AN: Warning, this chapter gets bloody so if you have a weak stomach be warned.
Son of the Moon
Chapter 56
-Percy-
The ground rumbled beneath their feet, dust and pebbles falling from Zeus' fist as even the surface world felt the imminent arrival of the Titan army. Around them, demigods hurried to set up any potential last-minute defenses. The area around Zeus' fist had been cleared away and filled with every manner of trap possible, a wall built around the field with each tower and parapet manned by a child of Apollo or Huntress of Artemis. "They're coming!" Percy shouted, his voice carrying as he stood on the walkway of the wall, armed with a bow and standing beside Chiron and Daedalus who were likewise equipped for war. "Ready your arrows!" as he spoke, Percy drew a very special arrowhead that had bene prepared by the Hephaestus cabin for him to use, one which contained an exorbitant amount of Greek fire.
They had been back at the camp for a maybe six hours at best, the Labyrinth having done its best to give his party a straight shot back to camp while hindering and confusing the Titan forces but only so much was possible. Another boom shook the structure as the mark of Daedalus began to glow. "Hold!" Percy shouted again, seeing the fear in the hearts and eyes of his fellow demigods, "Hold and wait for my order! Anyone who loses their arrows before I give the command will be stuck with latrine duty for a month!" he had to keep calm, he couldn't show his fear, he had to act like they were without a doubt going to win. If he showed fear then they would drown in it and the battle would be lost.
Boom. The entrance to the Labyrinth began to crack, the blue delta growing brighter and brighter.
Boom. Chips and pieces began falling inward as the entrance started to open.
Boom. There was now a small hole so Percy loosed his Greek fire arrow into the slot. It must have exploded as Green flames billowed up from the entrance, mixed with the screams of dying men and monsters. The entrance fully opened to show more and more flames. "First wave, loose!" Percy ordered as those armed with arrows tipped with more Greek fire and containers of oil sent their shafts flying into the opening, more explosions carrying out from the dying forces.
Sadly, it was too much to ask for that to be enough. He saw Gegeines, swarms of them, throwing themselves atop the burning swath of Greek fire, their deaths turning their body into thick mud which coated the flames. Bit by bit they smothered the first trap till it was all gone. With the fire out of the way, the forces began pouring from the tunnel in mass, right into the second trap. As soon as the first demigod got a few steps away from the tunnel, the ground broke beneath their feet and dropped them into a pit of spikes. Momentum carried more forward, as well as the army pushing at their backs as hundreds more perished. Monsters merely burst into dust but the mortals, legacies, and demigods? Their corpses filled the pit bit by bit until the army was walking forward atop the perforated bodies of their comrades.
"The pit is almost full!" Percy shouted, dropping his bow and picking up his sword, "Brothers and Sisters of camp Half-Blood!" Percy's voice carried over the screams of the dying men in the pit as the enemy grew ever closer, "Hear my words! We will drive these bastards from our home!" a few demigods gave a shout at his words, others trembling in fear "They will not take us!" a few more shout, rallying to his words, "Heed these orders! If I charge, follow me! If I flee, end me. And if I fall, avenge me!" his markings began to glow as he lifted Anaklusmos to the heavens, the sword from his sister. With a battle cry, Percy leapt from the ramparts towards the coming army.
Behind him, the fear of his comrades had turned to rage. Rage at the thought of these monsters and traitors coming to their home and killing their family. More and more thuds sounded out as his melee fighters leapt from the ramparts to join him as he continued this charge. Percy didn't even wait for the enemy army to finish filling the pit. Getting to the edge, he leapt forward, flying through the air as his blade sang, slashing through flesh and bone alike as the mortal mercenary's simple bullet proof vest showed itself as inefficient armor to stop the celestial bronze blade of a demigod.
A dracaena hissed in his face now that he was in their midst, her fangs dripping with venom only to let out a strangled gurgle as an arrow pierced her throat, the shaft easily recognized as one of Bianca's. Smirking at the sight, Percy kept pushing forward, sword and shield dripping with blood. Around him, the pit had bene filled in letting the two forces finally clash, fighting atop the blood slicked field of corpses.
Beside him, Nico swung his hooks, tearing flesh and bone from his enemies as the son of Hades began to give of energy akin to smoke and shadow. "Keep them off me!" Nico shouted out, sweat beading his brow as more and more energy was being poured into whatever the demigod was doing.
"Form ranks!" Clarisse shouted out, several of her siblings forming a shield wall around Nico to buy the Ghost King time to work. The moment's distraction cost Percy though as an arrow struck his face, carving a path through his cheek as the deep furrow began bleeding. Refocusing on the battle, Percy snarled and stabbed the demigod who had shot him, his blade piercing the man's face and going out the back, gravity as the body went limp doing the rest of the work as flesh slid down from the blade and the body hit the ground.
"Keep fighting!" Percy shouted, doing his best to rally his troops even as more and more enemies poured from the Labyrinth. Most of the monsters of the world would be on Gaea's side and even if they weren't all in this army it would still supply her forces with thousands upon thousands of enemies. Then there were the mortals. Demigods, legacies, clear sighted mercenaries, and those who had their minds forcibly opened to the world of magic. High in the trees above them, the crows cawed, voicing noisy complaints at the battle raging and delaying their carrion feast.
Gritting his teeth, Percy took the club slam of a cyclops on his shield, pushing back to stagger the beast and let him slay it. Around him, more and more of his people were beginning to falter. They slowed from exhaustion, from wounds, and from horror at the battle around them while the enemy forces continued to spew fresh warriors at them. The security harpies did their best to help, picking up what wounded they could to take them behind the wall for treatment and maybe to be able to return to the fight. But for every demigod rescued, it wasn't rare to see another perish.
Spinning to clear the monsters surrounding him, Percy saw a Harpy carrying away a child of Demeter, no more than twelve or thirteen, only for an arrow from the enemies to pierce the Harpy's head, dropping the demigod, Percy's family to their death, the sickening crunch he knew must have occurred lost in the din of battle.
More Cyclopes began to emerge from the tunnels, far larger than the ones he had been fighting and carrying loads of rocks. These weren't soldiers, these were walking siege engines. The brutes roared, hurling their stones at the wall where there weren't demigods, manning the field. The archers manning the parapets screamed and did their best to avoid the boulders but not all made it. He saw several limbs stick out of the rubble, one of them dropping a silver bow.
"The breach!" a Dracaena hissed, pointing its spear at the hold in the wall, "To the breach! Hold them back and swarm!"
More and more monsters began pouring from the tunnel, leaving a lesser force to continue fighting Percy's family as by now more and more were retreating and being evacuated. At this point, the only ones left on the field were himself, Nico, Clarisse, and those from her shield wall still alive. The archers on the ramparts fired continuously, hoping to stem the tide and stop the horde from passing over the rubble of the breach and into the camp proper but it wasn't enough.
Percy could do nothing but grit his teeth and pray for a miracle as he defended those at his side. Everyone stilled for a split moment when the ground began to rumble again, louder this time and coming towards them at a blistering pace…from behind?
A furious cry filled the air as nature's wrath burst through the breach. He saw thick tree roots snaking in and out of the ground, led by enraged Dryads. He saw the Naiads of the creek and the sea screaming their rage at those who dared to attack their home. The force that had swarmed towards the breach were slammed back by the furious wall of water and wood, many dying on impact while others were perforated, used as puppets by the wood imbedded into their bodies and forcing them to fight their comrades.
The triumphant cheer of those still fighting was drowned out by Nico's roar as the son of Hade's power exploded outward, the sound of flesh ripping filled the air as the corpses around them bulged, bones bursting out as they began to fly together, forming a golem from th bones of their enemies, the corpses of his their family remaining untouched. The massive construct of ivory roared as it began helped the push of the nature spirits against the enemy forces. The monsters and mortals around them were slaughtered with ease as the golem ran off towards the bulk of the horde, leaving Percy and his allies a moment to catch their breath. Nico was breathing heavy and only the strong hands of the children of Ares kept him from collapsing onto the field of blood and flesh.
"Get him out of here!" he ordered a Harpy as they took the barely conscious brother of his love away from the field of battle. Looking at the children of Ares he was about to ready them for another push when Zeus' fist began to shake again. Those from the titan forces that had been retreating to the tunnels were thrown skyward as Kampe herself forced the tunnel open wider and crawled out, another wave of fresh enemies coming with her.
"By the gods." Percy breathed out, readying his weapons even as Kampe began hacking at the nymphs with her poisoned blades.
"Children of Ares, fall back." A new voice spoke up as Daedalus was now at his side, gleaming bronze sword ready "Perseus and I will handle this." Clarisse was too tired to argue, knowing they needed to regroup as she and her siblings fell back, the Harpies carrying them over the wall. "We need to close the Labyrinth." Daedalus told him seriously, "It's the only way."
"How?" Percy got his sword ready as they advanced, cutting at the forces that had come with Kampe.
"When I die…the labyrinth will seal. Its consciousness will fade away." Daedalus scowled and readied his greatsword, "I do not trust the gods Perseus, I place my faith in man. Look after mankind for me Perseus, don't let us down." Without giving him a chance to respond, Daedalus gave a cry and charged at Kampe, surprising the warden of Tartarus. The oldest living son of Athena swung his sword wildly, carving gouges in her armor and a tear in her wings before she snarled and pierced him through with her poisoned blades. "H-hah!" Daedalus spat out even as the ground began to rumble, "For…man!" with a snarl, Daedalus pulled himself further onto Kampe's sword to be able to spit his lifeblood into her face as his body finally went limp, the rumble becoming a small earthquake, one Percy was positive was felt all over the world as the Labyrinth was sealed. The Titan forces still down there would starve in the tunnels and while the monster portion would reform it would take time.
"No!" Kampe roared when she realized what had just happened, the wild animals at her waist roaring in matched displeasure. Her furious swing ended the lives of dozens of nature spirits. "Archers, loose!" Percy cried, charging at the remaining horde, knowing that even without the Labyrinth that Kampe could still be enough of a threat to make them loose this battle.
"Hey Kampe!" He shouted, getting her attention as she locked eyes with him, "Remember me?" she screamed and slammed her giant scimitar down at him as he leapt to the side, dirt, blood, and monster dust flying up from the impact even as Nico's golem continued to try and kill her, the horde being picked off by the archers and nymphs.
"You shall suffer!" Kampe raged, lost to her bloodlust as her scorpion's tail impaled Nico's golem and began smashing it against the ground as the bone body began shattering and falling apart. Dodging around her slashes, Percy staggered back as one massive blow he was forced to block ripped his shield away from his arm and caused the bone to at the very least crack. Gritting his teeth, Percy ducked under a slash and stabbed Riptide into a giant arm only for Kampe to reel back, taking his weapon with her.
Left with nothing but his fists, Percy leapt up, snarling as Kamp's feral waist heads grabbed onto him, their fangs biting into his flesh as he screamed. "You will not take my home!" the wind began to howl around him, rain and lightning forming as Percy commanded a miniature hurricane.
"The Titans shall prevail!" Kampe snarled even as she reached down to grab at him, her hands wrapping around his throat and body to squeeze while he feral heads at her waist continued to bite down, "You shall all submit to the will of the Earth Mother!"
"Not…today…bitch!" Percy choked out as the sky roared and his storm acted as a lightning rod, drawing the massive bolt from the heavens down as it struck himself and Kampe the monster lighting up like a Christmas tree even as Percy's vision swam black. As he fell amidst blood and monster dust, his last sights were the remaining Titan forces on the field being overrun by his family and the spirits.
It was the smell that woke up first. The overly clean sterile smell that only a medical ward could have. With his mind awoken though his body became aware of the pain that racked every inch of him. A ragged groan escaped his lips as Percy tried to sit up, eyes locked on the white ceiling. Feeling the hair in his eyes, Percy reached up to brush it away only for his arms to not move. Frowning, and wondering if they were in a medical brace, Percy looked down and went still. The pain went from his mind as a ragged scream left his lips. His arms weren't there, where he had once had limbs was nothing but empty space.