Diana runs away from the city, knowing the true self of Athena has broken her loyalty to the goddess. She knows what she must do as she enters the Temple of Magic where two goddesses must be stopped. There in the center of runes and symbols is Hecate and Circe. They are creating a spell that will destroy the barrier of Camp Halfblood and allow monsters to attack it.
"Stop!" Diana shouts at the Goddesses of Magic and Circe glares at this upstart. "How dare you shout at my grandness?! You shall pay for this disrespectful tone Princess!"
Circe floats towards Diana while Hecate stays in the circle to continue the spell. The goddess of magic summons portals and animals come out of it such as tigers, panthers, and rhinos. They charge at the princess and she takes out her sword to stab the tiger but the rhino slams into her and crashes into a wall. She grabs it by the horn and lifts it then throws it at the other animals.
The Goddess of Magic teleports behind Diana and puts her hands on her head. She tries to go into her head, take control of her body and mind. However she turns her sword and stab Circe in the chest. The Goddess holds her chest and can't believe that she has lost. "M-my magic… How did you stop my mind control?"
She falls and Diana runs toward Hecate but she doesn't look at her but her daughter. "Goodbye Circe, I'll miss you my daughter."
"Stop the spell or end you Goddess of the Mist." Diana warns her but she shakes her head.
"I already completed the spell." Hecate said but confuses the princess when she continues. "I didn't destroy the barrier. I actually end a spell that torture a demigod."
The door to the temple is being hit as the voice of Athena can be heard. "What did you do Hecate?!"
The Goddess of Mist creates a portal. "Go Princess Diana, Camp Halfblood needs your help."
"Thank you Hecate." Diana jumps into the portal as Athena enters and lifts her spear at the fellow goddess.
Camp Halfblood is having a celebration. They are freed from the control of their parents. Some don't want to get involved in the dinner, seeing it as disrespectful, but even they will admit that they feel free. Being the child of a god, you have expectations put on you once you are put in a cabin. A son of Athena should be smart or a daughter of Ares is to be strong. Not everyone fills this role and have been looked down by their parent or even disowned. Percy looks at the cabin where the entire campers are having dinner and Chiron walks towards him.
"Be honest, Counselor Chiron, is what I did right?" Perseus takes off his helmet to show the centaur his now adult features. According to Beckendorf and a specialist in Ares' cabin when they investigated the helmet, they reveal it ages the wearer at their strongest. Percy Jackson who was merely 12 years old a week ago, is now in his late 20s. He can see his reflection from his helmet and see a beard on his face with his eyes more fierce and bloodthirsty than before.
"The Olympians were always a fickle people. They expected their children to follow them and tolerated no questioning of their rule. I remember a son of Hermes arrested his siblings for crimes like stealing and mugging. Hermes considered that disrespectful and had him killed. Or when a daughter of Athena didn't fear spiders and in fact befriended the children of Arachne. Athena saw it as unnatural and tricked her own daughter to be killed by Medusa." Chiron knew the Gods killed his campers and he couldn't do anything. He was guilty for allowing it to happen and now he feels the children are safer than they were for centuries. "I believe you are a better God than those fools. You don't demand them to follow you and let them do their own actions."
Energy can be felt on Thalia's tree. Perseus puts his helmet on and goes to investigate it. "Protect the campers Chiron. I will go see what that power is."
He runs at the tree and sees it is lifeless. The barrier is still protecting the camp however and he sees two people on the tree. One of them is a gothic girl that is leaning on the tree unconscious. Once he sees the blonde girl with gray eyes, he realises who it is. "Annabeth? You are alive!"
He wants to hug her but she holds her hand to stop him. "Please don't Percy Jackson. You must stop this war. My mother teleported me before the car exploded and told me you are overthrowing the gods."
"Stop it? Annabeth, the gods only wish to control and hurt demigods like us. Your mother can come here and talk about surrendering." Perseus reasons with Annabeth but she shakes her head.
"The gods are our protectors to the others. Viking, Hindu, Egyptian and Rome will come and attack our camp and burn Olympus to the ground once they find out Zeus is dead. This is why my mother must lead the next Olympians. We can stop this before it gets worse." Annabeth pleads but the God of Olympus doesn't agree. He knows that Athena will not stop until she regains Olympus and puts his head on her throne.
"No, I refuse to be controlled by the gods again. She would've done nothing when you were thought to be killed!" Perseus pulls out his sword and his eyes glow red which confirms the daughter of Athena's suspicion. She tries to calm him down while prodding the unconscious goth girl who is stirring.
"Percy, listen to me. The Helmet of Ares is messing with your head. It makes you aggressive and prone to violence. Look at yourself, it's aging you and will make you a servant of war! Take it off before it consumes you!" But he doesn't listen. All he sees is a person that will grovel and kneel to gods that are uncaring to her and other demigods. He raises his sword but is stabbed in the side by the awakened goth.
"Thalia stop!" Annabeth screams her savior's name as she doesn't want them to fight. Percy thrust his sword at Thalia but she blocks it with her shield. The Medusa face on the shield spooks Percy and she smashes it to his face. He finds himself on his knees but he is still taller than the two. Percy gets up and spits out some blood. "Alright, show me what you got, daughter of Zeus. I'll end you like the lightning god."
"I don't care that you killed my father but anyone that hurts Annie will have their ass lay down!" Thalia Grace proclaims as she thrust her spear. He grabs it but Thalia throws her shield at him and she jumps to catch the shield and slams it at him, knocking his helmet off him. He grabs the helmet before it touches the ground and hits her with it before putting it back on as she falls to the ground. Percy looks for Annabeth but she isn't around and realises she is using the invisibility cap. He tries to find her but Thalia stabs him on the arm, making him drop his sword.
"Annie now!" Thalia shouts and he feels a weight on his back. Percy tries to get Annabeth off him and raises his other hand to grab Annabeth by the neck. But Thalia throws her spear and it goes through Percy's hand. He cannot do anything as Annabeth grabs his helmet and takes it off his head. "No stop! This is my power! I earned it by slaying Ares! Without it, Athena will destroy New York!"
"Forgive me Percy but this is for your own good. We need to get this away from you." Annabeth takes his helmet and she jumps off his back. Percy feels the power leave him and tries to slash at her but Thalia blocks the attack and kicks him. His back hits the tree and Annabeth holds the helmet on one hand and pulls out a lightning bolt from another.
"It was you!" Tigress runs at them and throws shurikens at the two demigods but thunder strikes them and they disappear from sight. "Damnit! I failed to avenge you Jade."
"Sportsmaster? Is that you?" Percy wonders as he is helped up by the daughter of Freya. She looks sad about that name. "Indeed though I go by Tigress now. Losing Jade made me realise that I was just following my father's lead. Now I wear this to honor her."
"I'm sorry that you lost your sister. So it was Annabeth that killed Jade in the Underworld." The God of Olympus is saddened to know his friend was the one that wielded the Lightning Bolt. Perhaps it is a recreation of the symbol of Zeus thanks to Athena.
Now that they have stolen the helmet, Percy feels weak. He feels light and leans on the tree. "The helmet. We have to get it back. I need it…"
"Rest Perseus Jackson." A voice surprises both demigods and sees a portal open up. Diana jumps out of the portal and lands next to them. "We will regain the helmet for the war to come. Themyscira is ready for an invasion of New York City. I know where Annabeth is going."
"Whoa wait! Who are you?" This isn't what Tigress expected. A woman appearing out of nowhere and a war coming here. Percy knows who she is however. "Diana of Themyscira."
"I am Wonder Woman, Protector of Mans-world and your companion for this quest. Annabeth is going to New Rome to gather an army of demigods for a pincer attack. We must hurry if we wish to stop Athena and her destructive path."
"Wait there's a New Rome?!" Artemis is not expecting this day at all.
Right outside the gate of New Rome, Annabeth and Thalia fall out of the lightning. They both stand with Annabeth holding the bolt and helmet. Thalia is dizzy however but she hugs her friend. "It is great to see you again Annie! But you gotta tell me what is going on. Who was that attacker and why did you take that helmet?"
"Thalia…" The daughter of Athena wants to explain everything but she knows that Camp Jupiter must be told and join in the Amazon Invasion first. "I wish I can tell you but first we need to meet with the leaders of this camp."
Thalia wants an explanation but sighs. "There you go again. That glint you have means nothing I say will change your mind. Fine, let's go."
They walk to the gate and notice Legionary corpses around the gate. Annabeth can't believe this as she runs to an armless statue that has been hit too many times. "This shouldn't be possible. This camp has more soldiers than Camp Halfblood so who could've killed Terminus and attacked it?"
"A man that will pay for breaking regulations. No weapons allow-" The God of Boundaries still has life in his body until a white blur smashes his head. Annabeth tries to hit the blur with her Lightning Bolt but it hits her and runs away as she falls with the helmet rolling away from her. Meanwhile, Thalia goes deeper into the camp and notices more campers dead. She hears fighting in the building of the center of the Camp so she enters it. Inside she sees two people standing side by side, looking for their attacker. The woman notices her and yells. "Legionary assist your Praetors!"
"Yeah I'm not Roman but whatever is here clearly isn't my friend." Thalia said as she stands with the others and the man can't help but be suspicious.
"Not Roman? Who are-"
"Jason!" Reyna shouts at her Co-Praetor. "We don't have time, we need all the help we can get!"
"Oh yes… This Senate House will be your grave!" The white blur said as it appears before them. A man in a white jumpsuit shows himself. "I am the God of Speed and this Camp is mine. Lady Minerva promised me! You will pay Reyna for giving Jason the title of Praetor instead of me!"
Athena looks and sees the Amazons of Themyscira enter the invisible jets. The Invasion of New York City is beginning and she will end the wretched demigod that dares to defy her. "My victory is here and now. I will succeed where my father has failed. The age of the gods is at hand with me as the supreme ruler."
"You need more power to win." A voice reveals herself within the Goddess of Wisdom's mind and Athena knows who it is.
"Minerva… But we shouldn't exist at the same time."
"We shouldn't, which is why I am communicating through our mind. Why just rule New York when California also has no gods?" Minerva said and Athena can't believe it. "No… Don't tell me that the Roman Gods-"
"They were killed as well thanks to Percy Jackson. When he killed the Greeks, absorbed their power and destroyed their thrones: He did the same to my family thanks to our dual existence." Greek and Roman gods can't exist at the same time so they change aspects. This makes Athena more enraged knowing that a mere mortal has destroyed two pantheons. The paranoia that Zeus is known for doesn't fall far from the tree as his daughter have thoughts as well. "They cannot exist. Those heroes must die! No more demigods! Camp Halfblood and Jupiter must be destroyed with everyone in it!"
"Indeed, which is why I have given a spiteful son of Mercury the power of his father to destroy them. Camp Jupiter will fall, however we must discuss our existence." Minerva looks at her Greek self and has an idea. "We can rule a kingdom from New York to California but to do so, we need more power and I have a way to do so."
Athena and Minerva shake hands and their beings light up for all of Themyscira to see. The invasion has begun with invisible jets flying to Manhattan.
Next Time- Godspeed and 2nd Fall of Rome