Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson or Harry Potter.

Consul of the Underworld: End of Disc 1

Chapter Twenty-Five: The Battle of Manhattan - Day One

Beta: ShadowofAxios


As the blue light of Kura's teleport faded and it deposited Alkaid, her family, and her colleagues in Black Team in her home in the Potter mansion in California, the daughter of Hades breathed a sigh of relief. They had finally escaped the Goblin King's Labyrinth and the gauntlet of monsters that Angra Mainyu had subjected them to.

"We're home!" Pyrrha said with a relieved sigh of her own as Rhip cawed his agreement and flew in a happy circle above everyone's heads before flying back upstairs to his aviary.

"Mistresses! You're back!" Cappy, the head Potter House Elf, said as he popped into the house's vestibule that Kura's teleport had dropped them in.

"Yes, we're ba-" Alkaid began with a smile only to be interrupted when her, her family and various team members' new MagiPhones, the magical smartphones developed by the EUM (Eta Ursae Majoris Corporation) Corp, the company that was run by their Hogwarts friends, suddenly began beeping incessantly.

Reacting instinctively, Alkaid pulled out her phone and frowned at what she saw. She had received literally hundreds of messages and dozens of missed calls whilst she and her family had been trapped in the Goblin King's Labyrinth. More alarmingly than that, a glance at the date reflected on her phone indicated that despite seeming like she had been away for only a day, they had in truth been away for weeks.

This must be the price Lucifer extracted from us for interfering on our behalf during Angra Mainyu's attempt to mess with Percy getting the Curse of Achilles. Alkaid realized with a frown. We were taken off the board for weeks in the crucial lead-up to the Titans' invasion of Manhattan! Weeks that the Titans had an easier time moving into position without us disrupting their efforts to besiege Manhattan and where we were unable to help shore up the defenses of Olympus.

"'Kaidy! We've-"

"Yes, Pyrrha, I know." Alkaid nodded at her wife's alarm. "Could you and the girls look after our friends? Give them rooms, some food, a chance to clean up, and whatnot? I'll call Camp and check out what we've missed."

"Alkaid?" Peggy asked, turning to her from a frown.

"We're all exhausted. We'll need to at least take a short breather to refresh ourselves before we'd be any good to the war effort." Alkaid told her, and the rest of her family and Black Team by extension. "And most importantly we need to figure out what we missed. We might as well do both at the same time."

The daughter of Athena frowned but Helena put a hand on her shoulder. "She's right, Peggy. Let's take a short rest whilst Alkaid finds out what we missed because we were stuck out of time."

Caelus and Michael nodded in agreement with Helena's take on things and in the face of that, Peggy sighed and nodded. "Very well. But Alkaid, you were the most exhausted of all us, so please remember to have some Nectar to restore your strength."

"Cappy-"

The House Elf just snapped his fingers and conjured a cup of coffee that was laced with Nectar.

"I have it covered, Young Mistress Kura." He said with a smile as he offered the drink to Alkaid.

Offering the Elf a smile, the daughter of Hades happily accepted the drink and took a sip, letting the drink of the gods that it was laced with and its innate caffeine work together to top up her drained stamina reserves.

"Thank you, Cappy. Could you and the other Elves help Pyrrha and the girls take care of our guests? And I could use something to eat, so please prepare something for me and bring it to my office. I will be there making some calls."

"Of course, Mistress Alkaid." The Elf said with a nod.

Shooting him another grateful smile even as a number of his subordinate Elves popped in and he led them in guiding their guests from Black Team away to get a rest, Alkaid turned to Pyrrha and her girls. "I'll leave things to you girls?"

"Leave it to us, Mum!" Mina said, shooting them two thumbs up.

"Yup, we will make sure everyone gets a good rest and is in fighting shape ASAP." Kura added with a reassuring smile of her own.

"Mmhmmm!" Gracie, still a little out of it from her recent conjuration of her Mind Flayer construct, nodded with uncharacteristic cheer. "I'll grab a nap and be right as rain to fight the Titans afterwards!"

"Go make your calls, 'Kaidy." Pyrrha reassured her. "Leave the rest to me."

"Okay. I'll be back with news on what's up soon." Alkaid said with a nod before with one last smile for her family, accompanied by a surge of love and relief that they were safe, she turned to head to her office to make her calls, sipping her Nectar laced coffee along the way.

It was time to figure out what was going on.


Sipping on her Nectar laced coffee, Alkaid sat behind her desk in her home office and used her MagiPhone to call Chiron. She could've called her Father or another member of the House of Hades, but it had previously been agreed that Camp Half-Blood would be in charge of Olympus' defense. Thus if she wanted information on the most crucial part of their war effort, she needed to contact Camp.

Thus, outside of sending quick messages to her divine family to let them know she and her family were okay, and receiving a flurry of replies that she would read later, she had chosen to call the Trainer of Heroes. Mr. D, who as Director of Camp Half-Blood would've at first glance been the logical point of contact, but she doubted the god would be a useful source of information. Between his disinterest in the matters of the Camp he ran and his dismissive attitude towards mortals and Half-bloods, including herself, he was more liable to feed her misinformation than provide her with anything useful. So she called Camp's Activities Director on his own MagiPhone instead.

"Alkaid, thank the gods that you've escaped the Titans' trap!" The Trainer of Heroes said with a sigh the moment that the call connected. It seemed that he was too relieved to even greet her properly.

"Hello, Chiron." Alkaid said with bemusement. "I take it that you knew that we fell into a Titan trap then?"

"Yes, we were informed as such by Lord Hades."

"Then, may I know why my phone is veritably overflowing with concerned messages and missed calls?"

"We have been trying to contact you at least once a day in the hope that you had finally escaped the trap."

"I see." Alkaid said with a nod and took a sip of her coffee. What Chiron described made sense.

"May I know what happened, Alkaid? Lord Hades was sparse on the details."

"I am not surprised." The daughter of Hades said as she offered Pinky a smile as the House Elf delivered the meal she had ordered from Cappy. The House Elf smiled back before offering Alkaid a deep bow before popping away to continue her duties elsewhere in the house. "Considering I ended up in the Goblin King's Labyrinth, I doubt even Father had a good idea of what was happening to me. But now is not the time to discuss what happened to my team and I. It's in the past. Can you tell me the situation in the war and how we can help now that we're back?"

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Chiron said hesitantly.

"Exactly. So brief me, Chiron." Alkaid said as she began digging into the potato salad that her Elves had prepared for her.

"Where to begin…" Chiron said with a thoughtful hum before sighing. "I suppose I should begin with Typhon escaping his prison in Mount St. Helens. Since his escape, he has been marching across the continental United States towards New York City. A march that the gods have rallied to attempt to slow."

The Sorceress sighed in resignation. "So the Titans have made their move? I assume that the gods attempting to challenge his march include Mr. D?"

"Yes, all the Twelve Olympians except Lord Poseidon and Lady Demeter are fighting the Father of All Monsters."

So it was a good choice to call Chiron instead after all. Alkaid thought before continuing the conversation. "If Lady Demeter is not with the other Olympians, I imagine Father summoned her to the safety of the Underworld. Despite their often acrimonious relationship she is his mother-in-law and Mother would be heartbroken if anything happened to her. As for Lord Poseidon, I take it that Atlantis is under attack?"

"Unfortunately. Oceanus marches on Atlantis as we speak. As for your father, Alkaid, though not as hard pressed, his domain is also under siege. He summoned both Bianca and Nico to the Underworld to assist him."

And to better keep them safe. Alkaid thought as she enjoyed a spoonful of vegetable soup that had accompanied her salad.

"I imagine so," she replied after swallowing the spoon of delicious soup. "The chaos of the war will be reflected in the Underworld as well and the daemons must surely be swarming out from its wild places in response."

"That is what Bianca and Nico informed us." Chiron affirmed. "Though it appears that in consultation with Lord Zeus, Lord Hades is husbanding his forces as much as possible. They intend to use his armies as a reserve force."

Despite Chiron being unable to see her, Alkaid nodded. "Considering he is the least hard pressed, that makes sense. On another note, what is the situation in Camp?"

"I think it would be more appropriate to ask what is the situation in New York City." Chiron replied. "Morpheus, with the help of Circe, has cast a powerful sleeping spell causing all of the mortals in Manhattan or near the area to fall asleep. Under the cover of which, the Titan Army are making their final approach to the city. Thankfully, the Campers were informed of the situation by Lady Hecate as soon as the spell took hold and rushed to set up defenses around the city and the Empire State."

"Chiron, why does it sound like you're currently not with the Campers?" Alkaid asked worriedly as she finished her meal and set the dishes aside, immediately prompting Pinky to pop in and out to retrieve them.

Shaking her head in amusement at the Elf's efficiency, Alkaid awaited Chiron's answer.

"Because, unfortunately, I am not. You see, I have gone to rally my kin, the Party Ponies. As I am sure you are aware, Alkaid, we need all the help we can muster."

"I am aware. We are heavily outnumbered." Alkaid said with a tired sigh as she took a sip of her coffee, which had been kept at the perfect temperature by the enchantments on the mug cast by Gracie. Enchanting the mugs in the house with such temperature control enchantments had been one of the exercises that Alkaid had her eldest carry out as part of her training as her apprentice. "But are you saying that you left the Campers to set up defenses for New York without any adult supervision?"

"I am afraid so. However, have faith in them, Alkaid. They will manage. I am sure of it."

"Have you heard of the proverb, 'trust but verify'?" Alkaid shot back. "My team and I will-"

"Do not be hasty, Alkaid." Chiron cut her off rudely. It seemed the old Centaur really needed to brush up on his manners. "When did you escape the Titans' trap?"

"Less than an hour ago." Alkaid admitted to the Centaur. "But-"

"No 'but's, Alkaid. You and your team will need to be rested to be able to make a difference." The Centaur said in a firm tone.

It was a tone that Alkaid recognized well from her years working with the immortal. There would be no arguing with him when he got like this. She was nevertheless unwilling to concede either. She could not just leave the defense of Olympus to the Campers alone, no matter how tired she and the rest of Black Team were. She was thus left with no choice but to compromise.

"I will make no promises, Chiron. But, I will call Annabeth and get her assessment of the Campers' situation. If it allows for it, Black Team and I will take a few hours to rest and recover before heading over to New York but if there is an urgent need for us, we will depart immediately."

"That is an acceptable compromise." The Trainer of Heroes allowed. "I understand how anxious you must feel about the situation in New York so I will not delay you any further. May the gods bless you, Alkaid."

"You as well, Chiron." Alkaid returned. "For Olympus."

"For Olympus." The Centaur echoed as they ended the call.

The moment it did, Alkaid dialed a new number and as she waited for the call to connect, she took a gulp of her coffee, emptying the mug. Only for Cappy to pop in and refill it.

"Thank you, Cappy." She told the Elf, who just smiled and with a bow as he finished refilling her mug, popped away.

"Hello?" Annabeth's wary voice came over the phone as the call connected just as the Elf vanished.

"Hello, Annabeth. It's me, Alkaid. I swear on the Styx that it is me and that as far as I am aware, I am not under the influence of anyone else at the moment." Alkaid said, as per the protocol that she knew the daughter of Athena expected her to use after having been uncontactable for as long as she had, even as the sky boomed with the thunder of her Stygian Oath. "And really, must you be so cautious? Chiron did not require me to go to such lengths to prove my identity, in fact, he didn't ask me to do so at all."

"Technically neither did I, Alkaid. You did it voluntarily. Besides, Chiron has millennia of experience. I don't." The daughter of Athena retorted.

He's also less paranoid than you are. Alkaid thought but did not say. She had tact, thank you very much. Besides that, paranoia had its uses, particularly in a time of war like they currently found themselves in.

"So, you escaped the Titans' trap?"

"Yes, my team and I just did so less than an hour ago thanks to help from my daughters."

Annabeth hummed thoughtfully at that. "Then rest up and don't rush over. We have the situation here in New York under control for now."

"I think I will be the judge of that, Annabeth." Alkaid said with all the authority vested in her as Camp's Assistant Activities Director. "Give me a sitrep. Now."

Annabeth audibly ground her teeth. It was clear she was frustrated that Alkaid wouldn't just follow her advice. Hubris was after all the girl's Fatal Flaw.

"Considering our numbers, the Head Counselors decided we couldn't defend the whole of New York City, so we set up our lines around Manhattan. We've done our best to seal off most of the bridges and tunnels to the island and have set up defenses along the few that we've kept open. To prevent them from crossing by boat, Percy and I got the gods of the Hudson, Harlem and East Rivers to agree to stop them in exchange for four sand dollars each out of the dozen that Lord Poseidon gave him as a present for his birthday."

Alkaid took a sip of her coffee and complemented the decision. "Funneling the enemy into your prepared positions. Good choice. Where are you setting up your defenses?"

"Percy had Michael Yew take the fighters from Apollo Cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge." Annabeth began to explain and Alkaid smiled at the girl's acknowledgement of Percy's leadership. "Katie Gardner and Demeter Cabin are handling the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Connor Stoll is leading half of Hermes Cabin to the Manhattan Bridge. The other half under Travis is covering the Brooklyn Bridge. Aphrodite Cabin is in charge of the Queens-Midtown Tunnel. Malcolm and most of our Cabin are handling the 59th Street Bridge. Jake Mason is leading Hephaestus and Dionysus Cabins at the Holland Tunnel."

"Jake is?" Alkaid asked in surprise. "What about Charlie?"

She understood why Pollux, the Head Counselor of Dionysus Cabin, wasn't in charge, considering his Cabin only consisted of him and his twin, Castor, it just made more sense to put the leader of Hephaestus Cabin in charge of any joint unit. But, last she knew, Charles Beckendorf was the Head Counselor of Hephaestus Cabin and Jake was only his second in command. So why was he in charge instead?

"He's not fit for a fight." Annabeth informed her. "While you were stuck in whatever trap you got caught in, we sent out a mission to finally sink the Princess Andromeda. We succeeded where you failed those years back, but Charlie got heavily wounded in the process and is recovering back in Camp under the care of the dryads."

"I see." Alkaid said with a frown. It appears that there were a lot of things she needed to catch up on when she had the time. For now though, she had to prioritize getting a feel of the situation in New York. "Continue with the deployment of our forces."

"Right." Annabeth said in a tone that let Alkaid know she was unhappy of her seeming dismissal of Beckendorf's injuries. The daughter of Hades did not chide the younger Half-blood for it. Now was simply not the time. Instead, she just listened as the daughter of Athena continued.

"The Hunters of Artemis showed up and Percy got them to defend the Lincoln Tunnel. And we've set up a field hospital in the lobby of the Empire State run by Will Solace and a few of his fellow Apollo kids who are more healers than fighters. They are being helped out by a handful of dryads and satyrs. It's also where the rest of my Cabin has set up our headquarters."

"What about Percy, Ares Cabin and yourself?"

"I take it that since you didn't ask about them that Chiron told you that Bianca and Nico were summoned to the Underworld by Lord Hades?"

"Yes, he told me." Alkaid confirmed. "Now, answer my question."

"Right." The daughter of Athena said, sounding smug at having gotten a raise out of her. "Ares Cabin is our primary mobile reserve, ready to step in and help anywhere that needs it. Percy and I are commanding things from the headquarters but we're also ready to back anyone up if they need it too."

So Percy is in overall command with Annabeth acting as his second-in-command/advisor. Alkaid concluded. That should work well enough.

"And the status of the Titan Army?"

"They're keeping to the other side of the rivers for now. Our scouts are reporting back that they're still mustering." Annabeth told her. "By our estimate, they won't be ready to attack for another twelve hours at least. So like I said from the onset, go get some rest. You'll still be able to get here ahead of the attack even if you take some time to recuperate."

Annabeth's tone really got onto Alkaid's nerve, but the daughter of Hades once more refrained from chiding the younger Half-blood. The eve of a major battle was no time for it.

"Very well." Alkaid said, trusting Annabeth, and the Campers' judgment of the readiness of the Titan Army. "But if things change-"

"We will call you immediately." The daughter of Athena promised.

"You better." Alkaid warned as she stood. "Strengthen our positions as much as you can until I get there. "

"You don't need to tell us that." Annabeth said disgruntledly. "Trust us, alright! We've got this handled."

"I do. If I didn't, I would already be preparing to teleport over." Alkaid informed her. "Anyway, I think it is time I catch up on some rest like you recommended. See you tomorrow, Annabeth."

"See you tomorrow, Alkaid." Annabeth said as the Sorceress ended the call.

Putting down her empty coffee cup, only for it to disappear in a pop as Cappy rightfully discerned that she was done for the night, and pocketing her MagiPhone, Alkaid let out a tired sigh. Even with all the Nectar she had been drinking in her coffee, she was exhausted.

It's time for bed. She decided as she began making her way to the master bedroom.

What was very likely the final battle of the Second Titanomachy was due to break out tomorrow and she needed to be as well rested for it as she possibly could.

So I can be in the best shape to put an end to the Titans and their foolish ambitions!


After a good eight hours of sleep, a few quick calls to the extended family to tell them they were well, and resupplying on Ambrosia and Nectar, Pyrrha, Alkaid, their daughters as well as the rest of Black Team teleported into the Empire State Building through the wards that were protecting the entrance to Olympus. Wards that even Pyrrha's relatively untrained magical senses could tell were under siege.

"Impressive wards." Alkaid commented as the teleport deposited them in the Empire State's lobby which had been transformed into the busy headquarters of the Campers' defense of Olympus. "I wonder who set them up."

"We have Lady Hecate to thank for that." Annabeth said as she came over from a portion of the lobby that seemed to have been converted into a command center after spotting them. "She disguised it as part of Olympus' wards locking down for the invasion."

Pyrrha frowned at that even as Alkaid gave voice to her own concerns on the matter. "She's stretching her neutrality."

Annabeth shrugged. "That she's doing something so risky on our behalf just proves we are doing well, right?"

"I suppose." Alkaid said with a frown. "Mo-"

"More importantly!" Pyrrha spoke up, cutting her irate wife off before her tone started a fight. 'Kaidy did not like Annabeth at the best of times. However, in the tense circumstances of the final battle of the Second Titanomachy, if they did not want to pick a fight they did not need, the daughter of war had to speak over her wife before her mislike of the daughter of Athena escalated things. "Annabeth, why didn't you call us the moment the Titans started their attack?"

"Alkaid?" Peggy asked, forgetting Alkaid's reminder before they left their home back in California to let them handle the talking and looking at Alkaid with alarm.

"The wards are under attack. Either it's a prelude to an immediate full scale assault or accompanying an ongoing one." Gracie explained.

"Yup. The fight is on. I can feel the death in the air." Mina agreed with a nod.

"Yes, yes." Kura added, nodding enthusiastically too. "I can sense the danger of battle too."

"The Titans haven't really launched their main assault." The daughter of Athena clarified with a shake of her head. "At this point, they are just launching probing attacks and preliminary artillery barrages."

"Artillery barrages?" Michael asked with a blink of surprise, causing Annabeth to turn her attention towards him. "Since when did the Titan Army have artillery?"

"Since the Telekhines whipped them up, I suppose." Annabeth said, looking at Michael with a frown. "Who are you? And why do I get the odd feeling that you shouldn't be here?"

Shit! Micheal is a son of Vulcan. Pyrrha realized in alarm, recalling as she did that the majority of their teammates in Black Team were Romans and by decree of the gods weren't supposed to engage with the Greeks of Camp Half-blood. The only reason that their team were allowed to defy this decree was due to a special exemption as a unit serving as the special forces led by the Diplomats of Olympus.

"Ignore that," Alkaid said firmly. "We have no time for that. Just know that my team and I serve Olympus and leave it at that."

Annabeth frowned but nodded. "Alright. But we will have words about this later."

Not if the gods have anything to say about it. Pyrrha thought with a wry smile as she realized what her wife was doing. To maintain the separation between Camp Half-Blood and Camp Jupiter, the gods would almost certainly use the Mist to make Annabeth, or anyone else who noticed the Romans within their midst, forget the matter.

"Sure." Alkaid said with a shrug. "Now where did you need us?"

Pyrrha, her daughters, and the rest of Black Team blinked in confusion. Alkaid did not want to take command of Olympus' defense?

"Don't you want to take charge?" The Head Counselor of Athena Cabin said, clearly just as surprised as the rest of them.

"I would have if I had been here before the battle began and had time to properly catch up on the situation. As it is now, my family and my team can be of the most use by helping our forces on the field. We can reassess when the fighting ends today but for now, where do you need us?"

"Yeah, is there anywhere along the lines that needs shoring up?"

Annabeth shook her head in response to Pyrrha's question. "No, Percy and your siblings in Ares Cabin are out there doing exactly that. You can help us with the artillery battery instead. The traitorous Hecate children are there too."

Pyrrha caught Alkaid glancing briefly at Gracie at the mention of their eldest's fellow children of Hecate. No one else seemed to, but the daughter of Ares was always more attentive to her wife and her actions than most. That said, she had little idea on what exactly 'Kaidy was thinking with that look.

"They and the Telekhine manned siege weapons there have been shelling our positions with spells and explosive projectiles all morning."

"Where is this battery?"

Annabeth nodded and with a small victorious smirk at what Pyrrha imagined was her managing to get one over 'Kaidy on her face, she answered. "Our scouts have located it at Liberty State Park."

Alkaid nodded back and turned to Pyrrha and the rest of their group. "Alright, gather round. Mina can you teleport us to the park? With the Titan Army fielding both Titans and gods onto the battlefield, the Ancient Laws should be perfectly fine with you joining the fight as well. I will be on the alert for any wards that might be set up to block us and deal with them whilst you are doing that. Gracie, help me with that."

""Yes, Mum!"" Both Gracie and Mina said at once.

"'Kaidy, what about the rest of us?" Pyrrha asked on behalf of everyone else.

"Just be on alert and be ready for whatever we find on the other end of the teleport, we won't be able to do that well since we'll be distracted."

Pyrrha and the others nodded as she replied. "Got it. Leave it to us."

"Annabeth, we'll be going now. The artillery battery will be silenced shortly."

The Head Counselor of Athena Cabin nodded. "I'll look forward to it. Now, just go already."

"Mina, take us away."

"Yes, Mum!" Their precious little goddess of serial killers chirped as she called on her power and the mist that was the manifestation of her power surrounded all of them and teleported them away.

As Mina's misty teleport was completed and the fog that accompanied it dispersed, Pyrrha and their group found themselves in Liberty State Park, a waterfront park across the Hudson River from Manhattan, which they found to have been converted into an artillery battery by the Titan Army. A number of catapults and ballista, both of the bolt and stone throwing variety, manned by Telekhines were placed all over the park with clear views of Manhattan Island and guarded by Empousai, a pack of Hellhounds and a flock of Stymphalian Birds. And in the middle of all that were the traitorous Hecate kids led by a tall teenager with brown hair, green eyes with bags underneath them, and a freckled face that Pyrrha recognized as Alabaster C. Torrington, the asshole who had kidnapped her mum a few years ago. The traitors were clustered together in groups as they cast rituals presumably to combine their magic to cast bombardment spells as seen by the massive fireballs and lightning bolts that shot out from the ritual circles and across the Hudson towards Manhattan.

Huh. Looks like 'Kaidy has them beat in the power department then 'cos she can cast spells like that all on her lonesome. Pyrrha thought proudly even as their appearance caught both the monsters and the Hecate kids off guard as their only response to their arrival was to turn towards them with looks of surprise.

She happily took advantage of this to level Miló (Speak) at the nearest Titan siege machine, a stone throwing ballista and activated its flamethrower function, unleashing a tongue of flames that set the machine and its Telekhine crew alight, before she swept it over everything that was in front of her. At the same time, with a well practiced flick of her wrist, she drew her wand from Akoúo̱'s (Listen) Hammerspace and used it to shoot off a chain of Wizarding Exploding Charms, Blasting Curses, and Reductor Curses to destroy the siege engines further afield.

She wasn't the only one who decided to go ape on the enemies while they were still distracted by their sudden appearance either. Every one of their group who hadn't been involved in their safe teleport in had done the same. Peggy had switched her trick shield, Athena's Wrath, into its rotary gun mode and unleashed a rain of Celestial Bronze bullets onto the enemy ranks. A barrage that served to cover Caelus as he blitzed into the same ranks like blue lightning where he proceeded to gut monsters and traitorous Half-bloods alike with his trident. Similarly, the Bertinellis were working like a well oiled machine to reap a heavy toll against the enemy as well. Helena was shooting a variety of trick bolts such as explosive Greek Fire bolts and shotgun bolts that detonated to release Celestial Bronze buckshot with her Huntress' Crossbow so rapidly that her fire rate almost matched Athena's Wrath's. At the same time, she was guarded by her husband, who was a little hesitant but nevertheless bravely used his Kinetic Gavel to smash the skulls of any enemies that were anywhere close to his wife. And last but not least, Kura was happily using her telekinesis to launch hundreds of her explosive coasters at the enemy from her randoseru whilst she created a twister of flying cutlery to swirl around their position as she used it to defend them with hundreds of forks and spoons.

Of course, the advantage of their surprising arrival did not last, and soon the enemy reacted, with the monsters rushing towards them with the intent to kill them. However, by the time that they did, Alkaid, Gracie and Mina had also overcome their own distraction caused by their focus on teleporting them through the wards the traitorous Hecate kids had set up and were now ready to join the fight. Something that Mina demonstrated to great effect.

"Fan of knives!" The little goddess of serial killers shouted as she happily swept her hands in a wide arc in front of her, a move that conjured dozens of her deadly death imposing blades that promptly flew into the enemy's ranks, killing anything that they so much as nicked.

"Alabaster, where are the rest of your siblings?" Alkaid asked as she too joined the fight by casting Axel Shooter, Phalanx Shift and firing off hundreds of emerald bullets of magic from all around her into the ranks of the enemy. Specifically she targeted the flock of Stymphalian Birds which had been forming up in the air into a large arrowhead formation in preparation for a diving attack and thoroughly disrupted these efforts by culling at least three quarters of their number. "By my count, there are quite a few of you unaccounted for."

"That is true. I'm proud to say that the strongest of my siblings besides myself have been given the honor of being embedded with other elements of the Titan Army to provide close fire support." The jerk Alabaster said as he used some unfamiliar magic to conjure barriers that shielded his siblings and allies from some, but not all, of the deadly fire that Pyrrha and co. were raining down on them.

"επικαλούνται: σημάνει διακόπτη (Invoke: Spell Breaker)!" Gracie cast, dispelling Alabaster's barriers with the counterspell she'd learned from 'Kaidy, before scoffing. "Those deluded idiots probably double as emergency rations for the monsters."

Her impressive counterspell and words seemed to strike a chord with her fellow children of Hecate, as, acting with frankly eerie unison, they all turned to look at Pyrrha's eldest.

Shit!


Unlike her mother, Gracie wasn't unnerved by the behavior of her fellow children of Hecate. She'd lived among her former siblings long enough to be used to their occasional hive mind-like behavior. It had creeped her out at first, especially when she found herself sometimes behaving that way too, but she'd grown used to it. Humans were adaptable creatures after all. She could not however ignore what the collective of her former siblings said, though the fact that she was busy gutting a Hellhound as they spoke helped with that a little.

"Gracie Gray, betrayer!" All the present traitorous Hecate children, that is all of them beside herself, said in unison. "You dare show yourself, traitorous sister of ours?"

"Sister?" Gracie asked with a quirked eyebrow as she simultaneously danced around a Telekhine charging her, decapitating it mid-evasion and absently leveled one of her knives in the direction of one of the Hecate kids' ritual circles and conjured a fireball that she sent flying towards the cluster of a half dozen of her former siblings. "I am no sister of you idiots."

Her fireball was blocked by a barrier that Alabaster snapped up but that was okay as it was soon battered down by a brace of Kura's explosive coasters, clearing the way for Mina to sprint right into the ritual area in a sliver blur and go crazy on the panicking traitors with her knives.

"I have only two sisters." Gracie continued as she ducked and allowed a dozen of Kura's telekinetically controlled forks to fly over her head to impale themselves in the vitals of an Empousai that was trying to sneak up on her, reducing the vampiric monster to gold dust.

"That's right, you traitors!" The Zashiki-warashi shouted happily as she levitated in the middle of her twister of flying cutlery as she moved to Gracie's side. "Gracie is our big sister!"

"Exactly!" A blood soaked Mina echoed as she swung the two butcher's knives she was armed with to the side and sent the fresh blood of her latest victims flying, cleaning the blades. "Gracie is ours. Not yours! Ours!"

"Girls! Above you!" Mum shouted from where she appeared to be busy dueling with a pair of Empousai Sorceresses. She was winning but was tied down for the moment, at least enough that all she could do against the Empousai dive bombing towards Gracie and Kura alongside a couple dozen Stymphalian Birds was shout a warning.

"Leave them to me!" Kura said confidently as with a gesture and a brief flaring of her light blue aura, a salvo of her flying cutlery detached from the twister she maintained around herself to shoot skyward to intercept the incoming monsters. The Empousai and Stymphalian Birds tried to jink and weave through the air in desperate evasions but Kura's weapons weren't so easily shaken off and despite their best efforts, the monsters soon found themselves pincushions for her little sister's animated cutlery and sent back to the depths of Tartarus.

"Good job, Kura." Gracie praised the spirit as she reached over to give her an affectionate headpat with one hand whilst she leveled another at a ritual circle manned by a trio of her former siblings just in time to cast Mirror Alice to shield them from the lightning bolt that it spat at them.

Now, Gracie's version of the spell was at best a pale imitation of what her mother and master was capable of but the ornate mirror it conjured was still more than capable of reflecting the honestly weak lightning spell shot at it right back at its casters. A trio of traitorous Half-bloods whose eyes widened in shock as their own lightning bolt was sent streaking back at them and turned to run. But of course you couldn't outrun lightning and they had barely turned their bodies before the bolt hit home and millions of volts surged through their bodies, killing them.

"Not only have you betrayed us. Not only do you help our enemies kill us. But now you actively do so with your own hands?" The collective of the traitorous Hecate kids shouted, sounding incensed. "Will your betrayal know no end, Gracie Gray!?"

"Considering you guys betrayed Olympus and are defying your divine mother's will to stay neutral, do you really have the right to call anyone a traitor?" Mama spat back at Gracie's former siblings as she, Mum and the rest of Black Team continued dealing with the monsters and leaving the traitorous Half-bloods to Gracie and her siblings.

"Silence! As if the words of Potter's pet slut matter to us!"

Oh they did not just say that! Gracie thought as she felt fire in her veins as she was filled with the desire to rip them asunder for insulting Mama!

"Kura! Cover me! Mina, keep Alabaster busy!" Gracie shouted to her sisters as she began gathering her magic. "Help me teach these idiots what happens when you insult our parents!"

"Got it, Gracie!" Mina replied as in a blur of raw speed, that left a flaming trail in the park's grass and concrete paths, the goddess of serial killers closed the distance with the leader of her former siblings and with her silver eyes blazing with murderous intent, she lashed out at him with her butcher's knives. To his credit, the Sorcerer managed to conjure a Imperial Gold sword out of a Mistform Card in time to use it with surprising skill to parry Mina's effort to eviscerate him.

I wonder how long he can keep that up. Gracie thought with satisfaction as with Alabaster preoccupied, there was no one, at least among the traitorous Hecate kids, who could stop her from pulling off what she intended.

"I'll keep you safe, Big Sis!" Kura promised with a determined nod as she pulled even more cutlery from her randoseru and added it to the swirling defensive twister that she now extended to spiral around both herself and Gracie. A twister that tore apart a pack of Hellhounds that foolishly tried their luck rushing through it.

Nodding gratefully at her little sister, Gracie began to chant. "Come forth, the wind of snow-"

"Stop her! Don't let her finish that spell!" Her former siblings shouted in a panic as they hurled a host of bombardment spells at Gracie and Kura, only for them to ablate a sizable portion of the Zashiki-warashi's protective twister but fail to get through and actually hit them.

You're too late for that. Gracie thought with a victorious smirk as a dozen magic circles appeared in the air above her head like a halo.

""-and become the fletching which falls from the heavens. Hræsvelgr!" She said with finality as she finished her incantation, causing each of the twelve magic circles that her spell had conjured to spit out extremely powerful green beams of raw magical energy that shot at the ritual circles used by her former siblings, one for each of them.

Seeing their deaths streaking towards them as green beams of destruction, most of the traitorous Half-bloods turned to flee. Some though were either too terrified to do so or had resigned themselves to their doom and just stayed where they were. Not that choosing to do either changed their fates. All of them were caught in the violent explosions as the beams of Gracie's Hræsvelgr struck true and disintegrated all of them.

"Everyone!" Alabaster screamed, his voice full of despair at the loss of what by Gracie's count was over thirty of his siblings.

She had no sympathy for him however and in fact, she reveled in his pain. Particularly as his distraction cost him dearly.

"Don't get distracted in a fight!" Mina chided him as she exploited his distraction to slip through his lax guard to plant one of her butcher's knives into his heart and as she spun away, to drive the other straight into his skull. "It'll get you killed. Mum taught me that."

"I don't think he heard you." Kura pointed out with a giggle. "He's a little too dead to do so.".

"I'll tell his ghost when we visit grampa next time~" Mina huffed sheepishly.

Gracie just rolled her eyes at her sisters even as she wordlessly used Incantare: Umbra Spatium (Invoke: Shadow Space) to open a portal to the private shadow realm that Mum had taught her how to set up and retrieved a vial of Nectar. Hræsvelgr was a tiring spell to cast at the best of times, but doubling the usual number of beams it conjured like she had just now also meant doubling the mana cost and the strain it caused her. As it was, casting it like she had, practically ate up half her mana and stamina.

"Looks like we're done here." Gracie noted absently as she downed the vial of the drink of the gods and its restorative power refilled her energy reserves. It seemed that whilst she and her sisters had been busy dealing with the traitorous Hecate kids, her parents and their team had finished up with the other monsters here too. As a result, all that remained of the Titan Army's artillery battery were the burning, wrecked remains of siege weapons, piles upon piles of gold dust, and the dead bodies of dozens of slain traitors.

"Yes, we are." Mum said as she dusted her hands off and surveyed their handiwork like Gracie was doing. "Which means that Gracie, I want you to go back to the Empire State and summon your army of Mist constructs to support the Olympian defenders."

"Mum?" Gracie asked, looking at her mother questioningly.

"It's what I wanted you to do from the onset." Mum confessed. "But I didn't ask you to after hearing that the other children of Hecate would be here. I wanted to give you the chance to get some closure."

Gracie blinked. Mum had chosen to not pursue the more strategically sound option because she wanted to let her get a chance to confront her former siblings and get closure? That was so thoughtful and sweet!

"Thank you, Mum!" Gracie gushed as she threw herself into the older woman's arms.

"You're welcome, sweetie." Mum said, leaning down to kiss her hair. "But now that the other children of Hecate are dealt with-"

"Umm." Gracie nodded as she pulled away. "I get it. I can be the most helpful to Olympus' defense by deploying my army."

Mum smiled at her. "That's right, my smart little girl."

Gracie blushed at the praise.

"Mina, Kura, go with your sister." Mama ordered Mina and Kura suddenly, causing Gracie to turn to her with a questioning look. "They will keep you safe, Gracie. Plus they can help shore up the defenses at the Empire State too. You can do that, right, girls?"

"Yes Mama!" "You got it, Mama!" Her younger sisters chirped as they made their way to squish against Gracie's sides.

"Mum, w-what are you, Mama and Black Team going to be doing?" Gracie asked in a winded tone. Her sisters always hugged her a little too tightly.

"We'll be acting as an emergency response force." Mum informed, as she whipped out her phone, presumably to contact HQ to check where they'd be needed next.

"Eh?" "Then why can't we join!" "I-I can still help out!"

"Girls, no whining." Mama sternly said, hands on her hips. Oh no, she was serious. "You got your marching orders, so march! We need to work together to win this battle, so that means splitting up."

Kura and Mina pouted and Gracie shared their sentiment. She truly did. But! She was the 'big sister', so she said. "Alright, Mama, we'll head off. Just be safe, okay?"

"Always, kiddo." The daughter of Ares smirked.

"Mum too?" Kura asked in a small, unhappy voice.

"Of course." Mum reassured them.

"Okay, then Mina, let's-"

That was as far as Gracie got before with one last pout, Mina teleported them to the Empire State Building.


Some time after Alkaid and Pyrrha had sent their girls back to the Empire State to bolster its defenses, Michael and the rest of their team found themselves heeding a call relayed to them from HQ to help Aphrodite Cabin. It seemed the Greek children of his wife's divine ancestor had run into a legion of Scythian Dracaena supported by a squad of Hyperborean Giants and had been pushed back a whole two blocks from the Queens-Midtown Tunnel they had initially been defending. And as Black Team arrived on the scene and saw the hundreds of humanoid females with twin serpent trunks instead of legs armed in weapons and armor reminiscent of Classical Greek hoplites, led by a snake woman wearing a particularly ornate set of armor, and a squad of five Hyperborean Giants with blue skin and icy-gray hair that standing at thirty-foot tall towered over the battlefield, the son of Vulcan could readily see why the children of love had been forced into a retreat. They might be fine fighters and their alchemical concoctions might be reaping a deadly toll on the monsters, but the sheer numbers of the enemy was simply too much for them.

Well, not for long! Help's on the way! Michael thought with a grin.

He was no fool. He knew the addition of most of his team to the fight wouldn't really tip things in the good guys' favor all that much, but there was one very, very big exception to that assessment: Alkaid. As her wife often joked, the daughter of Hades was a veritable walking nuke! With her on their side, this detachment of the Titan Army was as good as dead!

"Time to kick some monster ass and save my aunts and uncles!" Helena cheered excitedly as she rushed forward from the spot behind Aphrodite Cabin's lines that Alkaid's teleport had deposited them. With how tightly packed the enemy ranks were and how far back the tide of Dracaena stretched down East 42nd Street, teleporting behind the enemy as he knew the daughter of the Underworld preferred was simply impractical.

"Helena, don't rush off without backup!" Michael shouted as he chased after his wife through the startled ranks of the Aphrodite children, who despite their obvious confusion recognized friend from foe easily enough to part and allow them passage as they ran past them.

Even as he did however, Michael heard Alkaid shout orders at the rest of their team from behind them. "Leave the Dracaenae to Helena, Michael and the Campers! Everyone else, focus on taking down the Hyperboreans!"

Orders that she punctuated with a spell he recognized as her επικαλούνται: σκορπιός βέλος (Invoke: Scorpion Arrow) as a sliver star bolt slammed into one of the Hyperboreans, blasting a hole through the giant's torso and showering the whole area in its blue blood before its dead body crumbled away into ice.

"Thanks, Alkaid!" Helena shouted as she drew Long Memory from her Hammerspace Backpack and covering the last few feet between herself and the front ranks of the Dracaena phalanx whilst dodging their spear thrusts, before she proceeded to start going ham on the snake women. A advance and counterattack that were helped out immensely by grenades tossed into the monster' ranks by her Greek relatives that proceeded to explode violently whilst releasing clouds of perfumed gasses that were clearly toxic to monsters if the way any Dracaena which inhaled them died were any indication. "Leave the small fry to us!"

"Helena! Don't call the enemy you're all but surrounded by 'small fry'!" Michael scolded his wife even as he swung his already drawn Kinetic Gavel in a wide arc. It was hardly the most elegant move, but his warhammer nevertheless did what he wanted it to and forced the line of Dracaena in front of him to fall back, wary of what it would do to them if it scored a hit.

"Just calling it as it is, Dear!" His wife shouted back as she pushed ever deeper into the snake women's ranks as he struggled to keep up. "Compared to those giants, these Dracaena are small fry!"

Even as he caved in the chests of a half dozen of the snake women with a combination of a powerful swing of Kinetic Gavel and a little amping up of its gravity manipulators, Michael could only sigh at his wife's behavior. She wasn't wrong of course. The Hyperboreans were the bigger threat here. Just looking at how even with the rest of Black Team turning their attention to them, the four surviving monsters were still standing was testament to that. Though, of course, that discounted the fact that in a bid to thin the seemingly endless tide of Dracaena, Alkaid had decided to switch targets and was running shooter spells on the hordes of snake women. Either way! Just calling out their enemies' weakness was foolish! Especially when deep behind enemy lines and surrounded!

"Though maybe not all of them." Helena mused as she spun on the spot whilst quick firing buckshot bolts from Huntress' Crossbow and clearing a space around her courtesy of the Celestial Bronze pellets that they let fly at the snake women that encircled her position. "That Dracanae looks like she might be different. Hmm…"

"Honey, what are you thinking?" Michael asked warily as he slammed Kinetic Gavel's butt into the ground and used its gravity manipulators to send a shockwave radiating out from where he stood that sent the Dracanae trying to rush and impale him crashing to the ground.

"Just thinking that a snake skin might be quite the decoration for back home." Helena replied as she began making her way towards the ornately armored leader of Dracanae.

Smashing the head of one of the snake women into gold dust, Michael had to fight the urge to face palm. I don't know if she's joking or not but… Seriously!? Why's she thinking of home decor at a time like this!?


The moment that Alkaid's teleport had finished transporting them to the latest battlefield for the day, Caelus had found his eyes drawn to the thirty-foot tall Hyperborean Giants. The sight of which filled his mind with but one thought: I want to fight one!

Since as far back as he could remember, Caelus had always seen himself as a warrior. He had been raised by his family as such and had willingly and wholly embraced that choice. And part of that meant testing oneself against strong opponents. And eyeing up the Hyperboreans, the Roman Legacy was filled with an overwhelming urge to do just that against one of the giants.

Thus it was with an eager smirk spread across his face that moments after Alkaid took one of the aforementioned blue skinned monsters down and ordered the bulk of the team to focus on them, he raced towards one and shouted back at Alkaid. "I call dibs!"

"Caelus! Don't take it on alone!" Peggy shouted worriedly as she fired the Bola Launcher built into her trick shield, Athena's Wrath, and shot a supersized rope with attached weights - that only fit inside her weapon thanks to the spatial magic built into it - that proved more than sufficient to trip up one of the Hyperboreans. This sent it crashing to the ground, crushing at least a dozen of its Dracaena allies in the process.

"Don't worry, Peggy! I can handle it! Just let me have some fun!" He shouted back reassuringly as he gutted a whole row of snake women that tried to intercept him as he made his way towards his chosen opponent.

"Fine~!" His lover replied with an exasperated sigh even as she finished off her own downed giant with a burst of Celestial Bronze bullets courtesy of Athena's Wrath's rotary gun. "But if you need help, I am stepping in."

"Wouldn't expect anything else." Caelus replied even as his chosen opponent swung the large ship's anchor, complete with chain, that was its weapon, at the Roman Legacy like a flail.

Its admittedly expert swings created a wide killzone around the giant and forced everyone, friend and foe, away from it. Almost everyone at least. Not Caelus though. Using his superhuman speed and reflexes, he ran through the killzone, deftly evading every swing that got anywhere close to him

As he got closer to the giant, evading increasingly got harder. That didn't faze Caelus though. In fact, he just shouted tauntingly at the Hyperborean. "If you want to hit me, you'll have to try a lot harder than that!"

His taunt must've hit a nerve because the giant let out an angry roar and surrounded himself in a frosty, dark blue aura. The light show seemed to empower the giant as the speed that it swung its weapon observably increased, so much so that the anchor looked like nothing more than a bolt of frozen lightning as it snaked through the air and finally caught up with Caelus.

The heavy anchor, hefty enough to crash a man, slammed into the street with enough force to shatter the asphalt and threw up a massive cloud of dust and debris. However, as the cloud cleared, the Roman Legacy just shot the giant an unimpressed look from just outside the crater the weapon's impact had created.

"Is that the best you've got? 'Cos I'm unimpressed!" He shouted as he leapt onto the anchor's chain and ran atop it like blue lightning towards the monster.

The Hyperborean reacted by hastily pulling on the chain with its full strength, freeing the anchor and swinging it and its chain wildly in a bid to throw Caelus off. It did the giant no good however as in the precious few seconds before the giant had freed its weapon, Caelus had already ran up most of the length of the chain, so by the time it did all he needed to complete closing the distance was to leap forward and cover the last few feet.

"Too late, you overgrown popsicle!" Caelus shouted as he fell upon the Hyperborean and stabbed his trident through the monster's head.

In response, the giant's blue blood fountained out of its head even as its body turned to ice before shattering into innumerable tiny pieces that acted as a super localized snowfall that served as a picturesque backdrop as Caelus made a heroic landing.

Was he showing off? Yes, he was. Did he care? No. A man had to let off steam once in a while and for him that meant being an over the top show off.

That was not to say however that he forgot where he was. Thus, even as he landed, he took a quick look at the state of the battle and found to his satisfaction that between Peggy and the Potters, the two other Hyperboreans had been dealt with and they had moved on to massacring the surviving Dracaena. Well, that was mostly Alkaid's job. Sure, everyone else was pitching in but none of them could match the insane number of kills that the Sorceress was racking up with those devastating spells of hers.

Damn she's overpowered. Caelus thought as he distractedly caught a vial of Nectar that Peggy tossed his way.

"Kill anything special besides that Hyperborean I saw you take down?" He asked his lover as he unstoppered the vial and drank its contents.

"No, Pyrrha took down the other two." Peggy said with a shrug as she tossed her trick shield Captain America style into a nearby group of snake women, letting its deployed Celestial Bronze Rimblades cut them into ribbons. "I mostly just kept the Dracaena from interfering with your fight."

"Speaking of Dracaena," Caelus said, gesturing towards where Helena was dueling what looked like the leader of the snake women. "What's up with that?"

The daughter of Athena shrugged as she expertly caught Athena's Wrath as it boomeranged back to her. "Apparently Helena and her are dueling. Something about wanting the monster's skin to decorate her house."

"It would be quite the conversation starter." Caelus said with a chuckle as he tossed the empty vial of Nectar right in the face of the nearest of a group of incoming Dracaena. "Want one?"

"No, I would find it tacky." Peggy shot back as she ended the snake woman's misery and put a bullet into her head with her pistol, Athena's Wisdom, whilst she was howling in pain and trying to pick the glass out of her eyes.

"That's a shame. 'Cos I don't know what else these monsters are good for." Caelus said as he charged towards the closing monsters.

"True. But I still don't want any." Peggy insisted as she took shots at the charging Dracaena, taking them down one by one with bullets to the brain.

Getting into the enemy's midst and swinging his trident with all the grace of a veteran, Caelus reaped a deadly harvest on the enemy even as he replied. "Guess, we'll have to settle with just clearing out the trash then!"

While the rest of her team were busy supporting her Greek aunts and uncles in their fight, Helena found herself in the middle of a circle of nervous looking Dracaena after she had cut a deep path through the snake women's ranks as evidenced by the thick layer of gold dust that she'd left in her wake. Sure, she was surrounded, but Helena wasn't all that worried. Her husband and their team had her back and if she did find herself getting overwhelmed, she was sure they'd step in and lend her a hand.

"You have taken out a surprising number of my subjects, God-Spawn." The snake woman with a particularly ornate set armor said as she slithered her way past her fellows and to the edge of the circle surrounding Helena.

"I think you mean Alkaid there." Helena said with a smirk as she tapped Long Memory against her shoulder, gesturing with it at the explosions caused by the daughter of Hades' spells as they ripped through the monsters' ranks.

"Oh, I will deal with that Sorceress as well." The self-proclaimed leader of the Dracaena said with an arrogant smirk as she stretched out her arms in front of her and caught hold of a gilded bec de corbin - a combination weapon that consisted of a hammerhead, hooked beak, and a spike mounted atop a long pole - as she summoned it in a burst of golden light. "But I think I will begin by dealing with you first."

"Sure why not? But if we're doing this, mind giving me your name?" The Legacy of Venus asked as she shifted Long Memory into a ready position. "Mine's Helena. Helena Bertinelli."

"I might as well throw a dead woman walking a bone." The Dracaena said as surging forward, she swung her weapon's hammer head at Helena. "I am Sess, Queen of the Scythian Dracaena."

"My, my, a royal opponent? I'm ever so honored." Helena replied with an amused chuckle as she expertly used Long Memory to parry the attack and spun away from the Dracaena queen.

"You shouldn't be Helena, you're my queen." Michael said suddenly as with a shockwave generated by a powerful slam of his Kinetic Gavel, he broke through the encircling ring of Dracaena by reducing a large number of the aforementioned snake women into gold dust as he finally caught up with her.

"Thanks for the compliment, Dear, but stay out of this fight, would you? This is between Sess and I.'' Helena told her husband absently as despite wearing her Bladed Heels, she danced around the swings of the Dracaena queen's polearm.

"Did I allow you to address me so familiarly, Mortal?" Sess asked in an angry hiss as she kept pressing her attack.

"Well, you never said I couldn't." Helena replied cheekily as she deflected an attempt by Sess to run her through with the spike of her bec de corbin, before throwing her voice towards Michael. "Michael, hold off the other Dracaena would you?"

"Sure, Honey." Michael shouted back as he fought against the dozens of snake women who were trying to keep him from interfering with her fight with their queen.

"That is unnecessary, God-Spawn." The monster queen spat back as with a wide, long swing, Sess tried to sweep Helena off her feet, forcing Helena to borrow from Alkaid's book and pull off an Olympics worthy gymnastic backflip to evade the attempt. "I have ordered my subjects not to interfere with our duel and they would not defy me."

"Sorry if I don't trust a monster." Helena retorted as she fired off a buckshot bolt from Huntress' Crossbow at Sess. Only for her monstrous opponent to spin her polearm in front of her at such high speed that it functioned as a shield, protecting her from the Celestial Bronze sub-projectiles.

Wow! That's actually pretty impressive. The Legacy of Venus thought with an impressed whistle as she leapt back, narrowly allowing herself to evade the thrust of Sess' bec de corbin as with graceful swings of her weapon, she smoothly switched from the defense to the offense. But I think this has gone on long enough.

"Well, it's been fun, Sess, but I think it's time to end this little get together that we've got going." Helena told the monster queen with a playful smirk before parrying the latest thrust of Sess' bec de corbin with Long Memory and as did so, releasing the kinetic energy she'd gathered in her weapon throughout the fight so far. A move that added a healthy amount of oomph to the deflection that didn't just knock the polearm aside but outright snapped the weapon, sending its head flying away from its shaft.

"Wha-" Sess gasped in surprise at the sudden turn of events.

Exploiting the opening she had created, Helena used Sess' distraction to slip through the Dracaena queen's lax guard and leveling Huntress' Crossbow with the snake woman's unarmored chin, fired off a bolt.

The explosive Greek Fire bolt flew true and buried itself deep inside the monstrous queen's skull before detonating and consuming her head in a ball of enchanted green flames. A state of affairs that was very much detrimental to her survival and she was thus reduced to a pile of gold dust and a macabre spoil in the form of her flayed skin.

Helena smirked in satisfaction and taking the breathing room created by Sess' defeat, turned to survey the rest of the battlefield and was pleased to see that the rest of the monsters were either dead or fleeing for their lives whilst chased by a barrage of Alkaid's spells.

Michael came over and said, "Hm, that skin would look nice over our mantle back home."

"Oh, without a doubt, Dear. Why, it just makes me feel regal~" Helena winked as she picked up the skin and began putting it away in her Hammerspace Backpack. "So, how are the Aphrodite children doing? Are they alright?"

Her dear husband nodded, and gestured back towards where Pyrrha was checking over the Camp Half-Blood Campers. "Pyrrha has it well in hand."

"That's a relief." Helena said as her shoulders relaxed a fraction. "They looked pretty messed up when we showed up."

As Caelus and Peggy walked over after their own tussles with the monsters, the mixed Legacy waved at them. "Hey, they weren't so bad."

Helena shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Peggy gave a soft chuckle, "What should we do now?"

Alkaid, who had finished chasing off the monsters, strolled over in all her commanding presence. "I've checked the situation and it seems that for now, the lines elsewhere are holding. We'll stick with Aphrodite Cabin for now and help them set up a new position. After that, if things remain as is, we can take a break. We need it after all. We cannot fight without any rest."

Helena gave an affirmative nod. "Rest sounds grand."


Peggy felt tired down to her very bones. After a long day of hard fighting, the lull in the fighting as the sun set was like a balm for her soul. Especially since exploiting this lull, she and her team had hit one of the Bretinellis' supply caches in Midtown East so the Roman couple could stock up on their biggest force multipliers, their drones, and, more importantly for the moment, get their hands on one of their mobile command centers. They were thus able to drive to the Empire State Building and the HQ that the Campers had set up in the lobby of the building to call it a day.

As they did, they passed little Grace's Mist construct army that was guarding it. It seemed the defenders had decided to employ the eldest Potter daughter and her army as a last line of defense. Peggy could see why. Those constructs born of the poor dear's madness were certainly formidable. If anything could help offer them the protection they needed as they rested after a hard day's battle, it would have to be.

However, all thoughts of rest had to be put on hold. As much to Peggy's frustration, they had barely finished exiting the Bertinellis' vehicle and entered the building when Percy Jackson walked over to them.

Without even giving a greeting, rather rude but expected from what she knew of the son of Poseidon, he looked at Alkaid and said, "Alkaid, you're taking over command here, right? I mean, I'm a better fighter than a leader."

"Hello to you as well, Percy." Alkaid replied, looking poleaxed, as Peggy could see the temptation to take over on her face. Reading people was one of the minor talents she had inherited from her divine mother. But Alkaid quickly mastered her face and replied firmly. "No, I will not be taking over. The Campers need one of their own to lead them. Especially against the odds we are facing."

"But-" The son of Poseidon sputtered, but Alkaid cut him off.

"Percy, you've done a good job so far. You should be more confident in yourself and continue to do so."

He made to protest once more, but Alkaid cut him off again.

"I will support you from the rear. It's where I'm best suited after all."

Percy Jackson sighed in relief and nodded. "Alright, I'll take it."

"Then want some advice?" Alkaid asked, prompting the son of Poseidon to look at her like an eager puppy. "Good leaders need their rest too, so…"

The leader of the Campers sighed as the daughter of Hades trailed off and nodded. "Got it. I'll go catch some sleep soon. I've still got a few things to check up on first, but I promise I'll catch some z's."

"I'll hold you to that promise, Percy." Alkaid told the boy as she patted his shoulder. "Now, get going. The sooner you get done with whatever you need to do, the sooner you can rest."

Percy nodded and wandered off, Alkaid watching him go fondly.

"Alkaid," Peggy spoke up after a moment, causing the Sorceress to turn to her questioningly. "You're a wonderful leader."

The pale woman just shot her a confused look.

"It takes an especially good leader to know when to give up power." Peggy elaborated.

Alkaid blinked in surprise at the praise before shrugging. "I suppose so."

"I think that's enough talk for now," Pyrrha cut in. "We've been fighting all day and all I want right now is a hot meal, a shower if we can finagle one, and a chance to check in with my kids before I catch some sleep."

"I'm with Pyrrha." Helena said as Michael nodded his own agreement.

""We too!"" The two younger Potter daughters chorused as they teleported in alongside their elder sister, the latter of whom was already dozing where she stood. If Peggy didn't know any better, poor Gracie was only standing thanks to the help of Kura's telekinesis.

"That sounds like a plan." Peggy agreed. "Why don't you guys go do that? I'll join you in a bit. I want to check on the overall situation after the day of fighting first."

Tired as she was, she was a daughter of Athena and she couldn't help the desire to know the full situation they were faced with.

Caelus frowned at her but didn't question her decision. Instead, he just pointed to a line of Campers queuing up at a field kitchen manned by some dryads and asked, "Want me to grab you some grub?"

"That sounds wonderful." She told him with a smile. "I'll be back soon."

Getting nods from everyone, Peggy turned and headed over to the command center portion of the HQ. And as she arrived, she was amused to see copies of hastily stapled notes like something straight out of high school or college sitting in a tray just outside the work area of the command center with a sign indicating that they were the current status of the battlelines and asked anyone who wanted one to just take a copy to read it for themselves. A sign that went on to beg everyone to stop asking the command center staff! That they didn't have time for queries!

And they have time for printed summaries? Peggy thought with amusement as she took a couple copies of the aforementioned summaries. One for Alkaid and the other for herself.

Thumbing through her copy as she retraced her path to rejoin the others, she was pleased to note that it seemed like the Titan Army's advance was within expected parameters. They'd managed to gain footholds all over Manhattan and had even advanced up to five blocks in some places, but that was still better than the defender's predictions. Especially in terms of the losses they sustained to make those gains. Most importantly, the summary stressed, this was all according to plan.

Plan? What plan? Peggy thought to herself.

Such thoughts were put on hold however as she reached the spot where her team was gathered and without prompting Caelus offered her a bowl of delicious smiling pottage. "Here. It's not much but it's what's on offer."

"It smells delicious." Peggy said honestly, brushing aside her lover's scathing critique of the food's quality. Though to be fair, she'd been fighting all day and was starving so she imagined any remotely passable food would taste wonderful.

"Wait till you try it first before you say that." Caelus insisted with a playful smirk.

Rolling her eyes at his antics, the daughter of Athena put aside the battle summaries and sat down before accepting the bowl of pottage. She was ready to enjoy the meal and prove Caelus' comments on its quality wrong. After all, it was prepared by dryads, had it not? Surely that meant it couldn't be that bad.

A meal that marked the conclusion of Peggy's first day as a combatant in the Battle of Manhattan. And one that incidentally proved to indeed be quite tasty.


Done and done! Thanks to Nameless and Axios as always!

And so the game begins! Or, so to say, Disc 1 is coming to its end since the first series' conclusive battle is upon us! As the Half-bloods stand on the gates of their biggest battle yet, it's time to raise their swords and show if they can live through this legendary battle for the ages. Helena's fight was a blast to go over as she's just a force of nature thanks to all her hubby's armaments. It was also great seeing Caelus go ham with his spearmanship and how he lives up to his source's prowess with the shaft~ XD

Nameless: Yup. But let's not forget Gracie's confrontation with her traitorous former siblings. That was a long time coming imho. Especially with Alabaster whose leadership dragged her through hell. As for the part about them all talking in sync, it's not a hive mind but more like a case of extreme group think, it's a manifestation of the compulsion we've established for children of Hecate that has them gravitating to follow the will of the strongest among their number. All in all, things are indeed coming to a head in the COTUverse's Second Titanomachy.

Now, you might be wondering what 'the plan' mentioned in the last scene is all about. If you want to know, keep reading. It'll be explained in a couple chapters. On a related topic, does the battle seem awfully easy for the good guys? Even when compared to our other Heroineverses? Well, this is what you get when you actually have someone going out undermining the Titans' alliances whilst bolstering Olympus'. How much better will this make things for the Campers? Again, keep reading to find out.

E4E: Onto Alkaid… While she could take command of the demigod army as she is a skilled leader, that goes against what the fic's name is. She is a Consul. A vizier. A diplomat. An advisor. She's there to lift others up to be better and in this case, she's doing this for Percy. That's why she's a teacher, she loves to teach and help better others. So that's why she isn't taking the leader slot.

Nameless: Well, to be fair, Consuls in Rome were effectively the republic's executives but she isn't exactly Roman, now is she? And besides, the term is more associated with diplomats nowadays. Combine that with her being a teacher at heart and you get her willingly ceding command over to Percy because it was the right thing to do to foster his growth. On a more meta level, we decided we'd be able to get Alkaid in more fun situations if she wasn't leading Olympus' defense. Unlike Percy, who would lead from the front, she would lead from the rear where she'd provide artillery support with her spells, so making her leader would shackle her to the Empire State and that would be boring~!

That too! On the meta level at least. XD

You know what to do! Smash that review button and tell us what you love! No flames and peace off my peeps!