Prized Possession

4: Out of Eden

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." - Winston Churchill.

Percy woke up to the sound of waves rolling up the beach, the sight of early sunlight creeping through the windows, and the feel of warm, crisp sheets covering him on the bed. He was in the Big House infirmary.

"You drool when you sleep," came a voice from his right.

He sprang up, embracing Annabeth fiercely, and he was laughing and she was laughing and for a moment all was right with the world. Then the previous day's events came rushing back to him with a deluge of aches and pains that covered his body and left him struggling to stand. He staggered and fell back onto the bed. Annabeth gasped sharply as he knocked against her arm falling down. He noticed then that her arm, broken by Kronos, was in a sling, and clearly still tender.

"Gods, I'm so sorry!" he said, alarmed.

"No, it's fine." That might have been the case, but it obviously still hurt a lot.

She rearranged him on the bed, propping him up against the headboard, and raised a glass of nectar from the bedside to his lips.

"Here," she said.

The drink of the gods was sweet, and warmed his throat as it ran down inside him. The fatigue in his limbs was eased a little, and his body relaxed as he drank it gratefully. The glass emptied in no time. Annabeth put it carefully back on the bedside table. Percy, by this point, had only questions.

"How did you survive? I thought for that – that – " He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence, so he changed it. "Is Grover okay? What about everyone else? And how did you get here?"

"Hey, Seaweed Brain, calm down. It's all okay. It's okay." Annabeth couldn't quite hide the tremor in her voice as she said that.

He looked her in the eye, with all the meaning and power he could muster behind a simple look. "Tell me."

She sighed, her eyes downcast. "Percy, you should – "

"Please."

She looked at him properly then, saw the hope and terror in his eyes, and relented. "Hermes got us," she said. "We were running – or trying to – but obviously not fast enough. We were injured, and the floor started cracking up, and… we thought we were going to die. It was strange. I almost just gave up and accepted it then and there. Grover kept me going then. He reminded me that you were fighting for us. That we couldn't let you down. Then Hermes appeared in front of us. He said… he said that he was going to get us to safety before the gods fought Kronos properly. He transported us here, but didn't seem to arrive himself. I don't know if that was because he just left straight away, or if his throne was destroyed… nothing like this has ever happened before."

There was no accusation in her voice, but Percy still felt terrible. Of course nothing like this had ever happened before. No-one else had ever screwed up quite so spectacularly as this before. He played the day over in his mind, and couldn't find anything he should have done differently. Kronos was just stronger than he was. He had lost before the fight began.

Annabeth carried on talking. "We cleaned ourselves up a bit here, and then Argus spotted you while he was sweeping the area for enemies. We got over as soon as we could, fought off the empousai, and here you are."

Something twitched at the back of Percy's mind. "Mormolykeia," he said.

"What?"

"They were mormolykeia. Not empousai. Not sure what the difference is, but they seemed to think it was important." She looked at him askance, so he gave her a lopsided grin, and added "Thanks anyway, though."

Annabeth just raised an eyebrow.

"...Thanks… a lot?"

She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. "Anytime, Seaweed Brain. Now could you put some clothes on?"

It was at this point, of course – after a good few minutes of conversation – that Percy realised he was wearing only – well, only clothes that he might keep in the part of his cabin where he kept underwear. They might be out of place in, for instance, a shirt storage spot. He wasn't sure whether or not to be relieved that these particular clothes appeared to be the ones he'd put on yesterday. On the one hand, at least Annabeth hadn't been through his underwear drawer, or – gods forbid – seen him naked. On the other, he was fairly obviously dirty, sweaty, and generally filthy.

"There are clothes over there. I'll wait outside."

"You're laughing at me!" he protested.

"Yes. I am," she said. Laughing.

After Annabeth left, Percy checked the pile of clothes left out for him. He saw, with a sinking feeling, the bright whites of Nemo's eyes on the top of the pile. She had, after all, been through his underwear drawer.

He made quick use of the infirmary showers, and dressed quickly in jeans and a fresh orange t-shirt. He hesitated before stepping outside though, wary of having to face the people he had just let down, perhaps fatally. The bullet had to be bitten, though, and out he stepped.

On the terrace outside the Big House, he found Annabeth sitting with Grover, Chiron, in his wheelchair, and Argus.

"Perrrrcyyy!" bleated Grover, leaping up and embracing him. "We thought you were dead!"

"Yeah, me too, G-man," said Percy, hugging him back. "Me too." And then, more quietly, so quietly that for a moment he doubted he'd even said it - "I thought I killed you." Then he felt Grover tense, and knew he'd heard.

"You didn't, though," the satyr whispered back. "That's the important thing."

Percy let go and turned to the other pair at the table. Argus nodded silently at him.

"Percy, my boy," said Chiron. "It's good to see you up and about again." The centaur's voice was tired and weak, stripped of any artifice or false optimism. His eyes couldn't help but twinkle briefly, though. "Have a seat."

Percy sat, and, unable to stay silent, asked "So what now?"

Chiron sighed. "I don't know. The gods seem to have gone silent. We've had no word from them since yesterday. The offering braziers aren't working, either. There doesn't seem to be any significant fighting going on at the moment, but neither side seems to have claimed a decisive victory, so we can't be certain that the titans actually have won."

"But, Chiron – I destroyed Olympus – how can the titans not have won?"

"I don't know Percy. But we should be thankful for that for now. In any case, nor are they defeated, and we will need to carry on fighting. You should rest here until you're better, we'll see if other demigods make it back, and perhaps by then, a course of action will have made itself clear to us."

"Chiron, I lost the war."

"Percy..." interjected Grover. "you didn't..."

"Yes I did," he said. "I brought down Olympus. Brick by brick, just like Luke and Kronos wanted. I made the wrong decision. We've lost, and it's my fault."

"Percy..." said the centaur.

"My fault, Chiron. Nothing you can say will change that. The gods are gone."

"Percy, look at me."

Percy did. Chiron looked sad. He had reason enough to, Percy supposed.

"Percy, we all make mistakes. Granted," he said, waving off Percy's objections, "Granted, most people aren't balancing the fate of the world in their hands when they make those mistakes, but I don't yet believe it was truly catastrophic. We will do what we can to make the best of the situation. Whatever happens, we must not give up hope."

Chiron's face didn't look so sad for a moment. His voice carried an unmistakable note of hope.

"You've got a plan," said Percy.

"No, I haven't"

Percy frowned. "Yes you have. You must do. You wouldn't be like this if there was no hope."

"Percy, having hope is not the same as having a plan."

"But - "

"Nevertheless," continued the centaur, "I do have an idea. I don't know how helpful it will be. It's certainly not a plan yet. I need to do some research, some reading. I'll tell you if I come across anything. In the meantime though, you should rest."

"How am I supposed to rest with..." he waved his hands vaguely, though it was obvious what he was referring to, "this?"

"Because we don't have a choice, Percy." That was Annabeth. She was right, as always. They didn't have a choice. There was nothing else to do in camp, and nothing else that could be done outside it.

"Do not lose hope," said Chiron. "Only when you lose hope have the titans really won." With that, he spun his chair around from the table, and wheeled it back into the Big House.

Argus stood, nodded at Percy again, and walked up to half-blood hill.

"He's probably gone to check the defences," said Grover, as Percy looked questioningly after the hundred-eyed sentry.

"We still have defences?"

The satyr nodded. "All the traps the Hephaestus cabin set up before the battle are still active, as far as we know. Obviously the woods are still stocked with all kinds of wild monsters that could hurt anyone trying to get in stealthily that way. And Peleus is still guarding the Golden Fleece. He seems to have grown attached to the camp, as well."

"It's sweet really," said Annabeth. "He's a bit like a puppy."

"A puppy capable of vast, widespread, indiscriminate mass destruction, though." said Percy.

"You've obviously never had a puppy."

The day crept slowly by. They sat and talked and played games to distract themselves from the fact that they were sitting idly by while the world outside was descending into chaos. It wasn't enough, and Percy could feel himself slowly going insane.

They checked and double-checked the innumerable traps left behind by the Hephaestus cabin, most of which Annabeth could understand after examining. Those she couldn't, they left well alone. They sat and stroked Peleus, scanning the horizon for any sign of activity. No signs revealed themselves.

Chiron remained in his study, nestled amidst faded books and crusting sheets of paper. They saw Argus around occasionally, but he always seemed to be moving, and never stayed for long.

And then it was the end of the day. Percy slept little that night.

The next day, Percy brought up some more questions on his mind. Maybe doing so in the middle of a sparring contest wasn't the best idea, but the thought arose in his head, and, well – when else was he going to ask?

"When I was fighting the mormolykeia..."

"The ones that are basically empousai but not?" asked Annabeth, jumping back from one of his swings.

"Those are the ones," said Percy. "One of them said someone was going to get me. Lamia, I think they mentioned? I swear I recognise the name, but I'm not sure why. Any thoughts?" He blocked a jab of her knife.

"Lamia? I think she's your sister."

"What?" he asked, and, off-guard for a moment at this sudden revelation, was forced backwards by a flurry of strikes, and found himself backed against the edge of the arena.

"I'm pretty certain. Daughter of Poseidon. Slept with Zeus, but Hera found out, and -" she leapt sideways to avoid a particularly powerful swing of Riptide, letting Percy back into the centre of the arena. "- I think she killed Lamia's kids? Or she might have just kidnapped them."

"Tactful as always then." The two of them circled. Percy feinted a jab towards Annabeth's left, but she wouldn't be drawn, and managed to guard her right as well.

"Right," she said. "Anyway, Lamia went mad, and started eating children, and now she's sort of this vampire-thing that seduces and kills unlucky guys." She narrowed her eyes. "If Lamia's coming after you – well, just be careful, alright?"

He launched spray of attacks at her, going up, now down, now left, now right. She managed to deflect a couple, but was forced into evasion tactics by his sheer power and reach compared to her knife. Percy carefully started pushing her towards the arena wall. "What," he asked, "Kronos wasn't hard enough for me?"

"True."

"There was another name, er, Lilo I think?"

"Lilo?"

"Maybe." He Pushed forwards another step. Almost there.

"Well Percy, that's over there!"

Such was the urgency in her voice that he span around immediately. There was nothing there, and he realised her trick just as the knife came to rest against his throat. "Cheater."

"You didn't have to look."

"You don't really know what Lilo is, do you?"

"Percy, Lilo's a cartoon Disney character. I'd guess that's not the name, unless Kronos has somehow managed to bring kid's cartoons to life and then turn them evil. I'll check the books anyway, but I doubt we'll find anything." She took the knife away, and they left the arena.

"Good fight. I guess."

"If it's any consolation, I was struggling to fight off some of your advances then."

"You know you could never resist my advances if I really tried."

"I managed to resist your Finding Nemo boxers yesterday."

"That's a low blow. Just like the way you cheated today."

"You win some..." she started, but trailed off as a figure stumbled over half-blood hill, running at full speed.

Percy and Annabeth sprinted towards them, hoping that nothing was following after the demigod, who collapsed on the ground just inside the camp borders. Over by Thalia's tree, Peleus lazily raised his head, stretched his neck, and let out a burst of flame at something just out of sight over the crest of the hill.

They reached the fallen demigod. "Go check the hill," said Percy, and knelt by the body as Annabeth carried on running. Then he blinked. "Nico?"

"Percy," the smaller boy groaned. "A pleasure, as always."

"Right. What happened to you?"

"What didn't happen to me? We were fighting Kronos' army – and winning, too – when all of a sudden the Empire State Building blows up, and everyone runs. Hades went back to the underworld, Poseidon to the sea. The monsters started rallying, the party ponies scattered, and there were just the demigods left. We fought off some of the monsters, but… it was a lost cause. So we ran as well."

He bowed his head as though ashamed, and though Percy wanted to tell him that there was nothing to be ashamed of, he knew the comment wouldn't be appreciated.

"Are Will and the others here?" Nico asked.

That took Percy by surprise. "No." And then, panicking slightly, "Should they be?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Most of us set off together, but when we ran into some monsters, we split up. Hopefully they'll be here soon. If not..." he shook his head.

"What were the monsters?" asked Annabeth, getting back.

"Hellhounds, mostly. Are they..." Nico gestured at the hill.

"All dust," she confirmed. "Peleus really did a number on them. Good to see you back."

Nico's eyes flicked up to hers for a moment, like he was checking if she was joking. "You too."

"I'm sure the others will get here soon. They're well-trained. They're brave."

"Yeah," he said. "I guess they are."

He didn't sound convinced.

They put Nico to bed in the Big House and explained to Chiron what had happened, as well as asking Argus to be on the lookout for other half-bloods. The hundred-eyed watchman just grunted and nodded, while Chiron frowned and looked concerned, before reburying himself in his books with, if possible, redoubled efforts.

Annabeth began plotting new security measures for the borders, while Grover went to rally any nature spirits in the woods. Percy was left to his own devices, and chose to spend his time walking along the beach.

He walked barefoot, the sand soft between his toes and the ocean lapping at his feet as he trod the line the tide ran up to. He could almost imagine there wasn't a war on.

"Perseus."

The brief illusion of calm and serenity did not so much shatter as simply dissolve; less an explosive interruption than a cold sensation akin to stepping out of your warm house and into a blizzard. Percy turned to the source of the voice: Poseidon. His father had only called him Perseus at their first meeting, all those years ago when his biggest worries were little things like accidentally starting World War Three for a theft he didn't commit.

"Dad," he said.

His father looked old and worn, as he had when Percy had seen him in Atlantis. Now, though, he seemed to be leaning on his trident for support. The armour was gone, replaced with one of his old, tasteless Hawaiian shirts. Worryingly though, this one was sliced open at the right shoulder, and there seemed to be claw marks over the belly.

Then Percy realised that Poseidon would not be happy. His home had been destroyed, his power ended, his family torn apart. It did not make sense, therefore, that the god was smiling gently at him.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked.

Poseidon sighed, and the smile vanished, though he still didn't seem angry with Percy. "As well as can be expected," he said. "Olympus has fallen, and my kingdom is still under attack from Oceanus' forces. The war is taking its toll. That said, we are holding them, for now. They will not defeat us in the immediate future."

"Right. But – haven't we – I mean -"

"You want to know if, having lost Olympus, we have certainly lost the war?"

Percy nodded, mutely, wondering if he was so easily readable.

Poseidon shook his head. "Yes, that is so, but, on the other hand, no."

"That doesn't make any sense." Okay, maybe that was a bit blunt, considering he was talking to a god, but come on – 'yes but no?'

Poseidon, though, did not seem overly concerned. "I suppose not. With Olympus gone, the gods can no longer help you. You saw our armies gone once the Empire State Building collapsed?"

"Yeah, I saw. What happened?"

"We left to defend our realms. With Olympus gone, we are cut off from our greatest source of power, but once it had already gone, there was no point in continuing to fight there. We would lose lives needlessly. The titans had won that battle, and we could not reverse the result at that point. If we'd continued to fight, we'd have achieved nothing, and left our own realms vulnerable as we did so. So I returned to Atlantis to repel Oceanus, and Hades went back to the Underworld in order to fortify it against any future attacks."

"But if Olympus was your greatest source of power, how can you fight them off?"

"Because it was not our only source of power. We have our weapons – my trident, Hades' helm and such. We have our realms, which can support us for as long as they thrive. And we have faith. Your sacrifices and worship are needed more than ever now." The titans will certainly be stronger than us, if it comes to a straight fight."

Percy shook his head in confusion, unconsciously mirroring his father's earlier movement. "But you say we haven't totally lost?"

"We defeated Typhon, did we not?"

"Yeah. Thank you, by the way, but that's not enough, is it? What did you do with him, anyway?"

"We sent him directly to Tartarus. He will reform, but not for many years, and by then we should have conclusively won or lost the war. You're right that this alone is not enough, but he was our most powerful enemy, and his loss is a great blow to Kronos. Until the Titan Lord can assume his true form, there is no enemy who can strike a truly decisive blow against us. That is why we have not necessarily lost."

"He hasn't already?"

"Not as far as I am aware. I would have felt it. Why?"

"When we were fighting… he started to glow. Like he was about to burn Luke's body away."

"Interesting. Did it stop at any point?"

"No. I mean, maybe. I couldn't see a glow after the battle, but I thought he might have landed somewhere else, or moved or something."

"Percy, you must understand that this is ancient and complex magic. As far as I am aware, nothing like this has ever been done before. I don't pretend to understand it properly, but I am confident that Kronos has not yet assumed his true form. That kind of power would be impossible to hide. And until he does, we can certainly still stop him."

"Can we?"

"Your mother - "

"Dad."

Poseidon blinked. Gods aren't used to being interrupted. He still didn't seem angry though, and Percy couldn't understand why.

"Percy, I realise I haven't always been the best father, but I have kept an eye on you, when I've been able. And one of the most striking things about you is your ability to render the impossible possible."

"I lost, though."

"Just remember Decimus Laberius' wise words."

"Who?"

"Decimus Laberius."

"Who?"

"He was a mime some two thousand years ago. He said 'non possunt primi esse omnes, omni in tempore.'"

"I'm a bit behind on my Greek.

"It's Latin."

"I'm further behind than I thought then."

"It means that you can't win every time. 'It is not possible to occupy the first rank forever.' You've already done better than we had any right to expect of you. And, remember, even Kronos cannot win every battle."

"So we keep trying. But so much for my streak of achieving the impossible."

"We keep trying until we can try no more or we need try no more. Have faith, Perseus. Kronos won this battle because he was able to see what we gods could not. All we need do now is come up with a few original ideas of our own, and what seems impossible now will be within our reach."

Percy nodded. Poseidon frowned. "And be careful," he said, slowly. "Kronos still has the upper hand. For as long as he does, our position is a precarious one. Allies that we once trusted easily may no longer be reliable. Fear does strange things to people. You may have seen that already."

The god of the sea, old and tired but nevertheless unbowed, unbent and unbroken, dissolved into a fine mist of sea air. Percy was left alone on the beach. His thoughts were troubled and muddled, and he still wasn't certain what he was going to do, but – well, maybe things weren't quite so impossible as they seemed.

Nico was up and about again the next day. In truth, he was probably already in a better way than Percy or Annabeth were, having had no serious wounds and the benefit of travelling in a group on his way back to camp.

Chiron sent the son of Hades to do part of the daily trap check/monster sweep in the woods, and, that being quite enough of a challenge in itself, no-one expected him to do anything else. It was therefore something of a shock when he ran up to Percy, feeding Peleus on the hill, shouting "Get to the woods!"

"What?" asked Percy. Nico was carrying an unconscious girl – a daughter of Apollo, Percy recalled, though her name escaped him – on his back, and though she was even smaller than he was, he was still clearly struggling. There was blood all over both of them.

"The woods – monsters attacking. People trying to get in. Go. Quickly!"

Percy needed nothing more than that garbled sentence before he sprang to his feet, pulled out his pen and set off at a run, leaving the dragon to eat his meaty slop in peace. The demigod was no sooner inside the treeline, however, than he tripped over a rock and went sprawling. He hit the dirt and skidded along for a foot or so, twisting to look behind him as he did so, in case there was something dangerous there.

Looking more closely, he saw that he had not tripped over a rock, but a small stone rabbit, perfectly carved and finely detailed. It looked worryingly like Medusa's work, and for a moment Percy considered the possibility that she had returned from Tartarus. Medusa, though, was not the type of monster you might expect to be hanging around in the Camp Half-Blood woods. This is why Percy was not wholly surprised to see, when the monster emerged from the trees, that it was not Medusa.

It was a large animal, its main body that of a buffalo. Being Greek though, there were… complications. Its head was not that of a buffalo, but that of a large, angry, and very hairy pig. The head seemed a little outsized for the rest of it, and it moped along the ground, nose scraping in the dirt and grass. Its back was scaled and looked tough. As it wandered towards him, so absently, and without looking at him, so as to seem not to have noticed him yet, the grass it breathed on curled, yellowed, and died. He made a mental note to stay clear.

There was a rustling in the undergrowth, and the monster's head swung slowly to Percy's right as a squirrel burst out. It froze as it noticed the half-blood and the beast in front of it. It didn't move again, and after a second, Percy realised that it, like the rabbit, was now stone.

He looked at the cow-pig-thing. This was, all things considered, remarkably reckless of him, seeing as he had just seen that seeing this and being seen by it would see you stoned, but he did it without thinking. Fortunately, its eyes were still fixed on the squirrel. The eyes were bloodshot, and though small, seemed to bulge out of their sockets.

As its head swung back towards him, he was jolted into action, turning away and scrambling to his feet.

He uncapped Riptide and swept backwards with it. It hit something, but bounced off it upwards. A strange angle. He thought about that for a moment, and moved a little away from where the animal was.

Then he climbed a tree. It was short, but not very challenging to climb, and fortunately a little taller than the monster. From his vantage point, Percy looked down at the beast, which head-butted the tree. The tree shook. The animal, though, was staring at its roots, its bulbous head still hanging down.

Percy laughed. The animal, deadly though it could be, was slow, stupid, and had a head so heavy it couldn't even look up. It didn't seem to appreciate being laughed at though, and rammed into the tree again. The tree shook.

The son of Poseidon leapt down onto the thing's back, causing it to make a feeble attempt to buck him off. Its movements were sluggish, and he held on with ease. The rest was easy. Percy couldn't stab through its hard scales, so he leant forwards, reached around its neck, and cut its throat. The monster stumbled, fell, and dissolved into dust, leaving behind only a chunk of its scaly armour.

Never one to turn down a free gift, Percy picked it up. It was rough and uneven, having no particular shape or substance to clearly show what he could use it for. It was far too unwieldy to have any obvious practical purpose. It was, in short, one of the most pointless spoils of war Percy had ever seen. He dropped it and set off into the woods again.

He didn't have to go much further before he heard shouts, and sprinted towards them. There. Just through the trees he made out flashes of light. Something went bang. He hoped it was nothing important.

He caught a glimpse of blonde hair for a moment, and when he got closer, he saw it was Kayla, the daughter of Apollo. Her bow was out, and she was firing arrows at a group of hellhounds which had got in amongst the ragtag group of demigods here. One was creeping around and preparing to claw her in the back.

Percy put on a final burst of speed to get there in time. He and the hound leapt at the same time. He saw, as though in slow motion, the hellhound's claws extending towards the girl's back, teeth bared and saliva dripping from its jaws. His shoulder collided with it. It, though seemed to have jumped more powerfully, and the pair of them went flying into Kayla's back, leaving all three collapsed on the floor. She was safe though, and he was able to thrust his sword into its chest before it attacked again. The hellhound writhed briefly, and dissolved into dust.

Kayla lay, stunned, on the ground, but Percy leapt up and continued fighting. Another dog threw itself towards him but he sidestepped and sliced it apart, before tackling another which had been moving towards someone he now recognized as Will Solace.

In moments, the battle was done, and Percy was surrounded by monster dust and unwashed and somewhat slightly dazed demigods. He saw now that they were all from the Apollo cabin; 6 half-bloods in all.

"Thanks," said Will. Percy jerked around, seeing the son of Apollo standing there, bloody and dirty. "They caught us just as we got to the edge of the woods. I don't know if we'd have made it to camp without you."

"No worries." Percy narrowed his eyes. Someone was missing. "Is this all of you?"

"All of us?"

"It's the whole Apollo cabin except Austin. Is he…?"

Will shook his head.

"I'm sorry."

"You didn't kill him," said Will, shortly.

Percy didn't feel like disputing that point.

"Did Harmony make it here?" asked Kayla.

"Harmony?"

"Our sister. Small, typical Apollo traits, er - "

"Nico got her. He was taking her to the Big House I think."

"Nico's here?"

Percy turned back to Will. "Yeah. Got here yesterday."

The blond boy relaxed a little. "That's good. I was worried he hadn't made it."

"He was worried about you, too."

"Well..." Will seemed at a loss for words. "We've been looking out for each other recently."

"Come on." Percy gestured towards the camp. "He'll be glad to see you again. Everyone will be."

It was late afternoon by the time they got back, leaving Percy wondering where the time had gone, and also when he was going to be able to fill the black hole in his belly. Nico, Annabeth and Chiron were all overjoyed to see the Apollo cabin back, but there was more serious business to attend to. Harmony was in the infirmary, still unconscious, and Will demanded to see her.

"Get some rest first," said Percy.

"I need to see her, Percy."

"You can't do anything in this state. You need sleep."

"What I need is to check she's okay. Let me in."

"Look, it's probably not that bad, right Nico?"

Nico shuffled his feet awkwardly. "I gave her some nectar, but… I don't know."

"You don't know?"

That was enough. They went in.

Harmony had been laid on the bed nearest the door, and Will immediately started busying himself checking her various wounds. There were cuts all over her torso, and fresh blood stained the bedsheets.

"How much nectar did you give her?" he asked Nico.

"The recommended dosage. I didn't want to risk much more than that."

"We'll risk it. Grab some, will you?"

Nico went.

Will started bandaging the wounds, but halfway through his work, his eyes inadvertently met Percy's. He paused.

"Is she going to be alright?"

Will sighed. "I hope so."

When Nico returned with the nectar, Will trickled a steady stream of it between Harmony's lips, until her skin gained a red kind of glow.

"That's enough," he said. "Too much, really, but..." He shook his head. "Where'd you find her?" he asked Nico.

"The woods. She said she'd been split off from you, and there were hellhounds, then fainted. I got her back here as fast as I could."

"Thank you."

Nico stayed silent for a moment. "She saved your lives," he said. "She ran for help, I think."

"Maybe," said Will, then resumed working silently.

They stayed by her bedside well into the night, Will taking turns with the other children of Apollo to work on Harmony's wounds, and while some seemed to get better, there were gashes in her side and chest which refused to close. At about four in the morning, she stopped breathing.

More demigods arrived the next day, in ones, twos and threes, mostly. They appeared over the crest of the hill, often pursued by monsters and rarely unharmed. By the evening they had about 20 campers again, including Percy, Annabeth and Nico. Percy hoped that more had survived the Battle of Manhattan. Most were more or less back to normal after some nectar and ambrosia, Chris being the only one too injured to leave the infirmary. Clarisse had dragged him miles to camp after he'd been stabbed by a dracaenae.

When they ate that evening, it wasn't silent, as it had been the first couple of nights, nor was the dialogue stilted as it had been the day before. It wasn't loud, but there was a low buzz of conversation, which almost let Percy believe things were back to normal, if it weren't for the low numbers of half-bloods present and the abandonment of the cabin seating system. It was an illusion which was shattered as soon as Chiron stood to make an announcement.

"Demigods," he said. "I realise that the last few days have been discouraging. You may feel tired, lost, or dispirited. I am afraid that these are no longer viable options. You may be thinking that we have lost this war."

He looked Percy dead in the eyes. "You would be wrong.

"We may be on the back foot, they may have the advantage, but the titans have only won if we give up now. We cannot afford to do so. We must keep fighting. To that end, I have the beginnings of a plan."

There was an intake of breath from the assembled demigods.

"It is by no means complete or comprehensive, but I believe it represents one of the best chances we have. The titans, just like the gods, thrive on belief and worship. Few believe in the titans, and fewer worship them. They will realise that they will become much stronger if they reveal the Greek world to the mortals and encourage their own worship. This is, of course, a significant problem, but it also gives us an opportunity to resist. I am therefore proposing a series of quests. Everyone who wishes to can take part, and all will be welcome. It will be dangerous, I am sure you understand.

"Here is what we will do: we will wait in camp, recovering, until our world is revealed. It will be unmissable, as the titans won't want to lose any potential worshippers. Then, in threes, you will go out into the world, and spread the word of the gods. Give a message of hope. Tell the mortals of the titans' crimes and brutality, but tell them also that the gods are real. Tell them that a better world is possible. Make them believe not in Othrys, but in Olympus. Under titan rule, humankind will only matter as entertainment, but the gods will leave them be. Under the gods, they will be free. This is our best hope."

He sat again, leaving silence. Then Peleus roared.

Percy jolted to his feet, pulling out Riptide. "Keep everyone calm," he said to Annabeth, then ran for the hill.

Reaching the low peak, he saw an army. Hundreds of monsters of all kinds stood facing Thalia's tree. They can't pass the barrier, he told himself. Hopefully. Maybe with the gods gone…

Peleus let out a blast of flame that left a few monsters trying to creep up on him burned to a crisp.

"Good boy," said Percy, then ran back to the pavilion.

"We have a problem," he said. "Everyone get your weapons, put your armour on. There are monsters here. I don't know if they can get through the barrier, but Peleus is holding them off for now. We don't have long though."

"They shouldn't be able to get through the barrier," said Chiron. "It's still in place. We should be careful though. Everyone in a fit state to fight go to Half-Blood Hill as soon as you're ready."

Before anyone could move, though, the monsters came pouring over the hill – with a noticeable gap around the tree, and therefore, around Peleus.

"Everyone run!" Percy yelled. The demigods scattered, most heading for the woods. Camp Half-Blood was no longer safe. Then Percy looked at Annabeth. "Chris," he said.

They dashed into the infirmary, where Chris was lying in one of the far beds. He was a large, muscular demigod, and even together they struggled somewhat to lift him – until Clarisse burst in, and picked him up herself.

"I feel emasculated," said Percy.

"Shut up Jackson."

They turn to the exit, only to see Argus standing there, sword in hand. His intention was clear.

"Argus?" asked Annabeth. "You let them across the barrier?"

"Kronos has won," he said. Even at this point, Percy was a little disappointed to see that his tongue did not, in fact, have an eye on it. "You die for the gods," continued Argus, "Or you live for Kronos. Not much of a choice really."

Suddenly he spun around, but too late. An arrow sprouted from his neck, and then another from his chest. He collapsed, and dissolved, as Chiron trotted into view.

"Come," said the centaur. "We are out of time."

The fighting outside was fearsome, with only a few demigods still remaining in the camp.

"Every exit is cut off," called Chiron. "Use Peleus. I will buy you time."

"Chris can't hold on!" shouted Clarisse.

"Give him here," said Chiron. "I'll see him to safety."

They manoeuvred Chris onto Chiron's back. "Run!" shouted the centaur.

Percy sprinted for the hill, cutting down any monsters in their way, as Chiron's arrows took down those behind. They reached Peleus in moments, and climbed onto him. The dragon shifted uncomfortably, easily large enough to bear them all, but not seeming to know what was happening.

"Go!" shouted Percy. "GO!"

The dragon roared and incinerated another group of foes.

"Percy, the Fleece!"

Percy looked at the tree, where the Golden Fleece was hanging… the Golden Fleece which Peleus had been hired to protect.

He sighed.

Percy leapt off the dragon's back and onto that of a Laistrygonian giant. He sliced its head off and jumped for the low branch where the Fleece hung. He caught it – and hung there as it snagged a branch.

He kicked out at a dracaenae slithering towards him, and shook at the Fleece to try and dislodge it.

The Fleece stayed stuck.

He swung Riptide into the jaw of an approaching hellhound, and shook at the Fleece to try and dislodge it.

The Fleece stayed stuck.

Then he let go, dropping down and causing a tremor that knocked nearby enemies flat. He used the sword to flip the Fleece over the branch, picked it up, and clambered back on Peleus' back, next to Annabeth and the others who had made it here.

"GO!"

And Peleus did.

He let out one final burst of fire, roasting over a dozen monsters at once, and soared into the air, leaving Kronos' forces stranded on the ground below.

Percy looked back, seeing Chiron galloping away into the woods with Chris on his back, monsters chasing them. He turned to face forwards again.

The wind ran its cold fingers through his hair.

His home burned behind him.

An uncertain future lay ahead.

And that's a wrap! Sorry for the wait folks, this was a difficult one to bash out, especially the scene where Percy rescues the Apollo cabin. I spent about three weeks on that bit alone.

Thanks to A Samhildanach for reviewing, and in response to AnnaUnicorn - well... in a bit, yes.

If any of you have the time to review, that really would be wonderful.

See you all next time!