Reyna's POV

Walking into an Amazon base was certainly an experience. Weapons were practically everywhere as dozens of girls sprinted about. It looked to be overall chaos. Many of them were sporting injuries and it was clear that a beating had been taken on their part.

It was like trying to walk through a labyrinth to find the center of what was going on. At last I stumbled upon the main chamber of the base. This was even more chaotic than the tunnels.

At the center of the chaos however, was a round table strewn with maps of the area with a large group of people gathered around it. I spotted a few familiar faces but I couldn't recall any names.

After careful observation I managed to pin point Hylla amongst the ranks. "Hylla."

Her attention shifted from the maps to the direction of where her name had been called. It was almost comical seeing how quickly her expression of intense focus shifted into a smile and her posture turned aloof.

"Nice of you to show up," she grinned, watching me jog over. I was expecting a quick hug but Hylla was always one for surprises. She hugged me tightly, my spine cracking from the pressure. "Man, I've missed you."

"I missed you too. You're in one piece right? Nothing too bad's happened?" I asked pulling back to study her appearance. She rolled her eyes and waved off the questions.

"I'm fine. Now get over here. You're the smart one and I need your help deciding what our next tactical move should be." Those surrounding the maps shifted creating just enough space for me to squeeze in. The maps had dark markers all over its surface.

"I'm assuming this is where the darkness has set in?" By Hylla's conformational nod I shifted to study the lay out. There didn't appear to be any organization what so ever but as I looked closer I spotted an area where the masses seemed to be thicker. "Have you investigated this area?"

"No. None of us have been able to lead a patrol close enough. A...few of the girls got caught in the weird black stuff. Encased them. We're trying to keep a safe distance," Hylla explained, her eyes shifting across the map.

"A strong electrical current should free them. It worked for Grover and I. Do you have anything strong enough to mimic lightning?" Hylla frowned in thought for a moment before turning to the girl closest to her.

"You know the metal rods with the barbed tips?" The girl nodded at her question. "They have an electrical current. Find the harpoon guns. Switch the harpoons out for the rods. We could fire from a safe distance but still give an effective shock."

"Would you like me to have Vivian help? She's the Hepheastus kid here," the girl suggested, Hylla nodded in response as two girls departed from the group to carry out their orders.

"At this point the best bet would be to corral the monsters roaming around in the outskirts and push them to the center here." I pointed at the largest black marker. "Then we fight to keep them there. That's our job. We don't attack unless we have to. We need to keep the threat at bay that way we limit our chances of anyone getting hurt. Understood?"

My eyes settled on the group and they all seemed to be on board with the plan. "Good. Get ready. Grab anyone you need. Hylla, you can separate them into patrols. You know everyone better than I do."

"Copy that." She gave me a small smile as the others were dismissed and joined the chaotic mess that was unfolding. "I heard about the prophecy."

"Hmm. News travels fast," I sighed, crossing my arms.

"Indeed. Who went with her? Jackson's kid? Di Angelo's?" Hylla asked, raising her eyebrows.

"No. Friends she met not long ago. If I'm being honest I think they're extremely unprepared...but I do have faith. Thia may not have the physical advantage but she's brilliant." Many people would doubt that as a good thing. However no one knew her like I did.

I'd seen her do some pretty ingenious things. For instance, the time she managed to coerce all three dogs into leashes, strap them to the front of a rolling office chair, and race down the street in it like a chariot. Or the time her school project was to drop an egg from an impressive height and not let it crack. There were no guidelines at all. The kids were supposed to come up with it all on their own.

Many had built pretty impressive contraptions but Thia just filled a big bucket with water, set it below the drop zone and smiled when the egg very gracefully plunked into the water. It had taken her maybe a minute of effort compared to everyone else's week of preparation. She was brilliant and an out of the box thinker. She'd figure something out even if it wasn't easy. That much I knew. That much I'd taught her.

"Rey." Hylla snapped her fingers in front of my face drawing my attention back to the situation at hand.

"Hm?" I asked glancing about.

"You okay? You zoned out," Hylla frowned.

"Just thinking." Shaking my head I tried to focus on everything that was happening.

"Alright, well everyone's ready to head out. We'll split into patrols once we're there and the monsters towards the central area like you said. After that we just hold them." Hylla spoke loud enough so the others could hear the reiterated plan.

Once things were officially settled, Hylla guided me to a long tunnel explaining where it lead. They had a whole network of systems that traversed below the earths crust. It was what made them so functional and able to travel so quickly. They really were like a colony of ants. The only difference was that they were a colony of queen ants.

"If this doesn't work I don't know what will," Hylla sighed, keeping a brisk pace.

"Neither do I. The Gods refuse to help. The meeting went awry," I explained, matching her stride.

"Those idiots don't know the extent of the threat we're dealing with. If there's no earth or mortal race they don't exist," Hylla growled. It was something we had all thought of and something we had all pointed out before but the council was stubborn.

Despite a great many of the gods who had grown more reasonable and understanding over the years a great many clung to old foolish ways. Zeus being the main culprit.

"What matters is that we try to keep things in check as best as we possibly can. Are other sectors of the earth in as much danger as we are?" I asked. Hylla didn't hesitate to answer the question.

"It's madness everywhere. I've contacted allies. We're all struggling to understand what's going on. It's like the darkness is a living thing. It's learning and adapting," she explained.

"Well if it is controlled by Chaos it's very possible that it's the embodiment of his entity which means we're only pissing him off more," I grumbled, noting that the tunnel curved sharply upwards. It wasn't long before it broke the surface and slut us out into the wilderness.

Just as planned Hylla broke everyone off into groups and they quickly dispersed. "Remember, just herd them don't kill anything unless it's a necessity."

It was in that moment that I noticed how frazzled Hylla seemed to be. My sister looked like she had millions of thoughts bouncing around in her head which wasn't normal. Hylla was equally as rational as I was at times like this. It didn't make sense for her not to compartmentalize.

It took me a moment to realize that a rather prominent and important figure when it came to organization within the Amazon ranks was gone.

"Where's Kinzie?" I asked, glancing around.

"She's back home. One of her relatives is really sick," Hylla explained. "I could really use the help though."

"That's why I'm here," I promised. Hylla smiled warmly at me and though I wasn't one for fond touches (despite Thalia's) I didn't mind her resting a hand on my cheek. She had a look of pride in her eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I couldn't ask for a better sister." Hylla seemed to realize what she'd done and quickly withdrew her hand. "Now let's get going and kick some ass like old times okay?"

"I wouldn't mind that at all but I bet I can beat you there." Hylla raised her eyebrows at the challenge and took off at a sprint.

"In your dreams hermana!" She called over her shoulder. Sighing, I took off after her following closely in pursuit.

It wasn't difficult to figure out where to go. There was an aura of darkness that pulsated through the wilderness like a haunting voice beckoning you forward. It was a trap. An illusion. A dark lullaby.

The trees looked like dark claws had slowly torn them open spilling out sappy innards. Even as we stood waiting for the others to guide their scores of monsters towards the central location you could see the black tendrils creep across the wilderness floor. They were like parasitic worms, snaking slowly across anything in their path and probing what lay in front of it. Color drained from the areas it touched like it was feeding off of nature's life force. It was both terrifying and mesmerizing.

"It's getting worse. I don't remember it moving like this," I worried, taking a few cautious steps backwards.

"Neither do I. It was relatively stationary," Hylla frowned, poking at a tree with a large stick. The dark goo like substance latched onto the branch and it began to wither. "I can't believe this."

"Neither can I but we have company coming." By the slight tremble of the ground beneath my feet I knew the hordes of monsters were being driven in our direction. It appeared that the plan was successful so far.

Hylla and I dove behind a large rock as monsters of all shapes and sizes stormed past calling frantically in strange tongues to one another.

When things seemed to have died down we carefully checked the perimeter before removing ourselves from our cover. The individual patrols were quick to reconcile on our location just as it had been planned.

"Nice work. Now, to see if we can keep things under control," Hylla sighed, tucking a piece of loose hair behind her ear.

A breeze wafted through the trees kicking up dead foliage and tossing it into the pitch black terrain. It grew stronger for a moment before freezing. Any sounds of animals ceased.

"Oh no. This isn't good." My brain shot to the conclusion seconds before it happened. "Get to cover!"

Everyone bolted for the nearest tree, log, or rock they could find while others ducked below shields. The air blasted outwards and with it was a swarm of winged creatures. It was almost like an exhale of breath, harsh and warm.

The screeching was the worst part. High pitched and ear aching. The fluttering of wings compounded with the sound. Covering my ears I glanced up to see what the threat really was.

"Carnivorous bats?" Was Hylla's disgruntled yell. The creatures had dangerous mouths full of teeth and brilliant blood colored eyes. A sharp pain flared in my calf as one sank its teeth into my flesh. Growling, I grabbed it by the back, ripped it from my leg, and smashed it into the tree.

"Forget what I said about killing. Get rid of these things!" Hylla orders, No one hesitated to snap into action. I didn't bother with my sword. I needed something with bigger surface area. Something more like a club.

Sporting a gnarled tree limb I grasped it and swung at the flying fiends. Their claws and teeth seemed to be everywhere at once and it was impossible to hit more than a few at a time.

"Baseball was never my sport," I grunted, swinging wildly. "But I'm about to get one high batting average!"

Giving a violent swing I sent a series of bats back into the tree line. If they were a baseball I was certain I'd have gotten a hole run.