"Chiron, everyone is in formation and ready. We have the majority of our force at the foot of the hill, the Apollo cabin is hidden in the woods on both sides, and our ballistas and catapults are on top of Zeus's fist. It's a good thing Reyna warned us. We wouldn't have nearly as much time to get all this together." Clarisse said, walking up to the overseer of Camp Half-Blood who was staring out to the red glowing portal.

The Centaur was apprehensive about the upcoming battle. Endless questions racked his brain as to who or what exactly would be coming out of the portal. Who would their enemy be and how many numbers did they have? He didn't like not knowing.

"Mmh. Thank you, Mrs. La Rue. And how is the morale?" He asked to which the older demigod sighed exasperatedly.

"Not good to tell you the truth. A lot of the campers are newbies as you well know. The veterans are doing all they can to guide them but in the face of battle, all you can rely on is experience and instinct which these guys don't have." She replied, looking out at the demigods in formation who were nervously fiddling with their armor straps. Chiron was once again hummed in acknowledgment. Of course he knew how the campers were feeling. He could see it in their eyes. You didn't get to be his age and not pick up on things like that.

"They may be scared but they will prevail in the face of evil. Olympus and its children always do. Have faith in them, Clarisse, they're relying on you to lead them." He patted her shoulder like a loving father. He viewed all of these demigods as his children. He'd seen them all grow up throughout the years, trained and taught them. He knew what they were capable of and knew that they'll defend their home with their heart afire.

"I better get to the front line. May the Gods be with us, Chiron." The daughter of Ares said, looking up at the red portal on near Thalia's tree with determination in her eyes. Chiron watched her walk away, listing out orders to any camper that came across her. He was glad she stepped up to be the demigod leader of the camp. She was a good soldier with two wars to her name. She knew how to lead. Yet, he couldn't help but wish Percy was here. Despite his forthgoing nature, he was a natural-born leader. All eyes and ears drew to him when he spoke. Not to mention the raw power that he held. If he was here, Chiron wouldn't be feeling half of the terrible anxiety racing through his veins.

"May the Gods be with us indeed." The Centaur said before trotting off.

Deep below the dirt of Camp Half-Blood, laying in wait for the order to attack, were the Orcs led by Polemus. Adorning his regal black and red armor that covered every inch of his body, the spirit of war maniacally laughed at the prospect of going back to the surface to reclaim what was rightfully his.

"Let's go to war!" He cried out in deranged joy, his Orcs cheering as they clashed their weapons against their shields and armor.

Watching all this in the chair he was strapped to was Percy whose eyes were filled with rage. A lone tear streaked down his face as he realized that he was the one to cause this. He was the one who allowed Polemus to escape Tartarus and was about to wreak havoc on the surface. He hated himself for that. He hated that he allowed this to happen, to be so gullible. He knew the guy was bad yet he continued to look for that piece of stone. He continued to help even after his instincts warned him. Telling himself he was only doing it to escape Tartarus! Ha! He'd much rather stay stuck down here than to allow all this to happen.

"Look at him, I haven't seen him this happy in years. Thank you, Perseus." Hybris whispered in his ear, hugging him from behind. The son of Poseidon bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, hating being toyed around like this. He hated Polemus and he hated this bitch. He would love nothing more than to slit her throat.

"I'll fucking kill you!" He snarled, spit flying out of his mouth like a rabid wolf.

"Oh! There's nothing more beautiful then to see a man all worked up." The Goddess said, licking the side of his face wantonly. "I don't know why you're so mad. We told you that we wanted to escape and that we would if you helped us. Don't act so surprised now."

The demigod decided to respond to that with a headbutt to Hybris's face, causing a satisfying SNAP! to ring throughout the air. The strength behind his attack was enough to send the Goddess onto her back.

"Fuck you." Percy smirked mockingly, enjoying the sight of her nose leaking ichor. The Goddess sat up from the ground, giving him a withering glare that could stop the heart of anyone unfortunate to witness it. Materializing a black knife in her hand coated in an unknown substance, she slowly dragged it down Percy's leg.

The pain was bearable at first but it soon quickly felt as if it was on fire. Blood seeped out of his fresh wound at an alarming rate, causing the son of Poseidon to grunt out in pain. He didn't want to give her the satisfaction of hearing him scream but by the Gods was it difficult not to.

"I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer. I want to see whatever hope you have left fade from your eyes as you watch your home be razed to the ground!" She said, snapping her fingers. Through his hazy vision, he could see that she had turned the red portal into the image of what it led to on the surface. His eyes quickly widened in fear as he could see Camp Half-Blood on the other side of the portal. He could see all the cabins and all the demigods lined up in formation, ready to confront whatever awaited them.

"Oh Gods…" He couldn't help the whimper escape from his mouth, knowing what was about to come.

"Your Gods won't hear you." Hybris gave a deranged laugh, licking Percy's blood off the blade before stabbing it in his burning wound once more. The demigod bit the inside of his cheek and threw his head back, darkening spots quickly filling his vision. The pain was unreal. Whatever that poison was, it fucking hurt.

"Wait a minute…Poison. That was poison on her blade, right?" He wondered to himself, hoping that was indeed the case. If it was, he could use it to his advantage. He knew he could control such a substance. If he got a hold of it, he could use it against Hybris, kill her, and try to escape! Huffing out breathlessly as he tried to think, the only bad part about that plan was that all the poison on the blade was already in him. He could feel it burn through his veins. Testing out his theory, he searched within himself using his powers and felt for the substance.

Sure enough, it was racing for his heart. Any minute now and it would kill him. Closing his eyes, he reached out for it.

"Fuck!" He mentally screamed as he tried to control it. It felt like trying to hold onto a dog leash except the least was made out of molten lava. It was hard to control, almost as if it had a mind of its own. It was slippery and elusive, not wanting to fall under his will. If he couldn't capture it within these next few seconds, it would reach his heart. Gritting his teeth hard enough for them to crack, he finally managed to capture it. He wished he didn't though. The pain of it sitting still in his veins was almost worse than it free-flowing. Yet, despite the mindnumbing feeling, he held onto it with all his might. This was his only chance to make a play.

"Hybris, watch over Perseus for me as I kill his friends! Once that's over and I go for the Roman camp, join me! I know you thirst for bloodshed as well!" Polemus yelled out over the cheers of the Orcs as he began to go through the portal.

"I will, my love! I'll see you soon." She said in a way a loving wife would say before he left for work, waving at him as he disappeared through the portal. Turning back to the demigod who was holding on for dear life, she smirked as she took a seat in his lap. Watching her husband's creations walk through the portal and descend down the hill onto those puny demigods, she couldn't help the laugh escape from her. It was beautiful. A sight she would never forget.

"I won't fill you with any more poison, Perseus. I don't want you to die just yet." She said, lifting the demigod's chin up. "I want you to sit back and watch the show, okay? Can you do that for me?"

The demigod gave a wolf-like glare at her but his attention was quickly diverted to the portal when he saw bright flashes illuminate the scene. It seemed there was orange fireballs streaking through the sky from Zeus's fist it looked like. No doubt catapults the campers had set up there.

"Good boy." Hybris said, turning her head to also watch the beginning of the battle.

Back on the surface, things were beginning to turn chaotic.

"Fire!" Clarisse yelled, pointing her sword to the monsters descending down the hill. Not a moment later came the orange streaks of death and the whizzing of arrows overhead. She tried not to show it but she was desperate to stop these monsters before they could get close. In all her years of fighting, she had never seen these creatures. They looked almost human had it not been for the greyish-black skin and fangs protruding out their mouth.

"What the hell are those things!" One younger demigod screamed out, taking a step out of formation.

"Get back in line!" Clarisse yelled, grabbing him by the collar. "We will hold this line! Not one step back!"

That was easier said than done though. The catapults and arrows were doing a pretty good job at keeping the monsters at bay but eventually, they'd be overrun. No matter how many they killed, more and more kept spilling out of the portal. They all marched down the hill in formation, banging their weapons against their shields as they chanted in a foreign language. It was a horrific sight, something she had never seen before. Kronos's army or Gaea's had never been this organized.

To keep marching even after being hit with everything they had…it was terrifying, to say the least. Eventually, the rain of arrows and Greek firebombs ceased, allowing the monsters to march unimpeded. It seemed they were out of ammo. The monsters paid no attention to their dead comrades, electing to step over their bodies as they marched onto the demigod's ranks.

"Shit! They're getting closer!" Another demigod cried out.

Clarisse bided her time as she watched them approach. She still had an ace up her sleeve. The monsters just needed to get a little bit closer.

"Just a little more. Come on you bastards." She muttered, watching as they got close enough to where she could see the whites in their eyes and smell their horrid stench. "Now Nico!" She yelled suddenly. Not a moment later came skeletal hands clawing out of the dirt beneath the monster's feet. Soon enough, the monsters were fixed in place as thousands of skeleton warriors came out from the ground, fighting the monsters before they could reach the demigod lines.

"That zapped a lot out of me." Nico huffed, suddenly appearing out of the night's shadows. "Never summoned that many before."

"It did the trick! Hopefully that'll dwindle them before they reach us!" The daughter of Ares smirked. It was quickly wiped off her face, however, when she saw a different type of monster come barrelling out of the portal. It was at least twenty feet tall and looked almost like a Cyclops had it not been for its two eyes on the side of its head. It bellowed a horrific screech as it stomped down the hill toward them, running over and crushing the much smaller monsters marching.

"Hoooly fuck! What is that thing?!"

"It's a troll!"

Clarisse gritted her teeth as she watched the Troll barrel toward their ranks. They couldn't move out of its way, there would be no time. Instead, she seized a spear from one of her younger brothers. Cocking her arm back, she took aim before throwing the weapon as hard as she could at the towering monster. She held her breath as the spear raced through the air at breakneck speed, hoping that it would hit its mark. It seemed her aim was true as she watched the weapon imbed itself into the Troll's head. The demigods all bellowed a war cry as they watched the Troll fall to the ground, crushing even more of the much smaller Orcs underneath it.

Their screams of joy quickly ended however when the Orcs began to seep out of the skeleton's grasp, allowing them to charge their positon.

"Prepare to defend yourselves!" Clarisse yelled as she leveled her sword and shield. Not a moment later came the river of monsters crashing down upon them like a tsunami. The force of the impact was enough to send some of the smaller demigods flying backward, causing the frontline to falter. Thankfully, some of the veterans filled those gaps quickly, allowing the ranks to be sturdy and take on the freakish creatures.

Blood, limbs, heads, and screams quickly filled the air as the two sides clashed with one another. Clarisse and the veterans were a whirlwind of destruction as they held the line, killing any monster that dared get close. Covered in black blood head to toe, they kept at it for what felt like hours, killing endless hoards. They could only keep up the pace for so long however. Eventually, they would falter.

"The left! Watch the left!" Nico called out, pointing to their left flank that looked to collapse any time soon. Clarisse wanted to run over there and help but she was too occupied by the overwhelming numbers. She would kill one Orc only for another to take its place. Thus repeating a seemingly never-ending cycle. Thankfully, Chiron came to the rescue, shooting his arrows as fast as Artemis which prevented them from being overrun.

"Hold firm, Demigods!" He yelled out, inspiring them to push on. With her sword gleaming in black blood, the daughter of Ares gave a mighty war cry as she attempted to spearhead the enemy lines, hoping to cause them to break. Pushing forward, she dodged, weaved, slashed, and stabbed as if she was Achilles. She just couldn't be stopped. Her aura glowed red, the blessing of Ares, as she took an insurmountable amount of lives, allowing her to keep going. The demigods behind stared in shock at their leader who pushed forward, filling their hearts with courage to do the same.

Letting out deranged, bloodlusted screams, the demigods followed her lead. For the first time since the battle started, their frontline was able to push the monsters back. Leaving an endless amount of bodies in their wake, they began to ever so slowly but surely ascend upon the hill toward the red portal.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" They all chanted in unison, mirroring the Orcs who were chanting something they couldn't understand. Their brutal display of strength seemed to do the trick, causing the monsters to fall back. The demigods, encouraged by the retreat, pushed even more forward. A fatal mistake they would soon realize. Clarisse was too bloodlusted to hold them back and Chiron was too focused on keeping the left flank from collapsing to notice they were pushing too far in.

It was only when one lone man emerged from the portal, adorning regal black armor with horns on his head, that they realized their eagerness was a mistake.

"Oh Gods, he's arrived!" Hybris squealed as she watched her husband through the portal. He looked terrifying, to say the least. His aura of despair quickly permeated throughout the battlefield, causing the demigods to stop what they were doing and look up at the spirit of war staring down upon them. Chiron stopped shooting his arrows once he saw him and was in complete disbelief. He recognized who that was.

"No…" He whispered with a shaky voice. It was him.

"Chiron?!" Nico called out once he noticed that the fighting had stopped. The Orcs were now organized once again at the top of the hill, surrounding their master who continued to stand above them. "Chiron who is that?!" Nico tried to break the Centaur out of his trance once again. He had never seen the teacher look so frightened before.

"Run, children…" Chiron said, his voice too low for the demigods to hear. Noticing that they were not listening to him, he finally snapped. "RUNNNNNN!" He screamed loud enough for even the Gods on Olympus to hear. It was too late though. With a snap of his fingers, Polemus sent a shockwave through the air, causing the demigods to be sent flying backward. Some were killed instantly by the impact while others were fortunate enough to suffer only broken bones.

Hitting the bloodsoaked dirt, Clarisse was finally knocked out of her bloodlust as the blessing of Ares faded away. Watching as her friends slowly dragged themselves up, she turned to watch the monsters they had pushed so far back, run back down the hill toward them.

"We gotta go!" Nico suddenly ran up and helped her up before dragging her off toward the Big House.

"No! We have to stay and fight!" She tried to say but was stopped when an arrow hit her square in the shoulder. Falling to a knee, she quickly ripped the object out of her and looked back at the Orcs with fury in her eyes. Seeing Chiron staying back to protect their retreat, she tried to get out of Nico's grasp but found herself far too weak to escape. The blessing of Ares completely zapped all her energy, leaving her now useless.

Nico, doing what he thought was best, picked her back up and did what Chiron told them to do if they needed to retreat. They needed to get to the portal that led them to New Rome. This battle was lost. Whoever that man was standing on the hill was someone they could not beat.

"No! No! We need to help Chiron!" She screamed as she watched the Centaur kill monster after monster with his arrows. Once those ran out, he resorted to the twin swords strapped to his back. Her line of sight of him broke as the remaining demigods all crowded into the Big House as they scrambled around. They didn't dare stop and try to scrounge for whatever belongings they had. They'd be killed if they did that.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Travis Stoll screamed as he ran up the stairs, carrying one of his sisters who took a sword through the chest. Blood leaked down the wooden flooring as the demigods made their ascent to the top floor. Kicking open the door that led to the room where the portal was, the demigods filled inside only to find that the portal connecting them to New Rome wasn't on.

"Oh fuck! It's not working! What-What do we do!" Travis yelled out in horror.

"Iris message, maybe?"

"The Romans don't use that for fucks sake!"

"I have a cellphone! I can call one of my friends there to get it open!" Katie Gardner pitched in as she frantically reached for the phone in her pocket. She mentally thanked Leo Valdez who made these things specifically for demigods to use as she pushed the buttons.

While that was going on, Clarisse and some other demigods slowly walked up the window and looked out at the carnage that had befallen upon their camp. The cabins, woods, and fields were all on fire as the Orcs began to ransack it. The daughter of Ares felt her heart split into two as she watched the roof of her cabin that she had lived in since she was a little girl collapse.

"Chiron's still out there!" A voice broke her attention, causing her eyes to divert toward where they were pointing at. Sure enough, their teacher was still out there protecting their escape. He along with his swords were drenched with blood as piles upon piles of dead Orcs littered the ground around him.

"We have to do something!"

Clarisse wanted to agree with her friends but knew that just wouldn't be possible. There were so few of them left. They'd be overrun instantly if they went back out there. They could only watch the greatest Centaur that had ever graced the Earth defend his home.

"Well, Chiron, my old friend. It is good to see your face again." Polemus said, walking up to the old teacher. The Centaur elected to stay silent as he circled the spirit, his swords leveled to his chest.

"Come now, my old teacher. Surely you can greet your old student?"

"I see no student of mine. Only a demon of death!" Chiron snapped back, causing Polemus to laugh.

"You're right about that!" He said before sprinting at the Centaur with his sword. The two weapons clashed, sending sparks flying into the air as they tried to overwhelm one another. Their blades were a whirlwind, unable to be seen by the naked eye from the sheer speed their wielders exuberated. Teacher versus student clashed, using the same techniques as one another as they tried to gain the upper hand. This dance went on for quite some time which was exactly what Chiron wanted. He wanted to buy enough time for his campers to escape but his defense could only last so long until his guard slipped.

"You've grown weak, old man!" Polemus snarled as he nicked the centaur in the leg, causing him to stumble. Receiving a kick to the chest, Chiron was sent flying backward onto the steps of the Big House. He tried to get up but the spirit of war was on top of him in a second. Doing his best to block the onslaughts but missing a few that slipped past his guard, the Centaur was beaten severely as the demigods standing in the window above could only watch in horror.

Clarisse felt like she was going to throw up as she looked down at the man she considered a father, who looked up at her with blood leaking out of his mouth. She could see a faint smile on his features as he stared at her. Even in the face of death, Chiron was doing his best to keep his children at ease.

"Run.." He mouthed silently to her. Not a moment later a sword found its way into his heart, pinning him down onto the wooden steps of the Big House.

"NOOOOO!" Clarisse screamed as she watched the Centaur cough up blood as his weapons fell to his side. She could see the light slowly fade away from his eyes as he continued to stare up at her. She pounded at the window which proved to be a mistake as that drew the attention of Polemus who looked up at them with his poisonous, red eyes.

Her heart practically stopped when she looked into those eyes. She could feel the evil they radiated permeate in her bones, causing her to stumble back.

"Oh Gods, he killed Chiron!" Will Solace cried out, falling to his knees in pure fear. The sight of a veteran having such a reaction caused the younger demigods to panic, desperately pleading with Katie Gardner to get the portal open. It seemed her friend she had called answered the phone and was running as fast as she could to the portal on New Rome's side to get it open for them. It might've been too late however when another demigod looked out the window and alerted them that the Orcs were rushing inside the Big House.

They could all hear the flurry of armored boots rush up the stairs toward them, causing Nico and some others to barricade the door with whatever furniture was available. Not a moment later the door began to creak and crack from the force of the monsters pounding on it. It wouldn't last much longer from their strength. The demigods stepped back as they raised their weapons, forming a defensive line to protect the wounded demigods behind them.

"Katie! Really need that portal open!" Travis and Connor said in unison as they watched the door splinter and crack.

"She's inside the building! The guards are running with her to get down to it!" Katie replied, putting the phone as close to her ear as possible to block out the horrific screams of the monsters outside. They didn't know if there would be enough time though. The door was almost broken completely, only needing a couple more hits before it was open. Grabbing her sword, Clarisse got in line as she stared at the monsters peaking out the cracks with fury in her eyes. If this was how she was going to die then by the Gods she would take down as many as she could with her.

"For Chiron!" She yelled, leveling her sword as the monsters began to slowly seep inside the room.

"For Camp Half-Blood!"

"For Olympus!" She screamed as the Orcs raised their swords to attack. In that moment, however, she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder and drag her backward. Feeling herself freefall for a moment, she wondered if she had already been killed and her soul was falling down into the Underworld. In the next second, however, she knew that wasn't the case. Reappearing on marble flooring, she realized that the portal to New Rome had been opened in the nick of time.

Watching as the few remaining demigods on the other side began to fall through as well, she let out an uneasy breath of air. She had survived somehow.

"Clarisse!" A woman's voice called out to her. Getting to her feet, she watched one of the leaders of New Rome, Reyna, walk up to her with her purple and golden armor adorned and sword in hand. The daughter of Ares tried to respond but was interrupted by the screaming of one of her brothers who was the last to exit the portal.

"Close it! Fucking close it before they get through!" He cried out. The Romans listened to his pleas and not a moment later the portal was closer. Not before one lone Orc came running out of it, snarling at all the demigods standing around it.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" The Roman guards yelled out in shock as they leveled their weapons toward it. The crowd of demigods all backed away as the monster tried to charge at them but thankfully Clarisse, in her blind anger, tackled it to the ground before it could hurt anyone. Ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she raised her sword high before driving it into the base of the monster's skull.

The room went silent except for the sounds of her blade that she dislodged through the Orc's brain. They all stared at her as she wiped the blood off her face. Getting to her feet shakily, she looked the Praetor of Rome square in the eye.

"Camp Half-Blood has fallen."