Previously:

Color entered her stone form and she softened until there were no more traces of the marble left. It happened so quickly, it had to have been a defense mechanism. Instead of stumbling out of her position, like I expected her to, she flowed into another form, facing me head on, axe aimed at me as if she was going to throw it.

"Who are you?" She demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"My name is Perseus Chaosson," I answered quickly with my hands up. "And you are Kílf...aren't you?"

"Perseus?" Kílf's eyes furrowed in concentration, as if trying to remember something. "Son of Chaos?"

I nodded, waiting. Her gaze was unfocused and had moved on past me. I was fascinated by her. Now that she was not stone anymore, I could see the color of her complexion and hair. Just like mine. As her hair moved, I could see her ears formed a small point. Her hair had soft waves and followed her moves almost fluidly.

"I know these names," she muttered. I started paying attention again as she dropped her shield with a clang. The hand that used to hold it was suddenly holding my cheek. "I know this face." Her own broke out into a beautiful smile that lit up her eyes in a way I'd never seen before. They were my color but they had a gold ring around the pupil. "You look so much like your father."

We stood there grinning at each other for who knows how long. It was good for both of us to see each other alive, well and whole.

Then she seemed to realize something.

She glanced at the doors in worry, moving to lift her shield from the floor and stand between me and the doors. "How did you get here? We here is Galabatorix?"

I thought about it and hummed. "Oh, he should be waking up about now, he's no longer trapped in my mind. Probably making his way up here from my cell and will try getting in when he realized what I've done. But he won't be able to."

"Why not? This room is heavily warded, how did you even get in?" She asked, turning to face me.

"I have some of Dad's talents of getting to dimensions and places that I shouldn't," I smirked. "And I changed the wards to only respond to me."

Kílf let loose an almost exasperated smile. "You seem to have inherited your father's power over magic too," she said. "Magic does not respond to anyone else like that but the dragons." She frowned. "But Galabatorix knows the Name. He knows the True Name of the Ancient Language. He will be able to change the wards and get through."

I frowned too, recalling what Oromis and Glaedr taught Blackjack and I about true names. If you know the true name of someone, you can tell them to do anything and they will not have a choice. There are a few other things that go into it but essentially if the mad king knows the True Name of the Ancient Language, we were in trouble. By using it, he can cancel or change any spell casted.

"Wait." I frowned even more. "But the Ancient Language is just Ancient Greek."

Kílf's eyes widened. "Say the name in the language."

I spoke it and we both felt the power. "Well, that solves that problem." Kílf plopped herself on a nearby chest. "Now, tell me everything."

She gazed at me like she was thirsty for knowledge. Not in the way Athena does. No this was a selfless thirst. This was a mother who needed to know everything of a child she hadn't seen in years.

- - -

"Why can he not simply leave the same way he did before?" Nasuada sat on her throne, as poised as one could be after being kidnapped then trapped in an underground cell for days.

"Because he is helping us attack from the inside as well," Zöe said, as if speaking to a child. This was slightly ironic to see; even if one looked that young, seeing a 14 year old girl speak to a woman with the appearance of being nearly a decade older was still strange.

Bianca overlooked the fact that she herself was hardly older than said 14 year old. It wasn't relevant.

What was relevant was the fact that Zöe was getting annoyed.

"Can you not see?" Zöe seemed to have finally lost her patience. "He will be surrounded on all sides once we get the Varden in position! We have no time to wait!"

Currently, the Varden was camped out only five days away from the city of Bullridge and nor more than two weeks from Urû'baen. That battle had almost been too easy.

Selina moved forward to calm Zöe down. Bianca eyed the dark eyed leader. She was impressed; short as she was, Zöe was intimidating when she got angry. Nasuada was staring her down extremely calmly.

"I am trying to understand how one man has the ability to attack in such a way from inside," Nasuada said calmly. "The way I see it, this one man is surrounded by enemies on all sides, above and beneath. Captured and chained for all we know. Not the other way around."

"My lady, forgive me but you do not know Percy," Ethan spoke up. "Even surrounded, he has a way of making the people attacking him feel like they are ones surrounded."

"While this may be the case, we should not leave him doing it for too long," Bianca said. "His sisters can only do so much to keep him and Blackjack alive."

"And Kílf," Beckendorf spoke up. Bianca nodded in agreement.

Nasuada eyed them. "Kílf? Who is this?"

"The dwarves' goddess of water," King Orik, the newly appointed dwarf king, answered. He and Vindex sat quietly with Edric and Ulthric in the back while Zöe had been raging. "Wife of Gûntera, the king of our gods."

"Yeah, well that's also Percy's mom, so we should get going so we can get them out." Bianca had finally had enough. They were wasting too much time here.

"How much time do we have?" Nasuada asked. "I would like for Eragon and Saphria to be here when we attack Urû'baen."

Bianca shared a look with Zöe and Selina. "I would say no more than a fortnight," Zöe answered.

Nasuada didn't answer right away. She looked into the eyes of each person there. Then she stood. "Then we'd best not keep him waiting."

-            -            -

"When we are out of this, I would like to meet this Tyson," the dark haired goddess said. "This shield you speak of gives me a few ideas."

"You know some forging?" I asked, impressed.

My mother gave me a look. "I am a goddess for the dwarves," she said. "I know many of the arts that they do.."

I laughed as Blackjack snorted. She got you there, boss.

"I wish I had gotten a chance to meet Sally," my mother said, growing somber. "She sounds like a fearsome lady."

A sad smile made its way on my face. "Yes," I whispered. "She was."

I hadn't let myself think of her in a long time. I'm starting to think the Fates saw an opportunity for more than just saving their favorite world. More for their favorite brother.

No matter what the angle was, a tear still fell created a trail down my cheek.

-            -            -

A figure sat perched on a horse, watching as the Varden marched into their campsite surrounding the dark castle of Urû'baen. The figure was small compared to the horse and even smaller compared to the other figure riding up behind him on an even larger horse.

"How are we even going to figure out where he is in there?" The smaller one asked. In the bright, noon day light front he sun, one could see the gleaming leather of the patch covering his left eye.

"Don't worry," the larger figure said. "I've been working on something for that."

Ethan Nakamura glanced up at his friend with a smile. "I should have known." He said almost with a laugh.

"Guys, get your podices over here, we're having a meeting!" Selina's voice carried over the loud noises of the Varden making camp.

Ethan laughed and followed the son of Hephaestus to Nasuada's tent.

"Do you want to provoke Galabatorix?" Roran's growl was heard from outside the tent. "If we do that, he might respond!"

The five warriors from another dimension let out an annoyed huff in unison. Edric and Ulthric knew them well enough now to grin at each other in anticipation of a show.

"Well of course," the thin, well built man arguing with Roran was king Orrin of Sudra. He had allied his army with the Varden and was helping them take over the Empire. "It's only proper that we announce our intentions and provide him with the opportunity to parley for peace."

Everyone stared incredulously at the man. While he was a smart man, he knew nothing of the practice of war.

"Don't you think that being camped here with an entire army is a proclamation of our intentions already?" Ethan asked. "And I don't think the king will go for a parley of peace. Not unless the terms are that we give up. He attempted kidnapping Nasuada and turning her to his side. Not to mention he's insane!"

"Exactly, we are camped just outside his walls!" Orrin exclaimed. "It would be...rude not to send an annoy to state our position. You are all commoners; I would not expect you to understand. Royalty demands certain courtesies, even if we are at war."

"King Orrin," Nasuada spoke up firmly, fortunately distracting Roran enough to not smack the naive king. "Galabatorix was a commoner once before. His ways are not the same as the royalty you know. If we send a message before Eragon gets back, or before the elves get into place, we will be at a great disadvantage. We cannot take the risk of contacting the man right at this time. If he would like to contact us, he knows where he can reach us. Otherwise we leave him be."

Orrin wasn't happy but he let it rest and took a long drink from the wine bottle in his hands.

"Now," Nasuada rearranged some folds of her skirt. "Is there anyway we can communicate with Lord Aniston in there?"

Zöe shook her head. "Not directly." She responded. "We can tell his father who might be able to tell Percy somehow but there is no way he can speak with us."

"We are working on a way to locate him in whatever part of the castle he's in though," Beckendorf said. "This way we can get him to the main fight as soon as possible."

"Perfect," Nasuada said. "Now we wait for Eragon and the elves."

-            -            -

"What do you think they found on the island?" Selina asked Beckendorf as they walked to the hill Eragon told them to meet him at.

The Dragon Rider had contacted Blödhgarm mentally as he arrived earlier and told him to get the council together along with two of Percy's warriors. He wanted to get together out of sight of the city so the Emperor didn't figure out that something was up.

The elf that had told them threw the demigods off a little. Blödhgarm looked like anything but an elf. More like a cross between an elf and a wolf. More so the wolf than elf. He also had some kind of musk that drew women to him. Selina commented on it before, comparing it to the aura her mother had.

"I don't know but I hope it's something that gives us an edge. Maybe more of those dragon heart things. That would be great." Beckendorf said. "Percy can only do so much."

-            -            -

All I was doing was helping my mom draw up some designs for some armor when I suddenly sneezed.

"They say sneezes happen because someone is talking about you." My mother said absentmindedly as she examined my gold wings. The armor was for them. She insisted on making them herself as a way to make up for being gone my entire life. Not that it was her fault.

I sneezed again three more times in rapid succession. "Well, whoever it is, needs to stop." I grumbled as I wiped at my nose, hoping to get rid of the tingly feeling.

"Indeed," my mom agreed. "We don't want you to be caught by Galabatorix's guard as you take them out because of a sneeze."

"That would be such a ridiculous way to go," I sighed. "No great ballads sung about me. Only jolly folktales telling how I was killed because of the inability to stop sneezing."

Blackjack snorted. That's all you're getting anyways.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Rude." He was being so sassy right now. I might be rubbing off on him. Or it was my mom.

I'd been popping out in the halls randomly to take out some of Galabatorix's soldiers. I don't know if it will help but it's got his attention on me and not the fake Eragon and Saphira flying around the Varden while Eragon is gone.

Chaos told me in my dream recently that he was on his way back from the island. He should be back by now. The Varden and the elves are now in place. Now we're waiting on a plan of attack. Which I will find out when someone gets to me in the treasury. I just hope they get to me before they kill Galabatorix. I don't want to miss all the action.

-            -            -

Beckendorf was taking his time, they kind of needed the device he was making to work if this plan was going to go through. The attack they planned for the morning could happen without the device but not without him so he was also working quickly.

"What are you making again?" Ethan was lounging on a crate, fiddling with a few scrap pieces of metal he had found.

Beckendorf hardly glanced up at him. "A smaller version of the radar I made at Chaos' place so we could prank him," he answered. "With a few alterations so even you could work it."

"Are you saying I can't figure out a simple machine as your power detector?" Said Ethan, affronted.

"You tried turning it off by hitting the big red button that said, 'stun.'"

"That's besides the point." Ethan waved it off.

"That's...thats-" Beckendorf was looking around for something, saw it in Ethan's hand and snatched it before he could blink. "-that's what the point is you bird brain."

"Hey!"

"I need it."

The sound of clanking chains broke both of them out of their bickering. They shared a confused look then rushed out of their tent to see what it was.

It came from the city. The clanking slowly continued until they heard a low boom.

Thud

Clackclackclackclack

Thud

Clackclackclackclack

Thud

Clackclackclackclack

"That's a dragon's footsteps," Ethan muttered.

"He's over a mile away!" Beckendorf exclaimed.

"Shruikan." Blödhgarm said, stepping beside them. His voice was low and tinged with dread and sorrow.

In the camp of the Varden, alarms blared, and men, dwarves and Urgals lit torches as the army scrambled to wakefulness.

"He's huge!" Ethan shouted as said dragon leaped up and out from the city, unfurling his wings to full length. His flaps clapped like thunder as he flew around the city and camp a few times. The black dragon let loose a long stream of fire, making the cold night air heat up exponentially. Then he turned and landed in the city, the gates clanking shut once more.

"Hey Beckendorf? Is that radar ready yet?" Ethan asked in a small voice. "We might need to leave soon."

"Yeah, it's ready."

Ethan, Selina and Beckendorf followed Eragon, Saphira and Arya into the citadel. Zöe went with the elf Queen, and Bianca and Thalia went with Roran. Zöe and the Queen were getting along almost too well and it made everyone a little nervous.

The team with Eragon had several more elves and a child that made everyone around her nervous for some reason. She couldn't be older than nine and she had a white star on her forehead.

"Hello, my name is Selina," the daughter of Aphrodite had introduced herself. "My friends are Beckendorf and Ethan. What is your name?"

"Elva," she replied. She narrowed her eyes at the older girl. "What are you?"

"What do you mean?" Selina tilted her head as Ethan narrowed his only eye at the girl. Something was strange about this girl.

"I cannot read you like I can the others," she replied. "Neither can I with your friends."

That statement caused Eragon to stop what he was doing with Saphira's saddle and turn in surprise. "You can't?"

Selina smiled wryly. "Thalia told me that the magicians here could not read our minds due to natural walls in our defenses," she started. "Perhaps this has something to do with it."

"Maybe," Elva said unconvincingly before focusing back on task.

The traps they came across as they passed the gates grew increasingly deadly. Elva sensed the traps and what they would do while the son of Hephaestus disarmed them. Eragon had been hesitant to go with this plan because of how long it would take but he worked quickly. Almost as if he had been doing this for years.

How are you doing this so quickly? Saphira asked as he finished taking apart the trigger that brought spikes from the floor.

"These are basic mechanisms," Beckendorf said easily. "Chaos has much more advanced ones at his place and I mastered taking those down ages ago."

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Show off," he muttered as they continued through the walls.

"Stop!" Elva halted the group once more. "There are blades that will swing down from the walls if we go further but I don't know which walls."

Everyone's eyes were naturally drawn to the walls and therefore, almost missed the large group of black cloaked warriors that blocked the way in front of them.

"Would it get them?" Eragon asked Elva quietly.

She nodded hesitantly and Eragon leaned forward and slapped the ground. He barely had pulled his hand back when the blades swung by, slicing the black clothed guards into pieces.

"What a horrible way to die," Selina commented.

"What a horrible way to live," Ethan corrected. "Remember Kronos?" The others nodded, grimacing.

"What an interesting name," Eragon said. "Kronos means time, yes?"

"Yes," Selina said, shrugging. "He was a deity in charge of that domain so it would make sense that his name would match it."

"Why was he in pieces?" One elf asked.

"Now is not the time," Arya said. "We must go."

"He ate his kids," Ethan whispered to the elf as he passed. Arya glared at him but it was totally worth the horrified faces on all the elves once they registered what he'd said.

The next trap didn't have any warning. Walls closed around them, separating several of the elves from the group and almost immediately after, separated the three demigods from Eragon, Arya, Elva and Saphira as well.

"She senses pain, this trap didn't harm us," Ethan noted before anyone could ask.

"We may as well find Percy now," Selina shrugged. They'd been pushed into a cell by one of the traps farther into the citadel itself.

Beckendorf nodded and took out the radar. "I'm getting a massive surge past that wall." He pointed ahead of him.

"Ok, Ethan, bring out your bombs."

They followed Beckendorf's instructions for the next several minutes. They took out as many of the soldiers they came across as they could and blew up a few more walls. Who knew Ethan loved blowing things up so much?

"Woah."

"What?" Ethan asked.

"There is a huge concentration of power past those doors those guards are in front of."

"You think that's Percy?" Selina questioned anxiously. They were running out of time.

"Yeah, and Saphira and the others are not too far from here."

"That's lucky." Selina said in surprise.

"Is it though?" Ethan said dubiously.

"Let's just go," Selina grabbed the arms of both of the boys with her and dragged them towards the guards. "We need to get Percy there before they kill Galabatorix otherwise he will feel left out."