The next time Lila sees Percy and Annabeth, it's twilight, the summer day coming to an end. 

After Prometheus's revelations, she decides to try and forget about them as well as she can. They're in real danger now; she doesn't have the time or the energy to stress about her parentage or however she was born. Instead, she prepares with the other Head Counsellors. Some of the Hermes cabin go out and raid some shops, and with the Demeter cabin, Lila helps to cook as much food as they can for people to eat. They restock on herbs, ambrosia, nectar, as much of it as they can find. 

By nightfall, everyone meets at the Reservoir. Percy smiles when he sees Lila, pulling her into a hug. "You okay?"

She smiles shakily toward him. "Sure." 

Annabeth's with him - she looks pale, and she's shielding her wounded arm like it hurts to hold the shield, but from the resigned expression on Percy's face, he's given up trying to stop her from fighting. "Don't say it," Annabeth says immediately, before Lila can even open her mouth. 

"I wasn't going to say anything," she protests weakly. 

"They're coming," Thalia interrupts, pointing northward with a silver arrow. "One of my scouts just reported they've crossed the Harlem River. There was no way to hold them back. The army . . ." She shrugs casually. "It's huge."

Lila adjusts her armour. They're all more well-equipped for this fight than they were yesterday - they've slept, eaten, planned what they're going to do. They have at least some idea of what they're facing, and what they have to work with. Her spear is out, a shield at her side, but she's also concealed a knife in her combat boot, and a dagger is strapped to her waist, for emergencies. 

"We'll hold them at the park," Percy says, squeezing Lila's hand. "Grover, you ready?"

He nods. "As ready as we'll ever be. If my nature spirits can stop them anywhere, this is the place."

"Yes, we will!" another voice interrupts. A satyr pushes through the crowd, stumbling over his own spear. He's dressed in wood bark armour similar to Grover's, though on him it looks aged and uncomfortable.

"Leneus?" Percy frowns.

"Don't act so surprised," he huffs. "I am a leader of the Council, and you did tell me to find Grover. Well, I found him, and I'm not going to let a mere outcast lead the satyrs without my help!" Behind Leneus's back, Grover makes gagging motions. "Never fear! We'll show those Titans!"

Lila turns away to cover her laughter from the angry satyr, her shoulders shaking with the effort of not laughing. 

Somehow, Percy keeps his composure. "Um . . . yeah. Well, Grover, you won't be alone. Lila, Annabeth and the Athena cabin will make their stand here. And me, and . . . Thalia?"

She pats him on the shoulder. "Say no more. The Hunters are ready."

Percy turns to the other counsellors - Jake Mason, Pollux, Katie, the Stoll Brothers, Will Solace -since Michael Yew is missing, presumed dead. "That leaves the rest of you with a job just as important. You have to guard the other entrances to Manhattan. You know how tricky Kronos is. He'll hope to distract us with this big army and sneak another force in somewhere else. It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. Has each cabin chosen a bridge or tunnel?"

They all nod.

"Then let's do it," he encourages. "Good hunting, everybody!"

They disperse, and they continue their preparations. Lila goes to join Grover and the nature spirits - they're making as many traps as they can and laying them in certain parts of the wood, in an attempt to corral the army over to where Annabeth wants them. Lila's actually more useful than many dryads, as she can influence many different plants, while many of the spirits only have power over one species. 

Then they hear the army.

Lila's never been to a concert or a stadium, but she imagines the noise to be similar. The ground vibrates - secondary vibrations, caused by the monsters marching in unison. They're all shouting, hollering battle cries, waving Kronos's flag high above them. 

At the end of the reservoir, part of the army breaks through the woods - a shiny golden warrior leads a bunch of giants out. Lila guesses it's Hyperion, but she can't be sure. 

"Positions!" Annabeth yells.

The Athena cabin scramble into their places - the plan is to split the army up, forcing them onto the trails so they walk in narrow columns. At first, it works. When they get halfway across the reservoir, the defences and traps are sprung, and the trail erupts in Greek fire, incinerating monsters. Some of Annabeth's campers use grappling hooks to pull giants to the ground. 

From the woods, the Hunters send volleys of arrows into the enemy lines, destroying every target, but they're all quickly replaced. A stray bolt of lightning fries two giants, so Thalia must be using her power. 

"Now!" Grover commands, playing a quick tune on his pipes. From the woods, dryads and satyrs charge. Lila summons her power - from the ground, vines and poppies spring, sending a few of the hellhounds to sleep, while others are dragged deep down beneath the ground. 

But slowly, the enemy regain their footing. Naiads fade when giants smash through their trees. Hellhounds tear apart wolves, and a volley of archers returns fire, cutting through dryads who stain the ground green with their blood. 

"What is that?" Grover mutters, squinting into the darkness. 

Lila peers across the lake. Hyperion isn't bothering to follow the trails, instead just walking over the top of the lake. A firebomb explodes on top of him, but he sucks the flames from the air with just his hands, expelling the flames again over a grove of trees, leaving a trail of screaming dryads behind. "It's Hyperion," she says, paling. She looks over to Percy and Annabeth, only to see Percy pulling out his sword. "Percy looks like he's dealing with it." 

"But he's a Titan," Grover protests.

Lila ignores him, tripping a giant up with vines. "Just follow our orders, which is to stop the army advancing."

"But Li - " 

"We don't have a choice," Lila says firmly. "Percy will keep him busy, at least for now." 

They'd chosen the reservoir as the place for their stand for a reason. Percy runs over the top of the water toward Hyperion, and the Titan army continues to advance, allowing the two to their stand off on the lake. 

Lila, focusing on her own battle, grabs a spear and starts to work through the rows of dracaena, with a couple of the Athena campers beside her. It's not impossible, as the trails force them to approach one by one, and she can sense the plants and the trees behind her strengthening her power, lending her strength. The giants, hellhound and other monsters are busy being picked off by dryads and nymphs, while the four demigods work through Kronos's lesser forces.

Suddenly, light erupts from the centre of the lake. If Lila hadn't been looking away she might've been permanently blinded - instead, it only forces her eyes closed, the searing light still half-visible from behind her lids. Instinctively, she throws her hands up, pulling at the earth. From the other side, she can hear Annabeth yelling commands, like "Shields up!" which seems like a good call, so she follows it. Beside her, a son of Athena she doesn't know the name of coughs something like "I can't see?"

Lila dares to open her eyes slightly - the light is still bright and searing, but she checks the army - Kronos's army seem to have stopped in their tracks, sinking into the ground. At least for now, they have a second of reprieve.  

Then the light dims, disappearing until everything is normal. Just in time, too, for the army charge again, just in time for the satyrs to resume their song, turning grass into thorns and nettles.

"You will burn, Jackson!" Hyperion roars. Lila dares to check over to the lake, only to see Percy and the Titan dancing over the water too fast for her to even see, the water spitting everywhere, while the Titan glows with occasional bursts of light. 

It's not enough. Slowly, the monsters begin to force them back. The nature spirits back away toward the trees, while Lila and the Athena campers are backed further off the trail. Lila ends up back beside Grover. 

"I have an idea," Grover whispers, gesturing over to Hyperion as they step backwards. Lila's dropped her shield somewhere, but she manages to find another on the ground. 

"What?"

His lips twist upwards as he explains. 

Lila considers it. "It could work. I can help." 

He nods, turning back to Percy, but before they can call out to him, they both stop and stare. The Titan - a titan - is falling back because of the hurricane Percy's at the centre of. The ground keeps bursting into flame, but the hurricane just blows it away. 

"Stop it!" Hyperion yells. "Stop that wind!" He stumbles backwards, toward the water. 

"Percy!" Grover yells. "How are you doing that?"

Some of the enemy warriors throw some javelins at him, but the storm just pushes them aside. Percy says something to himself, and lightning flickers, the rain swirling faster. Hyperion is knocked straight off his feet. 

"Percy!" Grover calls again. "Bring him over here!"

Percy makes no indication that he's heard, but then again, Lila doesn't really expect him to, considering he's in the centre of a hurricane. But he must be getting tired, because his movements begin to slow. With a final push, he shoves the titan over the field, towards Grover and Lila. 

"I will not be toyed with!" Hyperion bellows. 

Lila draws back, the way Clarisse taught her, and chucks her spear at him - it hits him in the chest, cutting into his skin. It's not enough to properly hurt a Titan, but he yells out in pain, pulling the spear from his skin and tossing it away, but it takes him some time to get his strength back, golden blood flooding from the wound. 

Grover plays his pipes, all the satyrs following. The ground erupts, roots wrapping around the titan's legs. Lila kneels on the ground, pressing her palm into it, feeling the roots taking form, and adds her own strength to it, pushing them forward and upwards, over Hyperion's skin. She can feel the strength of the tree, and she can feel the satyr magic pushing it upwards. She adds her own, closing her eyes to search for that spark of magic, of power, that she usually calls on as a last resort, drawing on it's strength. 

"What's this?" he protests. "Stop this! Your woodland magic is no match for a Titan!"

Lila only concentrates harder. She can sense the roots curling around him, hardening. The armour he wears melts into the wood, becoming part of the trunk. The satyrs' song continues, their power solidifying as the tree grows.  

"You cannot imprison me!" he bellows. "I am Hyperion! I am—"

The tree grows closed. Lila opens her eyes to see a huge tree in the centre of the park. 

Grover takes his pipes from his mouth. "You are a very nice maple tree."

Lila snickers, before trying to stand, then nearly toppling over from tiredness. Apparently it takes a lot of power to turn a Titan into a tree, even with a bunch of satyrs helping. Thankfully, Percy is beside her, helping her to her feet. Every muscle in her body is aching - his must be the same, as there's a tiredness to his eyes, probably reflected in hers, from overuse of their powers.

The Titan army begins to retreat, and the Athena cabin cheers. 

"You okay?" Percy murmurs softly, only to Lila. 

She nods, retrieving her spear from where it fell when Hyperion tossed it. It usually returns to her anyway, but there's no harm in being proactive. "You?"

He opens his mouth to reply, but then an earsplitting shriek cuts through the retreat. Everyone freezes, even the monsters. 

Grover looks panicked. "Why does that sound like . . . It can't be!"

"Can't be what?" Lila asks, but Percy only shakes his head, looking pale. "It can't be."

There's another squeal, and suddenly a huge pink creature soars over the reservoir. 

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

"What?" Lila cries. "Why does it have wings?"

Everyone scatters as the pig swoops down, her hooves slamming into the ground. She stops around, smashing up some trees, before taking off again, circling around. 

"Don't tell me that thing is from Greek mythology," Percy complains. 

"Where else would it be from?" Lila sighs. "Science?"

""The Clazmonian Sow. It terrorized Greek towns back in the day." Annabeth explains. 

"Let me guess," Percy says. "Hercules beat it."

"Nope," Annabeth smiles grimly. "As far as I know, no hero has ever beaten it."

"Perfect," he mutters.

The Titan army is beginning to regroup, perhaps realising the pig is on their side. 

"This is unfair," Lila groans. "Why do they get a flying pig? What do we get? Leneus?"

The old satyr huffs, glaring at her, but he doesn't say anything.

"That pig has to go." Percy grabs a grappling hook. "I'll take care of it. You guys hold the rest of the enemy. Push them back!"

"But, Percy," Grover says, "what if we can't?"

It's a valid question. He looks drained, like Lila. Annabeth looks bad, her arm still gently cradled by the other. The Hunters are completely out of sight, the enemy now between them. 

"Retreat if you need to," Percy says. "Just slow them down. I'll be back as soon as I can."

He swings the grappling hook when the sow comes down, hooking it around the base of the wing. It screeches and soars off, pulling them both into the sky. 

Annabeth and Lila stare at each other, both of them breathing heavily. "What now?" Lila asks. 

Annabeth huffs, pulling her shield onto her shoulder. "Why do I always have to be the one who comes up with the plans?"

Grover rolls his eyes. "Stop complaining and tell us the plan." 

Annabeth looks like she might pass out. In horror, Lila realises this might be the first time in Annabeth's life where she hasn't actually had a plan. Just then, her phone rings - with shaky fingers, Annabeth holds it, and agrees, before hanging up. 

She turns back to Lila and Grover. "That was Katie. They've broken through the Demeter Cabin's defences, they've fallen back to 6th Avenue, and they need help. She said she's spoken to Jake and the Hephaestus cabin have fallen back too, to Park Avenue, at the other side of the Empire State Building." 

"That's only three blocks away from Olympus," Lila says, paling. 

Grover looks over to the army around the reservoir, now regaining their strength even without Hyperion, banding together in smaller groups to pick off spirits and demigods wherever they can. "What do we do? Percy's gone." 

Annabeth narrows her eyes, a steely grey look in them. "We hold Olympus. We'll have to retreat." 

"Someone needs to get over to the other side of the reservoir, where the Hunters are," Lila says. "Grover, can you send a nature spirit? Tell them to fall back until they regroup with one of the other cabins." 

Annabeth nods in agreement. "We'll have to leave Central Park. Hopefully they won't destroy it too badly - " she says, not sounding hopeful, but defeated. "Tell the nature spirits to stay here and pick off as much of the enemy as they can, but also to try and stay alive." 

"I'll go help the Demeter Cabin for now," Lila adds. "Grover, when you can, try and retreat with your satyrs and join us on 6th. Annabeth, can you take the Athena campers over to Park Avenue?" 

Annabeth nods. "That makes sense. We have to hold Olympus. That's all that matters."

She squeezes Lila's hand, who in turn nods to Grover, who forces a smile. "We can do it," Lila promises. "We can hold them off until morning." 

"And then what?" Grover sighs. "What happens tomorrow night, or the night after that?"

Annabeth squeezes his shoulder. "Best not to think about it. Let's just get through the night. Good hunting, guys."

short chapter, maybe one of the shortest ive written for this fic. wasn't supposed to end here but sometimes things just fit, but maybe the next chapter will be a bit long haha

probably will update on thursday but no promises because i have a life xx 

also i published my james potter fic! it only has an intro atm but i have written quite a lot for it, i just haven't edited the first chapter yet (i dont normally edit but it really needs it haha). check it out if you're interested? it's very lighthearted and fun

lyra