Chapter Nine
Stormbringer
A darkness fell over the vast desert as Thalia stood atop a rusted vehicle, power rolling off of her small body in waves. Dense clouds eclipsed the sun as the storm of the century seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Her face was strained as thunder erupted from the heavens and the skyline crackled with electricity. I stood by her side, feeling the overwhelming presence of rainfall that I could use as a weapon. Zoe, Bianca, and Annabeth watched in awe as the storm grew in magnitude and ferocity. With a twisting pain in my abdomen, I extended my arms and willed the water to fall. A torrential downpour ensued, covering the animatronic with an aquatic coat. The water was dense. Thick, but warm droplets splattered on the sand and thudded against the metallic junkyard. More thunder rumbled and lightning crackled from the clouds above. I felt unbelievable power rolling through me as the wind increased to dangerous speed. Loose debris ripped from the rubble and swirled around us. The power and strain intensified until Thalia and I were standing in the middle of our own hurricane, the godly strength of our fathers overpowering the dry climate.
"Give me your spear." I ordered Thalia. She handed me the weapon without opening her eyes as she concentrated on the storm. I gripped the spear tightly as I stared down the colossus. With a surge of power from the hurricane, I exploded into the air and straight toward the animatronic. The prototype of Talos was slow, and with my hurricane propelled speed, was practically moving in slow motion. I evaded a sluggish robotic arm and planted myself on the giant's chest as I pushed myself upward. The miniature Talos turned its head, seemingly confused by my movement. I could almost see emotion on the monstrosity's face as it recognized it was now in a losing battle. I leapt high above the robot's skull, and with a flood of power from the storm, drove Thalia's spear into the top of its head. I screamed as I allowed myself to lose control, driving the spear deeper through the hard metal exterior. I willed water to flood through the new opening, using the spear as a spicket. I could sense the water pooling in the monster's body. "Thalia!" I yelled. Thalia opened her eyes, and with a deafening scream, brought down the largest bolt of lightning that I'd ever seen. Using the spear like a lightning rod, the electricity rippled through the robot. The voltage was almost visible as the animatronic began to fail and Talos' prototype fell to its knees. With one last tick, our enemy completely buckled and fell on its side with a thud that shook the earth. The robot's eyes blinked one last time before the light shut off for good. I fell on my back in triumph, exhaustion completely taking over. I watched as the dark clouds rolled away and could hear the cries of my friends rushing to our aid, but all my strength had been depleted. I fought to keep my eyes open, but soon enough, everything faded to black.
"Percy." An angelic voice beckoned. My eyes slowly opened, revealing the harsh daylight of the now barren desert. Zoe crouched by my side looking worried. With her help, I managed to get to a seated position and took in my surroundings. We were still in the Junkyard of the Gods, but the once powerful storm had since vanished. The prototype of Talos now rested in shambles with no hope of ever serving as the protector of this land again. Bianca was supporting Thalia's head, who was still unconscious. It seemed like we'd won the battle, but something wasn't right about the picture before me.
"Where's Annabeth?" I questioned. Zoe shook her head.
"Luke." She responded simply. I jumped to my feet.
"What happened." Zoe looked around the scrapyard with a pained expression.
"You and Thalia collapsed as soon as you defeated the animatronic. However, Luke was patiently waiting in the wing all along. I tried to stop him, but he got to Annabeth." She shook her head again. "I should've been stronger. I should've done more. This is my quest, gods damnit!" I grabbed Zoe's hand which momentarily brought her out of her rage and pulled her closer to look at me.
"It's not your fault." She shut her eyes and leaned her forehead into my chest.
"Yes, it is. I could have defeated Luke. He knows that, but all he wanted was Annabeth. I didn't use my head. Of course, his plan was to attack when we were weak. And now, Annabeth…" She trailed off.
"…is fine." I finished. "Luke isn't going to hurt her. She's too important. He probably just wanted a bargaining chip." Zoe leaned her head back in thought.
"Or to turn her to his cause." I shook my head.
"Annabeth wouldn't do that." Zoe looked skeptical.
"They have a history, Percy. It's not unreasonable to think he might sway her to his cause. It's the same reason he didn't just kill you and Thalia while you were unconscious." I blinked
"What do you mean?" She sighed, but continued.
"You and Thalia are arguably the two strongest living demigods. Thalia's fatal flaw is her lust for power. Given their history, and with Annabeth at his side, the allure of what Luke is promising might be too much for her to refuse. And if he has Thalia and Annabeth…"
"We're in trouble." She nodded and looked at me seriously.
"But also, if he has Thalia and Annabeth, his next target is you." I stared at her.
"I would never betray you." She smiled sadly.
"I believe you wouldn't betray me, but what about Olympus." I thought about her words and my hesitation did not go unnoticed. "Lost in the land without rain." She echoed the prophecy. "Well, we lost Annabeth. Thankfully not to the fates, but lost her nonetheless."
"What's your point." She repeated another line.
"One shall perish by a parent's hand." I stared at her and realized what she was implying. "Percy. If we complete this quest, but I don't survive, where will your loyalty lie?"
"Doesn't matter." She took a step back.
"Doesn't matter?"
"Yeah, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to let you die." I said it with such confidence I almost believed that the decision was up to me.
"Percy, if the fates decide…"
"…the fates aren't deciding anything on this quest. If someone is going to perish by a parent's hand then I'll drag Hermes down from Mount Olympus and use his hand to beat Luke to death. I'm. Not. Losing. You." Zoe and I stared at each other, neither wavering. And then I did something that neither of us expected. I kissed her. In the moment, I wasn't thinking. I was just so overwhelmed by my emotions that I lost control again. She froze at my touch, but quickly softened and leaned into the kiss. Neither of us cared that we might die in the coming days, that her pledge of eternal maidenhood would keep us apart, or that the world itself was in eternal peril. Because when she kissed me back, my mind went blank. Her hand ran through the back of my hair as I pulled her waist closer to mine, each of us competing to deepen the kiss like we were fighting back at Camp Half-blood. After what seemed like an eternity, but faded too quickly, our lips parted. We just watched each other in shock at the other's actions, but never fully breaking the embrace. The weight of reality slowly crept back into my mind and I turned to see Bianca watching us with an open mouth. Thalia was, thankfully, still out cold. Bianca put her hands up in defense.
"I didn't see anything." She told us. I looked at Zoe who, surprisingly, just broke out into a fit of laughter. She ripped off her tattered parka, which somehow had not been shed despite us being in a desert, and helped Bianca get Thalia to her feet. The pair of hunters supported Thalia's limp body between them.
"Come on." Zoe ordered. "I know where we're going." I followed the pair out of the junkyard.
Fortunately, it appeared that the spartoi were no longer on our tail. Hopefully, they'd been wiped out during the storm. We walked out of the scrapyard uncontested and it didn't take long before the hunters managed to find us some wheels and we were back on the road.
"So, where are we going?" I questioned. "And how did you suddenly obtain this knowledge?" Zoe didn't take her eyes of the road as Thalia rested her head on Bianca's shoulder in the back seat.
"I didn't know until now, but I suspected all along." She answered. "I just really had hoped my suspicions were misplaced." She bit her lip. Mount Tamalpais. It's where Mount Othrys moved. To put it in words that you campers would understand, it's kind of like Titan Headquarters and filled with many faces that I'd rather forget."
"Are we walking into a death trap."
"Pretty much."
"Great." Zoe looked like she wanted to say more, but hesitated.
"Percy? Bianca?" She got our attention. "There are some things about my past, things that you might've already guessed, but haven't questioned. If I survive this quest, I'll tell you anything that you want to know. But for now, I just need you to have my back. Okay?" Bianca and I shared a glance and she nodded at me.
"We've got you, Zoe. You're the quest leader. Say the word and we'll do whatever you ask." A loose tear streaked down her face and onto her lap.
"Thank you. Both of you." And she flashed me her award-winning smile.
The rest of the drive was fairly quiet. Thalia finally arose and we filled her in on what happened. Call her a spark plug, but she was fired up and just about ready to storm the mountain by herself. Her hatred for Luke made me have a hard time believing that the girl would be capable of switching sides, but I was cautious to remember her fatal flaw. Afterall, every hero has one.
After what seemed like forever, we finally reach the mountain and began our summit. A short trek later and we were faced with our first obstacle. Nestled in the mountain was some kind of orchard, a beautiful grassy knoll that seemed to be teeming with life. But the landmark had a sinister feel to it, the grace of the garden being concealed in the night sky. At the center of the orchard was a simple tree, but its leaves danced with a golden fruit that looked incomprehensively delicious. But the garden was marred by what lie beneath the tree. A large black dragon coiled around the trunk and shook the earth as it snored in deep sleep.
"The Garden of the Hesperides." Zoe informed us.
"Then those are the apples of immortality." Bianca stated, basking in their glory.
"And that's Ladon." The dragon snorted steam as if sensing its name. I watched Thalia who was staring at the apples intensely. I put a hand on her shoulder.
"You still with us?" I asked. She shook her head as if coming out of a daydream and blinked a few times.
"Yeah, yeah. Sorry." She seemed perplexed by the trance that the apples had put her under.
"So, what's the plan?" I asked, but we were interrupted before Zoe could give a response. Several women shimmered into material form in front of us at the edge of the garden. They were quite beautiful, and looked oddly familiar. No one said a word until one of the girls stepped forward. She smiled at us and then turned her attention to Zoe, as if seeing her for the first time.
"Zoe Nightshade and friends." She spoke. "I'm sorry that you've come all this way just to be turned back around. It appears your quest leader hasn't informed you that she is no longer welcome in this place." Zoe stepped forward.
"Please." She pleaded. "We just need to pass through. We have no desire to disturb the garden. We just need safe passage."
The Hesperide woman looked thoughtful, but quickly reached a verdict without consulting the others.
"Your request, my former sister, has been denied." Zoe looked like she wanted to argue, but there was no point. The woman fell back in line with her sisters and the mirage that was their presence began to fade, but not without one last word.
"Ladon! Wake!"
There was so much to process from that short interaction with the women, but questions would have to wait for later. The mighty dragon stirred and angrily arose from its slumber. Riptide shimmered to life in my hands.
"What's the plan?" I asked aloud. Zoe looked thoughtful, but Thalia beat her to the punch.
"Split up!" She announced. It turned out that her quick decision was needed as Ladon bolted towards us with tremendous speed for something that large. Zoe pushed me to the ground as the monster barreled past us and Ladon slammed into the side of the mountain. Zoe grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.
"Go!" Bianca called to us while letting an arrow sing toward Ladon. "Thalia and I will keep Ladon busy! Free Lady Artemis and this is all over!" I wanted to argue, but Thalia just gave me a reassuring nod and slammed her spear into the ground. Zoe looked skeptical as well, but seemed to agree with the plan. She looked at me stoically.
"Let's go." She commanded. "We can do this, but we don't have time. They won't be able to defeat Ladon. We need Lady Artemis." I nodded and we ran through the garden and closer to the peak of the mountain. We'd barely gone fifty feet when our destination came into view. It looked to be a room for some kind of fortification, except it wasn't exactly complete. It was dark and ominous. Half-constructed pillars exploded from the ground only to reach a fraction of their intended height. However, the room didn't look as though it were destroyed. No, more like it was being reconstructed. It was as if I was staring at a partially completed puzzle and the missing pieces were just waiting around to finish the picture.
I didn't have much time to contemplate the logistics of the project because Zoe spotted the weakened silhouette of her patron goddess.
"My lady!" She called out, and began sprinting toward her.
"Zoe! Wait!" I called out. But my warning fell on deaf ears. Lady Artemis looked up from the floor. Her eyes were full of emotion. Dread? Anger? Sadness? It was hard to tell. But the one thing that I could decipher was that she was giving Zoe a warning. And then I realized why. Across the room, standing on a partially completed platform, stood a familiar group of people. Annabeth was pushed down to her knees with a gag around her mouth and eyes that pleaded with me when I looked into them. Standing over her, with a firm grip on her shoulder and a wicked blade in his hand, was the man I identified to be Luke Castellan. And in front of them both was the man they called "The General", and he had a spear fixated on Zoe.
I sprung into action as he released the weapon. Artemis weakly called out in protest as Annabeth struggled to warn her against her bonds. Zoe realized at the last moment what was happening, but I'd already deflected the attack. The General looked down with a smile.
"Ah, Percy Jackson." He spoke calmly. I gritted my teeth.
"I'm not calling you my General, if that's what you're hoping for." I warned. He showed no emotion.
"Percy." Artemis said, straining to get her words out. She was supporting some kind of invisible weight on her back, and it was crushing her. Physically and spiritually. And then Artemis said something that I hadn't expected. "Run". I looked at her like she was crazy.
"Not a chance." She shook her head.
"You don't understand. You can't defeat him. That man isn't a demigod." I felt a chill run down my spine. "He's a titan. He's…"
"…Atlas." Zoe finished, while walking toward her patron. "And we don't need to defeat him." Artemis struggled to look up at Zoe from her prison. She got down onto her knees and Artemis seemed to realize what her plan was. "You do." With one quick maneuver, Zoe shoved Artemis out from under the invisible weight and took her place shouldering the burden. She cried out almost immediately and fell to all fours as she struggled with the heaviness of the prison. Artemis watched Zoe with tears in her eyes, but they quickly turned to anger as her gaze shifted to Atlas. The once formidable looking titan looked shellshocked, scared even. And I didn't blame him. I'd never seen Artemis this angry. Her eyes were full of this wild, primal hatred that was all directed toward one being. And then she attacked.
It was a flurry of gold and silver. The golden ichor of the immortals and the silver blades of the maiden goddess ripped through the air in a flurry of undetectable slashes. I stared in awe as Artemis and Atlas battled atop the mountain, but remembered that I had a role to play in the fight as well. I turned to face Luke, but he was already gone. I ran over to Annabeth's side and helped her with her restraints. When she was finally free, she threw her arms around me.
"Are you alright?" I asked. She nodded.
"What can I do?" I looked over toward Artemis. It was hard to tell, but it seemed as though she was winning the battle. Atlas seemed to be slowing down, but the goddess of the hunt was still driven by blind rage. Zoe, on the other hand, was losing her battle with the weight of the world. I didn't know what to do. But then I remembered something that Zoe had told me once. Something about how Annabeth's battlefield strategy was the perfect compliment to my strength. Unfortunately, there was really only one way that I could use my strength in this situation. The rest would have to be up to Annabeth.
"We need to get Atlas back under the sky." I told her. "It's the only way we all get out of here with out lives." Annabeth nodded.
"But how do we do that?" She questioned. I shrugged.
"I don't know, but you better figure it out quickly." She raised a questioning brow, but I turned and headed in the direction of Zoe.
"What are you going to do?" She called after me.
"I'll be supporting you!" I called back. "Literally!"
I slid down by Zoe's side to see how she was doing. The weight was killing her. Her face was full of pain, tears leaked openly from her eyes, and her body was being driven closer and closer to failing. She forced a weak smile when she saw me.
"Percy." She whispered.
"I'm here."
"I don't know how much longer I can hold it. I think this is it for me." I felt tears welling in my eyes, threatening to fall.
"Don't say that. Annabeth's working on a plan and Artemis is winning. We're not done fighting yet." She shook her head.
"Your fight isn't over, but mine was always destined to come to an end on this quest. You can't fight against fate, Percy. I'm just happy that I could serve my lady one last time." Her words cut through me like a knife.
"Zoe…"
"And I'm so grateful to have met you." I bit my lip as I watched her small frame hold the world. "Maybe in another lifetime, we'll find each other." I smiled.
"But we've already found each other." Zoe looked at me with a sad expression. I shook my head. "And I'm not ready to let you go yet." Without warning, I got onto one knee and forced myself under the sky.
"What are you…" I called upon all the godly strength in my body and pushed up against the weight of the world. The pressure was unfathomable. I felt like my entire body was on fire, but I kept pushing. I kept forcing the immense weight further and further from the ground until Zoe was alleviated of her burden. She collapsed on the stone underneath me and I felt the full weight of the world upon my shoulders. I was in more pain than anything I'd ever experienced, but knowing that I'd taken that pain away from Zoe, made it much more manageable. Zoe rolled over and looked up at me in disbelief. I stood over her, baring all the weight on my shoulders and planted my feet.
"I told you. I'm not letting you die." Zoe's eyes swelled with tears, but not from pain this time. "I need you, Zoe Nightshade." She might've returned the sentiment if it weren't for an interruption by Lady Artemis.
"Percy!" She called. "Drop the sky!" The immortals' fight had slowed to speeds that were now visible and I watched as Artemis delivered a powerful kick to the chest of Atlas. The titan was propelled backwards, straight in my direction. I channeled all the power in my body into one final moment and threw myself out from the burden of the world's weight. I watched in horror as invisible weight fell onto Atlas' side and he let out the most harrowing scream that I'd ever heard. The titan was once again imprisoned, holding up the entire world upon his shoulders. I felt my vision beginning to go as I stumbled in the direction of Zoe. I fell to the ground at her side. Her eyes were closed, likely needing time to recover.
All other senses began to fade. I heard the cries of Thalia and Bianca as they flooded into the room, somehow having escaped the Garden of the Hesperides. I felt Annabeth's hands touching my neck for signs of life and informing the others that Zoe and I were alright. I heard the lamenting of Lady Artemis as she looked upon the body of her lieutenant. But all that I saw before everything went black, was Zoe. Her hair was messy and tattered. The silver circlet that once gave her a royal aura was lost in the battle. Her coppery skin was less vibrant, as though the life had been sucked out of her during the ordeal. And still, she was unfairly beautiful.
As my eyes finally began to close, I realized two things.
We had won the battle and Zoe Nightshade, an immortal lieutenant of the Hunters of Artemis, had won my heart.
A/N: For the time being, this will be the final chapter of this story. It's been a while since I've posted an updated chapter and that's simply because I've had things going on in my life that prevented me from doing so. I felt that I at least needed to find time to bring the story arch of the Titan's Curse to a close. I do plan to continue this story, either in updated chapters or a sequel storyline that picks up where this chapter leaves off and answers any questions that are left up in the air. My plan for the next story arch will either center around a sort of retelling of The Battle of the Labyrinth or an original plotline centered around another well-known Greek myth that would take place in the time between The Titan's Curse and The Battle of the Labyrinth. Time will tell. For now, I'd like to focus my time on some other writing projects. Thank you to anyone who has continued to follow this story all this time and for all your kind words and support. As always, it means a great deal to me and I will have more posts in the future. Thanks.
-Gravezz