You poor poor things have no clue what's coming my dudes. I was sat there this morning like 'Damn if I timed it better I could have finished the fic on Percy's birthday' but then I was like, 'that would be too mean'. So make of that what you guys will. anyway, I hope you all enjoy this dam chapter.
Sorta poll for Sally's parentage/who she's a legacy of. I won't be including the vote for Vesta because she's a maiden.
Terra: 21
Nox: 9
Venus: 6
Saturn: 4
Ceres: 3
Baccus: 1
Jupiter: 1
Pluto: 1
Neptune: 1
Apollo: 1
Mars: 1
Caelus: 1
Tartarus: 1
Daughter of Venus: 16
Daughter of Ceres: 2
Daughter of Terra: 1
By the time Percy reached the street she knew it was too late- though truthfully she wasn't sure she could have ever been fast enough.
Leo had shot off towards where Sally, Paul and Rachel were bandaging up injured demigods in the corner of the lobby that was furthest from the doors.
When she reached the seat Percy saw Campers and Hunters lay wounded on the ground. Clarisse must've lost a fight with a Hyperborean giant, because she and her chariot were frozen in a block of ice. The centaurs were nowhere to be seen. Either they'd panicked and ran or they'd been disintegrated.
The Titan army ringed the building, standing maybe twenty feet from the doors. Kronos's vanguard was in the lead: Ethan Nakamura, the dracaena queen in her green armor, and two Hyperboreans. There was no sign of Prometheus. The slimy weasel was probably hiding back at their headquarters. But Kronos himself stood right in front with his scythe in hand.
The only thing standing in his way was...
"Chiron," Annabeth said, her voice trembling.
If Chiron heard her, he didn't answer. He had an arrow notched, aimed straight at Kronos's face.
As soon as Kronos saw Percy, his gold eyes flared. Every muscle in her body froze and her breath caught in her throat as a nasty smile formed on his lips. Then the Titan lord turned his attention back to Chiron. "Step aside, little son." Hearing Alabaster call Chiron his son was weird enough, but Kronos put contempt in his voice, like son was the worst word he could think of.
"I'm afraid not." Chiron's tone was steely calm, the way he got when he was really angry- Percy hadn't often been on the receiving end of that voice, but it was never pleasant.
Percy tried to move, but her feet felt like concrete. Annabeth and Grover were straining too, like they were just as stuck- and Percy could see Luke, Thalia and Zoe off a short distance away trying to get to him too.
"Chiron!" Annabeth said. "Look out!"
The dracaena queen became impatient and charged. Chiron's arrow flew straight between her eyes and she vaporized on the spot, her empty armor clattering to the asphalt.
Chiron reached for another arrow, but his quiver was empty. He dropped the bow and drew his sword. And Percy knew knew he hated fighting with a sword. It was never his favorite weapon, oh he was skilled but he didn't like it.
Kronos chuckled. He advanced a step, and Chiron's horse-half skittered nervously. His tail flicked back and forth.
"You're a teacher," Kronos sneered. "Not a hero."
"Maybe not, but I've trained many great heroes and I won't stand by and allow you to kill the greatest heroes I've ever had the pleasure of training-"
"Oh I won't kill all of them," Kronos laughed, "Only those who stand between me and what I want. Olympus and my Queen."
And Percy's mind was racing- Chiron couldn't defeat Kronos, she knew that, but if she didn't do something then he'd be killed on the spot, she had to distract Kronos somehow, but she couldn't move.
But she could speak couldn't she? Maybe, just maybe there was a chance- "Bas! Bas please! It doesn't have to be like this-" and Kronos' head snapped around to look at her, and one of his eyes faded from molten gold for just a moment, after all she'd known he was keeping Alabaster alive in there, if only for the amusement of making the son of Hecate watch what he was going to do to Percy- and Alabaster was stubborn. For just a second he was distracted- and thank the gods Chiron had realised what she was doing because he struck.
It was a good manoeuvrer, a feint followed by a strike to the face. Percy couldn't have done better herself but Kronos was quick. It didn't take him long to recover his senses and he knocked aside Chiron's blade and yelled, "BACK!"
A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the centaur. Chiron flew into the side of the building with such force the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him.
Percy's cry was drowned out by Annabeth's scream of horror- understandable all things considered- as much as Annabeth's relationship with her dad had improved over the years it still wasn't perfect by anyone's standards. But Chiron? Chiron had been Annabeth's father figure since she was seven years old, he'd been the one who'd really helped her with her reading and writing. He was the one who'd cared for her and kept her safe.
If there was anyone Annabeth truly considered to be her father it was Chiron.
And the freezing spell broke and Annabeth raced towards the rubble, sobbing almost hysterically, and Thalia was by her side instantly, helping her try and pull the bricks away from the Centaur as ugly laughter ran through the Titans army.
And Percy moved towards Kronos, shaking with Fury. "I'm done with this!" she screamed the words, "I'm done with you Kronos-" and their blades met and Kronos laughed loudly.
"How does it feel knowing that your mentor is dead my Queen-"
"He's not dead! He's not" and they fought, Percy leaping backwards, their blades screeching as they slid against one another- then she ducked, the scythe swinging through the air above Percy's head, and Percy twisted under his guard, sword slashing his arm and doing absolutely nothing- that made Kronos laugh- and then Luke was by Percy's side, Episkopos flashing through the air- helping Percy catch Kronos' blade with both of their swords and forcing him backwards together before Luke had an arm around her waist and he called.
"Maia!" and then they were rising and flying backwards quickly even as Percy let out a stream of curses, struggling in her brothers arms, trying to get back to Kronos, to keep fighting, before they landed several foot away from Kronos, who let out a furious bellow.
"It's time you all learned that I take what I wan-" Kronos was cut off by an arrow hitting the back of his neck- it didn't hurt him but he closed his eyes, an annoyed look on his face as he turned his head to look back at his ranks of demigods and monsters. "Who shot that arrow?" and slowly, so very slowly the enemy forces began to part, clearing a path through the street, whispers going through them, several people looking confused as they created an aisle down the centre of Fifth Avenue.
Standing at the end of the block was a lone girl clad in a familiar silver parka, dark hair in a braid that fell over her shoulder, holding her bow at the reads, an arrow in position ready to fly with two skeletal guards clutching swords on either side of her.
"Whoops." Bianca gave a cold smile, "Did I do that? Sorry I'm late Percy. After Neeks left there was an attack, pain in the ass but dad had to fight them off-" and
Percy felt a smile spreading across her lips.
"About dam time Di Angelo-"
"Well dam you Jackson-"
"Is now the time for dam jokes?" that came from Grover, who had joined Annabeth and Thalia trying to dig Chiron out from beneath the rubble.
"Not this again." that was Zoe's voice- and the Huntress pushed her way through the crowds. "Bianca. I am glad to see you have come to your senses."
"Bia!" that came from in the lobby and Nico came sprinting out, his eyes wide- and Percy could hear Mrs O'Leary's familiar bark from inside- she could only assume that the Hellhound was being loaded up with the next load of demigods they needed to get to Camp.
He must have just gotten back from the last trip and heard the commotion.
"I see." Kronos looked incredibly annoyed, "The daughter of Hades. All of you Hades children are a pain- do you death so much you wish to experience it?"
"I mean, your death would be pretty great for us." Nico remarked, staying stood in the doorway.
"I'm immortal, you fools! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live. You are nothing little girl- you don't even know how to use your powers-"
"Maybe not as good as my brother but I wouldn't say I don't know how to use them at all." She focused and the ground rumbled, crack appeared in the road, and Nico's eyes narrowed- and the cracks widened and deepened and Percy realised that he was helping Bianca. Percy wanted to yell at him for that but she understood it- even if her brother wasn't supposed to be using his powers anymore.
And the cracks spread, across the sidewalks and up the sides of the buildings and skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands of them, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up.
"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."
The sky turned dark and cold. Shadows thickened. A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiers formed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enormous chariot roared down Fifth Avenue. It came to a stop next to Bianca. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. The chariot was inlaid with obsidian and gold, decorated with scenes of painful death. Holding the reins was Hades himself, Lord of the Dead, with Demeter and Persephone riding behind him.
Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood. On top of his pale head was the helm of darkness: a crown that radiated pure terror. It changed shape as they watched—from a dragon's head to a circle of black flames to a wreath of human bones. But that wasn't the scary part. The helm reached into peoples minds and ignited their worst nightmares, the most secret fears. Percy almost wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, and she could tell the enemy army felt the same way. Only Kronos's power and authority kept his ranks from fleeing.
Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking . . . young."
"Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."
"I'm afraid not- your attempts to keep me away seem to have failed." Hades lips twitched, "I'm here to assist my children and my young niece."
"I knew you loved me really uncle Hades-"
"Oh silence you." Hades waved a hand dismissively, "In any case, I certainly don't want her as a stepmother so I think I'll have to step in now. After all, one thing we can all agree on is that you were as bad a husband as you were a father and I quite like my young niece."
"Yes, mother often complained. No appreciation of agriculture, poor girl would suffer." Demeter muttered- and Percy let out a weak laugh as Persephone let out a long suffering sigh.
"Mother."
Hades drew his sword, a double-edged Stygian blade etched with silver that was incredibly familiar to Percy. "Now fight me! For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."
"I don't have time for this," Kronos snarled.
He struck the ground with his scythe. A crack spread in both directions, circling the Empire State Building. A wall of force shimmered along the fissure line, separating Kronos's vanguard, Percy, and her friends and family, from the bulk of the two armies.
"What's he doing?" Percy's voice was tight, slightly high with panic.
"Sealing us in," Thalia said. "He's collapsing the magic barriers around Manhattan—cutting off just the building, and us."
Sure enough, outside the barrier, car engines revved to life. Pedestrians woke up and stared uncomprehendingly at the monsters and zombies all around them. No telling what they saw through the Mist, but I'm sure it was plenty scary. Car doors opened.
Percy felt a rush of horror, turning her head slightly to look at Nico- who looked just as panicked and he gave a small nod, rushing back inside.
As he did Hades charged at the wall of force, but his chariot crashed against it and overturned. He got to his feet, cursing, and blasted the wall with black energy. The barrier held.
"ATTACK!" he roared.
The armies of the dead clashed with the Titan's monsters. Fifth Avenue exploded into absolute chaos. Mortals screamed and ran for cover. Demeter waved her hand and an entire column of giants turned into a wheat field. Persephone changed the dracaenae's spears into sunflowers. Bianca shot arrow after arrow at the enemy, leaping in front of pedestrians to try and defend them from the monsters.
But Percy was quickly distracted again by Kronos' voice. "Nakamura," Kronos said. "Attend me. Giants—deal with them. But let the daughter of Poseidon pass. She will come to me. She has no choice." then he ducked into the lobby before Percy could stop him- and she sprinted after him, Luke gripping her hand tightly as they ran- and she could hear Annabeth, Grover, Thalia and Zoe fending off the monsters that were attacking them- she knew they'd follow as fast as they could.
And by the time Percy was inside of the lobby with Luke the elevator doors were already closing and she cursed violently- but her attention was drawn to yelling- Mrs O'Leary was sat with several injured demigods already on his back but they were under attack- Nico and Leo were there, Leo tossing balls of fire at the enemies and Nico's sword sliced through them, both of them were pale- and Percy's eyes widened in shock when she saw that Paul was clutching a sword that had undoubtedly been one of the fallen demigods, and he sliced the head off of a dracaena that had tried to go for Sally who- Percy's mouth dropped open in shock and awe as she saw her mother shoot a Laistrygonian giant, the blast forcing it backwards- right into Nico's path.
"Percy! We've got this!" Sally's voice was panicked, "Go!"
And so Percy sprinted the rest of the way to the elevators, slamming the button, and she heard footsteps behind her- and as they rushed inside they were joined by Thalia, Annabeth, Leo and Grover.
