-Carter Kane-
We managed to make it to the foot of the mountain, all the while Sadie was trying to catch me up to the major details I missed being stuck in an air bubble underground. "So, giants are trying to kill the roots of Greek and Roman Gods?" I summed up.
"Yeah, all are banes of a portion of the Gods," Jason continued.
"Like Polarus as the Bane of Ares?" I seethed to recalling the giant treating our uncle like a pet.
"Uh, yeah," Percy confirmed. "When did you run into him-" He started to ask.
"Percy," Annabeth snapped, "Ares tried to start a war between the Big Three. His Bane is exactly like that. And Set already told us that his other two forms are Ares and Mars."
Sadie's eyes widened towards me as I dreaded recalling our wasted time under his watch just for this one moment to cause a massive war between our worlds. "What happens to our Gods when theirs die?" I asked Sadie next.
"How am I supposed to know?" She snapped. "You were the one with Amos the entire time!"
"I'm going to take a leap here and suggest massive Chaos," Walt jumped into the discussion. "And if we won't create it to stir Apophis back, that might do the trick alone."
My expression hardened to the thought, I really hate that damn adder even after banishing him into the depths of the Duat. "Okay, let's puzzle out the other Gods quickly then," I started as we started extreme hiking up the mountain. "Horus, I think Gaia said something along the lines of Zeus and Jupiter," I recalled.
"Uh, what?" Jason gaped at me in utter shock.
I gave him a confused look now, "Know them?"
"Dude," Percy continued, "Jason is Jupiter's kid."
My eyes widened to the thought. "Don't think too hard on it," Annabeth suggested. "All it will do is confuse us when we really need to focus on how to fight Gaia."
I nodded as I turned to Sadie now. "What about Isis?" I asked her.
Sadie shook her head, "Don't have a clue."
"Well, what is your Isis like?" Piper asked.
Sadie gritted her teeth as she thought a moment, "Good with magic, horrid person."
"Boy, that doesn't narrow it down much," Frank continued. "All of our Gods are generally assholes."
"And Isis could be a male or female figure in our worlds," Annabeth continued.
"You're kidding?" Nico raised his eyebrows towards her.
She shook her head, "I got along well with Thoth. Took me a while, but I'm certain he is the original form of my mother."
"Ugh, that weirdo hanging around smelly monkeys and whatnot?" Percy made a disgusted face.
"Hey now," Sadie stopped his complaining, "he helped us get an idea as to what Amos got into trouble for in the first place."
I shot her a confused look now, "You know?"
Sadie grinned in reply, "Oh Carter, I don't know how you are still breathing. First the fact that you were too self-centered to know that Amos was next in line for Chief Lector, and now this?"
"Wait, you didn't know?" Walt stared at me in amazement.
"You did?" I questioned further.
"Yeah, Bast told all of us about it," he confirmed.
I grumbled to the thought, "Okay, back on topic. Osiris?"
"Is Hades, or Pluto," Nico replied proudly. "Hazel's and my father, and from what I hear, your father hosts Osiris."
"Oh boy," Hazel continued, "this really is turning into a confusing mess."
"Be lucky you're not the son of that weird Set dude," Frank pointed out.
"Guys," Percy interrupted, "accept the fact that we are all swimming in the confusing mess that we call our lives."
"Okay, Bast?" I wondered if they would even have a cat goddess.
"What is she like?" Leo asked.
"Goddess of Family, obsessed with cats," Sadie answered.
"Who knows," Annabeth shrugged. "Okay, Poseidon?"
"Nephthys?" Sadie suggested.
"No, she's is a river Goddess, but she's the Goddess of sleep," I informed quickly. "I think Sobek is the one we want to peg."
Sadie shivered to the reminder of the crocodiles that chased after us, Bast sacrificing herself into the Duat with him. "He's not very nice to run into," I explained to the demigods.
"Aphrodite?" Piper questioned next.
"Hathor, easily," I replied.
"Hephaestus?" Leo hesitated to ask. "God of Craftsmanship?"
"Ptah, or the God of Spit," Sadie was quick to answer, earning a small jab from Walt.
We all stopped to a chuckling voice surrounding us. "Keep close to Alyssa!" I recalled Amos' set of instructions.
The mud figure appeared again, staring right at me as she approached, stopping ten feet away as I gripped my sword tightly. "It's a shame that the world balances on the shoulders of such youthful faces," she started smoothly, slowly following the perimeter of ten feet. "Even the Per Ankh has resorted to taking a child as Pharaoh."
"Shut up!" I snapped. "The Per Ankh is not weak for having me as Pharaoh. I am not the most powerful magician, I only rank second. Even so, your actions towards my family will not sit will once I gain a chance to get my vengeance."
She grinned now, "Oh yes, I almost forgot that is what Horus is famous for." Gaia observed the rest of us, sixteen kids trapped in the small area of protected ground Alyssa seems to bring with her thanks to following the Path of Geb. "I really do need to discipline Polarus for letting your Chief Lector go so easily," she snarled. "If you don't hand over the demigods, I will ensure all of you godlings are pets to my children," Gaia threatened.
Making it worse, Percy seemed to shiver a second to her threat. "Uh, Carter?" Sean asked after a few nervous seconds.
I cleared my throat and faced the ugly mound of mud grinning like a lunatic from her distance. "Sadie and Amos may be the only close family I have, but I consider everyone standing here my brothers and sisters," I finalized. "You won't win with threats of that sort."
Gaia's expression hardened in disgust. "Perhaps I will hand you and your sister to my brother instead," she continued harshly.
Sadie's eyes widened. "Apophis?" Her voice shook.
Gaia grinned to the mention, "Yes, he is born of Chaos, just like I was."
My eyes narrowed to the thought, but Sadie just laughed, "Newsflash, we banished you adder brother. What makes you think you stand a chance?"
Gaia's 'eyes' narrowed when a sudden high pitch sound interrupted. I peered up, blocking Ra's rays with my right hand as I took in a familiar fruit bat that quickly perched himself on Sadie. In response, Sadie freaked and swatted the bat off, which he ended up on the ground, practically glaring at Sadie now.
"Amos?" I questioned the thought, but he was the only one I knew that could use the form.
I was answered by a swirl of red smoke snaking around him once he transformed back into himself. "Looks like you are all enjoying Gaia's earthy skills too," he continued, glaring at the figure of mud as well.
"I am so sorry-" Sadie jumped into apologies.
He waved her worry away, "I should have known better than to land on you. I'll just remember next time to pick Carter instead."
Sadie still obviously felt bad for swatting at our uncle like she had. "You ditched the Russians?" Gaia chuckled.
"Oh no, but I guess a bunch of rowdy kids would be distracting enough for you to lose interest in the adults running around here as well," Amos was definitely being smug now. "I know, I'm the Nome leader of kids. I have to put others in charge to keep me in the hopeful ideal that they won't cause trouble."
Within seconds, a large surge of wind came crashing against us. Amos slammed his staff into the mountain, somehow pushing Gaia away further, therefore allowing an entire Nome to join us. "Good job Leonid," Amos encouraged quickly as Gaia snarled to the sight.
"Uh, you brought a party along?" Sadie shot Amos a questioning look. "Of Russians even."
"We stand for the Pharaoh," Lady Vika Menshikov clarified. "I will get over the fact that it means standing beside a pathetic boy of a Chief Lector to protect the Per Ankh."
Two seconds of silence as I took in that everyone's eyes were settled on me. "Uh, thanks, could do without the insults towards my uncle though."
She disregarded my last sentence with an ugly sigh and quick wave of her right hand. "Why are we standing around?" She demanded now.
Alyssa shot Amos a scared look now. "I only have a ten foot radius-" She started.
Amos sighed with a knowing nod. "I'll channel magic through the ground as we go," he explained. "It will give us a better chance of getting through without stepping into the traps."
"You are a handful alone, Chief Lector," Gaia snarled in disgust, even worse than Vika's.
An earthquake interrupted anyone from retorting. Amos' eyes widened to the thought as he turned to me, "Time to run."
Apparently when Amos says run, he quite literally means until your lungs turn inside out and the mountainside looks steeper than usual. The Russians did nicely with the demigods when it came to staying beside Alyssa, but some of us American magicians were struggling to keep up. Of course, this led to Amos pushing us further while slamming his staff into the ground repeatedly. It got to the point that someone else started doing the same as Amos, and it took me awhile to see that it was Vika who resorted to such measures.
I quickly decided it might be wise to see what spell they were using to channel Egyptian magic into the earth. So I slowed down a bit and stood beside my uncle, who only regarded this action with a small nod and continued pushing Felix further up Mount Olympus. When he slammed his staff for the thousandth time, I took notice of a bright red hieroglyph that floated around him and then traveled into the ground with each slam. "Geb?" I could barely ask as we kept dashing up this never-ending mountain.
Amos simply nodded. "Hosting a child of Geb gives you the special privilege to channel him when you desperately need to. Kind of like a gift, if you will," he explained between gasps for air.
Interesting, but I could tell it was taking its toll on the Chief Lector to keep doing it. "What is Menshikov using then?"
Amos shot me a confused look and glanced ahead to see her slam her staff as well. "Oh great, I was hoping I could rely on her to be of help rather than tire herself as well," he grumbled to the thought.
I raised my right eyebrow towards the Chief Lector now, who replied in the same manner. "You know, you're one of the few people that dare to look at me like that," he announced.
"Hum, there should be more then," I started in a teasing manner. "Keep you out of trouble all the time."
"Oh, I'm the one causing trouble?" He continued. "It's a good thing we're family Carter."
"Why, you'd beat me up?" I grinned, earning weird looks from a few initiates that could overhear this conversation.
"I figured Sadie would be the handful, but you prove me wrong every chance you get," he grinned as well. "It must be your father than rubbed off on you from all of that traveling."
"Come on you slow pokes!" Sadie interrupted quickly. "We're almost halfway up this damn thing!"
A sudden low chuckle brushed over us, the trees besides us being uprooted to the force as Amos abruptly turned. "Well, shit," he tried to say under his breath. "Zhang, stay behind!" He yelled out as I turned to take in the familiar towering figure making his way towards us.
"Uncle-" I started.
"Carter, I'm passing full leadership to you," Amos continued despite my concern. "I'm sure you are aware of who he's after."
I sighed in an irritated manner before slamming my staff into the ground, the similar hieroglyph floating in gold. "We'll come back for you," I reassured before following the rest of the group, Frank giving my uncle a worried look.
