Chapter 21

Camp Half-Blood

3rd POV

When news reached the camps of Perseus' descent into the pit of Tartarus, it was a somber day for all of the demigods. To the Greeks, he was their brother, their friend, their own flesh and blood. To the Romans, he was a soldier, their Praetor, the man favored by the gods and raised upon a shield by all of New Rome. To the hunters, who were taking rest at the camp after the attack by Ouranos, he was the big brother they never had, a man that they could respect and gave them a sliver of hope for the rest of his gender.

To all of these people, Perseus Jackson was their hero, their chosen one, the one who could lead them all straight into the pits of hell with a shit eating grin upon his face. The man that had saved their lives several times, the man who had changed all of their lives several times. The same man who's shoulders have beared the weight of the world countless times since he was but a boy. To the Romans, The Greeks, even The Hunters, Perseus Jackson was on a higher level than they could ever amount to. A man who was considered in higher regards than the gods themselves. But few people actually know the real Perseus Jackson.

The select few that have shared Perseus' thoughts, that had seen him at his highest highs and lowest lows, that had been with him through hell and high water. Through the Second Titan War, fighting against Kronos and his armies with but only fourty demigods; a defensive stand that eclipses the great Leonidas and his Spartans. They know the true Perseus Jackson. The man that only wanted peace in his life, the man who only wanted a loving family and close friends. Only to have any of his desires ripped away from him at every turn, to have them stolen by the threads of fate themselves.

But they also know Perseus as the man who can bend, but never break. The man who would rather bear the weight of the sky for the rest of eternity than see a friend in need. The man who faces armies alone so not a single blade falls upon that same friend's skin. They know the man that will take up the mantle when needed, no matter the cost to himself. The man who sacrifices his own body and mind time and time again just so somebody else doesn't have to.

When news of Perseus' fall into The Pit reached the veterans of the wars, nothing was able to bring them out of their state of sadness. Not even Chiron or the gods were able to, as they were grieving just as much. Throughout the following days, stories were traded constantly around the campfire about the legendary demigod - the myth in the world of mythology. The new campers had gotten to learn in awe about the legend of Perseus Jackson, passed through the few of his close friends that are either still at camp, or haven't been killed by some monster.

Finally, after days of unfamiliar depression and lack of pranking, Connor and Travis Stoll had enough and abruptly shot up at the same time during an unusually quiet breakfast. "That is it-"

"We have had enough-"

"Of sitting around and doing nothing."

"We should be training to honor our friend-"

"Not sitting around and weeping for him."

"He will come out of The Pit-"

"For the second time."

"Even if he has to face Tartarus himself to do it."

"What good will our leader be-

"If he doesn't have anyone worth leading?"

"I say we get back to training our asses off-"

"And kill every single monster that that shit eating Sky God sends at us."

The large group of demigods that was present at the dining pavilion shouted their agreement, some picking up their weapons and going to the training grounds or archery ranges, breakfast still in hand. The demigods will be ready to defend Olympus, Perseus or not, they will fight to the last man in defense of their home.

...

Thalia's POV (3rd)

As Thalia Grace and her hunters were preparing to go back into the wilderness, she was nudged in her back. Thalia turned around to be met with a pair of sad, onyx eyes looking at her. Zoë let out a small whimper, obviously not used to being away from her master for so long.

Thalia started scratching the large wolf behind her ears, a spot that Percy had told her she loves. This however only seemed to sadden the wolf, the gesture seemingly reminding Zoë of her owner. "Come Zoë, let's get ready to leave, Percy will come back, even if he has to make his own exit out of Tartarus; Kelp Head loves you too much."

Zoë nuzzled her face into Thalia's arm, seeming to understand every word the daughter of Zeus said. Thalia looked into the black eyes of the wolf and saw the underlying intelligence, masked up by the depression and sadness that was ever so present. Thalia got the strange feeling that this wolf wasn't supposed to be here. Its intelligence seemingly ahead of her time, but her primal strength and size saying otherwise. "If this is what wolves are like in the future, humanity is screwed."

Thalia continued staring at the wolf, curious about her nature. Thalia was contemplating getting Zoë to take a DNA test until Pheobe, her second in command, sounded the hunting horn. She started walking up the hill and started checking that she had everything: bow and quiver on her back, can of mace in her pocket, aegis on her wrist, tent and supplies in her backpack. Zoë soon joined her side, accepting Thalia as her new master - for now. Thalia was slightly worried about this, she knew how to keep the hunting wolves fed and happy, but none of them were over five feet tall and were smart enough to beat her in chess.

Thalia calmed her nerves and one reassuring thought came to mind, 'If Kelp Head can take care of a wolf, then I am more than capable.' As the hunters left the camp, they started jogging, under orders from Artemis to camp out somewhere in a forest near New York until she was available to join them. Thalia turned to her right and was shocked to see that Zoë was easily keeping up with them; wolves were not animals known for their ability to run for long periods of time.

As the hunters stopped for a lunch break, Zoë suddenly tensed up and started barking. The hunters looked confused to why she started acting like this; she usually was nice and quiet. Suddenly, the sky darkened and started thundering. Thalia immediately understood the meaning of her bark, "Ambush!"

The hunters wasted no time in getting into a tight circle, prepared for an attack from any direction. The land was perfect for an ambush - a large, open clearing surrounded by trees. Suddenly, a thunderbolt dropped to their left, followed by well over two-hundred monsters; a number much smaller compared to last time.

As the hunters started firing off arrows into their ranks, many of the monsters started falling, but were easily replaced by the next. As the monsters neared, Thalia met them with her spear and aegis in hand, seeing as she was the only one that didn't solely rely on hunting knives and bows, and tried to stem the flow of monsters from reaching her hunters. As the hunt shot arrow after arrow into the monster ranks, Thalia felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck and turned around, only to be met by an arrow in the side.

As Thalia looked at her wound in shock, she heard a bark so loud it seemed like a cannon was going off. In less than a few seconds, Zoë had bounded over to the draceana that shot her and mauled it to death. Zoë turned to the rest of the monsters and ran into the back ranks, dodging arrows shot by both the hunters and the monsters, ripping out any monster's throat that she could isolate from the rest of the group.

Thalia refused to give up, as the monsters were distracted by a large,150lb wolf darting through their ranks she broke off the shaft of the celestial bronze arrow stuck in her, and, with a shout of pain, pushed the rest through her side; thankfully it was only a flesh wound. Thalia ripped part of her shirt off and wrapped it around her wound. As she turned back to fight the monsters, she saw Zoë run up to the last monster - a hell hound sprinting away for its life - and jump onto its back, biting down so hard the monster died instantly.

Thalia watched as Zoë ran up to Hannah and Rachael, who were checking the rest of the hunters for injuries, and start nudging them in her direction. The daughters of Asclepius and Apollo immediately saw Thalia's blood stained, make shift bandage and ran over, ambrosia, nectar and first aid kit in hand. As Thalia was being patched up, she looked to her right, where Zoë was laying down protectively infront of her, and started petting the oversized wolf. She doesn't care how or why this wolf is here, just that she has her.

—

Tartarus, The Titanomarchy

Percy's POV (3rd)

"All will be revealed in due time my friend, for now, you may call me Nēram." With that, Nēram dissolved into golden sand, a small smirk plastered upon his face. "Come friend Percy, I must train you for the days to come. Nēram's words were not a simple threat, they were the whole truth and should not be take lightly. If the flow of time does not have someone to guide its power, it will run rampant throughout the cosmos, dismantling the foundations of the universe itself, destroying all forms of life." Bob walked past Perseus, spear in hand, and out the door, going to gods know where.

Perseus was quick to follow his old friend, traversing the ever so confusing walls of the Titanomarchy, changing their direction at every turn; up, down, left, right, diagonal, right, right, down and so many more that Percy couldn't keep track. Finally, they they passed through a door that led back out to the outside of the fortress, monster dust and destroyed doors still present. "Call your spear to you, and I will train you with it as I had once trained my younger brother Kronos."

Percy was left perplexed by Iapetus' statement, "You trained Kronos with a spear?" The Titan of the West turned to face his ever so loyal friend, "I did not train him in the ways of the spear. I trained him to control the flow of time."