. Hyperion sneered. "Chiron. The trainer of heroes. I guess I'll kill you, too. Along with every other demigod in this entire camp." Hyperion summoned an aura of fire around him, ready to release it in every direction around him to destroy the entire camp.

Chiron spoke before the Titan of Heavenly Light could do such a thing. "I would not provoke the gods so openly, Lord of Heavenly Light. Do you not remember your fate from the Titan War?" Hyperion paled as he remembered what the gods had done to him during those times. They had thrown him into Tartarus, where he spent the past few thousand years. Hyperion was about to say something but the sky darkened with a thunderstorm, one I didn't create. The sky thundered and Hyperion tensed and froze.

Hyperion scoffed. "Perhaps I was a little too hasty with my declaration." Fire surrounded the titan, but not the fire that had raged around him earlier. These flames were calmer and less intense. "I will return, and with me will be the full might of the titans. I promise this." Hyperion's form was completely hidden by his flames, which eventually flickered away after a few seconds, showing that the titan was now gone.

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief and he trotted up to my downed form. He motioned to some demigods, who had recovered from when Hyperion smashed down into the camp. "Someone, help young Zane to the infirmary. I need to see to his wounds." Chiron grimaced as he saw the cauterized hole in my torso. "Hurry, time is of the essence!" Some demigods picked me up gingerly as my vision started to fade. I guess the combination of exhaustion and having a hole the size of a street lamp in my torso will do that to you. The last thing I saw before falling unconscious was Percy's Earthshaker Form vanishing before my eyes as he follow the demigods to the infirmary.

(000)

I felt my consciousness return as I laid in a bed in the infirmary. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain from my stomach shot through my body. I forced myself the the sensation and looked at the place around me. The infirmary was about the same as it had been a year and a half ago, but this was only the third time I had ever been in here. The first was after the whole cyclops thing, the second was just getting some bandages for an idiot camper who had almost cut their finger off during training, and the third was now. I tried to stand up from the bed, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me. "Careful, young Zane. You are quite injured and you need your rest." I turned to the source of the voice, to find Chiron stand there in his centaur form, concern etched on his face. Behind him stood Percy, Nico, Annabeth and Taylor.

I waved him off. "I'll be fine, Chiro-" I was cut off by Taylor slapping my shoulder. Taylor hugged me as I sat on the bed, obviously trying to be gentle due to my torso injury.

Taylor pulled away before I could return the hug and smacked me. "You idiot! What were you thinking, fighting a titan!? You almost died!" Taylor hugged me again before I could even say anything, which confused me even more. The confusion must have been clear on my face, as Chiron chuckled beside me. Chiron motioned for Taylor to stop and looked at me with a serious face.

"Percy told me everything that happened with Luke, Zane." Chiron looked away, as if he was seeing something miles off in the distance. "I knew something was wrong with him, ever since the quest his father gave him. But to think that he could be the lighting thief..." Chiron trailed off and sighed. He handed me a piece of Ambrosia. "Here, for your wound." I thanked the centaur and bit into the food. The taste of fried chicken came upon my taste buds. I felt the pain in my abdomen vanish completely. Chiron looked at me. "Normally I would simply say to let Luke go, as you would normally be too injured to follow him. But the fact that not only is he working for Kronos, but he also has the means to summon the titan, Hyperion, changes my answer substantially. I hate to ask this of you, Zane, but you are the only one here with the means to track Luke, thanks to your aura sensing. Will you take up the quest to find Luke?"

Was that even a question? Hell yes. I had plenty of reasons to go after the traitor son of Hermes. Luke betrayed everyone. Not just all the living camper who all looked up to the son of Hermes, but even to Thalia, the one who literally died to save him. Not to mention Hyperion. I have a score to settle with that bastard. He defeated me. I hadn't lost a fight, an actual fight, in...well, I've never actually lost. Hyperion had dealt me my first defeat, and I was looking to pay him back in full and more. I nodded at Chiron with a serious expression on my face. "Yes. I'll take the quest and bring Luke back here, dead or alive."

Chiron's face was grim and I could tell my words pained his heart. "Good." He said, totally not good. He motioned towards my friends behind him. "We have four volunteers for your quest. Choose wisely." Percy, Nico, Annabeth and Taylor. Percy was an easy choice due to his power. His Earthshaker Form would be vital in combating Hyperion, as it was apparent I couldn't defeat him by myself. So now it was down to Taylor, Annabeth and Nico. Nico was out due to his inexperience. He only has a few low level monsters under his belt that he killed throughout his journey to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth had the most experience out of everyone here, but is likely the least effective in combat. Maybe we didn't need her for that and just needed her to handle the intellectual stuff. And now Taylor-

Taylor interrupted my thought process. "I'm going with you, Zane." Taylor's tone brokered no argument. I tried to say something, maybe to convince Taylor to not go, or maybe to say yes, but Taylor interrupted me again. "This isn't a discussion, Zane. I'm going with you to find Luke. I'm not going to let you almost die again." My heart felt...something at his passionate claim, something I couldn't identify yet. But I wasn't going to argue with the son of Ares, not after that.

I nodded, giving the son of Ares a smile. "Well, I'm not going to argue with that, Taylor. Welcome aboard." Taylor nodded with smile and I turned to the other three demigods. "Percy." I pointed at the son of Poseidon. "You're up. Only me and you together can defeat Hyperion, so you'll be coming with me on this quest." Percy nodded with a slight smirk on his face. Heh, maybe he was getting a big head? I turned to Nico and Annabeth. "Sorry, you two. Nico, you may be pretty good with your sword and getting the hang of your powers, but this is going to be a dangerous quest. You're just not ready yet." Nico looked disappointed, but also like he was expecting the answer. I turned to Annabeth. "Annabeth, I need some heavy hitters for this quest. You're very skilled with your dagger and are incredibly smart. But I need power for this quest." Annabeth looked like she wanted to say something, but she held back. Probably something about Taylor

Chiron clapped his hands together. "Alright. It is decided. Zane, Taylor and Percy, you three will begin your quest tomorrow to find Luke and bring him back to Camp Half-Blood..." Chiron trailed off, his face taking on a sad expression. "...or kill him, if you must." He looked at me in the eye. "Start off where Luke led you and Percy earlier today. Try and track his aura with your aura sensing. Dismissed." The five of us walked outside the infirmary, but not before I removed the bandaging around my abdomen. I could see my torso had not taken any permanent damage, which was good. The scar from Hyperion's spear would have been absolutely nasty.

Our group split up to our respective cabins, the exhaustion of the day wore heavy on our minds and bodies. Tomorrow was going to be a hard, difficult day. I would normally say I would be excited to go on another quest after months of peace, but honestly, I was just looking forward to killing Luke and Hyperion. I wanted vengeance for my defeat on Hyperion and wanted to punish Luke for his betrayal. I would give Luke one chance to return to face punishment, and if he refused, I couldn't be held responsible for what might happen to him.

(000)

The exodus from camp was a solemn affair. By this time, everyone knew of Luke's betrayal and his alliance with the Titans. Would be kind of hard to not know, since Hyperion nearly killed me in front of everyone. Saying goodbye to Nico and Annabeth was rather difficult as well. I promised that we would return, that Luke and Hyperion wouldn't kill us. I hope I would be able to keep that promise.

We returned to the spot where Luke had teleported away. The area was completely burned from Hyperion's flames. The area was blackened, with none of the recognizable trees in the area as they had been incinerate by the titan of Heavenly Light. The nymphs and satyrs of the camp were very angry whenever we left, as they had basically commanded us to destroy Hyperion whenever we saw him. I normally didn't like people telling me what to do, but now I was perfectly ready to oblige the satyrs and nymphs.

Speaking of the reactions back at camp, rather everyone was angry. All the campers had looked up to Luke, so the fact that he had betrayed everyone and joined the Titans had pissed everyone off. Most notably the Hermes cabin, Apollo cabin and the Helios cabin. Initially the Hermes cabin had been silent at Luke's betrayal, but now they were very vocal in their opposition of the former cabin counselor. They had appointed the Stoll twins as co-counselors overnight. The normally carefree and fun loving Hermes children were uncharacteristically serious whenever we left.

The Apollo and Helios cabins were so angry was because of Hyperion. Normally, the two cabins were at odds with each other due to their father's shared ownership over the sun chariot, but now they were united in their hatred over Hyperion. I wasn't exactly sure why Hyperion was hated so much by the two, but he was for some reason. Both of the cabins were basically clamoring for us to kill him. Don't worry guys, we will.

Even Dionysus was angrier than normal. The handsome wine god liked to put on an uncaring facade that pretended to not care about the camper, hell, perhaps even hate him, but deep down, the wine god was very protective over the campers. To have one of his own betray him and join his arch-enemies was basically the ultimate sin in his eyes. He basically told us to bring him back/ kill Luke or he would turn us into dung beetles.

Back to the situation at hand, I reached out with my aura sensing, trying to find any symbolence of Luke's aura. It was difficult, considering the only thing I could feel was Hyperion's aura since he burned half the forest around Camp Half-Blood down. But luckily, I could sense a sliver of the traitor energy in the destroyed forest. I sighed a sigh of relief. We would have looked really stupid if we had returned to camp and said we couldn't really find anything.

We followed Luke's aura for the next couple of days. The three of us were able to track the son of Hermes' aura along the coast of Long Island. The entire process sucked since we had to sleep the night in the camp's rinky dink tents and eat rations that were given to us by the harpies who cooked lunch for the camp. I was angry due to still reeling from the defeat I suffered from Hyperion's hands, Taylor was angry because of Luke's betrayal and Percy was angry because his return to his mother's house was delayed by Luke's untimely betrayal. The whole experience was a big mess.

As we tracked Luke's aura, we tried to assemble a plan together for whenever we faced off against Luke. He still had Hyperion at his disposal and I wasn't enough to defeat the titan by myself. Percy was as dumb as a bag of rocks and I wasn't too much better if I was being honest. Luckily, Taylor seemed to have strategy creation as one of his skills. It wasn't a complicated strategy, as it basically boiled down to me and Percy teaming up against Hyperion and to defeat him as quickly as possible. Taylor would battle Luke and try to hold him off long enough for me and Percy to defeat Hyperion and arrive to triple team the son of Hermes. Luke would then stand no chance, and then we would apprehend him and return him to camp.

On midday of the third day of our quest, we noticed that Luke's aura stopped following the coast line and went out onto the ocean waters. A few miles away from the shoreline there was an island. Taylor brought out a map as we noticed this, grumbling as he did so. The entire quest was getting to him, as it was to me, if I was being honest. After a few minutes of navigating and trying to figure out where we were, we figured out the island in front of us off the shoreline was Barnum Island. Luke had retreated there for some reason.

The island was across several miles of water, which for obvious reasons, I was hesitant to cross. Percy assured me it was alright and conjured a boat made of some kind of sea rock. It was a similar type of rock to his arms in his Earthshaker Form, only brown and not blue. After a few moments of hesitation, I climbed into the boat alongside Percy and Taylor. Percy put his hand into the water and the boat shot forwards. The entire ride, I felt off, like the water wanted to jump from the ocean and rip me to shreds. I guess that was how Percy felt when we flew back from L.A. in a plane. After a few minutes of boat riding, we arrived on the shore of Barnum Island.

Stepping onto the sands of Barnum Island, I could tell something was up. I could feel Luke's aura on the island, no doubt that he was here. But I could also feel the aura of two other powerful beings on this island. One aura was warm and hot, unmistakably Hyperion's. My fists tightened at the thought. I was going to turn his head to a golden bloody pulp. The other aura was just as powerful and felt like Percy's, only older and even more wild and untamed like the son of Poseidon. Whoever that was, I knew we were going to find out.

As we followed Luke's aura to the center of the island, I relayed the information to Taylor and Percy. Our plan had been interrupted now. I would have to fight Hyperion alone and Percy would have to fight this new threat. I asked Taylor if he was confident he could defeat Luke alone, as we likely would not be able to help the son of Ares. Taylor hesitated, which worried me, but he said he could win. I had my doubts that Taylor could defeat Luke, but I would place my faith in him now.

After a few miles of walking on the island, we came across an old abandoned quarry. It looked like it hadn't been operated on in one hundred years and it looked much older than that. I told Percy and Taylor to stand behind me, as anything could jump out at us. I was expecting a monster to attack us, or at least some kind of ambush, but there was nothing. It was too quiet at this quarry. Then, we saw them.

Luke stood in the middle of some kind of center of the quarry. Old equipment and supplies filled the area, dust collecting on them. Luke was observing his new blade, Backbitter, the one he had showed to me and Percy three days ago when he tried to get us killed. Luke noticed us and stood from the crate he was seated on. Luke snapped his fingers and two figures burst from two different elements around him. One was flames, and the other was water. The first figure was obviously Hyperion, his slightly cracked and burnt golden armor shimmering as he twirled his flaming spear.

The other figure was someone I had not seen before. He was around the same height as Hyperion, which was about ten feet tall. He looked human enough, unlike Hyperion, who was just a bipedal flame man. The new figure had long curly white hair that reach down to his upper back. Yellow and black crab legs jutted out of his temples, making him look a little weird. He had a muscular body type, one that put most bodybuilders to shame. His lower body was made of some blue snake-like texture and was an actual snake body. Did I say he looked human? Yeah, he looked somewhat human at best.

Luke twirled Backbitter. "I knew you would follow me, Percy and Zane. I was prepared for this, as you can see." Luke motioned to Hyperion and to the other figure, which was probably some kind of titan. "I didn't expect you would bring Taylor, though. I thought you of all people, Zane, would do your best to keep him out of harm's way." Taylor drew his spear at Luke's words, rather violently actually.

"I'm going to kill you, Luke!" Taylor yelled at the traitor son of Hermes. Luke didn't react as he readied his weapon, Backbitter. Taylor blurred out of sight and appeared in front of Luke. Taylor was now moving at full speed, meaning Luke would have to be serious to keep up with the son of Ares. The two clashed, both chambering and countering each other's blows. Luke managed to direct the son of Ares away from the center of the quarry, leaving the two of us facing off against the two titans.

"So..." The half fish titan guy spoke up. His tone was rather sluggish, as if he was a little drunk. "You are the son of my nephew, Poseidon." The unnamed titan spoke to Percy. The titan was unarmed, but considering his bulk, he probably didn't even need a weapon. "I am Oceanus, former lord of the seas. I stepped down for your father to take my place, long ago. My brother Kronos has convinced me to support him this time around, so I apologize for the inconvenience I am causing you by ending your life." Oceanus actually seemed truly apologetic. Oceanus summoned water straight from the air, seemingly out of nowhere. The water shapened into some kind of spikes and flew quickly at Percy. Percy immediately shifted into his Earthshaker Form and raised his hand. The spikes collided with Percy and Percy seemingly absorbed the spikes. "Oh?" Oceanus sounded confused, like he wasn't expecting it.

I took my attention of the fight. I turned to the Lord of Heavenly Light and drew Keravnos from my back. I transformed into my Thunder Form, my transformation cracking the ground around me in every direction for twenty meters. I pointed Keravnos at the titan lord. "I have a bone to pick with you." My words were simple, not wasting any breath. Hyperion grinned and summoned his spear from out of nowhere, the weapon appearing in a pillar of flames.

Hyperion started to approach me. "You don't waste words, do you, son of Zeus?" Hyperion didn't give me a chance to say any thing as he appeared in my face. Hyperion tried to impale me, attacking the same spot he had stabbed me in earlier. I batted the spear away with Keravnos and tried to slam my axe in Hyperion's skull. Hyperion dodged out of the way, his large form not impeding his speed whatsoever. Hyperion chuckled at our first exchange as he prepared to charge again.

Hyperion charged me, swing his spear down like a sword. Fire was built up around the weapon, so I knew blocking it would be a terrible idea. I jumped to the side, avoiding the attack. It turns out my instincts were correct, as the spear smashed down where I had stood earlier, releasing a massive wave of fire. The fire looked like a water tide, only...well, fire. Everything for hundreds of feet behind me was incinerated, including but not limited to: Old buildings, dusty equipment, dead trees, etc.

I was about to attack Hyperion while his guard was down after his attack, but a wave of vibrational energy nearly knocked me off my feet. Hyperion was nearly grounded too by the energy. Both me and the titan paused our battle to look where the energy had come from, only to find Percy smashing his blue rocky fists against a water barrier that Oceanus had created. The earthquakes Percy were creating where cracking the ground and starting to split the island into multiple pieces. I turned back to Hyperion, only to find a flaming spear inches away from my nose. I shot my hand up and caught the spear, only barely, right before it could hit my skin. The spear burned hot, hotter than anything I had ever felt before, and I have literally fallen in lava before. My Thunder Form protected me from any damage, but that did not me I couldn't feel the heat.

Sweat dripped from my forehead. "Dirty fucking cheater." I said, before throwing Hyperion's spear to the side as hard as I could. Doing so literally broke the sonic barrier and created a massive shockwave, cracking the ground even more from where we stood. Hyperion still somehow managed to hold on to his spear, but he was completely off balance and vulnerable now. I raised Keravnos and smashed it into Hyperion's breastplate. Hyperion armor held up rather well, so I pulled back and charged the weapon until the axehead turned white. Then I slammed the axe down in the middle of his chest as hard as I could.

A loud cracking sound rung out, along with a roar in pain from the titan of Heavenly Light. I looked to examine the full damage of my attack to find that I had completely destroyed Hyperion's chest armor. Golden pieces of his breastplate lay on the ground, their shimmer completely gone. Hyperion's sternum had caved into from the blow, golden ichor dripping from his mouth. I grinned. I had actually done some good damage against the titan!

My little victory was short lived, as Hyperion growled and his aura flared. Fire burst from his form and I was blown away by divine energy. Hyperion roared in pure rage and glared at me with his flaming eyes. "I will destroy you, son of Zeus! I will make your death the most painful thing to ever be experienced by any mortal or demigod to ever exist!" While Hyperion had released his full aura, which was even stronger than Ares, his angry speech almost made me yawn. Gods, titan and their promises of horrible deaths/fates.

Hyperion charged me with incredible speed, far faster than he had attacked before. I barely managed to block his spear attack and didn't manage to block his next attack, which luckily was an attack from his fists. Oh, don't get me wrong, it hurt like a bitch, but if the attack was an attack with his spear, I would probably be dead. I was sent flying hundreds of feet away by Hyperion's punch, which mean I was sent flying outside the small mining town. I crashed down in a small hill a few hundred feet outside the town, yelping in pain. My vision was blurry from the pain, but came back to focus just in time to see Hyperion about to impale me with a downward strike. I narrowly avoided being impaled by propelling myself into the air with some wind.

I turn in the air, and struck Hyperion in the side. Ichor spew from his unprotected torso, but he didn't even register my attack. Hyperion simply built up fire all around him and allowed it to burst in every direction. I quickly commanded the wind to propel me backwards, away from his fireball he created. In an instant, I was shot back several hundred meters, just barely outside the range of the fireball. The hills that surrounded the mining town were completely illuminated by the massive fireball Hyperion had created in his rage, which looked like a mini sun.

Once the flames died down, Hyperion shot out of the burnt hills in an instant with his spear outstretched. I managed to deflect the blow with some difficult, but not with anywhere near the difficulty of before. I concluded that he had weakened in power from the fireball. I wondered why the fireball was so small if he was even more powerful than Ares, who could probably easily destroy the planet if he wished. The fireball was likely highly concentrated and probably could have killed me instantly, Thunder Form or not. Hyperion was still angry, but his anger was now more controlled and less erratic. He was weaker than his massive burst of power, but he was still stronger than he was before.

Me and Hyperion's duel was probably the hardest fight of my entire life. Hyperion was definitely a better fighter than Ares, who had boasted about having thousands of years of experience. Hyperion and my attacks were blurs as they clashed and counter each other, even to me. I don't even know how I was fighting the titan, probably some high speed focus or something that even I could only use during some instinctual need or something. Eventually after almost of minute of clashing and dueling with the Titan of Heavenly Light, I managed to catch his spearhead under the curved axehead of Keravnos. Before Hyperion could wrestle the spear from my axe, I pushed the top of the axe into his face. He didn't take much damage thanks to his helmet, but he was still disorientated.

I pulled Keravnos back and smashed it into Hyperion's chin in an uppercut maneuver. Hyperion grunted in pain and was sent flying into the air. As quickly as I could, I flew into the path of Hyperion's arc, probably looking like I appeared right in front of him in the sky. I raised my axe and slammed it down on Hyperion, knocking him to the ground below. Hyperion smashed into the ground, flattening a hill and creating a crater where he landed. I wasn't done with this bastard yet. I raise Keravnos into the sky and focused.

My eyes closed and I let rage pour into my veins. Dark thunderclouds formed high above me, lightning streaking across them as they blotted out the sun. The wind blew around me, stirring up the waves around the island. Or was that Percy's doing? Whatever. Lightning formed into a spout above me and struck my axe. I felt power fill through me and I pointed my axe down to the hills where Hyperion lay. A blue, electrical bolt that shined as bright as the sun flew from Keravnos. It wasn't a particularly flashy attack, not counting the light of it, but I knew it was going to get the job done. As soon as the bolt touched the ground where Hyperion was lying, time seemed to stand still for a second. Then a massive explosion of lighting and wind shot from the island, creating a sonic blast just from how loud it was.

The hills where Hyperion had laid were completely obliterated, nothing remained. The force of the bolt had created a tidal wave in every direction from the island, even sending a powerful crashing into Long Island, leveling hundreds of trees. Wind blew all over Barnum Island, probably knocking everyone on the island down and leveling the buildings there. I floated down to the island were I had struck Hyperion. I surveyed the area, not finding the titan with my eyes or my aura sensing. I looked at the blackened ground my lightning had charred. I made sure to condense the bolt so I wouldn't accidentally wipe Barnum Island off the map, or Long Island or maybe even all of America as well. I had put a lot of power into that attack.

Suddenly, A flaming spear smashed through my abdomen, right in the same spot as before. I coughed up blood before Hyperion pulled his arm back and backhanded me to the ground. The titan held his flaming spear up, admiring my blood that was burning away on it. He laughed, "I didn't think you would be so gullible to think I was just going to lay there and take that blast, did you? I mean, come on, you were charging your attack for almost thirty seconds." Hyperion kind of had a point if I'm being honest.

I coughed up blood as Hyperion walked up to my fallen form. He kicked me in the face and I was sent flying. Before I could come into contact with anything, Hyperion appeared in my path and punched me in the chest. I flew back once again, but Hyperion vanished and appeared once more, hitting me upwards now. Hyperion was waiting for me above and struck down with both his hands, knocking me to the burnt ground. I smashed into the ground, making even more of a crater. I coughed and tried to stand, only for Hyperion's spear to run straight through my left hand. I yelled in pain as the spear cauterized a hole into my palm and the smell of burning flesh reached my nose.

Hyperion chuckled. "Say goodnight, kid." Hyperion pulled his spear out of my hand to end my life, only for an a powerful earthquake to knock him off balance. I saw a chance and took it. I quickly picked up Keravnos and slammed the axe into the titan's side. His unarmored ribcage met my weapon, the sound of ribs breaking and ichor spewing rung through my ears, as did Hyperion's yells of pain. Seeing the golden blood of the titan ignite something in me, my wounds suddenly seeming very unimportant. I stood from my downed position, drawing my fist back and smashing into Hyperon's face, slightly denting his golden helmet. I repeated that action, until there was a very prominent dent in the right side of Hyperion's golden helmet. Eventually, Hyperion recovered and threw me off of him. Hyperion pulled my axe out of his side and tossed it by my feet.

Hyperion growled. "You'll pay for that one, son of Zeus." I smirked, remembering him say something similar to that earlier in the fight. But I payed that thought no more mind. I said nothing to the Titan of Heavenly Light as I raised my axe above my head. Lightning charged the weapon as the wind picked up all around me. Hyperion steeled himself and readied to stand up to my attack with his spear. Once my weapon turned white, I knew it was ready. I winded up my arms and began to throw the weapon.

"Have some of this, Hyperion!" Keravnos flew straight at Hyperion's forehead. Hyperion brought his flaming spear up to block the attack. Both my axe and his spear collided, both of them fighting for supremacy. Hyperion gritted his ichor stained teeth as his defenses held up. Hyperion then roared, flames surrounding him and Keravnos lost the lightning and wind supporting it. The axe was then knocked behind him. Hyperion laughed and began to build up flames around his spear and he pulled it back, ready to throw.

Hyperion pointed his free hand at me. "I'm going to be putting everything I have in this one, son of Zeus! Prepare for your destruction!" Hyperion did as he said he was going to do and threw the weapon right at my chest. I lifted my right arm, summoning a shield made of wind and lightning. The flaming spear smashed into my elemental shield, creating shockwaves all around us. The clouds in the sky that had been created by me were blown away, creating a clear day. Wind blew as flames tried to eat through my shield. Sweat dripped down my head as the ground cracked at the force of the spear throw. The entire island seemed to shake at the might of The Titan of Heavenly Light. I briefly noted that the hole in my hand was now gone, something to worry about later.

I smirked, not showing the terror I was truly feeling on the inside. "You have fallen right into my trap, Hyperion!" I lifted my left hand into the air, controlling the fallen axe that laid behind the titan. Hyperion had no clue, as he kept on roaring and trying to burst through my wind and lightning shield. Time to strike. I pulled my left hand to my chest, pulling the axe that floated in the air along with me with the wind. Hyperion grunted as the axe pierced him in the back, the axehead buried deep into his shoulder blade. Hyperion's spear lost all it's power and fell to the ground harmlessly. I dropped my wind shield and charged lightning into my hands from my Thunder Form. "Time to die, you bastard."

Ignoring everything else, I roared as I raced at Hyperion. I smashed my right fist into the titan's fore head, earning a yell of pain as I knocked the titan on his back. I then smashed my left hand into his neck. My right into his temple, my left into his nose. Right to chin, left to cheek. Right to forehead, left to right eye. Repeat this process several times. Rage burst through me as I became covered in ichor, my fist still smashing into Hyperion's skull. I brought my fist together and began to smash down in a double axe-handle maneuver. Screaming the entire time in anger, glee filled me as I enacted my vengeance upon the Titan of Heavenly Light. I don't even know how long I kept punching.

Eventually, whenever I came to my senses, I found that Hyperion's face wasn't exactly a face anymore. There were no more recognizable features, as his head was now just a pile of golden gore. His smashed head seemingly fused with his crushed golden helmet, which still shimmered, only with Hyperion's blood. I looked at my hands, still covered in golden liquid. In fact, my entire form was covered in the liquid. My heavy breathing eventually slowed as my adrenaline faded and I calmed down. I sighed, standing up from my kneeled position. Hyperion, after a few seconds of me looking at him after calming down, faded away into golden dust.

My Thunder Form faded as I dropped down on my knees. Sweat dripped down my forehead as I breathed heavily. That was the hardest fight of my entire life. Hyperion was even more powerful than Ares was, and he had said he was weakened. A grin formed on my face. I wondered if Hyperion would reform and this time at full power. I wanted to fight the titan lord whenever he regained his true strength and whenever I reached the apex of mine. I stood up from the ground, surveying the area around me. My battle with Hyperion practically leveled the entire island. Half the island was almost destroyed by my lightning blast, and I had tried to make sure the blast was condensed.

I floated in the air with my wind manipulation. I had to find Taylor and Percy and end this now. I heard the rumblings of an earthquake a couple of miles away, which shook the entire island. The ground was cracking apart and moving further away from itself. The island wasn't going to last very long after this fight, that's for sure. I took off in the sky, returning to the small mining town we had confronted Luke in, only to fight that the town had basically been flattened. Shockwaves burst from the area, making it difficult to even fly in the vicinity of the fight.

I shifted into my Thunder Form so I could exist around the battle without being killed. I could now actually follow the battle now, when before the movements had just been blurs. Percy was clashing with Oceanus, who had now taken to wielding a blue crystal trident that looked like a budget version of Poseidon's we had seen in the throne room. Percy and Oceanus looked like two dancers, their movements skilled and graceful. Percy was obviously outdone in terms of raw power, so he made up for it in skill and speed. Something Oceanus seemed to lack. Oceanus was strong and no doubt fast, but couldn't hit the son of Poseidon. It didn't help that Oceanus wasn't a very aggressive fighter in the first place.

Eventually, Oceanus had enough and roared, something that was surprising, considering how soft spoken and calm Oceanus had been before we fought him. Percy must have really pissed him off. Ocean raised his arms and surrounded Percy in a vertical row of rock walls. He charged Percy before he could even react and tried to overwhelm his defense. Percy held off the titan lord of the seas very well, as he masterfully deflected every blow. Damn, when did Percy get so good with a sword? Had he been holding back whenever we sparred?

One of Percy's blows struck Oceanus' crystal staff right in the sweet spot, as the trident shattered into dozens of crystal pieces that clattered to the ground. Oceanus reacted by turning his arm into a giant blue snake-like fin and reaching out to grab Percy. It was quick and unexpected, which resulted in Percy being grabbed. Oceanus' arm shifted back to it's original form and wrapped around Percy's throat. Oceanus chokeslammed Percy to the ground, creating a crater and began to choke the life out of the son of Poseidon. This is where I knew I had to step in.

I didn't do very much, all I did was raise my axe and throw it right at Oceanus' back. Keravnos slammed into the middle of Oceanus' spin, spilling the titan's ichor. Oceanus grunted in pain as his grip on Percy's neck loosened. This was all Percy needed to capitalize, as he pulled his pen from his pocket and uncapped Riptide right into Oceanus' throat. Oceanus gurgled as he brought his hand to his neck, ichor spewing out like a busted water pipe. Oceanus fell to his knees clutching his neck as Percy stood up. Percy pulled his sword back and brought it through the titan's neck, decapitating him.

Percy breathed heavily as his Earthshaker Form faded away, his watery skin returning to their normal pink color. He capped Riptide and returned it to his pocket. I floated to the ground next to him, my own form vanishing as well. He noticed me and nodded. "Thanks, Zane. I was probably a goner if you didn't help me there." I turned to Oceanus' dead body, which crumbled into golden dust. Keravnos laid there in a pile of golden ichor.

I outstretched my hand, commanding the wind to return Keravnos to me. I turned back to Percy and nodded. "No problem, Perce. You saved me against Ares, so I had to return the favor somehow." I finished with a small grin. "Plus, we've both killed Titans now. How cool is that, man?" I returned Keravnos to the sheathe on my back, still covered in ichor.

Percy shook his head with a smile, waving me off. "I take it you've killed Hyperion." He motioned to my ichor covered hands. Visions of me punching Hyperion's face in flashed in my mind, his teeth shattering, his skull pushing in, and his head cracking like a walnut. I blinked the vision away, taking my mind off Hyperion's death.

I nodded to Percy, putting a fake smile on. "Yeah, he was the hardest fight of my life. I'm pretty sure he was even stronger than Ares, and he said he was weakened. What about your fight with Oceanus? He was the titan lord of the seas before Poseidon. Is he all that he's cracked up to be?" I sat down on some stone that was pushed up from the ground, probably from some earthquake Percy or Oceanus generated in their fight.

Percy sat down alongside me, wiping some sweat from his brow. He shook his head. "Not really, at least from that fight. He felt like he was not really trying during the whole thing. Like he didn't really want to kill me. He had several chances to do so over the course of the fight. He only really got angry right at the end, where he overpowered me in an instant. He also wasn't really all that good at fighting either." That last part made sense. Oceanus was one of the few Titans who did not fight in the Titanomacy. He also peacefully stepped down from the position of lord of the seas for Poseidon and retreated into the deep sea to live. He probably hadn't had a actual fight in his life, and coupled with the fact that he probably wasn't even trying to kill Percy for most of the fight, no wonder Percy could fight him the whole time. Oceanus probably wasn't even a weakened Titan like Hyperion.

I stood up from the rock, dusting my pants off. "Well, it's all in the past now, Percy. You beat a Titan, so don't ever forget it." A flash in auras from a couple miles away grabbed my attention. "Taylor..." I had forgotten about the son of Ares and him fight Luke. I motioned to Percy, "Come on, Percy. Taylor's on his own fighting Luke right now and I don't know how long he can last. We have to go help him." Percy nodded to me, wiping sweat off his brow and hiding his own exhaustion.

Me and Percy jogged out of the destroyed town, making our way towards Luke and Taylor's auras. We entered the hills, noting the destroyed trees and rocks on our way. Those were caused by weapons, not by earthquakes or lightning. They were definitely this way. We ran for a few minutes, allowing our strength to come back to us a little bit. We found a little cliff that dropped off a few dozen feet, and saw both of them fighting before us.

While to a normal human and even a normal demigod, Luke and Taylor would be blurs. Luke's sword, Backbitter, clashed against Taylor's shield, something that we had gotten him for his birthday in July since I destroyed his in Capture The Flag the previous month. Luke's blows were fast and precise, but Taylor was even more quick. Taylor had gotten stronger and more powerful over the last three months, as him fighting Luke one on one would be impossible back then. Now, the son of Ares was able to stalemate the son of Hermes. Luke rained down a powerful blow onto Taylor's shield, but Taylor sent out a concussive blast and sent Luke flying.

Luke somersaulted in the air, recovering from Taylor's enchanted shield. Luke blurred out of sight, trying to flank the son of Ares. Taylor twisted and deflected a sword swipe from Luke to his left with spear and smashed the end of his shield into Luke's gut. Luke stumbled back a bit and narrowly parried a lunge from Taylor that would have pierced his skull. Luke backflipped away, trying to create some distance between him and Taylor. Taylor wouldn't let up and continued to press the attack on Luke. The same scenario repeated itself several times, with Luke trying to create distance and Taylor not allowing him to.

Luke eventually had enough and growled. He threw out both his arms and, somehow, a burst of invisible energy knocked Taylor back. It was like what Ares used against us in me and Percy's battle against him, only at a smaller scale and less powerful. Luke used this to press the attack, unleashing a quick array of savage, powerful blows. Taylor tried to defend, every time Luke attack Taylor tried to knock him away with a concussive blast. However, Luke used that energy thing to put around his sword, so the concussive blasts had no effect on the son of Hermes' attacks.

Luke eventually got close enough to grab Taylor's shield. While Taylor had gotten stronger over the past three months, strength still wasn't his best quality. Luke ripped the shield away from Taylor's grasp and continued his viscous assault on the son of Ares. Taylor only had his spear to defend himself, which wasn't the best thing to use against Luke's sword. Luke, after several fast quick and decisive blows, knocked Taylor's spear away from his hands. Luke kicked Taylor in the chest and knocked him to the ground. He raised his sword. "Goodbye, Taylor. I'll make sure Zane hears how pathetically you died." Yeah, no.

Luke couldn't move his sword an inch before I blasted him in the chest with lightning. Luke grunted in pain and was sent flying away to the ground. I appeared in front of where Taylor laid and helped him out with my left hand. Taylor took it and gave me his thanks. "Don't mention it, man." Taylor grabbed his spear from where it laid and stood behind me, allowing me to take the reins of this fight. I withdrew my axe from my back and pointed it at Luke, a smirk on my face. "You know, you might actually be able to kill your opponents if you stop with the stupid ass villain monologues. It allows for people to jump in at the last moment." While I had a smirk on my face, truthfully, I was angry. Luke just tried to kill Taylor, which was unforgivable in my eyes.

Luke stood up from the ground, shaking away the pain my lightning had hit him with. "You know, Zane, you may actually have a point there." He twirled Backbitter in his hands and he pointed at me. "I guess Hyperion and Oceanus are dead, huh?" Luke spit on the ground. "Useless. Hyperion was too arrogant and proud for his own good and Oceanus was too soft. They were pathetic options to fight you. But they were all that Lord Kronos would lent me." Luke assumed a fighting stance. "I assume your going to kill me, too? Well, I'm not going to go down like a coward. Come at me."

I glared at the traitor. "I'm not just going to instantly destroy you with my Thunder Form, Luke." Luke's face scrunched in confusion. "I'm going to beat you normally, to prove I'm better than you. That I don't need some super form to kill you." I twirled Keravnos in my hands. "Before I do kill you, though, all I'm going to ask is this. Why?"

Luke was silent for a few seconds as he looked at the ground. Then he looked up, rage clear in his eyes. "You want to know why, Zane? Do you? There are so many reasons why I want the gods destroyed, but I'll just give you one example that you will understand. You remember Thalia, your half sister, right? Oh wait..." Luke trailed off dramatically. "She died before you could ever meet her. She sacrificed herself for us so we could make it into camp without being kill by the Furies. After she died, Zeus turned her into a tree so she could protect Camp Half-Blood forever. A noble move, right?" Luke's face twisted in anger. "Wrong. If Zeus was really paying attention to her, why did he let her die? I know there are Ancient Rules that even the gods have to follow, but they have been known to break them from time to time. Like when Zeus talked to you on Olympus. You know he wasn't supposed to do that, right?" Luke was referring to when I told him about the quest when we had returned home. "So why couldn't he save Thalia? Why couldn't he break the Ancient Rules whenever he needed to the most? You know why?" Luke asked.

Luke's eyes flared in rage. "IT'S BECAUSE HE DOESN'T CARE!" Luke silenced after his yell and tried to calm down. "He doesn't care, Zane. And neither do the other gods." Luke looked at Percy, who stood beside Taylor behind me. "You think Poseidon cares about you, Percy? You told me he literally called you a mistake right in front of you. He remembered your mother more fondly that he even talked about you." Luke turned his harsh gaze over to Taylor. "You think Ares cares about you, Taylor? Do you know how many fucking kids he has? He could fill a whole sweatshop with you all!" Luke didn't say anything after that, standing in silence.

I glared at the son of Hermes. "So what?" Luke looked shook at my answer. "So what if they don't care? What does that change exactly? Are we just going to spontaneously explode all of a sudden? No. It doesn't matter if the gods don't care about us, Luke. You know what does matter? The fact that we have each other. We have each other to lean on for support, for comfort. So what if the gods don't give us that. We already do it for each other. But you betrayed that. You betrayed the entire camp and everyone who looked up to you. You went off and joined the Titans. The gods may not be the best rulers you can think of, but they are better than the Titans at least. But none of that matters right now. You see, Luke, I'm going to kill you and bring your head back to Camp Half-Blood. Everyone you betrayed is going to get the justice they deserve. Defend yourself. I don't want this to be too easy."

Luke didn't say anything as he dropped into a fighting stance, a mirror of the one Percy used. I scoffed and charged him. Luke was barely able to dodge my overhead strike, the ground cracking as Keravnos smashed into it. Luke tried to use his superior speed to stab me in the neck, but I have gotten faster in the past three months. I dodged the attack and threw a punch at Luke. Luke barely avoided it, somersaulting backwards.

I was done playing with this bastard. I moved in front of Luke's face, appearing in his vision before he could even react. I backhanded him, almost knocking him off the cliff. Luke scrambled to his feet and slammed his thumb to the ground. Three blazes of fire appeared beside the son of Hermes, which three different monsters stepped out of. One monster was a griffin, the second was a phoenix and the final monster was a gorgon. The gorgon looked like Medusa, sexy lingerie outfit and all. What was with female Greek monsters and being scantily clad?

The griffin took flight and tried to dive rush me. I threw Keravnos directly into the monster's eagle-like face, killing the monster instantly. The griffin turned into golden dust before it's body even hit the ground. The phoenix tried to peck my eyes out, but was nothing compared to my lightning, which I summoned from my hand. The phoenix turned to ash, which was rather ironic. The gorgon tried to slice my throat out with a lunge, but met my outstretched fist, turning it's snaky head to gore.

Luke appeared from out of nowhere with his sword, Backbitter, aimed right between my eyes. I didn't have enough time to bring Keravnos up to deflect his weapon, so I brought my hand up instead. I grunted in pain as Luke's sword slid across my palm, blood flowing down my arm. Luke's blade stopped and I kicked him right in the abdomen, sending him flying away. Luke smashed on the ground and coughed up blood. I grinned sadistically. The pain has just begun for the son of Hermes. I approached Luke, looking to grab his neck and choke the life out of him, but a force blew me back. Luke used that force thing he used against Taylor. I stumbled back several feet and almost knocked me down.

I recovered quick enough to parry Luke's slash from the side and tried to counter attack with a backswing. Luke barely avoided my fast attack, but he didn't retreat, no, he pushed the attack. Luke swung and slashed around my defense with masterful skill. Even with my superior strength and speed, it was difficult to defend against the son of Hermes. I parried a final strike from Luke and then released a burst of wind in every direction, pushing Luke back. Time to end this.

I attacked Luke with brutal and quick attacks. Luke could barely keep up with my power as his skills could only help him so much. Luke dodge and backed up my every attack, avoiding the strikes by only inches. Eventually, Luke ran out of room to move, as he reached the edge of the cliff. I grinned, he was dead. My axe was position to Luke's neck, ready to take his head clean off. I swung, only for Luke to vanish before my eyes. No blur, no shadow or flames. He was just gone. A force hit me in the back and sent me toppling down the cliff.

I quickly caught myself with the air, not allowing myself to me made a fool of. I floated back up to the cliff, only to see Luke stand where I had stood not moments prior. My eyes widened. How? How did he move so quickly? If he could move so fast, why didn't he just do so when I was fighting him? Luke noticed my confusion and smirked. "You're wondering how I did that, right?" Luke chuckled. "A gift from Lord Kronos." His eyes hardened as his face turned to stone. "You forced me to use it. I was hoping I could escape from here without doing so, but you've grown too powerful for me to defeat by myself." Luke laughed. "A year and a half ago, I praised you on how much potential you had, Zane. Now look at you. You've defeated gods and Titans, something no other demigod has ever done before. I don't stand a chance against you as it is currently."

"Will you shut the fuck up and just die already?!" I roared in anger and threw Keravnos at him. Luke smiled and vanished from view, appearing several feet to the right with no warning. My eyes widened as my jaw hit the floor. Impossible. He could not be that fast. The ground isn't even reacting to his movement. Luke took out a knife, gleaming with celestial bronze. In an instant, the knife was in my shoulder. Luke had his hand outstretched, as if he threw the weapon at me. I yelled in pain as I ripped the knife out. I threw it back at him and he vanished again.

"You can't hit me now." Luke's voice broke out from behind me. I turned and swung at him, his figure clearly in my view now. But it was in vain, as Luke vanished again. Luke reappeared right next to me. "I could probably even kill you now with this power, but Lord Kronos has plans for you, Zane. I wouldn't even try to follow me, as you can't even touch me." As he said this, a bit of sweat dripped down his face. Ah, a weakness. Whatever he's doing, it's causing him to use stamina. If I forced him to use it enough, I could likely overloaded whatever power he is using and kill him. Luke, however, didn't even give me a chance. He waved, a shit eating grin on his face. "Later." Luke waved his sword in front of him, a black shadow appearing and Luke molded into it. His aura vanished. He was gone.

"Dammit!" I roared, punching the ground in rage. The stone shattered under my blow and a little earthquake broke out under my punch. Rage coursed through my veins, my fist tightening to whiteness. Luke got away. This entire quest was a massive waste of time. We basically destroyed Barnum island, fought two Titans, and nearly died all for nothing. I let out an angered yell. I breathed in and out, trying to not cause a hurricane over the island. Ran struck my face, too late I guess.

I stood up from the cracked ground and walked over to Percy and Taylor, whose faces' told the whole story. I plopped down on the ground beside where they stood, the two demigods joining me on the ground. We sat in silence, taking in the destruction of the island. A storm was raging over the island, no doubt caused by my little temper tantrum. Half the island was burnt black by lighting and the other half was in shambles from Percy and Oceanus' earthquakes. I spoke up after a few minutes of silence. "So that was a giant waste of time, huh?"

We sat in silence for a few seconds before Taylor audibly giggled. "You don't say, huh?" We sat there on the stone for almost twenty minutes in silence, the exhaustion of the battles we had raged through washing off of us. Taylor stood up and took the initiative. "Alright you two, let's get going. We have to get back and tell Chiron of what just happened. Now that we know the path, it shouldn't take us three days to get back to camp." Both of me and Percy agreed and stood up. We followed Taylor back to the shoreline of the island, surveying the damage of the island. I hope no one actually lived here.

Percy formed another boat out of blue rocks and we sailed back to Long Island. I sat beside Percy on the trip back, which was slow and lazy. I was fine with that, since I was in no hurry to get back to camp. "So did you find out why Oceanus was fighting for Kronos? Last time he was neutral in the Titan war. What changed exactly?"

Percy shrugged. "I don't really know, Zane. I didn't exactly ask him, since I was trying to not die the entire time. Did you ask Hyperion how hot you should turn the stove to when baking cupcakes?" I chuckled at the hilarity of the question. I wonder if Hyperion actually knew the answer to that question, you know, cause of fire and stuff. A funny thought came to mind.

I shook my head at the son of Poseidon. "No, but he did tell me how long I should roast a marshmallow. Only for twenty seconds, otherwise the mallow turns black." I put a hand to my chin, pretending to be thinking about something. "If I ever meet Kronos, I'm going to ask him how the harvesting season went, you know, since he's the lord of Farming or something." Percy laughed at my response before we went into a friendly verbal exchange, talking about how we should ask Atlas how the marathon went, since he's the titan of stamina.

(000)

It took us two days to get back from to Camp Half-Blood. Thanks to Taylor's navigating and the fact that we had traveled this way before, it only took that amount of time. When we returned to Camp Half-Blood and told everyone the news about what had happened, they were both disappointed and a little terrified. Disappointed about the fact that we failed to bring Luke back or kill him, and terrified that there was more than just Hyperion to deal with on Luke's side. The mention of Oceanus really rattled Chiron, who told us that he hadn't exactly expected for the former lord of the seas to join forces with Kronos.

We told Chiron about how me and Percy were able to defeat Hyperion and Oceanus but how Luke had escaped. Luke had done that vanish thing, which Chiron couldn't tell us what it was. Chiron had never heard anything like it and had never seen Luke use such an ability. Chiron dismissed us after he was told the full events of the quest. Percy and Taylor had returned to their cabins, as they were tired and wanted to rest after the quest. I just left the Big House and plopped down into the nearest chair I could find, which was one of the pinochle chairs at the table outside the door on the porch. I sat there for a few minutes, allowing my mind to rest.

"You don't look like you want to play pinochle." I looked up from the table, only to find Dionysus standing there. He was shirtless, only in his bottom toga skirt. He looked like he had just gotten out of the shower, as his athletic frame glistened with water and his curly brown hair wet. He held a wine glass filled with diet coke in his left hand and his right hand was placed on his hip. He smirked at me as he walked up to one of the chairs and sat down. My face flushed a bit as he sat right across from me.

"Did you just take a shower?" The wine god nodded as he sipped his diet coke. "Can't you just...stay clean? Why do you need to take a shower?" Dionysus chuckled as he heard my question.

Dionysus looked at me, his smirk still plastered on his face. "If you didn't have to eat, would you still do it? I mean, eating food feels and tastes good, doesn't it? Especially certain foods." I nodded, imagining cookies and cream ice cream. Dionysus seemed to read my mind. "It's the same for taking showers and baths. I may not need to actually do it, but I choose to. It feels good and relaxes me. The gods know I need it thanks to the stress from running this camp." Dionysus took a huge gulp from his wine glass. He looked at me seriously. "Chiron filled me in with the details of your quest. Very concerning if I'm being honest."

I looked at the wine god. "Concerning? Why? Is it because there's now undeniable proof that the Titans are back or that I was able to kill one, same with Percy?' I challenged the wine god upfront.

Surprisingly, Dionysus didn't make any threats. His blank expression remained on his face. "Perhaps a bit of both if I'm being honest." Dionysus sighed. "if you didn't know, I'm the youngest Olympian god. I wasn't around during the Titan War, so I never exactly experienced what they were capable of. But you said Hyperion was even more powerful than Ares while he was weakened. The idea of a Titan of his caliber at full power is something I do not want to imagine. Ares is already more powerful than I am, so the thought of a titan on par with Hyperion or Olympus forbid, Kronos is rather daunting."

Dionysus finished his glass of diet coke and swished his drink, refilling the cup from empty to full. "Also, the fact that you were able to defeat Hyperion in a one on one battle at the age of twelve will probably have all the other gods shitting themselves in fear of your potential. Be glad your father is Zeus, otherwise they would likely stop at nothing if it meant killing you and securing their futures." Dionysus chuckled. "I don't really see the fuss if I'm being honest. I don't really care if you're stronger than I am, actually I'm pretty sure you already are. I know you're basically harmless to the gods. If it meant putting everyone here you cared about in danger, you wouldn't harm a fly." Odd praise from the wine god, but okay.

Dionysus took a swig from his wine glass. "But if there is no threat of consequence, you indulge in your violent nature and tendencies. A rather peculiar contradiction, correct? Most of us Olympians share the same quality, at least the whole violent tendency part. You're not too different from the rest of us." Dionysus sighed. "There is an upcoming war that is fast approaching, Zane. This camp is going to be caught in the crossfire, the campers are likely going to be used at foot soldiers in this war. My own sons would be included in the ones who will fight." Dionysus looked at me seriously. "Promise me that you will use your power to protect this camp and everyone in it."

I looked at the wine god, silent for a few moments. I grinned. "You know, Dionysus, you like to pretend that you don't care about any of the campers and would prefer that we would all die. But when I come down to it, you're just a big softie aren't you?" My face became serious. "But don't worry, I will protect everyone here and make sure we defeat Luke and the Titans. That, I swear on the Styx." Thunder boomed in the distance, solidifying my oath.

Dionysus' face flush a little. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm a softie, alright. I actually do care about all you little shits." He pointed a finger at me, false seriousness in his eyes. "But don't tell anyone that I said any of that, alright? I have a reputation to keep up, okay?" His tone was serious, but I could see the corners of his lips starting to twitch up a little.

I stood up from the table and bowed to the wine god. "I won't tell a soul, milord. Especially not your sons. They would be so embarrassed if they knew your true feelings." I waved the wine god off. "Catch you later, Dionysus." The god grunted and I made the walk back to my cabin.

(000)

(The Next Day)

It was now the day for Percy to leave and return home to his mother to attend school. We, me and my other friends, had met him at the tree of my half-sister to say goodbye for the rest of the year. Me, Nico and Taylor were also surprised to find out that Annabeth was also going back to her stepfather to live. That really shocked me, since I thought she hated him. We said goodbye to the daughter of Athena, who got in her family's car and rode off into the distance.

It was now Percy's turn to set off. Percy was going to be riding in the grey SUV with Argus to Manhattan, so he wasn't even going to be all that far away. But it was still weird to be saying goodbye for nine months to the son of Poseidon. Hell, in the past three months, he had kind of became like my brother or something. I don't know what that meant but that's the vibe I got. Percy held out his hand before he stepped into the car with Argus. "See you next year, Zane?"

I shook my head with a grin. "Come here, you dumbass." I wrapped Percy in a bear hug, careful to not crush his spine. "You better come back here next year. I don't want to have to kill all the Titans by myself, okay?" Percy nodded and we fist-bumped. Taylor and Nico said goodbye to the son of Poseidon and he got into the car and Argus drove off with him. As the SUV disappeared off in the distance, I whispered, "Catch you later, Percy."

"Zane, we have training in the area in like five minutes. Come on, lets go!" Nico pulled my arm off to the side, dragging me with him. He began to drill me with questions about the quest we had been on, questions such as: Does Hyperion spear do six thousand three hundred and two damage, or was Oceanus made of water, or did Luke run away like a bitch. Those kind of questions. Taylor came up and grabbed my other arm. Taylor began to ask me if I wanted my nails painted and what color to paint them. I sighed and then smiled. While I knew a chapter of my life was closing, I felt like the book was just beginning.

(000)

There we go. So that was the mini-arc, my first attempt at something basically new. Honestly, it felt like one long fight scene out of an anime or something. Was still fun to write though. Also, sorry if the last chunk of the chapter was a little half baked. I'm kind of just trying to get this done so I can start on the Sea of Monsters arc. Anyway, here is a VsBattles profile I made for Zane, so you can get a feel on his power level.

Name: Zane Williams

Age: 12

Tier: At least 6-C, higher when enraged. At least High 4-C in Thunder Form. High 3-A with both Thunder Form and The Master Bolt.

Powers and Abilities: Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Air Manipulation, Weather Manipulation, Electricity Manipulation, Flight via aerokinesis, Resistance to Electricity Manipulation (Immune to his own lightning), Resistance to Extreme Temperatures (Superior to both Percy and Jason, who have both survived contact with lava and has survived contact with Hyperion's fire), Limited Clairvoyance (via Demigod Dreams), Regeneration (High-Low) whenever enraged, Resistance to Soul Manipulation (Stronger than Percy Jackson, who survived being hit by Backbitter, a weapon that targets the souls of it's user's enemies.), Weapon Mastery (Able to fight people and beings like Luke, Ares and Hyperion, one being the best swordsman at Camp Half-Blood in three hundred years, the other two being immortals with thousands of years of experience.), Resistance to Petrification (Resisted being turned to stone by Medusa.).

Attack Potency: At least Island Level (Stronger than Percy Jackson. Fought and stalemated the Nemean Lion with no prior training. Killed an Elder Cyclops on par with Polyphemus. Easily killed a large group of dozens of Laestrygonians with a single lightning blast. Defeated the Chimera. Killed Cerberus. Stronger than Luke Castellan, who is comparable to Percy Jackson. Stated by Chiron to be the strongest demigod than Chiron has ever met, including Heracles.) At least Large Star Level in Thunder Form (Instantly one shotted Charon, a minor god. Fought Ares, albeit with Percy Jackson's help. Fought and defeated a weakened Hyperion. Comparable to EarthShaker Form Percy, who fought Oceanus.) Large Universe Level with both Thunder Form and the Master Bolt (Fought against Hades within the Underworld and critically wounded him.)

Speed: At least High Hypersonic+ (Faster than Jason Grace, who could deflect lightning. Has surpassed both Luke and Taylor, who are two of the fastest demigods to ever live.) At least Massively Hypersonic+ in Thunder Form (Could keep up with both Ares and Hyperion in this form, who scale at this level.) At least FTL with both Thunder Form and Master Bolt. (Could attack at the speed of light.)

Striking Strength: At least Island Level (Can kill Laestrygonians with his bare hands. Stalemated the Nemean Lion with no prior training. Can damage both Cerberus and The Chimera.) Large Star Level with Thunder Form (Can damage Ares. Beat Hyperion to death with his bare hands.) Large Universe Level with both Thunder Form and the Master Bolt (Should be comparable to his attack potency.)

Durability: At Least Island Level (Tanked hits from three Laestrygonians all at once. Could easily tank hits from Luke Castellan. Survived blows from the Chimera.) At least Large Star Level with Thunder Form (Could tank attack from beings like Ares and Hyperion.) Large Universe Level with both Thunder Form and the Master Bolt (Could survive attacks from a serious Hades, although with difficulty.)

Stamina: Superhuman (Should be comparable to Percy Jackson, who survived months in Tartarus.)

Range: Extended Melee range with Labrys or Keravnos, Hundreds of Meters with lightning and wind powers, Dozens of Kilometers with storm creation. Thousands of kilometers when going all out.

Intelligence: Above Average (Can make successful battle strategies on the fly while in combat. Able to outsmart Ares and Hyperion, beings with thousands of years of experience. However, outside of combat, he's not particularly above average.)

Weaknesses: Very prone to anger and irrationality. Despite training for a year and a half, can still be rather inexperienced in some combat matters. Can often make bad judgement calls and is not very diplomatic.

Anyway, I'll be back next week with chapter eight.