Percy isn't here at the moment. She won't be here for every chapter. After this chapter I am going to take an undetermined amount of time off. It will be no more than two weeks though, so don't worry. I just need to reread Mark of Athena because I totally forget what happens in it. Sorry guys. It's really late right now, so I don't have time to answer all the reviews, but I'll hopefully be back in gear next time. Thank you for all the song choices you put in. I spent half an hour listening to them all and picking which ones matched best. My two favorites were Carry On My Wayward Son and Keep Holding On. I thought Keep Holding On matched best. Once again thank you for all your reviews. They always mean a lot to me and I read every single one. Please enjoy the last chapter of Son of Neptune.
Chapter Eighty: Keep Holding On
Norberta set us down in a clearing just outside of Camp Jupiter. Tyson, Ella, and Mrs. O'Leary were standing there. Tyson helped Percy and me unhook the chariot we had tied to Norberta, so we could carry all the weapons.
Bye, Nina, Norberta mentally called to me.
Later, Nor, I called back. Norberta stretched her wings and took off.
Tyson and Percy used the leftover rope to harness the chariot to Mrs. O'Leary. We all climbed into the chariot, and Mrs. O'Leary took off. When we reached the Fields of Mars, the battle had already begun.
Hazel whistled and her horse, Arion sped next to her. She jumped onto his back. Brandishing her spatha, she rode off into battle. Frank, who can apparently change forms, shifted into a bald eagle. He soared over the battle, taking down enemies with his razor sharp claws. Tyson grabbed his club and ran into the middle of the battle. "Bad Pony-Men!" he shouted. "BOO!" Ella flew over his head spurting facts about farming. We had wrapped a flag from the legion around him. This way the legion wouldn't mistake him as an enemy. As for my twin, he rode into battle on his hellhound. He was holding the legion's eagle above his head. We had recovered it in Alaska. The chariot was being pulled by Mrs. O'Leary behind him.
I whistled. Standing in the middle of the battle, I waited. I smiled when I felt the presences of all three of my familiars. Skittles landed on my shoulder. Norberta was on my right side. Silvermist was on my left.
You know what to do, I told all three of my familiars through our mental link. I swung myself up onto SIlvermist's back. Skittles flew off my shoulder to join Frank in the air. Norberta flew up and began to blast fire at our enemies. I looked over to where Reyna was fighting on her pegasus and decided to join her. "Need some help?" I grinned.
Reyna smiled at me and nodded. I drew Mov and joined Reyna in her fight.
"Fifth Cohort!" I heard Percy shout. His cohort ran to join him. The monsters stayed disintegrated as our blades crashed through them. Thank you, Thanatos! Tyson charged the lead cyclops. She was wearing a chain mail dress.
"Who?" she asked.
"Bad Cyclops Lady!" Tyson shouted. "General Tyson says GO AWAY!" I shook my head, smiling. Tyson was an awesome brother.
I noticed Frank flying towards Percy. Once he reached him, he changed back into a human. His centurion's badge was glinting. "Fifth Cohort! Get your Imperial gold weapons here!" he shouted.
"Let's go! Let's go!" shouted Dakota. He was grinning like a maniac. "Our comrades need help!" The fifth cohort joined with the third cohort against the enemy centaurs.
"Follow the eagle!" Frank ordered. Soon, only earthborn and one giant remained.
"Percy!" I shouted. "It's the bane of Poseidon! We need to defeat him!" Percy nodded and ran towards me. I helped him onto Silvermist's back.
Take us to the giant, I thought. Silvermist took to the air and we flew towards the giant. Percy had given the eagle to Dakota. It was shooting lightning off at the monsters. Percy and I jumped off my pegasus' back when we reached the giant.
"You cannot defeat me," Polybotes bellowed.
"That's what Grandpa said," I smirked, referring to Kronos. "He ended up in Tartarus."
Suddenly, a new army came forward. "Tha amazons," Percy grinned as the female warriors began to attack the monsters.
"To my sister's aid," the queen shouted. "Destroy the monsters!"
"Romans advance!" Reyna called.
Polybotes turned to glare at Percy and me. He had us backed up away from the water. Like that would help. "Use your power, daughter of Neptune and consort of Apollo," Polybotes mocked me. I glared at him and threw a wave of water at him. The water turned green as it touched his body. He flung it back at Percy and me. We both managed to dodge it. "My touch turns water to poison. Let's see what it does to your blood.
Polybotes threw his net at Percy. Percy rolled under it and shot water into the giant's face. While he was blinded, Percy stabbed his stomach with Riptide. I thrust Mov into his knee. "Run!" I yelled. Percy and I ran into the city of New Rome.
"Terminus!" Percy yelled as we reached the city limits.
"Completely unacceptable," Terminus groaned. "Buildings on fire! Invaders! Get them out of here Percy and Christina Jackson!"
"We're trying," I grumbled.
"We need to get rid of the giant first," Percy explained. "A god and demigod. That's the only way to kill him."
"That's not in the job description," Terminus grunted. Percy groaned and kept running across the border. "Stop right there, young man! No weapons inside the Pomerian Line!"
"But we're under attack!" I complained as I followed Percy across the border.
"I don't care! Rules are rules! When people don't follow them, I get very angry!"
Percy and I smirked at each other. "Hey, ugly!" I yelled at Polybotes.
"Come and get us!" Percy finished for me.
"I will take you both prisoner. I will torture you under the sea. Everyday the water will heal you, and everyday I will bring you closer to your death."
"I think we'll," I started.
"Just kill you instead," Percy finished. I smiled at him.
Polybotes barreled past the city limits. "That's against the rules!" shouted Terminus. The statue god somehow managed to float in the air. Percy and I ran forward. We plunged our blades into the giant's stomach. Terminus bashed his statue head into Polybotes. The bane of my father disintegrated before my very eyes. I looked back to see all the monsters had been defeated.
"We won!" someone shouted.
Percy and I were suddenly surrounded. People began raising Percy up on their shoulders. They were cheering his name? "What are they doing?" I asked Bill as he came up to stand next to me.
"They've just elected him as the second praetor of Camp Jupiter," Bill explained.
"Wow," I murmured. I couldn't help but feel like that wasn't right. I felt like Percy and I didn't belong here.
"Sing us a song, Nina," George grinned, coming to stand on my other side.
"Alright," I smiled. "What song?"
"A song that gives hope," Bill suggested. "This war is far from over."
"How about this one," I smiled.
You're not alone
Together we stand
I'll be by your side, you know I'll take your hand
When it gets cold
And it feels like the end
There's no place to go
You know I won't give in
No I won't give in
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
So far away
I wish you were here
Before it's too late, this could all disappear
Before the doors close
And it comes to an end
With you by my side I will fight and defend
I'll fight and defend
Yeah, yeah
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Hear me when I say, when I say I believe
Nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny
Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
La da da da
La da da da
La da da da da da da da da
Keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Just stay strong
'Cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
Keep holding on
Keep holding on
There's nothing you could say
Nothing you could do
There's no other way when it comes to the truth
So keep holding on
'Cause you know we'll make it through, we'll make it through
I took a bow as my friends all began applauding me. "How did you learn to sing like that?" Cho asked.
"Apollo I guess," I shrugged. I would have continued except a boy came up holding a scroll.
"A black owl just delivered this," he gasped as he handed it to Reyna.
"Thank you, Bobby," Reyna nodded. She, Percy, Frank, Hazel, Octavian, Bill, Charlie, and I gathered around to see what the note would say. Everyone else was listening in.
A latino boy's face appeared on the golden parchment. "Leo Valdez, son of Hephaestus," I murmured. The name automatically came to my mind.
"Hey. greetings from your friends at Camp Half Blood," Leo grinned. "This is Leo. I'm the..." Leo paused. "What's my title?" he yelled off screen. "Am I like Admiral, or Captain, or-"
"Repair Boy!" a girl's voice yelled.
"Parvati Patil, daughter of Aphrodite," I said automatically.
"Very funny, Vati," Leo replied. "So yeah, I uh...um...I'm the Supreme Commander of the Argo II. Yeah! I like that. Anyway, we're gonna be sailing toward you in about, I dunno, an hour in this big mother warship. We'd appreciate it if you'd not, like, blow us out of the sky or anything. So okay! If you could tell the Romans that. See you soon. Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out!" The screen went blank.
"Can we trust them?" Fred asked.
"Parvati and Lavender are going to be on that ship!" I reprimanded him. "Not to mention Freya!"
"Yeah, blowing up Freya would be bad," Bill agreed. "Wait what?"
"She's a daughter of Apollo, duh," I grinned. "Professor Snape's a legacy of Hades, George, Fred. Good luck."
"Remus'll probably be on the ship too," Sirius said from his position at the back of the group.
"Exactly," I agreed. "Besides, they probably have repellent charms, or something on it to prevent attacks."
"I say we don't shoot the Greeks," Percy said.
"I agree with my fellow praetor," Reyna commented. "We let them through."
Now all that was left to do was to wait.