"You sure about this?" Jason asked, a tone of hesitation and nervousness in his voice.
All of the male demigods aboard the Argo II were on the same page as Jason with the exception of Percy. The girls weren't that preoccupied with them but with the boys aboard the Argo. All of the girls were confused at seeing Percy at ease as if he was safe.
"Remember, he saved Lady Artemis from under the sky. Without him, she would still be under the sky and we would have lost the Titan war," Zoe's voice eased some of the girls' nerves while the boys weren't that much better than before. "Besides, she holds great respect toward Perseus and wouldn't want to anger Lord Poseidon for harming or killing his favorite son,"
The girls nodded, finally understanding, except Annabeth, who already everything, while the guys just seemed uncomfortable at hearing that Artemis was only afraid of Poseidon and none of their fathers. Annabeth just shifted on her feet trying her hardest to not make eye contact with either Percy or Zoe.
"Alright, we got to get moving," Percy said as he watched the team that was going to go to Apollo, which was composed of Jason, Piper, and Leo. While Zoe and himself were going to see Artemis and have a nice chat.
The first group nodded as they made their way to the railing to wait for the Argo to completely stop. Percy and Zoe were just silently watching the island in front of them. It wasn't the biggest either of them had seen, but it was just big enough to have a full ecosystem in the forest on it and a beach for them to swim to. There wasn't anything particular about the island besides the powerful magic that was radiating, making everybody to shivered with the exception of Percy and Zoe since the type of energy and magic radiating off the island was nothing compared to Tartarus, even less The House of Night. The rest of the demigods were in the controls room or around the ship making sure everything was good for when they have to leave. They had fewer personnel since Nico, Reyna, and coach Hegdeh left to take the Athena Parthenos to camp to resolve the issue between the Greeks and Romans.
The day after they had met with Percy and Zoe, they found Reyna and the praetor was rather speechless at learning that not only did Percy had fought his way out of Tartarus, but he also brought with himself someone who had been dead during the Titan war, the former lieutenant of Artemis' hunters at that.
"Ready to see, Artemis again?" Percy asked as he looked over the island and noticed a familiar blond young adult at the beach with a ukelele.
Zoe didn't know how she was going to confront her former mistress. It wasn't that much of a debate anymore if she wanted to join the hunt once again or not. The moment she saw Percy willingly risk his life for hers during their time in Tartarus, and her growing feelings (not like she would admit them any time soon), it was more than obvious that she wasn't going to join them once again. She had served the goddess of the hunt for over 2 millennia and was faithful to her oath till her dying breath. Now that she was having a second chance at life, she believes that it was like her second chance at a life that she had always yearned for and that life involved a sea-green-eyed man.
The demi-Titaness took a deep breath before looking at Percy. "Yes, but not really sure how I am going to interact with her,"
Percy looked at Zoe giving her a reassuring small smile and a nod before looking back at the island. "You don't have to worry too much, Zoe. Artemis considered you her best friend and if anything, she will hear you and try to understand you,"
Zoe knew that Percy was trying to make her feel fine and not let her nerves get the best of her, but she hadn't told Percy how Artemis had changed in the last couple of years since her death. It was hard for her to see her former mistress and best friend be blinded by rage and grief while going around the world killing any male that crossed her path. The only reason she knew that Percy was fine was because of what she previously stated to the other demigods and because once Artemis learns that Percy save her from Tartarus she will be in complete debt to Percy. The last reason didn't bid with Zoe too well. Her instincts were telling her that Artemis was going to react rather negatively to owning Percy anymore after saving her from the sky, but she didn't really want to believe that.
"You are right, let's go and see Lady Artemis," Zoe said before Percy summoned water from the sea to create a stair of hardened water instead of ice since they wouldn't slip.
Line Break
As they walked over to Apollo, the demigods grew tense while Zoe and Percy were rather comfortable with the god of the sun. They knew that out of all the gods in Olympus, Apollo was one of the more down-to-Earth gods, which was ironic knowing he is the god of the sun and spends most of his time in the sky in his sun chariot.
The god of the sun had been taking a rather pleasant musical session at the beach. He had seen that the questers were going to arrive that morning while the other group take the Athena Parthenos to Long Island. But even when knowing all of this, he was shocked at seeing his sister's former lieutenant alive.
"Zo-zoe? How are you alive?" He asked in bewilderment as he approached the group of demigods.
Zoe's expressionless facade momentarily broke and let her anger and fear slip through before she regain her bearings. "It is rather a long story," Apollo frowned momentarily at that before it turned to one of complete and utter shock from her next words. "But I was in Tartarus when I noticed Percey had fallen there. We decided that both of us were going to get out of Tartarus alive and we did after a few days,"
Zoe's tone in her response was cold and stern, but Apollo could sense the slight feeling of dread and scariness coming off her. They were faint, but he could still sense it. He also knew that she was telling the truth since his domain of truth never came up and was rather shocked at hearing that she was in Tartarus and not in the stars.
"B-but why were you in Tartarus?! Out of all places that should be the least one you should be!" Apollo exclaimed, clearly shocked and confused as to how she ended up in the deepest part of existence.
The rest of the group was just intently watching the conversation like a tennis match but Percy was also using his senses to figure out where the man-hating goddess was on the island. During Apollo and Zoe's conversation, he was able to pinpoint her location and she was approaching.
"Zoe, you ready?" Percy interrupted, causing Apollo to frown and turn his attention to Percy and notice the obvious different features that he hadn't noticed because of Zoe's presence.
Zoe nodded and before Apollo could question Percy about his features, a familiar 12-year-old girl with auburn hair and silver eyes stepped into the beach. Everyone's eyes moved to the powerful 12-year-old girl while her eyes were locked on her former deceased lieutenant.
"Z-Z-Zoe?" Her voice was low and soft with a disbelieving tone.
Zoe's eyes started to water before she gently nodded at her ex-mistress. "Yes, milady, it's me," She then took a step and the goddess rushed over to crush her best friend in a bone-crushing hug.
Apollo, the demigods, and the demigod/titan saw the interaction with genuine smiles on their faces. All they could do was just stand there and watch the scene unfold in front of them. They saw how both girls were crying and telling each other how much they missed each other. It took them about 5 minutes to properly settle, but it was still fast compared to other women, but they were hunters and didn't show much emotion.
"How are you alive? What happened? I placed you in the stars," Artemis stated, completely lost on how she was alive.
Zoe sent her a small smile before looking back at the son of Poseidon. Artemis followed her gaze and understood that Percy had a big part in whatever did happen to her lieutenant.
"Demigods, Perseus," Artemis greeted them.
The way how she only greeted Percy by his name made it clear that he was out of trouble out of everyone there besides Zoe. Jason and Leo would have felt insulted about Artemis' neutral face but cold eyes on them, but they knew that she was like that. Piper was rather okay with it since she was still unused to dealing with gods.
"Hello, Lady Artemis," Percy greeted with a bow of his head while the rest followed his lead. "We are here to discuss a few things with you while Piper, Leo, and Jason want to talk to your brother," Percy said the last part while looking at the god of the sun, who just nodded before signaling the group to follow him.
After they finally left, Artemis turned back to her lieutenant and the son of Poseidon. "Okay, can you both explain what is going on? How are you alive?" She asked while looking at Zoe before turning to Percy. "And what did you do to bring her back? She should be resting," She said with a harsh tone that would make any person shrink back in fear, but Percy had dealt with more potent and fearsome beings to be scared by the goddess.
"No milady, Percy actually saved me from a cruel fate," Zoe intervened as she heard Artemis' tone toward Percy.
Artemis' head whipped back to Zoe so fast that her bones cracked. "What do you mean? Weren't you in the stars?"
Zoe sadly shook her head before she went ahead and started counting the story of what happened. To say that Artemis was furious by the end of the story would be one of the understatements of the millennia. When Zoe told her about Zues' going to visit her, Artemis had already figured it out and was furious toward her father, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it alone unless a vote is called. However, Artemis knew that Zeus was the king and had too much influence in the council and nothing will happen to him besides Hera being pissed off at him for a couple of decades.
"So you fought your way out of The Pit?" Artemis asked flabbergasted.
Zoe nodded before looking at Percy, who had been quiet the entire time to not intrude as much as possible, it was already a miracle that Artemis let him be there. Artemis was quiet for a couple of seconds before looking at Percy and doing something that she had never done to any male in existence; she hugged him.
"Thank you, Perseus, you have no idea how much this means to me," Artemis spoke with great emotions that Percy feared that she would cry.
Initially, Percy was frozen on the spot when Artemis hugged him, but soon shook it off and carefully wrapped his arms around the goddess careful to not touch any place considered inappropriate. "It's the least I could do milady. I wasn't going to leave Zoe behind in that place. Besides, we both needed each other in order to escape from there and wouldn't have made it without her,"
Zoe was shocked at seeing her former mistress hugging a male when she hadn't done it during all of her time in the hunt. She was taking this as a good sign for Percy to not end up on the wrong side of an arrow from her mistress like she had seen Artemis do to any other male while she was in the stars.
It was rare for the moon goddess to ever thank a male, even less hugging one(with him being the first), but what she did next completely fried his brain. She slowly unwrapped her arms around him before standing on her toes and giving him a peck on the cheek, making him furiously blush in a combination between golden and red.
Zoe's jaw dropped at seeing Artemis give the man she was in love with a kiss. She didn't know how to react, to be honest, it wasn't like they were something and should be jealous when she had no right, so she just decided to not say anything.
Artemis was mildly blushing gold after she noticed what she did. It was rather unorthodox of her to just give him a hug when she had only ever hugged her father and Apollo. But it was more shocking for her to give Percy a chaste kiss on the cheek it was an innocent and a show of gratitude that many wouldn't give a second thought about it, but for her, it was a big deal.
After a couple of seconds of awkward silence, Artemis cleared her throat before asking the question that she had been waiting to ask since she learned that they fell into Tartarus. "So, you both told me that you fought your way out of Tartarus before going through the doors of death," Both mortals gave her a nod. "But if I am being logical, the doors should have been protected and with hundreds if not thousands of monsters waiting to go through them. So how did you get out of there?"
Zoe and Percy shared a glance before the daughter of Atlas gave Percy a reassuring nod making him sigh in defeat. Artemis was rather curious as to what they were hiding from her. She could clearly feel Percy's increase of power which was very obvious besides his different features.
"After we arrived at the cavern, Zoe and I got to clear the monsters by me fighting on the ground and close to the monsters while Zoe took down the bigger ones with a bow from the cliff," Percy stated and gave Zoe a nod. The former lieutenant took out a ring from her pocket before placing it on her left ring finger and twisted it. The next second, her beautiful midnight lever action bow shimmered into exitance in her hand.
Artemis was very surprised at seeing such a beautiful and powerful bow. She could feel that it wasn't just a regular bow because she could feel the amount of godly energy coming off it. She also took notice that it was mostly black with a few aspects of silver here and there.
"Wow, where did you get that?" Artemis asked in awe as she eyed the bow in Zoe's hands.
"We will get to that shortly, milady," Zoe stated before turning it back into a ring it and placing it back in her pocket.
Artemis nodded before Percy resumed. "It took us a while, but after Zoe came down from her spot and helped with the monsters hand-to-hand, I used some of my powers to cause an earthquake and disrupt the monsters to give us an advantage," Artemsi was impressed at the logical and smart sense of Percy's plan, making her see him in a new light. "It probably took us about an hour of rigorous and constant killing until we were done,"
The goddess of the moon was surprised at hearing how much destruction and chaos her former lieutenant and the son of Poseidon were capable of creating when working together. She didn't doubt his words since she was thinking he was underselling their battle.
"After dealing with the monsters, there were two more opponents that we needed to face before we could free the doors and go through them," Percy stated as his tone turned stern and serious, making Artemis understand that they were strong opponents.
"Who were they? A drakon? The chimera?" Artemis guessed but both Zoe and Percy shook their heads. "Who was it then?" She was actually curious to hear who were the ones that they defeated.
"It was Krios and Hyperion,"
Artemis was silent the moment she heard those names. It was more than clear that neither Percy nor Zoe were joking about the matter. But to hear that they defeated two Titans after defeating an army of monsters after more than an hour of nonstop fighting? Well, you can't really doubt her for not believing them but knew they were telling the truth.
"W-what? How were you able to defeat Hyperion and Krios?" She asked, completely confused and gobsmacked at learning that they had to go through two Titans to get out of The Pit.
"We didn't exactly defeat the two of them," Zoe spoke, making Artemis raise an eyebrow at her. "Hyperion had a disagreement with his brother about what to do with us and eventually killed him, just leaving us to deal with one of them,"
Artemis nodded and finally, things made more sense to her now. It was more believable that the two of them defeated a single Titan than two when it would take even two of the younger Olympians to defeat an elder Titan, not that she personally knew since she had never gone up against an elder Titan and just Atlas. But then she remembered that Percy had gone toe-to-toe against Hyperion during the battle of Manhattan and made him weak enough for the nature spirits and satyrs to turn the Titan of the East into a maple tree.
"Okay, so you both went up against Hyperion then?" Both mortals shook their heads making Artemis confused. "Well if you both didn't fight him, who did?"
Percy was about to respond but Zoe beat him to it. "Percy did, he beat him in single combat,"
Artemis' shocked face was hilarious to Percy, but seeing that the situation was serious he decided against it and held his laugh.
The goddess turned back to Percy with widened eyes. "You beat Hyperion twice?! And in The Pit for that matter?!" She was gobsmacked at hearing her lieutenant's words about Percy beating the third most powerful Titan once again.
"Well, he wasn't able to use his powers, that is why I was able to defeat him," Percy said while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
The 12-year-old goddess was confused as to what he was referring to. She knew that any divine being couldn't properly access their powers while in The Pit, but they should still be able to use them and be more powerful than demigods and most monsters.
"What do you mean?"
Percy and Zoe shared a hesitant glance before Zoe decided to go for it. "Milady, can we ask of you to not reveal what we are going to tell you? At least not for now and until the end of the war?"
Artemis was a bit surprised at her request but nodded and swore on the Styx after they both told her to do it for insurance, which she took a bit as an offense since it wasn't only from Percy but Zoe too.
"What we are about to tell you, Lady Artemis, will change everything you have ever known," The goddess was curious as to what they were inferring so she didn't speak up and just motioned for them to continue.
"You see, during our time in... there... we met with someone who gave us a way to get rid of any immortal being, be it a Titan, Primordial, or God," Zoe started explaining and it got Artemis' attention. Never in all of her over 4 millennia of life has she heard something like that. "It basically is a rule or ritual if you want to call it that, and it lets any mortal being challenge any divine being for their immortality, powers, and titles,"
Artemis' eyes widened at hearing that before they turned to Percy and finally understood his change. His eyes now had gold in them, his formerly raven-black hair was not a dark brown color, and his power was radiating from him in waves. She understood that Percy had taken Hyperion's powers and strength, making him a Titan or a mixture between a Titan and a demigod.
The goddess unconsciously took a step back while one of her hands went to the knife strapped at her hip.
"Wait, milady, don't do that!" Zoe stood between Percy and Artemis with her arms raised.
Artemis' eyes went to Zoe's before her grip around her knife's hilt tightened. "Why? He is a Titan and immortal, he was already dangerous when he was a demigod, and now as an immortal and a Titan, he is more," Her voice was cold and stern, but one could also hear her fear behind it.
Percy sighed and looked down at the ground before turning around and leaving for the ship. He didn't know what he expected from the goddess of the moon when they told her about his powers, but he definitely wasn't expecting such a hostile reaction, at least not from the more down-to-Earth goddess in Olympus. It pained him to see one of the two goddesses that had been friendly to him be so wary of him to the point of having to defend herself from him.
Zoe heard his movement before she turned around and saw his defeated look with his shoulder slumped and not daring to look back. She knew that Artemis' reaction was crucial for the future of both of their lives.
"Wait! Percy, don't-"
"There is nothing for me to stay here, Zoe. It is clear that my presence isn't welcome," Percy's voice was so dark and broken that it pain Zoe. "I'm heading back to the ship, come back when you are done."
The daughter of Atlas then turned back to Artemis, who had watched the entire thing with widened eyes. "What did you do?!"
The goddess was momentarily surprised at her former lieutenant's aggressiveness. "What do you mean?" A bit confused by Zoe's reaction.
"You don't know what you just did. You just crushed one of Percy's last hopes in the gods," Zoe's voice was also desperate but it definitely radiated anger. "Percy was already afraid of what you gods would do to him after escaping The Pit, now that he has those powers he is even more afraid of your reactions and you just confirmed them to him,"
Artemis now understood what Zoe was referring to and immediately regretted her reaction. She hadn't thought clearly when she finally understood the situation of Percy gaining Hyperion's power and her first reaction was to be defensive. But now that she thought more clearly about it, she had to mentally slap herself for being such an idiot. She had seen Percy over the years and saw that he was loyal and wouldn't betray them unless he is betrayed, and now that she showed that she was wary of him, she didn't know how he would react.
"I need to fix this," Artemis announced but Zoe shook her head.
Zoe took a deep breath before looking disappointed back at Artemis. "You can't fix this, milady. Percy has been having that fear since we first met and nothing could fix it. He knows about your father's paranoia and how he could easily switch a vote in the council to kill him," Zoe then turned her back to Artemis. "I need to talk to him and try to fix things, but I doubt that he will listen now,"
Artemis knew that Zoe was probably the only person that could talk to Percy after their time spent in Tartarus so she stood quiet. Then, a sudden thought came to her causing her to shout Zoe's name.
"What do you want, milady?" Zoe's tone was neutral but it wasn't respectful nor friendly as before.
Artemis' slightly winced at her tone but still talked. "Let me pledge you back into the hunt before you leave,"
Zoe turned back to her with a painful look on her face. "I'm sorry, Lady Artemis, but I won't be going back to the hunt," Her voice wasn't nervous nor afraid, but it definitely was soft and quiet.
The goddess was shocked at hearing her best friend's words. The moment Artemis saw Zoe, she was ecstatic about having her best friend back and sharing time like they always did during Zoe's first life.
"W-what do you mean you won't be coming back to the hunt?" Artemis stuttered the first part from her shock before she talked normally.
Zoe deep a breath and let it out softly. "I already served my first life under you for over 2 millennia, milady. I believe that now that I was given a second chance, I might try something new,"
Artemis wanted to argue but knew that Zoe's words were true. Zoe had served her for two millennia like no one else and it was her right to enjoy her second chance at life after giving her first one to save her from Atlas.
"Besides, Percy was there for me the entire time that we were in Tartarus and willingly placed himself in danger to the gods to give me a second chance," Zoe's voice interrupted Artemis' thoughts, and couldn't help but agree with her best friend. "It only seems fair for me to at least be there for him until his demise or he lives and is free," Zoe then turned back once again and stroll to the beach where Percy was sitting on the sand looking over to the sea.
Artemis never took her eyes off Zoe's retreating form as she thought over her words. It was clear that Zoe wanted to try for a life outside of the hunt. She then thought about how Zoe had been protective over Percy but couldn't say anything about it since they had basically risked their lives for each other in order to get out of the worst place in existence.
The moon goddess was about to leave the area when she noticed Zoe sitting down right next to the son of Poseidon at the beach. She couldn't help but feel hurt that Zoe had chosen to follow Percy over joining her and the hunt once again, but her earlier thought came back making her reprimand herself for being selfish. Artemis then saw how Zoe placed a comforting hand on Percy's shoulders and how their bodies unconsciously leaned to each other.
The moon goddess wanted nothing more than to separate them for showing affection to each other, but she knew that it wasn't her right or place to do it. Zoe wasn't her huntress anymore and had all the right to pursue a romantic relationship if she wanted, but then the thought of Percy having a girlfriend came to her mind, making her furious about him cheating on her.
Just when she was about to stroll over to them and punish Percy for doing that, a sudden hand on her shoulder made her whirled around to see who dared stopped her. She then noticed her annoying little brother with a stern expression shaking his head while looking over to Percy and Zoe.
"Don't, let them be, Artemis," His tone was serious and stern, which was weird for Artemis to hear but didn't care about it at the moment.
"Why not? Perseus is in a relationship with Athena's daughter," She pointed out, waiting for Apollo to make a joke about him being a player like him or something, but what she heard next shocked her.
"No, he is not. He broke things off with her after he came out of Tartarus with Zoe since he knew that Annabeth had been cheating on him while he was kidnapped,"
Artemis was thrown off her guard when she heard about Athena's precious daughter cheating on Percy, whose fatal flaw is loyalty. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. For Annabeth, an exemplary young woman to cheat on Percy was just nuts.
"What are you talking about? Annabeth could never-"
"She did. I asked the other three about Zoe and her return with Percy and told me everything. They told me how Percy broke things off with Annabeth after coming out of Tartarus since he knew about her cheating on him. They said that he learned about it even before falling into Tartarus when he heard the three of them discussing whether or not to tell Percy about Annabeth's affair with a girl from camp," Apollo stated as he saw the five teenagers, at least physically because of Zoe, walked over the water in direction to the Argo II.
Artemis couldn't believe Apollo's words and it wasn't like she could reprimand him for lying because even if he was a playboy and arrogant, he couldn't lie to save his life. She then felt horrible for being so selfish in wanting to find any excuse to separate Zoe from Percy and just shook her head before heading back to the forest trail by a quiet god of the sun.
Line Break
"Are we sure about this?" A very nervous Piper asked as the seven plus Zoe made their way through the sewers of ancient Athens.
"I'm not sure, but we need to get to the acropolis through here because the streets are guarded by monsters," Annabeth whispered to Piper as they made a turn on the sewers.
The demigods and Zoe had made their way from Delos to an island to talk to the god of medicine and healing, Asclepius. Leo's plan was to use the Physicina's Cure to bring himself back to life after killing Gaea. However, unknown to everybody else, Zoe had learned about their plan, and Percy and she had done plans to stop them. They were currently under the old sewer system of Athens in an attempt to get to the Acropolis in order to fight the giants.
"I can tell we are close," Hazel announced as they made a few more turns.
In a few more minutes, Hazel finally announced that they were at the foot of the mountain and that the sewer system had no turns that got them closer to their destination. Coming out of the sewer, they noticed that the Acropolis was closed for some reason and had to sneak their way in.
"We are almost-" Jason started talking to only be stopped by the sudden increase of power in the area.
Percy and Zoe were the first ones to respond by taking out their swords and jogging up the mountain followed by their quest mates.
"She shouldn't even be here," Annabeth arrogantly stated as she sent a look to Zoe once they reached the top.
Percy whirled around with a menacing look in his eyes. "She has every right to be here, Chase," Percy hissed at his ex-girl, who shrank back while the rest just awkwardly watched. "Zoe had my back during all of our time down there. If I want anyone watching my back it is her over everyone else,"
His words stung not only the daughter of Athena but everyone present but didn't dare say anything back since he had a major point. Who else would they want watching their back if not the person who went through literal hell with you? No one else.
"Let's hurry," Jason stated, trying to redirect the attention to the important matters.
As they finally made it up to the Acropolis, they noticed that it was in very bad shape from the weather and time, which wasn't very surprising. It was basically rectangular with Greek-style columns made out of limestone that was cracked and broken in several places but the main structure was still standing without its roof. Rocks and debris surrounded the area with a few bushes giving it a spectacular and breathtaking look.
"If we weren't in need to stop the giants I would enjoy the view," Piper admitted and everybody nodded.
"Yeah, but we got a few giants to kill," Percy stated before pulling out one of the rings Nyx and Erebus gave him and Zoe.
"What is that?" Annabeth asked, her fatal flaw getting the best of her.
Zoe looked back at Annabeth but before she could say anything a tremor shook the entire mountain. Everyone there with the exception of Percy had to focus on their footing in order to not fall since they didn't have Percy's power over earthquakes, rendering him unaffected.
The tremor lasted a couple of seconds before they felt a tremendous amount of aura increase in the entire area. Percy and Zoe gazed at each other for a moment before nodding and separating.
"Where does she think she is going?" Annabeth asked, clearly irritated that she was left in the dark.
Percy didn't turn to look at her and his gaze was over to the Acropolis, where 11 giant individuals had just appeared. "She is going to provide cover fire," Percy stated before twisting his ring and the familiar silver and black dagger shimmered into existence. "She is our secret card, nobody knows she is fighting with us and will be of immense help,"
Annabeth wanted to argue and say something about not needing her or being a coward, but she also saw the rational and logical side of his plan, reminding her of why he was able to command just over 40 demigods and 20 hunters and defend Manhattan successfully. She stopped herself from arguing before pulling out her dagger and invisibility cap, not like it worked since her fight with her mother. The rest of the demigods followed and each took their individual weapons before following Percy, who had become their unspoken leader, much to Jason and Annabeth's dismay.
Percy then took out riptide before uncapping it and it extended to its familiar 3-feet length with a low gleam in the light. Jason had flipped his coin and turned it into an imperial gold spear that crackled with electricity. Piper brandished her dagger, katoptris. Leo summoned a war hammer from his tool belt. Frank unshouldered his bow and took an arrow from his quiver full of arrows. Hazel held her spatha in a defensive posture.
All seven demigods advanced towards the Acropolis as they felt the aura increase in power. Their skin tingled from the amount of energy radiating in the air and felt the air getting thinner. Percy was the only that wasn't affected as much since he was more immortal than everybody else in the area, as well as his power, was stronger.
As soon as they entered the Acropolis, the giants brandish their weapons and let out a laugh at seeing them alone. The demigods didn't react to their taunting laughs and just scanned their opponents. The giant king Porphyrion was in the front with his brother Alcyoneus and Polybotes while the rest of the giants were behind them.
"Come to die punny demigods?" Porphyrion taunted as he brandish his spear and arcs of electricity came off from it.
Percy was about to say something when they all had to close their eyes because of several blinding flashes, meaning the arrival of the gods.
After a few seconds, Percy felt the power in the air fight one another. It was like the auras from the giants and the Olympians were fighting each other for power. Two colossal powerhouses fighting each other for rule over the world.
When the demigods finally opened their eyes, they were in awe at seeing the Olympians in full battle regalia ready for battle. Zeus was in bronze regal armor with electric arcs circulating around his body that eventually came off or returned to the 2 feet long rod of celestial bronze, better known as the master bolt. Poseidon was in silver regal battle armor with his gleaming bronze trident on his hands radiating a sea-green aura with the power of the seas behind it. Athena was in hoplite armor with her shield Aegis in one hand and her spear in the other. Hades was also there with his helm of darkness in his hands, a Stygian iron sword in the other, and a full set of Stygian iron, regal armor.
The rest of the Olympians were there with their own symbols of power and battle regalia. What did surprise the demigods was seeing the fates as well with clubs and battle armor in their old forms. There was also Hecate standing by them with swirls of pure magical energy around her hands and arms ready to attack. Her features weren't exactly like everybody believe the mistress of magic to be with the exception of Hazel who already met her. Her eyes were black, long blonde hair floated in the air giving her an angelic and powerful look, and a diadem with a laying crescent moon on her head.
"Ready for this son? I've been wanting to fight alongside my favorite son for years and I finally got to," Poseidon grabbed Percy's attention.
The son of Poseidon looked over to his father and gave him a nod. "Yes, father, and I also have been wanting to fight by your side," Percy admitted before twirling riptide once and tightening his grip on it. Percy's nerves weren't high, but he was still nervous about how much power he will need to use in order to keep everyone alive.
Poseidon was about to say something else but then noticed Percy's different features. He saw that Percy's eyes weren't sea-green like his anymore and now had golden specs on them. His raven black hair wasn't dark and now had a brownish tone. His usual tan skin tone was gone and replaced by a copper-like natural tone.
"Perseus, what happened to your eyes and hair?" Poseidon worriedly asked while using his senses to see what was wrong.
Percy knew that his father was going to be the first one to notice his changes so he gave a simple answer for the moment. "Tartarus happened dad,"
While Percy and his father were talking, the kings from both sides were throwing insults until they heard Percy talk about Tartarus. Poseidon and the rest of the gods stiffened when they heard Percy talk about The Pit.
"W-what do you mean son?" Poseidon's voice was one of worry and fear.
Percy took a deep breath before steeling himself. "I fell into Tartarus when we were in Rome and had to use the doors of death to get out of there,"
The entire area was silent. The gods were trying to understand what Percy had stated about him falling into Tartarus when none of them knew about it, only that the demigods had gone to Rome before going to Epirus, Greece. Athena was trying to think of how he was able to survive Tartarus when gods and Titans barely survive hell.
"Ha! You think that just because you survive our father's domain you can kill us?!" Porphyrion boasted as he slammed the butt of his spear into the ground.
Percy snarled at the boastful king of the giants. "I killed Polybotes once back in New Rome with a statue and during my stay in Tartarus I killed Hyperion once again," the gods were gobsmacked at hearing Percy defeating the Titan of the East once again, but to hear that he did it while in Tartarus was even more shocking. The only one present there that already knew about it was Artemis but stood quiet since she knew that Percy was doing it to implement fear.
"You scum! You were lucky to have bested me the first time!" Polybotes roared at the comment of him losing against the son of Poseidon and a statue. "Once we have defeated you, I'll make your father watch as you slowly die from my poison to just be healed by water. I'll repeat it until I'm satisfied from hearing your screams of agony,"
Poseidon growled at hearing Polybotes' threat at his favorite son. Percy knew that his father wasn't going to last much longer suppressing his anger since he had an experience like his so he decided to start it.
"Bit me," Percy retorted.
Polybotes screamed in rage while throwing his massive trident at him and all hell broke loose.
On the far end of the Acropolis and on top of the next building, the daughter of Atlas was perched with her bow drawn ready for the fight. She shook her head at hearing her idiotic crush taunting the giant before letting out a tired sigh.
Phorphyrion sent a bolt of lightning at Zeus and the king of the gods redirected it with his bolt to the ground creating a crater on impact and shaking the entire mountain. Jason immediately took to the winds with his spear crackling with lightning before plunging it through the giant's shoulder, earning a river of golden ichor seeping out of the wound and into the ground. Zeus used the opportunity to throw a powerful bolt of lightning at the king of the giant's chest surrounding the area in a blinding flash of light and a thunderous roar almost popping everyone's eardrums.
Poseidon threw his trident at his bane before growing to 15 feet in height compared to Polybotes' 30 feet. Polybotes someway was able to twist his immense body fast enough to avoid Poseidon's trident before using his net and throwing it at Percy. The son of Poseidon didn't stand still and rolled out of the way of the net before summoning water and turning it into an ice spear and piercing Polybote's knee from behind. The giant roared in pain and rage but soon recovered and summoned his trident in time to block one of Poseidon's swings with his own bronze trident. Percy ran up to the giant's side with riptide and his dagger in an ice-pick grip and used them to jump on Polybotes back. He saw a black arrow embed itself on Polybotes' knee and used it as a catapult to jump and stab both blades hilt deep into his back. The giant roared in pain and used his rage to push back the god of seas and twist his body with enough force to fling Percy from his back and crash into one of the columns of the Acropolis.
Right by Poseidon and his son were Hades and Hazel, on top of Arion, fighting Alcyoneus. Hades was invisible with his helm while dealing slashes and stabs with his sword while Hazel used the mist to confuse the giant and her spatha to stab the giant to distract it. The giant bane of Hades was swinging his bident in an attempt to catch the god of the underworld while using his feet to try and crush Hazel but she was too fast on top of Arion. Hades then used his sword to make a deep slash across Alcyoneus' hip before Hazel stabbed her spatha on the back side of his knee. The giant roared in pain before sending tendrils of darkness to push Hazel and her spatha off him and find where Hades was hiding. Hades cursed before parrying a stab from the giant's bident and getting kicked by the giant and being thrown across the Acropolis.
Athena and Annabeth were having a hard time against Enceladus since the giant was as smart as Athena and was reading their movements easily. The twin archers were distracting the twin giants from joining the fight. Aphrodite and Piper were fighting Periboia with Piper on the ground stabbing and slashing at the giantess while Aphrodite used her magic to distract the giantess. Frank and Leo along with the rest of the gods were fighting an individual giant while some of the gods that didn't have a demigod were waiting for one.
At one of the pillars of the Acropolis, Percy was groaning and slowly getting up from his spot on the ground. He felt a few ribs were broken and several slashes on his arms and face. He mentally cursed for letting the giant deal such a strong attack. Percy looked up and noticed that the battles between each front were basically a tie, one moment a side will have the upper hand before the other pushed back.
"Fuck this shit," Percy cursed as he used the domain gained from Hyperion to heal himself from the light touching his body. "I'll kill Gaea so slow that she will regret it," Percy then felt how the light's energy was healing his ribs and slashes on his body before he fully embraced the domain's power for a boost.
Everyone in the area was confused as to why they felt a new power in the area but were too focused on their own battles to think too much about it.
Percy then noticed that his father was on a standstill with Polybotes as both of their tridents were locked on each other. Poseidon and Polybotes were grinding their teeth as they used more power to push their opponent back. Percy then formed a plan to finally deal with the giant before helping the others.
Poseidon was trying to gain ground against his bane but the giant stood his ground. The ground underneath then had long since cracked and created a small crater. His auras were fighting against each other, a vibrant sea-green aura clashed against a poisonous green one.
"I'll kill you and your fucking son, Poseidon! You will see as he suffers for only being your son!" Polybotes grunted at Poseidon as he pushed back the god of the seas but the god wasn't giving any ground.
Poseidon got so unbelievably angry at the giant's words that he momentarily pushed the giant back. "You dare threaten my son?! I'll fucking kill you for that, Polybotes! I'll make sure that you suffer for eternity for even daring!" Poseidon then kicked the giant's knee with enough force to snap the bone and hit the giant with the butt of his trident.
Percy saw the perfect moment to run up to the giant while focusing as much light power into his hand to blind the giant. He ran right by Poseidon before focusing as much as he could.
"Close your eyes!" He shouted before the entire area was surrounded by a blinding golden light, making everybody close their eyes and temporarily blinded.
Percy didn't need to close his eyes and ran up to Polybotes chest with riptide draw as the giant clutched his eyes with one hand and his healing knee with the other. Percy then used the giant's injured and down knee to propel himself upward and with a shout, he stabbed riptide hilt-deep into the giant's chest where his heart should be.
Polybotes let out a shout of agony at feeling his heart being pierced by the godly metal. Poseidon recorded faster than everybody around and saw his son holding the hilt of his sword, which was stabbed into Polybote's chest, and immediately used his trident to pierce the giant's head.
Polybotes' body went rigid for a couple of seconds before it disintegrated into golden ash and spread throughout the Acropolis. The giants, gods, and demigods around were shocked at seeing Polybotes go down by Percy and the god of the seas first. They were all confused as to how Percy was able to summon such a harsh amount of light to blind everyone, well, everyone except Apollo.
Before anyone on Olympus' side could say or do anything, the giant Porphyrion roared in anger before summoning one of his strongest bolts of lightning in history and sending it at the son of Poseidon. The strike was so fast that Percy wasn't able to react and got hit by the lightning strike square on the chest, sending him flying and crashing into a pillar.
That action was more than enough to snap everyone back into combat while Poseidon roared and charged at the king of the giants.
Zoe had seen everything and her heart had momentarily stopped. She knew that such a powerful bolt would have killed any demigod, no matter how strong they are, even Zeus' children wouldn't have been able to survive it. However, she knew that Percy was more immortal than any demigod and had Hyperions' domains which were constantly feeding him energy from the sunlight. She was debating on whether or not to go down there and see Percy's condition, but to her relief, she saw him slowly moving and using water from the air to repair his damage.
The demigods were fighting the giants but couldn't help but be worried about their injured leader. Jason was the one who probably thought he was dead more than anybody else since he knew that not even he could survive such a powerful bolt. However, almost all of them knew of the importance of the outcome of their battle and focused on their own fights once again but not before praying to any higher being that Percy was alright.
As Percy slowly started to feel his consciousness come back, all he felt in his body was agonizing pain. He felt his head throb with each heartbeat and his skin was slightly fried by the electricity. His body was slightly burned from the lightning bolt and felt his extremities numb. He then saw red liquid dropping from his forehead and onto the ground, meaning that he had opened his skin when his body hit the pillar.
The ground underneath them trembled as Percy's blood seeped into the ground. The giants fought back with renewed vigor as they felt their mother almost awaken. The gods and the giants were starting to be pushed back while the females were trying to avoid a hit at all costs so that they wouldn't wake up Mother Earth.
Percy mentally cursed himself for not reacting quickly enough while summoning water from the air to heal his skin and reduce the headache. He sighed in relief and pleasure as he felt the water mend his wounds and chartered skin, and his energy come back. He was really glad that his father was Poseidon because it was basically a cheat code to never get tired so easily and heal rapidly once you get used to summoning water without much energy.
The son of Poseidon slowly stood up and observed the battles around him. He noticed that a few gods were basically just waiting for a demigod to kill their respective banes or opponents. Percy then looked at his father and saw that Zeus, Jason, and his father were holding up to the king of the giants and decided to aid the other gods.
Artemis and Apollo were constantly shooting silver and golden arrows at the twin giants to not give them any room to breathe. The green-haired giant was using his spear to block as many arrows that were coming his way while his brother was on the ground and his body trying to heal. The twins had enough time to send the occasional arrow to another giant to help the others and when they looked back at the twin giants, they saw the familiar sea-green-eyed son of Poseidon with his sword hilt-deep into the back of one of the twins heads before moving to the next one.
Apollo and Artemis immediately sent a critical arrow to the twin's hearts before sending Percy a grateful nod and moving to help the others. Percy then saw around and noticed that Hecate was waiting for another demigod and went ahead to help.
The giant the Titaness of Magic was fighting was probably one of the shortest giants standing at 20 feet in height. The giant had long black hair in a braid and blue eye as cold as diamonds. Hecate was using fire magic and some violet swirls of energy with Clytius trying to counter her spells but Percy could see that Hecate had the upper hand and was just waiting for the finishing blow.
Percy ran behind the giant before focusing on the powers he got from Hyperion and covered his sword in heaven fire. The fire was so strong that went it dripped into the ground it sizzled the marble. Percy then stabbed his dagger at the back of Clytius' knee, making the giant knee and then stabbing riptide through the back of his heart. Hecated saw the giant give away until she noticed Percy's energy aura behind the giant, making the Titaness of magic grin and using one of her most powerful spells to finish the giant. In one final push of swirls of violet and bright yellow magic, the pure energy crashed into the giant's chest and started eating him from the inside out, all while the giant screamed in agonizing pain.
"Well done, Perseus, I now owe you twice after the Titan War," Hecate thanked Percy before launching a ball of fire against Alcyoneus and saving Hazel and Arion from being crushed by his giant foot.
Percy wasn't able to say anything before the blinding flash of lightning lightened up the area and then the thunderous sound thundered through the Acropolis. Deciding that it was better to finish this as soon as possible he went over to fight with his cousin, uncle, and father.
The rest of the gods and demigods were finally turning the tide of their fights against the giants. With Hecate and the twin archers available to support anyone, they were able to push the giants into the defensive. Zoe's arrows were doing more than one would actually be expected to do. Her arrows had saved the lives of Hazel, Piper, and Frank several times during their fights against the giants by aiming her arrows at parts of the giants that would cause more discomfort.
When Percy finally arrived at the fight between the kings, he noticed that Jason was nowhere around, meaning that the son of Jupiter probably got knocked out. He saw how his father and uncle were fighting side-by-side against their much bigger opponent and trying to keep both of them at bay.
The son of Poseidon then stomped her foot on the ground while concentrating on his earthshaker powers. He could feel the entire mountain shake under his command just before he felt his father help him, making his use of energy decrease by a landslide. The moment his father had felt the earthquake, he aided his son in an attempt to give his younger brother the opportunity to deal a critical strike to the king of the giants so that Percy could come and kill the giant.
Zeus felt the ground shake and immediately took to the winds while pushing Porphyrion back. The giant was having a hard time regaining his foot but the 10 seconds that the ground shook under Poseidon and his son's powers were more than enough to trip him over and Zeus impaled his bolt into the giant's chest.
"Aah!" The giant roared while trying to move his spear to impale Zeus but then Poseidon's trident embedded the giant's forearm to the ground with a sickening crunch of his bone and ichor splattering around. "Damn you, fools! Our mother will avenge us!"
Percy then walked up to the king's chest as his body radiated pure, raw power. His aura was so strong that it made the two brothers and the giant look in his direction and saw a golden and sea-green aura coming off him.
"I'll be waiting for her," Percy stated in a cold and threatening tone before stabbing riptide all the way to the giant's heart, making his body go rigid before it limped and started disintegrating.
On the other side of the Acropolis, Athena alongside her daughter, was fighting Enceladus. Her own giant bane had given her the most difficult fight in her entire immortal life by being her smartest and most skilled opponent. The giant would mirror her movements and speeds as well as any tactics that came to her mind at that instant. Their spears would cross and their feet cracked the ground from the force behind each attack. The blonde demigod had tried to cut the giant's tendons on his feet with her dagger but the giant's healing rate was too rapid and would heal before the goddess of wisdom could capitalize on it.
Athena was trying to have all of her bane's attention in order to prevent her daughter from being targeted and her blood from being used to wake up Mother Earth. She was mentally smirking at seeing how even her bane was stupid enough to not see that Annabeth was too close to the giant and could use it.
The goddess of wisdom then over-extended one of her stabs and Enceladus twisted his body to catch the spear between the shield and his body. The giant's actions took Athena by surprise, before she could react, Enceladus yanked the spear from her hand before swatting the goddess away with his own spear, sending the goddess into a pillar and completely destroying it.
"Mother!" Annabeth cried out in shock.
Annabeth's cry got the giant's attention and immediately advance at her. "Come here, godling spawn. I'll use your blood to wake my mother,"
The blonde demigoddess' eyes widened comically before she rolled to the side to avoid a direct stab from the giant's enormous spear. Annabeth was barely able to roll out of the way when the spear hit the ground causing it to break and a few pieces of debris to fly.
"Shit, I need to get away just long enough for-" Before she could say anything else, she felt a warm and wet sensation on her chin.
Annabeth looked down and noticed that somehow, her chin had a big enough cut to draw almost an insignificant amount of blood on regular basis, but when a single drop could wake up Mother Earth, then she was basically bleeding out. The moment she tried to wipe it away, a few drops of blood dripped from her chi, hitting the ground with an inaudible spat because of the fights around them.
The moment Annabeth's blood hit the ground, the entire mountain trembled with such ferocity that caused the majority of the standing pillars to collapse, making the demigods move out of the way from one of the pillar's falling trajectory and not end up as pancakes.
The moment Percy felt the entire mountain shake with more power than he and his father, he knew that Gaea has awaken. He let out a tired sigh as he moved out of the way from one of the falling pillars. He was completely exhausted from having to use his powers gained from Hyperion to heal himself twice. Percy still wasn't immortal nor in complete control of the domains so it made it way more difficult for him to use them.
Before Percy could do anything, he noticed that most of the demigods and gods had killed their opposing giant and Enceladus was the remaining one, but it was short-lived as a golden arrow from Apollo to his eye and a spatha to his heart ended his life.
"Gods! Demigods!" Zeus thundered and everyone walked over to the king of the gods.
Almost all of them were completely fine and just exhausted with the exception of Jason, who was bleeding heavily from his forehead, and Percy, who still had one or two broken ribs that didn't heal well after his two impacts on the pillars.
As Percy strolled over to the group, he noticed that many of the gods and goddesses' faces were on him. They were all supporting different reactions but most of them were from gratitude while others were from curiosity and surprise. But he also noticed Athena's apprehensive gaze as well as Zeus' paranoid expression.
Just as he arrived, he dropped to a knee as he felt his breathing become haggard as he felt his ribs constrict him. In no less than a second, Apollo was by his side as he sent pulses of bright, yellow light at his body while keeping an eye out for what he felt earlier during the battle and at Delos.
The gods and demigods around watched in silence as they saw Apollo heal the demigod that turned the tide of the battles against the giants. On the other side of the mountain, Zoe was still perched on top of the building serving as her high ground, as she silently watched the scene display over 150 meters away. She had been preoccupied when she saw him hit the pillars twice and stand up to fight back once again, but she knew that he was going to be okay in the end.
A couple of moments passed in silence and Percy was finally back to full health but still tired. He shakily stood up while capping riptide and getting out a piece of ambrosia from his pocket.
Percy then noticed that everybody was silent and looking at him. "Wh-what's going on? Why is everybody looking at me?" He curiously asked, completely oblivious to what everybody was watching him for.
Athena rolled her eyes while many of the gods and goddesses snickered at his innocence and obliviousness. His quest mates were just wide-eyed at his actions and completely forgot that Percy was just on another level of power from any of them combined.
"Dude! You just got smashed into two columns and stood up before joining the fight again!" Leo exclaimed as he made signs with his hands, causing some of the gods and goddesses to snicker at his antics while others rolled their eyes.
Percy just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "Nah, I've blown out of a volcano before as well as taking a dip in the Styx, so a few broken ribs is almost nothing,"
Percy's statement just served to remind everybody present about the things the son of Poseidon has gone through and why he is the strongest demigod in existence. It wasn't a secret that the explosion of the volcano that imprisoned Typhon was caused by him as well as his dip in the Styx.
"We are going to talk about your powers, sea spawn," Zeus spat as he regained the attention of everyone there.
Percy didn't flinch like all the other times that Zeus has threatened or spot so harshly at him. "Yeah, we are also going to talk about someone who I met in Tartarus that shouldn't be there," Percy shot back as he felt his energy come back from the piece of ambrosia.
Everyone was confused about what he was talking with the exception of Apollo and Artemis. The king of the gods was also a bit confused until it dawned on him and got nervous. He was about to say something until he thought about not seeing the daughter of Atlas nearby, meaning that either she died in Tartarus, stayed there, or was roaming the Earth once again.
Zeus wanted to speak more but Athena interrupted seeing as her father was going to go into a threatening argument against their best choice against Mother Earth. "I suggested that is enough father," Zeus turned to his daughter with a menacing glare but stopped himself from speaking. "The demigods need to get to Camp Half-Blood and confront Gaea if we want to win this war. And I don't believe arguing with the sea spawn is the better option as of now seeing he is our best opportunity at defeating the primordial of the Earth,"
The king of the gods saw the logical sense in his daughter's suggestion and took a deep breath to control himself. "Alright, seems like the viable option as of now," Zeus then looked towards the god of the forge. "Hephaestus, how long do you think it will take them to get to Long Island in their ship?"
The disfigured god took a quick look at the ship and grunted. "At its highest speed and the wind, it could take them between 3-5 days at best," the gods and demigods grimaced at that before the god continued. "However, unless a tremendous amount of wind or water helps it move, then there is no other plausible way to get them there fast enough,"
The gods and goddesses seemed to like the idea while Percy was thinking of how to tell Zoe to get to the ship. The son of Poseidon was about to leave to try and find Zoe when he felt a presence in his mind.
"Don't worry, Perseus, I've already told her to go to the ship," The voice came from Artemis, who was sending him a discreet glance and then towards the ship. "I'm keeping her presence hidden from my father,"
Percy followed her gaze and noticed a familiar feminine figure dressed in forest-green clothes moving through the pieces of rubble in the direction of the ship. The son of Poseidon sent a mental thanks to the goddess before tunning back into the conversation.
"Okay, but the ship will barely hold, so all of you have to jump out of it as soon as you reach your destination if not prior," Hephaestus pointed out and all of the demigods noticed.
The rest of the conversation was basically the basics of how to control the ship with such force and if they find any more giants to call them. Percy was about to leave with the rest of the quest mates towards the ship when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Just hold on a bit son," The familiar tender voice of his father called to him.
Percy turned around and noticed the worried look on his father's face. "Yes, what is wrong, dad?"
Poseidon was hesitant for a moment before sending a wary look at his younger brother. "What happened to you in The Pit? I know that it is the worst place in existence and I can say that I've not been there since the first Titan War when we freed the one-hundred-handed giants and the elder cyclopes," Both of them shuddered at remembering that place. "I know that there are horrors down there and I supposed you have to endure things that nobody else would have in order to get out. But, for your sake, can you please tell me what happened down there so I can save you from Zeus' paranoia?"
Percy was shocked at hearing his father's worry about him. He was slightly confused as to when his father had been in Tartarus but when the god of the seas mentioned the elder cyclopes and the one-hundred-handed giants he understood.
"Yes, but just after we defeat Mother Earth, I still have much to do," Percy shortly responded and his father nodded.
"Alright, son, but make sure to come to talk to me first before anybody else," Poseidon then let go of Percy's shoulder and signaled for him to join the rest.
"Of course, if there is anybody I want to know about it, it's you dad," Percy reassured with a genuine smile before heading for his friends. "I guess I'll see you later,"
Poseidon nodded and Percy made his way over to his friends. Athena shortly went up to the king of the seas without taking her eyes off the sea-green-eyed demigod.
"You know, don't you?" It was more of a statement than a question from the goddess of wisdom.
Poseidon took a deep breath before letting it out in a tired sigh. "Yes, he somehow got the powers from Hyperion. I felt the similarity between them but Percy's was warmer and not as harsh and hostile as the Titan's" Then he remembered how the light seemed attracted to his son. "But I don't know how, it's like he got his blessing or something else. Zeus is already paranoid about him escaping that hell, now that he is more powerful, I fear that his paranoid clouds his judgment,"
Athena was slightly surprised at hearing the wisdom in Poseidon's words. "Wow seaweed brain, it seems like you aren't such a dimwitted god as I thought, at least not when it comes to your children," She playfully commented before turning serious. "But as much as it pains me to admit it, you are right," She let out a frustrated sigh as she saw her father bitch-slap the Argo II. "My father is already paranoid when he learned about him surviving Tartarus. Now that he saw how powerful he can be, his paranoia shotted through the roof and that is saying without the fact how whoever Perseus was talking about meeting down there,"
Poseidon didn't respond to the goddess' statement but nodded. He knew that his son was in dangerous waters with the king of the gods but wasn't going to let his younger brother do anything to Percy.
"Yes, for now, let's just pray that our children are on time to stop the Romans from destroying Camp Half-Blood and then defeat Mother Earth," Athena scowled at the mention of the Romans before turning expressionless again.
"Yes, however, if we have learned anything about your son," Athena then turned to the god of the seas next to her. "Is that his luck always makes him do the impossible," She dryly commented
Poseidon chuckled at hearing Athena's tone. "It's not luck, Owl-head, it's determination and power," He commented before a sea-green light surrounded him and disappeared from sight.
Athena just tiredly sighed before looking over the horizon. "I pray that you are right, seaweed brain," Then disappeared in a gray flash of light.
Line Break
Percy and the rest of the demigods had boarded the Argo II and strapped themselves to the ship to endure the travel. Zoe had gone to Percy's room to hide and strapped herself to the wall after she received the mental message from her former mistress.
"You guys ready?!" Leo shouted from his place in the control room.
Everybody shouted their response before they were lifted by Zeus' giant hand and bitch-slap across the Atlantic.
The entire crew aboard the Argo was holding tightly to their straps as they felt their bodies being pushed by the force making them lightheaded. Jason and Percy were the only ones that weren't suffering as bad as the rest of them since Jason was used to strong winds while Percy's(Is built different, jk) body is more immortal than the rest of them.
They didn't know how long it took them to get across the Atlantic, but the next thing they knew, they were nearing New York's sky area while Leo was desperately trying to maneuver their course toward Long Island.
"Everybody!" Leo called out from the sound system. "Get ready to jump out! This is barely holding out!"
Percy was quick to leave his spot and went searching for Zoe, who came out of his room looking a bit paler and with a green tint to her face not looking very good.
"Come on! We need to get out!" Percy took her hand as the boat shook violently.
Zoe nodded and tightened her grip on his hand as they went up the stairs and joined the rest of the demigods. Jason was sweating as the winds slowed down the ship enough for Leo to properly control it and harshly land in the forest a couple of hundred yards from camp.
"Get out! This shit is going to explode!" Leo shouted as they jumped down from the ship and landed with a roll before sprinting away from the ship.
Just as they made it behind the trees, the ship exploded and its shock wave knocked down a few trees while the nearby area was engulfed in a combination of regular and Greek fire. Jason and Percy got quick to douse the flames with their powers as Jason pulled out all of the air from the area and Percy summoned water from the air to extinguish the flames.
Zoe and the rest of the demigods were watching them work as they kept a lookout and noticed the Roman and Greek demigods fighting each other.
After a couple of minutes, Percy and Jason finally put out the fire before turning to their quest mates and heading over to the battle. As soon as they arrived, Reyna came in from the air in a white pegasus trailed by a few more pegasus carrying the Athena Parthenos and setting it down by Thalia's tree.
The moment the statue touched the ground, a wave of power and peace surrounded the area, causing the demigods to stop fighting and look at the praetor on top of a magnificent pegasus.
"Demigods! We are not enemies, we are brethren!" Reyna shouted as she used her powers. "Our only enemy is Terra or Gaea! She is the threat here, not each other!"
The demigods fighting were hesitating over her words while the questers smiled at seeing Reyna succeeding in her mission.
Percy quickly marched forward as he increased his aura. "Demigods!" He shouted, gaining the attention of everybody and causing the Greeks to gasp in surprise. "Reyna is right! We aren't enemies, we are siblings and cousins. We are family! And our family is being threatened by the primordial goddess of the Earth, not each other!" Percy used his powers over the earth to cause a small tremor. "We don't need to fight over quarrels that were before we were even alive! We don't have to let past battles dictate our own!"
All the demigods were starting to realized Percy's words and saw the logic in them. Why fight each other for grudges of their past when they weren't even alive? It made no sense when Mother Earth was the main threat at hand.
"So stop this nonsense and fight together!" Percy continued as his aura receeded. "Fight against the primordial who threatens our existence and humanity as a whole! It is time to let past grudges go and fight together as brother and sisters in arms for the fate of humanity!" Percy ended with a shout and the demigods shouted in approval.
Percy's breathing was slightly heavy from shouting and took a moment to take a deep breath. The entire area was silently waiting for his next words, it was the speech that had made them realize that they were wrong, well, all except for the legacy of Apollo.
"So what do you say?" Percy's voice was now raised enough for everybody to hear instead of shouting. "Are we going to fight each other? Or are we going to fight together against Gaea and her forces?!"
"Aye!" They shouted in approval.
Percy and the rest of the questers smiled at seeing that. Just when he was about to continue, the earth violently shook as monsters started emerging from the earth and formed ranks big enough to outnumber them 3-1. Then, at the very back of the monsters, the earth started accumulating in a column before taking the shape of a woman. The soil made her dress while her skin was brown with soft brown hair and earth-green eyes. She had an hourglass figure that all women would kill for.
"Nice speech, great-grandson, but it's not going to change the outcome of this fight," Gaea smugly stated with a malicious grin. "But I will enjoy making you a slave and make you suffer as you see everybody and everything around you burn,"
Percy got furious but quickly composed himself with a deep breath without taking her eyes off Mother Earth. "That's what your son Kronos said alongside every one of your children, be it Titan or giant, why are you so different," He taunted as he uncapped riptide and twisted his ring summoning his dagger.
The rest of the questers armed themselves and Zoe took out her bow and stepped next to Percy.
Gaea snarled at Percy's taunt as her aura increased. "You will pay for that, Jackson! I'll make you suffer for everything you have done to my children and will start with those pesky mortals you so much adore before going for those godlings,"
Percy's eyes just hardened as his aura increased and his eyes tunneled on Gaea. "I won't let you. No matter how much I detest being used by them, they are still the lesser evil out of the two," He then took a step and the area shook from his powers, causing Gaea to smirk at the challenge. "I'll make sure you never come back,"
Gaea smirk. "Bring it,"
The son of Poseidon smiled before looking at everybody in the area. Demigdos, Greeks and Romans, had formed ranks and defensive formations facing the monsters while the rest of the questers went to rally the ranks. Zoe stood by his side while waiting for the time to interject with Leo's plan so that Percy could do his.
"Demigods! Assemble,"
A/N: I know that the last one wasn't original, but I couldn't help it.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one!