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(Unknown, Thalia POV)
I awoke with a start. I quickly sat upright and scanned the room I was in. There was a fireplace to my left, with a small fire crackling and providing some heat. On the far end of the room was a simple wooden door with no lock, just a doorknob. There were no windows and the walls were made of what seemed to be sturdy mahogany wood. The floor was solid stone, but a plush grey carpet covered most of the floor.
Looking around the room for my weapons proved useless, all I had was the hunting clothes on my back.
Just then I heard a sound from behind the door. I quickly slammed myself down on the bed and pretended to still be unconscious.
A loud creak resonated through the room as the door swung open and a pair of footsteps marched in, stopping at the side of my bed.
"I knew you were awake the moment you came to. Don't think you can fool me, girl," a gruff voice said. Something was off about the voice, however. It almost sounded like the speaker was made of stone.
Deciding my ruse wouldn't get me anywhere, I opened my eyes. I found myself staring at familiar purple eyes. What wasn't familiar, however, was the body of pure ice.
"Dionysus?" I croaked. "What in Tartarus' name happened to you!?"
The wine god laughed. "What happened to me!? I was given power like nothing I could have ever dreamed about!" he exclaimed, still chuckling. "But enough about me, you're the real star of the show!" he announced in a grand voice.
"What are you on about?" I asked, fighting back a feeling of terror.
Dionysus grabbed my arm and pulled me out of bed with so much force I landed upright on my feet. "Oh, you'll see what I'm on about very soon," he said as he ushered me out of the room.
He walked me through winding corridors that twisted left and right, sloped up, then down, made a curve, and finally stopped at a wide staircase that led to the outside of wherever we were.
One glance at the horrendous smirk on Dionysus' face made me want to run back to that room and knock myself back out.
"This is where I leave you. Have fun up there," he said as he turned sharply and began walking back into the tunnels.
Turning around and steeling myself for whatever was about to happen, I took one step forward, every instinct in my body screaming at me to run the other way.
"Oh, Thalia..." I turned around and saw Dionysus looking at me with a small hint of... concern? No that can't be right.
"Be careful up there, I... I know firsthand how brash we children of Zeus are, and now is... now is really not the time for that famous demigod swagger," he said, voice tinged with an undeniable sadness. Before his words even registered he disappeared behind the stone tunnel.
Ok, I have to be going crazy, either that or I got hit on the head hard enough that I can't recognize emotions correctly. The encounter with Dionysus weirded me out more than whatever waited for me at the top of the staircase, so I climbed the stairs quickly and stepped out into what appeared to be an ancient Roman coliseum.
It was completely empty, not to mention in a serious state of disrepair. The sun was up high, baking the sand hot enough to ensure blisters should I touch it.
I walked out until I stood in the middle of the completely out of place coliseum, and did a full 360 in an attempt to identify something or someone.
A hissing sound like rapidly evaporating water from behind me made me twirl around and come face to face with a human-sized entity made of slowly swirling water.
The hissing came from where his watery feet touched the scorching sand. He was dressed in a suit made of water, and his eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, his hair reminding me of one of those cliche surfers with short spiky hair.
In one smooth move he took off his sunglasses, and I was immediately drawn into his silvery eyes.
"Thalia, so good to finally meet you. I've got to say, you live up to all the expectations of a daughter of Zeus," he said, flashing a pearly white smile.
I snapped out of my daze as the realization of just who I was speaking to finally hit me.
'I'm face to face with the guy poised to topple Olympus!' As soon as the thought manifested, a small piece of me questioned if that was really such a bad thing.
As if reading my mind, Pontus smirked. "Thalia, you've been through a lot in your life. You must be tired of fighting these never-ending battles the Olympians drag you into. You must long to just spend your life in service of Artemis, with your new family, roaming the wilderness to your heart's content. Am I wrong?" he asked, tilting his head ever so slightly, his eyes once again capturing me in their infinite depth.
I shook my head. 'Snap out of it, dammit!'
"You're not, but what does that matter to you? You want to tear Olympus down stone by stone, god by god, goddess by goddess, Artemis included, so what exactly do you want from me?" I growled.
A genuine look of shock rippled across his features. The water that composed his form began to swirl slightly faster.
"Is that truly what you believe?!" he almost whispered.
I stared at him, eyes wide open, completely thrown off by this reaction.
"Thalia, you're much smarter than that. Look around us," he said as he swept his hand across the crumbling coliseum.
"In the short time Olympus has presided over the world, humanity has advanced so far and reached great heights! Clearly, Olympus is the kind of immortal guidance this world needed. But even you, child of the leader of Olympus, must admit that things are nowhere near perfect," he began, eyes twinkling with righteous rage.
"The Olympians cause misery with their selfishness and pettiness. How many good people have died over the years in pointless conflicts between squabbling gods? How many times have you and your friends put yourselves in danger to solve a problem caused either directly or indirectly by the Olympians?"
As he spoke my mind began wandering to the many times the Olympians have shown complete disregard for our lives.
"How many times have they pretended to be conducting important council meetings, taking pride in the work you demigods did while they sat and watched, praising you for your bravery and strength in overcoming challenges that could have been prevented with just a little effort from them?" He lamented, speaking out loud the thoughts that plagued every demigod at least once in their life.
"How many times must demigods struggle to survive in the wild, forsaken by their godly parents, their only hope of being saved resting on the shoulders of other demigods, hunted by monsters simply for being born with godly blood?"
My mind flashed to the years before camp half-blood, where me, Luke, and Annabeth were constantly on the run, never sure if we would survive to see the next sunrise.
"And what of your friends? How many times was Percy's life in danger because of this or that Olympian not liking him? And what about you? You were turned into a tree, lost years of your life, only to be thrust into yet another conflict as soon as you awoke!"
He paused, taking a deep breath, before locking his eyes onto mine.
"I have been sealed away for many years, but I have seen all, and I can see my words have struck home," he sighed, watching me implode with all these feelings that had been brewing for years.
The thing that scared me to the core, more than any monster I've encountered, was that he was right. Everything he had just said resonated with what I had truly felt deep down.
Pontus reached over, grasping my shoulder with his watery arm. "Olympus is perfect for this world, but the people leading it are corrupt. Imagine how much better this world would be, both for humans and demigods, if instead of being lead by an arrogant bullheaded boor like Zeus, Olympus was headed by you, someone who hails from both worlds, who actually understands reason. Imagine how much good you could accomplish at the helm of Olympus, for everyone; mortals, demigods, and immortals."
As he spoke, I slowly began to imagine a world where I took my father's place, where reason reigned in Olympus, where instead of the petty Olympians, kind people, people who took their duties seriously, ruled the world.
"However not all Olympians are the same. There are some who actually deserve their thrones; Artemis, Hephaestus, Hermes. Level-headed beings capable of empathy. That is my goal, Thalia. I want an effective, united, and powerful Olympus. It's something the whole world will need, and very soon, if it wishes to survive the upcoming months," Pontus said gravely. Before I could form a question his eyes flashed and he imparted a vision of what was to come.
(Camp Half-Blood, Percy POV)
After explaining what I saw in the weird vision to Madeline, she looked at me funny.
"What do you think it was, the statue?" she questioned, eyes filled with curiosity.
"I don't know, but I can feel some sort of connection to it, I think... I need to find it, Madeline, I need to know what this connection is," I sighed, burying my head in my hands. "Whatever this thing is, it's terrifying and ancient, and yet somehow I'm connected to it."
A warm feeling enveloped me as Madeline crushed me in a bear hug.
"We'll find out together," she whispered, tightening her grip on me.
We stood like that, the waves swirling around us peacefully for some time, and at that moment I knew I would protect my sister even if it meant I had to fight whatever it was that was in the bottom of the ocean.
A spray of sand told me someone was coming, and I looked up to see a pair of captivating silver eyes.
"If I hadn't noticed it was you, there'd be a scorch mark where you stand for daring to touch one of my hunters," Artemis said with a playful smile.
Madeline spun around and with a squeak of joy rushed up and gave Artemis her infamous bear hug.
"How did the mission go?" I asked, chuckling at my sister's antics.
Artemis sighed, giving me a haunting look. "Not well, as things stand I'm more confused about who our enemy is more than ever. Pontus is just the beginning, and we haven't even figured out how to stop him." She seemed as deflated and tired as I did after my fight with Kronos.
Before I could say anything the look of exhaustion disappeared, replaced by Artemis's signature calm gaze.
"Let's get back, the hunt will be on the move again tomorrow morning, so pack up and be ready to leave at dawn," the silver-eyed goddess declared, turning around and marching towards the camp.
I looked at Madeline, and she was bubbling with excitement.
"We're finally going back on the move!" Madeline exclaimed, sprinting towards our cabin. "I'll start packing!" she yelled, her voice getting quieter as she reached the Poseidon cabin.
I knew if I went to bed now I'd just end up tossing and turning for a while, so I decided to take a walk and clear all the stressful things that had returned to the forefront of my mind after that weird vision.
Before I realized it, the moon had crept up a quarter of the sky, and the sun had disappeared completely, taking all it's light with it. The sereneness of the waves quietly lapping on the shore under the darkness of night was refreshing.
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I almost walked right past the figure of an 18-year-old woman wearing the standard silver hunter clothes sitting on the sand and staring at the moon. She looked familiar, but I didn't recognize her.
I stopped and stood five feet away from her, scrutinizing her, trying to place her face. My gut was screaming at me, telling me this was no ordinary person.
The woman sighed and cast her sliver eyes over me. At once I felt like the biggest idiot in the world.
"S-Sorry Lady Artemis, I didn't mean to stare. I-I'll leave you be," I stammered, heat creeping up on my cheeks, every instinct telling me to run for my life.
She just shook her head, flashing a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes at me.
"No." She commanded. I froze, waiting with bated breath for her next words.
"Sit, I... I need some company right now," she said, sorrow tingeing her words.
Bracing myself for the inevitable fate of being turned into a jackrabbit, I slowly sat down next to the goddess.
"So... I, uh, like the new look," I said, wincing at my piss poor attempt at breaking the ice.
Artemis chuckled half-heartedly. "Tackling all this insanity in the body of a 14-year-old seemed absurd. This might make no sense but... being in an older body makes me feel less vulnerable."
I frowned. "You make all the gods on Olympus uneasy when you're mad. You should be the last person feeling vulnerable."
"Percy, I... I'm terrified," Artemis said quietly.
Hearing someone of Artemis' caliber say that was unbelievable. I didn't even think it was possible for her mouth to form those words. I couldn't think of a single word to say, so I just stared at her, dumbfounded.
"All of a sudden, Olympus is faced with multiple Primordials, all out for blood. How am I supposed to protect the hunt from that, I can t even protect my own lieutenant," She said dejectedly, despair slowly creeping its way into her eyes.
"Your not," I began. Upon hearing that she turned to look at me sharply, a dangerous glint in her eyes.
"And you never will. The only way we can win is if we rely on each other. You won't be able to rescue Thalia on your own, and you won't have to try, because I'll be with you, so will the hunt, and so will the rest of Thalia's friends. we'll overturn the whole world if we have to, but we will find her, and we'll make Pontus pay."
Artemis gave me a long look, and just as I thought she was about to wave her hand and make good on her promise of making me a scorch mark her expression softened.
She shook her head, smiling ruefully. "When did you get so wise, Percy? But your right, alone I can't do anything."
I sighed, letting out a breath I hadn't even realized I had been holding in.
With a sigh, she planted her hand on my shoulder and pushed herself up. Upon standing she took a moment to brush her hands and pants of sand, then extended her hand towards me.
"Come, let's get some sleep, we've gotta be up in the morning." She smiled, and this time her eyes lit up a tiny bit as well.
I hadn't noticed it before but she was really pretty, especially when she smiled. No sooner had the thought crossed my mind than I pushed it to the back of my mind.
She probably couldn't read my mind but there was no point in taking that chance.
I took her hand and got up, and we walked back to our cabins in comfortable silence.
Upon walking into my cabin I noticed Madeline sleeping soundly on the top bunk, which surprised me. I had thought she would've slept at the Artemis cabin with the rest of the hunters but was pleased she decided to sleep here.
Smiling, I fell into my bed and blissful sleep.
With an exhausted sigh, I plopped onto my sleeping bag and stared at the top of my tent dully. The sun had finally set, which meant I didn't have to move a muscle till morning.
We just finished killing off a large group of ice monsters, which is why we've been traveling all over the country this last week; To kill off Pontus' army before he could use it to cause serious damage. It was hard work, and it left me too tired to feel any emotions, which I was grateful for because gods know I had a lot to feel bad about.
Not five minutes had passed before a shout of alarm from someone in the camp had me rushing out, Riptide drawn.
From the frantic snippets of conversations I overheard, apparently the last group we killed was merely a scouting party, and the main force was moving towards us rapidly.
The whole camp was abuzz with activity, some hunters setting up impromptu barricades, some setting up ammo stations, and still others grouping up the hunt's wolves.
I scanned the camp and found Madeline with bundles of arrows in her hands, rushing to place them in a growing pile of similar arrows. I rushed over as quickly as I could.
"How can I help?" I asked as I stopped just short of Madeline and the small group of hunters working to put the arrows into quivers for quick access.
Immediately the hunters gave me annoyed looks, but Madeline quickly directed me to the storage tent and told me to come back with more arrows.
Roughly ten minutes later we had large stockpiles of full quivers spread throughout the camp. The hunters had set up several rows of barricades meant to slow down the monsters as much as possible, and the wolves were ready to attack as soon as the barricades were breached.
Artemis stepped out of her tent and whistled, and all the wolves snapped their attention to her. She closed her eyes and began to glow a soft silver. The glow spread to the wolves, and when it faded, their coats shone with a metallic sheen, and their fangs and claws looked suspiciously like silver.
"Everyone, get ready, they're almost upon us," Artemis shouted. With a quick glance and a twist of her hand, Artemis beckoned me to her side.
"Shadow travel to any hunter in danger, help her, then come back. Be vigilant!" She ordered as soon as I reached her side.
No sooner had she finished talking than the horde of monsters announced their presence. A cacophony of roars preceded the eruption of the diverse assortment of icy monsters from the tree line and into the clearing. We were now completely surrounded.
Dozens of 'twangs' resonated through the clearing as the first volley of arrows flew into the monster's eyes, dissolving them into water instantly.
Artemis was firing arrow after arrow at an impossible speed and with impossible accuracy; She was an army unto herself.
The horde slammed into the first layer of wooden barricades. It lasted a total of fifteen seconds, ample time for the hunters to shoot three more volleys.
Even though dozens of monsters had fallen by now, it was almost impossible to tell, as every downed monster was replaced by two more. Most of them were Dracaenae and Laistrygonian giants, but there were a few hell hounds in there as well.
By the time they had broken through the second barrier, several hunters had to run to the ammo stations to resupply.
The last of the barricades was the thickest and most sturdy and proved quite efficient at slowing down the monsters.
Just as it seemed the monsters would suffer heavy losses while breaking through the third layer, three icy manticores broke through the ranks of monsters, and with powerful swipes of their tails swept aside the barricades as if they were paper.
The horde poured into the camp, however, most monsters managed but several steps before taking an arrow to the eye and dissolving into water.
The wolves sprang as one, decimating monster after monster, all the while their silvery coats protecting them from most attacks.
Even through all this, the monsters were advancing slowly but surely, forcing the hunters to take steps backwards, all the while shooting arrow after arrow faster than humanly possible.
The three manticores split up, bounding into the camp, unfazed by the arrows glancing off their bodies.
"Percy! Help me with the manticores!" Artemis yelled as she dropped her bow and pulled out two gleaming silver knives.
I pulled out my Oceanic silver sword and held Riptide in my other hand. Closing my eyes, I visualized myself behind one of the manticores, and upon materializing, I swung my silver blade at its tail.
I was thrown off balance when my blade hit nothing but empty air. The manticore twisted around to face me and roared. It crouched and raised its tail.
My eyes widened, as I knew exactly what was to come. I was all too familiar with a manticore tail spike, so I pressed the watch on my wrist, dropping Riptide on the ground. I crouched, trying to put as much of my body behind the shield as possible.
With a sharp flick of its tail, the manticore launched several spikes at me. They struck my shield with more force than a cannonball, nearly breaking my arm in the process. Luckily my upgraded shield fared much better than the previous one, with only the bronze front being damaged.
Rising quickly, I rushed at its ugly head and swung my sword with all my strength. It jumped out of the way at the last second, but, not wanting to allow it to recover, I swung again, forcing it backwards until finally, it couldn't jump to avoid my attack.
Snarling, it stabbed down with its tail. I jumped to the side, and with a quick stroke sliced its tail off at the middle.
The manticore recoiled in pain, jumping backwards several times. It began to run circles around me, waiting for the perfect opportunity to attack.
I raised my shield and kept my eyes firmly planted on its front paws, well aware a single swipe would be enough to end the fight.
My eyes were torn off of it, however, as a shrill scream tore through the camp, and I saw Madeline isolated and cornered by another manticore.
Fear coursed through me, but just before I could shadow travel to her, a snarl and the sound of rushing wind forced me to roll to my left.
I looked across the camp and saw all the hunters were preoccupied with firing arrows into the horde, and Artemis was busy fighting a manticore and half a dozen Dracaenae.
The manticore I was fighting could tell I wanted to rush to Madeline and was attacking mercilessly, swiping as fast as it could, keeping all my attention focused on it.
Another scream surfaced over the din of battle, and one glance told me Madeline had been struck in the leg by a spike.
A sense of desperate urgency filled me; I needed to get over there no matter what. The manticore roared at me and I roared back, frustration building at a rapid rate.
We wove in and out in a fast-paced dance of death, each swinging and jumping back, locked in a stalemate. My head was throbbing with frustration, as every glance towards Madeline only made my frustration grow.
Suddenly, as if a dam had been broken, my mind was flooded with rapid visions of murky water, and in its depths a pair of glowing dark blue eyes.
I gasped as immense power coursed through me. My hand began burning feverishly, forcing me to drop my sword. Just as I thought I'd pass out from the pain, water materialized out of nowhere and formed a watery trident. It started glowing dark blue, then a soft blue, and when the glow faded, in my hand was the same silver trident from before.
Intoxicating power coursed through my arm into my mind. The manticore was frozen in place, regarding the trident with pure terror. Tossing it into the air, I caught it and held it like a throwing spear, and launched it at the tailless monster.
The trident flew through the air and tore right through it, landing in the ground directly behind it, leaving a gaping hole in the icy creature, which then dissolved into water.
I held out my hand and the trident flew back into my grip. Closing my eyes I felt myself transported across the clearing, right in the path of the manticore's incoming paw.
I held my trident in front of me and it impaled its hand onto the middle prong. It managed a whimper before dissolving.
I turned around and grabbed Madeline's hand. Closing my eyes, I shadow traveled us in the throng of the hunters and left her there as I shadow traveled to Artemis.
When I arrived I saw her fighting with a severely injured ice manticore. None of the Dracaenae remained, and the manticore was on its last leg.
The manticore suddenly froze in place, mid-attack. All the cracks and severed limbs began to heal and regrow, and within seconds, its body was once again flawless ice. A vortex of water appeared next to it, which solidified into ice in the shape of a man.
The man was wearing intricate Stygian iron armor and wielded an ornate Oceanic silver sword and shield. Both armor and shield had at their center a depiction of a sun rising over a calm ocean.
The Hydrocine wasted no time, launching a spinning attack against Artemis, holding out his shield so that the sharp edge was flying dangerously through the air as well.
The manticore launched several spikes at me, which a deflected with my shield. Quicker than either of us could comprehend, however, they switched tactics, with the manticore pouncing on Artemis and the Hydrocine slashing sideways, right at me.
Pain flashed through my mind as the sword cut deep into my left arm. I screamed in agony, dropping my shield involuntarily. Artemis also took a swipe across the chest.
The Hydrocine continued its attack, slashing and stabbing relentlessly. It took every drop of focus I could muster to dodge and avoid his attacks. His attacks pushed me further and further away from Artemis, who was having trouble recovering from the rapid strikes of the manticore.
The icy god swung horizontally, and I jumped back, only to hit into a cold wall of ice. The swing barely reached me, the tip cutting into my stomach. I stumbled sideways, putting distance between myself and the Hydrocine and the two javelin wielding Dracaenae who had stood in my way.
No sooner had I regained my balance than the three attacked, the two Dracaenae thrusting their javelins on either side of me, forcing me to thrust my trident in front of me with both hands to block the Hydrocine's sword.
I winced as the force behind his blow sent flames shooting up my injured arm. I staggered backwards, exhaustion flooding my muscles. In a last-ditch effort, I flung my trident into one of the Dracaenae's stomach. She jumped out of the way a fraction of a second too late, and the trident tore through her, dissolving her into water.
Taking the opportunity to strike while I was defenseless, the Hydrocine rushed at me, swinging downwards at my head. I tripped over myself while trying to move backwards, and fell on the ground. Praying to anyone who would listen, I tapped my returned watch and raised the materialized adamantine shield.
The blow surprisingly didn't break the shield, but a sickening crunch issued from my left arm. My vision swam with black as agony raced up every nerve in my body.
Expecting a killing blow any second, I braced myself for Hades.
A loud 'twang' and then the clash of metal forced open my eyes as I saw an arrow amidst a puddle of water where the Dracaenae had stood and Artemis and the Hydrocine exchanging blows.
Artemis was at a disadvantage because she had to get close to him to hit him, whereas the icy god had the leisure of a longer reach. The way the fight was going it wouldn't be long before she ended up like me.
Forcing myself up, I struggled to rise, stumbled, and fell back to the ground. I snarled in frustration. Looking over to where my trident lay embedded in the ground eight feet away, I extended my uninjured hand out. The trident flew to my outstretched hand and relief bubbled within me. Using it to support myself, I rose from the ground shakily.
Mustering up whatever strength I had left within me, I hefted the trident up and flung it at the Hydrocine's head.
As soon as the weapon left my hand, I felt the ground rushing up at me and my vision went black.
AN: So I remember saying a while ago that I would not make Percy on some OP bs where he could like decimate a god or something, and I feel like I've delivered on that promise. I hope. Also I don't know if you guys have heard, but Rick Riordan is partnering with Disney to make a live action PJO show, which tbh is long overdue in my opinion, but yeah I'm super excited about that. Anyways as always, thanks for reading and have a great day :)