AN:
Response to Reviews:
"I get that you might not like Trump, but come on this a little much, and war over a comment"
Response: Ok, I get where you're coming from here, but this is just the beginning of a more complex plot. Its not like I don't like Trump (I'm not a fan, but I don't hate him). Clearly you haven't read the Authors Note at the beginning where I explain all of this. I advise you do this to understand why I've done this. I can't really respond to this without spoiling what is to come, but you'll just have to trust me that I know its exaggerated, and there is a reason behind it that will come much later.
"Why isn't the barrier blocking it? It was supposed to block everything mortal from entering"
Response: I'm assuming you mean the missile striking at the end of the chapter. The barrier is there to keep out mortals from entering, not necessarily mortal machinations. Think of the bronze bull, it was able to break through the barrier. Missiles are heavy weapons of war and destruction, they would be able to quite easily get through the barrier.
"My only questions are, if the Greek and Roman gods reappear does that mean the old countries that worshipped them begin to re – worship them? For example, does the Italian and Greek government join the gods or do the gods simply use the demigods to fight the war and never actually involve themselves like the books?"
Response: This is actually quite a difficult question to answer. In terms of the first question, I had no plans to include this information as the old countries that worshipped them are now mostly of the five / six world religions, and the actual belief in the gods doesn't exist in the modern day. Although they now do believe, this would make the gods more powerful, yet those fighting AGAINST the gods (quite a lot of countries) do not make them more powerful as they are the enemies. In this story, the more people that believe in the gods is not going to affect their power level.
As for the second question, I don't particularly want to spoil what is to come too much. However, I will say that the Gods will play a role in the war, although the story will mainly focus on the demigods.
Whew! That was way more reviews / questions then I expected. Sorry for the very long authors note.
All Reviewers get a cookie :D
Chapter Two:
January 17th, 2020
BOOM!
The ground shook. Smoke rose from the camp just 400 meters away. The demigods closest fell from the shattering noise and shakes. Screams could be heard all around the camp, the Demigods dashed away from the camp as fast as they could as fires sprouted up all over it.
They scattered, rushing for the city of New York, weapons blazing as they sprinted from the camp. The barriers surrounding it collapsed, the buildings and trees of Camp Half – Blood went up in flames.
The Demigods vanished into New York City, Percy amongst them, as they rushed to escape the threat of the mortal weapons of mass destruction. Another missile struck Long Island as they ran, tears streaming down their faces as they bolted for Mount Olympus.
XXX
"Today, we mourn the deaths of 53 Demigod children who were killed in the violent attack from the mortals of Russia" Zeus stated. For once, he actually looked sad. However, if you looked close enough you could see his face flash in anger that he was clearly struggling to hold in.
"They fought valiantly in the Second Titan War against Kronos, and bravely again in the war against Gaea. They were our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and friends. They were part of the backbone in our wars and supported us when they were needed. They were brave, strong, and intelligent. Their deaths were caused by an abomination of mortal technology which we cannot hope to understand. They died for us, and although they died in the equivalent of a backstab, we wish them well in the afterlife." Zeus said.
Many of the four hundred or so demigods were crying for their friends and siblings, others were clearly trying to keep it together. The young children howled for the people they knew, others looked confused.
"Today, on January the 17th, Russia wronged the Gods and Demigods of Greece. They wronged us by killing our own when we did not provoke them. I do not know how they knew of our existence, only that they must be defeated on the battle field. Today, us, the Gods, and you, our sons and daughters, stand with America in the war against Russia. It is time for us to reveal ourselves to the mortal population of America and join in this war. For Russia has attacked us and forced us to play our hand. Let us remember the Demigods killed by the Russians in peace but let us also avenge them in anger. Make Russia fear us, the gods, the demigods, the greatest warriors of all time…"
Tear streaked faces gained looks of determination. They were scared, but they were determined. They wanted revenge.
XXX
BREAKING NEWS: Russian Missile narrowly misses New York, striking Long Island.
'At approximately 5:30 am yesterday morning, January the 17th, Russia launched two missiles with the intent of striking down many buildings in New York. Thankfully, the missiles were misdirected and landed on the uninhabited island of Long Island, the only thing to be destroyed being an old strawberry farm. President Trump had this to say:'
"It is clear now that Putin is looking for war. He is a bloodthirsty man with the intent to kill us all. He has started this war over a petty little comment, and now we will end it. If he wants to continue on this path, then he will soon regret ever touching the United States of America."
'Russia has cut off all communication with the news reporters of the United States. We have no access to the country and several of our planes have been shot down. Many American tourists touring Russia have been taken into captivity. We pray today, for the men and women trapped in that horrid country.'
*Swish*
Jonathon Crowl stared at the screen blankly. He slowly stood up and looked out of his apartment window, the shock of how close he had come to dying striking home. Those hadn't been warning shots, they had just missed.
He looked down at the streets, where people were flooding them. He could hear their cries of panic as they tried to escape the city. Many rushed for the airport, and many more were attempting to drive out of the city, seeking a safer location.
Afterall, if Russia could fire a missile over there that easily, were they ever safe?
XXX
Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of the seven followed Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades through the busy streets of New York. People were panicking so much they did not give the oddly dressed group a second glance. They were rushing to escape the city which was trapping them. Thousands of people shouted to get through first, many were shoved over and trampled by the others.
The small party of ten eventually worked their way to the CNN headquarters. It was time for the reveal, where they would show America who they had on their side.
They pushed their way through and into the almost empty CNN entrance room. Zeus strode confidently up to the receptionist's desk.
"Can I help you…?" the receptionist asked, looking clearly confused at the way they were dressed.
"I wish to speak with the head news guy or whatever his name is, I have an update on the war against Russia" Zeus stated.
The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?" she asked.
"We are here to announce the Greek Gods are on America's side, and we wish to avenge our fallen brethren who were killed from the missile strike at Long Island" Zeus said.
The receptionist laughed. "Really? Well I'll be, Greek Gods?!" she laughed again, waving them off.
"I'm serious! I am Zeus, King of the Gods and God of the Sky, Thunder, Lighting, Storms!" he exclaimed, annoyed.
"Yeah and I live in a mansion under the sea!" the receptionist said, laughing.
Poseidon grumbled.
XXX
"I can't believe this! Kicked out of a stupid building by a mortal!" Zeus exclaimed.
"Calm down Zeus, think about it. If you were a mortal, and some guy rushed into a news building claiming to be a Greek God, would you believe them?" Poseidon asked.
"I suppose you're right. We'll just have to find another way to show them that we exist." Zeus grumbled. The sky rumbled in response as Zeus began to raise a storm over New York.
"Surely they'll believe me now!" Zeus said with a smug smirk. "I told them that there would be a storm tonight even though there was a 0% chance of rain for the next two weeks."
Poseidon laughed. "Maybe this is a better way to go about it, we'll just prove it to them!"
Percy raised his eyebrows and turned to Annabeth, who also had her eyebrows raised. The Gods were thousands of years old, but they could be children sometimes.
XXX
Whilst their little venture got their minds off the tragedy at Long Island, it did cause a large number of problems for them. The first being coming up with a way to reveal themselves to the Mortals of America.
It was 7:00pm in New York, and the crowds had not slowed down at all. Percy and Annabeth stood on a balcony on Mount Olympus, looking at the especially busy streets below.
"How do we reveal ourselves to them?" Percy asked her.
"I think the best way is to just get Hecate to drop the mist and kill some monsters in front of them" Annabeth said. "Its not the smartest approach, but I reckon it's the easiest and most direct way to get through to them. We get Hecate to drop the mist and lure some monsters into an area with cameras to try and make the news."
"Yeah, I agree. It would probably scare some people, but then they'll at least know we're here to help them in this war." Percy said.
Annabeth smiled. "Lets just relax for now, we can deal with the war tomorrow." She said, leaning against him.
Percy nodded, and they looked out over the city once again.
XXX
January 19th, 2020
Hecate had dropped the mist in the early hours of the morning. The seven stood in the center of a busy courtyard at 7:30am. There were still people yelling and trying to get out of the city, as they had been all the previous day and night. Many of the faces around them looked distraught as the ran by.
"They all look so terrified" Annabeth said.
"Yeah, I'm not sure I want to do this to them. They look scared enough as it is" Hazel said as she looked at them. "Poor people, their lives were just turned upside down."
"I agree, but we have to do this. Otherwise they won't know what they have helping them. They will be even more scared for a bit, but when they realise, they have Gods fighting for them? It could install a good measure of hope into them. The rewards outweigh the risks" Percy said.
The rest of them nodded grimly.
Suddenly, several mortals screamed and the seven heard the growl of a hellhound from behind them. They spun, swords, knives, bows and more weapons flaring as they rushed the three hellhounds. Their blades flashed as they leapt and spun in a blur of silver and flesh. The hellhounds didn't last long against the superior fighting force of the seven demigods.
The Mortals stared at them in mixes of fear, surprise and even hope in some eyes. The seven slowly turned and walked away, leaving a crowd of stunned mortals behind them. As they turned to walk the yelling started. The crowds slowly began to race back, trying to force their way out of the city.
XXX
BREAKING NEWS: Greek Gods in America?!
'Early this morning, a group of seven "demigods" were spotted saving a large crowd of people in from what we now know as "hellhounds", which are giant hounds from Greek mythology. According to one of the demigods, whose name is to remain discrete, stated that they had been hiding amongst us this entire time. The Greek Gods stated that they would be on our side in the war against Russia, stating that they wanted revenge for the deaths of 39 demigods due to the missile strike on Long Island on January the 17th. Trump commented:'
"These Greek Gods, whoever they are, obviously are very powerful to have been using a magical force to hide from us. The fact that they are on our side in very important to our cause, Russia made a big mistake by misjudging that missile."
'We will now play the footage of the seven demigods attacking the hellhounds. Viewer discretion is advised as the following scenes could be possibly disturbing to young audiences.'
BREAKING NEWS: Thousands of people flee New York
'Ever since the missile strike that hit Long Island two days ago, thousands of people have been fleeing the city, creating major traffic issues and mass panic. Peter Trafical stated:'
"The severe clogging of the streets makes it almost impossible to drive out of New York. I can see why these people want to get out of the city, but by clogging the streets they are stopping each other from escaping…"
*Swish*
Jonathon Crowl sighed. Could things get any crazier? Greek Gods were real. It was very hard to believe, in fact, even after seeing the footage, Jonathon still thought it was a hoax. But it was on National News! And the attack had apparently happened just seven blocks from his apartment, when he had been sleeping.
Jonathon could almost taste the death in the air. A war was coming, and Jonathon, nor anyone else, had any idea how to stop it.
XXX
General Joseph Dunford stood stock still in the meeting room. President Trump sat silently at the other end, his eyes boring into him.
"North Korea has joined Russia's side. They are providing Russia with their own weaponry." Trump stated suddenly.
"Yes Sir, but we have the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and New Zealand." Joseph responded.
Trump appeared not to hear him. "Soon, Germany will also join them. Russia and North Korea have the biggest military forces in the world apart from China."
"We will have a better army." Dunford responded.
"No, we won't! Russia and North Korea combined have over two million total troops, 500,000 planes!" Trump exclaimed in frustration. "Want to know what we have? We have, in total, 1,800,000 total troops between us, France, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. That's it. They have approximately 300,000 more troops then us, maybe more, and Germany hasn't joined the war yet."
"There has to be a way to win against them, could we get China behind our cause?" Dunford asked.
"Unlikely, China has the biggest military in the world, but if they are joining the war it isn't on our side. We need to keep them neutral or we lose." Trump breathed outwards heavily. "I need you, and the other military generals, to find a way to keep China out of this war. That's your job Dunford, and if you can't do it, Milley will have your position."
XXX
January 20th, 2020
General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff in the Russian Military, stood on the balcony outside the Kremlin in the centre of Moscow. Ever since that foolish president, Donald Trump, had made that comment, something had changed in Putin's mindset. He seemed hellbent on war with America. His overall goal appeared to be the domination of the United States. He had been distant, his only contact with Valery in recent times had been the order to shoot missiles at New York City.
Valery was extremely surprised when Vladimir Putin walked out onto the balcony and stood next to him.
"We are winning this war" he stated.
"I believe so, President" Valery responded simply.
"Have you heard of these 'Gods' that America supposedly has supporting them?" Putin asked.
"I have, and I have seen the evidence. There is some sort of monstrous beasts in America. The 'Demigods' as they call themselves, have been killing them for hundreds of years. Our spy has discovered the location of them." Valery said.
"Oh really? And where would that be?" Putin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"According to our spy, they reside on top of the Empire State Building, in the clouds." Gerasimov said.
"Then we will aim for the Empire State Building on our next attack." Putin said.
XXX