Chapter 22: Plans & Ploys
Atlantis was unique from the others. While Olympus was built on Balance, Othrys on Passion, and the Gigantes on the energies of Life, Atlantis was built neither on good or evil, but on the idea of Enlightenment itself. Atlantis fights for their own, for those lost and those to come, independent if the methods are good or evil. For the Glory of the Forgotten, even if to bring glory means to invite the darkness. That is what means to be an Atlantean.
- Poseidon's Notes, Page 31, On the creation of Atlantis.
The battle raged on for the fifth day, and Annabeth was tired.
She had been tirelessly working with Hades' top hunters to find the best ways to defend Underworld. She was not surprised to find herself sitting at the command table only a few hours into the first assault after the siege began, she was one of the greatest strategic minds from Olympus after all, yet what did surprise her was that while she was smart, there were people who were somehow smarter.
Eurydice, Orpheus' wife, had proven to be incredibly perceptive when it came to setting traps and arranging skirmishes, Patroclus, the young boy that Annabeth assumed was simply following Achilles had proven to be the sharpest person she had met, as well as incredibly ruthless. Next to Achilles himself, Zagreus, Orpheus and Thanatos, also proved to be more than just simple soldiers.
In the back of her mind, Luke's words had begun to whisper.
Eurydice, Patroclus, Orpheus…Olympus might match them in battle prowess, and maybe Athena could see through their plans, but who else could match their smarts? Their ruthlessness and their military intelligence? Bellona could try, Ares is more brawl than brains…
Could Hades be a threat?
Her thoughts were interrupted as Percy, Nico and Zagreus entered the room. Annabeth eyed them, slightly worried. Nico looked tired, yet his eyes were hard. He was cleaning his hands with a bloodied handkerchief, and at his hip was his dark sword that seemed to be trailing dark smoke.
Percy's face was hard, his eyes set, and his borrowed armour was stained with blood and dirt. As he walked, he touched the sword at his hip, looking around with a clear edge to him.
War ruins people… Annabeth thought sadly as she watched Percy walk to the table. Yet her eyes settled on Zagreus. Unlike Percy or Nico, he was smiling. His armour was pristine, and he carried no weapon. The look that he gave Annabeth, however, a look of knowledge and cockiness…her hands clenched.
Zagreus is the most dangerous person in this room…Annabeth knew, Achilles may be the better fighter, but he is honourable to a fault. Zagreus has the skill without the rules…
Yes, Annabeth had been keeping an eye on the boy ever since Luke had warned her, and what she saw was not something she particularly liked. The destruction he brought was the highest over the past days, with him decimating monsters as a one-man army. Since the siege began, Achilles had been glued to Hades' heels as his personal protector, so the command of the defence had fallen on Zagreus' shoulders, and everyone knew he was enjoying the fight a bit too much.
They were interrupted by the shadows coalescing into a man, and Annabeth hid a shudder at recognizing Thanatos, his mask still broken and his blood red eye looking over everyone in the room.
"They retreat for the night." The whispery voice of the man said, quieting everyone in the room. "But they don't reduce. Tomorrow more come, they unite for another strike."
"Just how many of those creatures do they have?!" Nico slammed his hand on the table, "We've been fighting an endless mob of those creatures and their numbers just don't seem to reduce."
"Do we know where they're coming from?" Percy asked.
"Our spies have said that they hide in Orpheus' tunnel. They managed to break through the blockade, we think they're receiving reinforcements." Eurydice said.
"Then it's only a matter of time before they break through." Zagreus muttered, "We must prepare for evacuation, or a siege..."
"We will not abandon Underworld, Zagreus!" Patroclus said, his boyish voice angry, "We will fight until we die, as Lord Hades wants us to."
"Patroclus, old friend, you're a fool if you believe it will end with death." Zagreus said sadly, "I've been fighting for over a week, and I've noticed something that many of us have question. These…creatures? Where do they come from?" Zagreus nodded to Thanatos, and from the shadows he slammed something on the table.
Annabeth screamed as she recognized a severed head, and many around it recoiled.
"Gosh, Thanatos!" Nico said.
"Look at it. Tell me, is there something special about it?" Zagreus raised the head above his own, letting every person in the room take a look at it.
"I…is there something we should see?" Annabeth asked, wincing as Zagreus turned the head to face her. I was horridly disfigured, one eye much larger than the other, a broken, flat nose, lips too wide and large for a normal mouth, and skin that seemed to be lacking any sort of moisture.
"Don't you see it, smart girl? Isn't there something…interesting about this one?"
"No…there's nothing special aside from it being horribly disfigured…"
"Exactly." The head slammed on the table, and Zagreus turned to the room. "Each and every one of these creatures share two things: They're horribly disfigured, and they're Enlightened. Now, I haven't been in Olympus in years, but I find it hard to think that they're capacity to find Enlightened has fallen so low that they've missed the hundreds of monsters out there, especially when they're so…recognizable."
"We haven't gotten notice of these Enlightened, Zagreus, trust me, we should've known…" Nico said, his eyes narrowing.
"Preciely, Neeks, should've. Why didn't you?"
"Because until recently they didn't exist." Hades' cane was loud in the following silence. He stared at the severed head, before giving a tisk and waving a hand. The head began to crumble into ash, which was waved away by the slight breeze that had entered the room through he open window. "I have come to the conclusion that these…mosters are different to the monsters we're used to fighting. Usually, they're Enlightened people like us who use their powers for evil. We call them monsters because of their black deeds, but I believe we have been grossly misusing the term. These creatures are monsters, don't question that. They lack empathy, emotions, anything that shows a degree of intelligence. They have a single goal: Destroy, and they use powers that before were private to us." Hades turned towards Bianca, who looked grim behind him. "Bianca, the River Sisters, and Rhadamanthus have discovered that the Enlightenment these creatures use is not the same as ours. Is wild, untamable, and not belonging to them. It has been granted."
"How is that possible? You cant just give enlightenment!" Annabeth yelled, earning a glare from several in the room.
"While during normal circumstances I would agree, Miss Chase, I have been proven wrong. We all have. Minos?"
"My lord." A man of short golden hair with yellow eyes and shining skin appeared from a side room. "Aeacus and I have overseen the…interrogations by the lady Melinoe, and all the prisoners seems to agree that before they 'saw the truth' they were simpletons who were offered a chance in a new world."
Silence reigned in the room once more, and Annabeth's mind worked furiously. Questions without answer flashed in her mind. What did it mean they were granted power? How was this possible? When had it happen? And the worst one: Was there a limit?
"We still need to conduct a few more questions, but with a few more days perhaps we could gain the answers we're looking for." Minos concluded.
"We will try to get you time. Minos, it is priority that we figure out how the enemy is creating these creatures." Hades said, "The rest of you, I fear we are being pushed into a siege. That cannot happen. Underworld was not built to defend from an outsider, it wasn't build to withstand a siege. It was built to be inescapable, meaning that if we get pushed into a siege,. Underworld will become our tomb. However, evacuating now means abandoning questions that we are incredibly close to getting answers to… Zagreus, switch to harassing instead of direct engagement, bleed them dry. Thanatos, assist him. Orpheus, Eurydice, protect the entrances to the city. Patroclus, find Theseus, Asterius and Sisyphus, you know what to do. Minos, keep working with Melinoe. Bianca, have our attempts at contacting Hypnos, Hecate or Nemesis given fruit?"
"We're locked in. The only person we've contacted is Moros, but he's acting…strange."
"I see. Keep trying. Someone is approaching Underworld, someone powerful. I'd be more calm if we're able to contact the outside."
"Nico, Percy, I need you to rest."
"Father—"
"No, Nico. Everyone else here is fully grown, they've been using their powers for years. You have barely scratched the surface of your own. Same for you Percy. You're no use to anyone if you make mistakes in the field."
Nico glared at Zagreus, and even Percy seemed annoyed at the man.
"Zagreus didn't say anything. He even tried arguing against it, but I'm not an idiot. I can see the fatigue clear in your eyes. You will have your chance at glory, son, but now let others do their work." Hades smiled, "In fact, there might be something both of you can help with. Annabeth as well. The rest of you, dismissed! Bianca…"
As the room began to empty, Bianca approached the table, prompting Nico, Percy, and Annabeth to do so as well.
"Nico, how exactly does shadowtravel work?" Bianca smiled, a knowing smirk dancing through her eyes.
"Wait, you two don't share the same Enlightenment?" Annabeth asked, surprise. Bianca merely glared.
"Its similar to how Thalia and Jason's enlightenment differ. Sure, they're both related to air and lightning, somehow, but Thalia uses enlightenment to coat her body and weapons while Jason uses it more as a long-distance fighter. Neeks and I are similar. We both share similar enlightenment, but Nico's skills have fallen more into stealth, while I am much more…flashy, lets say."
Annabeth thought about it. Much to her surprise, she realized that she had never seen Bianca's enlightenment. Sure, she had been the target of more than one of Bianca's cold shoulders—and they were cold—and once or twice she had seen the air around her shimmer in an…unnatural way, but she had never actually seen Bianca's skills. She avoided any form of physical fighting, and even sensitivity training under Dionysus' barrage of mental images. From what she knew, her powers were similar to Nico's: Control over shadows, minor temperature ccontrol, and something related to the earth. However what how could the Enlightenment be different in Bianca?
Somehow she was not entirely comfortable with not knowing, especially realizing how powerful Nico and the other denizens of Underworld really was over the past few days.
"Haven't I already told you?" Nico asked, crossing his arms.
"Humor me."
"Well…there are three things: First, I must have a shadow nearby. Usually not a problem, my own shadow works. Second, there must be a shadow where I can travel to. Again, usually not a problem. Third, and the problem, I can only shadowtravel to a shadow I can see. I cant shadowtravel from here to Olympus, for example. Mainly because I can't see the shadow I can travel to."
"Is there a distance?"
"Well, whatever my eyesight allows, I suppose."
"But, if I showed you a live image of, lets say, Olympus, could you travel there?"
"I…" Nico's insecurity turned into curiosity, "Huh…never tried that."
"And can you take someone with you?"
"Only someone of similar build and height to me. I, uh, learnt it the bad way…" the glare Nico sent everyone spoke of how little he wanted to talk about that.
"Alright." She smiled, "Percy, how comfortable have you gotten with hydrokinesis?"
"Well, its difficult, but much better than I used to. I haven't been practising much with…you know, but it did save me once. Used the water from Zagreus' water skin to slow the sword of a monster long enough for me to block it." Percy said with a proud puff of his chest.
"Good, good…Annabeth." Bianca said, clearly struggling, "I need to know exactly how your enlightenment works."
Annabeth thought hard about exactly what she could say. She didn't really trust Underworld, so she needed to keep an ace up her sleeve, but not knowing exactly what Bianca wanted made it difficult to know what to hide.
"Well…unlike most other forms of Enlightenment, the House of Wisdom doesn't really have any physical form of enlightenment. It enhances our mind in many different ways. Some of my siblings are able to percieve things at an incredibly quick way, being able to make decisions that would take others hours to take in a matter of minutes if not seconds. Malcom is notorious for having an eidetic memory that also affects his senses. He can tell you exactly how the food that he had six years ago smelled, tasted, and felt with incredibly detail."
"And you?" Bianca asked, staring at Annabeth, who sighed.
"I can recognize any form of pattern I see or hear, and once I recognize it I can understand it, and once I understand it I can never forget it. It's why I'm able to take down people like Clarisse or Thalia once in a while. Fighting is just a combination of patterns, and once they fall into those patterns its easy to break them down and find weaknesses…" That should be enough. I will not speak about the weapons, nor the speech…
Bianca stared at Annabeth with…was that respect?
"Interesting. So could you find a pattern in the attacks of the monsters currently attacking Underworld?"
"I've been trying to. They're erratic, sure, but even the most erratic behaviours have patterns. With enough time, I can. Why?"
Bianca smiled, and then she began to speak.