The elevator dinged, and Clytius stepped back.
"Leo!" Hazel yelled.
Leo quickly threw a screwdriver at the Elevator of Death, past the silently menacing giant and hoped for the best. If this didn't work, he would never forgive himself.
He could have wept with relief when the doors open spilling dark mist into the House of Hades.
The three figures who stepped out were not who he expected, "Oh Hades." Is that a tiger?
Hazel whimpered quietly, Gale the polecat screeched on her shoulder. She realized that all that effort was for nothing. Their friends didn't make it. Just as Leo was thinking about how they will have to make their last stand something unexpected happened.
Clytius looked surprised but didn't get a moment to speak before the giant slapped into him. The shorter one stumbled a step but then after a second lunged at one chain on his left with a- what is that- a broom. In the dim light, something glistened off the broom shaft and there was the sound of the chain snapping. The Elevator to Doom and Back (as Leo had called it in his head) shuddered.
The tiger for a second looked to be made of bones. After a glint of tusks, Leo realized it was a sabre-tooth tiger. Seeing an opening. the tiger pounced on Clytius. The tiger annoyed the giant. The giant tried shaking the tiger off his leg but the other giant kept making it hard to balance. Leo wanted to laugh. He thought this is what Percy must have looked like when carrying Juno across the little Tiber, all gangly and squatting trying not to drop the cargo and keep balance.
Leo and Hazel weren't sure what to do, so they backed away in case the new arrivals would turn on them afterward.
Dark mist was emerging from around Clytius as he tried to get this new arrival off him but not before the smaller giant snapped the remaining chain. The doors of the elevators slammed shut and the elevator itself disappeared.
"No!" The House of Hades shook with the ghostly voice, Clytius glared at the big giant who opposed him. "Damasen, why do you fight me? I know Iapetus is useless now, but I expected better from you. Let me help you prove yourself to our mother! We are on the same side, you ungrateful titan! You dare oppose your parents?" The voice was chilling it seemed to echo from around the chamber.
The fog neared Leo and Hazel, but Clytius seemed too preoccupied with the giant. Now the skeletal tiger had made it on top of Clytius' head which looked ridiculous since Clytius was grappling with Damasen like those wrestlers you see on TV.
"I have been disobeying our parents for a great deal of time now. I do not intend to stop now." The larger one said in reply. He was still grappling with Clytius.
The smaller giant paused, not sure if to help him then turning around he headed for Hazel and Leo. Uh-oh. Hazel tensed and got ready to weave the Mist but hesitated. On second thought, Leo could totally take the small one, compared to Clytius, the smaller one seemed less terrifying.
"You are Percy's friend's yes?"
That surprised them. Not the opening line they were preparing for. Wearily, they nodded.
"Percy and Annabeth sent us to help. Small Bob, Damasen and I are good friends of Percy and Annabeth. They said for me to tell you: 'we demand they kick podex'."
Leo's first thought was, "Small Bob?"
Bob the giant indicated the skeletal sabre-tooth tiger. Oh, that explains that I guess, Leo thought, If only Damasen was called Large Bob, that would complete the set.
Hazel wasn't distracted, "What happened to them?"
"Someone had to press the button, they were true heroes." At that Hazel stifled a sob. Bob looked down and quickly continued sadly, "They said we were needed for the war effort."
Well, that sounded like the foolishly heroic things they would do. Leo still couldn't believe Percy would let Annabeth stay with him; or Annabeth Percy. Leo knew how loyal he was, but, maybe, just maybe his time with the Romans changed him. It sounded like just the sort of duty-obsessed thing the Romans would do. Maybe Frank thought him something after all. Still, whatever it was, it cost them two of his friends. Annabeth wouldn't want to be separated after so long, but still, this was not what they expected. How in the Hades were they to fulfill the prophecy now?
Meanwhile, giants were still talking. "You cannot kill me," Clytius said smugly.
"Neither can you, brother." To emphasize his point, Damasen punched Clytius with his elbow.
"Actually big guy we can. All we need is a god and a demigod working together." Leo piped up uneasily as he backed away from the menacing fog. Leo kind of felt better that the giants were on their side, though and he was starting to feel twitchy. He really wanted to hit something now after the news he just got. From a quick glance at Hazel, it looked like Hazel shared his opinion, her fingers were curled into fists.
"Well, let's see if a titan or a giant can stand in the place of a god," Damasen told him.
"And titan!" Bob added. He was eager to show off his skills. Small Bob agreed with a rumbling purr, or was that just the sound of bones rubbing?
"While that is good news I'm afraid that this is not your fight." Leo turned and saw Hecate. "You may not be their enemy, but Clytius can only be defeated by fire. This would be my role, but the demigods have yet to finished their part." As she said that she looked at Hazel. "Release Clytius, Damasen. This is not your fight."
This distracted Damasen for a second, and it was enough for Clytius to break the stalemate with Damasen. He brought his hands up to break his hold at the same time as pushing Damasen back. As he stumbled, Clytius brought down his hands together on Damasen's head effectively knocking the big fella out. When he got out of the Doors the group already looked like they went through something but Damasen until then held his own.
Leo had been feeling kind of useless but he finally saw his chance to chuck some fireballs up some giant's nose. He was soon corrected on that front as he tried to channel a column of fire at Clytius only to have him absorb it and Leo. Oops. On the list of smart ideas, his actions might not have been the cleverest. When something is advertised as all-consuming you would think that maybe they should have been ready for that one. The dark mist engulfed him. For a moment it was lights out for Leo.
Then the next moment he could breathe and see.
"'Wh-what…?" he said. He found himself to be standing in a different place than before. Around him was white mist. In front of him was Bob. For a second there, he panicked not remembering what was happening and why a buff Einstein was standing protectively over him. Oh right. Titan. Good to know. Being babysat by a titan named Bob totally doesn't make me feel useless, not at all; thanks for asking.
He saw that Hazel and Hecate chatting up the giant about what happened but Hazel just told him to stay in the white mist. Given her expression, he decided not to question her orders further. "Good to know, white mist good, dark mist bad." He felt a lot better at least knowing that the giant and the titan were on their side but Hecate was stalling. Curse the gods and their need to test the worthiness of demigods. He would have thought that at this point the Seven had proven themselves but apparently not.
As the fight progressed Clytius, the usual thing at this point and saying how Gaea needs them as sacrifices, etcetera, etcetera. Damasen and Bob were like 'bring it on'.
Clytius was clearly trying to act all macho with his Stygian iron sword even though the odds were not in his favour. His sword was cool and Leo would totally look into getting some of that to work in the forges. Or at least make something for Hazel later since she's a child of Pluto.
Leo and Bob occasionally trying to slow him down while Hazel was his main opponent. Leo's fire wasn't doing much damage, he counted all his moves and Bob got him out of the dark mists' range in time.
Then when Clytius insulted their friends, Hazel lost it. She screamed, and as they ducked away from the giant, gems struck Clytius from every direction. He screamed as he bled ichor.
"That's for Percy, Nico, Annabeth," her knees shook, in anger or exhaustion Leo couldn't tell, but Hazel stood standing, "That's for destroying my father's altar!"
The giant was peppered with holes from the gem-missiles. Growling he yelled, "Worthless child-"
"Worthless? I think not. There are tricks that I did no teach her." Hecate looked pleased. That's right! Leo thought, All hail Hazel, Queen of Gems!
From there, things continued in a typical fashion: insert giant's boasts, goddess being really unhelpful, and as usual, the demigods end up having to cross their fingers and hope the gods would keep them alive. Leo was questioning again why they even bothered to help the gods. Hazel just looked at him and said that it was Hazel's dad's crib, and so her choice.
Luckily, Hecate helped Hazel in her fight occasionally. When Hazel was losing steam, suddenly the rest of their friends popped in. All cool and suave Jason said "Sorry we're late. This the guy who needs killing?" He looked questioningly at their odd assembly of allies but presented a unified front in front of Clytius. Leo tried to signal, We'll talk later.
In that instance, Bob seemed to think Hecate wouldn't mind more of their intervention because he charged back into battle not just supporting Leo. Leo followed his lead. Now, this, this is good, no way Clytius can absorb his flames when he's weak and distracted.
When the final blow, or rather blast of flames, from Hecate's torches, set the giant's hair on fire, Leo was glad that that was over. The giant body fell and disintegrated on the remnants of the altar. Very appropriate, Leo thought, let it be a sacrifice to Hades, he will love that. Some godly friends would be mighty helpful.
Of course, Hecate took all the credit for Hazel's work. Surprise, surprise. Hazel's breathed raggedly in the quiet chamber. Hecate got to the point fairly quickly, "Hazel Levesque, take your friends away from here. I cannot advise as to your new allies," she glanced as the Damsen, Bob and Small Bob, "that is another one of your crossroads. You need to decide on your own."
Hazel was definitely feeling unappreciated by the looks of it and underwhelmed. So much for good advice. She did most of the work. Hazel ran and played Pasiphaë's gauntlet, she used the maze and her expectation against her. She was breathed raggedly and Leo thought about passing her some ambrosia. He saw her get slammed into a wall earlier and by how she moved, she definitely hurt something. Well, at least Hazel was free of that pole-cat, as Gale went back to her mistress.
"Do not look to me for gratitude daughter of Pluto. Make your way to Athens. We will see what will result of your work. All the giants have risen, they are stronger than ever. Let's not allow Gaea to make a joke of the Feast of Hope, make sure she is stopped." With that, she vanished as did the mist.
Frank ran and hugged Hazel.
The Necromanteion grew unsteady, more stela fell down around them.
Leo forced a joke, "she must be a joy at group projects."
The crew of the Argo II looked at the two giants and pet sabertooth tiger.
"Do you mind explaining?" Jason asked.
Surprisingly Nico was the one to answer. "This is Bob, and…"
"Damasen," Bob said indicating the giant and then pointed proudly at the sabre-tooth tiger, "and Small Bob."
"He is my friend. He helps around Hades' Palace," Nico said. "What happened?"
"They needed someone to press the elevator button for twelve minutes. They sent us instead of going ahead. They trusted that we were needed more than they were," Damasen answered bowing his head in respect. "They are true heroes. My counterpart, Mars, would approve of their actions. They told us to tell you they demand you kick podex."
Nico looked shattered, and Jason looked like he wanted to give him a pat on the shoulder but held back. What's that about? Jason's been real protective of Nico lately, Leo thought.
"We have to leave," Jason said, reminding them of the chamber falling apart around them, "Frank.."
"I'm out of favours from the dead," Frank replied.
"Wait, what?" Hazel gave her a questioning look.
"Your unbelievably awesome boyfriend called in some favours with the dead, as a son of Mars. They led us here… through the dark passages," Piper told her.
Seeing the room become more unstable Hazel looked to Nico telling him they needed to shadowtravel.
"There is no way I can shadowtravel this many people and with...," Nico sentence trailed off while looking at Damasen, Bob, and Small Bob.
"No need, we will find our way," Damasen said, "We know how you smell, we will find you."
Not creepy at all, Leo thought. He really hoped this alliance worked out because otherwise they would more monsters chasing them.
"And I'll help you, Nico," Hazel replied to Nico. With her newfound powers, she looked like she could do anything.
"Grab hands!" Nico yelled. Then he turned to Damasen, Bob and Small Bob, "We will see you above ground."
They quickly formed a circle. Leo felt himself melt into shadows and they were off to the Greek countryside above.
A/N: Some lines used from House of Hades. I tried not to go over everything that's already in the book beyond the bare minimum. It will be different after this point, I think.
I hope this answers the question of the likelihood of this being possible (I mean, Nico is like right there, no way is he allowing Bob to get killed by the rest of the seven). As much as I'm a Percabeth shipper, Percy's fatal flaw is glaringly obvious. Sure, he's loyal to Annabeth, but after SoN and MoA, I would think he would realize that he has other friends to think of too. Sure maybe Dark!Percy would just say to Hades with it as long as he had Annabeth, but even if he acted in vengeance, the best vengeance against Gaea would be to defeat her. The best they could hope for is to get into Elysium (at that moment when they decided). Annabeth is smart, she loves Percy but she wouldn't allow emotion to overside her decision on such an important decision. The Seven already assembled so they can check that off the prophecy but since they also just checked off "foes bear arms to the doors of death"...
Anyway, let me know what you think about the chapter and just the whole idea.