Percy
_

I couldn't help but smile as I ran to the reservoir. Kissing Zoe had been an 'in the moment' thing, but I didn't regret it a single bit. If I were to die fighting Hyperion, then I was glad that was my last moment with her.

I came to a stop next to the reservoir. My whole body was drenched with sweat. The heat Killian and Hyperion were putting out was so intense, steam was curling off the water.

My plan was simple. Use the winds to carry the water into the air and use it to cool Hyperion and Killian down. I glanced back at them to see that they had locked blades. Killian flicked his wrist as the Titan stumbled forward, only to have Killian's fist connect with his face, sending the Titan staggering back a bit.

I turned from their battle and raised my hands. The winds started to pick up in full force at my command. I willed it to pick up the water and swirl around me like a hurricane. The grass around me flattened.

I turned around as the hurricane raged around me. Thunder sounded in the dark sky. Monsters who were too close were picked up by the winds and thrown into each other. Lost weapons and shields were flung through the air.

Satisfied with how deadly my storm was, I thrust my hands toward the battling father and son. They hadn't noticed me yet but had noticed the rain that had started. Drops of rain turned to steam around them, but the harder the rain got, the more they felt it.

They definitely noticed when the hurricane hit them. The ground their feet against the earth, trying to stay upright. I willed the storm to hit Hyperion more and the winds obeyed.

Hyperion stumbled back as sleet pelted him. His former golden glow, which had once been too bright to even look at, was now dulled to a dim orange. Killian, on the other hand, was shining brightly. The fire in his hair had been put out but still blazed in his body. His veins glowed dark red and orange.

Killian tried to stab Hyperion, but the Titan wasn't finished yet. He parried the strike and tried to counter. I thrust my hand out and a bolt of lightning struck him right on the head, stunning him. Killian disarmed Hyperion and the golden sword clanged to the ground. Killian beat his pommel into Hyperion's helmet.

Hyperion stumbled back and eventually fell onto his back. His golden helmet broke into pieces as he lay on the ground, revealing his face.

Truly, it was a handsome face. Aside from the ichor streaming from the silver arrow, still in his eye, it was unblemished. Scarless. His golden brown hair, which looked as if it had been tied back in some type of bun, now made a halo under his head as he lay on the ground. His eye, which was a dark golden orange, looked up at Killian in something like awe.

Killian stood over Hyperion silently. Hyperion's sword lay forgotten at his side. They didn't say anything, but I had a feeling they didn't need to.

Killian raised his sword, reduced back to its normal white. With one swift motion, he drove it into the Titan's chest. Hyperion let loose a grunt of pain as the blade was driven into his heart before he dissolved into a bright golden dust.

The storm dissipated, leaving only a light rain. The few fires that were still burning were put out. I came up to stand behind Killian. He didn't say anything.

I laid a hand on his shoulder. "I won't say you did the right thing, but you saved everyone."

He nodded. He opened his mouth, but before he could speak, there was a massive "REEEEET!"

The squeal echoed through upper Manhattan.

"REEEEEET!" A huge pink creature soared over the reservoir—a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade nightmare blimp with wings.

"Wooohooo!" I heard come next. As the pig–the Clazmonian Sow, if I remember correctly–flew overhead, I saw a rope attached to its wing. And hanging from that rope was Michael and Bianca.

Killian and I stared as they were whisked out of sight. "What the..."

"Fuck?" I offered.

"Sure, whatever," Killian muttered.

I couldn't help but laugh. Killian stared at me like I was crazy, but what could I say? I was really reaching my end here.

"C'mon," I told him, pulling him along. "Let's go find the others. I'm sure Michael and Bianca will deal with the pig."

She was right. The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telkhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.

Killian and I raced from block to block, trying to shore up our defenses. Too many of our friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, we were backed up foot by foot until we were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction. Killian was soon replaced by Michael, who had found a sword and was proving to know how to use it. Killian had run off to help Lilly, who was struggling against a dracanae.

At one point Grover was next to me, bonking snake women over the head with her cudgel. Then she disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia at my side, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Then it was Luke, slashing through monsters with Backbiter. He jumped into the fray and it was Bianca, panting but not a scratch on her. Michael and I worked as a team, taking on monster after monster. But it still wasn't enough.

A few demigods tried to get past him and back to their comrades but Michael drove his sword into the chest of one and kicked a second onto his back before he spun and slashed a fatal wound into the side of another as he tried to slip by unnoticed.

Michael turned to one on his back as the kid looked up at him with fear. "Please. I surrender," the demigod pleaded.

Michael eyed the boy carefully. He was about seventeen with blonde hair and blue eyes, a son of Hermes or Apollo most likely.

"Will you swear loyalty to Olympus?" Michael asked in an icy tone.

The demigod scowled. "Nev.." He started to reply before Michael drove his sword through his heart.

"He was surrendering," I yelled at him as he pushed the boy off his sword.

Michael scowled at me. "Surrendering to this battle, not the war. If I let him live, what's to stop him from backstabbing us? From returning to Kronos? My mother helped us once, but she will not again. We do not have the manpower to take more prisoners than we already have."

"Ethan hardly counts," I protested. "He can barely walk!"

"So you suggest crippling them?" He blocked a spear strike from a dracanae. He disarmed the snake woman before stabbing her in the chest. "I feel that death is more merciful. Especially if the Olympians get their hands on them."

"Stop arguing," Lee hissed at us urgently. "We need to fall back."

I slashed and hacked, destroying everything in my path, but I was getting tired. Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. I scowled as I realized Kronos was riding towards them on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian Giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black- and-purple banners. The Titan Lord looked fresh and rested; his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting me and his friends wear themselves down.

"Hold your lines!" Katie shouted, somewhere off to my left. Why was she down here? Michael'll kill her for fighting while so severely injured, not to mention Bianca.

But the main problem was there were too few of us to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind me. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.

Zoe appeared next to me. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

She was right. I was about to order a retreat when I heard the hunting horn. It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

I glanced at Thalia, but she just frowned.

"Not the Hunters," she assured me. "We're all here."

"Then who?"

The horns got louder. I couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching. I was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked as confused as we were. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed.

Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy. Then, to our left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward. I thought we were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past us and crashed into their southern allies.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Zoe yelled.

The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block. My brain couldn't process everything I saw, but I knew if I were the enemy, I'd be running.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs. He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction. "Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.

"PARTY PONIES.'" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.

It was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!"

That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him. The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt.

We pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.

"Chiron's smart," Zoe said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

"But the enemy—"

"They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."

I didn't like pulling back, but I knew she was right. I watched as the last of the telkhines scuttled toward the East River. Then reluctantly I turned and headed back toward the Empire State Building.

We set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island, thirty from Illinois . . . Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't defend more than a few blocks.

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER. "That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.

Chiron smiled. Bianca gave him a big hug.

"Chiron, thanks," I said. "Talk about saving the day."

He shrugged. "I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."

"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Thalia asked.

"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."

"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," I said hopefully.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."

I understood what he meant. Kronos wasn't beaten. Not by a long shot. I half hoped Kronos had been squashed under that Hyperborean giant's butt, but I knew better. He'd be back, tonight at the latest.

"And Typhon?" Michael asked.

Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went down somewhere in the Appalachians. No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia. He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"

"Then what chance do we have?" I said. "We can't hold out another day."

"We'll have to," Thalia said. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."

She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust, but she managed to get to her feet and stagger off.

"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."

I thought "too overboard" pretty much summed up the Party Ponies, but Chiron cantered off, leaving Michael, Bianca, Zoe, and me alone.

"I'll be back," Michael said, backing up. "I gotta find Katie. I'm gonna kill her for coming back down..."

He slunk off. Bianca looked like she wanted to follow but held back.

Zoe cleaned monster slime off her knife. I'd seen her do that hundreds of times, but I'd never paid too much attention to it. It was something she did so regularly, I assumed they were gifts from Artemis.

"At least Artemis is okay," I offered.

""It's Lady Artemis," She corrected. "And that's if you call fighting Typhon okay." She locked eyes with me. Percy, even with the centaurs' help, I'm starting to think—"

"I know." I sat down next to her.

Despite my exhaustion, my body buzzed. This was the closest we'd been since I kissed her earlier that night. Her arm was still burned but her face was mostly healed. There was just a small patch of scarred tissue on her cheek now. She was so beautiful, and so like another that was haunting my dreams. Someone I was not so keen on telling her about. Well, anymore than I had last summer.

"I've an idea," Bianca said meekly.

Both Zoe and I perked up.

"What is it?" I demanded.

Zoe elbowed me in the ribs, making me grunt. "Be nice."

"Sorry," I muttered, rubbing my side.

Bianca's lips quirked upward at our interaction. "It'll take a little bit of time, but I believe I can gather some reinforcements. From the underworld."

"Skelies? I doubt they'll do much against Kronos's army."

"Not just skeletons, Percy. Heroes. I can probably get my father to come help, too."

"That's..." I frowned. "Why didn't you do that earlier?"

Zoe elbowed me again. "She probably just thought of it." She turned to Bianca. "I think it's a brilliant idea, Bianca. But if you plan to do it, hurry. We won't tell anyone, so Kronos won't know."

"Yes!" Bianca fistpumped, and I was suddenly reminded that she was still a kid. I was nearly twenty now, and Zoe was...a lot older than that. And tomorrow...

Zoe appeared to be having the same thoughts. She looked uneasy as Bianca scampered off.

"What's tomorrow's date?" I asked.

"The 28th," Zoe answered. "She'd better hurry. Tomorrow may be her final day."