[in omnia paratus]

The end of the world came in three waves.

First came Reese's bloodcurdling screams of agony echoing through Tessa's ears. He slumped to the ground, clutching his phone—still showing a haunting feed of Imogen's lifeless hand—with white knuckles. Tessa and Mark tried to get him to his feet, but it was as if the strength had been sucked out of him.

In a way, it had been.

Second came Kaden, barking orders into the hall with Kassie and Dale, the idle infirmary springing into action as spirits and demigods alike armed themselves with medical supplies. It wouldn't be long until the rest of camp was armed and ready to go to war as well.

Everyone sounded like they were underwater. Tessa tried to fight the waves of sorrow washing over her, willing herself to replace them with action. The third wave hadn't struck yet, she noticed, and she didn't want to let it.

"Reese," She found her voice. "Reese, come on, we have to go."

The son of Apollo looked up at her, his blazing blue eyes bloodshot and filled with angry tears. She held his gaze, her heart breaking for him, and finally, Reese got to his feet.

"I'm going to kill him," His voice was scratchy and gruff. In a flash of light, his golden bow and quiver materialized. "I'm going to kill each one of them."

He shoved past Tessa and Mark. There was no use trying to stop him. Tessa glanced back to the TV screen instead, still playing footage of the now-aftermath of the tsunami. The images haunted her, swirling around her mind like a tornado of chaos and violence.

Menoetious had made his move, intentionally trying to spread their forces too thin. They would need to send forces to the West coast for recovery and to assist Camp Jupiter after another hit, while also trying to defend Camp Half-Blood and drive Menoetious from Manhattan.

With a bitter taste in her mouth, Tessa wondered if his plan would work.

"Flynn," Tessa's voice was sharp, booming across the walls. She turned to see Flynn walking towards her, from where he stood with Reese in the corner. "Where's Amelie?"

Flynn's eyes were dark. "Going over things with Nova and Sophia. I can get her." He made a move for the door, before Kassie spoke up.

"No need, we don't have time," The Huntress was rifling through the pockets on her silvery cargo pants. She produced a small packet of what looked like ground up diamonds for the way it sparkled in the fluorescent lighting of Chase's infirmary room. "We'll use this."

Kaden made a suspicious face at his sister from the doorway. "Kassie, what's that?"

"Dust from the dark side of the moon," His sister snapped, shooting him a look. "The Hunters use it for rapid transport."

"Just when I thought this day couldn't get weirder," Mark muttered."The dark side of the moon?"

Kassie winked at him. "No one can see it, so why not use it?"

"Fair enough," Mark cleared his throat and motioned for her to continue.

Kassie got to work at casting the spell they needed, and Tessa took the time to get her affairs in order. Her friends had quickly armed themselves, but they would need reinforcements. It was time for battle.

Tessa brushed past Kaden and Dale, darting into the hallway and out of the infirmary. What she found outside its doors amazed her.

Camp Half-Blood was surging into action. Everywhere Tessa looked, she saw demigods arming themselves and prepping for battle. Their strategies had worked well: the Ares and Athena cabins were convening under their flags, armed for battle. Over near Cabin Twenty, the children of Hecate were testing their spells, spirals of their magic arcing up towards the barrier, revitalizing it. An army of Celestial Bronze was at their fingertips, waiting to strike.

"Tessa!" Sophia spotted her from where she was meeting with the Ares kids. She jogged over to where Tessa stood, her bronze armor clanking as she did. "What's going on?"

"Menoetious struck the Roman base in Midtown," Tessa reported, her voice seemingly emotionless. "Possible casualties. Typhon has awoken, as well. The entire west coast is submerged from a tsunami."

Sophia's eyes widened, but she got her shock under control. "Tell me where you want us to go, and we'll go."

Tessa cast a look at the Ares and Athena kids, waiting on their leader. She spotted Bianca Windsor of Aphrodite leading her siblings over, watching Tessa all the while. In the distance, Nova and Calum led their siblings and their contraptions out of Cabin Nine. Everyone was looking to Tessa, their leader in this war, for guidance.

It felt like Tessa was standing on the cliff of a continental shelf, miles underwater as she loomed atop the abyss. Now was not the time to get lost in her emotions, in the inevitable heartbreaks that would follow the next few days, weeks, months. People would die, some of them could be the faces looking to her right now.

"Tessa?"

Tessa closed her eyes, taking a breath as she felt the familiar claws of anxiety reaching for her, trying to drown her. She couldn't afford to be weak, she couldn't afford to be afraid, not now. She needed to call upon her strength, upon her powers to lead her forces and save them all.

One way or another, this would end. And so long as Tessa was alive, no one else would die.

Tessa opened her eyes, returning her attention to Sophia. "Head to Midtown. We'll meet you there. I want everyone at their correct assignments. No one gets into Camp Half-Blood, or Olympus. Understood?"

Sophia smirked, nodding. "Understood." And with that, she jogged away.

"Tessa!"

She whirled around to find Dale behind her, golden eyes luminous in the growing darkness. "Kassie's portal is ready. Are you?"

Tessa nodded, and headed back into the infirmary with Dale, passing children of Apollo prepping for their positions as battle medics. They reached Chase's room, where a silvery portal was waiting for them.

"There you are," Kassie said upon their arrival. "The others have gone ahead."

Dale sheathed her bronze dagger, rolling her shoulders as she approached the portal. "Where are the Hunters going to be?"

"We'll be wherever you need us," Kassie glanced between Dale and Tessa. Her gaze lingered on the daughter of Poseidon, and Tessa remembered the first moment she'd met Kassie. How far they'd come since then.

"Follow us when you can," Tessa answered. "We'll need your forces."

Kassie nodded curtly. She motioned to the portal, where Dale was just stepping through. "When you're ready, Tessa."

Tessa took a breath, wondering if she'd ever be ready for what was to come. She figured that over the years, she'd had to be. This was what she was born for. She'd been a weapon since the second she was born. Everyone had seen it. She had seen it. She would have to be ready for every fight, every battle, every wound, and every casualty that this life condoned.

So when Tessa stalked through the portal, she was no longer the frightened thirteen-year-old girl that lived within her before each fight, that had arrived to camp unaware of her fate and her powers. She was no longer the cocky sixteen-year-old girl that was always looking for a fight, always wearing a smirk like it was a part of her armor, hungry for a way to prove herself to her destiny.

No, now, she was a leader, a general made of bronze and waves and storms that had the power to raise the seas and crush coastlines. She was exactly as her enemies had always seen her, as the gods and Fates above had always seen her.

She was exactly as history would see her from this point forward.

She was unstoppable.

And nothing would change that.

~~

The smoke put volcanic eruptions to shame.

Tessa emerged from the portal and faced chaos in every direction. She was twenty yards from the Roman's smoldering base, an entire office building twenty stories high. Smoke plumes the size of tree trunks rose into the sky, and sparks from the explosion still flicked through the shattered window panes.

In the distance, Tessa could hear the sounds of mortal firetrucks, but they couldn't fight these flames. Even from where she stood on the ground, she recognized the metallic, bitter scent in the suffocating smoke. This was Greek fire, and only half-bloods could put it out.

But that wasn't all.

Despite the portal Amelie had no doubt form glittering nearby, spewing demigods onto the crisis scene, they would soon be outnumbered. Emerging from the office building as if they'd been spawn from the ashes were soldiers unlike anything Tessa had seen before. They seemed to be some odd combination between the old and new world: blood-red cloaks hung from the shoulders of their armored black suits; strapped across their gear were blades of all mythical kinds—Tessa spotted Celestial Bronze, Imperial Gold, as well as Stygian Iron—and modern cartridges of bullets and other horrors. Sheathed at one side was a harrowing blade and holstered on the other was a gun.

And they were wreaking havoc on not just the demigods, but the mortals huddled around the sidelines as well. Terrified screams filled the air as the modern-looking soldiers fired into the crowds, sending a whole new world of panic into Tessa's heart.

Menoetious was truly living up to his name, the titan of Violence. He was bestowing it upon everyone, half-blood or otherwise, that dared cross him.

But stronger than the panic was fury, a burning rage within Tessa's veins to defend those in need of her help. So she sprang into action.

She yelled in defiance as she spotted the fire hydrant, and with a tug in her gut, she brought her arm up. The red exterior cleaved in two, and the pressurized water beneath was now at Tessa's command. She urged it forward, blasting aside a trio of soldiers reloading their weapons. The family they'd been approaching stared at Tessa in amazement and horror.

"Go!" She ran,

They did. But there were still more people in danger, more people wounded and in need of aid.

The soldiers had spotted Tessa, and upon seeing her, replaced their guns with their swords.

"Who brings a gun to a swordfight?" Tessa asked, releasing her control on the water. She grabbed Tempest from her hair, its weight increasing tenfold as it transformed into sword form.

The first soldier ran towards her, and Tessa brought Tempest down in a deadly bronze arc before kicking him away. She spun around, gaining momentum as she swiped Tempest across the next soldier's chest. He swiped at her, and she leapt back, feigning one way before bringing the butt of Tempest's hilt down on a pressure point. He collapsed, leaving Tessa with one last soldier.

"The daughter of Poseidon," He said from beneath his mask. "I've heard of you."

"Please," Tessa held up a hand. "No pictures."

And with that, she slashed at the man, driving him back as she did. She ducked as he swiped at her, twirling out of the way and making a cut as she did. He cried out in pain, but Tessa didn't care, she shoved him down and brought her sword down into his leg to keep up from getting up anytime soon.

"You might wanna get some help for that," She referred to the wound before darting away.

Tessa couldn't afford to consult with her friends; frankly, she had no clue where they were. She recognized a familiar hum as she ran towards a hunkered down group of kids and attributed it to Dale's earthly magic. She risked a glance, and sure enough, the daughter of Demeter was rounding up a quintet of soldiers with rapidly-encroaching shrubbery.

Tessa returned her attention to the children, only to discover that they were gone. She looked around wildly, before spotting a blur of multi-colored light sweep back and forth between the two soldiers before her, until they were crumpled on the ground.

Mark slowed to a stop before Tessa, heaving a breath. "This isn't good."

"No kidding," Tessa managed, her words full of relief. "Where is everyone? What the hell is happening?"

Mark shook his head. "Kaden and Reese are checking for survivors inside the building. Dale's doing her best to blockade the mortals, and Amelie's trying to revitalize the Mist."

"Won't it be too late?" Tessa asked, surveying the disheveled street. "It looks like Menoetious has gotten what he wanted."

"Doesn't mean we can't take it back," Mark's eyes were dark when Tessa met them. She nodded in understanding, and together, they dashed back into the fight.

So for what felt like hours, Tessa darted around the battlefield, taking down soldiers one by one. She slashed with Tempest, she blasted others away, and got the mortals safely out of the line of fire. At one point, she spotted a blur of Imperial Gold, and realized that the legionnaires that hadn't perished in the explosion were joining the fight.

With the increase in demigod forces, Menoetious' men were forced to retreat. Or at least, it seemed that way to Tessa.

Tessa had just cleared half the block of enemy soldiers when the screech of tires filled her ears. She whirled around, and found herself facing a black van, whose door was sliding open.

He stepped out onto the blood-filled street with polished leather shoes. His suit was tailored to his body, and he readjusted the cufflinks at his wrists with a wry, sickening smile on his face.

"Tessa Brennan," Menoetious spoke from Rainier's mouth, his voice like a crackle of thunder. "Just what have you been up to, young lady?"

Tessa took a deep breath, narrowing her eyes. "Isn't it obvious? I'm cleaning up your mess."

Menoetious chuckled. "Yes, it seems that you are." He clasped his hands behind his back, eyeing her as he began to circle her. "You've been a thorn in my side these past few months, Tessa. I don't know how you understood it so quickly, but once you saw through my disguise, you refused to let go."

"That's what happens when you put on a cheap costume," Tessa retorted, circling him. "It's certainly an upgrade from your last one."

"Why, thank you," Menoetious nodded to her, a glint like light off the edge of a knife in his eyes. "But I'm afraid the time for pleasantries has passed. My war has begun, and unless you obey, each and every one of your forces will be decimated in the blink of an eye."

Tessa stopped in her tracks, staring down the man before her. "What do you want? War is so taxing. Why wage it?"

"Because the world has lost sight of how things are truly one," Came Menoetious' response. "I am but one of my brethren, locked beneath the earth by your family. In the time of the Titans, power and fear ruled over everything else. Success was paid for in blood. You did not need to hide behind luxuries to rule, you needed to fight. And now? You mortals talk of peace. You talk of cooperation and love as if you dare endorse it."

"And you wonder why you're imprisoned." Tessa marveled.

Menoetious grinned. "Imprisoned no longer. You see, Tessa, I will get the control I want. And you are going to give it to me."

The sound of guns cocking around Tessa caught her attention, and she swept a quick glance around her. On either side of this little circle were three soldiers, their semi-automatic weapons pointed directly at her.

"But first," Menoetious' smirk only deepened, his pearly teeth like jagged knives, all in little deadly rows. "A look at what's to come should you continue to resist."

Menoetious snapped his fingers, and the soldiers pointed at Tessa turned around, their guns aimed towards the crowds behind the barricades. "I'm afraid these weapons can break through the Mist, as well as any protective barrier you try to create, Tessa."

Tessa felt the panic well up in her. "The mortals will see you. They'll know you did this."

"Let them," Menoetious barked. "You will watch as your people drown in their own blood, as your city burns to ash. I could have ended this another way, but you chose this way."

"No!" A familiar voice yelled, and Tessa's stomach sank. She whirled around and watched as Madi came barreling towards her, her own sword at her side.

"Ah, well, look who it is," Menoetious drawled. "Madison McKinley. Pleased to see you, again."

"Go to hell," Madi spat at Menoetious. "You're a monster."

"Well aware of that, thank you," Menoetious' eyes glistened darkly. "Do you not remember what I took from you all those years ago, Madi?"

Madi's grip on her sword tightened.

"Madi, don't!" Tessa pleaded.

"All of this is because of you," Madi said, her voice low like the rumble of waves. "I lost my life because of you. I lost my mother, my friends. I've lost so many people because of you. But I will not lose this war you've started."

Madi raised her sword. "I will never succumb to fear again."

"Foolish girl," Menoetious snarled. "Do you know who you are facing?"

"A coward," Madi rebuffed. "Too afraid to even show his own face. Too weak to fight an honorable battle. And too stupid to win out against a silly, foolish girl."

"Madi, don't—" Tessa tried warning.

"Very well," Menoetious narrowed his eyes, and locked his attention on Tessa. "Watch as life as you know it ends, Tessa."

The world seemed to slip into slow motion as Menoetious snapped his hands, and the soldiers turned back around. Their sights locked on Madi, Tessa was forced to watch as they opened fire, her now-useless sword clattering to the ground, as well as her bullet-riddled body.

Tessa screamed, the sound like a clap of thunder. Menoetious and his men dissolved into smoke, deeming themselves victorious as they disappeared from the battlefield. But Tessa didn't care. She flung herself to Madi's side, resisting the urge to vomit. She was bleeding in so many places, so many wounds.

And yet, she was still alive.

"Madi," Tessa choked back a sob, gripping her sister's blood-stained hand.

"Tessa," Madi's voice was weak, her hazel eyes wide and glassy. "I'm going to die, aren't I?"

Tessa shook her head frantically, tears spilling from her eyes. "No, no you're going to be fine." She screamed for a medic, before Madi shushed her.

"I'll be okay," Madi's voice was weak. She looked at her free hand, trembling and soaked with blood. She whimpered, wincing before opening her eyes. "I'll g-go to Elysium, right?"

"Madi, no, you'll be okay, we can save you—"

"Maybe I'll try for rebirth," Madi wheezed. Her breaths were shallow. "I wonder if I'll find Ben in my next life. Oh, gods, Ben--"

"Madi, please," Tessa whispered. She heard footsteps running towards her, but she couldn't move.

Madi met Tessa's gaze. "I hope I made you proud, Tessa. Despite our differences, despite who we are, I have been proud to be your sister. I just hope I was as strong as you."

Tessa nodded, sobbing. "You're so much stronger than me, Madi."

Madi smiled weakly. Her eyes filled with whatever strength she had left. "Do not hold back anymore, Tessa. You've been afraid of being the monster they think you are. You are not a monster, you are power. Do not let them win. Promise me."

"I promise," Tessa whispered.

"Swear it on the Styx."

"I swear it on the River Styx." Tessa felt the words resonate in her head.

Madi released a weak breath and rested her head back against the pavement. Her eyes stared up at the smoke-filled sky. "I love you, Tessa."

"I love you too, Madi."

Tessa waited for her sister to speak again.

She did not.

The third wave of the end of the world resonated within Tessa's heart at that. She did not scream, she did not sob when Flynn and other medics came to retrieve Madi's body, when Ben came looking for her in absolute panic.

Instead, she felt something grow stronger inside of her. Whether it was grief or rage or power, she didn't care, she just knew it would fuel her every move from now until the end.

Menoetious was wrong. She would not be the one watching as the world burned around her.

She would be the one laughing as she destroyed his world, his power, his immortal life until even the immortals imprisoned beneath the earth, and even the ones atop Olympus grew to fear her name.

No, she would no longer be afraid.

Tessa would instead become fear itself.

And nothing would stop her.