Hi guys! Thanks for the reviews :D Ready for a few of those answers I promised you? Then read on ;) Enjoy!

XXXIX
PERCY

It didn't take Percy long to reach the Empire State Building once he'd stolen and hot-wired an abandoned car not far from camp (though he'd had to contend with an unexpected rush of grief when he remembered it was Leo who'd taught him to hot-wire a car in the first place). The vehicle had gotten the attention of a few stray monsters throughout the city, but he ran them down or avoided them without much thought, his mind focused on his goal.

He drove right up to the building and got out of the car, uncapping his sword as Erebos's welcoming committee—a pair of seven-and-a-half-foot Laistrygonian giants—lumbered forward to greet him.

"Hey there," he called to them. "I've got an appointment with the head honcho. Maybe you can—Whoa!" He leapt aside as one of the giants swung his heavy club. It smashed against the roof of the car, crushing the metal beneath it. "Jeez, I know I'm a little late, but that's no reason to be rude. How about you let me explain?"

The two giants exchanged what might have been confused looks. "You want to see the King?" the one with the club said gruffly. "Then you have to go through us!"

Percy shrugged. "If you say so." He dodged another swing of the huge, wooden club and slashed out with Riptide, cutting into the monster's arm. The giant howled in pain and stumbled as his partner hefted a gigantic axe and jumped forward, swinging it downward in a deadly arc. Percy spun to the side and followed up by driving the blade of his sword into the giant's gut. The monster barely had time for a deep-throated yell before Percy dragged the sword sideways and it broke free, reducing the giant to dust.

He wiped the blade of his sword on his jeans and looked up expectantly at the other giant, raising his eyebrows. The remaining monster seemed to shrink a bit in surprise. Then he raised his club above his head and gave a fierce battle cry before charging forward with full force.

"Sssstop!" a raspy, reptilian voice interrupted, and Percy turned quickly to see a Scythian dracaena hurrying toward them from the building entrance, twin snake legs hopping and slithering across the pavement. The giant, however, either didn't hear or chose to ignore her order, because a second later something hard slammed Percy in the shoulder, throwing him off his feet.

"No!" the dracaena shrieked. "Enough, you imbecile! Do you not realisssse who this is? The King has ordered that Percy Jacksssson not be harmed!"

Now she tells him, Percy thought bitterly as he pushed himself up on his hands and knees. He bit back a gasp as pain shot through his shoulder and down his right arm. Cursing himself for letting his guard down, he climbed to his feet and gripped his sword with his left hand, his right hanging uselessly at his side.

"Jackson?" the giant repeated. He pointed dully to the pile of dust that used to be his partner and said, "But, he killed my—"

"I don't care! I'm ssssure your idiot friend will return ssssoon. Now sssstay here and try not to causssse more trouble!" The dracaena turned and pointed a finger at Percy. "You," she snapped. "Follow me."

Percy rolled his eyes and did as she said. She led him inside the Empire State Building and past the monster guards in the lobby, straight to the main elevator. As she inserted a keycard and pressed the red button labeled 600 that appeared as a result, Percy remembered with a pang of nostalgia the first time he'd ever ridden this elevator to Olympus—summer five years ago, twelve years old with Zeus's master lightning bolt in his backpack. It had been the first time he'd met his father, seen him face-to-face. He tried hard not to think that this time, now, could very well be his last ascent to the mountain of the gods.

The other times Percy had visited Mount Olympus, it had been lively and bright, exactly what you'd expect for an immortal city. But this time, he was struck by how much the place had changed. Under Erebos's rule, it was dark and shadowy, just like the ground far below, and instead of frolicking nature spirits and partying gods the city was inhabited only by various monsters doing whatever it was monsters did in their time off from hunting demigods. A cold breeze blew down from the mountain and Percy shivered as he followed his dracaena escort up the winding stairs through the city, the adrenaline in his blood turning to ice. His shoulder, which he now suspected was dislocated, throbbed painfully, cutting through the cold.

Well, guess this is it, he thought numbly as they reached the entrance to the Olympian palace. He didn't know what Erebos planned to do with him or why his surrender was so important, but he did know one thing: once that door was open, there'd be no turning back.

And with that happy thought, he stood by and waited as the dracaena knocked twice on the doors and they slowly began to swing inward. She stepped aside to let him pass, and as he walked into the room, he froze in alarm.

Not one of the thirteen gigantic thrones was empty. On each one sat a god, in oversized human form, sleeping soundly. Some were still and quiet, like Hera, whose head was tilted toward her husband, and Artemis, whose legs were curled beneath her like a cat. Others, though, were less so—Hermes seemed to toss and turn restlessly and Hephaestus gave a great, thundering snore every few seconds. Percy's eyes traveled instantly to his father's throne, where Poseidon was out cold with his head tipped forward, chin against his Hawaiian T-shirt. He didn't see any of the minor gods and assumed they must have been imprisoned elsewhere on the mountain.

But that wasn't all that was odd. In the very middle of the room sat a new feature—a huge, black throne made of volcanic glass, with a jagged, pointed back that rose in sharp spires and reflected the black and blue fire blazing in torches on the walls. And in that throne sat the King of Darkness, Erebos—ten feet tall and dressed in a black satin tuxedo. He looked just like he had in Percy's dream and the message he'd been shown, but standing before him, face to face, was very different. The god's powerful aura sank through Percy's skin and made him feel instantly as though he wanted nothing more than to lie down at the base of that glass throne and give up on everything. It was one of the worst, most helpless feelings he had ever experienced.

"Ah," Erebos said slowly in his low, quiet voice. "Welcome, Percy. I have been awaiting your promised visit." He smiled, and Percy felt an odd sort of stirring feeling in his chest—like a swell of familiarity, of… excitement. It didn't make sense. How could he possibly be feeling excited right now? "I must say, I'm glad you've accepted my invitation. As you can see, my other guests are rather dull." He spread his hands toward the Olympian gods with a smirk and Percy felt a twinge of annoyance. Erebos's gaze shifted toward the back corner of the room and, curious, Percy turned to look, his heart sinking at what he saw.

In the corner of the room, at the end of the left row of thrones, was a clear, glass container, and inside it was the god of sleep, Hypnos. Black, smoky ropes encased his body, covering his mouth and trapping his arms at his sides. On closer inspection, Percy realized that the ropes weren't only smoking, they were literally on fire—the same dark, black fire that burned in the torches on the walls. It was unlike any fire Percy had ever seen—deep and shadowy, swirling shades of black and blue light a starless night sky. It didn't appear to burn the rope or Hypnos for that matter, but whatever it was it must have been an effective way of locking the god away. His golden eyes stared into Percy's, and the only emotion he could read in them was anger.

"How…?" Percy muttered in shock, realizing that their small hope of freeing the gods had just gotten even smaller.

"Nyx is not the only one with power over her immortal children," Erebos replied.

Percy turned and glared at him, hands tightening into fists. "Well, I'm here," he said shortly. "So what do you want?"

Erebos raised an eyebrow. "Impatient, are you?" He nodded to the dracaena behind Percy and she left the room, allowing the doors to creak closed behind her. "Hmm… I believe I told you to come unarmed, did I not?" Erebos said, returning his attention to Percy and pointing a long, white finger at the sword gripped in his left hand.

"Yeah, well, your boys outside put up a fight. I couldn't just let them smash me, could I?"

Erebos frowned and clucked his tongue. "And I expressly ordered them to allow you safe passage. So difficult to find good help these days." Shaking his head, he stood and stepped away from his throne. He began to shrink before Percy's eyes, falling to the size of a normal human until he was only two or three inches taller than Percy. "I assure you their attack was not my intention. As an apology and a gesture of good faith…" He trailed off and reached forward. Percy took a step back reflexively, but Erebos was too fast. The tip of the god's finger lightly touched his injured shoulder and he cried out as he felt the bone slide painfully back into place.

"You may keep the sword if you wish," Erebos said with a wave of his hand as he turned and stepped back toward his throne. Percy rolled his shoulder experimentally and was grudgingly glad when he realized it had been healed. Then, despite the god's words, he re-capped Riptide and dropped the pen in his pocket, glaring at Erebos's smug smile. He knew as well as Erebos did—the sword wouldn't do him any good.

"Now then, to answer your question…" Erebos said as he stood in front of his throne, both hands on his walking cane. The black smoke that filled his empty eye sockets seemed to swirl with suddenly greater sharpness as his cruel smile widened and he finished, "What I want is your death."

Cold hands gripped at Percy's heart. It wasn't as though he hadn't seen that coming, but expecting and knowing for certain were two entirely different things.

"So what are you waiting for?" he snapped in a good impression of bravado. "Go ahead and kill me."

Erebos chuckled. "Not yet. Not until tonight."

"Why? What's so special about tonight?"

"Have you heard of a 'black moon'?" Erebos asked. When Percy remained silent, the god explained, "It is a lunar phenomenon that occurs a few times every year, when two new moons appear in the span of one month. As it so happens, tonight is the second new moon of July and therefore a black moon. The sky above my eternal night will be lightless, providing me the power I will need to complete my sister's spell."

Complete his sister's spell? What was he talking about? Some of Percy's confusion must have shown on his face, because Erebos smiled in amusement. "I can see you do not understand. Allow me to explain—after all, we have some time to kill. And I'm sure you would like to know why your life must end before the time comes. You see, Percy, you provided the Elder Olympian blood that allowed my sister to break the immortal seal binding me in the Underworld. However, because you lived, the spell was incomplete. Nyx's magic was meant to turn your blood—Kronos's blood—to immortal darkness, darkness that I could absorb to become greater than all of the Titans' descendants. The process was begun when she injured you that night. But as long as blood continues to run in your veins, it will not be complete."

His expression darkening, Erebos stepped forward. "I'm sure you've felt it," he said coolly, raising his walking cane and pointing it toward Percy, who was standing frozen from a mixture of dread and fear. "That darkness—my darkness." He poked Percy in the chest with his cane and again he felt that uncomfortable surge of anticipation, like something inside him was leaping for joy. And now, with Erebos's explanation, he thought he understood. The Oracle had warned him of a darkness inside him—he just hadn't realized that she'd meant a literal darkness, a piece of the power that was meant to be Erebos's, binding them together through Nyx's unfinished spell. 'The blood-stained bond'—it was real.

"No way…" he muttered in disbelief, suddenly feeling broken and tainted. He wished Erebos had refused to tell him the truth like a normal supervillain.

"I promise you, this is no lie or story. That darkness inside you calls to me—reaches out." Erebos raised a hand and touched two fingers to the front of Percy's shirt over his heart, and a sudden, searing pain twisted his insides in knots, like his lungs were trying to burst from his rib cage. He yelled and doubled over, staggering backward away from Erebos. The pain died down at once, leaving a ghostly ache behind. "You see?" Erebos said, sounding pleased. "I can feel it just as you can. But do not worry; it will all be over soon."

Percy raised his head to see a dark smirk spread slowly across the King of Darkness's face. "Tonight when you die in shadow," Erebos whispered, his voice barely louder than the flickering of his black fire, "your darkness—your power—will be mine."

The lunar schedule of 2011 really suits my needs superbly, wouldn't you say? I mean, there really was a lunar eclipse in June and there really was a black moon at the end of July. It's the little things, haha.

So anyway, there's that. I've had this whole explanation planned out for so long, it feels weird for it to be out in the open, haha. Seriously, it's been... since I started planning Blood and Sand? So like, almost a year ago? Oh gosh have I really been working on this for that long? Ugh, that makes me feel like I have no life outside fanfiction, hahaha... Wow, that's sad...

How 'bout a review? The next narrator set actually has a few good things happen! I think you guys will like it, for a number of reasons. Drop me a review and the next chapter might be up Friday!

Later days, gang!

-oMM