Alcyoneus's base was made entirely of ice. And it was a perfect, 1:1 scale recreation of Camp Jupiter. In the center, chained to a spire of ice, with shackles made of ice, was Death.
Death looked like an old man. Dressed in a black business suit with a long black overcoat above that. He looked bored in his imprisonment. A steel scythe was stuck in the ice, only a few feet away. Like the giant was teasing his prisoner.
Percy entered the center square of the camp, Hazel and Frank on his tail. He smiled upon seeing Death.
"Death, old friend! How long has it been?"
Death's lips quirked into a tiny smile. Barely noticeable. "Few millennia."
"By Dad. That long? We really have to catch up! Say, how do you feel about hitting a restaurant and catching up?"
"I don't know about that. After this, the amount of people that need to be escorted to the afterlives will be tremendous. I think I may be clogged up for years."
"Damn. That's a shame. At the very least, we can get you out there and make sure that you don't have even more work for you to do."
"And how do you propose that? I am chained here with my power. To melt these chains would require the fire of life, power boosted fifty fold!"
Percy looked to Frank. Frank understood and shook his head. Percy held out his hand. "The firewood, Frank."
Hazel clutched the firewood close to her chest.
"Hazel." Percy said softly.
She shook her head.
"Frank, do you trust me?" Percy asked him.
Frank thought about everything that had happened on the quest. Everything Percy helped with. He got them a better boat to speed them on their way. He fought an entire army that was marching to Camp Jupiter. He helped him rescue Hazel from the Karpoi. He used the spartus to kill the cannibals.
But on the other hand, he annihilated the army. He sadistically watched as the karpoi pleaded with him. He grinned as they burned. He only stopped when they were dead, reduced to atoms. He caused Phineas a painful death, and then captured his soul to be in his servitude.
Did he trust Percy? It seemed like the Devil was on his side. But it was to save his daughter. What happened if Gaia just gave him what he wanted? Would he still fight her, or leave them behind to deal with the primordial? The Devil only looked out for his own interests, so what would happen when his no longer aligned with Frank's?
With all this questioning, it was clear what the answer was. He didn't. He wanted to, but Percy was unpredictable. One minute he was calm and collected, the next he would beat a guy senseless for saying the wrong thing to him.
Percy read all of this on Frank's face. He sighed. "Frank, I really thought I would have proved myself to you." He looked downcast. "But." He looked up. "I get what I want."
Before both demigods could react, Percy was in front of Hazel. He lightly tapped her forehead and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. Percy caught her as she collapsed. He reached into her hoodie and pulled out the firewood. He laid her down in the snow gently.
He turned to Frank. "Isn't this the point of the quest? To free Death?"
"I didn't know I was going to have to die to free him!" Frank growled. He tried to charge at Percy, but found he couldn't move. He couldn't move a muscle but his mouth.
"And you think I wouldn't have revived you? You're one of the Seven, Frank. You would come back, good as new. Without the weakness of the firewood. You would be you, without this Achilles heel."
Percy made the words sound sweet. He realized why so many people made a deal with him. It sounded like a good deal. He couldn't see anything Percy would want out of this. Until he remembered what happened when Percy killed someone. They were his to control. He would be giving up his weakness for being a servant.
"You really think I would do that to you?" Percy said. He was starting to get mad. "Wow. You really think that low of me? Let me tell you, I wouldn't." He gestured the firewood at Frank. "I would bring you back with all your free will, as much as you have with the Fates."
Percy paused and turned to look at the horizon. "And you know what?" His voice was softer. "I still would. Maybe you don't think so, but I see you as a friend. And I still do. Maybe after this, we can move past it. And if not, don't worry. I'll leave your hair after this."
Percy walked over to the chained horseman. He stood in front of him. He held a hand near the firewood. He lit his finger on fire and ignited the firewood. He held it to the arm of Death, melting the ice. Water dripped onto the snow below as the ice melted.
Frank felt himself heating up. The longer the firewood burned, the hotter he felt. Sweat beaded his forehead. He hoped that the cold climate of Alaska would help him, but so far it seemed to do nothing for him.
The first chain melted away, and Percy moved onto the next. Frank felt the heat start to boil his brain. His eyes were half lidded, and he fell to his knees. The snow melted on his skin/ The puddle of water did nothing to cool him down.
The chain snapped. Percy knelt and moved down to the leg chains. The firewood was about halfway done burning. He held the wood close to the ice. Water dripped onto the fire, weakening it for a brief minute. It came roaring back a moment later.
The puddle surrounding Frank started to evaporate. It bubbled around his body. Frank himself was starting to glow from the inside. His skull was visible through his face. His hair was slick with sweat. He couldn't open his eyes.
Last chain. The fire burned faster than it had the entire time up until that point. The firewood was quickly being consumed. The ice chain was thinning, the water dripping rapidly into the puddle below Death. Finally, the chain snapped, and Death was free.
And with Death free, Frank Zhang died.
LINE BREAK
Floating.
Clouds.
A silver city in the void of space.
And just as quickly as Frank saw it, it was taken away from him.
LINE BREAK
Frank woke up to the freezing temperature of Alaska. His heart hammered in his chest. Wait, his heart beat? But, he should be dead. Above him, stood Percy.
"I don't lie Frank. I told you I would bring you back, and here you are." That was all he said before he turned away from the son of Mars and towards Death. "Now that you're free, you're gonna have hell to pay. Dad isn't going to be happy that you were captured. Which brings me a question. How were you captured?"
Death sighed and leaned on his scythe. "Conquest. She took us out one by one. She took Famine first. Then War. I went looking for them, and then she found me."
"Conquest is working for Gaia? Why?"
Death shrugged. "My guess? She's the youngest. She wanted to be the best. She wants to conquer, and what better to do that than conquer your older siblings?"
"So, your siblings are missing?"
Death nodded. "I only found War. Famine has disappeared off the face of the Earth. I couldn't find her."
"So where's War?"
"Under Rome. Trapped in a jar."
Percy rubbed his temple. "By Dad, history does repeat itself."
Death chuckled. "It does seem that way."
"Well, wish me luck. I'll free them, and hopefully convince Conquest to not work for Gaia."
"I do wish you luck, though, I do think that you will not need it. The power of your will may just be enough."
"I do hope so."
Death held his hand out for a handshake. Percy shook his hand.
"SO! MY PRISONER HAS BEEN FREED!" A voice yelled. Alcyoneus. The giant burst into the camp square. He looked just how he had when Hazel created him. He raised his hands, and ghostly apparitions started to fill the square, surrounding the questors.
Percy turned to Death. "So, you got some time to deal with all of this? Or should you get onto leading the humans to the afterlives?"
"I'm behind." Death said. "But, I am immortal." He brandished his scythe. "So I have time."
Percy turned to Frank. "You learn your power yet?"
Frank stared at Percy. Then looked at the unconscious Hazel. She was still alive, as he could see her chest rising and falling as she breathed.
Percy rolled his eyes. He walked over to Hazel and lightly tapped her forehead. Instantly, she sat up, fully awake. He turned to Frank. "Better now?"
Frank was being a little bitch and still said nothing, but Percy could see the relief in his eyes. "If you would like to not die again, then you should probably help."
"Why? You'll just revive me." Frank said.
"From anything I cause. You decide to be a stupid idiot, and you stay dead. Got that? Because guess what, Frank. My power doesn't work like that. I have to kill you to revive you. Maybe instead of being salty, that I had to do what HAD to be done, maybe you could be grateful that I raised your salty ass, and help us here!"
"Is this infighting I see?" Alcyoneus said teasingly.
Percy turned to the giant. "You, keep your dad damned mouth shut, before I melt you into a puddle!" Percy gritted out. He drew his sword.
Alcyoneus drew a bident. The tips were made from Rory's feathers. "Come, devil. Let me end the evil incarnate!"
Percy's wings beat as he lifted into the air. He flew right at the giant. Death took his scythe and waved it at a group of shades. A purple image of a scythe appeared over their heads before they exploded.
Frank drew the spear, the one Mras gave him not so long ago. He had one charge left. He might not trust Percy, but he was right. If he died by something that wasn't Percy's hand, then he'd be done. He stabbed the spear into the ice. The tip broke off and the handle turned to dust in his hand. The spartus crawled up through the ice and awaited orders.
"Fight the shades." Frank ordered.
Percy slashed at Alcyoneus's golden skin, but the blade just bounced off.
"Puny archangel! I cannot be harmed in my homeland!" Alcyoneus said.
"Well, I guess it's time for an eviction notice." Percy said. Despite his current mood of being pissed the fuck off, he still cracked a joke. After all, you can't be the Devil without being a little cheeky.
Percy flew into the giant and pushed him. The giant was knocked off balance from the force of the push and fell down. Alcyoneus crushed a building as he grunted. Percy hovered above him. He looked down at the giant.
The giant threw his bident at Percy. It grazed him, tearing his suit. A cut on his arm started to leak blood. Percy cursed. At least the giant threw away his only weapon.
It seemed like Alcyoneus wasn't the smartest guy ever. First he picks the worst place to put his base, and then he throws away his only weapon.
Death waved his scythe at another group of shades. A purple circle glowed beneath them. The ice underneath them cracked and fell into the water underneath the glacier. The shades fell with it. Death checked his ipad. Sure enough, the souls had returned to the underworld.
Frank drew an arrow and fired at another shade. Struck the ghost right in the heart. The spartus continued to kill shades. It fought recklessly, as it had no self preservation. The shades realized that the spartus was doing massive damage to them, and decided to gang up on it.
The shades grabbed the spartus and started to tear it apart. They ripped the bones from where they belonged. The spartus crumbled to dust.
Frank knocked another arrow and shot another ghost. With the spartus dead, he had to be more careful. Hazel stood behind him, fighting off shades with her spatha. It seemed like whenever she stabbed one, four more would take its place. At least they were staying dead.
Percy stabbed Alcyoneus in the torso. Percy ripped it out. Black oil spurted out of his chest. Percy hovered above Alcyoneus's face. "Tag, you're it. Come get me."
Percy flew away. He turned around and waited for Alcyoneus to come to him. The giant slowly got up and chased Percy. Percy backed up slowly as the giant chased him. Whenever Alcyoneus would slow down, Percy would fly over to him, stab him, and fly away really fast.
Percy kited Alcyoneus for about ten miles north, before crossing over into Canada. Percy felt the difference in the air. Alcyoneus apparently didn't.
Percy flew over to Alcyoneus and behind him. Alcyoneus turned around, only to see Percy flying right at him. The impact sent Alcyoneus flying as he crashed through the forest. A trail of destruction was left in the giant's wake.
Percy landed on top of the giant. Alcyoneus groaned. "What are you gonna do? Kill me? You can't! I'm unkillable in my home territory."
"We're in Canada dumbass. You'll have to run about seven miles. Spoiler alert. You can't. I will be waiting for you for a couple of minutes before you show up. Now, let me make this easy on you."
Alcyoneus swept at Percy. He jumped over the large arm. The archangel drew Riptide and stabbed Alcyoneus in the heart.
"You won't win. I'll just come out again. The Doors of Death await me."
Percy pulled Riptide out of the giant. "No they don't." Percy walked along the giant and stepped onto his face. He made his arm go limp. Riptide dragged along Alcyoneus's face, cutting it. Percy reached the giant's eyes. "I want you to see this."
Alcyoneus howled in pain as Percy stomped Alcyoneus's eye. Oil leaked from the eye as Percy withdrew his foot. His dress shoe was covered in oil. Percy lit his hand on fire and set it to his shoe. He walked back down Alcyoneus's face and back onto his chest. The fire burned Alcyoneus's skin, melting the gold.
Percy reached the stab wound. Percy knelt down below it. He set his pointer finger on fire and brought it to the leaking oil. He touched the oil. Instantly the oil was lit ablaze. The fire spread into the giant, burning him from inside.
Alcyoneus screamed as his blood was lit on fire. He was literally melting because you know, he was made of gold. And while gold has a melting point of 1,948 degrees fahrenheit, Percy's fire had a temperature of 7,000 degrees fahrenheit. So yeah, it melted.
When the fire had run its course, all that was left of the giant was a puddle of melted gold. Percy smiled, satisfied. He spread his wings and flew back to Hubbard Glacier.
Percy was met with an interesting sight. Hazel was fighting alongside Death and an elephant. The amount of shades had decreased tremendously. Frank, as an elephant, would stomp on a couple. Hazel would stab one and decapitate another. Death just did his thing as shades dropped dead. Or exploded.
Percy saw a group of shades congregating on the edge of the circle. Percy landed next to them. They wielded blades made from Rory's feathers. One swung at Percy. Percy grabbed it's hand and turned the blade inward. He pushed the hand and impaled the shade with its own sword.
Another swung at Percy's back. It cut his back. Percy back kicked him and pinned it to the floor. A different shade lunged at Percy. Percy grabbed it by the neck and squeezed. The shade dropped its sword. Percy grabbed it and stabbed the shade through the chest before pulling it out slowly. Percy tossed the dead shade away before stabbing the shade he had pinned.
The last remaining shade looked at Percy. Its eyes were black, but even a blind man could see the fear in them. It backed away slowly before turning around and running. Percy watched before taking aim and throwing it at the ghost. The sword sailed through the air before striking true.
Percy turned around to see that Frank was crushing the last shade under his feet. When the shade crumbled to dust, Frank turned back into a human. Death checked his tablet and nodded to himself.
Percy walked over to the group. "Well. That's that."
Death nodded. "Yes. All spirits accounted for."
"I hope that the next few years won't be too hard on you old friend."
Death's lips tightened. "I fear that it will be. And Lucifer, beware. More death is on the horizon, and no one is safe."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Do. Until we meet again then. Speaking of. You might want to hurry to camp Jupiter. Lots of dying is about to happen there. I fear the worst." Death said, before darkness shrouded him. When the darkness faded away, Death was gone.
"Come on. We still have more fighting to do." Percy said.
Percy turned and started to walk towards where he fought Alcyoneus. Hazel followed. Frank followed more hesitantly. Percy saw the bident Alcyoneus had used and picked it up. It shrunk in his hand. Percy picked up some snow and fashioned it into a strap. He attached the strap to it and slung it over his back. It was a little difficult to do with his wings, but he got it.
And then they were off. Where they were going, Frank and Hazel didn't know. While Frank wasn't fully on board with Percy anymore, Hazel still trusted him. And if worse came to worse, he hoped his death helped Hazel escape.
Hazel could've sworn that she saw a blur of brown in the corner of her eye. It was gone for a second before it would reappear. Hazel was so focused on it that she didn't realize that gold was popping up all over the place.
"Percy. What's that?" She asked him.
Frank glanced over. As did Percy. "Arion. A son of Poseidon and Demeter. Conceived while both were horses." Percy made a face. "Fast as Hell. Likes gold."
Hazel felt below her. Pockets of gold littered the underground. She reached out and felt them start to move. The ground rumbled as the gold moved. They accumulated below Hazel, before shooting out of the dirt. A ball of gold as tall as Percy stood in front of them.
The brown blur came back. It paused as it considered the meal in front of it. This was the equivalent to a year's worth of steak for a human. Ultimately, it decided that the gold would be worth it. It approached the ball.
"Ay yo, what the fuck is this shit? This is more bomb ass than that hot ass mare back in Miami. Holy fuck was she smokin'!"
Percy sighed. He had forgotten how much of a mouth Arion had. "Look, Arion. I wanna ask something of you. Do it and your debt to me is filled."
"Aww shit. You hooked me up with that shit and got me higher than Burj Khalifa. You got any more of that?"
"You still haven't paid for the first."
"Fuck you. Fine, I'll do whatever your dumbass wants me to do."
"Call me a dumbass one more time and I'll turn you into glue. I don't care if you're immortal."
"Fine. What is it that you want?"
"You'll see." Percy knelt down and gathered some snow. He sculpted it until it was a recreation of a roman chariot. He snapped and threw his arms into the air. The snow chariot enlarged until it was normal size. The snow melted away to reveal a golden chariot.
Percy hooked it onto Arion, who complained with some very colorful language. "Yeha, shut up." Percy said.
Percy turned to Frank and Hazel. "You two will ride in the chariot. Arion will take you to Camp Jupiter. I'll be flying over you, so don't worry."
Percy grabbed a nearby tree branch and plucked a small branch off of it. He crushed it in his hands. When he revealed his creation, he held an apple. Percy grabbed some snow and sprinkled it on the apple. Although, it wasn't snow any longer.
"Here Arion. Pure Columbian. Just like last time."
"Oh fuck yeah. Give daddy that shit right now."
"Don't you ever call yourself that again."
Percy fed Arion the apple. Frank and Hazel got onto the chariot. It took about thirty minutes of a fast horse on cocaine to travel all the way to camp Jupiter. True to his word, Percy flew above them the entire time.
When they arrived at Camp Jupiter, they were not met with a pleasant sight. The campers were locked in a battle against an army of monsters led by Polybotes. The giant's trident was causing massive damage to the camp.
The Amazon's were adding much needed strength to the Camp's defenses. Percy was glad he took the chance. It paid off in the end, which was the best kind of chance. But even still, they couldn't do much against the giant. That would be Percy's job.
"You guys handle the army. I'll take sea boy." Percy said.
Hazel nodded. She took the chariot off of Arion and jumped on his back. She drew her spatha and charged into the fray. Frank drew his bow and took cover behind the chariot. He peeked out and took a potshot at the army before diving back behind the chariot.
Percy flew over to Polybotes and landed in front of him.
"So, the fallen one returns. Should have killed me, shouldn't you have?" Polybotes said.
"I like the idea of you licking your wounds. Let me give you some more."
"I will crush you like an ant."
"Then let me become bigger." Percy drew the bident from his back. He detached the strap and discarded it. Then Percy began to glow. He enlarged, growing just as tall as Polybotes. The bident grew in his hands as well.
Polybotes stabbed his trident at Percy. Percy blocked it by capturing the middle prong in between the spikes of the bident. Percy thrusted the weapon up. He let go of the bident with one hand and socked the giant in the face.
Polybotes's head swung. He pulled the trident away and swung at Percy. The archangel blocked the attack and kicked the giant. Polybotes grunted and tried to punch Percy. Percy grabbed his fist and pulled the giant. The giant flew forward and met Percy's fist.
Polybotes back up. Percy charged at him and stabbed at him with the bident. Polybotes dodged, but the bident still cut him. It was a shallow cut in the side, but it stung. It made him sloppy.
Polybotes swung at Percy again. Percy grabbed the strident by its shaft and pulled. Rather than being pulled into another punch, Polybotes let go of the trident. Percy threw the trident away and stabbed at Polybotes.
Polybotes grabbed the staff of the bident and wrestled it out of Percy's hands. "Guess it's just fists now huh. Mano y mono." Polybotes said.
"Guess so." Percy said. He brought his hands up. He blocked a punch from Polybotes and countered with a punch to the gut. Polybotes doubled over, only to get kneed in the face. Polybotes howled as he grabbed his nose.
Percy took a step forward and lunged at Polybotes. They fell to the ground. Percy straddled Polybotes and leaned over him. He saw that the bident was laying next to them. He picked it up and aimed it at Polybotes.
He brought it down in a quick strike, straight through the heart. He pulled the weapon out. The feathers were covered in golden ichor. Polybotes grunted before he crumbled to dust.
He shrunk down and stood up. He saw that the monsters had been dealt with. That was entirely fine with him. He was kind of tired after fighting two giants in the span of an hour. He felt a sting and remembered that he was bleeding from his fight with Alcyoneus.
He limped towards camp Jupiter. He was gonna need some medical assistance.
And a glass of bourbon. Bourbon would be nice.
LINE BREAK
The Feast of Fortuna was huge. Spirits ran high with the euphoria of a won battle. The Amazons partied with them. A few tried to flirt with Percy. They weren't Hunters after all. Of course, Percy declined them.
The Disgraced Archangel held a glass of bourbon. He had found a bar in the city with some good ass bourbon. He made sure to get a glass for the party. As much as he wanted to party with everyone, he was ready to see Zoë again. He missed his wife dearly.
So when the magic message showed up, saying that a warship would be coming and to not shoot them, Percy couldn't hide his smile.
God, he missed his wife.
A/N. Heeeeyyy guys. What's up? Ignore the time between this update and the last. I'm sorry about that. I hope the longer chapter makes up for it. Had just been focusing on the WAV rewrite. Honestly don't think it was worth it. People didn't really seem to care for it. Anyways, I'm back on this. We will jow be starting the Mark of Athena section, although I'm cutting the Mark of Athena portion out so… Whatever the hell you want to call this section. I'm thinking, "The 7 are glad Percy and Zoë have a room".
Thoughts?