▬▬▬ CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT ▬▬▬

https://youtu.be/Q_dtR775pLE

THAT'S A FLYING PIG, ESMERELDA thought deliriously.

"REEEEET!"

The squeal echoed through upper Manhattan. Demigods and monsters alike froze in terror.

"REEEEEET!"

A huge pink creature soared over the reservoir—a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade nightmare blimp with wings.

Esmerelda had no idea if she was hallucinating or not, but she wouldn't be surprised if she was. Right now she had a huge concussion from when Hyperion threw a park bench at her, plus she had used up so much of her magic that her head was pounding as if there were a bunch of hammers slamming into her skull.

She really hoped it was a hallucination though, because that flying pig was swooping down right for her.

"A sow!" Annabeth cried. "Take cover!"

"ESSIE MOVE!" Someone screamed, but Esmerelda continued to lay on the ground, way too dazed and weak to even move.

The winged lady pig swooped down, but just before it's hooves could crush her body, someone had yanked her away.

"Essie, you gotta stay awake!" The person shouted in her ear.

"Can't..." She mumbled, eyes falling shut. "Gonna pass out."

"No, don't!"

Naturally, she didn't listen. Her eyes closed shut and her mind blanked out.

She was hoping to have a blissful, dream-free sleep but the Fates never gave her what she wanted. Oh well, at least in the dreamworld all her current injuries and aches were gone.

In her dreams, she was back in Hades' garden. The lord of the dead paced up and down, holding his ears while Nico followed him, waving his arms.

Seriously? Esmerelda sighed in disappointment. Your father still isn't listening?

"You have to!" Nico insisted.

She nodded approvingly, "Yeah, you tell him Nico!"

Demeter and Persephone sat behind them at the breakfast table. Both of the goddesses looked bored out of their minds. Demeter was pouring shredded wheat into four huge bowls. Persephone was magically changing the flower arrangement on the table, turning the blossoms from red to yellow to polka-dotted.

"I don't have to do anything!" Hades' eyes blazed. "I'm a god!"

Esmerelda groaned and rolled her eyes. "You are so annoyingly stubborn, you know that?"

She was glad nobody could hear her in her dreams.

"Father," Nico continued. "If Olympus falls, your own palace's safety doesn't matter. You'll fade too."

"I am not an Olympian!" He growled. "My family has made that quite clear."

"You are," Nico said. "Whether you like it or not."

"You saw what they did to your mother!" Hades cried out. "Zeus killed her! And you would have me help them? They deserve what they get!"

Esmerelda turned to Nico in shock. He finally found out about his mother? And she was killed by Zeus? That was awful! She knew Zeus was a piece of shit but to kill Nico's mother too?!

Persephone sighed. She walked her fingers across the table, absently turning the silverware into roses. "Could we please not talk about that dreadful woman?"

Nico snapped at her, "Don't talk about my mother that way!"

"You know what would help this boy?" Demeter mused. "Farming."

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother—"

"—Six months behind a plow. Excellent character building."

Esmerelda actually kinda liked that idea.

"Huh," she muttered to herself. "It'd help him gain some muscles too. He can't be skinny forever, that's too unhealthy at the rate he's at...!"

Nico stepped in front of his father, forcing Hades to face him. "My mother understood about family. That's why she didn't want to leave us. You can't just abandon your family because they did something horrible. You've done horrible things to them too."

"Maria died!" Hades reminded him.

"She's not entirely gone!" Nico shouted back. "She wouldn't want you to be like this! You can't just cut yourself off from the other gods!"

"I've done very well at it for thousands of years." He sneered.

"And has that made you feel any better?" Nico demanded. "Has that curse on the Oracle helped you at all? Holding grudges is a fatal flaw. Bianca warned me about that, and she was right."

"For demigods! I am immortal, all-powerful! I would not help the other gods if they begged me, if Percy Jackson himself pleaded—"

"—You're just as much of an outcast as I am!" Nico yelled. "Stop being angry about it and do something helpful for once. That's the only way they'll respect you!"

Hades's palm filled with black fire.

Esmerelda's eyes widened with rage.

"Don't you dare," she bit out. "Don't you fucking dare!"

"Go ahead," Nico challenged. "Blast me. That's just what the other gods would expect from you. Prove them right."

"Yes, please," Demeter complained. "Shut him up."

Persephone sighed. "Oh, I don't know. I would rather fight in the war than eat another bowl of cereal. This is boring."

Hades roared in anger and he attacked. Esmerelda screamed, but the fireball didn't hit anyone. It struck a silver tree right next to Nico, melting it into a pool of liquid metal.

And then she woke up.

She shot up.

"Nico!" She gasped only to flinch in pain when her head throbbed at her sudden action.

She looked around. She was no longer in Hades' garden, and was instead laying on the floor of... the Walgreens store? She stumbled to her feet, her movements slow as to not cause any more pain in her head.

There were mortals sleeping on the ground, looking peaceful and thankfully unharmed. She tried not to think about the hundreds of mortals she had killed back on Brooklyn Bridge as she surveyed the rest of her surroundings.

She was somewhere at the very back of the store, where all the medicine and pain relievers were. She had no idea who had dumped her here, but the person must have wrapped up all of her wounds she sustained from her previous fights. Her head was no longer bleeding either, so an Apollo camper must have healed it.

But her head was still aching—painfully.

I don't think I should be using my powers for now. I'm way too weak. At this rate I'll pass out even longer, she told herself as she stumbled through the aisles in search of some pain medication.

She grabbed a bottle of extra strength Excederin and popped a couple pills into her mouth before swallowing them dry. Then, she unpinned her labrys and headed for the exit.

As she drew closer to the front of the store, the sound of battle grew louder.

Ohhhh shit, she thought once she walked through the doors. What the heck happened after the flying pig?!

She was somewhere in midtown, and the place had become a war zone. She saw a bunch of skirmishes everywhere. A giant was ripping up trees in Bryant Park while dryads pelted him with nuts. Outside the Waldorf Astoria, a bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin was whacking a hellhound with a rolled-up newspaper. A trio of Hephaestus campers fought a squad of dracaenae in the middle of Rockefeller Center.

"Ah shit," she cursed aloud, before joining in on the fray.

She headed up to the three Hephaestus campers first since they looked like they needed the most help.

"Heads up!" She called out, jumping on top of the hood of a car to propel herself into the air. She soared over the campers and swiped her labrys sideways, decapitating three dracaenae at once.

"Essie!" Nyssa cried out in relief behind her. "Finally awake, huh, Sleeping Beauty? How's your head?"

Esmerelda slashed at the opening of one of the monster's armor before replying, "Just fine. What the heck's going on right now? How did the city get breached?"

"It was the Clazmonian Sow," Jake grunted, sidestepping out of the way to dodge an airborne spear. "Messed up a lot of defenses. Olympus is being protected right now, but who knows for how long. They enemies are closing in on us."

Which was just wonderful.

After demolishing the squad of dracaena she spent the next few hours fighting as many monsters and enemy demigods off. But no matter how many of them she took out, many more would take their place.

Manhattan was being overrun, and she feared that there would be nothing stopping them from reaching Olympus.

She ended up running around everywhere that needed help. The things she saw weren't very reassuring.

The Hunters had set up a defensive line on 37th, just three blocks north of Olympus. To the east on Park Avenue, Jake Mason and some other Hephaestus campers were leading an army of statues against the enemy. To the west, the Demeter cabin and Grover's nature spirits had turned Sixth Avenue into a jungle that was hampering a squadron of Kronos's demigods. The south was clear for now, but the flanks of the enemy army were swinging around. A few more minutes and they'd be totally surrounded.

She raced from block to block, trying to shore up their defenses. Too many of her friends lay wounded in the streets. Too many were missing.

She just about finished laying waste on a Laistrygonian giant when she was nearly ran over by a beat-up sedan.

She threw herself back, nearly falling on her bottom in the process. The window of the car rolled down and she saw Basil's sheepish face.

"Sorry about that," he said. "But get in! We gotta head over to the Empire State Building right now!"

She was too stunned to respond, but she rushed into the car. The Stolls were in the backseat, and, for old time's sake, she squeezed herself in between them just like she had done in their very first 'road trip' six years ago.

Six years ago, she reminisced, a bittersweet feeling in her chest. So much time had passed, and they were miraculously still together.

"What's happening at the Empire State Building?" She asked as Basil ran over a crew of empousai.

"Nothing good," Connor replied, tossing a Molotov cocktail out the window. It set a dracaeana on fire and the camper battling against her was able to lob her head off. "They're closing in on Olympus."

"Everyone's heading there already," Travis added. "But I don't know how long we'll be able to defend it. There's too many enemies and I heard a Hunter say they spotted Kronos heading over too."

She swallowed thickly, holding on to the two seats in front of her as Basil abruptly swerved right. "And Percy?"

"He's there," Basil answered. "With Annabeth, some satyrs, and the rest of the Athena cabin."

"I don't want to die, you guys," Connor said shakily. "But just in case I do... or any of us do.... Well, as sappy as it sounds, I really enjoyed all our time together."

"Come on bro, don't get all sappy on us now," Travis joked weakly, reaching over to nudge his shoulder.

"Shut up," Esmerelda playfully scolded, but she could feel an ache in her heart as well. "Neither of us are gonna die. We'll make it to the end."

They had started this journey together, and they were gonna end it together.

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Like Connor had said, things were really bad as they drew closer to the Empire State Building. She could see a massive crowd of monsters closing in on a small group and knew that was where they needed to go.

Basil knew it too, because he immediately tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"Hold on tight, you guys!" He shouted, before slamming his foot on the pedal.

He rammed through the massive crowd mercilessly, running over enemy demigods and slamming into vicious monsters. The windows started to crack with every hit, dents started appearing on the metal, and Esmerelda was pretty sure someone had thrown a spear at one of their tires.

Nevertheless, they made it into the circle and exited out of the car.

"Percy, Annabeth!" She hurried over to them, helping to take out the hellhound they were up against.

"You're awake!" Annabeth panted out, cuts and bruises littering her skin.

"Sorry," she apologized. "How bad are things going?"

"Terribly," Percy replied. He, of course, looked unscathed save for his clothes.

Esmerelda wanted to say something back, but they were soon overwhelmed. More campers joined their little crowd, trying as best as they could to push the enemies back.

As the night wore on and the moon got higher, they were backed up foot by foot until they were only a block from the Empire State Building in any direction.

At one point Grover was there, bonking snake women over the head with his cudgel. Then he disappeared in the crowd, and it was Thalia, driving the monsters back with the power of her magic shield. Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere, picked up a Laistrygonian giant in her mouth, and flung him into the air like a Frisbee. Annabeth used her invisibility cap to sneak behind the enemy lines.

But it still wasn't enough.

"Hold your lines!" Katie shouted, somewhere off to the left.

The problem was there were too few of them to hold anything. The entrance to Olympus was twenty feet behind them. A ring of brave demigods, Hunters, and nature spirits guarded the doors.

Esmerelda slashed and hacked, destroying whatever she could. She knew now would be the best time to use her magic, but she didn't know how much of it she could use until she finally passed out. She was still battered down from her fight against Hyperion and everything else before that.

Behind the enemy troops, a few blocks to the east, a bright light began to shine. At first, she thought it was the sunrise. Then she realized with dread that Kronos was riding towards them on a golden chariot. A dozen Laistrygonian giants bore torches before him. Two Hyperboreans carried his black-and-purple banners. The Titan lord looked fresh and rested, his powers at full strength. He was taking his time advancing, letting the campers wear themselves down.

Annabeth spotted him too. "We have to fall back to the doorway. Hold it at all costs!"

A few seconds after she said that, the sound of a hunting horn rippled through the air.

It cut through the noise of the battle like a fire alarm. A chorus of horns answered from all around them, echoing off the buildings of Manhattan.

"That's not the Hunters," Thalia muttered. "We're all here."

"Then who?" Percy asked.

The horns got louder. Esmerelda couldn't tell where they were coming from because of the echo, but it sounded like an entire army was approaching.

She was afraid it might be more enemies, but Kronos's forces looked just as confused. Giants lowered their clubs. Dracaenae hissed. Even Kronos's honor guard looked uneasy.

Then, to the left, a hundred monsters cried out at once. Kronos's entire northern flank surged forward. Esmerelda thought they were doomed, but they didn't attack. They ran straight past them and crashed into their southern allies.

What? She thought.

A new blast of horns shattered the night. The air shimmered. In a blur of movement, an entire cavalry appeared as if dropping out of light speed.

"Yeah, baby!" A voice wailed. "PARTY!"

A shower of arrows arced overhead and slammed into the enemy, vaporizing hundreds of demons. But these weren't regular arrows. They made whizzy sounds as they flew, like WHEEEEEE! Some had pinwheels attached to them. Others had boxing gloves rather than points.

"Centaurs!" Annabeth yelled.

The Party Pony army exploded into the midst in a riot of colors: tie-dyed shirts, rainbow Afro wigs, oversize sunglasses, and war-painted faces. Some had slogans scrawled across their flanks like HORSEZ PWN or KRONOS SUX.

Hundreds of them filled the entire block.

"Percy!" Chiron shouted across the sea of wild centaurs. He was dressed in armor from the waist up, his bow in his hand, and he was grinning in satisfaction. "Sorry we're late!"

"DUDE!" Another centaur yelled. "Talk later. WASTE MONSTERS NOW!"

He locked and loaded a double-barrel paint gun and blasted an enemy hellhound bright pink. The paint must've been mixed with Celestial bronze dust or something, because as soon as it splattered the hellhound, the monster yelped and dissolved into a pink-and-black puddle.

"PARTY PONIES!" A centaur yelled. "SOUTH FLORIDA!"

Somewhere across the battlefield, a twangy voice yelled back, "HEART OF TEXAS CHAPTER!"

"HAWAII OWNS YOUR FACES!" A third one shouted.

"This is beautiful...!" Esmerelda breathed out in pure relief. So they weren't doomed after all! Yay!

The entire Titan army turned and fled, pushed back by a flood of paintballs, arrows, swords, and NERF baseball bats. The centaurs trampled everything in their path.

"Stop running, you fools!" Kronos yelled. "Stand and—ACKK!"

That last part was because a panicked Hyperborean giant stumbled backward and sat on top of him. The lord of time disappeared under a giant blue butt. She knew he wouldn't get killed by that, but she sure hoped he suffered.

The Olympian army pushed them for several blocks until Chiron yelled, "HOLD! On your promise, HOLD!"

It wasn't easy, but eventually the order got relayed up and down the ranks of centaurs, and they started to pull back, letting the enemy flee.

"Chiron's smart," Annabeth said, wiping the sweat off her face. "If we pursue, we'll get too spread out. We need to regroup."

Percy frowned. "But the enemy—"

"—They're not defeated," she agreed. "But the dawn is coming. At least we've bought some time."

"She's right," Esmerelda said, breathing heavily at Percy's other side. "Let's just be grateful we survived this attack..."

She watched as the last of the telekhines scuttled toward the East River. Then, after letting out another breath of relief, she turned and walked away.

They set up a two-block perimeter, with a command tent at the Empire State Building. Chiron informed them that the Party Ponies had sent chapters from almost every state in the Union: forty from California, two from Rhode Island, thirty from Illinois... Roughly five hundred total had answered his call, but even with that many, they couldn't defend more than a few blocks.

"Dude," said a centaur named Larry. His T-shirt identified him as BIG CHIEF UBER GUY, NEW MEXICO CHAPTER. "That was more fun than our last convention in Vegas!"

"Yeah," said Owen from South Dakota. He wore a black leather jacket and an old WWII army helmet. "We totally wasted them!"

Chiron patted Owen on the back. "You did well, my friends, but don't get careless. Kronos should never be underestimated. Now why don't you visit the diner on West 33rd and get some breakfast? I hear the Delaware chapter found a stash of root beer."

"Root beer!" They almost trampled each other as they galloped off.

"They seem fun," Connor muttered beside her. "Wish I can join them."

"Who says we can't?" Travis grinned eagerly.

Esmerelda shot them down. "Absolutely not. You're both too young and we're in the middle of war right now."

"Yes mom," they said in unison, rolling their eyes.

Basil walked over to them before collapsing on a nearby bench. "So where's your creepy little friend?"

She scowled. "Do you mean Nico? And he's not creepy."

"He kills all the plants!" He whined.

"Not on purpose! And if you must know, he's in the Underworld right now. Currently trying to persuade his father, Persephone, and Demeter to join the fight." She explained tiresomely. She wondered how that was going...

Basil immediately shot up, eyes wide. "Hold on, Demeter's not fighting alongside the Olympians?! What the heck is she doing?!"

"Nagging, mostly," she sighed heavily. "And complaining about Hades' lack of interior designing skills, something his son shares with him."

"So you're telling me," Travis rubbed his forehead. "That we've only got eight out of twelve Olympians fighting against Typhon right now? I heard Chiron say Dionysus was incapacitated yesterday when Typhon smashed his chariot and Hephaestus' is out of action too—"

"—Apparently he was thrown from the battle so hard he created a new lake in West Virginia." Connor snorted.

"Percy's dad's down in Atlantis fighting his own battle and Demeter's, what, nagging the in-laws?"

"Basically," she droned. "And Hades isn't helping at all because he's stubborn."

"We're doomed," Connor moaned in despair. "Like seriously doomed."

Esmerelda opened her mouth to reassure him, but froze.

She could hear the mechanical chop-chop-chop of a helicopter somewhere in the distance.

On a normal Monday morning in New York, this would've been no big deal, but after two days of silence, a mortal helicopter was the oddest thing she'd ever heard. A few blocks east, the monster army shouted and jeered as the helicopter came into view. It was a civilian model painted dark red, with a bright green "DE" logo on the side. The words under the logo were too small to read, but she knew what they said: DARE ENTERPRISES.

"What the fuck...?" Connor whispered.

"Rachel?" Esmerelda said incredulously.

Suddenly the helicopter pitched forward.

She cursed and jumped to her feet. "The pilot must be asleep! Be right back!"

A few meters ahead of them, she spotted Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron standing beside a car, also watching in horror as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings.

"Which one of you guys know how to work a helicopter?" She asked them.

"I do," Annabeth raised a hand as if she were in class.

She grasped her hand. "Great. Now let's go save Rachel. I'll Mist travel us up there and get Rachel out. You'll find a way to park the helicopter."

Annabeth seemed to approve the plan because she tightened her grip on Esmerelda's hand and they Mist traveled away.

They appeared inside the helicopter and were met with shrieking. Rachel, understandably, was screaming for life as she tried to smack the pilot away.

"Rachel!" Esmerelda called out loudly.

The redhead jumped. "Essie, Annabeth?! How'd you two—"

"—There's no time for that!" She grabbed her hand. "Annabeth, do your thing!"

She didn't wait to see her affirmative nod before Mist traveling back to the ground.

Rachel nearly fell flat onto her face.

"Oh my god," she groaned, holding her stomach. "That was horrible..."

"Yeah, it gets like that sometimes," Esmerelda said, feeling a little woozy herself.

She looked back up and saw that, much to her relief, the helicopter was slowly descending until it landed in the middle of Fifth Avenue.

Percy stared at Annabeth in awe as she climbed out.

"I didn't know you could fly a helicopter."

"Neither did I," she replied. "My dad's crazy into aviation. Plus, Daedalus had some notes on flying machines. I just took my best guess on the controls."

"You guys saved my life," Rachel said.

Esmerelda smiled at her. "It was no problem. I'm glad you're alright now."

Annabeth flexed her bad shoulder. "Yeah, well... let's not make a habit of it. What are you doing here, Dare? Don't you know better than to fly into a war zone?"

"Annabeth," Esmerelda sighed. Here we go again...

"I—" Rachel glanced at Percy. "I had to be here. I knew Percy was in trouble."

"Got that right," Annabeth grumbled. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some injured friends I've got to tend to. Glad you could stop by, Rachel."

"Annabeth—" Percy called.

She stormed off.

Esmerelda frowned. "Ah... just ignore her, Rachel. She's been very stressed lately. Can you tell us why you came here though? I mean... not everyone would willingly fly to a war zone and all..."

Rachel tugged at her beach shorts as she began to explain. Esmerelda could barely focus on her words though, since her eyes were drawn to her shorts. They were covered in drawings, which wasn't unusual for her, but these symbols she recognized: Greek letters, pictures from camp beads, sketches of monsters and faces of gods. She had no idea how Rachel could have known about some of that. She'd never been to Olympus or Camp Half-Blood.

She snapped back to focus though as she listened to Rachel's explanations. The poor girl had been haunted with strange visions, messages, and thoughts and couldn't figure out why. Percy, however, was apparently aware of them since he had been dreaming about hher.

"I've been seeing things too," she muttered. "I mean, not just through the Mist. This is different. I've been drawing pictures, writing lines—"

"—In Ancient Greek," Percy cut in. "Do you know what they say?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I was hoping... well, if you had gone with us on vacation, I was hoping you could have helped me figure out what's happening to me."

She looked at them pleadingly.

"It sounds like... like you're somehow telling the future...?" Esmerelda knitted her brows.

Suddenly an image of May Castellan flashed in her mind. She remembered the woman's weird, glowing eyes and how she would sometimes speak about Luke's fate and...

Wait.

Her eyes widened in realization. She locked eyes with Percy, who also looked to be coming to that conclusion.

"Rachel," he began, troubled with the situation. "I wish I knew. Maybe we should ask Chiron—"

She flinched like she'd gotten an electric shock. "Guys, something is about to happen. A trick that ends in death."

Esmerelda turned white. "What do you mean? Whose death?" She was tempted to bolt for it and find Lou Ellen right now.

"I don't know." She looked around nervously. "Don't you feel it?"

"I don't feel anything," the younger girl replied, growing more and more worried.

"Is that the message you wanted to tell me?" Percy asked.

"No." She hesitated. "I'm sorry. I'm not making sense, but that thought just came to me. The message I wrote on the beach was different. It had your name in it."

"Perseus," he recalled. "In Ancient Greek."

Rachel nodded. "I don't know its meaning. But I know it's important. You have to hear it. It said, Perseus, you are not the hero."

Percy and Esmerelda just stared at her.

"You came thousands of miles to tell me I'm not the hero?" Percy looked almost outraged.

"Rachel, um, that's not exactly the sort of news we want to hear right now..." Esmerelda trailed off.

"I'm sorry, but it's important," she insisted. "It will affect what you do."

"Not the hero of the prophecy?" He asked. "Not the hero who defeats Kronos? What do you mean?"

"I'm... I'm sorry, Percy. That's all I know. I had to tell you because—"

"—Well!" Chiron cantered over. "This must be Miss Dare."

It wasn't exactly the best time for him to show up, but they introduced him to Rachel anyways.

"Hello," Rachel said glumly. She didn't look at all surprised that Chiron was a centaur.

"You are not asleep, Miss Dare," he noticed. "And yet you are mortal?"

"I'm mortal," she agreed, like it was a depressing thought. "The pilot fell asleep as soon as we passed the river. I don't know why I didn't. I just knew I had to be here, to warn Percy."

"Warn Percy?"

"She's been seeing things," said boy explained. "Writing lines and making drawings."

Chiron raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? Tell me."

She recanted everything she had said.

Chiron stroked his beard. "Miss Dare... perhaps we should talk."

Esmerelda eyed him worriedly, wondering if he also knew the odd connection between Rachel and Ms. Castellan.

"Chiron," Percy suddenly blurted out. "You... you'll help Rachel, right? I mean, you'll warn her that she's got to be careful with this stuff. Not go too far."

His tail flicked like it does when he's anxious.

"Yes, Percy. I will do my best to understand what is happening and advise Miss Dare, but this may take some time. Meanwhile, you should rest. We've moved your parents' car to safety. The enemy seems to be staying put for now. We've set up bunks in the Empire State Building. Get some sleep."

Esmerelda and Percy trudged back to the building. On the way there, she whispered, "You know something, don't you? About Ms. Castellan... and Rachel."

The troubled look returned to his face. "I had a dream of what really happened to Ms. Castellan. She... she tried to become the Oracle, but the Oracle was cursed so the process failed. That's why she's the way she is now."

"And that's how she knew what would happen to Luke..." She trailed off. "Oh how awful..."

"Rachel is... well, I've been getting the same vibes from her lately. She reminds me of how Ms. Castellan used to be before she tried to become the Oracle, and well, I'm fucking terrified that she'll lose her mind too."

"What was the process?" She asked.

He told her all about the dream. About how Hermes had actually taken Ms. Castellan and Luke (back when he was a baby) to Camp Half-Blood. He hadn't seen it, but Ms. Castellan had walked up the steps to the attic to speak with the Oracle and... and that was how it happened.

"Well," Esmerelda smiled grimly. "It looks like we just have to make sure she doesn't get into Camp Half-Blood."

"Something tells me that'll be easier said then done," he grumbled. "She's pretty stubborn. Speaking of stubborn..." He trailed off.

She knew who he was thinking about. "Annabeth's fine," she reassured. "Just jealous."

He nearly tripped on a rock. "Jealous?"

She giggled softly. "Gods, you're dense."

He blushed. "Geez, Essie, since when were you such a love guru?"

"Since I started hanging out with Silena," she sighed wistfully. "Oh, by the way, have you seen her lately?"

The redness in his cheeks faded and Percy frowned thoughtfully. "No, I don't think so. She's around somewhere though. She was probably sent out on watch duty."

"Oh, okay," Esmerelda allowed herself to relax, but she still felt like something was wrong.

Nevertheless, they trudged back to the Empire State Building and shared a bunk.

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Just one peaceful dream, Esmerelda thought to herself. That's all I ask for.

"So I guess we're sharing another dream again, huh?" Came another tired voice beside her.

She nearly jumped and whirled around. "Oh, it's just you, Percy... Do you know where we are?"

"The United Nations," he frowned. "That's about a mile northeast of the Empire State Building. Definitely not good."

"...How do you know the distance?"

"I had to do a research report about the UN," he shrugged.

"And you talked about the distance between it and the Empire State Building?"

"There was six page requirement! Of course I had to add in a bunch of useless info," he said defensively.

She shook her head in amusement before going back to watch the scene.

They were standing outside the United Nations. The Titan army had set up camp all around the UN complex. The flagpoles were hung with horrible trophies—helmets and armor pieces from defeated campers. All along First Avenue, giants sharpened their axes. Telekhines repaired armor at makeshift forges.

Kronos himself paced at the top of the plaza, swinging his scythe so his dracaenae bodyguards stayed way back. Ethan and Prometheus stood nearby, out of slicing range. Ethan was fidgeting with his shield straps, but Prometheus looked as calm and collected as ever in his tuxedo.

She looked around for Alabaster but couldn't find him. That made her worry. Was he dead? Was he trying to sneak into the Empire State Building to kill her in her sleep? She wouldn't be surprised if it was the latter...

"I hate this place," Kronos growled. "United Nations. As if mankind could ever unite. Remind me to tear down this building after we destroy Olympus."

"Yes, lord." Prometheus smiled as if his master's anger amused him. "Shall we tear down the stables in Central Park too? I know how much horses can annoy you."

"Don't mock me, Prometheus! Those cursed centaurs will be sorry they interfered. I will feed them to the hellhounds, starting with that son of mine—that weakling Chiron."

"Chiron's not weak," Percy scowled.

Prometheus shrugged. "That weakling destroyed an entire legion of telekhines with his arrows."

Kronos swung his scythe and cut a flagpole in half. The national colors of Brazil toppled into the army, squashing a dracaena.

"We will destroy them!" Kronos roared. "It is time to unleash the drakon. Nakamura, you will do this."

"Oh no," Esmerelda moaned in despair.

Ethan stood up straight. "Y-yes, lord. At sunset?"

"No," Kronos said. "Immediately. The defenders of Olympus are badly wounded. They will not expect a quick attack. Besides, we know this drakon they cannot beat."

"A drakon?" Esmerelda echoed weakly.

Well, at least they knew an attack was coming, but a drakon... That was terrifying. She remembered years ago, when a drakon had came into camp due to the weakened borders. It was a massacre...

She did not want to relive that again.

Ethan looked confused. "My lord?"

"Never you mind, Nakamura. Just do my bidding. I want Olympus in ruins by the time Typhon reaches New York. We will break the gods utterly!"

"But, my lord," Ethan said. "Your regeneration."

Kronos pointed at Ethan, and the demigod froze.

Esmerelda tensed up in fear.

"Does it seem," Kronos hissed. "That I need to regenerate?"

Ethan didn't respond. Kind of hard to do when you're immobilized in time. Kronos snapped his fingers and Ethan collapsed. Esmerelda tried to catch him, but forgot that she was in a dream.

"Soon," the Titan growled. "This form will be unnecessary. I will not rest with victory so close. Now, go!"

Ethan scrambled away.

"This is dangerous, my lord," Prometheus warned. "Do not be hasty."

He sneered, "Hasty? After festering for three thousand years in the depths of Tartarus, you call me hasty? I will slice Percy Jackson into a thousand pieces."

"Thrice you've fought him," Prometheus pointed out. "And yet you've always said it is beneath the dignity of a Titan to fight a mere mortal. I wonder if your mortal host is influencing you, weakening your judgment."

"Oof," Percy winced. "He's gonna get his ass whooped for that."

Esmerelda nodded in agreement. For someone whose supposed to be crafty with his words, that was a pretty dumb thing for Prometheus to say...

Kronos turned his golden eyes on the other Titan.

"You call me weak?"

"No, my lord. I only meant—"

"—Are your loyalties divided?" Kronos' voice turned deathly. "Perhaps you miss your old friends, the gods. Would you like to join them?"

Prometheus paled. "I misspoke, my lord. Your orders will be carried out." He turned to the armies and shouted, "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

The troops began to stir. From somewhere behind the UN compound, an angry roar shook the city—the sound of a drakon waking.

"Oh no," Percy and Esmerelda said in unison before they woke up.

They shot up from bed. Percy, who had been sleeping on the top bunk, didn't even bother with the ladder and jumped right down, landing next to Esmerelda.

They were awake, but even then they could hear the roar of the drakon a mile away.

Grover turned to them, looking nervous. "What was that?"

"They're coming," Percy told him. "And we're in trouble."

╞═════𖠁𐂃𖠁═════╡

The Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire. The Apollo cabin and the Hunters were scrounging for arrows. Most of them had already ingested so much ambrosia and nectar they didn't dare take any more. Esmerelda included, with the addition of painkillers for her goddamn headache. It was a lot milder now, so she hoped that was a sign that she was recharged and good to go with her magical attacks.

They had sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, and half a dozen satyrs left in fighting shape. The rest had taken refuge on Olympus. The Party Ponies tried to form ranks, but they staggered and giggled and they all smelled like root beer. The Texans were head-butting the Coloradoans. The Missouri branch was arguing with Illinois. The chances were pretty good the whole army would end up fighting each other rather than the enemy.

Chiron trotted up with Rachel on his back.

"Your friend here has some useful insights, Percy," he complimented.

Rachel blushed. "Just some things I saw in my head."

"A drakon," Chiron said. "A Lydian drakon, to be exact. The oldest and most dangerous kind."

Percy stared at her. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not sure," Rachel admitted. "But this drakon has a particular fate. It will be killed by a child of Ares."

Annabeth crossed her arms. "How can you possibly know that?"

"I just saw it. I can't explain."

"Oh no!" Esmerelda suddenly gasped. She turned to Percy, "Percy, remember in our dream?"

Annabeth frowned. "Hold on, you two have been sharing dreams?"

"Not now, Annabeth," she said hastily. "Kronos said that the drakon was something we couldn't beat! The spy, whoever they are, must have told him that the Ares cabin isn't with us."

He cursed. "He intentionally picked a monster we can't kill."

Thalia scowled. "If I ever catch your spy, he's going to be very sorry. Maybe we could send another messenger to camp—"

"—I've already done it," Chiron said. "Blackjack is on his way. But if Silena wasn't able to convince Clarisse, I doubt Blackjack will be able—"

A roar shook the ground. It sounded very close.

"Rachel," Percy said quickly. "Get inside the building."

She shook her head. "I want to stay."

A shadow blotted out the sun. Across the street, the drakon slithered down the side of a skyscraper. It roared, and a thousand windows shattered.

"On second thought," Rachel said in a small voice. "I'll be inside."

Esmerelda was not looking forward to this fight. She had faced huge beasts before, but nothing like the Lydian drakon. The dragons back at Hogwarts would probably make a nice, light snack, for this particular monster.

You see, Drakons were several millennia older than dragons, and much much larger. They looked like giant serpents. Most didn't have wings. Most didn't breathe fire (though some did like the one that attacked camp). All were poisonous. All were immensely strong, with scales harder than titanium. Their eyes could paralyze you, and not the turn-you-to-stone Medusa type paralysis, but the oh-my-gods-that-big-snake-is-going-to-eat-me type of paralysis, which was just as bad.

Drakon-fighting classes were available at camp, but there was no way to prepare for this one.

This particular drakon was humongous, about two hundred feet long and as thick as a school bus. It was slithering down the side of a building, its yellow eyes like searchlights and its mouth full of razor-sharp teeth big enough to chew elephants.

Meanwhile, the enemy army advanced down Fifth Avenue. Everyone had done their best to push cars out of the way to keep the mortals safe, but that just made it easier for the enemies to approach. The Party Ponies swished their tails nervously. Chiron galloped up and down their ranks, shouting encouragement to stand tough and think about victory and root beer, but Esmerelda figured any second they would panic and run.

Beside her, Percy stepped forward.

"I'll take the drakon." His voice kinda came out as a timid squeak. Then he yelled louder: "I'LL TAKE THE DRAKON! Everyone else, hold the line against the army!"

Then, much to Esmerelda's horror, he turned to face her and Annabeth.

"Will you guys help me?" He asked.

"That's what I do," Annabeth said miserably. "I help my friends."

"Essie?" He turned to her.

She plastered on a fake smile. "Sure...!"

I'm gonna die. She thought, and wondered if this was what her mother had meant.

"Annabeth, go invisible," he instructed. "Look for weak links in its armor while I keep it busy. Just be careful. Essie, I need you to Mist travel on top of the drakon and blind it. Maybe also keep it from sniffing anyone else or opening it's mouth."

Esmerelda's legs trembled with fear. "Got it..." She said weakly.

He nodded in approval and whistled.

"Mrs. O'Leary, heel!"

"ROOOF!"

The loveable hellhound leaped over a line of centaurs, smelling suspiciously like pepperoni pizza.

Percy drew his sword and they charged the monster.

The drakon was three stories above them, slithering sideways along the building as it sized up their forces. Wherever it looked, centaurs froze in fear.

From the north, the enemy army crashed into the Party Ponies, and their lines broke. The drakon lashed out, swallowing three Californian centaurs in one gulp before the three demigods could even get close.

Mrs. O'Leary launched herself through the air—a deadly black shadow with teeth and claws. Normally, a pouncing hellhound was a terrifying sight, but next to the drakon, Mrs. O'Leary looked like a child's night-night doll.

Her claws raked harmlessly off the drakon's scales. She bit the monster's throat but couldn't make a dent. Her weight, however, was enough to knock the drakon off the side of the building. It flailed awkwardly and crashed to the sidewalk, hellhound and serpent twisting and thrashing.

The drakon tried to bite Mrs. O'Leary, but she was too close to the serpent's mouth. Poison spewed everywhere, melting centaurs into dust along with quite a few monsters, but Mrs. O'Leary weaved around the serpent's head, scratching and biting.

Esmerelda concentrated hard on the drakon's back before Mist traveling away, praying she wouldn't accidentally land herself into it's opened mouth or something equally as terrifying.

"Omfh!" She grunted, falling face forward onto a hard surface full of scales.

At least she landed on it's back.

The drakon must have sensed her though, because it crashed itself into a building in order to scrape her off. She held on tight and conjured up a shield to protect her from the falling debris.

She yanked on one of her charms and held the handle of her dagger in her mouth before climbing forward.

The worst thing about the drakon's scales were that they were sharp and jagged, not just insanely strong. So by the time she reached the drakon's head, she was bleeding all over with little stabs and lacerations her arms, hands, torso, knees, and legs. She kinda looked like a battered up version of Carrie on homecoming night. 

She grabbed on to the base of it's horns, nearly slipping off from how much blood was on her hands.

While holding for dear life in one hand, she used her free one to snatch the dagger from her mouth. She raised it over her head and brought it down deep into the monster's left eye. The spotlight went dark. The drakon hissed and reared back to strike, and she had to hold on tight again.

It bit a swimming-pool-size chunk out of the pavement, spitting it out at a group of unfortunate campers.

The rest of the battle wasn't going well. The centaurs had panicked under the onslaught of giants and demons. An occasional orange camp T-shirt appeared in the sea of fighting, but quickly disappeared. Arrows screamed. Fire exploded in waves across both armies, but the action was moving across the street to the entrance of the Empire State Building.

"PERCY!" Esmerelda shouted. "We're losing ground!"

There was no reply, most likely because her voice was being blocked from all the destruction.

"Essie, help me out here!" Came Annabeth's voice.

She turned and saw that Annabeth had somehow managed to climb onto the drakon's back as well. Her invisibility cap rolled off her head as she drove her bronze knife between a chink in the serpent's scales.

Realizing what she was doing, Esmerelda also joined, but only for a short while.

The drakon roared. It coiled around, knocking both girls off its back. Esmerelda Mist traveled herself to safety while Annabeth was caught by Percy right before she could hit the ground.

Meanwhile their allies had retreated to the doors of the Empire State Building. The entire enemy army was surrounding them.

They were out of options. No more help was coming. Esmerelda, Annabeth, and Percy would have to retreat before they were completely cut off from Mount Olympus.

Then they heard a rumbling in the south. It wasn't a sound you'd hear much in New York, but Esmerelda recognized it immediately: chariot wheels.

A girl's voice yelled, "ARES!" And a dozen war chariots charged into battle. Each flew a red banner with the symbol of the wild boar's head. Each was pulled by a team of skeletal horses with manes of fire. A total of thirty fresh warriors, armor gleaming and eyes full of hate, lowered their lances as one—making a bristling wall of death.

"The children of Ares!" Annabeth said in amazement. "How did Rachel know?"

Leading the charge was a girl in familiar red armor, her face covered by a boar's-head helm. She held aloft a spear that crackled with electricity.

Clarisse herself had come to the rescue. But something was off. Clarisse was shorter and smaller. And her voice was higher pitched than normal...

While half the chariots charged the monster army, Clarisse led the other six straight for the drakon.

The serpent reared back and managed to throw off Mrs. O'Leary. She hit the side of the building with a yelp.

Then the serpent had already zeroed in on the new threat. Even with only one eye, its glare was enough to paralyze two chariot drivers. They veered into a line of cars. The other four chariots kept charging. The monster bared its fangs to strike and got a mouthful of Celestial bronze javelins.

"EEESSSSS!!!!!" It screamed, which is probably drakon for OWWWW!

"Ares, to me!" Clarisse screamed, and Esmerelda's heart dropped now that she had heard the voice a second time.

That was not Clarisse, she knew it now. Because Clarisse had never once sounded like that, even in the exhaustion of battle.

Across the street, the arrival of six chariots gave the Party Ponies new hope. They rallied at the doors of the Empire State Building, and the enemy army was momentarily thrown into confusion.

Meanwhile, 'Clarisse's' chariots circled the drakon. Lances broke against the monster's skin. Skeletal horses breathed fire and whinnied. Two more chariots overturned, but the warriors simply leaped to their feet, drew their swords, and went to work. They hacked at chinks in the creature's scales. They dodged poison spray like they'd been training for this all their lives, which of course they had.

No one could say the Ares campers weren't brave. 'Clarisse' was right there in front, stabbing her spear at the drakon's face, trying to put out its other eye.

But as Esmerelda watched, things started to go wrong. The drakon snapped up one Ares camper in a gulp. It knocked aside another and sprayed poison on a third, who retreated in a panic, his armor melting.

Esmerelda shakily rose to her feet and Mist traveled over to the one whose armor was melting off.

"ARRRGHHH!" He screamed in pain, trying to remove the armor before it could reach the rest of his body, but every time he tried to touch it, he would recoil in pain.

"Sherman," she realized who it was. "Hold still!"

His armor glowed green, and slipped off of him before it could burn him any further.

Sherman shakily removed his helmet, his face and skin red. "Essie..." He breathed out in relief. "Thank you."

"Fall back," she told him sternly. "I mean it, alright? You can't fight against this thing without any armor."

He wanted to argue with her, but then his eyes widened. "WATCH OUT!" He suddenly yelled, then he tackled her to the side.

It was his turn to save her now. Had he not tackled her away, she would've been showered in drakon acid. A puddle of yellow foamy poison boiled the pavement she once stood.

"Oh gods," she gasped out, shaking from head to toe as she and Sherman scrambled to their feet. "T-thank you..."

"I'll fall back and collect the wounded," he promised her. "But you gotta watch out too, okay?"

She nodded in reply, and they both parted ways.

Esmerelda helped Percy and Annabeth distract the drakon. She could see 'Clarisse' in the corner of her eyes. Through her helmet, she could see a pair of familiar baby blue eyes.

Clarisse's eyes weren't blue. She knew who owned eyes like that. But it couldn't be, she wouldn't—

"ARES!" She shouted, in that strangely shrill voice. She leveled her spear and charged the drakon.

"No," Percy cried out. "WAIT!"

But the monster looked down at her—almost in contempt—and spat poison directly in her face.

She screamed and fell.

"NO!" Esmerelda shrieked.

At the edge of her vision, she saw a flying chariot land on Fifth Avenue. Then someone ran toward them.

A girl's voice, shaken with grief, cried, "NO! Curse you, WHY?"

Esmerelda reached 'Clarisse's' fallen body just as the newcomer had.

"Clarisse..." She breathed out, before looking down at the fallen figure. Her armor smoked with poison. The other Ares campers and Annabeth joined them.

Esmerelda rose a hand, and the helmet glowed green. She knew exactly whose face she would see, but the fear kept running through her veins.

The helmet came off.

Esmerelda breath hitched.

It was Silena

Her features, once beautiful, were badly burned from poison. There was no amount of nectar or ambrosia that could save her.

She was dying.

"WHY?" The real Clarisse demanded, holding Silena in her arms while the campers stared in stunned horror.

Chris Rodriguez ran over from the flying chariot.

The drakon tugged its head from the brick wall and screamed in rage.

"Look out!" Chris warned Percy.

Instead of turning towards the latter, the drakon whirled toward the sound of Chris's voice. It bared its fangs at him and slithered forward.

Esmerelda turned away from Silena, unable to look at her face. She Mist traveled over to Chris' side and grabbed him before he could be gobbled up. She was too tired to return to the group, so she and Chris had to run there with Chris trying to support her.

The real Clarisse looked up at the drakon, her face filled with absolute hate.

"YOU WANT DEATH?" Clarisse screamed at the drakon. "WELL, COME ON!"

She grabbed her spear from Silena. Then, she charged the drakon.

"CLARISSE, WAIT!" Esmerelda shouted hoarsely. She had no armor, not even a shield!

But Clarisse didn't seem to need it. She leaped aside as the monster struck, pulverizing the ground in front of her. Then she jumped onto the creature's head. As it reared up, she drove her electric spear into its good eye with so much force it shattered the shaft, releasing all of the magic weapon's power.

Electricity arced across the creature's head, causing its whole body to shudder. Clarisse jumped free, rolling safely to the sidewalk as smoke boiled from the drakon's mouth. The drakon's flesh dissolved, and it collapsed into a hollow scaly tunnel of armor.

Everyone stared at Clarisse in awe. Esmerelda had never seen anyone take down such a huge monster single-handedly. But Clarisse didn't seem to care. She ran back to Silena.

Percy finally joined them as well, and when he saw who it was, his footsteps faltered.

The battle still raged along Fifth Avenue, but for that moment nothing existed except for their small circle and the fallen girl.

Esmerelda remembered Rachel's warning: Something is about to happen, she had said. A trick that ends in death.

This was what she meant.

"What were you thinking?" Clarisse cradled Silena's head in her lap.

Silena tried to swallow, but her lips were dry and cracked.

"Wouldn't... listen. Cabin would... only follow you."

"So you stole my armor," Clarisse said in disbelief. "You waited until Chris and I went out on patrol; you stole my armor and pretended to be me." She glared at her siblings. "And NONE of you noticed?"

The Ares campers developed a sudden interest in their combat boots.

"Don't blame them," Silena whispered. "They wanted to... to believe I was you."

"You stupid Aphrodite girl," Clarisse sobbed. "You charged a drakon? Why?"

"All my fault," Silena said, a tear streaking the side of her face. "The drakon, Charlie's death... camp endangered—"

"—No, Silena!" Esmerelda let out a strangled sob, her own eyes spilling with tears. "That's not true. I told you, none of that was your fault! Even Charlie said so, he—"

The words died in her mouth as Silena opened her hand. In her palm was a silver bracelet with a scythe charm, the mark of Kronos.

"...You were the spy." Percy whispered, looking like he had been slapped in the face.

Silena tried to nod. "Before... before I liked Charlie, Luke was nice to me. He was so... charming. Handsome. Later, I wanted to stop helping him, but he threatened to tell. He promised... he promised I was saving lives. Fewer people would get hurt. He told me he wouldn't hurt... Charlie. He lied to me."

Annabeth's face turned chalky. She looked like somebody had just yanked the world out from under her feet.

Behind the, the battle raged. Clarisse scowled at her cabin mates.

"Go, help the centaurs. Protect the doors. GO!"

They scrambled off to join the fight.

Silena took a heavy, painful breath. "Forgive me."

"You're not dying," Clarisse insisted.

"Charlie..." Silena's eyes were a million miles away. "See Charlie..."

She didn't speak again.

Clarisse held her and wept. Chris put a hand on her shoulder.

Finally, Esmerelda closed Silena's eyes.

"We have to fight." Annabeth's voice was brittle. "She gave her life to help us. We have to honor her."

Clarisse sniffled and wiped her nose. "She was a hero, understand? A hero. Essie... once we make it out of this—and we will make it out of this—you make sure she reaches Elysium."

Esmerelda couldn't stop crying, but she nodded in response.

"I'll—I'll make sure she—s-sees Beckendorf again," she said through sobs.

Percy's face was set with determination. He rose to his feet. "Come on, you guys."

Clarisse picked up a sword from one of her fallen siblings. "Kronos is going to pay."

— author's note —

IN THE NEXT CHAPTER, YOU ALL WILL FINALLY FIND OUT WHO I PICKED FOR THE ENDGAME COUPLE!!!!!!

Essan shippers:

Jessie shippers:

THIS IS YOUR FINAL CHANCE TO GUESSSSS WHO I PICKED!!!!!!

But remember, I will NOT do love triangles, so who I picked is IT.

Plus, can you imagine Essie in a love triangle?? She won't realize wtf is going on. She'll be more concerned with making sure Nico's well-fed and shit 😂 😂 😂 😂 😂