Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Divided Soul
Chapter 31: The Battle Begins
Mount Olympus (original)
"Everyone understand the plan and their roles?" Annabeth asked.
Nico looked worriedly at the daughter of Athena. "I can't go with him," Nico said as he pointed to Leo. Leo frowned in annoyance.
"You have to, Percy and Jason are needed to even the odds against that hundred monster force," Annabeth explained.
"What about Prometheus, don't we have to worry about him?" Nico asked skeptically.
Annabeth stepped closer to Nico. He was making her angry. She didn't like people questioning her plans. Percy stepped between the two.
"This isn't the time to fight," Percy said. Annabeth sighed before nodding. "Nico, this is the best plan. You and Leo have enough power to take on Alcyoneus. You need to learn to work together."
"What about Prometheus?" Nico asked again.
Percy frowned. "Annabeth and Piper will fight him," Percy said.
Nico looked at Annabeth and Piper. He didn't want to fight Alcyoneus. Percy looked into his friend's eyes before pulling the son of Hades away from the others and out of sight.
"It's okay to be scared," Percy said. Nico narrowed his eyes.
"I'm not scared," Nico protested. Percy stared into his eyes. Nico couldn't look away. Percy's stare was mesmerizing. He had never seen that stare before. He knew that Percy could sense his feelings. He knew they were like an open book to the son of the sea god. "I'm afraid." Nico slumped down onto the ground in defeat.
"It's okay to be scared," Percy said.
Nico shook his head violently. "No it's not. I see you and the others. They're not scared," Nico protested.
Percy laughed. Nico just stared at his friend; he never though that Percy would make fun of him. "I'm not making fun of you. I laughed because the others are just as scared as you are," Percy reassured.
"No they're not," Nico said.
"Nico, you're wrong," Percy began. Nico was going to say more, but he shut up when he saw Percy glare at him. "Jason is scared to death that he'll let everyone down. Annabeth is scared that her plan will fail. Alex and Gwen are scared that that they'll let down the Roman camp. Piper is scared that she's not strong enough or skilled enough because she is a daughter of the love goddess."
"What are you scared of?" Nico asked.
Percy looked down at the ground. His bright green eyes grew dark. "I'm afraid that one of you will die."
Nico nodded. "I'm afraid that I'm not powerful enough to stand up to my father's enemy."
Percy smiled. "That's not all is it?"
Nico looked down at the ground sadly. He cursed to himself; this new and improved Percy was too perceptive. "I'm afraid I'll let my dad down," Nico confessed.
Percy helped Nico stand up. "Your dad cares about you. He may not always show it, but he does care," Percy said.
"How do you know? You're not very high up on my dad's list of demigods." Nico smiled at the times when Percy had pissed off the lord of the dead.
Percy laughed. "I know I'm not, but after the second Titan war, I saw how proud he was of you. Hades is good at hiding his feelings, but he couldn't do it then. I could see how much he loves you."
Nico just stared at Percy. "How do you know all of this?" Nico asked curiously.
"Not sure, but I paid attention to everything, but most of the time my mind wasn't disciplined enough to process all of it, but now, I can see these things and analyze them all at once. I'm not sure why that's changed, but I've noticed that my ADHD and dyslexia have lessened considerably." Percy looked off into the sky as he spoke. Nico could tell that his friend was lost in thought. Percy snapped back to reality. "I have faith in you Nico."
Nico smiled at his friend before his face darkened and a sad expression crossed his face. "I think you'd be better off if Bianca was here."
Percy looked down at the ground. He was still sad at the thought of Bianca. It was another reminder of one of his failures as a hero. "I'm sorry about Bianca and I always will be."
Nico shook his head. "It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have blamed you. I asked you to promise me something that no one should ever be asked." Nico felt so guilty. He knew how Percy felt, but he blamed himself more than his friend. "In the end her death was my fault."
Percy grabbed his friend by the shoulders roughly. He shook Nico's shoulders. "It wasn't your fault. Bianca wouldn't want you to feel guilty. She loved you." A few tears ran down Nico's cheeks. Percy pulled his young friend into a hug. "I'm sorry Nico." Percy pulled Nico out of the hug, but he held onto his shoulders. "You're a child of the big three and a son of Hades. You're going to go out there and do your best. You've already made me proud, but now go out there and fight for yourself. You don't need to make anyone proud, but yourself. I have faith in you and nothing will ever change that, little brother." Percy smiled down at his cousin; the boy he thought of as a little brother.
Nico just stared at his friend in disbelief. Percy called him his little brother. He was shocked, but not surprised. He always thought of Percy as his brother. He wiped away the last tears from his face. "Thanks Perce, I'll do my best."
Percy let go of Nico's shoulders. "Now let's stop with all this mushy stuff and get back to our friends. We have a battle to fight and a world to save." Nico and Percy turned and walked back to the others. Nico felt his confidence return. He looked at Percy once again. His big brother, it felt so good to think of him that way.
Annabeth and the others waited for Nico and Percy. Annabeth paced back and forth. She stopped when she saw Piper stand in front of her. "What's taking them so long?" Annabaeth asked impatiently.
Piper smiled. "Nico is the youngest one here," she said. "I can see why he'd be afraid."
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "He was born seventy years ago; I've never seen him scared," Annabeth said.
Piper frowned. "He might have been born that long ago, but he's still thirteen. He's at the age where you feel awkward and you're afraid to let others down," Piper explained.
Was Nico really scared that he would let them down? Suddenly, Percy and Nico returned. Nico looked completely different. He was smiling and his dark eyes shined in the low light of the morning sun. Percy's crooked grin showed that the worst was over.
Annabeth stood in front of the two sons of the big three. "What took you so long?" Annabeth asked. She tried to hide her worry, but Percy could see right through her composure.
"We had a little family discussion," Percy explained. He looked over at Nico and his grin widened. "Right, little bro?"
Nico smiled before shaking his head in amusement. "Yeah, I'm fine," Nico said. He walked up to Leo. The son of Hephaestus watched him cautiously. "Leo, I'm sorry about being such a jerk."
Leo just stared at Nico in wonder. He looked down at Nico's outstretched hand and carefully took it. The two boys shook hands as they smiled at each other. They both began to laugh after just a few moments. Everyone watched them waiting for something bad to happen.
Percy looked around at the faces of the other demigods. "Boom," Percy said loudly, but no too loud that he would give away their location. Everyone jumped back in alarm. Nico and Leo let go of each other's hands. They just watched the shocked faces of their friends. The only sound was the laughter of the son of the sea god.
"Hey, that wasn't funny," Jason complained.
Leo and Nico looked at each other and then at Percy's smiling face. The son of Hades and the son of Hephaestus joined their friend and leader as they began to laugh as well.
Annabeth walked up to Percy. Her face was red with embarrassment. "That wasn't very nice Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. She faked an angry voice, but her frown turned to a small smile. She couldn't be mad at Percy even though he had been rather mean to his friends; she knew he was only kidding around.
Percy finally stopped laughing, so did Nico and Leo. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help it. You all looked so worried that Repair Boy and Dead Boy would start killing each other; I couldn't help myself," Percy said.
Piper stepped up to Annabeth's side. "You have to admit, it was pretty funny," Piper said.
Annabeth just glared at her friend, but she knew that Piper was correct. Annabeth nodded. "You're right," she said.
Piper acted like she was going to feint. "Wise Girl said I was right," Piper joked.
Percy and everyone else laughed at Annabeth's face. The daughter of Athena's cheeks turned red. Percy walked over and wrapped his arm around her. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "We're laughing with you, not at you," Percy consoled. Annabeth couldn't help but smile. She joined her friends in laughing. It felt so good to laugh. Once everyone was done, Percy walked in front of his friends. All eyes moved to watch him. He placed his hand out into the center of the small clearing that they stood in. Everyone placed their hands on top of his. "All for one and one for all," Percy said making everyone smile at the Three Musketeer reference. "Time to kick some butt."
They broke apart and joined together in their teams. Annabeth and Piper walked off to find Prometheus. Percy and Jason walked off to fight the army of monsters. Nico and Leo walked off to confront Alcyoneus. Gwen and Alex grabbed their bows and prepared themselves to support Percy and Jason.
Annabeth and Piper stalked around as they hid behind boulders and smaller rocks. They came to a small clearing. There seated on a rock still in his tuxedo was Prometheus. The Empousa that had been with him earlier was gone. Annabeth and Piper stepped out from behind the boulder. Prometheus had a surprised look on his face.
"Have you come to surrender?" Prometheus asked with a straight face. Annabeth was rather impressed with the way he could recover from his surprise, so quickly.
"We've come here to fight you," Annabeth said.
Prometheus shook his head. "I'm not much of a fighter. I'm more of a strategist," he said.
"Stand and fight Titan," Annbeth said. She was tired of his attitude.
Prometheus chuckled. "What're you going to do, if I stay seated?" Prometheus asked slyly.
Annabeth stepped closer to the Titan. Piper was at her side. She looked around cautiously for any signs of an ambush. "I'll cut off your head like the snake you are," Annabeth said.
Prometheus's dark brown eyes narrowed. He glared at the daughter of Athena. "Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Prometheus said. Annabeth's glare intensified. "For such a pretty girl you're awfully serious."
Annabeth huffed. Her anger grew, but Piper grabbed a hold of her shoulder. She leaned near to Annabeth's ear. "He has a form of charmspeak. Instead of getting you to do his bidding he can make you do what he wants through manipulation. He's making you mad, so you'll slip up. Don't fall for it," Piper explained.
Annabeth chastised herself internally for almost falling into the Titan's trap. She let him goad her into a potentially rash decision. "Thanks, Piper," Annabeth said.
"It's not going to work Prometheus. Whatever you had planned will fail," Annabeth said.
Movement in the bushes behind the Titan alerted the two demigods that something was amiss. Annabeth stood in awe as a dagger flew through the air directly into the bush. An Empousa fell out of the bush clutching her chest. The dagger was imbedded in the middle of her chest. Everyone turned to look at where the dagger had come from. Piper stood straight and tall; to Annabeth she looked like a Roman. The Empousa fell forward and turned to dust before her body even hit the ground.
Prometheus stood and ran away with Annabeth hot on his heals; Piper grabbed her dagger and ran after her friend.
Nico could feel the aura of power that emanated from the cave in front of them. The cave had once been the home of an Oracle; one that was beloved by Apollo. Now the cave was empty.
"He's in there," Nico said.
"You can feel him?" Leo asked.
"Yes, it's weird. I can sense him, like I can sense a ghost in the underworld," Nico explained with a calm expression on his face.
The two demigods walked into the cave. Leo held out his hand and an orange flame erupted from his palm lighting the way in front of them. Nico didn't really need the light; his eyes were perfectly acclimated to the low light of the underworld. A cave didn't cause him any issues.
They walked until the cave opened into a large cavern with a ceiling that was raised several stories above the floor. In the center of the cave was a large throne made of bones. The bones were too large to be human bones, except for the human skulls used as foot rests. On the throne was Alcyoneus, the gems that helped make up his body glowed in the low light of the cave. His ruby red eyes pulsed with power.
"Son of Hades; I've been expecting you," Alcyoneus said. Leo looked at Nico, but he didn't flinch. He knew that the giant could sense him.
"My name is Nico Di Angelo; I know who you are child of Gaea," Nico said. Alcyoneus glared at him.
"Who did you bring with you?" the giant asked.
"My name is Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus," Leo said.
"A child of the old blacksmith; you're a fire user, very interesting," Alcyoneus said.
The giant stood up from his throne. Nico and Leo split up to give the monster two targets. "Your mother must hate you," Leo said before pulling out a hammer from his tool belt. Nico looked at his fellow demigod, and then he smiled in understanding.
"Yeah, she sent you away from your territory. She must want you to die," Nico agreed before he pulled out his Stygian iron sword.
Alcyoneus's red eyes glowed a blood red color. He glared at the two demigods before charging toward the son of Hades. Nico concentrated on the ground as large boulder erupted from the floor of the cave and intercepted the giant's foot. Alcyoneus tripped and fell forward. He reached for Nico, but the son of Hades disappeared into the nearest shadow. He emerged next to Leo.
Alcyoneus screamed before a large diamond the size of a dump truck erupted from the ground sending Nico and Leo jumping out of the way. Leo hit his side against the cave wall while Nico cracked his head against the giant's throne.
Leo stood up clutching his side. He knew that he cracked a rib.
Nico crawled to the throne and used the bones to pull himself up to his knees, his vision was blurred and he felt something sticky on the side of his face. The ground rumbled next to him; he looked up as the giant loomed above.
"I'll kill you now," Alcyoneus declared.
Percy and Jason positioned Gwen and Alex on opposite sides of the clearing. The two sons of the big three knew that their scent would be overpowering to the monsters. They both sat cross legged in the clearing waiting for the monsters to attack.
Percy had his eyes closed as he concentrated on the ground. He could feel every vibration. He could feel Jason breathing as he sat next to him. The son of the sea god marveled at the strength and connection that he now shared with his father's domain. The sea god controlled all forms of water; Percy knew that. He also knew that Poseidon or Neptune had a strong connection with the earth because of his control of earthquakes. He also understood that Poseidon had a connection to the sky because he was the storm bringer. As much as Zeus or Jupiter would hate to admit it, Poseidon or Neptune was very strong. He was the connection or cornerstone of the three sons of Kronos/Saturn. He bridged the gaps between the sky and the earth, between life and death.
Suddenly, Percy was broken away from his internal musings. He could feel creatures walking toward their location. "Jason, their coming," Percy said. Jason pulled out his imperial gold sword. He looked over at Percy, but the son of the sea god remained still.
Jason watched as the army of Cyclops, Laestrygonians, Earthborn, and Hellhounds marched towards the two demigods. Jason raised his hand to signal to Gwen and Alex. The two Roman archers waited to attack. Gwen held a bow in her hand while Alex held his crossbow. Jason lowered his hand and all Hades broke loose. Imperial gold arrows hit two Hellhounds turning them to dust. Arrows poured down upon the monsters.
A Cyclops reached Jason and swung its massive club towards the son of Jupiter. Jason rolled out of the way as the club crushed the rock that Jason was sitting on. Jason swung his sword wildly at the Cyclops, but missed. He willed the winds to lift him up. The son of Jupiter sailed into the air. The giant glared at the demigod, but Jason hovered in the air just out of the reach of the monster.
Gwen and Alex continued to rain arrow upon arrow onto the monsters. Gwen smiled as she fired her arrows into the monsters turning them to dust. Alex watched her closely; he was friends with Gwen, but right now he couldn't get over how beautiful she was. He snapped back to attention as the tree he was perched on suddenly shook violently. He looked down to see a Hellhound shaking the base of the tree.
Percy stayed cross legged on the ground. He could sense the monsters all around him, but for some reason they avoided him. Jason was too busy to notice, but Percy did. The son of the sea god opened his eyes and looked around. It was at that moment that he realized that his body was covered in a blue aura. Riptide felt heavy in his pocket. He took out the pen and uncapped it. The celestial bronze sword extended into his hand. The sword glowed with the same blue aura.
Percy stood up; three Laestrygonians seemed to awaken from a dream. They narrowed their eyes at the son of the sea god. They carried clubs in their hands that were the size of telephone poles. The three monsters charged toward Percy; he concentrated on the ground before an earthquake shook the ground under his feet. The monsters ran towards him, but the shaking ground made the Laestrygonians lose their balance. Percy surged forward like a tidal wave. He slashed with Riptide and a hiss like a hot knife through butter echoed through the clearing. The first Laestrygonian had his foot cut-off at the ankle while the second had his foot cut in half. Percy jumped twelve feet into the air toward the third monster. The creature stood stunned at the sight of a demigod jumping a distance that only a Hellhound or a mountain lion could jump. He landed on the back of the giant and sliced off the creature's head with one swipe of Riptide. The creature dissolved into dust before its body could reach the ground.
Percy landed on his feet. He looked around at the battlefield. Gwen and Alex had taken out nearly half the enemy. Jason was still dodging the blows of two Cyclops. Percy felt a presence behind him. He turned to see the two injured Laestrygonian limping in his direction. He ran toward the two monsters. They didn't have time to react. Percy jumped onto the shoulder of one and sliced through the creature's neck. He jumped as soon as he finished the slice and landed on the back of the third monster. He stuck Riptide into the creature's back and slid down cutting a massive gash into the monster's body. The creature dissolved into dust just as Percy landed on the ground.
Most of the monsters had been destroyed. Percy was about to help Jason take out the last of the Cyclops, but he never got the chance. A roar sounded throughout the clearing as two Lydian Drakons jumped out of the woods. Their eyes burned red and their bright red scales gleamed in the sunlight. The few monsters that remained moved out of the way as the two drakons stalked towards the son of the sea god. Percy glared at the two creatures. He looked up at Jason. The son of Jupiter gave his friend a concerned stare. Percy looked back toward the two drakons.
"It looks like Prometheus had a surprise for me after all." Percy said before he started to spin his sword in a deadly circle. "Scipio hated surprises; it's a good thing that I'm not Scipio."
AN: A little cliffhanger(s), but only a little one right? Stay tuned more to come.