Percy's POV:

"In the alcoves!" a voice roars, yelling over the chaos. "They're running!" More voices join the call, though none are familiar. But in this madness, everyone sounds different. 

"Find them!" 

"Stop them!" 

"Kill them!"

Now, I know what you're thinking; Gee, Percy, you have really bad luck. And guess what, you're right. Because, just then, a blaze of fire erupts from the crowd, curling through the air like a flaming snake. It roars overhead, illuminating the dim ballroom. Flickering shadows paint the walls and the upturned faces, transforming the ballroom into a nightmare of red light and gunpowder. I almost miss them amidst the chaos, but as they get closer, the eight-foot-tall figures become easier to distinguish from the crowd.

Uncapping Riptide, I turn to warn Annabeth, but she's no longer by my side. Frantically, I search through the crowd for her grey ball gown, but I don't see her anywhere.

I open my mouth to call out to Annabeth, but pause when I realize that I can no longer see the Laistrygonian Giants in the crowd anymore. Was I just imagining things?

"Percy, behind you!" The voice sounds like Annabeth's, but I still can't see her.

Turning around, I'm met with a flaming dodgeball flying towards my face. Instinctively, I drop to the ground, allowing the fireball of death to fly over my head. Thankfully it didn't hit anybody else, but it did add to the panic.

"Are you hurt?" Annabeth asks, rushing to my side after sending one of the Laistrygonian Giants back to Tartarus.

"No, I'm fine," I reply, standing up. "How many are there?"

"I counted four, but two are already dead, so that leaves two."

"We need to lead them away from the mortals before they kill anyone," I say. Annabeth nods as we lead the monsters in the opposite directions, running through the crowd as fast as we can. No one notices us at all. They are afraid. For all their strength, all their power, they still know the meaning of fear. And a few bullets are all it takes to bring terror out in them.

As we run, flaming dodgeballs follow us, flying over our heads. One must've hit a gas line because the doorway we were heading to suddenly became a wall of fire as we were sent flying back.

~oOo~

Annabeth's POV:

I sit up, shaking my head slightly, trying to reorient myself. In the corner of my eye, I notice Percy doing the same thing a few feet to my left.

"You alright?" he asks, coming to help me up.

"Yeah," I say, scanning the ballroom for the remaining two Laistrygonian Giants. They weren't that hard to find, most of the mortals had already cleared the room, and of all the people still here, the Giants were the only ones moving towards us. I remove my dagger from a concealed pocket in my waistband, preparing for a battle.

"I'll take the one on the left and you take the one on the right," Percy says once they're within striking distance, using his water abilities to create a shield and protect us from the flaming balls being thrown in our direction.

I nod, using the few seconds of safety provided by the water shield to throw my dagger into the chest of the giant closest to me. It embeds itself into the center of the monster's chest, turning him to yellow dust. His partner soon joins him in Tartarus as Percy cuts his sword through the monster's abdomen.

With the threat of the Laistrygonian Giants gone, Percy and I stand, staring at the blood-spattered ballroom, hazy with dust and screams. The sounds of fighting from the upper levels echo off the walls.

In the center of it all lies Belicos Lerolan, pierced not by a bullet but by a silver lance. Shot from a spear gun. A tattered scarlet sash falls from the shaft, barely stirring in the whirlwind. There's a symbol on it - the torn sun.

"Your Highness, Lord Perseus." I hesitantly turn towards the voice, still not entirely used to the title, and see Lucas running to our side. "You shouldn't be here, it's not safe."

Percy and I look at each other, unsure of how to explain why exactly we are still in the ballroom. "I guess we just got a little confused in all the chaos," I explain.

Lucas barely nods in response. "Follow me," he says, turning to walk down the service passage that he came from.

--------------------------

Lucas leads us underground, through no less than three doors, each one a foot thick and made of steel. They have no locks, but he opens them with a flick of his hand.

I hear the others before I see them, their voices echoing off the metal walls as they speak to one another. Father rails, his words sending shivers through me. His presence seems to fill the bunker as he paces up and down, his cloak flapping out behind him.

"I want them found. I want them in front of me with a blade at their backs, and I want them to sing like the cowardly birds they are!" He addresses a Sentinel, but the masked woman doesn't even flinch. "I want to know what's going on!"

Elara sits in a chair, one hand over her heart, the other clutching tightly to Maven.

He starts at the sight of me. "Are you alright?" he breathes, pulling me into a quick embrace. I don't hug him back.

"Just shaken," I manage to say through gritted teeth, trying to communicate as much as I can. But with Elara so close, I can barely allow myself to think, let alone speak.

"There was an explosion after the shots. A bomb," Lucas reports.

Maven furrows his brow, confused, but he quickly masks it with rage. "Bastards."

"Savages," Father hisses through gritted teeth. "And what about my son?"

"Cal went after the shooters. He took a band of Sentinels with him," Mareena answers. "And then the ballroom exploded. I don't know how many were still in there."

"Was there anything else, dear?" It takes me a minute before I realize that my step-mother is talking to me. Coming from Elara, the term of endearment feels like an electric shock. She looks paler than ever, her breath coming in shallow pants. She's afraid. "Anything you remember?"

"There was a banner, attached to a spear. The Scarlet Guard did this."

"Did they?" she says, raising a single eyebrow. I fight the urge to back away, to run from her and her whispers. At any moment I expect to feel her slither into my head, looking for anything that she can use against me.

But instead, Elara rips her eyes away and turns on Father. "You see what you've done?" Her lip curls over her teeth. In the light, they look like glittering fangs.

"Me? You called the Guard small and weak, you lied to our people," Father snarls back at her. "Your actions have weakened us against the danger, not mine."

"And if you took care of this when you had the chance, when they were small and weak, this would have never happened!"

They rip at each other like starved dogs, each one trying to take a bigger bite.

"Elara, they were not terrorists then. I could not waste my soldiers and officers on hunting down a few Reds writing pamphlets. They did no harm."

Slowly, Elara points to the ceiling. "Does that seem like no harm to you?" Father has no answer for her, and she smirks, delighting in winning the argument. "One day you men will learn to pay attention and all the world will tremble. They are a disease, one you allowed to take hold. And it's time to kill this disease where it grows."

She stands from her chair, collecting herself. "They are Red devils, and they must have allies inside our own walls. I think I'll have a word with the servants. Officer Samos, if you would?"

He jumps to attention, opening the vault door for her. She sweeps out, two Sentinels in tow, like a hurricane of rage. Lucas goes with her, opening the heavy door in succession, each one clanging farther and farther away. I don't want to know what the queen will do to the servants, but I know it will hurt.

The thick metal closes for a few moments, only to swing open again. Another magnetron directs it: Evangeline. She looks like hell in a party dress, her jewelry mangled and teeth on edge. Worst of all are her eyes, wild and wet and streaming with black makeup. Following close behind her is Cal. There's smoke and soot on his skin, dirtying his once clean uniform. Normally I'd be concerned at the ragged, hateful look in Cal's eyes, but something else strikes fear into my bones. Bloodstains his black uniform and drips over his hands. It is not silver. Red. The blood is red.

"Mare," he says. "Come with me. Now."

A/N:

I know, I don't usually update twice in one day. This was actually supposed to be one chapter, but it ended up getting to a length where I had to split into two different chapters, thus two updates in one day.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

XOXO, HamiltonFanGirl1508