Second Chances

Chapter 16 - Troy Burns, Again

(Chang's P.O.V.)

I watched as Brian started to crack his knuckles, wrists, neck, shoulders, back and many more as he braced for a fight. All of the pops strung together like a little chorus of impending pain. The arena wasn't packed out like it had been before, but this group that was gathered made this upcoming trial feel much more personal. I was quickly yanked from within my analyzations by the low cackle from my would be opponent.

"I've been waiting to crush you like a little bug." Brian sneered at me as the shadows cast upon from the back wall of the arena made it look like I was about to be fighting a zombie on steroids.

"This is his trial right?" A voice to the side of us called, but it was from someone I was unfamiliar with.

"What is your point, Jace?" Hana replied with a small hint of irritation.

"Shouldn't his opponent by myself, if these are proper trials?" The pale, dark haired boy asked with a tone of concern.

"That's just a small trivial matter, dear." Theia replied icily as he smiled daggers at me.

"Nonsense!" Brian half roared with displeasure. "If it's true that you've skipped a member in the trials, then I refuse to fight."

"You... refuse?" Theia's voice was starting to drip with venom on top of the coldness.

"We have always followed the few rules we do abide by. I won't adhere to you changing something on just a stupid whim. Either of you." Brian turned his gaze from one girl to the next, as he turned his back to me completely.

"You have no right to refuse me! I demand that you fight this Lance!" Theia's voice started raising with anger.

I couldn't help but slightly cringe at the possible showdown that was emerging. Hana walked over to Brian and inaudibly whispered to him, not something I could fully make it.

"Does this have to be now?"

I tried my best to piece together the form of her lips, not a skill I was the very best at but I knew that I had to be somewhere close as he just nodded his head yes in disgust. This caused the girl to back away with a slightly sad look on her face. Brian indeed wasn't going to back down from whatever standoff was forming.

"I will no say this again, Duchess. You have forgotten your place and why we are here." It was a calm reply and only seemed to infuriate Theia further.

"Who are you, to tell me what we're doing or why we're here. You are out of line! Knights, silence this fool!"

She was fully screaming now as Brian took a defensive step back, shaking his head side to side as if pleading no. I couldn't understand what was happening fully anymore, but what I could register was the man who wanted to fight me the most was now guarding me. Brian had a long metal staff gripped tightly and as alert as a cornered animal.

"I will always be the oldest. I will always be the guardian of our order and cause. If I am out of line, then our goals have sadly changed and I will face the General before I take another step down through your misguided ideals."

I tried to process the words as it snapped suddenly in my head, they were serving the Titans. "You guys are..." I stumbled out before being cut off by Jace.

"It's true, but this is not the time or place." I noticed now that Hana had distanced herself from Brian and Jace, who stood between myself and the small mob of their friends.

"Why are you helping him?" I tried to ask as quietly as I could to the smaller teen.

"Brian is not wrong in his actions." Jace lightly whispered in my direction, but the tone carried a heavy sense of sadness.

"You are only a pawn for me!" Theia started to yell again, seemingly in an obvious last ditch effort to avoid what was coming.

"I serve the Queen, not you!" Everyone seemed to shift uncomfortably towards Hana. "If she wishes me to stand down, then I will."

His voice seemed troubled, like he was torn between his purpose and friends. Hana just stook her head very slightly and finally offered her first words since this whole ordeal had started.

"Do what you must and know that will always believe in you, even if I cannot support you."

The large, broad shoulders and back that were blocking a straight line view of the arena began to slightly shudder. Jace quickly patted his back and darted off towards Hana. The tension in the room was unbearable now and I was very glad that I had a very restricted view of the occupants, because the room started to glow with an eerie brightness.

"I will not be defied. Not by you or anyone." I shut my eyes tightly as I saw Brian get lit up like a christmas tree, a burning golden light seemed to cocoon his entire body and seep into his being. At the last moment he became transparent as he screamed in pain. He looked like a man in a large skeleton costume, except for the fact he was really being lighted all the way down to his core.

"Enough!" A deep, booming voice erupted into the entire palace. I had never heard such an eminating voice before, and it sent chills down my spine as I crumpled onto the floor as the words echoed through my head repeatedly.

Hana, Jace and many others rushed about the room like scurrying ants. Brian slumped down onto his knees, but I could still see that his chest was barely heaving enough to keep him alive. Ungodly amounts of blood ran down his arms and from his head, when it occured to me that he was unconscious but still providing a wall for me.

Hana was the first I recognized near Brian, seemingly to struggle with Jace and a few other girls to clean up the bloody mess.

"Is he going to be alright?" the one I recognized as Kat, asked worriedly.

Theia was leaving the room, being followed by the majority of the onlookers. I noticed that only Hana, Jace, Kat and the other girl who had left earlier with them had remained.

As Theia was about to exit the arena she paused, but didn't attempt to look back. "Take him to Mount Tam, immediately."

Kat sprang to feet as Theia finished her sentence, but was quickly caught and held still by Jace and the other girl, who I saw as Sam. It was Hana who spoke harshly instead.

"Don't think you'll get away with this, karma always balances the scales eventually."

I wouldn't exactly call it a threat but something behind her words had a sense of ominous doom around them, which caused Theia to give a stiff chuckle.

"The final trial for my pet, will be held on Mount Tam and against Jace, this evening."

She left promptly with that, leaving a lot of questions and doubt in my head.

(Percy's P.O.V.)

Waking up early in the morning was never something I was fond of, and Thalia wasn't what you could call a daylight person. Yet, here we both were, rising once again before the dawn to meet up with Chiron and the others at our makeshift war camp.

I was there sitting on the bed in just my shorts, watching Thalia sleep before having to wake her up, when Annabeth burst into our tent with an exhausted huff. Her face got redder as she blushed at catching Thalia and myself in such a private moment, which made the tension and awkwardness in the room go up.

"Well, I didn't mean to catch you so..." She quickly cleared her throat before remembering the reason she came to begin with. "Chiron said that Troy is stirring at last, and we need to gather quickly."

I nodded as she started backing up the exit of our tent. "So, you should wake up sleeping beauty there so we don't have to wait longer than need be."

I ignored Annabeth as she left, but her words gave me a interesting idea. I leaned in closely to the sleeping punk princess and softly kissed her lips. It would have been a pleasant moment, if not for the fact that Thalia whacked me upside the side in reaction to being kissed awake.

"Oh gods, Percy, are you okay?" I tried not to glare at the fact my girlfriend had tried to bash my head in for kissing her good morning.

"Yeah, I'll manage." I said while rubbing the sore spot just above my left temple, hopefully it wouldn't bruise or anything. "Oh, Annabeth stopped by this morning also."

Thalia gave me a suspicious glance before asking why. "Any reason?"

"Something about Chiron calling an early morning meeting, the Trojans seem to be ready to fight again." I smiled bashfully, before getting up and getting dressed.

Thalia quickly followed suit and once we were both ready, we headed to the command tent, to find everyone but the Knights present.

"Percy, Thalia, how nice of you to both join us so early in the morning." Clarisse mocked which earned scowls from both of us.

"Glad to see you were able to get dressed to join us, but perhaps you should just start taking pictures of Thalia instead of staring all day."

Nico jabbed playfully, making me think that Annabeth must have said something to him already. I just rolled my eyes and asked Chiron what the situation was.

"So, where exactly are the Knights?" I couldn't help but wonder.

"Well, without their Captain, they aren't exactly suited for early morning combat anymore." I looked puzzled as Chiron explained further. "The Knights of the Dawn, aren't really of the Dawn without their captain, Tajima Kou."

I didn't fully understand it but I had a pretty vague concept of what he meant. It was basically like a firefly who didn't have any light.

"We did get word from the patrols again last night, that Troy has been extra noisy lately." Chiron kept on going over his morning briefing with us.

"Noisy could mean a lot of things though, what do you think they have in mind? It has been nearly a week since they've opened their gates." Thalia questioned our small council, which was quickly interrupted by the Stoll brothers.

"Troy has opened." Travis started out, only to have Connor finish the thought. "There is a really big horse headed in our direction."

I looked at Annabeth, who seemed to be laughing a little bit hysterically. Everyone else turned her direction as she finally composed herself enough to speak.

"Just the irony, that Troy is finally using the Trojan Horse thing." A few others burst out laughing slightly as I remembered what the trojan horse could mean.

"Everyone gather the armies for war, we won't be baited with such an old trick."

It took a good half hour to have everyone ready, but once we all stood atop the hillside of our camp and watched as a few dozens Trojans rolled a large wooden horse into the valley. I conferred with Thalia, Nico and Fumio for a moment before deciding on the course of action. I smiled and nodded as the Knights and Hunters both broke off in directions of east and west and signalled when ready.

"Fire arrows!" came the cries as the horse was set on fire with deadly accuracy.

We watched from atop the hilltop as it burned ferociously, but no soldiers spilled out from it's remains. We had a small group go down to inspect the burning, and once close enough I watched in horror as the horse exploded like a bomb as the last bit of fire mixed some kind of explosive hidden deep in the veins.

"I'm such an idiot." I couldn't help but curse myself as a roar released from the city, the gates swung open and our stormed the remaining Trojan army.

"Charge!" The yell came from a feminie voice that I knew was Thalia's. It seemed like slow motion as I stayed back as all the Knights, Hunters and demigods rushed forth. It took me a moment to notice that Nico, Tyson, Grover and Chiron were waiting beside me with our more monsterous allies.

"War is mean and good people can hurt." Tyson smiled at me in his attempt to make me feel better. "We will make the city fire bright, like the big pony."

I chewed on my lip and watched cautiously as the fighting erupted in violent bursts. Nico had an idea that would take him a short while to complete but he told me that because of the date, he could pull it off.

I looked at him curiously for moment as he informed me of the plan. "Percy, we've been out here nearly a month. Have you really lost that much track of time?"

I couldn't help but shrug and shake my head yes, being a god could make it difficult to keep track of the days, they all tended to blur together more than before.

"So what does that all mean exactly?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Tonight is October 31st, and I'll have a rather large command of the undead for today until midnight. The other big day would be the winter solstice, but I don't plan on being out here for that long." He laughed lightly, causing me to snicker along with him.

"Please, by all means, unleash the damned." I smiled as we shared more of a chuckle.

Nico wondered off to being a rather grand summoning ritual for a large host army of the dead, making me turn my attention back towards the battlefield. Our forces were battering the Trojans, but I couldn't help notice that Aeneas didn't appear to be in the plains.

"Chiron, is it just me, or do the Trojans not seem to have an acting commander today?" I was puzzled by the thought, and thoroughly confused as he looked stunned by the revelation.

"Percy, this is another trap, quickly pull out the armies." It was my turn to be stunned as he informed me of the ploy.

It was all too late though as a wall of archers sprung from behind the mighty walls of Troy. The amount of arrows that ripped through the sky cast a large black shadow that swallowed up the sky. I couldn't help but flinch as it took moments before my friends to cover properly, but more than a few would be too late to do so.

Screams and cries of pain erupted from the plains as I motioned Tyson to rush in with the Cyclopes. I shut my eyes briefly as the grunts and thuds of bodies could be heard as my brothers army lost many as well to the onslaught of arrows. I was brought back suddenly as I heard a curse and lightning strike one of the walls of Troy.

"Thalia!"

I cried out as Chiron held me back from rushing into the bloody mess. Everything seemed to be in slow motion as I struggled in vain to get free of Chiron's grasp, watching Thalia drop to her knees from the relentless volley of arrows. The Hunters were too scattered to cover her as another volley arched high into the noon sky.

I wanted to shut my eyes but I couldn't pry them away from the scene unfolding in front of me. She was about to skewered by horde of arrows, but a figure shielded her at the last minute. I thanked all of the gods possible, feeling the tears sting my cheeks.

"You ready?" I was broke from the horrors by Nico, who looked exhausted but reassured me he was still fit to fight.

"Chiron, I have a crazy plan." I smiled deviously at Nico and Chiron both. "Let's light your skeleton army on fire."

Nico smiled but Chiron looked taken back for a moment before understanding. Chiron, Grover and our nature forces helped light up the skeletons, who seemed to number a good four thousand, albeity rather reluctantly from Grover's group.

"Some people are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges. Luckily for us, both burn well. Charge!" I shouted as I took off down to the valley.

"Let's show them the power of the dead!" Nico screamed next to me.

I rushed to where Thalia was, noticing that Fumio and many of the Knights were guarding the injured or dead Hunters. I lurched forward in shock at seeing the dead boy crouched over Thalia, shielding her. It was one of the acting commander of the Elite's, a corporal, Victor Vasquez. He was filled with countless arrows and dripping blood everywhere, but he was long dead.

Thalia could mumble slightly and I saw that she had taken a couple of arrows, to her shoulder, stomach and right leg. Chiron and the Centaurs evacuated the dead and wounded, as the flaminng skeletons burned through the Trojans left on the field.

Taking a moment to glance up hill, Grover was busy mending the wounded with help from the Nymphs and Satyrs. Our forces had thinned out dramatically as I peered into the burning corpses with awe.

"Holy Hades, that's so awesome!" Fumio smiled as Nico got excited from watching his flaming skeletons explode against the walls and gates of Troy. Each k******e skeleton put a strain of the foundation of Troy, until it became apparent that the defenses would soon collapse.

The Trojans were too busy working in vain to put out the skeletons, as I had any capable archers to return the favor they paid us early. The rest were waiting to rush the city as soon as it fell. Fumio wasted no time in repaying the kindess from the past months worth of battles upon Troy, and it didn't even take an hour for the city to crumble.

"For the dawn!" Fumio yelled, inciting a massive response as the Knights rushed in first, followed by Tyson's Cyclopes and then more skeletons with Nico and myself lastly. It really didn't take long to overrun the Trojans once the city fell, maybe two hours at most. The most surprising thing was to find that many of the commanders and soldiers had been killed prior to today, making me shudder as I thought of the demititans.

When we returned I sought out Thalia immediately, to find that she was seriously injured but would pull through. Relief rushed through my body as Tyson happily offered to carry her to the bonfire and shroud burnings. Many other Cyclopes did the same for other of the injured, and Chiron started by saying a long prayer before starting the ceremony. He called me up to address the crowd, which I felt horribly sad and nervous about.

"Today.. we nearly suffered a catastrophic defeat." I started into the words that were running through my head. "We have lost many friends and family in another struggle but we stand here because we are victorious!"

A chorus of shouts and cheers burst from the demigods. "Victory is not without sacrfice and tonight we will honor our lost." I started to list off the casualties from today's hellish struggle, and from the whole war.

"Will Solace, Zack Emerson and Reggie Flanagan, sons of Apollo. Todd Acosta, son of Aphrodite. Malcolm and Wyatt Phelps, sons of Athena. Chris Rodriguez, son of Hermes. Garret Holford, son of Dionysus. Omar Elias and Tommy Malone, sons of Demeter. Mark, Sherman and Dwayne Lambert, sons of Ares. Jake Mason, son of Hephaestus. Micah, Marianne and Alexis, Hunters of Artemis."

I paused to look at Fumio and much smaller group of Knights left, he just nodded and smiled sadly to proceed.

"Christian Whitney, Morton Baptiste, Wesley Stocco, Martyn Paolino, Victor Vasquez, Seiji Kayato, Andrew Biha, and Tajima Kou, Knights of the Dawn."

The bonfire flames burning a dull blue as everyone looked sullen and deep in thought. I was slightly surprised to see the Olympians suddenly behind me, mourning along with us. I don't think they were really there, just with us in spirit because only a few of the most sensitive demigods seemed to notice anything.

The girl Adara was the one who broke the silence around us. I remembered her as the girl who had arrived before after the war in Manhattan, and she seemed close to the Knights.

"Someone once told me to be soft, and not let the world make us hard. To not let the pain make you hate or let the bitterness steal our sweetness. To take the pride that even though the rest of the world may disagree, we still believe it to be a beautiful place."

Many looked up at hearing those words, but she wasn't yet done with her line. "I know death and war hurt, I lost the person who told me all of those things, but he never gave up and we can't either. Our friends and families would never forgive us if we just slumped and broke down after all of this."

I calmly placed my hand on her shoulder, she was skaing with nervousness. Everyone seemed to be holding on to a small burning hope, once again.

I spread my arms out wide and smiled broadly. "You were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Naturally you have all become heroes."

The loss would always be felt, just like from last year, but we forge on and keep up the fight and faith. The relief of having defeated the Trojans was a huge burden lifted, but the veil of evil was not lifted and I shared a small knowing with Chiron that we weren't yet out of the water.

(Kat's P.O.V.)

We were half-dragging Brian through the palace corridors in Mount Shasta, when we crossed paths with Theia again. She greeted us with an unpleasant smile as she frowned at the state Brian seemed to be in.

"It seems the demigods have managed to defeated Troy."

The four of us weren't overly thrilled with what this could mean, but Hana had to voice her growing resentment. "Brian is in no condition to be going anywhere."

"Don't worry, Winnifred." She called me disgustingly, momentarily ignoring Hana. "If you're lucky, Brian will return in mainly intact, but he must do this alone."

I scoffed and many others were appauled by this. "Do what and on whose orders. Duchess?" Hana snapped back violently.

Theia just tisked at this, and stared at her nails as if bored. "Unfortunately, Brian is to retrieve the dead."

Before anyone could make anymore objections or fights, Brian struggled to his feet and effectively silenced any brewing argument. "I can manage just fine, no worries."