Embrace the Shadows

Chapter 28

-Percy-

"Thalia floor it." he ordered as they piled up into the van as he set himself into the back, grabbing one of the boxes they had loaded into the van before they left.

"On it!" Thalia said as she got behind the wheel and revved the engine, peeling out into traffic as she made her way over to the subway while others kept a tight grip on the sides of the vehicle to avoid getting knocked about.

"Damian," he called out as he worked on his preparations "we got any copters on our ass yet?".

"Yeah," the son of Thetis yelled back, "coming up on our six!".

Nodding he finished preparing his sniper rifle as he kicked open the back doors and used his feet to prop himself up so he didn't get tossed out, propping the riffle against his skin, and grateful that the van's Mist Generation field would make him seem like a random criminal as the cars behind their van began to panic at the sight of his sniper rifle. Propping it against his shoulder as he zeroed in on the cockpit of the helicopter and fired, his bullet, a mixture of celestial bronze and steel, punching through the glass windshield with ease before ending the life of the Mercenary that had joined the Titans while the co-pilot tried in vain to right the helicopter.

"We got one down!" he called as he reloaded his rifle and took aim at the second pilot who had regained control of the aircraft, all the cars behind theirs having slammed on the breaks when he fired his gun if they hadn't after he kicked open the doors.

"Second pilot?" Clarisse yelled as they swerved onto an off ramp to head towards the subway, the sound of Sirens howling in the distance.

"Not for long." he answered as he aimed and fired again, his second round going through the windshield and the pilot's head with ease as the helicopter once more began to spiral down before he used his power over wind and metal to redirect it so it landed in the Potomac River.

"Our tail's gone," he called out as he pulled the doors shut and disassembled his rifle, "how far till we reach the Subway?".

"About a minute and a half," Thalia called out as they made a sharp turn "we got any cops on our ass yet?".

"They're probably stuck behind the traffic block we caused," he said with a grunt as he shoved the rifle and other packages of supplies into an extended bag "the mortals freaked out at the sight of my Rifle.".

"Can't really blame them," Thalia grunted as she slowed the car down once inside the tunnel and upped the power of the mist generator so people wouldn't be able to recognize the car outside of it, "you were shooting a gun at what they probably assumed was a military helicopter.".

"Good thing we have the Mist Generator," he said with a grunt as he leaned over and entered a few codes onto a console on the dashboard "we'll have to ditch the van. I'm activating the burn operations so it will begin to tear itself apart thirty seconds after we cut the engine.".

"Burn Operations?" Damian asked when Thalia pulled into the parking lot "One of Beckendorf's upgrades?".

"Yeah," he said as they pulled into a slot "the car will destroy the license plates and any other identifiable marks before weakening the structure to the point where it will fall apart within the hour.".

"Useful." Thalia said with a nod as she turned off the engine and they climbed out of the van.

Quickly they made their way inside and bought their tickets before climbing onto the train, continuing the same pattern they had used in the first timeline until they reached the rail yard where Apollo had set up the train to take them to Hephaestus' junk yard.

"Alright," he said as he held open the mesh for the others to climb in "we'll be on here until the sun sets so pick a car and grab some shut eye.".

"See you at the Junk Yard." Damian said with a sigh as his friend walked over to a viper and climbed in while he looked forlornly at his friend, sad at Damian's broken heart from Zoe being taken.

"What all's going to happen in the Junkyard?" Nico asked as Thalia and Clarisse walked up to the top level to snag a couple cars of their own.

"Last time it was where Bianca got killed by Talos when she brought the little Hades statue outside of the Junkyard's boundaries." he explained to the son of Hades as they walked towards the end of the train where he chose a Ferrari LaFerrari and Nico selected a Koenigsegg Agera R (AN: I know the Ferrari didn't come out till 2015 and the Koenigsegg didn't come out till 2011 but they're epic cars).

"So anything removed by a being besides Hephaestus will cause Talos to wake up?" Nico asked as he nodded.

"Good thing that Talos was removed." He said with a shrug only to freeze when he saw a golden flash out of the corner of his eye as he turned to see a rather apologetic looking Apollo.

"Not exactly," Apollo said with a sigh "Zeus caught Hephaestus trying to remove Talos and has Hera guarding him to make sure he can't 'interfere' again. I was only able to tell you this because this is just a small part of my consciousness while the rest is on Olympus.".

Groaning he slammed his fist into the steel frame of the train car, "Damn that thunder filled bastard," he snarled "his end is going to be painful. I know I can't actually destroy Olympus until I turn sixteen due to that damn prophecy but I can still kill of the rest of them. Artemis is set to die on Othryss and when she's nothing more than dust I will return to Olympus and Hera will fade as well.".

"Damn," Apollo said wide-eyed "two of them back to back. What about the others?".

"I have the feeling that Zeus is likely to pull his supporters to safe locations after the deaths of Hera and Artemis. Poseidon and Athena will be the thunder god's most powerful Allies while Demeter and Persephone will probably be the next to die after Hera as they aren't all that dangerous so Zeus will probably use them as a way to escape if needed, a way to buy some time.".

"That makes sense," Apollo said with a frown "but I'm not sure when that will happen. Zeus learned about Rhea yesterday and he's apoplectic in anger about the two of you being together.".

"Do I look like I care?" he asked blandly as Nico yawned and climbed into the Koenigsegg to get some sleep.

"Honestly no," Apollo said with a sigh "but I can't say that I'm surprised. This war is going to start fully soon and I wonder what the final sides will be when cannons fire.".

"I don't know," he said with a frown "but anyone who tries to harm our family will pay the price. I will protect our loved ones and ensure that nothing can threaten them again.".

"You still have seven gods to slay," Apollo warned "as well as the Titans. Be careful Percy." Before flashing away in a burst of golden light.

"No Apollo," he said with a soft sigh as he climbed into the Ferrari "there are ten left to slay.".

-Zoe-

"Hello daughter," the voice of her bastard father Atlas said cheerfully as the Titan of Strength returned to the mountaintop on which she suffered "did you miss me?".

"I'm not sure whose company I hate more," she growled "yours or Artemis'.".

Atlas laughed in amusement at that statement, "I see your tongue has lost none of its sting daughter," the Titan said happily "and I truly look forward to seeing your spirit broken. Your friends have been providing me some…entertainment since your capture. I truly love the fact that a quest was organized to rescue you but not Artemis here. It seems that none of her little girl scouts have enough of a connection with ancient magics to be able to receive a vision of her current…predicament.".

"I will enjoy watching Percy and Damian tear you apart." She said coldly "And hearing you scream as you are forced to fade.".

"I have no doubt that that's what they plan to do," Atlas said with a smirk "but they will…come to understand my point of view if it means saving your life. Until then I will enjoy the entertainment they will provide for me. Already your friend Percy has killed two mortal Mercenaries I hired and even had the gall to sacrifice the nemean lion hide to you.".

Hearing that her eyes widened as she realized what the rush of energy she had felt earlier had been while Artemis seethed at not having a quest issued to rescue her. "No matter what you say it doesn't change what I know," she declared resolutely "when Percy and Damian arrive…two immortals will die on this mountain.".