Disclaimer: Same as always. Credit given to where credit is due.

Enjoy!

Chapter 33

Luke stared at Kronos, his whole body frozen.

"Tell me!" bellowed the Titan. "Tell me what you know!" His face twisted for a moment, and Percy's voice came out, dry and sarcastic:

"He can't move."

Kronos took control again and growled. He waved his hand, and Luke felt his mouth unfreeze.

Luke licked his lips. "He's still fighting you, isn't he?" He tried to keep his voice level and indifferent.

"Nonsense," Kronos spat. "Repeat that lie, and I will cut out your tongue. The boy's soul has been crushed. I am simply adjusting to the limits of this form. It requires rest. It is annoying, but no more than a temporary inconvenience."

"As… as you say, my lord."

"Now, you will tell me, Lucas Castellan, what you know."

Luke felt his body unfreeze and he collapsed to the ground. The sole of a cold boot smashed into the side of his face and he collapsed to the ground. He spat. There was no blood. And Kronos had kicked him hard. Perhaps it was because of his invulnerability but he still didn't want to say anything. Otherwise the campers would be in trouble.

Suddenly, Kronos stumbled back and fell to the ground. Amazingly, Luke saw Percy's blue-green eyes for a moment before they glowed yellow, and Kronos bellowed with all his might. Kronos shouted, "You shall not rebel. You shall submit. Your soul has already burned partly. You should feel your life fading away. Your body will burn. Your soul will be crushed."

Keep fighting, Luke begged.

Percy Jackson had a tremendous amount of spirit. Luke wanted to cry in glee. But he had to keep indifferent in front of the Titan lord. The invasion had already begun, and hundreds of monsters were flocking to Manhattan, but Bianca told him Thalia had trained extremely hard for the battle. Apparently, she was more powerful than ever. Luke remembered seeing the horrifying blast of lightning after she'd kicked him off the summit of Mount Tam. If she'd gotten more powerful than that…

They also had Bianca, who was also quite powerful. But Percy… Percy was even more powerful than that. Kronos had decided to spar with a hundred dracaenae. Using Percy's powers, they were dead within ten seconds. That was ten dracaenae per second. Of course, they were forced to charge at him, but seeing Kronos in Percy's body was terrifying. Especially on the days when Percy didn't fight back.

Luke was terrified that Percy was truly burning on the inside. If that was true… he couldn't imagine Percy's spirit dying away. It was this twisted thing. He had been bitter at the gods, but forgave them. Still, they knew of his intentions and mistrusted him. They turned him against them after he forgave them. And it was salt in the wound when Annabeth was killed. Surely, Thalia could have been more level-headed.

"Leave now!" came the order from Kronos. "Lead the legion of monsters across Williamsburg Bridge."

Luke quickly departed, and barked the orders to the monsters lounging around. Quickly, he mounted a horse and began the approach to Williamsburg Bridge. He grabbed a charm out of his pocket. It resembled the shape of a palace, the palace of Olympus to be exact. Putting it to his mouth, he muttered, "Please be there, Bianca… Thalia. I'm begging you."

Inside Manhattan, the daughter of Hades received the message. She relayed it to Thalia, who put on a look of grim determination. They stood up and got on the scooter that had been abandoned in the middle of the battle. Its rider was nowhere to be found, but amongst the sleeping bodies of the mortals, it didn't really matter. The only duty they had to fulfill was the defence of Olympus. As much as Bianca wanted to protect the mortals, she knew she couldn't. After all, being a daughter of Hades meant she had to understand death. Her brother's death had taught her that best. And as much as she regretted that moment, she knew she had to live with it, just as Thalia had to live with the guilt of killing her best friend.

When they came to the bridge, they saw the battle already underway.

Apollo campers were retreating. They would hide behind cars and snipe at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows and dropping caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing. An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armour, and the unlucky snake woman would distintegrate, but most of the Apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. About a hundred more monsters marched behind them, led by a tall, blonde demigod and the most terrifying monster Bianca had seen since Kampê.

From the waist down, the Minotaur wore standard Greek battle gear—a kiltlike apron of leather and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull—hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large, modern science should have proven that his head should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. A double-bladed axe was strapped to his back, but he was too impatient to use it.

He grabbed a white limo and threw it at the fleeing campers.

The two children of the Big Three ran up behind an overturned school bus, where a couple of campers were hiding.

Michael Yew ran up to them. He was the shortest commando Bianca'd ever seen. He had a bandaged cut on his arm. His ferrety face was smeared with soot and his quiver was almost empty, but he was smiling like he was having a great time. And he stood at about four foot eleven.

"Glad you could join us," he said. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," she said.

"Then we're dead,"he said.

"You still have your flying chariot?" Thalia asked.

"Nah," Michael said. "Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honour for the last time or some stupid thing."

"Least you tried," Thalia said.

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some… things when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

He drew an arrow and launched it toward the enemy. The arrow made a screaming sound as it flew. When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael said.

"A gift from your dad?" Thalia asked. "God of music?"

Michael grinned wickedly. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

Sure enough, most monsters were regrouping, shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back," Michael said. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Thalia said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael laughed. "How do you plan to do that?"

She looked at Bianca. The daughter of Hades nodded and turned back to face the Manhattan side of the bridge. They were about halfway down the bridge, so she had to raise them from pretty far away, but she was confident in her powers. She put about three-quarters of her energy into raising the dead, and mustered four dozen undead Roman legionnaires. They scaled the towers of the bridge, climbing up the metal and forcing their way through. The way they organized themselves, Bianca could tell she'd summoned heavily trained soldiers.

She crouched down, panting and trying to catch her breath, but the drain of energy was far too great. She wouldn't be much use in a battle for the next five minutes.

Thalia nodded in appreciation and stepped forward. When the legionnaires looked at Bianca for orders, she pointed at Thalia and said, "Follow her."

The daughter of Zeus stayed silent. "All right. Follow my lead. And try not to die. Again."

The skeleton soldiers all nodded. They formed a tight three-lined rectangle sixteen soldiers wide across the span of the bridge. Thalia stood in front of them, approaching fearlessly. She activated her shield, Aegis, and brought out her giant spear. Fortunately for her, Artemis allowed her to retain some of her archery skills, though she didn't have the unlimited ammo that the Hunters did. She kept her bow tied to her quiver and did her best to keep it out of her way when fighting in close combat.

A few dracaenae threw flaming javelins at her. She blocked them with her shield, walking forward slowly as if it were a scene in a movie. A hellhound lunged, and she brought her spear up in a deadly arc. The razor sharp edge of the spear cut through the monster, and the hellhound disintegrated into dust and fur.

More monsters surged forward—snakes and giants and telekhines—but the Minotaur roared at them, and they backed off.

Luke stood behind the Minotaur, watching closely. They locked eyes, and for a moment, Thalia felt relaxation settle in her bones. Luke would have their backs. If things got hairy, he would change sides now. He would betray Kronos. And Thalia would make sure he wasn't a spy. Not like the spy that was supposedly in camp… like the spy that caused Beckendorf's death.

The Minotaur unstrapped his axe and swung it around. It was beautiful in a harsh I'm-going-to-gut-you kind of way. Each of its twin blades was shaped like an omega, the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Maybe that was because the axe would be the last thing his victims ever saw. The shaft was about the same height as the Minotaur, bronze wrapped in leather. Tied around the base of each blade were lots of bead necklaces. Thalia realized they were Camp Half-Blood beads—necklaces taken from defeated demigods.

If Percy could beat him at age twelve, I can beat him now, Thalia thought to herself. She thought about the victims of the Minotaur… the former campers. She allowed fury and hate to build up in herself, and then she raised her shield.

The Minotaur hesitated for a moment, and she took that opportunity to charge.

The beast raised his axe to defend himself, but he wasn't too smart. She feinted and stabbed him right through the stomach. He grunted in pain, the blow not enough to kill him, and smacked her aside with a free hand. She felt the spear tip rip free of the Minotaur's thick skin and regained her footing. Her arm was bleeding, but she couldn't feel the pain.

She focused on her electrical energy, powered up, and then blasted off again. The Minotaur didn't know how to play defence. She used her spear's sharp edges to slowly wear the Minotaur down, the rest of the monster army watching in silence as the most powerful beast of any at the bridge was slowly taken down by the quick daughter of Zeus.

The Minotaur became frustrated and his attacks became wilder. She used that to her advantage. He raised his axe above his head and struck down, but she darted to the side, pivoted quickly on her outside foot, and released a blast of electricity as she impaled the Minotaur through its thick, furry side. The Minotaur bellowed in pain as electricity crackled through his body. As if burning him, the electricity slowly dissolved the Minotaur into a pile of dust and ash.

In the ensuing silence, Thalia screamed, "Slay the monsters! Charge!"

The skeleton warriors chattered in their eerie language and charged forward, ignoring Luke and charging straight at the monsters. Luke stepped forward, and Thalia stood her ground to meet him. An arrow flew past her fast and smashed into Luke's chest, but the arrow shattered as soon as it made contact with his skin.

"Stop!" Bianca ordered, as she felt herself recover. "He's on our side."

Michael Yew looked at her with disbelief. "What are you talking about? He's the original traitor! He's the one that betrayed Camp Half-Blood that year by stealing the lightning bolt."

"But Percy Jackson helped him and no one turned their back on him until a year and a half ago," Bianca shot back. "Thalia says she knows Luke. I trust her. She believes he is being honest. He doesn't want to see the rise of Kronos. He only wanted compensation for his ruined childhood."

The skeleton warriors made quick work of the monsters. Like she'd predicted, the soldiers fought like they'd been trained for decades, if not centuries. Only five of them were lost. The monster's attrition rate went from about two hundred to twenty in a matter of three minutes.

But then she saw the crowd at the base of the bridge. The retreating monsters were running straight toward their reinforcements. It was a small group, maybe thirty of forty demigods in battle armour, mounted on skeletal horses. One of them held a purple banner with the black scythe design.

Bianca cursed. Her armour wasn't protective enough. She ran forward to Thalia and Luke, with Michael right on her heels.

The lead horseman trotted forward. He took off his helm, and Bianca recognized Kronos himself, his eyes like molten gold.

They were a quarter mile apart, but Bianca thought she could see him smile.

Luke, in a tight voice, asked, "Where's the eye patch kid, Ethan? And the red-headed mortal, Rachel?"

"Rachel's at camp right now," Thalia replied, "and Ethan's helping the Hunters defend the Lincoln Tunnel. Though, neither party is thrilled about that fact. Still, the Hunters are short on personnel. This crisis is at its worst point. If only I hadn't killed Annabeth…" Thalia blinked hard. "Then maybe Percy wouldn't have… maybe…"

"Remember, our first step went sour," Luke muttered darkly. "Despite what I told Silena, to put away the scythe charm, Kronos still found out about it. He obviously let you guys go, but not without killing Beckendorf for compensation."

"Do you really think we can elicit Percy out of there?" Thalia asked doubtfully.

"As long as you're alive, he has a reason to fight," Bianca said grimly. "Even if his soul is fading."

"About that…" Thalia never got to finish. The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged.

The hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. The Apollo campers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding.

"Can I?" Thalia asked Luke. He nodded. She turned to Bianca. "You don't mind?"

"Whatever it takes to win," Bianca confirmed.

Luke, Bianca and Michael backed away as Thalia raised her spear. She felt the change in energy. The ground hummed with excitement as the electrical charge powered up between the sky and the ground.

A quiet voice was lost in the distance, but Bianca heard, "Traitor, Luke Castellan."

With an ear-piercing scream, Thalia let loose the "barbaric" battle cry. It was basically her screaming with all her power. A web of lightning streaked down from the sky in a blast of light and smashed into the cavalry ranks. The destruction was evident. All the horses had disintegrated, and many of the enemy were sprawled out on the ground. Whether they were dead or not was a different story. But all they were concerned with was the fact that the attackers were halted immediately. Thalia looked weary, and Bianca assumed command. She willed her skeleton soldiers to retreat, and they collapsed into piles of bones, spears, swords and shields.

With the remaining conscious half-blood enemies on their hands and knees, she faced Kronos eye to eye. He had stopped in his tracks, still far behind the front line of his fallen cavalry unit. But they were within earshot of each other, and Kronos laughed.

"You think this will stop me?" he said maniacally. "I have control over a son of Poseidon. I can invade any time I wish. But I wished to see your strength… and to see that a betrayer lives. After all, for many demigods fighting for the gods, life holds much pain and suffering… and I make sure those who betray suffer. Otherwise I would get bored!" Kronos laughed, as if the thought of winning an easy victory was lame. "The gods shall prove their worthless strength when the time comes to move on from this limited body. But I shall personally thank Poseidon for lending me his son. After, of course, Oceanus destroys his palace and captures him."

"Three," Bianca said quietly, so that only those behind her could hear her. "Two. One. Run!"

The command was sharp and clear in the otherwise silent morning. Everyone ran toward Manhattan as Bianca slipped the detonator into her hand and set off the bombs. Kronos took a step forward before he noticed there was something wrong. Instead of slowing time down for the kids, he looked down as the bridge platform exploded underneath his feet.

The explosions chained together and followed the fleeing demigods. The bombs had been strapped until the midway point of the bridge, so it was a real race.

As the asphalt gave way, the demigods made it past the explosion radii. But they weren't done yet. The suspension cables shook and vibrated as the explosions rattled along the metal wires. They kept running all the way down the bridge, and miraculously made it to safety as half of the Williamsburg Bridge exploded. Since the wires ran all along the Brooklyn side of the bridge, its half collapsed into the water. On the Manhattan side, the support tower kept part of the bridge from collapsing.

But when Bianca looked back, Kronos was standing on Brooklyn's beach, waving as if they were friends. Bianca knew that wasn't true. She didn't even know Percy Jackson. Their final battle would soon come. If Thalia and Luke were right on their hunches, Percy could save Olympus. He was their only hope. And she knew that, despite all the risks it had.

The worst feeling crept up her spine—the feeling of failure—and a vision passed by her just like her vision the night before: an explosion of light, the sensation of burning, and an apocalyptic world.

.Did you think that was the end? Nope! This is the final chapter. I thought it would be fitting to end the story on the same day (technically the night before) the Heroes of Olympus series ended. Though I'm sure my ending is a lot... different.

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Chapter 33.2

"Look out!" Luke screamed. The archway crumbled. Bianca looked up in time to see a twenty-ton scowling Hera topple over them. She and Thalia would've been flattened, but Ethan shoved them from behind and they landed just out of danger.

"Ethan!" Bianca cried.

When the dust cleared and the mountain stopped rocking, they found his limp head sticking out from underneath the marble statue. His face was one of pain and regret, seemingly knowing he could have lived a better life. Bianca blinked hard and turned to her friends. They both looked pained. But they couldn't mope about it. Bianca muttered a quick last farewell before leading the group toward the hall of the gods.

She could hear Kronos laughing as he approached the hall of the gods. More buildings exploded. A fireball erupted on the side of the mountain, right near the gates of the palace.

When they sprinted up, they found that the doors of the palace, which were big enough to steer a cruise ship through, had been ripped off their hinges and smashed like they weighed nothing. They had to climb over a huge pile of broken stone and twisted metal to get inside.

Kronos stood in the middle of the throne room, his arms wide, staring at the starry ceiling as if taking it all in. His laughter echoed even louder than it had from the pit of Tartarus.

"Finally!" he bellowed. "The Olympian Council—so proud and mighty. Which seat of power shall I destroy first?"

The hearth was almost dead, just a few coals glowing deep in the ashes. Hestia was nowhere to be seen.

Bianca, Thalia and Luke stepped forward into the torchlight.

Hearing their footsteps, Kronos turned and smiled through Percy's face. Except for the golden eyes, he looked just the same as he had when he was happy, Luke thought. Thalia made a painful sound in the back of her throat, like someone had just sucker punched her.

"Shall I destroy you first, Grace?" Kronos asked.

Thalia sneered. "Don't—call—me—that—name!"

But the Titan just laughed. And laughed. He didn't say a word. It was eerie but agitating at the same time. Bianca unsheathed her sword and stepped forward to face the Titan. An unnerving feeling crept up her spine as she stared at the Titan's golden eyes.

Thalia's eyes lit up like she just realized something. "Wait, I get it now!"

Immediately, Kronos struck. Bianca raised her sword in defence, but Luke intercepted the blow of Kronos' scythe. Pushing back with all his might, Luke threw the Titan lord down using Percy's old weapon: Riptide. There was a quick flash in Kronos' eyes, as if he remembered that Riptide was his sword. Bianca turned to Thalia, who was staring in either amazement or horror at the battle ensuing between Luke and Kronos.

The latter had the upper hand, fighting like a demon, just as she imagined Percy would fight. The shorter son of Poseidon was quicker and stronger than Luke, but Luke, from what he told her, had more experience fighting other demigods for real and could stand his ground against the far superior child of the Sea God.

Kronos backed Luke up against the throne of Hephaestus—a huge mechanical La-Z-Boy type chair covered with bronze and silver gears. Kronos slashed, and Luke managed to jump straight up onto the seat. The throne whirred and hummed with secret mechanisms. Defence mode, it warned. Defence mode.

Luke looked alarmed, and he jumped straight over Kronos' head as the throne shot tendrils of electricity in all directions. One hit Kronos in the face, arcing down his body and up his sword.

"ARG!" He crumpled to his knees and dropped his scythe.

Thalia suddenly darted forward, and Bianca was too slow to stop her. She charged Kronos. "Percy, listen! It's me, Thalia, the girl you want to kill!"

But Percy didn't appear. Bianca cursed. So Percy had weakened. Kronos flicked his hand. Thalia flew backward, slamming into the throne of her father and crumpling to the floor.

"Thalia!" Luke screamed.

Kronos flicked his other hand. Luke flew in the opposite direction, toward the throne of Dionysus. When the Titan rose to one knee, Bianca took note that the electricity had had a great effect on him. His hair smoldered. His face was covered with electrical burns. He reached for his weapon, but this time it didn't fly into his hands.

As the two other demigods struggled to rise, Bianca found herself frozen in her tracks. She couldn't move her legs and watched helplessly as the Titan slowly approached the winded son of Hermes. Luke wasn't particularly hurt, but he'd clearly been stunned. He rose to his feet and faced Kronos, with both hands on Riptide's handle.

With a cruel smile, Kronos attacked Luke. He attacked in an unpredictable whirlwind, like he had earlier, but somehow his strikes were even faster. Luke didn't stand a chance. Despite the fact that his skin was like steel, each strike must have hurt. Bianca didn't know where Luke's mortal point was, but she could tell where his fatal mistake lay.

He raised both arms and lifted Riptide over his head. And opening up his sides, Kronos struck. Under the side straps of his armour, in a precise spot just under his left arm, Luke was hit with the fatal blow. It was a deep cut, and as Kronos flung him across the room with the momentum of the scythe, Luke howled. His eyes glowed like lava. The throne room shook, throwing Bianca off her feet. An aura of energy surrounded Luke, growing brighter and brighter. She shut her eyes and felt a force like a nuclear explosion blister her skin and crack her lips.

It was silent for a long time.

When Bianca opened her eyes, Luke was lying on the floor, breathing his final breaths, and Kronos was sprawled out on the ground, clearly injured from the blast of energy.

"It's too late," Kronos' voice said. The body was still lying on the ground, but the voice sounded more energetic than Nico had been when he was young. "Behold!"

Percy's arm moved and pointed to the hearth. The coals glowed. A sheet of white smoke poured from the fire, forming images like an Iris-message. Bianca saw the Hunters and Clarisse fighting what seemed to be a hopeless battle, ringed in enemies. In the background Hades fought from his black chariot, summoning wave after wave of zombies out of the ground, but the forces of the Titan's army seemed just as endless. Meanwhile, Manhattan was being destroyed. Mortals, now fully awake, were running in terror. Cars swerved and crashed.

The scene shifted, and Bianca saw something even more terrifying.

A column of storm was approaching the Hudson River, moving rapidly over the Jersey shore. Chariots circled it, locked in combat with the creature in the cloud.

The gods attacked. Lightning flashed. Arrows of gold and silver streaked into the cloud like rocket tracers and exploded. Slowly, the cloud ripped apart, and Bianca saw Typhon clearly for the first time. She knew she would never forget it as long as she lived, which might not be that long. Typhon's head shimmered constantly. Every moment he was a different monster, each more horrible than the last. Looking at his face would've made her head spin, so she focused on his body, which wasn't much better. He was humanoid, but his skin looked… well, she was so disgusted all she could think of was not to vomit. He was mottled green, with blisters the size of buildings, and blacked patches from eons of being stuck under a volcano. His hands were human, but with talons like an eagle's. His legs were scaly and reptilian.

"The Olympians are giving their final effort." Kronos laughed. "How pathetic."

Zeus threw a thunderbolt from his chariot. The blast lit up the world. She could feel the shock even here on Olympus, but when the dust cleared, Typhon was still standing. He staggered a bit, with a smoking crater on top of his misshapen head, but he roared in anger and kept advancing.

Kronos' attention was focused on the fight and his final victory.

Bianca felt her limbs beginning to loosen up. She realized that this would be the end. She had negotiating power over Hades, but over Poseidon…

Typhon stepped into the Hudson River and barely sank to mid-calf.

Like a miracle, a conch horn sounded from the smoky picture. The call of the ocean. The call of Poseidon.

All around Typhon, the Hudson River erupted, churning with forty-foot waves. Out of the water burst a new chariot—this one pulled by massive hippocampi, who swam in air as easily as in water. Percy's father, glowing with a blue aura of power, rode a defiant circle around the giant's legs. Poseidon was no longer an old man. He looked like himself again—tan and strong with a black beard. As he swung his trident, the river responded, making a funnel cloud around the monster.

"No!" Kronos bellowed after a moment of stunned silence. "NO!"

"NOW, MY BRETHREN!" Poseidon's voice was so loud Bianca wasn't sure if she was hearing it from the smoke image or from all the way across town. "STRIKE FOR OLYMPUS!"

Warriors burst out of the river, riding the waves on huge sharks and dragons and sea horses. It was a legion of Cyclopes. All the Cyclopes held huge lengths of black iron chains—big enough to anchor a battleship—with grappling hooks at the ends. They swung them like lassos and began to ensnare Typhon, throwing lines around the creature's legs and arms, using the tide to keep circling, slowly tangling him. Typhon shook and roared and yanked at the chains, pulling some of the Cyclopes off their mounts; but there were too many chains. The sheer weight of the Cyclops battalion began to weigh Typhon down. Poseidon threw his trident and impaled the monster in the throat. Golden blood, immortal ichor, spewed from the wound, making a waterfall taller than a skyscraper. The trident flew back to Poseidon's hand.

The other gods struck with renewed force. Ares rode in and stabbed Typhon in the nose. Artemis shot the monster in the eye with a dozen silver arrows. Apollo shot a blazing volley of arrows and set the monster's loincloth on fire. And Zeus kept pounding the giant with lightning, until finally, slowly, the water rose, wrapping Typhon like a cocoon, and he began to sink under the weight of the chains. Typhon bellowed in agony, thrashing with such force that waves sloshed the Jersey shore, soaking five-story buildings and splashing over the George Washington Bridge—but down he went as Poseidon opened a special tunnel for him at the bottom of the river—an endless waterslide that would take him straight to Tartarus. The giant's head went under in a seething whirlpool, and he was gone.

"BAH!" Kronos screamed. He slashed his sword through the smoke, tearing the image to shreds.

"They're on their way," I said. "You've lost."

"I haven't even started."

He advanced with blinding speed. Bianca sidestepped and jabbed under Kronos' guard. It was a good trick. Unfortunately, Percy knew it. He countered the strike and disarmed her using one of the first moves she'd learned at camp. Her sword skittered across the ground and stopped in the center of the hearth.

Kronos raised his scythe, and the same deadly blow that came to Beckendorf and Luke came down on her. It was hardly a scratch, but the deadly poison was already on its way. She collapsed to the ground, shuddering in horror.

"NO!" Thalia came from nowhere.

Kronos whirled to face her and slashed with his scythe, but Thalia had Aegis out. The scythe bounced off the unbreakable shield and she blasted him with an explosion of lightning. Kronos flew across the room and smashed into Poseidon's throne. He stood up, grimacing, but in that moment, Thalia threw everything she had at Percy.

"Percy," she said, gritting her teeth, "I understand now. You have to trust me."

Kronos roared in outrage. "Percy Jackson is dead! His body will burn away as I assume my true form!"

But before he could charge forward, she stunned him: "He's been fighting you this whole time, hasn't he? You must be wondering how, if his soul should be burning away from his loss of contact with his mortal point, he's fighting back. I know why. Because he heard my voice."

Realization hit Kronos and he reeled back. Percy's voice squeaked through. "I'll kill you," he said.

Spots danced in Bianca's vision. He felt her soul, her identity dying away. She knew she would suffer the same fate as Percy if he let Kronos win. Except there was no saving her.

"You heard me, didn't you?!" Thalia shouted. "You realized that. That's why you're still fighting. You want to kill me. That's what keeps you tied to the mortal world."

Bianca was sure she was seeing things, but Kronos' whole body was glowing… turning gold.

Just then, the gods arrived in their full war regalia, thundering into the throne room and expecting a battle. They found their battle.

Kronos lunged forward a grabbed Thalia. Bianca thought he was going to stab her, but she realized it was Percy who was in control. He was fighting the will of Kronos. He was winning the battle of mental power. In his hand was Riptide, which seemed sudden. But Bianca couldn't feel her body anymore and everything was hazy.

Hades rushed over to her, looked at her and glared at Percy. "You'll pay for what you've done, father," the Death God spat.

Poseidon closed his eyes, as if he knew what was coming. "Percy. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"I hold nothing against you, dad… Uncle Hades… Hermes… Hephaestus. But if you're working with them… they help represent you as a whole." Percy's voice cracked and he grimaced. Thalia didn't even try escaping. She just stared back at her father with a desperate look on her face. "If they refuse, then it's their fault. After all, it's my sixteenth birthday today."

"Please, dad," Thalia begged in a hushed whisper. "Listen."

"We do not deal with the likes of him," Zeus spat.

"Father." Athena's voice had a sharp edge to it, like she was unsure. That'd be a first.

Percy made his proposal. "I'll destroy Kronos if you promise me this: properly recognize the children of the gods. All the children… of all the gods. And no matter how dangerous a child is, raise them right. Don't try to kill them. That will only fuel their hatred. If you don't agree—"

"I will never deal with you, Perseus Jackson," Zeus roared. "Prepare yourself."

Bianca watched as Percy's expression darkened. His face grim, he muttered a single word that marked his decision: "Sorry."

Riptide cut into Thalia Grace's neck, and blood exploded onto the floor. Thalia fell to the ground, gargling in her own blood for a few seconds, before the blood loss was too much and she lost consciousness. Within another few seconds, in the stunned silence that filled the throne room, Thalia Grace died.

Two seconds later, Percy bid farewell. She saw the tears coming from his eyes as the golden light exploded. In addition to the poison that was soaking up her identity, Bianca felt her eyes burn and she screamed in pain. It was almost as if she had been lit on fire. Pain coursed through her body, and everything felt as if it was superheated. She felt like she'd been caught in a nuclear explosion, the force of the golden light ripping her apart limb from limb, bone from bone, atom from atom.

Is this how it ends?

And after her final thought, Bianca di Angelo never woke up.

The gods gripped their weapons tightly, fearing the worst. Olympus' throne room exploded with power, and a magnificent, tall being stepped out of the golden fire. His eyes gleamed gold with power, and his jet black hair gave him a menacing look. Brandishing a scythe with a handle taller than a god, the Titan Kronos laughed and looked at his children and their children.

With a mere flick of a finger, the entire state of New York and the surrounding areas exploded in a brilliant light, like a nuclear explosion, except there was no fallout. In fact, the wasteland left behind was worse than that of a nuclear explosion. All life in a five hundred mile radius, stretching from northern Ontario to South Carolina, from Detroit to south Nova Scotia, was eradicated.

Kronos smiled evilly. "Finally. The new Golden Age has arrived."

The END! OMG, terror. Hatred. What are you feeling right now? To end it so suddenly like this? I really spent time thinking about it. I kind of wish I wrote more, but there didn't seem to be anything important to add. And I realized... Percy's mechanical arm was more of a "in the moment" thing. It never really played a part again.

BUTTTTTT! I HAVE started another story. You can find it on my profile page. Don't worry, it's not the next in this series (after all, how could it be), but you guys voted for it... by one vote. BEFORE you check "Extermination" out, make sure you look at "Crimson Memories," the one shot preview of the story. The one-shot takes place much farther down the timeline of "Extermination," but it gives a brief insight on how Percy will be, so if you're not into a broke Percy, don't read "Extermination!"

That's all folks. Feel free to flame for this ending.

SharkAttack719... 8/18 - Doomsday