Welcome to the next chapter! This will explain why this person is here, but don't let the news sadden you. This chapter shall have a MAJOR cliffie! Enjoy!
Annabeth fainted as soon as she saw me. I didn't blame her. Hades had brought me back just so I could fight in the battle. I would have to go back to being dead afterward. No doubt Annabeth wouldn't like that.
Thalia caught Annabeth before she hit the ground, but as soon as she saw me, she fainted too. Gods, what was with girls and fainting?
Poseidon, who was standing behind them, caught them both, but then he fainted. Gods! They all fell to the ground. Poseidon immediately got up and ran towards me. "What the fruitcake?" he exclaimed.
I clapped my head to my forehead. What was with gods and fruitcakes? "Oh my Titans," Poseidon said, looking stunned. "Brother, you brought him back?"
"Only for the battle," Hades said sourly. "Why does everyone think I'm getting sentimental when I bring one person-"
"Three people," Athena interrupted. She was beside Poseidon, wearing full Greek battle armor. "Your daughter, my daughter, and him." She pointed at me.
"No wonder," Hades said. "I can't risk bringing anyone else back, or everybody will think I'm sentimental."
"Relax," Athena said sweetly, pinching Hades' cheek affectionately. He looked unnerved. My dad and I just stared. What in Tartarus was she thinking?
I was thinking something along the lines of a new affair on Olympus when there was a flash and Athena became Persephone, who giggled. The real Athena came up behind her, grabbing her shoulders. She looked like she was going to yell at Persephone for impersonating her, but Hades snapped his fingers. "Hands off!" Athena's hands just lifted off Persephone's shoulders.
"O-kay," I murmured. "I'll just stay out of this." Hades and Persephone were glaring at Athena, and she was glaring back. I left before things could get violent. Annabeth and Thalia were still lying on the ground, unconscious. I took both of their wrists and dragged them off.
Behind me, I heard a scream and a roar. I winced. Thalia opened her eyes. "Oh my gods," she said, getting up. "You're alive!" She gave me an awkward hug.
"Yep," I said grimly. "I'm back, for now."
Her expression darkened. "What do you mean, for now?"
"Hades only let me come back for the battle," I said. Thalia gasped. "I have to go back to the Underworld after."
"Annabeth won't like that," said Thalia, blinking. I could have sworn that her eyes were wet. She turned away. Annabeth got up, a moment I had been dreading. I would have to tell her.
"Percy!" she cried. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me.
Now, I had no problem with that, but I knew someone else who would. "Oh damn," I said under my breath after breaking away from her. Athena and Poseidon were right behind Annabeth.
I readied myself to get blasted back to the Underworld, but nothing happened. Athena was staring in absolute, complete shock, and my dad had an eyebrow raised. I groaned. I probably would never hear the end of it from him. Or my mom, once she found out.
Annabeth turned to see what I was staring at, and just about jumped out of her shoes. She looked at the ground guiltily. Poseidon gestured. "Perseus, come with me."
He led me to a secluded spot inside a white building. "Of all the girls in the world," he started. "Why her?"
I stayed silent.
"All right," he said, looking disappointed. "You better get ready for the battle, which I expect will begin in a few hours. Take a spare trident if you want." He left.
I decided to take his advice and headed toward the armory. I had no idea where it was; it just seemed to draw me toward it. I came inside to find a miniature archery range, some sword fighting training grounds, and various other things. Bows, swords, spears, and even some special stuff hung from the walls. There were a couple of spare lightning bolts and tridents, with a sign above them saying, PERMISSION OF PATRON GOD REQUIRED. I took a trident and swung it around. It seemed to fit perfectly in my hand and made a satisfying sounding swish. I also took a sword and a sheath and clipped it to my waist.
Zeus had a really, really long lightning bolt. I mean really long. Did I mention that it was really long? Zeus was in fifteen-foot tall mode, and he was spinning the thunderbolt. Tyson was below him, showing him moves with a double-sided sword. Apparently, Zeus was trying a new style.
Apollo was shooting targets at the archery range. He would nock like ten arrows at once, and all of them would hit the bull's-eye, which looked like a real eye. A sign above the entrance said that it was a Minotaur eye. Go figure.
Ares was at the sword fighting area, thrashing everyone he fought. I went over there to look closer. Red dusty rocks covered the area, and it looked like Ares had designed it. Not a good thing. Athena was the one to go to for architecture.
"Ah, it's you," He laughed good-naturedly. What the heck was wrong with him? Maybe the upcoming battle had cheered him up. "Practice fight?"
I got the feeling that wasn't his entire intention. Still, I couldn't back down. "You're on," I said, bringing out the trident.
Ares smiled. He actually smiled. "Now I can show Poseidon how pathetic that that trident of his is." He muttered under his breath.
He pulled out his two-handed sword. I took the trident and slashed it toward his face, the spear tips flickering with bluish green light. He blocked and snarled.
I know, it's hard to envision fighting with a trident. It's not one of those weapons that look like they're made to fight with swords. It just felt right in my hands.
He threw out his sword towards me. The trident seemed to speed me up and I dodged to the side. The sword was caught between two of the spear points. As fast as thought, I twisted the trident, which jerked the sword out of Ares' hands. I vaulted forward with the flat end of the trident and struck Ares right in the forehead. I could see double images of me in his eyes. He fell to the ground, stunned.
"Urgh," he groaned. "You cheated!"
I just walked away, and was greeted by my dad. He looked nervous. "The Titans are approaching," he said. "Immortals may not be able to attack heroes directly, but they can attack other immortals. He gripped the air and the trident appeared.
"Then there's nothing for it," I said, rubbing my hands together. I remembered Hercules doing the same thing and stopped myself. I noticed Annabeth walking toward me from the side. My dad met my eyes, and he seemed to understand what I needed. He left.
"Annabeth," I said quietly.
Her smile faded. "Yeah?"
"I can't stay forever. Hades will take me back after the battle."
"Well, that'll probably be soon," A strange sounding voice interrupted me. I turned to see an old man gripping a trident. Not my dad, but someone else. He was huge. The gods were like fifteen feet tall. This guy was more like thirty feet tall. He was the one that tried to drown me! I realized with a jolt. It was a Titan.
I gulped. Oceanus.
Ah, another cliffie. Sorry if Thalia and Grover weren't anywhere in here, I just didn't feel like writing them in here. Oceanus was one of the original twelve titans, and he ruled the sea before Poseidon. Poseidon took it away from him, so he really doesn't like Poseidon. See how that plays out in... the next chapter! At least five reviews required.