Chapter 32:

Outer Heaven

Safe haven.

The land hidden from Olympus.

The final destination.

Elysium.

Heaven here in hell.

Percy let out a cracked laugh. It was funny, really. It made sense. Where else would the power of the gods be the weakest, then the stronghold of their once great enemy?

Mount Othrys loomed ominously in the distance, a crooked shadow admits the fog and fires of the battlefield below.
Percy had heard and thought about Elysium for far too long, without understanding what it was. Nico said it wasn't safe to say out loud, Khione thought it was funny not to tell him and Kampê refused to share her guesses. Percy knew it was supposedly the last safe place on earth, ironically named after the place in the underworld reserved for heroes. Now it was the name of Humanity's strongest fortress against the gods.

Percy let out another laugh. It was a cruel joke. All of this was a sick joke. He turned to face Kampê, to see if she felt the same indignation he felt, but the Jailer's expression was one of stone.

He turned to Nico, who had known all along. The son of hades shrugged. "It's the only place the gods can't see, can't teleport to or physically approach without being severely limited. Besides that it is a magical hotspot, there are several mortal military bases and other…" Nico paused for a second. "Factions of interest nearby."

The chopper swung violently for a brief second. Percy grabbed one of the straps hanging from the ceiling to keep his balance. They remained airborne and the pilot managed to stabilize the aircraft.

"Mount Othrys." Percy glared at the mountain. He briefly recalled the unbearable weight of the sky crushing down on him. Artemis and Atlas, locked in their deadly battle, Thalia and Luke fighting each other and Zoë who died that night while the horrible deadline crawled closer. That moment of doom seemed so far away now. Somehow, as twisted as it was, he was feeling strangely nostalgic.

Monsters swarmed around the mountain like vermin. A carpet of swirling maggots trying to penetrate the fortress. But Othrys fought back. Lights flashed through the sky. Bombs, Greek fire and an endless torrent of spears and missiles hailed from the sky, burning and evaporating anything that came too close to the mountain.

The earth cracked, groaned and heaved as the endless mass of monsters crept to the mountain like moths drawn to the flame. And like moths, they were set ablaze once they got too close.

Through magic still unknown to Percy, the helicopter managed to fly over this battlefield without falling prey to either side's furious battle for control.

"A month after Olympus declared war, they decided things were going too slow. They planned for us to be wiped out within a month, but we didn't fall that easily. So they took more drastic measures." Nico nodded at the mountain. "See there, drastic measures; if the sky falls, all of North America would be gone instantly. Most likely the rest of the world would soon fall after."

Percy shuddered.

"The Olympians devised a plan to bring down the sky. But they were too late. The enemy, we, had already planned for this occasion. We had already fortified Mount Othrys before the gods arrived. The place has always been a natural spot for the enemies of the gods to gather."

"The enemies…"

Kampê nodded. "The titan's influence on that mountain is still strong. It has both symbolic meaning and hides us from the gods."

"What about Alaska?"

Nico shook his head. "Everlasting winter broke out over there. Everything there has been turned into solid ice. Even monsters can't survive there."

Percy continued to look out of the side windows. It felt so strange, not just to fly but also to fly over a monster infested battlefield.

The earth looked utterly ravaged and broken. Artillery shells, acid, Greek fire, constant tremors and a thousand footsteps had effectively turned the landscape into something alien.

The closest thing Percy could relate it to was Tartarus.

Percy's demigod mind could still make out several details in the sea of chaos. He vaguely saw battle lines being drawn, defensive positions being lost or claimed. A legion of undead soldiers fighting an army of automatons, a panther tank shooting at a golden scaled dragon, a group of soldiers mowing down Dracaena while bleeding rose petals from their wounds. It was utterly chaotic and unhinged. This place was like a living nightmare.

"There's so many," Percy murmured. "How can there be this many?"

Every fight he had been in before paled in comparison with this theater. The Battle for Manhattan looked like a small skirmish, the Siege of Camp Half blood a prank. The closest thing that could compare was Tartarus, but even that wasn't a good comparison.

"It looks like Tartarus here, not Elysium," Kampê said, as if reading Percy's thoughts.

"We still manage. They still haven't penetrated the walls or the seals."

The chopper continued to pass over the battlefield unseen.

More strange details came to Percy; an army of shimmering shades in the shape of Roman legionnaires stormed across the battlefield. Strange humanoid rock creatures rose from the earth and began to throw boulders towards the mountain, most of them landed nowhere, but the ones that did toppled several monsters, he couldn't say which side they were on.

"Why are so many monsters fighting to defend Elysium? I understand some of them, but how did you convince the likes of those!" The helicopter passed a pack of Hellhounds that tore a Harpie apart.

"Some of them followed when their respective deities switched sides. Khione has a small army of storm spirits for example, others were negotiated with or have their own motivations. But in the end, it turns out, even monsters don't want the world to end completely."

Kampê smirked. "And it's most definitely more entertaining this way."

"Monsters fighting to save the end of the world," Percy scoffed. Will there be even a world left if we defeat the Olympians?

The helicopter continued to cut a path straight towards the mountain, its flight deceptively calm to the point it felt at odds with the weight of the situation.

Battles thinned out the closer they got to the mountain and devolved to mostly skirmishes, defense lines being built and the occasional monster penetrating through the lines, before they were quickly mauled down.

Percy spotted the remains of a beautiful garden. The flowers had been trampled long ago, the hundred headed dragon was gone, the tree was stripped bare of all its fruit and looked more akin to a claw stretching out of the ground than the bearer of infinite life. The Hesperides were nowhere to be seen. Maybe that was for the better, they would be devastated if they saw the ruined state of their garden.

Percy raised its eyes skyward. The mountain was closer now, he had never seen Othrys in its glory days but he imagined it looked like this.

The black marble rose from its rocky foundation and tore into the sky, mighty walls and a thousand archways both constructed and divided the different parts of the fortress. The entire thing was huge and made of many layers that rose up the closer they got to the central ring, where the palace's towers became skypiercers.

On top of the highest tower stood Atlas. No matter how far away he still was, Percy knew it was him instinctively. Above him the sky dipped low, as if yearning to touch the top of the mountain, and the only thing that prevented this loving embrace was the titan.

It was absolutely buzzing with life around the castle. The outer layers were being fortified, defended and watched. The beautiful palace was being turned into a terrifying fortress. Missile systems similar to the one he had seen in Whitefall were mounted on top of the towers. Magical symbols floated in the air, planes landed and took off for missions. Everyone was working on something.

"Almost…" Nico bit his lip in anticipation, his eyes were fixed on the landing platform near one of the palace's bridges. "We're so close, I just need to get him there in one piece."

Of course, with hope burning this bright, a shadow would be cast inevitably and the gods, no matter how weak their influence was here, wouldn't allow for hope to exist here.

An animalistic growl resounded across the battlefield. The red coloured sky darkened. A shadow was cast upon Elysium, as if the sun had gone out and the battles stopped for a brief moment. Everyone looked up.

The sky had seemingly vanished, but that wasn't right. The sky couldn't just vanish like that.

Percy's jaw dropped.

The size of the thing was impossible. Percy couldn't see all of the creature but only parts of it. The tail in the distance, sweeping through an entire area and tearing apart the riverbanks. The paw that had sunken into a crevice, the head and pointy ears that blocked the sun, the mouth that could most likely swallow the entire palace in a few bites.

For a few seconds the entire world had gone quiet.

"Teumessian Fox," Kampê whispered shakily.

The fox brought down its tail. A second later a hail of rocks, dust and blood followed. When the dust settled there was nothing left. Everything had been leveled.

The fox turned its gaze on the tiny chopper.

How were they even supposed to fight this? This wasn't fair.

The fox opened its maw wide and moved its head low, ready to snatch the helicopter out of the air.

A static white noise came from the chopper's radio, a voice he didn't recognize began to speak loudly. "The Pandora Protocol has been initiated!"

"Close your eyes!" Nico hissed before quickly covering his eyes with his hands. Around him everyone began to cover their eyes. Soldiers put on their goggles, even Kampê's little snakes closed their beady eyes. Percy followed their example and shut his eyes tight as well, the pressure he felt on his eyeballs made him see shapes and colors. He kept his eyes closed.

Seconds passed like this.

"The Pandora Protocol has been successful. Commence standard operations."

"You can open them," Nico finally said.

Percy opened his eyes, he looked out of the window, not sure what to expect.

The Teumessian Fox was still there, looming over the battlefield with its mouth hanging wide open, but it was no longer moving. The clock continued to move forward but it stayed completely still.

Percy noticed how the fox's body had become completely stiff.

The sound of a loud crack tore through the air. It was followed by another, and then another, and then the left leg broke off into pieces and came crashing down. Rocks and clouded the area in dust.

The cracks continued to spread from the broken off leg across the stone surface. They began to jump across the fox's body, fracturing the stone skin into tiny pieces that broke off and fell down. Then, the entire body came crashing down as the remaining stone legs could not carry the massive body anymore and gravity finally caught up with the statue.

Percy felt almost numb.

"She's back?" Kampê asked needlessly.

"Reformed just in time, luckily she's on our side." Percy felt Nico's eyes burn into his back. "She has a grudge, but is willing to put her differences aside. For now at least."

The helicopter finally came close enough to the castle and began to lower itself onto one of the platforms.

"These strange times brought us strange allies," Nico shot Percy a crooked grin. "Come on, they're dying to see you."

A/N I had this seen in my head for a while. This giant monster attacking Mount Othrys before becoming a huge statue and collapsing. While writing I usually work towards these scenes I have inside my head and try to write them into a form I can share them with other people.

Also, I have a discord. Check my profile.

See you later!

-CaptainMoonShine-