Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.
Consul of the Underworld: Grinding Phase
Chapter Twenty Three: Fortress Half-Blood
Beta: ShadowofAxios
Percy was sailing the magical raft from Ogygia through a magical fog of some kind and up what his powers told him was Long Island Sound. All the while, his mind was filled by a storm of emotions as he reflected on Calypso and her curse. He felt bad for her and was truly tempted to stay there to give her company in her exile. Still, in the end, his sense of loyalty demanded he return to his friends and loved ones.
Suddenly, the fog cleared and he found himself by the familiar beach of Camp. Except there were three triremes anchored off it.
"What in the-"
"Percy! It's Percy!" A voice shouted at the top of its lungs from the crow's nest of one of the ships. "It's him. Oh gods, it's really him!"
This cry seemed to cause a ear splitting cheer to erupt from the gathered Campers, satyrs and naiads that were all over the ships. The cheering and congratulations on his return accompanied him all the way as Percy guided his raft to beach gently on the shore, at which point he was promptly swarmed by the seemingly hysterical crowd and tossed in the air in celebration.
He was just trying to regain his bearings from one such toss when a blond blur slammed into him and pulled him into a bone crushing hug.
"Oh gods! Percy, you're back!" The blonde, who Percy finally realized was Annabeth, exclaimed tearfully. "I thought you were dead!"
He was stunned by the action but his arms moved on their own and hugged Annabeth back. All the while his mind was brought back to how she'd kissed him in Hephaestus' forge.
Does she- Nah, it can't be, right?
"Ahem. I do believe I told you Chase that he was still alive. Didn't you trust me?" Alkaid said peevishly as she walked over, the crowd respectfully parting to allow the Assistant Activities Director through.
"You could have been wrong." Annabeth muttered.
"Hardly, but believe what you will."
"Um, not to interrupt or anything." Percy cut in, without releasing the hug. It felt nice and he was gonna milk it for as long as he could. No telling when Annabeth was going back to punching him in the arm just for being nice to her again. "But could someone explain what's going on?"
"Oh nothing much," Pyrrha said as she squeezed through the crowd to join her wife. "Just us organizing a major search to find you."
"T-That's-" Percy stammered in shock.
"Yeah, we were even thinking of sending search parties out to sea to look for you," Alkaid informed him with a disapproving shake of her head while gesturing to the triremes. "And while we were preparing for a siege too. What a waste of re-"
"It wasn't a waste!" Annabeth shouted, hugging Percy tightly even as she spun to glare at Alkaid. "We had to find Percy!"
"Percy was fine!" Alkaid shot back. "Like I've said before the Fates wouldn't let a potential Child of the Great Prophecy just disappear on us in our time of need. He'd have reappeared when we needed him. And I was right! Judging by the raft and the moonlace Percy brought back with him, he ended up on Ogygia."
"Not everyone is as callous as you!" Annabeth replied as she jumped to her feet and got into Alkaid's face. "Percy was missing! And all you wanted to do was wait!"
"Not everyone is as petulant as you." Alkaid replied with a roll of her emerald eyes. "And it seemed waiting was the right thing to do. Percy returned in spite of our search, not because of it. Besides, do remember why he was gone in the first place, Chase."
"'Kaidy, maybe you should back down. We all agreed to organize the search remember?" Pyrrha said, trying to soothe tensions.
"Oh no, Chase's little ego has been rubbing me the wrong way for long enough. If she wants to tussle, I'll take off the kiddy gloves." Alkaid spoke with the iciness of the harshest tundra. "It might be cathartic. Besides, when I agreed to the search it was with the caveat of not drawing resources away from building up our defenses which building triremes clearly does!"
"We were going to need them eventually." Annabeth retorted with a sharp tone.
"Against who? The fish? Not even the Crooked One would strike from the sea. Only Oceanus could pull that cruise liner to our shores and Poseidon would not take that lying down. Those triremes could have been a whole set of fortifications or catapults. Now? They're just a waste."
"Well, we can use them against that cruise ship. Maybe then we'll actually manage to sink it and not just inconvenience it like a certain so-called 'magical nuke'." Annabeth sneered.
"I'm sorry, is that bitterness I hear? Maybe a touch of envy? Does me doing damage to the Princess Andromeda where you can't even dream of doing so make you feel inadequate? I remember something about Circe offering lessons. Maybe you should run back to the Sea of Monsters?"
"Why you-!"
"Enough!" Percy roared, stepping between both women. His eyes flashing back and forth to look at both of them sternly. "I don't know what's gotten into both of you, but stop. Now! We have enough problems with a potential invasion, we don't need you two at each other's' throats at the same time!"
Alkaid sighed, running a hand through her hair, "Very well. I apologize Percy. I'm venting my… frustration."
With that she turned and stalked off with the grace of a lioness. A angry lioness. Somehow the son of Poseidon couldn't help but find it attractive. So sue him, he had a thing for dangerous women. Speaking of which…
"And Annabeth, anything to say?" The son of the seas said sternly as he eyed the daughter of Athena with a steely gaze.
"Fine," the blonde said almost petulantly. "I won't pick a fight with her again. You're right we can't afford it. Not now."
It wasn't quite what Percy was hoping for, but it was good enough.
"Good," the boy said with a nod. "Now can someone give me a proper explanation about what happened while I was gone?"
"Don't worry. We'll stop Luke and his army." Percy assured Chiron and Alkaid as they saw him and Annabeth off for their second dive into the Labyrinth.
"Or at least slow them down." Annabeth offered more pessimistically.
"You've gotta hurry," Gracie Grey, the Hecate girl who'd just defected back to their side, said from where she stood next to Alkaid. "'Cos when we left Daedalus was being forced by meanie Minos to make the winding road straight."
Percy just blinked at her wording, was she okay? Then again, she was in the Labyrinth far longer than he and his group had been.
"She means-"
"I got what she meant, Annabeth." Percy said with a sigh. "Uh, Gracie, you feeling alright?"
"Right as rain, Percy. Totally peachy!" The girl said enthusiastically while sporting a deranged grin.
"Uh, Chiron, Alkaid-"
"Don't worry, Percy, we'll take care of her." Chiron reassured him with a sad smile. "In the meantime, you have a quest to finish."
"Right," the son of Poseidon agreed with a determined nod and turned to walk into the Labyrinth entrance. "See you soon then. Come on, Annabeth."
"Hey! I'm the leader of this quest." Annabeth shouted in protest even as she fell into line next to him.
"Yeah, yeah, wise girl." Percy replied teasingly. "Then lead on, glorious leader."
The daughter of Athena huffed in annoyance, but did just that and stomped ahead of him.
"Good luck and don't let the psychedelic maze mess with ya! Or ya'll will end like me!" Gracie shouted as they crossed the threshold into the Labyrinth.
Is that girl really going to be alright? Percy wondered as their surroundings changed from the rough stone of the cave inside Zeus' Fist into ancient Greek masonry. And will we?
"Okay, they're off," Alkaid declared with a nod as Percy and Chase disappeared into the Zeus' Fist. "Time for us to get back to work."
"Indeed," Chiron agreed with a nod. "If you need me, I'll be at the archery range helping to oversee training. You?"
"Gracie and I will go check on the progress of our preparations."
"Good idea," Chiron allowed. "Update me when you're done."
"Of course," Alkaid assured the centaur.
Exchanging one last nod, the two senior members of Camp's staff went their separate ways.
As they walked through the woods to begin their inspection tour, Alkaid decided it was high time to ask Gracie a few questions. Ever since the girl had returned, Alkaid had taken her under her wing. She could even count her as an apprentice of sorts considering she'd occasionally even been teaching her the odd spell or two. Something that seemed to help the daughter of Hecate when the mind warping effects of her time in the Labyrinth became too much. It was this latter issue that was why it was only now that Alkaid got around to asking some rather pertinent questions with a hope that she would get some decent answers now that the girl wasn't quite so addled.
"Gracie, mind telling me why you and Chris switched sides again?"
"Oh that," Gracie said with a shrug, as if her defection was no big deal to her. "We did it mainly 'cos it was crystal clear to us that the Titans were sending us to our doom. I mean, who in their starboard mind, would march an army through the Labyrinth unless you thought it was throwaway?"
"And only you and Chris thought like that?"
"Nah," Gracie replied with an exaggerated shake of her head. "It's just we're the only two who were daring enough to try and succeeded. The others usually ended up in a pot. The Laistrygonians always said traitors tasted the best. Plenty o' people were too afraid to try after the first time someone became stew."
"Why am I not surprised that the Titan allowed such barbarism in their army?" Alkaid said, thoroughly disgusted.
"'Cos they're evil? They do have loads of man eating monsters working for them."
"How did you fight the urge to stay with your siblings? I believed it was an instinctive urge of children of Hecate to stay with the strongest of your siblings." Alkaid asked. She distinctly recalled Hecate mentioning this particular quirk being a thing with her children when they chatted in the past.
"Oh, that was easy." Gracie said with a chuckle. "The compulsion is really to follow the strongest magician in our cabal and while most of my siblings regard that to be Alabaster who is firmly loyal to the Titans' cause, I know better. I mean, you're loads stronger than he is, Miss Alkaid. Sure, strictly speaking you're not one of us, so it took a while to break the compulsion but who is and isn't really is just a mental thing. So all I had to do was think of you as one of us and voila! It just took a while."
The brunette held a hand to her chest, "Why Gracie, you flatter me."
"Just speaking truth here," the daughter of Hecate said with a shrug. "Besides, it was the only way for me to escape the Titans and their losing cause."
"Why do you think they'll lose?"
"Well, they don't have you on their side do they?"
Alkaid blushed and opened her mouth to redirect the conversation to less embarrassing topics when a silvery blur jumped down from the canopy of the forest directly at Gracie. Instead of panicking, the daughter of Hades just sighed in frustration as the younger magic user drew a pair of long knives out of magical circles and used them to fend off her attacker.
Pushed back by Gracie's block, said attacker was thrown into the air but gracefully adjusted her fall and managed a safe landing soundlessly.
"Good job, Gracie!" Mina declared with a smile, as she put away her own knives in her sundress. Somewhere. "You're getting better."
"Thank you Lady Mina," the daughter of Hecate said with a smile as she too put away her blades. "Thanks so much for teaching me how to knife fight."
"It's nothing," the goddess of serial killers said with a shrug. "We loopy girls have to help each other out. You've got talent at it anyways, so it would've been a shame to have let it go to waste. Mum always says so. Isn't that right, Mum?"
"Indeed," Alkaid conceded to her daughter even if she disliked her almost apprentice picking up something as uncouth as knife fighting. Then again she had to agree that Gracie did have talent for the art.
"Oh, there you are," Pyrrha's voice called through the forest as she jogged over. "Mina, what did I say about disappearing into the forest?"
"Don't do it..." Mina said guiltily.
"You broke your promise, Mina?" Alkaid asked, eying her daughter sternly. One of the rules they'd set up for the little goddess to follow when she was at Camp was for her to leave the forest and its monsters alone. If she was given the chance, she'd likely massacre the entire monstrous population around Camp and then what would the Campers train against?
"But I just wanted to test Gracie! I didn't even hurt any of the monsters. I was a good girl."
"While you did, you still went through the forest." The sorceress pointed out, making Mina give her an adorable pout, "We won't ground you, but no dessert tonight young lady."
"Aw!" Mina whined, looking at Gracie with a pleading look.
"Sorry Lady Mina, but I wouldn't dare to undermine Miss Alkaid's punishment."
The goddess of serial killers just got more pouty at that. Alkaid, and she was sure Pyrrha as well, were sorely tested at the sight but they held firm. It was difficult though. Oh so difficult.
Wrenching her eyes away from her little girl before she succumbed to her charms, Alkaid turned to face her wife.
"So 'Kaidy, whatcha doing?" The daughter of Ares asked before Alkaid could say anything.
"Gracie and I are on our way to inspect Camp's preparations."
"Then mind if we join you?" Pyrrha suggested, coming up next to her and holding her hand. "We can start by checking up on Bianca. Heard she's in the lesson Malcolm set up for the squad leaders."
"Since when was Bianca a squad leader?" Alkaid asked in surprise. As much as she had faith in her little sister, the sorceress was sure she was too new to Camp and the demigod life in general to be trusted with such a responsibility.
"She's not, Mum," Mina chimed in helpfully as she grabbed Alkaid's other hand. "But Malcolm opened it for everyone who was interested. Aunt Bianca went."
"That makes more sense," the daughter of Hades said with a sigh of relief. "Anyways, that sounds like a perfect place to start. Lead on, Macduff."
They found Malcolm conducting his lesson at the edge of the forest, using it to have his students practice leading each other in a mock battle. He would form them up into two groups then have them attack each other and then critique their tactics in the aftermath.
Observing him as he conducted one such debriefing, Alkaid noted that he seemed to be posing questions to Bianca more often than he asked anyone else.
"Huh, that's suspicious." Pyrrha mused, her reddish brown eyes narrowed as she watched the son of Athena.
"I'm sure it's because my sister is new to all of this. And she does need help getting a firm grasp of tactics since her style of magic uses minions." Alkaid told her wife assuringly.
"And what if it's not?" The daughter of war countered, not looking assured at all.
Smirking, Alkaid pecked her on the cheek, "You do give quite the shovel talk."
"And you don't?" The redhead nudged her with her hip.
"I have no idea what you may be referring to."
"Mum, Mama, what about me?" Mina protested. "I give the best shovel speeches."
Both women exchanged looks. Mina was the goddess of serial killers, which meant she was probably right.
"If Malcolm is really interested in Bianca, we're siccing Mina on him." Pyrrha declared with a vicious smirk.
"Agreed," Alkaid replied with a equally bloodthirsty smirk.
"Poor Malcolm," Gracie commented as she shivered in fright.
The inspection tour next took the group past the Big House where they saw Nico and Will Solace carrying medical supplies presumably intended for the various first aid posts they'd set up across Camp. Nico even had a few skeletons helping them out, most of whom were wearing doctor's coats.
Offering the two boys a little wave, Alkaid smiled. "Nico and Will are pretty good friends, huh?"
"Looks like," Pyrrha agreed as the two boys returned the wave before walking off chattering away all the while. "What are they talking so earnestly about anyway?"
"Sounds like they're arguing over the difference between 'death stuff' and 'life stuff'," Mina offered, tilting her head in innocent confusion. "That's what Nico is calling them anyways. Mum, what does he mean?"
"I'm pretty sure he's talking about his Necromancy and Will's Vitakinesis, Lady Mina." Gracie explained helpfully.
"Ah! That makes sense. Thanks Gracie," Mina said, offering the daughter of Hecate a smile. "Mum's lucky to have such a smart minion."
"Apprentice." Alkaid lightly chided.
"So I'm your apprentice now, Miss Alkaid?"
"Of course you are," Pyrrha said on Alkaid's behalf. "You are learning magic from 'Kaidy aren't you?"
"True, but being an apprentice is a lot more than just being her student." Gracie countered. "There's a special meaning to it for us magicians."
"There is?" Pyrrha asked, surprised. "First time I'm hearing about it. Add that to another thing Hogwarts didn't talk about."
"Think how specialised wizards like Potions Master take on apprentices," Alkaid supplied helpfully. "Many other magic users apply that to magical instruction in general."
"Got it," Pyrrha said with a nod. "So basically, if you're 'Kaidy's apprentice then she's like your guardian or boss and trains you in magic?"
"Guardian, since I'm a kid. And she's supposed to teach me about life too."
"Mum~! I want new siblings by you and Mama making babies not more adoptions!" Mina whined and stomped her foot. "My diaboltic plans are on the line!"
"Taking on an apprentice isn't adoption," Alkaid insisted. "And I think you were going for 'diabolic' sweetie."
"It pretty much is, Miss Alkaid." Gracie said, siding with Mina.
"Sounds like it to me, to be honest." Pyrrha, the sexy traitor, added.
"Argh, fine." Alkaid said with a resigned sigh and crossed her arms. "And yes Gracie, you're my apprentice."
"Yay!" Gracie cheered, she jumped up and down a few times. When she finally stopped, she coughed into her fist, her cheeks flush with embarrassment.
"I guess you'll be a good sister," Mina said with a shrug, somehow evaluating the blonde with narrowed eyes. "I mean you're nice and I like you. So you got that working for you."
"Mina, be nice." Pyrrha warned. "And welcome to the family, Gracie."
"Thanks Miss Pyrrha." Gracie said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Gracie," Alkaid barked, a little more harshly than she needed to as they walked through the Cabins area. Could anyone blame her? She'd suddenly had someone added to her family simply because she wanted to be nice and take a lost little girl under her wing. A life changing decision that her family, traitors all, were just taking in stride as if it was nothing. "Take notes."
"Yes, Master." Gracie squeaked as she pulled a pen and notepad out of a magic circle.
"Sensei. Call me Sensei." Alkaid insisted. "Master just sounds, ugh, wrong."
"Mistress is already taken." Pyrrha cheekly added. "And I think all of Mina's anime is getting to you."
"It was the first thing to come to mind." Alkaid hedged, her pale cheeks pink. "But it works, so let's go with that."
"Whatever you say, Sensei." Gracie agreed with a nod as she prepared to take notes. Her pen hovering over her notepad, she added, "So, um, what do you want me to take down?"
"Cabins One, Two, Three, and Eight are empty," Alkaid dictated, gesturing to the Cabins in question. "And so will not be adding to our defenses."
By this point, they were mostly past the Cabins and were in sight of a segment of the defenses that had been built around Camp. There were a series of ramparts and trenches in a comprehensive network that encircled the whole area.
Gesturing to a group of Campers, satyrs and dryads carrying bags of fertiliser and a number of potted plants towards this outer ring of walls, Alkaid continued speaking.
"Cabin Four is seeding our outermost perimeter with a jungle of dangerous plants. Remind me to get them to provide a map of the more dangerous ones. We need to make sure no one gets eaten by a Venus Mantrap by accident."
"Got it, Sensei." Gracie replied as she diligently took down what Alkaid requested.
"Did the exotic magical plants arrive?" Pyrrha asked curiously.
"Um," The green eyed girl flipped through her new notepad, "I don't know? But I saw them plant a Whomping Willow the other day, so some of it did. I'll ask them for a full list of what plants they have in stock alongside the map."
"Yes, do that." Alkaid nodded agreeingly even as she turned her attention elsewhere. Namely a group of Pyrrha's siblings in the process of setting up a battery of field howitzers with some of Cabin Nine helping set up automatons to man the artillery.
"Also take note to get Cabin Five to get us a comprehensive breakdown of the firing arcs and ranges of all the weapons emplacements they've set up."
"Yes!" The daughter of Hecate nodded while writing furiously in her notes. "I'll make sure they give us all the data we need on the machine guns, mortars and field guns."
"Don't forget to ask them for how much ammo they have too." Pyrrha added helpfully. "Supply is a big deal in a fight."
Gracie nodded and made an addition to her notes.
"Mum, why are the clockwork men making a concrete hut around the guns?" Mina asked curiously as she eyed the construction automatons Cabin Nine provided building a fortified bunker around the artillery battery.
"So they'll be harder for the enemy to blow up." Alkaid explained absently as she surveyed how the various automation work crews labouring away all over Camp to set up fortifications and placing obstructions, tank traps and all kinds of obstacles, were doing.
"Tank traps, really?" The sorceress said looking at Pyrrha with a raised brow.
"I am nothing if not thorough for battlefield setup." The daughter of Ares said with a grin. "Besides, they are pretty obstructing to infantry too."
"Fine," Alkaid conceded. "Gracie, add that Cabin Five and Nine have also set up roadblocks all over the place. Have them provide a map of their placement too. In fact, since we're getting all these maps, have Cabin Six collate all of the data together into a master map."
"Malcolm, won't like that." Gracie said with a frown. "He'll think we're just asking his Cabin to do busywork."
"Tell him to suck it up." Alkaid told her sternly. "We don't have time for Cabin politics. If he has a problem with that ask him to bring it up with me."
"Gotcha, Sensei."
By now they had reached a set of rear bunkers, one of which was Cabin Seven's field hospital.
"How's Cabin Seven for medical supplies. We have enough nectar and ambrosia?"
"If what Lee was saying at dinner's true then they were swimming in both." Gracie said. "But I'll make sure to get them to provide a full inventory of what they have."
"As long as the triage is properly guarded during the attack, that's all that really matters. We're going to have wounded, no matter how good our prep work is." The daughter of Hades frowned.
"Don't worry Mum, I'll stick around the hospital during the fight." Mina reassured her mother, flipping a knife in her hand. "I can't fight the army, it's against the rules, but I can protect the sick people. I'll stabbity stab anyone who tries to hurt them. Hehe, it'll flow sticky red!"
"Thank you, sweetie." Alkaid said while affectionately ruffling her daughter's hair. "That should free up more of our fighters."
"Yeah, guess I'll take Ellis and his squad off guard duty here then." Pyrrha mused. "Gracie, remind me about that later, alright?"
"Sure, Miss Pyrrha." Gracie agreed as she scribbled it down.
A short walk from the field hospital was another bunker, this one with a smokestack built into its roof that was billowing out a stream of noxious looking green smoke.
"Okay, I've done a few potion brewings, but that looks plain toxic." Gracie chuckled weakly as she eyed the joint project of Cabins Ten and Twelve. The latter putting their talents at perfumery to good use while the latter added a touch of their madness inducing skills to the mix.
"That's the whole point, Gracie." Alkaid told her with a vicious grin. "The Titans won't know what hit them."
"I know I've asked this before, but I just gotta ask one more time. 'Kaidy, are you totally sure we need a chemical weapons lab?"
"Of course. We need every advantage we can get." Alkaid reassured her with a brush of her hair. "Besides, chemical warfare is all the rage these days."
"The CWC (Chemical Weapons Convention) would disagree, but whatever floats your boat."
"I think it's a great idea!" Mina chimed in loyally. "More madness is always a good thing!"
"You'd say that," Pyrrha said with an amused shake of her head.
"So I take it, I'll need the chemists to give us a rundown of their production?" Gracie asked, as they walked away.
"Yes, do that." Alkaid agreed as she led them towards a bunker along their intermediate defensive line, where Cabin Eleven was busy putting the final touches to their HQ.
"Our C2 (command and control) up and operational?" Alkaid asked as she walked into the room full of radio equipment and multiple monitors keyed into the many, many surveillance cameras and spells that had been set up around Camp.
"All up and ready for action, ma'am." Travis replied with a cheeky salute. "Gods, I love having an unlimited budget."
"Then thank my Father," Alkaid told him seriously. "He's footing the bulk of the bill."
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!"
"We even got some fuzzy dice." Connor chimed in.
Alkaid had no idea why they insisted on it, but she let it go. Boys were weird.
"And the intel department is satisfied?" Alkaid asked turning to a son of Athena who was leading the group of his siblings in Malcolm's absence.
"Yes, ma'am." The boy said nervously, clearly intimidated by the sorceress. "We've got full surveillance coverage of the whole Camp and thanks to the intel we got from Chris and Gracie, we've worked with the strategic and tactical departments to come up with some scenarios of what to expect."
Alkaid nodded in satisfaction. "Will they be ready for review at tonight's War Council?"
"Yes ma'am," The boy assured her.
"Good, make sure they are." Alkaid warned him.
"Uh, Sensei," Gracie said, as a daughter of Hermes rushed off after whispering something into the daughter of Hecate's ear. "Beckendorf is saying that the laser cannon is ready for a test fire."
"I'll be right there." Alkaid said with a eager smile. Mayhaps too eager. She did have a certain decorum to maintain. "Anyone wants to join me?"
Hands went up throughout the HQ.
"Then if you're not doing anything essential, let's go."
With her at the head, a small throng of Campers marched off to see some glorious destruction.
Percy stepped out of the Zeus' Fist entrance to the Labyrinth and froze at the sight that greeted him. One part of that was the sight of the fortress that Camp had transformed into. Even more so than when he'd left. The walls, if possible, were even higher than he remembered and were even more bristling with automaton manned machine gun emplacements. The bigger part of it though was the way a squad from Cabin Eleven had seemingly materialized out of nowhere the moment he'd stepped out of the cave and held him at swordpoint.
"Uh, what's up?" Percy asked nervously as a son of Hermes pressed his sword against his neck.
"How badly do you have it for Potter, Percy? If it really is you?"
Percy's face exploded into red, as he struggled not to choke on his spit, "Dude! The bro-code!"
The swords were drawn back, "He's clean."
"Oh can it, Max." Annabeth snapped irritably as she came out of the cave and gave the leader of the Hermes scouts a death glare. "We have important news, so if you're done embarrassing Percy take us to the Big House now!"
"Oh, you're just jelly Chase that Percy's still got the hots for Potter."
"Am not!" The daughter of Athena said, blushing atomic red.
"You totally are." The son of Hermes snickered.
"Uh, as amusing as all this is, we really do have important news." Grover said placatingly as he and Tyson also exited the cave. "So if you could hurry us along."
"Fine," Max said sounding disappointed that his fun had ended, but obligingly led them towards a hidden gate in the fortifications while signing to his second-in-command to take charge of his squad in the meantime. "So what's the news anyways?"
"Titan army right behind us." Tyson said somberly, shuffling his feet. "Be here in maybe hour or two."
Max looked like he had a mini heart attack as he stumbled a few steps. He turned back to them with a pale face, "Right! Move people!"
With him at the head, they all but sprinted over to the Big House for the War Council.
As Tyson had predicted, the Titan army emerged from the Labyrinth a little over an hour after Percy and his fellow questers returned. They heralded their arrival by a massive explosion that blew the entire rock formation that had been the Zeus' Fist apart and sending shrapnel everywhere whilst creating a much wider opening than the narrow cave passage had been. It was from this expanded exit that their vanguard boiled out of the ground like a swarm of ants.
This vanguard consisted of scores of traitorous demigods that raced across the no man's land that lay between the labyrinth entrance and the wall that the Campers had built. A trek that saw them mowed down in the dozens by the defenders' machine guns whose bullets coated as they were in contact poisons cooked up in Cabins Ten and Twelve's chemical weapons lab killed with the slightest graze. Those that survived the bullets were hardly safe as they found themselves forced to endure mortars armed with Greek Fire shells and canister shot that exploded in mid-air to unleash a rain of acid on the enemy courtesy of Camp's howitzers. All told, only a handful of the hundred or so enemy demigods made it to the walls and those were swiftly dispatched by either the deadly line of plants lining the walls or the Campers manning them.
This wholesale slaughter of their own kind, even if they were the enemy, took a toll on the Campers though and their morale was shaken.
"Steady yourselves," Alkaid barked into the microphone that connected her to the Campers' radio network. "We knew the Titans would try something like this. Hold yourselves together. This is just the first wave."
She received a series of weak affirmatives in reply, but was largely met by numb silence. The Campers knew she was right. But that didn't make what they had done any easier.
"Ma'am," Travis shouted from where he was manning a command console. "The enemy's second wave just exited the Labyrinth. It's a phalanx of Scythian Dracanae."
Spinning to the large monitor displaying an image of the Labyrinth entrance, Alkaid frowned as she saw a very literal wall of shields marching - Or was it slithering? - steadily towards them. Movement behind the phalanx made it clear that the Titans were also using the cover provided by it to protect the rest of their host as it deployed. Most worrying of which though were the large numbers of harpies that were soaring into the skies behind the snakewomen.
"Shell them! We need to break their formation." Alkaid ordered. "Our bullets are useless if we don't hit them and those shields are preventing us from doing that."
They were doing as she ordered, but the rate of fire was too low. Dracanae were dying left and right, but in nowhere near enough numbers to break the cohesion of their phalanx.
"We're trying, ma'am." A son of Hermes shouted back. "But the harpies are harassing our gun crews. Our fire is dropping off."
"Damn it!" Alkaid cursed. "Why did we neglect air defense? And how in the Pit did the Titans know that we did?"
"Spies obviously," Malcolm informed her, his voice coldly furious. "I've deployed Cabin Seven's archers to deal with them. But-"
Malcolm's words were cut off as movement behind the phalanx caught both their attention. A mob of Laistrygonian giants armed with honest to gods cannons that they yielded like rifles stepped into view and fired. Globs of molten lead and shrapnel peppered the walls, burning gaping holes into them with each shot and reducing any Camper unfortunate enough to be hit into charred ashes in seconds.
"Gods," a young son of Athena whispered in horror even as a daughter of Hermes lost her lunch nearby.
"Shift targets for our artillery! Take those Laistrygonians out!" Alkaid roared as she rushed out of the HQ.
"Where are you going?" Malcolm shouted after her.
"To help deal with those harpies," Alkaid shouted back. "You're in charge."
"Axel Shooter: Phalanx Shift!" The sorceress incanted the moment she reached the surface. At her invocation, hundreds of emerald spheres came into being around her before shooting off into the sky a moment later. These magical bullets streaked at the swarms of harpies harassing the defenders' automaton artillery men but seconds before impact suddenly veered away from their targets and headed instead towards the entrance to the Labyrinth.
"What-?!" Alkaid cried out in shock even as she spun in the direction her spell had been redirected and could only gape in shock at what she saw. There emerging from the Labyrinth was a massive two-armed, two-legged colossus which seemed to be carved out of stone. Its arms and legs were chunky, with round eye sockets and a chest that was covered in a spider web of red lines that pulsed in a pattern reminiscent of a heartbeat. One that was being ridden by dozens of humans who she'd bet were the children of Hecate.
As she looked on, her shooter spell slammed into the golem and splashed almost harmlessly against its set of impressive multi-layered magical shields.
"Malcolm!" She shouted back down the stairs to the HQ bunker. "Hit that thing with the laser cannon!"
"Already given the order!" The son of Athena shouted back, as behind Alkaid the sound of many gears told her that their secret weapon was repositioning to get a bead on its target. It took only a few seconds for it to get a lock before with the sound of crackling lightning, a thick red beam struck its target.
Alkaid had hoped this would melt the golem outright or at least pressure its shields, however the massive construct just raised a massive mirror shield strapped to its right arm and used it to deflect the laser harmlessly into outer space.
"Whoever their spies are, they're good." Alkaid noted with a growl, magic sparking from her fingertips only to fly away towards the golem."They shouldn't have known about the laser cannon in the first place, much less know to prepare a counter for it."
Argh! I can't even get angry properly! Wait! If even sparks of my magic… Alkaid frowned. Smart little hedge wizards. Attracting all my magic to you, are you? Well, let's see how much of it you can handle!
"Επικαλούνται: βροχή φωτός [Invoke: Rain of Light]!" Alkaid cast, sending dozens of deadly energy beams to hammer the golem whose shields buckled under the strain. Dozens fell but even as they did, their creators, the children of Hecate riding the advancing construct, simply replaced them with new ones.
Undeterred, Alkaid kept casting. "επικαλούνται: Εκατό δολοφονία [Invoke: Hundred Head Massacre]!"
Nine massive lasers slammed into the golem but again, its creators weathered the assault unscathed even as dozens of their replaceable shields collapsed.
Alkaid growled in frustration, but kept casting. Sending one devastatingly powerful spell after another at the golem which just marched forward relentlessly unfazed by her attempts to destroy it. In moments it had crossed the no man's land, and without so much as missing a beat effortlessly proceeded to rip a whole section of Camp's walls apart like so much wet paper.
This depressing sight was only added to when a massive shadow shot into the air from the Labyrinth behind the golem's immense bulk. It came to a stop over the construct and surveyed the battlefield with malicious eyes. It was a creature which had the upper body of a human woman, like a centaur, but with reptilian skin and a dragon lower half, with gigantic claws. Her dragon half was black as night with white stripes running down her back. She had huge dark reptilian wings, an intimidating venom-dripping scorpion tail, and at the point where her halves met, her skin bubbled and morphed, occasionally producing ferocious mutated animal heads that constantly changed shape between bear, boar, wombat, tiger, crocodile, wolf, and everything in between like a gruesome, monstrous belt. To top her horrific visage off, hundreds of violent darting vipers sprouted from her legs.
"Shit." Alkaid silently cursed.
Kampê, jailer of Tartarus, had entered the field.
Not everyone was as rattled by the arrival of Kampê as Camp's Assistant Activities Director.
Her sister Bianca for example was a little more preoccupied with feeling lousy about how she was not having a good day. She knew someday she was going to have to fight but how she wished that it was further off. As the booming of Big Sister's spells tapered off, damn that stone goliath to the Pits, she communicated with her familiar.
Okay, we need to clear that phalanx. She telepathically told the Faceless. A neat trick her familiar had taught her.
I have just the trick in mind. The creature of darkness said, sounding practically giddy at the prospect of the carnage it was about to cause. Was it weird that its bloodlust was bleeding over their connection? I think those ladies could do with a little helping of Mass Confusion!
As he named his technique a nimbus of purple psychic energy surrounded the phalanx of Dracaenae and sent them into a frenzy. What had moments before been a disciplined formation the likes of which the Ancient Greeks would have envied, immediately devolved into madness as the snakewomen first froze then begin shifting around in confusion. They were so lost that they even began dropping their long sarissas, or in some more extreme cases began stabbing at the air with them in a panic. This, of course, led to them occasionally stabbing one of their own ilk and thus prompted retaliation. As a result, swords were drawn and soon the whole contingent of Dracaenae had turned on each other.
"By the gods," Bianca breathed out in horrified wonder from her hiding spot atop the walls.
"Impressive, no?" Her familiar asked proudly as he materialized next to her. Sheer sadistic glee wafting off him.
The daughter of Hades could only nod numbly as she saw her enemies butcher each other. Her little brother however was much more vocal.
"It totally is," Nico said, sounding impressed, his eyes bouncing all over the crazed formation. "Now, to finish those slimy snakes off. At my command, rise!"
At his theatrical command, the earth next to the Dracanae melee exploded to reveal a small squad of a dozen skeletal dragoons who charged into the flank of the confused snakewomen's formation, shattering it and cutting dozens of them down with their sabres as they stampeded their way through to the other side before wheeling around to do the same once more.
Within moments, between the internecine slaughter and the charges of Nico's cavalry, the Dracanae that once numbered in the hundreds were reduced to nothing more than piles of golden dust.
"I-It's over." Bianca observed with a shuddering breath.
"It is? Good," Nico said as he fell backwards into the waiting arms of Bianca's familiar. "I need a nap."
Bianca panicked and barely noticed as her brother's skeletal horsemen disintegrated back into the dust from which their unlife had been forged. Instead, she rushed to Nico's side.
"Nico, are you alright?"
"He's unconscious," her familiar informed the daughter of Hades. "It appears summoning those undead horseman has drained him."
The sound of a nearby explosion reminded Bianca where she was and a determined look entered her eyes. She had to keep her brother safe.
"We're retreating to the field hospital." She ordered her familiar. "Carry Nico. I'll clear us a path."
The Faceless looked at her approvingly and fell in behind her as they moved towards a staircase. They were confronted by a trio of empousai coming up but Bianca didn't even hesitate as she ordered the shadows around her to life and had them move like scything blades that proceeded to tear the bloodsucking monsters to shreds.
Darkness bled from Bianca's fingertips and she panted a little at the effort but she didn't break her stride as she marched down the stairs, not once even sparing the piles of gold dust she'd created so much as a glance nor did she take note of how the darkness around her danced in her sway, eagerly clearing the path ahead of her of threats or obstruction.
All she cared about in that moment was getting Nico to safety and woe betide anyone or anything that stood in her way.
While Bianca might not have paid Kampê much attention, Pyrrha certainly did. Especially when the ancient monster dove down from the air and slammed into the Campers' already strained lines just a few yards down from where she was standing.
"Fight you idiots!" The daughter of Ares shouted as encouragingly as she could, even as she pulled out a few select potions out of the dimensional pocket built into Akoúo̱ while rushing towards where Kronos' jailer was looming menacingly over a squad of Campers that were too terrified to move. "Fight!"
"Easier said than done, child of war." The ancient horror said as a pair of wicked sickles materialized into its hands from thin air. "I have struck fear in even the dread Hekatonkheire, what more a pack of mortal demigods?"
At this taunting observation, Kampê swept her sickles down in a scissoring motion that would have bisected the entire squad of paralyzed Campers.
"Not on my watch," Pyrrha growled even as she tossed the potion vials she'd extracted at the monster. The beast responded by swiping them out of the sky with one of her sickles, a move that caused the volatile concoctions within to detonate in a powerful explosion. This did not overly faze the ancient horror though and her other sickle followed through on its original motion and cut down a half dozen Campers in a single terrifying display of Kampê's power.
"No!" Pyrrha roared as she palmed more potions.
Tossing these new potions at the beast she brought Miló to bear as well.
"More explosives, little godling?" Kampê asked as she casually cut the potion vials in half with her sickles, only for them to not explode. Instead, the ruptured vials led to a large amount of a thick viscous liquid splattering all over the monster.
"Eat this!" Pyrrha roared as with a flick of her wrist, she had Miló release a gout of angry red flames at Kampê that proceeded to set the napalm like potion that she'd tossed onto the unsuspecting monster ablaze.
"A touch better," the ancient abomination said as it marched towards Pyrrha. "At least this manages to make me feel uncomfortable."
Come on, just a little more. The redhead though as she backpedaled towards their second defensive line and the trap that 'Kaidy had set up along it.
"Yeah? Well, I have plenty more where they came from!" Pyrrha taunted as she pulled another set of potions out of Akoúo̱.
As she threw it, Kampê once again struck them out of the air with a casual swipe of her weapon. The spray of liquid in the vial pelted both the creature and one of her weapons. The hissing bubbling concoction sizzled, the magical acid earning a grunt from the jail keeper as her skin blistered from exposure to the toxic potion.
"That actually stung." The feminine beast mused playfully as she took the final step into Pyrrha's trap.
"Then this should really smart!" Pyrrha shouted as suddenly the ground that marked the entire second defensive line glowed a blood red before walls of magical energy of the same sanguine color shot up from it and formed a dome around the area of Camp within its confines.
"W-What is this?" Kampê hissed as she staggered under the draining effects of 'Kaidy's prepared spell.
"Something my wife cooked up," Pyrrha informed it with a vicious grin. "She calls it επικαλούνται: ο Ναός του αίματος [Incantare: Templum Sanguinis/Invoke: Temple of Blood]. I'll let you guess what it does. Now!"
That last shouted word was addressed to the squad of her siblings she'd left behind to attempt to save the ill fated Campers Kampê had slain. At her command, they burst out of the hidden trenches they'd built behind the second defensive line with long Celestial Bronze xyston that they proceeded to use to stab at the ancient jailer of the Crooked One.
Drawing her labrys, Pyrrha joined the fray. The daughter of war's movements were swift as the wind as the lances tried to bite into Kampê's flank and failed as she parried four of her siblings even with her dwindling strength.
"Fools!" The ancient monster roared as she batted Pyrrha away with a swipe of her tail. "Do you honestly think that even with your little spell draining me that you stand any chance?"
"Won't know until we try." Pyrrha shot back as she jumped back to her feet and charged once more. "Besides, who says 'Kaidy's spell only drains the enemy?"
As if on cue, it was just as Pyrrha finished her leading remark that 'Kaidy decided to make use of all the magical power the Temple of Blood was siphoning from the invaders to renew her assault on the Hecate kids' golem in the form of a set of bright beams that were so intense they dyed the whole battlefield a brilliant green. That this was accompanied by another shot from the laser cannon, that was again unfortunately deflected, was the perfect signal for the Campers to counterattack.
Something that Pyrrha herself was fully committed to as she leapt into the air towards Kampê, her labrys raised high and hungry to taste the abomination's blood.
Alkaid and the gunners at the laser cannon weren't the only ones who took the triggering of the Temple of Blood as their signal to initiate a counterattack. Percy had much the same idea, which was why he'd made his way to the beach with Tyson.
"Tyson, watch my back okay?" He told his cyclops brother. "This is gonna take a lot of my concentration, so if any monsters get clo-"
"I smash them." Tyson said loyally, smacking his club firmly into his free palm. "Tyson keep Percy safe."
"I know you will, buddy." Percy told him with a smile, before taking a deep breath and steeling his nerves for what he planned to do next. It would be the biggest deliberate use of his powers ever and he was honestly worried he couldn't pull it off. But he needed to. His friends were counting on him to.
It was that last thought that gave him the strength and resolve to pull on the ocean like he'd never pulled before.
In response the waters of the Long Island Sound churned and roiled as they heard his call.
I can do this. Percy told himself even as sweat began accumulating on his brow from the increasing strain. He ignored it though and narrowed his eyes at the most pesky of the enemies, the enemy harpies. The rest of the enemy army he was sure they could handle but only if they could make use of their artillery, but in order to do that the harpies needed to go. Now.
"Eat water, you backstabbing cleaning ladies!" Percy roared as he unleashed the fury of the seas he'd been stoking until now.
As he did, geysers of water shot out of Long Island Sound like pressure jets that proceeded to shoot whole flocks of the enemy bird women out of the air. Even as this initial barrage ended, tentacles of water emerged out of the roiling sea seemingly of their own will, Percy himself definitely weren't controlling them, and began stretching over Camp to wreak havoc among the enemy fliers.
Is that dad helping out? Percy thought as he saw one of the liquid tentacles wrap itself around a flock of the harpies and proceed to constrict them to death.
"Percy!" Tyson shouted sounding concerned. "Something coming. From the sea."
"Wha-"
Before Percy could even finish, a volley of heavy headed ballista bolts shot out of the sea and into the already chaotic swarms of the enemy harpies. Spinning around, Percy saw figures wading out of the waters, marching up to the beach. In full armor were what seemed to be a company of cyclops carrying repeating ballistae like they were simple crossbows.
"Well met brothers of the seas," the lead cyclops said as he marched over with one of the massive ballista in its arms that it proceeded to fire from the hip to take out an adventurous hellhound closing in on them and with another of the weapons strapped to its back. "Lord Poseidon thought you might need some help?"
"We do," Percy admitted as he accepted a flask of nectar that the cyclops offered.
"Nice crossbow," Tyson said as he inspected the spare ballista that he was handed instead. "Good at killing wicked bird ladies?"
"Good enough," the cyclops said with a grin as it took down a harpy stupid enough to fly close by.
"Still too tiny, but it do." One of the other cyclops lamented.
"Suck it up," another shouted. "They rush job. Good enough is good enough."
Percy could only wonder what was big enough for these guys.
Such thoughts were shelved though when the skies above suddenly thundered ominously.
"Oh shit! Looks like Uncle is angry." Percy hissed as he eyed the brewing storm clouds above Camp warily.
He needn't have. As instead of some kind of indignant display of pique, for once Zeus seemed to have decided to actually be useful. Bolts of lightning crisscrossed the sky and seemed to begin a competition with the watery tentacles on how many harpies they could kill, skewering dozens per bolt and reducing them to gold dust. From amidst the same storm that spawned the electrical lightshow there also emerged a flock of giant eagles led by no less than the Caucasian Eagle itself, which dove at the harpies and began to, in some cases quite literally, have the bird women as dinner.
"Leave it to the Big Three's sibling rivalry to end up saving the day." Percy commented dryly.
He got a round of nods from the reinforcements.
"It's gotta do a good thing once in a while I guess?" The leader said with a shrug. "I mean everything has to eventually, right?"
"Tyson confused."
"Don't sweat it, big guy." Percy told his brother. "I'll explain it later. For now, why don't you use that new crossbow of yours and help me kill some evil monsters."
"Kill bad monsters? Tyson knows how to do that." The young cyclops said as he shouldered his new weapon enthusiastically. "We go kill bad monsters!"
"You heard the boy, lads." The leader of the cyclops company addressed his men. "Let's get this show on the road. Charge!"
With a roar that shook the earth, Percy and his cyclops allies made good on their words and sprinted towards the enemy.
In Annabeth's honest opinion, things were improving. Sure they still had that enormous golem and Kampê to deal with but both were contained. The former by Alkaid's constant magical bombardment and the latter by Pyrrha and the rest of Cabin Five. With the harpies now seemingly under control thanks to help from Lord Poseidon and Lord Zeus, their artillery was getting back into the game too and that was starting to make a big difference. Combine that with the rout of the Dracanae by the di Angelos and things were even starting to look good. Of the truly dangerous enemies, the only ones still unchecked were the Laistrygonian artillery and she was determined to change that.
Even if her squad was having a hard time attempting to reach them.
Of course Alkaid's spell doesn't even help with that. There's too many to show a real difference. The honey blonde girl griped.
"Stop whining in your head Annabeth and focus on fighting!" Lee Fletcher said from nearby as he filled the mouth of a drakon with arrows that promptly exploded as he detonated their Greek fire charges, killing the serpentine monster.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Fletcher!" Annabeth shot back as she danced around an empousai and gutted it like a fish with her dagger in the process.
"Oh please!" Lee shot back. "You're thinking badly of Alkaid again. It's all over your face."
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"Will you two shut up!" Austin Lake, one of Lee's brothers shouted, as he hastily backpedaled from a hellhound advancing on him as his quiver ran empty and he was forced to switch to his sword. "Some of us actually need to pay attention when we're fighting! And just FYI Chase, you're totally making a face."
"Am not!"
"You totally are," Castor informed her as he took out the hellhound menacing Austin and tossed the young boy a new quiver full of arrows.
"What part of shut up did you all not understand?" Silena Beauregard, the counselor of Cabin Ten, reminded everyone. "Stop chattering and focus on fighting!"
She added that last bit with a healthy dose of her mother Aphrodite's fabled Charmspeak and Annabeth immediately felt the compulsion to obey. Snapping her mouth shut, she focused her attention back on the matter at hand.
That probably saved her life as a boy blurred into being directly in front of her and stabbed down at her heart with a switchblade that was glowing unnaturally. Acting reflexively as her training had drilled her to, Annabeth spun out of the way of her attacker's lunge and behind him. It was only as she plunged her knife into his flesh and through his heart that her mind caught up to her and she realised she'd just killed another human being.
That was Keith… Annabeth realized as the boy died on her blade, her traitorous thoughts setting her mind ablaze at the recognition. He was a nice guy… He liked pudding... He was a son of Hermes and a wizard...
The horror of that was just sinking in when a voice with a terribly mangled Southern accent caught her attention.
"More meat to charbroil!" The voice bellowed from just up ahead had the daughter of Athena looking up as she pulled her knife out of the corpse of the traitorous demigod to see a group of the Laistrygonians she'd been hunting leveling their cannons in her direction.
"Scatter!" Lee shouted, but Annabeth knew it was too late. The giants had somehow snuck up on them from out of nowhere.
Probably using whatever invisibility trick that Keith was using.
"They see us?" One of the witless giants asked. "The boy's invisibility spell ran out?"
"Duh," another of the giants replied. "He's dead ain't he? Of course his spell will run out."
"Oh right."
"Shut up, you idiots! Shoot them!" A empousai standing next to the Laistrygonians shouted at the giants in exasperation.
"Nah! Let them run like headless chickens for a bit first." One of the giants countered. "It's more fun."
Their sadistic hesitation cost them though as it bought enough time for a massive bolt of water to slam right into the middle of their group. It hit with enough force to send some of the giants flying and the rest sprawling to the ground. As if that was not enough misery for them, and Annabeth honestly felt there was no such thing, at the centre of the splash down now stood Percy, Riptide already swinging in deadly arcs.
A cheer spread among the Campers at the sight but the daughter of wisdom didn't join in. She too busy moving to reinforce him. Rushing into the chaotic melee, her dagger sang in the air as she took down as many of the Laistrygonian as she could. All around her Campers rushed to join her. Faced with this, the giants stood little chance and were soon little more than gold dust.
"Thanks Percy," Annabeth told the son of Poseidon as he took down the last Laistrygonian. "You saved us."
"Don't mention it," the boy said, radiating deadly intent. Not for the first time Annabeth had to suppress a shiver at how scary Percy became when he got serious. The way he became a killing machine straight out of the legends was both heartening and terrifying. "Where next?"
Annabeth didn't answer immediately and instead took a minute to survey the battlefield. A quick glance at the fight between Ares Cabin and Kampê told her that it was going surprisingly well. Pyrrha and her squad were barely keeping the monstrous jailer contained but considering what they were facing, that was probably to be expected.
If that's the case then the only remaining threat is the golem. Turning towards it, she saw it standing largely unimpeded except for Alkaid's continuing futile magical barrage.
"Why aren't we attacking the golem? It's the bigger threat here." Annabeth stated as she loathed to admit Alkaid could likely single handedly win the battle if only that magical grounding rod was taken out.
Percy shook his head, "The cyclopes told me someone else was covering it."
"Who?" The child of Athena asked with puzzlement.
Her friend shrugged in reply.
"Uh guys," Lee's shocked voice cut into the conversation. "Maybe they meant that guy?"
Looking in the direction of the beach where the son of Apollo was pointing, Annabeth found herself staring at a sight straight out of a kaiju movie. Stepping out of the waves of Long Island Sound was a massive automaton, easily as tall as the Hecate kids' golem, that was designed to look like a Ancient Greek warrior with its chiseled muscles and classical hoplite armor. The colossus lacked the weapons of one though, but it more than made up for it with the massive war pick it carried over its shoulder.
"Sweet Olympus."
"Time to earn our redemption, Talos." Daedalus said as he and his former apprentice stepped out of the sea and into the battlefield that Camp Half Blood had become. From his vantage point on Talos' shoulder he could see the desperate struggle that had been fought as a result of his foolish actions and for the umpeenth time he cursed himself for his mistakes.
"Redemption," the monster that the other man had become said in agreement.
"No more running, no more hiding for my crimes." Daedalus gulped as tried to calm his nerves. The centuries of evading his mother, Thanatos' chilling grasp and more bubbled up to the front of his mind. "One big heroic act. That can make all the difference."
"It must," the colossus agreed even as it shifted its grip on the war pick they'd specially designed to smash magical barriers into a ready position. "We will save the children of the gods and receive clemency."
"I know I don't deserve Elysium but I'll be satisfied if I get Asphodel."
"Death. True death. Freedom from Tartarus." Talos countered. "That is enough for me."
"That too my friend, that too."
The Hecate children had noticed them now and they were turning their golem towards them. It's long gorilla like arms gave it a superior reach and it used this to its advantage to attempt to swipe at them. Unfortunately for the children, Talos was no mere automaton. He was a genuine soul trapped in a machine and so acted like it. Moving with agility that far exceeded the parameters of even the most well crafted machines, he dodged the attack and brought the war pick down hard on the golem's layered magical shield shattering a dozen of them at once.
"Mrs. Potter, now!" Daedalus shouted, using one of the many devices he'd built into his automaton body to project his voice over the whole of Camp.
It probably was unnecessary as almost as soon as the words left his mouth, a truly massive beam of energy slammed into the golem from behind and shattered its remaining shields before cutting out. In response the Hecate children scrambled to raise new barriers, but Daedalus and Talos weren't about to give them the luxury.
Bringing the war pick down once more they smashed the head of the golem in, crushing a dozen or so of Hecate's children in the process and sending the rest fleeing in a panic, their spellcasting forgotten. To further add to their misery, Daedalus whistled sharply to summon his pet hellhound Mrs. O'Leary which he proceeded to order to harass them.
"Kick it while it's down," Daedalus urged his former apprentice.
Talos obliged, kicking the unsteady golem and sending it toppling over and undoubtedly killing more of Hecate's brood in the process.
The sound of something hurtling down from on high had Daedalus looking up and paling slightly at what he saw. Seven meteors were flying towards where he was standing.
"Talos!"
"I see them." The colossus replied as he confidently stepped back. "That daughter of Hades you told me about must be incredibly powerful."
"She is," Daedalus admitted as they both watched as the seven chunks of heavenly rock slammed into the beleaguered golem with the force of mortal atomic bombs. It likely would have leveled the whole area but Mrs. Potter had been wise enough, or vindictive enough, to create a cage of barriers to trap the force of the impact around the golem. That this amplified the intensity of the forces unleashed on that patch of land was something that she probably thought quite fitting.
When the last signs of the explosion cleared and Mrs. Potter's shields faded, all that was left of where the golem had lay was a glassed wasteland.
Confronted by such terrible power being brought against them, Daedalus was not at all surprised when the Titans' army's morale instantly collapsed and they began to turn tail.
"It's not as heroic as I'd hoped, but I'm not adverse to stomping on some enemies of the gods." Talos said as he looked away from the devastation Mrs. Potter had unleashed and stepped on a fleeing pack of empousai.
Daedalus chuckled. "I'm sure the gods will understand. Mrs. O'Leary have fun!"
Taking his words for the command it was, his pet let out a joyful howl before proceeding to tear into a squad of Laistrygonian skirmishers.
Please Mother, I pledge this victory to you. Daedelus prayed for what felt like the first time in a long, long time. May it be enough to let me have my redemption.
Chiron was feeling overwhelmed. Yes, he'd been in battles before both as a combatant and as a physician but not in a very long time. He had thus forgotten what it had felt like to be a battlefield doctor. How heartbreaking it was to see his beloved charges come into his field hospital battered or broken, if at all.
He nevertheless pushed aside such thoughts and focused on the matter at hand as he wrapped a splint around little Valentina Diaz's broken leg even as Will Solace fed the daughter of Aphrodite some ambrosia.
He was just finished with tightening the knot on Valentina's bandage when a ruckus at the entrance to the bunker had him turning and reaching for his bow.
"What happened to Uncle Nico?" Mina, the goddess of serial killers and the field hospital's protector, asked dangerously as Bianca di Angelo entered with her unconscious brother cradled in the arms of her Faceless familiar that was dutifully following behind her.
"He's fine," the younger of Hades' mortal daughters reassured her godly niece. "He just overdid it with his necromancy is all."
"You sure?" The murderous little goddess asked as she fussed over her young uncle.
"My mistress speaks the truth, little goddess." The Faceless told the silver haired murderer.
"Let me check him over nonetheless," Chiron insisted as he walked over.
"Certainly," the creature of darkness said as he gently placed the son of Hades on a nearby empty cot and the immortal centaur began an examination.
"How is it out there?" Will asked as he brought over some ambrosia as Chiron wordlessly requested.
"Talos and Big Sister just took out the golem," Bianca said munching on the ambrosia squares that Will passed her. "With it outta the way, I think we're pretty close to winning."
"Nico is fine." Chiron declared much to Bianca and Mina's relief. "He just needs some rest and a little ambrosia. Will please help him with that."
"Yes sir," the son of Apollo said as he moved to help the unconscious boy swallow some of the food of the gods.
"Bianca," Chiron asked as he moved to another patient. "Finish those squares before you go, and Talos? Why is he here?"
"Dunno," the daughter of Hades said with a shrug. "Daedalus brought him. They were saying something about redemption but I'm not sure what they meant exactly."
Chiron nodded distractedly as he checked the state of the burns the daughter of Demeter Billie Ng received from a stray shot from the Laistrygonians' lava cannons.
"I should head back out." Bianca gulped down her last ambrosia square. "Keep an eye on Nico please."
The young girl didn't even wait for a reply as she hastily left, the nameless being that was her familiar floating behind her. Chiron however could see her nervousness though, as if she had expectations of herself that were higher than the rest of the Campers. Expectations that she feared she could not meet.
She's probably comparing herself to her sister. The wise old centaur mused. I'll have to talk to her about that. Probably Alkaid as well. They need to realize that Bianca is her own person and doesn't need to live up to anyone's standards but her own.
These were thoughts for another time though and the Trainer of Heroes pushed them aside for later. He had patients to treat. He could worry about his charges' development later when they weren't in a life or death battle.
Grover Underwood had been acting as one of the spotters for the restored artillery when Talos had walked out of the sea and smacked the Hecate kids' golem a new one. He'd thought that was crazy but then Alkaid had to top that by literally dropping a meteor shower on it to finish the golem off... It was like something straight out of a disaster movie.
In light of that Grover really couldn't fault the Titans' troops for bolting.
Okay, a meteor shower. Why not? Grover gulped as he tried his best to temper his nerves. Come on, Grover! Get your act together! You did what no satyr could do! You found Pan! Now just give the stupid directions.
"G-Grid 13-24." The satyr managed to bark into his radio handset as he gulped down his fear.
His reply was a burst of scatter shot from the howitzers that rained acid on a mass of assorted monsters as they fled that left them screaming in agony as it ate away at their bodies.
T-This is war, huh? I never thought it would be this bad. The young nature spirit thought as he offered a prayer for the monsters.
Perhaps having sympathy for his enemies jinxed him, but Grover had barely finished his prayer when suddenly a furious hiss from behind him had the satyr spinning around to come face to face with a Aethiopian Drakon slithering towards him.
The sight of the terrifying monster zeroing in on him caused him so much terror that he wet himself and cried out in fright. He wasn't the only one though as his cry seemed to somehow resonate through the air and carry with it a sense of raw fear that spread through the whole battlefield.
It caused the drakon to rear back and hastily slither away, acting like it had suddenly been confronted by something that scared its scales off.
He tapped his throat a few times, blinking in bewilderment.
"Uh, excuse me?" Grover asked while letting out a nervous bleet.
He got nothing but cheers from the half-bloods all over Camp.
Now he just had to make sure they didn't notice the moist ground beneath him.
Juniper could never know.
"Don't worry. We won't tell Juniper," Percy reassured him as he ran over to help him up, casually cutting down a fleeing empousai as he did. "But what in the world was that cry?"
"Lord Pan's Panic probably," Annabeth hypothesized as she pulled her dagger out of the body of a Dracanae that was already collapsing into gold dust as she joined them. "He did gift you with part of his power when he faded."
Their conversation was interrupted when a terrible roar, almost but not quite, as powerful as Grover's cry earlier resounded across Camp.
"Hold your positions you cowards!" Kampê hissed at her troops even as she fended off Pyrrha and her siblings who were still struggling to contain her. "We still outnumber them! We can still win!"
"Anyone up to helping Cabin Five with that?" Percy asked sounding eager.
"I don't think that's necessary," Annabeth said with an annoyed look as she pointed to where a sliver glow was building in intensity.
Alkaid was taking a break after felling the pesky golem and drinking some nectar to recharge, while of course admiring her handiwork when unexpectedly a long fear inducing roar echoed across the battlefield.
Snapping her head towards the source, she narrowed her eyes. Is that Panic? Seems Pan gifted the questers right before he faded. Wish I knew that from the start, but better late than never.
The following weaker roar from Kampê as she tried to rally her troops took her attention away just as quickly. It seemed despite their best efforts, Pyrrha and her siblings were still having trouble taking down the Crooked One's ancient jailer.
Well, we can't have that now can we? The daughter of Hades thought vindictively as she prepared a spell.
"Oh look, someone's distracted~" Alkaid as she formed her fingers into a gun-like pose. "επικαλούνται: σκορπιός βέλος [Invoke: Scorpion Arrow]."
She snapped her finger upwards even as she finished her incantation, playfully making it seem like she was firing her spell off like a gun and sent a silver star bolt flying towards the distant form of the ancient abomination.
"Feeling playful, huh?" Malcolm asked from where he was coming up from the HQ bunker to talk to her.
"I was in the mood," Alkaid cheekily replied with a shrug.
The silver celestial arrow struck true, slamming into Kampê's shoulder and causing it to explode in a shower of gore.
"Well can't say that it wasn't effective," Malcolm replied giving his own shrug. "Anyways, just wanted to tell you that it looks like we've won. The enemy is in a full rout."
"Really?" Alkaid asked him skeptically. "Because from my perspective we still have Kampê and an army in Camp. That doesn't exactly seem like we've won yet."
"About that," Malcolm said with a smirk that said he knew something. "We might not have to worry about Kampê much longer."
"Why? Are you asking me or Talos to finish her?" Alkaid asked gesturing to the colossus who was busy stomping on the fleeing monsters. "Because news flash, Talos looks kinda distracted and even with that nectar just now I'm still quite drained."
"Nope, wasn't talking about either of you." The son of Athena said with a cheeky grin. "Let's just say we've spotted someone on the way."
"Oh?"
Her answer came in the form of earth shaking steps from the East. Turning in that direction, she was greeted with the sight of the Hekatonkheire Briares standing at his full height with massive boulders in each of his hundred hands.
"Malcolm, you are a cheeky little boy." Alkaid praised, a twinkle in her eye. "Good work."
"I try."
"Kampê!" The hundred handed giant roared. "I'm not afraid of you anymore!"
He followed this declaration by tossing the first of his rocks at his ancient nemesis. Alkaid would have worried about Pyrrha and her siblings at the sight, except unlike their opponent they'd recognized the danger and had fled. Kampê for her part seemed too stunned that Briares had shown up at all to do anything but stare at him in shock even as a literal mountain of rocks was tossed at her. By the time she'd even thought to take flight in a bid to escape, it was far too late and she was utterly flattened under the sheer weight of the earth being thrown her way.
"Well that's that," Malcolm said with a grin.
"Not quite," Gracie shouted out from the HQ bunker. "Cameras are showing Castellan trying to rally the enemy."
Alkaid exchanged a look with Malcolm at that. "Take a look?"
The sorceress' reply was to head down into the bunker where they found a screen was displaying how the son of Hermes stupidly was trying, even under arrow fire, to salvage his failure of a cause.
"Come on, someone get a lucky shot." Malcolm prayed under his breath.
"Lee is saying he's in position," one of Malcolm's siblings said from the console he was manning.
"Then tell him to take the shot," Alkaid said coldly. "It is well past time to end this."
With bated breath the whole HQ watched as a hail of arrows from Lee and his siblings rained down on Castellan's position. To the son of Hermes' credit he managed to cut down a handful with his exemplary swordwork but a sword was no effective defense against a arrow barrage and soon he took an arrow to the knee. Collapsing to a kneeling position from what must have been an incredibly painful wound, his guard completely collapsed and he was soon peppered with so many arrows that he looked little better than the straw dummies at the archery range after a practice session.
Unfortunately none of them seemed immediately fatal and he collapsed onto his back in agony. The Apollo Cabin archers were probably preparing for another volley when a Drakon of all things interposed its body between Castellan and their firing position, shielding the traitor even as a pair of his similarly traitorous half-blood fellows grabbed him and took off running.
"We can only pray his wounds fester." The sorceress stated coldly, her hands balled tightly. "Did Lee have time to lace the arrows?"
Some murmuring followed the question and she was given a negative response.
"Worth a shot." Alkaid sighed aggravatedly as she pinched the bridge of her nose as she saw the Apollo cabin take out the drakon with a barrage of Greek fire explosive arrows.
"Lee is asking for permission to pursue," a son of Hermes operating a station informed the room.
"Tell him no," Alkaid said after a quick glance at the tactical map. "He's too close to the Camp boundaries as is. Have him pull back and help with the mop up. We need to focus on securing Camp, not hunting down our fleeing enemies."
"But if we can take out Luke-"
"Then, Malcolm, the Crooked One will just find a new pawn to take his place." Alkaid reasoned. "Rather than obsessing over revenge, we need to focus on consolidating our position and repairing our defenses."
"Plus better the one we know than the one we don't?" The son of Athena asked unhappily.
"Exactly."
"You're one cold bitch, you know that?" Malcolm snorted as he eyed her. "And I'm glad for it. It's exactly what we need right now."
Alkaid just nodded and began barking orders for the Campers to shift from combat operations to mop up. The battle was won, now it was time to prepare for the next one.
Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios for help as always!
And thus, the battle has ended… for now!
Nameless: And we once more try our hand at an epic battle. Hope you guys liked it. Reviewers have previously expressed that we do such scenes well, so let us know if we lived up to that high praise.
I know we went nuts with the prep work from Alkaid, but this is a girl that likes to munchkin all her stuff for fights on this scale. I mean, she's going to go all out and break out the good old ink and spellwork.
Nameless: And she had a blank cheque from her Father to do it, of course she'd go overboard. And thank goodness she did, no? After all, it's because of it that Poseidon and Zeus got their excuses to intervene too. Was that part of Alkaid's plan from the get go? Well...
The multi-POVs were fun to look into. Shows a lot of angles and the character perspectives. Chiron's (Just for his caring of the Campers in general) and Bianca's (Despite how new she is to the demigod life, she's trying to be a good sister to both Nico and Alkaid by being able to stand on her own as one) were the most interesting at least to me, with Annabeth's coming in second since it lets us get into her prideful little head.
Nameless: Percy and Annabeth didn't really get a chance to shine against Kampê, huh? Well, considering that we had Pyrrha heading her off, we couldn't exactly work out a way to have them butt in. Stealing kills/glory are a big deal to Cabin Five after all as the events of The Last Olympian showed, so of course the other Campers would hold back so long as the Ares kids looked like they had things under control. Wonder how Cabin Five feels about Briares though… Hmm… Something to consider.
You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace out my peeps!