Hades stared at the floating image in the throne room. It displayed camp. They would be watching this image for the next several hours. All Olympians were present, even Hades was sitting on his throne. Except Poseidon.
It felt thick and suffocating in the throne room. Hades hated it. He could hardly breathe. Every single god and goddess had a grim look on their face, as they watched the monsters hide in the forest, lining up for a battle. Many demigods would die tonight. Their own children.
This plan sucked, even Hades agreed. He didn't know why they were going through with this. He actually respected Perseus, after everything he had done for his son, after everything he had done for the livelihood of the gods. And this was his reward.
He wondered if the other gods knew something that he didn't. But as he didn't even have an official seat in the throne room, he had no power to dictate anything. He just had to go along with what the king of gods wanted. Most of the time, at least. And this was something that he pretty much did.
He hoped he wouldn't face Poseidon's wrath for this. Whichever way he turned, he would upset one of his brothers. While he normally didn't care, he knew that his actions here would affect him for the time to come. Hopefully, he could just plead ignorance and innocence to whatever brother comes out on top.
Gods typically don't care about the life of mortals. Perseus was unique, and he affected every single Olympian sitting on their throne tonight. He shook the gods up. Even though he couldn't change their habits, after millenia of existing on this Earth, he still made an impact. Thousands of years from now, they would remember him, clear as day. As the one who left a mark on their hearts.
He turned his head to gaze at the others, wondering who was secretly supporting Perseus from the sidelines. Hidden in their mind, he wondered who actually felt something about this plan. Felt regret.
Chiron had refused to help with this plan, of course. He loved Percy, and while he was sworn to secrecy, and couldn't outright go against them, he could refuse to lift a finger to help them with their plan. Which he did. Not that they needed his help anyway, but the gods left it alone. They understood. The unwillingness to go through with something like this.
The only ones who were probably excited for what would go down tonight were Ares and Athena. Everyone else looked apprehensive, or in some cases, looked like they couldn't care less. But deep inside, Hades knew they cared. Everyone felt the weight of the attack that was going to be placed on camp tonight. Not only would they lose their own children, they would lose their best defender.
As the last of the monsters readied themselves, Hades winced, as he looked back towards the image. This attack would be monumental, and the demigods had experienced peace for the last several months as the Second Giant War had died down. They were not prepared, and unsuspecting. Even if Percy managed to arrive before it was over, the death toll would be out of his control by then.
In the quietest voice Hades has heard from his brother in a while, he finally spoke. "Lift the border."
The ground rumbled and shook. A deep roar could be heard from the dark forest. One by one, campers sitting at the mess hall turned their head to the noise, abandoning their plates and cups. There were monsters waiting for them, ready to charge.
Nervous chatter spread across the campers as they sat, weaponless. The border should protect them. Should. Should. Should've. The border should've protected them. But it didn't. The border was bypassed with ease, like a hot knife to butter. Someone let these monsters in.
While they were watching, it happened. Monsters, dozens and dozens of monsters, way too many to count in the split second of clarity they had, came charging out of the woods, right towards the hall. A scream rang out in the air, and immediately there was chaos.
An Apollo camper's heart beat like a jackhammer. His signature weapon, a bow and arrow, were left lying on his bunk, as he had taken a break from practicing with them to come to lunch. Like most campers, he had nothing but his fists, which would easily get him killed. His head whipped around and he stumbled to his feet. He saw Chiron, forming a line with some of the campers that had a few weapons on them, but he knew that this was going to be a bloodbath.
His feet pounded on the ground as he ran towards his cabin, many other camps doing the same. Those at the frontlines were brave, brave souls. And he mourned for them already. He gasped for breath as he grabbed his weapon, throwing himself into his cabin. He burst back out of the Apollo cabin doors, immediately notching an arrow and aimed. He fired arrow after arrow, striking monsters right in the heart. Sometimes it took a few arrows for a monster to finally go down. They were strong. Taking campers down left and right. He tried to focus on his shooting, on taking down the things that were killing his friends.
The scent of blood and death was already filling his nostrils. He tried not to step over any bodies that were lying in front of him, or in a blood splatter, which covered the ground. A monster broke through the front lines, its beady eyes locked on him. He notched an arrow, squinting his eyes. In the middle of letting go, something jostled his arm. His arrow went astray, and the monster launched forward, tackling him to the ground.
He screamed, desperately kicking his feet, scrambling to grab purchase with his hands. He gasped as pain flared from his shoulder, the scent of blood instantly overwhelming his senses. His heartbeat was in his ears, feeling his blood rush, as he struggled to get out from under the monster that was keen on biting his throat.
He flinched as gold dust rained down on him, opening his eyes that he wasn't even aware he had closed, and looking at one of his friends, standing over him. She switched her dagger over to her other hand, and held out her right arm for him, helping him up.
She bent down to pick up his bow, and vanished back into the fight with a pat on the back.
He quickly notched another arrow, pulling the string back as he aimed. He barely heard the thwump of the arrow leaving his bow, before he was reaching for another. His motions became like clockwork, pull, aim, fire. Over and over again. He stepped over more dead or injured campers. His whole body was showered in golden dust.
There seemed to be an endless amount of monsters, but the son of Apollo couldn't even stop to think. He was on autopilot, barely noticing the sting of his fingers as the rope of his bowstring rubbed them raw.
A massive wave crashed down in front of him, forcing him to stumble backwards to stay standing. The water curled around the body parts of the monsters, and dragged them out to the lake. The water on the lake was in turmoil. The sky went dark, as menacing gray clouds appeared overhead, crackling with thunder and lightning. Water sloshed around, and huge waves crashed onto the beach. Every few seconds you could see a monster thrash to get air. Silence followed.
In a split second, it was over. The bloodbath that he just witnessed had reached its end, quicker than it appeared. The clouds broke up and disappeared, and the water stilled instantly. A dark, and heavy silence settled across camp, as their savior stood in front of them.
It was Percy Jackson.
Percy stood in front of the campers of Camp Half-Blood, trying not to look at the dozens of bodies that were strewn across the ground. The amount of power that it took for him to drown the hundreds of monsters left him feeling a little tired.
He had been away from camp, or at least away from the mess hall. He barely ate meals with the campers anymore, preferring to hit the kitchens (whenever he decided to eat). He isolated himself. He knew they didn't want him there anymore. But where else was he to go? Camp in the woods like a hunter of Artemis?
"Jackson." His name was spoken. Not even the decency of his first name. A camper with narrowed eyes stared at him, with the bow in his hands gripped so tightly that even Percy could see the white knuckles. "Finally decided to join us?" He spat. An Apollo camper, Percy remembered.
The camper let go of his bow with his left hand, and motioned across the green (red with blood) grass, at the bodies that were slumped over. He opened his mouth, but seemed to struggle with what he wanted to say. "Dozens of us are dead, and you-" He seemed to choke on his anger. His grief? His sadness? Something.
"You just come in, waggle your fingers, and all the monsters die in an instant. Couldn't have done that earlier?" He shook his head, bringing his other hand back onto his bow so he could grip it tight. "My friends are dead because of you." The campers that surrounded them, and even Chiron, remained silent. The onlookers seemed to fade away. It was just him, and this camper, that he didn't even know the name of. It felt strangely wrong and right at the same time, not knowing his name. It was poetic, in a way.
"They're dead!" He roared, but his voice broke at the last second, revealing the sob that was hidden in his throat. He instantly quieted down, bringing a hand over his mouth, not daring to break down while all eyes were on him.
Ice surrounded Percy. Metaphorically, of course, but nevertheless, ice. He felt a cold shiver run down his spine, as he stared into the eyes of this Apollo camper. He felt sick, gross, wrong. Was it his responsibility to "waggle his fingers" and save the camp? Especially since the border didn't fail- at least he didn't think so. Powerful magic protected the border. Somebody let those monsters in. So how was he supposed to know that dozens of teenagers would fall at his feet today? He wasn't.
"Is this supposed to be my fault?" Percy raised an eyebrow, sticking his hands in his pocket. "I wasn't aware that I was the camp's guardian angel."
Maybe that was the wrong thing to say, as he watched the kid turn red in the face. Perhaps he was being a bit too insensitive, but he doesn't take insults laying down.
"You could've been here from the start. Could've been sitting here, eating lunch with all of us, and maybe no one would've had to die." The kid growled.
"Maybe," he shrugged. "However, last I checked, this camp was full of fighters. Full of demigods. You're not supposed to depend on one person to snap their fingers and fix everything. Besides, nothing is supposed to get past the borders. I certainly didn't know there would be a battle today."
The camper shook his head, visibly shaking, whether in rage or sadness, Percy couldn't tell. "That doesn't matter! What matters is that we needed you, and you weren't there. You don't deserve to be here. Among the real heroes."
Ouch, that one kinda stung, if he was honest. He knows he's been spiraling lately, but he was a real hero. It was just past his prime.
A camper quietly walked up behind the Apollo kid, one of his brothers, if Percy remembered correctly. He placed his arm around the camper's shoulder, supporting him.
"I think you should go." The older boy spoke. It was quiet, but it rippled across the ground. Everyone heard him crystal clear. "Leave, get away from camp."
Percy knew this day would come eventually. Even though he is drowning in misery, he never realized how unready he was to leave. To leave the only place that he ever felt normal in.
He didn't have any words, nothing came to mind. He glanced at Chiron, who had arrived at the scene moments ago, and reluctantly met his eyes with a sad expression. Chiron gave him a small nod.
He turned back to the camper who told him to leave, and stared straight into his eyes. "Fine. I'll leave. But, just remember this. One day, you'll need me. And you won't be able to find me."
With that last warning, he stalked off to his cabin, intent on packing his things and getting out as fast as he could.
From above, Poseidon sighed. He was too slow. Maybe, just maybe, something would've happened differently had he had time to warn his son. Zeus moved the attack up, and blocked him from contacting Perseus, intent on stopping him from ruining his plans.
Eyes sad, he watched as a storm swirled within Perseus. Nothing good would come of this, he was sure. The godly world was about to be plunged into a hurricane.
a/n: this chapter probably sucks a bit bc i wrote it 3 years ago lol, i am also not that great at fight scenes. sorry!