Shadow Knights

Chapter 18

Shadow Knights: Percy Jackson- Omega, Luke Castellan- Alpha, Zoë- Beta, Bianca di Angelo -Theta, Phoebe-Eta, Charles Beckendorf- Delta, Silena Beauregard - Gamma, Ethan Nakamura- Iota, Castor- Kappa, Lee Fletcher- Zeta, Michael Yew-Epsilon, Grady- Seraphim, Taiyō Akuma- Lambda, Celeste Tygrim- Mu, Amelia Zamperini- Nu, Jem- Omicron, Isabel Glass- Rho, Clary- Sigma, Esther Rothwell- Upsilon, Oliver Chang- Koppa, Alexia- Pi, Rose Griffin- Phi, Nick Lacerda- Chi, Kevin Lee- Tau, Anastasia Vera- Sampi, Oliver Kings- Vau, Selia- Xi

AN: Hey everyone, I know that this chapter is long long overdue, but I couldn't bring myself to write the next chapter between being busy and not having the proper motivation. I didn't want to write something that didn't have my full energy poured into it. I'm about to start in college so there will probably be only 2-3 chapters coming up, including this one. I hope you like it and I sincerely apologize for the long wait I've put you through. Enjoy :)

Percy arrived at the front lines where the two armies were at a standstill. He took up position in front of his army, scanning both armies, and noticed that Grady was to his right. "As a new Knight, you need a name."
"It seems the Greek alphabet is taken though," he responded, glancing between Percy and the army.
"Yes, I've noticed that too. That's why I chose a Latin name for you." Percy watched the army in front of him calculating the odds. "Your name will be Seraphim, meaning to burn."
Grady glanced at him again, "why?"
"Because. Today, you will burn through this army and you will come out as a Shadow Knight. We will win this war and finally be known for who we are and what we can do here. The gods won't dampen our powers and who we are because we will victor here and now. Are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," he responded, pulling out his twin swords.
"Good," Percy smirked as the sky opened up above them and the gods poured out in their full battle armor and war chariots. The sight was almost exactly the same as it was in the Battle of Manhattan. The gods now lined up between the campers, soldiers, and Knights in the first line of defense.
Percy pulled out his sword and the other army charged. Time slowed down as the two armies clashed. Percy stabbed, slashed, parried, and repeated with the next monster. They were rapidly pushing back the monsters immediately. The archers sent arrow after arrow into their forces taking down monsters with a steady rate. The gods sent fire, water, lightning, and more into the opposing army quickly diminishing their numbers. Percy found himself in a clearing with Kronos on the opposite side.
"Remind me next time to not make underlings take down opposing forces." Kronos said raising his scythe.
"Only if you remind me next time to make sure that my enemies stop coming back," Percy replied uncapping his water bottles at his side.
"You don't like seeing me again Perseus?" Kronos asked.
"I find your face is not very appealing and neither is your voice. It scratches at my eardrums."
Kronos growled and launched himself at Percy. Percy parried his attack and sliced his undefended right ribcage. Ichor spilled steadily onto Percy's blade and down Kronos' side.
"How is this happening?" He exclaimed, jumping back from Percy.
"I'm the second most powerful being in the universe, did you think you would win against me?" Percy advanced on Kronos, knocked his feet out from under him, and put his sword at his throat. "This is for all the pain and sorrow you've put me and my loved ones through." He raised his sword and cut down swiftly on Kronos' elbow. Kronos screamed wildly. "And this is so you won't return for a very, very long time." He raised his sword again and brought it down upon Kronos' throat, cutting off his screams.
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Kevin strolled into the strategy tent with his hands in his cape's pockets. All the capes looked similar but were fitted to the wearer. Malcolm looked up at him and tilted his head in question. "I'm Annabeth's replacement. More knowledgeable replacement." He looked over at Tessa and nodded a greeting to her, and she smiled back, having known who he was from when he'd been at camp and having seen him at his cabin.
   "There's not much we can do at this point unless you know of other allies we can call on." Malcom stated looking back at the map where the green dots were rapidly decreasing.
   "I do in fact." Kevin said and Malcom's head snapped up. Kevin threw a drachma into the homemade mist maker and called on Chaos.
   "Yes?" Chaos asked, looking around the tent.
   "I would like to ask a favor milady." Kevin stated bowing his head.
   "And what would that be Tau?"
   "A portal to Alaska to call on allies please."
   "You'll find one outside the tent. Good luck Knight." Chaos said before disappearing.
   Malcom gaped at Kevin as he turned back to him and Tessa. "Shall we?" He gestured towards the tent flap.
   "You want us to go to Alaska?!" Malcom yelled.
   "No I wanted you to go to Hawaii." Kevin rolled his eyes and left the tent. Tessa and Malcom joined him after a second.
   They went through the portal and found themselves in a field with a huge pile schist in the middle. Kevin whistled and the grasses stirred. Malcom looked around nervously as he pulled out a dagger and Tessa took an involuntary step towards Kevin.
   A karpoi appeared out of the tall grasses and stepped towards the group of demigods. "Hello Knight, what may I do for you and the two demigods accompanying you?"
   "I've come to call upon the favor you owe the Knights from when Omega spared you and gave you portals here." Kevin responded.
   More karpoi were popping up out of the grasses and were gathering in a circle around the group. "Will we get free transport back here when the war is over?" The first karpoi asked.
   "If that is what you wish, yes." Kevin agreed.
   "Then we will come with the earthborn as promised." The karpoi agreed and he whistled to his companions who disappeared and reappeared with the earthborn. The leading karpoi nodded to Kevin who turned back to the portal and walked back into camp leading a third army to join the party.
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Phoebe traveled quickly through the forest, sometimes running on the ground, other times leaping from tree to tree. Whenever she came upon a monster she shot them down or sliced them apart in a matter of seconds.
   As she began to reach the end of the forest, she was met with more and more monsters until she found a group of them all surrounding Stephen.
   "Afraid you can't protect yourself?" She asked him through his barrier which included the Nemean lion, Orthrus, and a griffin.
   Stephen lept up from a rock he'd been lounging on, "there's no way you of all people could beat me."
   "Why such little faith in me?" She asked glaring at him.
   "Because. You're a girl. You're no- Aghhhh! How dare you!" He screamed at her for their was now a dagger embedded in his right thigh.
   "Say one more sexist remark. I have more daggers where that came from." She dared him, pulling another out of her belt.
   Instead Stephen gave a sharp whistle and the monsters charged at Phoebe. She cut them all down in a manner of two minutes, granted that it was a fight of one versus eight. Not quite fair on their part.
   Stephen stumbled back from her loosing his balance and tripping onto the floor. Phoebe walked up to him and placed a boot on his chest before sending a Morse code message to Percy through a magically enchanted device he had had installed in the Knight's cloaks. Within a couple seconds a portal appeared next to her so she picked up Stephen who was struggling ineffectively against her as they walked through the portal into camp.
   She took him to the infirmary where she put mortal handcuffs tying him to a bed while a camper came running up to them.
    "What happened?" The camper shouted as she went to tend to Stephen's leg, grabbing supplies from a bedside cabinet.
   "He got a scratch." Phoebe said and turned away from the nurse sending more messages to Percy.
   "A scratch! You threw a knife into my thigh!" Stephen cried out.
   "It's a dagger. And don't think you have a right to talk to me. 'Cause you don't." Phoebe turned to the nurse. "I will be guarding this prisoner as you tend to his injury. At no point in time is he to be set free." The camper's eyes widened but she glanced at the dagger and nodded to Phoebe, then set to taking the dagger out.
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   Nico summoned more skeletons to fight the opposing army. He had worked on this skill making it so the skeletons couldn't be cut down as easily as they now could put themselves back together before going back into battle until he didn't need them anymore or was too tired to manage them. He had already summoned two groups before this one and he was barely winded. He silently thanked Percy and Will for making him sleep plenty in the past 48 hours, giving him the energy he needed for this battle. He looked around the field and forest where the battle was taking place. He could see Jason and Piper slashing through monsters as a team; Reyna had her two dogs attacking each monster that came her way, and those that passed the dogs she cut down with a system of well placed slices, her hair in its traditional braid; Percy was manipulating water to travel through the crowd to drown random victims of his choosing, with Leo at his side manipulating fire to burn victims in the same random but calculated pace; Hazel was manipulating the mist confusing groups of monsters as Frank stood next to her shooting them down until he ran out of arrows, where he transformed into animals and attacked them one by one in various forms; Annabeth was popping in and out of the battle only leaving dead bodies in her wake using her baseball cap to keep hidden; Thalia was with her hunters and some of the old hunters turned Shadow Knights taking monsters out with wave after wave of arrows; Grover led an army of satyrs and children of Demeter playing his reeds and manipulating the plants to decrease the numbers of the opposing army; Will was running in and out of the fray with other children of Apollo grabbing the wounded and getting them to safety; and here came karpoi and earthborn from inside the camp charging at the opposing army with excited battle cries.
   His next wave of skeletons charged into the fight and he spotted his father wearing his helm and cape taking out enemy after enemy with waves of darkness, death, and fear. Apollo charged in screaming haikus and cursing the monsters with plagues and diseases while Artemis joined her hunters and sent a pack of wolves upon the army. Poseidon and Hephaestus went to stand with their sons, Percy's identity being quite clear with his powers at work; they were a team of fire and water, burning and drowning, leaving a path of death and destruction in their power's wake. Athena joined Annabeth in cutting down enemy after enemy not letting any pass. Hecate joined Hazel in manipulating the mist and Ares joined Frank in killing the confused. Aphrodite flew around on her cloud but this time was spilling vials of poison disguised as perfume onto the monsters when they tried sneaking up on Piper and Jason rather than throwing flower petals and shouting encouragement.   
   Within five minutes the army was gone, quickly defeated, even the titans and primordials. Nico sent his skeletons to rest in the earth and the karpoi and earthborn were given a portal. Everyone joined in together with cheering over their victory and helping the wounded to the infirmary.
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   Will rushed about the infirmary helping as he went instructing where needed or taking action if it wasn't getting done correctly. The infirmary was just about spilling outside with wounded and there were healers running to and fro.
   "Will!"
   Will spun around to see his father entering the tent. "Apollo," he said quickly bowing his head. Some of the healers stopped what they were doing to watch the exchange.
   "What can I do to help?" Apollo asked.
   "H-help?" Will stuttered, gaping at his father.
   "Yes, I can tell the tent is overfull with patients I wish to help with my extraordinary healing powers but I don't want to intrude on your space." Apollo replied looking around the tent.
   "Yes, of course!" Will said quickly so as to recruit his dad before he changed his mind. "The camper over there needs a proper cast for his leg but I need to help this patient with sewing this gash together." He said motioning at a bed down the aisle and then the one he was standing in front of.
   "I will do all I can," Apollo said nodding to Will before heading to the first bed he had motioned to. Will shook his head to clear his thoughts and then went about preparing for the minor surgery he was about to perform.
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   "Omega, may I have a word?" Poseidon asked a couple days later, walking over to the small group of Shadow Knights where Percy was talking to the others about what their next step was.
   "Yeah sure," he said looking over to him. He looked back at his group and said, "we'll finish this discussion later when we have everyone together. Go and tend to any last wounds whether their yours or someone else's." The group disbanded and Percy turned back to his father.
   Poseidon pulled Percy into a hug and Percy was stiff, but relaxed and hugged his dad back. "I thought I'd never see you again." Poseidon said.
   "I'm not that easy to get rid of you'll find." Percy laughed a bit.
   "I see that. You turn down becoming a god just to become the second most powerful being in the universe?" Poseidon asked.
    "That was unplanned and unexpected and you know it," Percy frowned.
   Poseidon chuckled. "I'm only teasing son. I'm just glad you're safe and..." he looked towards the departing Knights, "happy," he finished.
   "I have my friends back, my mom is safe and happy, my friends as well, there's not much more I could wish for." Percy replied looking around the camp.
   "What else could you wish for?" Poseidon asked.
    Percy thought for a bit but the answer came so suddenly and clearly he was shocked it didn't come right away. "I haven't seen Tyson yet. Can you have him brought to camp by tonight?"
   "Of course!" Poseidon exclaimed. "He'll be ever so happy to see you!"
   "Thank you. I must go for now. I have a meeting with my Knights." Percy said turning away towards his cabin.
   "Will I see you again before you go back?" Poseidon asked.
   "Yes." Percy said as he continued walking away.
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   Percy walked into the cabin and closed his eyes. He imagined a great conference room with a table big enough to fit all of his Shadow Knights. He then sent out a Morse code to them all to come back to the cabin immediately, no excuses allowed, as the room changed and shifted. He went and sat at the head of the table as his Knights began to enter and fill in all the seats, even Grady.
    As the last of the Knights entered and sat down Percy spoke up. "Thank you for coming so quickly. We must now discuss our next move as the Shadow Knights."
   "We're not just gonna go home, are we?" Rose asked quietly.
   "No, we said we would reveal our identities so we must do that. Though if you wish to keep your identity hidden that will be okay but I ask that you still stand with us during the unveiling. How many wish to remain hidden?"
   Several hands went up around the table.
   "That's perfectly fine. You all agree to my terms yes?" Cue the raised hands were lowered and nods replaced them.
"Awesome. Does anyone object to doing the unveiling tonight? That way those who wish so can go back to Omorfiá as soon as possible and those who wish it can stay for two more nights, before we head back to learn of our next mission."
   "Sorry about the subject change, but what are we going to do with Stephen?" Luke asked.
   "We're going to take him back to Omorfiá and hold him in the jail." Percy said matter of factly. "Back to the unveiling. Any objections or questions?"
   "Can we not unveil ourselves to everyone but show our identities to only certain people before or after the fact?" Amelia asked tilting her head.
   "Of course," Percy nodded. "Anything else? No? Okay. We'll all gather at seven, so in two hours."
   "Where at Seaweed Brain?" Zoë asked.
   "Right. We'll meet at the amphitheater. You may go unveil your identity privately, or rest, or do whatever now. Just make it there by or before seven." Percy stood up and everyone else followed in suit before dispersing.
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   Jason and Piper were resting outside the infirmary with a big group of campers that were already tended to  when a projection of one of the Shadow Knights appeared before them.
   "Hello campers, legions, gods, satrys, and all others who helped us victor in this war," he started. Jason looked at Piper with raised eyebrows and she shrugged showing she, too, didn't know who this was or what it was about.
   "I am calling a mandatory meeting in the amphitheater and I need everyone who can walk there to come. There will be a projection like this into the infirmary for those who have the excuse to not come. Be there and seated in five minutes." With that the protection disappeared and the campers around them started pushing themselves up and walking towards the amphitheater.
   "Who are these people?" Piper asked.
   "You'll be surprised," Nico said walking up to them. Piper jumped up and tackled him in a hug. Nico laughed, hugging her back. "It hasn't been that long Pipes."
   "It's been long enough to permit hugs," Jason smiled standing up as well and hugging Nico. 
   "Fair enough." Nico shrugged.
   "Wait. Do you know who the Knights are?" Piper asked Nico remembering his statement when he'd walked up.
   "Yeah, and you'll know too by the end of this meeting. Let's start walking. You're going to want front row seats." Nico said and they started down the path.
    A little ways down they were greeted by Hazel and Frank and farther down Thalia and Reyna. Grover and Juniper met them at the doors and Nico and Calypso waved them over where they had saved a row of seats. The Shadow Knights were lining up on stage arriving with the rest of the camp in groups of Knights or with campers or legions.
   As the last person found a seat the Shadow Knight from the earlier projection stepped forward. "Thank you for gathering so quickly."
   "Not that we had much choice," Reyna muttered and Piper giggled.
   "I know many of you are only just learning who we are so allow me to explain again," the Shadow Knight continued. "We are Shadow Knights who serve under Chaos. We travel the universe protecting planets and stopping wars. We are gathered on this stage tonight to show you our true identities." Piper raised her eyebrows at Nico, but he just motioned for her to pay attention. "There are some of us who do not want to give up our identities, and they won't be taking any bs from you guys about it. You will respect my Knight's decisions on whether or not they wish to show you who they are." Most of the Knights walked forward to stand in a line with the leader while a group stayed back. The leader looked to his line of Knights and asked them something to which they all nodded before they all threw back their hoods. Piper jumped out of her seat.

AN pt. 2: mwahahah cliff hangersssss. Anyways. I will be bringing you another chapter soon. My deadline is next weekend but you may get it sooner. Depending on how the writing goes there may only be one more before the story ends but maybe two. I'll specify at the beginning of the next chapter. I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I wrote it in probably 5 hours as it all just flowed out so excuse any errors, I edited to my best ability. I love you guys and thanks for all the encouragement and motivation you've provided.