Here we go again. In light of the recent publication of The Blood of Olympus(as well as repeated face-to-face and private message demands from some avid readers) I have decided to start SoaH 3 now before reading Riordan's latest work throws me off. If it turns out that all my conjecture was all wrong then I will reclassify this as AU but only after all the chapters have been published.

Don't forget to check out my other works Blood of a generation and SHIFT.

And now for the boilerplate disclaimer: I do not own PJO or any of its related characters, locations or content. All rights reserved by Rick Riordan.

With that over and done with, enjoy Shadow of a hero The Gathering Darkness!

Athena's wisdom to you all.
Athena'sPride95

me

Shadow of a Hero Book 3: The Gathering Darkness

Prologue: midnight monologue

The life of a Demigod is never easy, ask any one of them. School life is difficult, most suffer from dyslexia and ADHD, and don't forget the hordes of monsters usually drying to devour you day and night, but for one particular group of heavily armed demigods things were about to get very difficult and very dangerous. What started as a simple reconnaissance mission went to the Hellhounds very quickly. The information about a build-up of monsters had been good; there had been a small battalion of Cyclopes in Harriman State park. The problem? They had been spotted, and now they were running for their lives through deserted midnight streets trying to avoid getting smashed or eaten, or a combination of the two. Don't jump to conclusions, they were no cowards. They were simply smart enough to know the odds. Three of the group were seasoned children of Ares hardened by two wars and more hardship than most would face in a lifetime. The fourth was a new recruit, out on his first mission and getting way more than he bargained for.

"Turn here!" ordered the squad leader, a big girl clad in urban camouflage pants and a tank top under her bronze breastplate "we'll lose them in the residential streets!" She veered around a corner, her squad in pursuit as they charged right into a large car park, spotted with parked vehicles, flanked by apartment buildings and backed by a fifteen foot concrete wall. A dead end.
"Nice one boss" remarked a boy, also burly and clad in urban camouflage.
"Shut it Trent" ordered the squad leader "we have to double back before we're cut off!" They turned, too late, to find their entry point blocked by twelve hungry Cyclopes. The biggest, a massive brute easily nine feet tall, swinging a war-hammer the size of a street lamp, lumbered forward growling at them.
"Rude Demigods have nowhere to run now. We're gonna kill you to teeny tiny pieces."
"I told you you shouldn't have insulted his knitting abilities boss" joked Trent, used to making light of a near death situation.
The 'boss' wasn't amused "pipe down you dumbass, just keep your eyes up and your mouth shut you got that?"
"You realise there are way too many of them right?" pointed out the third Ares warrior "ten of them, four of us plus we have to protect the newbie so we might as well have three"
"no kidding" said Trent grimly "plus we're lightly armoured and that thing looks like it could kill Cerberus with a good blow"
"Well man up ladies because we're going out swinging. I make no apologies, that thing didn't look remotely like a jumper" she raised her voice and taunted their attackers "come and get us then you optically challenged moron!" The Cyclopes bellowed in rage and raised his hammer above his head to strike. The group tensed ready to dive aside when the blow came down.

As the hammer started to descend there was a deafening CRACK followed immediately by a crackling like lightning and the side of the giant Cyclops' head exploded outward. It toppled sideways, expression unchanged and began to dissolve into dust. The lead Demigod recognised what was happening instantly.
"Get down!" she ordered and dove to one of the parked cars a microsecond before a volley of CRACKS split the night once more. The Cyclopes hadn't moved, some staring at the spot where their leader had had his brains blown out, the rest gazed around stupidly looking for their unknown assailant as glowing blue projectiles thudded into their heads and split them like ripe melons. In seconds nothing was left of the Cyclopes but scattering dust. After a moment's silence the rookie rolled from beneath the BMW he had been using as a bullet shield, though he needn't have bothered. Twelve shots were fired and all had been dead on target.
"What the hell just happened? What were those lights?"
"Tracer fire" the lead warrior answered standing cautiously "or some kind of modified ammunition, it must have been to take down a Cyclops that size with one hit." The rookie ducked low again shielding his head, fearing bullets may start ricocheting around the car park.
"Shouldn't we stay in cover then?" he asked.
"No point judging by the precision of those shots and their incoming trajectory if the shooter had wanted to hit us we'd already be dead. What I wanna know is who fired . . ." she stopped. She had spotted the figures on the rooftop. One crouching, apparently the shooter, the other standing, watching.
"Oh no"

As they watched both figures took a step forward and plunged from sight into the pitch blackness at the edges of the car park. Trent lurched forward as if to try and stop them before turning to the squad leader in confusion.
"What in Ares name was that all about? They save us then commit suicide?"
"What would be the point in that?" a woman asked from immediately behind them. They all whirled on the spot weapons raised once more. At first none of them could see anything, and then the speaker stepped into the flickering light of one of the car park's illuminating lights. She looked like some heavy metal mercenary clad entirely in black except for the metal glinting on the studs, chains and buckles on her jacket jeans and boots. There was no chance she hadn't been the markswoman who took out the Cyclopes. As she approached she held at her sides a pair of extremely unusual pistols. After a moment she slid them into shoulder holsters beneath her leather jacket, their slides glowing a dark and powerful electric blue, the same colour as her eyes.
"Thalia?" the lead female warrior asked incredulously.
The pale woman leaned casually against the lamp post, she was young, early twenties "hey Clarisse, long time no see"
"About 18 months" Clarisse grated angrily "so you've finally decided to show yourself?"
"Yeah" Thalia shrugged casually checking her nails, the same pitch black as everything else she had on, as she spoke "to be honest if we'd known it was you I wouldn't have wasted the ammo"
"My thoughts exactly" came the voice of another mystery speaker from behind them "the fewer of Ares' kids survive the better.

The group turned again, away from Thalia, to see another figure emerge into the light. From his dark attire he might have been a direct sibling of Thalia's with similar tastes, or possibly a boyfriend. To the Ares veterans though, he was still easily recognisable.
"YOU" Clarisse yelled "I'll skewer you where you stand!"
"I wouldn't if I were you" the man responded calmly, seemingly without moving a glowing bronze sword appeared in his grip. There was a moment of tense silence. Then Clarisse suddenly seemed to deflate "lower your weapons" she ordered.
"You can't be serious!"
"Do you want your head blown off? Sheath 'em now!" Eventually they did so.
"Ok you've got us so what now?"
The man ignored her as though she weren't there "Hey kid, come here a minute"
The rookie edged forward tentatively "I know you," he informed the man "you're Percy Jackson. That guy who betrayed the gods and ran away" despite the situation no fear showed in his eyes as he denounced the dangerous individual in front of him. Thalia grimaced and hissed air through her teeth.
The casual smile on Percy's face vanished "is that what they told you?" he asked eyes shifting from the boy to Clarisse "did they tell you why I did it?"
"No" said the boy scowling angrily, but for all his pretences he couldn't keep curiosity out of his voice.
"No I bet they didn't. If they had you wouldn't be so quick to take their side"
Clarisse advanced a step her hand going to her spear again "Jackson you shut your mouth or I'll . . ." She was interrupted by a soft click, too loud in the silence of the deserted car park, the unmistakable sound of a weapon's safety being removed. Very slowly she looked back over her shoulder. Thalia was still leaning casually against the lamp post but one of her glowing pistols was drawn and trained squarely on the back of Clarisse's head.
"Now hold on Clarisse" Percy continued the casual tone of his voice back once more "let's let the kid hear both sides of the story first"
The infuriated warrior ground her teeth audibly but, with the threat of a bullet in the back of the head, she went silent.

"We defended the Gods, prevented their destruction on several occasions, protected their world; our world from countless dark powers. At the end of it all I had hoped to just have a family and maybe slay a couple of monsters at weekends you know? It didn't happen like that though. Instead of praise, the Gods took everything from me. Zeus destroyed my home in a rage and left my mother in a coma, from which she may never emerge. So I left the gods behind and instead vowed to bring them to justice for all that they have inflicted upon demigods and the mortal world alike."
"Gods are you here just to monologue?" sneered one of the Ares warriors.
"No. I came to offer him a choice" Percy growled his tone sharpening momentarily. He turned his attention back to the thirteen year old in front of him "you can serve the gods until they grow bored of you, discard your life and take all that you hold dear. Or, you can leave with us and help us bring them to justice"
"Don't listen to him Jake, he's just screwing with your head!"
Yet again Percy ignored her, his eyes focused directly on Jake "so what'll it be kid?" For a moment he considered it. He gazed from Percy, to Clarisse and her squad, past them to where Thalia still had her gun to the back of Clarisse's head before looking at the ground between his feet.
"You expect me to believe this crap?" he demanded abruptly stepping back to stand between his siblings from Camp Half-Blood "you're crazy. I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Boy" Percy said shaking his head sadly "you've got to give them credit, Olympus is still great at brainwashing its kids"
Blood suddenly splattered the car park. Trent collapsed, howling in pain and clutching his leg. Thalia had shot him.
"You bastard!" Clarisse yelled crouching over her fallen sibling.
Thalia came around the group to stand next to Percy reloading and cocking her firearm as she went nonchalant as ever.
"The sixth age is coming" Percy told them in a voice filled with menace "and you better be ready because nothing you can do will stop it".