Nico briskly strode toward the palace of Hades, making a conscious effort to ignore the screams of agony from the Fields of Punishment. The caustic odor of flames struck his sinuses, and he recoiled slightly, "Home sweet home," he muttered sardonically, a scowl forming on his pale visage.
A hellhound came bounding up to him from his blindside, knocking into him and almost throwing him to the ground. An enthusiastic bark rang into his ears, and the last di Angelo sighed. "Hey Mrs. O'Leary. How are you doing, girl?"
The boy reached over, scratching the oversized dog behind her ear. Another bark was the only response to his question, and the son of Hades continued petting the beast. The dog sensed how tired the boy was, and laid down on the ground, allowing the half-blood to climb on.
Nico gratefully mounted the hell hound's back, "Thanks, girl. Hades's palace, please."
The beast yelped happily, bounding into a nearby shadow. The two reappeared outside of Hades's throne room, and the demigod clumsily slid off of Mrs. O'Leary's back. Nico groggily stood to his feet, and stared at the massive double-doors.
They stood nearly twenty feet tall-'Fit for a god,' Nico thought-and depicted various images of Hades, from sitting on his throne, to fighting off a plethora of monsters. "Lord di Angelo!"
Nico spun around, greeted with the spectral figure of Aeacus, one of the three judges of the dead. "My liege, you look terrible!" The ghost bowed to the half-blood.
The son of Hades sighed, for what seemed like the billionth time today, "I don't feel great either, Aeacus. That's actually what I came to speak to my father about. Have you had any interesting souls to judge recently?"
The specter nodded emphatically, "Yes, sire. We judged many of the deceased demigods today. Most of them made Elysium, but Minos managed to convince his brother to keep some of them out. The Chase girl that Perseus Jackson is so interested in was sent to the stars, rather than Elysium."
The di Angelo boy nodded, combing over what the judge had told him, "Thank you, Aeacus. You have been most helpful. Have a nice day."
The ghost bowed once more, before hurrying away from the young son of Hades. Nico turned back to the momentous doors, inhaling deeply. He steeled his courage, striding confidently toward the entrance.
With a flick of his wrist, the boy used his hereditary powers to fling open the large entryway. As the doors opened, Nico was greeted with the sight of his father, Hades, loudly berating one of his judges, Minos.
The lord of the Underworld noticed the his son's arrival almost instantly. "Leave us, Minos." He dismissed the ghost with an apathetic wave of his hand.
The specter vanished instantly, leaving the father and son alone in the room. Nico knelt down, bowing his head as a show of reverence toward his parentage. "Father. I hope I haven't come at a bad time."
The lord of darkness scoffed, a rare show of humor from Hades, "Rise, boy. You of all people should know, it is always a bad time in the Underworld. What have you come here to talk to me about?"
The youngest di Angelo stood to his feet, "I assume you know of the occurrences at the half-blood camp?"
The eldest male god looked down on his son, his scowl deepening as he observed the bruises and signs of battle on the boy's face. "Yes, Nico, I do. There have been many demigods' souls arriving as of late. However, I am sure my judges can handle that quite easily. It is their job, you know. My main concern at the moment, is your physical well-being. What has happened to you?"
The son of Hades's eyes widened. He was not used to his father showing such affection, and he was not prepared for it. The boy took a deep breath, and began to recount his tale, "I had taken the surviving half-bloods to Olympus, and they were being tended to by Apollo, and other healers. I saw no further need for my presence there, so I left. As I was exiting the Empire State Building, I was ambushed by a group of monsters. They were lead by the same man who attacked the camp. I managed to defeat the creatures, but the mortal was stronger than any demigod I've seen, alive or dead."
Now, it was the god's turn for his eyes to widen. "Even Perseus Jackson?"
Nico looked up, more anguish on his face than usual. He solemnly nodded, before continuing, "I was taken to the hunters' camp, where Percy was staying while he transported three demigods he had rescued. The man clearly wants Percy on his side when the war comes, and I'm sure he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."
Hades rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "I'll add more guards to Tartarus. There will be no involvement from any of the Titans vanquished in the second Titanomachy. I want you to go find Jackson, and stay with him. If there is anyone who can defeat this stranger, it is the combination of the two of you."
Nico bowed once again, "As you wish, father." He stood to his feet, quickly exiting the room.
Leo groaned, his head falling back as Percy took another sword away from him. The elder half-blood claimed that it was better to 'have no blade at all, rather than an unbalanced one.'
"C'mon, man! Can't we just give me a big sword and call it a day?" The son of Hephaestus complained, throwing his arms above his head, an obvious sign of his exasperation.
The son of Poseidon shot him a glare, looking him up and down once more, as if measuring the boy. After a moment, Percy snatched up a large warhammer from a table in the armory, shoving it into the younger boy's chest and eliciting a grunt from the Hispanic half-blood. "Go." He commanded, pointing at the exit of the tent.
Leo sarcastically saluted, "Sir yes sir." He gripped the hilt of the weapon with his other hand, trudging out of the armory.
Percy gave the boy a light shove, following him out of the tent. "Alright, who's next?" He called, directing the question at the various hunters and demigods who needed new weapons.
Piper cautiously raised her hand, "Me." She meekly answered, reluctantly standing up.
The son of Poseidon waved his arm in a 'come here' motion, holding the tent flap open for the girl as she entered the weapons room. Percy looked over the girl, similar to what he had done with Leo, and addressed her. "Hit me."
Piper whirled on him, her eyes as wide as they would go. "Excuse me?"
The immortal chuckled slightly, a smirk growing on his handsome features, "You heard me."
The girl remained confused, "Of course I heard you! What I want to know is why I have to hit you!"
"I need to gauge your strength capabilities. I don't want to give you an axe or a longsword if it is going to be too much of a burden for you to swing them." Percy explained, looking around the tent for items that would go along with her build.
Piper sighed, pulling her fist back. She launched it as hard as she could, striking the man in his shoulder. Much to her dismay, the son of Poseidon didn't show any signs of distress because of her attack. In fact, he wasn't even moved by it. "What the hell?"
He laughed loudly this time, throwing his head back. "I've kind of made a profession out of getting hit, as of late. You're going to need to put on some muscle if you want to get a reaction out of me."
Percy scoured the armory for several more seconds, before a little 'aha' came out of his mouth. He reached over to a wall of weapons, gripping a dagger. He spun, handing the hilt to her. "It's pretty." She said, observing the weapon.
The blade's hilt was made of polished wood, and it had a long, triangular blade that seemed to be made of bronze. The strangest part of the knife is that, when Piper looked at the blade, she didn't see her reflection. Instead, she saw Leo and Jason, sitting around the campfire they'd built last winter.
The daughter of Aphrodite sheathed the dagger, putting the weapon at her waist, and exited the tent. She walked over, taking a seat next to Jason and Leo. "You're next." Percy spoke, directing his comment at the son of Zeus.
Jason looked up at the son of Poseidon, shaking his head once, "Thalia said she wanted to pick out my weapon."
Percy replied, "Fine by me," before letting out a long yawn, stretching his upper body. This action created a loud crack, heard by everyone in the vicinity. "Sorry," the immortal said, grinning slightly at the face Piper made.
"Anyway, I think it's time to use those things." He said, referencing the weapons they'd just been given. "Leo, get up."
The son of Hephaestus groaned, rising to his feet slowly, "Why me? Piper got a weapon too!"
Percy frowned slightly at the demigod's complaint, "And if we play our cards right, she won't have to use it that often." He looked around Leo, shooting a grin at the daughter of Aphrodite, "No offense."
Piper smiled right back at him, "None taken."
"Fine." The son of Hephaestus reluctantly lifted his hammer, arranging his body into a fighting position.
Percy did nothing in preparation, except raising his arms out to his sides (as if they were wings), and asking, "Well? You gonna make a move, Valdez?"
Leo let out a battle cry, running at the son of Poseidon. As he neared the immortal, Percy sidestepped the younger boy, sticking out a foot and effectively tripping him.
Leo crashed to the ground, eliciting laughter from Jason, Piper, and the recently arrived Thalia. "Leo," the daughter of Aphrodite called, "I think the point of fighting is to hit the other person, not to hit the ground."
The children of Zeus laughed even harder at her comment, and Percy just grinned. The son of Hephaestus let out another groan, "You're killin' me, Smalls."
The three onlookers were guffawing by now, and there was a small crowd of hunters surrounding them. "You telegraphed, kid. You're showing me exactly what you're gonna do, right before you do it. Now, get up, and try it again."
The younger demigod clumsily rose to his feet, collecting himself. He charged at Percy a second time, swinging down with the hammer in his right hand. The son of Poseidon sidestepped again. The hammer collided with air, and Percy was behind the son of Hephaestus now.
The son of Poseidon stepped forward, sending a fist right into the small of his opponent's back. As a result, Leo flew forward, crashing to the ground right at Piper's feet. The laughter began again.
"C'mon, man! This is useless!" The son of Hephaestus protested.
"I concur." Artemis stepped out of the crowd, her hands on her hips, "Why doesn't Perseus face a worthy opponent?"
The aforementioned man frowned at the goddess's suggestion, "Because I don't want to get my ass whupped."
Thalia snorted at his retort, and the Olympian grinned. "Don't worry, boy. I will make sure to avoid touching said 'ass'."
Percy got into a fighting stance, drawing Anaklusmos out of his pocket, "Oh boy." He meekly spoke.
The daughter of Zeus taunted the boy from behind his back, "What's wrong, Kelp Head? Afraid of a little girl?"
Percy nodded twice in quick succession, "Very." He confirmed.
Artemis raced forward, and the battle began, at speeds which non-demigod eyes would not be able to keep up with. The son of Poseidon feigned at her waist, but the goddess was not fooled. He frowned, then stabbed at her chest with his blade.
She somersaulted over the strike, falling gracefully to the earth behind Percy. She spun around, kicking him in the back of his knee. The male fell, and Artemis attempted to take advantage of this. She struck downwards with her hunting knife, but the son of Poseidon realized what she was doing, and rolled out of the way.
Percy regained his footing, rising to his full height, and charged at the goddess. Artemis flipped over him again, but the son of the sea god was ready this time. He spun to where she would land. Slashing outwards, Percy slicing through the green garb on the goddess, revealing olive-colored skin and cutting a slit in her upper arm. This only seemed to anger Artemis, her silver eyes flashing with rage.
"Oh shi-" Percy managed to speak, before the goddess was upon to him.
She feigned at the male's leg, and the son of Poseidon took the bait. As his sword dipped downwards, he realized he was trying to block an attack that was inexistent. Artemis kicked Percy in the chest, knocking him backwards. As he hit the dirt, he rolled backwards, colliding with a tree. Artemis grabbed him by the neck of his shirt, slamming him up against said tree.
"Yield." She demanded, placing the knife near his carotid artery.
Percy nervously grinned, dropping his sword. "Ma'am yes ma'am."
Serena sighed, leaning against a tree on the border of camp. Patrolling was definitely one of the most tedious chores you could get. CRACK!
The huntress's head swiveled toward the noise, an arrow already strung up on her bow. "W-who's there?" She worriedly called.
Narrowing her eyes, she made out a doglike form in the distance. As it slowly neared, she realized it was a hellhound. She loosed an arrow, headed straight for the beast. Right before the projectile connected with the creature, a shadow flew in front of the bolt, and it disappeared.
"I would not have done that if I was you." Serena shrieked, turning to see a thin, pale boy, shorter than herself, standing four meters away.
"Y-you can't be here!" She protested, clumsily attempting to nock another arrow.
"And who do you propose will make me leave?" The boy drew the shadows towards himself, briefly covered by them.
When the darkness retracted, he had a long iron sword in his right hand. By now, some of the other huntresses had been attracted by the sound of Serena's scream. Phoebe aimed an arrow at the stranger's throat. "Who are you?"
An eerie smile dawned on his pale features, "A friend," he answered, not putting down his weapon.
"Then why is your sword unsheathed, boy?" Another hunter, Allison, demanded.
The smile did not leave his face, and he pointed one long finger at Serena, "She attacked my friend."
The huntress in question frowned, "You're friends with a hellhound?"
The boy nodded, his unnerving smirk still present, "It comes with the territory when your father is the king of the Underworld."
Percy, who had been watching from afar, but had been unable to get a good look at the son of Hades, realized who it was, and smiled. He snuck off, taking a wide berth around the group, and coming up behind the boy.
While this was going on, the huntresses continued their line of questioning, "Men," Phoebe spat out the name, "are no friend of ours. Much less if their lineage comes from Hades."
As the boy opened his mouth to speak, he was doused with water from behind, "What the f-" he whirled around to see who the perpetrator was, only to be greeted with the downed form of Perseus Jackson, rolling around giggling.
"H-he was t-trying to b-be s-so scary, a-and," the son of Poseidon attempted to speak, but it just diverged into fits of laughter.
Artemis and Thalia-who had been speaking in the goddess's tent-approached the scene, and the Olympian asked, "What is going on here?"
Phoebe scowled at the pair of boys in front of them, "Perseus seems to have invited a friend over."
Nico, still drenched in water, bowed to Artemis, while the son of the sea god remained tormented by his laughter, "Lady Artemis, my father has ordered me to accompany Percy in order to capture the unknown enemy the next time he appears."
Thalia frowned at her eldest demigod cousin, sending a jolt of electricity his way. The attack connected with the immortal's lower back, sending him right back onto his feet. The son of Poseidon growled, sending a blast of water her way.
It hit its target, and now two-thirds of Percy's demigod cousins were soaked in hydrogen dioxide. Thalia, her hair clinging to her head flatly, stormed toward the immortal, getting right up in his face, "Do you have a problem, Kelp for Brains?"
"Maybe I don't like being electrocuted, Pinecone Face!" He yelled, not backing down from the huntress.
Nico sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if this was a usual occurrence whenever those two were in the same vicinity. With a flick of his wrist, a shadow enveloped Thalia, sending her to the other side of their campsite. "NICCCOOOOOOO!" The daughter of Zeus screamed at the top of her lungs.
"ENOUGH!" Artemis exclaimed, moving her arms in an 'x' motion while she did so, "Hunters, to your tents! Di Angelo, you will stay outside until we have come to a decision! You," she pointed one finger at the son of Poseidon, "and I are having a conversation in my tent!"
Without waiting for a response, Artemis stormed off in the direction of her tent, which happened to be the largest in the camp. Percy turned to Nico with a confused look on his face, to which the son of Hades replied with a shrug of dismissal. The immortal sighed, hanging his head and trudging along behind the goddess.
As he entered the tent, the son of the sea god was pleasantly surprised. Unlike Aphrodite's palace, Artemis's tent was not lavishly decorated. Instead, there were several animal pelts strewn about in the room, the most noticeable the bear lying right in front of the entrance. Behind it was the goddess's sleeping mat, on which a deer was resting, its legs folded up under itself. The strange thing, Percy noticed, was that Artemis also had a wolf inside her sleeping quarters, and it did not seem to be feuding with the deer, which normally would be considered its prey.
"I see you've noticed my companions." The goddess began, the wolf plodding over to her and rubbing against the Olympian's thigh. Artemis scratched behind its ear. "This is Avalon. Lupa only sends her very finest to the Hunt."
Percy was perplexed by her last sentence. "Lupa?" He wondered aloud.
Artemis's eyes widened, as if she'd given something away. "You will learn in time, boy. Now, to the matter at hand. My hunters do not want another boy staying with us."
The male's eyes darkened, and he stared coldly at the goddess. "Your hunters can take that up with me, if they so choose to."
Artemis glared harshly at the boy, "More importantly than that, however, we do not need another powerful scent with us. There are currently five children of the big three situated in this camp at the moment. That is taking unnecessary risks with my huntresses' safety."
"The Lord Hades, our uncle, seems to view it differently from you. He believes that strength in numbers will be able to conquer any possible threat drawn by our scent. Also, if you are so unconfident in the respective fighting skills of your huntresses, you and them can retreat while Nico and I, and whoever chooses to accompany us, face that threat alone." Percy spoke, raising his voice and using hand motions as he voiced his argument.
The goddess's eyes flashed with rage, and she stormed right up to the male. "First of all, Lord Hades is not currently presiding over the Hunt; I am. That means that I can do as I so choose with the girls that have sworn to side by me. Secondly, don't you dare question the prowess of my huntresses. You have no idea how much those girls have been through, which is much more than you losing your petty little teen crush!" Artemis finished with a scream, clenching her fists at her sides.
Percy froze, his eyes narrowing as his irises seemed to turn pale green in color. He spun on his heel, stalking out of the tent without a word, the only sound the loud stomps created by his feet. "P-Perseus I didn't mean to-" Artemis was cut off as the male swung the door shut, leaving her to contemplate the gravity of what she'd just done.
Thalia had since cooled off from her brief spat with her cousins, and was waiting for the immortal meeting to end. She rose off of the wooden log, a smile adorning her face as she saw the son of Poseidon. "Hey, Perce, how'd it go?"
"Move." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to send a shiver down her spine.
He bumped into her with his shoulder, and the daughter of Zeus fell back to the ground. Thalia looked at Percy's retreating form, then her goddess's tent, "This is not good."
As soon as the immortal was out of sight from anyone in the camp grounds, he broke out into a sprint, trying to get as far away from any signs of life as possible. He didn't care where, he was just running. Running, trying to get away from that heartless bitch that was angry because she could never find love.
Percy didn't feel the branches that left scratches on his face and arms. He didn't feel the shrubs that tore up his legs. He was just running.
Eventually, the son of Poseidon tripped over something, crashing to the ground with a grunt. He skidded several feet before stopping, his face right above the surface of a lake. In the clear blue water, Percy saw his reflection.
There were red streaks on his forehead and cheeks were the branches had smacked him, and he had a deep scowl adorning his face. The most disheartening thing that the son of Poseidon realized, is that he had been crying, and it was very visible.
He furiously wiped at his tear-ridden face, determined to remove any sign that he had ever been crying because of something as petty as an insult.
"I hate Artemis." He growled, once he had finished rubbing his eyes. "That self righteous bitch thinks she knows everything. I haven't done shit to her! In fact, she's the one who owes me! She would still be Atlas's bitch under the sky if I wasn't there!"
A purring sound came from behind Percy, followed by a lecherous, sultry voice, "I know, baby. That mean old prude should be kissing your feet, thanking you for all you've done."
The son of Poseidon whirled around, only to be greeted by several individuals. They were all identical in appearance, but the seven different forms were creating a wall so that he could not leave.
Being honest, Percy thought the women were beautiful, reminding him somewhat of Aphrodite. She was dressed simply, in a revealing blouse and blue jeans, but the demigod believed there were weapons hidden somewhere in her attire.
"Now then, baby, be a doll and come give me a kiss." As she spoke, the son of Poseidon could barely make out long teeth, sharper than any mortal should have.
Percy flicked his wrist, a shard of hardened water from the lake flying at the middle woman. The projectile passed harmlessly through her, though her mist-like form dissipated, before collecting together once again.
The woman hissed at him, baring her teeth. "Now now, honey, that's not very polite."
"Who are you?" The son of Poseidon demanded, drawing his sword from his pocket and uncapping it.
"My name is Lamia, you half-blood brat, and I've been sent here to kill you." Lamia answered, flexing her fingers. As she did so, her nails elongated, growing into razor sharp claws.
Percy was momentarily disgruntled by her fingernail situation, giving a slight 'ugh' in response, but shook his head, clearing his thoughts. "You're gonna need a lot more than just seven."
The monster cackled, "I think I'll find a way to manage, you arrogant bastard."
All seven forms lunged toward Percy at once, but the son of Poseidon was ready. As the pounced, her sprung backwards, using the lakewater to catch himself. "You're in my domain now."
The demigod used his sword akin to a conducting baton, gesturing with it toward the far left version of Lamia. A tendril of water lashed out at her, striking the monster in the throat. This form faded out temporarily, as well. 'Well,' Percy thought. 'I've narrowed it down to five.'
He was not given time to celebrate his deductive reasonings, as all seven renditions of Lamia began chanting Latin words. As they finished their chanting, a large ball of energy fired itself at the son of Poseidon.
"Woah!" He shouted, swerving to the right as the blast caused a minor tidal wave in the lake.
"That's new." He muttered to himself, planning a new assault. "Hecate?" He called out.
"You're not as dense as you appear, sea spawn." She called, slightly drained from summoning the energy ball. "Yes, my mother is Hecate."
Taking her momentary breathlessness as an opening, Percy used the water to catapult himself at the form which he believed was the true Lamia. With a cry of defiance, he flew towards the woman, Riptide pointed straight for her heart.
As he neared her, Lamia chanted several more words in Latin. Percy grunted as he collided with an invisible wall, crashing to the dirt and rolling to the edge of the lake.
Disoriented, the son of Poseidon attempted to regain his bearings as the monstress stalked toward him. He barely registered the other six illusions disappearing, and she rolled him over with her foot. She straddled his chest, wrapping her hands around his neck.
"I want to see the look on your face as the life is drained from your eyes, you worthless piece of sea scum." Her grip tightened on his throat as she spoke.
Percy attempted to form words, "What? Do you have a last request, half-blood?" She demanded, slightly loosening her hold.
"Look up." The son of Poseidon simply spoke.
She acquiesced to his request, her gaze darting to the sky. Above her, an icicle was waiting, falling and imbedding itself between her eyes. The monster keeled over, the shard having done its job, and Percy grunted as he shoved the woman off of himself.
As she began to disintegrate, he spat at the pile of golden dust. "Rot in Tartarus, bitch."
Thalia stood to her feet, brushing herself off of any excess dirt. "Oh hell." She muttered.
Nico seemed to appear out of the shadows, striding straight toward the daughter of Zeus. "Do you know why he's pissed?"
The huntress glanced up, slightly relieved that it was Nico and not anyone else. "Nah. I think he and Lady Artemis got into a fight. She can have a temper. But right now, I need you to go find Percy and bring him back here."
Nico's eyes widened, and he gave a nervous laugh. "You think I can handle him right now?" He demanded, his voice conveying his exasperation. "The only people who could handle Percy when he's mad are Annabeth, and his mom. One of them is a constellation, and the other is several thousand miles away. Besides that, we don't even know where Percy is right now!"
Thalia sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Fine. Let's go talk to Artemis and find out what happened."
The daughter of Zeus led the way, on Nico's suggestion, and cautiously opened the entrance to Artemis's tent. "My lady?" She called, a hint of uncertainty in her tone. "Are you in here?"
"Come in." The voice was quiet, almost a whisper.
The pair of children of the big three entered the tent slowly, as if they were approaching a rabid animal, or a bomb. "Percy stormed away, so we couldn't talk to him." Thalia began, trying to keep her tonality calm and soothing. "He's really volatile when he gets like this. So, my lady, if I may ask, what happened during the conversation you two had?"
Artemis sighed, regret evident in her somber expression. "Thalia, I don't admit my mistakes often. Here, I am afraid, I made a mistake."
The daughter of Zeus moved her arms in a 'go on' motion, encouraging her mistress to enlighten the two of them on what her mistake was. "Perseus and I were in a… heated discussion regarding whether or not to allow the son of Hades to travel with us. My argument was that if he stayed with us, it would attract larger monsters. He said that di Angelo would help us fight them, and that if I was unsure of the huntresses' abilities, I could take them and leave the boys to fight the monsters. I grew angry; he insulted my sisters, after all, and said that he had no idea what they had been through in their time. I told him that what they had been through was much more than him losing his 'petty teen crush.'"
"That was dumb." Nico blurted out, before he could stop himself.
Artemis's silver eyes darted over to the boy, glaring fiery daggers at him. "I would watch my tongue, if I were you, di Angelo."
The son of Hades swallowed once, before speaking again. "Lady Artemis, with all due respect, that was not a smart thing to say. I know Percy. He is definitely the closest thing to true family I have. I was with him when he bathed in the River Styx. To bathe in the Styx, you have to think about something that will tie you to the mortal world. Percy thought about Annabeth. You gods always preach about how heroes have fatal flaws, well Percy's was loyalty. If he believed it would have helped Annabeth, then that dumbass would have crawled through Tartarus."
Artemis stood to her feet, prepared to turn the son of Hades into a jackalope, but Thalia held her arm out to stop her. "My lady, he is right. Percy might not be the brightest person, but he held his heart on his sleeve, and he loved fiercely. If I know anything about Percy Jackson, I know he loved Annabeth."
The goddess inhaled, still slightly angry, then exhaled slowly. "Fine. I suppose we should go find Perseus, then."
The trio left the tent, and as soon as they were outside, Artemis called, "HUNTERS!"
Her maiden compatriots slowly assembled, followed by the demigods, who filed in last. "Perseus Jackson has left camp. He should be nearby. Spread out and find him."
A cackling sound came from behind the treeline, and a feminine voice called out, "I'm afraid you'll never get the chance."
A beautiful woman walked out of the forest, wearing a white dress. "Oh damn." Leo muttered under his breath. "Why don't we get the pretty girls on our side?" Piper elbowed him in the side.
"Khione." Artemis snarled, drawing a hunting knife. "You will regret threatening an Olympian."
The dark-haired woman smirked, placing a hand on her hip. "Will I?"
Khione snapped once, and Artemis was enveloped by a blizzard of snow. When it dissipated, the goddess of the hunt was frozen in place. This time, the goddess of snow flicked her wrist, sending an icy gust toward the party of demigods.
As it neared them, however, it seemed to hit a wall, the ice melting. "Huh." She muttered, her eyes finding Leo. "A fire user. Those are always interesting."
The Hispanic half-blood raised his hands in a non threatening gesture, "Lady, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."
She sneered at him, before turning to the woods, "Come, my friends." A legion of monsters, easily quadrupling the collection of demigods, entered the clearing, ready for battle. She smirked. "Charge."
With a roar, the monster army stormed toward the demigods, intent on destruction. Thalia raced forward to meet them, leveling her spear and carving a line through the enemy with a blast of electricity. She summoned Aegis, deflecting an attack from an empousai.
Thalia took advantage of the off-balance beast, darting in with her spear and stabbing it through the chest.
"Yah!" The daughter of Zeus glanced up, spotting a large hellhound leaping above the rest. Riding the beast, she found her cousin, Nico di Angelo, wielding his stygian iron sword.
A Scythian dracanae took advantage of Thalia's inattentiveness, slashing downwards with her blade and cutting a deep gash in Thalia's spear arm. "Agh!" She gasped in pain, stumbling backwards.
The monster remained on the offensive, advancing toward the lieutenant. She struck again, but Thalia raised her shield to guard against this attack. "Ugh!" The force of the blow caused the daughter of Zeus to grunt, her feet sliding in the damp grass.
A cry of pain rang out, and Thalia peeked out from behind Aegis. Alexis stood there, knife in hand, a smile on her face. 'A daughter of Ares at heart,' the lieutenant thought. The sparkle in the huntress's eyes turned to shock, and she fell forward to the earth.
Thalia looked down, finding a spike protruding from Alexis's back. Her eyes flicked back up, and she found the manticore standing in front of her. "I remember you, girl." It growled, its tail flicking around absentmindedly.
It shot another spike at her, but Thalia was ready. She raised her shield, catching this one, and charged, using Aegis to guard herself as she did so. She reached the manticore, stabbing at it with her spear. The beast's tail wrapped around the weapon, jerking it away from Thalia.
She growled, drawing a hunting knife as the manticore snapped her spear. She pointed the dagger at the creature, shooting a line of electricity at it. The monster sidestepped, leaving her blast to strike a cyclops in between its eyes.
The manticore took advantage of Thalia's brief shock, whipping its tail at her over and over again. It struck Aegis multiple times, driving the daughter of Zeus back as it did so. Finally, Thalia lost her grip, and the shield was flung away as the monster whacked it.
The daughter of Zeus stood alone, only a hunting knife in hand, as the monster approached her. She was clearly weakened, but Thalia would not give up the fight. The lieutenant of Artemis stabbed at the manticore with her dagger, and it laughed as it deflected the blade with its tail. The long, scaly weapon flicked upwards, creating a bloody gash in Thalia's cheek.
The force of the strike threw the daughter of Zeus to the dirt, and she spat once. "Such strong blood. I will relish this victory for a long while, Ms. Grace. In fact, I believe you might be my greatest kill yet." He stalked toward the grounded lieutenant.
A cry of rage came from high above all of them, and Thalia turned her head to see Percy Jackson fly in from above the tree line, crashing to the ground with a low 'boom.' The impact of the landing caused many monsters and demigods to fall to the ground, but the manticore remained upright.
The son of Poseidon rose to his feet, charging at the creature. The manticore realized this was a fight he could not win, and began to backpedal. It tripped over its tail, collapsing to the earth. "Please," the monster pleaded pathetically, raising a hand as if to keep Percy at bay, "Spare me."
The immortal's face was a deep scowl, and he whapped the manticore's hand away with the flat of his blade. "You should never have come here." The son of Poseidon drove the tip of his sword through the monster's neck, killing it.
Percy turned around and saw the monsters trying to regain their footing. "NO!" He shouted, causing an earthquake to occur in the small clearing.
The creatures fell to the ground once again, and the son of Poseidon scanned the campsite for Nico. The son of Hades found his eyes, taking the hint. He plunged his stygian iron sword into the ground, opening a large crevice which swallowed all of the monsters. Except for one.
Percy stalked toward the goddess of snow as she tried to regain her footing and scramble away. She got to her feet, but the son of Poseidon caught her by the shoulder. "I don't think so."
He spun her around, lifting the minor goddess by her neck. Khione gasped, trying to regain air. "Ple-Please." She sputtered.
Percy gripped her throat tighter, "Tell your master if wants an audience with me, all he needs to do is ask. However, if he wants to kill me, I would prefer he do it in person."
The son of Poseidon threw the goddess to the ground. Khione wheezed, desperately intaking oxygen. "Now get out of my sight."
Ok so yeah. I wanted to get to 21000 words, but i got bored and i figured this was a good way to end the chapter. tell me what you think, and if you dont like it, tell me why. LTS