Warning: Certain ancient Greek names matches words use of foul language but no foul language was intentionally used. Also if you haven't read them yet read 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Early Adventures' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters' 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Titan's Curse' and 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Olympians: The Magical Labyrinth' as well as the one shots 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Stolen Chariot' The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Sword of Hades', and The Tales of the Son of Poseidon & the Bronze Dragon' before reading this story as stuff that happened in them will be mentioned. Lastly, any one who wants to do a Demigods and Olympian reads story using 'The Tales of the Son of Poseidon' is allowed as long as you inform me about it.
The Party Ponies Makes a Comeback
Midtown was a war zone. We flew over little skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. Beckendorf and three of his siblings fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.
I was tempted to stop and help, but I could tell from the smoke and noise that the real action had moved farther south. Our defenses were collapsing. The enemy was closing in on the Empire State Building where Bob and the Dionysus twins were guarding alone. As powerful as Bob is even without his memories, I hate to think
We did a quick sweep of the surrounding area. The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just two blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Beckendorf's second-in-command Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos' demigods. The south was clear for now, but the flans of enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes we'd be totally surrounded.
I spotted a familiar silver owl banner in the southeast corner of the fight, 33rd at the Park Avenue tunnel. Annabeth Malcom and one more child of Athena were working with Mrs. O'Leary to hold back a Hyperborean giant.
"Take me to Annabeth," I told Blackjack.
He plunged toward the battle.
I leaped off his back with Riptide ready and slashed down at the giants back, softening my landing before I hit the ground.
The Giant turned into a solid ice before shattering into pieces. I didn't get much time to celebrate as Mrs. O'Leary gave me one grateful slobbery kiss.
"Thanks," said Annabeth while trying to catch her breath. "The pig?"
"Pork chops thanks to Daedalus plan twenty-three," I said.
"Good," Annabeth said, "Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."
"WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary agree.
The next hour was a blur. I fought like I'd never fought before—wading into legions of dracaenae, taking out dozens of telekhines with every strike, destroying empousai and knocking out enemy demigods. No matter how many I defeated, more took their place.
Suddenly out of nowhere Bob came charging over and took down a Hyperborean giant and several dracaenae.
"Bob!" I said.
"I came to help!" Bob said, "When you were in trouble Bob decided to help even though I would be breaking friend's orders."
"It's okay, Bob! Keep fighting!" I said. "Take on the south flank."
Bob nodded and charged to attack, it seemed we were finally getting our second wind. Many of us tried to get as many wounded demigods out of the battlefield but even with Bob charging, monsters kept charging.
"This isn't good," Annabeth said, "We can't save everyone and fight at the same time."
"We have too," I said but I knew she was right. Bob gave us a second wind, but he's only one titan. We need to push the enemy back from all directions.
Suddenly I heard a hunting horn.
It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around us, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.
At first I thought it was a hunter's horn or something, but Thalia and Bianca were nearby and they were as confuse as we were. Even Kronos' forces looked as confused as we were.
Then Kronos' entire northern flank surged out crying. They missed us and crashed into their southern allies.
A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire calvery appeared as if dropping out of light speed.
"Yeah, baby!" a voice wailed. "PARTY!"
A shower of arrows arced over our heads and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of monsters. But these weren't regular arrows. They made a whizzy sound as they flew, like WHEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.
"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.
The Party Pony army exploded into our midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow afro wigs, oversized sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flans like HORSEZ PWN.
Hundreds of them filled the entire area. Chiron must have told them about Bob and Mrs. O'Leary because not a single one hurt them, in fact, they helped Bob with his charge.
"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs. He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction. "Sorry we're late!"
"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"
He locked and loaded a double-barrel pain gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink and black puddle.
"PARTY PONIES!" a centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA CHAPTER!"
Somewhere across the battle field, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"
"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" a third one shouted.
The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintball guns, arrows, swors, NERF baseball bats, and a permanent amnesiac Bob. The party ponies and Bob trampled everything in their path.
"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and ACKK!"
That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him. The lord of titan disappeared under the giant blue butt.
We pushed them back for a while before Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"
It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee. Even Bob retreated once he got the word.
"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."
I nodded. The battle lasted longer than I thought as I sense dawn approaching. Plus, I was exhausted, again.
We decided to set up a two block perimeter around the Empire State Building. The Dionysus twins joined the battle about the same time Bob ran off to help, but other than a few scratches and bruises they were okay. One thing was clear, if by chance Kronos didn't know about Bob before, he does now.
Chiron informed us that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island, thirty from Illinois… roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, we couldn't risk to defend more than a few blocks.
"Dude," said a centaur name Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER. "That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"
"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"
Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."
"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.
One of them yelled at Bob, "Hey Bob! How about you come and join us, big guy?"
Bob looked at me with a questioning look and I waved to him to go ahead. Bob proven his loyalty to everyone tonight so he deserved breakfast. So our only titan ally headed off after his new centaur buddies.
Chiron smiled. Annabeth gave him a big hug, and Mrs. O'Leary licked his face,
"Ack," he grumbled. "Enough of that, dog. Yes, I'm glad to see you too."
"Thanks Chiron," I said.
He shrugged. "I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distances as we ride. Even so, getting all the centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."
"Either way, I think they made Bob's day," I responded.
"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth aske.
"They slowed us down a bit," Chiron admitted, "But I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."
"That would explain how Beckendorf got back into the city," I said. "Hopefully it'll run in our favor when Silena convince Clarisse to rejoin the war."
"Maybe so, but as soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again," Chiron warned.
"What about Typhon?" I asked.
Chiron's face darkened. "The gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine god went own somewhere in the Appalachians. No one seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia. They well heal, but not soon enough. The others will fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster cannot be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces then I doubt having Iapetus on our side will help."
"We have to hold out," Thalia said causing me to jump. I didn't even see here come to us. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."
She looked exhausted. Her jacket was smeared in grime and monster dust. Even the silver aura that the hunters have to show their immortality didn't seem strong right now. But she managed to get to her feet and staggered off.
"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."
Chiron cantered off, leaving Annabeth and me alone.
She cleaned the monster slime off her knife. The very same knife Luke gave her, the very knife Halcyon gave Luke, and the very knife the girl Halcyon saved gave him.
"At least your mom is okay," I offered.
"If you call fighting Typhon okay." She locked eyes with me. "Percy, even with the centaurs' and bob's help, I'm starting to think—"
"I know." I had a bad feeling this might be our last chance to talk. "Ethan thinks Luke is still alive in Kronos' body. Maybe he's the key to winning this war."
Across the street, the Apollo campers had set up field hospital to tend to the wounded—dozens of campers and almost as many Hunters.
And suddenly: I wasn't there anymore.
I was standing in a long dingy bar with black walls, neon signs, and a bunch of partying adults. A banner across the bar read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BOBBY EARL. Country music played on the speakers. Big guys in jeans a work shirts crowded the bar. Waitresses carried trays of drinks and shouted at each other. It was pretty much exactly the kind of place my mom would never let me go.
I was stuck in the very back room, next to the bathrooms (which didn't smell so great) and a couple of antique arcade games.
"Oh good, you're here," said the man at the Pac-Man machine. "I'll have a Diet Coke."
He was a pudgy guy in a leopard-skin Hawaiian shirt, purple shorts, and red running shoes, and black socks, which didn't exactly make him blend in with the crowd. His nose was bright red. A bandage was wrapped around his curly hair like he was recovering from a concussion."
"Mr. D," I said surprised.
"Good to see you too Peter Johnson."
"I thought Typhon swatted out of the swatted you out of the sky."
"He did, but part of my conscious is here in this party," Mr. D said, "It wasn't easy finding it though. Mortals are panicking. Typhon was terrified them."
"Then why did you bring me here?" I asked.
"Well, to be honest, I would take any of you silly heroes, but you will have to do. Anyways, I pulled you here to deliver you a warning. We are in danger."
"Um, I already can guess that," I stated.
He glared at me and momentarily forgot his game. Pac-Man got eaten by the red ghost dude.
Dionysus cursed at the game before remembering why I was here. "Now listen, Johnson. The situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization—"
The game played a song and Mr. D progressed to level 254.
"Ha!" he shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"
"Um, fabric of civilization," I prompted.
"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away, but mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of West civilization. Art, law, wine tasting, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings—all the things that make life worth living will disappear! The truth is, Peter, the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus then everything we stand for will fade.I will deny I ever said this, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise we would not keep you annoying little runts around."
Suddenly the game ended and Mr. D started cursing in ancient greek again.
I manage to get him back on track by ordering a diet coke.
"You must save Olympus, Pedro! Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our own seats of power. It must be done!"
"Got it," I responded.
"There's more," Mr. D warned. "Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure. Within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan king. And a Titan's true form is ten times more powerful than a god's. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this, he will empowered the other Titans. They are weak now, compare to what they will soon become, unless you can stop them. The word will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid game."
I was scared, terrified even, but nothing I was already.
"Anything else?" I asked.
"One last thing. My sons, Pollux and Castor. Are they alive?"
"Yeah, they helped—uh—a friend of mine with his charge."
"If you're talking about Iapetus, I hope he was charging against his brother's forces," Mr. D said.
"He did," I said.
"Good. Anyways. I want you to keep my sons alive," Mr. D said. "Now go. You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"
"Nasty surprises?"
He waved his hand and the bar disappeared.
I was back on Fifth Avenue. Annabeth hadn't move. She didn't give any sign that I'd been gone or anything. Must be a trick.
I gazed down the avenue, wondering what Mr. D had meant by nasty surprises. How much worse could it get.
My eyes rested on a beat up blue car. The hood was badly dented, like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters. My skin tingled. Why did that car look so familiar? Then I realized it was a Prius.
Paul's Prius.
I bolted down the street,
"Percy!" Annabeth called. "Where are you going.
Paul was passed out in the driver's seat. My mom was snoring beside him. My mind felt like mush. How had I not seen them before? They'd been sitting here in traffic for over a day, the battle raging around them, and I hadn't even noticed.
I tried to open the doors, but they were locked. I mumbled some incoherent words in ancient Greek that if my mom was awake she would ground me.
"I need a child of Hermes over here and fast!" I yelled.
"Percy," Annabeth said.
"They… they must've seen those blue lights in the sky. They must of come to find me," I said trying to get the door to open. "Dang it! Where are the Stoll Brothers when you need them?"
I kicked the windshield trying to break into the car, which of course I failed.
"Percy, calm down! We'll get them out of harms way," Annabeth promised.
"What's going on?" Thalia asked rushing forward with Bianca following.
"Percy's mom and stepdad is in the car and Percy's trying to get them out," Annabeth said.
"I will get them out as soon as I get one of Hermes' kids over here!" I grumbled as I kicked the windshield with no effort.
"I think saw Katie yelling at Travis a block back," Bianca said.
"Go get him and bring him here at once," Thalia told her, "Tell him we need him to break into a car."
Bianca nodded and raced off.
Meanwhile I was still trying to break into my stepdad's car while calling myself an idiot in ancient Greek.
"Percy, it will be alright. Bianca will get Travis here to help," Annabeth said and I nodded. Both Annabeth and Thalia knew how close I was to my mother, heck, we spend months together with Luke trying to get me back to her, and Paul been like a third father too me (after Chiron) in his own way.
Finally Bianca came with Travis and Katie.
"Hey Percy," Travis said, "You need a car break into?"
Travis seemed more anxious than he sound. Katie whacked him in head for it.
"It's okay, Katie," I said. "Travis, my mom and stepdad is in there, and the stupid door is locked or something and I can't get in."
I kicked the window with no prevail. You would think after so many attempts I would at least crack it.
Thankfully Travis got the message. "Right, step back and let the master do his work."
Travis got to work, and in no time the door was open. Annabeth and Thalia got my mom out as Travis worked on the driver's side door so we could get Paul out.
"Um Percy, what's that doing here?" Annabeth asked.
I looked in the back seat and muttered in ancient Greek. Seat-belted being my mother was a black-and-white Greek jar about three feet tall. Its lid was wrapped in a leather harness.
"Pandora's Pithos," I said. "I thought we locked it up back in the hotel."
"It must have sensed your emotions when you saw your parents," Thalia said.
"What should we do with it?" Bianca aske.
"We'll see if Hestia could watch over it," I said, "Meanwhile see if Chiron will help with getting my mom and Paul to the Empire State Building."
"On it," Katie said.
But before we could things were put on hold. A mechanical drumbeat grew loud in the distance—the chop-chop-chop of a helicopter, which was unusual with the whole city asleep.
A few blocks east, a monster army shouted and jeered as the helicopter into view. It was a civilian model painted red, with a right green "DE" logo on the side. The words under the logo was to small to read, but I knew what they said: DARE ENTERPRISES.
My throat closed up. Annabeth must have recognized it too, because she demanded. "What is she doing here? How did she get through the barrier?"
At this point Chiron showed up, looking confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"
Suddenly the helicopter pitch forward.
"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron said. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."
I gritted my teeth as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings. Even if it didn't crash, the wind gods would probably swat it out of the sky for coming near the Empire State Building.
I did my loudest taxi whistle. In no time flat, Blackjack swooped out of nowhere."
You rang boss? Blackjack said.
"I need you to get me as close to that helicopter as you can," I said.
Are you crazy boss?
"Just do it," I said as I climbed on Blackjack's back.
However before we flew off, Annabeth climbed on as well.
"Annabeth—"
"You know next to nothing about flying a helicopter Percy," Annabeth reminded me.
"And you do?" I asked.
"Do you want my help or not!" Annabeth yelled.
I didn't have time to argue, since any second now the Helicopter will crash.
"Okay, let's go save Rachel," I said.