Chapter 7: We Fight Together

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, that honour goes with Rick Riordan. Neither do I own any of the characters mentioned.

Empire State Building: Percy's POV

Okay, I've known this chick for about 10 minutes now, she doesn't know a thing about me yet I am pretty sure I am on her top 10 kill list at the moment. All I've figured out is that her name is Annabeth, everyone looks to her as if she were in charge, and that she can get really angry really fast. She basically attacked me when I came in the door with Clarisse and the others giving me an earful about why I lead all these monsters close to their base, like I meant to almost lose my life running to them to help them. As soon as I told her that the Olympians sent me I couldn't help but smirk, she shut up real fast and hasn't talked to me since. Instead the doorway to the building was barricaded up and she placed two of the bowmen who had saved me as guards. I asked Clarisse (the one who football tackled me to the ground to save me) why we were barricading the doors, that would just get some weird attention from everyone walking by and she said something about mist and hiding things from mortals. Overall it was not a very good answer but I rolled with it until I had some more time to ask her again.

After they had set up everything that Annabeth instructed we headed to the elevator to go somewhere, where I didn't really know. Maybe they had a secret base on one of the floors, there were dozens to choose from anyway. When we entered Annabeth took out a key and placed it in a keyhole beneath all the floor buttons which was weird since I've toured this building a few times before and never noticed it yet. When she put it in though a new button appeared, floor number 600 appeared above the others and she hit it. I have never ever felt a feeling like that before, it felt like the elevator was going 400 miles a minute and we somehow hit floor 600 in less than 10 seconds. When we entered the elevator my first impression was that it was just like any other teenage hide out in the city. There were a bunch of kids my age, a little over a dozen or so, spread out around the central peak where the top of the building starts to turn into a point. It seemed like they were living there though looking at the number of makeshift beds and rooms (old mattresses and little rooms made by cardboard walls with curtains across the entrances). It's really a wonder how they got all this stuff up here without anyone noticing. One thing was off about this little teenage hideout though and that was the number of weapons lying around, not guns but swords, spears, bows and whatnot. There were close to 20 different weapons lying beside "rooms" or just scattered about, not exactly the typical thing a teenager has in this time period.

Annabeth had told everyone that had been in the elevator with us to rest and get ready to go out again but she told Clarisse and I to follow her. I don't really know why I follow her orders but the authority in her voice told me that this was one girl that you didn't tick off unless you want your head parted from your body. She leads us to the other side of the peak and the sight stopped me dead in my tracks. The view I had was blocked from the top of building when we exited the elevator but now that we are on the other side I saw what the gods had talked about. There was a pile of rubble lying beside the top of the Empire State Building and the look of sadness that the kids gave it whenever they glanced in its direction means that it could only be one thing. That pile of rubble is the remains of Mount Olympus. When they said that it was destroyed, I hadn't expected this. I imagined temples on fire, columns on the ground but not the entire thing reduced to stones and boulders. Finally, it's hitting me how extreme this war is and honestly, it's terrifying. Whatever force was able to do that was not something I wanted to be against. Annabeth took us to a door that lead into the peak of the building and inside is just a small room, was probably used for storage before they took the roof over as their camp. It now had a desk in it with a chair behind centered on the back wall and there was a couch in the corner that looked like it had been used as a bed for a while now. The objects on the desk were what confused me though, there were maps of Manhattan and Long Island covering it with arrows and marker on them everywhere. It seemed confusing and all Annabeth said when she saw me looking was "scout movements and monsters" as if that explained everything. She walked around the desk and sat down and asked us to move the couch so we had somewhere to sit also. Clarisse and I had moved the couch so it was in front of the desk and that's when Annabeth started. "Clarisse, what happened out there?" It was a simple question but her toned made her sound exhausted and that's when I noticed the bags around her eyes. It looked like she hadn't slept in days.

"We were doing a light patrol around the perimeter and then we saw this guy running down the street with a hoard of monsters following him. It was obvious that he was being chased so we ducked in the alley that we had just come out of and waited for him to pass. When he did I got him out of the way and the others took care of the monsters. They have been sent back to Tartarus." She gave this as calmly as if she was giving a speech in front of a class rather than almost being killed by a bunch of monsters. Then again this was probably an every day occurrence for these kids. I kind of feel sorry for them, no one should have to live like that, in constant fear of being found by those things. I can't begin to say how much I don't want to be here long enough to feel the same way.

"What was chasing him?" Annabeth asked. I'm starting to notice that she's not even glancing in my direction, she's purposefully ignoring me.

"There were hell hounds and dracaenae, it was just a small party that was scouting around the city. They weren't looking for him specifically, if they were than they would have sent a larger force. Like I said, this was just a scouting party that we see travel around the Manhattan."

"So you think it was just random that they found him and they were running towards here?". Her tone sounded accusing, as if she thinks that I was leading the monsters here on purpose! Had I not told her who sent me here already. Figure I should probably intervene.

"Hey now, there is no way-"the glare Annabeth gave me made me stop dead in her tracks. Her gaze was almost as strong as that old myth Medusa's and it froze me stopping me from saying anything else.

"Yes and no" Clarisse responded, "it was a coincidence that he was chased, I believe that he didn't expect to be chased. But I do believe that he meant to run in this direction but not to lead them. To come to be safe. That's what I think anyway. What do you think Annabeth?"

"Same, I don't think he meant to lead them here but he wanted away from them, that's all. Can you give us some privacy now Clarisse? Go and get rested, we need you on patrol tonight.". All the brunette did was nod and leave the room.

"So, what did you say your name is?" she asked. So finally she recognizes my presence, it only takes a empty room is all.

"My name's Percy Jackson and to be honest, you could have asked me any of that."

"Why are you here Percy?"

"I told you, the gods sent me here to help."

"The god's have been taken over. The titans are now in control, the proof of that is the pile of rubble you saw outside that door."

"I saw that yes and now I know what they were talking about. Just so you know, there are some gods that are left. Not taken captive that is."

"Really? Who are they and why aren't they here?"

"There aren't many, there's: Poseidon, Apollo, Hera, Hermes, and Artemis. They can't come here because the titans will know. They told me that they can sense it if the gods themselves go somewhere but they can't sense anyone they send. Here is what they came up with, yours truly."

"So what can you do then?"

Um...did she mean what are my talents because if so I can play a pretty good recorder. I can swim, I'm not that bad at basketball but I feel like she didn't mean those talents. "What talents do you mean?"

"The gifts your parent gave you. You were sent by 5 Olympian gods, chosen by them. You have to have some power that is greater than anyone else.". Woah, didn't Hera say something like that earlier. Something about a strong demigod saving the world. The strongest of the generation? Now I don't know who it is but it sure isn't me. If my godly parent whoever it is gave me a power than I have no idea what it is.

"I mean I don't really think I have a power. I know I'm a demigod, but other than that everything is a mystery. I don't know who my parent is before you ask also. They sent me here because it was only my mom and I who were with them."

"So you don't have a power? That's okay, what weapon is your specialty then? Which do you prefer to use that is?". Was I supposed to be able to use a weapon? I mean my mom won't even let me use a knife in the kitchen. If I was ever to hold a weapon I think mom would have a heart attack so no, a weapon is not my specialty.

"What exactly do you classify as a weapon? I mean I haven't really used a actual weapon like a gun or a knife but I'm pretty good in my video games so if you gave me one you know I might not be that bad." I said this really hoping to get a gun, I don't know why but I think it would be really cool to be able to vaporize monsters like a sharp shooter in my games online.

"You're kidding right? That was a joke?". The look on me face must have told her that I wasn't kidding and she seemed slightly baffled. "You haven't used a weapon before in your life? How many monsters have you sent to Tartarus exactly?"

"As in turn them into sand? I think that number is 0. Yeah, pretty sure I haven't sent any of them to Tartarus. But like I said, you give me a gun and who knows, I might be the best soldier here.". Really still trying to get a gun here.

"We don't use firearms.". The look on my face must have looked upset because she continued "The bullets won't harm the monsters. Only celestial bronze does and that is found in swords, axes, arrows or a number of different weapons we have from Greece. The bullets would not scratch them yet a weapon from us" as she pulled out her knife "will send them straight to the pit from where they came." She set her knife on the table and I could see what she meant from bronze. The knife wasn't steel which I'm used to seeing but definitely bronze. It was ornately built and the handle had carvings in it which I couldn't make out from where I was sitting. The blade had a faint glow to it and I guess that's from the 'celestial' part. Honestly it looked a lot more threatening than any gun I've seen and instantly wanted one.

"So how exactly do I get a 'celestial bronze' weapon?"

"We have to figure out which weapon best fits you first. We can't give you one in case you hurt someone trying to yield it. Did the gods mention anything about what you could use? Give you anything that could be a weapon?"

"Nope, no one said anything or gave me— ". At that I remembered something and felt in my pocket. Sure enough there was the pen that Poseidon gave me and I remembered what he said, 'they will teach you how to use it'. I reached into my pocket and took out my pen. "Poseidon gave me this. It's the only thing that I got from any of them."

She picked up the pen and clicked the end. The next thing shocked me, the most surprising thing happened when she had done that. The tip of the pen came out. She took out a pad of paper and what do you know, it even writes! Now I don't know what I expected, it was just a pen but something told me that it was something more than a pen. Something told me that this was what I was supposed to use. "Can I see it for a second?" She clicked the pen to take the tip back in and she tossed it to me. When I caught it I pressed the bottom and this time I was surprised. Next thing I know I was holding a sword made of the same metal of her knife in the same hand that I was holding the pen. The hilt was covered in leather and the blade was a glowing bronze. It was honestly a beautiful sword but not only was it good looking, it was terribly well balanced. I felt like if I put the sword on a railing on its side it would sit there perfectly.

"Anaklusmos" Annabeth said and she snapped me out of my trance. "What was that?". "Anaklusmos, I think it's the name of the sword.". I looked to where she was and sure enough it was there on the blade. Engraved into the bronze was the word 'Anaklusmos' and instantly I said out loud "riptide". Annabeth looked slightly surprised at me, "that's the English word for its name. So you can read Greek eh? That's kind of a relief, for a bit there I was wondering if you really are a demigod."

"To be honest I didn't know I could read Greek; it just came to me. Is that normal?"

"Oh yeah, everyone here can. It's a sign that we have parents from the ancient times. So that's a pretty clear sign, that sword will be your weapon. Did they tell you how to use it?"

"No, I didn't even know it was a sword until now. All they said was 'they will teach you how to use it'. I'm assuming he was talking about you guys teaching me how to fight with this sword. Really, I'd be okay with just learning the basics. You know, just enough not to get killed if I ever get in a fight."

"If the gods had said that then we will have to train you as best we can. Come out with me."

I followed her outside and she brought me back to the elevator picking up a sword off the ground on the way. She pressed the button 599 and the doors opened up to a fairly large sized room with mats on the ground. There was two people sparring on the far side, a guy and a girl. The girl was obviously winning, pushing the guy back with each swipe of her sword. The guy was barely able to block each new attack with his spear. After she pushed him back a few feet she lashed out with her leg and the guy fell, she was on him with her sword at his throat in an instant. They turned and saw Annabeth and they both got up and left right away.

"What was that about, why'd they leave?" I asked Annabeth.

"I usually like to train in quiet and they all know that. It's not because they have to leave but they usually let me train by myself. They're just being nice is all. Now come on, let's see what you've got."

She walked out to the centre of the room and I followed her, standing a few feet away we faced each other. She lowered into a ready position, her feet apart and sword slightly out front of her I one hand ready to attack or defend. I mimicked her pose as closely as possible but I instantly knew that I looked like a complete idiot at the moment. She slowly walked towards me and for some reason I knew what was going to happen. She was going to raise her sword and go for a overhead strike, then she was going to go for my left. That exactly happened and I blocked both of them easily and lashed out my sword instinctively. She easily parried it away but backed up a little and commented "nice reflexes". I couldn't say anything because after that she launched into a real attack swinging her sword like a demon. She swiped down for my head, both of my sides, my legs, she was literally attacking every part of my body possible and somehow I was still standing. Somehow I was able to tell where when was going to hit next before she swung her sword so I was always able to get mine there first. I can't don't know why but then seemed a perfect time for me to press my attack. I started hacking away at her sword showing how untrained I was. I hit her sword with a downward strike again and again with her blocking each one. With her distracted on my sword, I decided to try something. On my last swing I stepped closer to her so she couldn't swing her sword and shoved her away with my shoulder. She wasn't expecting this and she was forced back a few feet unbalanced and I swung my sword at her harder than I knew I was able to and she raised her sword to block it. The force combined with the fact she didn't have balance pushed her onto her knees and she fell on her back. I lowered my sword and said something I always wished to say; "Do you yield?". I then grinned at her and offered my hand and she smiled back and took it.

"So you lied eh? How long have you been using that sword for?". She thought I'd use this before? It felt comfortable in mu hand but I am 100% certain that I have never used a weapon in my life, much less a medieval one. I was certain she was taking it easy on me to see what I could do.

"That was my first time…you were taking it easy on me right?"

"I was until you pushed me back a little. You say that was your first time with a weapon? I have to say, you could be a lot better than what I had originally thought. I wasn't trying my hardest but still, that was by no means taking it easy on you. Let's go again."

As she turned her back I swore I could see out of the corner of my eye the elevator door close. Was somebody watching that and if so, who was it? Oh well, I turned back to Annabeth and walked to the centre of the room again. "Ready to lose again" I mocked her and there was a small glint in her eye that slightly terrified me. She got in her ready position and I followed feeling slightly more comfortable this time. When she advanced something was different though, her eyes looked like those eyes that cats get when they are closing in on their prey. They narrowed and I instantly knew that she was scouring me looking for a weakness. If she wants to play it that way then fine, I won't show her any. I took a step towards her to make her stop coming towards me and it took her eyes away from scanning my posture to focussing on my blade. As I took another step ahead she stayed her ground and we were just out of reach from each other. I figured since she was clearly waiting for me to attack I'd taunt her, "So what, are you just going to stare at me all day?". Sadly, she didn't fall for it.

"Honestly I was hoping this would end soon so I can stop staring at you.". Okay, that was a low blow. I kind of smirked though, admiring at how fast she could come back at me showing she was not going to fall for a cheap trick like that. Fine, let's get down to it. I ready my sword and take a step towards her and that's when she launched her attack. She swung towards my left thigh, I parried it easily confused as to why she would choose there of all places and then noticed that I had done exactly what she wanted. When I hit her sword it went out in front of us and my momentum carried my body so that my sword was across my body. She had stopped her sword so that it was just a few inches from my gut ready to stab me. She lunged and I have no idea how but managed to spin out of the way hitting her on the back with the flat of my sword on the way. She tumbled a few steps then turned around catching her balance. She looked very surprised as to what I just did, slightly less surprised than all I was. I just grinned at her and acted like I meant it and that apparently got her a little mad. She lashed out with her sword and every thrust or swing she made I blocked and parried. After a minute of this she gave up and backed away obviously taking the defense and I took this opportunity to push. I did an upper cut with my sword drawing hers down also to parry it and right before contact I changed the speed and angle of my sword so that it deflected off of hers at an upward angle and I was able to lightly hit her in the head with my pommel before she could react. With that I jumped back to see what she'd do. All she did was say "Again". I advanced and this time she was a lot more aggressive in her defense predicting what I'd do before I'd it but every now and then I'd get a lucky hit in on her. She was obviously skilled and taking it easy on me but up until now I had just been doing random attacks to see what felt right. Still this whole fighting thing was different to me, it's going to take a while to get used to it. After a few minutes of attacking I backed off a bit letting us catch our breaths. I think she has been trying to analyze my fighting style this entire time, trying to find a way around me but I definitely gave nothing away. That's because I have no style at all. I swing my sword and see if it hits, if not I try again. This time something was different though, when I raised my sword it felt more natural and when I stepped towards her I knew how to win. I closed the distance between us and went for a slash across her chest. A easy parry for her but I caught her swords hilt with mine and angled my sword against hers so the my blade was pushing against her blade. I could feel that our strength was slightly in my favour but not by much so I tried something that had about a 10\5 chance of succeeding. I let go of my sword with one hand and grabbed one of her wrists. I pulled it and the surprise move took her off balance and she spun around and I pulled her n close so I had my arm around her neck and my sword point at her collar bone.

That's when the applause broke out. I don't know how I missed it but it seems like half the kids that were here at the building came to watch Annabeth and I fight each other. Apparently she doesn't lose much because in the applause I saw a few faces of awe, maybe surprise is a better word.

"Hey Percy, good fight." Annabeth said behind me. I turned around and she had her hand stretched out and I shook it. Honestly, that was a lot of fun and I couldn't wait to do it again. Maybe I could actually learn how to use this thing one day. Who knows, maybe I'd actually be able to actually defend myself one day. "Yeah, you too. So how'd I do?". There was a bit of laughing at my last comment and I turned around to see what was funny. This guy came from the group he had blonde hair, a slightly buffer average build and his hands were calloused, my guess from using a bow.

"Percy, right?", I nodded my head, "Hey, my name's Will. We were laughing because no body has been able to beat Annabeth in a fight in years. Unless they're from Ares but that goes without saying, so either you are one of his kids or you have been training for years."

"Well I can honestly say that I haven't been training for years but the Ares part might be true, not entirely sure. Haven't figured that part out yet."

"Well whoever you're from, I'm glad to be on your side especially if you haven't used that thing before. Did you bring it though? It seems nicer than any sword we have here." I looked down at my sword and then looked at the ones on a weapons rack on one side then at the weapons a few of the kids brought down. They were all basic looking with no engravings, this one was definitely the coolest.

"Yeah, I was given it by someone I met. Didn't know it was a sword until now actually." I'm not sure how I knew but I pressed on the bottom of the hilt and the sword shrank and became a ballpoint pen again…weird. Everyone gasped and by their reactions I assumed that no one else had a weapon that doubled as a writing utensil. That's when Annabeth came to my rescue and helped me avoid any more questions that I couldn't answer.

"Alright everyone, he's not a bad fighter. We can all see that now go on with your chores. I know you all have some left to do.". After a fair bit of mumbling everyone went into the elevator and it was just her and I in the room again.

"Thanks for that, I was starting getting worried about any more questions."

"Don't mention anything about the gods to them okay? I don't need them to start getting hope that they will come to our rescue. History shows that us demigods have to fight our own battles. If there are only 5 Olympians, then they can't do a whole lot anyway against the titans. I don't want the others to put their guard down, got it?"

"I understand" and I did, completely. I got the whole thing where she didn't want them to know to protect them. For how long did I tolerate smelly Gabe with my mom, I knew I couldn't tell her what I really felt or she would be hurt. Really the same thing just different circumstances. "So what do we do now?".

"Well training is done for today, you look spent so go get some rest and then you can join a patrol tonight. You know Clarisse, the brunette who jumped you from the alley. Find her and tell her what I said." She turned around and left me alone in the room to find a spot to rest by myself. Nice talk.

2 Hours Later

Okay, so maybe I was tired a little bit. Apparently running for your life from monsters, seeing the most powerful place in history (Mount Olympus) in rubble and then sparring for a half hour makes you pretty tired. Luckily I was able to find that Will guy and ask him where a good place to crash would be and he let me use his 'bed' (pile of blankets) for a few hours. Before I passed out I asked where I could find Clarisse and he said to check the training room that I fought Annabeth in, she's most likely there. Apparently she spends a lot of time there practising.

I make my way to the elevator and notice that there doesn't seem to be as many people here as earlier in the day, whether they are out in the city or training I don't know but it's almost eerie how quiet it is. I press 599 when I get in the elevator and the doors open up to a sight that almost shocked me.

There Clarisse was but she wasn't alone. I count 5 people in the room, Clarisse and 4 other guys. The thing that shocked me is the fact that the 4 guys were all armed and facing Clarisse, one on each side of her. I was never good at math but those were unfair odds so I was about to jump in and help her before I heard her say "You guys ready?". That made me falter and the look the guys had on their faces told me that they didn't want to do this. It was 4 on 1 though, how could they be scared? They all started walking towards her in a protective stance and she just stood there with her spear in her hand and a sword strapped to her back. She wasn't in a stance, her spear was vertical and she seemed to be leaning on it as if she was lounging around rather than about to be in a fight against 4 trained individuals. When they were a few meters away the kid nearest to me charged towards her and this is when I figured out why they all looked so scared. She stood up and kicked the butt of her spear that was on the ground so hard that it went up away from her and smashed into the guy's chin and he collapsed in a heap. The other three stopped and watched as their friend was knocked out in a second. They looked at each other and they all advanced at once. She took a step back and at the same time swung her spear in an arc across her body forcing the 3 to hold their ground and stop their advance. She held the spear at her waist level with the ground and was ready to thrust it at the first one to approach. Obviosuly none of them wanted to do it alone so they held their ground waiting for someone else to attack her, she took advantage of that. Once the kid on her left looked at the other two she thrust her spear into his gut knocking him down and she pulled it back ready to face the other two. Watching that I almost got sick until I saw the kid roll over and notice there was a lack of blood on his shirt. His clothes must be spear proof, that or she has a really dull spear which I doubt. So a 4 on 1 turned into a 2 on 1, this isn't what I expected to happen. Now she pressed on the offensive and pushed the other two kids back towards the back wall thrusting her spear and keeping them both busy with parry's. Her aim was so good that with each thrust, they would parry it but the position would make it difficult and awkward to block so they would be off balance with each attack keeping them from counter attacking. She could have won the fight several times already but she kept them in it for fun it seemed. She then caught one off their guard and her spear went low towards her ankles and with a twist she tripped him and smashed his head with the butt of her spear. While that happened the last opponent was regaining his balance from her last attack. Seeing his friend down he backed away from the wall to the centre of the room to give him more space. Now it was 1 on 1, Clarisse took out three of them in less than 2 minutes. She walked towards him casually, with 5 meters between them she tossed her spear towards him lightly so he would catch it. While he was distracted she slid on her knees, withdrew her sword and had hit him in the back with the flat of her blade knocking him down all in one movement. That was all 4, she had won.

She turned towards the elevator and noticed me and smiled, "Enjoy that?". I think I looked like an idiot complete with the mouth wide open and shock in me eyes. "But…How…You just beat four of them…". I could only mumble out partial sentences at the time still getting over the shock of her beating 4 people at once.

Smiling, she offered me her hand and when I took it she said "Name is Clarisse La Rue, daughter of Ares."

"Ares as in the war god Ares? So is that why you're such a good fighter?".

"Well I wouldn't give him all the credit but I guess. So what brings you here?". She changed the topic as if her just fighting them was a daily thing. Then again it might be.

"Annabeth told me to join your patrol today, Will said you'd most likely be down here. Said you were down here in most of your free time."

"Percy, right? It's a war right now and everyone needs to be the best they can be. We need for all of us to be warriors and training is how to accomplish that, more people should be down here training."

"To be honest, I don't think you need any more training."

With a smirk she said "Let me introduce you to the patrol." And she turned around towards the teenagers eh just beat. She said the first one she knocked out was named Connor, son of Hermes, one she hit in the chest was named Lee, son of Apollo, the on she tripped was named Miranda, daughter of Demeter and the last one was named Jake, a son of Hephaestus.

"So you just fight your patrol in your spare time and knock them out? That hardly seems like training to them does it?" I asked her.

"Not everyday, twice this week to see what they have accomplished. The first time we did this they were down in the first minute so this was progress. Remember I have trained my whole life, they started when Olympus fell."

"Speaking of which, how did you avoid getting captured?"

"A few of us were out of camp, we saw what happened and set up base here. We saved a few of them in a raid on camp a few days ago. Can you get me a pack out of that box?" She asked pointing to a wooden box in the corner of the room. I went over and picked up a baggie with something that looked like a lemon square and tossed it to her. She caught it and gave each of the campers some and looked at me answering the question I was about to ask. "Ambrosia, it's food from the gods and it helps us heal faster. We have plenty of it from a raid we did before we saved the others. Apparently the beasts don't enjoy it enough to guard it at all.". When they got some ambrosia in them they each started to stir and within a few minutes everyone was up and walking around.

"Alright, now that everyone's up, this is Percy. He's going to join us today when we go out and speaking of that, it's that time. Get your weapons and meet me at the elevators." With that everyone went up to the roof and started to get their things.

When we got back to the elevator everyone had their preferred weapons. Jake and Connor had swords and shields, Miranda had a dagger, Lee had a bow and Clarisse had her spear and sword. "Which weapon do you want to use Percy? Just take a spare one from some where." Clarisse told me.

"Didn't you see his sword earlier? He brought one with him and he isn't that bad with it either, he beat Annabeth in sparing." Lee mentioned for me.

"Can I see the sword?" I was asked. I reached in my pocket and took out Riptide and gave it to her. With a smirk she looked up and said "If I wanted a pen I would ask for a pen so unless you beat Annabeth with this let me see your sword.". Now it was my turn to smirk, I took it back from her and hit the bottom, the ball point pen was now a double edged sword able to slice through monsters. Her face showed shock but that was only for a moment. She quickly regained her composure and acted like that was a normal thing for a pen to do. "Alright, you're armed. Now let's go."

An Hour Later

So nothing has happened. We saw some empousa, a few hell hounds and dracaenae but nothing too special. They said that these were the typical sightings around Manhattan now. Ever since Olympus fell, monsters have been roaming the city with no one to stop them and send the back to Tartarus. So we sat back and observed, not going any closer than a block to anyone. We only did a circuit 5 blocks away from the tower and did a circle a few times making sure all was well. We were walking back and noticed a group of monsters a few blocks away from the base, normally we'd leave them alone but this was different. They were in the exact same spot where I had been chased earlier. Not close to where I was chased but the exact spot where they noticed me, not a meter off. That's when one of the hell hounds turned his head and looked in our direction, seemingly right at me and let out a blood curdling yelp. This obviously wasn't normal behaviour as the others in the patrol were frozen in the spot. Clarisse snapped out of it first and before she could give an order the call was answered. We heard more yelping in the surrounding streets and saw a group of monsters 20 strong coming towards us from the opposite direction of the Empire State Building. Now there was a group of monsters in front and behind us so we did the only sensible thing. We charged towards the smaller group. Lee had already dispatched the hell hounds and the dracaenae fell to Clarisse's spear before they could turn around but we couldn't stop to take a breather. Dracaenae, hell hounds, cyclops and a few other monsters I didn't know were coming our way. What was 20 now seemed to multiply in size, even the mortals seemed to know something was wrong and were running out of the way. The only chance we had of surviving this fight was to go to base and get everyone ready to fight for their lives. This was going to be interesting.

When we got to the doors we noticed the room was full of demigods all armed and ready for battle. Only 25 or so though so we were still outnumbered.

"We saw what happened, everyone is down here right now. You can take charge of the infantry; I'll direct the support. Don't let them reach the elevator.". It was Annabeth talking to Clarisse, looks like we'll put up our stand here. The kids with bows were put on the sides of the room and spears were put in a shield wall in front of them to protect them. The demigods with swords formed around Clarisse and stood shoulder to shoulder with swords in one hand and shields in the other. They looked ready to put up a good fight before they fell.

"Percy, you come over here with me, we'll watch and send reinforcements where they need to go." Annabeth called to me. I looked at the 'reinforcements' she said about and it seemed like we had 5 other demigods who were not in formation. Not the number I was expecting. She saw the look on my face and reassured me "They're from Ares, they will put up a fight and stop any breach made, don't worry. We'll make it through this alive. It isn't the first time we have fought.". She didn't ask about how they found us but rather set up everyone as best she could to limit the lose of our lives. What surprised me the most though was my expression. I though that I'd be terrified but instead I was ready for this. I was actually looking forward to this. It seemed like this was the one thing I was meant to do and I wanted the monsters to go through that door.

"We'll make it through this.". My tone sounded so sure about it, it took both of us aback.

"You seem pretty confident?"

If anything my response was even more confusing, "I am, you beat these guys before alone. Now you aren't alone, we'll fight together."

With that the doors flew open and all hell broke loose.

This one took me a while to write so I am sorry it took so long to post. Finally getting into some action and will start introducing the characters a little bit more in the next 2. Post any ideas or comments! Thank you for reading!

-Alternatewrite