The Seven, minus Percy and plus Nico, were seated around the ping pong table in the rec room of the Big House. Annabeth was telling them about her dream.
Once she'd finished, Chiron spoke up. "So you see, children, there is to be another war." Groans erupted in the room. "Another one? I thought the last one would be the last war ever!" Leo protested.
"Yes, well, evidently, it wasn't," said Chiron. "That is why you are gathered here now. You must find Percy before his army is assembled."
"Yeah, okay. But how do we actually find him?" asked Jason. Chiron stroked his beard. "That is an excellent question...which I have no answer for."
"We could ask the gods for help," suggested Frank. "The gods want to destroy Percy, Frank. Plus, they probably wouldn't help us anyway," said Annabeth.
"Good point," Frank replied. "It looks like you could use the hunters' help," said a voice from the doorway. They all turned to look who it was.
"Thalia!" Annabeth cried, running up and throwing her arms around the hunter. "Hey there, Annabeth. Miss me much?" Thalia chuckled.
"Ah, Thalia. Glad you could make it," Chiron greeted. "Lady Artemis can't make it, though. She was called up to Olympus for a meeting," explained Thalia.
Chiron nodded. "I expected as much. After all, Kronos is a very big problem. Not as big as Gaea, but still, very big." Thalia held up her hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Kronos is back? Lady Artemis didn't tell us about this."
"You're still gonna help us, right, sis?" asked Jason. "Of course. What? You think I'm chicken?" Thalia challenged. "No..." Jason said slowly.
Hazel rolled her eyes. "Guys? Kronos?" "Hazel's right. Who knows when the war's gonna happen?" said Nico. "Yes, yes. We must make plans. How to find Percy, and if we can't find him, how we're going to stop the war," said Chiron.
"Right. So...how are we gonna find my cousin?" asked Thalia. "Working on it," said Annabeth. Without warning, she leapt up and ran out of the room.
The rest of the Seven, Thalia, Nico and Chiron looked at one another in confusion. They waited for ten minutes before Annabeth finally re-entered the room.
She was carrying a big ancient-looking leatherbound book. "Athena gave this to me. She said it would be useful," Annabeth explained.
She began flipping through the pages, looking for the page she wanted. After a minute or so, she jabbed a finger at a particular page. "There. If a body is being possessed by a god, goddess or Titan, the only way to get them out is by having the host force them out themselves."
"Okay," said Hazel. "So how do we get Percy to force Kronos out?" Annabeth shrugged, looking frustrated that she doesn't know.
"I think we're gonna have to figure that out later," said Thalia, looking out the window of the rec room. "Why?" asked Leo. "Cause there's a bunch of monsters at the border," answered Thalia.
They rushed out of the Big House, drawing their weapons. Hellhounds, dracanae, a drakon and a lot more monsters were prowling just outside the camp border.
"I bet I know who sent them," Annabeth sighed. "Kronos," they all answered in unison. Campers were gathering near the border, all of them wearing armor and holding weapons.
Clarisse was in the front, shouting orders to the gathered campers. Normally, they would have ignored the monsters, given the fact that Thalia's pine tree would have protected them, but there were too many monsters to ignore this time.
"We better go join Clarisse," said Jason. They sprinted towards the demigods at the foot of Half-Blood Hill. Well, the Seven, Thalia and Nico sprinted. Chiron galloped, no longer limping.
The monsters glared at the demigods. The first few dracanae slithered forward, stretching their claws towards the camp. Their claws started to smoke, as if acid were being poured onto them.
The dracanae hissed in pain, but started to slither forward, their bodies smoking as they moved. "Campers!" yelled Chiron. "Prepare to attack!" He had his bow out and an arrow notched.
The dracanae pushed forward, the other monsters soon following. Piper wasn't exactly thrilled for another battle, but she figured she had no choice. She noticed her half-siblings at the back row of demigods.
Figures. Piper hadn't really expected them to be in the front few rows. She spotted Lacy and Mitchell in the middle though. They both had determined looks on their faces.
The monsters were now attacking Peleus. The dragon snapped his jaws at them, growling snarling. He was doing a good job at holding them back, but if he didn't get help soon, he's sure to be killed.
"Apollo campers! And hunters, I guess. Shoot them!" ordered Clarisse. The Apollo kids and the Hunters of Artemis notched their arrows and took aim.
The first few monsters collapsed, arrows sprouting from their bodies. The remaining monsters charged. Peleus lay wounded on the ground, blood spurting out of his injuries.
"Attack!" yelled Clarisse. The campers cried their battle cries (??? Cried their battle cries?!) and charged full speed into battle.
Piper slashed and stabbed at the monsters with Katoptris. She even cut off a dracanae's claw at some point. She saw a bunch of demigods on the ground, either unmoving or clutching their wounds, calling for help.
She hoped her friends were okay. She was so busy worrying about her friends, she didn't notice the hellhound creep up behind her.
The hellhound dug its fangs into Piper's sword-or dagger, whatever-arm. She dropped Katoptris, leaving herself completely defenseless.
The hellhound came in for the kill. But before it could reach her, a Celestial Bronze sword protruded from the monster's hide. It gave a horrifying shriek before exploding into yellow dust.
Standing there, covered in dust from nearly head to toe, was Percy. "Nobody hurts my friends," he growled. He turned to the remaining monsters, which was at least 300. "Retreat!" he yelled.
The monsters hesitated, before growling at the campers and running back to the border. Percy offered Piper his hand, which she took.
Chiron galloped over to them. He looked Percy up and down, probably wondering whether or not to turn him in. "What happened to my father?" he asked.
Percy pointed to his head. "Held back," he paused. "For now." Chiron nodded. Will limped up to Chiron. "Six dead. Sixteen injured," he reported.
"Who's dead?" Piper asked, dreading the answer. Will turned to her, his face grim. "Lacy, Drew, Jake, Travis, Cecil and Lou."
Piper felt like she'd just been hit by a tank driven by Adolf Hitler. Her own two half-sisters were dead, along with four others.
They went into the infirmary, where Will made Piper sit down on a bed while he bandaged her arm. Percy looked around at the wounded campers, a sad look on his face. Actually, it was more than sad, it was miserable.
"I did this," he murmured. "No, you didn't. Kronos did," Piper assured him. "She's right. This isn't your fault, Perce," Will spoke up. "Yeah, right," Percy muttered.
In the corner, Connor was holding his brother in his arms, bawling his eyes out (Oh gods, it's Fred Weasley all over again! T_T). Other demigods were crying too, mourning the deaths of their fallen friends and half-siblings.
Kronos had causes so many deaths and so much grief, Piper couldn't help but to glare at Percy. It wasn't his fault, she knew that, but Kronos was possessing him.
Piper knew that the only way to get Kronos out of Percy, was to have Percy force him out. And Piper knew he would at least try.
Sorry I'm not sorry. Ten chapters in and there are already dead people in the book. Aren't I just the best?
-Destiny
