★ 。＼｜／。★

𝗕𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘

𝖈𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖗𝖊 𝖖𝖚𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖟𝖊:
THE TRADE-OFF OF
SUNFLOWER AND RITPIDE

★ 。／｜＼。★

WITH SUNFLOWER'S HILT clenched tightly in her hand, a soaking wet Belle crawled down the drainage pipe after Percy. She shivered in the darkness and so desperately wanted to be dry again. Belle thought about sitting in the warm sunshine with Percy and Annabeth like they often did. However, that wasn't possible. She had no idea where Annabeth was. Hazel, Frank, and Leo were nowhere to be found. And Belle, along with Percy, Piper, and Jason had to save Nico di Angelo and stop some Giants from destroying Rome and waking Gaea.

They just couldn't catch a break, could they?

After about thirty feet, the drainage pipe opened into a wider tunnel. Something rumbled and creaked to their left somewhere in the distance. Naturally, they went that way. More walking led the group of four to a turn in the tunnel. Percy held up his hand to signal the others to wait and peeked around the corner.

"What is it?" Piper whispered after a couple moments of Percy peering into the room.

He gestured for them to come forwards. Belle moved to stand by his side and was immediately met with a vast room. It had twenty-foot ceilings and multiple rows of support columns. That creaking and rumbling sound from earlier was coming from huge gears and pulley systems that raised and lowered some sections of the floor. Water flowed through open trenches that powered waterwheels for some machines to work. Other machines were connected to huge hamster wheels that had Hellhounds running inside them. Suspended from the ceiling were several cages of live animals. There was a lion, some zebras, a pack of hyenas, and to Belle's surprise, an eight-headed Hydra. Ancient bronze and leather conveyor belts moved stacks of weapons and armor.

About twenty feet inside the doorway, a life-sized wooden cutout of a gladiator popped up from the floor. It got on a conveyer bolt, was hooked onto a rope, and suddenly ascended through a slot in the roof. Belle stared at the place where it once was in confusion.

"What the heck?" Jason asked.

"Look," Percy announced, pointing to something.

Belle followed to see he was pointing at a raised dais. There was two empty oversized Praetor chairs with a bronze jar big enough to hold a person.

Piper frowned. "That's too easy."

"Of course," Percy replied.

"Maybe, but we have no other choice," Belle voiced. "Nico's in there. We can't just leave him."

"We won't," Percy reassured her. "Come on."

The four Demigods started to trek across the room, picking their way around conveyor belts and moving platforms. None of the Hellhounds paid them any attention, obviously busy with running and panting. The rest of the animals gave them bored looks.

Belle was shocked how much this room reminded her of the Labyrinth. There was a trap in every direction, just like the Labyrinth. If it wasn't for Rachel Elizabeth Dare, none of them would've made it out of the maze alive (although Belle would never admit that at the time.)

They jumped over a water trench and ducked underneath a row of caged wolves. When they were halfway to the bronze jar, the ceiling suddenly opened above them. A platform lowered. And standing on it with one hand raised and his head high was one of the twin Giants.

Based off of what Percy had recounted from his dreams, Belle guessed this one was Ephialtes. He had purple hair and was about twelve feet tall, which was small for a Giant. Ephialtes was wearing a Hawaiian shirt that even Dionysus wouldn't wear, which was saying a lot. It was printed with pictures of dying heroes, horrible tortures, and lions eating slaves in the Colosseum. His hair was braided with gold and silver coins and there was a ten-foot spear strapped onto his back. Along with his Gods awful Hawaiian shirt, Ephialtes wore bright white jeans and leather sandals on his feet that were curved snakeheads. They flicked their tongues and writhed.

Ephialtes smiled at the four Demigods. "At last! So very happy! Honestly, I didn't think you'd make it past the Nymphs, but it's so much better that you did. Much more entertaining. You're just in time for the main event!"

Belle moved to stand on Percy's right side while Piper and Jason stood on his left. She raised Sunflower a little higher and picked her chin up. However, something about Ephialtes made her skin crawl uncomfortably. His eyes were dancing with a crazy light.

"We're here," Percy stated. "Let our friend go."

"Of course!" Ephialtes responded. "Though I fear he's a bit past his expiration date. Otis, where are you?"

The floor opened next to him, and the other twin Giant rose on a platform.

"Otis, finally! You're not dressed the same as me! You're . . ." Ephialtes' expression turned from gleeful to horrorified. "What are you wearing?"

Otis was wearing a skin-tight leotard that was a baby blue color. The toes of his massive ballet shoes had been cut away so his snakes could protrude. A diamond tiara rested on top of his green hair that was braided with firecrackers. He looked utterly miserable, but he managed to curtsey.

"Gods and Titans!" Ephialtes shouted. "It's showtime! What are you thinking?"

"I didn't want to wear the gladiator outfit," Otis complained. "I still think a ballet would be perfect, you know, while Armageddon is going on." He looked hopefully at the group of four. "I have some extra costumes—"

"No!" Ephialtes snapped. He then faced Percy and grinned painfully. "Please excuse my brother. His stage presence is awful, and he has no sense of style."

"Okay," Percy said. "Now, about our friend . . ."

"Oh, him. We were going to let him finish dying in public, but he has no entertainment value. He's spent days curled up sleeping. What sort of spectacle is that? Otis, tip over the jar."

Otis walked over to the dais while occasionally stopping to do a plié. He knocked over the jar. The lid popped off, and the deathly pale and extremely skinny figure of Nico di Angelo spilled out.

Belle felt her heart stop. "Oh, Gods. Nico."

"Now we have to hurry," Ephialtes urged. "We should go through your stage directions. The hypogeum is all set!"

It took all of Belle's strength for her to resist running over to Nico. The Giants were standing by him, and Nico was in no condition to defend himself if there was a battle. She turned and locked eyes with Percy quickly. They had to buy some time.

Jason raised his gold gladius in the air. "We're not going to be part of any show. And what's a hypo— whatever-you-call-it?"

"Hypogeum!" Ephialtes exclaimed. "You're a Roman Demigod, aren't you? You should know! Ah, but I suppose if we do our job right down here in the underworks, you really wouldn't know the hypogeum exists."

"I know that word," Piper revealed. "It's the area under a coliseum. It housed all the set pieces and machinery used to create special effects."

Ephialtes clapped at her answer enthusiastically. "Exactly so! Are you a student of the theater, my girl?"

"Uh . . . my dad's an actor."

"Wonderful!" Ephialtes turned to his brother. "Did you hear that, Otis?"

"Actor," Otis repeated. "Everybody's an actor. No one can dance."

"Be nice! At any rate, my girl, you're absolutely right, but this hypogeum is much more than the stageworks for a coliseum. You've heard that in the old days some Giants were imprisoned under the Earth, and from time to time they would cause earthquakes when they tried to break free? Well, we've done much better! Otis and I have been imprisoned under Rome for eons, but we've kept busy building our very own hypogeum. Now we're ready to create the greatest spectacle Rome has ever seen — and the last!"

Nico suddenly shuddered at Otis' feet. Belle suddenly felt like she could breathe again. At least he was alive. Now they just had to defeat the Giants, save Rome from being destroyed, get out alive, and find the rest of their friends. Easy . . . except the possibility that literally everything could go wrong.

"So!" Percy began in effort to keep the Giants' attention away from Nico. "Stage directions, you said?"

"Yes!" Ephialtes exclaimed. "Now, I know the bounty stipulates that you and you," Ephialtes glanced to Belle for a second, "or the girl Annabeth should be kept alive if possible, but honestly, the girl is already doomed, so I hope you don't mind if we deviate from the plan."

Belle slightly lowered her sword. "What do you mean by already doomed? Is she—"

"Dead? No. Not yet. But don't worry! We've got your other friends locked up, you see."

Piper made a strangled sound at that. "Leo? Hazel and Frank?"

"Those are the ones. So we can use them for the sacrifice. We can let the Athena girl die, which will please Her Ladyship. And we can use you four for the show! Gaea will be a bit disappointed, but really, this is a win-win. Your deaths will be much more entertaining."

"You want entertaining?" Jason questioned with a snarl. "I'll give you entertaining."

Piper stepped forwards and gave the Giants a sweet smile. "I've got a better idea. Why don't you let us go? That would be an incredible twist. Wonderful entertainment value, and it would prove to the world how cool you are."

Nico stirred. Otis looked down at him and his snake feet flicked their tongues at Nico's head.

"Plus!" Piper quickly continued. "Plus, we could do some dance moves as we're escaping. Perhaps a ballet number!"

Otis forgot about Nico and lumbered over to Ephialtes, wagging his finger at him. "You see? That's what I was telling you! It would be incredible!"

Just for a second, Belle thought that Piper had actually pulled it off. Otis looked at his brother imploringly why Ephialtes tugged at his chin.

Ephialtes finally shook his head. "No . . . no, I'm afraid not. You see, my girl, I am the anti-Dionysus. I have a reputation to uphold. Dionysus thinks he knows parties? He's wrong! His revels are tame compared to what I can do. That old stunt we pulled, for instance, when we piled up mountains to reach Olympus—"

"I told you that would never work," Otis muttered.

"And the time my brother covered himself with meat and ran through an obstacle course of Drakons—"

"You said Hephaestus-TV would show it during prime time. No one even saw me."

"Well, this spectacle will be even better," Ephialtes promised. "The Romans always wanted bread and circuses — food and entertainment! As we destroy their city, I will offer them both. Behold, a sample!"

Something dropped from the ceiling and landed in between Belle and Percy's feet. She looked to see it was a loaf of sandwich bread in a white plastic wrapper decorated with red and yellow dots. Her eyebrows knit in confusion as Percy picked it up.

"Wonder bread?" Percy read.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Ephialtes inquired, his eyes lighting up with crazy excitement. "You can keep that loaf. I plan on distributing millions to the people of Rome as I obliterate them."

"Wonder bread is good," Otis admitted. "Though the Romans should dance for it."

Belle looked back over to Nico. He was just starting to move. She hoped that he would at least be conscious enough to crawl out of the way when the fighting would start. Not to mention, Belle still needed more information from the Giants about Annabeth and where Hazel, Frank, and Leo were being kept.

"Maybe you should bring our other friends here," Percy suggested. "You know, spectacular deaths . . . the more the merrier, right?"

"Hmm," Ephialtes hummed in thought, fiddling with a button on his Hawaiian shirt. "No. It's really too late to change the choreography. But never fear. The circuses will be marvelous! Ah . . . not the modern sort of circus, mind you. That would require clowns, and I hate clowns."

"Everyone hates clowns," Otis agreed. "Even other clowns hate clowns."

"Exactly. But we have much better entertainment planned! The four of you will die in agony, up above, where all the Gods and mortals can watch. But that's just the opening ceremony! In the old days, games went on for days or weeks. Our spectacle — the destruction of Rome — will go on for one full month until Gaea awakens."

"Hold on," Belle interrupted. "We have one month until Gaea wakes up?"

Ephialtes waved away her question. "Yes, yes. Something about August first being the best date to destroy all humanity. Not important! In her infinite wisdom, the Earth Mother has agreed that Rome can be destroyed first, slowly and spectacularly. It's only fitting!"

"So . . ." Percy trailed off. "You're Gaea's warm-up act."

Ephialtes's face darkened. "This is no warm-up, Demigod! We'll release wild animals and monsters into the streets. Our special effects department will produce fires and earthquakes. Sinkholes and volcanoes will appear randomly out of nowhere! Ghosts will run rampant."

"The ghost thing won't work," Otis commented. "Our focus groups say it won't pull ratings."

"Doubters! This hypogeum can make anything work!" Ephialtes stormed over to a big table covered with a sheet. He pulled the sheet away to reveal a collection of levers and knobs that looked just about as complicated as Leo's control panel on the Argo II. "This button? This one will eject a dozen rabid wolves into the Forum. And this one will summon automaton gladiators to battle tourists at the Trevi Fountain. This one will cause the Tiber to flood its banks so we can reenact a naval battle right in the Piazza Navona! Percy Jackson, you should appreciate that, as a son of Poseidon!"

"Uh . . . I still think the letting us go idea is better," Percy told him.

"He's right," Piper said in charmspeak again. "Otherwise we get into this whole confrontation thing. We fight you. You fight us. We wreck your plans. You know, we've defeated a lot of Giants lately. I'd hate for things to get out of control."

Ephialtes nodded thoughtfully. "You're right."

Piper blinked in shock. "I am?"

"We can't let things get out of control. Everything has to be timed perfectly. But don't worry. I've choreographed your deaths. You'll love it."

Nico started to crawl away while groaning. Belle gripped onto Percy's elbow as she watched him do so. Fighting was starting soon, she could feel it. And she also knew that she would chase after Nico while Percy fought the Giants.

Jason switched his sword from one hand to the other. "And if we refuse to cooperate with your spectacle?"

"Well, you can't kill us," Ephialtes answered with a laugh. "You have no Gods with you, and that's the only way you could hope to triumph. So really, it would be much more sensible to die painfully. Sorry, but the show must go on."

Percy looked down at Belle and then to Piper and Jason. "I'm getting tired of this guy's shirt."

"Combat time?" Piper asked while grabbing her horn of plenty.

"I hate Wonder bread," Jason voiced.

"Hey, same," Belle replied, and Jason gave her a high-five. "Ready? One . . . two . . . three!"

Together, they all charged. Belle ignored Percy and Jason beginning to fight the Giants and their taunts to each other and sprinted towards Nico with Piper. She ran as fast as she could, noticing that a pair of leopards were stalking him when he had no weapon. Her and Piper leaped across fiery pits and ran across conveyor belts, trying to dodge everything.

Finally, they made it to Nico. Belle moved to stand in front of him with Sunflower raised while Piper held up her cornucopia. The leopards snarled at them, but Piper quickly began to make pot roasts fly out of her cornucopia to keep them busy.

Belle glanced over. She saw Percy throw Riptide like a boomerang and cut the chain on the Hydra cage. The cage doors broke open and the Hydra spilled out right in front of Percy. Belle's eyes widened and she quickly flipped Sunflower so it would turn back into a keychain.

"Percy!" she screamed.

She threw her keychain to him and he caught it, just like they had done many times before. Percy quickly flipped it back to sword form and rolled out of the way as the Hydra spit acid at him. She took a quick breath of relief. At least he had a weapon.

Belle then turned back to Nico. He was still barely conscious and groaned every once in a while. She kneeled next to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, shaking him slightly.

"Nico," she stated gently over the loud noises of fighting and moving weapons in the background. "Nico, can you hear me?"

He groaned and his eyes fluttered open a little bit more. "B-Belle?"

She smiled. "Yeah, it's me. You're gonna be okay, all right?"

"You . . . you came to save me?"

"Of course," Belle replied. "We're friends, Nico. Friends help each other, yeah?"

"Duck and cover!" Percy suddenly yelled.

Belle's head whipped around to see an easel firing. The Hydra Percy had been fighting vaporized instantly. However, more projectiles shot all over the room. Sandbags immediately began to rain down around Belle, Piper, and Nico. Her eyes widened and she looked back down to Nico.

"Can you try and stand?" Belle asked him.

Nico tried to push himself up, but he couldn't and resorted to shaking his head weakly. "I — I don't . . ."

"That's okay." Belle glanced up to Piper. "Pipes, help me pull him to safety!"

Belle grabbed one of Nico's hands while Piper grabbed the other. The two of them began to pull. They seemed to be getting somewhere until another sandbag fell, and it hit Piper's shoulder, knocking her down.

"Piper!" Jason cried from across the room.

"Oh Gods," Belle said to herself.

She ducked down and guarded Piper and Nico with her body, although she had no idea how well that would actually work. However, nothing happened. In fact, the room seemed to be silent. Belle looked back up to see the Giants were nowhere to be found. All there was left were two dust piles on the floor and some pieces of the ceiling.

Jason ran over to them. He went to Piper's side and touched her arm, making her yelp. Belle hadn't realized how bad it actually was. Her shoulder was bent in an unnatural way, but Piper kept muttering she was fine. Nico sat up next to her and looked around the room in bewilderment.

"Dom't worry," Belle told him. "We're gonna get out of here."

The Giants then began to re-form. Ephialtes' head and shoulders were rising from the mound of dust. He tugged his arms free from the dust and glared at Percy meanwhile. Across the room, the other pile of dust shifted and Otis sprung out. His head was slightly caved in, all of the firecrackers in his hair had popped which was making his braids smoke, and his leotard was in tatters.

"Percy!" Jason shouted. "The controls!"

From his place, Percy unfroze. He lunged for the switchboard and slashed Sunflower's blade across the top, decapitating the controls in a shower of bronze sparks.

"No!" Ephialtes roared. "You've ruined the spectacle!"

Percy turned to him too slowly. Ephialtes swung his spear and smacked Percy across the chest. Percy fell to his knees in pain.

"No!" Belle yelled. "Percy!"

Jason ran to his side with Otis lumbering after him. Percy rose with Sunflower clenched tightly in his hand and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Jason. Belle stayed at her place on the floor, guarding a hurt Piper and a barely conscious Nico.

Ephialtes smiled apologetically. "Tired, Percy Jackson? As I said, you cannot kill us. So I guess we're at an impasse. Oh, wait . . . no we're not! Because we can kill you!"

Otis picked up his fallen spear. "That, is the first thing sensible thing you've said all day, brother."

The two Giants pointed their weapons at Percy and Jason.

"We won't give up," Jason announced. "We'll cut you into pieces like Jupiter did to Saturn."

"That's right," Percy agreed. "You're both dead. I don't care if we have a God on our side or not."

"Well, that's a shame," a new yet familiar voice replied.

Belle blinked as she looked to see another platform lower from the ceiling. Leaning casually on a staff topped with a pinecone was a man wearing a purple Camp shirt, khaki shorts, and white socks with sandals. He raised his broad-brimmed hat with vines on it to reveal purple fire flickering in his eyes.

"I'd hate to think I made a special trip for nothing."

Now, Dionysus being a calming influence — Belle never saw it. Mr. D was constantly grumpy and always managed to mess up names in the most extreme way. However, everything in the room suddenly got quiet. The machines came to a halt and the animals stopped growling. Those two leopards paced over to him and butted their heads affectionately against Mr. D's legs. He scratched them behind their ears.

"Really, Ephialtes," Mr. D continued. "Killing Demigods is one thing. But using leopards for your spectacle? That's over the line."

Ephialtes made a scared squeaking sound. "This — this is impossible. D-D—"

"It's Bacchus, actually, my old friend. And of course it's possible. Someone told me there was a party going on."

Bacchus looked the same as he had back in Kansas, but Belle came to realize he was so much more different than Mr. D. He was meaner and leaner and didn't have much of a potbelly. His hair was a lot longer, he had more spring in his step, and there was more anger in his eyes. Bacchus even managed to make a thyrsus look intimidating.

Ephialtes' spear quivered in his hand. "You — you Gods are doomed! Be gone, in the name of Gaea!"

"Hmm," Bacchus hummed in response, sounding very unimpressed. He then began to stroll through the ruined props, platforms, and special effects. "Tacky." He waved his hand at a painted wooden gladiator before turning to a strange machine with a lot of knives on it. "Cheap. Boring. And this . . ." He inspected the smoking rocket-launching contraption. "Tacky, cheap, and boring. Honestly, Ephialtes. You have no sense of style."

"STYLE? I have mountains of style. I define style. I — I—"

"My brother oozes style," Otis suggested.

"Thank you!"

Bacchus stepped forwards, making the Giants stumble back. "Have you two gotten shorter?"

"Oh, that's low," Ephialtes replied. "I'm quite tall enough to destroy you, Bacchus! You Gods, always hiding behind your mortal heroes, trusting the fate of Olympus to the likes of these." He sneered at Percy.

Jason raised his sword. "Lord Bacchus, are we going to kill these Giants or what?"

"Well, I certainly hope so," Bacchus answered. "Please, carry on."

Percy blinked at him. "Didn't you come here to help?"

Bacchus shrugged. "Oh, I appreciated the sacrifice at sea. A whole ship full of Diet Coke. Very nice. Although I would've preferred Diet Pepsi."

"And six million in gold and jewels."

"Yes, although with Demigod parties of five or more the gratuity is included, so that wasn't necessary."

"What?"

"Never mind," Bacchus said. "At any rate, you got my attention. I'm here. Now I need to see if you're worthy of my help. Go ahead. Battle. If I'm impressed, I'll jump in for the grand finale."

"We speared one," Percy responded. "Dropped the roof on the other. What do you consider impressive?"

"Ah, a good question . . ." Bacchus tapped his thyrsus in thought before smiling in a way that made Belle itch with nerves. "Perhaps you need inspiration! The stage hasn't been properly set. You call this a spectacle, Ephialtes? Let me show you how it's done."

Bacchus dissolved into purple mist. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Belle was out of the hypogeum and in an emperor's box. She gasped at the feeling of being moved so quickly and glanced around. Her heart sunk into her stomach as she watched Percy, Jason, and the Giants appear aboveground.

They were in the Colosseum.

The special effects machines from the Giants were laying planks across ruined support beams so the arena had a proper floor again. The bleachers repaired themselves until they were gleaming white. A giant canopy in shades of red and gold extended overhead to provide shade from the afternoon Italian sun. Belle watched before her very eyes as the emperor's box she was sitting in suddenly was draped in silk and flanked by banners and golden eagles. Lares appeared in the stands and began to clap.

Vents opened in the floor and sprayed sand across the arena. Huge props of plaster mountains, stone columns, and plastic barnyard animals sprang up. A small lake appeared on one side. Ditches crisscrossed the arena floor. Finally, when everything was finished, Belle could see that Percy and Jason standing by each other's sides facing the twin Giants.

"This is a proper show!" Bacchus shouted.

He was in the emperor's box as well, wearing purple robes and golden laurels. Belle was to his left, along with Nico and Piper, whose shoulder was being tended to by a Nymph wearing a nurse's uniform. To his right, a Satyr was offering him Doritos and grapes. Bacchus raised a can of Diet Pepsi and the crowd went respectfully quiet. Belle stared at the God incredulously. Was he trying to get Percy and Jason killed?

Percy glared up at Bacchus. "You're just going to sit there?"

"The Demigod is right!" Ephialtes yelled. "Fight us yourself, coward! Um, without the Demigods."

Bacchus offered them a lazy smile. "Juno says she's assembled a worthy crew of Demigods. Show me. Entertain me, heroes of Olympus. Give me a reason to do more. Being a God has its privileges."

He popped the top of his soda can, and the crowd cheered. Percy and Jason stood there for a moment, probably trying to figure out a strategy, until Ephialtes and Otis attacked first. They picked up a fake mountain and hurled it at the two boys. Percy and Jason bolted into the nearest trench to escape being hit. The crowd jeered and demanded for them to fight.

Belle stood up from her seat, knowing she had to do something. "I have to get down there."

"But Belle—" Piper began.

"I'm not going to sit here and watch helplessly as our boyfriends fight two Giants. There's no way."

Bacchus waved his hand. "As you wish. Go, daughter of Ceres. More entertainment for me!"

Belle gritted her teeth. Even though Mr. D wasn't her favorite God, he was a whole lot better than Bacchus. Belle quickly flicked her hand upwards, and instantly, a large vine rose up from the ground and grew to the height of the emperor's box. She grabbed onto it and willed it to lower all the way back down to the ground. Her feet set down on a plank right in front of the Giants, although they paid her no attention.

Just now she realized her mistake — Percy still had Sunflower.

"Belle!" Percy screamed.

Her head whipped over to him. Percy threw something at her, and for a fleeting moment, she thought it was Sunflower's keychain. However, when she caught it, she saw that it was instead the pen that concealed Riptide. She took the cap off and threw it aside. Riptide sprung out, and the brown hilt felt strangely natural in her hands. It was almost as if it was a duplicate for Sunflower.

Jason and Percy suddenly appeared on either side of her.

"What are you doing down here?" Jason asked.

"Fighting," Belle responded simply. "You guys have a plan?"

"I can take Otis again. Or do either of you want him this time?"

Percy thought about it for a moment. "We attack together. Otis first, because he's weaker. Take him out quickly and move to Ephialtes. Bronze and gold together — maybe that'll keep them from re-forming a little longer."

Jason smiled dryly. "Why not? But Ephialtes isn't going to stand there and wait while we kill his brother. Unless—"

"Good wind today. And there're some water pipes running under the arena." Percy looked down at his girlfriend. "And apparently, there's some plants around here. You up to fight with Riptide, Beauty?"

Belle smiled. "Bring it on."

"On three?" Jason questioned.

"Why wait?" Percy countered.

Together, the three of them charged. The twin Giants had lifted another plaster mountain and were raising it above their heads, preparing to throw it. Percy made a water pipe burst at their feet and the floor shook. Jason sent a blast of wind to Ephialtes' chest. Ephialtes toppled backwards, making Otis lose his grip on the mountain. It collapsed on top of Ephialtes, and only his snake feet stuck out. Belle flicked her hand upwards, and tree roots immediately wrapped around the snakes. She clenched her fist so that the tree roots were tight enough that it would hold the snakes down but wouldn't kill them. The crowd roared with approval, but Belle knew better. Ephialtes was only stunned.

"Hey, Otis!" Percy yelled. "The Nutcracker bites!"

"Ahhhhh!" Otis roared.

He snatched up his spear and threw. However, he was too angry to aim straight. Jason used the wind to deflect it over their heads and go into the lake. The three Demigods backed towards the water while shouting insults about ballet. Percy and Jason didn't know much about it, but Belle just kept spewing out random ballet moves that she had read about once upon a time.

"Your arabesque looks more like an attitude!" she chided. "Straighten your leg!"

Otis then barreled towards them. However, he soon realized that he was charging empty-handed towards a large body of water to fight a son of Poseidon. He tried to stop too late. Belle and Percy rolled to one side while Jason rolled to the other. Jason summoned the wind and used the Giant's own momentum to shove him into the water. Otis struggled to rise, but he was too slow.

The three Demigods attacked as one and launched themselves at the Giant. Belle stabbed Riptide, Percy stabbed Sunflower, and Jason stabbed his gladius down on Otis' head. He exploded into powder. Percy used his powers to make the lake churn into a whirlpool. Otis' essence tried to re-form, but as his head appeared from the water, Jason called some lightning and blasted it to dust again.

Behind them, the plaster mountain suddenly exploded. Belle whirled around and raised her hand again, summoning more tree roots. She willed them to wrap around the Giant, but it wasn't enough. Ephialtes fought past them and rose while bellowing in anger.

All of them waited as Ephialtes lumbered towards them with his spear in his hand. Belle's skin began to crawl as he saw his eyes dancing with murderous light. The strong afternoon sun made the coins in his hair glint brightly. Even his snake feet — who were probably not happy after being stuck under some tree roots — looked extremely angry. Jason called down another lightning strike, but Ephialtes caught it on his spear and deflected it, making a plastic cow melt. He knocked aside a stone column like it was nothing.

Percy and Jason ran up to meet Ephialtes' charge. They lunged around him, stabbing and slashing their swords in a blur of gold and bronze, but Ephialtes parried every strike. Belle pointed Riptide at the ground and could feel many vines underneath. She raised up Percy's sword, and even though it would've been better with Sunflower, thick vines shot out of the ground. Belle pointed Riptide at Ephialtes and the vines moved towards him. The Giant tried to cut through them, but there was too many. They wrapped around his middle and legs so he was forced to stay in one spot.

"I will not yield!" Ephialtes roared. "You may have ruined my spectacle, but Gaea will still destroy your world!"

Belle was just about to try and trap his arms, but Percy lashed out and sliced Ephialtes' spear in half. The Giant wasn't even fazed. He swept low with the blunt and knocked Percy off of his feet. Percy landed hard on his right arm and Sunflower clattered out of his grip.

"No!" Belle shouted.

Jason attempted to take advantage. He stepped inside the Giant's guard and stabbed at his chest, but Ephialtes managed to parry the strike. Ephialtes sliced the tip of spear down Jason's chest and ripped his purple shirt into a vest. Jason stumbled backwards while looking at the thin line of blood down his sternum. Ephialtes kicked him backwards and he landed next to Percy. Piper cried out from her place in the emperor's box, but her voice was drowned out in the roar of the crowd. Bacchus looked down on them with an amused smile while he munched on a bag of Doritos.

Belle stepped in front of her friends with Riptide raised. She could feel herself being weakened the longer she tried to keep Ephialtes contained. The vines were moving a lot slower, but she couldn't give up. She tried to grow more and attempted to trap his arms again although her muscles trembled with exhaustion.

She then lifted her head. A small smile spread across her face as she watched the large dark oval shape of the Argo II begin to descend rapidly above the Colosseum. Otis tried to warn his brother from the lake, but since his face was still half-dissolved, he only managed to mumble Uh-umh-moooo!

"Don't worry, brother!" Ephialtes replied with his eyes still focused on the three Demigods. "I will make them suffer!"

The Argo II turned in the sky to present its port side and green fire blazed from the ballista.

Belle lowered Riptide and tilted her head at the Giant. "You sure about that?" She nodded her head in the direction of the ship. "Look behind you."

She immediately rolled away with Percy and Jason while dropping Riptide as Ephialtes turned and bellowed in disbelief. Belle ducked behind another plastic mountain just as the explosion rocked the Colosseum. Once the rocking stopped, she poked her head out to see the Argo II coming in for a landing. She saw Percy climbing out of a trench and Jason peeking out behind a plastic horse. Ephialtes was laying charred and groaning on the arena floor. The sand around him was seared into glass from the heat of the Greek fire and the vines that had once contained him were burnt to a crisp. Otis was floundering in the lake trying to re-form, but it kept churning.

Belle let out a breath of relief and joined the two boys. Percy clapped Jason on the shoulder and gave Belle a kiss on the cheek while wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Jason raised his hand at Belle, and she happily obliged in giving him a high-five. The crowd of Lares gave them a standing ovation as the Argo II extended its landing gear and settled on the arena floor. Leo stood at the helm with Hazel and Frank grinning around his side. Coach Hedge was dancing around the platform while pumping his fist in the air and yelling That's what I'm talking about!

Percy looked up at the emperor's box. "Well? Was that entertaining enough for you, you wine-breathed little—"

"No need for that," Bacchus cut in, suddenly standing right next to them in the arena. He brushed some Dorito crumbs off of his purple robes. "I have decided you are worthy partners for this combat."

"Partners?" Jason repeated. "You did nothing!"

Bacchus walked over to the edge of the lake. The water instantly drained, and all there was left was a pile of mush with Otis' head on top. Bacchus walked to the bottom and looked up at the crowd while raising his thyrsus. The crowd jeered and hollered while pointing their thumbs down. Bacchus smacked Otis' head with his thyrsus, and the remains of the Giant disintegrated completely. The crowd went wild. Bacchus then climbed out of the lake and strutted over to Ephialtes. The other Giant was still lying spread-eagled and was still smoking. Again, Bacchus raised his thyrsus.

"DO IT!" the crowd roared.

"DON'T DO IT!" Ephialtes wailed.

Bacchus tapped the Giant on the nose, and Ephialtes crumbled into ashes. The ghosts cheered and threw confetti around. Meanwhile, Bacchus strode around the stadium with his arms raised triumphantly. Belle raised an eyebrow at it and shared an exasperated look with Percy and Jason.

"That, my friends, is a show!" Bacchus exclaimed while grinning at Belle, Percy, and Jason. "And of course I did something. I killed two Giants!"

Hazel, Frank, Leo, and Coach Hedge began to get off the ship while the Lares of the crowd shimmered and disappeared. Piper and Nico struggled down from the emperor's box as the Colosseum's magical renovations began to turn into mist. The floor of the arena remained solid, while the rest of the stadium looked like there hadn't just been a huge fight against two Giants.

"Well," Bacchus continued. "That was fun. You have my permission to continue your voyage."

"Your permission?" Percy inquired with a snarl.

"Yes." Bacchus raised an eyebrow at them. "Although your voyage may be a little harder than you expect, son of Neptune and daughter of Ceres."

"Poseidon," Percy corrected.

"And Demeter," Belle added. "And what do you mean about our voyage?"

"You might try the parking lot behind the Emmanuel Building," Bacchus told them. "Best place to break through. Now, goodbye, my friends. And, ah, good luck with that other little matter."

The God vaporized in a cloud of mist that smelled faintly of grape juice. Jason then ran to meet Piper and Nico.

"That was weird," Belle commented. "I wonder what he meant by that."

"I'm not sure," Percy replied. He then reached into his pocket and pulled out Riptide's pen. "I think Sunflower and Riptide have some sort of connection, by the way. There must be a reason why we can trade swords so easily."

Belle reached down to her belt loops and clutched Sunflower's keychain in her hand. "We can worry about that later. It's good to know, though."

Coach Hedge then trotted up to them with Hazel, Frank, and Leo close behind him. "Was that Dionysus? I love that guy!"

"You're alive!" Percy said to Hazel, Frank, and Leo. "The Giants said you were captured. What happened?"

Leo shrugged. "Oh, just another brilliant plan by Leo Valdez. You'd be amazed what you can do with an Archimedes sphere, a girl who can sense stuff underground, and a weasel."

"I was the weasel," Frank announced glumly.

Belle laughed slightly. "I'm sure you were an amazing weasel, Frank. Anyways, Leo, you were saying?"

"Basically, I activated a hydraulic screw with the Archimedes device — which is going to be awesome once I install it in the ship, by the way," Leo explained. "Hazel sensed the easiest path to drill to the surface. We made a tunnel big enough for a weasel, and Frank climbed up with a simple transmitter that I slapped together. After that, it was just a matter of hacking into Coach Hedge's favorite satellite channels and telling him to bring the ship around to rescue us. After he got us, finding you was easy, thanks to that Godly light show at the Colosseum."

Belle crossed her arms, not understanding most of what he just said, but she decided to move on to the thing that was worrying her the most. "Did you find Annabeth?"

Leo winced. "Yeah, about that . . . she's still in trouble, we think. Hurt, broken leg, maybe — at least according to this vision Gaea shown us. Rescuing her is our next stop."

Belle suddenly felt a surge of adrenaline course through her body. She had to find Annabeth and make sure she was all right.

"Tell us about the vision," Percy ordered. "Tell us everything."

The floor then began to shake. Wooden planks started to disappear and sand spilled into the pits of the hypogeum below.

"Let's talk on board," Hazel suggested. "We'd better take off while we still can."

— [ ♡ ] —

long chapter gang gang

when they trade swords <3

hey omg did you like my ballet knowledge? I didn't do thirteen years of ballet for NOTHIN

um, so . . . next chapter is THE chapter?????? like, you know, that one?????? no I don't want it to happen shut up

gifs by 1-800-SIMPINGFORSEB !