Hey guys, shits getting a little bit crazy this chapter, the next few chapters should be extremely interesting, I'm genuinely so excited to see peoples reactions. And you guys may remember a comment I made a little while ago and you will realise that I am truly a massive troll.
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: 23
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: 18
Daughter of Ceres: 2
Daughter of Terra: 1
When the doors slid open again the group were moving instantly, and it was a good thing too because the bridge to Olympus was dissolving. They stepped out of the elevator onto the white marble walkway and immediately cracks appeared at their feet.
"Jump!" Grover yelled the words, sprinting forward immediately, springing to the next slab of stone while the one beneath their feet tilted sickeningly. Percy let go of Luke's hand, taking a running leap, grabbing Leo and dragging him with her as she did- and she heard Thalia yelling, "I hate heights!" as she did the same.
They landed hard, Leo only just making it- and Percy heard Luke calling out, "Maia!" and she turned her head, letting out a breath when she saw Luke gripping Annabeth's uninjured arm tightly, flying them over the crack and he set her down quickly and they kept moving across the bridge- they couldn't afford to take their time, they ran across the sky bridge as more stones disintegrated and fell into oblivion.
They made it to the edge of the edge of the mountain as the final section collapsed.
They took just a moment to look back at the elevator, which was now completely out of reach—a polished set of metal doors hanging in space, attached to nothing, six hundred stories above Manhattan.
"We're marooned," Annabeth's voice was barely a whisper. "On our own."
"Blah-ha-ha!" Grover said. "The connection between Olympus and America is dissolving. If it fails—"
"The gods won't move on to another country this time," Thalia said. "This will be the end of Olympus. The final end."
"We have to stop that bastard." Luke's voice was slightly shaky.
And then they turned away and ploughed onwards through the streets Mansions were burning. Statues had been hacked down. Trees in the parks were blasted to splinters. It looked like someone had attacked the city with a giant Weedwacker,
"The Scythe." Luke's voice was grim as they followed the winding path towards the palace of the gods. "Y'know, this is my first time here, kinda wish it wasn't during a war, doesn't exactly look like I imagined."
"Let's hope you have the chance to see it in all it's glory." Percy didn't remember the road being so long. Maybe Kronos was making time go slower, or maybe it was just dread slowing her down. The whole mountaintop was in ruins—so many beautiful buildings and gardens gone.
A few minor gods and nature spirits had tried to stop Kronos. What remained of them was strewn about the road: shattered armor, ripped clothing, swords and spears broken in half.
Somewhere ahead of them, Kronos's voice roared: "Brick by brick! That was my promise. Tear it down BRICK BY BRICK!"
A white marble temple with a gold dome suddenly exploded. The dome shot up like the lid of a teapot and shattered into a billion pieces, raining rubble over the city.
"Dude." Leo's voice was horrified, "Who's temple was that?"
"Artemis' I think." Thalia's voice shook, "Zoe and Bianca would be furious."
They were running under the marble archway with the huge statues of Zeus and Hera when the entire mountain groaned, rocking sideways like a boat in a storm.
"Look out!" Grover yelped. The archway crumbled. Percylooked up in time to see a twenty-ton scowling Hera topple over- Percy would be fine, she was leading the way with Luke, but Annabeth was right beneath it- Percy let out a horrified scream but Thalia was already moving, pushing Annabeth hard- and Annabeth went down awkwardly- Percy could hear the snap of her ankle breaking- but a moment later the statue hit and the last thing Percy saw before the smoke cleared was Thalia staring up with wide terrified eyes at the statue- she heard Luke scream and they both rushed forward- and they found her still alive, Annabeth had only just missed being hit but she was clutching at her broken ankle, her face pale with pain. And Thalia was in a much worse condition, her legs were pinned under the statue, probably open- her face was white from pain. Grover tried to grab her and pull her from under it but her scream stopped him in his tracks.
Luke dropped to his knees next to her but Thalia shook her head, "No- no you guys have to go-"
"This is Hera's fault." Annabeth's voice was tight, "She's had it out for me all year. Her statue would have landed on me. And now I can't even walk- Percy-"
"Grover. Leo." Percy's voice barely trembled, "Stay with them Please-" and as she said that she met Grovers eyes, focusing on the Empathy link- and it worked because his expression turned confused as she pushed her thoughts towards Grover.
"Sever the Empathy Link Grover. I don't know how to do it-"
"What- but Percy-"
"Do it. Please. Just in case."
And Grover looked like he wanted to cry, but he gave a small nod, and she felt the connection closing off, it was painless, just like a door
in her head was shutting as she focused on the others again as Annabeth and Thalia protested.
"But-"
"Luke-"
"I know." Luke rose to his feet, turning his head, his eyes meeting Percy's. "It was always meant to be just you and me there at the end. My mother said so didn't she? You and me against the world- against the enemy-"
"Oh gods-" Annabeth was crying, "I don't want- I should be-"
"Percy I want to be there-" Leo looked heartbroken, "Don't make me stay-"
"Stay, Grover, guard them from any monsters who show up. Leo, you try and find some nectar or ambrosia" then Percy grabbed Luke's hand, forcing herself to turn her back to the others, and together and and Luke ran onwards- they could hear Kronos laughing as they approached the hall of the gods and more buildings exploded.
As they approached a fireball erupted on the side of the mountain, right near the gates of the palace.
If it was possible the siblings sped up even more, hand in hand, both of them knowing that whatever was going to happen it wasn't going to be fun- Percy could feel how tight Luke's grip on her hand was, she could see that his face was streaked with a tears, and he met her gaze as they ran. "I love you Sephie."
"I love you too Luke." Percy's voice cracked.
When they reached the palace Percy sucked in a sharp breath.
The doors of the palace were big enough to steer a cruise ship through, but they'd been ripped off their hinges and smashed like they weighed nothing. They had to
climb over a huge pile of broken stone and twisted metal to get inside.
Kronos stood in the middle of the throne room, his arms wide, staring at the starry ceiling as if taking it all in. His laughter echoed even louder than it had from the pit of Tartarus.
"Finally!" he bellowed. "The Olympian Council—so proud and mighty. Which seat of power shall I destroy first?"
Ethan Nakamura stood to one side, trying to stay out of the way of his master's scythe. The hearth was almost dead, just a few coals glowing deep in the ashes.
Hestia was nowhere to be seen. Percy was kind of relieved at that- at least she shouldn't get hurt.
Then Percy spotted the Ophiotaurus swimming in his water sphere in the far corner of the room, wisely not making a sound, but it wouldn't be long before Kronos noticed him.
Percy swallowed hard, letting go of Luke's hand, and after they exchanged a long look Luke released his own grip on Percy, unsealing Episkopos as Percy uncapped Riptide, the bronze blade glinting in the torchlight as she stepped forward, Luke just a step behind her.
Ethan was the first to see them. His eye widened and he swallowed hard. "My Lord. It is as you expected."
And Kronos turned, and he had a soft smile on his lips when his eyes alighted on Percy- it reminded herof when she'd first met Alabaster, the smile he'd given her, back before she'd learned that her so called friend was truly the worst monster of them all. "As I expected. You come to me at the last." he held out his free hand, tilting his head slightly, golden eyes glowing. "I will end this now, become my Queen and help me take Olympus and-"
"Shut up and fight me." Percy's voice barely wavered, "I'm done living with fear of the two of you. I'm done." that was a lie- she was terrified. But maybe if she lied well enough she'd believe herself.
"I see." Kronos let out a long suffering sigh, "You truly are stubborn. But that will make my victory even sweeter-"
"Uh huh-"
"I shall be merciful." Kronos' Scythe shifted, transforming and morphing into a familiar blade and Percy breathed slowly, "Alethea's Bane-"
"What?" Luke's voice was incredulous, "You're telling me Kronos' Scythe is literally named-"
"Yes Luke. Alabaster named the sword that was forged into the Scythe after me."
"Once I have defeated you I will take you as my bride- willing or not." Kronos' voice was dark and threatening- and then they clashed- Kronos came at her like a whirlwind and Percy slashed and rolled- and Kronos was definitely not holding back now- she felt like she was fighting a hundred swordsmen. And to make matters worse Ethan ducked to one side trying to get behind her- though Percy noticed Luke intercepting him, their blades clashing with a familiar clang as the two fights raged.
Percy held up pretty well but Kronos was going all out, and he was backing her up towards one of the thrones, clearly planning on pinning her in- it was Hephaestus' throne- a huge mechanical La-Z-Boy type thing covered with bronze and silver gears. Kronos slashed, and Percy managed to jump straight up onto the seat. The throne whirred and hummed with secret mechanisms. Defence mode, it warned. Defence mode.
Percy blinked, letting out a panicked yelp- she'd seen some of Leo's trap, no way did she want to be caught in one of Hephaestus' defences. She jumped straight over Kronos's head as the throne shot tendrils of electricity in all directions. One hit Kronos in the face, arcing down his body and up his sword.
"ARG!" He crumpled to his knees and dropped Alethea's Bane.
Unfortunately the yell distracted Luke- who turned his head to look and see what had happened- and Ethan managed to get in close, sword piercing through Luke's shoulder- Percy's eyes widened in horror and she let out a scream, rushing forward as Ethan jerked his blade free, punching Luke hard in the face and kneeing him in the gut before Luke had time to react, sending Luke stumbling backwards even as Ethan snatched Episkopos from Luke's grip- and Luke grunted as he hit the ground hard.
And Percy was rushing Ethan but he turned in time to meet her, catching Riptide with Episkopos, and they fought, Ethan was surprisingly good with two swords but Percy had fought against enemies with two swords before, and she twirled and spun, careful to never give him access to her back- and all the while she caught glimpses of Kronos- he was in a pretty rough condition as he rose onto his knees. His hair smoldered. His face was covered with electrical burns. He reached for his sword, but this time it didn't fly into his hands. Percy felt oddly satisfied at that, though she knew it wouldn't stop him for long.
Then she focused on Ethan again, a sneer on her lips. "Tell me Ethan. Is it everything you imagined it would be?" She demanded, "The end of the world and you caused it-"
"I-"
"No, no you did-" Percy kicked him backwards and both swords flew from his grip, skidding across the floor of the throne room as he hit the ground, and he scrambled to his feet quickly as Percy advanced, "You did this Ethan. You swore yourself to him. Are you happy now?" and Percy was startled to see a flicker of hesitation in his eye.
"Sephie be careful!" Luke's voice was strained- he'd managed to push himself up so that he was sitting but his wound was bleeding heavily.
"There is no throne to Nemesis," Ethan muttered. "No throne to my mother."
"That's right!" Kronos tried to get up, but stumbled. Above his left ear, a patch of brown hair still smoldered. "Strike them down! They deserve to suffer."
"You said your mom is the goddess of balance," Percy's voice was quiet, her eyes glued to Ethan's. "The minor gods deserve better, Ethan, but total destruction isn't balance. Kronos doesn't build. He only destroys. This isn't the way to fix things."
And in Ethan's eye Percy saw something- something shifting, and then he rushed at Percy, and Percy barely had time to react as he ripped Riptide from her grip, and she stumbled backwards, too startled to do anything more than cry out as Kronos let out a loud triumphant laugh.
"You see Persephone! Nothing you say or do will sway my followers! I will win. Surrender now and things will be easier for you."
