Alternate Main Title: Leo II / Jason IV / Piper III
Chapter Title: Jason Somehow Cheats Death
Alternate Chapter Title: The Lost Heroes Meet The Monster King's Minions, Part Two
(A/N: And we are here! At the part where the mystery of exactly how and why our mysterious shadowy version of Colton's power exists! This chapter is partially based on TMNT Season One Episode 17 "The Shredder Strikes Back, Part One" as well as Season Seven Episode 3 "Something Wicked". This will most likely be a long chapter, so fair warning here. Also, the remaining Wardens that did not get an appearance in Book One are now appearing for the first time, both in the previous chapter and in this one as well. There is also a couple of extra scenes that I didn't originally plan for this chapter added towards the end too.)
((*Monster King Theme begins here. Refer to the soundtrack book if you don't know what to play. Repeat as many times as needed until music stops or changes.*))
Jason, for lack of a better word or words in this case, was both terrified and confused now. The same could be said for Bryce, Clara, Alyssa, Piper, and Leo.. but especially for Bryce and Alyssa. The latter was trembling especially severe now, terrified of what stood above them all. It was not helped at all by the fact that from lights of flame, light, etc. or by literally burrowing out of the ground nearby, more unusual and scary-looking monsters that none of the questers had ever seen before appeared. Just as the ones above were, the monsters down here were as every bit as scary as the ones up high.
Just like the ones above, none of the six questers could hardly even believe exactly what they were even seeing with their own two eyes. Out of an actual ball of fire came a larger version of the Minotaur armed with a massive axe in his hands, the sight of which actually made Leo shit his pants, something he really did not want to have to admit right now to his fellow questers. Out of the ground was a hybrid beast with the body of a drakon, he head of an alligator and literally most of a worm for a tail. Out of the shadows came a giant hound - Jason was sure that it was not a hellhound - with five heads. It looked like something closer to some depictions of the Hound from the Sherlock Holmes story called "The Hound Of The Baskervilles" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, albeit with the exception of the five heads the creature had. Along with the Minotaur came a humanoid shark armed with dual khopesh, the creature itself smaller than but no less muscular on steroids than the larger version of the Minotaur nearby. And finally, out of a ball of light, a massive beast like a lion with eagle's wings that glowed brightly as if its wings had formerly been the wings of an angel. It also had five horns projecting out of its head too, adding a fearsome look to its appearance. (A/N: This last creature is based almost entirely on the "Beast Of The First Kingdom" as described in the Book Of Daniel in the Christian Bible, with the parts about its wings glowing brightly as if they had been from an angel and the horns being additions made by me.)
All in all, this fearsome array of warriors and monsters, both on the ground and in the air, looked like they could crush Kronis without breaking a sweat - and in mere seconds.
Naturally, the reactions from the six questers trying to save Hera to this unexpected change of events were about as exactly as what you might expect from people that were placed in such a situation.
"No way.." Piper muttered.
"Is that.." Clara started.
"..the Monster King?!" Bryce finished.
"But.. how..?" Alyssa said while trembling badly.
"I don't know.." Jason said. "..but we're here to save Hera, not to fight him!"
"Correct!" Hera added. "Come on Leo, Piper, help me!"
Piper and Leo suddenly remembered what they were supposed to do and went back to work, halted momentarily by the creepy sound of the Monster King letting out a very malicious laugh.
"About the part about not fighting the Monster King.." Leo said. "..I think one of us needs to tell that to him!"
That's when the shadowy figure of the Monster King spoke. Instead of any of the questers though, it instead addressed only Kronis.
"Giant.. I knew that you were being resurrected by Gaea's minions.. but I had not expected to see you here.." MK said to Kronis.
"Likewise, weakling king! I see you're looking more disgusting than ever!" Kronis shouted back, to insult the Monster King. "Last I heard, your wielder was missing and no one knew where to find him!"
The shadowy Monster King simply let out a creepy laugh in response, something that deeply unnerved the demigods witnessing the scene before them.
"While it is true that my wielder is missing," said the shadowy Monster King. "..I think you all should have learned by now.. that NOTHING CAN STOP THE MONSTER KING! I've long since been prepared for any contingency!"
"What the hell is he even talking about?" Bryce shouted. "What the hell is happening?"
"I have no clue, but this is the scariest shit I've seen in my life!" Clara shot back.
Piper and Leo simply back to work to try to free Hera as this went on. In the meantime, the shadowy Monster King began to explain everything.
"You see, by an amalgamation of magic from both the ancient lands of Greece and from other religions, I long ago created a spiritual copy of myself. A backup, that was constantly renewed by rituals and could be resurrected should anything happen to the current wielder of my power. This backup was locked away for safe keeping in a spiritual prison that could only be opening by something happening to my current wielder, until one day.. some.. strange deity life form put my wielder to sleep and activated the defense mechanism." Hera looked away, a great deal embarrassed and ashamed, given that she had caused this version of the Monster King to now exist. "A mechanism that released me! Allowed me to escape the confines of the vault that I was inside and make it out into the real world to do what my wielder would have liked me to do.. so that I am as you see me now!"
The shadowy Monster King laughed again, before turning its attention toward Kronis who by now, started to look absolutely terrified. He knew full well that against the Wardens, the Heralds, and the Elite Guard of the Tengu Clan who unknown to him Colton himself had bested in the depths of the temple last fall, he had no chance.
"I would wonder what use Gaea would have for you other than as a replacement king for Porphyrion and a replacement bane for Zeus, now that you are born into the world of the Mortals, but it matters not!" MK howled, going incredibly malicious now. "YOU SOON WON'T BE HERE FOR LONG! NOW THAT I HAVE YOU WITHIN MY GRASP, YOU SHALL BE.. DESTROYED!"
((** Music stops here. **))
Kronis raised his sword, ready to at least try to defend himself from what was about to be unleashed upon him. "No.." he muttered, just loud enough for the demigods and Hera to hear him right before clouds of smoke arose out of nowhere around the groups in the air, on the roof, and on the ground that hovered for a bit before disappearing, revealing all of the Monster King's minions now gone. The shadowy Monster King remained where he was though, hovering high in the air.
Another cloud of smoke arose, briefly obscuring Kronis from view. When it dissipated though, the sight that it revealed might as well as have been honestly one of the most stunning images that the questers had ever seen. All the heralds, wardens, and those weird ninjas all in a circle around Kronis, weapons at the ready, about to strike.
"NO! AAAHHH!" Kronis screamed as the monsters all descended on him. Though a comical cloud of smoke and dust arose obscuring what was occurring, the beatdown that played out was vicious and brutal in the extreme. Kronis lost his sword early on in the fight, and had to use his arms to defend himself from the merciless onslaught of the Monster King's minions.
In the meantime, with Kronis distracted and the wolves and monsters allied with Gaea either dead or too scared to even intervene, the stone and wood cage crumbled. Leo had sawed through the base of the thickest tendril and apparently cut off the cage's connection to Gaea. The tendrils turned to dust. The mud around Hera disintegrated. The goddess began to grow in size, glowing with power as she did so.
By now, the comedic ball of smoke disappeared, revealing the minions of the Monster King all standing in a circle with what looked like Kronis lying limply on his side. Although the questers and Thalia couldn't see it yet, the minions of the Monster King had beaten the replacement King of the Giants to within an inch of his life.
"Yes!" the goddess said. She threw off her black robes to reveal a white gown, her arms bedecked with golden jewelry. Her face was both terrible and beautiful, and a golden crown glowed in her long black hair. "Now I shall have my revenge! Clear the field, warriors, so I can have that revenge!"
Just as the minions of the Monster King backed away from Kronis in order to grant Hera's request for revenge though..
"JASON!"
- — - — - — -
Jason was confused right now. He was supposed to be dead. He had looked right into Hera's divine form, just as the Monster King's minions had backed away from Kronis' mangled body so he could be sent back to Tartarus. He should be in the underworld right now. So why instead of the underworld, was he where he currently was.. looking at what looked like a 12 year old brown-haired boy carrying what seemed to be a Civil War rifle with a civil war belt with cartridge box, cap pouch, canteen, and bayonet socket with bayonet secure around his waist?
Was this some sort of vision?
Jason wasn't really sure at all.
Either way, for a boy who was dressed in Greek armor, Jason considered this to be the oddest demigod - for he was certain that this kid was a demigod - that he had ever seen.
He simply watched as the boy walked along the top of a ridge - at least a clear open field extending down one side of this ridge while there were trees and trees all around - past what appeared to be a very sickly tree. A couple hundred yards down below, he could clearly see what looked like a Scythian dracenae appear from the tree line near what seemed to be a road winding through the trees below.
"Perfect.." the boy muttered. He placed the thumb of his right hand on what seemed to be the hammer at top of the weapon, pushing it back from what looked to be half-cocked to fully cocked, and had his other hand grasping the small of the stock. He leveled the weapon towards the monster, tracking it as it made its way slowly across the field near the bottom edge of the open clearing, the monster clearly unaware of what was near it. The boy's right shoulder was supporting the butt of the weapon, with the left elbow down and his right about as high as that of his shoulder. His head was inclined upon the butt, with his left eye closed and his right hand extended along the stock, with his right fore-finger on the trigger.
Pressing the fore-finger against the trigger, he fired without lowering or turning his head.
BLAM!
The bullet went through the left side of the monster's head just to the right of the ear and although Jason couldn't see it, the bullet had gone through all the way and out the other side. The dracenae had been killed instantly, and Jason could hear the sound of a hellhound coming through woodland in the distance towards the clearing.
The boy, whose face Jason couldn't see due to facing him from behind, seemed to have heard the sounds coming towards him too because instantly, he brought the piece down with both hands, while at the same time continuing to face to the front. He brought the piece erect before the center of his tall body - Jason figured that he was between 5 to 6 feet tall but couldn't be more certain - before he then seized the piece with his left hand above the lower band, the thumb appearing to be extended along the barrel, with his forearm horizontal and resting against the body, with the hand as high as the elbow. He carried the piece to the left side of his body with his left hand - the butt coming to rest upon the ground resting along the left thigh, with the barrel to the front and the muzzle six inches in front of the center of his body. The right hand was grasping the piece just below the upper band, and the left hand extended upon the piece, before the left hand moved up to hold it at the muzzle of the weapon and his right hand now going to the cartridge box.
His fingers fiddled a little inside the box, before they emerged a second later with a cartridge placed in the grasp of the thumb and next two fingers of his right hand, which he then used to move and place the cartridge in between his teeth. He bit down on the end of the cartridge and tore the paper off - and spit it out - holding the cartridge upright between the thumb and next two fingers of his right hand near the top. He placed his hand in front of and near the muzzle of the weapon with the back of his hand to the front.
He now quickly flipped the back of his hand towards his body while looking at the weapon, raising the elbow to the height of his wrist, extending his extra fingers as he dumped the powder into the barrel. Next, he disengaged the ball from the paper with his right hand - specifically the thumb and first two fingers after it - inserting the projectile into the bore, the pointed end uppermost, and press it down firmly into the muzzle with his right thumb until the end of it prevented his thumb from pushing the round down anymore. His thumb and forefinger of the right hand then seized the tulip - head of the rammer - with the other fingers closed and the elbows near the body.
At this point, Jason wasn't really sure about why he was having to watch this, but he assumed that it was very important, so he kept paying attention all the same to this.
The boy half-drew the rammer by extending his right arm upwards, steadying it in this position with the left thumb, before he seized the rammer again near the middle of it between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, with the thumb under of it and the forefinger over it, with his other fingers extended, and the palm of his hand to the front. He cleared the rammer from the pipe by extending his arm again, with the rammer in prolongation of the pipes, the palm of his hand still to his front. Then, he turned the rammer around by closing his fingers, the little end of it passing near his left shoulder, and turning the back of his hand to the front now. He steadied it by extending the forefinger of his right hand, the tulip or head of the rammer now placed on the ball in the muzzle.
He sent the rammer down the barrel as far as his right hand would go, and steadied it in this position with the thumb of his left hand. Pressing the ball home, he eventually now seized the rammer at the small end with the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, the back of his right hand still to the front, with the elbows near the body. What followed seemed like the step prior to him ramming down the bullet on top of the powder, but in reverse. He drew the rammer halfway out of the barrel, and steadied it in this position with his left thumb, before grasping the rammer again with his right hand near the muzzle, the thumb under and the forefinger above the rammer, with the other fingers extended. He then cleared the rammer from the bore by extending the arm with his palm to the front and the rammer in the prolongation of the bore.
Through all of this, Jason could hear that hellhound getting closer and closer. Though to be fair, the boy wasn't going slow at all going through the loading process. In fact, he was doing it seemingly as fast as humanly possible without any mistakes at all.
The boy turned the rammer again, the head passing near his left shoulder with his fingers closed and the rammer held between the thumb and fore-finger-nails to the front. He inserted the rammer in the slot where he had drawn it out of earlier, until his hand reached the muzzle. He then forced the rammer home by placing the pinky of his right hand on the head of the ramrod and pushed it all the way down. At the same time, he extended his left hand down the piece without depressing the shoulder.
The boy also appeared to be muttering something before every step of this process, though Jason couldn't really make out what it was exactly.
With his left hand, the boy raised the piece till his hand was as high as his eye, grasping the small of the stock with his right hand. He half faced to his right, exposing part of his face to Jason's view. He had what appeared to be dark eyes and not much else that could identify him from Jason's perspective at least. At the same time, the boy placed his right foot behind and at right angles with his left foot, with the hollow of his right foot against the left heel. Slipping the left hand down to the lower band of the weapon, with the thumb along the stock, the left elbow against his body, he brought the piece to the right side with the butt of the weapon below the right forearm with the small of the stock against the body and two inches below the right breast. The barrel was pointing upwards at this point, and the muzzle was level with his eyes.
Putting the thumb of his right hand on the hammer, he half-cocked it with the other fingers of his right hand supported against the guard and the small of the stock, removing the old cap with one of the fingers of the right hand before he removed this hand from the weapon momentarily and moved towards the cap pouch, with the thumb and forefinger of the same hand taking a new cap from the pouch, placing it on the nipple of the weapon and pressing the cap down with the thumb, just as the hellhound calmly walked into the clearing near the bottom edge just as the dracenae had done earlier and then noticed the demigod, snarling.
The boy quickly place the thumb of his right hand on the hammer with the rest of his fingers on the right hand remaining under or against the trigger guard, fully cocking the hammer, before his right hand grasped the small of the stock as the hellhound started to bound towards him.
Just like before with the dracenae earlier, he raised the piece with both of his hands, and supported the butt of the weapon against his right shoulder, with the left elbow down and the right one again as high as the shoulder. His head was once more inclined upon the butt of the weapon so that his right eye had just about nothing but the top of the weapon, the telescope-like sight, and the hellhound coming towards him in his vision. His left eye was closed, while again the right thumb was extended along the stock, with the forefinger on the trigger.
Jason could see the outcome of this from a mile away. So, he didn't worry for the safety of the kid at all.
The boy fired.
BLAM!
As before, it was instant and deadly. The hellhound didn't stand even a chance as the bullet went through its head. It collapsed dead, just as the boy turned his body towards Jason, though it didn't look like the boy knew he was there at all. As he did though, his helmet morphed into the same crown the shadowy Monster King was wearing at the wolf house before this.
Jason gasped as he realized the truth.
His blood ran cold as he instantly realized exactly who he had been watching in this all along.
The actual Monster King, Colton Reynolds himself. Suffice it to say, for his first look at the boy who was also known as "The Beast Of Camp Half Blood", Jason had to admit that, in armor and carrying only his Whitworth and equipment for it, he looked as every bit as fierce as the other campers at CHB had made him out to be.
Jason wondered if there was more to the vision that had yet to be shown due to this revelation, but he never got to find out the answer to that question as he woke up shortly after.
- — - — - — -
Piper half heard the conversation between Leo and Thalia against Hera, but mostly she was focused on Jason's face. By this point, the shadowy Monster King and his minions had all vanished into thin air before any of the demigods, hunters, and goddess could even give their thanks to them. Finally, she noticed the tell tale sign of him breathing through his nose. "He's breathing!" she announced.
Bryce simply shouted joy in response pumping his fists up into the air. Leo was delighted, Alyssa looked relieved, Clara couldn't help but smile at Jason coming back from the dead, and Thalia was just.. dumbfounded to say the least.
Hera, on the other hand, was completely caught off guard.
Jason gasped, and his eyes flew open. For a moment they were full of light—glowing pure gold. Then the light faded and his eyes were normal again. "What—what happened?"
"Impossible!" Hera said. "How is this even possible at all? He should be dead!"
Piper wrapped him in a hug until he groaned, "Piper, you are crushing me."
"Sorry," she said, so relieved, she laughed while wiping a tear from her eye.
"Nice to see you back in the land of the living, bro.." Bryce said, grinning.
"If you had actually died, I was going to let Reyna kick your ass when we eventually find you in the afterlife.." Clara said. Jason winced at the thought of that.
"Jason — for the love of the gods, don't do anything stupid like that again, for our sakes.." Alyssa simply said, a bit shy at the moment. Jason simply nodded in return.
Thalia gripped her brother's hand. "How do you feel?"
"Hot," he muttered. "Mouth is dry. And I saw something... really terrible."
"That was Hera," Thalia grumbled. "Her Majesty, the Loose Cannon."
Bryce and Leo both couldn't help but burst out laughing at that.
"That's it, Thalia Grace," said the goddess. "I will turn you into an aardvark, so help me—"
"Shut it, woman.." Clara stated, catching Hera by surprise. "You do anything to them, I will make you regret it, Zeus or no Zeus. I don't give a shit."
"Stop it, you three," Piper said. Amazingly, they all shut up.
Piper helped Jason to his feet and gave him the last nectar from their supplies.
"So.. what does that make? Questers one, big ugly wimp of a replacement king zero?" Leo said to Bryce. A glint of satisfaction ran through Bryce's eyes.
"Yep, something like that.." Bryce said in return.
"Now ..." Piper faced Thalia and Hera. "Hera—Your Majesty—we couldn't have rescued you without the Hunters. And Thalia, you never would've seen Jason again—I wouldn't have met him—if it weren't for Hera. You two make nice, because we've got bigger problems."
They both glared at her, and for three long seconds, Piper wasn't sure which one of them was going to kill her first.
"She's right.." Alyssa muttered. "You two do need to work out your differences." Clearly, from the annoyed glare on her face, the other daughter of Aphrodite here wasn't all amused with Thalia and Hera's antics.
Finally Thalia grunted. "You've got spirit, Piper." She pulled a silver card from her parka and tucked it into the pocket of Piper's snowboarding jacket. "You ever want to be a Hunter, call me. We could use you."
Hera crossed her arms. "Fortunately for this Hunter, you have a point, daughter of Aphrodite." She assessed Piper, as if seeing her clearly for the time. "You wondered, Piper, why I chose you for this quest, why I didn't reveal your secret in the beginning, even when I knew Areti was using you. I must admit, until this moment I was not sure. Something told me you would be vital to the quest. Now I see I was right. You're even stronger than I realized. And you are correct about the dangers to come. We must work together."
Piper's face felt warm. She wasn't sure how to respond to Hera's compliment, but Leo stepped in.
"Yeah," he said, "I don't suppose that Kronis guy just melted and died, huh?"
"No," Hera agreed. "By saving me, and saving this place, you prevented Gaea from waking. You have bought us some time. But Kronis has arisen, regardless of being sent back to Tartarus or not. He knows better now than to stay where he has arisen, especially since he has not yet gained his full power. Giants can only be killed by a combination of god and demigod, working together. But the Wardens, the Heralds, the Monster King, and the Elite Ninja of the Tengu Clan, they can circumvent that requirement."
"Wait? Seriously? They can?!" Clara sputtered.
"How is that even possible?" Bryce said.
Hera didn't respond to their questions.
"Still though, how the hell did that figure survive to reappear here even if he was the Monster King?" Leo asked, clearly remembering the fight with Areti. "We all saw him get basically flattened into the side of the hill by that massive stone that the Giant threw at him before Jason used Zeus to help destroy him! There is no way any human or demigod could have survived that!"
"We're not dealing with just any human, mind you.." Bryce replied, his voice growing grim. "This is the Monster King after all.."
The scene fades away momentarily to the large stone back on Mount Diablo, where the blades of the gauntlet of the shadowy Monster King suddenly burst through the stone out of nowhere after the heroes have gone.
The scene now returns to normal, with the six questers all thinking silently about it could have survived, with Thalia looking on confused.
Hera chose this time to speak up now.
"Either way, he'll be back.." Hera warned, clearly referring to Kronis.
A sense of dread washed over Piper. She remembered what Areti had said about killing the Olympians by pulling up their roots. Greece. She looked at Thalia's grim expression, and guessed the Hunter had come to the same conclusion.
Nearby, Alyssa, Bryce, and Clara all also had grim looks on their faces as they had also realized what it meant too.
"I need to find Annabeth," Thalia said. "She has to know what's happened here."
"Thalia ..." Jason gripped her hand. "We never got to talk about this place, or—"
"I know." Her expression softened. "I lost you here once. I don't want to leave you again. But we'll meet soon. I'll rendezvous with you back at Camp Half-Blood." She glanced at Hera. "You'll see them there safely? It's the least you can do."
"It's not your place to tell me—"
"Queen Hera," Piper interceded.
The goddess sighed. "Fine. Yes. Just off with you, Hunter!"
Thalia gave Jason a hug and said her good-byes. When the Hunters were gone, the courtyard seemed strangely quiet. The dry reflecting pool showed no sign of the earthen tendrils that had brought back the giant king or imprisoned Hera. The night sky was clear and starry. The wind rustled in the redwoods.
"Your sister is one badass woman, bro.." Bryce said to Jason. "Can't believe she's already taken."
"Yeah.. well.." Jason replied. "Seems like Luke made her happy despite what he did, so I'm not going to push it."
Piper thought about that night in Oklahoma when she and her dad had slept in Grandpa Tom's front yard. She thought about the night on the Wilderness School dorm roof, when Jason had kissed her—in her Mist-altered memories, anyway.
"Jason, what happened to you here?" she asked. "I mean—I know your mom abandoned you here. But you said it was sacred ground for demigods. Why? What happened after you were on your own?"
Jason shook his head uneasily. "It's still murky. The wolves ..."
Bryce, Clara, and Alyssa shuddered, each remembering bits and pieces of their time here.
"You were given a destiny," Hera said. "You were given into my service."
Jason scowled. "Because you forced my mom to do that. You couldn't stand knowing Zeus had two children with my mom. Knowing that he'd fallen for her twice. I was the price you demanded for leaving the rest of my family alone. "
All three other Romans simply turned to look at Hera, faces filled with rage now. "YOU DID WHAT?!" Clara screamed.
"It was the right choice for you as well, Jason," Hera insisted. "The second time your mother managed to snare Zeus's affections, it was because she imagined him in a different aspect—the aspect of Jupiter. Never before had this happened—two children, Greek and Roman, born into the same family. You had to be separated from Thalia. This is where all demigods of your kind start their journey."
"Of his kind?" Piper asked.
"What are we, chopped liver?" Bryce retorted.
"She means Roman," Jason said. "Demigods are left here. We meet the she-wolf goddess, Lupa, the same immortal wolf that raised Romulus and Remus."
Hera nodded. "And if you are strong enough, you live."
Bryce and Clara simply glanced at Alyssa, who was trembling. It seemed like memories of this place were more painful for her than first imagined. Both the other two demigods simply just hugged Alyssa to keep her calm.
"But ..." Leo looked mystified. "What happened after that? I mean, Jason never made it to camp."
"Not to Camp Half-Blood, no," Hera agreed.
"We were sent somewhere else.." Bryce said, filling in the blanks.
Piper felt as if the sky were spiraling above her, making her dizzy. "You went somewhere else. That's where you've been all these years. Somewhere else for demigods—but where?"
Jason turned to the goddess. "The memories are coming back, but not the location. You're not going to tell me, are you?"
"No," Hera said. "That is part of your destiny, Jason. You must find your own way back. But when you do ... you will unite two great powers. You will give us hope against the giants, and more importantly—against Gaea herself."
"You want us to help you," Jason said, "but you're holding back information."
"Yeah.. I would like my memory back please.. that would be nice.." Bryce continued.
"Giving you answers would make those answers invalid," Hera said. "That is the way of the Fates. You must forge your own path for it to mean anything. Already, you three have surprised me. I would not have thought it possible ..."
The goddess shook her head. "Suffice to say, you have performed well, demigods. But this is only the beginning. Now you must return to Camp Half-Blood, where you will begin planning for the next phase."
"Which you won't tell us about," Jason grumped. "And I suppose you destroyed my nice storm spirit horse, so we'll have to walk home?"
"Fuck no.." Alyssa muttered. "I'm not doing that."
Hera waved aside the question. "Storm spirits are creatures of chaos. I did not destroy that one, though I have no idea where he went, or whether you'll see him again. But there is an easier way home for you. As you have done me a great service, so I can help you—at least this once. Farewell, demigods, for now."
The world then seemingly turned almost upside down, and Piper almost blacked out from it.
When she could see straight again, she was back at camp, in the dining pavilion, in the middle of dinner. They were standing on the Aphrodite cabin's table, and Piper had one foot in Drew's pizza. Sixty campers rose at once, gawking at them in astonishment.
Whatever Hera had done to shoot them across the country, it wasn't good for Piper's stomach. She could barely control her nausea. Leo wasn't so lucky. He jumped off the table, ran to the nearest bronze brazier, and threw up in it—which was probably not a great burnt offering for the gods. Alyssa fainted from the nausea, and collapsed, caught by Bryce before she could hit the ground.
"Jason?" Chiron trotted forward. No doubt the old centaur had seen thousands of years' worth of weird stuff, but even he looked totally flabbergasted. "What—How—?"
The Aphrodite campers stared up at Piper with their mouths open. Piper figured she must look awful.
"Hi," she said, as casually as she could. "We're back."
Cue the questions galore.
- — - — - — -
Kronis' mangled body simply being tossed into Tartarus like he was a rag doll came as an absolute shock to his family - well, almost all of them. Gaea, Tartarus, and the other giants' faces morphed into ones of horror as Kronis came through a hole of darkness that temporarily opened into Tartarus long enough for Kronis' body to go flying through and land on the ground with a thud, with the replacement King laying on his back, too weak to even move. The hole closed just as body had hit the ground.
"Kronis!" Areti said, rushing forward alongside Polybotes to help him. In all the horror and panic, nobody noticed the bane of Ares/Mars, Damasen, simply huff from his position all the way in the back, observing the scene from a distance.
"Serves him right.." Damasen muttered. "Serves them all right."
"What happened? Who did this to you?" Areti asked Kronis.
Kronis did not respond.
Areti was mad, really mad right now.
"I'm going to find whoever did this to you, and when I do, I'll.." Areti said angrily, only to be interrupted by his gravely injured brother.
"Areti.. wait.." Kronis muttered weakly.
Areti came back over to Kronis' side, as Polybotes and Mimas propped him up.
"He's.. back. The.. Monster King." Kronis lost conscience as all of the other Giants, even Damasen too, went into a second round of shocked faces, and stared up the wall to where the hole into Tartarus had been, understanding now that Colton Reynolds - or rather what lurked inside of him - was even more of a threat than even they had first imagined.
- — - — - — -
On a distant hillside a few miles from the Wolf House, the Elite Guard all stood, facing east away from the battlefield. From a ground level view, they all stood there in the sunlight, with no planes or anything in view, just a pair of legs and feet made off of total darkness stepped into view. The Elite all turned and kneeled, with the wardens and Heralds on either side of the Elite kneeling too, with all the heads bowed. Asterios nearby raised up his hand, Kronis' massive sword right in it held up solely by the one hand Asterios had on the handle, a testament to the Warden's strength.
The pair of legs and feet walked over, and then a familiar hand with a distinctly visible gauntlet even with being made out of darkness grabbed the sword and took it out of Asterios' hand.
((** Monster King theme now starts playing here. Repeat as many times as needed. Ends at end of chapter. **))
The sky instantly turned into a thunderstorm out of nowhere as this happened, and lightning flashed and thunder boomed in the sky as the shadowy Monster King held up Kronis' sword with both hands over his head, a shot of the unnerving, bare white eyes of the shadow MK looking all malicious showing next.
The hands of the shadowy Monster King, one of the handle and the other near the end of the blade, now tugged on both ends very hard, pushing them downward and putting the sword under immense strain. Eventually, with a loud crack, it shattered in the middle, more lightning following as the shattered pieces in the middle flew into the air.
The shadow MK threw both halves of the sword away to either side, and raised both hands up into the air, beginning a long, malicious laugh. Thanks to the questers, it had succeeded in sending a message to Gaea. A very, grim message indeed.
Even with Colton Reynolds missing, it is foolish for them to think the Monster King's forces are simply just going to stop in their war against Porphyrion's rogue faction as well as assist the Olympian forces against Gaea.