A Dark Cloud Over the Future Ch 12

Chapter 12: Everyone has a Back-up Plan
Everyone looked at the image in the rainbow, some with fear and others with complete terror. The Mist was strong around him and even the demigods in the room were having problems understanding what they were seeing.

“What’s that?” Nico asked in surprise as several glowing lights started to form around the dark clouds. The light became clearer after a few seconds. One was a huge owl, another was a dove, and a third was a chariot being pulled by reindeer.

“Artemis,” Thalia said with a bit of worry in her voice. “The gods have assembled to fight Typhon.”

“They must all be there,” Nico responded watching the battle of gods and monsters play out in front of him.

“All of them except Poseidon,” Chiron said. He had been so silent for the past could of minutes that it caused Nico to jump a bit after hearing his voice so close to him. “He has his own battle to fight in the depths of the ocean. “

“What,” Malcolm said from his spot at the table. After the death of Annabeth, he became head of the other Athena campers. “When you say all the gods, how many are we talking about?”

“Well, from the looks of it,” Chiron began as he looked at the images in the rainbow. “All the gods; except Poseidon and Hades.”

“It’s a trap,” Malcolm said. Everyone in the room looked at him questioningly, but he just looked back as if he thought everyone already knew what he was thinking. When he realized that no one knew what he was getting at, he took in a deep breath and pointed to the screen. “Look, the gods are at Mount Saint Helens in Washington right now, right?”

Everyone nodded in agreement and waited for him to continue with his explanation.

“So if the gods are fighting Typhon, who is guarding Olympus?” he asked his fellow demigods.

They all looked back to the rainbow message in shock as a loud boom filled the sky as Zeus unleashed the full power of his Master Bolt. The image flickered and Typhon stumbled back, only to regain his footing and swat at the gods as if they were bugs flying around his head.

“We need to get to Olympus,” Nico said as the image faded. “Malcolm, get the troops together. Thalia, I need your help with something.”

He motioned for her to follow him and she looked a bit confused but followed him to another part of the bunker that hadn’t been completed yet, but was far enough away from the others to get some privacy.

“So what’s up?” Thalia asked as she followed him into the room.

“Look, this battle is going to be really intense. Luke…I mean Kronos, can’t be hurt by normal means. I have a plan that may put you on even footing with him, but it is risky. I would do it myself, but if it requires what I think it does, I’ll never be able to do it,” Nico said, keeping his eyes away from Thalia’s as if he were ashamed or something.

“Alright, what’s this plan of yours?” she asked, more curious than worried about what Nico had to say.

“You would have to bath in the River Styx,” he said. “It would improve your fighting ability to unknown levels of power. Plus, you would be almost indestructible. However, I can’t force you and you may have to experience something very…unpleasant.”

Thalia thought about this for a few minutes before turning to the campers and hunters all huddled together in this small bunker. They were hiding and scared, but Nico was giving her a chance to fight back, a chance to obtain real power. That thought also crossed her mind; that familiar temptation of power, but this time the power she gained could be used to help and not destroy. She could bring this camp back to the way it use to be.

“Alright, just let me know what we need to do,” she replied with a voice that didn’t show any sign of fear or doubt, which was good because for what he had planned, neither one would be good.

“We just need to make one stop first,” he said as he headed for a darker part of the cave. The shadows seemed to bend around him as he walked. She followed him and drabbed onto his shoulder. She didn’t remember this hallway going back this far and all at once, any light that was left vanished. Thalia gripped onto Nico’s shoulder a bit tighter as it felt like they were moving at a hundred miles per hour. Then, the light returned and Thalia looked around. She was standing in the woods somewhere up north from what she could tell as there were plenty of pine trees in the area. She then saw a house she hadn’t seen in years and her bravery had all but slipped away.

“Why did you bring us here Nico?” Thalia asked in a slightly angered tone. This house brought about bad memories for her; it reminded her of her childhood and the reason she had run away in the first place. Nico didn’t have time to answer as he fell to his knees and just sat there for awhile taking in deep breaths. “Nico, are you ok?!” Thalia yelled shaking him a bit

Nico managed to raise a hand up and took in a deep breath.

“Ya,” he started. “Shadow travel can be a bit tiring, especially when you bring another person along. I brought you here because this is where he have to start if we want this to work.”

Nico then noticed the look on her face as she looked at the house. He took another look and couldn’t figure out why she was so nervous. It was a simple house with a swing in the yard and small plush toys on the sidewalk of monsters, but Thalia never talked about her past so there was a lot he didn’t know about her time with Luke.

“If you want, you can wait out here,” Nico said, trying to be considerate.

“No,” Thalia replied as her hands turned to tight fists before letting them go, and reaching out her hand to help Nico to his feet. “We’re in this together.”

Darkcloud1111 ~Fastest Hero Alive  03:26, August 24, 2011 (UTC)