About an hour earlier…

Charlie pulled his sword from the last dolphin man and it disintegrated. He checked his body for wounds. He sighed in relief. Just a few cuts.

A sudden voice rang out in the clearing, making Charlie jump. "Well done. Your father taught you well."

Charlie clenched his fists. He knew that voice. He turned around and glared at the source of the voice: Chysaor. He was standing on the other side of the clearing along with about a dozen dolphin men and several hellhounds.

"What's with the backup? Too scared to face me yourself?" Charlie taunted. Maybe not the best course of action right now, but if he could take down Chrysaor then the dolphin men might back off.

"Ha! Don't make me laugh. No, I am not scared. When your father was your age, I beat him without batting an eye. I have no reason to think you are any different. Kill him." that last line was directed at the monsters.

They charged and Charlie got into a fighting position. He stabbed the first dolphin man through the stomach, then cut out to the side slicing another one in half. He spun and blocked an attack from a third one.

He continued in that manner until all that was left were piles of monster dust around him. He turned towards Chrysaor. "Impressive, but I am a better swordsman than all of those things combined." And then he lunged.

Charlie managed to raise his sword to block. They were locked at the hilts for a moment, and then Charlie tried to sweep his opponent's legs. Chrysaor leaped back, dodging.

Charlie was the one who lunged this time. He slashed his sword, trying to cut Chrysaor in half. He blocked and tried to counter-attack. They went back and forth for several minutes.

Charlie got a lot from his dad, but he got more from his mom. One of the things he got from his mom was her analytical mind. As they were fighting, Charlie was learning Chrysaor's attack patterns.

He used this to his advantage, baiting an attack he knew he could counter. When Chrysaor swung his blade, Charlie rolled to the side and came up, stabbing Chrysaor in the gut.

Chrysaor choked. "Huh… you got me…" he sounded surprised. Then it hit him, "your… mother's doing… no doubt…" He coughed. Charlie was breathing heavily. He pulled his sword out of Chrysaor.

"Damn… straight." He told him, panting.

Chrysaor laughed weakly. "I got… a gift from… my mother… too…" he coughed again. "I… am going… to Tartarus… I will… RISE… again… and get… my revenge…" he broke down into a coughing fit.

When he was done, he looked Charlie straight in the eye. "But this… will do for now." he stabbed up with his sword, hitting Charlie in the chest. Charlie screamed in pain. "I would say… see you in hell… but we are going… to vastly different… places…" Chrysaor began laughing, getting progressively weaker until he died and turned into dust.

Charlie clutched his chest and fell to the ground. The last thing he saw before blacking out was his sister running towards him, calling his name.

Charlie found himself in the ruins of Mt. Othrys again. This was a different area than when he had been there earlier though. The area around him had cages. In two of them were his parents.

They were in bad shape. His father was lying on the ground, unconscious. He was covered in cuts and bruises. His cage and clothes were covered in blood. His mom wasn't doing much better, but at least she was awake.

In another cage was a Latino man with curly hair. He was also awake and his hands were on fire, trying to burn his way through his cage. In the cage next to his was a woman with caramel hair and a fair face was sitting cross-legged.

She had her eyes closed but opened them after a moment. "It worked! Leo, put that fire out. The cages have obviously been fire-proofed."

The man known as Leo sighed but did as she asked. "Stupid cages and their stupid fire-proofing."

"I thought you would appreciate the engineering."

"Well, I would, except that we are currently trapped inside. I'll admire it after we get out."

The woman rolled her eyes. She turned to Charlie. "Now, child, I have called your… soul? Spirit? Whatever, I have called you here in order to give you some information."

Charlie jumped. "Me? You're the one who called me here?"

She nodded. "Yes. I'm a sorceress, it's some of what I do. Now, you see that we are trapped here, yes?" Charlie nodded. "Good, this location is near the ruins of the old throne room. Be careful though. Polybotes and Enceladus guard this room. You will have to beat them but to do so, you must get the aid of a god."

"Why? Can't we beat them on our own?" he asked

She shook her head. "No. They are giants, the youngest children of Gaea. only a god and a demigod working together can defeat them."

Charlie nodded in understanding. His mother stirred. "Who are you talking to?"

Calypso turned to her. "A young demigod that has been injured. While he was asleep, I pulled him here in order to talk to him. I must say, he is unlike any demigod I have ever seen. It seems like he is a legacy."

Charlie's mother suddenly sat up straight. "What does he look like?" Calypso described charlie. His mom mouthed his name. "Is he still here?"

Calypso nodded. "Yes, but not for long." She was right. Charlie would feel himself waking up.

She looked around desperately. "Charlie! Whatever you do, whatever happens, know that we love you, okay? You and your sister! We love y-" she was cut off as Charlie woke up.