Son of the Moon

Chapter 57

-Percy-

Silently, Percy gazed out over Camp Half-Blood, taking in the damage and devastation the battle had wrought. For himself he had a new scar, a deep trench going across his cheek from the arrow that struck it; and his arms were gone, bitten off by Kampe's beast heads as she perished. In their place were new limbs, fashioned from Divine Silver. They were beautiful to look at, polished bright with the traces of his old glowing marks of power redone in brilliant sapphire. They were stronger, even more durable than his old limbs already, even with them yet to have been upgraded by Hephaestus who had sworn to add as many alterations and additions as he and his children could.

Percy hated them.

He clenched his right fist, the sound of metal clinking rather than bone popping only reminding him of it all. The new arms were cold, they were lifeless, but worst of all they couldn't feel. He glanced down at his left hand, a hand that was held tightly in Bianca's own, but he felt nothing. He couldn't feel the soft smooth sensation of her skin as he traced it with his thumb, couldn't feel the warmth from her as their fingers laced. He could touch and see what he held but felt nothing there.

Bianca held his hand tight as she leaned into him, her eyes barely open as she fought to stay awake, the others having informed him she'd barely slept since the battle, refusing to leave his side.

"Percy." Nico's voice sounded from behind as Percy turned and saw the rest of the surviving Camp Leaders standing there, "We finished doing a census of the battle."

"What are we looking at?" Percy sighed, voice sounding hollow at all the devastation, the loss of those they cared for.

"We lost thirty six of our seventy campers, seven of the Hunters of Artemis perished as well." Nico grit his teeth, "Ninety-two nymphs and Satyrs died when Kampe rampaged routed their charge."

"So many." Percy didn't stop the tears that fell from his eyes. He was their leader; he was supposed to protect them! But he couldn't save the campers here. He couldn't save Zoe, he couldn't save Castor, and he couldn't save Katie.

"We don't know how many demigods, legacies, or mortals that the enemy still has." Nico shook his head, "But their forces in the Labyrinth are dead or dying. What's more, she had most of the monsters in her army, Tartarus, she had most of the monsters in the world down there for various strikes when it collapsed. My father reports that he and his underworld court are working on keeping Tartarus under control and observed as its never been this full."

Percy still felt the grief, and the pain, and the cold numbing emptiness, but he had to press on, "We can't waste the opportunity then. I want the funerals arranged and then every Satyr we have sent out to recruit along with every demigod who's old enough. Nobody goes alone. I'll talk to the gods about getting a list of locations, I can't believe we never thought of this before honestly. We need them here where it's safe and if they can fight to protect our home, if we get enough numbers, we might be able to stop another tragedy like this. I'll ask mom and my sisters to go around as well. Find demigoddesses who might wish to join or mortals."

"Right." Nico nodded to him and set out to arrange the funerals, the other camp leaders preparing to follow.

"Clarisse, wait a moment." Percy called out, gesturing for the daughter of War to sit down.

"Yeah Perce?" Clarisse asked, his friend frowning concerned as she glanced down at the metal arms.

"I had an idea and I wanted you to bring your father to get his opinion on it." Percy nodded to a second empty chair as Clarisse nodded, closing her eyes and muttering softly for a moment as she prayed to Ares, said War god appearing a moment later in a burst of crimson light.

"Clarisse said you wished to speak with me?" Ares took the seat, expression serious even as Clarisse said her goodbyes and went to go help the others.

"I had an idea on how to get more help for the upcoming battles, but I wanted your opinion as to do it I would need the help of yourself and a couple others."

"What would that be?" Ares frowned puzzled.

"The Titans have been taking mortals and forcibly opening their minds to the world of the Divine, using them as war slaves after their reality shatters yes?" Percy asked.

"They have but I doubt you're desperate enough to suggest something like that." Ares grunted, the soldier in him disgusted by the tactics of the enemy.

"I'm thinking there are better ways. There are hundreds, thousands, of mortal soldiers who live on the streets aren't there? People who couldn't adjust to life after getting out? Or adjust to their injuries? What if we went to them and gave them the choice? Have you, Apollo, and Dionysus work together to open their minds so they don't shatter and can help heal, their limbs replaced with prosthetics. They might not have the strength or abilities of a demigod, but their experience and tactical training could be a huge asset. Not to mention any help would be a blessing."

"I'll…consider your suggestion." Ares replied slowly, the war god pondering his words, "And I'll discuss it with the others, the council would likely need to vote on the matter was well, but I promise we'll look into it. For now…kid just get some rest. You're no good to anyone if you're dead on your feet. Rest, heal, train, and if you ever need to talk to someone about those new arms, I'll listen." With that, Ares flashed away, leaving Percy along with his sleeping love and what felt like the weight of the world on his shoulders.

-Jason-

Jason felt decidedly green as he looked about the war council comprised of Gaea, the Titans, the Giants, and their generals. All of them were discussing the losses after the attack on Camp Half-Blood. A chunk came from the battle, but most were from when the Labyrinth collapsed. The monsters would at least return eventually when they reformed but the demigods? The Legacies? The mortals? They were gone and not coming back.

"We need numbers." Gaea frowned, "We will have to focus on recruiting and raising the army again before we can even think of attacking any of the camps."

"It will take a year at least for many of the monsters to return from Tartarus." Porphyrion muttered, "And even then there are others who will take longer. We may need to delve into the old places, find forgotten and slumbering monsters. Has there been any word on Typhon?"

"The Mountain is still crumbling." Thalia shook her head, "But most likely a year. Maybe less, maybe more, I can't say for sure though. I doubt we'll get any more demigods from Camp Half-Blood so any others will have to be found before the campers can and Percy is more than smart enough to take advantage of the monster depopulation to recruit for himself, so we need to move fast."

"I…I could try and find people from Camp Jupiter." Jason offered meekly, gulping when the slew of immortals all turned their attention onto him, "There might be some who would join."

"I can go to the Amazons." Miranda cracked her neck, "They follow their queen, and anyone has the right to challenge for that title. I join the amazons, dethrone Hylla, and we have a force of Amazons and their resources."

"I'll recruit the wild nature spirits that aren't a fan of the gods." Pollux volunteered, Thalia's enforcers uncowed before the slew of gods, titans, and giants.

"Very good. I will keep dear Thalia with me. She has to learn to better control the changes that the ritual brought and there are a few…other matters I feel need to be discussed with her in regard to one Perseus Jackson."