𝗪𝗔𝗜𝗧 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗠𝗘 ━━ l. valdez

xxiii ━━ just how low did you think i'd go before i'd self-implode?

03. chapter twenty-three

━━━━━━━━ ( 💫 ) ━━━━━━━━

I REAPPEARED IN THE EMPEROR'S BOX OF a ruined coliseum.

my heart did a somersault. this wasn't just any coliseum. it was the colosseum. the giants' special effects machines had gone into overtime, 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 red-and-gold canopy extended overhead to provide shade from the afternoon sun. the emperor's box was draped with silk, flanked by banners and golden eagles. the roar of applause came from thousands of shimmering purple ghosts, the lares of rome brought back for an encore performance.
           
vents opened in the floor and sprayed sand across the arena. huge props sprang up—garage-size mountains of plaster, stone columns, and (for some reason) life-size plastic barnyard animals. a small lake appeared to one side. ditches crisscrossed the arena floor in case anyone was in the mood for trench warfare. percy
and jason stood together facing the twin giants.

"this is a proper show!" boomed the voice of bacchus.

he sat to my right in the emperor's box, wearing purple robes and golden laurels. nico was to my left, between piper and i. piper's shoulder was being tended to by a nymph in a nurse's uniform who had also given nico and i squares of ambrosia.

at bacchus's right crouched a satyr, offering up doritos and grapes. the god raised a can of diet pepsi and the crowd went respectfully quiet.
           
percy glared up at him. "you're just going to sit there?"

"the demigod is right!" ephialtes bellowed. "fight us yourself, coward! um, without the demigods."
           
bacchus smiled lazily. "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 his soda can top, and the crowd cheered.

to begin the dramatic fight, the twin giants lifted a prop mountain as big as my old home and hurled it at the demigods.

i watched as percy and jason bolted, unable to do anything. they dove together into the nearest trench and the mountain shattered above them, spraying them with plaster shrapnel.

the crowd jeered and shouted for blood. "fight! fight!"

it was so awful. i knew the crowd was just lares—not alive people— but i couldn't believe anyone would want to watch this. i was terrified for my friends.

the twins lifted another plaster mountain and waited for the demigods.

percy and jason were in the trench for longer than i had expected which frightened me. they couldn't have been hurt already, right?

suddenly, they charged out of the trench. the giants raised the plaster mountain above their heads, preparing to throw, and percy caused a water pipe to burst at their feet, shaking the floor. jason sent a blast of wind against ephialtes's chest. the purple-haired giant toppled backward and otis lost his grip on the mountain, which promptly collapsed on top of his brother. only ephialtes's snake feet stuck out, darting their heads around, as if wondering where the rest of their body had gone.

the crowd roared with approval, but i suspected ephialtes was only stunned. they had a few seconds at best.

"hey, otis!" percy shouted. "the nutcracker bites!"

"ahhhhhh!" otis snatched up his spear and threw, but he was too angry to aim straight. jason deflected it over percy's head and into the lake.

the demigods backed toward the water, shouting insults about ballet. terpsichore and her army of pubescent ballerinas would've been offended.

otis barreled toward them empty-handed, before apparently realizing that a) he was empty-handed, and b) charging toward a large body of water to fight a son of poseidon was maybe not a good idea.

too late, he tried to stop. the demigods rolled to either side, and jason summoned the wind, using the giant's own momentum to shove him into the water. as otis struggled to rise, percy and jason attacked as one. they launched themselves at the giant and brought their blades down on otis's head.

the poor guy didn't even have a chance to pirouette. he exploded into powder on the lake's surface like a huge packet of drink mix.