A/N: Surprise Double Feature! Or I guess it won't be a surprise since I'm telling you now, but the next chapter will be coming out 24 hours after this one. Not going to spoil any details, but I realized this chapter would've been much longer than I'd liked if it was all in one. So another chapter tomorrow! Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter and, as always, please review and let me know what you think.
Chapter 6: Wisdom's Two Battlefields
The first projectile blew a hole through Polybotes' stomach, and the Bane of Poseidon bellowed as he fell, marking the beginning of deafening pandemonium atop the Acropolis. The explosion shot Greek fire in every direction and doused the center of the Parthenon in flames. Its ensuing shockwave knocked over several shouting giants while the wildfire evaporated dozens of lesser monsters crammed into the monument's interior. Jason and Piper were largely unaffected by the missile's aftershocks, solely due to them still being wrapped tightly in Porphyrion's fist. The giant king had braced instantly, shaking off the damage and turning his head skyward.
One after another, the rest of the giants followed suit as they raucously tried to pinpoint where the rocket had come from. Polybotes choked through his own bile, still sprawled across the ground, as he raised a finger towards a growing dot in the sky. Discovering the descending trireme at the same time, Porphyrion fell into his role as the King of the Giants. His spear shot from the earth into his other hand as he barked an order.
"We prepared for their flying ship! Tilt the onagers and fire!"
Half a dozen more sparks flew from the Argo II, and the booms accompanying the projectiles reached everyone's ears much faster than the first. The echoing sound added to the discordant chaos in every direction as the aerial specks of greek fire drew closer. Jason wheezed as he strained through his words against the crushing grip on his chest.
"It's like they're trying to kill us, too," he got out.
Piper felt a lump form in her throat. What should have been a figure of speech made her shudder; she held an uncomfortable inkling that truth could exist in Jason's words. Trying to shake off the impending feeling, the daughter of Aphrodite turned her wild gaze towards the scene before her. Several cyclopes mobilized around the Parthenon, tearing to their stations at the surrounding onagers, and she knew there were dozens more doing the same across the Acropolis. Piper hoped that the rest of their crew had reached all of the siege weapons in time. If they hadn't, she was going to be helpless to watch their ship be shattered by the magical catapults.
"Fire!" a cyclops bellowed over the ruckus from immediately outside the Parthenon.
A lurching explosion followed. The onager at the edge of the building erupted in a burning ball of Greek fire, dissolving its small crew and raining splintered wood. Just one engine failure could have been a defect, but the detonations became an orchestra performing for the Parthenon. A cacophony echoed across the Acropolis, one after another, as plumes of smoke rose to the plateau that held the famed landmark. As best she could with the pressure on her chest, Piper breathed a sigh of relief when no flaming projectiles arced to meet the ones almost upon them. But before she even thought to brace, a final explosion shook the inside of the Parthenon.
The last onager, rolled into the open area that was still thick with mayhem, launched its sabotaged payload. It erupted right next to the giant king and sent him careening. Porphyrion's fist opened as he spun to catch himself on his spear, freeing Piper and Jason from his clutches. The son of Jupiter had pried his gladius free as he launched from the open hand, and barely caught himself with the winds before he struck the ground. Piper's landing was much rougher, tumbling nearly fifteen feet onto rough earth and landing directly on her shoulder.
"Piper!" Jason shouted, but his voice vanished in the violent noise as the surrounding monsters attempted to order themselves.
Pain shot up Piper's arm when she pushed herself upright in the deafening uproar. Sulfur and smoke burned her nose and choked her throat as she fought to breathe. Her ears rang from the impact and explosions while the swirling clouds of dust rendered her blind. She realized she didn't even have a blade to defend herself, but her next thought made her realize it wouldn't have made a difference anyways.
The Argo's rockets.
Piper didn't even brace, accepting her fate, as six more fiery explosions shook the earth. The pillars of the Parthenon shuddered as they were enveloped in green flames, cracking and shearing as the landmark threatened to fall apart. Multiple giants took projectiles full force, joining the groaning and grunting Polybotes as they tried to claw away from the main tumult. And through all of the earthen onslaught, the daughter of Aphrodite, with her eyes shut tight, stood unscathed.
She opened her eyes slowly, the violent roar still in her ears and the throbbing pain still in her shoulder, and she realized she was alive. At the center of her gaze was a wall of caramel hide and the broad blade of a golden spatha. A familiar voice finally reached her.
"Piper!" Hazel shouted, breathing heavily.
Arion whinnied impossibly loud, viscerally bringing Piper out of her stupor. Immediately, tears welled in her eyes as she found the grinning, but shaken, daughter of Pluto atop her immortal stallion. In Hazel's other hand, she held a wide cavalry shield that shuddered in tandem with the normally-sturdy Arion. Piper realized that they must have shielded her from all of the impacts ahead of them, taking on the force themselves.
"You came for us," Piper said as she bit back her tears; this was no place for conversation let alone sobs.
Hazel's eyes became pained.
"Of course I did; I can't lose another friend," she said somberly before she steeled herself.
"Now come on, Arion's whinny just signaled Leo that we got you. He refused to fire anything from the ship until I promised we'd reach you in time, and this was his compromise. Now that we've got you, he's about to really let loose."
Piper, still dazed from the damage and disorder brewing around her, couldn't imagine that it could get any worse. But knowing Leo, it could always become more wild, and she didn't want to be around to experience it. She spared a glance skyward, finding both the Argo II close enough to see its details and the flying son of Jupiter holding his own against Hippolytus.
Arion whinnied again and Piper broke into a run. The horse kept pace alongside her, stomping out the Earthborn that Hazel skewered with her spatha, and they cleared a path together towards the edge of the Parthenon. The dust kicked up further as the first projectile of Leo's invigorated onslaught touched down. Through the earthen haze, they made out a towering giant stumbling into their path. They paused, but quickly realized they didn't need to ready themselves for a fight.
The giant groaned as it swatted at the air. Piper could just barely see, but very clearly hear, a massive Roman Eagle that screeched as it pecked out one of his eyes. The giant shrieked as he slapped a palm to his golden-bloodied socket. Undoubtedly Frank perfecting his transformation, Piper and Hazel shot an approving glance before they kept running.
The hulking corner pillar of the Parthenon came into view above the cloud of dirt and dust, and that hopeful spark of survival returned in Piper's chest. Each thudding step, lining up perfectly with the searing throbs of her shoulder, brought her one closer to a temporary safety that could maybe lead them closer to victory.
It was then that a doubt pressed in her mind. The earth shook as smoke piled into her mouth and nose, her ankle balked as it rolled over a stone, she punched an empousa in the face and ducked as Hazel skewered it. Through all of the surrounding madness, the doubt still shoved itself to the forefront of her mind.
There are no gods here.
What would an infinite number of the Argo II's rockets do with no divine intervention to finish the monsters off? She'd watched Polybotes be essentially impaled with a direct hit, and he was still rolling around, almost back on his feet. Her spark sputtered and her worries blinded her just as the earth opened up astride her feet. A massive hand tore through the ground and cracked into Arion's undefended side.
The horse whelped and Hazel screamed as the palm flattened them into the earth before it gripped the edges of the hole it'd created. Piper, in a state of shock, only got a moment's glance at Periboia's grotesque head emerging before another projectile made itself known with an earth-shaking detonation. And with no immortal horse's body or calvary shield to ward off the shock, Piper unwillingly left the ground as the impact knocked her into the pillar she'd so desperately been trying to reach.
Barely staying conscious, she crossed her forearms over her head to block the sparse rubble raining down on her. When the stony hail finally stopped, she lowered her arms and revealed to herself a looming figure. Thoon, the other giant that had captured her, bore down at the demigod with bloodthirsty eyes as he brandished his meat cleaver. Without a word exchanged, he raised his weapon and the spark in Piper vanished entirely. She recrossed her forearms in front of her face as her final act of defiance.
Thoon brought the weapon down, and Piper felt grateful that her death was painless. Until it wasn't. The throb of her head and shoulder flared immensely, the roaring in her ears somehow gained amplitude, and the jarring schink of metal on metal made her teeth chatter painfully. She dropped her arms; she was still on the battlefield. She was alive. Somehow.
In front of her, where the arcing meat cleaver should have met no resistance but air, stood her savior. Piper found the source of the metallic clash that had rattled her– two pure white blades crossed against Thoon's brutish weapon. And her defender wore armor nothing like Piper had ever seen. It glowed brightly, a white as pure as the daggers, lined with solid silver etchings that allowed the form to take shape in her eyes. To Piper, it looked like the warrior was made of solid light, which was an impossibility.
As the helmed fighter held back Thoon's pressing blade, Piper had no choice but to admire the art that stood before her. The sleek, ornate armor boasted intricate designs and words that Piper couldn't make out in the swirling dust. Greaves to chestplate, it looked flawlessly molded with no chinks to cut through and threaten the warrior inside. And the helmet, Piper thought, was gorgeous. Though she could only see it from the side, its face covering had silver arched brows similar to an owl's with a straight white visor from the eyes down.
With its face obscured, Piper had no way to know for sure, but it seemed to her that the warrior wasn't even straining against the giant roaring in its face. Her suspicion rang true when her protector shot a momentary glance back before shoving forward. Slashing daggers apart, it unleashed impossible strength that forced Thoon to stumble clumsily back. Before he could regain his footing, a dagger had already sunk into his stomach, and the helmed warrior had used it as a stepping stone to bound up to his head. With a clean slash, the second dagger sliced through his neck, and Thoon's legs crumpled underneath him.
Piper quickly found her motor skills and scrambled to the side to avoid where the giant was about to fall. Thoon's knees hit the earth and his torso lurched forward. But before his body thudded to the ground, it dissolved into muck and littered the dirt.
Is this a god?!
Her question was answered when her eyes found the warrior again. It bounded thirty feet into the air before Piper watched massive white wings unfurl from the armor. The warrior dove towards another giant at speeds so fast that Piper barely registered the movement. Only one thought remained in Piper's mind– an unorthodox answer to her question.
A Seraph.
(Line Break)
Reyna brandished her sword as she stalked a circle around the wide deck of her commandeered ship. Orion did the same opposite her, flexing his bare fingers and gnashing his teeth. From the stern, the back deck of the ship, pegasi whinnied as they voiced their apprehension. The winged horses watched impotently from their harnesses, corralled behind the Athena Parthenos as the Roman Praetor and the son of Gaea sized each other up.
Orion had only landed on the ship moments before, and Reyna had first ensured the pegasi would remain safe. Even if she died, she'd hold the giant off long enough for the horses to regain their strength and cross the final stretch across Long Island Sound. There was no option to fail; the Athena Parthenos had to make it to Half-Blood Hill.
Even with the lurching thrum of her heart and the chilling thought of dueling a giant, Reyna couldn't help but smirk at him as they continued to circle each other. Orion still had no bow– Reyna had watched Hylla shatter it in San Juan– but the giant had something else missing, too: an eye. The mechanical red optic that spun and clicked in her direction no longer had a companion; the other socket was a darkened mess of bronze that marred his otherwise handsome face. Reyna pointed at it with her blade.
"A souvenir from my hometown?" she teased.
Orion scowled, his entire body tensing. Reyna carefully watched his legs.
"From the huntress," he spat, "Unfortunately for you, both she and the Amazon are still breathing."
"How is that unfortunate for me?" Reyna scoffed.
"If I had killed one of them, maybe you would not have had to die. But I require penance, and you are the only one left in my reach."
"You're a very delusional man," Reyna mused, "You allegedly used to rival Lady Diana herself, and now you're losing eyes to her lieutenants. And even after that, you think you stand a chance against the highest ranking officer in the Twelfth Legion. Get real with yourself; you've lost your edge."
The Roman Praetor tensed, certain her baiting had worked. Affirming her assumption, Orion roared as he charged with fists balled. Reyna met his warpath at the center of the deck, slicing her blade diagonally. The giant blocked it with his forearms. Vambraces covered the skin, and her sword only made a shallow cut. Orion shouldered ahead, his far superior physical strength shoving the blade away and sending Reyna reeling. Immediately bounding forward like a feral animal, the diving giant only gave Reyna a second to roll away.
She whirled around as she jumped upright, catching his open palm with a slash of her sword before sidestepping as far as she could manage. Another shallow cut, but Reyna remained stable as she moved out of reach before Orion spun towards her again. The Roman's heartbeat reached a crescendo as she attempted to organize her thoughts about how to complete their mission.
Nico was already on Long Island, infiltrating the Roman war camp. After the pegasi had arrived to escort them at the behest of Pegasus himself, they'd landed the statue on the ship she was still on. It was there that they'd met legionnaires and a centurion loyal to Reyna, avoiding anything to do with Octavian's plans to use onagers on the Greek demigods. Nico, under the cover of shadows, had taken on the task of sneaking into the war camp with Reyna's friends and rallying many of the troops that the legionnaires claimed were also unwilling to attack. Reyna knew that all of that would be for nothing if she didn't defeat Orion on this ship and escort the statue.
Her arms shuddered when she parried a barrelling fist from the giant. Spit erupted through his bared teeth as Orion continued his onslaught, and Reyna knew she couldn't dodge and block much longer. The giant dropped low but kicked high, and she wasn't quick enough to catch his feint. Orion's black boot caught her in the chest. The impact lifted Reyna off of the ground, launching her into the ship cabin door. As she landed, she understood for certain that she didn't have the strength to defeat Orion alone. Silently, she prayed to her mother. Hell, she prayed to Athena, too. The daughter of Bellona believed that her escort earned her some amount of favor from the Greek goddess.
A voice Reyna had never heard before spoke in her head, and she recognized it on pure instinct– her mother.
All of the strength you have gifted over the years, returned to you.
A surge shot through her, and she shoved to her feet through no conscious decision. The daughter of Bellona raced towards the giant barrelling at her. She swung her blade as he drew near, and he instantly raised his vambraced forearm to block again. While Reyna was certain she'd make a deeper cut this time, the last thing both she and Orion had expected was her gladius cleaving straight through his arm, severing it nearly to the elbow. The giant balked before he keeled over with a garbled groan.
In shock, the demigod looked down at her hands and found a light red hue.
The Blessing of Bellona.
Reyna was awestruck at just how much strength she had relinquished to her comrades over the course of her battles. But because of her distraction, her victory was short-lived. With ichor gushing and his voice incoherent, Orion grabbed the blade of her gladius with his remaining hand. He wrenched it the instant his digits made contact, allowing the edge to dig into his palm, and he pried it from the momentarily stunned demigod.
Reyna was too late to fasten her grip, and the golden sword splashed into the sea. But her senses dialed in, the voice in her head screaming at the mistake, and she charged Orion bare-handed. The bloodlusted giant looked delirious as he matched her pace, clawing at her throat as she wrestled him to the deck.
Orion bit at her, swung his stump as well as his functioning arm, and tangled kicks with the Roman Praetor. It was all Reyna could do to keep fighting, arm-barring him and wrapping his legs to try and silence him. But still, the giant was physically too much stronger. He kicked her in the stomach. Reyna landed on her feet as Orion climbed to his. The giant launched forward, lowering his shoulder, and the demigod caught the attack square in the chest.
She coughed as it launched her past the cabin to the stern of the ship. The pegasi dispersed, terrified, as the Roman Praetor slammed against the bronze statue of Athena. Climbing to her haunches, Reyna panted heavily as her mind raced before sizzling heat pressed at her back. She turned to find the Athena Parthenos imbued with a bronze glow reflecting in Reyna's cloak. Shrugging off the draping clothing, Reyna's eyes widened. Both goddesses had heard her prayers.
Reyna turned around just in time to find Orion, red eye spinning wildly, midair as he bounded towards her. She rolled underneath him, dodging the momentum that sent his head clanging against the foot of the statue. Not giving him a moment to recover, Reyna clamped onto his back as she tightened her fists on the rolled cloak in her hands. She wrapped it around his throat and pulled hard.
Orion bucked, shaking violently as he tried to choose between loosening the strangling cloth around his neck or reaching for the demigod on his back. His indecisiveness cost him precious moments of air, and the feral giant's balking lost its intensity. His movement slowed while Reyna's grip never relented. She strangled Orion, lurching back as he still clawed at her, until he stopped moving. It was only when he dissolved into muck that Reyna exhaled and keeled forward. A pegasi, at the end of its harness, clopped ahead and caught her collapsing body.
"Go," she whispered, and the array of winged horses whinnied in unison before they lifted the statue into the sky.
On Half-Blood Hill, Nico lurked in the shadows between a conspicuous white tent and the underbrush that covered the entire circumference of the Roman war camp. Next to him lay a burly son of Bacchus who smelled violently of Kool-Aid. The Centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Dakota, had led Nico to right outside Octavian's tent. While the rest of the legionnaires rounded up soldiers that didn't want a war, Nico waited in anticipation of whether or not they'd need Plan B.
"Reyna should've been here by now," the son of Hades hissed.
He was worried about his friend and tired of waiting. Dakota agreed, discomfort painted across his face, and Nico couldn't tell if it was because of Reyna's absence or how off-put he seemed by Nico. Regardless, he didn't really care. What did matter to him was that Octavian was about to attack, and an army of Greek demigods was amassing on the inside of the camp borders. Nico felt it was now or never.
"We're moving with Plan B and then checking on Reyna," he affirmed.
Dakota seemed unwilling, but the look on Nico's face gave no indication that he was asking for permission. The son of Hades vanished into shadow, reappearing inside the gaudy tent he'd been hidden next to. He didn't have time to trace the baubles, trinkets, and other useless items that decorated the ugly interior of the tent belonging to the Roman calling himself "Pontifex Maximus."
Nico's eyes trained on the frail boy in the white toga and crown, milling over maps on a desk. Octavian was humming to himself as he traced with a pencil, likely marking where he wanted the onagers positioned. Nico was going to make sure he couldn't order a single one to fire. His Stygian Iron blade formed in his hand as he silently stalked behind the skinny augur.
Nico was lunged back, ready to drive his sword through the Roman belligerent, when the front flaps of the tent burst open. Instinctively, he ducked back into shadow before he angrily realized it was Dakota. The Centurion's eyes were wild, excited, and Nico's first thought was that he was on a sugar high.
"Big floating statue," he pantomimed, "pulled by flying horses. Reyna's back."
Nico's eyes widened and he vanished from the tent back into the open air. Surely enough, pegasi were lowering the Athena Parthenos at the camp border, placing it evenly between the burgeoning Greek and Roman forces. The lead pegasus had a body laid over it, and Nico ran towards Reyna as she began to stir. But he froze when the statue touched down.
The moment it settled into the soft dirt of Half-Blood Hill, he felt a massive aura erupt outwards from it. It was an overwhelming cleansing followed by a deep calm. In an instant, Nico could feel unconscious tension vanish between the two sides that were readying for a fight to the death. The rift between Greek and Roman had healed through that one simple action following the most treacherous experience of Nico's life. Maybe second most. But Nico was overcome with a bittersweet feeling, because it also meant that the gods that had sentenced his friends were back.
A/N: As you can see, the battle's not over yet. Gaea isn't even awake, if she's even getting up at all. But I promise the battle will be finished in the next chapter, which I sort of consider a Part 2 since it was all originally supposed to be in one. Anyways, I was so excited to reveal Annabeth just because of the plans I have with her in the future. Hope you're excited too.
levisorus: nice chapter dude, reading this at four am after gaming all night so not gonna dive into too many theories but you're doing f-ing awesome. i love this story already, keep it up.
Haha, hope you got your sleep in after that. Going to give you a lot more to theorize about in the coming chapters, too. As always, love seeing your name pop up in my reviews and thank you for following along.
Azure Exorcist: I just finished your Divergent Path story, and popped over here to see what else you had. I've gotta say, nice. You're honestly probably in the top 1% of PJO writers, in terms of quality of writing, plot, and reliability. I'd go as far as to say that you're up there with people like Anaklusmos14, at least in quality. Keep going, I can see you as becoming one of the greats. Also, I'd love to beta some of your work if you'd like. I don't have any works of my own on this account, but I can send you some samples of stuff I have on my laptop to show that I actually know what I'm doing.
Really appreciate the compliment, thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed Divergent Path. I'm slowly revising that story because I think I can smooth it out to increase the quality even more. I'm so grateful for the offer to beta, but I don't think I'm in need of one right now. Between uni work and actual work, I've been neglecting a consistent writing schedule so I'd be a pretty unfortunate person to work with. Would you mind if I kept the offer in mind as summer comes up and if I start focusing up more on this writing. But regardless, thank you so much.
SentinalSlice: I wonder if Percy will bring some of the rivers with him. Being the champion of Tartarus it would make sense for him to have access to the blood that is carried in his veins.
I was so bummed reading your review. I thought I was so smart and original for coming up with that in my drafts since I'd personally never seen it done before in a story. It was going to be a crazy reveal, but it's so cool that you had the same thought. Guess we can both be smart and original together. Yes, he will but I think I have a fairly interesting mechanic for how it's going to work so stay tuned! (If you somehow expose every other power I have in mind, I will be heartbroken and amazed)
Striking Thanatos: Woohoo, this story is shaping up nicely! Love the concept, the twist on the characters you are portraying and just the overall vibe and direction this story is taking. Can't wait for the next chapter!
Thank you! I'm trying my best to keep the characters "in character" as in flaws that are justifiable even if the canon ones would never stoop/rise to them. Namely Jason, as we can pretty clearly tell and hopefully Piper as I develop her character in the future. I'm glad that it seems to be working, and I'm happy to hear that you're enjoying the themes!