Chapter 13

We rescue Death

Percy's P.O.V.

Throughout the journey to Hubbard Glacier, I felt as if I'd reunited with an important part of my life. Sitting on the pegasus felt totally normal and comfortable, though the cold wind didn't help in that. Swiftsilver zipped past at blinding speeds, maybe not as fast as Arion, but not far behind too. I bet we'd have looked like fools if anyone would have seen us from the ground, but there was no one around to do the pegasus-gazing.

Everything was white, as long as we could gaze. Swiftsilver's body glittered in the landscape, making it look more beautiful. Blackjack, I remembered. I'd forgotten how much I missed riding him. The way he used to call me boss, the way he always asked for donuts. I knew if he'd hear me saying this, his response would be - 'Hey boss! Ya gettin' all teary for your ole pegasus here?' I wondered if he'd like to meet Swiftsilver. Black and white, perfect combination. They could even go on a date or something. Wait, do pegasi date?

"You're thinking about Blackjack?" Natalie called over the wind. It was a good thing she kept her hair tied back in a dutch braid, because seeing their length, I was sure I'd have been getting a massage on my face by them, had they been open. I'd stopped her asking how she always knew what I was thinking, because she would either say she just did, or that she could read my face.

"Yeah. I was thinking maybe Swiftsilver and he should meet some day. They'd be best friends."

Excuse me, lord. But may I ask who I'm going to be meeting?

Swiftsilver's voice echoed in my head, just like it always did when horses or pegasi spoke to me.

"It's my friend, Blackjack. He's a pegasus too," I told her.

"You don't have to call us lord or lady or anything," Natalie said.

Then what should I call you, lady?

"You know what? Blackjack calls me boss and he's all cool and all like that, so just be chill with us."

Okay, boss. As ya both wish. Like this?

"Cool, you can speak like that?" Natalie asked, perplexed.

Yea. I can speak like this, bossie. But I don't cuss like Arion.

I blinked once. "Wait, bossie?"

Yeah, boss. You're the boss and she's the bossie. Gender difference, right?

Natalie and I laughed. Swiftsilver snickered too, then continued flying. I imagined how stupid it was, both of us talking to her and laughing at things as though we were just going on a little trip. Swiftsilver landed on a huge glacier, and I spotted Arion, Hazel and Frank waiting for us. As soon as we dropped off, I felt something different.

"The ground," Frank said. "It's pounding."

Hazel nodded. "Gaea is strong here at Hubbard Glacier."

Alright, bossie, Swiftsilver spoke. I know you aren't much of a cavalry, but I'll be 'round this area, in case you need my help, which seems quite likely to happen. See ya!

Natalie patted it once, then watched it set off. I wondered how fast that pegasus could switch from an obedient tone to a cool one. Frank took a deep breath.

"Okay, so we go there, examine things. See what to do, and fight," he said, trying to keep his voice confident, which worked to a great extent.

"Seems stupid, but it's a great plan all the same. Let's go."

We hadn't been expecting loneliness. The area was like an old Roman barracks area, just half submerged in snow. There were barracks in a U-shaped pattern, and Thanatos stood in what seemed like the main building, in the middle of the U, his ankles and wrists tied with celestial bronze chains. For some reason, he was grinning, and seemed completely nuts.

"Is he Thanatos? Why's he laughing like that?" Hazel whispered.

"And why has nothing happened? There's nobody around. How can it be like this?" Natalie asked.

"Maybe they've gone for lunch or something," Frank said nervously.

We made our way past the abandoned buildings on the thick snow, our footprints getting inscribed on the ground as we walked. A distinct thumping was coming from the ground continuously, which didn't help my nerves. As we reached Thanatos, he started laughing.

"So," he said. "My rescuers have finally arrived. Do your work quickly, now. Release me."

Hazel looked at him suspiciously. "How is no one guarding you? Where is Alyceoneus?"

"Alyceoneus is right behind you, Hazel Levesque."

A cold, drawling voice spoke from behind us. We turned to see something I never thought I would forget. Immediately, my instincts took over and I stood in an attacking stance, holding Riptide in sword form in front of me. The others had taken out their weapons too, and were in the same position as me - shocked, but ready.

Alyceoneus was almost fifty feet tall, and his body was made up of gold. He was smiling maliciously, his teeth bared. Long, untended hair made all way to inches below his shoulder, and he was carrying a strange big golden sword. His eyes glinted. Behind him stood a legion of half-transparent people, almost like the lars of Camp Jupiter, except they seemed to be hanging between human and transparent between a thin thread. For some moments, they looked almost as full of skin and flesh as us. I realized they were the dead people who'd come here.

"I have been waiting for all of you to come here. Especially you, Hazel. You are the one who helped me to rise," he drawled, his voice icy with malice.

"Okay guys," Hazel whispered. "You get him free, I'll take him."

"No, Hazel!" Natalie exclaimed in a whisper. Alyceoneus seemed to be giving us our time to talk, because he looked quite confident that we would be dead in a few minutes. "He's a giant! How -,"

"He's the bane of Pluto, and I helped him rise. It should be me who ends him. Believe me, please. You three release Thanatos, and then help me. I'll hold him off till then," she said urgently.

Natalie nodded. "Alright, but what about those…things?"

She seemed to be in confusion to find a word that fitted the legion of ghosts behind Alyceoneus.

"We all will take him," Frank said. "You and Alyceoneus just manage to keep your fight to yourselves. Good luck!" Frank said.

"Alyceoneus," Hazel shouted, and I was shocked how boldly she seemed to say this. "You are Pluto's bane. Why not have a one-on-one, then?"

The giant chuckled, and his voice echoed aloud throughout the surroundings. "As you wish Hazel Levesque. First I will finish you, and then your lovely friends."

Hazel whistled, and Arion appeared from nowhere, cussing about how snow was bad for hooves. Hazel climbed aboard and attacked. We watched her clash her spatha with Alyceoneus' sword, and then as if somebody had turned a timer on, we rushed towards Thanatos. The legion was watching Hazel and the giant with interest.

Natalie tried to cut the chains with her sword, but they didn't even get a scratch. I and Frank did our best too, but the chains remained as good as new. Thanatos was still grinning.

"Would you be kind enough to not show off your very white teeth and tell us how we cut these things? Do you want to be free or not?" Natalie said to him angrily.

"These are enchanted chains, girl. They can only be cut by the wood of life."

He glanced at Frank, who reddened. He slowly took out his firewood from his pocket. Thanatos smiled at it.

"No Frank! That can cost you your life!" I said.

Frank looked glumly at the piece of wood. "There's no other way."

"Oh come on! There must be another way. First Hazel than you. What's got into you, that you all are trying to become self-sacrificing idiots!" Natalie said.

Frank slowly muttered, "Look, I might live, alright. It's the only way we've got. Hazel," he glanced at her fighting. "She's stopping him all alone. I've got to do this."

"But -,"

Second time today, Nafalie was cut mid sentence, but this time not by Hazel, but by Alyceoneus. Apparently, the giant had spotted Frank's wood and yelled at the legion to see us. Hundreds of heads turned towards us, and then with a deafening roar, the legion of ghosts rushed towards us, their weapons in their hands, shouting madly.

"Go!" Frank said to us and bent down to cut the chain on Thanatos' right ankle. "Buy me time till I get this thing over. Go!"

I turned to Natalie. "You ready?"

She grinned. "If you're on my side, then I'm as ready as ever. Oh, this is gonna be a lot of fun."

And that sentence was enough to fill me with a confidence I would never have felt. With Natalie by my side, it seemed almost joyful to rush to the battle. "Let's do this. Come on!"

And with that we ran towards the hordes of ghosts, cutting, slashing and stabbing. Time seemed to be flat. My instincts were flaring like an emergency ambulance siren, and I could just see the faces before I plunged my sword into the bodies of the ghosts.

They kept coming and coming, and I kept fighting, their blades sometimes cutting into my skin causing numerous scratches. The ghosts kept reforming, again and again, and I knew if Frank didn't cut the chains, we would be overwhelmed. I imagined Annabelth, her voice echoing in my head. 'You can do it, Seaweed Brain. You can do it.' Her face swam before my eyes as I cut through the legion, killing every ghost I could find.

The reforming was a bit slower than the killing, so after who knows how much time, I was able to steal a glance at Natalie. She was fighting so fastly like a blur, it was impossible to make out what she was doing. Her braid swayed here and there as she fought, her body covered with numerous scratches, thick beads of sweat dripping from her face. One of her hands had a bloody gash, but she seemed to be doing fine.

The ghosts overwhelmed me again, and after fighting for another ten minutes, I looked at Frank, who was cutting the last of the chain, his firewood very small now, but enough. It sparked a hope inside me, that at least Frank would not die. Hazel and Alyceoneus were nowhere to be seen. Then suddenly, a cold wave passed over us. I could decipher just an echo of Alyceoneus' voice, and suddenly, hundreds more ghosts appeared, almost double the amount that were previously. I and Natalie were visibly exhausted, but fighting all the same.

I sensed something beneath me. Water. "Sis! There's water beneath us, use it."

I concentrated, as much as I could while fighting. A familiar feeling appeared in my gut. Then the snow behind me cracked in a circle, and water rose, lifting me up in a miniature hurricane. Natalie did the same, and soon we were the world's only two fighters-in-a-hurricane. The water gave me much needed energy, and vapourized some of the ghosts that came in the area of it's wrath.

A clang rang out. Frank had freed Thanatos. I just stole a glance, and continued fighting, trying to defeat the legion, but they seemed to be endless. At least Thanatos is free now, I thought. After five minutes of more fighting, Frank yelled, "Percy, I'm coming to help you!"

"No!" I yelled. I wouldn't have minded help, but there was another problem for us too. "Go and find Hazel! Help her!"

Frank stood stunned for a moment, as if thinking something. Then he made a determined look, closed his eyes, turned into an eagle and flew away. Wait, turned into an eagle and flew away? I blinked twice, wondering if my mind was working properly. It should have been his family gift, but the way he'd turned into an eagle was shocking at the first sight.

A shiver went down my spine. I'd been distracted for too long. I turned to see that a ghost, who must have been tall and handsome alive, would have stabbed me right on my back had Natalie not intercepted his strike with her sword. I couldn't see Natalie's face, but when she spoke, her surprise, anger and shock could all be heard in her voice.

"Michael Varus!"

So this was the guy who'd failed initially on the quest. I continued fighting, because the ghosts were still in overwhelming numbers, thinking Natalie would deal with him. She was right behind me though, so I could hear what she and Varus said.

"You're from Camp Jupiter," Michael noted, in a bored voice.

"Yeah, and you're that guy who tried to solve the prophecy, but failed to do so. You lost our eagle!"

"Believe me, Gaea has offered me much better than Camp Jupiter ever has. They are just proud of being called Romans. No one dared to even try to decipher the prophecy, and now, because of that blunder, your camp and the world will end!"

"Your camp?" Natalie shrieked. "Your camp! The people who trained you, who gave you a title, respect, skills. And suddenly, they've turned to your camp! You're the one who made a blunder, Michael. Not Camp Jupiter!"

I slashed and parried, as I heard their conversation going on while both fought with each other furiously while talking.

"You'll soon realise I was right, legionnaire. I see you've been pairing up with Graecus scum. How would your camp react when they learn he's a greek?"

I didn't see Michael, but I was sure he had flicked his chin towards me.

"You know," Natalie said, her voice shaking with anger. "Just to remind you, you swore your loyalty to Rome, and you've betrayed it by working with Gaea. You should not be someone complaining about who's greek and who's not. I always thought that you were a brave and a good person, for trying to solve the Great Prophecy, but now my views are very different about you. I used to think it was just not in your destiny to be one of the seven, but I appreciated your bravery. I didn't even despise you like others for losing the eag-,"

"I didn't lose the eagle! I still have it!"

I turned to see the golden standard of Camp Jupiter materialize in the Varus' hand, then continued to fight. The ghosts were almost overwhelming us.

"Well, I think it's high time the eagle's returned to where it belongs," Natalie said.

I couldn't see, but still hear the fight. Then suddenly, Michael's shriek cut through the air. Lightning bolts appeared out of nowhere, vaporizing the ghosts near a few feet of us. I turned back. Natalie was holding the eagle, breathing heavily. I met her eyes, and an understanding passed between us.

We started fighting harder than ever, passing the eagle between both of us whenever needed. But the ghosts were still more.

"Percy," Natalie breathed. "It won't work, even with the eagle. We've gotta do something big, bro."

"Yeah, we'll need something that pulls this whole legion down."

"What?"

An idea flashed into my mind. The craziest one so far.

"Let's collapse this entire thing!"

"What! Are you crazy?"

"It's the only way. Come on, on my count. One. Two. Three."

At three, both of us, with all the energy we could gather, yelled and plunged our swords(Natalie plunged the eagle too, since she was holding it) into the ground. The eagle sent a wave of lightning that lit up the whole sky. The ground rumbled and shook. Then suddenly, the whole world around me started collapsing, and everything turned black.

I woke up to see a pegasus looking at me, only a few inches above my face.

"Aaaarrrrgghhh!"

Hey! Just freakin' chill boss. It's me, Swiftsilver, who just saved ya both.

Natalie, who seemed to be coming around beside me, coughed and groaned. She sat up, rubbing her neck, looked at me, then at Swiftsilver, confused.

Yeah bossie, it ain't devils. It's just me and boss. I go away for some time, and ya both turn suicidal?

Natalie met my gaze.

"That," she said, her face breaking into a grin, as I cracked up too. "Was the best thing I've ever done. By the way, thanks, Swifty."

"Yeah what happened?" I asked her.

I was just hanging 'round near the area, when I saw ya both sinking the entire glacier. So, I thought it's time you needed a bit of rescuing. I went down there in the water, through the debris, found ya both unconscious, then brought ya up here. Hope ya both are not feeling up to sinkin' this one too.

I looked around, and suddenly a realization dawned upon me. Natalie got it first though.

"Frank and Hazel!" she gasped. "Swifty, you didn't see them, did you?"

Nope. Ain't no one been visible since the last hour.

"An hour! We've been out for an hour!" I yelled, standing up. "We need to go and find them."

I offered my hand to Natalie, who stood up.

Ya know, boss? I don't think you're gonna be needing to go.

"Why?"

Because-

She was cut by a sudden flash of light. Frank and Hazel appeared, riding Arion.

"Oh my gods!" Hazel said, getting off and wrapping me into a very tight hug so fast it nearly knocked the breath out of me. "We found the whole glacier had sunk and we didn't see you and - oh gods!"

She had pulled Natalie into the same hug, who groaned.

"We're alright, Hazel. Not that tight please - my neck hurts - thanks."

Hazel pulled away, looking like an over concerned mom, while Natalie massaged her neck. Frank hugged both of us too, then slowly muttered, "I can't believe we did it."

"And Pluto and Thanatos gave me a slip," Hazel laughed.

Ya know, if y'all are done, I need to go and eat, Swiftsilver said in my mind. By the way, that eagle is right there. Figured it must be important.

Natalie thanked and stroked her head, then she set off in the air, then picked up the standard.

"What happened with you both?" Frank gaped at the standard, while Hazel gave a square of ambrosia to Natalie.

"After Frank left, we met Michael Varus, who was among those people. Natalie killed him, got the standard from him. It's really cool, but we were still overwhelmed. So we kinda thought of this plan and collapsed the glacier. We passed out, but Swiftsilver got us out of the water and brought us here. Just woke up five minutes ago."

Frank's mouth fell open. "You both collapsed a glacier!"

"And you can turn into animals?"

"Yeah, that's my gift. Our family received it from Neptune."

"How come we can't do it then?" I asked. It felt unfair to me.

"Come on, man. You both can sink huge glaciers and create personal hurricanes and if I can turn into animals, that's unfair?"

"So, what about you two. How'd you defeat the giant?" Natalie asked, changing the topic.

"Oh Frank was awesome!" Hazel started. "I was fighting with Alyceoneus, and Frank turned up and morphed into an elephant, and he dragged Alyceoneus all the way to Canada, and we killed him. We almost freaked out when we saw the glacier sunk and no sign of you both, but we eventually found you two."

"Okay, but now we need to get back to Camp? How do we do that?"

"I saw a golden chariot back there on the glacier. If it's still okay, then we can go to Camp on it with help form Arion."

"Let's go and search the debris then. And let's also scavenge as many weapons as we can. We can take them to camp."

"Brilliant! Let's go," I said.

About an hour later, the chariot was attached to Arion. All the weapons we could've found in good conditions were loaded in it along with the four of us, and we readied ourselves for the trip back to camp.

Hazel pulled the reins. "Go Arion. To Camp Jupiter!"