Chapter 23
Percy POV
"Guys how many more are there?" I huff out as I slash through yet another hellound.
"We're not counting Percy, I don't know!" Nico yelled from somewhere behind me. I took a breather for a moment checking on my cousins. They both held their own, with Thalia surrounded by 3 hellhounds, she yelled and struck them with lightning making them disintegrate instantly.
Nico had two on him, he seemed to be doing well although I noticed his movements were getting slower, I quickly ran to help him. We fought back to back and finished them both quickly.
"Thanks Perce." Nico panted out. We stood still for a moment checking for any more attacks but after a minute passed by with no noises except our harsh breathing I sighed in relief.
"Finally. Let's eat." I exclaimed causing Thalia and Nico to chuckle. "Of course how could the first thing you thought after the fight not be food." Shaking her head.
No One's POV
Still chuckling they headed to a small café near the beach to have some lunch. It had taken them two whole days to reach San Francisco and right now they were tired.
It had been two whole days of travelling, eating, sleeping and fighting off monsters. Their scent was pretty powerful attracting a lot of monsters but they were killed just as quickly by the powerful teens. The monsters had learnt their lessons quickly fortunately for the trio and the monster attacks had lessened over time only those that were stupid enough dared to attack them and it's safe to say that no monster made it out alive.
They continued casually chatting as they ate.
"So, how do you think the Avengers are fitting in there?" Nico asked Percy, curious about the answer. He didn't know them as well as Percy but could make a general estimate.
"Tony would obviously be with the Hephaestus guys tinkering with weapons. Bruce would most likely be with Apollo medics or Tony. Clint would obviously be with Apollo archers. Ha! I bet Clarisse has taken on Natasha, the two would be best friends. Steve...I don't know actually, I guess he'll be with Natasha or Clarisse. Thor could be here or in Asgard I'm not sure. Loki could be with Thor or the Hecate cabin, I'm more inclined towards Hecate." Percy replied thoughtfully. They had tried contacting using Iris Messages but for some reason they could not talk it was like something was preventing them from doing that.
So in the end they had sent a message through the Hunters led by Lady Artemis to Camp where they were heading to prepare for the battle to. Lady Artemis also confided that the monster attacks had been growing at an alarming pace and they had seeked the help of the Amazons who had agreed to help after some persuasion.
Percy, Nico and Thalia hoped to get back as soon as possible to help preparations, right now they were wandering around waiting for the sun to set so that they could enter the garden of Hesperides.
Beyond the garden lay the old castle Kronos had used the last time, where Atlas still held up the sky, Percy could only hope that the weapon was there otherwise their efforts would be for nothing.
"Kelp Head, relax, we'll find the weapon." Nico said noticing Percy's agitation.
"Yeah, but I'm worried about Ladon..." Percy trailed off looking at Thalia, she too frowned.
Nico was confused, "What are you talking about?"
"Ladon," Thalia clarified, "Is the dragon who guards the Golden Apples and to get to the ruins we'll have to go past him. And the last time we only did so because we had Zoe with us."
Percy nodded, "Even then, he bit her too..."
"So anyone got any ideas?" Nico asked
Percy shrugged, "You know, even if we plan it all ends up going to shit anyway, so I say we wing it."
"Wing it?" Thalia asked incredulously, "Are you really as dumb as you look, that is a giant ass determined guard dragon who can kill us within a minute and you want to wing it?"
Percy scoffed, "Like that hasn't before, besides do you have any better idea?"
Thalia stammered, "No, but- but any sort of plan is better than going in blind."
Percy raised an eyebrow, "Right because you know all about making plans."
Thalia rolled her eyes, Nico continued to watch them bickering without paying attention to what they were really saying. He got the feeling that they were missing something crucial.
He thought hard over it and when the realization struck him he had to face palm.
"I can't believe we didn't think of this..." He muttered.
He tried to interrupt Thalia and Percy's arguing it had long past gone the point of...whatever they had been arguing about previously.
"You shouldn't have stolen my blue cookie then."
"Excuse me? Your blue cookie, may I remind you that you picked it up from my plate."
"Hey! That doesn't-"
Nico slammed his fist on the table, "Okay! Guys enough! I've thought of a solution, better than both of yours."
The both of them glared at him, he sneered in return and said, "If only your dumb selves would think..."
"Get to the point Death Breath."
Nico narrowed his eyes, "Have you both forgotten that I can shadow travel, Percy can vapour travel and Thalia can use lightning?"
At their dumbfounded looks Nico snickered, "Yup, officially decided I'm the smartest here."
"Just because you gave an idea one time does not mean that you are the smartest Nico." Percy mocked.
"Whatever."
Thalia interjected, "If you would stop your ego boosting, where do we land and what if we are ambushed?"
Percy answered, "Then we'll just have to fight, besides I'm pretty sure Atlas will be there, holding up the sky." His hand unconsciously strayed up to the grey streak he had.
"He won't be a problem except mouthing off. We can simply ignore him." Thalia said.
"We can land just outside of the ruins, let's skip Atlas and if there are any monsters, just watch your back."
"Yessir." Nico mock saluted.
"Oh shut up. Better get ready, the sun is about to set. We'll need to get in quickly." Percy stated looking at the sky.
They all stood up and after paying stepped out. Thankfully there were no monsters in sight. They checked over their gear, and weapons. It was all perfectly in place.
They stood in silence watching the beautiful sunset. After a few moments Percy said, "Alright you know where to travel. Stay alert and watch your back. Let's go."
Thalia and Nico nodded and the three of them closed their eyes. None of them saw a brunette who watched three teens disappear into thin air.
A moment later Nico stumbled at the foot of the ruins, Thalia and Percy were already standing back to back, weapons out.
"Any monsters?" Nico asked in low voice, Percy and Thalia shook their heads.
"It's suspiciously quiet. I'm not sure if it's a good thing or not."
Nico drew out his sword, then gestured, "Shall we?"
Percy nodded sharply, "Follow me, Nico stay at the end."
Nico complied and the three of them fell into a single file traipsing through the ruins. The castle really was ruined. The Roman legion had done a pretty thorough job of the place, Percy thought as he smiled.
Riptide glowed dimly in the twilight, the place was eerily silent, and every twitch seemed too loud in the silence.
Nevertheless they marched ahead, looking around corners properly before walking ahead. So far the castle seemed to be clear. A few more minutes later they reached the throne room.
Thalia sucked in a sharp breath, the room was completely destroyed yet, in the center stood a grand black throne. It wasn't as tall as the Olympian ones which made sense since Kronos was in Luke's body. It had a huge crack running through the centre of it and the weapon lay in the seat, the scythe brought back unpleasant memories which didn't help at all right now.
The three of them exchanged glances, standing perfectly still. The air seemed foreboding almost as if invisible presences were holding their breath to see what would happen. It reminded Percy unpleasantly of the Lares from New Rome.
Percy took a step forward, when Thalia suddenly grabbed his arm. He raised an eyebrow at her.
She looked troubled, "Are you sure you want to do this? Something about this...just doesn't feel right." She struggled to explain.
Percy assured her, "I know, but I'm going to have to do it anyways."
Thalia gulped and nodded and he walked further and heard Nico whisper, "Don't do anything stupid Perce."
Percy smiled, "Who me? Never."
He heard Nico and Thalia scoff behind him, but didn't reply. His attention fixed on the scythe which lay waiting for him. He couldn't help but get the feeling that he was walking into a trap and knowing his enemies it was sure to be a trap.
He sucked in a deep breath as he put Riptide in his pocket again. Nico and Thalia watched with bated breath as Percy reached out to touch the scythe.
Percy felt a surge of energy as he picked up the scythe and it transformed into a double-edged sword however he felt his body tense. He grunted and his world turned black as his knees buckled. The last thing he heard was a shout of his name.
"Percy!" Thalia and Nico surged forward panicked.
But he didn't respond, the scythe lay beside him, Thalia and Nico crouched over him tapping his cheek, but Percy didn't wake.
"What happened?" Thalia asked frantically.
"He's passed out. Pulse is steady but I have no idea why it happened." Nico diagnosed.
Their heads whipped up as they heard monsters roaring in the distance.
"Quick! We'll have to get out of here!" Thalia said.
Nico declared, "Okay I'll take Percy. Meet me at the place we stashed our bags."
Thalia nodded, "Sure. Let's go."
Nico interrupted, "Wait help me with him first."
Thalia quickly helped him get Percy up, Nico tried to put Percy's sword in his sheath but it gave him a shock.
"Ow! What the heck?" He cursed, but place the sword in it's sheath.
"What happened?" Thalia questioned.
Nico shrugged clueless, "It shocked me when I picked it up. I guess it hates being picked up by others but we can't just leave it here."
Nico wrapped his arm tightly around Percy and gave a nod to Thalia, they disappeared just in time to see the monsters burst through the throne room.
They appeared back at the place and Nico immediately stumbled down, taking Percy with him. Despite all the jostling around Percy didn't stir even once.
Thalia helped Nico up and between the both of them they got Percy into a more comfortable position. They both sat down tired by the day's events. Nico himself felt as if he was about to pass out.
Thalia patted his shoulder, "Get some sleep, I'll take the first watch."
Nico didn't even have the strength to argue, he simply nodded and rested his back against something sturdy and immediately drifted off.
Thalia sighed, she hoped there were no monsters here now, if there were a lot of them Thalia wouldn't be able to hold them off alone, Nico was tired and Percy was passed out, she didn't know when he'd wake only hoped it would be soon.