Disclaimer: I do not own Rick Riordan, the Percy Jackson books, characters, series, movies, or anything else you may recognize.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Bribery Always Works

We all gathered outside the lobby to decide what our plan of action would be. Annabeth got a bronze shield from Argus before sending him back to camp to try to defend it. She showed everyone the bronze video shield she and one of the Hephaestus kids had been working on from Daedalus' ideas that Val had improved upon. It could show the user any place in the entire world, like there were video cameras set up everywhere.

I whistled and called Mrs. O'Leary over, telling her to find Grover. She seemed to understand because she loped off, heading north.

"Percy," Annabeth said frantically, still watching the shield. "You'd better come see this."

The shield was showing the Long Island Sound, where a fleet of a dozen speedboats were racing through the dark water towards Manhattan. Each boat was packed with demigods in full Greek armor, carrying purple banners with black scythes emblazoned on them. I guessed that was Kronos' flag.

"Scan the perimeter of the island," I said and Annabeth shifted the scene south to the harbor. A Staten Island Ferry was speeding through the waves, packing with dracaenae and an entire pack of hellhounds. Telekhines swam in front of the boat. The scene shifted again to the Jersey Shore, right at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel where a hundred assorted monsters marched past lanes of traffic. There were giants with clubs, rogue Cyclops, dragons and even a WWII-ear Sherman tank. "Is the whole state asleep?"

Annabeth shook her head. "There are a lot of minor gods at work here. Morpheus must be the one putting everyone to sleep, but if you look at the Jersey highway, everyone's going as slow as a snail. That would be Kronos."

"Hecate might be helping too," Katie Gardner added. "Look, it's like everyone's getting some subconscious message to turn around. Seems like magic to me."

"Either way, Manhattan is surrounded by magic. The outside world probably doesn't realize anything wrong because any mortals coming towards Manhattan slow down or fall asleep," Annabeth explained.

"Alright," I said, once I realized that there was no way we could get outside help. We're going to hold Manhattan."

Silena tugged at her armor. "Manhattan is huge, Percy."

"We are going to hold it because we have to," I said firmly.

Annabeth nodded her agreement. "The wind gods are keeping Kronos' forces away from Olympus by air, which means they'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off all entrances to the island."

"They also have boats," Lee pointed out.

I remembered Athena's advice. "I've got that covered. What we need to focus on is guarding all the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll attack from midtown or downtown, at least on their first try. It's the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Lee, take the Apollo cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin will take the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do to keep them out. Connor, take half of the Hermes cabin to cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And let me remind you that there is no time to stop for looting and pillaging!"

The Hermes cabin made their unhappiness very clear.

"Silena, the Aphrodite cabin can take the Queens-Midtown Tunnel," I said, immediately stopping their plans of stopping in at Givenchy on the way. "Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin to Holland Tunnel. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever it takes." The Hephaestus cabin was happy for the chance to avenge the death of Beckendorf. "The 59th Street Bridge…" I was planning on assigning that to the Ares cabin, but Clarisse and her siblings had held true to their word about not helping us.

"We'll take it," Annabeth volunteered, saving me from the embarrassing silence that was starting to take over. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold your position once you're there."

"Got it," Malcolm replied, saluting his sister.

"I'll go with Percy and then we'll join you or go wherever else we're needed," Annabeth said.

"Keep in touch with cell phones," I said. "You all know Annabeth's number, so pick up a random cell phone, call us and then drop it. It'll make it harder for you to be tracked."

"Hold it, Percy," Lee said. "You forgot Lincoln Tunnel."

I cursed out loud. How could I have forgotten the Sherman tank and army of a hundred monsters coming through there? "We got it," a girl's voice said from across the street. I looked over and saw a group of about thirty adolescent girls flowering a girl with spiky black hair, a black leather jacket and a silver circlet in her hair.

"Thalia!" Annabeth shouted happily, running over to hug the daughter of Zeus. Weird. Thalia was technically Andee's aunt. Really weird.

"The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty," Thalia said as everyone exchanged hugs. The other girls really didn't like boys, like at all, but seeing as they didn't shoot us, I took it as a warm welcome.

"After all of this is over, we're all going for cheeseburgers and fries," Thalia said, grinning. "Don't forget to bring that girlfriend of yours – I've been looking forward to meeting my niece…or cousin…or whatever we're going to call her when we get her back."

I smiled. Thalia was good at getting people's spirits up. It explained why she was made Artemis' lieutenant.

"Thanks," I said, giving her another tight hug.

She shrugged. "Those monsters are going to be crying for their mommies when we're done with them. Hunters, move out!" She slapped her bracelet and her shield Aegis appeared.

We didn't have long to get everything sorted and to start defending the city. As I looked around, all of the campers looked grim but determined. Time for a pep talk. "You're the greatest heroes of this millennium and it doesn't matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, fight with pride and determination, fight for those we've lost and fight for all of our futures, and we will win." I raised Riptide into the air and shouted, "FOR OLYMPUS!"

They shouted with me and our voices echoed together. Everyone went off to their posts which left Annabeth and I to try to find our way to the rivers. Some guy was slumped on his Vespa and I figured with the bumper to bumper traffic that it would be the best way to get around. Annabeth and I carried him off to safety before getting on and speeding away. Having to maneuver around all of the sleeping pedestrians made out progress slow because we didn't want to run them over. Just as we were passing Madison Square Park, Annabeth made me pull over. She jumped off the Vespa and ran over to the statue of a guy that looked like Abraham Lincoln.

"Who's that?"

"William H. Seward," Annabeth shouted back at me. "He was a New York governor and a minor demigod son of Hebe." She stopped and pressed the top of his boot. "Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-Three. Defend Manhattan. Begin activation."

The statue came to life, jumping off his pedestal and went running off to the east. "Automatons?" I asked as she climbed back on the Vespa.

"Mhmm," she said. "They'll keep waking each other up until they've all been activated, and then they'll hopefully defend Manhattan."

That didn't seem too promising, but we had already reached Battery Park where the Hudson and East Rivers came together to empty into the bay.

"Wait here," I told Annabeth. "This shouldn't take long."

She looked hesitant but let me go anyways. I still hadn't told anyone about the curse of Achilles. It just wasn't the right time. Well, I guess right now there was never going to be a good time. I'd tell her soon enough.

I waded into the water, and as soon as I got deep enough to swim, I took off. This water could probably make you have mutant children or give you extra body parts. Definitely not a place you wanted to swim. Unfortunately, these seemed to be the only kinds of places I was swimming today.

I tried to find a place right between the two currents before shouting, "HEY! I heard you guys are so polluted you're embarrassed to show your faces. Is that true?" A cold current rushed by me. I needed to get meaner. "I heard the East River is more toxic, but the Hudson smells worse. Or is it the other way?"

I knew that these were New York river gods, so they wouldn't attack me. They'd rather get up in my face. Two giant forms began to appear in front of me, growing arms, legs and scowling faces. The one on the left looked a bit like a telekhine with a wolfish face. The one on the right was more human but dressed in rags and seaweed.

Even as the river gods tried to offend me, they just ended up insulted each other. As they floated towards each other, ready to start a fight, I decided now was a great time to step in. "Hold on, we've got a bigger problem here."

"The kid's right. Let's both kill him and then fight each other," East said.

"Sounds good," Hudson replied. I was expecting this so I quickly put up a shield as they threw broken glass, rocks and even tires at me. They glanced at each other before staring at me.

"Son of Poseidon?"

"Yup."

"Took a dip in the Styx?"

"Yup."

They both looked disgusted. "Well how do we kill him now?"

"Will you listen to me?" I demanded. "Kronos' army is invading Manhattan and you need to stop them. Drown them, sink their boats, whatever it takes. I can pay you."

Those were the key words. Now I had their full, undivided attention. They started arguing over the sand dollar I pulled out, making what they must've thought were the most lucrative offers.

"We'll compromise," I said loudly. I broke the sand dollar in half and a ripple of clean water from the break. "You each get half and in exchange, you keep all of Kronos' forces away."

The two river gods looked at each other before saying, "It's a deal." I gave them their half and they immediately started sinking enemy ships as I made my way back to the surface, ignoring their comments about how the curse of Achilles won't actually save someone. When I saw Annabeth, she was talking on the phone, her eyebrows furrowed.

"The rivers are protected," I said.

"Good, because we've got more problems. Lee just called and there's another army marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help, and Percy, the monster leading the enemy is the Minotaur – the old one."

"Just what I needed," I commented sarcastically. I did my best whistle and luckily, Blackjack answered with one of his friends. I told him we needed to get to Williamsburg Bridge and he agreed, confirming that it was a mess. On our way to the bridge, it felt like there was lead sitting in the put of my stomach. The Minotaur had almost killed my mom when I first went to camp I was hoping he'd be dead for a few centuries, but we all know what my luck is like.

It was well after midnight, which meant I had been up for a good twenty-four hours now. I knew it probably wasn't good to go into battle without any sleep, but my adrenaline was going like crazy so I knew I wouldn't crash until later.

The bridge was lit up with cars on fire, and flaming arrows and spears flying through the air. The Apollo campers were retreating to hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army.

"There!" Annabeth said, pointing to the middle of the invaders. There was the stupid Minotaur, although he had put a lot more thought into his clothes today because instead of just wearing his tightie whities, he was in full Greek armor. He seemed to know I was there because he started bellowing at the top of his lungs, picking up a limo and threw it at us.

"Blackjack, dive!" I ordered as Annabeth and Porkpie veered to the left. Blackjack tucked in his wings and plummeted downwards and we narrowly avoided getting hit by the limo. "Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo cabin. Then stay in earshot but get out of the line of fire."

No problem, boss.

As soon as our pegasi's hooves touched the pavement, we were off and fighting alongside the Apollo cabin. I landed beside Michael Yew, and his ferret-like face was covered in soot.

"How nice of you to join us," Lee called over sarcastically. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

Annabeth and I looked at each other for a moment. "We're it."

"Well, we're as good as dead," Michael said. "Ares cabin still isn't coming. We told Clarisse she could have the flying chariot but by then we had already 'offended her honor'."

"Thanks for trying," I said.

"Probably didn't help that I called her some nasty names when she still wouldn't fight," Lee said. "Watch out everyone, here come the uglies!"

Michael launched an arrow and when it landed, it let out a horribly loud noise like an electric guitar hooked up to the world's loudest speakers. "That was my last sonic arrow," he said. "If Andee were here…well, we probably would've driven them back already."

I grimaced.

"We need to fall back," Lee ordered, making the signal for those who weren't in hearing distance. "Austin and Ryan are setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," I said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Lee laughed. "And just how do you plan to do that?"

"Just…trust me. I've got a way," I said, drawing my sword. "I'll explain later if there's time. I need you three to coordinate the defensive line while I distract the monsters. You group up here and move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then start killing off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, it's you guys."

They all looked at me like I was suicidal. I wasn't. I just knew there wouldn't be any point to all of this if we all died.

"Percy, I know…I know what's going on is terrible and with Andee gone, it's just…life is unbearable right now but this is insane," Lee said. "We need you alive and well. Andee needs you alive and well."

"Lee, you've got to trust me, okay? I'll be fine," I promised. I walked right down the middle of the bridge, straight towards the enemy army. "Hey, didn't I kill you already?" I called to the monster. That seemed to piss him off. Monsters came flying at me, and every time I slice them with my sword, they disintegrated. They came at me in waves but with one roar from the Minotaur, they backed off. If he wanted to fight me one-on-one, that's how it would be.

When I saw that he had the beaded necklaces of Camp Half-Blood campers he'd defeated around the base of his axe, I was furious. I dodged his swing and sliced his axe in half. I spun and kicked him in the snout and he staggered backwards. I brought my sword down, cutting off both his horns. His rage only made him careless, and what he thought was me running away was me tricking him into charging me. He did, and that ended up with his own axe being stuck into his chest. I threw him over the side of the bridge.

The monsters stared at me in shocked silence. I decided that my odds, as bad as they were, weren't worth losing my home to. So I charged. The Apollo cabin started shooting arrows the stop the enemy from rallying and by the time they finally gained their smarts and ran away, there were only about twenty of them left.

"Pull back, we've overextended," Annabeth said. I knew she was right, but I wanted every last one of these monsters to die. The monsters started returning to their back-up – a small group of thirty or forty demigods in battle armor – led by a horseman who trotted forward, showing off his molten gold eyes.

"Yup, sounds like a plan," I said, but the horseman's men were on me. "Retreat!" I told me friends. "I can hold them."

I tried to only wound his men because they weren't monsters – they were demigods led astray. I couldn't see their faces under their helmets, but I knew some of them had probably been my friends. In a moment of distraction, I heard Annabeth cry out in pain. I knew in an instant what had happened. A demigod stood over her, and I knew he had tried to stab me. In a moment of pure luck, he had aimed for the small of my back. When I looked at the demigod closer, I saw that it was Ethan.

"Get back!" I roared, slicing the air with my sword and driving the enemy demigods away from Annabeth. "No one touches her!"

"Interesting," Kronos said, towering over me on his skeletal horse, keeping a tight grip on his scythe. "You have fought bravely, Percy Jackson, but it is time to surrender unless you want the girl to die."

Annabeth moaned a little, which I understood to mean, "Don't surrender to him".

"Blackjack!" I yelled and faster than anyone could see, Blackjack swooped in and grabbed Annabeth by the straps of her armor, flying away with her before anyone could harm her.

Kronos swung his scythe at me and I met it with Riptide. The impact shook the ground, which made Kronos smile as he observed me like a lab rat. "So you visited the River Styx, I see. If only you had been the one to supply me with my host body...but no matter. I will always be more powerful. I am a titan."

He struck the bridge with Backbiter and a wave of pure force sent me flying backwards. I took this as our cue to run for it, and as I started running with the rest of the campers, I saw huge cracks in the pavement. I got an idea and could only hope that it would work. I took out Riptide and stabbed it into the bridge, pushing it all the way down to its hilt. When I pulled Riptide back, the cracks started turning into fissures and the bridge began to shake and crumble.

"Hurry!" I yelled to my group of campers as we ran to safety. When I turned around, a fifty-foot gap stood between Kronos and us on the Williamsburg Bridge. The suspension cables were still intact, but I doubted any of his men were brave enough to use them to get across. Kronos simply smiled before raising his sword in a mock salute. "Until this evening, Percy Jackson."

That didn't bode well. I didn't have much time to dwell on it when Silena came running up to me, her eyes swollen and pink like she'd been crying. "Percy, we need a healer from the Apollo cabin at the Plaza Hotel. Annabeth's not doing well."