Chapter 13, locked and ready. I decided to rewrite ch 12 just about a week ago, and the responses I got from that were just incredible, so I decided to crank this bad boy out. I think I'll go back and rewrite some of the older chapters, try to give Percy and Leila's relationship a more solid base before releasing 14 and beyond. I have a few things planned out, so stay put

Thx for reading everybody, and please be sure to leave a review if you liked this!

Percy

In the last four years, Percy had dedicated himself to his duty, travelling around the country and hunting down the strongest monsters he could find. He had fought entire packs of hellhounds, hordes of cynocephali, and faced down the rarest and most dangerous creatures that existed. However, all of those beasts paled in comparison to what was chasing them now. The smell was unlike anything he had ever felt before. It filled him, blocking out everything else but smell of ash and smoke. The aura of power the thing was giving off almost made his skin tingle underneath his fur. Even in his wolf form, he wasn't really sure what the creature was. It was moving really fast, and it was truly gigantic, but he didn't recognise the smell from anywhere.

'Jason, come on! I'm pretty sure we can fight this thing, but not here!'

Even as Percy said that, his voice was filled with uncertainty. He tried his best to cover it up, but it was undeniably there. Jason's eyes were wide, but he picked up the pace and followed Leila, who was some distance ahead, with Percy bringing up the group. They were almost out of the city, running through a wide street lined with cars. The noise of the bustling city was less apparent here, with the peaceful silence only being broken by the thundering noise of the monster, which felt closer and closer every time.

Leila had stopped up ahead, and Percy and Jason caught up quickly. Both demigods were breathing heavily, and Percy took the time to look around. They were out of the city now, at the edge of a large construction site. It had a couple of empty trucks, and a large pile of gravel on one side. A tall crane rose from a side of the site, maybe twenty metres tall. A structure was being built in the corner of the site, with maybe seven stories of concrete floors connected with thick metal beams.

Percy looked at the two demigods. 'We stop here. There's no better place to fight… whatever that is.'

Leila looked concerned. 'Are you sure we can't just outrun it? I mean, we've gotten this far. Maybe we can find a car or something and head towards Portland.'

Percy shook his head. 'Aclimede raised it to kill us, and it won't stop until it does. Besides, if we just leave it here, it would harm thousands of people. This ends now.'

Jason straightened up, ready to protest, but the sound of his voice was cut off by the roar. Maybe two hundred metres away, the monster appeared at the end of the street they had ran up a few minutes ago. Jason and Leila would only have been able to see a massive shadow, but in his wolf form, Percy could see it perfectly. It looked like an elephant, only much bigger. It had thick legs, both covered in coarse brown fur. Percy knew immediately it would be extremely difficult to get through it. Its body had to be around seven metres in diameter, leading up to a massive head. Two pure white tusks sprang from both sides of its mouth, curving inwards with their points almost level with the floor. Its eye sockets were empty, instead filled with tiny infernos of orange flames.

Leila drew her spear, her eyes fixed on the monster ahead. Percy could feel the fear radiating off her, but she was doing a good job of hiding it. Jason, however, was another story. The twelve-year old had his golden gladius in his hand, but it was pointing at the floor, barely staying in his shaking hands. His face had gone white, and his blue eyes were wide open, like a deer caught in headlights.

Percy gave him a slight growl. 'Jason, focus up.' The monster had started walking forward, but he knew it would charge soon, and then there would be no time for talking. 'How good are you with controlling your lightning?'

The son of Zeus struggled to start speaking, but then looked frustrated with himself and shook his head. 'Sometimes I feel like I can control it, sometimes nothing happens.' He spoke in a level voice, and, considering how truly scared he was, Percy was impressed. 'Sometimes it seems like dad flips a coin to see if he gives me a bolt or not.'

Percy licked his gleaming fangs, although he doubted they would do anything against the monster. Its hide seemed as impenetrable as drakon scales. Honestly, Percy wasn't sure if they could even harm it at all, let alone kill it. The power and rage he could feel off it was unlike anything he'd sensed before, wild and untamed. Wild creatures were his area of expertise, but he felt that he was increasingly short of answers. Even so, he did not show fear as the mammoth being started to pick up speed. He drew himself to full height, a little over three meters, and let out a growl that would have made the god of war doubt himself. Percy doubted he could scare the creature, so decided to not overuse his powers and instead conserve energy.

'Percy?' Leila called out, eyes fixed on the monster and her voice uncertain. 'We can kill this thing, right?'

The monster had now started charging, the ground rumbling as it barrelled towards them, roaring and raising its tusks to strike. 'Yeah, we can,' said Percy, the confidence in his voice surprising even himself. 'MOVE!'

He saw Jason and Leila scram to the sides, while he ran straight towards the charging monster. It raised its head and brought its tusks down in an arc, trying to impale Percy. Time seemed to slow down for him; he had to time this perfectly. Just when the monster tried to strike, he managed to slip in the gap between its massive tusks, and ran between the beast's legs. Percy tried to clamp his jaw onto its back leg, but his teeth went maybe an inch into the monster's fur. Roaring with annoyance that he'd missed rather than actual pain, it shook Percy off, and he went flying into the side of a nearby truck.

Percy felt his side explode with pain, but his powers immediately working overtime to heal his broken ribs. Dazed, he shook his head and got to his feet.

'I'll go for the head this time'

Leila had managed to outflank it, but her spear bounced clean off its hide. Full of dread, Percy confirmed his earlier belief. 'Don't waste time trying to cut through the hide, it's impenetrable!', he called out to Leila.

'Yeah, I figured!', she responded as she bolted out of the creature's reach.

Jason resurfaced from behind a pile of gravel, blood already matting the right side of his face. 'So what exactly do we do?'

Percy growled. 'Attack on both sides at the same time, that way we stop it charging. I'll go for the head, the fur is usually thinner. Jason, when I tell you, hit it with lightning!'

Both demigods nodded, and Percy bolted forward again. He leapt onto a car, then springboarded onto the monster's side, his claws sinking just enough for his to hold on as the monster swivelled to try and decide which demigod to focus on. Percy climbed up the beast, then sprinted up his spine, keeping his balance as the thing turned and bucked. He reached the head, and, with a roar, bit down on the base of the monster's skull. To Percy's surprise, his fangs went all the way in, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth. It was bitter and hot, and his throat felt like it was being burned up on the inside. Even so, he clamped down harder, his teeth hitting the hard layer of bone underneath. Percy pushed with his front legs and jerked his head to the side, tearing a massive chunk of flesh off the monster. It roared in response, this time in pain, but Percy jumped off before it could throw him off.

'You wounded it!' Exclaimed Jason when he landed beside him.

The monster looked at Percy with a with hate so intense it almost overloaded his senses. But they'd discovered a weak spot. Percy jumped up again, using his agility to stay on its back and attack the same spot. The wound grew and grew, but the monster didn't seem to be bleeding at all, and bone underneath felt impossibly hard. Normally, Percy could crunch bone like it was made of paper, but the monster seemed to view Percy's attacks as a minor inconvenience, not slowing down its assaults at all. Percy tried change his target and went for the throat a couple of times, but found the fur to still be too thick. Once he was satisfied with the sizeable wound in the monster's neck, he looked at Jason.

'NOW!'

The son of Zeus closed his eyes, and the sky rumbled above them. As Percy jumped off the monster's back, a massive bolt of lighting arced down from the sky, hitting the monster straight in the back of its neck. The smell of burnt flesh immediately filled Percy's nostrils, and he saw the beast stumble, momentarily stunned. Leila raced over to Percy, a cut over her left eye.

'Right, that worked. Kind of. But we can't keep this up. It's gonna get us sometime, and this thing only needs to hit us once. We need a new plan.'

Percy agreed, but he didn't have anything to offer. He racked his brain, looking around for anything they could use to their advantage. His eyes landed on the crane construction site. It was holding a couple of massive bags of gravel, each one weighing maybe four of five tonnes. An idea sprung up in his head, and he turned to Leila.

'Climb up into the crane. Jason and I will keep it distracted down here.'

Leila looked at the massive metal arm with doubt in her eyes, but steeled herself when she saw the monster start to shake its head. 'Okay. Do I try and hit it with the bags, or…'

'No,' Percy responded, not taking his eyes off the monster. 'We'll bring it close to the building. You hit the base pillars, bring the whole thing down on top of him'

—

Jason

Leila ran off towards the crane, and Jason turned again towards the monster, which was now positively fuming. As in with actual smoke coming out of its ears. He still couldn't see it very well, just a massive shadow with eye sockets filled with orange flame. Once it got closer, Jason could start to make out its gigantic curved tusks, and the long, stringy hair that covered most of its body. It began to rumble again, now looking straight at them. Jason had hit it with possibly the largest bolt of lightning he'd ever summoned, even bigger than the one he'd thrown at the Trojan Sea Monster, and it had done nothing. If anything, the thing seemed angrier and more annoyed by the minute, like it was frustrated with itself for not being able to kill them quicker.

Percy was starting to crouch down, ready to spring at the monster. It still surprised Jason just how big he was. Sure, when he was human he seemed to have grown quite a bit, but as a wolf he must have weighed three tonnes. The top of Jason's head barely reached Percy's front shoulder joint. Percy bared his teeth at the monster, and his gleaming canines were maybe a foot long. He growled at the beast, and all the hairs on Jason's body stood up. He couldn't have imagined what it must be like if Percy ever decided to turn that growl on him.

The monster started charging, and this time Jason and Percy moved together without a word, one diving to each side, Jason narrowly avoiding the razor sharp point of the tusks. He tried to keep the monster's attention on him as much as he could, slashing at its massive legs with his gladius, but he was barely able to make a dent, his sword bouncing off like he was hitting a rock. Gritting his teeth and ignoring the jarring sensation in his arms, he would be forced to run out of reach before it stomped him into the ground. Percy seemed to be having more success, making swipes at its face with his paws, his strikes connecting with such force they actually snapped the monster's head sideways. One even sent it careening to the side a few meters, but it simply recovered and charged again. While Percy seemed to never get tired, Jason's arms felt like they were made out of lead. He was having problems raising his sword, never mind trying to summon another bolt.

Suddenly, he heard the crane come to life, metal creaking and straining as the metal arm slowly moved to the side. He looked at Percy, and he pointed his head towards the half-constructed building. Jason felt bad for the mortal company that has undoubtedly invested a lot of money in the structure, but it was the only chance they had. He bolted towards it, waving his arms and yelling at the monster as he went.

'Hey, you stupid hairy animal! Over here!'

Percy hit the monster one more time, then bounded after Jason, who had grossly underestimated the chance of the thing running him down before he could even get close to the building. It was way faster than Jason was, and at the speed it could charge those tusks would cleave him in half. However, before he could think of jumping out of the way, Percy snapped him up in his mouth. Jason felt hot saliva soak him to the bone, but the massive teeth he had seen earlier seemed to have disappeared. Thankfully, Percy flung him around onto his back, where Jason held on for dear life as they sprinted towards the building, the monster charging them down.

He could see the crane arm staring to move back and forth, most likely Leila testing out the controls, getting ready for when they got the monster in range. If this didn't work, then Jason couldn't see a way to kill the monster that didn't involve actual divine intervention. When they got to around ten metres from the building, Percy grinded to a halt. The structure was tall, maybe six stories, already with solid concrete floors and cables hanging out of the ceilings. The monster didn't slow down at all, roaring as he charged towards them, his eyes alight. The crane started moving from side to side, the gravel bags was holding acting like a massive pendulum. With each swing, the bags started going higher and higher, to the point that Jason was stating to worry the bags would tear. Finally, with the monster in literal spitting range, Leila jerked the arm aggressively towards them, and Percy jumped out of the way at what seemed the last possible second.

They couldn't have timed it better if they had drilled it for a month. The monster smashed into the main concrete pillar a spilt second before the gigantic bags of gravel snapped it like a twig, along with most of the pillar and beams of the first floor. The effect was immediate. The building creaked as its foundations disappeared. The monster, too stunned to move, could only look up as the structure collapsed on top of it, thousands of tonnes of concrete and metal burying it in a spilt second. A massive cloud of dust billowed up, and the sound was loud enough for everybody in a five-mile radius to have heard it. Jason looked to Percy, who had turned back to a human, and was gazing intently at the wreckage.

'He must not be able to smell him anymore', thought Jason. He was about to ask him, but Leila's voice snapped him to attention.

'Jason!' She hugged him, then took a step back to check him for injuries, breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't find any. As she had gotten older, she had really started to take on the role of Jason's big sister, constantly worrying about him and checking up on him as soon as he came back from his missions. Jason usually rolled his eyes and acted irritated, but really he didn't mind.

'Nice shot', said Percy, now smiling slightly at the encounter between both of them. 'I'll be honest, I wasn't sure you would be able to operate that thing. You surprised me.'

Leila tried to act offended and mutter something, but the grin didn't take long to break through the facade, and she stepped in to hug Percy, just a little longer than she had Jason. They broke off, and Jason could see the slight rosy tinge on Leila's cheeks. If she was attempting in any way to hide the fact that she liked Percy, she wasn't convincing anyone. Percy looked to be about to say something, but he was cut off by a female voice, cutting straight through the cold night.

'He's not dead.'

—

As soon as they heard it, the trio whirled around, a massive sliver knife seemingly appearing in Percy's hands. Leila stood in a defensive stance with her spear pointed straight at the woman who had interrupted them, who was smiling at them with a row of pearly white teeth. She was sitting on a nearby rock that had flown from the debris, looking at them with clear amusement in her eyes.

Her eyes.

That was the first thing Jason noticed. They were completely red, swirling with different tones so that they were never one colour at once. They seemed alive in their own right, unusually bright and fixating. She stood up and started to walk towards them, and Jason started to see her better. She was dressed in a tight leather jacket and black camo pants, and steel-tipped combat boots that clicked with every step she took. She was undeniably beautiful, with a tanned, slightly Hispanic complexion and long dark hair.

'You're a goddess', Jason spat out before he could stop himself. He meant it, of course, in the literal sense. He had started to sense his skin itch from her aura as soon as she had stood up.

The woman smiled at Jason and nodded. 'Very good, Jason. My name is Bia.'

'Goddess of violence and anger' Percy muttered.

She laughed and clapped her hands. 'You guys do your research! I'm more of a personification of those things rather than an actual goddess, but yes, Perseus.' Percy recoiled slightly when she used his full name. 'I am the daughter of Pallas and Styx, and sister of Kratos and Nike. But anyway, that's not why i'm here! What excites me is that fine specimen you buried over there.' She pointed to the massive pile of rocks and twisted steel that used to the the building.

'Wait up', said Leila, raising her hand. 'You said that didn't kill it?'

Bia laughed again, this time sounding slightly manic to Jason. The gleam in her eyes seemed like a little more than amusement to Jason. 'No sir. Young lady, that is Ameíliktos, the last of the great mûmakils of the pit. Spawn of Tartarus himself. I'm afraid, try as you may, you cannot kill him.'

Percy frowned. 'That thing couldn't have survived that. I can't even smell him anymore. He can't be alive.'

Bia stepped closer to Percy, looking right into her eyes. 'Can't you? Concentrate, Percy, feel out with your senses. You many not to want to recognise the smell, but it's there. The ash. The smoke. He's still alive under that pile of rubble, and when he digs himself out, he will kill you.'

The certainty with which she spoke sent goosebumps down Jason's spine. The monster, or mûmakil, as Bia had called it, and been playing with them, like a cat with a mouse. They'd most likely surprised it, and now he would come out and finish them, and he would do it quickly.

Leila glared at the goddess. 'So why are you here? To tell us we've got no chance?'

'Why, gods no!' Said Bia, placing her hands on her hips. 'You probably don't know, but Ares himself faced down Ameíliktos in the old days, and it took Apollo a full year to heal the god of war to a level where he was able to speak. You kids wouldn't stand a chance if he actually got angry. However, and this is the exciting part. I could. I could kill him, and quite easily.'

'So?' Said Percy, who had moved to stand slightly in front of Jason and Leila. 'Do it.'

'My, my!' Said Bia, stepping closer to Percy and ghosting her jawline with the tip of her index finger. Jason saw Percy stiffen, but he didn't step away. 'So very much like your mother. I will, Percy, but for a fair price.'

Percy looked the goddess right in the eyes. 'What do you want?'

Bia stepped around him, slowly dragging a hand across his back. Leila clenched her fists behind them, but didn't say anything. 'What more could a woman desire, but the services of one so handsome?' Bia smiled at him, but Percy just frowned back, not completely sure what she was asking. 'If I kill Ameíliktos for you, I want a favour in return. I will come back to find you, Percy, and ask something of you, a task which I will expect you to complete.'

Jason's mind was racing. The offer Bia was making was risky. If the monster was actually still alive, Percy had no other choice but to take the deal, or they would all die. On the other hand, owing a favour to a slightly unhinged goddess was bad news. She could force Percy to do something against his will, and if he refused, Jason knew the goddess would not take his betrayal lightly. Leila looked to be having the same dilemma inside her had. Her face was stricken with worry, and her eyes were wide open. Percy had remained stoic, his face an impenetrable wall, but Jason knew he was calculating the risks of Bia's bargain.

'A deal with the devil', Percy muttered.

Bia smiled. 'Now, I would hardly describe myself as that. I would hardly say that matters though, because it would seem-' The ground rumbled, and a bellow filled Jason's ears, filled to the brim with rage and hate. 'You have no other choice. Your move, Percy.'

Percy narrowed his eyes, and Jason could see the gears in his brain turning, weighing up their options. There was a chance Bia could be lying, and that they could take Ameíliktos down, but Jason honestly doubted it. Maybe, if they were fast enough, they would be able to outrun him. Percy blew air through his nose, and gave a small nod to the smirking goddess.

'Kill him. I'll owe you any favour you ask.'

Bia now broke into a wide grin. 'Excellent! I knew you could be reasonable, Percy. Oh, we will have so much fun together.' The goddess winked at him, and Jason could see Leila had moved closer to Percy, and was glaring daggers at her. 'Now, children, give me some space!'

They backed off, moving maybe twenty metres away and took cover behind a rusty car. Bia had seemed powerful, sure, but Jason had once felt the presence of his father in a dream, and even in that state, his sheer aura was way stronger than the goddess' was. Jason didn't doubt she was strong, but strong enough to take down a monster that had given Ares a first-rate mauling? As he watched, Bia extended her hand, moving her fingers, like she was reaching into an imaginary closet full of clothes, pushing them apart to try and find the item she was was looking for. After a couple of seconds, she smiled and pulled back, a massive axe materialising in her hand. When he said massive, Jason really meant disproportionate. The handle was easily as tall as her, and the blade must have weighed the same as a small car. However, Bia swung it around with ease, giving the air a few testing swipes. In the bright moonlight, the blade seemed to shine, and just looking at it Jason felt power, sheer strength emanating from the weapon. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like to be holding it. Bia looked satisfied with the balance, and in a sudden motion, she smashed the base of the handle into the ground. Jason's eyes widened with shock as flames burst from the dirt, travelling up the wooden handle and wreathing the blade in orange flame.

Not a second after, the pile of concrete and steel that had been the building exploded, and Ameíliktos charged out. His roar shook Jason's bones, and he felt his legs turn to jelly as he slumped against the side of the car. Bia, however, looked completely unaffected, and simply smiled at the hellish beast. It charged straight at her, but she stayed rooted, both hands wrapped tightly around the base of the axe handle. The blade stood tall in the air, like a fiery serpent ready to strike. Jason expected a long, hard fight, but as soon as the mammoth creature was within twenty metres of the goddess, she launched herself forward. Faster than she had ever seen anything move, she slipped right between the tusks and rammed the axe into the monster's head.

—

Percy

The inside of the wagon was dirty and cramped, packed full of different boxes and strange objects. They had decided to set up camp in a small clearing in the middle, where they had picked up old rugs from a corner and laid them on the floor to serve as a mattress. Right after Bia killed the monster, she sent them to the station, and told them to get on this passing train which would, supposedly, take them straight to Portland. Percy didn't trust the goddess one bit, but they got on her train anyway. Jason and Leila had passed out as soon as they had finished setting up, with Leila making Percy promise he would wake her up for the second watch. Percy was sitting on the floor a couple of feet from the two roman demigods, his back against thee back of an old box and his elbows resting on his knees. As he let himself rock back and forth with the chugging of the train, his mind wandered.

'Did I really have no other choice?' He thought.

Sure, the odds of getting killed had been extremely high, but maybe there could have been a chance they survived the fight, and Percy wouldn't owe a favour to a manic goddess. He hoped she would ask for something reasonable when the time came. Percy knew her sister Nike, as well as her children, were petty and competitive, often getting in arguments over small things. Maybe Bia would be similar to that, and send Percy to sort out some small issue, preferably one where he could avoid an unwanted fight. However, Bia had other siblings, and if she had grown to resemble her brother, then she would be unpredictable. Percy had met Kratos once before, on a mission in his second year working for the gods. The divine personification of strength could be understanding and wise, but when enraged he became an unstoppable force, capable of tearing down anything in his path.

A sound shook Percy out of his self-induced stupor. Leila slowly rolled over and stretched, making sure not to disturb Jason before fixating on Percy with an exasperated look.

'I told you to wake me up for second watch.'

Percy smiled at her as she sat up on her elbows. In the dim light of the lamp they had set up, her eyes seemed to swirl, like two massive green emeralds. 'I was just about to.'

'Sure you were'. Leila sat up entirely, shuffling over to sit next to Percy. They were silent for a moment, both looking at Jason sleep.

'You took a risk with Bia. Those kind of deals are dangerous to make, especially when you don't know what she'll ask.'

Percy stayed silent for a few moments, their breathing falling in sync. 'I had no choice. If we'd fought it, it would have killed us. It felt much more powerful when it dug itself out. Much angrier.'

Even though Percy had wanted to, he knew that they couldn't have fought Ameíliktos after they buried him under the building. He thought they could, but the monster had been on another level of strength. It would have ripped them apart. Yet, Bia had killed it with a single strike. It had been just like the prophecy had said, but Percy still didn't know what the axe was. It was immensely powerful, way too mighty a weapon to be a symbol of a relatively unimportant goddess like Bia.

'Do you ever think about your dad?' Leila caught him off guard, and Percy struggled to answer for a few seconds.

'I know, you're not allowed to tell anyone, but do you think about him?' She continued. 'You must have met him to know who he is.'

Percy looked down at the floor between his feet. 'Yeah, I… I've seen him a few times. Not very long, but it's enough for me. He's always kind to me, and I know he's taking a risk to see me, so I don't mind it too much when he's absent for a while.'

Leila smiled slightly at Percy, but her face went serious again. 'I never knew my dad. Once he saw who my mother was, he panicked and ran, and I've never seen him since. I really try not to think about it too much or let it bother me, but sometimes I just can't help it. I try to think about what I would say. You know, make up scenarios in my head. Just in case I one day find the strength to go looking for him.'

Percy stayed silent again. In all the years he'd known her, they had told everything to each other, but never once had she spoken about her dad. Percy knew it was a sensitive topic for her, and had always decided it was better to not focus it, and the hurt in her voice confirmed his thoughts. Nevertheless, he took her hand in his and looked her straight in the eyes.

'Look, I don't know who your dad is, but I do know you. I know the wonderful person you have always been, despite him being gone. If you one day want to go see him, I'll be right there, ready to kick his ass for you if you want. But don't you the thoughts of that asshole make you think you are worth something less than you are.'

Leila smiled at him, her green eyes watery. She turned and hugged him tightly, and he responded in kind, holding her for as long as she needed. When they broke off, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Under normal circumstances, Percy would have gone completely red, but now instead he wrapped one arm around Leila's shoulders, a comfortable silence filling the room.

'You need to sleep', she said, almost whispering.

'I know', responded Percy. He didn't intend to, but his eyelids dropped almost against his will, the muscles in his neck giving out and his head fell to the side, resting against the top of Leila's. Percy had loved the Wolf House, and absolutely adored his mother, but there, in the middle of an old, dusty station wagon, he couldn't have felt more at home.

Big action-focused chapter. I hope you liked it, because I had a blast writing it. For those of you that aren't LOTR enthusiasts and haven't realised it, Mûmakils are the big elephant things in the Battle of Pelennor Fields in Return of the King (just in case my description was lacking). I of course gave it thick hair and fiery eyes, but just for some of you guys to get a clearer picture. I also dropped some easter eggs in this chapter, which may (or may not) be indicating future events.

Please leave a review to tell me what you think I should include in the story, and thank you for reading!