The mid-day sun glared harshly down. The light filtered through a thick forest canopy, through leaves and branches, and finally reached the ground as thin, almost ethereal beams of light.
Long shadows were cast by the light, made longer still as Bianca exerted her power.
She gasped for air, eyes narrowed with focus and fatigue as she battled. A blade came whistling overhead, and Bianca rolled forward. The thin celestial bronze chest plate she wore ground against the forest floor, pulverizing a tree root in her wake.
She rose violently, combat boots kicking off the floor in a shower of leaves and mud. Her nagamaki spun through the air, the supernatural blade seemingly cutting through the air itself. It cut through bone and steel as if it were warm butter, and a skeleton fell defeated at her feet.
For a moment Bianca simply stood still, her chest heaving in the aftermath of her victory. She closed her eyes briefly, calming herself down, controlling her breathing. She studied her surroundings, seeing with more than just her eyes. Shadows flickered around her unnaturally.
With her eyes still closed, a smile crossed her lips.
"There you are." She murmured.
She outstretched her arms and fell backwards, umbral energies grasping at her arms and welcoming her home like an old friend. She vanished into her shadow, and erupted out of a new one.
Her nagamaki shook in her hands as it was blocked by a blade of similar nature.
Her brother grinned at her.
Bianca couldn't help but grin back, impressed. She watched how his eyes moved, twitching to some vague point behind her, and her eyes widened.
She launched herself backwards just as a blade passed through the space she'd occupied.
Bianca scowled, seeing yet another skeleton soldier standing in her way. Nico planted his blade into the ground and leaned on it, seemingly content with watching her struggle.
Bianca lashed out with her nagamaki, the polearm giving her superior reach. The skeleton stumbled backwards as the divine blade carved through one of its femurs, leaving it one-legged.
She capitalized, leaping forward and onto the falling skeleton, slamming her blade down into its skull. The eerie fire burning within empty eye sockets winked out.
Bianca extracted her foot from the remnants of a ribcage, and smirked at her brother. "Well?"
Nico sighed goodnaturedly, pulling his sword from the soft earth and advancing forward, idly twirling his blade at his side.
"You know what they say, if you want something done right, you gotta do it yourself."
Bianca grinned, crouching down and bringing her nagamaki to bear.
"Bring it, little brother."
Nico laughed, and began to run at her, blade held aloft.
"Children!" A voice barked.
Nico skidded to a stop in front of Bianca. His blade collapsed, returning to his finger in the form of a ring. Bianca's polearm vanished, and a bracelet appeared on her arm.
Chiron trotted into their makeshift arena. The legendary trainer of heroes looked grim and exhausted, as if something terrible had occurred.
"Is everything alright, Chiron?" Nico asked worriedly, looking at their mentor.
Chiron closed his eyes. "I'm not sure. Come with me. There's someone that needs to speak with you."
Nico and Bianca glanced at each other, speaking the equivalent of a thousand words with mere eye contact. Bianca shrugged. Nico and Bianca followed the centaur back into camp.
The Big House was as imposing as ever. The two siblings walked up the steps slowly, following Chiron. They reached the living room analogue, where the centaur turned and smiled.
"Go on."
Bianca glanced up at Chiron questionably. "You're not coming?"
"No." Chiron shook his head. "This summons was not for me."
Nico and Bianca glanced at each other briefly, before they walked in, Chiron closing the doors after them both.
At the head of the table stood a tall woman. She was clad in amber robes adorned with blackened armour. Thick gauntlets were lightly clutching the back of a chair. A dark helm embedded with polished amber granite framed a warm face with warmer eyes, orbs of flame.
Hestia regarded the two children of Hades with a small smile. Despite the battle regalia, the goddess of the hearth remained no less welcoming.
"Lady Hestia!" Nico's eyes widened at the sight of the goddess.
"Nico." Hestia nodded. She turned to his sister, and smiled, acknowledging her as well. "Bianca. Please, sit. I have a request of you."
Nico and Bianca sat down. Almost immediately, Bianca leaned forward. "Is this about Percy? Is he okay?"
Hestia's smile became bittersweet. "He was lucky to have made friends as loyal as you."
"What happened?" Bianca asked.
Hestia waved her hand, and flames burst out of the center of the table, forming a screen. In the flames, they watched as a winged woman and an injured Percy battled a foreign god. They fought well. It did not prevent them from being cast into a dark portal.
Both siblings stared at the dark portal, the tear in reality. Something about it sent shivers down their backs.
"One of my finest eudaemons, Acantha, and Percy, fought a god of the wind, Ehecatl. The god banished Percy into their pantheon's underworld." Hestia shook her head. "Acantha followed him."
"How can we help?" Bianca asked. Nico nodded firmly with agreement.
Hestia stared at the two for a moment, before smiling warmly. "As I said before, Percy was lucky to have made such good friends."
Hestia continued. "I would gladly venture into Mictlan myself, to pull Perseus and Acantha out. But I cannot. Ancient, immutable laws prevent me from personally interfering."
"But we can." Nico finished the goddess' thought. "We can go in there and get him out."
"Precisely so." Hestia smiled.
"How?" Bianca asked. "How are we getting in there and pulling him out?"
"I cannot send you there myself." Hestia shook her head. "It takes an immense amount of power to breach the walls of a divine realm, especially one outside of my own pantheon." She smiled. "I am not alone though."
"Hello."
"Ah!" Bianca lurched away from the table and towards Nico, hand shooting towards her bracelet.
A dwarf was standing on the seat next to her. He appeared ugly, immensely so. He wore nothing but a Speedo. Nico winced at the sight, and Hestia pinched her nose.
"Bes, please put on more clothing."
"C'mon!" Bes protested. "This is my - " He trailed off at the look Hestia sent him. "Fine."
Grumbling, he snapped his fingers, and abruptly he was clad in the shortest tuxedo Bianca and Nico had ever seen.
"Better?"
Hestia smiled. "Much."
She shook her head, returning to the topic at hand. "This is one of my equivalents, from another pantheon. Bes. The ancient Egyptian protector of households, both the defender of good and bane of evil."
"You flatter me Hestia." Bes grinned, running a hand through greasy hair.
His grin died down, turning into an analyzing glare as he contemplated Nico and Bianca. "These the two?"
Hestia nodded. "Yes. Will you help me?"
"Of course." Bes agreed. "I'm not about to let your favoured demigod die."
"Thank you, Bes." Hestia smiled warmly.
"So how are we doing this?" Nico asked.
"Tonight." Hestia replied. "Bes and I will work together to get you there. For now, rest. We will call you when we are ready."
Dark liquid sloshed at Percy's ankles. His chest burned. He coughed weakly as he staggered forward.
Even with his enhanced eyesight, it was impossibly dim. His eyes glowed as he flooded them with all the power he could spare, willing the divine machinery to pierce the darkness around him.
Even then, all that he could see remained engulfed in perpetual twilight. He could vaguely make out the distant horizon. Large, jagged mountains rose into the sky, the summits disappearing into the darkness above. A river ran from them, descending through the land.
It was on the banks of this river that Percy stumbled forward. He looked downwards, and noted the riverwater that he'd previously mistaken for being a dark blue was actually a deep, sanguine crimson.
Percy grimaced.
He reached into his jacket, and exhaled with relief. He still had access to his weapons. His hand grasped onto cold steel, the gunmetal reassuring him.
"Acantha?" Percy asked, looking around. His eyes flickered over the environment. Other than stygian stones and blood, he could not see any sign of the eudaemon.
"Acantha?" He tried once more. He sighed when he heard nothing, and continued onwards.
He continued stumbling through the wasteland. Time didn't seem to apply here, in wherever Ehecatl had sent him. Eventually, he noticed a glimmer of something up ahead.
He staggered urgently forward.
His saber was embedded in the stony riverbed, jutting out proudly. Despite everything, a small smile crossed Percy's face, at the sight of something familiar, in this alien and hostile land.
His hand wrapped around the hilt of the napoleonic blade and he wrenched it out of the riverbed, inspecting the weapon.
The harsh treatment hadn't appeared to have done significant damage to the weapon, the mottled steel and bronze still gleamed sharply, and the edge still held true.
As he stood there inspecting his weapon, a growl sounded out from behind him. His eyes widened. Percy turned around, raising his arm just one time to block the monster from biting his neck.
A monstrous jaguar growled at him, eyes glowing in the perpetual darkness of Mictlan. It chuffed, shaking its head from where Percy had managed to strike it, and lunged once more.
Powerful incisors shattered against his invulnerable arm, and he breathed a short sigh of relief. Despite his curse having been breached earlier by the Tiber infused weaponry, it still held true in conventional melee.
Percy brought his saber to bear, and shoved it through the animal's chest.
The jaguar didn't even notice it, continuing to growl and claw at him. His chest burned, and his feet began to give way, unable to support the strain of pushing back against such a beast for much longer.
Percy cursed. Grecian divine metals would not help him in the realm of another pantheon. His feet slid backwards, scrambling for purchase as he wrestled with the huge jaguar.
A knee gave out, and Percy fell back, landing in the crimson water, the jaguar following him down. His eyes darted around frantically as his arms shook from holding the beast at bay. Jaws snapped viciously, inching closer to his throat.
One of his arms scrabbled at his side, searching for something, anything. His hand came up with a rock from the riverbed, and he brought it smashing against the jaguar's skull.
It yelped, leaping off of him. Percy managed to rise back to his knees, gasping under the weight of new and old injuries. He regarded the jaguar wearily, through blurry eyes.
The jaguar came to leap at him again. Percy grunted, raising the jagged rock once more.
The darkness turned into day as light flashed. Fiery thorns writhed through the air, piercing the jaguar and forcing it to the ground.
"Acantha." Percy gasped out.
"Perseus." Acantha nodded. She turned to the downed jaguar, frowning. As its paws scrambled for purchase on the loose stones of the riverbed, Acantha brought her spear to bear. She twirled it at her side briefly, engulfing it in flame, before plunging it through the jaguar's side.
The jaguar gave one last keening wail before dissipating into dust. Acantha stepped over the remains, and offered a gauntleted hand to the downed demigod. "Rise, Perseus."
The eudaemon's once brilliant robes were stained with soot and blood. Constellations of pockmarks and dents marred the verdant metal. She still looked formidable nonetheless.
Percy took the offered hand gratefully, and Acantha pulled him to his feet with ease. "Thank you." He said.
"Don't mention it." Acantha murmured.
The fire engulfing her spear faded. It returned in force around her wings, producing a warm, welcoming aura in the midst of the hostile domain. Percy felt the ache of his many wounds recede, if only a little bit.
"Are we…" Percy asked, looking around.
"Trapped?" Acantha finished the query with a wry voice. Her fiery verdant orbs scanned the area around them. "For now, yes."
The eudaemon shook her head, after deeming the area clear. "There is no need to fear. My lady will rescue us. You are my domain now, and I will guard you until then. Are you fit to travel?"
Percy rolled his shoulders. "Of course. It'll take a lot more to kill me."
"Good."
The car rumbled almost silently. It still managed to be the loudest sound in the car cabin, the four occupants inside silent, struck with either grief or guilt.
The silence was broken by Thalia first. She was sitting in the rear of the car, hunched over as she stared at her clasped hands.
"I didn't see it." Thalia muttered, eyes narrowed with self-recrimination. "I should've seen it coming."
"You couldn't have." Annabeth spoke quietly. "It was a god. There was nothing you could've done."
"I'm the daughter of Zeus!" Thalia raised her voice. "I could've done something! That guy, Ehecatl or whatever, he controlled the winds! That's my game! That's my house!"
"Stop." Zoe spoke firmly, yet quietly. She took a shuddered breath, evidently restraining her emotions. "You could've done nothing. There are few beings who can fight a god in their own element. Demigods are not one of them. Blaming yourself does nothing."
A fist slammed against the steering wheel. The horn briefly blared, a piercing sound that silenced all of them.
Anna had her head bowed over the steering wheel. "Why are you all talking like he's dead?"
All of the occupants regarded the younger huntress silently. They all knew how she'd loved Percy.
"Anna…" Zoe began.
"No!" Anna shouted. "He's not dead. He can't be. He's taken worse hits!" She turned to regard Zoe. "Of all people, I thought you'd figure that. Think! The prophecy!"
"One shall be lost…" Annabeth murmured.
"Exactly!" Anna thumped the steering wheel once more. "Lost! Not dead!"
Zoe shook her head slowly. "You're right. Perseus has suffered worse."
"What should we do then? Turn back?" Thalia asked.
"No." Anna shook her head. She gave a weak grin. "He'll find us, once he's finished beating whatever he's fighting. For now, we continue."
"Agreed." Zoe stated.
Silence returned to the car. It lasted a few dozen kilometers, the remaining members of the party glancing out. The atmosphere became a bit lighter.
"So." Thalia began. "A cyborg?"
"Not as you would call it." Zoe shook her head. "He is an automaton, made by Hephaestus himself."
"Why?" Annabeth asked. "Why rob someone of their body like that?"
"The Great Prophecy." Anna murmured. "Percy was born in 1945, a few months after it was made.
"They could not make him immortal, so they did the next best thing."
"They made him into a machine, so he wouldn't age." Annabeth realized. "So that he would remain just below 16 perpetually, so he'd always be a candidate for the prophecy."
"Indeed." Zoe spoke. "He was made to be the fist of Olympus. To be their final line of defense, should that decision ever truly have to be made."
Thalia opened her mouth once more, only for Anna to shake her head. "The rest of the story is up for Percy to disclose, should he want to." Anna and Zoe exchanged a brief glance. "We will not betray his trust."
Thalia chuckled. "That's very sweet, but not what I was going to ask. I was going to ask where are we going now?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Zoe asked. "We're going to where this all began."
A mountain range was in the distant horizon, looming over the landscape.
"We're going to Mount Othrys."
Christ. Sorry guys, my updates are very slow. So things are finally starting to come together. I'd always planned Nico and Bianca to have a part to play. Sorry if my weaving of these plot threads comes across as heavy handed, I'm definitely not some sort of super-skilled writer by any means, let alone a professional one. I do cartography, man.
Anyway, hope you enjoy. I'm thinking doing another flashback chapter next, and then continuing the existing story. I've had an urge to write a chapter about the offhand comment Percy made about his involvement in the Falklands all the way back in Chapter 1.
(This is definitely not motivated by certain comments the most recent Argentine president made regarding the Falklands.)