Chapter 37

A/N End to Titan's Curse yay gdi that was fuckin' long.

Malikai's POV

As we got closer there was a thick fog. I got really concerned as engines can't run with lack of Oxygen. Several alarms started beeping and lights began flashing. We broke through the fog but it was too late the damage had been done. Engines combust to create horsepower, combustion requires Oxygen, smoke/fog is a no no.

"We're losing altitude and fast!", I said to my mom. This didn't really do much as she was not a pilot, not that I expected anything of her, but just saying. After looking up from my controls, knowing there wasn't much I could do except for glide the bird down safely, I put on a brave face and glanced at my mom.

"This is where my help ends, my son.", Khione looked at me with sadness in her eyes as she vanished in a gust of snowflakes. Scowling, I sighed as I prepared to commence the landing alone. Typical. When you need the gods the most, they abandon you.

"Don't get pissy, it's the ancient law you're mad at, remember.", I thought to myself with a hard look on my face.

I started to do a routine bounce emergency landing, at least that's what I called it. Basically I would lurch the bird forward to lose altitude and gain momentum, then I would jerk backward and the bird would rise a few feet and slow down before repeating the first step. The helicopter would go down in tiers looking like it was 'bouncing' on air, and even though the engine had failed I would still be able to control it and hopefully touch down safely.

I looked down in despair at the sight below me, Artemis was still under the sky and the group was split up. Percy looked at me with a smile as I came in but he saw the smoke streaming from the twin engines, and his smile vanished as he turned to the others and shouted what I presumed was "Get down!". I looked at the rapidly approaching mountain: I was descending too slowly. I was running out of landing space and at this point I'd fly right over the peak.

Then I got a crazy idea in my head. Praying to the sometimes dependable gods my plan worked, I pointed the nose of Zancudo Six straight towards Atlas and jumped out of her. She had a good run (fly, whatever) anyways. Using my wings to glide down, the helicopter flew straight into Atlas, knocking him far down the stairs. Screaming as he slammed into the steps, Atlas and my helicopter crashed down. I quickly landed next to Zoe and Percy.

"Let's go! He's distracted!", I shouted drawing my sword, as a large explosion in the direction of Atlas sounded. Thank the gods I had the tank filled with fuel.

"We can't, no one will hold the sky for Artemis except for my father.", Zoe growled in hatred. At the sound of Artemis' name, we all turned to her, except for Thalia, who still had Luke at the point of her spear. Annabeth was standing to the side, crying in disbelief as she realized Luke truly was evil. Percy and I knew they could handle things for now, so we both ran forward and assumed opposing positions under the sky.

We lifted it higher than Artemis' shoulders so she could be released of the weight of the world. Percy then shouted in a strained voice, "Go fight him, you're the only one strong enough!". Artemis bit back her argument and slipped out slowly getting off of her knees. She nodded at us with a grateful look, then a fiery passion ignited in her eyes. She rushed into battle.

Just in time Atlas came back up the stairs, I could say he looked rather hot in his ash covered body and flaming clothes, smoking hot, even, hehe. He glared daggers right at me but Artemis stepped in between us as she pulled out two silver hunting knives and lunged forward.

I would describe the battle to you but instead, I will describe holding the sky, since that was mostly what I focused on: the excruciating pain weighing down my shoulders. Basically, imagine 500 rice bags on your shoulders. Now add a cement truck along with 20 elephants. Then add 500 blue whales. Can you imagine it? Well you are halfway there to just imagining what it felt like.

Anyways, I could tell Percy could not take this much longer, as he started to pant and was growing ripe red, like a chili pepper. Clearly not thinking I shoved him out from under and took the whole weight of the sky. He rolled out and stared at me. For a second, he seemed defiant, but I understood honor and I knew I did the right thing. I wouldn't say I regretted my decision, but I missed the half load. if I thought that was bad this was so much worse.

Percy began to complain but I just shook my head, "You've been fighting for a while now, and I only just got here. I'm fresh.". He nodded and slowly stood up shaking a little, before drawing Anaklusmos and charging to who knows where. I focused on the ground and used my wings to help disperse the weight. I felt near passing out before I heard someone shout.

"Malikai get ready!", I heard the faint voice say before a figure flew at me and shoved me out of the way. I heard a loud bellow as the burden of the sky was passed onto the unlucky fellow that had pushed me out of position. My cross vision slowly started to focus and I rose shakily. what I saw made me pale even more. Atlas' spear was impaled in a black haired girl, gasping for her last breaths of air. I looked around and saw Annabeth freed and the others doing whatever, not my problem right now. I looked at the white strip of hair in my peripheral vision and got confused but decided to just focus on what was happening right now.

"And one shall perish by a parent's hand", I thought, putting some of my weight on a nearby column. My vision came to focus a little more before I realised something: the girl was not, in fact, Zoe. The girl crying over the body was Zoe. Wait, then who was the girl?

"Atlas was about to stab Zoe when one of the Hesperides jumped in the way and took it for her. Atlas was in shock and that's how we put him back under the sky.", Bianca explained, whispering into my ear as I shook off the effects of my dizziness. I started to use my sword as a cane and leant on it heavily, steadying my breathing and gathering my thoughts. I slowly stepped forward and got onto my knees, which wasn't the brightest idea as the sky literally crushed them.

But the fight wasn't over yet. Luke still stood at the edge of the cliff. His concerned look had changed with a smug smile. Thalia still had him, but she had not made a move since I last saw her. She could not bring herself to do it.

"Luke how could you do this. You promised we would be a great family. But now Luke, you've turned to the dark side." Thalia screamed, shaking with every sentence.

Luke remained silent, but still, he showed no signs of concern, especially not for the spear at his throat. i wondered how he could stay so calm and confident. Then Annabeth spoke, her voice a desperate pleading

"Please, Luke. Stop all of this. We can be a family again. We will all forgive you. Just quit the madness.", her voice was weak and gave way a little at the end.

"I'm sorry Annabeth, but I don't need a family anymore.", Luke replied coldly. With that Luke was quickly shoved by Thalia's spear off of the cliff to what I assumed was his demise. He shrieked wildly as he plummeted hundreds of feet towards the ocean. Thalia spit into the ocean as well, and Annabeth screamed, but ended with a sigh. Percy hugged her for comfort, aww, I would take a picture but this was not the time.

I then made my way toward zoe. She had not stopped grieving throughout the Luke scene. I gingerly placed my hand on her shoulder for comfort. Artemis gave it a quick glance and scowled at me before getting back to the injured daughter of Atlas.

"I'm sorry for ever calling you anything but a sister.", The hesperide said to a crying Zoe. "We never appreciated and shunned you for straying because of love. But I always regretted pushing you away. I am sorry and apologize for my, no, our behavior towards you. Forgive us."

Zoe just nodded and hugged her tightly and said something in her ear, it was probably personal so I didn't listen in. The hesperide let out her last breath as I closed her eyelids with my fingers before putting one arm over Zoe in a comforting way, making it as little as possible as I had no intention to become a jackalope any time soon. She shook in my arm the brief moment it was around her and tears began to fall from her face once more.

-LINE BREAK- Wow we did all this in one night I'm surprised and I reread chapter 19 and damn we were good writers then, that was a badass chapter amirite.

We were leaving the mountain. Halfway down, we paused as I finished telling them what had happened to me when I faced Talos, obviously leaving out Rome. We were laughing and smiling as the worst was over. That was until Zoe keeled over and started to puke. She had already been very pale and shaky and at first I assumed it was because of her sister's death but now I'm not so sure. As she descended the mountain, she walked dizzily and her breath came in short bursts.

Artemis shouted something, but I wasn't listening. Percy grabbed Zoe, before she could fall and asked, "how did this happened…" Realization washed over all of us like Ladon's Poison. "did Ladon poison you?". Zoe gave a weak nod and gasped. Suddenly, Apollo, the medicine God himself, flashed in and teleported Zoe to where we hoped she would be well cared for. Artemis must have summoned her brother. Anything to help her dearest lieutenant.

Artemis took us along with her to check on zoe and we ended up in some Olympus hospital. As Zoe was extremely weak but steadily recovering, unfortunately it seemed that the damage was permanent and that Zoe's hunting days were over. But Artemis was just extremely delighted that she was still alive, Zoe would still keep her hunter immortality but she wouldn't travel with the hunt anymore. Instead, once she was well enough, she might return to the garden of Hesperides to be with her sisters, and get visits from the hunters from time to time.

We were all called to the throne room. Once we entered we saw Grover groveling (lol pun intended) at the feet of Zeus, looking as if he had just given a report to his cruel boss. I walked in last with my wings out in their full glory. I didn't even try to fold them. (Yes maybe I was showing off, but hey, if the gods could do it, so could I). In the center of the room was an orb of water with the supposed Bane of Olympus that I had apparently missed out on during my time in the desert.

I didn't listen most of the meeting instead I just zoned out and ruffled my 'feathers' if you could call them that.

"Who votes to not disintegrate them?", was the sentence that brought me back to reality. Zeus had just brought up the question as if it were reasonable. The nerve!

"Wait, what the fuck?", I blurted out. I probably shouldn't have but I could care less what the gods thought of me, yeah they could kill me… but I wasn't thinking of that at that moment in particular.

Zeus looked very offended before leaning back and sitting to hear out what I had to say.

"We risked our lives, and then some. And what we get in return is a gamble at our lives?", I continued now a bit more apprehensive about the future of my life, "The Titans gave us better options than that and aren't they supposed to be the bad guys?" Poseidon nodded at that and looked expectantly at his brother who nodded as well in understanding. Odd, seeing them agree, and seeing them actually agree with me, Whew. Things were actually looking my way for once.

"But you and your friends hold great power that could possibly overthrow us. You might not realize it, but you all are great heroes who could potentially become greater than even us gods. That is a good reason to smite you down.", he presented calmly and as a matter of factly. (I hate all the "Zeus is an arrogant douchebag" Fanfics it's too cliche can we actually make him a wise king for once seriously man).

"Yeah, but they didn't, they chose to go on the quest, they chose to risk their lives, Thalia chose to deny the Manticore and set the Ophiotaurus free, we chose to fight our former friend, basically everything we did in your favor. I think it's safe to say you can give us the benefit of the doubt, not to mention we are literally your children. Come on that's just as fucked up as Kronos eating you guys because of the potential threat you were, and how did that work for him? He got fuckin sliced up and thrown in Tartarus.", At this point more gods were starting to see what I was saying and nodded their heads.

"Alright then, you make a very good point.", Zeus said slumped back in his throne, "But we still will have to slay the Ophiotaurus.

"No!", Percy blurted out before shying back, not having the same carefree attitude as myself, "... maybe we could keep it safe in Olympus. I mean it was killed last time but all it did was reform. This way we can control where it is at all times." Percy added timidly.

"My son is right. Killing the poor thing will achieve nothing. Perhaps, instead, Hephaestus and I will build an aquarium on Olympus for the beast so that we can all protect it.", Poseidon said.

"That sounds reasonable.", Zeus said, a little grumpy from all his proposals being rejected. Still, even Athena gave a nod of approval across the throne room.

"Now let the celebration begin!", Zeus bellowed. What ensued was literally the craziest party I've ever been to. Think of a concert and a rave combined along with food and drinks. Now triple that, you have close to what an Olympian party was. Everyone danced and danced I don't have much recollection as it was the same thing, the constant beating music, the drinks and food, the dancing with and next to everyone and anyone, ranging from minor goddesses to nymphs to even some demigods. I wasn't proud of everything that happened that day.

The only problem being my wings, I folded them as tightly to my body as possible and made the edges facing outward smooth. I can't remember how long the party was, but when it ended I was exhausted beyond belief. I found lots of napkins and strips of paper in my pocket they all had a name and said "IM me!" on it a few even having kisses on the backside. I was scared as one of them seemed to have come from a guy. Everyone was going to head back to Camp Half Blood and Apollo asked why I wasn't tagging along.

"Hey, I actually wanted to head back to Camp Jupiter, do you mind dropping me off?", I asked him, he just rose an eyebrow before making an 'Oh' face before smirking at me.

"Aphrodite was right. Looks like I owe someone 5 drachma.", was all he said before putting a hand on my shoulder and I was surrounded by a bright yellow flash.

A/N Finished tonight but imma post tomorrow