Facing my destiny (4)

{Tartarus, Unknown Time}

Odysseus POV

Four Titans and the fourth strongest monster were barreling towards me, while the Crooked one himself had the Master Bolt aimed at me ready to smite (or snipe) at any moment while the dude who had cause all this was flying by his side like some evil henchman with a hump.

Melinoe looked at me, her eyes doing most of the talking since yelling your plan while your enemy charged at you wasn't the brightest move.

While I hadn't planned on the fact that Kronos would be able to break through Tartarus so easily and bring down Kampe herself, things were mostly still on track since I had thought of facing the Titans and Melinoe was going to play a central part along with the three heads.

Three tendrils shot out from shadow dangling something in their tips. The heads of Medua, Euryale and Stheno. After all this was my trump card, the gorgon heads were powerful, powerful enough to temporary freeze even Titans as even Atlas, Kronos' strongest general had been petrified by Medusa's gaze for a while once.

I wasn't sure how much time the petrification would last since I had never had the chance to actually use it, well I mean I could have used it against Atlas at the Mountain of Despair but I didn't want to petrify the guy holding the fucking sky, who knows what could have happened what if the entire sky fell once he was petrified, I wasn't gonna risk it, now however there were no such restrictions.

Kampe's shriek pierced the air like a thousand nails on the world's largest chalkboard. I swear, if Tartarus had windows, they would've shattered. Her eyes widened in horror as she realized what I was holding. Let me tell you, when a monster that's basically a mash-up of every scary creature in Greek mythology looks terrified, you know you're doing something right.

But Kampe wasn't the fourth most dangerous monster for nothing. Faster than you could say "Oh shit," she snapped her eyes shut.

Talk about monster reflexes. I made a mental note to ask Chiron if there was a Monster Gymnastics category in the Titan Olympics.

The Titans, on the other hand? Not so lucky. Or maybe they were just too busy admiring their own reflections in their celestial bronze armor. Either way, they got a face full of Gorgon vision.

Hyperion, Koios, Krios, and Iapetus froze mid-charge, their expressions a mixture of surprise and "Oh no, not again." I could almost hear the record scratch as they realized their mistake. The stone crept up their bodies like the world's fastest-growing ivy, turning them into the weirdest garden statues Tartarus had ever seen.

Kronos, hovering above like some evil puppetmaster, clenched his jaw so hard I thought he might crack a golden tooth. His eyes burned with the kind of fury that could probably microwave a burrito from across the room.

But he didn't move. He just glared at me, and let me tell you, if looks could kill, I'd be a pile of ash with a "Here lies Odysseus, he tried" tombstone.

Melinoe, standing beside me like the world's gothest sidekick, pulled out her whistle. It was half white, half black, and looked like something you'd find in a Happy Meal from the Underworld.

When she blew it, the sound that came out was like a mix between a banshee's wail and a New York taxi driver's horn.

Suddenly, five trains materialized out of the mist. And when I say trains, I don't mean your average Amtrak. Their ghostly metal bodies half white and half black splitting down the middle, like the trains had decided to have a race war with themselves.

"Go!" I shouted, feeling like the world's most unqualified train conductor. The four nearest iron beasts charged towards the petrified Titans, while I jumped onto the fifth one heading for Kampe.

Let me tell you, leaping onto a moving otherworldly train while holding three severed heads with tendrils made form your own shadow is not something they teach you at Camp Half-Blood. Maybe they should add it to the curriculum.

As we barreled towards Kampe, I couldn't resist a little trash talk. "Come on, you overgrown chimera!" I yelled. "What's wrong? Afraid of a little stone?"

Taunting a monster that could rip me apart faster than I could say "oops" probably wasn't my smartest move, but hey, when in Tartarus, do as the Tartarians do. Plus, it's not like my life expectancy was particularly long at this point anyway.

Kampe, with her eyes still shut tighter than Zeus's wallet, swung her tail and claws wildly. It was kind of ironic, I was fighting a person who was basiclaly blind at the moment, it felt like retribution from my early years, basically it felt fan fucking tastic. (Don't hit blind people guys)

I focused on my spear, calling the shadows to it. The weapon grew and morphed in my hand, becoming less "pointy stick" and more "incarnation of darkness with a pointy end." It was pretty cool, not gonna lie.

With all the strength I could muster (which, thanks to my shadow powers, was quite a lot), I hurled the spear at Kampe. It flew through the air like a streak of midnight, piercing through Kampe's heart faster than you could say "shish kebab."

For a moment, Kampe just stood there, probably wondering if this was some elaborate prank. Then, with a sound that was half roar, half "Aw, come on!", she exploded into golden dust. It was like someone had set off a glitter bomb in Tartarus.

I reached out, and my spear rematerialized in my hand. The tattoo on my hand glowed briefly, like it was giving me a "good job, boss" before fading back to normal. I allowed myself a moment of triumph.

One super-monster down, one Titan Lord and his boy band to go.

But my victory dance was cut short as I turned to see how the other trains were doing. Remember those Titan statues? Turns out, even when being turned into stone my older cousins were still pretty fucking durable.

The trains had smashed into them with all the force of, well, a train, but the Titans were still standing. It was like watching a cartoon character run into a brick wall.

My heart sank. This was probably one of the worst outcomes for this phase of the plan, but oh well, I kind of expected it with how my luck had been going these past few weeks… no, my entire life actually.

The trains groaned and screeched to a halt, probably as confused as I was about why the laws of physics had decided to take a coffee break.

Melinoe looked at me, her expression a mix of "Now what?" and "I knew that wouldn't work, I just lost plenty of good souls." But I waved her off. "Stick to the plan!" I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. "They're not our priority."

She nodded, though I could practically hear her thinking, "The plan? You mean the one you came up with somewhat half hazardly before we began facing all these monsters/ titans.

But she guided the train upwards, towards where Kronos and Luke were hovering.

As we rose, I could feel Kronos's rage building. The air crackled with energy, making my hair stand on end. It was like being in the world's most dangerous static electricity experiment.

The Master Bolt in Kronos's hand sparked and flashed, reminding me that Zeus's favorite toy was not something you wanted pointed in your direction.

Luke hovered next to Kronos, looking like he was seriously reconsidering his career choices. His eyes darted between Kronos and me, he still looked terrified of me, which he should be, because if I ever got my hands on him...

I readied the Gorgon heads with the tendrils of shadow, hoping against hope that we might get lucky twice.

But Kronos, proving that he hadn't gotten to be Titan Lord by being an idiot, activated Hades' helm of darkness. His entire form was suddenly cloaked in shadows so deep they made the darkness around me look like a sunny day at the beach.

The Gorgon's gaze swept over him uselessly. It was like trying to petrify a shadow (ironic I know). Even in the midst of battle, I couldn't help but think, "Show-off."

Luke, showing a rare moment of quick thinking, squeezed his eyes shut. I almost wanted to give him a gold star for effort.

Kronos, on the other hand, kept his gaze fixed on me. His golden eyes blazed through the shadows like headlights from the world's angriest car. I could practically hear him thinking, "I'm going to turn this demigod into a grease spot on the floor of Tartarus."

Then, with a roar that probably made monsters in the deepest parts of Tartarus wet themselves, Kronos unleashed the full power of the Master Bolt.

Now, I've seen lightning before. Heck, I had just seen the Bolt being used before, plus I had been on the receiving end of Thalia's spark fingers more times than I could count.

But this? This was like someone had taken all the lightning in the world, compressed it into a single bolt, and then decided, "Nah, not enough, let's make it angrier."

The bolt tore through the air towards me, raw power made manifest. The air itself seemed to split open before it, reality warping like a fun house mirror. It was beautiful, in a "Oh gods, I'm about to be vaporized" kind of way.

As almost certain death hurtled towards me at the speed of, well, lightning, I felt an odd sense of calm. This was it. The moment everything had been leading up to, my final gambit. No pressure, right?

"All according to plan," I whispered to myself, readying myself more to put the last part of my plan in action.

Then in an instant, I was surrounded by burning blue light.