"Do you really want to fight with the most powerful demigod alive?" Percy growled, his fingers turning white from his grip on riptide. Power surged through him in the form of steaming anger.
"Second most powerful. No, third. Third most powerful demigod."
Percy's eyes narrowed to slits and he stepped aside to give his wife room to raise her own weapon. He would easily admit she was more powerful than him.
"Not her." The monster said. "Two famous demigods, the ones who've concurred Hell and Misery and Night. The men who raised the Labyrinth beneath their fingers and forced its walls to bend in their favor. I am speaking of the demigods that killed Nyx and defeated Kampe and Medusa without so much as a built weapon. I will fight only the warriors who have lost life and limb. Only the ones who have lived their worst nightmare may be worthy to fight me."
The Jacksons didn't speak. Annabeth stepped forward, ready with a quipped response but Nico held her back. "I will fight you. Don't worry about them," he said. He was the only one who had an idea of who Ate was talking about.
The monster laughed, a throw-your-head-back, hearty type of laugh.
"You've sensed it too, son of Hades. You've felt the souls bend until they break, you've felt the misery of a dead child flowing through the river of guilt. You know you cannot compete with this. Step aside, boy."
Ate flicked a finger and Nico went flying into a nearby rock formation. The rocks cracked and crumbled over the cliff, taking Nico with them.
"Nico!" Annabeth screamed, running helplessly to the cliff's edge.
Before even a tear could be shed, the Earth began to tremble. The clouds grew dark, the sea churned dangerously. The waves lifted Nico's limp form and set it gently on the land beside Annabeth. The water swirled together in a tightly weaved hurricane, not a single drop out of place. Annabeth turned to Percy but he only shook his head.
The figure, unrecognizable by his parents, almost didn't seem human. Jase's hair was long and shadowed all of his face but his eyes. They were glowing. A brilliant blue light emitted from the shadow of his eyes, moving in waves down his bare chest. A familiar dagger glinted against the blue glow. But still, their minds didn't want to recognize him as their own. Only the monster knew who he was.
Jase shot into the air like a rocket, steams of mist evaporating in his trail. He landed on the ground in front of the monster, the light in his eyes fading. Water fell to the ground in ice shards around him.
"You called?" he croaked. His voice was weak but he still sounded dangerous.
The monster before him took a step back. "So the rumors are true. Jason Jackson has escaped."
Annabeth gasped. Percy strained his neck to see but only saw a lake of scars on the man's back. It couldn't be. This couldn't be his son, his little boy. There was just no way.
"Escaped what? You have to be specific at this point," Jase said. His sarcasm was more recognizable than his looks. "Tartarus, Labyrinth, monsters, gods, prisons. It's a big list."
The monster crooned forward. "You've seen the worst of it all. You know the world doesn't deserve any love, you know that pain will always prevail. Join me. Join us. You know the size of this army, and we know that you can take down the gods. You are the most powerful weapon in existence. Join us and you will be unstoppable."
Jase didn't even stop to consider the offer. He scoffed. "I have fought forgotten gods, monsters so old only Tartarus knows their names. I've fought the end of my predecessors, the nightmares of one's own mind, and I've done it all to get back here, to these people. Don't for a second think you're taking that away from me," he threatened. "Not now, not after everything I've been through."
Charlie landed beside him in a fiery storm. Flames curled off of his skin like fur, his eyes aglow with heat. While Charlie held no weapon, Jase raised his dagger. Charlie didn't need one. He lit his hands and charged. The pair ran forward with undetained anger. They met Ate in the middle. Before the actual fight could occur, Ate smirked. Charlie knew that look, the look of a devious trick.
He barely had time to yell Jason's name before Jase fell, again. Annabeth cursed herself for being too shocked to warn him.