Half Blood Realm: Rise Of The Titan

Easy Peasy

Percy POV

Saturday Afternoon

As Percy zoomed over the treetops of the woods in New York riding Blackjack, he wondered if Ethan had unleashed Kronos on Thalia and what was left of the campers.

He steeled his nerves as he recognized the landmarks below him in the forest that he'd memorized, signaling that he would be at camp soon.

He wondered if Nico was on his way back already. He had to be. He had no way to call and be sure. Once he got to the battlefield, there would be no room to worry about that. He had to focus on what lay ahead.

His mind brushed across Annabeth and he imagined her in his head as he had the night before, laying in the infirmary and still asleep.

He pushed her from his mind. He couldn't be distracted. Not now.

But the thoughts didn't stop.

He was glad to hear she'd been up and moving around again.

Halfblood Hill loomed into view and Percy furrowed his eyebrows as he saw very few of his friends fighting below.

They seemed nonexistent compared to the seemingly growing crowd of the Horde.

He spotted Clarisse ripping away with her sword, clearing a path for Katie Gardner and Will Solace as they followed close behind.

His neck tingled and he turned, his senses going haywire as he could feel the presence of an immortal being. It was simmered down, seemingly at a consistent boil of power but it was fluent nonetheless and Percy recognized the raw power immediately. It was Kronos.

Ethan was here.

He couldn't find him and he fought to keep his anxiety from fluctuating anymore than it already had. Or maybe it was his ADHD pumping even more adrenaline through his blood than usual.

"Land there, not all the way but enough for me to hop off. Get back to the stables and rest." He told the pegasus, pointing to somewhat of a clearing in the midst of the battle. He'd be able to easily leap into the fray and find Ethan.

He needed to find Thalia too.

You got it boss, he replied back in Percy's mind as he began to tuck his wings.

As they descended, a voice came to him. "Here I am." Ethan's voice said.

Percy could hear him and he darted his head towards the direction, spotting him neatly evading and dodging Thalia's attacks.

Eyepatch at nine o'clock, Blackjack, he told him.

The Pegasus neighed and veered towards him swiftly. Careful boss, this guy gives me the creeps, he warned him.

Percy patted Blackjack's neck tenderly as they neared Ethan and Thalia, who had dashed backwards to risk a glance up at Percy while she was maneuvering and parrying her way out of Ethan's attacks which where stronger than normal.

Percy hopped off of Blackjack and rolled into the dirt, coming up on a knee.

Thalia stepped back and came to stand beside him, Ethan pausing as he smirked at Percy with a glint in his eye.

"Hello again, Jackson. Nice to see you, your cousin was just keeping me company." He said.

Thalia wiped the sweat off of her forehead, her bright blue eyes glowing briefly in response to her anger.

Percy slipped his hand into his pocket and drew Riptide. "Told you I'd make quick work of them. Call off the Horde and let's handle this amongst ourselves." He told him.

Ethan chuckled, spreading his arms. "We can handle this right now. This all can go away if you give up the Amulet. Even now, I can sense it's power on your being just as I'm sure you could sense mine when you arrived. This doesn't have to get any messier." He leveled.

"How do you want to do this?" Thalia asked, ignoring Ethan's words.

He loved that she already knew Percy had no intentions of giving in nor was the plan to debate all day with someone who could literally give the Titan Lord of Time control of his body at any given moment.

This was the levelheadedness and calm demeanor he counted on in times like this. It was one of the many reasons he trusted her with his life.

Percy blew a strand of his hair out of his eye as he raised his sword. "I've got him. Help the rest of the campers and stay close by if you can. I'm sure Kronos will reveal himself in no time, I may very well need your help." He told her.

She grunted, backing away. "Don't pull any punches." She told Percy, practically disappearing back into the battle.

"Not your style as of late, I'd say. Though you did spare a few of my rogues." Ethan chuckled, raising his sword.

Percy was silent as his met Ethan's eye, flashes of a battered and frail Annabeth in his mind along with the blur of his friend's faces that he no longer saw among the troops. That had fallen to Kronos' evil. Ethan's as well.

Anger ignited in his chest, a hot ball that made his nerves tremble intensely.

Luke's face flashed in Percy's mind, followed by Xavier's and Jonah's, then Adam's.

Percy felt numb as his vision tinted red, his grip tightening around Riptide as he imagined Ethan's face cold and pale. No sign of life in his dead eye.

Percy decided then that he would see it so.

Ethan smiled. "I'm guessing the glowing eyes signifies that your angry? I wonder if my eye glows as well." He wondered aloud, chuckling.

Percy dashed forward and jabbed at Ethan who parried easily and sliced at Percy's chest. Sidestepping, Percy drove his blade upwards towards the bottom of Ethan's jaw but Ethan nimbly moved his neck out of the way and used the momentum to spin away from Percy.

Ethan nodded. "I don't know if it's your anger but you fight way more viciously than last time. I just might have to kill you before Kronos does. How many have you killed exactly?" He pressed.

Annabeth's face flashed his mind again and Percy slashed at his Ethan's neck, rolling away and jabbing at his ribs as the Titan host parried the first strike and danced out of the way of the other.

They both leapt forward at the same time and their blades clashed, locking as they glared into each other's eyes.

"I haven't seen Annabeth since I handed her off to you, is she feeling better?" He asked in mock concern.

Growling, Percy pushed up on the hilt and attempted to disarm him but Ethan did the same and both of their blades went sprawling across the dirt.

In the same motion, Ethan was already swinging at Percy and he dipped to the left slightly as he slung a straight jab with his right fist into his nose.

Ethan's head snapped back but his other hand came around twice as fast than Percy had expected and he barely could block the blow that made him stumble.

Percy barely had time to process the throbbing sting in his arm before Ethan was in front of him again, throwing another hook with a smirk.

Dodging swiftly, Percy stepped back as he raised his fists.

The Titan was feeding him power as he prepared to take over. Soon he'd reached his true form, by nightfall at least, and then everyone was in trouble.

Ethan smiled again as he raised his fists as well. Percy was, personally, getting tired of seeing it. It reminded him too much of Castellan's sardonic grin. He wanted to wipe it off of his face.

"This should be fun. Hand to hand always gets my blood going. Don't disappoint, Jackson, this is a moment I've been dreaming of." He said.

Percy eyed him silently. He was too busy reading his opponents body language and movements to pay his words any real attention.

He needed to take every precaution if he had any hopes of drawing this out until Nico got here.

All he had to do was go hand to hand with the host for one of the malicious Titans of the Immortals.

Easy.

Right?