Lost in Time (Forgotten Daughter part 3)

Last Stand

Ali lost track of everyone all at once. There was too much going on. Kronos led the charge as his forces battered the campers, pushing them back towards the Empire State Building. It wasn't long before they were fighting around the base of the massive structure. Kronos shrank his field of influence, waking most of Manhattan and trapping the campers inside the time-bending dome.

Nico and his father, Hades, fought the remaining monsters outside the field alongside Percy's mom, Sally Jackson, and her boyfriend, Paul Blofiss. They were tough for a pair of mortals.

A deafening roar shook the ground.

Ali looked up and spotted the massive winged figure circling overhead. It landed, crushing small buildings beneath its immense girth. The battle stalled as the creature released another roar.

"Drakon." Ali's heart jumped into her throat. According Rachel Elizabeth Dare, who had arrived in a helicopter not long before, only a child of Ares could slay it and the Ares cabin was currently on strike. Long story short, they were doomed.

Before Ali could help Annabeth and Percy, who had taken on the drakon, she noticed Kronos nearing the door to the Empire State Building. She had to keep him away from the entrance to Olympus. She cast one last longing look towards Percy.

He happened to meet her gaze.

"Goodbye." She knew he couldn't hear her, but she felt the need to say it. Turning away, she charged through the battle towards the lord of time. She couldn't win this fight, but she could slow him down.

She lunged between Kronos' scythe and the door, catching his blade before he could damage the building. "Aren't you forgetting something."

He flashed a wicked grin. "Why waste time looking for you, when I know you'll find me?"

They pulled apart. Ali gripped Mason's sword with white knuckles.

Kronos brandished his scythe. "Are you really going to help the gods after everything they've done to you?"

She raised her sword. "I'm not doing it for them. They may deserve to fall, but humanity doesn't." Her eyes glowed silver and ghostly flames licked across the blade of her sword. "I won't let you slaughter the innocent."

He chuckled. "Look who sounds like a hero. Who'd have thought?"

"It's time to end this, once and for all."

"You know you can't defeat me." He readied his scythe.

Ali tightened her grip on her flaming sword. "That doesn't mean I can't stop you." She leapt forward.

Kronos blocked the attack and threw her backwards, sending her rolling across the pavement.

Blood trickled down the side of her face as she pushed herself to her feet. Her chest throbbed and her hands shook. The silver in her eyes flickered and died. She hugged her stomach with her left arm and struggled to lift her sword with her right.

"You're stronger than you look." He swung his scythe and slammed it into the ground, cracking the cement. "But not strong enough."

She took a deep breath. "I know." She managed a silvery glimmer along her sword, but it faded. "I never planned on beating you."

He smirked. "At least you don't have unrealistic expectations." He stepped closer, dragging his scythe through the street.

Ali stood her ground, panting. She gripped Mason's sword like a lifeline. "Do your worst?"

"Gladly." He lofted his weapon above his head and let it drop.

Ali parried with her sword, but the scythe hit her with full force, nearly knocking the blade from her hand. The point of the scythe inched closer to her chest as her already weak arms began to give way. She moved to spin out of the way, but the scythe cut her shoulder.

A numbing pain ripped through her body and she immediately collapsed. Clutching her shoulder, she glared up at Kronos. "What are you waiting for? Finish it."

He knelt, pinching her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "But I already have." He peeled her fingers free of her shoulder. "It may be a small cut, but the scythe will do its job. You'll die, slowly and painfully." He met her gaze, a ravenous vengeful look in his golden eyes. "Enjoy your last moments, Aliana Breck. They will be excruciating." Shoving her backwards distastefully, he stalked into the Empire State Building.

The whole right side of her body throbbed, growing cold and tingly. She couldn't move her arm. All she could do was lay there on the pavement in utter agony. Several monsters stomped her underfoot, but they didn't notice or didn't care. Breathing became increasingly difficult. She stared at the night sky, the light pollution of the city mostly blocking out the stars. A clear full moon shone above them. Could her mother see her? Did she know they were about to lose? Did she know her daughter was about to die? Did she care?

Pan's words came flooding back to her "Your mother loves you more than anything. I swear on the River Styx, what I say is true." Was it though? She'd never felt much love from her mother.

Ali's vision began to blur, making colors bleed together and shapes turn fuzzy. She felt the searing cold creeping towards her heart. She didn't have long. She just hoped she'd slowed Kronos long enough for Percy and the others to cut him off. The clamor around her was muted as her ears rang.

Suddenly, two murky forms appeared above her, one blonde, the other a redhead. She felt a stinging, burning sensation in her shoulder and a soft buttery taste in her mouth before everything went black.

A/N
Darn it! I almost achieved a week-long streak. That's what I get for having two jobs.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Don't worry! The stories not over.
Until next time.
-Cheshire