"Percy shut it down!" Chris shouted. "Shut it down!"

The pain was overcoming my every sensation. I didn't know how I could still think. I was fighting to breathe. Fighting to keep my heart beating, even though every beat felt like a stab.

"Shut! It! Down!" Chris shouted again.

I closed my eyes and focused every ounce as energy I had into shutting down the god powers. My whole body started to glow. I concentrated harder, desperate now. The glow stopped, and the pain decreased into a dull pain in my chest and a mild headache. Clarisse's face flashed with worry for about three quarters of a nanosecond, and Chris looked at me in horror.

I stood up shakily, my head still spinning. I looked first at Chris, then Clarisse. "Well what are you two just standing around for? We've got a goddess to save."

Clarisse nodded. "Jackson's got a point," she admitted.

Chris just looked at us with his mouth hanging open. Clarisse grabbed him by his shirt collar and dragged him until he started walking.

As we walked through the Underworld, Chris fell behind. I looked back to see him going through the files Athena had given us. He looked up at me.

"Percy, have you even gone through these files?" Chris asked.

"I've...skimmed them," I defended.

"Well what do they say?" Clarisse asked Chris.

"Titan forces have gone down by as much as two-thirds in the last year. If they're taking that many casualties, how the heck could they be keeping up with the rebellion? If these numbers are right, we're about even," Chris explained.

"So, all the talk about the rebellion being doomed to fail was a lie?" I asked.

"Not exactly," Chris continued. "Casualties maintained a steady and slow rate until about the last few days when–"

"I showed up," I finished.

Clarisse raised an eyebrow. Chris gave me a look that said not bad Jackson.

I just stared into space, thinking about how I'd single-handedly tipped the scales. I was dangerous.

We reached the Fields of Punishment without any real trouble. A monster or two, but nothing Chris-the-quick-draw couldn't handle in less than three seconds. But when we hit the entrance, Clarisse raised her hand for us to stop. She held her hand out, and Chris handed her the map that showed all the traps in the Fields of Punishment.

"Anything getting in our way?" I asked.

She nodded and handed Chris the map again. "Some security guard, special armaments, nothing we can't handle."

But of course, she was wrong. A whistle hit my ears just as Chris and Clarisse fell to the ground with arrows jutting out of them. These were weird arrows. Instead of normal points, they had injector needles. The tubes that held the poison had a light green coating on them.

The archer stepped out, smiling. "Gorgon blood. Most effect poison in existence."

I turned around and glared at him. "Who are you?" I demanded.

He grinned. "Name's Argis, son of Apollo. You're going to die now friend."

His arrow flew and pinged harmlessly off my invulnerable skin. As it bounced off, I caught it and threw it back at Argis. It pierced his skin and he fell. He reached desperately for his quiver and pulled out another injector arrow, this one filled with red fluid. I remembered from the stories that Gorgon blood was a powerful healer as well as poison. If anything could help Clarisse and Chris, it was that.

I grabbed Argis by the wrist and wagged my finger as if scolding him.

"Ah, ah, ah." I warned. Then I punched him in the face.

I threw the antidote arrow he had at Clarisse, and then pulled another from his quiver to throw at Chris.

At first, nothing happened. But then, Chris gasped and Clarisse started coughing. I helped them up and we kept moving. Using the map, we successfully avoided several Greek fire land mines, multiple automated arrow launchers, and a baby dragon that would've caused us some trouble.

As we made our way toward Iris, we passed a lot of tortures. One spirit was going through open heart surgery...while he was awake. There were all kinds of other stuff, but I'd rather not describe it. Let's just say I'm permanently traumatized now.

"Ready to submit Iris?" we heard from up ahead. I held up my hand for the others to stop.

"Never..." Iris barely managed. We winced when she cried out in pain.

With a series of elaborate hand motions, I silently told Clarisse to go around while I distracted whoever was torturing Iris. Chris drew both revolvers and readied them. I moved in, not sure what to expect. I suppose I should've expected Hyperion.

I looked away as he turned up his light to maximum intensity. I was looking away until he wasn't even in my peripheral vision, and I was still blinded.

What happened next was the scariest thing an ADHD child had ever done. Chris fired off all twelve of his bullets, reloaded, and fired off another twelve. At least three of them hit me. I was really grateful for my invulnerability right then. Hyperion screamed out, and the light died. I drew my knife and rolled in close.

Before he was aware I was in striking distance, my knife was embedded in his leg. He readied his spear, but Clarisse yanked it out of his hand and stabbed him in the back with it. He back handed me and sent me across the room, but I managed to keep my knife. Using his sword, he began a duel with Clarisse, sword against spear. Chris fired off all six bullets in one of his guns while he reloaded the other.

Hyperion blasted Chris with a beam of light. The beam also blinded me and Clarisse. Before my vision returned, I heard Clarisse scream.

"Clarisse!" I screamed. My vision returned just in time for me to block his sword with my own.

The duel continued, taking us through the Fields of Punishment all over again. I accidentally tripped a landmine and got blown back toward Iris and my friends. I tried to stand, but I didn't get anywhere. My clothes were still burning, so I had to slap the fire until it finally went out.

Hyperion strode in calmly, deciding how to finish us off. I crawled desperately toward one of Chris's fallen revolvers. Hyperion laughed and blasted me with a beam. If I wasn't invulnerable, I would've been fried to a crisp. That being said, I still felt like crud. I was desperate, so I reactivated the god powers. Strength flowed through my veins again. I fired a volley of arrows, forcing Hyperion back. I followed up by commanding several dead spirits to attack him while I checked on my friends.

I healed both Chris and Clarisse, and then slashed through Iris's chains. Hyperion sent a wave of force out, getting rid of the dead.

We clashed again, but this time, a rapid succession of super-strong punches put him down. Combining Hermes's speed with Ares' strength was pretty effective. I'll remember that.

I put Iris's arm around my shoulder to help her walk. We started walking away, hoping to get out alive. I shut down the god powers to prevent my untimely death. Big mistake. I felt a blast of energy hit my leg, and I went down. Chris rolled away before returning fire.

"Going somewhere, Jackson?" Hyperion yelled.

I reluctantly turned my god powers back on and returned fire alongside Chris while Clarisse got Iris out of the Underworld. Hyperion hurled a javelin that stuck itself in Chris's leg.

"Chris!" I shouted.

Hyperion turned his light up to full again. I wrapped him in vines to snuff him out. He of course got out, but I hit him in the face with a moon arrow when he did. I knew he was doomed. I had the power of eleven gods, he was one titan.

"DIE!" I ordered, and blasted him with a storm of godly energy.

I don't know what made me act that way. But whatever did, it was going to kill me in about two seconds.

"Ready?" Athena asked.

"Fire it up," I responded.

Athena teleported me back into New York. I quickly ran behind cover before anyone could spot me. I checked my watch, a special addition from the rebellion armory. It could turn into a shield if I needed it too. I had a feeling I would need it where I was going.