The Rising Dawn

by Demititan28

Percy didn't just survive after his sacrifice, he thrived. Locked in ice for over 20 years the world he comes back to is not the one he left behind. But he doesn't have time to mourn his missed years, a threat is rising in the east and the survival of humanity is on the line. If Olympus has any hope of survival, it rests on his shoulders. Eventual Pertemis

42. I'm Outclassed by a Moon Assassin

Chapter 42: Please Hold While I'm Being Outclassed by a 5-Foot Moon Assassin

"Um, Percy," Scarlett murmured softly, "Can you make it warm again?"

Annabeth smiled and Percy let out a soft chuckle. "Sorry, Scarlett," he said, releasing his hold over the temperature that he didn't know he had been maintaining. As it warmed up he also willed much of the ice to melt, leaving puddles on the stone instead of an ice sheet. He marched over towards one of the doors, "Alright, time to do what we actually came here to do."

Using Ice Kingdom hadn't left him exhausted, if anything it had given him an energy boost he hadn't known he'd needed, and with a harsh jerk he ripped the metal door off its hinges, causing it to crash against the stone floor with an almighty bang. It revealed a dark cell, lined with the same thick stone the rest of the floor was covered in. Hunched over in the corner was a bulky figure dressed in what essentially amounted to rags.

Mason lifted up a hand to cover his eyes from the sudden onslaught of the light from outside.

"I'm hoping you're a friend," he grunted.

"I'll do you one better," Percy replied, "Family."

Mason barked out a laugh, lowering his hand as his eyes adjusted to the figure of Percy, "Usually I would say that isn't better, but in this case…"

Percy stepped into the room and offered his hand out to the son of Hephaestus, who clutched it gratefully, rising to his feet. The scruffy beard he usually sported had been shaved, whether by himself or the government Percy wasn't sure. He looked tired, and despite it having been only a couple days he looked frailer than he had when Percy last saw him at camp.

"Are you okay?" Percy asked.

"Hungry," Mason sighed, "Starving actually. Any chance you've got any food?"

Mason could tell by the look on Percy's face that he didn't have food, and a pained look crossed his face, "It's okay. It can wait until we're out of here."

"They weren't feeding you?" Percy inquired, rage beginning to boil in the pit of his stomach again.

"They were giving us food," Mason answered, walking with Percy out of the cell and into the hallway, "But I would hardly call it feeding us. It was basically scraps." As his vision adjusted to the larger room he glanced at Annabeth before his gaze settled on Scarlett, "I guess this is where you tell me 'I told you so'?"

Scarlett pouted, "It feels mean to do it now."

Mason shook his head, "No, completely deserved. I wish I had listened to you."

Percy moved to the next door, ripping the door off its hinges to reveal the next cell's occupant. Inside he found Piper, her hair matted against her face, and a gag in her mouth. He knelt next to her and removed the gag while her eyes adjusted to him. She spat onto the floor once the gag was removed and wiped her mouth.

"Second time in a row you're saving my life," she sighed, "We have got to stop making this a habit."

"I'm starting to think I can't let you go anywhere on your own."

"Maybe you should have been quicker," she teased

"I didn't realise you were going to immediately be captured. If I'd known that I would have come sooner."

Piper shook her head, "I'm just giving you a hard time, I'm just glad you're here now. How did rescuing Tyson go?"

The way Percy's expression darkened gave Piper all the answers she needed.

"I'm sorry, Percy," she whispered.

She looked like she was going to say more, but instead she turned her focus to staggering out of the cell, using Percy for support. As she came into the light of the room, Percy realised she looked underfed, just like Mason. He helped her over to the table the guards had been playing poker at. The table and chairs had been sent flying in the commotion, but Scarlett and Annabeth had put it back upright and were collecting the chairs. Mason was already slumped in one of them. Piper slid into the chair next to him and rested her head against the table.

"I would kill for a pizza right now," she sighed.

Mason groaned, also leaning forward so his head rested on the table, "Please, Piper. You're gonna make me cry."

"You guys are hungry?" Scarlett asked, frowning at them.

"Starving," Piper answered, to which Mason simply nodded.

Scarlett cocked her head to the side, as if listening to a far off voice which, based on what Percy knew about the daughter of Hades, was almost certainly what was happening. "I think I can help with that," she finally said.

"Scarlett?" Percy asked slowly. "What exactly do you mean by-?"

Before he could finish, smoke curled up from under Scarlett's sleeve, twisting in the air until it formed a bubble. Then with a musical ding, like a microwave finishing its cycle, the bubble popped to reveal a figure flying in the air.

Well…bouncing was more accurate. Like a possessed beach ball.

He was about three feet tall, hovering in midair with tiny bat-like wings flapping lazily behind his back. His chubby pink cheeks were dusted in powdered sugar, his belly was round and gleaming, and he wore nothing but a toga and a golden napkin tied around his neck. His hair was curly and golden, and his eyes glittered red. In his hand he held a gilded fork the size of his forearm.

"BEHOLD!" he declared in a sing-song voice, spinning in the air. "It is I! Beelzebub, Duke of the Seventh Circle, Summoner of Feasts, Devourer of Pastries, Banisher of Blandness-"

"Hi, Bub," Scarlett interrupted.

"Scarlett, my radiant blossom!" he beamed, "You summoned me! Gosh it was getting so stuffy in there, and sweet Jesus the smell in there with Leviathan refusing to bathe, disastrous."

Piper had lifted her head from the table just enough to squint, "Is…is that a demonic baby?"

Beelzebub turned toward her with an offended gasp. "Baby? BABY? My dear pomegranate, I have lived for millenia and have personally eaten the entire dessert buffet of King Phillip of Burgundy. Twice."

Mason raised a hand weakly. "Can you do pizza?"

Beelzebub grinned, his cherub cheeks rising into sinister dimples. "Can I do pizza, he asks. Can I do pizza?"

With a dramatic snap of his fingers, a full spread of hot, steaming pizzas appeared on the poker table. Pepperoni, cheese, veggie, even one with pineapple. There were garlic knots. Buffalo wings. A small cake with glowing frosting that spelled out: YOU'RE WELCOME, MORTALS.

Piper stared in awe, "I might be in love."

Beelzebub twirled in the air, looking delighted, "Flattery gets you dessert, sweetheart."

Annabeth was standing at the corner of the table with crossed arms, her mouth twitching, "I'm assuming this comes with some kind of price?"

Beelzebub turned to Scarlett, looking at her with adoration, "For my darling Scarlett? No price! Well…actually now that you mention it if you could PLEASE give Leviathan a bath next time you bring him out. He smells positively foul!"

Percy was quite fond of Belial, but he had to think he had found a new favourite demon living in Scarlett's head. The little cherub demon twirled through the air happily as Piper and Mason began to hungrily devour the pizzas.

Annabeth looked at Scarlett with her mouth agape, "Is there anything you can't do?"

Scarlett giggled but didn't respond, instead she joined Piper and Mason eating the pizza.

Annabeth turned to look at Percy who just shrugged with a smile, before turning to the next door in the row. As he dropped the door to the ground it revealed a familiar face standing at the door waiting for him.

Hazel threw her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. She clung to him like she wasn't sure he was real.

As Percy wrapped his arms around her he took in her appearance, and realised how much she had changed. Gone was the wiry teen who'd journeyed with him to Alaska and Olympus. In her place was a woman, having filled out as she'd grown older. She'd clearly gone a couple days without proper food, her cheekbones were a little more defined, her frame a touch more delicate, but the changes in her figure were apparent. Her skin was the same rich, warm brown he remembered, but it looked more weathered now, like she'd spent years beneath the sun. A few strands of gray threaded through her curls, subtle against the cinnamon brown. Her hair had grown longer, braided back loosely, as though she hadn't had the time, or strength, to keep it properly tied in days.

Her eyes, though, were as golden and warm as they had been the last time he had seen them.

"Gods," she whispered, brushing her fingers against his face like she needed proof he was actually real, "You're here."

Percy smiled gently, "Long time no see, did you miss me?"

Hazel laughed, a soft, hoarse sound that cracked at the edges, "Don't ask me that. I'll cry."

She took a step back, looking him up and down.

"You really haven't aged a day," she murmured, "I mean Piper told me but…it takes seeing to believe." She enveloped him in another hug, "I never got to thank you for saving me."

"You've saved me plenty of times."

"Yeah but I never had to sacrifice myself to do it."

"Eh, you've been dead before, you know it's not too bad."

Hazel gave him a pointed look that reminded him of a teacher about to deliver a scolding, "Yes, but I was dead dead. You just pulled a Captain America."

Percy smirked, "Touche. How'd you know I was about to open the door?"

"I could feel you through the ground," Hazel replied, walking past him and towards Annabeth, who she enveloped in a hug, "Hey Annie. I had a feeling you were the third person I could sense."

"You can feel things through the ground?" Percy asked in surprise.

"You're not the only demigod who gets cool powers Percy," Hazel chided, before she pointed at a cluster of ice in the corner, "Emphasis on the cool, by the way."

She made her way over to Scarlett, who was mid-mouthful of pizza, and tousled her hair.

"Looks like you were right, little sis."

"Ah tol' you so" Scarlett managed, sauce dripping from her lips.

Hazel took a slice of pizza and smiled before turning back to Percy, "Now, Captain America. If it's not too much work, can you please free my husband so I can scold him for his moronic plan."

Percy grinned, "Happily."

As Percy headed over to the final cell, he noticed Piper had stood up and made her way over to Annabeth, whispering something in her ear. With his heightened hearing he was able to catch 'stupid choice' but that was it. Whatever Piper had actually said caused Annabeth to scowl, and she replied with something sharp. Piper gave another comment which seemed to only irritate Annabeth more, and so in response Piper simply headed back to her seat.

He shook his head, turning back to the task at hand. He ripped the door from its hinges and dropped it to the floor with a clang. He peered into the cell, looking for Frank only to find…nothing.

Percy frowned, stepping just over the threshold, "Hello?"

Silence. Then an intense buzzing sounded in his ear.

A small, winged blur darted past his ear. He flinched. "What the-?"

The blur doubled back, hovered midair, and then abruptly expanded like a balloon being hit with a spell. In less than a heartbeat, the insect twisted midair, distorted, and whooshed back into something very not insect-like.

"PERCY!" came the shout a split-second before he was tackled.

Arms the size of tree trunks wrapped around him, and Percy was pulled into a full-body bear hug that lifted his feet clean off the ground. The air was forcibly ejected from his lungs.

"Frank?" he wheezed.

Frank Zhang was grinning from ear to ear as he finally set Percy down, but only after giving him one last rib-cracking squeeze, "Gods, I thought I was hallucinating," he said, blinking rapidly, "Or dead. There is that demon after all. Although there is pizza. I don't know if they have pizza in the Underworld. Hazel, honey, do they have pizza in the Underworld?"

Percy took a step back to get a proper look at the son of Mars and immediately blinked.

Frank still had that wide, solid frame, but if anything, he'd bulked up even more. His chest was barrel-wide, and his arms looked like they could punch through brick walls. The lines of his body were thick with muscle, like someone had carved him out of a block of clay and forgotten to stop. His height hadn't changed much, still towering over Percy at a solid 6 '5 or 6' 6, but he moved like someone used to the weight.

His face, though… his face still had the same open, round softness that made Percy remember the old days. The cheeks were fuller again, chubby, even, and paired with his sheer size and broad shoulders, it gave him a weird, endearing contradiction. He still looked like a walking tank, but now he was a dad-shaped tank. His black hair was longer than Percy had ever seen it, a little unkempt and curling at the edges, and streaks of silver brushed the sides like war paint.

"You were a bug," Percy frowned, still catching his breath.

"I panicked!" Frank admitted, laughing as he scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I thought they were coming back. I was a cockroach for like an hour. Not fun."

Hazel strode past Percy and reached up on her tippy toes to smack Frank around the back of the head, "That's for being a moron!" Immediately afterwards she engulfed her husband in a hug, "This is for being my moron."

"Your moron," Frank repeated, returning the embrace, albeit with far more delicacy considering their size difference, "Forever and always."

Percy couldn't keep the smile off his face. The way Hazel and Frank were still very much in love with each other, despite all the years they had been together, seemed to almost validate the entirety of his sacrifice right then and there.

Frank sniffed the air, "Is that pizza?"

"It is! The finest pizza this side of the Atlantic!" Beelzebub squealed.

"I could fuck up a pizza," Frank growled.

Hazel hit him again, "Language! You have been swearing like a sailor this trip."

Piper coughed, "The way you make it sound like a vacation."

Hazel and Frank moved to join the other former captives at the table. "Honestly, after being full-time parents for the past 13 years, this feels like a vacation."

"Yeah, I'd much rather be dealing with Area 51 than a middle schooler telling me I'm not cool enough to be seen in public with her," Frank agreed, digging into the supreme pizza.

There was a steady echo of footsteps on stone, and the entire group tensed and turned towards the hallway. Percy's hand flickered towards Riptide, only to relax when he saw who the figure was that was approaching them.

Lucifer emerged from the darkness of the hallway and assessed the situation calmly. He raised an eyebrow at Beelzebub, "She summoned you to fight the guards?"

Beelzebub looked quite offended, "She summoned me to feed her friends. And I happily obliged."

Lucifer nodded, "That makes far more sense." The demon's eyes turned to Scarlett, "Where is Leviathan?"

"He was killed by one of the guards," Scarlett replied, finishing off her pizza, "So he's resurrecting."

Lucifer frowned, "That is unfortunate, we could have done with his assistance." He now turned to look at Percy, his red eyes concerned, "The reserve defenses on the fourth floor are in the midst of falling. It is only a matter of time before they assault the command centre, and then they will march on the eighth floor for the relic."

Percy sighed, that wasn't the news he had been hoping for. "We need to get to the eighth floor first. Is there any way we can slow them down?"

"Belial is on the seventh floor, but I doubt he will prove more than an inconvenience for them. My suggestion is you make haste for the relic now."

"What about Leo?" Mason asked, "He is who we came for in the first place, we have to get him."

"I agree," Piper said, standing, "Leo is our priority."

Percy shook his head, "Stopping Enlil is my priority," He turned to Lucifer, "Fastest way to the eighth floor?"

"Elevators are still down, you will have to take the stairs. Each floor has stairs on the opposite side of the previous floor for security purposes. You will need to sprint across the floors."

"And you know the fastest way?" Percy pressed.

The demon nodded.

"Then get inside Scarlett's head, you're our new GPS."

Lucifer's lips curled into a snarl, "I don't take orders from you."

"But I do," Scarlett interrupted, "Now come on, we have a mission to complete."

Lucifer looked as though he was about to argue, but instead relented, and dissolved into black smoke that disappeared up Scarlett's sleeve.

Beelzebub pouted, "I guess that means the party is over."

"Don't worry Bub," Percy smiled at the little cherub, "We'll be having a celebration feast once we win."

The demon's red eyes widened in excitement, "Do you promise?" He turned to Scarlett, "You mean it?"

Scarlett grinned and nodded.

Beelzebub grinned, "Well in that case I suppose I can tolerate Leviathans putrid odour for a while longer. Too-da-loo!"

And with that the cherub demon vanished into black smoke and followed Lucifer.

Scarlett gave a little hiccup, and then another. She sighed, "It was kinda quiet for a bit, there was only Asmodeus and Satanas in there. Oh well." She looked over at Percy, "You ready?"

Before Percy could respond, Piper interrupted, "Percy, we can't leave Leo! What takes priority over him?"

"A relic that can bring Enlil back," Annabeth answered for him, stepping forward into an almost confrontational stance with Piper, "Annunaki take priority."

Mason turned to Percy, "Is this true?"

Percy sighed, "Listen, go get your brother back. Together you'll be strong enough to rescue him. But the Annunaki are my top priority, they always have been. The timetable has moved up, and the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Now trust me, and let me do what I have to do."

"And what is it that you have to do?" Hazel asked, frowning.

Percy fell silent, and Annabeth looked back at him, worry clear in her eyes. Annabeth seemed like she wanted to stop him, to argue against him going to the eighth floor to confront the enemy. But she saw something in his eyes that made her relent, and with resignation written across her face she turned back to the others, "He has to fight an Annunaki."

The weight of that seemed lost on everyone except Scarlett.

"I thought the Annunaki weren't back yet," Piper frowned, "All the information we had pointed to the fact that they weren't back yet, and we needed to stop them from rising."

"We were being played," Percy responded, his mind drifting to his confrontation with Ishtar at the volcano, "We're in the endgame now."

Frank snorted and started laughing, and everyone looked back at him confused. He kept chuckling to himself, oblivious to everyone's frowns. When he finally glanced around, and realised that everyone's eyes were on him, he sobered up. "What's up?"

"What's so funny?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, this is bad news." Piper added.

Frank shrugged, "I mean I guess, but like…we're chilling."

Now it was Annabeth's turn to join in the chastisement, "How exactly are we chilling?"

"Well, we have the band back together. Minus Jason, rest in peace brother. Shoutout rookie additions Mason, Scarlett, and the like 15 people that live in her head. Guys we beat Gaea. Who cares what we're up against? Percy was meant to be dead, now he's back just straight aura farming on us. We're about to rescue Leo and then every surviving member of the Seven will be back together. Older, wiser, stronger…and I mean for me personally sexier than we were twenty years ago. Who can stand up to us?"

Piper facepalmed, "You're such a dad, Frank."

Frank laughed, "The lesbian criticising the dad never gets old Pipes."

Piper blushed, but a smile had crept onto her face. She turned back to Percy, "Okay, we'll get Leo. Then we'll meet you on the eighth floor, and either we help you, or we get the fuck out. Agreed."

Percy nodded, "Agreed. Come on Scarlett."

He turned to start running before Annabeth coughed loudly, drawing his attention, "You thought you were leaving me?"

Percy pursed his lips, "Scarlett can travel shadow out, she'll be safer."

Annabeth held up her new vambrace, "I have a few new tricks of my own."

Percy thought back to the fight against Rowan, his panic and frustration at how easy his affection for her could be weaponised, "Annabeth…"

"I'm coming," she told him, "You can't stop me."

He sighed, rubbing his temples, "If it gets too dangerous, and I tell you to run-"

Annabeth brushed past him harshly, "Unlike Scarlett, I don't take orders from you."

Hazel and Frank gave each other a questioning look at the interaction, while Piper found herself frowning again. She looked over at the Zhangs and whispered under her breath, "I'll tell you later. Come on."

"One second," Mason interrupted, stepping over to where the giant hammer lay on the ground. He squatted down and then, with an impressive display of strength, hefted the warhammer over his shoulder. He shrugged his shoulders tentatively and gave the weapon an experimental swing. "I think I just found myself a new toy."

"Last guy who used it lost because he couldn't swing it." Percy noted.

Mason just grinned, "I'm not the last guy. Now let's go kick some ass."

With that the group set off. Scarlett led them to the first set of stairs, and as they exited onto the 14th floor they found themselves in a prison hallway, that while exactly the same layout as the floor below, was decorated in much more modern finishings.

"Bottom two floors are prisons," Annabeth noted, recalling the hologram Lucifer had shown them.

"Lucifer says there aren't many people on this floor. There are a few on the 13th though, that's where they're keeping Leo." Scarlett relayed.

"Lead on," Percy pushed, and Scarlett obliged, sprinting through the maze of corridors towards the other side of the floor.

They didn't meet anyone, in fact the floor seemed to be abandoned, even of prisoners.

"Were we the only people in here?" Frank asked.

Percy thought back to his conversation with David Hudson. Of how David had bragged about Area 51 being one of the safest locations on the planet. The relic must have been hunted constantly by the freed Annunaki, and so this facility's primary purpose would have been to protect it. Realisation dawned on him.

"That's why they were prepared for us," Percy exclaimed.

Annabeth met his eyes, and understanding dawned in hers as well, "There are no other prisoners in here. They evacuated it in anticipation of this attack."

"We surprised them," Percy continued, "They were waiting for the Annunaki, that's why they asked me about them. Maybe they thought we were trying to steal it. And when they realised we weren't they wanted me to figure out why they were after it so badly."

"They were waiting for the attack. At least that means they were prepared." Annabeth reasoned.

"They would have been," Percy growled, "If they weren't up against an Annunaki."

They reached the next set of stairs and Percy smashed straight through the doors, sending them flying from the hinges. He wanted to run faster, but if he ran too fast he would leave the others behind. Plus he needed Scarlett to guide him. He half considered throwing her onto his shoulders, but he figured Annabeth would be angry at him for leaving her. He half considered doing it, but decided he didn't want to piss her off anymore than she already seemed to be. He wondered what Piper had said to her that had put her in such a mood.

As they exited on the 13th floor Scarlett pointed down one of the hallways, "Leo is in the room on the left side. There will be some people in there, mostly scientists, but a couple soldiers."

"Leave it to us," Mason yelled, charging down the hallway.

"See you in a minute," Frank called, shifting into an eagle and soaring down the hallway after the son of Hephaestus.

"Be careful guys," Hazel added, before taking off after her husband.

Piper moved to follow and then turned back, giving Annabeth a disapproving look before turning to Percy, "Good luck. You're the strongest demigod I know. Give them hell."

Percy nodded and then followed Scarlett as Piper veered off after the others. Annabeth seemed angry, but followed Percy and Scarlett without saying a word.

The hallway stretched wide and low, lined with reinforced blast doors and burn-scarred walls. Pockmarks from past explosions dotted the concrete. Warning signs blinked red across shattered terminals: CAUTION: LIVE FIRING ZONE. The air carried the sharp tang of scorched metal and ozone. One room they passed had its door blown off its hinges, the interior filled with the twisted remains of what had probably once been a tank… or a mech.

"Do they even survive their own tests?" Percy muttered.

Scarlett grimaced, "With the amount of souls I can feel here…not always."

With that cheery thought they burst through the next door and bounded up the next set of stairs.

The lights on the 12th floor were flickering erratically. Workbenches were scattered with open schematics and dismantled firearms, many of which glowed faintly with celestial bronze or had Greek lettering scorched into the steel. Robotic arms hung suspended over half-assembled drones, twitching like dead spiders in midair. It reminded Percy of Bunker 9. A few people were scattered throughout the floor, mostly scientists. Most ran the moment they spotted the group.

They made it to the stairs on the other side and pounded them up to run out onto Floor 11.

The moment they burst onto the floor, the air changed.

It was colder here, not like ice, like on Floor 15, but clinical. Sterile.

The hallway lights buzzed faintly overhead, casting a pale green glow that made the whole floor feel underwater. A long stretch of reinforced glass lined both sides of the corridor, revealing chambers beyond, each one filled with things Percy didn't want to believe were real.

Figures floated in containment tanks. Some were humanoid, almost, but not quite. Their skin was too smooth, too reflective. Eyes too large. Fingers jointed in the wrong places. One of the tanks had something that looked like it was trying to imitate a person, but its proportions were off, like a sculpture that had been melted and then re-frozen mid-morph.

"Gods," Annabeth breathed. "This isn't demigod research."

"No," Percy said. "Is this what I think it is?"

There were strange runes etched into the walls, not Greek, not Latin, just… wrong. Some flickered like living light, shifting if you looked too long. One lab held fragments of a black-metallic meteor with golden filaments pulsating beneath its cracked shell. Another displayed a suit of armor suspended midair, too sleek, too advanced, and far too small to fit any human.

"I guess that answers my questions about are we alone in the universe," Annabeth muttered under her breath.

"This isn't quite how I was hoping to find out though," Percy exhaled, "Come on. We've got bigger problems than this right now."

Once more this was a floor of scientists and most avoided them. One stood shaking holding a scalpel defensively, but one feint from Percy and they scrammed.

They made it to the other side and moved up the stairs. This floor was supposed to be another research hub, and so Percy braced himself for what he might find in there.

The door to Floor 10 swung open without resistance, revealing a long, white hallway lined with glass-paneled observation rooms. The lights were bright, almost too bright-fluorescent tubes embedded cleanly into the ceiling with no shadows left to hide in. The air smelled like alcohol wipes, polished steel, and sterilized ambition.

It was quiet, reminding Percy of the asylum before the patients had stirred.

They moved quickly, their footsteps clicking against the smooth tile.

Each room they passed looked like a behavioural lab. Inside, children and adults sat at desks, or on padded benches, each one under observation. Some appeared asleep, others still. A few stared at nothing. None looked hurt. But none looked right, either.

Annabeth's eyes darted to a clipboard mounted to the wall beside one of the rooms. "They're testing magic levels," she said after scanning it, "Trying to figure out how to isolate what makes a demigod a demigod. Like they're analyzing it for parts.

The thought sickened Percy, and he made a mental note that when he was done with the Annunaki he was going to send everyone involved with this facility to Hades. But for right now, his focus was on one thing and one thing only.

They made it through Floor 10 and sprinted up the stairs to the 9th floor. By this point Annabeth and Scarlett were both struggling, and so without pushing he scooped both up and through them over his shoulders. The added weight was inconvenient, but at least it meant he could pour on the speed.

The lights of Floor 9 buzzed dim orange. Racks of celestial bronze and imperial gold weapons lined the walls like a war museum: swords, spears, guns, and more than a few things Percy couldn't name. A long hallway led between sealed vault doors and heavy-duty lockers marked AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY. There were a few guards on the floor, most of them carrying bundles of weapons towards the stairs, but Percy simply blew past them, sending more than a few sprawling before they could react.

As Percy reached the final stairwell he pounded up the stairs. The stairwell door groaned as Percy shoved it open with his shoulder and stepped out onto the eighth floor.

It wasn't a hallway. It wasn't a lab.

It was a hangar.

A cavernous, industrial vault stretched out in front of them, at least the size of two football fields, maybe more. Metal catwalks crisscrossed overhead, while enormous storage racks reached almost to the ceiling. Crates the size of small houses stood like silent titans, stamped with arcane symbols, divine sigils, and agency serial numbers.

The whole floor was eerily quiet. No guards. No alarms. Just a low, constant hum from the backup generators that were powering the floor in the corner.

Percy stepped forward slowly, his footsteps echoing on the warehouse floor. And then, with a long exhale, he knelt and let both girls slide to the ground.

"That's your cardio for the day," Annabeth muttered, brushing dust off her jeans, "Now how in Hades are we going to find the relic amidst all of this stuff?"

"I was just about to ask myself the same question," A voice carried from behind one of the storage racks. As they stepped out, Percy's blood ran hot with rage.

"Hello again, Percy Jackson," Jett snarled, "It's been too long, dearest cousin."

Percy let the rage simmer in his stomach, using it as fuel as he began to build up energy in his fists, "Personally, I don't think it's been long enough. I'd forgotten how nauseous your face made me."

Percy took a cautious step forward, eyeing the shadows Jett had emerged from. His cousin looked leaner, as though he were fighting exhaustion. But the smirk was the same.

Jett managed a smile, one entirely devoid of mirth, "Don't worry cousin. Hopefully this is the last time you live to see my face. You see, I'm just the opening act."

A ripple of cold passed through the air.

A wisp of black smoke emerged from the shadows and disappeared up Scarlett's sleeve.

"Belial," she breathed. Percy tensed, if Belial had already been defeated…

From behind one of the crates stepped a figure no taller than Scarlett. She walked with slow, deliberate grace, her small frame wrapped in silvery robes that shimmered like moonlight on water. The air seemed to thin in her presence, making it harder to breathe, like even oxygen bent to her will. The massive staff she carried looked almost comically oversized for someone so slight. One end bore a wicked circular blade, the other a crescent that pulsed with soft white light. Her face suffered no imperfection, as seemed to be the case with all the Annunaki, and her white hair shimmered as it rolled down the length of her back. Her eyes were a pale silver and glimmering, her expression disinterested.

Jett bowed immediately, head low. "Lady Sin. This is Percy Jackson."

Sin's gaze drifted lazily over Percy, Annabeth, and Scarlett like they were an old museum exhibit, "This is what passes for resistance in this era? You assured me they'd be impressive." Her voice was soft, with the faintest hint of an accent he couldn't quite place.

Jett stiffened, "He has beaten gods. Titans. Giants. He's dangerous. I wouldn't underestimate him."

"I won't," Sin replied, tilting her head. "I simply find him… dull."

Percy snorted. "Well, I'd hate to bore you."

Sin didn't even bother responding. She just stepped beside Jett, tapping her staff once on the metal floor.

Clang.

The sound echoed like a bell in a cathedral. Power radiated off her in gentle, terrifying waves.

"I dealt with the demon," she said, eyes still on Percy, "Did you find the beacon?"

Jett flinched, "I've been looking, its a large room-"

"Enlil's aura exists within you," Sin sighed, "And yet you remain incompetent at even the simplest task."

"It's not that easy-"

Jett stopped speaking as Sin swung her staff with graceful ease, the blade coming to rest an inch from his throat. "You were not given your gift to do what is easy. You were chosen to do what is necessary. Now can you accomplish that task while I handle the other half-breeds?"

Jett looked like he wanted to say something, but instead he simply nodded and ran into a nearby row of storage racks.

Sin turned her attention back to them, stepping forward slowly like a predator approaching cornered prey.

Percy turned to Scarlett. "Shadow travel out. You and Annabeth. Now."

She looked like she wanted to argue.

"That's an order," he said, firmly. "Get to safety. You're not ready for this."

Scarlett hesitated, turning to Annabeth.

Annabeth shook her head, "Just you Scarlett, I'm staying."

Scarlett looked torn, but one look from the daughter of Athena and she nodded, melting into the shadows.

Annabeth stepped up beside Percy, looking at the vambraces on her wrists. With a press of her fingers, the armour unfolded across her body in waves of segmented plating. The crimson light flickered along the seams as the suit locked into place. With a hiss the faceplate slotted in, hiding her from view.

"Let's see if my taxes have gone to good use," she muttered.

"You should have left," He warned her.

"If you're dying this time," she countered, "You're not doing it alone."

"Annabeth-"

"You're gonna have to fight me to stop me from helping!"

Frustration flared in Percy's chest, but he didn't have time to argue. His eyes snapped back to Sin. With a practiced flick, he uncapped Riptide. The familiar weight steadied his hand.

The air around Sin seemed to shimmer and distort. It pulsed with the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest. For a moment she didn't move, she just stood, seemingly at the centre of the whole universe. When she finally did speak, it was with an air of absolute certainty, "I am Sin. Annunaki. Embodiment of the Moon. You shall fall…like all the rest."

And then…she moved.

Her first strike was almost gentle, like a whisper of death. The crescent of her staff brushed toward Percy, and he barely managed to twist aside. The metal shrieked through the space he'd just occupied, slicing clean through a nearby crate. It toppled with a slow, groaning sound, its contents, a pile of bronze fragments, spilling in a cascade of gold.

Percy retaliated immediately, sweeping Riptide in a wide arc, forcing her back. Or so he thought.

Sin barely shifted. She dipped, twisted, and slid around his blade like smoke curling through a crack. Her staff came down again, which Percy blocked with Riptide, but the sheer force of it sent tremors up his arms. His knees buckled slightly, the soles of his shoes skidding across the hangar floor.

She wasn't fast. She wasn't strong.

She was perfect. No wasted motion. No hesitation. Just absolute efficiency.

Every strike she made forced Percy to react rather than attack. Still, he moved. He endured. He sidestepped and redirected. He didn't win any ground, but he also didn't die, which he saw as an absolute win.

Her weapon put him on edge. Not only the fact that it was much too large for her, but also the fact that when she spun the weapon, it howled through the air, carving through it with a high whistling that set Percy's teeth on edge. Sin's frame was barely that of a child. She was shorter than Scarlett, slim and delicate like a porcelain doll. But she moved with fluid precision, twirling the massive polearm as though it weighed nothing. Her size gave her a terrifying speed. She could slip between strikes, duck under guards, pivot and reset with no wasted motion. It was like fighting the wind if the wind could cut your arm off.

Percy charged again, this time feinting left and ducking right, aiming a low sweep for her legs.

Sin hopped lightly, barely a shift of her weight, and brought the crescent end of her staff down. Percy rolled aside just in time, the floor cracking beneath the force of the blow.

He grunted, "Gods."

She shouldn't hit that hard. But every swing of her weapon seemed to bend the rules of mass and physics. When she spun, it didn't feel like a weapon rotating, it felt like the room pivoted around her.

She lunged.

He barely raised Riptide in time, catching the edge of the circular blade. Sparks burst as celestial bronze met whatever divine metal made up her weapon, and Percy was knocked back again, stumbling. The way she fought was so alien to him. It wasn't a dance, like most fights, but rather it was like he was listening to music she created by fighting. Each swing built on the last, a melody of combat set to an endless rhythm that was boxing him in with each added lyric.

He needed to adapt, or he was going to die.

Sin advanced again, her pale eyes unreadable. She swung, right, left, overhead, and Percy let instinct take over. He ducked low under a sweep, not blocking, just moving. He could feel the wind from her strike ripple over his scalp as he slipped inside her guard.

With a shout, he drove Riptide upward, aiming for her midsection.

She twisted midair, MIDAIR, flipping with impossible grace. The staff snapped down, deflecting the blow, and the crescent end hooked Riptide, dragging it off course.

Percy staggered as his sword was nearly wrenched from his grip.

Sin used the distraction. Her foot lashed out, connecting squarely with Percy's chest and sending him skidding backward again.

She didn't press the advantage. She just watched him, tilting her head slightly. Her hair shimmered, ghostlike, under the flickering hangar lights.

"Your reflexes are excellent," she assessed calmly, "But you fight without direction. There is no future to your combat, only the present."

Percy spat blood and gave her a shaky grin, "Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present"

Sin frowned, "Did I cause brain damage?"

He charged her again, aiming for her legs. As expected, she twisted her staff in defense, but it was a feint, and Percy rolled under the deflection, coming up behind her.

He swung at her exposed back.

She ducked without looking.

The crescent whipped around, and Percy dove backward on instinct, a breath away from losing an eye.

Sin pivoted, placing herself back between him and Annabeth, who now used the opportunity to charge the Annunaki, cocking her armoured fist back ready to punch. With a roll of her eyes Sin sidestepped the punch and turned in the same movement, landing a kick straight to Annabeth's midsection. The armour creaked under the force of the blow, and Annabeth was sent crashing into the wall.

She staggered up and back towards Sin as the Annunaki merely watched her. There was a small dent in her mid section, but it seemed to have absorbed most of the blow. She pulled free the lightsaber she had brought and activated it. Her armor's HUD flickered with movement tracking, red outlines pulsing at the edge of her vision.

But she wasn't tracking behind her.

Jett struck without warning, bursting from the shadows in a blur of motion. His arm wrapped around her throat, and he jammed a dagger at the gaps in the plating near where the dent had been made, clearly trying to break through what had been made a weak spot by Sin's kick.

Annabeth gasped, twisting violently in his grip, but Jett was strong, and his Enlil-augmented strength held true even against the armour's increased power.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled, darting towards her, but Sin spun and intercepted him.

Riptide met staff. Sparks flew from the collision. Percy surged with every ounce of power he had, trying to break through her guard. Just one strike, one clean blow. But every time he came close, she flowed around him, an elegant ghost wrapped in silver.

Her staff lashed forward, slamming into Percy's chest like a thunderclap. The force sent him flying back, skidding across the hangar floor, slamming into a crate with enough force to dent the metal.

Percy groaned, coughing, his vision spinning.

He pushed up on one elbow, eyes wild, heart hammering, breath ragged.

"Annabeth!"

Jett punched Annabeth across the helmet, and she crumpled to the ground, her facemask shattering from the force of the punch. He raised his dagger and swung downwards towards her exposed face, intent on killing the daughter of Athena.

A blur of silver whipped past him. Sin spun her staff wildly, but the blur simply ghosted past her, towards Jett and Annabeth. As Jetts dagger came down, the ringing of steel on steel echoed out around the hanger like a gunshot.

Jett staggered back, his dagger clattering to the floor, intercepted mid-strike.

Standing between Jett and Annabeth, twin hunting daggers in each hand and wearing her signature silver parka, was the goddess Artemis.

Sin, for the first time, seemed to hesitate.

"Gods are not allowed to interfere with the affairs of mortals," The Annunaki warned, "You are violating the ancient laws."

Artemis rose to her full height, and Percy realised she was in the same eighteen-year old form she had been in when they had fought together in Antarctica. Her long auburn hair was tied into a braid, and her face held the same look he had grown accustomed to when seeing the goddess. Beautiful and regal.

"This hero held the sky alongside me. I am in her debt, and she is under my protection. It is my suggestion you leave, before I enact Olympian justice." Artemis replied, turning to face her Babylonian counterpart.

Sin scoffed, "If you were able to dish out your justice you would have done so before. You are scared. Your bravado is for show."

Artemis didn't rise to the bait, instead she looked past Sin at Percy, who was steadily rising to his feet, "Perseus, can you still fight?"

"With pleasure." Percy growled, his eyes flickering with icy blue light.

Artemis nodded once, "Good. Scarlett, take Annabeth to the others. Tend to her injuries. Do not return."

The shadows shifted around Annabeth as Scarlett emerged, eyes wide and fearful. Annabeth opened her mouth to protest, but Scarlett had already placed a hand on her shoulder, and both of them vanished into shadows, whisking her away to safety.

Perclet out a shaky breath. One less thing to worry about, and now he had an Olympian backing him up.

Artemis twirled her blades, "And what might you be the goddess of?"

Sin sneered, "I am Sin, Annunaki, Embodiment of the Moon."

Artemis' eyes widened in surprise, "Well," she said dryly, "Isn't that ironic."

Sin raised an eyebrow, "And what would that be?"

"Because not only are you going to lose…" She raised her knives. "You're going to lose to your replacement."

Author's note: Surprise! Two chapters in a day! Honestly the truth is chapter 41 was so long and so I decided to split it to let it flow better and so i could go into more detail on stuff in this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it.

For everyone waiting on Artemis, she has arrived. For everyone waiting on Frank and Hazel, they have arrived. For everyone waiting on Leo…you gotta wait a little longer.

As always please leave me a review with your thoughts. Your reviews fuel me to keep writing and are a huge motivation. Even if it's just a small comment, it means a lot to me. So please review!

See you next time.