CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
SILVIANA               DUVALL

Sylvie had heard of someone's life flashing before their eyes.

But she didn't think it would be like this.

Standing with her friends in a defensive ring, surrounded by giants, then looking up at an impossible vision of the sky—Sylvie could very clearly picture herself fifty years in the future.

She was sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch of a house near the coast. Percy was somehow failing to make lemonade. His hair was grey. Deep lines etched the corners of his eyes, but he was still as gorgeous as ever. Sylvie's grandchildren sat around her feet, and she was trying to explain to them what had happened on this day in Athens.

No, I'm serious, she said. Just eight demigods on the ground, and one more in the burning ship above the Acropolis. We were surrounded by thirty-foot-tall giants who were about to kill us. Then the sky opened up, and the gods descended!

Grandma, the kids said, you are full of it.

I'm not kidding! she protested. The Olympian gods came charging out of the heavens on their war chariots, trumpets blaring, swords flaming. And your great-uncle, the king of the gods, led the charge, a javelin of pure electricity crackling in his hand!

Her grandkids laughed at her. And Percy glanced over, smiling, like Would you believe it, if you hadn't been there?

But Sylvie was there. She looked up as the clouds parted over the Acropolis, and she almost assumed she needed to be wearing Jason's new glasses. Instead of blue skies, she saw black space spangled with stars, the palaces of Mount Olympus gleaming silver and gold in the background. And an army of gods charged down from on high.

It was too much to process. And it was probably better for her health that she didn't see it all. Only later would Sylvie be able to remember bits and pieces.

There was Zeus riding into battle in a golden chariot, lightning bolt the size of a telephone pole crackling in one hand. Pulling his chariot were four horses made of wind, each constantly shifting from equine to human form, trying to break free. For a split second, one took on the icy visage of Boreas. Another wore Notus's swirling crown of fire and steam. A third flashed the smug lazy smile of Zephyrus. Zeus had bound and harnessed the four wind gods themselves.

On the underbelly of the Argo II, the glass bay doors split open. The goddess Nike tumbled out, free from her golden net. She spread her glittering wings and soared to Zeus's side, taking her rightful place as his charioteer.

"MY MIND IS RESTORED!" she roared. "VICTORY TO THE GODS!"

At Zeus's left flank rode Hera, her chariot pulled by enormous peacocks, their rainbow-colored plumage so bright it gave Sylvie the spins.

Ares bellowed with glee as he thundered down on the back of a fire-breathing horse. His spear glistened red.

In the last second, before the gods reached the Parthenon, they seemed to displace themselves, like they'd jumped through hyperspace. The chariots disappeared. Suddenly Sylvie and her friends were surrounded by the Olympians, now human-sized, tiny next to the giants, but glowing with power.

Jason shouted and charged Porphyrion.

His friends joined in the carnage.

The fighting ranged all over the Parthenon and spilled across the Acropolis.

Out of the corner of Sylvie's eye, she saw Annabeth fighting Enceladus. At her side stood a woman with long dark hair and golden armor over her white robes. The goddess thrust her spear at the giant, then brandished her shield with the fearsome bronzed visage of Medusa. Together, Athena and Annabeth drove Enceladus back into the nearest wall of metal scaffolding, which collapsed on top of him.

On the opposite side of the temple, Frank Zhang and the god Ares smashed through an entire phalanx of giants—Ares with his spear and shield, Frank (as an African elephant) with his trunk and feet. The war god laughed and stabbed and disemboweled like a kid destroying piñatas.

Hazel raced through the battle on Arion's back, disappearing in the Mist whenever a giant came close, then appearing behind him and stabbing him in the back. The goddess Hecate danced in her wake, setting fire to their enemies with two blazing torches. Sylvie didn't see Hades, but whenever a giant stumbled and fell, the ground broke open and the giant was snapped up and swallowed.

Piper fenced with the giantess Periboia, sword against sword. Despite the fact that her opponent was five times larger, Piper seemed to be holding her own. The goddess Aphrodite floated around them on a small white cloud, strewing rose petals in the giantess's eyes and calling encouragement to Piper. Lovely, my dear. Yes, good. Hit her again!

Whenever Periboia tried to strike, doves rose up from nowhere and fluttered in the giantess's face.

Finley summoned waves of intoxicating mist that flooded the battlefield, disorienting the giants. Dionysus sent grapevines spiraling from the earth. And then, with the ground trembling beneath them, Finley's power surged, and she launched a burst of energy so wild and chaotic that the giants began to go insane. Wine-soaked vines crashed through their defenses, their footing unsteady as their once-mighty weapons faltered in the haze of Dionysus's power.

Percy battled the giant twins, Otis and Ephialtes, while at his side fought a bearded man with a trident and a loud Hawaiian shirt. The twin giants stumbled. Poseidon's trident morphed into a fire hose, and the god sprayed the giants out of the Parthenon with a high-powered blast in the shape of wild horses.

Jason fought Porphyrion, the giant king, with Zeus at his side. Porphyrion was relentless, his spear moving in a whirlwind of lethal swipes, but Jason held his ground. The presence of Zeus seemed to wrap around them like a storm cloud, crackling with raw power. With a single strike, he shattered the giant's throne. As Porphyrion stumbled toward the edge of the cliff, Jason hit him with a final blow—his gladius cut through the giant's spear, and with a blast of wind, the giant was sent tumbling over the edge, his final scream swallowed by the sound of thunder. Zeus's bolt of lightning turned Porphyrion to dust in an instant.

As for Leo, he was racing across the deck of the Argo II, shooting ballistae, dropping hammers on the giants' heads and blowtorching their loincloths. Behind him at the helm, a burly bearded guy in a mechanic's uniform was tinkering with the controls, furiously trying to keep the ship aloft.

The strangest sight was the old giant Thoon, who was getting bludgeoned to death by three old ladies with brass clubs—the Fates, armed for war. Sylvie decided there was nothing in the world scarier than a gang of bat-wielding grannies.

She noticed all of these things, and a dozen other melees in progress, but most of her attention was fixed on the goddess who fought by her side: Demeter.

Demeter's divine presence made the very earth tremble, in spite of Gaea waking. Her eyes blazed with power as she summoned the earth beneath them to rise up and strike down the giants.

She commanded a massive wall of stone and soil to crash down, crushing the approaching giants. Sylvie felt the force of her mother's magic ripple through her own veins as she mirrored Demeter's movements, calling upon the earth to fight.

Sylvie's hands pressed to the ground, and the very soil around her responded. The wind whispered with her power as roots and vines broke free from the earth, shooting upward to entangle the legs of the giants. It was as if the land itself was refusing to bend to Gaea's will. Sylvie gritted her teeth, pushing harder, as the ground beneath them roared in defiance, supporting her every move. Her mother was a force of nature, her golden light radiating as she struck down a giant with a blast of sheer force.

Sylvie raised her hands high. The earth quaked as the ground opened up beneath their feet, and with a surge of energy, a giant fell into the pit below, disappearing with a final scream. Despite Gaea's relentless fight to reclaim control, Sylvie and Demeter's bond with the earth was unbreakable, and together, they forced the land to defend them, pushing back the giants and the very goddess who sought to consume it all.

Demeter's voice softened as she turned to Sylvie, her radiant power still crackling through the earth beneath their feet. Her golden light glimmered in the midst of the chaos, but there was a gentleness in her tone that spoke only to Sylvie.

"You did well, my daughter," she said, her eyes filled with both pride and fierce protectiveness. "The earth listens to you, just as it listens to me. You are its child, and it answers to you."

She reached out, her hand warm on Sylvie's shoulder. Sylvie could've crumbled right there. The last time she saw her mother, Demeter had denied Sylvie as her daughter. But now she reminded Sylvie what it was like to feel a mother's validation.

"Gaea may seek to reclaim her power, but the earth is not hers alone. It belongs to us all. To the gods, and to those who are worthy of it. You are worthy, Silviana Henriette."

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

 Nothing was left of the giants except heaps of ash, a few spears and some burning dreadlocks.

The Argo II was still aloft, barely, moored to the top of the Parthenon. Half the ship's oars were broken off or tangled. Smoke streamed from several large splits in the hull. The sails were peppered with burning holes.

Leo looked almost as bad. He stood in the midst of the temple with the other crew-members, his face covered in soot, his clothes smoldering.

The gods fanned out in a semicircle as Zeus approached. None of them seemed particularly joyful about their victory.

Apollo and Artemis stood together in the shadow of a column, as if trying to hide. Demeter and Poseidon were having an intense discussion with Hera—which, ugh, Sylvie hoped they weren't discussing her and Percy. Nike tried to put a golden laurel wreath on Hecate's head, but the goddess of magic swatted it away. Hermes sneaked close to Athena, attempting to put his arm around her. Athena turned her aegis shield his way and Hermes scuffled off.

The only Olympian who seemed in a good mood was Ares. He laughed and pantomimed gutting an enemy while Frank listened, his expression polite but queasy.

"Brethren," Zeus said, "we are healed, thanks to the work of these demigods. The Demeter of Knidos now stands at Camp Half-Blood. It has united our offspring, and thus our own essences."

"Lord Zeus," Finley spoke up, "is Reyna okay? Nico and Coach Hedge?"

Sylvie couldn't quite believe Finley was asking after Reyna's health.

Zeus knitted his cloud-coloured eyebrows. "They succeeded in their mission. As of this moment they are alive. Whether or not they are okay—"

"There is still work to be done," Hera interrupted. She spread her arms like she wanted a group hug. Again, ugh. "But my heroes... you have triumphed over the giants as I knew you would. My plan succeeded beautifully."

Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. "Hera, do not dare take credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you've fixed!"

The queen of heaven blanched. "Husband, surely you see now—this was the only way."

"There is never only one way!" Zeus bellowed. "That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?"

By the ruins of the giant king's throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition. Sylvie noticed that the other gods stayed well away from the Fates and their gleaming brass clubs.

"Please, husband." Hera tried for a smile, but she was so clearly frightened. "I only did what I—"

"Silence!" Zeus snapped. "You disobeyed my orders. Nevertheless... I recognize that you acted with honest intentions. The valor of these nine heroes has proven that you were not entirely without wisdom."

Hera looked like she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut.

"Apollo, however..." Zeus glared into the shadows where the twins were standing. "My son, come here."

Apollo inched forward like he was walking the plank. He looked so much like a teenage demigod it was unnerving—no more than seventeen, wearing jeans and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, with a bow over his shoulder and a sword at his belt. With his tousled blond hair and blue eyes, he might've been Jason's brother on the mortal side as well as the godly side.

Sylvie wondered if Apollo had assumed this form to be inconspicuous, or to look pitiable to his father. The fear in Apollo's face certainly looked real, and also very human.

The Three Fates gathered around the god, circling him, their withered hands raised.

"Twice you have defied me," Zeus said. 

Apollo moistened his lips. "My—my lord—"

"You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may yet destroy us all."

"But—"

"Enough!" Zeus boomed. "We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on Olympus."

Zeus flicked his hand, and Apollo turned into a cloud of glitter. The Fates swirled around him, dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky.

"What will happen to him?" Jason asked.

The gods stared at him, and Sylvie found herself growing worried that Jason had spoken up in front of his father. Then, she felt immensely proud. With Zeus, it was much easier to be seen (if even that) and not heard. Jason didn't seem to agree. Not anymore.

"It is not your concern," Zeus said. "We have other problems to address."

An uncomfortable silence settled over the Parthenon.

It didn't feel right to let the matter go. Sylvie didn't see how Apollo deserved to be singled out for punishment.

Someone must take the blame, Zeus had said.

But why?

"Father," Jason said, "I made a vow to honor all the gods. I promised Kymopoleia that once this war is over none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps."

Zeus scowled. "That's fine. But... Kym who?"

Poseidon coughed into his fist. "She's one of mine."

"My point," Jason said, "is that blaming each other isn't going solve anything. That's how the Romans and Greeks got divided in the first place."

The air became dangerously ionized. Sylvie's scalp tingled. Jason was risking his father's wrath. He might get turned into glitter or blasted off the Acropolis. But Finley was staring at him with pride in her eyes, and he didn't seem to care that he was throwing away his father's favor.

A good Roman wouldn't keep talking.

Jason kept talking. 

"Apollo wasn't the problem. To punish him for Gaea waking is—" he caught himself before he said something like stupid—"unwise."

"Unwise." Zeus's voice was almost a whisper. "Before the assembled gods, you would call me unwise."

Sylvie and her friends watched Jason on full alert. Percy looked like he was ready to jump in and fight at his side.

Then Artemis stepped out of the shadows. "Father, this hero has fought long and hard for our cause. His nerves are frayed. We should take that into account." She glanced at Jason kindly, then back at Zeus. "Surely, Father, we should attend to our more pressing problems, as you pointed out."

"Gaea," Sylvie chimed in, clearly anxious to change the topic. "She's awake, isn't she?"

Zeus turned towards her. The air molecules stopped humming. Sylvie's skull felt like it had just come out of the microwave.

"That is correct," Zeus said. "The blood of Olympus was spilled. She is fully conscious."

"Oh, come on!" Percy complained. "I get a little nosebleed and I wake up the entire earth? That's not fair!"

Athena shouldered her aegis. "Complaining of unfairness is like assigning blame, Percy Jackson. It does no one any good." She gave Jason an approving glance. "Now you must move quickly. Gaea rises to destroy your camp."

Poseidon leaned on his trident. "For once, Athena is right."

"For once?" Athena protested.

"Why would Gaea be back at camp?" Finley asked. "Percy's nosebleed was here."

"Dude," Percy said, "first off, you heard Athena—don't blame my nose. Second, Gaea's the earth. She can pop up anywhere she wants. Besides, she told us she was going to do this. She said the first thing on her to-do list was destroying our camp. Question is: how do we stop her?'

Frank looked at Zeus. "Um, sir, Your Majesty, can't you gods just pop over there with us? You've got the chariots and the magic powers and whatnot."

"Yes!" Hazel said. "We defeated the giants together in two seconds. Let's all go—"

"No," Zeus said flatly.

"No?" Jason asked. "But, Father—"

Zeus's eyes sparked with power, and Sylvie knew Jason had pushed his dad as far as he could for today.. and maybe for the next few centuries.

"That's the problem with prophecies," Zeus growled. "When Apollo allowed the Prophecy of Nine to be spoken, and when Hera took it upon herself to interpret the words, the Fates wove the future in such a way that it had only so many possible outcomes, so many solutions. You nine, the demigods, are destined to defeat Gaea. We, the gods, cannot."

"I don't get it," Piper said. "What's the point of being gods if you have to rely on puny mortals to do your bidding?"

All the gods exchanged dark looks. Aphrodite, however, laughed gently and kissed her daughter. "My dear Piper, don't you think we've been asking ourselves that question for thousands of years? But it is what binds us together, keeps us eternal. We need you mortals as much as you need us. Annoying as that may be, it's the truth."

Frank shuffled uncomfortably, like he missed being an elephant. "So how can we possibly get to Camp Half-Blood in time to save it? It took us months to reach Greece."

"The winds," Jason said. "Father, can't you unleash the winds to send our ship back?"

Zeus glowered. "I could slap you back to Long Island."

Finley tilted her head. "Um, was that a joke, or a threat, or—"

"No," Zeus said, "I mean it quite literally. I could slap your ship back to Camp Half-Blood, but the force involved..."

Over by the ruined giant throne, the grungy god in the mechanic's uniform shook his head. "My boy Leo built a good ship, but it won't sustain that kind of stress. It would break apart as soon as it arrived, maybe sooner."

Leo straightened his tool belt. "The Argo II can make it. It only has to stay in one piece long enough to get us back home. Once there, we can abandon ship."

"Dangerous," warned Hephaestus. "Perhaps fatal."

The goddess Nike twirled a laurel wreath on her finger. "Victory is always dangerous. And it often requires sacrifice."

Sylvie didn't like how she said that at all. She thought about the prophecy lines, and how when the group of nine finally discussed them, their eyes had turned to Sylvie and Finley. Sylvie knew what they had to do to defeat Gaea. She knew the risks. But she wanted to take those risks herself, not put them on Finley.

"We can do this, guys," Finley said, waving off the tension. "We have to do this."

A feeling of dread settled over Sylvie. She knew one thing was certain: the worst was yet to come.

"Finn's right," Sylvie sighed. "All aboard for one last trip."

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

So much for a tender farewell.

The last Sylvie saw of the gods, Zeus was a hundred feet tall, holding the Argo II by its prow. He boomed, "HOLD ON!"

Then he tossed the ship up and spiked it overhand like a volleyball.

If Sylvie hadn't been strapped to the mast with one of Leo's twenty-point safety harnesses, she would have disintegrated. As it was, her stomach tried to stay behind in Greece and all the air was sucked out of her lungs.

The sky turned black. The ship rattled and creaked. The deck cracked like thin ice under Sylvie's legs and, with a sonic boom, the Argo II hurtled out of the clouds.

"Jason!" Leo shouted. "Hurry!"

Sylvie didn't know how Jason managed to do it, but he undid his straps. Leo was lashed to the control console, desperately trying to right the ship as they spiraled downward in free fall. The sails were on fire. Festus creaked in alarm. A catapult peeled away and lifted into the air. Centrifugal force sent the shields flying off the railings like metal Frisbees.

Wider cracks opened in the deck as Jason staggered towards the hold, using the winds to keep himself anchored.

Then the hatch burst open. Finley, Hazel, and Frank stumbled through, pulling on the guide rope they'd attached to the mast. Percy, Annabeth, and Piper followed, all of them looking disoriented.

"Go!" Leo yelled. "Go, go, go!"

For once, Leo's tone was deadly serious.

They'd talked through their evacuation plan, but that slap across the world had made Sylvie's mind sluggish. Judging from the others' expressions, they weren't in much better shape.

Finley saved them. She clattered across the deck and managed to undo Sylvie's straps as well, forcing them all back into reality. "You guys never felt insane before? Come on, let's go!"

Frank changed form. Instead of a dazed demigod, he was now a dazed grey dragon. Hazel climbed onto his neck. Frank grabbed Percy, Annabeth, and Piper in his front claws, then spread his wings and soared away.

Jason held Sylvie and Finley by the waist, ready to fly, but Sylvie made the mistake of glancing down. The view was a spinning kaleidoscope of sky, earth, sky, earth. The ground was getting awfully close.

"Leo, you won't make it!" Sylvie shouted. "Come with us!"

"No! Get out of here!"

"Leo!" Jason tried. "Please—"

"How many times do I have to be onto something for you guys to trust me? I've got a plan! Now shoo!"

Sylvie took a last look at the splintering ship.

The Argo II had been their home for so long. Now they were abandoning it for good—and leaving Leo behind.

Sylvie hated it, but she saw the determination in Leo's eyes.

Jason harnessed the winds, and she, Finley, and Jason shot into the sky.

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

The ground wasn't much less chaotic.

As they plummeted, Sylvie saw a vast army of monsters spread across the hills—cynocephali, two-headed men, wild centaurs, ogres, others she couldn't even name—surrounding two tiny islands of demigods. At the crest of Half-Blood Hill, gathered at the feet of the Demeter of Knidos, was the main force of Camp Half-Blood along with the First and Fifth Cohorts, rallied around the golden eagle of the legion. The other three Roman cohorts were in a defensive formation several hundred yards away and seemed to be taking the brunt of the attack.

Giant eagles circled Jason, screeching urgently, as if looking for orders. Frank the grey dragon flew alongside with his passengers.

"Hazel!" Jason yelled. "Those three cohorts are in trouble! If they don't merge with the rest of the demigods—"

"On it!" Hazel said. "Go, Frank!"

Dragon Frank veered to the left with Annabeth in one claw yelling, "Let's get 'em!" Piper in the same claw shouting, "We got this, gang!" and Percy in the other claw screaming, "I hate flying!"

Sylvie, Finley, and Jason veered right towards the summit of Half-Blood Hill.

Sylvie's heart lifted when she saw Nico di Angelo on the front lines with the Greeks, slashing his way through a crowd of two-headed men. A few feet away, Reyna sat astride a new pegasus, her sword drawn. She shouted orders at the legion, and the Romans obeyed without question, as if she'd never been away.

Sylvie didn't see Octavian anywhere. Good. Neither did she see a colossal earth goddess laying waste to the world. Very good. Perhaps Gaea had risen, taken one look at the modern world and decided to go back to sleep. Sylvie wished they could be that lucky, but she doubted it.

She, Finley, and Jason landed on the hill, their weapons drawn, and a cheer went up from the Greeks and the Romans.

"About time!" Reyna called. "Glad you could join us!"

With a start, Sylvie realized she was addressing Finley, not her or Jason.

Finley grinned. "We had some giants to kill!"

"Excellent!" Reyna returned the smile. "Help yourself to some barbarians!"

"Wow, thanks!"

The two girls launched into battle side by side.

"SYLV!" a voice screamed, promptly two seconds before Sylvie was attacked with a hug.

Her baby brother, Cedar St. James, squeezed her tightly.

Sylvie almost choked on a sob. Even though it had only been a few months since she last saw him, he looked so old now. He wasn't the little boy fumbling to hold a sword, or braiding flowers in her hair. He had a medicine bag over his right shoulder and a healer's band wrapped around his arm.

"Hey, dude," Sylvie breathed in relief.

"Yeah, hey!" Cedar pulled away, and fortunately (unfortunately?) time had done nothing to dwindle his energy. "Who's that ginger girl you showed up with? She's really pretty!"

Sylvie's eyes widened. "Ginger—Finley?"

"Wow! A beautiful girl and a beautiful name!"

"She's taken!" Jason snapped from afar, rather angrily.

Cedar shot Sylvie a look. "We'll see about that."

Sylvie rolled her eyes, but patted him on the shoulder fondly. She couldn't believe he'd grown so much—already her exact height.

"You ready to fight some nasties?" she asked.

"Me?" Cedar responded, incredulously. "Oh, gods, no! I still don't do any of that fighting stuff."

"But we do!"

Sylvie turned.

Micheline Hayes and Phoenix Harden—her first friend and her first one-third of a friend—walked up to her. Well, not Phoenix. Ever since the Battle of Manhattan, he'd injured his leg so badly that he had a permanent limp, but that didn't stop him from being the toughest at camp.

"I missed y'all so much." Sylvie grinned.

Phoenix raised his battle axe. "Whatever, let's get to the fighting part!"

So the trio charged into battle.

Nico nodded to Jason as if they'd just seen each other five minutes ago, then went back to turning two-headed men into no-headed corpses. "Good timing. Where's the ship?"

Jason pointed. The Argo II streaked across the sky in a ball of fire, shedding burning chunks of mast, hull, and armament. Sylvie didn't see how even fireproof Leo could survive in that inferno, but she had to hope.

Sylvie's worry for Leo gave her renewed strength. The Greeks and Romans slowly pushed back the enemies. Wild centaurs toppled. Wolf-headed men howled as they were cut to ashes.

More monsters kept appearing—karpoi grain spirits swirling out of the grass, gryphons diving from the sky, lumpy clay humanoids that made Sylvie think of evil Play-Doh men.

"They're ghosts with earthen shells!" Finley warned. "Don't let them hit you!"

Obviously Gaea had kept some surprises in reserve.

At one point, Cedar returned, this time with Will Solace, as they ran up to Nico. Will said something in Nico's ear. Over the yelling and clashing of blades, Sylvie couldn't hear the words.

"I have to go!" Nico said.

They didn't really understand, but Sylvie nodded. Cedar, Will, and Nico dashed off into the fray.

A moment later, a squad of Hermes campers gathered around Sylvie for no apparent reason.

Connor Stoll grinned. "What's up, Sylvie?"

"I'm good," Sylvie said. "You?"

Connor dodged an ogre club and stabbed a grain spirit, which exploded in a cloud of wheat. "Yeah, can't complain. Nice day for it. Hey, thanks for that note!"

"Just thought I'd keep a pen pal in Tartarus." Sylvie grunted as she used her powers to force a herd of karpoi into the earth.

Connor laughed, then asked, "Where's Jackson?"

"Oh, please! Not this right now."

Reyna yelled, "Eiaculare flammas!" and a wave of flaming arrows arced over the legion's shield wall, destroying a platoon of ogres. The Roman ranks moved forward, impaling centaurs and trampling wounded ogres under their bronze-tipped boots.

Somewhere downhill, Sylvie heard Frank Zhang yell in Latin: "Repellere equites!"

A massive herd of centaurs parted in a panic as the legion's other three cohorts plowed through in perfect formation, their spears bright with monster blood. Frank marched before them. On the left flank, riding Arion, Hazel beamed with pride.

"Ave, Praetor Zhang!" Reyna called.

"Ave, Praetor Ramírez-Arellano!" Frank said. "Let's do this. Legion, CLOSE RANKS!"

A cheer went up among the Romans as the five cohorts melded into one massive killing machine. Frank pointed his sword forward and, from the golden eagle standard, tendrils of lightning swept across the enemy, turning several hundred monsters to toast.

"Legion, cuneum formate!" Reyna yelled. "Advance!"

Then Percy, Annabeth, and Piper finally found the forces of Camp Half-Blood with Sylvie and the others. In the middle of the battlefield, Percy scooped Sylvie in with an arm around her waist and kissed her. Cheers sounded from their campers.

"Greeks!" Percy yelled. "Let's, um, fight stuff!"

They yelled like banshees and charged.

Sylvie grinned. She loved Percy. She loved the Greeks, too. They had no organization whatsoever, but they made up for it with enthusiasm.

Sylvie was feeling good about the battle, except for two big questions: Where was Leo? And where was Gaea?

Unfortunately, she got the second answer first.

Under her feet, the earth rippled as if Half-Blood Hill had become a giant water mattress. Demigods fell. Ogres slipped. Centaurs charged face-first into the grass.

AWAKE, a voice boomed all around them.

A hundred yards away, at the crest of the next hill, the grass and soil swirled upward like the point of a massive drill. The column of earth thickened into the twenty-foot-tall figure of a woman—her dress woven from blades of grass, her skin as white as quartz, her hair brown and tangled like tree roots.

"Little fools." Gaea the Earth Mother opened her pure green eyes. "The paltry magic of your statue cannot contain me."

As she said it, Sylvie realized why Gaea hadn't appeared until now. The Demeter of Knidos had been protecting the demigods, holding back the wrath of the earth, but even Demeter's might could only last so long against a primordial goddess.

Fear as palpable as a cold front washed over the demigod army.

"Stand fast!" Piper shouted, her charmspeak clear and loud. "Greeks and Romans, we can fight her together!"

Gaea laughed. She spread her arms and the earth bent towards her—trees tilting, bedrock groaning, soil rippling in waves. Demigods and monsters alike started to sink into the ground. One of Octavian's onagers capsized and disappeared into the side of the hill.

"The whole earth is my body," Gaea boomed. "How would you fight the goddess of—"

FOOOOMP!

In a flash of bronze, Gaea was swept off the hillside, snarled in the claws of a fifty-ton metal dragon.

Festus, reborn, rose into the sky on gleaming wings, spewing fire from his maw triumphantly. As he ascended, the rider on his back got smaller and more difficult to discern, but Leo's grin was unmistakable.

"Vaquera! Finny! Jason!" he shouted down. "You coming? The fight is up here!"

╰━━━ ◦ ✸ ◦ ✸ ◦ ━━━╯

BAILEY YAPS...

Like fuck you to the gods but they ate this one thing I guess

Sacrificed my Bio grade for this. You're welcome I guess. Not all heroes wear capes

Anyways y'all are lucky this chapter wasn't in Finn's POV bc when Jason was talking back to his dad her whole internal monologue would've been thirst tweets. Like. Idk but I love you Finley Briggs

CEDAR AND SYLVIE REUNION :(((

MICKEY AND SYLVIE REUNION :(((

PHOENIX AND SYLVIE REUINION :(((

I was going to write the Cedar and Nico reunion with a mix of Solangelo but I couldn't fit it in. Just imagine something really gay and ultra awesome #Trust