✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 009. ready? begin!

CLARISSE LA RUE is a monster when she fights. Even without her armor or spear, she was a demon. She rode her chariot straight into the Titan's army and crushed everything in her path. She was so inspiring, even the panicked centaurs started to rally. The Hunters scrounged arrows from the fallen and launched volley after volley into the enemy. The Ares cabin slashed and hacked, born ready for a fight like this.

The monsters retreated toward 35th Street. Clarisse drove to the drakon's carcass and looped a grappling line through its eye sockets. She lashed her horses and took off, dragging the drakon behind the chariot like a Chinese New Year dragon. She charged after the enemy, yelling insults and daring them to cross her. As she rode, Vivi realized she was literally glowing. An aura of red fire flickered around her.

"The blessing of Ares," Thalia said. "I've never seen it in person before."

For the moment, Clarisse was invincible. The enemy threw spears and arrows, but nothing hit her.

"I AM CLARISSE, DRAKON-SLAYER!" she yelled. "I will kill you ALL! Where is Kronos? Bring him out! Is he a coward?"

"Clarisse!" Percy yelled. "Stop it. Withdraw!"

"What's the matter, Titan lord?" she yelled. "BRING IT ON!"

There was no answer from the enemy. Slowly, they began to fall back behind a dracaenae shield wall, while Clarisse drove in circles around Fifth Avenue, daring anyone to cross her path. The two hundred-foot-long drakon carcass made a hollow scraping noise against the pavement, like a thousand knives.

Meanwhile, they tended our wounded, bringing them inside the lobby. Long after the enemy had retreated from sight, Clarisse kept riding up and down the avenue with her horrible trophy, demanding that Kronos meet her battle

 Chris said, "I'll watch her. She'll get tired eventually. I'll make sure she comes inside."

"You sure?" Vivi asked her brother.

The older boy looked towards her, "Yeah, don't worry."

"What about the camp?" Percy asked. "Is anybody left there?"

Chris shook his head. "Only Argus and the nature spirits. Peleus the dragon is still guarding the tree."

"They won't last long," Percy said. "But I'm glad you came."

Chris nodded sadly. "I'm sorry it took so long. I tried to reason with Clarisse. I said there's no point in defending camp if you guys die. All our friends are here. I'm sorry it took Silena. . ."

"My Hunters will help you stand guard," Thalia said. "You should all go to Olympus. I have a feeling they'll need you up there ─ to set up the final defense." 

The doorman had disappeared from the lobby. His book was facedown on the desk and his chair was empty. The rest of the lobby, however, was jam-packed with wounded campers, Hunters, and satyrs. Violeta, Connor and Travis met them by the elevators. Vivi threw her arms around her brothers, bringing them down to her height as she hugged them.

"Thank gods you're alright," Travis said, patting Vivi's head affectionately.

"Thank gods you're alright." Vivi said as she went to hug her grandmother next, "Nǐ hái hǎo ma? ( Are you okay? )"

"Wǒ yīnggāi wèn nǐ. ( I should be asking you that. )."

"I'm fine," Vivi muttered, "Hope these two or any other of our siblings didn't bother you that much."

Violeta laughed slightly, "Oh no. They're good company, maybe not as slick as they think, but alright."

Vivi saw Connor and Travis going red in the face, but the embarrassment quickly vanished and was replaced with confusion and grief.

"Is it true? About Silena?" Connor asked.

Percy nodded. "She died a hero."

Travis shifted uncomfortably. "Um, I also heard ─ "

"That's it," Percy insisted. "End of story."

"Right," Travis mumbled. "Listen, we figure the Titan's army will have trouble getting up the elevator. They'll have to go up a few at a time. And the giants won't be able to fit at all."

"That's our biggest advantage," Percy said. "Any way to disable the elevator?"

"It's magic," Travis said. "Usually you need a key card, but the doorman vanished. That means the defenses are crumbling. Anyone can walk into the elevator now and head straight up."

"Then we have to keep them away from the doors. We'll bottle them up in the lobby."

"We need reinforcements," Travis said. "They'll just keep coming. Eventually they'll overwhelm us."

"There are no reinforcements," Connor complained.

Percy looked outside at Mrs. O'Leary, who was breathing against the glass doors and smearing them with hellhound drool. "Maybe that's not true," he said and went outside.

"Granny," Vivi said, "Can I talk to you about something?"

Violeta raised an eyebrow, "Of course, let's go where it's a bit quiet."

The two women moved away from the rest and stood near the elevator, but not close enough for people to hear them.

"So, what did you want to ask?"

Vivi looked down. There was the thread again. Red thread between their bodies. The girl followed it and noticed it was connected from her to Violeta's shoulder. Her grandma must have seen the look on Vivi's face as her expression softened from the serious one she held before.

"Ah," she said softly, "You can finally see it."

The girl looked at her grandma, "You can too? I wasn't hallucinating."

"No, of course you were not." Violeta waved her hand, "It's a rare gift from my mother, Psyche. I have it too. I can see the red thread between bodies of people. You inherited the gift."

"But how is that even possible?"

"It's because you're her legacy," Violeta said, putting a hand on Vivi's shoulder, "Your my granddaughter and with me being the goddesses daughter, I let this gift go down to you."

Vivi let the information sink in. Gods were a strange thing.

"What does each string mean?"

"It's a one string, but connected to different part," Violeta explained, "From hand to hand is a friendship. From shoulder to shoulder is a family. From eye to eye is an enemy. And from heart to heart is lovers. . . which, you might have seen between you and the son of Poseidon."

The girl's eyes widen; warmth spreading through her body.

Violeta let out a laugh, "I've see it too. You're meant to be."

"But. . . what if it's connected to someone's spot of mortal life?"

"Then. . ." Violeta smiled softly, "You are their mortal life."

Depressing is not a word that usually describes Mount Olympus, but it looked that way now. No fires lit the braziers. The windows were dark. The streets were deserted and the doors were barred. The only movement was in the parks, which had been set up as field hospitals.

Will Solace and the other Apollo campers scrambled around, caring for the wounded. Naiads and dryads tried to help, using nature magic songs to heal burns and poison. As Grover planted the laurel sapling, Vivi, along with Percy, Annabeth and Violeta went around trying to cheer up the wounded. They passed a satyr with a broken leg, a demigod who was bandaged from head to toe, and a body covered in the golden burial shroud of Apollo's cabin. Vivi didn't know who was underneath nor she wanted to find out.

"You'll be up and fighting Titans in no time!" Percy told one camper.

"You look great," Annabeth told another camper.

"Keep your head up," Vivi said to a unclaimed child.

"You did your best and that's what we need," Violeta told one Aphrodite child.

"Leneus turned into a shrub!" Grover told a groaning satyr.

They found Dionysus's son Pollux propped up against a tree. He had a broken arm, but otherwise he was okay. "I can still fight with the other hand," he said, gritting his teeth.

"No," Percy said. "You've done enough. I want you to stay here and help with the wounded." 

"But ─ "

"Promise me to stay safe," Percy said. "Okay? Personal favor."

He frowned uncertainly and Vivi did too. It wasn't like the two boys were good friends or anything, so it felt kind of weird and awkward. Finally he promised, and when he sat backdown, Vivi could tell he was kind of relieved.

"I'll stay with the boy," Violeta said, "Help the wounded and have an eye on the unclaimed."

Vivi nodded and hugged her grandmother. "Thank you," she whispered, "Thank you for everything you've done."

"And I'll do more to make sure you're safe."

Vivi, Annabeth, Grover, and Percy kept walking toward the palace. That's where Kronos would head. As soon as he made it up the elevator ─ and Vivi had no doubt he would, one way or another ─ he would destroy the throne room, the center of the gods' power.

The bronze doors creaked open. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor. The constellations twinkled coldly on the ceiling of the great hall. The hearth was down to a dull red glow. Hestia, in the form of a little girl in brown robes, hunched at its edge, shivering. The Ophiotaurus swam sadly in his sphere of water. He let out a half-hearted moo when he saw Percy. In the firelight, the thrones cast evil-looking shadows, like grasping hands. 

Standing at the foot of Zeus's throne, looking up at the stars, was Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was holding a Greek ceramic vase.

"Rachel?" Percy said. "Um, what are you doing with that?"

She focused on the boy as if she were coming out of a dream. "I found it. It's Pandora's jar, isn't it?" her eyes were brighter than usual.

"Please put down the jar," Percy said.

"I can see Hope inside it." Rachel ran her fingers over the ceramic designs. "So fragile."

"Rachel." 

That seemed to bring her back to reality. She held out the jar, and Percy took it. 

"V, Grover," Annabeth mumbled. "Let's scout around the palace. Maybe we can find some extra Greek fire or Hephaestus traps."

"But ─ "

Annabeth elbowed Grover.

"Right!" he yelped. "I love traps!" 

The three of them exited the throne room, leaving Percy alone with Rachel and Hestia.

Percy Jackson was sometimes really stupid. No, cross that. Most of the time he had some dumb ideas in his mind that could get him killed. And what was the idea this time? Sitting on his father's throne so he could get Poseidon's attention. Fucking idiot. Usually, demigods are supposed to sit in their parent's thrones, and usually they didn't want a death wish. But Percy wants it, it looked like. After a couple of minutes of the boy talking with his father, he jumped of the throne with a grin and they walked back down to the street.

By the time we got to the street, it was too late. Campers and Hunters lay wounded on the ground.

Clarisse must've lost a fight with a Hyperborean giant, because she and her chariot were frozen in a block of ice. The centaurs were nowhere to be seen. Either they'd panicked and ran or they'd been disintegrated. The Titan army ringed the building, standing maybe twenty feet from the doors. Kronos's vanguard was in the lead: Ethan Nakamura, the dracaena queen in her green armor, and two Hyperboreans. Kronos himself stood right in front with his scythe in hand. The only thing standing in his way was . . .

"Chiron," Annabeth said, her voice trembling.

If Chiron heard her, he didn't answer. He had an arrow notched, aimed straight at Kronos's face. As soon as Kronos saw Percy, his gold eyes flared. Then the Titan lord turned his attention back to Chiron.

"Step aside, little son."

Hearing Luke call Chiron his son was weird enough, but Kronos put contempt in his voice, like son was the worst word he could think of.

"I'm afraid not." Chiron's tone was steely calm, the way he gets when he's really angry. 

Vivi tried to move, but her feet felt like concrete. Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia were straining too, like they were just as stuck.

"Chiron!" Annabeth said. "Look out!"

The dracaena queen became impatient and charged. Chiron's arrow flew straight between her eyes and she vaporized on the spot, her empty armor clattering to the asphalt. Chiron reached for another arrow, but his quiver was empty. He dropped the bow and drew his sword. Everyone knew he hated fighting with a sword. It was never his favorite weapon. Kronos chuckled. He advanced a step, and Chiron's horse-half skittered nervously. His tail flicked back and forth. 

"You're a teacher," Kronos sneered. "Not a hero."

"Luke was a hero," Chiron said. "He was a good one, until you corrupted him."

"FOOL!" Kronos's voice shook the city. "You filled his head with empty promises. You said the gods cared about me!"

"Me," Chiron noticed. "You said me."

Kronos looked confused, and in that moment, Chiron struck. It was a good maneuver ─ a feint followed by a strike to the face, but Kronos was quick. He had all of Luke's fighting skill, which was a lot. He knocked aside Chiron's blade and yelled, "BACK!"

A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the centaur. Chiron flew into the side of the building with such force the wall crumbled and collapsed on top of him.

"No!" Annabeth wailed.

The freezing spell broke. They ran toward their teacher, but there was no sign of him. Thalia and Percy pulled helplessly at the bricks while a ripple of ugly laughter ran through the Titan's army. 

"YOU!" Annabeth turned on Luke. "To think that I. . . that I thought ─ " she drew her knife. 

"Annie, don't." Vivi tried to take her arm, but she shook the girl off.

She attacked Kronos, and his smug smile faded. Perhaps some part of Luke remembered that he used to like this girl, used to take care of her when she was little. She plunged her knife between the straps of his armor, right at his collar bone. The blade should've sunk into his chest. Instead it bounced off. Annabeth doubled over, clutching her arm to her stomach. 

Vivi yanked her back as Kronos swung his scythe, slicing the air where she'd been standing. She fought against daughter of Hermes, and Percy ran to help, seeing the struggling expression of Vivi's face.

Annabeth screamed, "I HATE you!"

Vivi wasn't sure who she was talking to ─ her, Percy, or Kronos. Tears streaked the dust on her face.

"Annie, stop," Vivi pleaded.

"I have to fight him," Percy told Annabeth.

"It's my fight too, Percy!"

Kronos laughed. "So much spirit. I can see why Luke wanted to spare you. Unfortunately, that won't be possible."

He raised his scythe. Percy got ready to defend, but before Kronos could strike, a dog's howl pierced the air somewhere behind the Titan's army. 

"Arroooooooo!" 

"Mrs. O'Leary?" Percy called.

The enemy forces stirred uneasily. Then the strangest thing happened. They began to part, clearing a path through the street like something behind them was forcing them to. Soon there was a free aisle down the center of Fifth Avenue. Standing at the end of the block was the hellhound, and a small figure in black armor.

"Nico?" Vivi called. "Nico!" she yelled in excitement.

"ROWWF!"

Mrs. O'Leary bounded toward them, ignoring the growling monsters on either side. Nico strode forward. The enemy army fell back before him like he radiated death, which of course he did. Through the face guard of his skull-shaped helmet, he smiled. "Got your message, Percy. Is it too late to join the party?"

If it weren't for the army or Kronos himself, Vivi would have thrown herself onto the young son of Hades. Instead, she chose to give him a small smile and let out a laugh, "Fuck, no! Join us!"

"Son of Hades." Kronos spit on the ground. "Do you love death so much you wish to experience it?"

"Your death," Nico said, "would be great for me."

"I'm immortal, you fool! I have escaped Tartarus. You have no business here, and no chance to live."

Nico drew his sword ─ three feet of wicked sharp Stygian iron, black as a nightmare. "I don't agree."

The ground rumbled. Cracks appeared on the road, the sidewalks, the sides of the buildings. Skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way into the world of the living. There were thousands of them, and as they emerged, the Titan's monsters got jumpy and started to back up.

"HOLD YOUR GROUND!" Kronos demanded. "The dead are no match for us."

The sky turned dark and cold. Shadows thickened. A harsh war horn sounded, and as the dead soldiers formed up ranks with their guns and swords and spears, an enormous chariot roared down Fifth Avenue. It came to a stop next to Nico. The horses were living shadows, fashioned from darkness. The chariot was inlaid with obsidian and gold, decorated with scenes of painful death. Holding the reins was Hades himself, Lord of the Dead, with Demeter and Persephone riding behind him.

Hades wore black armor and a cloak the color of fresh blood. On top of his pale head was the helm of darkness: a crown that radiated pure terror. It changed shape as Vivi watched ─ from a dragon's head to a circle of black flames to a wreath of human bones. But that wasn't the scary part. The helm reached into her mind and ignited her worst nightmares, her most secret fears. The girl wanted to crawl into a hole and hide ,and she could tell the enemy army felt the same way. Only Kronos's power and authority kept his ranks from fleeing.

Hades smiled coldly. "Hello, Father. You're looking. . . young."

"Hades," Kronos growled. "I hope you and the ladies have come to pledge your allegiance."

"I'm afraid not." Hades sighed. "My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." he glanced at Percy with distaste. "As much as I dislike certain upstart demigods, it would not do for Olympus to fall. I would miss bickering with my siblings. And if there is one thing we agree on ─ it is that you were a TERRIBLE father."

"True," muttered Demeter. "No appreciation of agriculture."

"Mother!" Persephone complained.

Hades drew his sword, a double-edged Stygian blade etched with silver. "Now fight me! For today the House of Hades will be called the saviors of Olympus."

"I don't have time for this," Kronos snarled.

He struck the ground with his scythe. A crack spread in both directions, circling the Empire State Building. A wall of force shimmered along the fissure line, separating Kronos's vanguard, five demigods, a satyr, from the bulk of the two armies.

"What's he doing?" Percy muttered. 

"Sealing us in," Thalia said. "He's collapsing the magic barriers around Manhattan ─ cutting off just the building, and us."

Sure enough, outside the barrier, car engines revved to life. Pedestrians woke up and stared uncomprehendingly at the monsters and zombies all around them. No telling what they saw through the Mist, but Vivi was sure it was plenty scary. Car doors opened. And at the end of the block, Paul Blofis and Sally Jackson got out of their Prius.

"No," Percy said. "Don't . . ." 

Sally could see through the Mist; Vivi learned that last year. From her expression, Vivi knew Sally understood how serious things were. Vivi hoped the woman would make a run for it. But she locked eyes with Percy, said something to Paul, and they ran straight toward them. No one could call out for them.

Fortunately, Hades caused a distraction. He charged at the wall of force, but his chariot crashed against it and overturned. He got to his feet, cursing, and blasted the wall with black energy. The barrier held.

"ATTACK!" he roared.

The armies of the dead clashed with the Titan's monsters. Fifth Avenue exploded into absolute chaos. Mortals screamed and ran for cover. Demeter waved her hand and an entire column of giants turned into a wheat field. Persephone changed the dracaenae's spears into sunflowers. Nico slashed and hacked his way through the enemy, trying to protect the pedestrians as best he could. 

"Nakamura," Kronos said. "Attend me. Giants ─ deal with them."

He pointed Vivi, Annabeth, Percy, Thalia and Grover. Then he ducked into the lobby of the Empire State building. This is what they fought for? Just for the Titan to slip so fucking easily.

The first Hyperborean giant smashed at Percy with his club. Percy rolled between his legs, getting away from him. Vivi unleashed her dagger, stabbing it into the monster's backside. He shattered into a pile of ice shards. The second giant breathed frost at Annabeth, who was barely able to stand, but Grover pulled her out of the way while Thalia went to work. She sprinted up the giant's back like a gazelle, sliced her hunting knives across his monstrous blue neck, and created the world's largest headless ice sculpture.

Vivi glanced outside the magic barrier. Nico was fighting his way toward Sally and Paul, but they weren't waiting for help. Paul grabbed a sword from a fallen hero and did a pretty fine job keeping a dracaena busy. He stabbed her in the gut, and she disintegrated.

"Paul?" Percy said in amazement.

He turned toward them and grinned. "I hope that was a monster I just killed. I was a Shakespearian actor in college! Picked up a little swordplay!" 

Suddenly, a Laistrygonian giant charged toward Sally. She was rummaging around in an abandoned police car ─ maybe looking for the emergency radio ─ and her back was turned. 

"Mom!" Percy yelled.

She whirled when the monster was almost on top of her and blasted the giant twenty feet backward, right into Nico's sword with a shotgun. Vivi let out a breathy laugh. Sally Jackson was a fucking icon!

"Nice one," Paul said.

"When did you learn to fire a shotgun?" Percy demanded. 

Sally blew the hair out of her face. "About two seconds ago. Percy, we'll be fine. Go!"

"Yes," Nico agreed, "we'll handle the army. You have to get Kronos!"

"Be careful, Nico!" Vivi yelled, looking at the younger boy.

"When am I not," he grinned, stabbing one of the monsters in a gut.

"Come on, Aquaboy!" Vivi said. "We got a Titan to deal with."

Percy nodded. Then he looked at the rubble pile on the side of the building. Vivi, too, had forgotten about Chiron. How could they do that?

"Mrs. O'Leary," Percy said. "Please, Chiron's under there. If anyone can dig him out, you can. Find him! Help him!" 

The hellhound bounded to the pile and started to dig. And with that, Vivienne Wu, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Grover Underwood, and Percy Jackson raced for the elevators. 

niki speaks!

holy shit!!
thank u sm on 10K on this fic
i really can't put it to words how much
i appreciate and love every single
one of you who enjoys and reads
my books!!
i'm really grateful and thankful for
all of you!!

well, i'm off to a party with Mt friends
and pray with me it doesn't rain

have a nice day/night!
bye!