Title: Chaos' Apprentices

Fandom: Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus/Kane Chronicles

Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Kane Chronicles, sadly. Run Riordan does. No money is made, but I do like reviews!

Chapter 17: The Fall

The campers and magicians stirred uneasily and stared at the gods on the ground. Well, the dead bodies on the ground now. The murmuring grew louder until it was shouting. They swarmed the remaining apprentices, radiating anger, fear, and confusion.

"YOUR SO-CALLED HERO JUST KILLED THE GODS!" Luke shouted angrily, rallying up the crowd. "SOMEONE MUST PAY!"

He turned to Nico, Jason, and Sadie with murderous eyes. "Percy Jackson has just created chaos worthy of Kronos! Olympus is without a ruler! The oceans and seas are left without a king! The Underworld will be on a rampage without Hades there to keep it under control!"

They all started advancing, but Sadie lifted her hand and glared at all of them with icy blue eyes. A wave of magic pushed them back.

"Silence!" Nico thundered. "What have the gods done for you? They use us! They make us do all the dirty work then toss us aside when we're not needed. They sure children and have just begun claiming them. And that was all because of Percy. Most of you would be crammed in the Hermes cabin right now! You would know Luke! Ethan and Alabaster would too! It's been done multiple times before! Maybe the world is better off without the gods."

Will stepped forward from the mass. "He's right. The gods have caused nothing but trouble."

"So," continued Jason, glaring darkly at the campers. "We'll let Percy cool off, you don't wanna know what happens when he's angry with all of you and we won't hold him back. All of you, start helping the wounded. Any of you cause more trouble...well, we definitely won't be happy. You know what we're capable of now."

The campers grumbled among themselves, but started picking up the bodies on the ground. Annabeth whispered something in Luke's ear. Luke nodded, fixing the apprentices with a final glare before disappearing. Jason sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a hand on his shoulder suddenly.

"You alright?" Reyna asked. Her purple cape was torn and there were streaks of dirt marring her face. Jason thought she looked beautiful.

"Fine," the blonde responded. "Just worried about Perce. He was kinda...crazy for a while and killed four gods in cold blood. It's eerie to see your brother, who's so kind and fair, kill without a second thought."

Reyna's eyebrows furrowed. "Luke's right though." When Jason's mouth opened, she held up a hand. "No, let me explain. Percy has killed the Big Three. There will be a huge power vacuum now. There will be chaos, no doubt. And you know the other gods will try to take revenge. Athena, especially. Who knows what Percy has started."

"Maybe it's time for a new era," chimed in Nico. "Maybe Kronos wasn't far off. I'm not saying that we should hand off the rule to crazy titans or demigods. But the gods need to be replaced."

"By who?" Jason asked.

"I can think of four people right now," the other boy said, smirking. "What's left of the Seven for sure."

Reyna looked miffed. "You want to put Annabeth up there?"

"No, gods no. I'm talking about Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel."

"But we don't know where they are," Jason said. "They disappeared right before the gods accused us of treason. So did some of the better campers that would have actual power in camp, like Clarisse, or the Stolls."

Will looked grave. "He's right. And we never found them. Why'd the rest of the Seven disappear suddenly though? Other then Annabeth."

"My guess? The gods had something to do with it." Percy's voice floated in. He was on the edge of the woods. He looked terrible. The boy started walking towards them. "Annabeth was the only one who didn't disappear. And she's the one who supported the gods with their scheme." His green eyes flickered to Sadie, but she looked away. Percy's face looked devastated.

"How do we find them?" Will asked, glancing at everyone. His eyes lingered on Nico.

"We find a god. Then we'll get them to talk."

/Line Break\

"Talk!"

Nico shook the god in his grasp. Behind him stood Percy and Jason, their swords drawn in case something happened. Ares bared his teeth at the three demigods. The remaining teeth were golden from his ichor when Serapis threw him.

"I'm not talking, boy!" the god spat angrily. "When your father hears about this-"

"My father is dead." Nico said calmly. "Now tell me where you hid the demigods!"

Ares snarled. He suddenly flipped the apprentice and grabbed a knife beside him. He lifted it and Nico closed his eyes. There was a wet thump and a grunt. The dark-haired boy cracked his eye open. Ares sported a surprised look as he reached behind him and drew a glowing blade. Blood coated it. The god laughed uncontrollably before falling on top of Nico. Nico pushed at the body, but it was definitely hard to move a dead body. He grunted as Percy and Jason hurried over.

"Guess this might come in handy," muttered Percy, grabbing the blade from Serapis's sword. He looked at Ares, regret flickering across his face for a moment.

Nico was worried. The longer they're here, the more of Percy's humanity will slip away. They've all killed, but it's one thing to kill people they've never met, and to kill someone you used to know. He's not judging Percy for killing the gods, but he didn't want his brother to change for worse.

"Mercury?" Jason suggested.

"No," Percy objected. "The Big Three would know where the demigods were because, you know, they're the Big Three. Ares would know because he definitely wouldn't take my side. Hermes though...you saw his face when we were exiled. He looked like he wanted to throw up. Someone who would know though, is Athena."

The water bender's face darkened. After saving their godly asses from the giants and Gaea, this is what they do. He was eager to find his friends. They would rule a lot better than the gods. They would find better rulers.

"Athena's smart enough to flee though," reasoned Jason. "After you killed four gods, now five, she knows what your capable of. And that she's to blame. How do we find her?"

"Annabeth?" Percy asked.

"We aren't torturing her just to get Athena," the blonde boy objected. "That's not how we do things."

"Who said anything about torture?" Percy frowned. "She would just be bait. Consider it a bit of punishment for taking the gods side. And Annabeth is a sure way to get Athena."

/Line Break\

"Guys? Why'd you kidnap her?"

Sadie's voice was colored with disgust as she took in Annabeth tied to a chair in the middle of the woods. Disgust for the daughter of Athena, of course. She took in the three boys to the side of the clearing. Nico was sitting criss-cross on the grass. Jason was leaning against a tree with a bored look. Percy looked bad though. He was pacing back in forth impatiently.

"We want Athena."

"Go to the crows!" Annabeth sneered at the former son of Hades.

"You know why we want your mom?" Percy asked, walking to the girl.

Annabeth scoffed. "To kill her. To feel powerful. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Ares. All killed by your hand. And you don't even have any regrets. Your a cold-blooded killer! I can't believe I ever dated you."

Percy looked murderous. "You know why I killed them?" He stalked up to the blonde girl. "The Big Three tried to welcome me as their hero when I saved them. For the third time. After they banished me, tried to kill me, and took everyone I loved, they wanted me back. So I killed your sorry excuses for rulers. Hera? She's a bitch who orchestrated this plan with your mother. As for Ares, I would've let him go had he cooperated. Unfortunately, he tried to kill Nico, so I killed him first."

He leaned in close to Annabeth, keeping his eyes on hers. "You know why we're looking for Athena?" Annabeth scowled at the boy and spit at him. Percy saw it coming and dodged it, clucking his tongue. "I'm looking for my friends, Annabeth. My real friends. Did you even notice they disappeared? Or were you too infatuated with Luke?"

Percy took a couple steps back. "The gods took them. They hid them and I'm trying to find them." He spread his arms. "Your mother always said my fatal flaw was loyalty. That I'd do anything for my friends. She's right. I'll tear Olympus apart and kill every god there until I find my friends!"

The former son of Poseidon chuckled. "Our fatal flaws are coming back to bite us in the ass, right? Pride is yours. You wanted the shiny new hero and the gods's favor, right? That's why you let us get banished instead of speaking up. Nico's is holding grudges, right? Well, Olympus did a number on us. You still holding a grudge, Nico?"

The younger boy nodded gravely. "A new era must begin. The gods have messed up too many times. They didn't claim their children or give the minor gods any recognition. That's why Kronos grew so strong. Then they kept the Greeks and Romans apart, almost creating a war and letting Gaea rise. Now Serapis happened and they had to bring in people they wronged back to help. Who says any of that won't happen again?"

Annabeth just looked away. Suddenly, voices reached their ears. The campers were looking for Annabeth. Luke was leading them.

"I'M RIGHT HERE," Annabeth screamed. "LUKE! HELP!"

Luke burst into the clearing with Alabaster and Ethan. He looked around before shaking his head.

"She's not here," the blonde growled. "I'm gonna kill Jackson!"

"Luke! I'm right here!" Annabeth kept screaming until the three demigods left the clearing.

Sadie shook her head. "I put up a spell to hide us. No one can see or hear you."

"I'm tired of waiting," Percy said suddenly. He drew Annabeth's knife and advanced. "Athena will come because she'll be able to hear you scream."

He put the blade up to her cheek. Percy heard a sharp intake of a breath behind him. He resisted the urge to glance back at Sadie. What would she think? She already thought he was a monster. A popping noise jolted him out of his thoughts. The demigod smiled smugly as he turned around. Athena had aged terribly. There was more grey than brown in her hair. Her face seemed to sag and the grey eyes were heavy.

"Told you she'd come," he called to Jason and Nico, who both shrugged and dug out ten bucks each.

Athena surged forward and grabbed her daughter's wrist before closing her eyes. Percy chuckled as he took in her face. She kinda looked like she was constipated.

"Athena, I'm not that stupid boy anymore," he said as she tried teleporting again. "I know how you think and I took precautions."

"What do you want?" she asked, steely grey eyes glaring into his head.

"Where are our friends," Jason spoke up from where he was leaning against a tree. "Don't play dumb either. You know who we're talking about and you know where they are!"

Athena cocked an eyebrow. "And why do you think I'll tell you?"

"What do you have to lose? You know the Olympians are falling. You can't stop it either. How many are left? Let's see: Hermes, Demeter, Hestia, Dionysus, Aphrodite, and you? Sounds right. The odds aren't in your favor. So tell me...where are my friends?"

The goddess sneered, the expression mirroring her daughter's face. Athena pursed her lips and kept silent. Percy sighed in exasperation.

"Look. This may sound cliché, but we can do this two ways. The easy way, or the hard way. I recommend the easy way because the hard way is...well, hard. So which is it?"

Author's Note: I decided to bring the rest of the Seven in. Do you think they'll support Percy, or no? Review please!