"Treat your soldiers as your own sons. Then they will follow you into even the deepest valleys."
"Gods…Are we sure the estimate was three to four hundred? It doesn't look like that's the case anymore."
"You're right. It looks like the army grew overnight."
Percy bit his tongue in annoyance as he and the gang looked over the army in the valley above from a cliff. The cool night air brushed against his face as he eyed the countless numbers of campfires and tents. It seemed the others were right. The camp had grown larger overnight which confused him greatly. Where could all these monsters be coming from and who was gathering them to such a number? The thought of that was increasingly worrying him. If it were a Titan, then all hope would be lost. That number of monsters to take on and then a Titan would be next to impossible considering just how low in number they were.
He had to put those thoughts aside however as he walked back from the cliff. Thoughts of doubt only led to failure.
"Doesn't matter how big they've grown. With our plan, hopefully we can take a lot of them out before even getting up close and personal." Percy responded to friends as he gathered his wits. The others could only nod their heads as they strapped down their armor and gathered their weapons. They needed to do this no matter what. The number of monsters and the threat of a Titan lurking be damned! They came all the way here to do a job and by Hades were they going to finish it!
"Everyone knows the game plan and their role?" Jason asked the group as he tightened a knife sheath to his leg.
"Yeah, we're good. Let's just get this over with." Travis anxiously replied as he jumped up and down to warm up his legs.
"Katie?"
"Yup. Ready whenever you guys are."
"Leo?"
"Ready to light this place ablaze, boss. Just give the word."
"Frank…Frank? You know your role?"
No response which worried the group. Percy eyed the son of Mars who only continued to stare out into the camp, his shirt billowing in the wind with his otherwise statue-like frame. Walking up to him, Percy noticed just how rigid the man actually was. His muscles tense, his facial features morphed into an angry frown, and his hand sheer white from the force of gripping his sword. Percy couldn't help but see the resemblance of Mars in Frank's features. It seemed with Hazel's death, Frank became more and more warlike. His emotions getting the better of him nowadays which worried the group greatly. One wrong move and the demigod would blow up at them. They understood that he was grieving but now was not the time. They all needed to be level-headed or else someone would be at risk of being killed.
"Frank? Hey buddy, what's wrong?" Percy asked from his side, noticing that the man before him didn't even react to his presence nor even blink.
"It's them." Frank gave a simple response, confusing Percy with what he meant. Following where he was looking Percy squinted out towards the camp and noticed what his friend was looking at. Tall figures looming above a campfire in the distance as they ate what looked to be a whole cow. Percy felt his blood run cold as he realized what exactly he was looking at.
"Cyclops." He whispered. But an even closer look would reveal that they weren't regular cyclops. They were the cyclops. The very ones that had killed Hazel. Percy could see their leader, the one he had killed earlier who had all the scars across his face. How they were already back in Alaska confused him but he didn't care and Frank didn't either. Just as long as they were dead again at their feet, the rest didn't matter. Straightening his back, Percy looked to his side at the bloodlusted demigod before giving a simple command.
"Kill them all." He ordered, letting the son of war do what he was born to do. Walking back to the group without another word and easing their worries that Frank knew the plan, they all prepared to go to their respective spots to get the battle underway.
"I guess we'll head out first. Good luck guys and don't die." Nico was the first to leave, grabbing an unsuspecting Leo before jumping off the cliff. The poor boy didn't even have time to scream at the threat of falling hundreds of feet to his death as they disappeared into the shadows.
"Alright, guess I'm next. You guys be careful. Once we see the signal, all hell is gonna break loose." Percy said to them, giving a salute before back flipping off the cliff into the water below. The son of Poseidon didn't even disturb the surface with a ripple as he crashed into the stream. Letting the current take him along the river, he did his best to soak up as much energy as he could from the element before forcing himself to stop at the bank where the closest tents were.
Slowly breaking his head above the surface, he immediately regretted it as the putrid smell from the large mass of monsters gathered filled his nostrils. Shaking his head to gather his wits back, he scanned the area for any scouts walking across the bank. Finding none, he elected to silently swim closer to the edge as he waited for the signal. He could see small movements from the cliff off in the distance, presumably the gang getting ready to put things in motion. Anxiety racked throughout his body as everything seemed to be happening so slowly around him. Where was the signal? Were the others ready? Just how many monsters were there? Questions upon questions fired off inside his head as he did his best to stay still and wait.
As the mental battle continued in his head, Percy spotted movement in the corner of his eye. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that it was a lone monster walking along the river, presumably on guard. The demigod bit his tongue in frustration at the monster getting closer and closer to his position. He didn't want to drag him in and kill him lest he wanted to risk giving away his position. If that were to happen, then this mission was a bust and they all could be killed.
"Don't get any closer…" Percy repeated in his head as he watched the monster walk more and more towards him. Finally, after what felt like any eternity, both his and the monsters' attention was drawn towards a bright orange glow in the valley. Looking closer, Percy could see that some of the trees were on fire, indicating that Leo had succeeded in the first phase of the attack. In the distance, he could hear the yells from the other monsters as they all screamed out to gather buckets of water.
While the trees on fire were great, it wasn't the signal to attack. There was still more needed to be done. Thankfully, however, things seemed to be going according to plan as he could see a flurry of monsters running towards the river with buckets in their hands. This was the tricky part. Diving down below the surface to not give away his position, the son of Poseidon watched as countless buckets appeared above him. He almost laughed at the image of the frantic looking monsters as they desperately gathered all the water they could before running off towards the woods.
The son of Poseidon continued to stay hidden as the monsters gathered water before running off into the woods to stop the spread of the fire before it reached their camp. Now was the time for the next phase. Making sure there weren't any more monsters at the riverbank, Percy shot up onto the land before being greeted by Nico and Leo appearing out from a shadow. The son of Poseidon almost laughed at the state in which Leo was in. The poor guy was almost falling over himself as he came out of the shadow. He supposed that was his first-time shadow traveling.
"Glad that's not me." Percy mentally cheered, remembering the unpleasant feeling of shadow traveling. Nico however, seemed to be having a blast. With a small smile on his face and excited eyes, he was ready to cause more chaos throughout the camp.
"Alright. Ready for the next phase?" Percy asked the two as Leo handed him a makeshift incendiary grenade from his bag.
"Let's get it done." Nico replied as he unpinned the grenade.
"Bet you five bucks I can throw the farthest." Leo said as he took two running steps before chucking his grenade deep into the campsite. The trio watched the small projectile disappear through the night air before a second later, a bright flash lit up the middle of the camp. Immediately, two tents were lit ablaze with their occupants inside being burnt alive. Their screams of terror alerted any other remaining monsters inside the camp who weren't already putting out the fires in the woods.
"What's going on!?" A monster exited his tent with a groggy look, almost as if he had slept through all the commotion. However, he only had a second left on this Earth before another grenade landed right in front of him.
"What the-" It's last words were before being engulfed in a bright flash. The trio watched the camp slowly become more and more engulfed in flames with a sick satisfied look in their eyes. Lobbing incendiary grenades and hearing the terrified screams of monsters was more fun than expected.
"Leo, great job making these! They work like a charm!" Percy yelled to his friends over the cries of monsters being burnt alive.
"Do you know who you're talking to? Of course, they work like a charm!" Leo replied before running over to a closed tent and tossing a grenade in it. Following his lead, Percy and Nico went deeper into the camp, lighting fire to whatever already wasn't. Burning tents, killing whatever moved, ransacking the entire place, they felt as if they weren't heroes. Instead, they felt like villains which they kinda were in the monster's perspective, but they really didn't care. This was their land. This was their home. This was their revenge for all the shit monsters had put them through over the years. And by the Gods were they gonna return the favor.
"Intruders!" A Dracanae yelled out from behind them, hoping to draw the attention of the bulk of the army still trying to put out the fire in the woods off in the distance. Immediately, Percy swiveled around and rammed Riptide straight through its throat. Unfortunately, however, the cry of alarm was heard throughout the camp and soon the monsters were alerted of their presence. They noticed that the monsters that were in the woods had put out the fire and were now running back to camp, all yelling profanities with raised weapons in their hands.
The ground shook as the bulk of the army of monsters came barreling their way but the demigods weren't scared. This was all part of the plan.
"Get to the water now!" Percy ordered his two friends as they ran back to the river. Quickly they all dove beneath the surface just in time to see a volley of fire arrows rain down from above. The son of Poseidon immediately made an air pocket around them as they all watched volley after volley of arrows shoot through the sky like rain from a thunderstorm. The sound of monsters screaming and dying filled their ears even below the surface, making them smile at the success of their plan.
"Looks like everything's going good." Nico shook his friend's shoulders with a satisfied grin on his face.
"Battle ain't over yet, my friend." Leo replied but even he had a smile on his face. If things continued like they were going, they could finish this up within the next two hours. Then after that, they had a new place to call home.
"You guys stay in the air bubble. I'm going up to see how things are going." Percy interrupted the conversation as he swam upwards to the surface. Making sure to avoid being seen, he only had his eyes above the water as it took in the sight of the monster camp in tatters. Thick smoke flew high in the air as if there was a volcano nearing eruption, every tent coated with an orange blaze that was quickly spreading throughout the entirety of the valley, and piles upon piles of monster dust laid gathered on the dirt below. It was a sight to behold, something that Percy would always remember. The sight of it was something you would only see in movies or an art piece. But the smell of burnt flesh and smoke reminded him that this wasn't an art gallery. It was real.
Looking to his left, the demigod noticed what looked to be boulders on fire rolling down the mountains at lightning speeds, barreling towards the approaching army. He watched as the first rock impacted the monsters, killing multiple in just one blow.
"Now's the time boys. Get ready!" Percy yelled to Leo and Nico as he brought them above the surface. Waiting until the final boulder was rolling down the hill, Percy finally outstretched his hands, wielding the great power he had in them. He could feel the tug in his gut grow and grow as storm clouds began to form in the night sky. Yelling with all his might, the son of Poseidon brought down a storm that wasn't seen in Alaska for ages. Heavy rains that drenched the ground, winds so strong it pushed you back and lightning so bright it lit the entire night sky.
All seemed still on the battlefield for a moment as the onlookers took in the magnificent sight. That moment of stopping however was their downfall as the demigods came out from their hiding spots and charged at the distracted army. Jason was the first to enter the fray as he landed right in the middle of the army from his position in the sky. Immediately, he used his sword in quick strokes, taking out anything that dared to try to strike back. Sparks of electricity could be seen flowing from his sword into the surrounding enemy, sending them flying backwards at dangerous speeds.
Nico was the next to close the distance as he appeared and disappeared through the shadows, dragging in any monster his hands could grab. It was a smart idea considering once you were in the shadow realm of the son of Hades, there was no hope of surviving, meaning a sure victory for Nico.
"Jason, on your left!" Will screamed out over the sounds of battle as he shot an arrow straight through the eye of a hellhound that was sneaking up on Jason's blind side. The son of Jupiter rolled out of the way before quickly getting up and decapitating another monster. Nodding his head in thanks, he continued on his rampage.
Percy watched as the remainder of the gang pushed forward with their attack. This was the final phase. The one that would decide if they took this valley and continued on with their journey. Or be their downfall where they all died without accomplishing anything. The thought of failing strengthened Percy's resolve as he made the rain come down harder onto the battlefield. By now it was mud soaked causing all occupants to be bogged down and lose their balance. It was a great strategy for them as they could sit back and launch arrow after arrow at the monsters but their supply of them was running low which meant they had to get up close and personal.
"You piece of shit demigod!" A monster yelled as it charged at the son of Poseidon's side. Without even so much as a glance Percy let his will control the monster's blood before snapping its neck in one swift motion. Noticing that the number of monsters were only increasing, the demigod decided to let go of his power and instead join in on the fight. Running towards the nearest monster which just so happened to be fighting Piper, he tackled it to the ground before repeatedly stabbing it in the stomach. Monster dust, guts and mud soaked his clothes and skin as he got back up to continue.
"Thanks, Perce." Piper said breathlessly. He could tell she and the others were beginning to tire from this fight. How long had they been fighting? He honestly couldn't tell you, considering when you're on the battlefield, time seems to not make any sense.
"No problem!" He replied while swiftly dodging an arrow courtesy of a Dracanae off in the distance. Without another word, the demigods continued on with their onslaught. They didn't slow down in the slightest even as the number of monsters continued to grow as they surrounded them. Blood, mud and monster dust covered their bodies as they fought. It even got in their eyes at some point but having no time to wipe them, they continued to hack and slash with no sight to aid them.
After what felt like hours of continuous fighting, the ranks seemed to dwindle. Less and less monsters charged at them and even less seemed to even be there, opting to run for their lives instead of fighting the nightmare that were the demigods. Snapping the spine of the final monster that was attacking him, Percy dropped down to a knee in exhaustion as he tried to gather his bearings. The weight of his sword, the mud and blood on his body felt like the weight of the sky. Groaning, the son of Poseidon looked to his left to see the others were in a similar situation. All tired, breathing heavily, some were even passed out on in the mud.
Percy was happy at the sight of them, however. Although they felt like they were on the brink of death due to exhaustion, they were still alive. They had won! The valley was now theirs! The demigod manically laughed at the situation, not believing they had taken on an army and survived. Slowly getting up to his feet, Percy looked around at the destruction they had caused. What was once a beautiful valley, now looked like a no man's land. Destroyed forests, craters littering the grounds, smoke everywhere. This once beautiful place was now an ordinary image seen in the underworld.
Despite the horrific image, Percy still held on to hope. They had already done the hard part. Fixing it up was the easier one.
"You fucking bastard! You'll pay for what you did!" Percy heard Frank's voice off in the distance. Grabbing his sword, the son of Poseidon quickly went over to where the commotion was and immediately noticed Frank still fighting monsters. A closer look however would reveal that he wasn't fighting any ordinary monsters. He was fighting the cyclops they had seen earlier when they were on the cliff. The very ones that had killed Hazel.
Percy only watched in silence as the demon that was Frank brutally ripped the head off of one cyclops, leaving only the leader with all the scars on his face left. The cries of terror coming from the monsters and Frank's heavy breathing was the only sounds that could be heard in the valley. Raising his sword, Frank slashed the legs off of the cyclops, rendering him immobile and subject to even more torture without a chance of escaping. Percy watched as Frank circled the monsters like a wolf, his eyes now a shade of red never leaving the monster.
"Now you have an inkling of how she felt. The fear. The pain…I'll make sure you feel it before I kill you." Frank snarled as he slammed the cyclops face in the dirt. The cries and screams coming from the monster being muffled by the mud below, suffocating it in the process. Percy decided to stay put as he continued to watch the scene, noting that Frank needed this. If he were to interrupt, then the man might never find closure. Now was not the time to be morally cautious and tell Frank that demigods don't torture. He needed to do this and if torture was the way to find closure, then so be it.
"Please, spare me!" The cyclops screamed once he was finally able to get his face above the mud.
"Spare you!" Frank let out a laugh with no mirth behind it. "Like you spared Hazel! What makes you think you even deserve to be spared!? To be given mercy!"
With a cruel look on his face, the demigod lifted the cyclops face before using his sword to cut out its one lone eye. The screams coming from the monster pierced their ears as it reverberated throughout the entirety of the valley. By now the others had arrived and could only watch the scene in silence. They knew that Frank probably shouldn't be doing this, but they held the same mindset as Percy. The son of Mars needed to do this.
Suddenly however, skeletal hands shot up from the ground below the cyclops, grabbing hold of it before being slowly pulled down into the depths below. Percy turned to find Nico walking up to the scene with a resolved look on his face.
"W-What are you doing!? I wasn't done with him yet!" Frank yelled out as he desperately tried to dig up the now disappeared cyclops from the mud.
"I know. Trust me, I made sure that piece of shit monster will only have the worst of the worst down in the underworld. My father will personally make sure of that." Nico replied as he kicked the mud that once held the cyclops.
"No! I needed to be the one! I needed to be the person to take out that fucker!" Frank desperately yelled in the son of Hades's face.
"Frank, you did more than enough. I saw you take out more monsters out there than I can count. You fucking cut out the eye of that one too."
"No…you don't understand!"
"Don't understand!?" Nico incredulously called out. "Frank, you're not the only one who lost someone! I lost a sister and the others a friend! Trust me, we all know what you're feeling! So, stop acting like this and pull yourself together!"
The onlookers only stood in silence as they watched the dramatic scene. Although they would've approached it differently, they were glad Nico came out and said it. Frank was becoming someone they couldn't recognize, and something needed to be said before it was too late. Now it was up to the son of Mars to either take Nico's advice or continue down this destructive road.
"I loved her." Frank fell to a knee, exhaustion from tonight's events and the grief of losing Hazel finally catching up with him. Stray tears fell down his face as he stared up at the night sky. Nico knelt next to the man, giving him a hug that only someone who experienced the same loss could give. The two demigods silently comforted each other as they both tried their best to move on from the woman they loved.
"Me too, man. But I know dad is only giving her the best down there. Take comfort in that." The son of Hades responded as he tightened his hug.
The group of demigods all let out a sigh of relief as they realized that they could finally move on from Hazel's death. The pain and emptiness would always be there but at least it would be more manageable. Percy softly smiled at his friends as he walked over to Frank and helped him back up.
"We'll always be there for you, man. Don't be afraid to come talk to us." Percy clapped his shoulder as Frank nodded his head, wiping the tears from his eyes. Looking around at the destroyed valley, Percy outstretched his arms and gave his friends his signature smirk.
"Well…what now?" He asked.
"We should be asking you that." Katie replied, crossing her arms. Although the battle was won, there was still much to be done from cleaning up the area to making sure no monsters would come back. The group could already feel the weight of responsibility on their shoulders of all that needed to be done. Some started to voice their opinions, opting to either start clearing the area of any monsters or cleaning up the valley of the destroyed tents and discarded weapons. Others wanted to rest for the night and start first thing in the morning which is what Percy wanted to do if he was being honest. He was excited to start building this new home of theirs but to immediately start just after fighting one of the hardest battles of his life? Yeah, that wasn't happening.
"We need to set up a perimeter to make sure the scattered monsters don't regroup. I'm sure we're not out of the woods yet in that regard." Jason pitched in, pointing off towards the hills where the monsters ran off to. After that suggestion, it was as if a lightbulb went off in Percy's head like he just remembered something important. Digging into his tattered bag, he pulled out the pouch Hecate gave him what felt like ages ago.
"Jason, thanks for reminding me." Percy said as he showed his friends the pouch which contained the small seed inside.
"Isn't that-"
"It is." Percy answered as he walked towards the center of the valley. Following close behind their leader, the group fired off questions one by one.
"Do we even know what that thing does?"
"Percy, we don't have time to figure out what that thing does. We need to set a perimeter."
"I don't know about you guys but I'm starving."
"Shut up, Leo."
Electing to ignore them, Percy continued on as he reached the middle of the valley. It was the only patch of land that wasn't destroyed either by the monsters or the fire, meaning it was the perfect place to do what needed to be done. The son of Poseidon just hoped that his suspicions were right. Kneeling down on the soft grass, Percy opened the pouch and took out the small seed that was barely the size of a fingernail. With his other hand, he peeled back the earth until it was deep enough to plant the seed underneath.
"We're not building a farm right now, right?" Leo asked as he eyed the mound of dirt Percy was now flattening with his hands.
"She didn't tell me how this works so I'm just going off of gut instinct." Percy replied as he stood back up. The group of friends all stood in silence as they waited for something to happen. One minute. Five minutes. Ten minutes. They waited and waited but nothing happened.
"Ok, so that was a bust." Travis was the first to break the silence.
"Yeah. Alright so who wants to take the first watch?" Jason asked as he began to walk away from the scene. Percy, however, stayed as he tried to figure out how to activate the seed. Hecate wouldn't have given him something that wouldn't work. No, they were missing something. The seed wouldn't do anything without some type of element. What that was, he didn't know but it was worth a shot to try to figure it out. Pulling water from the river, Percy willed it deep into the soil below where the seed laid.
Waiting for what felt like hours thanks to his ADHD, the son of Poseidon continued to stare at the patch of soil, waiting for something to happen.
"Come on Hecate. Don't fail me now." Percy thought to himself as he eyed the seed like a hawk. Continuing to hold on even as the others began to walk away Percy stayed put, mentally yelling at the seed to do something. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, there were signs that seed was beginning to work. First, it was the sound of wood splitting and cracking. It was faint and Percy almost doubted if he even heard it but it was there. Then, it was the air around them. It seemed to get lighter and almost warmer which made the son of Poseidon's knees wobble. It felt like Hestia was near, which was impossible. Finally, as if a dam had broken, a huge oak tree already in full bloom sprouted from the ground below him.
"Woah!" Percy jumped back as he watched the tree grow in height. The noise from both the tree and Percy bought everyone's attention as they came running back to the scene.
"What happened!?" Will yelled as he looked up at the tree that only continued to grow. Percy could only shake his head in exasperation as he began to laugh. It looks like Hecate didn't fail him. Looking around, the group of demigods watched as they valley was slowly being returned back to its normal state. The grass and trees were growing again at rapid speeds. The destroyed tents and other monster items were disappearing from view and even the boulders that they had rolled down from the hill were returning to their rightful spot.
"My gods!" Piper exclaimed as she watched the scene around her. This certainly wasn't any ordinary tree from what she could gather. No, this tree was almost similar to the Golden Fleece back at Camp Half-Blood. Even the air around them was similar to the air back at camp. As they continued to watch, the group could see a blue aura pulse around the tree before shooting up into the sky then slowly surround the entirety of the valley.
"It looks like…" Nico called out as he looked up at the blue aura slowly falling back towards the ground.
"The barrier back at camp." Percy answered with a smile. Looking back towards the large oak tree as tall as the big house, Percy walked towards it before putting his hand on the bark. He could feel the warmth and power radiate through it into his hand.
"Thank you, Hecate." He said. The only response he got was the pulse of power. Turning around to his friends, he smiled at their awestruck looks as they took in their beautiful new home.
"Welcome home, guys." He outstretched his arms as he took in the sight of the newly restored valley.
"We have to name that tree! Like Thalia's back at camp!" Connor exclaimed as he climbed up one of its sturdy branches. The others let out shouts of agreement as they all began to brainstorm good names for it.
"Hecate's tree?" Katie gave her suggestion.
"Na, we need something cool. Something memorable." Connor replied as he put his hand on his chin.
"The demigod tree?" Leo asked.
"Too generic." Nico replied.
The group continued to think in silence for a good name until Percy snapped his fingers in realization. He remembered why Thalia's tree was even called that in the first place. It was a tribute to her death. This tree should be the same for the person that was always there for them along this journey. Someone they all loved and cherished and would continue to do so until the very end.
"I got it!" He exclaimed, causing the group to look at him in curiosity.
"Hazel's tree. We'll call it Hazel's tree."