LVII

Frank

(A/N: THIS IS THE END. WILL FRANK MANAGE TO DESTROY CAMP HALF-BLOOD? WHAT DOES KRIOS WANT? WILL GAIA RISE OR WILL FRANK AND HAZEL STOP HER IN TIME? FIND OUT RIGHT NOW! ENJOY!)

Krios?

Frank was about to puke at that point. He'd been accepting instructions from a Titan? They hated demigods! But nothing that Krios had said made Frank think that he had been trying to kill him. It actually seemed like he had wanted to help.

"Frank Zhang." Krios said, looking right at him in bird form. "Get your butt down here right now and stop being a wimp." Frank did as he was told. He flew back down to the ground and turned back into human form. "Frank Zhang," Krio continued, "I have a mind to help you, but you still have not proven that you are worthy of my help yet."

"This is useless talk!" Eurymedon boomed. "I will destroy you, Krios, any every one of your brethren!" he slammed a fist into him. A lot of screaming ensued, but when the smoke cleared Krios was holding his fist like a basketball. "Not going to work," he said. He looked back down at Frank. "Well, son of Mars. Do you know what I want?"

Frank was still wondering when Eurymedon shot a beam of pure light straight at the demigods in the clearing. "There are just over forty-five minutes left!" he yelled. "All of you shall perish!" he carved a searing hole into the ground, the light focused on one tiny point. "I will kill every last one of you!" he roared. He raised his hands, and the clouds thickened. Waves rolled in from the harbor. Cracks appeared in the ground.

Sky, sea and land, Frank thought. Vines sprouted out of the soil, wrapping themselves around anything and everything they could find. They split into progressively smaller vines, threatening to destroy the campsite.

Suddenly, a large portion of the camp crumbled into the earth, along with a couple of demigods. They screamed as the fell down and were swallowed.

Eurymedon took a deep breath. "Everyone, run!" Frank yelled. He turned into a harpy and grabbed Hazel, taking off. Eurymedon released the energy, and a massive explosion rocked the battlefield. Shrapnel flew everywhere, some impaling themselves inside demigods. Some of the braver ones charged towards the giant, dodging his feet, but they were finally taken out when he smashed them with his mace.

He dropped Hazel to the ground, safely away from the action. "Krios!" he yelled. "What do I need to do?"

Krios smiled at him. It wasn't a nice smile. "I am the Titan of Mastery." he said. "To me, the only ones who are worth fighting for are those who have mastered their craft."

Frank didn't get it. What kind of mastery had he not fulfilled? He could transform into animals and non-living things. "But I have mastered it!" he yelled back at Krios.

"No, you haven't." Krios replied. "Your powers extend to even further than inanimate objects. Frank, your power is not just to transform into certain objects- your power is that you can be anything."

Suddenly, Frank had one of the most terrifying images in his mind. And he knew what Krios wanted him to do. It was dangerous. It would almost definitely kill him.

"Hazel!" he yelled. "I know this sounds strange, but I need you to create a barrier around me. It needs to be as strong as possible. And tell everyone to protect me. Krios is only willing to help if I master my skill, and to do that I'm going to need time."

"What are you going to do?" Hazel asked.

"I'm going to transform into a god." Frank replied.

Silence. Frank knew that it was crazy. A mortal body couldn't hold the power of a god for too long, much less their true form. But he had to try. If he didn't then they were all dead.

"Protect me." he said, and sat down on the floor. He closed his eyes, blocking out the sounds of Hazel building a fortress of gemstones around him.

He focused on the true form of Nike. He had been blocking it out for a long time, but now he had to accept it, see it for what it was. Nike was terrifying and yet beautiful at the same time. She was victory. She would proudly raise the enemy's flag when they retreated. He latched on to that, and he felt himself get hotter. Meanwhile, he could hear the demigods outside his shelter, fighting for their lives- and for him. He could not fail them now. If he didn't manage to do this, then it was all over.

"Yes, Frank Zhang." Krios' voice boomed. "That is what you must do."

Frank felt his body heating up. His atoms were dissolving into pure energy. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not get the transformation to start.

It had been a long, long since he had begun to transform. The block of gems around him allowed fresh air to come in, which was nice. Around him, voices screamed as Eurymedon tried to slaughter them all. Suddenly, Frank heard a voice.

"ONE MINUTE LEFT!" Eurymedon roared.

Frank was shaking. One minute left? He had to transform, and fast. He thought of every single human being on the planet who was counting on him right now. He thought of Hazel. He thought of Nico. He thought of Camp Half-Blood. He felt himself grow in size.

"THIRTY SECONDS TO GO!" Eurymedon screamed.

Frank could see that he was getting brighter and brighter by the minute.

"TEN SECONDS!" Eurymedon yelled. "NINE! EIGHT! SEVEN!"

After that, everything was a blur.

Frank felt himself grow. He projected his voice. "CAMPERS! CLOSE YOUR EYES!" he yelled. "LEAVE NOW!"

Immediately, he heard hundreds of footsteps running away from his little prison.

"FIVE!" Eurymedon yelled. "FOUR!"

Frank burst out of the stone. He opened his eyes. He felt an uncontrollable rush of power through his veins. At the same time, he could feel the giant's unwavering gravity, absorbing his power to become his own.

Frank looked at himself. He was glowing in all colors- red, blue, green... he was shapeless, and yet had a form. He was here, yet he was everywhere.

Krios stood next to him. "Very well, Frank Zhang." he said. "I will fight with you."

The ground turned to lava, the flow starting from the middle of the Camp all the way and expanding to the farthest reaches. Eurymedon laughed maniacally. "The goddess rises!" he threw his sword at Frank's arm. A large drop of ichor fell into the swirling lava.

"Blood to wake the goddess." Eurymedon laughed. "Now, she can finally breach the surface of the Earth!"

Frank and Krios charged at him. But as soon as Frank landed the first punch, his form flickered. He turned back into a human, already exhausted from that transformation.

He could feel his life force ebbing away. Through his blurred vision, he could see Krios stabbing Eurymedon, turning him to dust. The anchor- a tiny, glowing ball of energy in the center of the lava pool- exploded, and the lava started to recede. As Krios disappeared, Frank felt the piece of wood slip out of his pocket and fall into the lava. Then, he fell in after it.

His vision turned red. We did it, he thought. We managed to defeat Gaia.

Then he lost consciousness.