010.












✦ ༉‧₊˚⋆˚( ᵖᵉʳᶠᵉᶜᵗ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ )˚⁺✧₊˚.*♡

🍦— 010. a final breath of a half-blood.






















BAD NEWS: THE bridge to Olympus was dissolving as soon as the group of five stepped out of the elevator and onto the white marble walkway, cracks appeared at their feet. 

"Jump!" Grover said, which was easy for him since he's part mountain goat. He sprang to the next slab of stone while the one the four demigods were on tilted sickeningly.

"Gods, I hate heights!" Thalia yelled.

Together, Vivi, Percy and Thalia leaped to the next stone. But Annabeth was in no shape for jumping after the ricochet of her blade against Kronos.

She stumbled and yelled, "Guys!"

Vivi ran, catching the blonde's hand as the pavement fell, crumbling into dust. For a second the girl thought Annabeth was going to pull them both over, but Vivi would never let that happen. Her feet dangled in the open air. Her hand started to slip until she was holding her only by her fingers. Then, Vivi felt arms wrap around her waist, and others grabbed her legs, pulling her. Annabeth was not going to fall. Finally, Vivi was able to pull her best friend up and they laid trembling on the pavement. 

"Thank you, V," Annabeth said, looking up at Vivi who layed underneath the blonde.

"Always."

"Keep moving!" Grover said. 

They all scrambled up and sprinted across the skybridge as more stones disintegrated and fell into oblivion. Five of them made it to the edge of the mountain just as the final section collapsed. Vivi looked back at the elevator, which was now completely out of reach ─ a polished set of metal doors hanging in space, attached to nothing, six hundred stories above Manhattan. 

"We're marooned," Vivi said. "On our own."

"Blah-ha-ha!" Grover said. "The connection between Olympus and America is dissolving. If it fails ─"

"The gods won't move on to another country this time," Thalia said. "This will be the end of Olympus. The final end."

"Well, let's not let that happen," Vivi said.

They ran through streets. Mansions were burning. Statues had been hacked down. Trees in the parks were blasted to splinters. It looked like someone had attacked the city with a giant Weed wacker.

"Kronos's scythe," Percy said. 

They followed the winding path toward the palace of the gods. Vivi didn't remember the road being so long. Maybe Kronos was making time go slower, or maybe it was just dread slowing them down. The whole mountain top was in ruins ─ so many beautiful buildings and gardens gone. A few minor gods and nature spirits had tried to stop Kronos. What remained of them was strewn about the road: shattered armor, ripped clothing, swords and spears broken in half. 

Somewhere ahead of them, Kronos's voice roared: "Brick by brick! That was my promise. Tear it down BRICK BY BRICK!"

A white marble temple with a gold dome suddenly exploded. The dome shot up like the lid of a teapot and shattered into a billion pieces, raining rubble over the city.

"That was a shrine to Artemis," Thalia grumbled. "He'll fucking pay for that." 

The group was running under the marble archway with the huge statues of Zeus and Hera when the entire mountain groaned, rocking sideways like a boat in a storm.

"Look out!" Grover yelped.

The archway crumbled. Vivi looked up in time to see a twenty-ton scowling Hera topple over on them. Annabeth, Percy and she would've been flattened, but Thalia shoved them from behind and they landed just out of danger.

"Thalia!" Grover cried.

When the dust cleared and the mountain stopped rocking, thankfully, they found her still alive, but her legs were pinned under the statue. They tried desperately to move it, but it would've taken several Cyclopes. When Percy and Annabeth tried to pull Thalia out from under it, she yelled in pain.

"I survive all those battles," she growled, "and I get defeated by a stupid chunk of rock!"

"It's Hera," Annabeth said in outrage. "She's had it in for me and V all year. Her statue would've killed us if you hadn't pushed us away."

Thalia grimaced. "Well, don't just stand there! I'll be fine. Go!

Vivi didn't want to leave her, but she could hear Kronos laughing as she approached the hall of the gods. More buildings exploded.

"We'll be back," Percy promised.

"I'm not going anywhere," Thalia groaned.

A fireball erupted on the side of the mountain, right near the gates of the palace.

"We've got to run," son of Poseidon said.

"I don't suppose you mean away," Grover murmured hopefully.

Percy sprinted toward the palace, Annabeth and Vivi right behind him.

"I was afraid of that," Grover sighed, and clip-clopped after them. 


























































The doors of the palace were big enough to steer a cruise ship through, but they'd been ripped off their hinges and smashed like they weighed nothing. The four of them had to climb over a huge pile of broken stone and twisted metal to get inside. Kronos stood in the middle of the throne room, his arms wide, staring at the starry ceiling as if taking it all in. His laughter echoed even louder than it had from the pit of Tartarus.

"Finally!" he bellowed. "The Olympian Council ─ so proud and mighty. Which seat of power shall I destroy first?"

Ethan Nakamura stood to one side, trying to stay out of the way of his master's scythe. The hearth was almost dead, just a few coals glowing deep in the ashes. Hestia was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Rachel. The Ophiotaurus swam in his water sphere in the far corner of the room, wisely not making a sound, but it wouldn't be long before Kronos noticed him.

Vivi, Annabeth, Grover, and Percy stepped forward into the torchlight. Ethan saw them first. "My lord," he warned.

Kronos turned and smiled through Luke's face. Except for the golden eyes, he looked exactly how campers in the Hermes cabin had described. Annabeth made a painful sound in the back of her throat, like someone had just sucker punched her. She grabbed a hold of Vivi's hand and Vivi held it tightly.

"Shall I destroy you first, Jackson?" Kronos asked. "Is that the choice you will make ─ to fight me and die instead of bowing down? Prophecies never end well, you know."

"Luke would fight with a sword," Percy said. "But I suppose you don't have his skill."

Kronos sneered. His scythe began to change, until he held Luke's old weapon, Backbiter, with its half-steel, half-Celestial bronze blade.

Next to Vivi, Annabeth gasped like she'd suddenly had an idea. "Percy, the blade!" she unsheathed her knife. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."

Vivi looked at her best friend with confused expression. She didn't understand why she was reminding them of that prophecy line right now, but she knew when to trust Annabeth.

Kronos raised his sword.

"Wait!" Annabeth yelled.

Kronos came at Percy like a whirlwind. The boy dodged and slashed and rolled. Ethan ducked to one side, trying to get behind Percy. Vivi and Annabeth looked at each other, before nodding, letting go of each other and charging together at Ethan. Both girls slashed at him with their daggers, keeping him away from Percy and Kronos. Grover started playing his reed pipes. The sound filled Vivi with warmth and courage ─ thoughts of sunlight and a blue sky and a calm meadow, somewhere far away from the war.

Kronos backed Percy up against the throne of Hephaestus ─ a huge mechanical La-Z-Boy type thing covered with bronze and silver gears. Kronos slashed, and the boy managed to jump straight up onto the seat. The throne whirred and hummed with secret mechanisms. Defense mode, it warned. Defense mode. That couldn't be good.

Percy jumped straight over Kronos's head as the throne shot tendrils of electricity in all directions. One hit Kronos in the face, arcing down his body and up his sword. "ARG!"

He crumpled to his knees and dropped Backbiter.

Annabeth saw her chance. She kicked Ethan out of the way and charged Kronos. The son of Nemesis tried to get to his feet, but Vivi stopped him, placing her dagger underneath his chin with a silent challenge.

"Luke, listen!" the blonde girl yelled.

Kronos flicked his hand. Annabeth flew backward, slamming into the throne of her mother and crumpling to the floor.

"Annabeth!" Percy screamed.

Grover's music took on a more urgent tune. He moved toward Annabeth, but he couldn't go any faster and keep up the song. Grass grew on the floor of the throne room. Tiny roots crept up between the cracks of the marble stones. 

Kronos rose to one knee. His hair smoldered. His face was covered with electrical burns. He reached for his sword, but this time it didn't fly into his hands.

"Nakamura!" he groaned. "Time to prove yourself. You know Jackson's secret weakness. Kill him, and you will have rewards beyond measure."

Ethan's eyes dropped to Percy midsection, and Vivi was sure that he knew. The girl pushed her dagger further into the boy's neck; not enough to draw blood, but enough so if he moved it would cut him.

"Bibi, lower your dagger," Percy ordered.

Her eyes flickered towards him, "What?"

"Lower the dagger," Percy said softly with a nod, "It's okay."

Reluctantly, the girl removed her dagger from Ethan's neck. The boy seemed to relax a bit. Vivi, however, kept an eye on him as he stood up.

"Look around you, Ethan," Percy said. "The end of the world. Is this the reward you want? Do you really want everything destroyed ─ the good with the bad? Everything?"

Grover was almost to Annabeth now. The grass thickened on the floor. The roots were almost a foot long, like a stubble of whiskers.

"There is no throne to Nemesis," Ethan muttered. "No throne to my mother."

"That's right!" Kronos tried to get up, but stumbled. Above his left ear, a patch of blond hair still smoldered. "Strike them down! They deserve to suffer."

"You said your mom is the goddess of balance," Percy reminded him. "The minor gods deserve better, Ethan, but total destruction isn't balance. Kronos doesn't build. He only destroys."

Ethan looked at the sizzling throne of Hephaestus. Grover's music kept playing, and Ethan swayed toit, as if the song were filling him with nostalgia ─ a wish to see a beautiful day, to be anywhere but here. His good eye blinked. Then he charged. . . but not at Percy. While Kronos was still on his knees, Ethan brought down his sword on the Titan lord's neck. It should have killed him instantly, but the blade shattered. Ethan fell back, grasping his stomach. A shard of his own blade had ricocheted and pierced his armor.

Kronos rose unsteadily, towering over his servant. "Treason," he snarled.

Grover's music kept playing, and grass grew around Ethan's body. Ethan stared at Percy, his face tight with pain."Deserve better," he gasped. "If they just. . . had thrones ─ "

Kronos stomped his foot, and the floor ruptured around Ethan Nakamura. The son of Nemesis fell through a fissure that went straight through the heart of the mountain ─ straight into open air.

"So much for him." Kronos picked up his sword. "And now for the rest of you." 
































































Vivi's only thought was to keep the Titan away from Annabeth and Grover; Percy's only thought was to keep the Titan away from Vivi. Grover'd stopped playing and was feeding Annabeth ambrosia. Everywhere Kronos stepped, the roots wrapped around his feet, but Grover had stopped his magic too early. The roots weren't thick or strong enough to do much more than annoy the Titan.

Vivi ran to where Percy and Kronos fought through the hearth, kicking up coals and sparks. The girl slashed at Kronos, but no matter how much time she cut and stabbed, all the effects bounced off. Kronos slashed an armrest off the throne of Ares, but then he backed Vivi and Percy up to Poseidon's throne.

"Oh, yes," Kronos said. "This one will make fine kindling for my new hearth!"

The boy pushed Vivi out of the way as Riptide and Blackbiter clashed in a shower of sparks. Kronos was stronger then Percy, Vivi could see him struggling, but being near his father's throne must have given him more energy.

Percy pushed the Titan back and struck again ─ slashing Riptide across his breastplate so hard the boy cut a gash in the Celestial bronze. He stamped his foot again and time slowed. Percy tried to attack but he was moving at the speed of a glacier. Vivi wanted to stand back up, to help, but she fucking moved like a sloth thanks to Kronos.

Kronos backed up leisurely, catching his breath. He examined the gash in his armor while Percy struggled forward, silently cursing him. He could take all the time-outs he wanted. He could freeze them in place at will. 

"It's too late, Percy Jackson," he said. "Be hold."

He pointed to the hearth, and the coals glowed. A sheet of white smoke poured from the fire, forming images like an Iris-message. Vivi saw Violeta, Nico, Sally and Paul down on Fifth Avenue, fighting a hopeless battle, ringed in enemies. In the background Hades fought from his black chariot, summoning wave after wave of zombies out of the ground, but the forces of the Titan's army seemed just as endless.

Meanwhile, Manhattan was being destroyed. Mortals, now fully awake, were running in terror. Cars swerved and crashed. The scene shifted, and Vivi saw something even more terrifying. A column of storm was approaching the Hudson River, moving rapidly over the Jersey shore. Chariots circled it, locked in combat with the creature in the cloud. The gods attacked. Lightning flashed. Arrows of gold and silver streaked into the cloud like rocket tracers and exploded. Slowly, the cloud ripped apart, and the girl saw Typhon clearly for the first time. 

Typhon's head shifted constantly. Every moment he was a different monster, each more horrible than the last. Looking at his face would've driven anyone insane. He was humanoid, but his skin was mottled green, with blisters the size of buildings, and blackened patches from eons of being stuck under a volcano. His hands were human, but with talons like an eagle's. His legs were scaly and reptilian.

"The Olympians are giving their final effort." Kronos laughed. "How pathetic."

Zeus threw a thunderbolt from his chariot. The blast lit up the world. Vivi could feel the shock even here on Olympus, but when the dust cleared, Typhon was still standing. He staggered a bit, with a smoking crater on top of his misshapen head, but he roared in anger and kept advancing.  Kronos' attention was focused on the fight and his final victory. Typhon stepped into the Hudson River and barely sank to midcalf. 

And suddenly, conch horn sounded from the smoky picture. The call of the ocean. The call of Poseidon.

All around Typhon, the Hudson River erupted, churning with forty-foot waves. Out of the water burst a new chariot ─ this one pulled by massive hippocampi, who swam in air as easily as in water. Poseidon, glowing with a blue aura of power, rode a defiant circle around the giant's legs. As he swung his trident, the river responded, making a funnel cloud around the monster.

"No!" Kronos bellowed after a moment of stunned silence. "NO!"

"NOW, MY BRETHREN!" Poseidon's voice was so loud, Vivi wasn't sure if she was hearing it from the smoke image or from all the way across town. "STRIKE FOR OLYMPUS!"

Warriors burst out of the river, riding the waves on huge sharks and dragons and sea horses. It was a legion of Cyclopes, and leading them into battle was an old friend Vivi hadn't seen since their last quest.

"Tyson!" Percy yelled. 

The boy stared at his brother in amazement. He'd magically grown in size. He had to be thirty feet tall, as big as any of his older cousins, and for the first time he was wearing full battle armor. Riding behind him was Briares, the Hundred-Handed One. All the Cyclopes held huge lengths of black iron chains ─ big enough to anchor a battleship ─ with grappling hooks at the ends. They swung them like lassos and began to ensnare Typhon, throwing lines around the creature's legs and arms, using the tide to keep circling, slowly tangling him. Typhon shook and roared and yanked at the chains, pulling some of the Cyclopes off their mounts; but there were too many chains. The sheer weight of the Cyclops battalion began to weigh Typhon down.

Poseidon threw his trident and impaled the monster in the throat. Golden blood, immortal ichor, spewed from the wound, making a waterfall taller than a skyscraper. The trident flew back to Poseidon's hand. The other gods struck with renewed force. Ares rode in and stabbed Typhon in the nose. Artemis shot the monster in the eye with a dozen silver arrows. Apollo shot a blazing volley of arrows and set the monster's loincloth on fire. And Zeus kept pounding the giant with lightning, until finally, slowly, the water rose, wrapping Typhon like a cocoon, and he began to sink under the weight of the chains.

Typhon bellowed in agony, thrashing with such force that waves sloshed the Jersey shore, soaking five-story buildings and splashing over the George Washington Bridge ─ but down he went as Poseidon opened a special tunnel for him at the bottom of the river ─ an endless waterslide that would take him straight to Tartarus. The giant's head went under in a seething whirlpool, and he was gone.

"BAH!" Kronos screamed. He slashed his sword through the smoke, tearing the image to shreds. 

 "They're on their way," Percy said. "You've lost."

"I haven't even started." he advanced with blinding speed

Grover ─ brave, stupid satyr that he was ─ tried to protect his best friend, but Kronos tossed him aside like a rag doll. Percy sidestepped and jabbed under Kronos's guard. It was a good trick. Unfortunately, Luke knew it. He countered the strike and disarmed Percy using one of the first moves he'd ever taught the boy. Riptide skittered across the ground and fell straight into the open fissure.

"STOP!"

Annabeth came from nowhere and Vivi stood frozen in shock watching her, sometimes stupid best friend, running towards the Titan. Kronos whirled to face her and slashed with Backbiter, but somehow Annabeth caught the strike on her dagger hilt. It was a move only the quickest and most skilled knife fighter could've managed. Vivi didn't know where the blonde found the strength, but she stepped in closer for leverage, their blades crossed, and for amoment she stood face-to-face with the Titan lord, holding him at a standstill.

"Luke," she said, gritting her teeth, "I understand now. You have to trust me."

Kronos roared in outrage. "Luke Castellan is dead! His body will burn away as I assume my true form!" 

Vivi saw Percy trying to move, but his body, like hers, was frozen again. How could Annabeth, battered and half dead with exhaustion, have the strength to fight a Titan like Kronos? Kronos pushed against her, trying to dislodge his blade, but she held him in check, her arms trembling as he forced his sword down toward her neck.

"Your mother," Annabeth grunted. "She saw your fate."

"Service to Kronos!" the Titan roared. "This is my fate."

"No!" Annabeth insisted. Her eyes were tearing up, but Vivi didn't know if it was from sadness or pain. "That's not the end, Luke. The prophecy: she saw what you would do. It applies to you!"

"I will crush you, child!" Kronos bellowed.

"You won't," Annabeth said. "You promised. You're holding Kronos back even now."

"LIES!"

Kronos pushed again, and this time Annabeth lost her balance. With his free hand, Kronos struck her face, and she slid backward. Vivi helped Percy stand up, but the boy was struggling more then her. He leaned his weight onto her and the girl did her best to support both of them. Kronos loomed over Annabeth, his sword raised. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

She croaked, "Family, Luke. You promised." 

The pair took a painful step forward. Grover was back on his feet, over by the throne of Hera, but he seemed to be struggling to move as well. Before either of them could get anywhere close to Annabeth, Kronos staggered. He stared at the knife in Annabeth's hand, the blood on her face. 

"Promise." then he gasped like he couldn't get air. "Annabeth. . ." but it wasn't the Titan's voice. It was Luke's. He stumbled forward like he couldn't control his own body. "You're bleeding. . . ." 

"My knife." Annabeth tried to raise her dagger, but it clattered out of her hand. Her arm was bent at an awkward angle. She looked at Percy, imploring, "Percy, V, please. . ." 

Both of them surged forward, finally able to move again. Vivi ran towards Annabeth's knife, while Percy knocked Backbiter out of Luke's hand, and it spun into the hearth. Luke hardly paid the boy any attention. He stepped toward Annabeth, but Vivi put herself between him and her. 

"Don't touch her," Vivi said. "You're not touching her again, Luke. That's not family does; that's not how my brother would act."

Kronos's voice growled: "Stupid child!

His whole body begun, glowing, turning gold. He gasped again. Luke's voice: "He's changing. Help. He's. . . he's almost ready. He won't need mybody anymore. Please, please sister ─ " 

"NO!" Kronos bellowed. He looked around for his sword, but it was in the hearth, glowing among the coals. He stumbled toward it. Percy tried to stop him, but he pushed the boy out of the way with such force he landed next to Annabeth and cracked his head on the base of Athena's throne.

"Percy!" Vivi yelled, falling on her knees next to the boy. He reached out, trying to grab onto her through his cloudy vision, "I'm here. . . I'm not leaving you. . . not again."

"The knife," Annabeth muttered. Her breath was shallow. "Hero. . . cursed blade. . ." 

Vivi turned around and saw Kronos grasping his sword. Then he bellowed in pain and dropped it. His hands were smoking and seared. The hearth fire had grown red-hot, like the scythe wasn't compatible with it. The girl saw an image of Hestia flickering in the ashes, frowning at Kronos with disapproval.

Luke turned and collapsed, clutching his ruined hands. "Please, Percy. . ."

The said boy struggled to his feet. He moved toward the blonde boy with the knife. 

Luke moistened his lips. "You can't. . . can't do it yourself. He'll break my control. He'll defend himself. Only my hand. I know where. I can. . . can keep him controlled."

He was definitely glowing now, his skin starting to smoke. Percy raised the knife to strike. Vivi moved in front of Annabeth, who was in Grover's arms as he trying to shield her. 

"Focus on me," Vivi said in a small voice, "I'm here. I'm with you, Annie."

"Please," Luke groaned. "No time." 

If Kronos evolved into his true form, there would be no stopping him. He would make Typhon looklike a playground bully. The line from the great prophecy echoed in Vivi's head: A hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap. She wiped her head to see Percy giving the knife to Luke.

Grover yelped. "Percy? Are you . . . um . . ."

Crazy. Insane. Probably. But they watched as Luke grasped the hilt. Percy stood before him ─ defenseless. He unlatched the side straps of his armor, exposing a small bit of his skin just under his left arm, a place that would be very hard to hit. With difficulty, he stabbed himself. It wasn't a deep cut, but Luke howled. His eyes glowed like lava. The throne room shook, throwing Percy off his feet. An aura of energy surrounded Luke, growing brighter and brighter. Vivi shut her eyes as quiet sobs escaped her lips.

He was her brother. Even if she didn't know him well, or not at all, he was still part of her family.

It was silent for a long time. When the girl opened her eyes, she saw Luke sprawled at the hearth. On the floor around him was a blackened circle of ash. Kronos's scythe had liquefied into molten metal and was trickling into the coals of the hearth, which now glowed like a blacksmith's furnace. Luke's left side was bloody. His eyes were open ─ blue eyes. His breath wasa deep rattle.

"Good. . . blade," he croaked.

Percy knelt next to him. Vivi helped Annabeth up with Grover's support and moved over towards two boys. All of them had tears in their eyes.

Luke gazed at Annabeth. "You knew. I almost killed you, but you knew . . ."

"Shhh." her voice trembled. "You were a hero at the end, Luke. You'll go to Elysium."

He shook his head weakly. "Think. . . rebirth. Try for three times. Isles of the Blest."

Annabeth sniffled. "You always pushed yourself too hard."

He held up his charred hand. Annabeth touched his fingertips. "Did you . . ." Luke coughed and his lips glistened red. "Did you love me?"

Annabeth wiped her tears away. "There was a time I thought. . . well, I thought. . . You were like a brother to me, Luke. . . But I didn't love you."

He nodded, as if he'd expected it. His blue eyes landed on Vivi, "Hi there, sis." he said, "I'm sorry this. . . this is the image you'll remember of me. . ."

Vivi sniffled. She put her hand over his, "Hi," she smiled though tears, "And no, I'll remember you as a hero, the one our siblings and campers told me about."

"You're such a strong and brave soul," Luke said, "I'm happy we're family. . . I'm happy I've got to meet you. . ."

"Me too."

Luke winced in pain.

"We can get ambrosia," Grover said. "We can ─ " 

"Grover," Luke gulped. "You're the bravest satyr I ever knew. But no. There's no healing. . ."

Another cough. He gripped Percy's sleeve, "Ethan. Me. All the unclaimed. Don't let it. . . Don't let it happen again."

His eyes were angry, but pleading too.

"I won't," Percy said. "I promise."

Luke nodded, and his hand went slack. His blue eyes staring hauntingly at the ceiling. Annabeth let out a cry of pain and turned her head in Vivi's chest. Vivi held her tightly as tears and sobs escaped her own lips.

The gods arrived a few minutes later in their full war regalia, thundering into the throne room and expecting a battle. What they found were Vivienne Wu, Annabeth Chase, Grover Underwood, and Percy Jackson standing over the body of a broken half-blood, in the dim warm light of the hearth.

"Percy," Poseidon called, "What . . . what is this?" 

The boy turned and faced the Olympians.

"We need a shroud," he announced, voice cracking. "A shroud for the son of Hermes."











niki speaks!

two more chapters + epilogue
and we're done!
i'm about to cry while watching
The Adam Project 😭
and all i can see is - this is percy 100%

have a nice day/night!
bye!

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