The mines were abandoned since All Stars One due to an accident engineered by a previous contestant. The seven made their way through Brick's trusty flashlight and Courtney as a guide.
"Let's hope we don't run into Ezekiel"
"Between Dawn's Disney animal magic and my own hotness, Ezekiel won't be a problem!" said Anne Maria.
Courtney was more concerned about the implications of what the three strange people told her. "World War 3, huh? That's not good for my career prospects. And if Brick over here's the standard for our troops, we are SO going to walk into a disaster."
Maria cheered them. "Don't be scared, if we pull this off, I'm sure fate will look upon us kindly. Nasa Diyos ang awa…"
"Nasa tao ang gawa…" finished Courtney.
Dawn gasped. "Why, Courtney, I didn't know you spoke Filipino!"
Courtney ignored the praise. "Yeah, I was born here, but I did pick up the mother tongue, just cause…"
"How come you never talk about it?" pressed Brick.
"Because, it's a reality TV show! Everybody knows Filipinos make a career joining these things! I wanted to get into reality TV on my own terms. I don't want people to credit my win to genetics, or worse, because my kababayan voted me to death on the online polls! I want to win because I'm ME, Courtney, the girl who's worked her ass off to get where she is… no offense, Maria."
Maria had to smile. "None taken. I admit sometimes I can be quite an overshadowing type of motherland. But you make your own name, Courtney, and no single part of you gets to define the whole"
"Thank you. Hey, where's Brick and Dawn?"
"And Alfred and Kiku and-"
A guttural snarl filled the caverns and Courtney instantly knew what was upon them…
They were running for their lives, hearing Ezekiel's throaty screeching behind them.
"Has this man been down here the whole time?!" asked Maria.
"Hey, nobody would volunteer to get him out, not even Izzy!"
They kept running until they hit a dead end.
"Get behind me, Courtney!"
"That won't be necessary," A third girl emerged from the darkness. She had beautiful hair, humbly braided handheld by traditional Cherokee feather adornments. Unlike Anne Maria, she was beautiful, but in a way that was natural and unforced. In her hand was a bronze knife, and in the other, she held Ezekiel by the scruff of his shirt"
"Piper McLean," said Maria.
"What about our, er, friends?" asked Courtney.
"Over here, girls!" A boy waved at them from the far end of the tunnel. He was untying the captured people with a chainsaw. He had the wispy hair of a troublemaker and the ears of Santa's elves.
"Dude, your chainsaw is so righteous," said Alfred.
"I know. I love it to death."
After the introductions, the party of now nine squared up and sized each other up (it was mostly Alfred and Leo telling each other how hot the other was, but there was some strategizing, too).
"This is huge," said Courtney. "Imagine being part of the group that exposes Chris McLean to be working for some evil force trying to start World War 3! I could run for President and win by a landslide!"
"Is she for real?" asked Piper.
"Yes," answered the campers.
"I'm sure AOC is shaking in her boots right now, but we have bigger problems," said Leo, pointing at the exit of the cave.
The hypnotized campers, Chris and an army of monsters were now blocking it.
"Tell me you guys know how to fight," said Leo.
"You hack 'em, I shoot 'em, amigo" answered Alfred.
"I'm a pacifist!" protested Dawn.
"We'll cover you, Moon Girl! Let ol' Brick handle the fighting!"
"Yo, are we like the Teen Titans now?!" blurted Anne Maria.
"Feels more like a Suicide Squad," muttered Kiku.
"AVENGERS!" yelled Alfred.
They charged the group, except for Dawn who hid behind a boulder. Alfred's magical bullets dealt damage without piercing the mortal skin, as did Leo's chainsaw. Maria, Kiku and Brick formed a formidable defensive triad, slashing, kicking and booting at the monsters. Courtney unleashed some kung fu on the monsters while Piper used charmspeak to try and free the campers from mind control.
Despite their valor, the campers were getting overwhelmed. Dawn saw as Brick fell to the ground, a demon pouncing on him, and could stand it no longer. "Earth Mother, hear me!" she shouted.
And the Earth heard. A quiet rumbling soon turned earsplitting, and soon, the monsters were swallowed up by crevices in the earth. Even the eidolons who were possessing the campers via the magic of microchip technology were sucked back into the earth. All this time, Dawn was glowing the emerald green light of the Earth Mother, channeling Gaea's power through her mortal frame.
She collapsed. All the possessed campers collapsed and everyone else was left staring dumbfounded at their friend Dawn.
"Whoo, who knew the girl was really a true witch this whole time!" cheered Anne Maria. "I take back everything I said about you, you are a bad bitch, Dawn!"
"What just happened?!" asked Courtney.
"Dawn went Stranger Things on those demons, that's what happened!"
"I know that power," murmured Piper. "Don't tell me Gaea had demigod offspring"
"She had Antaeus," Leo put in.
"I don't think Dawn's a demigod, she just had this strong bond with Gaea, that's all"
"So, Gaea's, like, on our side now? Talk about a turn of events," said Leo.
Brick held Dawn in his arms. "Whoa, you okay, Dawn?"
Dawn's eyes glittered. "Oh, Brick, it was amazing! I felt Mother Earth's assuring embrace and she magically made all those monsters disappear! Yet, I felt her pain. This time, it's not just our foolish wastes that are hurting her. This brewing war is taking a toll on Earth herself!"
"So what do we do now?" asked Anne Maria.
"Isn't it obvious?!" yelled Courtney. "We need to televise this so the world can join in on the fight against these bad guys, and so I can get publicity as the girl who planned their downfall!"
"What YOU are going to do," cut in Piper. "is to go back to your ordinary lives. Let the gods handle their own damn problems"
"But, Piper, this is bigger than Olympus" countered Maria. "Unless we all work together, this could be a crisis that ends all of us!"
"I'm done getting pushed into these things, thank you very much. I've lost enough for this cause."
"Piper, please, we need the demigods-"
Alfred got up from his slouch. "Youch, one of the monsters scratched my lip. Oh, God, that's gonna leave one SEXY scar here"
He stepped into the light and for the first time, Piper got a full look at the American, and her heart stopped.
"What?"
Piper's eyes began to tear up. "It's nothing. Fine, I'll get into contact with the camps, let them know what's up"
"I think Nico already handled that," said Kiku.
"You spoke to Bone Boy? Cool, he'll know what to do," said Leo.
"What we need is YOUR help. Gaea told us in a vision you would know where the giants are held,"
Piper's eyes grew wide in alarm. "The giants? Gods, don't tell me…"
"China plans to raise Gaea's armies for his own… and he'll kill our dads as tribute…"