Chapter Fourteen (Home Is Where The Heart Is)

Quick Disclaimer.

This story gets a lot more intense from this chapter onwards. I'll be putting a disclaimer at the top from now on for that reason.

When there are whispers in the dark be sure to find some light because you never really know what lingers in the night…

Percy

The soft descent of a leaf sent ripples through the small pond before me.

I smiled softly as the leaf trickled past my eyesight but never left my senses. I wiggled my submerged toes, beckoning the leaf to drift back to where I could see it. Just as the leaf reappeared, I felt a sudden shift on my chest. Letting my eyes trail to the black mess of hair that spooled over me, my smile widened.

Chrysilla let a small groan escape her lips. The sound melded into the symphony of songs from the birds in the canopy. I felt myself droning out once more as the serenity of my surroundings seemed to send soft whispers urging me to the realm of Hypnos.

"I know it's been a month, but I can't stop thinking about the book."

I felt her chin press lightly into my chest, snapping my attention to her sharp grey eyes. There was a certain weight that they seemed to carry these days. An, almost, out of place sadness which lingered perpetually regardless of whatever attempts I made to alleviate her of it.

"There's so much more that you can focus on from that month instead though."

I let my eyes trail upwards to the warm white clouds which shielded my eyes from the harsher rays of light. My head rested gently against the collection of pebbles which had collected around the pond.

I heard her sigh before she shifted so that she was laying her cheek against my chest.

"Yeah, the decrease in monster attacks has been great... I just can't stop thinking about the book."

I let a moment of silence hang in the air as I pulled a thin layer of water from the pond. It formed a delicate sheet between the pebbles and the back of my head.

"What about the command tent?"

I heard another sigh, followed by her shifting to rest her other cheek on my chest at my prodding.

"Yes, the command tent has helped us tremendously in making progress with the books. But that just reminds me of the one book we didn't manage to get our hands on."

I chuckled slightly at the growing annoyance in her voice.

"You know what really amazes me about you?"

She paused for a moment as I let the question hang.

A gentle breeze washed through the leaves. The chirping of the birds was lost in the swaying and rustling of leaves. They quickly returned to their singing the moment the trees began to still once more.

Chrysilla shifted so that her hands were on my chest, and she pressed her chin on top of them.

"I'd love to hear all of the things."

The water beneath my head slowly pushed upwards so that I could make eye contact with her. The action caused her to shimmy down a bit to my stomach so that I could be more comfortable.

"You are truly, undeniably brilliant. You're so diligent with whatever work you take up for yourself, even though I think you should take a few more days off like today. You're perceptive, yet also aware enough to respect people's boundaries. You also care. So much more than you'd ever admit aloud, but you care."

She slid her lips to my stomach, hiding her cheeks behind her hands as she stared below my eyes. Hearing my spiel come to an end, she poked her lips over her hands and quickly offered, "Is that all the things?"

I chuckled at her as her bright red cheeks vanished under her hands once again.

"All that I have time to list right now."

"So, there's more?"

An odd hint of something danced across her eyes but vanished before I could identify it. My smile dimmed and her eyes widened slightly as she noticed it.

I let my eyes trail past her and onto the pond.

"You also have something to prove that's blocking you from being all of who you want to be."

I felt her tense under my words. Letting them linger, I let the water pull my head closer to the pebbled floor below.

"I don't know what it is, but you have nothing else to prove to me."

"Even though I lost that book?"

"Even though you lost that book."

"But why?"

"Because how are you going to start forgiving yourself if I don't forgive you?"

She went quiet for a moment.

"You're too kind for this world that we're living in."

I chuckled in response.

"I'm too kind for the both of them. Perks of being birthed by, quite literally, with absolutely no room for argument, the best of the best mortal women that Poseidon could have ever found."

Chrysilla laid her cheek against me once more. The sounds of the birds faded away as the forest lulled into a momentary silence. It didn't take long for her to interrupt the quiet.

"Do you ever regret the choices you've made?"

"Sometimes I regret the choices I haven't even made yet."

"So how do you make peace with it all?"

"I don't. I just focus on the things that make me happy in the moment instead. Like spending time with you like this. Away from being the leaders of the Vanguard and just being us. A couple of young adults who are trying to make a relationship work."

"Whenever you see Cassandra smile or when she jumps at you for you to catch her."

I smiled softly, "When you make a huge breakthrough in your work and can't wait to tell us."

She went silent, though I felt her relax a little more.

Suddenly, her face left my chest and a strange void formed in the pit of my stomach. It was filled just as quickly as she repositioned herself such that she was straddling me.

"You need to go easier on me, Percy Jackson. I don't think I can afford to fall any more in love with you."

"Don't you go about setting up cheesy responses!"

I propped myself up on my elbow as she threw her head back and laughed, her hands gripping my shirt tightly. I let my hands slip to either side of her hips to hold her steady as her laughter slowly died down.

She let her broad grin meet my crooked one.

"How about we just be happy in this moment instead of talking about regrets?"

"Who said I wasn't already happy?"

She groaned, despite her smile remaining glued to her face, as she closed the distance and met my lips with her own.

There was a sudden shift in the air.

My eyes slowly opened, narrowing as the oppressive aura continued to grow thicker around me. I tried to sit upright, but Chrysilla's prone form resisted the movement.

I clicked my teeth as I felt a spark of irritation threaten to grow into something larger. Taking a deep breath, I let myself calm down. The soft trickling of water as it rippled in response to my mood provided a soothing enough white noise to my meditation.

A few seconds later, I felt in control of the strikingly sudden emotion.

"Chrysilla…"

I let my voice flow softly in a whisper as I gently nudged her shoulder. I stared at her unmoving form for a moment before I placed a hand on her cheek.

"Chrysilla."

I could feel the irritation begging to be released from my containment, but I ignored it. Instead, I gently began rubbing soft circles against her cheek. After another failed attempt to manoeuvre out of her hold, I pulled at a small ball of water from the pond.

"Chrysilla!"

There was an underlying edge to my whisper that surprised me. I quickly let the shock of my sudden short temper fade as I dropped the ball of water onto her face.

She let go a gasp as she shot upright. I quickly freed myself from her and pulled myself to my feet as I willed the water on her to dissipate.

"What the-"

"We need to get back to camp now."

Her mouth hung open as she stared at me for a moment before she quickly nodded and rose to her feet.

"What's going on?"

I had already begun walking towards camp when I heard her question from behind. I paid it no mind, not willing to be caught up in a string of questions to justify her rude awakening. There was a sudden rush of footsteps as she ran to catch up to me.

"Why'd you wake me up like that?"

I glanced at her, "Because you wouldn't wake up."

She scoffed at the response.

"Look," I started before she could push the conversation further, "There's a god at camp. One that instils a lot of anger. I'm doing my best to stay calm, and I need silence to do that. I can understand how put off you might be about all of this, but I'm literally doing my best to not level the entire forest around us!"

She stuttered in her step as the floor trembled slightly under my, now, barely kept rage. She seemed to want to say something but thought better of it. A few moments later, she slipped her hand into mine and squeezed tightly. I felt the rush of rage ebb ever so slightly as we continued to walk towards the campsite.

"Percy! Ares is here!" I clicked my tongue as Jordon's voice confirmed my suspicion moments before I entered the clearing.

"That's Lord Ares to you, punk!"

I bit back a growl at the sound of his voice. I pulled my hand free of Chrysilla's in favour of grabbing hold of Riptide in my pocket.

I squinted slightly as I stepped out from the treeline. The sun was beating down on us and the temperature seemed startlingly high in the presence of the War God. I paid said god little mind as I let my eyes take stock of my Vanguard.

I felt my eyebrow rise in confusion as the numbers didn't seem right.

"What's the matter, kid? Cat got your tongue?"

I ignored the words, instead staring questioningly at Adrian. Ares grunted at my lack of acknowledgement.

"You won't even ask where I sent some of your precious little Vanguard? Or did you forget that you are the Vanguard of Olympus?"

I took a shaky breath as I narrowed my eyes questioningly at the son of Athena. He nodded slightly, seemingly unable to speak as his head lowered to the floor. I took another breath as I stepped closer to the god. Once again, I took stock of my numbers, this time to identify the missing individuals.

"I'm going to pretend that you didn't get my father's message." My eyes continued to trail over my current members instead of the deity before me as I continued to step closer to him.

The god of war let out a booming laughter that fuelled the burning fires of rage which roared within me.

"You think your dad could sway the will of the council? I can't believe your increased intellect was being lorded on high!"

I stood still and closed my eyes as I took another breath.

Marc's squad, bar Zina, Adrastea, Kerwin and Cassandra were all absent.

"Where are they?"

"You're going to have to put some more res-"

I reached out to the vapour in the air and forced the temperature to plummet. Opening my eyes, I let them rest on the stunned face of the war god. His flaming orbs within his eye sockets were still blocked by a pair of shades. Instead of his usual leather jacket which he typically donned in the mortal world, he wore his full battle armour. A massive bastard sword was plunged into the earth as he leaned easily on the pommel.

"Where. Are. They?"

Ares stared at me appraisingly for a few seconds before a wicked smirk appeared on his lips.

"We received word from Hades' alive brat that there were suspicious movements of monsters in the Underworld. They found a passageway that leads to Overworld hidden away in a massive tunnel system. We considered issuing a quest to take care of it, but why would we interrupt the construction of New Greece when we can send our very own Vanguard to handle this for us?"

I slowly pulled Riptide from my pocket.

Ares' hand tightened around the hilt of his sword as his smirk deepened.

"Percy!"

I turned to my right to see Cassandra bounding towards me with a massive grin on her face. I felt the sudden wave of anger dispel as the girl launched herself at me. Her soft giggles filled the air as I held her close for a moment, almost sighing in relief at her presence.

After a few moments longer, I placed her gently onto the floor.

"What's up, Cassie?"

Her eyes all but glowed as shook her arms in front of her and squealed in delight.

"Oh right! I found the cutest little bunny rabbit just now! Can I keep it?"

I chuckled lightly at the exuberant energy of the young girl. Deciding to at least put up a fight, I played with the light stubble on my chin.

"Do you have it with you?"

She froze up as she stared at her empty arms. Her eyes lost a bit of its light as she gave me a pout with an, equally, heart-breaking pair of sad eyes.

"I forgot to bring it with me."

I chuckled lightly as I gently patted the top of her head.

"If you can find it again and you still want it you can keep it."

"You promise?"

I nodded at her, and her sadness was cured in an instant. She smiled widely at me before giving me a big hug and uttering a string of repeated 'thank you'. She quickly untangled herself from the embrace and darted back towards the forest, past the War God.

As she slipped past him, I noticed that the temperature had settled back to its norm. A gentle breeze trickled past me as the melodious sounds of the birds chirping sought to serenade my ears.

"Tyche's kid, huh?"

My smile persisted even as I regarded him with a nod. Ares tsked under his breath, his sword slipping back into the earth as he leaned against it once more.

"And here I thought you had shit luck."

I was about to respond but then I felt a shaky hand slip into mine. I turned and saw a pale-faced Chrysilla staring at me in fright. I squeezed her hand reassuringly as I shifted my gaze back to Ares as the budding bubbles of irritation began to fester once more.

The god shifted his burning eyes to Chrysilla. She stilled instantly as his shielded orbs of flame bore down on her. I could see the wicked smirk which tugged at his lips, and I instantly began to move forward to try and gain control of the situation.

"You might despise us for what we do and how we operate, Percy. But sometimes it's the children of the gods that are the most devious; isn't that right, child of Athena?"

Chrysilla shook more viciously in response as she seemed unable to stare away from the piercing gaze of the god before her. I quickly stepped in front of her and pulled at Riptide's cap.

"Ah Ah Ah, young Percy Jackson. Would you like to kn-"

"Lord Ares!" All eyes shifted to Crystal. The daughter of Hermes was trembling even more than Chrysilla and her eyes couldn't budge from the floor. Yet she found the resolve to speak. "I… I'd like to join… the mission with your children…"

Ares regarded her with genuine curiosity before a stiff bark of laughter rumbled out of his mouth.

"Ah, Hermes spawn. Spawn of the god of thieves. Deceitful bunch you often turn out to be… Or was it cunning? Sometimes it's hard to differentiate the two. Especially when you all seem to walk the same path…"

"Ares…"

I uttered my warning; the final ounces of my patience being tested.

The god turned to face me, faltering for a moment as he could see just how close to the brim my rage had come. He seemed to want to test me, to push it over the edge but the flames of the Hearth roared to life behind the god.

He tsked to himself. "You need to be mindful of your surroundings the next time we meet. I can always catch you away from the sea."

I narrowed my eyes at him, tempted to give him a taste of my growing powers. I bit back the feeling as Chrysilla's hand clenched mine tighter.

"And you need to be mindful of my titles."

The god of war scowled at the implication, but a deep rumbling of thunder stilled his tongue. Without another word, he left.

I glanced around at the remaining members of the Vanguard, most of whom had collapsed into panting heaps on the floor.

"Adrian and Chrysilla. You're in charge. I need to go blow off some steam." I stared at both of them until they nodded in confirmation. I pulled my hand from Chrysilla's and turned towards the forest.

As I drew nearer to the treeline, I called over my shoulder, "And I better come back to the same numbers I left here. Even if a primordial rises again!"

Marc

I stood idly by as I watched over the training of my group.

These days, the structure of training sessions had become much more fluid as there had been a decrease in monster attacks. This meant that we were given more leeway to train with other members of other groups in case we were separated from our bunch. Today I was joined by Adrastea and Kerwin, while Zina sat this out in favour of training with her abilities.

"Stop!" I barked at Kerwin. My younger half-brother paused, staring at me in confusion as he lowered his polearm.

"You're too tentative of a fighter, little brother."

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

I stood before him, raising his polearm slightly.

"You prefer to sit back on the defensive and cover yourself. That's not how my group operates."

He baulked slightly, his brows furrowing further in confusion.

"So, you guys just rush into your death?"

I chuckled.

"No, we operate on pure attack. Create an opening to either allow one of yours to fill it and begin to overwhelm the enemy or for you to see who needs help the most. Our offence is our defence."

"And what if that is compromised by overwhelming odds?"

"We die with pride."

"Does… Does Percy approve of this?"

I turned to Adrastea with a nod and a small smile.

"The Vanguard needs to be dynamic. If each squad is more or less the same, then they can be countered the same. If one squad dies, the same tactics should never be applicable for the enemy to wipe out another."

I paused at the incredulous look they shared.

"Look. You all should know that each group was meticulously decided. Ours has two insanely powerful demigods, me, and Zina. Two strengths of a different nature obviously. We're both extremely good at creating space up close. Jerome is incredibly sneaky and quick on his feet. Teucer is insane with his bow and can cover for us at a distance. Helen is a great mixture of the two. As a well-oiled unit, Teucer covers for Zina and I, while Jerome creates a distraction around Teucer. Helen focuses on the enemies around Teucer from a reasonable distance since Jerome is directly defending him. That way, Teucer can direct her to either assist us or, using her own judgement, she can step in with her arrows as a melee to assist Jerome."

Kerwin whistled lowly.

"Adrian's squad is nothing like that."

"Percy's is kind of similar."

Marc nodded.

"That's because there are two main ideologies of war. Offence or Defence. Our teams are built to meet the specifications of the leader's ideals. While my group is much more a bunch of individuals working as a unit, Percy's focus is on a unit working on individual objectives."

I could see the confusion on their faces.

"My team creates space to help if need be. Percy's group function and dynamic is to continuously be close to each other. In my group, Teucer is important because he can send Helen after me to reign in my bloodlust when it grows too thick and I stray from the group. Therefore, taking Teucer out of the equation would be the biggest initial loss for my group. It's like hiding the king in plain sight. In Percy's group, taking out Percy would be the biggest loss. But to get to Percy, you'd have to get through at least three of his members. Even then, Percy could be considered the Queen, so in this analogy that wouldn't even guarantee success."

Adrastea nodded in confirmation and understanding while Kerwin grunted.

"It's a good thing we have the children of Athena to think of things like that for us."

I chuckled again.

"The base idea was Percy's."

I saw the shock dance across the faces of everyone here.

"He had this all planned out before ever leaving camp. He ran through the ideas with Chiron and prepped for weeks, maybe even months, before our trials."

"I don't know how to feel about Percy being that strong and actually smart. That seems like a really unfair combination."

"He's been through two wars. Of course, he's going to be cautious and that's going to come across as smart."

Helen stepped forward from her training, which had stopped as the conversation drew on.

"So, what about Adrian's squad? Why do they work so defensively and what are their weaknesses?"

"Yeah, kid. What are their weaknesses?"

I turned my head instantly to see my dad. He leaned against the tree with a wicked smirk on his face.

"It's almost a shame that I came too late to hear the weaknesses of the other groups, but I wouldn't mind hearing about them all."

I stepped forward, bowing as the rest of the present Vanguard did behind me.

"It's either we die with those secrets, or we die because of them, Father."

He gave a booming laugh in response.

"I can respect that. I can respect that a lot."

I felt his hand on my shoulder and I looked up to see him smiling down on me.

"I got a request for you and your little group."

"I can go get Percy, and you two can talk."

He tsked to himself.

"I much prefer it when the Greeks are disorganised. This whole chain of command is so Roman."

As he spoke, his form flickered slightly. He was about to say something else but paused and looked behind him.

"Stupid brat." He whispered under his breath before turning back to me "Unfortunately there isn't enough time."

"Father! What-"

"Look kid," he cut me off, "Orders from Olympus. Can't have your leader butt in and stop what needs to be done. The scroll will tell you what your mission is. This backpack should have the supplies you need. Good luck."

"Wait-"

The crushing weight of compression forced my eyes shut.

Nausea was, briefly, the only indicator that my father hadn't actually used his powers to smite me. It was quickly followed by the feeling of a hard floor beneath my boots.

I opened my eyes, swivelling my head as I was met by the same darkness from behind my eyelids.

"Report!"

My voice cut through the quiet, bouncing off the walls on either side of me. So, we were inside a construct of some form.

"I'm here!"

I heard Helen's voice.

"Present."

Jerome's voice swirled with the ebbing sound of Helen's. The mingling of other confirmations drowned my senses as they were corralled off of the pen of the walls. Giving up on trying to locate those around me based on their voices, I hummed lightly.

"Let's get some light!"

"On it!" Jerome responded instantly.

A few seconds later, a torch of Greek fire was held in the hands of the son of Hermes. We all gathered closer to the son of Hermes like moths to a flame. I felt Helen's shoulder brush mine as she stood close to my right. Adrastea let a little space form between us on my left. We had formed a sort of circle with Jerome's torch burning on the floor between us.

"What's the plan from here?"

My gaze shifted towards Kerwin. His usual caramel skin shone an odd hue against the green light which it bathed in. His confident brown eyes met mine and I nodded at my little brother.

I quickly shrugged off the backpack, which had magically found its way on my back, and set it before me. Careful to keep the fabrics from the eternal flames, I slipped my hand into the bag. I paused as the cool touch of glass kissed my skin from within the depths of the bag. Applying far more care, I sifted through the containers until I brushed past the grainy texture of the scroll.

Staying crouched, I unfurled the scroll to let the green light illuminate the words. I scanned it quickly before passing it over to Helen as I stood up.

"It seems that we've been sent to a monster den."

I let the whispered words settle as the silence grew heavier with the increased apprehension that washed over the group. Once they stilled from the nervous shuffling and their eyes, filled with an edge of anxiety, shifted back to me, I continued.

"This is unlike what we have seen before. It seems to be a direct entrance from the underworld to the mortal world. We've been sent to the cave that houses the gateway and we've been tasked with sealing it shut."

There was another round of silence that followed. I felt my hand dart to the axe on my back as I saw Jerome's gaze dart behind him. The boy turned back to us; his eyes slightly widened until he saw that he had earned our readied attention. Quickly shaking his head, he played with the hilts of his daggers.

"Until we're out of this mess, I want you all to have your weapons drawn at all times. Understood?"

My words were not matched by my signal. My outstretched arm informed them to hold. I met each of their eyes, waiting for the natural urge to quickly draw their blades to fade away.

"Slowly. Draw you your weapons."

The low hissing of blades being freed from their sheaths was still enough to cause me to wince. Once their blades were freed, I rose to my feet and drew my own.

"How are we supposed to seal this place off?"

Teucer's voice was barely audible. Without the railing echo of the whisper, I might have had to ask him to repeat. Helen beat me to the punch in responding to him though.

"The bag contains a few glasses of explosives."

Everyone's eyes dropped to the bag as they subconsciously took a step back.

"Al.. alright. Sounds easy enough."

I nodded softly at Kerwin. I could only imagine the colour under the light of the green flame, but his grip was tight enough around his polearm for his hand to start whitening.

"Let's take stock of the situation quickly and create a better plan."

Everyone nodded, stepping closer to me once more. They stared, almost, desperately at me as they held onto their weapons. I couldn't blame them either. We didn't exactly have a great record when it came to missions without Percy's presence. The added fact that Percy had no real way of locating us only magnified that daunting fact.

"We're practically stranded." I started, letting my eyes meet each demigod before me. "Alone and disconnected from the Vanguard. That's how this all feels, right?"

They nodded slightly; the suddenness of the situation being thrown upon us weighing heavily on their shoulders.

"Do you all remember what we were talking about before my father came to us?"

"The purpose of each squad?"

I turned, nodding at Adrastea with a small smile. She seemed to be the most unaffected by the whole ordeal. Her eyes still strayed past me and into the darkness with anticipation, but where the others gripped their weapons with a tint of fear, she held her sword with confidence. She wasn't on edge; she was primed and ready for anything.

She showed all the signs of a survivor of the wars.

"Exactly," I let my gaze shift back to the members around me still inflicted by timidity. "This was planned for. We've been preparing for this. Percy may not be here right now, but his ideas, his plans, his preparation are. We are living entities of what he willed. We all have a part of his experiences and triumphs imbued into us. We are more than just individuals. We are one collective under Percy. We are the Vanguard."

I could see them perk up slightly at my softly spoken words.

"So, we're going to show the monsters that facing the Vanguard is the equivalent of facing Percy himself. We will stand strong and show the gods that the Vanguard is as resolute as Percy. We will show the world, today, that we are more than just some ragtag team put together without any drive. Without any ambition. Without any direction. Today we aren't cursed with being separated from Percy, we are blessed to be the first squad to achieve greatness in his stead!"

They leaned closer to me now, the heat of the flames licking away at their fear. Their eyes almost glistened with hope. With confidence. With Determination.

"So, what do we do first?"

Kerwin was barely keeping his voice low now. His eyes shone with a hunger to be bathed in monster blood.

"We make a quick Iris Message."

"To who?"

I flickered my gaze from Teucer to Adrastea, who had already begun answering.

"Percy!"

Suddenly a cold chill started up my spine.

Through the screen of the IM, glowing green orbs peered back at me, inquisitively. No, much more than that. There was a harsh intimidating edge which peeked through the curtains of his powerful eyes. One that dared me to step on his toes. To push him over the edge.

To give him a reason.

"Oh hey, Marc. What's up?"

I let go of a breath I wasn't holding as I shivered lightly. I hadn't realised how cold it was in the cave before.

"Oh nothing, just casually whisked away by my father to seal an entrance to the Underworld."

Percy scoffed lightly as he rolled his eyes playfully.

"Just a casual Tuesday then."

I chuckled at his words as I saw him step a little further from the IM. He spoke to someone at the side of the screen for a few moments before turning his attention back to me.

"Where are you all right now? I can probably make a beeline with the remaining heavy hitters we have and give you all some support."

I clicked my tongue at his query as my eye shifted back to the members of the Vanguard with me. I had noted that my particular lineup was a pretty solid one. As of right now, in terms of raw battle prowess and power, we were only missing Percy and Zina. It made me a little unsettled that the gods seemed to know this as well…

"That's going to be a bit of a problem…"

His eyes narrowed slightly at that.

"Marc! Monsters!"

"Fuck," I turned to see Adrastea pulling Kerwin away from a jab of a spear. "Percy, I got to go!"

"Marc…"

My eyes flickered back to Percy, my hand stilled from swiping through the message at the warning tone of the son of Poseidon.

"Put Adrastea on while you fight."

I nodded at him as I switched roles with my sister. I tugged at the back of her armour, earning a growl before I motioned her towards her squad leader. Her face instantly settled as she moved to converse with him.

I ducked low under another spear that was eager to skew Ares' children today. I dropped my axe to the floor under me, heaving upwards right before it could contact the floor and propelling its head towards the owner of the spear. The grotesque squelching of flesh being shredded by the blade of my axe brought a satisfied smile to my face.

"I prefer bathing in their blood rather than rending their skin. Still a good fetish, brother."

I grumbled a groan at Kerwin's jab before it gave way to the barely constrained chuckle.

"Why must you make everything sexual?"

"All's fair in love and war, dude. No better time to talk about sweet, sweet love than during battle!"

His polearm darted in front of me, stopping me from stepping into the waiting maw of a Hellhound, while also splitting the skull of a Dracaena.

"Why is it so dark?"

A body stepped in front of me. I placed a free arm on their back to hold them in place. The sound of an arrow thudded against the shield in their arm. I grunted my appreciation as they twirled to my left, letting Kerwin fill the gap and close the distance on the attacker before they could reload.

"A Cyclops picked up the original flame and ran with it. The remaining light is from flames that spilled out of his grip."

I hummed at Helen as she discarded the borrowed shield and notched an arrow.

"That's admittedly very badass."

"That our light source got stolen while most of the enemy can see in the dark?"

"It's Greek Fire! Isn't his hand going to be permanently covered in the flames now? Or is he going to cut it off?"

Helen paused mid-notch and looked at me.

"Alright, I can admit that it's pretty badass."

I grinned at her, but our moment was short-lived as Adrastea nudged me in the back. I quickly took a step away from Helen and found myself standing before Percy once again.

"Alright, Marc. I have a vague idea of where you guys are now."

"What? How?"

Percy ignored my question.

"I'll rally up the forces and begin moving towards you all. You handle things on your end. The moment you're out of the cave, IM us and we'll rush to you. There's no chance that you're getting out of this without meeting a shitload of resistance."

I nodded at the older boy who muttered something under his breath about the gods. I immediately let it slip from my mind, not willing to even think about it.

"Don't worry, Perce. I'll keep them in check."

The son of Poseidon nodded his head at Adrastea, earning an eyebrow raise from me.

"Hello, squad leader two here!"

"Can't be the leader of a squad if they're all dead."

Percy's words brought me back to reality with a startling crash. I stared back at the remnants of the fighting as the last of the monsters were being killed, while another fire was being set up. I had slipped back into my joking mood to ease the tension of the group here, but that would mean little to nothing for Percy who must be feeling powerless however many miles away he was.

And there was no ocean for him to draw enough power from to teleport. Or force his essence here. Or whatever it was that he did the last time.

"I'm taking this very seriously, Percy. That's all I meant."

He stared at me for a few long moments before sighing.

"I know you are. I trust you to take care of your squad. Adrastea is under your orders completely once this IM is gone so don't worry about that. Just… just do your best."

I nodded again; my mood further dampened by the weight of the sombre exchange. I could see that Percy truly believed in us, but we all knew we were far from battle-ready. Percy was desperately trying to enforce certain tactics and techniques, and to allow each squad the chance to grow. But the missions for the gods had been taking its toll on everything.

There were the sparks of whispers that began to ruminate over the failings of squad three and four without Percy's presence. Doubt was seeping into the group before being given a fair test, and Percy had bet it all on us. This meant everything to him, and the gods were treating it as they did all things of the mortals; beneath them.

"We've been learning from the best. We might be a little scrappy, but we'll make it through in the end."

Percy gave me a once over before cracking a smile at me.

"Try your best not to blow up an entire mountain then."

"No promises, boss."

The soft sound of his laughter filled the cavern as the IM faded away.

I turned back to the group, who had been staring at me by the replacement fire.

"You heard the man," I started as I moved to Teucer who held my bag firmly in his hands. I gently took it from the boy and strapped it on myself. "Let's fuck it up and fuck right off!"

"What did you see?"

Helen's soft voice floated in the air, drawing my attention towards who held her own.

"I managed to track the Cyclops with the Greek flames back towards its horde. They were being led by that Queen Dracaena, and they were heading somewhere."

I nodded at Teucer. Unsure if he could see my signal in the low light, I decided to be vocal.

"That's something. At the very least we can take care of those monsters, best case they lead us to the gateway to Hades."

A shiver ran down my spine at the mention of the god of the Underworld.

"We should be mindful of that Dracaena. It seemed smarter than the rest, and I got the feeling like she knew I was watching her."

"Queen Sess."

I turned to Adrastea, who sneered at the floor for a moment.

"That's Queen Sess. A nasty monster really. Not much in terms of raw strength, but a crafty one for sure. It's always the crafty ones you have to be careful with."

I stepped closer to her.

"Do you have any advice?"

Adrastea stared at me for a moment before sighing.

"Our best bet is to probably rush her little group."

I hummed lightly as Jerome snorted.

"Oh yeah, let's just rush the group of monsters that you just said we need to be wary of!"

"I'm game."

Jerome scoffed at Kerwin's contribution, motioning towards us in a gesture that suggested that my brother had proved his point.

"See! If he agrees, then we know for sure it's a bad idea!"

Kerwin smacked him on the arm, causing the son of Hermes to bite his lip to hold in his pain.

"I'm agreeing with her because Teucer said that he felt like his position was compromised. If they know that we're here, it's not about who makes the first move, but rather who dictates the first move."

"Come again?"

I chuckled at Jerome's exaggeration of Kerwin's concrete logic. My brother rolled his eyes.

"If they know that we're coming, they're going to use all the time they can to prepare for us."

"So, it makes sense for us to ambush them before they can gain a major advantage like reinforcements or setting up a trap in a favourable position. Yeah, I got what you meant. I just didn't think you got what you meant."

Jerome quickly darted behind Teucer and away from the fists of Kerwin.

"Hey! I'm just saying that you aren't typically the most present in any strategic meetings. Don't blame me for not knowing you're a secret war nerd…"

Jerome paused, slipping out from behind Teucer.

"I… I can see how stupid that sounds and I'm just going to shut up now."

I chuckled while Adrastea huffed beside me in agitation at the whole parlay.

"Moving forward." Helen quickly interjected before Kerwin could stoke another argument. "We should get going. We can't afford to waste any time if we're moving under the idea that it's of the essence."

Adrastea grunted her approval before she said, "Especially not on calling out a child of Ares for knowing a thing or two about war."

I heard Kerwin's laughter mingle with my own as we slipped into two files and began following Teucer's lead.

"I know Ares and his kids are good at the stabby killy part of war. Never really thought thinking was also something in your arsenal."

"It's not." I steeled my voice to quell the jokes. I knew he was just trying to lighten the mood, but I needed everyone to be focused. "We'll discuss our intellect when we're out of here. Let's focus on doing the killy stabby part of the mission for now."

I heard a small smattering of light chuckles before they faded away into the sound of our footsteps against the cavern floor.

"Wait!"

The files stopped instantly. The quiet of the cave roared in my ears as my instincts began to flare within me. I gripped my axe tighter, slipping the blade into a ready position in front of me. I heard the breath of Helen beside me dissipate as the soft pulling of her strings replaced it. The ripple of readiness trickled down the file as I stepped into the middle and made my way to Teucer's side.

I glanced at the small gathering of monsters. Queen Sess stood nervously in the middle of the group. They seemed to form a protective wall around her as her eyes darted around the room uneasily.

"It seems you were right. You were noticed."

Teucer cursed under his breath but I quickly placed my free hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. You reported it, and we planned around it. You did great. Now filter back into position."

The boy nodded, slipping behind me as I stepped in to fill his spot. Shifting my gaze to Adrastea, I nodded at her. She stared back at me for a moment before nodding as well. I turned to Teucer behind me and pointed to the left, while Adrastea did the same with her file in the opposite direction.

Not waiting to see him relay the order, I began to count down from three, my fingers extended for Adrastea to see.

I let my eyes scan the room as my first finger dropped. Two other pathways lead to this chamber. One held a deep darkness which seemed to set my senses alight with the urge to retreat hastily.

My second finger dropped. The other passageway seemed to be brighter than the other one, certainly brighter than the one we had come from. If things were to go to shit, that would be the exit I'd choose.

My third finger dropped.

I slipped into the open and heaved my axe over my shoulder to the right. I quickly dropped the edge across the floor, creating a shower of sparks and sending dust and loose rocks towards the monster gathering. They shifted their gaze towards us, and the first two arrows were let loose through the brief cover.

I quickly made my way to the left of the improvised smokescreen, flanking the monsters that were rattled by the spontaneous attack. Two more fell to the rapid firing of my archers.

My axe severed the head of an Empousa as the dust began to disperse. On the other flank, Adrastea had also claimed her first kill, a Hellhound.

I kicked at a rushing Cyclops, pushing it back and letting Jerome slip past me. The son of Hermes slipped a dagger into its knee before stepping back quickly and kicking the handle. The Cyclops roared in agony as the blade sliced its joint and caused it to collapse. I quickly slipped past Jerome, letting my Axe split the creature's skull as the son of Hermes retrieved his dagger and searched for another victim.

An arrow sailed past my head. The sound of a whimpering hound where the projectile had flown off drew my attention. I put the creature out of its misery with a quick swing of my axe before I was accosted by a Telkhine.

"You know, I'm getting really tired of having to face the same monsters over and over!"

I grunted as I stepped away from a thrust from an interjecting Dracaena.

"Hey now!" I said as I grabbed the shaft of the spear with my free hand, "Wait your turn!" I pulled the spear free from its grip and slammed the butt of the weapon into its skull. I turned back to see the Telkhine with its sword raised above its head and quickly stepped back into it. The spear slid easily into its lower abdomen before I let it go and turned my attention back to the Dracaena. My axe hit the welt I had created against its forehead with great precision. I didn't stop to appreciate my accuracy, however. Instead, I turned and kicked backwards at the butt of the spear, driving it all the way through the Telkhine which dropped to its knees in shock.

A flaming hand rested on top of the creature's head, causing it to scream in pain as its head was eaten away by the green flames.

"Okay, now that's pretty fucked up!"

I heaved my axe free from the Dracaena and pivoted to face the Cyclops. It bared its yellowish teeth at me in a heinous grin. I backpedalled as it pushed the head of the Telkhine aside. How was I supposed to get past its hands which burned an eternal flame, especially when I had a few explosive canisters strapped to my back?

"Marc! Look out!"

I was broken out of my stupor by the weight of another body slamming into my side. I hit the ground and rolled quickly, scrambling to my feet as panic erupted in my chest. The canisters of Greek flames! The bombs that were in my bag! The entire bag had been nicked off of me!

My eyes darted around me until they landed on the sight of Queen Sess scrambling towards the lighter exit. The creature spun around at me, giving me a vicious grin as it slithered out of sight.

"Behind you, you big oaf!"

Adrastea's hand pushed me to the side. I felt the hairs on my chest singe as a wave of heat erupted near my chest. A stinging sensation quickly followed as a blade was dragged up the right side of my hip to my shoulder.

Jerome pulled my shirt off of my body, before chucking the burning fabric at an opportunistic Hellhound. The hound gave a startled cry as the green flames slipped into its throat and began burning it from the inside.

I winced lightly as I got to my feet. Adrastea had already cut off the burning appendages of the Cyclops and had begun to take its feet from it as well.

"If." The left leg was separated.

"You." The right leg was separated.

"Ever!" A slash across the stomach.

"Touch!" A slash across the chest.

"My!" A slash downward to connect the two.

"Brother!" Another slash.

"Again!" Another slash.

Adrastea stood panting heavily as she stood over the mutilated and barely breathing creature.

"I'll come straight to Tartarus and rip you apart myself." She spat at the creature before driving her sword into its head.

Adrastea caught her breath and turned back at us who were staring at her wild eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath and quickly composed herself.

"I lost too many siblings in the wars. I refuse to lose another after them."

I nodded, but I couldn't help the smile which began forming on my lips.

"The bag!"

My smile evaporated as I turned to the exit Queen Sess had taken.

"The Dracaena took it from me and ran this way!"

I picked up my axe and was about to give chase when Helen stood in front of me to stop me. Her eyes stared at the slash on my torso worriedly, but she paid it no mind with what she said.

"What if that's a trap?"

I clicked my tongue.

"We're going to have to take that chance!"

I turned to Teucer who was staring at the darker entrance. He slowly turned, his eyes still peering into the eerie wall of darkness as he started to jog. He pushed past Jerome; his eyes wild as they turned to me.

"Something is coming! We… We need to leave now!"

His fingers dug into the opening of my wound as I held him in place for a moment.

"Everyone, start to move!"

They all took up their things and began moving towards the exit Queen Sess had taken while I pulled Teucer with me.

"Hey! Hey! Look at me! Here, my eyes! Focus on my voice!"

The boy tore his gaze from the darkness and stared at me. Tears were streaming down his face as I continued to pull him towards the others.

"I'm going to get you out of here, okay?"

He nodded, closing his eyes, and holding onto me tightly.

"Jerome!" The son of Hermes was by my side in an instant. "Take his weapons."

"No! I need them!"

I pulled his arms away from his bow and quiver and nodded at Jerome.

Grunting slightly, I threw the boy over my shoulder so that his head was facing in front of me.

"Don't you worry, Teucer. I got you!" I called in between breaths as I ran and caught up with the rest of the group who had slowed down.

A loud thump rattled the cave.

"Don't any of you dare slow the fuck down now!"

I pushed past the group, pulling Helen who had frozen in fear with me as I saw Adrastea do the same with Jerome.

"Run now! Just run!"

The cave shuddered as small cracks formed on the walls around us… I could see the cracks! There was light!

"Dad, save me!"

Teucer called out as the light seemed to brighten considerably. The boy instantly relaxed in my arms, his weight lightening as he sighed and drifted into a slumber. Thanking Apollo silently, I followed the guidance of the light.

A loud laughter resounded behind us.

The sound shook my bones and beckoned my bowels to move. I bit my lip tightly as tears sprung to my eyes at the mere sound of the creature behind me. My vision began swimming as the light seemed to fade away under the presence of whatever it was that had emerged from the Underworld.

"Run!" I felt my throat seize up, my voice cracking under the force of my scream as I pushed on, "Run back to Percy!" I blinked away the tears, "Run back to Cassandra!" I stumbled slightly and felt my body collide with another. They pushed against me, pushing me up as we ran together. "Back to Adrian and Chrysilla! Back to everyone! Back to the Vanguard! Back Home!"

I felt a strong pair of hands hold me in place. It took everything in me to not break free from their ironlike grip and continue running.

"That's cute!"

I didn't even realise my eyes were closed! I forced them open, wincing at the harsh light which beamed into them.

The cave shuddered once more, and I fought the urge to look behind me.

I blinked a few times, and my vision began to clear up.

"What's the matter? You bunch are usually far chattier."

The form of Queen Sess stood before me, the bag was emptied and all but one canister was spread out before her. The last was held in her hands.

Words swirled around in my head as the retorts danced in and out of my mind. Fear pooled and controlled the very essence of my being. My instincts roared at me to get out of the cave, to burn to death before facing whatever it was that had begun chasing us. Slowly my mind shifted back to Teucer's plea, and the copied utterance pulled my lips apart.

"Unlike you pathetic fucking stains of this dirt, we choose to die with actual dignity! Without bitching and weeping!"

Queen Sess tutted at Helen, who was at my side. I blinked in shock as I realised that it was her that I almost fell on. She was the one who bore my weight to help carry Teucer and myself away from whatever it was behind us.

Her body quivered. Was it from the… No. It must be the weight of the mons… I mean me. My weight.

"Hmph. Pretty bold coming from the group of demigods that smell like piss and shit."

The world rumbled around us. Garbled growls and wispy whispers seeped into the world behind us. The air grew thick and heavy, a weight that was so familiar yet unfamiliar all at the same time.

"Fuck you, you old hag ass skanky bitch ass cunt!" Teucer cried out suddenly. He suddenly sprang from my shoulder, causing me to lurch forward as he grabbed his bow from the stunned Jerome. "I'll show you shit and piss!"

The arrow was flung from his bow far slower than I could have expected.

It was here.

The presence.

I could feel it peering down at me. Its eyes stared at me as though I were less than a plaything. Some meaningless scum meant only to be disposed of.

A morbid curiosity took hold of me, begging to know what my end would be, while what little remnant of control I had over myself begged to remain unaware.

My head slowly turned closer to the presence, its weight growing heavier and heavier as I felt the air slip free from my compressed lungs.

A flare of light enveloped me like a flashbang. My eyes shut closed as the heat swarmed my skin. I reached out and grabbed Helen before I lost consciousness.

A/N: Okaayyyy Let's go!

It is currently very late o'clock when I've completed this chapter and boy was it a ride. In many ways, this is the most intense piece I think I've created. A lot of these scenes were written at different times and days, so I need to do a final read to make sure it flows properly while editing out any little grammatical errors that stayed in along the way.

It's now the first of December, in the wee early morning, and I plan to finish up the next chapter, so you all have four chapters to read this month. Hopefully it'll also give me enough time to write the next four chapters for the month after that.

As of writing this right now, we are running out of chapters for this story. I've been holding out on saying that for a while, but we are rapidly approaching the end. I won't say exactly how many chapters are left, unless I get asked, but yeah.

Anyway... I just needed to put all of that out there, if you read the AN then I appreciate you a little more than the other readers ;) That being said, I really hope you all enjoy this chapter when it drops, which should be the 19th… Or the 20th lol.

That's going to wrap for this week. I hope you're all having a great day whenever you're reading this. See you all next week! For sure…

-ZedricSOZ