I want to say thank you to all of you for your patience- I'm still dealing with a lot at the moment but I hope that it'll start settling down soon. And I won't lie I am struggling with the ending of this one a fair bit. I am concerned that it may not live to my previous fics.
Replies:
Undeath9087: We love Bob and Damasen. And hopefully things will settle soon so I'll start posting regularly again, it's just hectic at the moment and hard to find time to write or post.
Guest: Well I mean it made me laugh so that's good. :)
Drizzle: Yep, and Bob gets to help kill the asshole Giant who wanted to kill his grandchildren. Such a good grandpa. Kronos should take notes on how to be decent lol.
MKDemiGodzilla-Warrior: Heh, you'll have to wait and see. It's gonna be interesting.
By the time they reached Piraeus, on the outskirts of Athena Percy was jittery, to say the least. So far Leo's plan was working- Piper believed that she had the Physicians cure and the only ones who knew of the plan were Leo, Percy, Nico, Frank and Hazel.
After they'd had a meeting discussing the cure Nico had quietly pulled Hazel and Frank aside where they'd had a group meeting, and Leo had explained that Percy and Nico had confronted him.
Which Percy thought was secretly a relief to Frank and Hazel- they didn't have to hide it from quite so many people any more.
Still, Percy felt very justified in feeling jittery and anxious. There were so many things that could go wrong. It was a horrifying thought, that Leo might die. And Percy knew that if he did she'd go down with him.
He'd shown her and Nico where the Physicians cure would be kept. If all was well then when they reached him Festus would already have given it to Leo. But if not then she and Nico would be there very quickly and they'd be able to give him the cure. To bring him back. Or that was the plan everyone knew. Percy, of course, had no intentions of leaving his side at all.
So yeah, there was a lot going on, and Percy was not as relaxed as she might have otherwise been- though even without the terrifying fear that her baby brother might die it would still be a stressful situation.
Percy pushed away those thoughts as she went through the motions of checking her weapons- they were all preparing for the battle to come- Leo was rushing around frantically, loading the ballistae and catapults with the help of Rachel, Will and Nico, whilst the rest of them made sure they were rady for combat.
The end would soon be upon them. The final battle against the giants was coming. They could handle it she was sure of it.
Still, she was on high alert, so when Piper called for Annabeth Percy turned her head, and when she caught Annabeth's eye she followed her girlfriend over to Piper's side, Rachel excusing herself and moving to join them too.
And it quickly became clear what Piper had noticed. There were snake people, slithering along the docks, winding through crowds of mortal tourists who paid them no attention.
"Are they Dracaenae?" Percy's brows furrowed. That didn't seem quite right but... well they were snake people."
"They don't look like the Dracaenae I remember." Rachel remarked, frowning very slightly. "Weren't they all female."
"All the ones we've met were." Annabeth nodded, "and they have two serpent trunks for legs. These guys just have one."
"These dudes look more human on top too." Percy noticed, a thoughtful look on her face, "Not all scaly and green and stuff." She tilted her head, "What do you guys think, friends or foes?"
"The only way to find out is to talk." Annabeth decided. "If they're enemies we'll find out soon enough. It doesn't usually take long."
And so they watched the snake guys approach. The one in the lead held his head high. His face was chiselled and bronze, his eyes black as basalt, his curly dark hair glistening with oil. His upper body rippled with muscles, covered only by a Greek chlamys – a white wool cloak loosely wrapped and pinned at the shoulder. From the waist down, his body was one giant serpent trunk – about eight feet of green tail undulating behind him as he moved.
In one hand he carried a staff topped with a glowing green jewel. In his other, he carried a platter covered with a silver dome, like a main course for a fancy dinner.
The two guys behind him appeared to be guards. They wore bronze breastplates and elaborate helmets topped with horsehair bristles. Their spears were tipped with green stone points. Their oval shields were emblazoned with a large Greek letter K – kappa.
They stopped a few yards from the Argo II. The leader looked up and studied the demigods. His expression was intense but inscrutable. He might have been angry or worried or terribly in need of a restroom.
"Permission to come aboard." the leaders voice was rasping- not exactly a pleasant noise.
"Who are you?" that came from Piper- and Percy noticed that Rachel had her head tilted and her brows furrowed. She wondered if the other girl was trying to see the future- trying to get some idea of what would happen.
From what they'd been told she was probably one of the few people with any skill for it left now- which was not a comforting thought.
"I am Kekrops." that made Percy focus on the snake guy again, "The first and eternal king of Athens. I would welcome you to my city." He held up the covered platter. "Also, I brought a Bundt cake."
"Is it blu-" Percy had a hand slapped over her house before she could finish- and if she could she would have pouted at Rachel, who's lips were twitching as she whispered.
"I don't need to be a prophet to know you well enough to know I should shut you up before you say something stupid."
Which made Annabeth stifle a laugh, but at least Piper was focused- she looked concerned.
"A trick?"
"Probably." Annabeth managed to shake her head slightly, focusing. "Things like this usually are."
"But we have to take the risk." Rachel announced. "I don't think we'll get in without him."
"One of your feelings?" Annabeth's voice was curious, but there was no doubt in in. Which Percy thought was very reasonable.
Even if it wasn't Rachel's legacy blood coming through she was smart enough that they all trusted her judgement.
"Well." Percy shoved Rachel's hand away from her mouth, "I for one am just grateful that he brought us some dessert. Cake is always good." she rubbed her hands together before spreading her arms wide. "Welcome aboard!"
And thankfully Kekrops agreed to leave his guards above deck with Buford the table, who ordered them to drop and give him twenty push-ups. The guards seemed to take this as a challenge.
Meanwhile, the king of Athens was invited to the mess hall for a 'get to know you' meeting.
"Please take a seat," Jason offered.
Kekrops wrinkled his nose. "Snake people do not sit."
"Then feel free to stay standing." Leo declared brightly, cutting into the cake and moving to stuff a piece into his mouth before anyone could stop him- though Luke did give him a glare- that made some sense Percy supposed. It could be poisoned after all- but Leo chewed, swallowed and then grinned, so probably not. Then again he did have a strong stomach. Since it wasn't blue Percy decided she'd rather leave it this time. That and the fact that she was too nervous to eat.
Leo however just grinned, "Dang that's good. Snake people know how to make Bundt cake, who'd've thought it? Kind of orangey with a hint of honey. Needs a glass of milk-"
"Leo-" Luke was trying not to smile. "Is food all you think about-"
"No." Leo grinned, "I think about machines too. And Cal of course. That's about all really. But seriously, gimme a glass of milk and this would be be-" he made a little chef's kiss gesture.
"Snake people do not drink milk." that came from Kekrops, "We are lactose-intolerant reptiles."
"Me too!" Frank blurted out- which managed to make Percy laugh. "I mean- lactose intolerant. Not a reptile... though I can be a reptile sometimes-"
"Anyway-" Hazel cut him off, squeezing his arm gently as Franks face went a rather entertaining shade of red "King Kekrops. What brings you here? How did you know we'd arrived?"
"I know everything that happens in Athens," Kekrops said. "I was the city's founder, its first king, born of the earth. I am the one who judged the dispute between Athena and Poseidon, and chose Athena to be the patron of the city."
"Huh. Guess my dad doesn't like you guys then." Percy murmured- which earned her an elbow to the side from Annabeth.
"I've heard of you." the daughter of Athena was smiling, "You were the first to offer sacrifices to Athena. You built her first shrine on the Acropolis."
Correct." Kekrops sounded bitter- which made Annabeth's smile falter slightly, and Percy noticed Rachel grabbing Annabeth's hand and squeezing as the snake man continued, "My people were the original Athenians. The gemini."
"Like the Zodiac sign?" Percy asked, blinking rapidly, her lips twitching.
"Don't." Luke's voice was long suffering, "Don't even think about it Percy." that earned confused looks from some- and Thalia and Nico were both trying to hide their faces.
Annabeth and Rachel were glaring at Percy, who's gaze shifted to Leo- who had a gleam in his eyes. It was a stupid joke. They both knew it. Everyone else had long ago gotten tired of them making it- generally in school. But that was part of the fun.
"Don't what Luke?" Percy asked in the most innocent voice she could muster. "What's wrong my darling big brother? I was just about to-"
"Do not-"
"To say I was-"
"Percy-"
"I was about to say I'm a Leo!"
"No stupid. I'm a Leo, you're a Percy!"
That earned a loud groan from Luke, who banged his head against the table, long suffering sighs from Annabeth and Rachel, a groan from Thalia. There was a stifled laugh from Nico. Will was staring at them blankly, probably wondering if he could still take the chance to run far away from the insanity. As for the others- they all looked unimpressed.
Hazel was the one who spoke up. "Will you two stop it?" there was a chiding tone to her voice- and Percy resisted the urge to respond with a 'yes mother'. Leo did open his mouth, probably to say much the same but Nico managed to slap a hand over his mouth before he could. Which left Hazel free to keep speaking. "I think he means gemini like doubled. Half man, half snake. That's what his people are called. He's a geminus, singular."
"Yes…" Kekrops leaned away from Hazel as if she somehow offended him. "Millennia ago, we were driven underground by the two-legged humans, but I know the ways of the city better than any. I came to warn you. If you try to approach the Acropolis aboveground, you will be destroyed."
Jason stopped nibbling his cake. "You mean … by you?"
"By Porphyrion's armies," said the snake king. "The Acropolis is ringed with great siege weapons – onagers."
"The Cyclopes," Hazel guessed. "They're supplying both Octavian and the giants."
"Ah yes, Octavian who somehow thinks he's the good guy." Percy rolled her eyes, "Great company he's keeping right?"
"That is not the only threat," Kekrops warned. "The air is filled with storm spirits and gryphons. All roads to the Acropolis are patrolled by the Earthborn."
Frank drummed his fingers on the Bundt cake cover. "So, what, we should just give up? We've come too far for that."
"I offer you an alternative," said Kekrops. "Underground passage to the Acropolis. For the sake of Athena, for the sake of the gods, I will help you."
"What's the catch?" Piper's voice was suspicious- which Percy actually felt was fair really, given their track record of getting screwed over.
In any case Kekrops turned those inscrutable dark eyes on her. "Only a small party of demigods – no more than three – could pass undetected by the giants. Otherwise your scent would give you away. But our underground passages could lead you straight into the ruins of the Acropolis. Once there, you could disable the siege weapons by stealth and allow the rest of your crew to approach. With luck, you could take the giants by surprise. You might be able to disrupt their ceremony."
And oh Percy did not like the sound of that. She really, really didn't like the sound of that.
"Ceremony?" Leo's voice was confused for a second before, "Oh, like to wake Gaia."
"Ceremony?" Leo asked. "Oh … like, to wake Gaia."
"Even now it has begun," Kekrops warned. "Can you not feel the earth trembling? We, the gemini, are your best chance."
And Percy really, really did not like that. But... well, she looked around, "Are there any objections?" because if he was telling the truth, they didn't have a choice.
