Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.

Story: Champion of Olympus: Child of the First One

Chapter 13: Dead Serious

Third Person POV

Zeus held Percy in his arms. The Champion of Olympus lay motionless in the arms of his adopted father. Hades and Hera knelt beside the King of the gods.

Hera placed her finger on the boy's neck searching for a pulse. She sighed when she felt a weak one. "He has a pulse," Hera said.

Hades let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Zeus looked relieved, but Hera could tell that he was scared for his son.

"I shouldn't have let him go alone," Zeus said. His voice was filled with guilt and sadness.

"It wasn't your fault," Hades reassured. "He made his own decisions as he always does."

Zeus nodded. He couldn't argue with his brother; Percy was always running headlong into a fight, especially when his family or friends were in danger. It was part of his fatal flaw, loyalty.

Hera made a motion with her hands before a bottle of nectar and a small plate of ambrosia appeared on the ground next to them. Hades took the bottle and poured a few drops into the boy's mouth. Some of the color returned to Percy's skin, but he was still pale.

Several lights appeared near the assembled gods. Hades was about to get up when the lights faded into the forms of four very familiar gods.

The four gods smiled as they arrived, but their smiles disappeared when they saw Percy in his father's arms. Athena and Poseidon rushed to Zeus's side and kneeled across from Hera and Hades.

"What happened?" Athena asked in concern.

"Percy beat the King of the Ice Giants single handed and scared off the others before transporting them back to their own realm," Hades explained.

Poseidon cursed. "He used too much power," he said.

Athena nodded. "What happened, exactly?" Athena asked.

Hera went on to explain how his eyes had turned white and the amount of power that emanated from him. When she finished Athena had a befuddled look on her face.

Poseidon studied the goddess of Wisdom carefully. "You don't know what happened?" Poseidon asked worriedly.

Athena looked at the sea god; she never knew he could read her so well. "No, it doesn't make sense. He's never showed that kind of power before," Athena explained.

"What can we do for him?" Poseidon asked.

Everyone stared at Athena expectantly. She could feel everyone's need for her to tell them that everything would be okay, but she wasn't sure. For one of the few times in her life she wasn't sure about something. "We wait," she began. She looked at Percy closely. She wished that she could speak with Odin. The Allfather would know what to do. "We hope that the ambrosia and nectar do the job. That's all we can hope for."

Somewhere unknown

Percy opened his eyes. He felt weightless, and then he realized that he was floating in outer space. At first, he panicked thinking that he would suffocate in the vacuum of space, but he didn't. He could breathe. He looked around curiously. He floated through the depths of space, and then he remembered the fight with the ice giants. He wasn't in space; this was a dream or a vision. He wasn't quite sure.

"You're unconscious, my boy," a familiar voice said.

Percy tried to think of where he had heard that voice before. He racked his brain before he finally realized where he had heard that voice.

"You're the voice that helped me when I was poisoned," Percy said.

"Yes, I helped you before," the voice answered.

"Who are you?" Percy asked.

The voice laughed. "Isn't it obvious?" the voice said.

Percy tried to clear his mind. He was in a place that looked like outer space. He spoke to a voice that sounded like it came from everywhere at once. The voice radiated incredible power, but also, kindness.

"You're Chaos, the void at the center of the Universe," Percy said in awe.

The voice laughed again. "Very good my boy, you truly are the blessed of Athena," Chaos said.

"Lord Chaos, why have you brought my consciousness here?" Percy asked.

"You are between life and oblivion, my boy. You used too much power. You're mortal body cannot handle it. You could have burned up under the strain," Chaos explained.

"I can't die; my family needs me," Percy said excitedly.

"Calm yourself, you will survive. I brought you here to warn you of two things," Chaos clarified.

"What two things?" Percy asked. He was relieved that he would live, but worried about Chaos's warning.

"Loki has unleashed a great evil upon New York. The good news is that the mortals have closed off the island."

Percy's first thoughts were of Annabeth. Was she okay? "What's the bad news?"

"One million people in the city have died, but that is not the most terrible part. He has unleashed the evil curse of the Draugr," Chaos said.

Percy's mind raced as he tried to remember the Draugr. Suddenly, the information flooded into his mind. They were the undead; demons that took over the bodies of the dead. "Zombies, he turned them into zombies," Percy said.

Chaos laughed. "Young people and your zombies," Chaos mocked. Percy frowned. "I'm sorry my child. Yes, in a way they are zombies, but in reality they are demons that possess the dead. Once they inhabit a vessel they turn the body into a killing machine; a weapon of mass destruction."

"How can we stop them?"

"Draugr can only be killed by two methods. They can be beheaded or burned to a crisp," Chaos said.

Percy smiled. "I have the power to do that," Percy boasted.

"No time to boast child," Chaos said. Percy's face reddened in embarrassment. "Draugr can grow stronger off the living. They don't spread their curse, but they consume the living. It appears that Loki first incapacitated his victims and then his magic allowed the demons to take over their bodies. There are one million Draugr in Manhattan now, but there will be no more."

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes it is, but an army of draugr that size cannot be ignored. Loki will use this to his advantage. He will attack Olympus while the demigods are in battle with the undead. You cannot be two places at once my boy. You either face Loki and his force or the army of Draugr."

Percy was shocked. He had a tough choice. He could either protect Olympus or help his friends. He either protected the throne room or Annabeth, Thalia, Jason and his other friends. How could he decide such a thing? "I can't let my friends die just to save Olympus," Percy said. His voice was filled with desperation.

"You will not be alone. The gods will help their children, but you were destined to fight Loki," Chaos said. Percy nodded.

"You said two warnings," Percy inquired.

Chaos was silent for a moment. Percy was about to ask again, but Chaos finally spoke. "Your mortality limits you. Loki has no such limitation. Be wary of using too much power; it can destroy you. Mortality is your greatest weakness; the prophecy foresees this. It will usher in defeat, if you let it."

"What do you mean? How will my mortality defeat me?" Percy asked, but it was too late. Percy began to spin around as he blacked out from the speed of movement.

Manhattan, NY

Annabeth and Thalia stood on a balcony in Olympus. They looked down upon the city below. Annabeth marveled at the architecture of Manhattan. It was the thing she loved most about the city; the mix of old and new.

"Earth to Owl Head, come in Owl Head," Thalia mocked as she tried to break Annabeth away from her study of the city below them.

"What?" Annabeth said harshly.

Thalia raised her hands, but she smirked at Annabeth's frustration. "I just wanted to see if you were okay," Thalia asked innoncently.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "No, you were just trying to annoy me," Annabeth said. She could see right through her friend's innocent façade.

Thalia raised her hands higher. She knew it was hopeless to try and outsmart a child of Athena. "You win; can we get back downstairs and make sure the Stolls haven't destroyed the place?"

"You don't trust Jason and the others?"

Thalia laughed. "Clarisse maybe, but the Stolls will just wrap the others around their fingers."

Annabeth laughed. It felt good to do that. "We better go then."

"Not so fast child of wisdom," a voice said. The two demigods turned to see the two ravens of Odin.

"What's wrong?" Thalia asked.

"We have grave news. We have discovered Loki's plan, or at least part of it," Huginn said.

"What it is?" Annabeth asked expectantly.

The two birds looked at each other. Thalia and Annabeth could tell that this news was extremely bad. "Loki has unleashed the curse of the Draugr," Muninn said.

Thalia looked at Annabeth. She was completely confused. "The what?" Thalia asked.

"The Draugr, didn't you pay attention in my Norse mythology class?" Annabeth asked incredulously.

"Sorry, you put me to sleep when you babble on and on about stuff," Thalia defended.

Annbeth huffed and her cheeks turned red. "I do not babble," Annabeth denied.

Thalia shook her head, but her smiled showed that she was amused. "Are you going to tell me about the Draugr or not?" she asked.

"Fine," Annabeth said. "The Draugr were demons that took over the bodies of the dead."

"Zombies," Thalia said. Her blue eyes shined in the bright lights of Olympus.

"Hey, someone say zombies," a voice cried out from behind them. Thalia and the others turned to see Nico running toward them. Thalia smiled at her boyfriend.

Huginn and Muninn looked at each other. "Didn't I tell you brother?" Muninn asked.

Annabeth looked at Huginn curiously. "What did he tell you?" she asked curiously.

"That the children of today are weird," Huginn explained.

Annabeth laughed. "Not all of us. Just children of Hades and punk rocker children of Zeus," Annabeth said.

Nico and Thalia both glared at her. The two ravens chuckled. "I like her," Muninn said.

Huginn nodded. "I can see why the master cares for her so," Huginn said.

Annabeth was curious now. She was about to ask a question, but the daughter of Zeus interrupted. "So, what about the Draugr?" Thalia asked.

"The illness, it was part of Loki's plan. He first put them to sleep until they finally died. The slow and quiet death allowed the Norse demons to invade their bodies. Once inside they killed the body and then turned them into the Draugr, the undead," Huginn explained.

"You mean zombies, right?" Nico asked.

"No, silly child. They're not some stupid weakling undead from your Greek realm. These are Draugr. They're ten times stronger than when they were alive. They can only be killed by burning the entire body to a crisp or decapitation. Their bodies are immune to celestial bronze and imperial gold. Uru metal can vaporize them if touched, but their heads can be removed with mortal steel weapons as long as they are blessed by an Asgardian prayer," Muninn described.

"Do you know this prayer?" Annabeth asked.

Huginn and Muninn studied each other closely. "Yes, we know the prayer," Huginn admitted.

"Good, Nico get with the Hephaestus and Vulcan children; they need to produce as many steel arrows and spears as possible," Annabeth said.

Nico nodded. "What about swords?" Nico asked.

Annabeth looked at Huginn and Muninn; the birds shook their heads. "If they get that close to you, it's too late," Huginn warned.

Nico nodded again before running back to the elevator. Thalia watched him run away before she turned toward Annabeth. "What do you want me to do?" Thalia asked.

Annabeth touched her chin thoughtfully. "You're coming with me," Annabeth said. She looked at Huginn again. "Will lightning destroy them?"

"Yes, but the blast must be powerful enough and last long enough to burn them to ashes," Huginn said.

"That won't be a problem, but I'll need Jason to help me," Thalia said. "How many Draugr are we talking about?"

The two ravens stared at each other intently. "One million," Muninn said.

Annabeth and Thalia were frozen in shock. "How can we fight so many?" Thalia asked.

"We need the gods; all we can do is hold them off until they arrive," Annabeth said.

"What if they don't arrive in time?" Thalia asked.

"Then this city, all of you and this world will be destroyed by Loki and his minions," Huginn said ominously.

AN: Stay tuned more to come. I hope all the Chaos fans enjoyed this chapter. The creator of all will be back, don't worry.