Chapter 721
"We need to move, the battle isn't over yet," Percy told the campers
who looked at him now with eyes of wonder and dedication, "the
Romans are going to be hit, badly."
"What are you talking about?" Clarisse asked mirroring the confusion
on the faces of everyone else around her.
"The romans are still in danger," Percy explained, "Bianca and Nico
told me about an attack the Hermes squad discovered coming at the
romans. The titan's army, the real one, it's coming straight for them. We
need to get there as soon as we can and warn them."
"Another war?" Lee Fletcher asked with glaring eyes, "we just got
through one."
"That wasn't the war Lee, it was just the beginning," Thalia sighed, "we
are going to have plenty more battles from now on."
Percy nodded, "that's right. So for now we need to focus on helping the
romans."
"Well that shouldn't be too hard, everyone here already has their
weapons and armour on," Clarice pointed at the demigods suited up in
the gear and weapons the gods blessed upon them before the battle.
Percy nodded, "right, this is good, Mera, Chiron," Percy turned to the
two instructors who stood back awaiting instructions, "you two in?"
Mera smiled as she bowed, "always my prince. I would follow you to
the depth of the underworld."
Chiron nodded as well, "I swore to help Olympus Percy, I would be
happy to help."
Percy nodded, "great, then get your armour on and get ready,
everyone else pack everything you need, food, water, gadgets,
anything. I don't know how long this battle is going to last, I'm wagering
Kronos is going to launch an immediate attack upon camp Jupiter in
order to surprise us, but if he doesn't than we are going to be there for
a long time, and I don't want to make several return trips, is that
understood?"
"Yes sir!" the demigods cried out, usually there was a joking tone to
their respect, but now...now it was too formal for Percy's taste. Once
more the crown on his head weighed heavily on his brow.
At once the demigods all dispersed, Percy turned to the camper
councillors that quickly surrounded him like a king and his council.
"Are we seriously supposed to call you 'your majesty' now?" Lee asked
with his unique branch of humor.
"I would actually prefer it if you didn't," Percy groaned, he touched the
golden laurel on his brow and sighed, "stupid Morpheus, what gives
him the right?"
"He is the god of dreams," said Jordan Green, the now councilor of the
Athena cabin, due to Annabeth's absence, "it is said that for any king of
Greece to be a legitimate king in the eyes of his people he would need
to be personally appointed by a god. So while Morpheus wasn't an
Olympian, he is arguably the most important god in our entire mythos."
Percy sighed as he rubbed his rubbed, "I wasn't looking for an
explanation but that's wonderful to know Jordan, thanks. You are
definitely Annabeth's brother." The child of Athena grinned while the
others snorted in laughter.
"So what's the plan?" Clarice asked quickly, "how are we supposed to
even get there in the first place?"
Percy sighed, "the Labyrinth is our best shot, it's fast and effective."
"Do we have enough rope for over a hundred demigods?" Travis
asked.
"We don't," Conner replied immediately, "believe me I checked….for
educational purposes of course."
"Of course," Clarisse rolled her eyes.
"Katie, Castor, could you use your powers to create a vine long enough
for all of us to use?" Percy asked the head councillors of the Demetre
cabin and Dionysus cabin.
Katie nodded, "yeah, we could do that."
Castor shrugged, "it'll be easy if we use a grape vine."
Percy nodded, "good, then get on that pronto. In the meantime one of
you contact Bianca and the Hermes squad and tell them to meet up
with us at camp Jupiter, if they don't know where it is tell them. Thalia,
contact Julia and Rob and tell them we are coming and tell them about
what's coming for them."
The demigods all nodded in agreement as they quickly broke off to do
their assigned tasks while Percy found himself alone.
Thalia stopped and turned around, seeing the heavy look on her
boyfriend's shoulders. She approached him, cupping his jaw with her
hands as she lifted his head to meet his eyes.
"You'll get through this," Thalia whispered as Percy wrapped his hands
around her waist, "I know you will."
"I hate this stupid crown," Percy grumbled, "it's so heavy...and lame. I
mean seriously, who makes a crown out of leaves? Why not swords?
Heck even a crown of deer antlers would look cooler than this shit!"
Thalia laughed, "ideas you found in your books?"
Percy smiled as he nodded, "yup George R. R. Martin is a cold hearted
bastard, but he sure knows how to write."
Thalia looked down at the golden fleece in his hands, glaring at it with
both hate and gratitude, "what are you going to do with that?"
Percy looked down at half of the golden fleece he managed to take
away from Kronos and sighed, "I'm not sure...I think we should keep it,
just in case anything bad happens during this next battle. The other
half currently draping your old wooden body is doing a good job at
boosting the barrier's powers, so maybe we can use this half for our
own needs."
Thalia smiled, she leaned forward and kissed his lips with a warmth he
only ever felt with her. She pulled back and ran her fingers through his
hair, "I'll be with you, every step of the way."
Percy nodded, "I know...go, warn Julia. I'll be fine."
"I know, but you are my boyfriend you know, it's your job to worry about
the world, it's my job to worry about you," Thalia kissed him again
before she walked off to form an Iris message to camp Jupiter.
Percy watched her go and sighed, he put away his half of the golden
fleece into his inventory and took off with super speed. He ran into the
Forest and approached the Fist of Zeus. He made sure that he could
still access the labyrinth entrance, which he thankfully could, before he
created a mist with his powers, forming a tiny rainbow before him.
Chapter 722
Percy took out a drachma and tossed it into the mist, "Iris, goddess of
the Rainbow, please accept my offering, show me yourself," and
immediately the rainbow displayed the goddess before him.
"Percy!" the goddess cried out, "you're back!"
Percy nodded, "yeah, I am. Where are you?"
"I'm at Olympus right now, along with the other minor gods and the
Olympians."
Percy narrowed his eyes, "I see...this is perfect. Can you enlarge me
and put me before the entire council?"
Iris nodded, "of course," she stepped away before the display widened
showing Percy a first person view into the throne room of Olympus. He
saw Zeus and the others looking straight at him, glaring in curiosity.
"Percy! You're alive!" Triton cried out with a grin, he turned to Poseidon
with a smug smile, "see!"
Poseidon rolled his eyes, "yes, yes, and for the record I never said he
would be killed, I just said he could have used your help in the battle."
"And I told you he could handle it," Triton shot back.
Percy rolled his eyes, "ladies, ladies, please, you're both pretty, now
can we get on with this? I do have things to do you know?"
"What happened?" Zeus cut in, his serious glare betrayed nothing, "is
Thalia safe?" he changed into Jupiter, "is Jason?"
Percy nodded, "yes, everyone is safe. But...well we aren't out of the
woods just yet."
"What do you mean?" Athena asked curiously.
Percy sighed, "when we were in the Dreamworld Kronos attacked, but I
assume you guys figured that out?"
Zeus nodded, "yes, the minor gods told us about Hypnos' treathercy.
Very unfortunate, but predictable," the minor gods glared at Zeus'
dismissal, but the God didn't seem to care.
"Right, well that's what happened. The Titans came and we...we
fought. It was a war," Percy flinched, "it was horrible."
"Ha!" Ares snorted, "that's because you don't have the stomach for it
boy!"
Percy glared, "if I didn't have the stomach for it then how come I was
able to send their asses packing?"
"Is everyone safe?" Athena asked, her face filled with worry.
Percy nodded, "yeah, Morpheus got everyone out in time. Don't' worry,
no demigods died."
"See!" Eunomia hissed, "he is not a traitor!"
"Enough!" Zeus growled, he turned to Percy and glared, "so you won?"
"Of course we won, how else do you think I'm here talking to you?"
Percy snorted.
Zeus glared carried hate, "you could have ran."
"We didn't have the luxury," Percy hissed back, "if we did then the
Dreamworld would have belonged to the Titans, and who knows what
they could do to us in our dreams."
"Percy," Eirene, the goddess of peace in her evry calming voice spoke
up defusing the tension in the room, "what happened to Morpheus?"
Percy sighed, "when the titans attacked Morpheus realised his mistake
and helped us fight back. But in the final moments in the battle Hypnos
did something really, really stupid."
"What?" Athena asked curiously.
"He took over the Nightmare realm," Percy whispered, and yet
everyone could hear him.
"He did what?!" Apollo yelled out growing pale.
"Are you certain Percy?" Poseidon asked hesitantly, praying his son
was wrong.
Percy instead nodded, "yeah, I'm sure. He warped the Dreamworld,
and Morpheus sacrificed himself to maintain the balance. He became
the avatar of Dreams while Hypnos became the avatar of Nightmares.
And he sent all home."
Eirene cried, Eunomia held her thigh as she cried into the goddess of
good law's shoulder. The gods of the minor council all looked defeated,
one of their own had passed, giving his life up to make up for his
mistakes.
"Good riddance," Zeus spat, "he was a traitor, at least he proved
himself loyal in his last moment."
"Father!" Athena hissed.
"Hold your tongue brother!" Poseidon joined, "don't find fault with an
action you yourself would have attempted if you could."
"I have never betrayed Olympus! I have never forsaken the demigods!"
Zeus roared.
"But you have acted rashly several times before," Hera quipped,
"especially when it came to the question of an enemy attack. Or have
you forgotten the attack on Mount Othrys?"
Zeus paused as he turned to his wife and growled, "I may have risked
our lives in that attack, but I had a plan, and it was the only chance we
had to defeat Kronos!"
Hera shrugged, not putting up a fight. Feeling justified Zeus turned to
Percy once more and blinked in surprise, "Jackson, what is that on
your head?"
The gods all looked in curiosity towards the young son of Poseidon and
realised now that he did indeed have a new accessory on his brown. A
golden laurel with a bright shining blue gem etched into the center.
Percy sighed, "it's….it's a long story."
"We have nothing but time," Zeus demanded.
Percy shook his head, "no actually we don't. I got a report from the
Hermes Squad that Kronos' force are close to camp Jupiter, I'm
assuming after the defeat he just suffered the crazy farmer is going to
launch another one to try and catch in unprepared. We already
contacted the romans and warned them, and as soon as we are done
getting ready we are going to San Fransisco now."
The king of Gods growled, "fine, but I expect an explanation when you
are done Jackson, don't think this is over."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Percy shook his head.
"Do you have a plan?" Athena asked, "how are you going to get so
many demigods halfway around the country in time?"
"I'm going to use the labyrinth," Percy held up his hand stopping
protests before they began, "don't worry, we have a way to navigate it.
We'll be fine."
Poseidon sighed, "alright, if you're sure."
"Right, oh and another thing, thank you for your gifts," Percy smiled, "it
meant the difference between victory and lose. I don't know what we
would have done without them."
The Gods seemed pleased with Percy's gratitude, Apollo especially as
his chest seemed to grow three times bigger along with his ego.
"Is there anyway you guys could help us more?" Percy pressed, "I
know you can't get involved, but surely Kronos broke all sorts of rules
when he invaded another God's realm and tried to take over? Don't
that give you some kind of wiggle room?"
The gods looked at each other with knowing looks before Zeus nodded
speaking up, "we will send whatever available troops we have to your
aid Jackson. Artemis, are your hunters able to join with the demigods?"
"I have just been informed by them that whoever was forced asleep
woke up a few moments ago, they should be ready within the hour
father," Artemis nodded before she turned to Percy and smiled, "thank
you for bringing them back to me Percy."
Percy grinned, "not a problem. Anyway I need to get everything in
order, oh and Ares," the god of war grunted in acknowledgment, "we
could really use your help in this."
Ares grinned devilishly, "are you asking for my help kid?"
"Yes, I am."
The god of war meet Percy's eyes and froze at his blunt honesty, he
was about to make a quip on Percy's groveling when he noticed
several eyes glaring a hole into his figure. So instead he just sighed
and waved his hand, dismissing Percy's worries.
Chapter 723
Percy nodded and swiped his hand across the message dismissing it.
That was exhausting, he had to tread on eggshells to avoid talking
about his 'coronation', Zeus wouldn't be able to think straight if he
thought Percy was going to unify the demigods against Olympus,
which was utter garbage.
The son of Poseidon climbed the rock formation and sat down, he
opened his skill tab and clicked on the first one he saw.
Water Control (29/50)
Allows you to control any form of water from any source of water.
Cost-1 MP per minute
58% efficiency
Percy grumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose, 'this is such a
major pain in the ass.'
The changes CHAOS made to the gamer system was vast, the
obvious thing was the look of the interaction screens, blue with greek
runes running along the side. Appropriate.
But as Percy soon discovered that wasn't the only new changes.
His skills now had limits, which is frustrating. Before he had no limits,
he could theoretically reach level 100 for any skill, but now…
Percy sighed, 'I suppose it is for the best, too much power and all that,
but then again I really do need all the help I can get,' Percy moved to
dismiss the screen, but before he could even think it the screen
disappeared on it's own.
The demigod blinked in surprise, 'that's new...maybe it's reactive?
Knows when it's not needed?' Percy wondered how advanced this type
of magic was, he would wager it was more advanced than anything
else in the known world, considering who made it.
Putting the curious thoughts to the side Percy got up from the fist of
Zeus and walked out of the forest. He looked upon camp half-Blood
just as the first rays of the morning sun began to bath the camp in a
warm light.
Percy looked down at his clothes, he was still wearing his school
uniform, which was actually kind of funny. He basically just fought the
devil in a blue sleeveless vest and brown slacks, isn't that
underwhelming.
Percy opened his inventory and took out an orange camp half-blood t-
shirt and a pair of jeans. He quickly changed into them, putting his
uniform away for later. His gauntlet slipped back into his left forearm,
flashing in the morning light, ready for round two.
Just then he heard the marching of over a hundred boots hitting the
ground as soon the greek demigods stepped out from behind the trees
surrounding him.
Thalia and the other head counselors stepped up to him and nodded.
Percy nodded back and looked around, "alright, Castor and Katie are
going to pass you a long stretch of rope around to you all. I want you to
wind this around your arm and do not let go. The way we are going to
travel is going to be messy, and if you get lost we will not be able to
find you. Got it?"
No one said a thing. Percy nodded as he quickly got everyone in line.
He pressed his hand against the glowing blue delta symbol causing the
choice menu to pop open:
Ping!
Do you wish to fast travel to another known Labyrinth location?
YES/NO?
Percy pressed yes and quickly selected the camp jupiter location
causing the door to slide open. Percy lead the demigods inside, each
crawled in one by one as they soon came upon the more open
corridors of the labyrinth and followed Percy as he guided them
through it.
He walked for five minutes before reaching the other side, opening the
door and slipping out into the entrance tunnel on the other side.
Immediately Percy realised he wasn't alone as several legionnaires
turned around at him, lowering their spears in a threatening manner.
Percy put his hands up, "relax guys, it's me."
The legionnaires' eyes went wide as they realised just who they were
talking to. They immediately lowered their weapons. One spoke up
performing a low bow, "we are sorry ah, your majesty, we didn't know it
was you."
Clarisse snorted from behind, "holy shit, they are actually going to call
you 'your majesty', this is hilarious!"
The romans glared at the daughter of Ares, whether for disrespecting
their 'king', or their behaviour Percy didn't know, nor did he care. He
quickly spoke up defusing any tension that was building up.
"Where's Julia? Or Rob? I thought they would be here?" Percy looked
around and realised that the entire service tunnel was filled with
demigods in line, the tunnel entrance had opened up in the middle of
the platoon, hence their startled reactions.
"Praetor Julia is back at the fort while Praetor Rob is up front," the
legionnaire pointed out, "should we tell them you're here?"
Percy nodded, "yeah. Go tell Julia we are here, I'll take care of Rob."
"Yes, ah, your majesty," the legionnaire said the title with an uncertain
tone before he marched off towards camp.
"Thalia," Percy turned around to face the demigoddess, "take our
demigods into the fort and wait outside for Julia to come meet you. I
know the Romans are our allies, but I don't want to spok them by
marching an army into their camp. I'll join you as soon as I can."
"Got it," Thalia nodded, "alright everyone, follow me!" A stream of greek
demigods came into the service tunnel, Percy made sure they wouldn't
be harassed by any of the romans there before he quickly rushed to
the front lines in a blur of speed, seemingly disappearing to the mortal
eye.
"Woah," a female legionnaire gasped, "that is so cool!"
"Man I'm glad he's on our side," a man said with a gulp.
"Did you see the way he fought Kronos?"
"It was like out of a movie! Man I wanted to help me out, but it was like
everything around them was being turned to dust! That's some next
level shit right there!"
The legionnaires all began to buzz around, recalling the tiny glimpses
they managed to glance at the their mysterious new 'king', some
accepted the demigod to that position, while others wondered what
right he even had.
With Percy:
Percy appeared in front of Rob startling the the romans at the front.
The were going to attack when Rob put up his hand ordering them to
hold.
"Damn it Percy you're not supposed to do that!" Rob hissed, "what if
one of us got you?"
Percy rolled his eyes, "well then I doubt it would hurt." Immediately the
romans began to whisper in hushed tones, pointing and staring at
Percy. Percy noticed this, narrowing his eyes at the whispers, while
Rob just looked uncomfortable.
"Alright, anyway, I assume you brought the greeks with you?" Rob
asked glaring the legionnaires around him into silence.
"Yeah, they are going to meet Julia now," Percy nodded, "oh and Rob I
would recommend you push the army back a few paceses."
"What? Why?"
"There's an entrance to the Labyrinth back there, one which I used to
bring everyone here. And if I can use it to bring a small army into the
middle of your ranks..."
"Than Saturn can use it too" Rob nodded in understanding, "will do
Percy, now get going, Julia needs to talk to you...it's urgent."
"I'm assuming it's about," Percy trailed off, pointing to the crown on his
forehead.
Rob sighed as he nodded, "yeah, it is. The senators are….well they are
freaking out to be honest. It's a mess, look Julia will explain to you
better than I can."
Percy nodded, "right, if anything happens don't be afraid to Iris me, I'll
be here in a flash."
Rob nodded, "right, oh and Percy, can I keep this?" Rob pointed at the
flaming greatsword he had strapped to his back, Hyperion's sword.
Percy shrugged, "sure. But be careful, Kronos is sure to be pissed at
you waving around his brother's weapon like that. Plus it's bound to
bring attention to yourself."
Rob shrugged, "that's a good thing. Keep them directed at me, away
from any weaker joints in the front lines. That was basically the Golden
Eagle's job, but now..."
Percy nodded, "I'm sorry we couldn't do anything about that."
"It's fine," Rob waved him off, "Jason and Thalia did a great thing with
it, and in the end it broke fulfilling it's purpose, I suppose."
Percy sighed, he saw the arc of lightning shot out, he felt the raw mana
they were churning out of it, the pure energy. It was a surprise it didn't
break sooner to be honest. Percy was distracted by the fight, but even
he felt the rod snap in half.
Chapter 724
He waved at Rob before disappearing in a gust of wind. He reappeared
before Thalia and the others who had just arrived to the gates of the
fort. The moment Percy arrived the gates opened and Julia, along with
Edgar and Octavian, the people Percy least liked in the entire camp.
"You arrived faster than expected," Julia commented as she fixed her
hair in a ponytail, nodding at Thalia and then turning to Percy. Her eyes
traveled to the crown he wore and she smiled, "I'm not going to call you
'your majesty'."
Percy shrugged, "would be weird if you did."
"And neither is the rest of Roman!" snapped Edgar in a furious tone of
voice.
Percy shrugged, "don't care. Look man I'm assuming right now the
senate is tearing itself in half trying to figure out how to get rid of me.
So I'll save you the trouble, I promise you I have no intention of trying
and ruling ever you lot, frankly it would be a pain in the fucking ass and
I have no intention of listening to you people whine all day. Okay? Can
we just pretend nothing happened and try to survive Saturn's next
attack?"
Edgar and Octavian looked surprised, before matching pleased smiles
adorned their faces. Julia on the other hand groaned, but didn't say a
thing in protest.
"Right," Percy nodded, "no that that's settled let's focus on the big
thing. Kronos is coming for round two and this time he's bringing the
big guns."
"How many monsters are we talking here?" Julia asked.
"I'm not sure," Percy admitted with a shrug.
"No wait," Lee spoke up, he took out a scroll and passed it to Percy,
"the Hermes squad told me everything they could find about the titan's
army."
Percy opened the scroll and his eyes winded immediately. "Oh fuck!"
he cursed reading the scrolls contents:
Titan army, observation for the past week and a half.
Confirmed units:
Enhanced animals: 50,000
Satyr: 2,400
Gergosas: 1,000
Empousa: 200
Wyren: 20?
Ice Giants: 10
Undead?: ?
Cerberus: 150
Flaming thing?: ?
Cyclops: 120
Centaurs: 300
Minotaur is seen, but not confirmed
Total possible strength: ~54,200
Unknown number of undead, necromancers have been spotted,
unknown number of them, maybe able to conjure more.
Note this is not the extent of the full Titan army. Many more have
been hidden, possibly powerful enough to take on a demigod one
on one and win.
Percy glared at the sheet, "we are so screwed."
Julia asked for the sheet, and when she read the contents she couldn't
help but feel a shiver run through her back. She looked up at Percy,
"how accurate is this?"
Percy sighed, "this is a team composed by Mercury himself, it has two
children of Hades, I mean, Pluto and a child of Pan. Believe me when I
say everything they have reported on can be counted on. It's what they
haven't reported on that worries me."
"What do you mean?"Julia asked.
"They said they couldn't be sure this was the extent of the army's
might, meaning there could be more coming for us. And if they can't
detect them I can' help but wonder just how strong these guys are."
Julia nodded in deep thought, just then Octavian snatched the
parchment from her hands and began to read it.
"Octavian," Julia hissed snatching the scroll back, "I am the praetor
here, you cannot just do as you please!"
"You cannot hide this from rome Julia!" Octavian hissed, "and I saw
what was on that paper! We have over 50 thousand soldiers coming at
us! We can't fight against that!"
Percy rolled his eyes, "we can, 50 thousand of those are mostly just
enhanced animals, easy to fight off. It's the other 3,000 I'm worried
about. They are too many varied fighting figures, too many unknowns."
"This isn't a battle we can win," Edgar spoke up in a silent tone that
drew everyone's attention to him, "you all have just fought another
battle, and this time army isn't tired in the least. These aren't odds we
can face."
"Well do you have any suggestions?" Julia spat out, "because unless
you can transport nearly twenty thousand romans we are screwed!"
"Maybe...but I can," Percy spoke up, "Julia, you once told me you could
have the city and the fort disassembled and moved in three to four
days, right?"
Julia narrowed her eyes but slowly nodded, "yes...but just
disassembleing everything would take the entire day, moving it-"
"Don't worry about that bit, I can help with that," Percy grinned, "if you
can have everything taken down into small enough pieces I can store
them in my inventory and then we could use the Labyrinth to take
everyone away. Then we can reassemble everything whenever we
want."
Julia obviously didn't like the idea, but Edgar did. "This is very much
possible," the senator nodded, "we can have the city and fort broken
down at least by the end of the day, sixteen hours at the most."
"And where will we live?" Octavian asked defiantly, "we have no place
to stay!"
"You could stay at camp," Thalia offered looking back to see if there
was any objections. Finding none from the greek demigods she
continued, "we should have plenty of room at camp, and maybe later
we could expand or somthing."
"Staying on greek land?!" Octavian scoffed, "we are Romans, it is bad
enough that we are running away instead of staying and fighting, but to
run to the Greeks?!"
Percy growled, "I would watch your tone Octavian. This is our home,
and we are offering it to you. I thought Romans were supposed to be
cultured, not ungrateful little shits," Percy's anger seeped into his
voice, activating his bloodlust skill;
Ping!
You have successful scared Octavian!
Percy dismissed the notice before turning to Julia, "what do you think?
Would it be enough?"
Julia sighed, "I'm sorry, but no. Octavian is right," Julia looked
constipated just admitting that, "the camp wouldn't be big enough for
us all. And certainly not enough to build New Rome on. And it wouldn't
be right to rob you of your home."
Everyone looked disappointed to hear that. And then Thalia spoke up,
"well, there is one other place you could use," she trailed off looking at
Percy.
The demigod frowned for a moment before his eyes lit up in realisation,
"that's brilliant!" he beamed as he kissed Thalia on the lips, hard.
Julia and other looked confused. "What are you talking about?" Julia
asked.
Percy broke the kiss and turned to Julia with a smile, "I have an island
you guys can use."
Julia blinked, "I'm sorry what now?"
Percy grinned, "I own an island called Gardiner island, it's just off the
coast of Long Island and just a few miles away from camp. You guys
can stay at camp before we get everything evacuated and then I can
take you to that island. Theres plenty of room there for New Rome and
the fort. Heck there's enough room for your city and mine!"
"You city?" Octavian asked surprised.
"Oh, right, look that's not important. What is important is that we have a
chance of surviving this day, Edgar's right, we probably won't come out
of this unscathed, so for now we need to move back, get our wits about
us."
Chapter 725
Julia looked at the others and unspoken words passed between them.
Finally she sighed and nodded, "alright...you're right. We can't win this.
Octavian, you and Edgar get every senator and everyone in New
Rome into the Senate building now. We need to have an emergency
meeting."
"Understood praetor Julia," Edgar nodded as he and Octavian took off
towards New Rome.
"We are on a schedule here Julia," Thalia pressed, "we don't have time
for meetings and debating. We need to act now!"
"I know, I know," Julia waved Thalia down, "but with everything that's
been going on," she looked to Percy's crown, "the last thing we need is
me pulling rank. We need to be calm and orderly about this. We are
already breaking too many traditions by running away, we need the
Roman factor in this moving."
Percy grumbled, "right. But still, stupid senate. Would be so much
easier if they just did what they were told instead of debating
everything."
Julai chuckled, "careful there Percy, you're starting to sound like a
dictator."
Percy shrugged, "I'm a dick, what can I say?" Thalia and the others
groaned at the pun, rolling their eyes at his lame joke.
Julia did as well before turning around and calling for a legionnaire.
The roman came to her at once, "tell everyone to begin disassembling
the non-combat buildings immediately. I want everything that that can't
be used to hold back an attack reduced to nothing but wood and stone,
got that?"
"Yes ma'am!" the soldier saluted before he ran into the fort yelling out
her orders.
"Weren't we going to wait for the senate?" Percy asked with a smirk.
"The senate has power over the city, but I command the fort. I'll leave
the walls and other buildings that can be used for shelter intact, but
everything else will be done in around three hours. Think you can be
ready by then Percy?"
The demigod nodded, "not a problem. Until then can we help out in
anyway?" Percy motioned to the patient army standing behind him, "we
could help Rob with the parameter, I see you have the entire valley
blocked off, but we could help fill up your ranks."
Julia nodded, "that would be great. Can I assign them duties?" Julia
asked, Percy realised she was asking permission to order around what
was effectively, 'his men'.
The demigod nodded, "sure," he turned around and spoke aloud,
"LISTEN UP YOU GUYS, WE ARE GOING TO BE HERE FOR SOME
TIME! LISTEN TO WHAT JULIA SAYS AND TRY TO STAY OUT OF
TROUBLE! GOT THAT?!"
"Yes!" the greek drawled out.
Percy nodded to Julia who quickly began dividing up people into
groups. She remembered the squads in which they operated,
remembered their faces and what they were good at, putting them in
the most optimal location.
Percy had to admit, that was very impressive. No wonder she was a
war general, she must have barely had time to learn all their names,
but she still remembered what each of them could do. Percy's opinion
of her was already high, this just made it even higher.
As the greek demigods were divided up a rainbow appeared before
Percy revealing the face of Percy Decker, the son of Pan.
Percy grinned, "Decker! Where are you? I thought the Hermes squad
was supposed to be here already?"
Decker sighed, "I'm sorry Percy, but we ran into some trouble."
Percy narrowed his eyes, "where are you? I'll come and get you right
now."
"No, that's the worst thing you can do right now!" Decker hissed, "they
have this sort of…. Magical barrier up. Bianca could explain it better,
she said it was something she saw Mera use, it keeps magic from
getting in. If you come here the monsters will know and they will attack
quicker. Right now they are all...well kind of stupid really. They aren't
doing much."
"I see...how long will it take for you to get here?"
"Bianca and Nico are working on a tunnel to take us under the barrier,
we should be at camp Jupiter by the afternoon."
"I see...and you said the monsters didn't look like they were moving?"
"No Percy, it's like they are waiting for something."
Percy narrowed his eyes, "they are waiting for Kronos."
"How? Didn't you like take that Golden Fleece thing from him?"
"Yeah...he's up to something. Tell Bianca and Nico to keep at it. If
anything happens contact me at once. I don't care about the monster's,
I'll make sure nothing happens to you all. Got that Decker?"
Decker nodded, "right...and Percy...there's something else."
"What?" Percy asked curiously.
"In the Dreamworld I….I fought against those enhanced animals and
I...I felt something."
Percy sighed, "I figured you would."
"What?" Decker's eyes' shot open, "what do you mean?"
"Those enhanced animals are a part of the wild, Argo," Percy spat out
the name, "experimented on them. What you felt was probably the little
of the poor animals that was left inside."
Decker sighed, "no Percy, that's not what I mean."
Percy looked surprised, "really? Then what did you mean?"
"I...I think I felt my dad Percy," Decker spoke softly, looking around to
see if he was being overheard, "it was just for a second, but I swear it
was him! He told me to come find him! He looked hurt Percy, he looked
like he was suffering!"
Percy closed his eyes in thought, Decker eagerly waiting for the son of
Poseidon's opinion on the matter.
'So that's why so many satyr's are fighting on the titan's side,' Percy
realised, 'Argo probably captured Pan and used his powers for his own
end...which means…,' Percy spoke up, "it could be a trick."
"It wasn't!" Decker hissed, "you once said you're dad was like a bigger
version of you, well that's what this felt like Percy! It was like I staring at
myself!"
"Decker calm down," Percy cut the boy short, "I'm not saying I don't
believe you, what I'm trying to tell you is that it could be a trap, or at the
very least very dangerous."
"But-"
"-Which doesn't mean we aren't going to try and help Pan," Percy cut
his protests, "his family Percy, of course we're going to help. But we
need more information." Percy thought for a moment before speaking,
"how did you find out about Pan last time?"
"I-I connected with one of those enhanced animals, tried to control it
with my mind. And when I did I felt my dad, I felt him speak to me."
"How did he sound?"
"Weak."
"Then we have to assume he won't last for long and the little power he
does have is probably being used to contact you," Percy cursed, "I
always wondered how Argo got so many animals to obey him so easily,
guess now I know."
Chapter 726
Decker grew furious at Percy's words. The plant life around Decker
started to rustle angrily in response to his anger. Percy noticed this and
spoke up, "calm down Percy, you need to be calm for this."
Decker nodded as he slowly sighed, "yeah...sorry."
"It's fine," Percy nodded, "listen we have to assume that Pan can't
always reach out to talk to you, and that we have limited chances for
this to work...for now stay where you are. We'll sort this out after we get
the Romans to safety."
"Isn't there something we can do now?" Decker asked, Percy could
hear the pain in the boy's voice, he was begging for something,
anything that could lead to the rescue of his father.
Percy sighed, "well I suppose we could try and catch some animals. If
what you're saying is true and that Pan is somehow forced to control
the animals into doing the titans bidding then we can establish a
connection with him thought them. Get here as fast as you can Decker,
then we can figure out have to catch these things and find out how to
save your dad. Alright?"
Decker nodded, determination etched into his face, "alright."
Percy wished the boy well and waved the message away. He turned to
see everyone on their way to their assigned slots, even Thalia was with
the fifth cohort speaking to her brother who held in his hand the other
half of the broken Eagle.
Percy felt sad seeing the beautiful thing broken in half, he had a
connection with it, after all he and Thalia did return it home, it stood as
a symbol of the union between both camps, but now...well he
supposed it still was a symbol of union, just not like before.
Percy realised for the first time since this whole debacle began he had
nowhere to be and nothing to do. He had maybe five minutes of free
time on his hands and he knew just what to do with it.
He took off into the surrounding forests and ran until he was a mile
away. He looked around making sure he was alone and then reached
into his inventory and pulled out a crescent shaped device that turned
on the moment it left his inventory.
Percy let it go allowing it float above him projecting a screen on a tree
trunk before him. Luke appeared on the screen and he did not look
pleased.
"Where were you Percy?! I've been trying to contact you for the last
hour!"
"We needed to get into position Luke, we couldn't risk the romans
being attacked so quickly. I'm sorry I wasn't able to pick up sooner."
Luke grumbled, "it's fine, I'm sorry I yelled."
"No, it's my fault...what's happening? Are you okay? Last I saw Kronos
he was pretty pissed off."
"I'm fine, he doesn't suspect a thing," Luke snorted, "but he's mad
Percy, really mad. And scared...I never seen him like this. He refuses to
talk about what happened. What...what did happen?"
"I managed to fight him off," Percy shrugged.
"By yourself?!" Luke asked in shock.
"No, not by myself. I have this power, it allows me to increase strength
several times over, but it's very rare I get to use it...I'm just lucky
enough that Kronos set up the situation perfectly for it to kick in."
Luke nodded, "right...well anyway whatever you did I hope you can do
it again, because this time it's personal. You rejecting him must have
brought up old memories because he's on the war path Percy. He's
going to extreme lengths to get more power, hell in order to just remain
standing he's planning on dipping himself into the Styx!"
Percy's eyes went wide, "what?!"
Luke nodded, "yeah, my reaction exactly. By dipping himself in the Styx
he basically becomes invulnerable. Like Achilles. In fact that's exactly
what he's aiming for, he wants the curse of Achilles."
"Where are you now?" Percy asked impatiently.
"You can't stop it Percy, he's already began trekking his way there right
now. I managed to slip away for a moment but I'm not sure...look Percy
you can't stop this, so you're best bet is you to find a way to beat him
with this power."
Percy growled, "I don't like this Luke….are you sure you're safe? He
doesn't suspect a thing?"
"No...he doesn't. If anything's wrong I would tell you immediately."
Percy nodded, "good. I'll keep the device with me at all times, don't
worry, if you need me I'll be there."
Luke sighed, "thanks Percy."
"No problem. Now, what can you tell me about the army you've
amassed?"
"No much," Luke sighed, "it has a lot of monsters in toe. Giants,
cyclops, elemental monsters, beasts from the worst parts of the world.
Basically hell on wheels."
Percy snorted, "yeah, been there done that. Anything we should be
surprised about?"
"Yeah, witches," Luke growled.
"You have got to be kidding me," Percy blinked.
"No, totally serious, actual witches. Yeah, I know, didn't believe it at first
either. But Kronos managed to bring them into the fold. And they are
fucking crazy man! I saw one skin her own pet alive just to use it's
whiskers in a spell!"
"Shit!" Percy hissed, "what can we expect from them?"
"Honestly? I don't know. Each one has her own special branch of
magic. I would just suggest you go nuts and kill them before they can
say a word."
Percy sighed, "right, okay, anything else?"
"Yeah, plenty more," Luke began to list every monster he knew for a
fact Kronos had in his army. He told him everything he knew, including
how to beat them. Percy committed all this new information into his
head and smiled at the end.
"Thanks Luke, this is going to help so much," Percy nodded.
"Not a problem, just make sure they are safe Percy, that's all I ask,"
Luke looked beaten as his eyes darkened in remorse. Percy opened in
mouth to say something when suddenly Luke spoke up.
"There's something else Percy...something I...I can't tell you."
"What? Why?" Percy looked surprised.
Luke narrowed his eyes, "you know why."
Percy read Luke's eyes and instantly understood what the son of
Hermes was implying, "oath on the Styx?" he asked.
Luke nodded, "yeah. He wouldn't let me be a part of it unless I took it."
"And what exactly is 'it'?"
"It's...it's the end game," Luke's voice became hollow, it was filled with
fear and regret, "it's what Kronos is planning on using to win it all."
"What are you talking about Luke?" Percy pressed, "what can you tell
me?"
"I-I can't tell you anything...expect this, watch over Artemis...she's the
key to everything." Percy's eyes went wide, he was about to ask Luke
what that meant when he suddenly began to look panicked, "I have to
go, he's coming! I'll talk to you soon!"
Luke closed the connection turning Percy's device into an large paper
weight. Percy sighed as he put the device away in his back pocket
when suddenly the tang of a bow string ran through the forest.
Chapter 727
Using his super speed Percy moved quickly, able to see it pass by his
head slowly. He narrowed his eyes, grabbed the arrow by the shaft and
followed its line of motion, locking eyes with a brown skinned girl in a
silver parka and a tiara on her head.
He disappeared from sight. The girl blinked in utter confusion, one
moment her target was in front of her the other he was gone. Suddenly
she felt something hard and cold pressed up against her neck as a
voice whispered into her ear, "I don't like being spied on."
Zoe felt cold sweats dripped down her back. The voice was familiar,
she had heard it before in the Dreamworld where she and some of her
demigod sisters were trapped. She turned around slowly to meet cold
green eyes glaring at her, they shifted into a searing red, imprinting
fear into her heart.
"Let her go," came a clearer voice sounding much braver than Zoe felt
as an arrow was aimed at Percy's neck from behind.
Percy turned towards this new competitor only to stop. It was her.
Seeing her like this reminded Percy of his dream when entering the
Dreamworld, of their marriage, of their daughter. And of the warning
Luke just gave him a few moments ago.
Percy knew he couldn't display the worry he was feeling, so instead he
activated Gamer's mind, crushing his worries and replaced it with a big
smile as his chirped out, "Arty!"
Artemis blinked as she lowered her bow and arrow and stared in
wonder, "Percy? What are you doing here?"
Percy grinned, "oh you know, just demigod stuff," he removed the
arrow from Zoe's neck, finally allowing the girl to breath calmly. She got
up and moved to her mistress's side, Percy smiled curiously looked
between the two, "she's one of yours then?"
Artemis nodded, "yes, this is Zoe Nightshade, my most loyal hunter
and my lieutenant."
Zoe Nightshade, Lieutenant of the Hunt,
Lv- 34
"Ah, I see. Sorry, should have guessed by the silver parka," Percy
chuckled, he presented Zoe's arrow to her, "here, sorry about
threatening you. It's just that when people shoot at me I tend to be
cautious."
"You did what?!" Artemis' eyes went wide as she looked at Zoe, "Zoe,
what is he talking about?"
"I-I saw him communicating with someone my lady," Zoe explained, "I
thought him a spy."
"This is Percy Jackson Zoe, did you not recognize him?" Artemis asked
with a raised eyebrow.
Zoe bowed back away, "I didn't, forgive me my lady. I am ready to
accept any punishment you deem acceptable."
Artemis turned to Percy, "you are the offended party in this regard,
what do you think is appropriate?"
Percy chuckled, "come on Artie you know punishing here is overkill.
She saw what she thought was a spy and acted accordingly. Heck if it
really was a spy then it would have been the right thing to do!"
"So you don't wish to punish her?" Artemis asked in a teasing tone of
voice.
Percy rolled his eyes, "yes, I don't wish to punish her. She didn't do
anything wrong. Though ah next time Zoe, ask before you shoot
someone in the back, it's very rude you know."
Zoe seemed to blush in embarrassment as she nodded, "understood."
Percy tossed her the arrow, who put it back in her quiver. Percy turned
to Artemis and looked over her shoulder spotting several more hunters
walking up towards them, looking curiously at the boy their mistress
was talking too.
Just then a few tips broke out as Percy saw five blue blurs running
around the Hunter's ranks, startling them.
"They got out again!" a hunter hissed.
"Catch them!"
"They're getting away!"
Five cat sized Baloths ran out from between the Hunter's feet and ran
towards Percy.
The demigod's eyes widened as the pups ran towards him, nipping and
biting his ankles. The son of Poseidon grinned seeing the little pups, he
turned to Artemis, "they grew up fast!"
The goddess nodded, "indeed they did. They are growing like weeds,
very difficult to train. They don't listen to anyone except me, which
makes them difficult to train."
"They also bite," Zoe grumbled under her breath.
Percy grinned as he picked one up, scratching behind it's ears, "oh,
they aren't so bad, like little cats, you just need to know how to train
them."
The Hunters looked surprised at the way the Baloth pups responded to
Percy, enjoying his scratches, unlike with them where they clawed their
arms if they even attempted such a thing.
"How do thee do such a thing?" Zoe asked in quiet wonder.
"Percy was there when I found them," Artemis explained, "he helped
bring them to this world, so I suppose in a way they see him as his
father," the goddess smiled, enjoying the sight of Percy playing with the
little Baloths.
"You guys arrived quicker than I thought," Percy put the pups down,
much to the little ones' frustration, "I saw you all helping out in the
Dreamworld, thanks for that."
Zoe blinked, she realised he was talking to her, "y-you need not thank
us, we were only performing our duty to protect Olympus," she replied
in a quiet tone of voice, respectful, whether out of fear or respect Percy
couldn't tell.
"No, I didn't mean that. That flying snake monster, the ones you helped
take down? It was heading towards someone I cared very much for.
She had depleted her mana and was effectively a sitting duck. You
saved her, and for that you have my gratitude Zoe."
Zoe blinked in surprise turning to her mistress for assistance only to
find her smiling slyly at the girl. "I-I accept your thanks Percy Jackson,
king of Demigods."
Percy laughed, "please don't call me that. I honestly have no idea what
Morpheus was thinking when he put this stupid thing on me," Percy
pointed at the crown on his head, "stupid god, didn't ask permission or
anything. Just put all this on me and was like, 'deal with it'."
Artemis' eyes went wide, "I'm sorry, king of what?!"
Percy blinked, "oh, right, sorry, I forgot to tell you huh?"
"Yes!"
Percy winced at her scream, "I meant to tell you, honest. It's just when
Zeus started throwing around accusations I knew he would be more
focused on removing my head than the army coming at us."
Artemis glared, "tell me everything, now."
Percy nodded as she and Zoe followed him back towards Camp
Jupiter. The rest of the hunters trailed behind, weary of his presence,
some looked ready to shoot him on sight, others looked afraid and a
few looked at him in awe.
Chapter 728
Percy began his tale and told Artemis everything. He told her about the
war, how he managed to hold Kronos back while the demigods took on
his army of animals and shadow monsters. How in the end Kronos was
sent packing while Hypnos and Morpheus turned into the avatars of
Nightmares and Dreams.
"You managed to fight Kronos, on your own?" Artemis asked in
surprise, "how?! You could barely fight off a Baloth!"
"Hey! That's not fair! For the record I never even got a chance at those
stupid things! You went all divine goddess of vengeance on it and
wiped it out before I even got warmed up!" Percy pouted.
"Well in my defence you were taking forever to do so," Artemis
smirked, "but seriously Percy, how?"
"It's a power I had," Percy shrugged, the little Baloths bite Percy's
ankle, but the demigod couldn't feel a thing, so he let them at it, "it
allowed me to temporarily become stronger based on the number of
people that were following me."
Artemis' eyes went wide, "by how much?"
"5% per person," Percy shrugged, he picked up two Booths and held
them with one hand scratching behind the ear of another's.
"5%!" Zoe screamed, "there were at the least 500 demigods in the
battle!"
"590 actually," Percy corrected with a shrug.
"That would have made you at least 3000% more stronger," Artemis
spoke up.
"And it still wasn't enough," Percy's shoulders felt heavy at the
admission, "don't get me wrong, I had him on the ropes. He was
moments away from getting his ass kicked, but in the end it was just
that. I couldn't destroy him….I couldn't even come close. I was 3,000
times stronger than I am now, even that wasn't enough."
Artemis stayed silent, contemplating what she had just heard. Zoe on
the other hand was reeling from the fact that the person standing next
to her was almost strong enough to fight off a Titan, and not just that,
the king of Titans. She knew that before, but now...only now did that
fact sink in.
They walked for sometime, soon they could see camp Jupiter off in the
distance. Artemis turned to Percy, "Percy...are you ready for this?"
Percy remained silent, for the longest time he said nothing. It felt as if
he was ignoring her, Zoe was about to speak up when Artemis stopped
her with a hand motion, telling her to keep quiet.
Finally he spoke up, "I am. I have no choice, but I am. For the first time
I know what I'm supposed to do, and I am ready to do it."
"I see" Artemis nodded, "then this is where I leave you."
Percy looked startled, "you aren't joining us for the battle?" He tried not
to sound happy, and based on that fact she didn't look suspicious he
succeeded.
Artemis sighed, "sadly, no. Zeus has forbidden us from directly
interfering in the upcoming battle. He fears that doing so will provoke
further actions from Kronos' side. He believes you will be better off
without our help."
Percy snorted, "your dad's mad."
Zoe's eyes winded, she turned to her lady expecting her to start
attacking this foolish boy on the spot, but instead she found Artemis
smiling.
"Yes, that he is. Your father and Athena are doing their best to convince
him otherwise but…," Artemis sighed, "be safe Percy, please."
Percy nodded, "always Arty." 'Good, if she's not here than Kornos can't
get to her...for whatever he has planned.'
Artemis smiled, she turned to Zoe, "I'm leaving you in charge Zoe.
Remember, Percy can be irritating at times, in fact there will be several
times you will want to personally strangle him-"
"-Hey!"
"-But be patient. He won't let you down," Artemis smiled.
Zoe looked stunned, she had never seen her mistress so relaxed
around a man before. Even males of her own family. She nodded
silently, bewildered as to what exactly was going on.
Artemis turned to Percy and turned up to his crown, "take care of
yourself, king of demigods."
Percy grumbled, "please don't call me that." The goddess snorted,
snapped her fingers and disappeared in a flash of light.
Percy blinked away the temporary blindness he was feeling and
grumbled, "I hate it when they do that," he turned to Zoe, who still
looked very confused as to what to make of him. Percy sighed, "alright,
let's get going."
Zoe nodded, "yes...lead the way," Percy did and she the rest of the
hunters followed, weary as to his presence. Percy could almost feel the
glares being thrown his way, he understood why of course, but it didn't
mean he liked it.
As they approached the Roman camp Percy walked up to Zoe and
spoke up, "have you ever been to new Rome before?"
"I have, but not the others," Zoe pointed to the Hunters, "a few like
Phoebe and Madeline have," she pointed at a tall red haired hunter
with a hateful glare and a black skinned hunter with a more casual
smile;
Phoebe Nightrider, Hunter of Artemis
Lv-32
Madeline, Hunter of Artemis
Lv- 28
Percy nodded at the hunters, Phoebe simply glared back while
Madeline nodded in return. Percy turned to Zoe, "why is that?"
"We have been with Lady Artemis the longest, we were there before
the Romans and Greeks were separated by the Gods. Though we
thought they were dead, not simply hidden."
Percy nodded, "alright, so you know the basic layout of this place?"
Zoe shrugged, "a long time has passed, things might have changed."
"I wouldn't beat on it, you know how Romans are with tradition," Percy
stopped before the banks of the Little Timber and turned to Zoe, "stay
here, I'll tell them you all have arrived."
Zoe nodded, and then suddenly Percy disappeared in a blur of speed.
Zoe blinked in surprise, [that is new,] she switched to her native tongue
in surprise.
[I don't understand why we must follow this man!] Phoebe hissed out in
ancient greek, [he is so dismissive of us and our abilities!]
[What can we do? It was the lady's order,] Carol, another Hunter
argued, the other Hunters all nodded in agreement.
[Why does she trust this man so much?] Madeline asked what the
others were thinking, [has she ever mentioned him before?]
[Once or twice,] Zoe groaned, [she always had praise for him and his
actions though.]
"Ah, excuse me," Franchie, the youngest hunter to join them spoke up,
"you all are doing that thing again."
Zoe blinked, they had all unknowingly switched to their mother tongue.
Only a few of the hunters, Artemis' most elite and oldest hunters, could
speak it. While the others were used to this, Franchie was not, it was
still very new to her.
Chapter 729
Zoe smiled, "I am sorry little one, we didn't realise we were doing so,"
she patted Franchise on the head, the 10 year old girl was small for her
age, small and easily scared. But she had the heart of a hunter, and
that was all that mattered.
"It's fine," the raven haired girl smiled, "what were you talking about?"
"We were talking about that man," Phoebe spat, "we don't trust him."
"Why?" Franchie asked.
"We have seen the worst man has to offer the world," Zoe explained,
"we are weary of them."
"Well the puppies seem to like him," Franchie turned to the Baloths,
who had once again escaped their captors running circles around the
Hunters.
Zoe was about to respond when suddenly there was a gust of wind and
Percy spread before them all startling them. Franchie herself yipped in
shock before running behind Zoe's legs.
"I have spoken to one of the praetors, she will be sending someone to
guide you all inside," Percy spoke up, "they'll give you all some place to
rest, we aren't expecting them for sometime now, so I suggest you use
what free time you have to rest up."
"We don't need your suggestions boy," Phoebe spat out. Zoe was
about to tell the girl to hold her tongue when Percy spoke up.
"Wow, didn't realise the sexism ran strong in you," Percy whistled, "so
sad, so sad."
"What?!" Phoebe's eyes went wide, "I'm not sexist!"
"Really? Define sexism."
"The discrimination of women by men," she shot back.
"See, sexist," Percy waved, "I swear I had the same conversation with
Artemis when we first meet."
"How is that sexist?" Madeline asked questioningly, even a few of the
others looked either confused or pissed off.
"Well she did kind of failed to mention men in that definition didn't
she?"
"Men cannot be discriminated against," Zoe argued.
"Says who?"
"I have lived for thousands of years, I have seen it," Zoe narrowed her
eyes.
Percy blinked, "damn, well how many of those years have you spent in
civilisation?"
Zoe paused, "what does thou mean?"
"You are a hunter yes? From what I know you all live in forests and
tents, yes?" the hunters nodded, curious as to what his point was, "well
then how can you say you know what this world's like if you haven't
lived in it?"
Zoe was surprised at the argument made, she turned to the others who
looked just as surprised as she.
"Look I didn't come here to argue," Percy held his hands up, "I know
you all have a reason to hate men and I'm not going to pretend to know
what all you've have been through. But as a wise puppet once said,
'fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering'."
Phoebe blinked, "who said that?"
"Yoda," Percy grinned. At the hunters questioning looks he continued,
"you know...from Star Wars?" Still nothing, "Empire strikes back? Little
green thing? About the height of my knee? Talks in riddles, he does?"
"We have not heard of this, 'Star Wars'," Zoe mashed the words out as
if it was foreign to her, "is it a play?"
Percy blinked, "you guys have never seen Star Wars?"
"We have never heard of it, no," Zoe shook her head.
Percy stayed silent, for the longest time he did nothing but blink. Finally
he spoke up, "I am so going to make you guys watch it before you
leave."
The Hunters didn't know what to make of that. One moment he was
arguing that they were sexist, the next he was talking about a puppet
and something called a 'movie'. He really was a strange boy.
Just then, out of the shadows cast down by the several trees
surrounding them, a large black and white blur jumped out.
"Hellhound!" Phoebe yelled out as she and the rest of the Hunters
moved, grabbing their bows and launching an arrow in three seconds.
Percy turned to the invader and immediately realised who it was. "No!"
he yelled out, but it was too late. The arrows were flying towards the
surprise guest. Percy reached out with his mental powers and
suddenly they all stopped mid flight, floating in the air.
The hunters turned toward Percy, who held out both hands frowned in
concentration. He let out a breath and the arrows fell down. He
grumbled at the hunters, "next time wait."
"Master!" Leo barked as he ran towards Percy.
"Watch thienself!" Zoe yelled out, she moved to intercept the hellhound
and Percy but the demigod just waved her away.
Leo jumped into Percy's hands, it's front legs on his shoulders as it
licked his face over and over. The son of Poseidon laughed, "stop it
boy, I'm ticklish!"
"I missed you master!" Leo barked as it go down before rubbing his
head on Percy's leg.
"I missed you too bud, I'm happy you didn't get hurt," Percy smiled as
he scratched Leo behind the ear causing the Hellhound wolf hybrid to
growl in pleasure.
The Hunters watched their interactions in amazement as they saw
Percy play with the giant beast. Finally he stopped and noticed their
faces. He chuckled, "what? Thought you guys were the only ones with
a monster for a pet?"
Just then the Baloths came running at Leo, yipping loudly. The
companion didn't mind the little blue pups surrounding his feet, their
bites were nothing to him and they were minor annoyances at best.
"What is it?" Franchie asked, stepping out from behind Zoe to get a
better look at the newest pet.
"Well now, who's this?" Percy asked with a smile as he noticed
Franchie;
Francesca Bond, Daughter of Tyche
Lv- 2
Percy blinked, 'Tyche, that's the goddess of luck,' "whoa, aren't you a
lucky one."
The hunters looked confused, Franchise however looked curious. She
looked from Percy to Leo, curiosity burning in her eyes.
Percy chuckled, "he doesn't bite you know. Well, he does, but he would
never bite girls, he much prefers to bite men."
"Sounds like a smart dog," Phoebe snapped.
"Yeah, he is, after all I did raise him," Percy grinned back silencing
Phoebe who simply glared back. Franchise stepped away from Zoe
and walked towards Leo, the hellhound hybrid turned to the little hunter
and remained still, knowing any move would startle the girl.
She pressed her hand against his fur, petting it gently. "It's warm," she
whispered.
"Yeah," Percy nodded, "he also likes hugs." Franchie looked at him in
surprise and hope, Percy nodded at the girl, and she slowly moved,
wrapping her arms around Leo's neck, snuggling into his coat.
Chapter 730
The Hunters awed at the cute girl trying to wrap her hands around
Leo's body, Percy had to admit it was one of the most adorable sights
he had ever seen. And then suddenly Franchies' eyes turned from a
sky blue to a sea green, flashing another girl in her place.
'Bethany,' Percy thought, that was the name of his daughter, the
daughter he had in the dream, his daughter with Thalia. And Franchie
was wearing a silver parkha, the same one his daughter with Artemis
was wearing. Andrea, if he remembered right.
Percy didn't even want to go down that road of thought, that dream...it
really got to him. He never really had the time to process it all, but
now…
"Percy?" came a call. Percy turned around to find Julia and Carrie
White, the librarian of Rome. They both wore armor with their weapons
strapped to their hips. For Julia it was normal, but for Carrie, someone
who preferred books over weapons, it was odd.
"Ah, that was faster than I thought," Percy nodded, he stepped aside
displaying the hunters, "these are the Hunters of Artemis. Hunters this
is Julia Brown, the praetor of Rome and Carrie White, the Librarian of
Rome."
Carrie looked surprised that Percy still remembered her name while
Julia nodded at Zoe, who she correctly assumed to be the leader.
"Welcome to camp Jupiter's hunters," Julia bowed, "we thank you for
coming to our aide when you didn't have to. We are eternally grateful.
Please follow Carrie, she will show you where you will be staying. We
will have a war council a little while later, am I correct in assuming that
you are their leader?" she asked Zoe.
Zoe nodded, "I am indeed the lieutenant of the Hunters."
"Good, then I shall see you soon," Julia turned to Percy, "the Senate is
waiting."
Percy groaned, "great , just great. Sigh, of well," he turned to Leo, "I
can't bring him with me can I?"
Julia turned to Leo and gulped, the beast was enormous. When she
first saw him in the Dreamworld she thought he was going to attack
Percy and rip him in half, imagine her surprise when she found out he
was little more than a pet!
The hellhound hybrid was friendly, but the Senate was jumpy as it was,
they didn't need this adding fuel to the fire. "I'm sorry Percy, but no."
Percy sighed, "I figured," he looked at Leo and the Hunters, "hey bud,
do you want to stay with the women for sometime?"
Leo perked up, "really master? I can?" his tail was wagging from side
to side in excitement.
Percy rolled his eyes, "yes, you can, that is if it's alright with you," he
asked Zoe.
Zoe looked at the hellhound with narrowed eyes, "if he attacks us we
will kill him."
Percy grinned, "that's fair. Got that Leo? No attacking the hunters."
Leo nodded, "yes boss!"
Percy chuckled, "alright then, Franchie, take care of him for me will
you?" the little girl looked up in surprise and nodded mutely, "thanks!"
"We better get going," Julia turned to leave when Percy stopped her.
"Wait, I have one more thing to do, Carrie," he turned to the librarian,
"can we talk for a moment?"
The girl looked dangerously at Percy, it wasn't really intimidating for
him, but whatever made her feel safe. In the end she simply nodded as
they walked away from the others, much to the confusion and curiosity
of the hunters and Julia.
"What?" Carrie asked in a scathing tone.
"I need you to research something," Percy informed her.
"I'm not your personal google search engine Jackson," Carrie narrowed
her eyes, "do it yourself."
"I would, but I don't have time. The Senate is on my ass and we don't
have time for me to bumble around the library. This is important Carrie,
I wouldn't ask if it wasn't. The last time I asked for your help it was to
bring our camps together, this time it is far more important."
Carrie remained silent for the longest time before she nodded. Percy
sighed, "thanks. I need everything you have about the curse of
Achilles, can you do that?"
Carrie raised an eyebrow, "the curse of Achilles? Why do you want to
know about that?"
"I think Kronos is going to use that to keep his body intact," Percy told
her, "I can't tell you how I know this, but my source is very reliable. Can
you do this for me? Please?"
Carrie searched Percy's eyes for any form of deceit, but found none.
She sighed, "I'll have everything about the curse ready for you by the
time you leave the Senate."
"Thank you, and please, the few people who know about this the
better," Carrie agreed and soon they were off. Carrie with the Hunters
and Julia with Percy.
"What did you and Carrie talk about?" Julia asked just as she and
Percy finished depositing their weapons at the pomerian line, ignoring
Terminus' wild rantings about how Percy's armor gauntlet was
technically a weapon, which it technically wasn't.
"It's something important," Percy told her, "but I don't want to worry you
over nothing just yet. Let's see what she can dig up first. Then we talk
doomsday preparations."
Julia didn't like the fact Percy was hiding things for her, but she nodded
in agreement.
"Tell me then, how did you know Kronos was coming after us?" Julia
asked.
Percy shrugged, "the Hermes squad told me they were stationed
nearby, and so I figured that could only mean one thing, they know
about you."
"Yes but how?"
"I...I'm not sure. But I believe it's because there's a spy amidst your
ranks feeding them intel."
"What?" Julia hissed, her voice going quite.
Percy nodded, "yeah, it's the only thing that makes sense. Luke didn't
know about you, so we know it wasn't him. Kronos has been dead for a
long time and Hyperion in jail. That leaves only one option..."
"But a spy?" Julia groaned, "it's just too...bizarre for a Roman to turn
traitor."
"Maybe, but either way we can sort this out later. We need to focus on
staying alive now. Agreed?"
Julia sighed, "agreed."
As they walked through the streets of New Rome Percy realised that
the streets were filled with people. They weren't working, shopping, or
even moving around. They were instead staring at them passing by,
whispering to themselves.