PERCY
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The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. Most of the demigods had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar, they didn't dare take any more.
They had eighteen campers, seventeen Hunters, half a dozen satyrs, and one traitor left in fighting shape. The rest had taken refuge on Olympus. The Party Ponies tried to form ranks, but they staggered and giggled and they all smelled like root beer. The Texans were head-butting the Coloradoans. The Missouri branch was arguing with Illinois. The chances were pretty good the whole army would end up fighting each other rather than the enemy.
Percy glared at Ethan Nakamura. He didn't like his presence. For some reason, he had a chilly feeling about it. Still no word from Sen, and all of a sudden, Ethan turns up and betrays Kronos? But he knew he had to trust him. Ethan swore on the Styx- once to Annabeth and Thalia, once to the entire group.
Chiron trotted up with Rachel on his back. Percy felt a twinge of annoyance because Chiron rarely gave anyone a ride, and never a mortal.
"Your friend here has some useful insights, Percy." He said.
Rachel blushed. "Just some things I saw in my head."
"Two drakons." Chiron said. "Lydian drakons, to be exact. The oldest and most dangerous kind."
Percy stared at her. "How did you know that?"
"I'm not sure." Rachel admitted. "But these drakons have a particular fate. One will be killed by a child of Ares. The other by a Morpho." Percy didn't like that. Their only Morpho was rogue.
Annabeth crossed her arms. "How can you possibly know that?"
"I just saw it. I can't explain."
"Well, let's hope you're wrong." Percy said. "Because we're a little short on Morphos and children of Ares..." A horrible thought occurred to him, and he cursed in Ancient Greek.
Annabeth groaned. "Dammit, Ethan was right."
"The spy." Percy told her. "In my dream, Kronos said, We know they cannot beat these drakons. The spy has been keeping him updated. Kronos knows the Ares cabin isn't with us. He intentionally picked a monster we can't kill."
Thalia scowled. "If I ever catch your spy, he's going to be very sorry. Maybe we could send another messenger to camp-"
"Don't bother." Annabeth barked. "We've already sent the Stolls and SIlena."
"The Stolls?" Chiron asked. "Why did they leave?"
Percy frowned. He realized he hadn't seen those guys since last night. He hadn't even thought twice about it. "Yeah, why did they leave?"
"To message." Thalia said. "Duh."
Chiron sighed. "Well, I've already done it. Blackjack is on his way. But if Silena and the Stolls weren't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able-"
A roar shook the ground. It sounded very close.
"Rachel," Percy said. "get inside the building."
"I want to stay."
A shadow blotted out the sun. Across the street, a drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, and a thousand windows shattered.
"On second thought," Rachel said in a small voice. "I'll be inside."
Friendly tip: there are dragons, and then there are drakons.
Drakons are several millennia older than dragons, and much larger. They look like giant serpents. Most don't have wings. Most don't breathe fire (though some do). All are poisonous. All are immensely strong, with scales harder than titanium. Their eyes can paralyze you; not the turn-you-to-stone Medusa-type paralysis, but the oh-my-gods-that-big-snake-is-going-to-eat-me type of paralysis, which is just as bad.
The demigods have drakon-fighting classes at camp, but there is no way to prepare yourself for a two-hundred-foot-long serpent as thick as a school bus slithering down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth big enough to chew elephants.
"The Morpho and the child of Ares." Percy said, trying to remain strong. "Annabeth, still no word from Sen?"
"N-No." Annabeth stuttered.
"Which direction did she go in? Did she say anything about where she might go?" Percy demanded.
"I-I don't remember."
Percy stared at her. "You don't remember?" She was lying. Annabeth never forgot anything. Never. Percy noticed several demigods looking away, refusing to meet his eyes. "Do any of you know where Sen is?!"
"Percy, calm down." Chiron said.
Percy stared at him, his heart racing. A trick that ended in death. "I can't calm down! Where's Sen?" He gestured to the demigods. "I know you all know. Where is she?"
Silence.
"Answer me!"
"Percy!" Rachel snapped. He stared at her. She had tears in her eyes. Percy looked into the crowd, and his eyes landed on Ethan. Ethan was already staring at him, walking forward calmly.
Suddenly, Percy knew exactly why Ethan was here.
The entire world went silent. It was like Morpheus had put the entire war on hold except for Percy. The god wanted him to feel this moment.
It started in his head, like a simple headache. Sen died. It was barely a whisper, but a whisper nonetheless. Sen died. Her plan was already carried out. Her dangerous plan that might've ended in her death. Her dangerous plan that did end in her death.
Sen died. It was a little louder now. The pain started to drip down like a leaky faucet- slow, at first, but eventually, it'd be a big problem. That was why she wouldn't let Percy go to Central Park to fight. She knew what would happen.
Sen died. A lump formed in his throat. Prometheus said it would happen- just indirectly. That's why he'd given Percy the jar. Sen was supposed to die and Percy was supposed to give up Hope.
Sen died. Where was her body? That question made Percy's chest hurt. Where did she finally die? Was she still in Central Park? Were the nymphs taking care of her, giving her a grave of flowers and fertile land for her bees and butterflies to visit?
Sen died. That's why she disappeared in the morning. The pain went down to his legs. To get her plan ready. Before the Rising Sun, Hestia said. Hyperion was the Titan of brilliant light, the pillar of the east, the father of the sun, moon and dawn- Helios, Selene, and Eos. That morning, Sen got her plan together and executed it that night.
Sen died. She never said goodbye. Her body was somewhere in Manhattan, the location unknown to Percy. She had died nearly a day ago. How had he gone that whole time without noticing?
Sen died. Percy felt the entire world shaking. He felt a scream rising out of his chest along with his tears. She was gone. It felt like a knife in his gut being twisted over and over and over again.
Sen died.
The world came back online, and Percy saw that it really was shaking. His friends were staring at him, horrified. He stared down Annabeth, trying to control just how angry he really was.
"Tell me it's not true." He growled, but he knew it was.
Annabeth started crying. "We- We were going to tell you."
"You knew!" Percy yelled, turning back to the army. "You all knew and you didn't tell me!"
He faced forward again. The drakon was closer now. Meanwhile, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. The demigods had done their best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for the enemies to approach. The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously. Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting encouragement to stand tough and think about victory and root beer, and Percy wanted to kill them.
Sen died, and they didn't care.
Annabeth pulled her owl helmet low over her face as Percy stepped forward. Under his foot, the ground shook. Chiron stared at him, his eyes filled with fear, and Percy liked it. He needed more of it. Fear and rage were his only fuel now. Sen died, and with that, any hope died with her. Any happiness, any love, anything that was good had died in Percy.
More fear, Percy thought. More fear.
The drakon was ignoring him, but Percy didn't really care. He'd get around to it after he was done with the army.
"Who killed her?" He said lowly. His voice was barely audible, but somehow, it rolled over the entire city.
"Hyperion did." Ethan answered. Percy wanted to kill him first. "She took the battle armor of Aphrodite and impersonated the goddess in order to win. Hyperion's gone."
And so is she, Percy thought. Titan war be damned, why her? Of all people, why her? She was the best of them all. The only one that really mattered.
He thought of all that she left behind. The kiss she promised him. Rafael. Her corner on the patio of Cabin 11. Travis and Connor. Annabeth. Names ran through Percy's head and he saw the sky darken. He could feel every ounce of water in Manhattan. Like blood to a heart, it came to him, rising out of gutters and windows and faucets. It seeped out of the concrete, out of thin air, and he was dimly aware of his friends backing away.
Sen died.
The drakon was three stories above, slithering sideways along the building as it sized up the demigod forces. Wherever it looked, centaurs froze in fear.
From the north, the enemy army crashed into the Party Ponies, and their lines broke. The drakon lashed out, swallowing three Californian centaurs in one gulp before anyone could even get close.
Mrs. O'Leary launched herself through the air- a deadly black shadow with teeth and claws. Normally, a pouncing hellhound is a terrifying sight, but next to the drakon, Mrs. O'Leary looked like a child's night-night doll.
Percy wasn't giving any orders. He wasn't commanding anyone. They went on their own and charged the army, and Percy stared at the drakon.
Sen died.
Mrs. O'leary's claws raked harmlessly off the drakon's scales. She bit the monster's throat but couldn't make a dent. Her weight, however, was enough to knock the drakon off the side of the building. It flailed awkwardly and crashed to the sidewalk, hellhound and serpent twisting and thrashing. The drakon tried to bite Mrs. O'Leary, but she was too close to the serpent's mouth. Poison spewed everywhere, melting centaurs into dust along with quite a few monsters, but Mrs. O'Leary weaved around the serpent's head, scratching and biting.
Percy charged. The water came with him, propelling him forward as he ran for the monster. It turned on him, and Percy refused to look in its eye. He couldn't be paralyzed now. Sen died. Percy couldn't let that happen without making everyone else feel the pain that he felt.
Percy plunged Riptide deep into the monster's left eye. The spotlight went dark. The drakon hissed and reared back to strike, but Percy rolled aside. It bit a swimming-pool-size chunk out of the pavement. It turned toward Percy with its good eye, and Percy thrust his hand out. A jet of water shot straight at the monster. He flicked his hand and water appeared under the monster, shooting it directly into the air by four stories.
The rest of the battle wasn't going well. The centaurs had panicked under the onslaught of giants and demons. An occasional orange camp T-shirt appeared in the sea of fighting, but quickly disappeared. Arrows screamed. Fire exploded in waves across both armies, but the action was moving across the street to the entrance of the Empire State Building. The demigods were losing ground.
The drakon landed on the ground, cracking the concrete and destroying lamp posts, but it didn't die. Percy weaved around it as Mrs. O'leary went to fight in the rest of the battle, chomping up monsters left and right. Percy stared at the hideous monster before it, at those reflective scales.
In the scales, he could see Sen. She always was beautiful, wasn't she? Her hair flowed off to the side in the breeze. She wore a blue sweater with cloud patterns on it, and a dark skirt with light green tights. Tacky, as always. She smiled, and the entire world lit up. Her sapphires eyes glowed brighter than Olympus itself. She waved at Percy, wiggling her fingers in the air playfully.
Sen died.
Percy screamed and the ground cracked open, and a geyser of water shot out. The drakon hissed and sprayed acid, but Percy shot it all away with more and more water. He blew the drakon high enough to land on the building, which was rumbling, the crack in the ground spreading to it. It snaked through the concrete exactly as the drakon, and the entire building rumbled, nearly giving out.
Meanwhile, his allies had retreated to the doors of the Empire State Building. The entire enemy army was surrounding them.
Percy knew he had to retreat before he was cut off from Olympus, but he didn't care. He looked down at the army and shot a wave of water at them, sweeping them back another fifty yards, giving the demigods slightly more leverage to recuperate and fight again. The monster army spluttered against the water, struggling to get to their feet.
Percy stared at the drakon, disgusted he couldn't kill it. Fate wouldn't allow it.
But he could torture it. Maybe it'd make him feel better.
He held his hand out, shooting jets of water at the drakon, choking and drowning it, incapacitating it. I can't kill it, he thought. He could make it wish he could, though.
Then he heard a rumbling in the south. One that wasn't from him. One that was unique enough that Percy stopped and turned, seething with rage. It wasn't a sound you hear much in New York, but Percy recognized it immediately: chariot wheels.
A girl's voice yelled, "ARES!"
And a dozen war chariots charged into battle. Each flew a red banner with the symbol of the wild boar's head. Each was pulled by a team of skeletal horses with manes of fire. A total of thirty fresh warriors, armor gleaming and eyes full of hate, lowered their lances as one- making a bristling wall of death.
"The children of Ares!" Annabeth said in amazement. "How did Rachel know?"
Percy didn't have an answer. But leading the charge was a girl in familiar red armor, her face covered by a boar's-head helm. She held aloft a spear that crackled with electricity. Clarisse herself had come to the rescue. While half her chariots charged the monster army, Clarisse led the other six straight for the drakon.
The serpent slithered off the building and Percy's water assault on it vanished, but the cracks in the ground didn't. He realized how much effort it had taken, but he didn't care. He'd never been good at creating earthquakes, but you wouldn't have known that looking at Fifth Avenue.
The serpent reared back and managed to whack Mrs. O'leary. Percy's poor pet hit the side of the building with a yelp. Percy ran to help her, not ready to lose another one, but the serpent had already zeroed in on the new threat. Even with only one eye, its glare was enough to paralyze two chariot drivers. They veered into a line of cars. The other four chariots kept charging. The monster bared its fangs to strike and got a mouthful of Celestial bronze javelins.
"EEESSSSS!!!!!" It screamed, which is probably drakon for OWWWW!
"Ares, to me!" Clarisse screamed. Her voice sounded shriller than usual, but Percy guessed that wasn't surprising given what she was fighting.
Across the street, the arrival of six chariots gave the Party Ponies new hope. They rallied at the doors of the Empire State Building, and the enemy army was momentarily thrown into confusion.
Someone pulled Percy back. He didn't fight them. He needed time to think, to remember; You can't kill your friends, too. If he broke his concentration on that thought for even half a second, he'd kill everyone else. Sen wouldn't want that. You have to keep it together. You can't kill everyone else.
Meanwhile, Clarisse's chariots circled the drakon. Lances broke against the monster's skin. Skeletal horses breathed fire and whinnied. Two more chariots overturned, but the warriors simply leaped to their feet, drew their swords, and went to work. They hacked at chinks in the creature's scales. They dodged poison spray like they'd been training for this all their lives, which of course they had.
No one could say the Ares campers weren't brave. Clarisse was right there in front, stabbing her spear at the drakon's face, trying to put out its other eye. But as Percy watched, things started to go wrong. The drakon snapped up one Ares camper in a gulp. It knocked aside another and sprayed poison on a third, who retreated in a panic, his armor melting.
You have to help, Percy remembered. These were his friends. People he loved, too. He couldn't kill them along with Sen. That wasn't right.
He'd just been standing there frozen in amazement. Mrs. O'Leary tried to get up but yelped again. One of her paws was bleeding.
"Stay back girl." Percy ordered, his voice hoarse from crying and screaming. He suddenly realized there were still tears flowing down his face. "You've done enough already."
Percy jumped onto the monster's back and ran toward its head, trying to draw its attention away from Clarisse.
Her cabinmates threw javelins, most of which broke, but some lodged in the monster's teeth. It snapped its jaws together until its mouth was a mess of green blood, yellow foamy poison, and splintered weapons.
"You can do it!" Percy screamed at Clarisse. "A child of Ares is destined to kill it!"
Through her war helmet, Percy could only see her eyes- but he could tell something was wrong. Her blue eyes shone with fear. Clarisse never looked like that. And she didn't have blue eyes.
"ARES!" She shouted, in that strangely shrill voice. She leveled her spear and charged the drakon.
"No." Percy muttered. "WAIT!"
But the monster looked down and sprayed poison.
"NO!"
Percy gasped and momentarily broke his focus. He was thrown from the drakon, but in a split second, he thrust his hand out and shot more water to it, blasting it back down Fifth Avenue. He turned, and saw someone standing right in front of Clarisse.
Ethan Nakamura fell to the floor, writhing in agony, and behind him, the armored warrior was screaming and backing away.
"No!" Annabeth screamed as she ran forward.
At the edge of Percy's vision, he saw a flying chariot land on Fifth Avenue. Then someone ran toward everyone. A girl's voice; "What- Who is that?!"
Percy ran forward, finally breaking out of his confused trance to stare at the scene. Ethan's whole left side- the direction he'd run from- was burning away. Acid melted at his flesh, seeping blood everywhere. He whimpered in pain, his good eye shut and his face pulled tight in a grimace.
"Ethan Nakamura?" Clarisse gasped. Behind her, the armored warrior removed her helmet.
How had Percy not realized before? This girl was thinner, not as tall. Her long, dark hair tumbled behind her and she cried as she knelt beside Ethan.
Silena Beauregard.
Chris Rodriguez ran over from the flying chariot. He and Clarisse must've ridden it here from camp, chasing the Ares campers, who'd mistakenly been following the other girl, thinking she was Clarisse.
The drakon raced down the street and screamed in rage.
"Look out!" Chris warned.
Instead of turning toward Percy, the drakon whirled toward the sound of Chris's voice. It bared its fangs at the group of demigods.
The real Clarisse looked up at the drakon, her face filled with absolute hate. Percy had seen a look that intense only once before. Her father, Ares, had worn the same expression when Percy had fought him in single combat.
"YOU WANT DEATH?" Clarisse screamed at the drakon. "WELL, COME ON!"
She grabbed her spear from Silena, who was staring at Ethan with wide, terrified eyes. With no armor or shield, Clarisse charged the drakon.
Percy tried to close the distance to help, but Clarisse was faster. She leaped aside as the monster struck, pulverizing the ground in front of her. Then she jumped onto the creature's head. As it reared up, she drove her electric spear into its good eye with so much force it shattered the shaft, releasing all of the magic weapon's power.
Electricity arced across the creature's head, causing its whole body to shudder. Clarisse jumped free, rolling safely to the sidewalk as smoke boiled from the drakon's mouth. The drakon's flesh dissolved, and it collapsed into a hollow scaly tunnel of armor.
The rest of the demigods stared at Clarisse in awe. Percy had never seen anyone take down such a huge monster single-handedly in such a short span of time. But Clarisse didn't seem to care. She ran back to the wounded boy, and the girl who stole her armor.
"E-Ethan..." Annabeth breathed. Silena had dropped down. She had Ethan's head on her lap, and she was crying. "Ethan, why did you do it?"
Ethan actually smiled. "Didn't... Didn't do much good in my life." He said softly, struggling to speak. "Had to... fix that."
Silena shook her head. "I-I can't believe you."
"You turned back to us?" Clarisse whispered to Ethan. "You..."
Ethan grimaced as he nodded. "I... loved her. Did the... the wrong things."
Silena took his good hand and shook her head. "Oh, Ethan. You... You saved my life."
Another trick is on the way. An unlikely hero.
Percy felt his own tears. He didn't even know why. He hated Ethan, right? He wished death on him a thousand times.
So, why did it hurt so much to see him dying?
"He said..." Ethan groaned again. "Kronos said... he would spare- spare Sen." A tear slipped down his cheek. "I just- I just w-wanted... wanted to make her safe. He l-lied to me."
Clarisse shook her head. "No, you're lying." She looked up at Annabeth. "She's... Is Sen really-"
She froze. The entire battle died down. Monsters, demigods, satyrs, and Hunters alike froze in place. Ethan's eye widened, and his breathing quickened; not from dying. From fear. Silena made a strangled cry and Annabeth screamed.
Percy turned. His entire body trembled at the sight of it. She stumbled down the street, hunched over slightly, a bronze spear tinted pink stuck in her chest. She was missing an arm. Her body was an off shade of grey and her blood had dried dark brown. Her arm wasn't even dripping. Her hair was let loose and fell around her form as she came to a stop at the intersection, breathing heavily like it took more effort to move her body than it did to hold up the sky.
She looked up, not gazing at anyone in particular. Her sapphire eyes were the most alive part of her body. They were crazed and unfocused, like a caged animal. Dried blood ran down her chin and her neck. She was missing a shoe and part of her sock. She stared blankly, gazing at her surroundings.
She focused on Percy. She had a thousand-yard stare again. She said absolutely nothing. Annabeth was trembling, her grey eyes wide with fear.
Percy felt scared, too.
Nobody could say anything. No words could be spoken. What do you say in a moment like that? The girl staggered again, her legs a bit apart and her knees slightly bent. Her back had bad posture as she looked down. She used her only remaining arm and wrapped it around the spear shaft.
Everyone flinched as she ripped it out, bringing blood with her. Percy stood up finally, staring down at her. She dropped the spear, and the sound echoed throughout all of Manhattan.
"H-How?" Thalia uttered, staring in shock. "She- She-"
Why isn't the spear wound bleeding anymore?
"You... You were thrown across Manhattan." Annabeth whimpered. "You were killed!"
Sen looked at Annabeth, still unfocused. She looked down at the Titan army, who couldn't even say anything at the sight of her. Ethan was hanging on by a thread, his gaze set on Sen, and he was smiling.
Sen's mouth dropped open and blood poured out, but it was dark brown, not right red. Clots and congealed strings landed on the floor in a disgusting puddle, and she dropped her whole head, breathing heavily.
She moved the shoulder joint of her chopped-off arm. The whole world smelled of ozone as Sen made a growling noise, seething in air.
SNAP!
Her arm... regenerated.
She held it in front of her, gently moving her elbow and wrists and wiggling her fingers as if to test it. Her tattoo was on display for everyone to see- nine lines, SPQR, and a symbol of a butterfly with a shell in the corner. But nobody even cared about the tattoo.
The wound in her chest mended itself. Her shirt had a gaping hole in it, but Percy watched as her bones mended together and flesh pooled back into place. She looked up, and part of her jaw snapped back up, moving properly now. Her skin turned from grey to warm beige, and she stood up straighter, throwing her head back. Her hair filled with vibrancy and volume and she gasped like she was truly breathing for the first time.
A laugh sounded out from Percy. A crazed one. He clutched his stomach and dropped to one knee as Sen joined in, their laughter echoing throughout Manhattan. Sen's head came back up, and she stared at the fallen Ethan Nakamura. He was on the verge of death. Sen took a breath and tapped her rings, forming her butterfly bow and a single arrow.
"Wish number three." She said.
The arrow flew right into Ethan's chest. Everyone gasped, but Ethan sucked in air. The arrow dissolved into golden dust that flew over Ethan's body. Percy watched his flesh mend back together and the blood dissipate. Nothing could be done about his already healed scars, but it didn't even matter. Ethan shot up, gasping for air, clutching his chest like he couldn't believe what happened. He hadn't a single sign of being sprayed head-on with drakon acid.
Sen stared at Percy, and she smiled.
"Miss me?"
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who is sen without her dramatic ass entrances
she and nico are frfr brother and sister
also yall's comments have been SOOOOOOO funny but kind of validating everyone was CRYING and SHAKING and SCREAMING and THROWING UP and im just like "yay my writing is powerful!!!"
also, yall didnt really think i was gonna keep her dead?????? THE BITCH ALWAYS COMES BACK