Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Divided Soul
Chapter 30: Recon
Base of Mount Olympus (original)
The two zodiacs arrived on the other side of the lake in only a few minutes. The water in the lake was a beautiful teal green color with tall trees along the banks. The boats came ashore easily on the sandy beach that lay on the side of the lake facing Mount Olympus. The demigods disembarked; Percy was the last to exit the boats. The demigods turned to their leader to await his orders.
Percy paced in front of his friends. His silver armor made him look like a knight from the court of Camelot. Everyone watched him closely waiting for him to speak.
"First, we must scout the area. I have studied the maps closely and there are only two ways up the mountain that will lead to the ruins of the original home of the gods," Percy said. "Once, the area is scouted we will meet up again here." Percy pointed to an area on the map that was between the two areas to be scouted. "The rocks and trees in this area will provide sufficient cover to screen us from view. We will plan our attack there."
"Do you have a plan?" Jason asked.
Percy smiled before turning to look at Annabeth. "I'll let our mast strategist take a stab at it," Percy said.
Alex raised his hand. Percy nodded in his direction. "Couldn't you make the plan? No offense Annabeth," Alex said.
"We are a team. In war, the commander must hear the plans of his strategists before weighing in with his ideas and those of others," Percy said.
Annabeth and Nico just stared at Percy. Their surprised faces made Percy's smile widen. "You thought Scipio was the only one who could lead?" Percy asked.
Jason, Piper, Leo, Alex and Gwen grinned at Percy's question. They never knew Percy during the second Titan war.
"It's just surprising hearing you talk like that," Nico said.
Percy frowned. "Should I be offended or happy?" Percy asked his face a mask of eerie calmness. Nico didn't know what to say.
Annabeth elbowed the son of Hades in the side. "You should be happy," Annabeth said as she gave Nico the death glare.
"Good; now to divide up our forces. Jason, you will lead the scout team that will reconnoiter the East side. You'll take Leo, Piper and Nico. I'll lead the second group with Annabeth, Alex and Gwen.
"What kind of enemy force should we expect?" Jason asked.
"A giant and probably fifty to a hundred monsters," Percy said. The new Argonauts just stared at their leader in disbelief.
"How can we fight so many?" Nico asked. He looked around at the stunned expressions of the other demigods around him.
"We make a good plan, summon the dead, and then Jason and I unleash a storm like no other," Percy said.
"What do the rest of us do?" Alex asked.
Percy looked at Annabeth again with a knowing stare. "That's for the daughter of Minerva and Athena to decide," Percy said. Annabeth nodded. "Let's go, and Jason…" Percy began. Jason and his team gave their attention to the son of the sea god. "Good luck to you and your team."
"Same to you, boss," Jason said with a wry smile. Percy smiled as he shook his head at the name Blackjack always called him. Jason and his team walked off toward the East. They would ascend the mountain and scout the area for the enemy.
Percy and his team began the arduous climb up the mountain. They reached the summit; the temperature hovered around freezing. A mist covered the mountain top. They climbed the last few steps until they cleared the mist. They all looked in shock at the sight before them. Instead of a snow capped peak, they saw the ruins of a once beautiful city. A few of the ancient temples stood, but most were in disrepair. The once beautiful white marble was now a dull grey color because of age and erosion. Percy could feel Annabeth fidgeting next to him. He looked at her worriedly.
"Don't think about it Wise Girl. You'll blow our cover," Percy said. He knew that Annabeth would love nothing better than to explore the ruins.
Annabeth nodded, but Percy could see the disappointment in her eyes. "Gwen and I will make a survey of our surroundings," she said. He knew she would say something like that. It would give her the opportunity to look around, albeit from a distance.
"Okay, Alex and I will identify the enemy position and composition," Percy said. Annabeth smiled knowingly. "What?" Percy grinned at the face she made.
"It's just a little weird hearing you say words like, composition," Annabeth explained.
"I can read you know?" Percy sarcastically.
"I know, but the old Percy didn't like to read," Annabeth said defensively. Her forehead creased worriedly.
"Scipio liked to read; I guess it's just another part of him that I've inherited. A really good part, I think," Percy said. Annabeth could tell that he was concerned that she thought he was too different.
"It is a good thing. I think it makes you more attractive," Annabeth whispered.
Percy's crooked grin widened. "You think I'm sexy?" Percy asked incredulously.
Annabeth sighed, but inside she was happy that the old Percy was still there. He could still act like a kid, which she secretly enjoyed. "Don't flatter yourself, Seaweed Brain," she said.
Percy laughed. He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Now, get to work," Percy ordered.
Annabeth smiled as she gave him a salute. "Yes sir," she exclaimed before joining Gwen in their survey of the area.
Alex gave Percy an amused smirk. "Your girlfriend is pretty cool," Alex said.
Percy wiped the amused smile from his face. He gave Alex a serious expression. "Yes she is, now we have a job to do, Legionnaire," Percy said. Alex came to attention. Percy's serious face morphed into a look of amusement. "Lighten up; we've got work to do." Percy lightly tapped Alex on the shoulder, but the son of Mars still rubbed the spot. Percy was definitely a lot stronger than he looked.
Alex had two pairs of binoculars. They both grabbed one and began their look out for the enemy forces. The sound of the ground shaking alerted the two to someone or something coming toward them. They huddled behind the boulders they used for cover. They waited until the sound passed their location before sneaking a peek.
What they saw was definitely a giant. He was around thirty feet tall and his body was made out of rocks, gems and precious metals. The creature's eyes looked like they had been formed out of two blood red rubies. The creature had to weigh several tons.
Alex looked toward Percy. He could tell that the son of the sea knew this giant. "Do you know him?" Alex asked.
Percy looked away from the giant. "I know of him. I'm afraid that Gaea sent her eldest giant son to destroy the ruins," Percy said. The look on Alex's face showed that he didn't know who that was. "Alcyoneus."
"Who?" Alex asked.
"The nemesis of Hades or Pluto," Percy said. He looked lost in thought. "Gaea has made quite a dangerous gamble."
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"Alcyoneus is only immortal in his home. His original home was in Pallene, but now, I would think it would be somewhere near America," Percy explained.
"So, he's not immortal here in Greece?" Alex asked.
"Correct, we can take him down here," Percy said.
"Isn't it strange that she would do that?" Alex asked.
"It is, I'm concerned that she's got a plan or she has other powerful allies here besides the giant and the Earthborn that serve him," Percy explained.
"What do we do?" Alex asked.
"We do our job and get as much information as possible to put together a plan that will work," Percy said. Alex nodded as the two returned to their survey of the enemy forces.
On the other side of Mount Olympus (Original)
Jason led his group up the mountain. They stood in awe of the original home of the gods. Jason and Leo would check on the enemy forces, while Piper and Nico checked the area for defensive positions and other important landmarks.
Jason and Leo watched from behind several boulders as groups of Earthborn, Cyclops and Laestrygonians marched by. It was clear that whatever was in charge kept tight control over the monsters. The sound of laughing rang out as an Empousa stepped out from behind a ruined temple with a tall man in tuxedo at her side. Leo gave Jason a strange look.
"What in Hades is he supposed to be?" Leo asked.
Jason watched the man in the tuxedo. "I don't know, but he's too tall to be a human and he's seems too powerful to be a demigod," Jason said. Piper and Nico crawled over to the two demigods. They had finished their survey of the area. Jason saw the two and motioned for them to join Leo and him.
"We're finished," Piper said.
"We are too, except we can't figure out who the guy in the Tuxedo is," Jason said as he pointed to the tall man in the tuxedo.
Nico's face paled more than normal. His skin was chalky white. "Prometheus," Nico said.
Jason and the others all stared at the Titan in the tuxedo. "What's he doing here?" Jason asked.
"Helping his grandmother," Piper said.
"Don't you mean his mother?" Leo asked sarcastically.
Piper smacked him upside the head. "His grandmother, not mother. Iapetus was Prometheus's father," Piper explained.
Nico smirked at Leo. Leo rubbed the back of his head as he glared at Piper.
"You've become more violent, since you found out you were Greek and Roman," Leo said.
Jason's eyes grew twice their normal size. He knew Leo was in trouble now. He also knew that Piper worried that her friends thought she was different now. Piper pulled out her dagger and pointed it at the son of Hephaestus. "What did you say?" Piper asked with barely controlled rage.
"He didn't mean anything by it Pipes," Jason said quickly. Piper looked at Jason and he could see her anger subside.
Leo had raised his hands in surrender. Nico began to chuckle. "No one asked you Dead Boy," Leo exclaimed.
Nico's dark eyes flashed with hellfire, but Jason put his hand on his cousin's shoulder. "We don't have time for this. We've got a job to do and this new piece of information is important," Jason said.
Nico nodded reluctantly. He liked Jason; he was a lot easier to get along with than Thalia. Leo looked away. He didn't like the disappointed look that Jason gave him.
Piper stepped between the three demigods. "We need to get back to Percy and the others," Piper urged.
Jason nodded, before ushering everyone toward the location that Percy had marked on their maps. After dodging a few monster patrols the four demigods reached the crescent moon shaped ring of boulders. Jason sighed when he saw Percy and the others already there waiting.
"Thank the gods you're all here," Jason sighed.
Percy looked relieved as well. Percy looked at Jason's team, but his eyes settled on Nico.
Nico looked up at his friend. "What is it Perce?" Nico asked worriedly.
"We saw the giant that leads this army of monsters," Percy said. He looked worried, but more for the others than himself. "Nico, its Alcyoneus."
Nico froze. He slumped to the ground with his back against one of the boulders. "It would be him," Nico exclaimed dejectedly.
Annabeth sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. Most guys would be jealous, but Percy knew that Annabeth cared for Nico, like one of her little brothers; he also knew that Nico had in many ways replaced Bianca with Annabeth as his big sister.
"Don't worry, we're here to help you," Annabeth reassured.
"I have to face him," Nico realized.
Percy knelt down in front of his cousin. "Yes, but I'm going to be at your side the whole time," Percy said.
Jason stepped forward. He was only a few feet from Percy's side. "I'll be there too," Jason added.
Nico smiled at his two cousins. He was happy they would be there, especially Percy "Thanks," he said. He didn't know what else to say. Annabeth stood up and Percy offered his hand to his cousin. Nico accepted the gesture as Percy lifted him off the ground effortlessly.
Percy turned to address the seven demigods before him with a gleam in his sea green eyes. "Now it's time to plan," Percy said as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Annabeth smiled at her boyfriend; his enthusiasm was contagious.
AN: No action this chapter, but don't worry. The next chapter will be full of it, so stay tuned.