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ALL TOO WELL

THE LAST OLYMPIAN
[ T H E   B A T T L E   O F
M A N H A T T A N ]

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*buckle up, kids. this is one hell of a chapter. if I'm being honest with you, I really didn't feel like splitting up the battle of manhattan into a hundred little different pieces. therefore, it's one extremely long saga, resting at over 28,000 words. so I suggest you get comfortable and have a snack and a drink by your side. enjoy this wild rollercoaster*

NATALIA FLYNN HAD really grown into herself. Her hair was no longer as frizzy as it was when she was younger and now cascaded down her back in pretty waves. She had gotten taller and stronger, and had even perfected her powers. Her glare was the most powerful it had ever been and she learned to control her moonlight better. And her archery? Well, let's just say she could pretty much impale a singular leaf at the top of a tree without even hesitating for a second.

All of these proved to be beneficial as she stood in the streets of Manhattan. Everything except the part about her hair, of course. Silena Beauregard had neatly put her hair in a tight French braid so it wouldn't come out during battle. The battle that was extremely inevitable and was probably going to start soon.

About forty campers from Camp Half-Blood — besides the Ares Cabin — gathered around Percy and his Hellhound, Mrs. O'Leary. They had arrived in the strawberry van with Argus driving. Natalia shifted uncomfortably. So many Demigods in one area would definitely attract a good amount of monsters.

Annabeth and Natalia walked up to Percy. Both her and Natalia were wearing black camouflage, though Natalia's was lined with a little bit of silver. Annabeth had her Celestial Bronze knife strapped to her arm and a bag holding Daedalus' laptop slung over her shoulder. Natalia's bow was over her shoulder and she had it tucked into her side. Her quiver was filled with plenty of arrows, but she was afraid that the magical quiver would need time to regenerate in the middle of battle. It could only give her so many Celestial Bronze arrows at once.

The blonde frowned at Percy. "What is it?"

"What's what?" he asked.

"You're looking at me funny."

He was. Natalia studied him for a moment. Something about him seemed . . . different.

"It's, uh, nothing." Percy looked at the rest of the Demigods. "Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you."

The Centaur shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."

"But you're our leader."

Chiron smiled, although it looked a bit sad. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother Centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader."

Natalia glanced at Percy expectantly. When they locked eyes, she gave him a reassuring nod. He could do this.

"Okay, like I told Annabeth on the phone, something bad is going to happen by tonight," Percy announced. "Some kind of trap. We've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer."

Percy asked Argus to watch Mrs. O'Leary, though neither of them seemed happy about it.

Chiron shook his hand. "You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware your weaknesses."

Natalia didn't know how that was supposed to be reassuring. Percy looked a bit pale, but nevertheless, he nodded at Chiron and smiled confidently.

"Let's go," Percy ordered.

All of them marched inside the Empire State Building. A security guard was reading New Moon behind the desk. He looked up at the group of campers with their weapons and armor.

"School group?" he questioned in a bored tone. "We're about to close up."

"No," Percy denied. "Six hundredth floor."

He looked around at the group. The guard seemed to notice their weapons, so Natalia guessed he could see through the Mist. She raised a challenging eyebrow at him.

"There is no six hundredth floor, kid. Move along."

Percy leaned across the desk. "Forty Demigods attract an awful lot of monsters. You really want us hanging out in your lobby?"

He thought about it for a moment before he hit a buzzer to make the security gate swing open. "Make it quick."

"You don't want us going through the metal detectors," Percy added.

"Um, no. Elevator on the right. I guess you know the way."

Percy tossed him a golden drachma and they all walked up to the elevator. It was decided that they would take two trips to get everybody up to Mount Olympus. Natalia stood in the front between Annabeth and Percy, staring at the doors while listening to Stayin' Alive. None of them said a word until the doors finally dinged open and they all filed out.

The sight never failed to take Natalia's breath away. A path of floating stones in front of them slinked through the clouds up to Mount Olympus, which hovered about six thousand feet over Manhattan. On the sides of the mountain, mansions glittered gold and white. Hundreds of gardens bloomed on terraces. Braziers that lined the streets expelled sweet-smelling smoke. And finally, right on top of the peak of the mountain sat the main palace of the Gods. It was extraordinarily beautiful, but Mount Olympus was quiet. That shocked Natalia out of her trance.

Natalia looked at Percy with furrowed eyebrows. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Percy frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"Something's different about you."

The elevator doors opened again, spilling out the second group of Half-Bloods.

"Tell you both later," Percy promised to her and Annabeth. "Come on."

They made their way across the sky bridge and began walking on the streets of Olympus. All of the shops were closed and the parks were empty. Some of the Muses sat on a bench, but their hearts didn't seem to be in strumming their flaming lyres. A singular Cyclops swept the street with an uprooted oak tree. Once, a minor Golding saw them from his balcony and ran inside, closing his shutters for good measure. Natalia frowned. She didn't like this very much.

When they passed statues of Zeus and Hera on either side of a marble archway, Annabeth made a face at the queen of the Gods. "Hate her."

"Has she been cursing you or something?" Percy asked.

Last year, in the Labyrinth, Annabeth managed to get on Hera's bad side. Natalia didn't blame her. The Goddess was a bitch.

"Just little stuff so far," Annabeth answered. "Her sacred animal is the cow, right?"

"Right," Percy agreed.

"So she sends cows after me."

The corners of Percy's mouth twitched. "Cows? In San Francisco?"

"Oh, yeah. Usually I don't see them, but the cows leave me little presents all over the place — in our backyard, on the sidewalk, in the school hallways. I have to be careful where I step."

"Look!" Pollux, son of Dionysus, cried while pointing towards the horizon. "What is that?"

Natalia froze, along with the rest of the campers. Blue lights streaked across the sky towards Olympus like tiny comets. They seemed to be coming from all over the city and headed straight towards the mountain. When they got close, they fizzled out. All of them watched it for several minutes. They didn't seem to do any damage to Mount Olympus, but it was still strange.

"Like infrared scopes," Michael Yew muttered. "We're being targeted."

"Let's get to the palace," Percy urged.

Something even more strange: nobody was guarding the hall of the Gods. The gigantic gold and silver doors were wide open. Their footsteps echoed in the room that was the size of Madison Square Garden. High above them, the domed ceiling glittered with constellations. Twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U shape around a hearth. In one corner, a huge globe of water that held the Ophiotaurus (half cow, half serpent) hovered in the air.

"Moooo!" he said happily, spinning in a circle.

Natalia let herself smile and elbowed Percy in the side. "Hey, look, there's Bessie."

Percy's ears turned red. "Shut up, Tals." He looked back to the Ophiotaurus. "Hey, man. They treating you okay?"

"Mooo," Bessie answered.

Natalia went to walk up to her mother's throne. It gave her a sense of comfort and she wanted to say a prayer to Artemis, but she was stopped by the Goddess of the hearth.

"Hello again, Percy Jackson. You and your friends are welcome."

Natalia turned. Poking the flames with a stick was Hestia, wearing a simple brown dress and looking like a grown woman.

Percy bowed. "Lady Hestia."

Natalia and the rest of the campers followed in suit.

Hestia stared at Percy with her red, glowing eyes. "I see you went through with your plan. You bear the curse of Achilles."

Natalia's eyes widened. She looked over at Percy in shock. The rest of the campers began asking What did she say? What about Achilles? among themselves.

"You must be careful," Hestia warned. "You gained much on your journey. But you are still blind to the most important truth. Perhaps a glimpse is in order."

Annabeth nudged Percy. "Um . . . what is she talking about?"

Percy looked straight into the Goddess' eyes. After a mere second, Percy's knees buckled. Natalia grabbed his one arm while Annabeth grabbed the other to steady him.

"Woah, Fish-Boy," Natalia said. "What's going on?"

"Did . . . did you see that?" Percy questioned.

Natalia looked at him confusingly. "See what? There was nothing there."

Percy glanced around Hestia for a moment before shaking his head. "How long was I out?"

Annabeth knit her eyebrows together. "Percy, you weren't out at all. You just looked at Hestia for like one second and collapsed."

"Um, Lady Hestia," Percy continued. "We've come on urgent business. We need to see—"

"We know what you need," a man's voice boomed.

Percy shuddered underneath Natalia's grip. She didn't dwell on it for much longer because a God shimmered into existence next to Hestia. He had salt-and-pepper hair, elfish features, and looked about twenty-five. The God wore a military pilot's flight suit and had tiny bird wings fluttering on both his helmet and black leather boots. In the crook of his arm rested a long staff entwined with two living serpents.

"I will leave you now," Hestia voiced.

She bowed to him and disappeared in a billow of smoke. Natalia understood why she was so anxious to leave. Hermes, the God of messengers, definitely did not look happy.

Hermes' brow furrowed as if he was annoyed. Not a very good first sign. "Hello, Percy."

Percy bowed awkwardly, as did the rest of the Demigods. "Lord Hermes."

Oh, sure, one of the snakes said from the staff. Don't say hi to us. We're just reptiles.

George, the other snake scolded. Be polite.

"Hello, George," Percy added. "Hey, Martha."

Did you bring us a rat? George asked.

George, stop it. He's busy!

Too busy for rats? That's just sad.

"Um, Hermes," Percy began. "We need to talk to Zeus. It's important."

Hermes' eyes were as cold as ice. "I am his messenger. May I take a message?"

Behind them, the other Demigods shifted restlessly.

Percy turned to look at them. "You guys, why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in Olympus. Meet Annabeth, Natalia, and me back here in thirty minutes."

Silena frowned. "But—"

"Great idea," Natalia cut in. "Connor and Travis, would you lead them?"

The Stoll brothers both nodded eagerly. Natalia smiled. She wanted to make the brothers look nice in front of their dad. It was the least they deserved.

"We're on it!" Travis exclaimed.

They led the Demigods out of the throne room, leaving Natalia, Percy, and Annabeth with an angry Hermes.

"My Lord," Annabeth stated. "Kronos is going to attack New York. You must suspect that. My mother must have foreseen it."

"Your mother," Hermes grumbled angrily. He scratched his back with his caduceus, making George and Martha mutter Ow, ow, ow. "Don't get me started on your mother, young lady. She's the reason I'm here at all. Zeus didn't want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop, It's a trap, it's a diversion, blah, blah, blah. She wanted to come back herself, but Zeus was not going to let his number one strategist leave his side while we're battling Typhon. And so naturally he sent me to talk to you."

"But it is a trap!" Annabeth insisted. "Is Zeus blind?"

Thunder rolled across the sky. Natalia glanced up nervously.

"I'd watch the comments, girl," Hermes warned. "Zeus is not blind or deaf. He has not left Olympus completely undefended."

"But there are these blue lights—"

"Yes, yes. I saw them. Some mischief by that insufferable Goddess of magic, Hecate, I'd wager, but you may have noticed they aren't doing any damage. Olympus has strong magical wards. Besides, Aeolus, the king of the winds, has sent his most powerful minions to guard the citadel. No one save the Gods can approach Olympus from the air. They would be knocked out of the sky."

Percy raised his hand. "Um . . . what about that materializing / teleporting thing you guys do?"

"That's a form of air travel too, Jackson. Very fast, but the wind Gods are faster. No, if Kronos wants Olympus, he'll have to march through the entire city with his army and take the elevators! Can you see him doing this?"

It seemed ridiculous. However, Natalia knew that Kronos would do anything to get Mount Olympus. That included sending his army up the elevator.

"Maybe just a few of you could come back," Percy suggested.

Hermes shook his head impatiently. "Percy Jackson, you don't understand. Typhon is our greatest enemy."

"I thought that was Kronos."

The God's eyes glowed. "No, Percy. In the old days, Olympus was almost overthrown by Typhon. He is husband of Echidna—"

"Met her at the Arch," Percy muttered. "Not nice."

Natalia elbowed him to make him be quiet.

"—and the father of all monsters," Hermes continued. "We can never forget how close he came to destroying us all; how he humiliated us! We were more powerful back in the old days. Now we can expect no help from Poseidon because he's fighting his own war. Hades sits in his realm and does nothing, and Demeter and Persephone follow his lead. It will take all our remaining power to oppose the storm Giant. We can't divide our forces, nor wait until he gets to New York. We have to battle him now. And we're making progress."

"Progress?" Percy asked incredulously. "He nearly destroyed St. Louis."

"Yes," Hermes admitted. "But he destroyed only half of Kentucky. He's slowing down. Losing power."

Natalia felt it sounded an awful lot like Hermes was trying to convince himself that as well. The Ophiotaurus mooed sadly in the corner.

"Please, Hermes," Annabeth pleaded. "You said my mother wanted to come. Did she give you any messages for us?"

"Messages," Hermes muttered. "It'll be a great job, they told me. Not much work. Lots of worshippers. Hmph. Nobody cares what I have to say. It's always about other people's messages."

Rodents, George mused. I'm in it for the rodents.

Shhh, Martha scolded. We care what Hermes has to say. Don't we, George?

Oh, absolutely. Can we go back to the battle now? I want to do laser mode again. That's fun.

"Quiet, both of you," Hermes told the snakes. The God looked at Annabeth, who was doing her big-pleasing-gray-eyes trick. "Bah. Your mother said to warn you that you are on your own. You must hold Manhattan without the help of the Gods. As if I didn't know that. Why they pay her to be the wisdom Goddess, I'm not sure."

"Anything else?" Annabeth inquired.

"She said you should try Plan Twenty-Three. She said you would know what that meant."

Annabeth's face paled, which showed Natalia that she knew what it meant and didn't like it. "Go on."

"She said to tell Natalia Flynn that Artemis wants her daughter to know moonlight can make objects disappear and to try it if she ran out of arrows."

Natalia nodded gravely. She had never tried that trick before.

"Last thing." Hermes looked to Percy. "She said to tell Percy: Remember the rivers. And, um, something about staying away from her daughter."

Both Percy and Annabeth's faces turned a dark shade of red. Natalia smirked and snorted into her hand, earning slaps from the two.

"Thank you, Hermes," Annabeth replied. "And I . . . I wanted to say . . . I'm sorry about Luke."

Natalia winced. She probably shouldn't have brought that up. It was a bit of a touchy subject.

As if on cue, the God's expression hardened like he'd suddenly turned to marble. "You should've left that subject alone."

Annabeth took a nervous step back. "Sorry?"

"SORRY doesn't cut it!" George and Martha curled around the caduceus, which shimmered and changed into something that looked like an electric prod. Natalia slowly took her bow off her shoulder. "You should've saved him when you had the chance. You're the only one who could have."

Percy attempted to step between them. "What are you talking about? Annabeth didn't—"

"Don't defend her, Jackson!" Hermes turned the electric prod toward him. "She knows exactly what I'm talking about."

Natalia already knew. But Percy didn't, and he was about ready to defend Annabeth with his life.

"Maybe you should blame yourself!" Percy screamed back at him. "Maybe if you hadn't abandoned Luke and his mom!"

Hermes raised his prod. He began reaching a ten-foot-tall height. Both him and Percy looked as angry as ever. Natalia couldn't let this happen.

"Hey!" Natalia screamed with as much force as she could muster. They all turned to look at her, including George and Martha. "There is no point in arguing now. This is what Kronos wants: to divide us. Are you really going to let him?"

They went silent. George and Martha then leaned in close and whispered something Hermes' ear. He clenched his teeth and lowered his electric prod that turned back into a caduceus.

"Percy Jackson, because you have taken on the curse of Achilles, I must spare you. You are in the hands of the Fates now. And Natalia Flynn is right about Kronos wanting to divide us. But you will never speak to me like that again. You have no idea how much I have sacrificed, how much—" Hermes' voice broke, and he shrank back to human size. "My son, my greatest pride . . . my poor May . . ."

Hermes sounded so devastated, Natalia was tempted to give him a hug. She didn't know how that would turn out, so she refrained from doing so.

"Look, Lord Hermes," Percy began. "I'm sorry, but I need to know. What happened to May? She said something about Luke's fate, and her eyes—"

Hermes glared at Percy. However, his face was painted with heartbreak instead of anger.

"I will leave you now," he said tightly. "I have a war to fight."

The God began to shine. Natalia looked away while assisting Annabeth to do so as well because her friend was still frozen in shock.

Good luck, Percy, Martha whispered.

Natalia's heart warmed. And with the light of a supernova, Hermes was gone.

Annabeth shook herself out of Natalia's grasp. She walked over to Athena's throne and slumped to the ground, immediately bursting into tears. Natalia frowned and went up to her, sitting next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders. Annabeth rested her head against hers and continued to cry.

"Annabeth," Percy said gently. "It's not your fault. I've never seen Hermes act that way. I guess . . . I don't know . . . he probably feels guilty about Luke. He's looking for somebody to blame. I don't know why he lashed out at you. You didn't do anything to deserve that."

She lifted her head up and wiped her red eyes. Annabeth didn't say anything and only stared at Hestia's hearth. Natalia frowned. She knew what had happened.

"Um, you didn't, right?" Percy urged.

Annabeth looked at him. "Percy, what did you mean about Luke's mother? Did you meet her?"

Percy nodded hesitantly. "Nico and I visited her. She was a little . . . different."

He described May Castellan and how her eyes weirdly started to glow when she talked about her son's fate.

Annabeth seemed confused. "That doesn't make sense. But why were you visiting—"

Natalia's eyes widened in realization. "The curse of Achilles. Both Hestia and Hermes said you bared it. Percy . . . did you bathe in the River Styx?"

"Don't change the subject."

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Percy . . ."

"Fine, fine . . . maybe a little."

Percy recounted the story of Hades and Nico di Angelo (Natalia was more than enraged that he had tricked Percy, Nico was better than that), and how he had defeated an army of the dead. Natalia could tell that he was leaving a certain part out, but she decided not to push it.

Annabeth shook her head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

"I had no choice," Percy argued. "It's the only way I can stand up to Luke."

"You mean . . . di immortales, of course! That's why Luke didn't die. He went to the Styx and . . . Oh no, Luke. What were you thinking?"

"So now you're worried about Luke again," Percy grumbled to himself.

"What?"

Natalia sent Percy a warning look as if to say not right now.

He sighed. "Forget it. The point is he didn't die in the Styx. Neither did I. Now I have to face him. We have to defend Olympus."

Natalia removed her arm from Annabeth and looked down at her bow, beginning to pluck its string. "Can't wait for that. It'll be so much fun."

"Be quiet, Nat," Annabeth scolded. "I guess Percy's right. My mom mentioned—"

"Plan Twenty-Three," Percy answered.

Annabeth pulled out Daedalus' laptop from the bag. When she opened it, the blue Delta symbol glowed on the top. She searched a few files and then began to read.

"Here it is," she announced. "Gods, we have a lot of work to do."

"When do we not?" Natalia muttered to herself. "Anyways, is Plan Twenty-Three one of Daedalus' inventions?"

"A lot of inventions . . . dangerous ones. If my mother wants me to use this plan, she must think things are very bad." She glanced up at Percy. "What about her message to you: Remember the rivers? What does that mean?"

Percy shook his head in confusion.

The blonde looked to Natalia. "And moonlight being able to make things disappear? How does it work?"

Natalia shrugged. "I don't know, I guess I'll figure it out."

Just then, the Stoll brothers ran into the throne room. Natalia stood up at their urgent expressions.

"What is it?" she questioned.

"You need to see this," Connor told them gravely. "Now."

They all exited the throne room, finding the other campers gathered in a small park on the edge of the mountain. All of them were crowded around at the guardrail, staring down at Manhattan. The rail had tourist binoculars where you could insert a golden drachma to see the city. Every single one was occupied.

Natalia glanced down at New York City. She was amazed by how much she could see from this high. The East and Hudson Rivers were carving the shape of Manhattan. Skyscrapers were lit up. The grid of streets reminded Natalia of a coordinate plane she had learned in math once. Central Park was a dark stretch in the north. It seemed normal, but something was wrong. Terribly wrong.

"I don't . . . hear anything," Annabeth said.

That was what was wrong. Even from so high up, the city would still be audible — millions of people walking and working, thousands of cars on the streets, machines doing their job. New York City, the city that never sleeps, was never silent. Until now.

"What did they do?" Percy asked, his voice tight and angry. "What did they do to my city?"

He pushed Michael out of the way. Will Solace turned and allowed Natalia to look through the binoculars he was using. She gave him a gracious smile and looked down at Manhattan.

The sight chilled Natalia down to her bones. Traffic was completely stopped in the streets. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks or curled up in doorways. No violence surrounded them. It was as if they all just decided to take a nap in the middle of the street.

"Are they dead?" Silena questioned in astonishment.

Natalia pulled away from the binoculars and shared a look with Percy. She knew they were both thinking of one of the lines in the Great Prophecy: And see the world in endless sleep.

"Not dead," Percy replied. "Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."

»»---------------------►

ALL OF THE Demigods gathered back on the street outside the Empire State Building. Natalia glanced around warily at all of the sleeping pedestrians. Meanwhile, Mrs. O'Leary was eating out of an overturned hot dog stand and Percy was explaining to Argus what had happened on Olympus. When he told him that the Gods wouldn't help them, Argus rolled all of his hundred eyes, which looked pretty trippy.

"You'd better get back to Camp," Percy told him. "Guard it as best you can."

Argus raised an eyebrow quizzically and pointed at him.

"I'm staying."

He nodded in satisfaction. Argus then turned to Annabeth and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

"Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."

"For what?" Percy asked.

Natalia scoffed. "You'll see, Fish-Boy."

Argus rummaged around in the back of his van for a moment before pulling out a bronze shield. He passed it to Annabeth. It looked like a normal round shield like the ones they used for capture the flag. However, when Annabeth put it on the ground, the shield rippled and changed from the sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty, which was nowhere close to the Empire State Building.

"Woah," Percy commented. "A video shield."

"One of Daedalus' ideas. I had Beckendorf make this before—" Annabeth glanced at Silena Beauregard for a moment. "Um, anyway, the shield bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. Look."

All of them crowded around Annabeth as she concentrated. The image on the shield zoomed and spun before it changed. Natalia saw the Central Park Zoo and Bloomingdale's on East Sixtieth street. It suddenly turned on Third Avenue.

"Woah," Connor Stoll cut in. "Back up. Zoom in right there."

"What?" Annabeth questioned nervously. "You see invaders?"

"No, right there — Dylan's Candy Bar." Connor grinned at Travis Stoll. "Dude, it's open. And everyone is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Connor!" Katie Gardner scolded, sounding a lot like her mother, Demeter. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"

"Sorry," Connor muttered, not sounding very ashamed.

Annabeth waved her hand in front of the shield, revealing another scene: it was FDR Drive looking across the river at Lighthouse Park.

Natalia sighed. "This shield should be able to let us see what's happening on the other side of the city." She turned to Argus. "Thank you, Argus. We'll see you back at Camp . . . um, you know, if everything turns out okay."

Argus grunted. He gave Percy a look that said good luck before climbing into his van. Argus and the two Harpy drivers then drove away, swerving around the idle cars in the streets.

Percy whistled for the Hellhound, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded over. "Hey, girl. You remember Grover? The Satyr we met in the park?"

"WOOF!"

"I need you to find him. Make sure he's still awake. We're going to need his help. You got that? Find Grover!"

Mrs. O'Leary licked Percy sloppily before racing off north. Despite all of the impending doom, Natalia allowed herself to laugh in her hand at that. Percy playfully glared at her and pushed her shoulder.

Pollux, son of Dionysus, crouched down next to a sleeping policeman. "I don't get it. Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"

"This is a huge spell," Silena answered. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping Demigods is much harder."

Percy stated at her. "When did you learn so much about magic?"

Silena blushed a light shade of pink. "I don't spend all my time on my wardrobe."

"Percy, Natalia," Annabeth called, still looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."

Natalia immediately frowned at the bronze image. On the Long Island Sound near La Guardia, a fleet of speedboats were racing through the dark water towards Manhattan. Each boat was packed with Demigods wearing full Greek armor. A purple banner with a black scythe on it flapped are the back of the lead boat: the battle flag of Kronos.

"Scan the perimeter of the island," Percy ordered. "Quick."

The image shifted to south to the harbor. A Staten Island Ferry — crowded with Dracaenae and a pack of Hellhounds — was passing Ellis Island. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of Telekhines.

It shifted again to the Jersey shore by the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. An army of assorted monsters marched past the lanes of stopped traffic: Giants carrying clubs, Cyclopes, fire-spitting dragons, and a tank pushing cars out of its way as it entered the tunnel.

"What's happening with the mortals outside Manhattan?" Percy questioned. "Is the whole state asleep?"

Annabeth frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."

Another scene popped up of a New Jersey highway. Traffic wasn't as bad since it was a Saturday evening. The drivers looked wide awake, but their cars were moving at about one mile per hour. Birds soared through the sky in slow motion.

"Kronos," Percy realized. "He's slowing time."

"Hecate might be helping," Katie added. "Look how the cars are all veering away from the Manhattan exits, like they're getting a subconscious message to turn back."

Annabeth looked incredibly frustrated. "I don't know. But somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic. The outside world might not even realize something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."

"Like flies in amber," Jake Mason muttered.

Natalia pulled at the end of her braid. "If that's the case, then we shouldn't expect any help coming in. We're alone."

Percy turned towards the group of Demigods. Natalia did so as well. All of them looked stunned and scared. Three hundred enemies were barreling into Manhattan to be met with only forty campers.

"All right," Percy announced. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

Silena tugged at her armor nervously. "Um, Percy, Manhattan is huge."

"We are going to hold it. We have to."

"He's right," Annabeth agreed. "The Gods of the wind should keep Kronos' forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

"They have boats," Michael Yew pointed out.

Percy seemed to realize something for a moment. "I'll take care of the boats."

Michael frowned at him. "How?"

"Just leave it to me. We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Michael, take Apollo's Cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's Cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do, but keep them out of there! Connor, take half of Hermes Cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting or pillaging!"

"Awwww!" all of the Hermes Cabin complained.

"Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel."

"Oh my Gods," an Aphrodite girl squealed. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy."

"No delays," Percy warned. "Well . . . the perfume thing, if you think it'll work."

Six Aphrodite girls kissed him on the cheek in excitement. Natalia rolled her eyes at Percy's red face.

"All right, enough! The Holland Tunnel. Jake, take the Hephaestus Cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps. Whatever you've got."

Jake grinned. "Gladly. We've got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!"

All of the Hephaestus Cabin roared in approval.

"The Fifty-Ninth Street Bridge. Clarisse—"

Percy faltered. Natalia winced at his mistake. The whole Ares Cabin was still back at Camp. Annabeth stepped in, bless her soul, to save Percy from an embarrassing silence.

"We'll take that." She looked to her siblings. "Malcolm, take the Athena Cabin, activate Plan Twenty-Three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."

"You got it," Malcom responded.

"I'll go with Percy. Then we'll join you, or we'll go wherever we're needed."

"No detours, you two," someone in the back of the group commented.

Some giggles broke out. Natalia smirked at Percy and Annabeth.

"All right," Percy continued. "Keep in touch with cell phones."

"We don't have cell phones," Silena protested.

Percy reached down and picked up a snoring lady's BlackBerry. He tossed it to Silena. "You do now. You all know Annabeth's number, right? If you need us, pick up a random phone and call us. Use it once, drop it, then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you."

Everyone grinned at the idea.

Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if we find a really nice phone—"

"No, you can't keep it."

"Aw, man."

"Hold it, Percy," Jake interrupted. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."

Jake was right. A hundred monsters were making their way through the Lincoln Tunnel right now and Percy had positioned their forces literally everywhere else.

"How about you leave that to us?" a familiar voice called from across the street.

Natalia perked up. The Hunters of Artemis were crossing Fifth Avenue, wearing white shirts, silver camouflage pants, and combat boots. Swords hung at their sides, quivers strapped across their backs, and bows were at the ready. White timber wolves milled around their feet and hunting falcons rested on their arms. The girl in the lead had a silver circlet braided into her spiky black hair — the mark of a lieutenant. It definitely didn't match her black leather jacket, skull earrings, or Death to Barbie t-shirt.

"Thalia!" Annabeth cried.

"Oh my Gods," Natalia let out. "Well, isn't it my favorite group of immortals!"

The daughter of Zeus smiled. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

Thalia hugged all of them. And much to the surprise of the other Hunters, Natalia gave them hugs as well. The Hunters gave the rest of the campers a warm welcome by not shooting them.

Natalia looked at Percy with a raised eyebrow. "I can stay with the Hunters—"

"No way," Percy cut her off. "It's been you, me, and Annabeth since the very beginning. We're gonna be the ones to finish it. You're coming with us. Did you really think you wouldn't?"

She gave him a small smile. "Of course not. Silly me."

"Those monsters won't know what hit them." Thalia voiced. "Hunters, move out!"

Thalia hit her silver bracelet, making her shield, Aegis, spiral into full form. The campers all backed away at the sight of Medusa's head molding into the center of it. Natalia watched wistfully as the Hunters took down Fifth Avenue with their wolves and falcons in tow. The Hunters were definitely a force to be reckoned with. That army of monsters had no idea was waiting for them.

"Thank the Gods," Annabeth said. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."

"You're right," Percy agreed.

Percy, Natalia, and Annabeth all stood in a line, looking at the rest of the campers. All of them were grim and determined. Natalia hoped this wasn't the last time she'd see them all together.

"You're the greatest heroes of this millennium. It doesn't matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, and we will win." Percy raised Riptide high. "FOR OLYMPUS!"

All of them shouted in response. Their forty voices echoed off the buildings of Midtown, sounding incredibly brave. However, it quickly died in the silence of New York City.

Here was the problem: all of the cars were stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. None of the engines were running, and even though most of the drivers had tried to pull to the curb when they felt themselves falling asleep, the streets were still too clogged to navigate. That was until Percy found an unconscious courier leaning against a brick wall while straddling his red Vespa. They dragged him off and laid him on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, dude," Percy apologized.

Percy and Annabeth climbed on the scooter. There were only a couple of inches of space left on the back, and Natalia looked at it distastefully.

"If I fall off, its your fault," Natalia said while climbing on behind Annabeth. "You hear me, Fish-Boy?"

Percy looked back at her for a moment. "Loud and clear, Tals. Just hold on tight."

Natalia held onto Annabeth's waist while Annabeth held onto Percy's as he raced down the streets. He zigzagged down Broadway Street, the Vespa's engine buzzing through the eerie silence of the city. Besides that, the only other sound was the ringing of cell phones.

They didn't make it where Percy wanted to go very fast. Some pedestrians had fallen asleep right in front of a car, so they'd move them away just to be cautious. Natalia had to extinguish a pretzel stand that was on fire with moonlight. They rescued a baby carriage rolling down the street that only had a poodle in it.

"Pull over," Annabeth suddenly announced when they were passing Madison Square Park.

As soon as Percy stopped in the middle of East Twenty-Third, Annabeth hopped off the Vespa and ran towards the park. Natalia and Percy shared a confused look before following her. When they caught up, Annabeth was staring at a bronze statue on a red marble pedestal. The statue sat in a chair with his legs crossed, wearing an old fashioned suit. A stack of bronze books were piled underneath his chair. In one hand he held a writing quill while in the other he held a metal sheet of parchment.

"Why do we care about . . ." Percy squinted at the name engraved on the pedestal. "William H. Steward?"

"Seward," Annabeth corrected him. "He was a New York governor. Minor Demigod — son of Hebe, I think."

Natalia's eyebrows knit in thought. "Didn't he buy Alaska, and everyone was like, dude, why the fuck did you buy land that only has glaciers on it?"

"Yeah, but that's not important. It's the statue I care about."

Annabeth climbed on a park bench and examined the base of the statue.

"Don't tell me he's an automaton," Percy said.

The blonde smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army."

"To attack Olympus or defend it?"

Annabeth shrugged. "Either one. That was Plan Twenty-Three. He could activate one statue and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. It's dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are."

Natalia raised her eyebrow. "You could say that again." They'd had some pretty bad experiences with them. "Are you going to activate it?"

"I have Daedalus's notes. I think I can . . . Ah, here we go."

Upon pressing the tip of Seward's boot, the statue stood up with its quill and parchment ready.

"What's he going to do?" Percy muttered. "Take a memo?"

"Shh," Annabeth scolded. "Hello, William."

"Bill."

"Bill . . . Oh, shut up." The statue tilted his head and stared at them with blank metal eyes. Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hello, er, Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-Three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."

Seward jumped off his pedestal so hard that his shoes cracked the sidewalk. He walked off towards the East.

"He's probably going to wake up Confucius," Annabeth guessed.

"What?" Percy asked.

"Another statue, on Division. The point is, they'll keep waking each other up until they're all activated."

"And then?"

"Hopefully, they defend Manhattan."

"Do they know that we're not the enemy?"

"I think so."

Natalia rolled her eyes, remembering how many bronze statues there were in New York City. "Real reassuring, Anna."

Suddenly, a ball of green light exploded in the orangey evening sky. It was Greek fire somewhere across the East River.

"We have to hurry," Percy urged.

They ran for the Vespa. Percy drove as fast he could and they ended up at Battery Park. It was the lower tip of Manhattan where the Hudson and East Rivers merged and emptied into the bay. Natalia suddenly had an electrifying realization: Remember the rivers, Athena had told Percy. Somehow, the river spirits of the Hudson and East would be able to help them.

"Wait here," Percy told them.

"Percy, you shouldn't go alone," Annabeth argued.

"Well, unless you can breathe underwater . . ."

She sighed. "You are so annoying sometimes."

"Like when I'm right? Trust me, I'll be fine. I've got the curse of Achilles now. I'll all invincible and stuff."

"Call us if you need us," Natalia said.

Annabeth nodded. "Nat's right. Just be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. I mean, because we need you for the battle."

Percy grinned. "Back in a flash."

With that, Percy walked down the shore and dove into the water. Natalia chuckled to herself.

Annabeth looked at her. "What?"

"I don't want anything to happen to you because we need you for battle?" Natalia laughed. "Real smooth, Anna."

She smacked her arm. "Shut up, Natalia."

Percy was down there for a little while. While he was still under, Annabeth got a call on her cell phone. Natalia didn't know what she was talking about or who she was talking to, but she looked extremely worried.

Finally, the son of Poseidon came up from the water. "It worked. The rivers are safe."

"Good," Annabeth replied. "Because we've got other problems. Michael Yew just called. Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo Cabin needs help. And Percy, the monster leading the enemy . . . it's the Minotaur."

Natalia's eyes widened. That was the first monster Percy had ever fought and he had taken his mother, Sally Jackson, back to the Underworld to be taken as hostage. Let's just say it wasn't one of the happiest moments to happen in Percy's life.

Percy did a taxicab whistle. Within a few minutes, a black Pegasus and two white ones descended. It was Blackjack, Porkpie, and Treasure. Natalia's expression brightened as she saw her Pegasus with his golden specks shining, even in the dark. She walked up to Treasure and pet him gently, the horse nickering and nudging against her affectionately.

"Thanks for coming," Percy told them. "Hey, why do Pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?"

Blackjack whinnied in response.

"We need to get to the Williamsburg Bridge."

All of them mounted their respective Pegasi, and the horses flew in the direction of the bridge. Natalia glanced over at Percy worryingly. He looked nervous. If Natalia was about to go face her very first enemy — which was the snow Goddess, Khione — she would be nervous, too.

Natalia was able to spot the battle before they landed. Despite it being midnight, the bridge blazed with light. Cars were burning while arcs of fire streamed in both directions — flaming spears and arrows sailing through the air. When the Pegasi swooped for a low pass, the Apollo Cabin was retreating. They did everything they could — hiding behind cars, sniping at the approaching army, setting off explosive arrows, building fiery barricades, and dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars.

However, the enemy just kept advancing. A phalanx of Dracaenae were leading with their shields locked together and spear tips bristling over the top. If an Apollo archer was lucky, they would be able to shoot them where armor wasn't covering, and the monster would disintegrate. Other than that, the arrows bounced harmlessly off the shield wall. More monsters marched behind them. Hellhounds leaped around from time to time. Most of them were shot with arrows, but one was able to get an Apollo camper and drag him away. Natalia, with guilt eating at her heart, didn't want to watch.

"There!" Annabeth called from Porkpie the Pegasus.

Right in the middle of the invading Legion was the Minotaur himself. He was wearing Greek battle gear, which included a kilt-like apron of leather and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his beefy legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals on his feet. His top was all bull. Hair, hide, and muscle led up to a head so large Natalia was surprised he hadn't toppled over yet. As soon as he saw (or smelled) Percy circling overhead with Annabeth and Natalia, he roared and picked up a white limousine.

"Blackjack, dive!" Percy yelled.

"Treasure, go!" Natalia shouted.

The limousine came sailing towards him. Natalia and Treasure swerved to the right while Annabeth and Porkpie swerved to the left. Meanwhile, Percy and Blackjack plunged towards the ground. The limousine missed them — barely — and fell toward the East River. Monsters screamed in protest while the Minotaur picked up another car.

"Drop us behind the lines with the Apollo Cabin," Percy ordered the Pegasi. "Stay in earshot but get out of danger!"

Blackjack, Porkpie, and Treasure swooped down behind an overturned school bus where some campers were hiding. As soon as their Pegasi's hooves touched the pavement, Natalia, Percy, and Annabeth leaped off of them. Then they soared up into the night sky.

Michael ran up to them. His arm was bandaged, his face was covered in soot, and his quiver was almost empty, but he smiled as if this was the best time of his life. "Glad you could join us. Where are the other reinforcements?"

"For now, we're it," Percy answered.

"Then we're dead."

"Oh, cool," Natalia said. "Anyways, you got that flying chariot?"

"Nah. Left it at Camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever, you know? Not worth fighting about anymore. But she said it was too late. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

"Least you tried," Percy voiced.

Michael shrugged. "Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped. Here come the uglies!"

He notched an arrow and shot it at the enemy. It made a screaming sound as it flew and when it landed, it unleashed a huge blast of bass. Monsters dropped their weapons and covered their ears in pain. Some ran in the other direction. Others disintegrated immediately.

"That was my last sonic arrow," Michael sighed.

"A gift from your dad?" Percy questioned. "God of music?"

Michael gave him a wicked grin. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

As if on cue, the monsters were regrouping and shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back. I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

"No," Percy ordered. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael let out a laugh. "How do you plan to do that?"

He drew Riptide.

"Percy," Annabeth interrupted. "Let Nat and I come with you."

"Too dangerous," Percy argued. "Besides, I need you and Tals to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

Percy's eyes flickered between the two girls.

Natalia sighed. "Be careful, okay? Don't be a fucking idiot, Percy."

"I'll try."

Annabeth nodded reluctantly. "All right. Get moving."

"Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

Natalia's jaw dropped. She was just as shocked as she was at Mount St. Helens.

Annabeth merely drew her knife and stared at the incoming army. "Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see."

Percy walked behind the school bus and onto the bridge. Natalia could hear the Minotaur bellowing and Percy beginning to taunt him, but she couldn't focus on that. She slung her bow off her shoulder and got an arrow out of her quiver. With the help of Annabeth and Michael, they had successfully rounded up all the Apollo campers and brought them towards the enemy.

Percy had successfully defeated the Minotaur and was now fighting off the rest of the enemies. He seemed to be glowing with the curse of Achilles. Natalia stepped out of the shadows, her eyes glowing silver with an arrow notched in her bow. As soon as the monsters looked upon her face, they began to back away. She began shooting at the monsters along with the Apollo Cabin until the twenty left alive turned and fled. Percy ran forwards with all of the campers in tow.

"Yes!" Michael yelled gleefully. "That's what I'm talking about!"

They drove them back towards the Brooklyn side of the bridge. Early morning light was visible in the East. Had they really been fighting for that long?

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

He, of course, did not listen to her and continued to charge.

That was when he saw the crowd at the base of the bridge. Natalia, breathing heavily, ran up to stand besides Percy. Her eyes widened at what she saw. The retreating monsters ran straight towards a group of about forty Demigods that were wearing battle armor while perched on top of skeletal horses. One carried the battle flag of Kronos.

The lead horseman came forwards. When he took off his helm, he revealed himself to be Kronos. His eyes shone like melted gold. Upon seeing him, Annabeth and the rest of the Apollo campers faltered. The monsters they had worked so hard to pursue fell into line and joined a new army.

Kronos gazed in their direction. Despite being pretty far away, Natalia swore she saw him give them a twisted smile.

"Percy?" Natalia asked, her voice suddenly very small.

"Now," Percy began, "we pull back."

The Titan Lord's army drew their swords and charged, the hooves of their skeletal horses thundering against the pavement. Natalia and the archers shot a volley of arrows, which brought down several enemies, but they merely kept riding.

"Retreat!" Percy ordered. "I'll hold them."

He was overwhelmed in a matter of seconds. The Apollo Cabin tried to retreat, but Natalia and Annabeth stuck by Percy's side. Natalia glared as harshly as she could and fired a whole bunch of arrows. Kronos himself advanced like he was talking a leisurely stroll in the park.

Natalia didn't want to injure these Demigods who were under Kronos' spell. Celestial Bronze was deadly to Demigods and putting arrows in their skin could be fatal. So, instead, she decided to try what her mother suggested. She slung her bow over her shoulder and summoned moonlight in her hand. Whenever a Demigod slashed at her, she threw moonlight at their weapons, and they disappeared in a blur of silver. Natalia let out an elated laugh and continued to fight.

Percy, Natalia, and Annabeth all stayed shoulder to shoulder. While Percy faced forwards, Natalia and Annabeth stood in opposite directions. A dark shape suddenly passed over them, and Natalia glanced up for a second to see Blackjack, Porkpie, and Treasure swooping in, kicking the enemy's helmets and flying away.

They were almost to the middle of the bridge when the strangest fucking thing happened. Annabeth cried out in pain, clutching her arm as she fell.

"Annabeth!" Percy exclaimed.

A Demigod with a bloody knife stood over her — Ethan Nakamura, his eyepatch visible underneath his war helm. He had been trying to stab Percy, but Annabeth had intercepted it with her body. Natalia dropped to her knees and looked down at the blonde worryingly, placing a hand on her injured arm gently. Annabeth winced.

It was no longer time for gentle moonlight. Natalia took her bow back off her shoulder and clenched it tightly in her other hand. Nobody hurt her best friend, not under her watch. Percy slammed Ethan in the face with his sword hilt so hard he dented his helm.

Natalia looked up with her eyes glowing a bright silver, brighter than ever before, and sent the enemies away from them. "What the fuck did you do?"

"Get back!" Percy shouted, slicing his sword in a wide arc to keep the army away from Natalia and Annabeth. "No one touches her!"

"Interesting," Kronos commented.

The Titan towered above them on his skeletal horse. He was holding his scythe in his hand while studying the scene with narrowed eyes.

"Bravely fought, Percy Jackson. But it's time to surrender . . . or the girl dies." Kronos then nodded his head towards Natalia. "And she goes too."

Natalia gritted her teeth. Her silver eyes met his gold ones and they continued to stare at each other. Natalia could feel herself weakening, but she wouldn't dare back down.

"Percy, don't," Annabeth groaned, her shirt soaked with blood.

"Blackjack!" Percy shouted.

As fast as light, the black Pegasus swooped down and took Annabeth's armor straps in his teeth. They soared far away over the river before anyone could react.

Percy glanced back at Natalia, who stood back up from kneeling. "Go. Get to safety."

"Fish-Boy—" she began.

"Now, Natalia. Annabeth's been stabbed. I don't want you to get hurt, too."

Natalia gritted her teeth. "No way, Percy. I'm not leaving you right now."

He went to argue, but Kronos snarled. "Some day soon, I am going to make Pegasus soup. But in the meantime . . ." He dismounted his skeletal horse with his scythe glistening in the light of dawn. "I'll settle for another dead Demigod."

Percy met his first strike with Riptide. Despite the impact shaking the entire bridge, Percy kept his ground. Kronos' smile wavered. With a loud yell, Percy kicked the Titan's legs out from under him, making the scythe skitter across the pavement. Percy stabbed downwards, but Kronos rolled out of the way and got back on his feet. His scythe flew back into his hands.

"So . . ." Kronos studied Percy with an annoyed expression. "You had the courage to visit the Styx. I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him. If only you had supplied my host body instead . . . But no matter. I am still more powerful. I am a TITAN."

He struck the bridge with his scythe. A wave of pure force blasted Natalia backwards. She landed on the bridge with a hard thud. Groaning in pain, she looked up at the damage. Cars were destroyed while multiple Demigods were blown off the edge of the bridge. Suspension cords flew past her head. When she looked to see where she was, she was already halfway back to Manhattan.

She took Percy's outstretched hand from next to her and pulled herself up. The rest of the Apollo campers were almost to the edge of the bridge, except Michael, who was standing on one of the suspension cables with his last arrow notched.

"Michael, you have to go!" Natalia shouted at him.

"Natalia, Percy, the bridge!" Michael called back. "It's already weak!"

He was right. When she looked down, fissures adorned the paveement. Greek fire had melted patches of the road. The entire bridge was crumbling from Kronos' blast and the exploding arrows.

"Break it, Percy!" Michael continued. "Use your powers!"

Percy stabbed Riptide into the bridge and the Celestial Bronze blade sank into the asphalt. Salt water shot out from the crack, and when Percy pulled his sword out, the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble into the East River. Kronos' Demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backwards, some of them even getting knocked off their feet. Within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm separated the Demigods from Camp Half-Blood and Kronos' army.

The loud vibrations died. Kronos' army crept to the edge and looked down at the large drop into the river. Natalia still didn't feel safe — Kronos could probably still send his men across the broken bridge if he wanted to. The Titan himself studied the problem. He glanced behind him at the rising sun and turned back to smile across the chasm.

Kronos raised his scythe in a mock salute. "Until this evening, Jackson."

With that, he mounted his house, spun around, and galloped back to Brooklyn with his warriors right behind him.

Natalia turned back to the bridge, but her hand flew to her mouth. Michael Yew's bow was laying in the street with its owner nowhere to be found. She felt tears gather in the back of her eyes. One of her cousins that she had grown so close with was . . . gone.

"No!" Percy yelled in anger and frustration.

He and Natalia began to search, but they found nothing. Suddenly, Percy's mom's phone began to ring. He answered and talked to someone for a moment before hanging up.

"Silena just called," Percy excplained to Natalia's confused expression. "It's Annabeth. We need a healer."

Natalia nodded gravely and tapped her bow, slipping her bracelet back on her wrist. She looked at the Apollo campers and searched for a moment until she found the one she was looking for.

"Will!" Natalia shouted.

Will Solace turned to her, his eyes wide and panicked. "Nat, we have to find Michael."

She frowned and walked up to him, placing her hands on his shoulders. "Hey, listen to me. We need you. Annabeth . . . she needs healing. And you're our best healer."

A tear streamed down his cheek. "D-Do you think he's . . ."

"I don't know," she replied softly. Natalia then turned back to the rest of the Apollo Cabin. "Keep looking for Michael, all right? Report back if you find anything."

They all agreed. Natalia, Percy, and Will borrowed a Yamaha FZI from a sleeping biker and drove in the direction of the Plaza Hotel. Percy drove incredibly fast, so Natalia kept a tight grip on Will so she wouldn't fall off the back. Along the way, Natalia noticed a lot of empty pedestals that held statues, which meant plan twenty-three was working.

It only took them five minutes to reach the Plaza Hotel. The hotel wasn't a very good place for a headquarters, but it had attracted many famous Demigods over the years, so it was probably all right for now. Percy gunned the motorcycle over the curb and swerved to a stop in front of the fountain that was outside the hotel. They all got off.

"Oh, fine. I suppose you want me to watch your bike too!" the statue in the fountain called down.

Natalia glanced up. The statue was a life-sized bronze woman standing in the middle of a granite bowl. She wore a bronze sheet around her legs and held a basket of metal fruit.

"Are you supposed to be Demeter?" Percy questioned.

The statue threw a bronze apple over his head. "Everyone thinks I'm Demeter. I'm Pompona, the Roman Goddess of plenty, but why should you care? Nobody cares about the minor Gods. If you cared about the minor Gods, you wouldn't be losing this war! Three cheers for Morpheus and Hecate, I say!"

Natalia gritted her teeth. "Watch the motorcycle, Pompona."

Pompona cursed in Latin and threw more fruit as the three Demigods ran inside the hotel. Natalia had to admit the lobby was impressive with the crystal chandeliers and passed out rich people. However, she couldn't dwell on it. Annabeth needed help. Phoebe the Hunter gave them directions to the elevator and they rode up to the penthouse suites.

Demigods were bustling around on the top floor. Both campers and Hunters were sleeping on the sofas, washing up in the bathrooms, ripping silk curtains to bandage their wounds, and eating snacks and sipping sodas at the minibars. Some timber wolves were drinking out of the toilets. Natalia was relieved that so many people were alive, yet they looked pretty beat up.

"Percy!" Jake clapped him on the shoulder. "We're getting reports—"

"Later," Percy cut him off. "Where's Annabeth?"

"The terrace. She's alive, man, but . . ."

Natalia pushed past them and stumbled onto the terrace with Percy and Will right behind her. The view looked straight down onto Central Park, but Natalia didn't stop and stare. Annabeth was laying on a lounge chair with a pale face that was beaded with sweat. Despite being covered in blankets, she shivered. Silena was pressing a cool cloth to her forehead.

Percy, Natalia, and Will fought through the crowd of Athena kids. Natalia knelt down on one side of her and held her hand while Percy did the same on the other side. Will unwrapped Annabeth's bandages, and Natalia immediately wanted to faint from the sight of the wound. It was a horrible shade of green, yet the bleeding had stopped, leaving a deep gash.

"Annabeth . . ." Percy choked out. He must have felt incredibly guilty for letting her take that knife for him

"Poison on the dagger," Annabeth mumbled. "Pretty stupid of me, huh?"

"You? Stupid?" Natalia scoffed. "Those words don't really go together, Anna."

Will let out a breath of relief. "It's not so bad, Annabeth. A few more minutes and we would've been in trouble, but the venom hasn't gotten past the shoulder yet. Just lie still. Somebody hand me some nectar."

Percy handed him a canteen. While Will cleaned out the wound with the Godly drink, Annabeth muttered multiple ow's while gripping Natalia's and Percy's hands tightly. But she did stay still, like Will had asked. Silena sprouted words of encouragement. Will put a silver paste on the wound and hummed a hymn to Apollo in Ancient Greek. After he had applied fresh bandages, he stood up shakily. As Natalia had learned, healing took a lot out of him.

"That should do it, but we're going to need some mortal supplies." Will took a piece of paper from the hotel stationery and wrote down some things before handing it to a son of Athena. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"

"I would," Travis volunteered.

Will glared at the son of Hermes. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."

Nobody protested. Every Demigod had been injured . . . besides Percy and Natalia. She didn't know how that was possible.

Natalia squeezed Will's shoulder. "Thank you, Will."

He gave a tug to the end of her braid — a sign of affection for his cousin. "Let me know if you need anything else, Nat."

"Come on, guys," Travis announced. "Let's give Annabeth some space. We've got a drugstore to raid . . . I mean, visit."

The Demigods all shuffled back inside.

As Jake left, he took Percy by the shoulder. "We'll talk later, but it's under control. I'm using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The enemy withdrew at sunrise; not sure why. We've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."

"Thanks, man," Percy replied.

He nodded. "Just take your time."

Jake closed the doors to the terrace, leaving Natalia, Percy, Annabeth, and Silena alone.

Silena continued to press the cool cloth to Annabeth's forehead. "This is all my fault."

"No," Annabeth denied. "Silena, how is it your fault?"

"I've never been any good at Camp. Not like you, Natalia, or Percy. If I was a better fighter . . ."

Her mouth trembled. Silena had been getting worse and worse ever since Charles Beckendorf died. Natalia felt as if she were glass that was going to break any minute.

"You're a great camper," Percy told Silena. "You're the best Pegasus rider we have. And you get along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent."

Silena's eyes widened in realization. "That's it! We need the Ares Cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us."

"Woah, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry—"

"Please. I can take a Pegasus. I know I can make it back to Camp. Let me try."

Percy exchanged looks with Annabeth and Natalia. They both gave him a slight nod. There was a very slim chance her plan would work, but maybe this could get Silena's mind off of things.

"All right," Percy finally decided. "I can't think of anybody better to try."

Natalia gave her a smile. "Yeah, you can take Treasure. He'd be happy to escort you."

Silena hugged her tightly before throwing her arms around Percy. Then she pushed back awkwardly and glanced at Annabeth for a moment. Natalia raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"Um, sorry. Thank you, Percy! I won't let you down!"

Once Silena was gone, Percy knelt down next to Annabeth again and felt her forehead.

"You're cute when you're worried," Annabeth muttered. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

Natalia wanted to groan out loud. These two have been tiptoeing around each other since they kissed at Mount St. Helens. If Natalia was being honest, it was absolute torture.

"You are not going to die while I owe you a favor," Percy said. "Why did you take that knife?"

"You would've done the same for me."

"How did you know?"

"Know what?"

Percy leaned closer to them. "My Achilles spot. If you hadn't taken that knife, I would've died."

Annabeth got a faraway look in her eyes. "I don't know, Percy. I just had this feeling you were in danger. Where . . . where is the spot?"

Nobody was really supposed to tell anyone else where the Achilles spot, but Natalia guessed Percy trusted them enough. "The small of my back."

"Where? Here?"

She lifted hand and put it right on his spine. Percy moved her fingers down to the one spot that kept him mortal. He shivered under her touch. Natalia rolled her eyes, feeling like she was interrupting something. Gods, could they just kiss already?

"I'll make sure to kick you there the next time you annoy me," Natalia stated as Percy now held Annabeth's hand.

"Shut up, Tals." Percy looked back at Annabeth. "You saved me. Thanks."

"So you owe me," Annabeth replied weakly. "What else is new?"

The three best friends watched the sunrise over the city. It should've been bustling with people, but thanks to Morpheus' spell, they were all asleep. A car alarm echoed throughout the streets. Somewhere over Harlem, a plume of black smoke curled into the sky. A lot of fires would probably fill New York City from people falling asleep in the middle of cooking dinner. Everyone was in danger, and their lives depended on the Demigods from Camp Half-Blood. Absolutely no pressure.

"You asked me why Hermes was mad at me," Annabeth voiced.

"Hey, you need to rest—" Percy began.

"No, I want to tell you. Nat already knows, but it's been bothering me for a long time." She rolled her shoulder and winced in pain. "Last year, Luke came to see me in San Francisco."

"In person?" Percy asked, looking incredibly stunned. "He came to your house?"

"This was before we went into the Labyrinth, before . . ." She trailed off. Natalia knew what she meant: before he turned into Kronos. "He came under a flag of truce. He said he only wanted five minutes to talk. He looked scared, Percy. He told me Kronos was going to use him to take over the world. He said he wanted to run away, like the old days. He wanted me to come with him."

"But you didn't trust him."

"Of course not. I thought it was a trick. Plus . . . well, a lot of things had changed since the old days. I told Luke there was no way. He got mad. He said . . . he said I might as well fight him right there, because it was the last chance I'd get."

Annabeth's face broke out into sweat again. This story was taking too much of her energy.

"It's okay," Percy interrupted. "Try to get some rest."

"You don't understand, Percy. Hermes was right. Maybe if I'd gone with him, I could've changed his mind. Or — or I had a knife. Luke was unarmed. I could've—"

"No," Natalia cut her off. "You wouldn't have killed him. I know you know that wasn't the right thing to do."

Annabeth squeezed her eyes shut. "Luke said Kronos would use him like a stepping stone. Those were his exact words. Kronos would use Luke, and become even more powerful."

"He did that," Percy agreed. "He possessed Luke's body."

"But what if Luke's body is only a transition? What if Kronos has a plan to become even more powerful? I could've stopped him. The war is my fault."

Natalia shook her head. A rush of memories suddenly came back to her. After Annabeth saw Luke, the two headed God Janus had warned Annabeth she would have to make a major choice when they were in the Labyrinth. Pan had also told her that she would play a great role, but not the one she imagined.

Connor suddenly stepped through the terrace doors. "Percy." He glanced at Annabeth like he didn't want to say anything in front of her, but the news he was about to bring didn't seem good. "Mrs. O'Leary just came back with Grover. I think you should talk to him."

Percy looked back at the two.

Natalia nodded her head towards the hotel. "Go. I'll stay with Anna."

He left the two alone. Natalia brushed away a stray blonde curl that had stuck to Annabeth's forehead.

"I'm sorry," Annabeth muttered.

Natalia's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. "Um, may I ask for what?"

"I-I saw how much you liked Percy a couple of years ago. But I couldn't help but like him too . . . Gods, I'm such a terrible friend."

"Shit, Annabeth." Natalia shook her head. "You're the greatest friend anyone could ask for. I'll admit, I did like Percy . . . but not anymore. He's obviously got heart eyes for you."

Annabeth pushed her shoulder weakly. "Oh, shut up."

"It's true!" Natalia insisted. "I will be completely shocked if he doesn't kiss the hell out of you by the end of this war."

"Natalia," Annabeth scolded with a slight giggle. "Stop it."

"Just stating the facts."

"All right, how about you? What if you find a boyfriend after this war?"

Natalia shrugged. "It's really not my main concern."

Annabeth shut her eyes. "I can see it now. He would be brave—"

"Must be if he has to put up with my bullshit."

"Blonde hair, blue eyes—"

"Eh, not really my type."

The two girls fell into a fit of giggles. Despite the silence of New York hanging over them like a blanket and the impending doom of battle, Natalia allowed happiness to seep into her heart.

»»---------------------►

THAT HAPPINESS CERTAINLY didn't last long. After Natalia had taken a quick nap (with no dreams, surprisingly), she was awoken by Percy saying that he wanted her to come with him to talk to their visitors. One of the visitors turned out to be a Titan from Kronos' army under a flag of truce. Natalia didn't buy it.

Nevertheless, she exited the Plaza Hotel with Percy, Thalia, and Grover. They could see the white flag, which was big as a soccer field, flapping in the wind about half a mile away. It was carried by a thirty-foot-tall Giant with bright blue skin and icy gray hair.

"A Hyperborean," Thalia announced. "The Giants of the north. It's a bad sign that they sided with Kronos. They're usually peaceful."

"You've met them?" Percy asked.

"Mmm. There's a big colony in Alberta. You do not want to get into a snowball fight with those guys."

Natalia nodded. "I'll take your word for it."

The Giant got closer, revealing three human sized envoys by his side: a Demigod in battle armor, an Empousa wearing a black dress, and a man in a tuxedo. Natalia didn't know why, but the Empousa and the tuxedo man had their arms linked, almost as if they were a couple. The group walked leisurely in the direction of Heckscher Playground.

Percy looked to Grover. "The tux dude is the Titan?"

Grover nodded, obviously nervous. "He looks like a magician. I hate magicians. They usually have rabbits."

"You're scared of bunnies?"

"Blah-hah-hah! They're big bullies. Always stealing celery from defenseless Satyrs!"

Thalia coughed. Natalia tried to stop herself from laughing by looking up at the trees.

"What?" Grover demanded.

"We'll have to work on your bunny phobia later," Percy answered. "Here they come."

The man wearing the tuxedo stepped towards. He was about seven feet tall with his black hair tied into a ponytail. Dark round glasses covered his eyes, but the skin on his face was covered in scratches.

"Percy Jackson," he announced, his voice silky. "It's a great honor."

His Empousa girlfriend hissed at Percy.

"My dear, why don't you make yourself comfortable over there, eh?"

She released his arm and moved to sit on a park bench. Natalia's eyes drifted to the Demigod behind him: Ethan Nakamura, wearing a new helmet. His nose looked like a squashed tomato from his and Percy's fight on the Williamsburg Bridge.

"Hey, Ethan," Percy greeted. "You're looking good."

Ethan glared at him.

"To business." The man wearing the tuxedo extended his hand. "I am Prometheus."

Percy blinked. "The fire-stealer guy? The chained-to-the-rock-with-the-vultures guy?"

Prometheus winced and touched the scratches on his face. "Please, don't mention the vultures. But yes, I stole fire from the Gods and gave it to your ancestors. In return, the ever merciful Zeus had me chained to a rock and tortured for all eternity."

"But—"

"How did I get free? Hercules did that, eons ago. So you see, I have a soft spot for heroes. Some of you can be quite civilized."

"Unlike the company you keep," Percy noticed, looking straight at Ethan.

Prometheus apparently thought he was talking about the Empousa. "Oh, demons aren't so bad. You just have to keep them well fed. Now, Percy Jackson, let us parley."

He led them toward a picnic table. Percy and Prometheus sat across from each other while Natalia, Thalia, and Grover stood behind Percy. Natalia kept her hand by her silver bracelet just in case. By the playground, the blue Giant had propped the flag against a tree and was playing on the equipment. He seemed childish as he broke things and only said uh-oh after he doing so.

Prometheus sat forwards with his fingers laced, looking earnest, kindly, and wise. "Percy, your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault."

"We'll see," Percy argued.

"Percy, I'm the Titan of forethought. I know what's going to happen."

"Also the Titan of crafty counsel," Grover added. "Emphasis on crafty."

Prometheus shrugged. "True enough, Satyr. But I supported the Gods in the last war. I told Kronos: You don't have the strength. You'll lose. And I was right. So you see, I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."

"Because Zeus chained you to a rock," Percy guessed.

"Partly, yes. I won't deny I want revenge. But that's not the only reason I'm supporting Kronos. It's the wisest choice. I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason." He drew a map on the table with his finger, golden lines glowing on the concrete wherever he touched. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

"Your spy has been keeping you posted."

Prometheus gave him an apologetic smile. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have see this. It will happen."

Percy seemed to think for a moment. "I won't let it happen."

"Understand, Percy. You are refighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history. They reappear just as monsters do. A great siege. Two armies. The only difference is, this time you are defending. You are Troy. And you know what happened to the Trojans, don't you?"

"So you're going to cram a wooden horse into the elevator at the Empire State Building? Good luck."

Natalia fought the urge to smile. She loved Percy's sarcasm. It was one of the reasons they got along so well.

Prometheus smiled again. "Troy was completely destroyed, Percy. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down, and New York will be spared. Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. Let Kronos take Olympus. Who cares? Typhon will destroy the Gods anyway."

"Right," Percy countered. "And I'm supposed to believe Kronos would spare the city."

"All he wants is Olympus. The might of the Gods is tied to their seats of power. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked."

Percy winced.

"Yes," Prometheus continued. "I know that was hard for you. When Kronos destroys Olympus, the Gods will fade. They will become so weak they will be easily defeated. Kronos would rather do this while Typhon has the Olympians distracted in the west. Much easier. Fewer lives lost. But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The Gods and Mount Olympus will still be destroyed, but it will be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the Titans will rule."

Thalia slammed her fist on the table. "I serve Artemis. Hell, Natalia is the daughter of Artemis. Me, her, and the Hunters will fight to our last breath. Percy, you're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"

Prometheus gave her a smile. "Your courage does you credit, Thalia Grace."

Grace. For some reason, that last name gave Natalia an electric tingle down her back. Maybe something that was to come . . .

Thalia stiffened, the comment obviously getting under her skin. "That's my mother's surname. I don't use it."

"As you wish. At any rate, you need not be my enemy. I have always been a helper of mankind."

"Well, that's just a load of bullshit, isn't it?" Natalia argued. "You tricked mankind into giving you the best portion when they first began to sacrifice to the Gods. And you gave us fire not because you cared about mankind, but only to annoy the Gods."

"You don't understand. I helped shape your nature." A lump of clay appeared in Prometheus' hands, and he molded it into a doll with legs and arms which began to stumble around on the table. "I have been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of your existence. I represent your curiosity, your sense of exploration, your inventiveness. Help me save you, Percy. Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift — a new revelation that will move you as far forward as fire did. You can't make that kind of advance under the Gods. They would never allow it. But this could be a new golden age for you. Or . . ." He smashed the clay man flat with his fist.

The blue Giant let out an uh-oh. At the park bench, the Empousa bared her fangs in a creepy smile.

"Percy, you know the Titans and their offspring are not all bad. You've met Calypso."

Percy's face turned red. "That's different."

"How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas' daughter. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen. We offer you peace."

Percy looked at Ethan. "You must hate this."

"I don't know what you mean," Ethan responded.

"If we took this deal, you wouldn't get revenge. You wouldn't get to kill us all. Isn't that what you want?"

His only eye flared in anger. "All I want is respect, Jackson. The Gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid Camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes Cabin because I'm not important? Not even recognized?"

"Your mom's the Goddess of revenge. We should respect that?"

"Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them down."

"Which is why she took your eye?" Percy asked.

"It was payment," Ethan answered. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day I would tip the balance of power. I would bring the minor Gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."

"Great mom."

"At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts — good or evil."

"Yeah. So I saved your life, and you repaid me by raising Kronos. That's fair."

Ethan went to reach for his sword, making Natalia almost tap her bracelet.

"Now, now," the Titan interrupted, stopping both of them from drawing their weapons. "We're on a diplomatic mission." Prometheus studied Percy for a moment. "It bothers you what happened to Luke Hestia didn't show you the full story. Perhaps ifyou understood . . ."

Prometheus reached out.

"No!" Natalia called.

It was too late. Prometheus has already touched Percy's forehead. The son of Poseidon went still and closed his eyes.

Natalia made a noise of protest. "What did you do?"

"Patience, Natalia Flynn," Prometheus said.

Percy began to become clammy. After a long moment, Prometheus pulled his hand away from his forehead. Percy's eyes fluttered open and he glanced around for a moment.

"Hey," Natalia began. "Percy, what happened?"

Prometheus nodded in sympathy. "Appalling, isn't it? The Gods know what is to come, and yet they do nothing, even for their children. How long did it take for them to tell you your Prophecy, Percy Jackson? Don't you think your father knows what will happen to you?"

Percy didn't answer.

"Perrrcy, he's playing with your mind," Grover warned. "Trying to make you angry."

"Do you really blame your friend Luke?" the Titan questioned. "And what about you, Percy? Will you be controlled by your fate? Kronos offers you a much better deal."

Percy clenched his fists. "I'll give you a deal. Tell Kronos to call off his attack, leave Luke Castellan's body, and return to the pits of Tartarus. Then maybe I won't have to destroy him."

The Empousa snarled while her hair erupted in fresh flames.

Prometheus sighed. "If you change your mind, I have a gift for you."

A Greek vase appeared on the table. It was about three feet tall and one foot wide, decorated with black and white geometric designs. Leather harnesses fastened the ceramic lid shut. Grover whimpered, Thalia gasped, and Natalia froze at the sight of it. It gave Natalia a sense of fear. She immediately knew what it was.

"That's not—" Thalia began.

"Yes," Prometheus agreed. "You recognize it. This belonged to my sister-in-law Pandora."

"As in Pandora's box?" Percy inquired.

Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how this box business got started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos doesn't have the same ring to it, but never mind that. Yes, she did open this jar, which contained most of the demons that now haunt mankind — fear, death, hunger, sickness."

"Don't forget me," the Empousa reminded him.

"Indeed," Prometheus told her. "The first Empousa was also trapped in this jar, released by Pandora. But what I find curious about the story — Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious. The Gods would have you believe that this is the lesson: mankind should not explore. They should not ask questions. They should do what they are told. In truth, Percy, this jar was a trap designed by Zeus and the other Gods. It was revenge on me and my entire family — my poor simple brother Epimetheus and his wife Pandora. The Gods knew she would open the jar. They were willing to punish the entire race of humanity along with us."

In a way, Natalia knew Prometheus was right. The Gods never warned their children of what to come and did horrible deeds without any consequences. How were the Gods any better than the Titans? She shook it off. Prometheus was twisting her mind.

Prometheus tapped the lid of Pandora's jar. "Only one spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it."

"Hope," Percy answered.

"Very good, Percy. Elpis, the spirit of hope, would not abandon humanity. Hope does not leave without being given permission. She can only be released by a child of man." The Titan slid the jar across the table. "I give you this as a reminder of what the Gods are like. Keep Elpis, if you wish. But if you decide that you have seen enough destruction, enough futile suffering, then open the jar. Let Elpis go. Give up hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient. He will spare the survivors."

Natalia stared at the jar. She itched to open it herself, but Percy was more ADHD than she was. How could he possibly resist this?

"I don't want the thing," Percy growled.

"Too late," Prometheus replied. "The gift is given. It cannot be taken back."

He stood and the Empousa returned to his side, slipping her arm through his.

"Morrain!" Prometheus called to the blue Giant. "We are leaving. Get your flag."

"Uh-oh," the Giant said.

"We will see you soon, Percy Jackson," Prometheus promised. "One way or another."

Ethan gave the group one last hateful glance. Natalia responded with a silver-eyed glare. He flinched, and him and the truce party turned away, strolling up the sunny lane of Central Park like it was a regular Sunday afternoon.

"All right, Fish-Boy," Natalia began when they reached the Plaza Hotel. She had pulled him aside along with Thalia. "What'd he show you?"

Reluctantly, Percy told them about the vision of May Castellan's house with Luke and Hermes arguing while Annabeth, Thalia, and May stayed in the background. Natalia frowned at the story and twisted her bracelet around on her wrist.

"That was a bad night," Thalia admitted. "Annabeth was so little, I don't think she really understood what she saw. She just knew Luke was upset."

Percy gazed out the windows of the hotel at Central Park. "Do you know what happened to May Castellan? I mean—"

"I know what you mean. I never saw her have an, um, episode, but Luke told me about the glowing eyes, the strange things she would say. He made me promise never to tell. What caused it, I have no idea. If Luke knew, he never told me."

"Hermes knew," Percy said. "Something caused May to see parts of Luke's future, and Hermes understood what would happen — how Luke would turn into Kronos."

Thalia frowned at him. "You can't be sure of that. Remember Prometheus was manipulating what you saw, Percy, showing you what happened in the worst possible light. Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face. And Hermes was there that night because he was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all bad."

"It's still not right," Percy insisted. "Luke was just a little kid. Hermes never helped him, never stopped him from running away."

Thalia shouldered her bow like Natalia often did. She had a silvery glow around her — the blessing of Artemis — that looked like Natalia had sparkled some moonlight around her. She glanced at Natalia as if to say you want to add in anything?

Natalia sighed. "All right, Percy, listen up. You cannot start feeling sorry for that motherfucker now. All Demigods have tough things to deal with. Our parents are hardly ever there for us. But we're different from the Half-Bloods in Kronos' army. Luke made bad choices by himself. That's on him." She then glanced back down at the hall to make sure nobody was listening. "Yours and I's main concern is keeping Annabeth distracted during battle. If Anna has to face him, she might not be able to handle it. There's always going to be a soft spot for him in her heart. Don't you agree?"

Blood rose to Percy's face. "She'll do fine."

"I don't know," Thalia argued. "After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. By the time Grover found us and tried to get us to Camp . . . well, part of the reason we had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed. Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke was her hero. She only understood that his parents had made him sad, and she got very defensive of him. She still is defensive. All I'm saying . . . don't you fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos now. We can't afford to be soft on him."

Percy looked out at the fires in Harlem. "You're both right."

"When am I not?" Natalia questioned with a smirk.

Thalia patted his shoulder. "I'm going to check on the Hunters, then get some more sleep before nightfall. You should crash too. And you, Nat. I'm serious."

Percy shook his head. "The last thing I need is more dreams."

"I know, believe me." Thalia's facial expression was dark. "But Percy, there's no telling when you'll get another chance for rest. It's going to be a long night — maybe our last night."

Percy nodded and handed her Pandora's jar. "Do me a favor. Lock this in the hotel vault, will you? I think I'm allergic to pithos."

Thalia smiled. "You got it."

"I'll see you in the morning, okay?" Natalia questioned. "Wake me up if you need anything."

"Don't hesitate to wake me up as well," Percy replied.

Natalia nodded her head. She wandered off and found an empty bedroom, immediately falling asleep once her head hit the pillow.

»»---------------------►

"NATALIA!"

THE DAUGHTER of Artemis shot up in bed. "What? Who? Where?"

When she glanced around frantically, all she saw was Annabeth holding her video shield with Percy right behind her. Percy looked like he was trying not to laugh, but one simple glare from Natalia made him stop.

"Anna, you can't just scream my name like that," Natalia complained, removing the covers off of her and rubbing her tired eyes. "It makes me think there's a monster attack."

They both went silent.

Natalia let out a breath. "Let me guess. There's a fucking monster attack?"

"Yeah," Percy admitted sheepishly. "They're heading south into Central Park."

Natalia's eyes narrowed at Annabeth wearing armor as she stood up. "If you think you're fighting right now, you're wrong."

"I'm fine, Nat," Annabeth insisted. "My wound healed from the nectar and ambrosia."

She raised an eyebrow. Annabeth looked extremely pale and was barely moving her injured arm. Her eyes trailed over to Percy, who merely shrugged.

Natalia shook her head with a sigh. "All right, fine."

Annabeth smiled. Natalia tapped her bracelet and clenched her silver bow, following Annabeth and Percy to rally the groups.

Thalia and the head counselors from the Cabins were waiting for them at the Reservoir. In the twilight, the lights of the city were blinking prettily. Street lamps flowed around the perimeter of the lake, making the water and trees look more eerie than normal.

"They're coming," Thalia confirmed while pointing north with a silver arrow. "One of my scouts just reported they've crossed the Harlem River. There was no way to hold them back. The army . . . It's huge."

"We'll hold them at the park," Percy replied. "Grover, you ready?"

The Satyr nodded. "As ready as we'll ever be. If my nature spirits can stop them anywhere, this is the place."

"Yes, we will!" another voice agreed.

Natalia turned to see an old and fat Satyr push through the crowd in wood bark armor. He also stumbled over his spear quite a few times.

"Leneus?" Percy asked.

"Don't act so surprised. I am a leader of the Council, and you did tell me to find Grover. Well, I found him, and I'm not going to let a mere outcast lead the Satyrs without my help!" Grover made gagging motions behind Leneus' back, but Leneus was grinning like he had saved the day. "Never fear! We'll show those Titans!"

Natalia tried very hard not to laugh.

Percy kept a straight face. "Um . . . yeah. Well, Grover, you won't be alone. Annabeth and the Athena Cabin will make their stand here. And me, and Natalia, and . . . Thalia?"

Thalia patted his shoulder. "Say no more. The Hunters are ready."

He looked to the other counselors. "That leaves the rest of you with a job just as important. You have to guard the other entrances to Manhattan. You know how tricky Kronos is. He'll hope to distract us with this big army and sneak another force in somewhere else. It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. Has each Cabin chosen a bridge or tunnel?"

They nodded grimly.

"Then let's do it," Percy stated. "Good hunting, everybody!"

Before they even saw the army, the noise of them echoed to Central Park. The enemy vanguard broke through the woods at the north end of the reservoir. Laistrygonian Giants and hundreds of other monsters were led by a warrior in golden armor.

"Positions!" Annabeth ordered.

The Athena Cabin scrambled to their places. Their strategy was to make the enemy army break around the reservoir. In order to get to the Demigods, they'd have to follow the trails, which would force them to march in narrow columns on either side of the water.

At first, it seemed to work well. The army divided advanced towards them on the shore. When they made it halfway across, the Camp Half-Blood defenses kicked in. The jogging trail erupted in Greek fire which incinerated many monsters immediately. Others flailed around while being engulfed in the green flames. The Athena kids threw grappling hooks around the largest Giants and pulled them to the ground.

In the woods on the right, the Hunters of Artemis unleashed a volley of silver arrows into the enemy line, which destroyed about thirty Dracaenae, but more kept coming. Thalia used her daughter of Zeus powers to make lightning crack out of the sky and fry a Laistrygonian Giant to ashes.

Grover raised his pipes to his lips and played a quick tune. A loud roar went up from the woods on both sides. Every tree, rock, and bush seemed to sprout a nature spirit. Dryads and Satyrs raised their clubs and charged at the enemy. Trees wrapped around the monsters and strangled them. Grass grew around the ankles of enemy archers (which were definitely no match for Natalia Flynn.) Stones flew up and hit Dracaenae in their faces.

Nevertheless, the enemy continued to advance. Giants smashed through the trees. Naiads faded due to their life sources being destroyed. Hellhounds lunged at the timber wolves and knocked them aside. Enemy archers returned fire and a Hunter fell from a high branch.

"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed, grabbing his arm and pointing at the reservoir.

Natalia followed where she was pointing to see the Titan in gold armor charging towards them by walking on the top of the lake, not even waiting for his forces to advance around the sides. A Greek fire bomb exploded on top of him, but he merely raised his palm and sucked the flames out of the air.

"Hyperion," Annabeth voiced in awe. "The Lord of light. Titan of the east."

"Bad?" Percy guessed.

"Um, lets just say he's the brother to Iapetus," Natalia told him. "You know, the Titan we fought back in the Underworld?"

"Fun times."

"Anyways, he's the greatest Titan warrior next to Atlas," Natalia explained. "Back before the days of the Gods, four Titans controlled the four corners of the world. Hyperion got the east, which just so happens to be the most powerful. He was also the father of Helios, the first sun God before Apollo took over."

"I'll keep him busy," Percy promised.

Annabeth frowned. "Percy, even you can't—"

"Just keep our forces together."

With that, Percy jumped onto the reservoir and charged at Hyperion while on top of the water.

Natalia sighed. "What a dumbass."

"Ready to get back to battle?" Annabeth questioned.

She gripped her bow. "I was born ready."

Natalia, her eyes glowing silver, rushed in to the fight. She joined the Hunters of Artemis by the trees and all of them fought enemies. Natalia could faintly see Hyperion and Percy fighting on the lake's surface, but she didn't dare turn to look. All she was focused on was shooting Dracaenae and intercepting the enemy archers' arrows with her own. So far, her quiver hadn't needed time to regenerate, but she knew it would happen soon.

Suddenly, she heard a thud. Natalia glanced back to see Percy laying on the ground. Her eyes widened and she went to go run over to him, but an arrow whizzed by her head dangerously close and managed to graze her cheek. Natalia put her hand to her face, and when she pulled it away, the red liquid of blood stained her fingertips. She gritted her teeth and whirled back around. The Half-Blood who had shot at her stiffened under her glare. Natalia summoned moonlight in her hand and threw it at their bow, making it disappear in a blur of silver. The Demigod stared at his hands in terror as if he couldn't believe what just happened. Natalia raised an eyebrow and took off in the direction of Annabeth.

When she looked back to Percy, she gasped in shock. Percy had a hurricane — a fucking hurricane — swirling around him. He was leading Hyperion back to Grover while extinguishing the flames.

"I will not be toyed with!" Hyperion bellowed.

The Titan managed to get onto his feet again, but Grover began to play another song on his reed pipes. Leneus joined him along with the rest of the Satyrs who all played the eerie melody. The ground erupted at Hyperion's feet and gnarled roots wrapped around his legs.

"What's this?" he protested, attempting to shake off the thickening roots. "Stop this! Your woodland magic is no match for a Titan!"

The more he struggled, the faster the roots grew. They curled around his body and began to harden into bark. His golden armor melted into the wood and began to become part of a large trunk. The Satyrs continued to play their music. Hyperion's forces backed up in astonishment as their leader was absorbed. His arms became branches as he stretched them out and they grew smaller branches, which sprouted leaves. The tree grew taller and thicker until only the Titan's face was visible in the middle of the trunk.

"You cannot imprison me!" he shouted. "I am Hyperion! I am—"

Hyperion was cut off from the bark closing over his face.

Grover removed the pipes from his mouth. "You are a very nice maple tree."

Some of the other Satyrs passed out from exhaustion. Nevertheless, they'd done well. The Titan Lord of the east was completely imprisoned in an enormous maple tree. Its trunk was twenty feet in diameter with tall branches. Natalia guessed the tree would stay there for centuries. A cheer went up from the Athena Cabin, but the victory was short lived. Kronos had just unleashed another surprise.

"REEEEET!"

The horrible squeal echoed throughout the entirety of upper Manhattan. Natalia froze in terror and looked up nervously, along with the Demigods and monsters.

Grover gave Percy a panicked look. "Why does that sound like . . . It can't be!"

Two years ago, on a quest to save Annabeth and the Goddess Artemis, they had gotten a huge boar — a gift from Pan — that tried to kill them and then carried them across the southwest. The boar had a similar squeal, but this one was higher pitched and shriller.

"REEEEEET!"

A huge pink creature soared over the reservoir.

"A Sow!" Annabeth cried. "Take cover!"

Natalia crouched down and the rest of the Demigods scattered. The Sow swooped down and barely missed an Athena kid as its hooves slammed into the ground. It stomped around, taking down half an acre of trees while belching a cloud of noxious gas. Then it took off again, circling around the park for another strike.

"Don't tell me that thing is from Greek mythology," Percy complained.

"Afraid so," Annabeth responded. "The Clazmonian Sow. It terrorized Greek towns back in the day."

"Let me guess. Hercules beat it."

"Here's the thing: as far as the stories tell, no hero has ever beaten it," Natalia told him.

"Perfect."

The enemy army was recovering from its shock as they realized the Sow wasn't after them. It would be a matter of seconds before they advanced again, and the Demigod forces were still in a panic. Not to mention that Grover's nature spirits yelped and faded back into their trees every time the Sow belched.

"That pig has to go." Percy grabbed a grappling hook from an Athena kid. "I'll take care of it. You guys hold the rest of the enemy. Push them back!"

"But, Percy," Grover cut in. "What if we can't?"

He seemed really tired from the magic he had just performed. Annabeth looked pale and in pain from fighting with her wound. Natalia's face was streaked with dirt, her braid was falling out, the cut on her cheek was still bleeding, and she could feel her powers draining. In conclusion, she was basically a hot mess. When she had left the Hunters, they were doing all right, but Natalia would need their help to do what Percy was asking. Natalia knew Percy really didn't want to leave them, but the Sow had to be taken down. It was their biggest threat at the moment.

"Retreat if you need to," Percy ordered. "Just slow them down. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Percy threw the grappling hook like a lasso when the Sow came down for its next pass. It wrapped around the base of the pig's wing. Squealing in rage, the Sow veered off, yanking the rope and Percy Jackson into the sky.

Natalia tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "All right, let's push them back. I know we're tired, but guys, we can do this."

Annabeth glanced quickly at the enemy army, who looked about ready to charge again. "Nat's right. We just have to hold them off for a little while."

Their army nodded, and the Athena kids began to mutter strategies to each other.

Annabeth gripped Natalia's hand and held it up. "We'll stick together, yeah?"

"Hell yeah. You and me until the end, dude." Natalia then turned in the direction of her honorary sisters and the army from Camp Half-Blood. "Hunters! Demigods!"

The girls wearing silver and the Athena Cabin turned towards the direction of her voice.

Natalia raised her bow in the air. "Charge!"

If Natalia was being honest, she didn't really know what had happened. Somehow they had ended up at Midtown with some of the other Cabins. Pushing the enemies back had been a mess of battle and monster dust, but they were only faced with more enemies as they continued on. Natalia fought like a demon, shooting monsters in the heart with no remorse and disappearing enemy Demigods' weapons with moonlight. As she had feared, her magical quiver needed time to regenerate. It had been summoning so many Celestial Bronze arrows. With a scowl, she had to use her bow as a makeshift club and only rely on moonlight.

Their defenses were weakening. Within a couple of minutes, they would be totally surrounded by enemies.

Currently, Natalia was fighting a Hyperboren Giant with Annabeth and two of her siblings at the Park Avenue tunnel on Thirty-Third. When she glanced up, Percy — without the Sow — jumped off Blackjack's back and onto the Giant's head. He slid down its face and bashed its nose with his shield on the way. Percy landed next to Natalia, who was continuously checking her quiver to see a load of Celestial Bronze arrows slowly shimmer into existence.

"RAWWWR!" The Giant roared, staggering backwards with blue blood trickling from his nose.

It breathed a cloud of white mist, making the temperature drop. Natalia rolled out of the way. In the spot where she and Percy once stood was now covered in ice.

"Hey, ugly!" Annabeth yelled.

The Giant bellowed and turned in her direction, exposing his unprotected back legs. Percy charged and stabbed him behind the knee with Riptide.

"WAAAAH!"

The Hyperborean buckled and froze. Like, literally froze into solid ice. From the point where Percy stabbed him, cracks appeared. They grew larger and wider until the Giant crumbled into a mountain of blue shards.

Natalia blinked at Percy. "Where the hell'd you come from?"

Percy smirked his I'm-about-to-be-a-smartass smirk. "Well, it all started when the God Poseidon met my mom, Sally Jackson—"

"You know what?" Natalia cut him off with her hand up to silence him. "Forget it."

"Thanks." Annabeth winced and tried her hardest to catch her breath. "The pig?"

"Pork chops," Percy replied.

"Good." She flexed her shoulder, rolling her eyes at the worried expressions Percy and Natalia gave her. "I'm fine, you two. Come on! We've got plenty of enemies left."

Unfortunately, Annabeth was right. The next hour passed by in a flash of fighting. Despite trying their hardest (and Natalia finally being able to use some of her arrows), it wasn't enough. More enemies just took the defeated monsters' place. Natalia, Annabeth, and Percy raced from block to block and tried to shore up their defenses. Too many of their friends laid wounded in the streets and too many were missing.

The night raged on. Natalia could tell she was becoming more powerful underneath the moonlight, but she could feel herself getting more tired by the moment. Soon enough, they were backed up until they were only a block from the Empire State Building in all directions. New allies kept appearing at their sides as well. At one point it was Grover hitting Dracaena over the head with his cudgel. He disappeared into the crowd, and then it was Thalia, driving monsters back with her Aegis shield and some assistance from Natalia's glare.

"Hold your lines!" Katie Gardener shouted somewhere from the left.

There were too few of them to hold anything at this point. The only thing blocking the entrance to Olympus was a ring of brave Demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits. Natalia continued to fight the best she could despite her wearing herself down.

Suddenly, a flew blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine behind the enemy troops. Natalia hoped it was Apollo rising the sun in his Maserati, but alas, she was mistaken. It was only Kronos riding towards them on a golden chariot. Twelve Laistrygonian Giants bore torches before the Titan. Two Hyperboreans carried his black and purple battle flags. Kronos looked fresh and rested, telling Natalia he was now at full strength.

"We have to fall back to the doorway," Annabeth told them. "Hold it at all costs!"

Suddenly, a hunting horn was heard. Natalia stopped what she was doing and glanced around. A chorus of horns answered the first one and echoed throughout the buildings of Manhattan. Percy looked to Thalia.

Thalia frowned. "Not the Hunters. We're all here."

"Then who?" Percy questioned.

The horns got louder. It sounded like an entire army was approaching. Natalia thought it might've been more of Kronos' reinforcements, but the enemies looked just as confused as she felt. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos' honor guards looked uneasy.

Then, to Natalia's left, Kronos' entire northern flank surged forwards while crying out at once. They crashed into the southern flank. Natalia blinked in confusion.

A new blast of horns shattered through the air. The air shimmered, and in a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared out of thin air.

"Yeah, baby!" a voice called out. "PARTY!"

A huge volley of arrows sailed over their heads and vaporized hundreds of monsters on the enemy side. However, these arrows made whizzy sounds as they flew. Some even had pinwheels attaches to them while others had boxing gloves instead of points.

Natalia let out an elated laugh. "Holy shit."

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

The Party Ponies came to their aid in burst of colors. They wore tie-dye shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversized sunglasses, and had war paint streaked across their faces. Some had slogans written on their flanks, such as HORSEZ PWN and KRONOS SUX. Natalia merely just stared at them. If she were in Kronos' army (which she never would be), she would want to run away.

"Percy!"

Natalia almost sobbed in relief from the voice. It was Chiron, grinning in satisfaction across the sea of wild Centaurs. He was wearing armor from the waist up and he held his bow in his hand.

"Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" another Centaur exclaimed. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

He raised a double barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy Hellhound with bright pink paint. It must have been mixed with Celestial Bronze dust, because as soon as it touched the Hellhound, it let out a yelp and dissolved in a pink and black puddle.

"PARTY PONIES," a Centaur called out. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

"HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!"

Natalia may have been biased, but she had never seen anything more beautiful than this. The entire Titan army turned and fled from paintballs, arrows, and NERF baseball bats while the Party Ponies tramped everything in their path.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos demanded. "Stand and ACKK!"

He yelled that because a panicked Hyperborean Giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him. Natalia covered her mouth in shock as the Lord of time disappeared underneath a blue behind.

"HOLD!" Chiron ordered. "On your promise, HOLD!"

With much difficulty, the order got relayed to the ranks of Centaurs and they began to pull back, letting the enemy flee from them.

Annabeth wiped the sweat off of her face. "Chiron's smart. If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

"But the enemy—" Percy began.

"Is not defeated yet," Natalia finished, slinging her bow on her shoulder while breathing deeply. "You're right. But dawn is approaching. At least we were able to buy some time."

The three best friends watched the last of the Telekhines scuttle down the East River before heading back to the Empire State Building.

They managed to set up a two block perimeter with a command tent by the building. Chiron informed them that roughly five hundred Party Ponies from almost every state in the Union had answered his call. However, they couldn't defend more than a few blocks even with that many Centaurs.

"Dude," a Centaur named Larry from New Mexico began. "That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," Owen from South Dakota agreed, wearing a black leather jacket with an old World War II army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron gave Owen a pat on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West Thirty-Third and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!"

The two Centaurs galloped off, almost trampling each other.

Chiron smiled at them. Both Natalia and Annabeth gave him a huge hug. Mrs. O'Leary licked his face.

"Ack," the Centaur grumbled. "Enough of that, dog. Yes, I'm glad to see you too."

"Chiron, thanks," Percy told him. "Talk about saving the day."

He shrugged. "I'm sorry it took so long. Centaurs travel fast, as you know. We can bend distance as we ride. Even so, getting all the Centaurs together was no easy task. The Party Ponies are not exactly organized."

"How'd you get through the magic defenses around the city?" Annabeth asked.

"They slowed us down a bit, but I think they're intended mostly to keep mortals out. Kronos doesn't want puny humans getting in the way of his great victory."

"So maybe other reinforcements can get through," Percy said hopefully.

Chiron stroked his beard in thought. "Perhaps, though time is short. As soon as Kronos regroups, he will attack again. Without the element of surprise on our side . . ."

Kronos wasn't defeated. They still had so much to do.

"What about Typhon?" Natalia questioned, tucking her bow into her side. "Is my mother all right?"

The Centaur's face darkened. "Artemis is fighting well, but the Gods are tiring. Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday. Typhon smashed his chariot, and the wine God went down somewhere m the Appalachians. No one has seen him since. Hephaestus is out of action as well. He was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia. He will heal, but not soon enough to help. The others still fight. They've managed to slow Typhon's approach. But the monster can not be stopped. He will arrive in New York by this time tomorrow. Once he and Kronos combine forces—"

"Game over," Natalia muttered.

"Then what chance do we have?" Percy cut in. "We can't hold out another day."

"We'll have to," Thalia voiced. "I'll see about setting some new traps around the perimeter."

Thalia looked exhausted, though she managed to get to her feet and wander off.

"I will help her," Chiron decided. "I should make sure my brethren don't go too overboard with the root beer."

Too overboard basically summed up the nature of the Party Ponies, but Chiron followed after Thalia, leaving Natalia, Percy, and Annabeth alone. Annabeth cleaned the monster slime off her knife while Natalia brushed some dust off of her bow. Her quiver was now stocked with Celestial Bronze arrows, but it would only be a matter of time before it would need to regenerate again. She tapped her bow and slid her silver bracelet back on her wrist.

"At least your moms are okay," Percy offered.

Natalia frowned. "Well, I wouldn't call fighting Typhon okay, but I guess so. I'm just worried though. Even with the help of the Centaurs, I cant help but think—"

"I know." He looked over to Annabeth. "Listen, there were some . . . some visions Hestia showed me."

"You mean about Luke?" Annabeth guessed.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. "You and Thalia and Luke. The first time you met. And the time you met Hermes."

Annabeth sheathed her knife. "Luke promised he'd never let me get hurt. He said . . . he said we'd be a new family, and it would turn out better than his."

"Thalia and Nat talked to me earlier," Percy admitted. "They're afraid—"

Natalia smacked Percy on the back of the head. He winced and immediately shut up.

"No, Nat, it's okay," Annabeth stated miserably. "You're both scared that I can't face Luke."

Percy nodded. "But there's something else you should know. Ethan Nakamura seemed to think Luke was still alive inside his body, maybe even fighting Kronos for control."

Natalia could see the gears turning in Annabeth's mind. She shared a concerned look with Percy.

"I didn't want to tell you," Percy continued.

Annabeth stared up at the Empire State Building. "Percy, Nat, for so much of my life, I felt like everything was changing, all the time. I didn't have anyone I could rely on. I ran away when I was seven. Then with Luke and Thalia, I thought I'd found a family, but it fell apart almost immediately. What I'm saying . . . I hate it when people let me down, when things are temporary. I think that's why I want to be an architect."

"To build something permanent," Percy answered. "A monument to last a thousand years."

She glanced between Percy and Natalia. "I guess that sounds like my fatal flaw again."

Annabeth had told them both, years ago while in the Sea of Monsters, that her biggest flaw was hubris — deadly pride, thinking she could fix anything. Natalia had jumped in the ocean to save her best friend from the Sirens, who showed her deepest desire — her mom and dad sitting on a picnic blanket with a good Luke in front of a new Manhattan that Annabeth had rebuilt. She had held Annabeth at the bottom of the ocean as she cried. It wasn't really one of the most happy memories.

"I guess I understand how you feel," Percy told her. "But Thalia and Tals are right. Luke has already betrayed you so many times. He was evil even before Kronos. I don't want him to hurt you anymore."

Annabeth pursed her lips, trying to keep herself from getting mad. "And you'll understand if I keep hoping there's a chance you're wrong."

The conversation ended, and Natalia gazed across the street. Apollo kids had set up a field hospital to treat the wounded — dozens of campers and almost the same amount of Hunters. Natalia felt her heart squeeze as she watched the medics work. Despite the slim chances, they had to defend Manhattan. They wouldn't go down without a fight.

Percy suddenly began staring intently at the hospital, not saying a word. Annabeth gave a confused glance to Natalia, who only shrugged in response.

Annabeth frowned at him. "What?"

He seemed to snap out of it. "Um . . . nothing, I guess."

Percy then gazed down Fifth Avenue. Suddenly, he bolted down the street. Natalia's eyes widened and she immediately began to follow him.

"Percy!" Annabeth called out to him. "Where are you going?"

Once Natalia stopped, she realized what as wrong. Sitting in a Toyota Prius was Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis, Percy's stepdad. Natalia reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but Percy kept moving around in a restless state.

"They . . . they must've seen those blue lights in the sky." Percy tried to open the doors, but they were locked. "I need to get them out."

"Percy," Annabeth began gently.

"I can't leave them here!" he yelled, pounding on the windshield. "I have to move them. I have to—"

"Percy." Natalia grabbed his shoulders and forced him to look at her. He had a wild sort of look in his eyes, one that made her feel a little unsettled. However, Percy began to calm down a little bit underneath her intense gaze. "Listen to me. Your mom and Paul are going to be fine, all right? We'll push the car to a side street out of harm's way."

He looked like he was about to break down right then and there, but Natalia's comforting nature made him relax. "Yeah . . . yeah, okay."

Natalia nodded and let go of him, waving to Chiron to come over.

The Centaur galloped up to them. "What's . . . Oh dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," Percy revealed. "My mom must've sensed something was wrong."

"Most likely. But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

"No way," Percy suddenly muttered.

Natalia followed his gaze to the backseat of the car, where Pandora's pithos was seat belted. She shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the Greek jar.

Annabeth pressed a hand to the window. "That's impossible! I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," Percy agreed.

Chiron's eyes widened when he saw the jar. "That isn't—"

"Pandora's jar." Percy then explained everything from their meeting with Prometheus.

"Then the jar is yours," Chiron responded grimly. "It will follow you and tempt you to open it, no matter where you leave it. It will appear when you are weakest."

Like now, when Percy allowed himself to be vulnerable for the safety of his parents. Anger filled Natalia's veins. She hated everything about this.

Percy drew Riptide and cut through the driver's side window. "We'll put the car in neutral. Push them out of the way. And take that stupid jar to Olympus."

Chiron nodded in approval. "A good plan. But, Percy . . ."

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by a chop chop chop of a helicopter. The noise wouldn't have normally bothered Natalia, but after two days of silence in New York City, it sounded incredibly strange. A few blocks east, the monster army yelled as the helicopter cane into view. It was dark red with a bright green DE logo with the words DARE ENTERPRISES underneath it. Percy glanced between Natalia and Annabeth.

Natalia took a step forwards. "What the fuck . . ."

Annabeth's face burned as red as the helicopter. "What is she doing here? How did she get through the barrier?"

"Who?" Chiron looked completely confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"

The helicopter suddenly pitched forwards.

"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron exclaimed. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."

Natalia watched in horror as the helicopter tilted sideways and fell towards a row of office buildings. If the helicopter somehow managed not to crash, the air Gods would most definitely swat it out of the air for getting close to the Empire State Building.

Annabeth whistled, and Guido the Pegasus came swooping down. "Come on, Percy. We have to save your friend."

Natalia really didn't want to ride a Pegasus with an angry Annabeth, but she climbed on nevertheless and they took off. Flying a Pegasus towards a helicopter was definitely not Natalia's idea of a good time, but Guido managed to not get them chopped up. They could hear Rachel screaming inside (for some odd reason she had not fallen asleep.) The pilot was slumped over the controls, getting rocked back and forth as the helicopter wobbled toward the side of an office building.

"Ideas?" Percy asked Annabeth.

"You're going to have to take Guido with Natalia and get out," she replied.

"What are you going to do?"

"Hyah!" Annabeth yelled, and Guido went into a nosedive. "Duck!"

Natalia did as she was told, the blades barely missing her head. They zipped alongside the helicopter and Annabeth grabbed the door. Everything seemed to be going well, so of course, that's when shit hit the fan. Quite literally. Guido's wing slammed against the helicopter and plummeted straight down with Percy, leaving Natalia and Annabeth dangling from the side of the aircraft.

"So much for taking me with you!" Natalia screamed, though she doubted Percy could her hear.

She felt her hands begin to slip off of the helicopter. Guido and Percy were close to the ground, but looked like they were attempting to get back to Natalia despite the injured wing, and Rachel was pulling Annabeth inside the helicopter.

An idea popped into her head.

"Treasure!" Natalia called.

It was a shout of sheer desperation. Natalia knew that Silena had taken Treasure back to Camp to get Clarisse, and Pegasi only responded to taxi cab whistles or Percy's callings since he could talk to horses. Natalia didn't have time to make a whistle and she definitely couldn't talk to horses. But as she held onto the helicopter with only a couple of fingers, she had no other options.

The white Pegasus suddenly appeared out of the sky, his gold specks glinting in the sunlight. Natalia let out a laugh of relief. He swooped underneath Natalia and allowed her to mount him while still in the air. She looked down and gave Percy a thumbs up, and he landed Guido so his wing could be treated.

Natalia held onto Treasure as the Pegasus dove out of the way. The helicopter looked like it was about to slam into the side of the building until it miraculously righted itself. It spun in a circle and hovered for a moment before slowly coming to a land in the middle of Fifth Avenue. Natalia landed Treasure right by the helicopter just in time to see Annabeth at the controls, Percy stood next to Natalia and the Pegasus as the side door opened.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare climbed out of the helicopter while dragging the pilot along with her. She was still dressed for vacation in beach shorts, a flowy t-shirt, and sandals. Her red curls were tangled and she looked a little green from what had just happened.

Annabeth followed her out, and Percy stared at her in awe. "I didn't know you could fly a helicopter."

"Neither did I," she replied. "My dad's crazy into aviation. Plus, Daedalus had some notes on flying machines. I just took my best guess on the controls."

"You saved my life," Rachel breathed out.

Annabeth flexed her injured shoulder. "Yeah, well . . . let's not make a habit of it. What are you doing here, Dare? Don't you know better than to fly into a war zone?"

"I—" Rachel glanced at Percy. "I had to be here. I knew Percy was in trouble."

"Got that right," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some injured friends I've got to tend to. Glad you could stop by, Rachel."

"Annabeth—" Percy began.

She stormed off.

Natalia cleared her throat. "I — uh, I'm gonna go get Treasure some water. Maybe check on the Apollo Cabin." She nodded at the redhead. "Nice to see you, Rachel. Just . . . next time, give us a heads up before dropping into our battle."

Rachel gave her a forced smile. Natalia returned one and urged Treasure forewords, the Pegasus trotting over to the Apollo Cabin's field hospital. She slid off and immediately put her hand on the horse's snout. Treasure nudged her hand affectionately.

"Did you get Silena back to Camp?" Natalia inquired.

The horse nodded, seeming to understand her.

"How'd that go?"

Treasure's eyes glinted. Not well.

"I was afraid of that." Natalia sighed and pet her Pegasus. "Thank you for saving my life, Treasure. I owe you one. You're the best Pegasus ever."

The horse nickered as if to say I know, duh. Natalia smiled and ducked her head inside the Apollo hospital, determined to find water for Treasure, get some ambrosia for the cut on her cheek, and maybe take a nap. Gods knew she needed one.

»»---------------------►

NATALIA'S NAP WAS short lived. Of course it was, because why would anything go right in her life? Somewhere behind the United Nations compound, an angry roar of a Drakon waking shook the city. Natalia awoke and shared a concerned look with Will Solace who was sitting by her makeshift bed. She scrambled up and ran out of the hospital while tapping her silver bracelet on the way. Treasure was nowhere to be found, but Natalia was glad that her Pegasus had gotten out of harm's way.

"Tals!" Percy's voice called.

She ran over to him, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia, who were outside the Empire State Building while gripping her bow tightly. "We're so fucked," she breathed out.

"Yeah, I'd say so," Grover agreed nervously.

They were all in bad shape. The Hephaestus Cabin was completely out of Greek fire. Meanwhile, the Apollo Cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. All of them had already taken so much ambrosia and nectar that they didn't dare to take another taste of the Godly food. There were only sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, and six Satyrs left in fighting condition, while the rest had taken refuge on Olympus. The Party Ponies tried to form ranks but kept staggering and giggling from the amount of root beer they drank.

Chiron trotted up to them with Rachel on his back. Natalia raised an eyebrow. The Centaur never really gave anyone a ride, especially not a mortal.

"Your friend here has some useful insights, Percy," he announced.

Rachel blushed a shade of pink. "Just some things I saw in my head."

"A Drakon. A Lydian Drakon, to be exact. The oldest and most dangerous kind."

Percy stared at Rachel. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not sure," she admitted. "But this Drakon has a particular fate. It will be killed by a child of Ares."

Annabeth crossed her arms in annoyance. "How can you possibly know that?"

"I just saw it. I can't explain."

Percy sighed. "Well, let's hope you're wrong, because we're a little short on children of Ares . . ."

He suddenly cursed in Ancient Greek.

"What's wrong, Fish-Boy?" Natalia questioned.

"The spy," he answered. "Kronos said, We know they cannot beat this Drakon. 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—"

"I've already done it," Chiron interrupted. "Blackjack is on his way. But if Silena wasn't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able—"

Another roar made the ground tremble. It sounded eerily close to them.

"Rachel, get inside the building," Percy demanded.

"I want to stay," she argued.

The sun disappeared behind a shadow. Across the street, the Drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, making a thousand windows shatter.

Rachel turned pale. "On a second thought, I'll be inside."

Chiron took Rachel back into the Empire State Building. Natalia looked back to the Drakon and gritted her teeth.

Let Natalia preface this by saying Drakons are not the same as dragons. Drakons are much older and much larger than dragons. They look like giant serpents, most don't have wings, and most don't breathe fire. However, all of them are poisonous. They're immensely strong and their scales are harder than titanium. Their eyes can paralyze people in a holy-fucking-shit-this-enormous-snake-is-going-to-eat-me kind of way. Camp Half-Blood provided classes to train for fighting a Drakon, but it wasn't enough to prepare Natalia for this. The Drakon, as thick as a school bus, was slithering down the side of a building with yellow eyes and razor sharp teeth.

The enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. They had tried their best to push cars out of the way, but it just made it easier for the enemies to approach. The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously while Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting at them to think about victory and root beer.

"I'LL TAKE THE DRAKON!" Percy yelled loudly. "Everyone else, hold the line against the army!"

Annabeth and Natalia stood on either side of Percy. The blonde's eyes were red underneath her owl helmet.

"Will you two help me?" Percy inquired.

"That's what I do," Annabeth replied miserably. "I help my friends."

Natalia felt the tension in the air, but she decided to diffuse it. "Remember when the three of us fought that bitch Kampê in the Battle of the Labyrinth? It's just like that . . . well, not really, but we can fight the Drakon. The three of us. I know we can." She looked to Percy with a raised eyebrow. "What do you want us to do?"

"Annabeth, go invisible. Look for weak links in its armor while Tals and I keep it busy. Just be careful." Percy whistled. "Mrs. O'Leary, heel!"

"ROOOF!"

Natalia smiled at the sight of the Hellhound. She hadn't seen the dog in a while. Mrs. O'Leary leaped over a line of Centaurs and licked Percy's face.

Percy drew Riptide, Natalia raised her bow, and Annabeth unsheathed her knife. And together, they charged at the monster.

The Drakon was three stories above them, its eyes sizing up their forces. Centaurs froze in fear whenever it looked at them. Then, suddenly, the enemy crashed into the Party Ponies from the north. Their lines broke and the Drakon swallowed three Californian Centaurs in one gulp before anybody could do anything about it.

Mrs. O'Leary — a deadly black shadow with sharp teeth and claws — launched herself into the air. Normally a pouncing Hellhound is a sight that would frighten people down to their bones, but Mrs. O'Leary looked like a tiny puppy next to the Drakon. She sunk her teeth into the monster's throat but didn't even make a dent. Her claws did no damage to the scales. The only thing she was able to do was knock the Drakon off the building with her weight. It flailed awkwardly and crashed into the sidewalk. For a moment it was a mess of Hellhound and serpent thrashing. Then the Drakon tried to bite Mrs. O'Leary but the Hellhound got out of the way. Poison spewed everywhere and melted Centaurs and a couple monsters into dust. Mrs. O'Leary got behind the serpent's head and began to scratch and bite.

"Ready, Tals?" Percy inquired.

Natalia shook her head. "No, not really."

"Cool. YAAAH!"

Percy plunged Riptide into the monster's left eye while Natalia shot a volley of arrows into the other. The Drakon hissed and reared back to strike, but Percy and Natalia rolled in opposite directions. It bit a large chunk out of the pavement and tried to look in the direction of the two Demigods based on smell because it was now blinded. Mrs. O'Leary rushed in and leaped on its head, scratching and growling.

From what Natalia could tell, the rest of the battle wasn't going too hot. The Centaurs panicked under the army of Giants and demons. An occasional Camp Half-Blood t-shirt ran into the sea of fighting and quickly disappeared. Arrows screamed as they flew. Fire exploded in waves across both armies, but the action was retreating across the street to the Empire State Building. They were losing ground terribly fast.

Annabeth suddenly materialized on the Drakon's back. As she drove her bronze knife in between a chink of its scales, her invisibility cap rolled off her head. The Drakon roared and began to coil around, knocking Annabeth off its back as it did so. Natalia and Percy ran over to her just as the blonde hit the ground. The two dragged her away as the serpent rolled, crushing a lamppost right where she had just been.

"Thanks," Annabeth said.

"I told you to be careful!" Percy scolded.

"Yeah, well, DUCK!"

Annabeth tackled Natalia and Percy as the Drakon's teeth snapped above their heads. Mrs. O'Leary tried to get its attention by body slamming into its face as the three rolled out of the way.

Their allies were now backed up to the doors of the Empire State Building. The entire army surrounded them. They had officially run out of options. No more help was coming through. Natalia, Percy, and Annabeth would have to retreat before they were cut off from Mount Olympus completely.

Suddenly, Natalia heard a rumbling coming from the south — chariot wheels.

"ARES!" a girl's voice shouted.

Natali had never been more glad to see the Ares Cabin in her entire life. A dozen war chariots, each bearing a red banner with a boar's head, charged into battle. They were pulled by skeletal horses with manes of fire. There was a total of thirty fresh warriors, all lowering their lances at once. Their armor gleamed and their eyes blazed with hate.

"The children of Ares!" Annabeth exclaimed in amazement. "How did Rachel know?"

Leading the charge was a girl in familiar red armor. Her face was covered with a boar's head helm, but Natalia could recognize her from anywhere. Clarisse La Rue herself, holding a spear that cracked with electricity, had come to the rescue. Half of her chariots charged towards the monster army while Clarisse led the others straight to the Drakon.

The serpent reared back and threw off Mrs. O'Leary. She hit the side of a building with a yelp. Percy went to go run towards her, but the Drakon had already focused on its new threat. Despite both of its eyes being blinded, the monster was still so terrifying that two chariot drivers froze. They veered into a line of cars while the other four chariots kept charging. The Drakon bared its fangs to strike, only to get a mouthful of Celestial Bronze javelins.

"EEESSSSS!!!!!" the Drakon squealed.

"Ares, to me!" Clarisse demanded.

Natalia's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. Her voice sounded a lot shriller than it normally was. Even though Clarisse was fighting, it still didn't sound like her.

Apparently, the arrival of six chariots gave the Party Ponies the strength to keep fighting. They rallied at the doors of the Empire State Building momentarily throwing the enemy army into a state of condition.

Clarisse's chariots circles the Drakon. Lances broke against its scales. Skeletal horses breathed fire and whinnied. Two more chariots overturned, but the Ares warriors leaped onto their feet and charged at the Drakon with their swords. They stabbed chinks in its scales and dodged poison spray like they were trained for it — which of course, they were.

The violent daughter of Ares was right in front of the Drakon. Clarisse stabbed at its face, trying to kill it. However, things started to go terribly wrong. The Drakon ate an Ares camper in one gulp, knocked aside another, and sprayed poison at a third. That camper retreated in a panic with his armor melting.

"We have to help," Annabeth voiced.

She was right, as per usual. The three of them were just watching the Ares Cabin amazement. Mrs. O'Leary tried to get up but yelped in pain. One of her huge paws was bleeding.

"Stay back, girl," Percy told the Hellhound. "You've done enough already."

Natalia, Percy, and Annabeth jumped on the Drakon's back and sprinted towards its head in attempt to draw its attention away from Clarisse. Her siblings threw javelins which broke against the monster's scales. Some, however, lodged into the Drakon's teeth. It snapped its jaws together until its mouth was filled with green blood, foamy yellow poison, and splintered weapons.

"You can do it!" Percy yelled to Clarisse. "A child of Ares is destined to kill it!"

As Natalia stared at Clarisse, she noticed something wasn't right. Through her war helmet, only her eyes were visible, but they were blue and shone with fear. Clarisse was never afraid. And she certainly didn't have blue eyes.

"ARES!" she cried in that strangely shrill voice, leveling her spear and charging at the Drakon.

Percy must've noticed something was off, too. "No. WAIT!"

The Drakon looked down at her and immediately spit poison directly in her face. She screamed and fell.

"No!" Natalia shouted.

Her and Annabeth jumped off the monster's back while Percy continued to fight it. Natalia quickly ran over to Clarisse and dropped to her knees while slinging her bow over her shoulder. However, she suddenly noticed that this camper was not Clarisse. She was much thinner and shorter than Clarisse was.

Suddenly, another flying chariot landed on Fifth Avenue.

"NO!" a girl's voice screamed, shaken with grief. "Curse you, WHY?"

Natalia looked back. It was the actual Clarisse. She ran over to the girl on the ground while Annabeth, Natalia, and the Ares campers were trying to unfasten her helmet.

The real Clarisse held the girl in her arms. "WHY?"

Chris Rodriguez ran over from the landed flying chariot. Him and Clarisse must have ridden it here from Camp, chasing the Ares campers who'd mistakenly followed the other girl, thinking it was Clarisse. Natalia's eyes drifted in between real Clarisse and fake Clarisse.

Natalia pressed her hands to her head as it spun in circles. "I'm so fucking confused."

Percy suddenly appeared behind her from his fight with the Drakon. "You and me both, Tals."

"Look out!" Chris warned.

The Drakon had removed its head from the brick wall. Instead of looking to Percy, it turned in the direction of Chris' voice. It bared its fangs at the large group of Demigods.

Real Clarisse — her face blotchy with tears — looked up at the Drakon with an expression of absolute hate. "YOU WANT DEATH? WELL, COME ON!"

She took her spear from the fallen girl. Without anything but her one weapon, she charged at the Drakon. Clarisse leaped aside as the monster struck, pulverizing the ground in front of her. With incredible agility, Clarisse leaped onto the monster's head. She drove her electric spear into one of its blinded eyes with so much force it shattered the shaft, releasing all of the weapon's magic powers. Electricity arced across the Drakon's head which caused its whole body to shudder. Clarisse jumped off and rolled to safety as the Drakon's mouth boiled smoke. Its flesh dissolved, leaving nothing behind a hollow scaly tunnel of armor.

Natalia blinked. Never in her life had she seen someone take down a monster that size single handedly. However, Clarisse didn't seem to care. She ran back to the wounded girl.

Finally, Annabeth managed to remove the girl's helmet. All of them gathered around: the Ares Cabin, Chris, Clarisse, Natalia, Annabeth, and Percy. For a moment, nothing else — not even the rest of the battle — existed besides their small circle and the fallen girl.

Her once beautiful features were badly burned from poison. No amount of nectar or ambrosia was going to save her. And Natalia, her heart breaking, looked down at the dying face of Silena Beauregard.

Clarisse cradled Silena's head in her lap. "What were you thinking?"

Silena tried to swallow despite her dry and cracked lips. "Wouldn't . . . listen. Cabin would . . . only follow you."

"So you stole my armor. You waited until Chris and I went out on patrol; you stole my armor and pretended to be me." Clarisse glared at her siblings harshly. "And NONE of you noticed?"

The Ares campers developed a sudden interest in their black combat boots.

"Don't blame them," Silena argued. "They wanted to . . . to believe I was you."

"You stupid Aphrodite girl," Clarisse sobbed. "You charged a Drakon? Why?"

A tear streamed down Silena's face. "All my fault. The Drakon, Charlie's death . . . Camp endangered—"

"Stop it! That's not true."

Silena opened her hand. Natalia's teary eyes widened. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm: the mark of Kronos. Her heart felt like it was being clenched by a Hyperborean Giant.

"You were the spy," Percy realized.

Silena attempted to nod. "Before . . . before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so . . . charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised . . . he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn't hurt . . . Charlie. He lied to me."

Natalia glanced worryingly at Annabeth. Her face was pale and looked like someone had just yanked the world out from under her feet.

The battle still raged on behind them.

Clarisse scowled at her siblings. "Go, help the Centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!"

They scrambled off to join the fight.

Silena's hand reached up and touched a stray piece of Natalia's hair. "Your braid . . . didn't do it tight enough."

"Nonsense," Natalia scoffed, a tear falling down her cheek. "It's stayed in for days. I won't take it out until we win the battle, I promise."

Silena took a heavy, painful breath. "Forgive me."

"You're not dying," Clarisse insisted.

"Charlie . . ." Silena's eyes seemed a million miles away. "See Charlie . . ."

Silena Beauregard did not speak again.

Clarisse pulled her close and wept. Chris put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.

After a painful moment, Annabeth closed Silena's eyes. "We have to fight. She gave her life to help us. We have to honor her."

Clarisse sniffled, wiping her nose. "She was a hero, understand? A hero."

Percy nodded in agreement. "Come on, Clarisse."

She picked up a sword that one of her fallen siblings had left behind. "Kronos is going to pay."

Natalia wiped the tears off of her face. With eyes glowing silver, she charged back into battle.

She didn't want to admit it, but Clarisse was indeed the one to drive the enemy away from the Empire State Building. Clarisse fought like a demon even without her armor. She rode her chariot straight into the Titan's army and completely demolished everything in her path.

Clarisse was so inspiring that the panic-struck Centaurs began to rally. The Hunters received arrows from the fallen (and got the ones Natalia shot by their feet for them to use) and shot volley after volley. Meanwhile, the Ares Cabin continued to do their favorite thing, which was slash and hack at enemies. It worked so well that the monsters retreated back to Thirty-Fifth Street.

The daughter of Ares steered her chariot up to the Drakon carcass and looped a grappling line through its eye sockets. Clarisse lashed her horses and charged after the enemy, yelling insults and daring the monsters to cross her. As she rode, an aura of red fire flickered around her. Natalia, breathing heavily, watched her with her bow slung across her shoulder.

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

Clarisse was just as invincible as Percy with his curse of Achilles. Monsters threw spears and arrows, but nothing touched 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 protested. "Stop it. Withdraw!"

"What's the matter, Titan Lord? BRING IT ON!"

None of the enemy retaliated. Monsters began to fall back behind a Dracaenae shield well. Clarisse continued to drive in circles around Fifth Avenue, the Drakon carcass scraping against the pavement.

While she had her fun, the army of Camp Half-Blood brought the wounded inside the Empire State Building. Even long after the enemy had disappeared from sight, Clarisse kept riding up and down the avenue, demanding that Kronos fought her.

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

Natalia nodded. "Anybody left at Camp?"

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

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

"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 told him. "Annabeth, Percy, Natalia, you should go to Olympus. I have a feeling they'll need you up there — to set up the final defense."

Natalia knew she was right. She sighed and walked into the lobby of the Empire State Building. The doorman was gone, leaving nothing behind but his book facedown on the desk. Besides that, the lobby was bustling with people — wounded campers, Hunters, and Satyrs.

Connor and Travis Stoll met them by the elevators.

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

Percy nodded. "She died a hero."

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

"That's it. End of story."

"Right. 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 admitted. "Any way to disable the elevator?"

"It's magic," Travis replied. "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. They'll just keep coming. Eventually they'll overwhelm us."

"There are no reinforcements," Connor complained.

Percy looked out the window at Mrs. O'Leary, who was breathing against the glass doors and smearing them with Hellhound drool. "Maybe that's not true."

Leaving it at that, Percy walked outside to his dog. Natalia shrugged at Annabeth, Connor, and Travis. She waited for a couple moments until Percy came back in the lobby, Mrs. O'Leary now slipping into the shadows. Natalia had an inkling of where she was going.

Natalia, Annabeth, and Percy walked back towards the elevator, but they saw Grover kneeling over a fat wounded Satyr.

"Leneus!" Percy exclaimed.

He looked terrible. His lips were blue, there was a broken spear driven into his stomach, and his legs were twisted at a painful angle. He tried to focus on them, but didn't really see them.

"Grover?" Leneus murmured.

Grover blinked back tears, despite every horrible thing Leneus said about him. "I'm here, Leneus."

"Did . . . did we win?"

"Um . . . yes," Grover lied. "Thanks to you, Leneus. We drove the enemy away."

"Told you," he mumbled. "True leader. True . . ."

Leneus' eyes closed for the last time.

Grover gulped. "Natalia?"

"Of course," she responded gently, kneeling next to Grover.

While Grover put his hand on Leneus' forehead and spoke an ancient blessing, Natalia summoned moonlight in her hand and sprinkled it over the Satyr — a blessing of Artemis. His body melted until only a tiny sapling in a pile of fresh soil was left.

"A laurel. Oh, that lucky old goat." Grover scooped up the sapling in his hands. "I . . . I should plant him. In Olympus, in the gardens."

Natalia put her hand on Grover's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "We're heading up to Olympus right now. Come on, let's go."

Happy music played as the elevator rose. Natalia remembered the first time she went to Mount Olympus. It was after that stupid quest to retrieve Zeus' lightning bolt. Only Percy and Natalia went while Annabeth and Grover went back to Camp. Natalia was glad the two were with them now. She had a horrible feeling it would be the last adventure they'd have together — just the four of them.

"Percy, Natalia," Annabeth said quietly. "You were right about Luke."

It was the first time she'd spoken since Silena died. The blonde kept her eyes fixed on the elevator floors as they blinked into the magical numbers. Natalia, Percy, and Grover all exchanged glances.

"Annabeth," Percy began. "I'm sorry—"

"You and Nat tried to tell me." Her voice was incredibly shaky. "Luke is no good. I didn't believe either of you until . . . until I heard how he'd used Silena. Now I know. I hope you're happy."

"I'm not," Natalia replied softly.

Annabeth put her head against the elevator wall and wouldn't look at them. Natalia went to reach out to her, but Percy grabbed her hand and pulled it back. He sent her a look that said not right now. Natalia nodded slowly while dropping her hand.

Grover cradled the laurel sapling in his hands. "Well . . . sure good to be together again. Arguing. Almost dying. Abject terror. Oh, look. It's our floor."

The doors dinged and the four stepped out onto the aerial walkway. Natalia's heart sank. Depressing was not a word usually used to describe Mount Olympus, but that's what it looked like right now. No fires lit the braziers and all the windows were dark. The streets were completely empty and doors were barred. Only the parks were full of movement, which had field hospitals set up. Will and the other Apollo campers scrambled around to care for the wounded. Naiads and Dryads helped them by using nature magic songs to heal burns and poison.

While Grover went to plant the laurel sapling, Natalia, Annabeth, and Percy went around to try and 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 the Apollo Cabin. Natalia's eyes filled with tears. She didn't know who was underneath, but she was sure her heart wouldn't be able to take it. Nevertheless, they all tried to find positive things to say.

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

"You look great," Annabeth said to another.

"Cheer the fuck up, you beautiful loser!" Natalia encouraged.

"Leneus turned into a shrub!" Grover voiced to a groaning Satyr.

They soon found Pollux, son of Dionysus, propped up against a tree with a broken arm.

"I can still fight with the other hand," Pollux stated through gritted teeth.

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

"But—"

"Promise me to stay safe, okay? Personal favor."

Pollux frowned uncertainly. Natalia raised an eyebrow at Percy. Neither of them were good friends or anything. However, Pollux agreed and sat back down, looking kind of relieved.

Natalia, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover kept walking to the palace. That's where Kronos would inevitably go. The first thing on his list would be to destroy the throne room, the center of the Gods' power.

As soon as the bronze doors creaked open, the four stepped inside. Their footsteps echoed on the marble floor. Up above, the constellations twinkled coldly. Hestia — now in the form of a little girl in brown robes — shivered at the edge of her hearth, which was now dulled to a red glow. The Ophiotaurus swam around sadly in his sphere of water, half-heartedly mooing when he saw Percy. In the dim firelight, the thrones cast evil-looking shadows onto the floor. And right at the foot of Zeus' throne was Rachel, holding a Greek ceramic vase.

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

The redhead focused on him with bright eyes, yet she seemed far away. "I found it. It's Pandora's jar, isn't it?"

"Please put down the jar," Percy pleaded.

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

"Rachel."

That seemed to snap her out of it. Rachel held out the jar to Percy and he took it.

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

"But—" Grover began.

Natalia looked at him, her eyes flashing silver before going back to brown.

"Right!" he yelped. "I love traps!"

Natalia and Annabeth dragged him out of the throne room.

The Satyr looked at Natalia with a hurt expression. "I hate it when you do that."

Natalia ruffled his curly hair. "Oh, come on, you know I love you."

Grover swatted her hand away. "Yeah, yeah. I love you too, Nat."

The three of them wandered around the palace aimlessly, looking at beautiful architecture and amazing works of art. They could only go so far before completely invading the Gods' privacy, so they decided to head back. When they walked into to the throne room again, they stopped and stared at Percy, Hestia, and Rachel. Percy had a strange look on his face.

"Oh," Natalia said. "Um . . . we can leave again if you'd like."

Percy didn't respond and only looked to Rachel. "You're not going to do anything stupid, are you? I mean . . . you talked to Chiron, right?"

She gave him a faint smile. "You're worried about me doing something stupid?"

"But I mean . . . will you be okay?"

"I don't know. That kind of depends on whether you save the world, hero."

Percy picked up Pandora's jar and held out it out to Hestia. "Hestia, I give this to you as an offering."

The Goddess tilted her head at him. "I am the least of the Gods. Why would you trust me with this?"

"You're the last Olympian, and the most important."

"And why is that, Percy Jackson?"

"Because Hope survives best at the hearth. Guard it for me, and I won't be tempted to give up again."

Hestia smiled. When she took the jar in her hands, it began to glow, and the hearth fire burned a little brighter. "Well done, Percy Jackson. May the Gods bless you."

"We're about to find out." Percy looked to Natalia, Annabeth, and Grover. "Come on, guys."

He marched towards Poseidon's throne. It stood right next to Zeus', but it was not nearly as grand. The throne was a molded black leather seat attached to a swivel pedestal. Iron rings sat on the side for fastening a fishing pole (or a trident). It basically looked like a chair on a boat you would use to go deep fishing. Gods were about twenty feet tall, and Percy could just reach the edge of the seat if he stretched his arms.

"Help me up," Percy told them.

"Are you crazy?" Annabeth questioned.

"Probably."

"Percy," Grover cut in. "The Gods really don't appreciate people sitting in their thrones. I mean like turn-you-into-a-pile-of-ashes don't appreciate it."

"I need to get his attention. It's the only way."

Natalia, Annabeth, and Grover exchanged uneasy looks.

She sighed and shook her head. "Oh, this'll get his attention, all right."

They linked their arms to make a step and boosted Percy up onto the throne. He looked like a natural up there, almost as if he was born to be a God. Natalia plucked at her bowstring nervously as she watched him. Percy seemed to be having a long conversation, but he was turning pale and was beginning to smoke. After a long few minutes, Percy slipped down from the throne.

Grover studied him nervously. "Are you okay? You turned pale and . . . you started smoking."

"I did not!" Percy protested.

Natalia raised an eyebrow and pointed to his arms. The hair on them was singed and steam was curling off his shirt sleeves.

"If you'd sat there any longer, you would've spontaneously combusted," Annabeth told him. "I hope the conversation was worth it?"

"Moo," the Ophiotaurus let out from his sphere of water.

"We'll find out soon," Percy answered.

Suddenly, the throne room doors swung open. Thalia marched in with a snapped bow and an empty quiver. Natalia straightened up and frowned.

"You've got to get down there," Thalia urged. "The enemy is advancing. And Kronos is leading them."

They quickly went down the elevator and back onto the streets. However, it was too late. Campers and Hunters alike lay wounded on the ground. Clarisse and her chariot was frozen in a block of ice, probably from a Hyperborean Giant. The Party Ponies were nowhere to be found — either they ran away or had been disintegrated.

The Titan army formed a ring around the Empire State Building, standing about twenty feet from the doors. Kronos' vanguard was in the lead, which included Ethan Nakamura, the Dracaena wearing green armor, and two Hyperboreans. Prometheus was nowhere to be found. The Titan Kronos stood right in front with his scythe in his hand. Standing in his way was . . .

"Chiron," Annabeth muttered, her voice trembling.

He didn't answer them. Chiron had an arrow notched right at Kronos' face. Kronos turned to look at Percy, and he froze. Natalia felt herself freeze as well. Gritting her teeth, she tried to remove her bow from her shoulder, but it was no use. She was moving in slow motion.

Kronos looked back to Chiron. "Step aside, little son."

Luke calling Chiron little son was pretty fucking weird. However, Kronos said son like it was the worst insult.

"I'm afraid not," Chiron refused.

His tone was steely calm, just like it always was when he got really angry. Natalia, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia tried to move, but couldn't.

Natalia's eyes suddenly widened. "Heads up, Chiron!"

The Dracaena queen had become impatient and charged. Chiron let his arrow fly, and it hit the queen right between the eyes. She vaporized instantly and her empty armor clattered onto the asphalt. Chiron reached for another arrow, but his quiver was empty. Natalia wanted to throw him some but she was still stuck. The Centaur dropped his bow and drew his sword, his least favorite weapon.

Kronos stepped forwards with a chuckle. Chiron's horse half skittered nervously and his tail flickered back and forth.

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

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

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

Natalia froze, and it wasn't because of Kronos' power.

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

And in the moment where Kronos looked confused, Chiron attacked. He feinted and struck Kronos' face. Despite his good maneuver, Kronos was quick. He had inherited all of Luke's fighting skills when they merged bodies. Kronos knocked Chiron's sword away and yelled BACK! A blinding white light exploded between the Titan and the Centaur. Chiron flew backwards into the side of the building with such force a wall crumbled and collapsed on him.

"No!" Annabeth wailed.

Kronos' freezing spell broke. They ran for Chiron, but there was no sign of him. Natalia pulled at the bricks with Thalia and Percy, tears filling her eyes. A ripple of ugly laughter ran through the Titan's army.

Annabeth turned to Luke. "YOU! To think that I . . . that I thought—"

She drew her knife.

"Anna, no!" Natalia warned, turning from the pile of bricks.

Natalia tried to take her arm, but she shook her grasp off and charged at Kronos. Kronos' smug smile faded. Maybe some part of Luke that was still in there was remembering he used to like and take care of this girl when she was little. Annabeth plunged her knife between the straps of his armor right at his collar bone. It should've sunk into his chest, but it bounced off instead. She doubled over while clutching her arm to her stomach. The rebound could've been strong enough to dislocate her bad shoulder.

Percy and Natalia rushed up and yanked Annabeth back as Kronos swung his scythe. Natalia had an arm in her grasp while Percy's arms were around her waist. She thrashed and fought against them, much like she had done in the Sea of Monsters.

Tears streamed through the dust on Annabeth's face. "I HATE you!"

Natalia wasn't completely sure who she was talking to — her, Percy, Luke, or Kronos.

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

"It's my fight too, Percy! And Natalia's, for that matter!"

Kronos laughed. That only made Natalia angrier. She let go of Annabeth and stepped forwards, removing her bow from her shoulder and notching a Celestial Bronze arrow right at the Titan.

Kronos looked down at her. "And this is the daughter of Artemis? Everyone warned me that you were a threat, but it doesn't seem like you are."

Natalia's eyes glowed bright silver and she glared at him, making him falter. "Oh, you won't know what hit you, buddy."

"So much spirit. I can see why Luke wanted to spare you and the blonde girl. Unfortunately, that won't be possible."

He raised his scythe. Natalia was just about to let her arrow fly when a dog howl pierced the air behind the Titan's army. She stopped what she was doing and hesitantly lowered her weapon.

"Mrs. O'Leary?" Percy called.

The enemy army stirred uneasily. Suddenly, they began to part to clear a path through the street like someone was forcing them to do so. Soon enough, there was a clear aisle down the center of Fifth Avenue. At the end of the block was Percy's Hellhound and a small figure in black armor.

"Nico?" Percy questioned.

Mrs. O'Leary bounded towards Percy, completely ignoring them growling monsters on either side of her. "ROWWF!"

Nico di Angelo strode forwards. The Titan army fell back away from him like he radiated death, which he definitely did. His armor was intimidating, but through the face guard of his skull shaped helmet, he smiled.

"Got your message," Nico announced. "Is it too late to join the party?"

Natalia laughed and held up her hand for a high-five, which he obliged to. "Hell no, di Angelo. You came right on time."

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

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

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

Nico drew his Stygian Iron sword. "I don't agree."

The ground rumbled and cracks appeared everywhere. Skeletal hands grasped the air as the dead clawed their way up into the world of the living. There must have been thousands of them. As they emerged, the enemy army got jumpy and began to back away.

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

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

Hades was dressed in black armor and a cloak the color of blood. Resting atop his head was the helm of darkness: his crown that radiated pure terror. As Natalia watched, it changed shape — a dragon head, a circle of black flames, and a wreath of human bones. But that wasn't the scary part. The helm ignited Natalia's worst nightmares and her most secret fears. She got the sudden urge to crawl into a hole and hide from it. The enemy army apparently felt the same way. Only Kronos' power and authority kept his army from fleeing.

Hades gave the Titan a cold smile. "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. My son here convinced me that perhaps I should prioritize my list of enemies." Hades 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 isthat you were a TERRIBLE father."

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

"Mother!" Persephone complained.

Hades drew his sword, which was a double edged Stygian Iron 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 and circled around the Empire State Building. A wall of force shimmered along the fissure line, separating Kronos' vanguard and the four Demigods and Satyr from the two armies.

"What's he doing?" Percy inquired.

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

"Well, that's not good," Natalia muttered.

Outside of the barrier, car engines roared to life and pedestrians woke up. They stared up at the monsters and zombies around them. Natalia didn't know what they were seeing through the Mist, but she guessed it was pretty scary. Car doors opened. And at the end of the block, Sally Jackson and Paul Blofis got out of the Prius.

"No," Percy pleaded. "Don't . . ."

Sally could see through the Mist. Her expression informed Natalia that she understood how serious things were. She then locked eyes with Percy, said something to Paul, and they both raced towards them.

Fortunately, Hades created a distraction. He charged at the wall of force, but his chariot overturned as he crashed into it. Hades cursed as he got to his feet and began blasting the wall with black energy. The barrier continued to hold.

"ATTACK!" he ordered.

The dead army clashed with the Titan army, and Fifth Avenue exploded into absolute fucking chaos. Mortals screamed and ran for cover. Demeter waved her hand, turning an entire column of Giants into a wheat field. Persephone changed the spears of the Dracaenae into sunflowers. Nico fought his way through the enemy, trying to protect the mortals as best he could. Percy's parents continued to run towards him while dodging monsters and zombies.

"Nakamura," Kronos announced. "Attend me. Giants — deal with them."

He pointed at Natalia, Annabeth, Percy, Thalia, and Grover. Then he ducked into the lobby of the Empire State Building. Natalia's jaw dropped. They fought all of this, just for it to be that easy?

Anger turned her vision red. Natalia rose her bow and shot an arrow right into the first Hyperboren Giant's heart as Percy stabbed its backside. He froze and shattered into a pile of ice shards. The second Giant breathed frost at Annabeth. She was barely able to stand, but Grover pulled her out of the way. Thalia sprinted up the Giant's back and sliced her hunting knives across its blue neck.

Natalia looked outside the magic barrier. Nico was trying to fight his way to Sally and Paul. They weren't waiting for help, however. Paul took up a sword from a fallen hero and stabbed a Dracaena in the gut. She disintegrated.

"Paul?" Percy asked in amazement.

He turned towards him and grinned widely. "I hope that was a monster I just killed. I was a Shakespearean actor in college! Picked up a little swordplay!"

Suddenly, a Laistrygonian Giant charged at Sally. She was rummaging in an abandoned police car with her back turned.

"Mom!" Percy yelled.

When the monster was almost on top of her, she whirled around and blasted the Giant back into Nico's sword with a shotgun. Natalia's hand flew to her mouth. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"Nice one," Paul commented.

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

"Be careful, Nico." Natalia then looked back to Percy and nodded her head towards the Empire State Building. "Come on, Fish-Boy. We have a Titan to finish."

Percy nodded and then looked back at the rubble pile on the side of the building. Natalia gasped. How could she forget about Chiron?

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

The Hellhound bounded over to the pile and started to dig. And with that, Natalia Flynn, Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, and Grover Underwood raced for the elevator.

★彡

god is a woman and her name is natalia flynn

aNyWaYs I TOLD you this chapter was a long one

and "blonde hair and blue eyes isn't my type" . . . oh honey YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S ABOUT TO HIT YOU