Chapter 35:

The Endless Crusade

There was a table in the center of the room and exactly twelve thrones surrounded it. Pale looking seats, bottomless in their beauty but wretched all the same. They reeked of curses, ill fate and misery. For this reason no one sat on them but one man.

Percy's eyes narrowed as he locked his gaze on this particular being. The man sitting on the throne looked at Percy with curiosity, before smiling and nodding knowingly at him before his attention drifted elsewhere.

The council room was crowded. A queer looking party of everything this patchwork world could scrape together. Humans, gods and everything betwixt.

There was a convoy of Dracnea wearing regal armour to display their status; flickering ghostly gestalts armed to the teeth and there was a one eyed giant who towered above the crowd, yet in turn was overshadowed by the presence of a hundred headed dragon.

Strange creatures Percy had seen and wished he hadn't seen all gathered in one place.

Undead warriors congregated around a throne, some wielding spears, some carrying automatic rifles. An old man lay slumped in the corner, his skin was wrinkled like paper and coloured a sick brown. Milky eyes stared into nothingness and from his lips spilled hieroglyphic symbols. Next to him a couple of Dryads flocked together, showering their little corner with white petals.

Another throne, one made of dull gold, was claimed by a pack of wolves and black ravens. One of the wolves spotted Percy and gave him a respectful bark.

Lupa. Percy stared back and bowed his head slightly.

Humanity had carved out their part of this meeting as well. Thalia apologized to Percy before she joined a group of girls sporting silver parkas. They had claimed half a crystal throne and leaned against it, anxiously awaiting the meeting. Amazons had claimed the other half and were silently studying the monsters.

Opposite of the hunters, two flags crossed proudly against a milk white throne. A small delegation of Roman demigods had joined their Greek counterparts. Percy recognized one of the demigods as a daughter of Demeter, though how she had escaped from Camp Half blood was beyond Percy.

He'd presumed that everyone died after he found the camp in ashes, but maybe some had escaped Olympus' wrath after all? He made a mental note to ask Reyna about it later.

"I don't feel so out of place anymore." Kampê quipped.

"Ha."

Percy opted to take a few steps back and fade into the background. Although he hardly stuck out, he felt he didn't quite belong somewhere either.

Percy continued to observe the room. TV monitors had been integrated into the table, though they only displayed a roaring static. One of the thrones, the blackest of all, stood all alone. As if no one even dared to be within its vicinity, another throne was reduced to a pile of rubble. A black robbed woman wearing a large witch hat sat on top of it.

Reyna stepped into the middle of the room. Immediately the room lost its noise and an expectant silence replaced it.

The TV monitor's continue to display static. A person close to Reyna, one wearing mortal military gear, approached the monitor and started fiddling with some of the wires.

Reyna waited patiently for results, yet all the man could do was shake his head. "There's interference on the line. They can hear but not see or communicate I'm afraid."

"If they can hear me then it works well enough." Reyna turned her head to the crowd.

She proudly wore her tattered purple cape and fearlessly stared into the thousand eyed crowd of this mad gathering. "Olympus declared war. We are no longer monsters, or demigods or mere humans. We will forsake our old disputes, rivalries and hatred to face the one true enemy. The gods who have divided us for far too long,

"It is time to strike back and launch an attack on the gods themselves! The Endless Crusade."

Murmured whispers came from the party.

The only person who had dared to sit on a throne stood up. Immediately his length became apparent, second came his face which was riddled with deep scars. He clapped his hands together, a loud sound erupted and forced everyone's attention on him.

Prometheus smiled thinly. "Olympus has spread its forces thin. Declaring war on all humanity, fighting a war on all fronts is leaving holes in their defences. For one, they allowed age-old enemies to finally unite." Prometheus slowly looked at each participant in the room. The way he moved and talked, rubbed Percy the wrong way. The Titan of Foresight played a role and he played it perfectly, yet what role it be was a mystery to him.

Prometheus calmly sat down again. "Three days from now is the Winter Solstice. On that day we will abandon Elysium and launch a full scale attack on Olympus in New York."

"The gods are arrogant." Reyna continued. She unsheeted her Gladius and pointed it to the middle of the table. A magic mist-like image appeared of a dreadful creature. A half cow-half serpent sea creature.

Monster and man alike gasped.

"No way…" Percy gasped. A memory long forgotten and tucked away reignited with recognition. Bessie.

"Now. This is starting to get interesting." Kampê murmured, her voice poisoned with excitement.

Percy shot a glare directly across the room towards Thalia. She sternly nodded.

You want to kill Bessie?

It's the only way. Thalia's gaze answered.

"This is the Ophiotaurus. The Hunters confirmed this month that the creature is still alive and kept in Olympus' throne room. According to ancient prophecies, burning its entrails will grant the power to overthrow Olympus." Reyna dragged the tip of the spear across the image. "This is our path to victory, Olympus' Achilles heel. Is there any better opportunity than this?"

Excited rumors began to spread. If there had been a hearth in this room, it surely would've flared to life right now.

"We have two children of the big three present," Reyna pointed her spear in Percy's direction, and then shifted it to Thalia. "If either of those two burns the entrails we can rid the world of the divine rot."

Prometheus cut in. "We have to attack Olympus in the sky. However the heavens are Zeus' domain, and even if we can distract Zeus' attention we'd have to deal with Hecate and Ouranos' corpse. All assaults on Olympus so far have failed to even get close to the Empire State Building. To circumvent this, the Son of Hades came up with a solution."

From the silky shadows Nico emerged. He joined Reyna's side. He looked worse than last time Percy saw him. His eyes were red. Nonetheless he didn't falter under the scrutinizing gaze of the crowd.

"We'll lose against Olympus." Nico stated dryly. "There's simply no way to get near Olympus without getting struck by lightning or blood rain. It's simply not possible but it is absolutely necessary we do it. And even if all our forces can reach Olympus, we still have to fight the gods head on when their very nature can burn us alive. There's no way of doing this without dying." A smirk played on Nico's lips. "I propose a pincer attack on Olympus. Our main offensive will be focused on hitting Olympus and hitting them hard. We need every monster, spirit and human we can get. However, while the gods are occupied with this we'll send in a second attack force. I'll be part of that operation."

Nico grimly looked at the room. "While Elysium attacks the gods from above, we'll attack them from below and capture the Doors of Death."

The room exploded with shouts, snarls, growls, yells and questions.

Prometheus clapped his hands. That dry sound of skin against skin worked its magic. "Gentleman, and gentle monster, please stay calm. There's no need to raise your voice."

"Tartarus is empty. All the monsters are here. I already picked a team of people who will help me get into the heart of Tartarus and chain the Doors of Death again." Nico looked at Percy. For a second the Son of Hades looked at Percy with an almost cold and painful look.

"Perseus Jackson is the only demigod alive, aside from me, who has both seen the Doors of Death and survived Tartarus. Together, we'll be able to locate them and shackle them and start the Endless Crusade."

Kampê hissed. "I don't like this."

"Olympus sent us to hell," Reyna spat on the table. "But we're going even deeper. If the gods want war then we can bring it. An Endless war, a war without death. We'll fight and die until we get back what was taken from us."

"If we control the Doors of Death then we control who dies and who doesn't. Gaia had the right idea but was foiled by the very same demigods who were going to send in this time to undo their mistakes. All our allies have agreed to join the Endless Crusade." Prometheus added with a gentle voice. "Several nuclear missiles within the United States and Russia have been located and are already aimed at Olympus. That will be the first wave of our attack, it will be enough to draw their attention away from the Underworld and allow us to launch our simultaneous attack."

"Three days from now we'll fly out." Reyna concluded. "That's all."

"You're going back to Tartarus?" Kampê immediately turned to Percy. "You shouldn't, if you're even thinking about it."

"I…" Percy couldn't help but feel like his thoughts were falling behind and failed to keep up with this strange theater that had unfolded. "I don't know."

"Kzzzzz!" The static on the tv began to buzz loudly. The image of Bessie above the table flickered like a broken monitor. Reyna gave it a concerned look.

A sick feeling began to rise from Percy's stomach. Maggots crawled inside his lungs. His eyes began to sweat. Bile began to rise inside him.

Something terrible was happening.

Reyna whispered something at Prometheus who only gave her an annoyed look.

The image of Bessie was replaced all of a sudden by a new image.

ㅤ

Special Broadcast From Olympus

ㅤ

Gold against white. The letters were clear for everyone to read. And those who could not read knew in their guts what this was about.

Next to Reyna a soldier leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. "It's being patched through all frequencies on every channel. The entire spectrum."

A cacophony of voices, claims and yells flooded the room. It was as if a bomb of discord and strive went off in the room.

Percy stumbled backwards. Flashes of that day swam through his thoughts. That cold betrayal of his so-called family.

He was in good company because in that short moment, confusion bound everyone together.

The dead rattle their bones. "What do we do?"

"Death to the gods!" The cyclops booed.

"Someone cut the feed!" an Amazon cried out.

"They're afraid!" A half lizard triumphantly claimed.

Percy looked around the room, searching for someone who knew. Someone who could cut through the chaos and slice it into neat, understandable slices.

Prometheus' eyes were darting around the room, he was fumbling with his hands and tried to get the monsters near him to listen, to no avail. The magic of his words was lost in the chaos.

Reyna was talking to a mortal soldier, but they seemed to be talking past each other, all meaning was lost utterly.

Lupa was nowhere to be seen, as was expected of wolves when faced with an unknown.

Percy realized then that they were helpless and again, subject to the spinning wheel of fate. He looked at the broadcast.

The TV monitors no longer displayed static but instead were mirroring the text above: Special Broadcast From Olympus.

The text in the mist blurred for a few seconds and then it faded into an image of a rich golden throne room.

Tranquility and peace were the law of the land in such a place. Divinity radiated and burned even through the electronic display of the monitor. The home of the gods was on full display, and Percy's gut said, it was on full display for the entire world.

The broadcast focused on a person in the throne room. A goddess sitting atop a throne.

Percy's blood froze as he saw her gray eyes. Ice water traveled down his veins as he saw eyes that were uncannily similar to Annabeth, yet lacked life and passion.

Despite the awe inducing throne room, it looked strangely empty. As if the heart of it was taken. Percy knew, no hearth burned there.

The architect of destruction sat on top of her throne in a lazy way. She was the only one in the throne room but that somehow made her feel bigger, larger than she was. Maybe the room itself could swallow her if she let it.

Percy had seen the goddess a few times before but this was the only time she looked like the Greek statues he'd always seen at museums.

The goddess wore golden armour and her iconic helmet, though both lacked any marks of real battle. She was flipping around a spear in her left hand.

Her entire attire boasted confidence and pride, reminding all of them they were lesser than her.

Athena smiled at the camera. Her voice was a calculated and steady one. "Congratulations humanity. Despite all odds you still found it within yourselves to survive." The goddess' words were smooth and drenched in the pride he was so used to hearing. "How good it must feel to have reached the end of the world, by sacrificing countless lives."

Athena looked at the camera and played coy. "I can't start to imagine how many were lost. Human lives, demigods, satyrs, dracena, spirits and even fellow Olympians." She got up from her throne. She looked beautiful, her armour shone with polish and her long hair was meticulously curled. Athena pursed her perfect lips. "Think about those poor souls drowned when Poseidon flooded the coast. Those who were ripped to shreds by Dryads and the ones you left behind so you could move forward." Athena tapped her chin.

"Humanity, I beg of you to remember all your losses. All the cruel and senseless deaths. Entire cities razed to the ground by a mere disease, spiders laying eggs inside the living, or simply finding yourself starving in a world without food."

Athena put her hand on one of the thrones. "How many of you were forced to eat each other to survive?" As if the thought amused her, the goddess smiled slightly. "Don't forget the despair you have felt, the tears you shed and the scars you wear on your soul."

Her eyes turned serious. "Humanity, you far exceeded our expectations. We, Olympus, are extremely touched."

Athena moved to another throne. Percy recognized it as Zeus'. From the corner of the broadcast Percy saw Bessie swim into frame. He was unnoticed by Athena.

"Olympus has reached its goal. I have determined that humanity is no longer able to survive longer than a year. Because of this we graciously offer the world a ceasefire."

Athena's eyes focused on the camera. "Please consider carefully. Would you rather live out the rest of your days in comfort, or would you prefer being hunted down?"

Athena put a finger onto her lips. "If needs be, we could unleash the Primordials onto the surface and tear the fabric of reality asunder, if humanity were to disrespect our offer." Athena smiled smugly. "But I'm sure you will all find the wisdom to make the right decision. To bring an end to this glorious war of yours."

The goddess extended her hand out to the camera. "All we ask in return for this ceasefire is the death of Perseus Jackson."

The broadcast closed.

A/N Never let them know your pattern! Discord in bio or something.

-CaptainMoonshine-