Intermission: Percy

Running into a crowd of Empousai within a crowded tunnel wasn't a good idea. However, if I let them pass through, then the whole camp would be in danger and I couldn't let that happen. When I heard that a small army was making its way to Camp Jupiter, I thought it would be easy to handle but I was lagging behind the rest of the group that came with me. Now I'm fighting the rejects of Gaea's army.

Two slashes with Riptide and three arms were gone. I dodged a bite attempt from one of them and stabbed her abdomen in return. They all turned to dust easily. Only a few left as I let loose with a horizontal slash and killed three more Empousa. Man, I didn't realize how easy it was when it came to monsters. I had to think harder when fighting campers in the tournament and I could only do non-lethal hits as well. While it has been some time since the war with Gaea, fighting monsters was in my blood at this point. Like riding a violent bicycle again.

Two more slashes and the whole crowd of them were gone. I ran down the tunnel and found myself on the other side ready to see Annabeth, Thalia, and her hunters. Instead, I just found more and more monsters waiting for me. Lasistrygonian Giants, Dracaena, and Basilisk were all waiting to eat me whole. I didn't fear most of them except for the Basilisk, I don't want to remember any of those.

With swiftness, I controlled the small river's creek and created a few watery hands to erupt out of the creek. The Dracaena were the first ones to go as they all got tossed by the watery hands a few hundred feet before turning into monster ash. I ran to fight the last two as one of their snake legs extended and hit me right in the chest. I was pushed back a bit but I was still on my feet. I backed off before bumping into Annabeth in the middle of the fight.

Annabeth's hair was a complete mess, her armor was falling off, and she only had a dagger on her. Despite all that, she still looked beautiful.

"What took you so long Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth yelled.

"There were more monsters in the tunnel." I screamed while fighting off some more dracaena.

Annabeth turned around and dodged a slash from an Empousa. I never fought so many before and Annabeth felt the same. I fought two of them with Rachael back in high school. I remember they were posing as cheerleaders of all things. My time in Tartarus with Annabeth wasn't easier. We fought a whole crew of Empousai and barely survived, but today was different. We were healthy this time around and ready for a fight.

I had Annabeth's back and attacked the Empousai that tried to slash her. We both slashed the Empousai and sent her packing back to Tartarus. That wasn't even close to the end of it as I turned and saw another giant with a dozen Dracaena in tow. It wasn't just them either, as I could see another small army of monsters appearing from the distance. It would be only a few moments before they reached us.

"We can handle this right?" I asked Annabeth.

She gave me a weak smile. "We saved the world twice now. This is nothing to us."

"Yea." I said while breathing out. "We don't need any help. We got this."

The sound of thunder boomed, and screams came from the forest surrounding us. Three seconds later and two dozen hunters came out and attacked the dracaena head on. The giant was about to make his way towards us until a giant thunderbolt came from the skies and vaporized him. I turned to see Thalia appear from the woods. Her silver circlet was shining in the moonlit as she notched an arrow and took down three more dracaenas with ease. Annabeth and I were both stunned as we watched the hunter's handiwork for ourselves. We took out the vanguard, but the rest of the army was all destroyed by the Hunters of Artemis.

Thalia met us at the center of the forest clearing. Monster dust and cuts were all over her body, but she didn't seem to notice. She looked more concerned with us than anything else.

"Fighting off a small army without our help was suicide." Thalia said angrily. "You were right behind us. What took you two so long?"

I put my hand up as if I was the problem starter. "I saw some monsters trying to sneak into the tunnels and lost track of time."

"And I waited for him so it's my fault too." Annabeth said with a disappoint look."

Thalia raised an eyebrow but didn't ask more than that. Instead, she ran past the both of us and used her spear to strike down another Dracaena sneaking through the woods. Behind that was another troop of monsters running towards us.

Thalia turned back with sweat on her brow. "One last army of monsters to fight. You two ready?"

I swung Riptide in my hand and looked at Annabeth. She gave me a wide smile and a kiss to the cheek.

"Don't die on me now, Seaweed Brain."

With that, we rush off to finish off the rest of the monsters.

One hour later.

When Thalia says eat, she means it. The hunters set up a camp a few feet from the battlefield. Some hunters were keeping guard as the rest of us ate and recovered our strength. I wouldn't call it a feast as the hunters only ate what they hunted, and it wasn't pretty. Rabbits, Venison, and even gamey bear meat. We were outside of the tunnel connecting the camp. I wanted to return to camp and tell them that the threat was gone, but food comes first in Thalia's eyes.

I looked at the food and gagged. "So, I'm going to assume you guys don't have cheeseburgers." I asked almost silently.

Thalia shaked her head while chowing down on some venison. "Boo hoo, dude. Just take a bite of ambrosia instead like Annabeth."

Annabeth passed me a piece and I ate it straight away. I was tired but I wasn't hurt, so eating just a tiny bit was the better play. Too much of the stuff was deadly. I lost focus as I took my first bite and imagine blue chocolate chip cookies, the streets of New York, and Camp Half-Blood. I wasn't homesick like I was during the quest against Gaea, but this still was a welcomed feeling.

I heard noise from the tunnels, and I wasn't the only one as all of the Hunters dropped their food and got into position. I know always being ready was their thing, but I knew what was coming, and it wasn't monsters.

The Romans came through with Jason leading the vanguard. They were ready for war, ready to fight as the legion, but they were far too late. The face of all the centurions was priceless. They looked up and down for a monster to fight, but there wasn't as single one. We breezed through them and took them out easily. Jason's face on the other hand was far too relatable as he smiled up a storm to me.

"Damn you beat us to it. You're sure that the forest is cleared? No more monsters?" Jason asked.

Annabeth got up and walked to Jason. "We did a clean sweep around the area and didn't see a thing. Trust me if the hunters can't find them then no one can."

Jason still looked concerned but trusted Annabeth's instincts. I could tell that he was back to his original leadership role for once and wanted to be sure of everything.

Annabeth looked at the number of legionnaires that Jason brought with him. She definitely noticed it faster than I did, but we had the same thought. The legion wasn't supposed to know about the monsters, so why are these legionaries here?

Thalia finished her food before addressing Jason. Her tone changed from a harsh lieutenant to that of a caring sister. I've seen it all at this point.

"Relax and eat for a bit, Jason. Only you though, my hunters don't associate with most males, no offensive." She said to the rest of the legion.

She wasn't wrong. It took some time before the Hunters accepted me. Even then, I was still eating alone with Annabeth and or Thalia for the rest of the night. It reminded me of the time I spent with Zoe Nightshade way back when. That was a harsh winter, and we all lost something on that quest.

Jason shaked his head before pointing back at camp. "I would rather us head back to the coliseum immediately. None of you are aware of this but things have changed. I'll explain the situation on our way there. Let's go"

With no room for debate, Jason marched on towards camp with Roman troop in tow. The hunters grumbled and complained but Thalia put a stop to that quickly. I wonder what was going on at camp. I thought the biggest problems were the ones we faced out here, but there was still a lot of issues that went unsolved. Kahale being one of them.

It took some time, but we made it back towards the coliseum in one piece. In the meantime, Jason explained the whole situation. Piper losing to Kahale was one thing, but Kahale's speech was another thing all together.

"And we're still keeping him in the tournament?" I asked.

Jason nodded. "Kahale may have used our own tactics against us, but he's got nothing else. There isn't anything left to expose and all he can do is fight in the tournament."

Annabeth tucked a bit of her hair behind her ear. "Think, Percy. Imagine what would happen if we disqualified him before top 8. It would be pure chaos within the legion. Political power is huge in Rome."

"Exactly" Jason agreed. "When it comes to camp politics within the cohorts, Kahale has more power than the praetors at this moment. I hate to say it, but we have to let these things play out."

I understood where they were coming from, but I had to make my opinion known. They were smarter in most situations, but I always think of the campers first. And there was one camper I was worried about the most.

"You guys are forgetting about one major player though." I spoke.

Jason looked confused but Annabeth knew what I was thinking and said it out loud.

"Nico." She spoke.

I continued to talk while staring at the ground. "He's not going to forgive Kahale, no matter what. If we let those two fight, then it's going to be a bloodbath. We've all been avoiding fatal blows, but Nico's not going into that match to playfight. He's going to hurt him."

"Or Kahale is going to hurt Nico." Jason added. "You all know he's no joke in a fight, but I trained with him. He's a monster when he wants to be."

Annabeth crossed her arms as we walked towards the arena. She was deep in thought as usual.

"The match can go either way, but the amount of bloodshed will be high no matter what." Annabeth added.

I looked towards the both of them. "So, should we disqualify them or no?" I asked.

Annabeth grumbled in frustration. "We can't do that. Disqualifying Kahale would start a riot and doing the same to Nico wouldn't change a thing. He would still hunt Kahale down."

We reached the coliseum as Jason had the final word. "Let them fight, but on our terms. If the fight turns sour, we'll all jump in to end it and declare a winner."

It sounded good to me, and Annabeth seemed to like it too. I turned to Thalia and realized she wasn't listening at all as she was resolving a fight between her hunters. At least she's got her priorities right.

Annabeth was done with the conversation, but I could tell that something was still on her mind. I reach out and pulled her aside before getting into the coliseum.

"What's with you?" I asked. "You got something on your mind so spill."

Annabeth had a look of guilt. She was hiding something from me. I always trusted her. If Annabeth wants to hide important stuff from me, then that's fine, I just worry from time to time.

Annabeth sighed. "This whole tournament has been a headache for everyone involved. New problems appear out of nowhere. We didn't have this level of difficulty for the other events." Annabeth said.

I raised an eyebrow. "So what? You think the monsters attacking camp and our infighting isn't a coincidence? That this is all happening for a reason? Do you think someone is behind all this?"

Annabeth pushed past me towards the arena. "I know someone is behind this. I just need to know why."

I couldn't help her on this one unless I had more information. I held her shoulder and gave her support.

"Tell me more when you're ready. Let's head inside." I told her.

We chose to enter the coliseum before, and Roman centurion whispered something in Jason's ear and then ran off. From that, Jason said we had to enter the arena itself. The legionaries and hunters who came with us had to enter the viewing area. Annabeth, Jason, Thalia, and I all had to go towards the middle of the arena.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Jason didn't keep eye contact. "Someone wants to meet us. Let's go." He added.

Gods, Being kept in the dark sucks. First Annabeth and now Jason.

We opened the door to the arena and saw all the competitors from the tournament in the center of the arena. Will was still at the infirmary, but everyone seemed to be here. Katie was carried in by Calypso. Piper was there with Frank and Hazel. Piper had her arm in a sling, and I instantly felt bad for not being here for her fight. Imagine what Jason feels seeing his girlfriend like that.

Nico had Leo on his back. As if they decided to play piggyback. Leo was clearly asleep, so he lost his match. However, Nico looked horrible with burn marks all over his body. He was shirtless just like Leo. The arena we were in was completely burned down and the ground was uneven and rough. There was a growing spire of earth coming out as well. Whatever happened in that last fight, I don't want to know.

My angry spiked as I saw Kahale. He hasn't harmed me, but he harmed my friends. I couldn't look at the guy and not hold a grudge. He stood by himself at the back. He didn't seem bothered by any of this it seems.

Reyna and Frank stood together with Chiron right behind him in his centaur form. Chiron had a microphone on hand and was ready to speak.

"We have just received word that the army of monsters heading towards camp have been defeated by both the Legion and the Hunters. I would like to thank everyone involved as we move to this Top 8 Opening Ceremony."

So that's what this is. I didn't expect this and heard nothing from the praetors about it. As if they didn't plan it at all. Chiron put on a brave face, but he was sweating as well. This ceremony came without noticed from someone else. I looked at Annabeth to confirm my suspicions and she nodded along. We didn't even have to talk to one another to communication at this point.

Chiron coughed before continuing. "The Ludi Decem festival was only possible because of the Gods. However, there is one goddess who has helped tremendously. I would like to introduce, the Goddess of Victory, Victoria."

Light shined and I knew what was happening. Victoria's godly form was appearing right in front of us. I closed my eyes and braced for impact. It took a few seconds, but the light faded, and I opened my eyes. I took a look around and saw that everyone was all right. If even one person had their eyes open, then it would've been a disaster.

I turned and saw Victoria standing right in front of me. I met Nike, so I didn't like her from the start. Her golden armor cover parts of her blood red fabric. She looked like a psychotic Roman soldier. Ready to fight and ready to win.

She sneered at the whole arena. "Congratulations Camp Jupiter" She screamed. "I am so proud of each and every one of you. Especially those who made it to the top 8."

She glared at the top 8 lovingly. It was really weird. The Nike that I knew was annoying at worst, and deadly at best. Victoria was a whole other type of weird. However, that wasn't my biggest problem with her.

I walked up to her quickly. "Appearing in your godly form like that could've hurt some campers who weren't ready. What's wrong with you?" I asked out of frustration.

The whole crowd gasped at my words. Yeah, I know. This was the zillionth time I talked to a God or Goddess with no regard of my own safety. What else is new?"

Victoria didn't even flinch. "Percy Jackson. The savior of Olympus." She said in a joking tone. "I appeared in front of you like that to show off my sheer radiance as the Goddess of Victory. You should step back unless you want me to do it again."

I was about to take a step forward until I felt Reyna's hand on my shoulder, beckoning me back to reality. Starting a fight here would be the worst situation. I couldn't mess around with her like I did with other gods like Mr. D. She was ready to kill, and that bothered me.

Victoria didn't miss a beat after our confrontation and addressed the crowd. "You have your top 8 and that's all well and good, but I have an announcement to make."

I stood with both praetors. Reyna and Frank were sweating, but I couldn't tell if that was from their own fatigue or stress. I was betting on stress seeing how Victoria was a stress inducing deity.

"There is a prize for winning the tournament of course, but there is also a prize for making top 8! So can the top 8 finalists please step forward." Victoria said in mocking tone.

I took a step forward and looked around to see who made it out of losers. Reyna took a step with me, but Frank didn't. Now that had to be a hell of a match. Annabeth, Thalia, and Jason move forward as well, but I knew of their own success already. To my surprise, Clarisse made her way towards us. Now that was a shocker. She seemed out of it though. When I looked at her, she returned the favor at me with fire in her eyes. She was her father's daughter all right. I really thought Hazel beat her though.

Kahale took a step forward as well, but I tried not think about it. Finally, Nico took a step towards us as well with Leo on his back. I wasn't surprised, but I felt bad for Leo. He was so close to making it.

Victoria didn't look pleased as she stared at Nico. "Hmph, drop the dead weight, Hade's spawn. I don't tolerate failures."

"What?" Nico exclaimed. I was right there with him. Victoria was out of line for that, as Leo was injured and unconscious. Not only that but calling Leo a failure made my blood boil.

Before a fight broke out, Chiron rushed over and took Leo from Nico quickly. He did not want to invite the wrath of this Goddess.

Victoria's smile returned. "Thank you, Chiron. Now your prize for making top 8 is simple. For the tomorrow, we have twelve special guests watching over the tournament. It will be the greatest honor for all of you. You may call it a divine honor.

The whole coliseum knew who she was talking about before even revealing it.

"The Olympians will be here? They will be watching the tournament." Hazel said in confusion.

Victoria had a wide grin, but it was soulless. No teeth or tongue. It was deep void.

"Yes little one. I have invited all the gods and minor gods to watch over your final matches. However, the Olympians won't just watch, but grade every combatant on their performance within the top 8. Such a wonderful prize is it not?"

The crowd cheered and someone people in the center of the arena couldn't believe it either. I saw the faces of Katie, The Stoll twins, and even some of the seven. They were all stoked for this. Having a chance to show off your skills in front of the gods was a wish come true for a lot of demigods.

But not me. I wasn't happy at all.

I looked to Annabeth, and she had the same expression as well. We were both tired of being used by the gods for their own entertainment. I lost 8 months of my life because of Hera, and the war against Kronos happened because of the Gods. This prize wasn't for us, and I wanted no part in it.

However, Victoria wasn't done. "That's not the only prize, as the winner for the whole tournament will receive a wish from the Gods. A limitless Wish of goldy proportion. You could even wish for immortality itself."

This got the crowd on its feet and had everyone's eyes bulging out of their heads. Godly wishes like that were extremely rare. The last time that happened was during the Titan war.

Victoria turned towards me quickly, which freaked me out.

"I believe one of you had a chance at a wish of immortality and decided to waste it. Such a shame." Victoria added.

Ok, I was this close to pulling Riptide out, but I calmed myself. She was just trying to get under my skin.

"I suggest you all get some rest before the big day tomorrow. Or don't. I care not, as the spoils go to the victorious, and I am victory made flesh."

With that, Victoria disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. It wasn't much of a ceremony, but I imagine that Victoria didn't care given how selfish and self-obsessed she was.

Chiron gave a speech to the crowd, but I barely listened. I knew entering this tournament was a bad idea. I came here to celebrate being alive with my girlfriend and explore New Rome University. I didn't come here to be a plaything for the Gods again. I'm done with that.

When the short-lived ceremony was over, I climbed the stairs to the viewing area. I wanted to talk to everyone before I went back to the fifth cohort but now I wanted some time to myself. Victoria really put me on tilt.

As my thoughts were cloudy, Annabeth came to my side to clear it up again.

"Forget about them." She spoke. "Let's win it all for us. Not for the Gods."

A smile returned to my face. "If that's the case, then are you going to beat Jason and meet me in Winner's Finals."

Annabeth put her hand under her chin and thought to herself. She played it off as a joke and looked like Chiron when he was thinking.

"I don't know Percy. Are you even going to reach me? You gotta beat her first."

"Who?" I asked. I wasn't really thinking about the bracket, and like a idiot, I paid the price for it.

Thalia came out of nowhere and punched me in the gut. She used the Mist again and I fell for it.

"You beat Hazel, but you're still falling for the same tricks." Thalia said.

I was on the floor after the hit to the gut. "Sucker punches aren't going to work on me during our match."

Thalia picked me up with a wicked grin on her face. "Oh, that wasn't a sucker punch, it was a warning. Bring all that you got tomorrow because I'm upsetting the top seed of the tournament if you don't."

I wiped the spit off my lip and answered back. "Fine, lets settle our score tomorrow, Pinecone face."

The old nickname I had for her caught Thalia off guard. Uh-oh. I got her mad now.

Thalia got up close and personal. Her electric blue eyes bore into me, causing the hair on my arms to stand up.

"Beating you up is one thing, but beating you in front of the twelve Olympians is going to feel oh so good. Get ready for the beating of a lifetime, Seaweed Brain.

…

In woods of Oakland late at night.

Standing on top of the highest hill within the forest was a dead giveaway, but how could I not enjoy the view? Sure, it gave me a taste of the battlefield and helped with my strategic planning, but the view itself was stunning. I saw it all. The Caldecott tunnel, the barracks, the Via Principalis, and the cohorts in view. However, none of those places matched the coliseum when it came to a pretty sight. The Romans definitely had style.

It's the little moments like this I enjoy. When I'm all alone. I've been up to my gills with monsters following my every command and Goddesses at my beck and call for weeks. It was tough work, but it had to be done. Gaea failed when she left all the heavy lifting to all to her children. Her big, ugly, and stupid children. Her grand plan of creating a demigod civil war failed spectacularly and her awakening lasted just as long as her reign. For a primordial being, that's gotta be embarrassing.

Don't even get me started with Kronos.

They all got it wrong. If you want to win, you skip the theatrics and go straight for the jugular vein. Forget invading the dreams of demigods and deciphering prophecies. I rather move in silence. I got one target and that's the Gods of Olympus. The campers enjoying themselves can continue doing so. I just hope they don't get in my way.

Light shined brightly behind me, and an eruptive sound came to be. I turned when it was over and saw Victoria with the look of a psychotic murderer on her face. Oh, she hated my guts.

"I did everything you asked! Free me from your curse!" She screamed.

She created a little dust storm with her appearance, and I pushed through the smoke.

"First off, stop with the godly form thing. You're not impressing anybody with that, you know?"

Victoria was about to speak, but I put my hand up. Having control over Goddesses will never get old.

"Second off, did the campers take it well?" I asked.

I put my hand down and allowed Victoria to speak. The veins forming on her head was never a good sign.

"Only one objected to the top 8 prize, but he won't be a problem."

Wow, I was surprised. There was a demigod who wasn't a bootlicker of the Gods. Go figure.

I waved Victoria off and tried to return to my tent, but she got in my way again. She seemed like she was waiting for something, but I had no clue.

"I'm done with you for now." I spoke. "Go do what goddesses do and bother some poor mortal." I said dismissively.

Victoria wasn't having it. "Do you know how difficult it was to gather the Olympians together for one night? Having them at Mount Olympus is one thing, but at a camp? Camp Jupiter no less."

She got up close in personal, which I didn't appreciate one bit. She was no Aphrodite, that's for sure.

"Jupiter is one thing, but Neptune? The Romans don't respect him whatsoever! Pluto was the hardest of them all to convince. If Proserpina and her mother didn't owe me a favor, then he would've never even thought of leaving the underworld! Even for one night!"

I didn't flinch at her words. "Are you done? The gods can appear in multiple places at once. The only thing that's real is their divine form. The rest is just their essence scattered in different forms. Don't act as if your job was difficult.

I pointed to her chest and pushed her back. She didn't like that one bit.

"Victoria may be here right now, but where is Nike? You scattered your divine essence so no one can harm you. The Olympians do the same, but that's not an issue. I just need the gods to make an appearance for my plan to success, divine form or not."

"And what is this wretched plan you hold so dear to your heart!" Victoria screamed. "I already know of you informant within the coliseum's walls. Do they hold the keys to your success?"

How the hell did she know about that? She was crafter than she led on. She had no choice but to bend to my will, but that doesn't mean she didn't have free will. She was still trying to defy me in her own little and insignificant way.

I didn't skip a beat in my response. I controlled her, but I couldn't let her get in my head.

"They'll play their part just like you will. I'm not done with you yet." I said adamantly.

I walked up past her and smiled. "Besides, you love being victorious, so what if the gods fall because of your actions? It's just another victory, right?"

Victoria sneered at me. If she wasn't in my control, she would've attacked me before I could even open my mouth. Teasing a Goddess and getting away with it gave me rush of adrenaline.

Our conversation was interrupted by a group of Empousai carrying one of their own. She was hurt badly and was fading. Her cheerleading outfit was cut apart and destroyed. All you could see underneath was her leather reptilian skin. How disgusting.

One of the Empousai spoke out. "We found her, my lord. She was the one who took some of our troops and attacked the camp without your permission."

I walked up to her slowly. I watched her as she failed to keep eye contact. She knew what was coming next and wasn't prepared for it

"Kelli, that's your name, right?" I asked.

She still failed to make eye contact and pleaded. "My lord please. I can't go back there. I've been there so many times. I may not return again."

I was tired of the nonsense, the infighting, and their pride. I couldn't bear to hear another word come out of her mouth. Her one mistake could've costed me everything. All that planning, the sneaking around, and getting my collection of monsters ready. It would've all gone up in smoke because of her. If it wasn't for our own concealment, that band of teenaged girls calling themselves hunters would've found us.

"Who told you to attack the camp? It wasn't me surely."

Kelli continued to squirm until I grabbed her face and forced her to meet my eyes.

She took me serious now and screamed out her intentions

"We had to attack. I had to get my hands on Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. I couldn't wait any longer. I had to make them pay!" She screamed.

I had an iron grip on her chin. I kissed my teeth in frustration.

"You know, you monsters aren't so different from the Gods. The amount of pride you hold so dear matches the length of your immortality. You're just like them"

I pulled out my sword. The crowd of monsters watched in horror. Knowing that the same could happen to them if I so choose to. Fear in the eyes of monsters. Who would've thought?

"When you reach the Doors of Death, tell everyone that they have no need to fear the gods anymore. A brand-new era is taking place soon enough."

I cleaved her head right off as she turned to dust. As her head rolled, I imagined the heads of the Olympians doing the same.

One more day. One more day till their heads roll right in front of me.

That was the epilogue of part 2 of the story. The chapter that kicks off Part 3 comes out tomorrow at 9:30am EST time. Enjoy!