Evangeline wasn't sure what she was looking at but Mr. D looked particularly healthy for someone who was supposed to be injured.

The god sighed. "Evelyn, how long will it take for you to recognize me on sight?"

"Evangeline." She corrected. "And where are we?"

"Why, Bobby Earl's birthday party," Dionysus said. "Sowhere in a lovely rural America."

"I thought you were injured. They said you crash landed."

Mr. D put a hand on his chest as if acting flattered. "Eloise your concern is touching. I did crash-land. Very painfully. In fact, part of me is still buried under a hundred feet of rubble in an abandoned coal mine. It will be several more hours before I have enough strength to mend. But in the meantime, part of my consciousness is here."

"At a bar, playing an arcade game." The brunette raised a brow.

"Party time," The God of Wine shrugged. "Surely you've heard of it. Wherever there is a party, my presence is invoked. Because of this, I can exist in many different places at once. The only problem was finding a party. I'm sure you're aware how serious things are outside your safe little bubble of New York—"

"Safe little bubble?" She scoffed.

The man shot her a look. "But believe me, the mortals out here in the heartland are panicking. Typhon has terrified them. Very few are throwing parties. Apparently, Bobby Earl and his friends, bless them, are a little slow. They haven't yet figured out that the world is ending."

"Why did you bring me here?" She asked.

Dionysus snorted. "Because Evelyn, it seemed more convenient."

Evangeline looked at him skeptically, somehow she had a feeling he was acting. "Uh-huh, sure."

"And I was not in the mood to deal with Peter's annoying presence. You, I can tolerate." Dionysus said. "The point is, I pulled you into party time to deliver a warning. We are in danger."

"No fucking way," The daughter of Hades deadpanned. "I would've never guessed."

The god narrowed his eyes at her and momentarily forgot his game. The yellow figure on the screen got eaten by the red ghost.

"Erre es korakas, Blinky!" He cursed. "I will have your soul!"

"Mr. D that's a game." she pointed out.

"That is no excuse! Now listen, the situation is graver than you imagine. If Olympus falls, not only will the gods fade, but everything that is connected to our legacy will also begin to unravel. The very fabric of your puny little civilization—"

The game played a song and the god progressed to level 254. "Ha!" He shouted. "Take that, you pixelated fiends!"

"Mr. D," Evangeline called earning his attention.

"Yes, yes. Your entire society will dissolve. Perhaps not right away, but mark my words, the chaos of the Titans will mean the end of Western civilization. Art, law, wine tastings, music, video games, silk shirts, black velvet paintings—all the things that make life worth living will disappear!"

"So why haven't the gods come back?" She asked. "Wouldn't it be much smarter if they forgot about Typhon and joined forces at Olympus?"

He snapped his fingers impatiently. "You forgot my Diet Coke."

The daughter of Hades rolled her eyes as she went and ordered the god his soda. She put it on Bobby Earl's tab.

Mr. D took a good long sip. His eyes never left the video game. "The truth is, Evelyn the other gods would never admit this, but we actually need you mortals to rescue Olympus. You see, we are manifestations of your culture. If you don't care enough to save Olympus yourselves—"

"Like Pan," she said. "depended on the satyrs to save the Wild."

"Yes, my dear, I will deny I ever said this, of course, but the gods need heroes. They always have. Otherwise, we would not keep you annoying little brats around."

"Aw, thanks Mr, D," she mumbled.

"Use the training Hades and I have given you."

"What?"

"You know. All those hero techniques and...No!" Dionysus slapped the game console. "Na pari i eychi! The last level!"

He looked at the brunette, and purple fire flickered in his eyes. "As I recall, I once predicted you wouldn't turn out anything like Hades, here is your chance to prove me right."

She raised a brow, she was surprised that he of all people was the one to think that. "Really?"

"You must save Olympus, Elizabeth! Leave Typhon to the Olympians and save our own seats of power it must be done!"

"We can't do it for long," Evangeline told him.

He raised a brow. "There is one god I can think of who hasn't even lifted a finger in this war."

Her scowl deepened. "What makes you think I can convince him?"

"He will listen to you, he has a special place in his cold heart for you, I've seen it," Dionysus said.

Evangeline bit the inside of her cheek, she didn't think it was possible but if she had managed to convince the god of the dead to wear a pink bow, how hard could convincing him to help his family in war be?

"There is more," Mr. D warned. "Kronos has not yet attained full power. The body of the mortal was only a temporary measure."

"We know that," Evangeline told him.

"And did you also know that within a day at most, Kronos will burn away that mortal body and take on the true form of a Titan King?"

"That means..."

Dionysus inserted another quarter. "You know about the true forms of the gods."

"You can't look at them without burning up." She said.

"Kronos would be ten times more powerful. His very presence would incinerate you. And once he achieves this, he will empower the other Titans." He said. "They are weak now, compared to what they will soon become unless you can stop them. The world will fall, the gods will die, and I will never achieve a perfect score on this stupid machine."

Evangeline blinked. "Can I go now?"

"One last thing. My son Pollux. Is he alive?"

She nodded. "Yeah, he's alive."

"I would very much appreciate it if you could keep him that way. I lost his brother Castor last year—"

"I remember," she said. "I'll do my best." The brunette promised.

"I know you will, Evangeline."  He muttered. "Now go. You have some nasty surprises to deal with, and I must defeat Blinky!"

"Nasty surprises?"

He said before he waved his hand, and the bar disappeared.

The brunette was back on Fifth Avenue. The other three demigods hadn't moved. They didn't give any sign that she'd been gone or anything.

Percy caught her staring at him and a blush crept onto his cheeks. "What's wrong, princess?"

"Nothing," She said as she gazed down the avenue, she didn't want to know what Mr. D had meant by nasty surprises.

Her gaze landed on a beat-up blue car. The hood was badly dented like somebody had tried to hammer out some huge craters. Percy noticed her expression and he looked toward the car as well, then suddenly he bolted.

"Percy!" Evangeline called. "Where are you going?"

The children of Hades, Athena, and Hermes followed after him. Evangeline saw a man whom she recognized as Paul Blofis Sally Jackson's new husband passed out in the driver's seat. Percy's mother was snoring beside him.

Evangeline saw the look of distress on Percy's face. They must have been sitting there in the traffic for over a day, amidst the battle raging around them.

"They...they must've seen those blue lights in the sky." He rattled the doors but they were locked. "I need to get them out."

"Percy," the brunette said gently.

"I can't leave them here!" He pounded on the windshield. "I have to move them. I have to—"

"Just hold on, dude," Landon said. "It's gonna be okay."

Annabeth waved to Chiron, who was talking to some centaurs down the block. "We can push the car to a side street, all right?" They're going to be fine."

Evangeline could see his hands trembling and she reached over, taking them in hers. Percy's nails dug into the back of her palm but it didn't hurt.

The activities director galloped over. "What's...Oh dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," Percy said. "My mom must've sensed something was wrong."

Most likely," Chiron said. "But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

Then something in the backseat of the Prius caught the brunette's attention. Seat-belted behind Mrs. Jackson was a black and white Greek jar about three feet tall. Its lid was wrapped in a leather harness.

"No fucking way," The son of Poseidon muttered.

Annabeth pressed her hand to the window. "That's impossible! I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," He agreed.

Chiron saw the jaw and his eyes widened. "That isn't—"

"Pandora's jar,"

"Pithos," Evangeline corrected. "Pandora's pithos."

The children of the Big Three told the centaur about their meeting with Prometheus.

"Then the jar is yours, Percy," Chiron said grimly. "It will follow you and tempt you to open it, no matter where you leave it. It will appear when you are at your weakest."

The brunette's mind flashed an image of Prometheus smiling, so anxious to help out poor mortals, Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient.

She felt Percy's hand leave hers and saw him draw Riptide, he cut through the driver's side window like it was made of plastic wrap.

"We'll put the car in neutral," He said. "Push them out of the way. And take that stupid jar to Olympus."

The centaur nodded. "A good plan. But, Percy—"

Whatever he was going to say, he faltered. A mechanical drumbeat grew loud in the distance—the sound of a helicopter reached her ears.

On a normal Monday morning, hearing a helicopter passing by New York wouldn't have been a big deal, but after two days of silence, it wasn't the most normal thing.

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. Evangeline didn't need to read the words under the logo to know who it belonged to; DARE ENTERPRISRES.

"What is she doing here?" Annabeth asked.

"How did she even get through the barrier?" Landon added.

"Who?" Chiron looked confused. "What mortal would be insane enough—"

Suddenly the helicopter pitched forward.

"The Morpheus enchantment!" Chiron said. "The foolish mortal pilot is asleep."

They watched in horror as the helicopter careened sideways, falling toward a row of office buildings. Even if it didn't crash, the gods of the air would probably swat it out of the sky for coming near the Empire State Building.

Percy looked like he was too paralyzed to move, but Annabeth whistled and Guido the pegasus swooped out of nowhere.

"Come on, Percy," Annabeth growled at him. "Let's go save your friend."

Somehow Evangeline wasn't surprised by the fact that Annabeth knew how to fly a helicopter.

They ran as the rotors spun to a stop. Rachel opened the side door and dragged out the pilot.

The redhead was still dressed like she was on vacation, in beach shorts, a T-shirt, and sandals. Her hair was tangled and her face was green from the helicopter ride.

Annabeth climbed out last.

Landon was the first one to reach her as he wrapped his arms around her. The blonde reciprocated the hug, wrapping her arms around Landon.

"You know how to fly a helicopter?" The son of Hermes asked pulling away.

"I do now," The daughter of Athena shrugged. "My dad's crazy about aviation. Plus, Daedalus had some notes on flying machines. I took my best guess on the controls."

"You saved my life," Rachel said.

The daughter of Athena clenched her jaw. "Yeah, well...let's not make a habit of it."

"What are you even doing here?" Evangeline asked. "Don't you know it's pretty dangerous to fly into a war zone?"

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

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

The blonde walked off. Landon gave the redhead a small smile before he followed after Annabeth.

Rachel plopped down on the curb and put her head in her hands. "I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean to...I always mess things up."

"It's okay," Evangeline told her, her voice sounding surprisingly soft. "So what's the message you wanted to deliver?"

The redhead's eyes landed on the daughter of Hades. "How do you know about that?"

"I dreamt about you," The brunette said.

A light blush spread onto Rachel's cheeks but she didn't look surprised. She tugged at her beach shorts. They were covered in drawings, which wasn't unusual for her, but she recognized the symbols: Greek letters, pictures from camp beads, sketches of monsters, and faces of gods.

She didn't understand how the mortal could have known about some of them. She'd never been to Olympus or Camp Half-Blood.

"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 said. "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."

The redhead was looking at Percy pleadingly. Her face was sunburnt from the beach.

"We can ask Chiron—" The brunette started.

Rachel flinched like she'd got an electric shock. "Something is about to happen." She turned to the daughter of Hades. "A trick that ends in death."

That caught Evangeline's attention. "What do you mean? Whose death?"

"I don't know," She looked around nervously. "Don't you feel it? Percy told me you can feel death,"

The brunette spared a glance at the son of Poseidon. "I can't feel death, I can sense it."

"Yeah, something like that," Rachel mumbled.

"Is that the message you wanted to tell me?" The raven-haired boy asked.

"No." The redhead 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,"  Percy said. "In Ancient Greek."

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

Percy stared at her like she'd just slapped him. "You came thousands of miles to tell me I'm not the hero?"

"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? Is it Evangeline?"

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

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

"Chiron, Rachel Dare," Percy introduced. "Rachel this is Chiron."

"Hello," Rachel said glumly. She didn't look 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," Evangeline said. "Writing lines and making drawings."

The centaur raised a brow. "Indeed? Tell me."

The mortal told him the same things she'd told the children of Hades and Poseidon.

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

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

Chiron's 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 two should rest. We've moved your parents' car to safety, Percy. The enemy seems to be staying put for now. We've set up bunks in the Empire State Building. Get some sleep."

"We'll try," she murmured, sparing a glance at Percy and Rachel, she made her way into the building.

The second she fell asleep, she saw a dream of the Underworld, in her stepmother's garden. Her father paced up and down, holding his ears while Nico followed behind him, waving his arms.

"You have to!" Nico insisted.

Demeter and Persephone sat behind them at the breakfast table. Both of the goddesses looked bored.

Demeter poured shredded wheat into four huge bowls. Persephone was magically changing the flower arrangements on the table, turning the blossoms from red to yellow to polka-dotted.

"You have to do it!" Nico said. "They need your help."

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

"If Olympus fades, your palace's safety doesn't matter," Nico tried. "You'll fade too."

"I am not an Olympain!" 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 said. "Zeus killed them. And you would have me help them? They deserve what they get!"

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

"You know what would help the children?" Demeter mused. "Farming."

Persephone rolled her eyes. "Mother—"

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

Hades turned to walk away but Nico stepped in front of 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 his son.

"You can't just cut yourself off from the other gods," Nico said.

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

"And has that made you feel 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 that Jackson boy himself pleaded—"

"Stop being so angry about it and do something helpful for once," Nico added. "That's the only way they'll respect you!"

Hades' palm filled with black fire.

"Go on, do it," Nico straightened. "You'll just prove everyone right. You hurt me, and they'll all hate you even more, Evangeline included."

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. His fireball hit a silver tree right next to the two, melting it into a pool of liquid metal.

"You can't hide in here forever, I've seen Kronos', I've seen his army, father and he's going to come after you. You have to help—"

"I'm not going to help them!" He wrung his hands.

Nico's brows scrunched up together. "You have to—"

The rest of her dream cut short when she heard a loud thud from outside the building.

When the brunette went back outside, she saw the Apollo cabin and the Hunters scrounging for arrows. She saw that the Hephaestus cabin was out of Greek fire.

In total, they had sixteen campers, fifteen Hunters, seventeen dead warriors, and half a dozen satyrs left in fighting shape. The rest had apparently 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.

"They're coming," The son of Poseidon told her, stopping next to her. "We're in trouble."

The brunette didn't like the sound of what he had just said. She reached up to her necklace, pulled it off, and pressed the snake, the Stygian Iron sword formed in her hand.

Chiron trotted up with Rachel on his back. She felt a little annoyed since Chiron rarely gave anyone a ride, and never a mortal.

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

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."

Evangeline stared at the redhead. "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."

"Well, let's hope you're wrong," Percy said. "Because we're a little short on children of Ares..." He stopped and cursed in Ancient Greek.

"What?" Landon asked.

"The spy," He told them. "Kronos said, We know they cannot beat this drakon. The spy has been keeping him updated. Kronos knows the Ares cabin isn't with us. 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," The raven-haired boy said. "get inside the building."

"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."

"Much better," The daughter of Hades said.

Evangeline gripped the silver hilt of her sword tightly as she watched the two-hundred-foot-long serpent as thick as a school bus 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. They'd done their best to push cars out of the way to keep mortals safe, but it 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.

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

Evangeline pulled her helmet over her face, she clenched her jaw, she had managed to keep her anxiety in check over the past months but suddenly it felt like all of that was going to be thrown out the window.

"Will you help me?" Percy asked, earning her attention.

"If you think I won't then you're a fool, Perseus." She said coldly.

Percy wanted to pull her aside and explain that he hadn't meant for Rachel to be there, that it wasn't his idea, but they had no time left.

"Go invisible," He told her. "Look for weak links in its armor while I keep it busy. Just be careful."

The brunette nodded as Percy whistled. "Mrs. O'Leary, heel!"

With a bark, the hellhound leaped over a line of centaurs and gave Percy and Evangeline a kiss that smelled suspiciously of pepperoni pizza.

The son of Poseidon drew his sword and with that, they charged the monster.

------✧------

A/N: I felt like this should be shared lol.

Also I'm not prepared to write the next chapter...

I literally hated how Rick made Hades treat Nico, I'm still fixing it just wait till the end of the book guys cause we need the build-up.