Chapter Text
Thalia pushed her sword deeper into the creature's gut, and twisted it until it let out an agonised scream.
The creature writhed on the ground and black blood started oozing out of it, before it disintegrated into dust.
Beside her, Leo hurled a fireball which did the desired trick of engulfing an another one of these creatures in flames.
And as expected the creature shrieked before collapsing onto the ground.
Leo heaved a few deep breaths his chest rising and falling from the tremendous effort then he glanced at Thalia.
"There're too many...What's the plan?" He inquired.
"We keep fighting until we find a way out" Thalia replied.
Thalia stood in the middle of the wreckage of the camp. The sky ahead darkened with the smoke which curled.
All around her, the chaos was visible. The monstrous creatures tore through tents and defenses, their inhuman resilience defying every blow. The small army of campers slashed and impaled but the creatures kept coming as if they were fueled by some unnatural force that refused to surrender.
Chiron fought at the heart of the fray, his movements a blur of precision as he guided the campers who could still stand through this battle.
The blades were flashing and the arrows were flying everywhere...But it still wasn't enough.
To her right, Leo unleashed another torrent of flames, engulfing a group of creatures in blazing fire. Thalia raised her hand and a blast of thunder split the air then stroke a cluster of these strange beasts.
Frank's eyes were locked on the retreat path as he shot flame tipped arrows with precise aim, carving a way to the boat inch by inch.
Even Dionysius who was usually aloof and detached from the matters of the camp, had joined the fray using vines which coiled around the creatures to trap them just long enough for Thalia to blast them into ash.
Still, the creatures kept coming.
The ground trembled under their feet, the loose dirt visibly rattled and the campers stood completely still.
Thalia pushed her sword through another creature's chest and let out a grunt, then snapped her fingers and a bolt of lightning cracked from the sky and scorched the monster into ash as she rushed over to the next one.
"Don’t panic" Clarisse screamed.
She rushed over to one of the beasts and tackled him away from one of the campers before standing up hurriedly and turned her attention to the frightened and despairing campers behind her.
"If we panic we die" She announced before she used her spear to pierce the heart of an oncoming beast who rushed over to her.
The beast howled in pain and the strange black blood sprayed all over Clarisse's face.
The ground shook again harder then the first time before the earth split open. From the cracks skeletal hands that were fleshless and cracked started crawling out of the ground their claws digging into the dirt to assist them on their way out.
A cloud of thick black smoke suddenly appeared and Persephone emerged. Behind her, the army of the dead that has just emerged from the ground stood as more of them started appearing.
Nico appeared from behind her and pulled out his sword then rushed over to the beasts that the campers were fighting with the army of the dead behind him.
Nico fought through the increasing horde until he final made his way to Thalia's side, breath ragged but his eyes still scanning his surroundings.
"We need more stygian iron" Thalia said as soon as she noticed how effective Nico's sword was against the creatures.
"No...We need to get out. The camp's gone" Nico replied.
His gaze darted over the chaos the familiar faces of the camp members were focused on the battle and smoke was rising from the shattered camp.
But the more Nico scanned his surroundings the more his panic rose...He longed to see a certain face even if it was in the middle of the chaos but the head of familiar blond hair, was missing.
He scanned his surroundings a bit more carefully but he still couldn't find him and his heart started beating out of rhythm with worry.
"Where's Will?" He demanded with clear panic evident in his voice.
"He's at the river...Helping the injured ones...Leading the surviving camp members to the boats with Frank and the Stoll brothers" Thalia explained hurriedly.
Nico let out a breath he was holding his tension immediatly easing just enough to steady his grip on his sword.
"Good" He murmured but Thalia could recognize the relief in his voice.
He took a deep breath before stabbing a creature who came his way.
"Gather at the river. The army of the dead will hold the line...We're not going to die here" Nico announced in the loudest voice he could manage.
Thalia's eyes flicked to the campers behind them who were still fighting then she gave Nico a curt nod.
Back to back Nico and Thalia began to fight through the swarms of creatures until the river appeared in front of their eyes and the flicker of torches lit up the bank where their escape route waited.
Much to Nico's expectations the shoreline was also part of the chaos. His eyes fell on Will who was kneeling down by the river's edge putting all his efforts into healing the injured campers as sweat formed on his forehead and temples.
The Stoll brothers were at his sides fending off any of the creatures who came at him and any of the badly injured campers.
Further ahead of them, Reyna was leading a group of the jupiter campers through the hord of strange creatures in her best attempt to secure a path for the rest of the campers who were still fighting for their lives away from the river.
Piper shot an arrow after an arrow as she stood on one of the boats and Hazel who stood near the riverbank conjured spirals of mist and rock to help her friends.
The group could see the bursts of fire bloomed guessing it to be Leo's doing.
The flames did their desired job of scorching the monsters as Leo held the line.
Nico spun around just in time and stabbed a lunging beast clean through the gut with Clarisse and Thalia at his side each of them pushing the tired and despairing campers to the boats through the chaos.
By the water, Frank's form changed into the hulking grizzly bear. He roared as he bowled over a trio of beasts, successfully clearing a bigger part of the dock.
"Just what the hell are these things?" Connor demanded as he wiped the sweat on his face with his sleeve before stabbing another figure in the throat causing its inky black blood to spray his already stained shirt.
"Don't lose focus" Travis said before kicking a creature away from his brother's exposed back then stabbed it with his sword.
Connor turned to Travis and put the sword back in his belt then grabbed the daggers instead.
"I'll cover you just go untie the boats" Connor said to his brother.
Travis nodded in response before sprinting over to the shore.
Will dragged another groaning camper aboard as firelight flickered against the bloodstained riverbank.
Frank in his grizzly bear form, let out loud roars that echoed across the riverbanks as he barrelled through the groups of snarling beasts. Connor tossed his daggers, covering Travis's back while he untied the boats.
"We've got maybe five minutes, tops, before we're neck deep in these things again" Connor yelled.
Thalia helped another camper onto one of the boats and turned to look around her.
The burning carnage broke her heart in the same way her brother’s death did, this place was her home.
She closed her eyes to stop her tears from falling then opened it again and glared at the carnage once again taking it in and keeping it engraved in her memory.
Nico put a hand on her shoulder so she turned to him.
"You were right. The camp's lost...But these people aren't" She said in the calmest voice she could manage.
Nico looked at her sullenly then gulped the lump in his throat and nodded.
"We save who we can. The rest..." He trailed off as he glanced back to the battlefield where skeletal warriors clashed with the invading beasts. The smoke of Leo's flames and Thalia's thunder rose higher into the sky forming a disturbing image of black that contrasted with the burning greenery of the trees of the forest.
Clarisse skidded to a halt beside Thalia, bleeding from a gash on her arm.
"We can't win this...These things never stay down for too long we must escape" She said.
Thalia nodded in response and raised her sword again.
"You can lead the others to the boats and I'll cover for you" Thalia said.
Her voice was cold and had clear anger visible in it as she kept her eyes focused on the carnage.
"What do you mean?...You're not thinking of staying because..." Hazel asked.
"I'm staying behind with her...Just long enough to slow it down" Nico said.
Leo appeared from the flames, face smeared with soot.
"You'll need more than two" Leo said.
Nico opened his mouth to protest, but one look at Leo's stubborn expression told him it was a lost cause.
"Me too" Hazel said her chin raised.
Connor wiped his blade clean and raised a hand.
"Count me in too" Connor announced.
"Same here" Reyna added before resting her sword on her shoulder.
"Not a chance I leave you behind" Frank growled, shifting back to human form before glancing at Hazel briefly.
"No" Thalia said then turned her attention to the five of them her gaze angry and fierce and her voice commanding.
She could tell that they wanted to protest but she decided not to give them the chance because there were more important things to deal with right now.
"The five of you must go. These campers will need you if the creatures regroup. We don't throw all our strength into dying" She said.
Then she looked at the boats behind them and smiled sullenly.
She didn't know if she'd ever see them again any time soon but she knew she was doing the right thing.
"I'm a hunter of Artemis...Nothing will happen to me...That's why the five of you must go on the boats" Thalia continued.
Nico nodded and stepped forward.
"Me and Thalia will be more then enough" He said.
Reyna opened her mouth to argue, but Nico shook his head.
"We've made our choice. And we're enough" Nico said.
Will stepped forward and looked at Nico for a few seconds guilt was evident on his face. Only meeting Nico's gaze briefly before looking at the ground in shame.
Nico stepped forward and smiled at him gently.
"I know. You're not a fighter...But you're saving lives...That matters" Nico murmured.
Will kept his gaze focused on the ground under his feet refusing to look up.
He wasn't a fighter and everyone knew but in times like these he really wished he was.
Nico pulled him into a brief hug before letting go of him.
"Now go" Nico said.
Will lingered for a few more seconds then he nodded and turned away before walking over to the boat.
"Everyone on the boats...Hurry up" Nico shouted.
"If you look back...I swear I'll drag you to the underworld myself" Thalia called out from the spot next to Nico.
The rest of the campers got on the boats after the split up group said their goodbyes to each other.
The survivors hurriedly climbed aboard, and as the boats pulled away, Nico and Thalia now left behind turned to face the creatures with the arm0y of the dead rallying near them.
"So... what do we do now?" Nico asked as he kept his attention focused on the chaos ahead.
"We fight" Thalia replied simply.
She snapped her fingers and a bolt of lightning dropped into a cluster of the creatures, scattering them.
Nico nodded in response then disappeared into the shadows. Moments later, he reappeared in the middle of the horde and started slicing the creatures relentlessly.
But no matter how many of them they cut down, more kept coming...Twice as many, maybe more. The camp grounds were completely swarmed.
Their army still held the line, but the enemy numbers were growing at an unnatural pace.
Suddenly, a wave surged across the field, wiping out a horde of the creatures. Percy stood on top of it with water coiling around him as if it belonged there.
Thalia shot Percy a quick grin as soon as she saw him.
"Nice timing" Nico said before pushing his blade into a monster's eye without looking.
Dean and Neil pushed their way through, heading toward Persephone. Who stood calm and focused, directing vines to coil around the creatures and drag them to the ground.
"We need to move...They just keep coming, and we can't afford to die here. We still don't know who started this war" Percy said.
"Do you have any leads?" Thalia questioned.
Percy opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again and frowned in confusion when the water at his feet suddenly went still then dropped at his feet.
"What happened?" Nico asked as he glanced at Percy in clear concern and surprise.
Percy raised his hand, attempting to call another wave but much to his shock and horror nothing came. The ocean was completely silent.
"I have no idea" Percy murmured but Thalia and Nico could easily tell he was scared.
Then came a voice that was soft and melodic it was really impossible to miss and suddenly the roars of the creatures stopped.
Thalia's eyes widened as she saw the creatures halt to a stop then they collapsed where they stood one by one. She turned quickly to Percy.
Percy scanned his surroundings trying to locate the source of the voice even though he already had an idea about who it was.
The sound wrapped around the battlefield like a lullaby, lulling the remaining beasts into stillness. They stopped, frozen in place before they also fell to the ground lifelessly.
Persephone and Dionysius didn't waste any more time. They used their magic to end the remaining creatures before turning to the children.
Cole's voice faded.
He glanced at the group once, then swayed then his eyes rolled to the back of his head before he collapsed to the ground.