Chapter Title: I Fulfill The Prophecies
Alternative Chapter Titles: Enter The Monster King, Part III; Defending Everyone From A Horde Of Monsters (Again..), Part Two; I Take On Kronos' Entire Army (yes literally), Part Two; The Beast Of Camp Half Blood Returns (Aka I Go On A Killing Spree), Part Two; I Become The Sniper Of Olympus
(A/N: Very long note before the start of the chapter. Bear with me here. And yes, this is it. The finale to Colton Reynolds' original prophecy, the one that brought him and Kayla together.
First off, yes.. a lot of alternative chapter titles, again.
Of all the things you expected to see in this fanfic, probably seeing Kronos a bit earlier than planned and then having Koios and Pallas becoming the new villains in the Last Olympian - even if only for a short time - was probably not one of them. There's a reason why I was going to have Pallas as the main villain in my scrapped idea of an author self-insert fanfic (the self insert fanfic I'm doing now is just the second version).. and it directly comes from Askinar-The-Dark's fanfic "Demigod?".
I always thought having a bigger role for Koios - being the Titan dispatched by Kronos to prevent Kronos' Demi-Titan son Fayden Thatch from being the one to foil Kronos' plans during the Battle Of Manhattan, only to end up being killed and sent back to Tartarus and becoming the reason Fayden and Thalia Grace finally admit their feelings for each other - was really cool.. so in the original idea, I was going to do the same for Pallas.. have him be a villain that while his defeat would be vital to Percy's success in completing the Great Prophecy and defeating Kronos, the battle between him and me would be of a kind that no one else - except those relevant to the sub-great prophecy (yes, prophecy within a great prophecy) - would be able to interfere in.
The final fight in that fanfic - me against Pallas - would have involved me, Kelli, Luke, Asterios, and Michael having to cross Central Park to get to Pallas waiting on the other side, except they would not only have to deal with monsters, but also bullets - lots of bullets that basically turn Central Park into a hellhole of gunfire.. meaning that the five fated to complete the prophecy would basically have to claw their way (figuratively speaking and maybe a little bit literally) through Central Park to reach him.
In a sense, the final fight in the Battle of Manhattan in this fanfic - Colton as the Monster King vs. both Pallas and Koios - is my way of honoring both ideas.
It would also make perfect sense as to why the final Titan antagonists would be these two. It is actually implied that Koios was an excellent swordsman (Askinar in their fanfic has him as the greatest Swordsman of the Titans) and he is the only Titan that was never mentioned or appeared at all in the original series, despite his descendants being very important in the original series (and in Trials Of Apollo).
Pallas is the Titan of Warcraft and Battle, as well as a Titan that even less is written about him. My original vision for him was to be a bit of a sorcerer, able to shift the tides of battle.. and being a Titan, skew it in such a way that despite Percy's efforts, Kronos would win in the end - at least in the original version of the author self-insert fanfic. So since he is a Titan God of Battle, I find it fitting that he gets to be in his natural element in the final part of the Battle Of Manhattan, even if his opponent (along with Koios') just so happens to be the Monster King himself. So buddy, hope you're proud of getting some more time in a fanfic, even if only for a short time.
Given those reasons, it would make sense to have these two to be the stronger Titans basically to have to fight a battle like this - and by this, I mean what takes place throughout most of this chapter.
I will admit, writing this was fun for another reason. Most often, it's always one Titan against demigods. So.. I figure.. why not up the ante and do a fight scene pitting the Monster King in his very first fight against deities - and TWO Titans at that for once in a PJO fanfic - for the express purpose of demonstrating just how much on another level this guy is?
Believe me when I say, that little detail about Kronos feeling minuscule to Azamoth back in Chapter Thirty Three is going to return here for good reason. Because there is a very good reason why it's Porphyrion who will be the main adversary for Colton from the end of this chapter till the end of Book Three (with Gaea being a secondary major antagonist) and not one of the Titans. You have been warned.
Anyways, enjoy the finale of this incredible arc - and the end of the larger arc covering the Battle Of Manhattan. Next three chapters will cover the aftermath before we get into the final arc - the confrontation between Colton and Porphyrion I've been hinting at for a long while now. Enjoy, and like or comment!)
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If there were words that could generally describe the reactions of the Olympian Forces at the sight of the Monster King charging straight at the oncoming forms of Koios and Pallas as both sides halted in shock as their leaders charged head on at each other, those words could generally also describe the reactions of the remnants of the Titan Army too.
Put simply.. both sides were shocked and surprised, caught off guard by this completely.
Not in a million years, could anyone on either side could have ever predicted that the end of the Battle Of Manhattan would start like this. About close to an hour and a half had passed since the start of Kronos' final assault on Olympus. In the original timeline, you would have probably expected the final fight to be between Percy and Kronos. Here in this timeline, however.. things had changed.. fate had changed.. and now the final fight was taking place between three of the most unlikely (in the sense that no one had expected these three fighters - four if you count the demigod inside the Monster King - to even have a chance of being involved like this) people to face off in a final confrontation. It was like a legend writing itself, and everyone else was a witness to it.
All Kayla could do now was pray that Colton came out of this alright. Fortunately for her, Colton had no intention of letting everyone on his side down now.
Even so, Pallas got the first blow in this brawl in when a blow from his staff - just as the three combatants got within melee range of each other - slammed into the Monster King's chest armor, knocking him off of his horse, which then proceeded to sink its sharp teeth into Koios' leg, and then brushed Pallas down onto his back while fleeing. This removed any immediate advantage the two Titans might have gotten from knocking the Monster King off of his horse, but it still got Kayla to scream "Colton!" from a distance when she heard the thud of the Monster King impacting the pavement.
Koios was obviously distracted a bit by the bite in his leg, but he was able to parry a strike from the Monster King, before the King dove back to avoid another strike from Pallas' staff.
Too close for comfort, still though.. Colton though to himself as he, or should I say MK (Monster King), simply stared down the two Titans for the moment. Definitely got a bit of an advantage here. If only I could pry away Pallas from Koios..
While Koios was desperately trying to bandage his bloody leg on the fly, MK decided to hone in on Pallas for the moment. The Titan of Warcraft could only gulp briefly as the eyes of the MK switched to him, before he was using his staff to defend himself from a series of furious strikes from his opponent. MK wasn't letting up on Pallas, not even as the battle continued to flare and rage around the three combatants.
Sherman speared two hellhounds in anger before his fury went to rage as he, alongside Travis, sliced apart twenty three assorted monsters, including two Cyclopes and five enemy demigods, that had jumped Miranda and Katie. Sherman's rage continued as he hacked apart more enemies on his own while Travis helped Katie and Miranda to safety. It was during this blind rage of a killing spree that Sherman realized something about how he felt for Miranda that he hadn't realized before. He was in love with her.
Knowing that drove him to start fighting even harder, feeling like how Colton felt back on Calypso's island last summer when he realized that he was in love with Kayla.
Koios finished bandaging himself up, but his attention was still distracted when Percy and Nico came across and start dueling. Although the Titan was a match for the son of Hades and the son of Poseidon, it kept Koios from assisting Pallas as the fight between him and the MK grew ugly. The MK had already slashed Pallas in the leg once in the fight so far, and now, as Pallas wound up for a magical spell attack, he was brutally prevented from doing so when the hilt of the sword the MK was holding smashed into the Titan's face, knocking him off of his feet and down onto the pavement. Pallas rolled out of the way of the next strike and got back onto his feet, only for a sucker punch to the jaw to greet him when he got back up.
The MK noticed that Koios was too busy with Percy and Nico, so it moved quickly.
Koios was busy blocking attacks from the two demigods when he felt a sharp pain ignite in his chest. He looked down, and gasped. The blade of the MK's sword had gone all the way through his body, ichor streaming out of the mortal wound - for it had been inflicted near his heart, cutting an artery. The Titan collapsed to his knees, and after the MK withdrew the blade, it kicked Koios in the back, and the Titan fell to the pavement, never to get up. Koios had been scattered.
"KOIOS!" Pallas screamed, charging the MK in a blind rage. A headbutt greeted him, then the MK swung his sword, cutting off both of Pallas' hands before he was kicked in the chest and sent down to the pavement, laying on his back.
He knew it was over, but as he laid there and the MK grinned at him in an evil fashion, raising his sharp bladed gauntlet up before he would deliver the killing - or scattering blow - to the Titan, Pallas summoned all his energy for one final magical spell.
If he was going to go, then he was going to try to take the Monster King with him.
The MK swung the gauntlet, slashing Pallas through the area where his heart was. The Titan of Warcraft crumpled to the pavement and soon disappeared, but not before he had placed a spell of elimination on the MK which commanded all monsters in the area loyal to Kronos.. to kill the Monster King.
Instantly, all the monsters - thousands upon thousands - instantly vectored in on the MK, cutting him off from reinforcements or help.
He was trapped, as the monsters awaited in a ring around him, hungrily waiting for a collective signal among themselves to strike at him and kill the one who had dispatched their leaders from them.
"COLTON!" Kayla shouted in horror. She wanted to be with him, but was held back by Lee and Clarisse, despite the girl's screams and wails.
That's when Colton Reynolds was shot out of the body of the Monster King, which rapidly disintegrated right after the possessor left the body. He still had the power of the Monster King, before anyone would like to comment in worry. (A/N: Fourth wall break, I know.)
The Olympian forces as well as the MK's army all held their breath, and hoped that he would find a way out of this.
For all of their sakes, they hoped he would do it.
- — - — - — -
Colton was moving upwards. Up into the air, to be exact. He hadn't expected for the Monster King - his true form - to launch him out of his body like he was some sort of a shifter who needed to escape from the situation (A/N: Low key reference to Attack On Titan here. In fact, anytime he transforms to the Monster King is basically a reference to Titan Shifters from Attack On Titan.)
He stared at the hordes of monsters waiting below him as he continued to rise, then at the dots of his friends, the family he had - and the supporters he had due to being the Monster King. He knew that if he died, they would go for them next.
He had to do something.. or else everyone would die.
He had no weapon though, at least that's what it was at that moment. Magically, in the next moment, he suddenly felt the Whitworth which had been in Michael's hands appear in his own, much to his temporary confusion. Then, he suddenly felt an urge that he had to act. So, while still flying upwards, going slower and slower by the second, he balanced the butt on the Whitworth on his foot and started loading the rifle in mid-air, pulling a cartridge out of his cartridge box and loading as fast as possible.
What he hadn't noticed was that the cartridge paper for this round.. was green. And none of the rounds Beckendorf had made him had green cartridge paper.
Beckendorf himself noticed as this cartridge paper sped down to Earth like a rocket oddly for some reason. It worried him.
Just as Colton stopped traveling upwards and started to fall into the hordes of monsters waiting below, he leveled the rifle straight down.
One second passed, then two.
Finally, he fired.
BLAM!
He passed out just after firing the shot, the Whitworth vanishing from his hands and returning to Michael's, again to the Apollo Head Counselor's confusion when he noticed, but by then, it didn't matter.
The second he saw the bullet, Beckendorf knew that this was something very powerful.
"GET DOWN!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, and the Olympian forces and the Monster King's army did exactly as he had, instantly hitting the deck.
As Colton's unconscious started to gracefully glide towards Earth, the bullet exploded in mid air, with the force of a nuke. Yet, its effects made Percy's exploits with the Curse Of Achilles mere child's play.
When the allied forces opened their eyes once again, the world had changed once more. It wasn't a red sky that greeted them. It was back to normal.
In an instant, the world changed back to the NYC that had been under the spells of Kronos and Hecate...
..and the thousands upon thousands of monsters that had made up the bulk of the remnants of Kronos' army were gone.
All of them killed.
By just that one single bullet.
Colton Reynolds had just pulled off the shot that would place him among other feats in the history books of Greek Mythology.. well, present Greek Mythology that is.
No one could even believe it for themselves.
"Did.. he.. just.. kill the whole army..?" Clarisse stuttered.
"..with just one shot..?" Zoe added. That's when those who had been alive the whole time realized that those who had died up until the Monster King's entrance weren't just illusions. They were the real thing.
Celebrations and hugs instantly followed, many of them tearful. Throughout it all, Kayla Knowles kept her eyes trained on the skyline.
Cháris simply looked on at the celebrations with a sly grin. "There are many things about our king's power.." he noted to himself. "..that still defy belief and that we can't explain, even to this day. This is one of those times."
Colton gracefully floated down to Earth while unconscious, as if being carried down slowly but surely by magic.
Kayla was wondering if anyone was going to catch them, but a familiar roar and howl - that didn't chill her much this time compared to last time - left her with a smile on her face. Of course the steed would do it.
Galloping through the woods of Central Park, the horse of the Monster King burst into view underneath Colton as he was now only 20 seconds away from gently hitting the ground.
Catching the unconscious Colton on the saddle, the demon horse of the Monster King could finally breathe a sigh of relief as it galloped back to the Queen.
It was good to be back.
- — - — - — -
When Colton opened his eyes again, the face of the girl he loved hovered over him. Her frown turned into a teary-eyed smile upon seeing his eyes open once more.
"I really need to stop passing out, do I?" Colton muttered, before Kayla just kissed his cheek.
"Yeah.." she said after pulling away from his cheek. "..you really need to stop doing that."
Colton took a look around.
He was back in Olympus. Specifically, Apollo's chambers which made him feel a bit uncomfortable since.. he was a son of Ares. But with Kayla there, all those worries and uneasy feelings vanished. He reached up and gently cupped her cheek before sitting up in Apollo's bed and kissing her squarely on the lips. She delightfully kissed him back, this kiss being full of passion, affection, and accomplishment. Since he was with her, he knew that he had done it.
His prophecy - which tied him to her - was finally over.
- — - — - — -
Over at Camp Jupiter, a certain demigod woke in a start from her sleep from what she had seen. She reached under her pillow and took out the piece of paper that had blown next to her one day while no one else was looking.
Three shall go south to the desert
To seek the treasure of times lost
Monster King and Light clear the path
for Dance to see herself bright at last
In the mountains of T they dig
And one shall ascend to begin
She read those lines again and again, and held back the urge to cry or scream. She just put the paper back underneath the pillow and went back to sleep, her worries about her future at Camp Jupiter slowly beginning to cease.
Her name is Lavinia Asimov, and come next June, the daughter of Terpsichore is destined to see more than she could ever possibly have hoped to see.. even more than she had woken up from.. which was..
..witnessing the transformation of a Greek Demigod into the Monster King that her prophecy entailed helping.. her.
The countdown to the summer of 2009 was starting, even if no one else but her knew it. What no one realized is that it wasn't the only prophecy from the Sibylline Books - aside from the Great Prophecy - that would go down that summer in the future.
(A/N: As to the nature of at least one - and yes, "at least one" - of these prophecies the last lines of this chapter refers to, I have actually already released portions of one in an earlier chapter - that also involves Lavinia. So yeah.. like this chapter hints.. fate has big plans for the daughter of Terpsichore next summer.
But yeah.. finally it's over for Colton and Kayla. Their prophecy that brought them to each other is finally over. As to the prophecy that came to Rachel Dare.. well.. you're about to see how that factors into the scene that followed the Battle of Manhattan, aka Percy's deal with the Gods that changed everything at Camp Half Blood.
But yeah.. over the next two chapters.. Colton has a lot of explaining, morale-boosting, and anger-management to do before the final interlude of this fanfic. Can't wait to see you all next time!)