Chapter 32: I Receive a Complementary Care Package of Doom

The shadows warped around us, black tendrils of darkness snaking around our wrists before engulfing us whole. Bianca stifled a gasp and I squeezed her hand tighter. I closed my eyes, welcoming the familiar chill seeping into my bones. The whispers of lost spirits and forgotten ghosts echoed in the shadow realm. They called out to us, but we didn't dare call back. Tempting wandering souls was none of our business, after all.

I thought I heard Bianca ask something, or maybe she was screaming, but whatever happened, it was lost to the darkness. Then I sensed it. The trickling of my energy reservoirs, leaving me drained and exhausted in mid jump.

I can't keep going, I thought in a rush of panic. We're not gonna make it.

Suddenly, I felt someone tugging at my control. I don't know how, but I knew the force wasn't hostile. If anything, it felt familiar.

I glanced at Bianca, suspecting she developed some natural affinity for shadow travel without my guidance, but, to my surprise, I barely got a reaction. Aside from the shut eyes and pale face, nothing screamed I learned how to shadow travel! Then again, I'd be a little worried if Bianca decided to take the reins quickly. Shadow traveling to China and smack into walls is my default to failed jumps; with raw power like her's, I would rather not find out what her default is too.

We landed in a concealed corner hidden behind ruins, and it wasn't long before I realized exactly where we ended up at: Mt. Othrys, the lair of Titans. I silently thanked whoever just saved us a lot of time and energy, though I decided from now on I'd be watching my back more closely. I silently observed the scene playing before us as I took a bite out of some ambrosia, and I was glad Bianca understood the intangible message passing between us: Don't make a sound.

"You are fools to come here!" a humongous beefed up man in a sharp suit glowered. His words resonated within the mountain, vibrating inside of me. "Are you so delusional that you think you can challenge me, Atlas, the great Titan?" He barked a laugh. "I have held up the weight of the sky! You are dirt beneath my feet compared to that wretched punishment."

"We'll stop you!" Grover surprisingly cried before bleating nervously. He's braver than most people give him credit for. Though I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. After all the things he's faced when finding children of the Big Three, I'm impressed he isn't a moping mess like me.

Bruised, shackled, and seemingly exhausted, Artemis kneeled, hoisting up the sky as a quiet determination burned in her luminous eyes. Percy stood by the entrance with Riptide gripped in his hand, his sea green eyes uncharacteristically dark. Thalia stood protectively over Annabeth—not that she needed it—both of them in a fighting stance. Grover seemed to be supporting a sickly pale Zoë, though she seemed as if she could fare without it. I noticed small claw marks raked along her side, and they seemed to occasionally drip a nasty green puss that sizzled like acid as it hit the rubble.

I focused on her for a second, concentrating. Then I heard it: A faint ringing.

Zoë Nightshade is dying.

My eyes widened as the realization sinked into my bones: Another causality. Another wildflower among thousands of others.

I glanced at Bianca, and by the look of her identical expression, I knew she felt it too.

"Luke," Thalia said, and I don't think I've ever heard so much sorrow and misery in her voice, "don't do this."

It was then that my attention was drawn to the treacherous demigod standing next to a glowing sarcophagus and hordes of dracanae. His scar was more eerie in the shadow of the golden light, and his eyes looked lost somehow, as if he thought all the sins he committed was because he had no choice.

"Family, Luke." Tears collected in Annabeth's storm eyes, but she couldn't have looked fiercer. She stepped forward, a futile attempt to bring back a boy that was never there to begin with. "You promised."

A pained expression crossed the Son of Hermes' worn face. "We can still have it. The three of us, just like old times because Lord Kronos has offered something to me that we can share."

Revenge. An aspiration Luke and I disgustingly shared.

He treaded closer, his cold eyes trained on Annabeth and Thalia. "Revenge against the Gods for wronging is. For ignoring us. For using us. Under Kronos' rule, everything will change. Gods will receive the fates they deserve and demigods will receive the respect they deserve. Join me. Help us change the world for the better. Please." The desperation in his voice almost made me pity the scumbag.

Almost.

I wasn't sure why, but Thalia and Annabeth seemed to seriously consider his words.

Percy scoffed. "You think the world's going to be better under Kronos'rule? You think after thousands of years of being locked up in the deepest depths of the Underworld, suddenly the Titans are going to welcome you with open arms?" Percy spat on the ground, a sight I've never seen until now. "You disgust me. You had your whole life ahead of you. People used to look up to you. You were a hero, Luke." He stared at Luke like he was covered in sewage and vermin.

I've seen some of those looks. They are not pleasant.

Luke brandished his sword despite his tired face, a subtle warning of his impatience. "And you think the Gods are ruling any better? We're their pawns, Percy. They play us then throw us away like chess pieces once we're chipped." A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "Serving Kronos is the most worthwhile thing I've ever done. It is my honor to fight by his side." He turned to Annabeth and Thalia. "Join me. Or he's going to destroy you too."

Bianca edged closer, annoyed by the idiocy around her, but I held her back. We shared a look.

Not yet.

"Enough," Atlas growled. He then smiled victoriously, as if the odds weren't against him with 4 children of the Big Three and a terrifying daughter of Athena in the same room with him. "Soon our great army will storm Camp Half-Blood and the invasion will begin. Mt. Othrys will rise again in a new era and the Gods will be squashed beneath my feet in the puny insignificant forms they deserve." he gestured to Artemis' exhausted form. "They will know what it feels like to bear my curse for all eternity."

Luke risked another step forward and held out his hand. "Thalia, you are the child of the Great Prophecy. You can summon the Ophiotaurus." His eyes shifted toward a small pool of dark water near an opening in the chamber before settling back on her. "Please, this is all I ask of you. Help me change the world for the better, just like old times."

The Ophiotaurus… I forgot about that. Thalia's eyes glazed over as if she were imagining the harrowing life she could leave behind, and for a terrifying moment I really believed she chose Luke over the world.

"No!" she answered with the force of a freight train, crashing out of her daydream. "I won't stand with you! This… this is wrong. You're wrong. Everyone is wrong! And I'm going to make it right." She stared at Luke as if he were dead and ashened in a ceremonial shroud. In a way, the Luke she knew died a long time ago.

"Then you have chosen wrong," the Son of Hermes announced with a cold stare, and all traces of desperation were gone. Then I noticed it: The way his icey eyes glittered with deceiving charm in the torch light. His gaze was so sharp, so cold, yet so deep, like a crystallizing frost that you were sure to trust, sure to stand for, only for it to shatter and bring you down with it. I distantly wondered if this was the look that made so many demigods lose their way. Were these the eyes that numbed them and drowned them with broken promises of revenge long before the murky waters of Manhattan ever could?

I glanced at Bianca, an unspoken agreement passing between us. She nodded, coiling back her bow and arrow, while I took the liberty of shadow traveling behind the enemies with my knife at the ready. The shadows flickered around me, but Atlas and Luke hardly seem to notice. If anyone noticed, it was Percy, as his eyes locked right on mine, the warning understood with absolute clarity: Be careful.

Atlas chuckled darkly and the mountain rumbled. "I will enjoy obliterating you weaklings with my bare hands," he said as he cracked his knuckles, "and I will enjoy teaching my worthless daughter respect even more."

Nervous glances flickered toward Zoë, but her regal face betrayed no fear as she held her head higher. "No, Father, it will be thou who learns respect."

Atlas growled and stalked closer, raising his hand, and I took that as my que to make my appearance known.

In an instant, I clambered on top of the Titan and drove my knife through his back, raking it from the neck down. He shrieked—in outrage or agony, it was hard to tell. Bianca flew into action, another catalyst of the battle, shooting arrow after arrow at any and all targets, a rain of silver flurries against the golden glow. The others joined in with a battle cry, and for a moment I almost believed we had the upper hand.

Then Luke charged at me with Backbiter and I decided that raking a Titan into ribbons was not worth being raked in return. I rolled out of the way towards the wall, away from the cold bronze of death and the poisonous talons of… well, more death.

"WHO DARES INTERRUPT US?!" The Titan bellowed, his regal face contorted manically.

I felt powerful when I noticed my once silver hunting knife was now stained gold and bellowed back a retort, "YOUR BANES OF EXISTENCE, YOU NEANDERTHAL!!"

I don't really know where the insult came from—probably picked it up from one of Athena's campers insulting the Ares cabin—or why I even screamed it, but I know it definitely felt good.

I couldn't hold back the sigh from escaping my mouth. I was so impressionable when I was 10.

"I think we should've planned ahead before rushing in like this," Bianca said as she released an arrow that pierced a nearby dracanae in the eye.

"Wait, you guys came here without a plan?" Grover squeaked next us before bringing his reed pipes to his lips and conjuring some pesky rocks to life.

"Well, we assumed Annabeth had a plan that we were just going to follow once we got here, but as you can see that didn't work out," she answered as she slashed another screeching dracanae.

"Well, Nico makes plans too!" He exclaimed, throwing me under the bus.

"Since when have my plans or our plans, for that matter actually worked?" I argued, rolling out of the way of a pair of killer talons. "We plan, we get there, all hell breaks loose. It's a vicious cycle, really."

Bianca nodded distractedly and said, "That I can agree with." Then she ran off to help the others.

I surveyed the scene before me: Thalia and Luke were neck to neck in a sword fight, eyes blazing, lightning cracking, neither showing signs of backing down. Percy and Annabeth were tackling Atlas—like most things they do—together. But from the looks of Percy's sluggish blocks and Annabeth's inability to get closer to the Titan, I knew they wouldn't last long. Bianca, Grover, and Zoe were taking care of the dracanae and other hordes of monsters in the chamber, and it was only then I noticed the storm brewing outside of the expansive window of the mountain.

Ships upon ships of monsters and rogue demigods crawled along the shores and beaches, and my heart sank. Kronos' army has already begun war preparations, and the Gods haven't even worked up the courage to acknowledge Kronos' return in the first place.

The thought strayed my attention to the kneeling Goddess in the corner, her silver clothes tattered, her breaths labored. I glanced at my friends and family, the people who were fighting for their lives as I stood helplessly in the background. A twinge of panic arose inside of me. Help them, a small voice inside of me said.

But I can't. I have to help Artemis. I have to trust my friends can save themselves.

I did the sensible thing and made a hasty attempt at shadow travel to the Goddess across the room.

I spilled out of the shadows, startling her. "I have to get you—"

I yelped in surprise and ducked, narrowly missing a swing to the head. "Who in Hades are you?" Luke demanded, thrusting Backbiter towards me. I would have smirked at the irony had I not been seconds away from being skewered. "And how did you get inside unannounced?"

Good, I thought. So, he probably didn't see me shadow travel.

I went on the defense, blocking Luke's blows with my tiny hunting knife, but I didn't have the strength I used to have. He was overwhelming me, and my desperate attempts to roll out of the way were getting old. "The answer may surprise you," I said, gritting my teeth, the pressure of his sword bending my weapon ever so slightly. Dimly, I noticed Thalia hunched over at a nearby rock, unmoving with a nasty blow to the head. He must have gotten lucky, almost nothing can stop the reckoning force of a pissed off Daughter of Zeus. "What did you do to Thalia?" I hissed.

"What I had to," he replied shortly. He whirled around, but I anticipated the attack and returned a nasty cut to the arm in kind. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" He asked, and I wasn't sure if he brought it up because he was trying to distract me or if he was genuinely curious.

"Does it matter?" I tried a different approach, seeing as I was at a disadvantage with a small knife versus a 4 foot long sword. I began to wave my knife frantically and without pattern, dodging this way and that, figuring it would be harder for Luke to anticipate my blows.

"Who's your Godly parent? You don't look like most demigods I've seen." It's true. My looks are rather strange compared to the average demigod. Eyes like mine haven't been seen in over 70 years, and my features at first glance gave no indication I was a child of Hades. But once I buy a proper wardrobe after all of this is over, perhaps it will be a little too obvious.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He brought down a particularly hard blow and I stumbled. I cursed in Ancient Greek and regained my footing, dodging more swiftly this time. I can't handle this much longer, and I knew he knew it too.

He smirked and said, "Your aura is awfully powerful for such a young age. Who knows, maybe you're the son of an Olympian."

I snorted and rolled around him. "Unlikely."

"You know, we could use someone like you among our ranks. Someone who has extraordinary power to help bring about the future. Someone who's also been scarred by the Gods," he said conversationally, but all I could think about was how he could possibly have known.

His words broke my concentration and I staggered to the ground, but not before my knife shattered with an eerie crack under the strain of his sword. My mouth went dry, my eyes wide as pure unfathomable terror coursed through me, and I knew as well as he did that I would be joining the wildflowers soon.

I failed, I thought as I stared into his dangerous ice eyes.

"My offer still stands," he said not unkindly, but I could hear the edge in his voice, sharp like his sword; the silent message as clear as daylight: Join me or die.

I swallowed the lump in my throat and fumbled blindly for something to defend myself, but the best weapon I could find was a rock from debris and maybe a small shard of the broken knife. I glimpsed at the others, hoping to catch their line of sight, hoping they would save me, but they were all preoccupied and wearing thin from the battle.

"They can't save you," the Son of Hermes whispered, reading my mind, "but I can."

My thoughts were reeling, but I tried to collect them. Think, Percy and Annabeth are still busy with Atlas, and the others are taking down the remaining monsters left. I can't use my powers unless I wish to announce to the enemies that there are more children of the Big Three than previously thought, and Thalia is out cold—Just then I noticed her stirring quietly out of the corner of my eye. Time. I just need to give her time to beat Luke so she can free Artemis and they can defeat Atlas. But who will bear the weight of the sky in the meantime?

"You're right," I whispered, figuring the only thing I could do now was keep Luke talking. "I have witnessed things no other demigod should witness, and I've had the unfortunate courtesy of watching the Gods do absolutely nothing about it," I admitted bitterly, and I wondered how much more my soul could take before I became just like this selfishly evil, insidious thing in front of me. My hand miraculously found a familiar hilt hidden in the shadows, and my breath almost caught in sheer surprise.

My face betrayed no emotion as I continued, "I'm going to get my revenge. Not on the monsters because even they aren't monstrous enough for this. Not on the Gods because they would have no clue why. Not even on you, Luke Castellan, the catalyst who started it all. No, only they deserve such a fate for such a crime, and I'm going to give it to them. I promise. But I'm going to do it on my own terms; not on yours, not on Kronos', not even on the Gods'." My hand grasped the hilt, and I felt the power surge through me, all my rage and confusion of the last few days fueling it. "I will never join you!" I screamed, lashing out my sword with the force of an earthquake, and I could've sworn the mountain shook. I kicked him clean out of the way and scrambled to my feet.

Distantly, the sensible part of me wondered how my stygian iron sword could possibly be right here in my grasp.

If a soul manages to escape, they are rewarded a token of some kind by them, Annabeth's voice resurfaced in my mind.

The dance of souls. This might be my reward—my token for escaping it.

Um… thank you, to whoever gave this to me,I thought in my head, hoping whoever it was got the message.

Thalia groaned, probably waking up from the noise, and immediately grabbed her spear, joining the fight once again. Luke clutched his chest where I nicked him, and even if it wasn't super deep, the stygian iron in my sword would make sure it hurt like hell.

He stared wide eyed at my pitch black sword, bewildered by what he was seeing. "Is that—"

"My complementary care package of doom?" I finished for him, hoping he wasn't reaching the mind-boggling conclusion of my parentage. "Yes. Yes, it is."

Before he could choke out a reply, Thalia tumbled into him, shield and all, looking ready to murder someone. "We're not finished yet, Luke," she seethed as a spark crackled along her spear.

"You have fun with that," I said, but she was already halfway across the room in a deadly dance with Luke before she heard me.

I turned my attention to the rest of the enemies in the room: The chamber, once a place of cold black ruin was now caked with golden dust, but I knew that wasn't the last of the monsters. Atlas was still as strong as ever, though I hoped not strong enough that he couldn't be put back in his place. I saw the occasional rock coming to life, or vine grappling the Titan's ankles from the cracks and crevices of the once beautifully carved stones. Blurs of silver seemed to inhumanly glide along the black marble like it was ice, and it occurred to me that two demigods were missing from the scene.

Oh Gods, they didn't.

Raw and undeniable horror struck through me as I stared at the corner where Artemis was only moments before. Unshackled, but still very much trapped, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase held the weight of the sky.

I cursed in about 4 different languages—Ancient Greek, Italian, English, and even Latin—and I knew Bianca would shove a bar of soap in my mouth in utter appall if she heard me.

My eyes flickered between my friends who were probably going to be crushed to death and my friends who were definitely going to be crushed to death. Choose, the small voice inside me said. Who will it be?

"I—I can't," I whispered. I felt like bursting into tears right then and there. Percy and Annabeth are kneeling for their lives, their souls ticking away by the second, and the sister I just saved is neck to neck with an all powerful Titan who is thirsty for vengeance, not to mention some of my other friends are with her too. But they have a Goddess fighting alongside them while Percy and Annabeth only have each other. As much as I hate to think about it, Bianca and the others have a fighting chance. Percy and Annabeth don't even have that luxury.

So, I took a deep breath and did the only thing I could do. "Bianca!" I shouted, hoping she could spare a split second of her attention. She glanced up, her arm still coiling the arrow back. "Catch!" I threw my sword over to her, figuring at the moment, she would have more use for it than I would.

In an instant, she dropped the bow and caught the sword, and it was like this black fire of certainty alighted in her eyes. Despite the terrible circumstances, I smirked and nodded encouragingly. I mouthed the message I wished to tell her, the only thing I was completely sure of in this unknowing, dangerous world. You're ready.

She smirked and nodded back.

I didn't stick around to see what she would do next as I was too busy mentally preparing myself to carry the most heavy thing in all of existence with my friends—no, my family. I smiled slightly, the detail seeming important enough to correct.

"Percy! Annabeth!" I rushed over to them, sliding along the black marble. They barely looked up, both of them looking more fatigued than I've ever seen them, their sweat dripping in small pools beneath their bowing heads. Gross, I had time to think before I slid next to them and underneath the sky.

"Nico… what… what are you doing?" Percy panted, his sea green eyes distant and unfocused. Every word that came out of his mouth looked painful.

"Nothing you wouldn't do for me," I replied, staring wearily at the cloudy mass above me. I had to admit, for all of its burden, it was rather beautiful in a strange and mysterious kind of way. Clouds upon clouds gathered into a solid entity at the peak of the mountain, unseeing with the eyes of millions of twinkling stars.

But there was a price for such beauty; a curse to hold it up, to keep it from reuniting with its forbidden lover that is the treacherous Earth, and from decimating thousands of unsuspecting lives.

A price I'm willing to pay for the sake of my family.

"No, Nico," A very pale looking Annabeth managed to choke out, "it'll kill you." Her once sun ray hair was dulled and matted with dust and grime, and I wasn't sure if some of those greys were powdered with rock or strain. But a silent storm swirled in her eyes, a silent reminder she would never stop fighting the odds against her.

I managed a pained smile. "Probably. But I won't let you two do this alone. If there's a chance I can take some of the burden off of you—even a little bit—I'll take it."

"Don't do it!" They both shouted simultaneously, but I doubted they could stop me, even if they tried to kick me out of the way. I raised my hands, took a deep breath, and literally touched the sky.

I gasped at the enormity of the burden and stumbled into a hasty kneel, my knees digging painfully into the cracked stone, an imprentation of Atlas' millenniums of struggle. It was like weight I had never felt before. It was so heavy, like I was lugging a thousand Giants on my back who were each lugging a thousand pounds more. My arms shook violently and my breaths came out in short sputtering gasps, but I refused to let go. If a whining neanderthal like Atlas can hold this thing for thousands of years, I can hold it for 2 minutes.

"You shouldn't… have… done that," Percy gasped, and I wasn't sure if he was reprimanding me or pitying me. At this point, what's the difference?

I didn't answer, all my energy seemingly stolen from me, and it was all I could do to keep upright before my back could snap in two.

"Yield!" I overheard Thalia scream near the bay window. There, with his back to the cliffs high above the seashore, Luke Castellan was quite literally inches away from death—front and behind. With every jab of Thalia's crackling spear, his grip on it lessened.

"We can still get our revenge, Thalia. Together!" The Son of Hermes cried, and I could see it in his frost eyes that in his delusionally twisted mind, he wanted revenge more than he wanted her. So much that he was willing to give up everything for it—even his own family.

Some wicked part of me wondered whatI would be willing to give up for revenge.

The Daughter of Zeus shook her head frantically, her eyes squeezed shut, as if it was too much for her to witness the boy in front of her. "No. No, we can't," she whispered. She shoved aegis towards him and Luke backed further towards the ledge.

"Yes, we can!" He pressed. "All those times we cursed the Gods, all those lonely nights together—Thalia, we can have the world. We can remake it by our own design," he said, and if I didn't know he had plans of ending the world, I would've thought his words sounded innocent enough. "You and me, Thalia. Just you and me."

She snapped open her eyes, and I thought I saw lightning spark within them. "What we had is long gone, Luke. The boy I used to know is long gone," she said, finally looking the traitor dead in the eyes. What she didn't seem to notice was the dagger Luke was sliding out of his belt with his other hand.

Suddenly I heard a familiar ringing sound, and adrenaline surged through me, the fatigue temporarily forgotten.

I was about to shout out a warning, but someone beat me to it. "Look out, Thalia!" Zoë warned from on top of her father's shoulders where she was attempting to wrestle him down.

So many things happened at once I was barely able to comprehend what was happening; In a split second, Thalia stabbed Luke in the gut with her spear, shoved him away from her like he was just another monster she's faced—which he was—and over the ledge he went, Thalia barely dodging a dagger to the heart in the process.

Zoë, temporarily distracted from the exchange happening near the cliff, noticed her father's next blow all too late.

Like a bug crawling on his shoulder, or a speck of dust ruffling his crisp suit, Atlas swatted his daughter away, and she hit the cave wall with a sickening crack.

"ZOË!" Bianca screamed at the top of her lungs, and Artemis had to hold her back from checking on the lieutenant, or she would've joined her friend at death's door.

Suddenly the ringing reached a crescendo, and it was with a heavy heart that I realized who it was for. Zoë Nightshade's time is almost up, and it would seem even in another timeline, she will always be the one to parish by a father's hand.

I looked away from the lieutenant of Artemis' stilling form, tears threatening to fall from my eyes because no matter how much I wouldn't admit, she was my friend too, and the crushing failure to save an innocent person's life weighed too heavily on my heart—a sinking sensation I have a terrible feeling I'll have to get used to.

"I'm sorry," I whispered miserably, but I could barely hear myself over the ringing. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you too."

Just then, yet another rumbling—like an earthquake this time—shook the fallen castle, and I lifted my head in surprise to witness my sister on her knees, my sword lodged in the rock beneath her, the black fire of certainty burning even brighter in her penetrating gaze. A scream of anguish reserved for only the inconsolable escaped her, and to my utter astonishment, a skeletal hand bursted out of the ever growing fissures in the ground. The entire room was bathed in the eerie emerald light of the Underworld, and Bianca basked in it, her silver aura overtaken by the light, looking more in her element then I've ever seen her.

Everyone else in the room looked just as stunned as I felt—especially Atlas, to my amusement—but the only thought running through my head was that the cat was out the bag now and we might as well make the best of it.

So, I mustered up strength I didn't know I could spare and shouted Bianca's name for the second time that night, hoping to give her some words of encouragement. "Bianca!" She looked up momentarily, her hair fanning around her face like luminescent skeletal butterflies. "Give him… give him hell for me, will you?" I asked breathlessly.

She smiled devilishly—and even I was a little unnerved—and obliged, yanking the sword out of the stone, and with it came the skeletal eruption of her despair. Hordes of the undead clattered to the surface and circled the Titan, all at the brush of Bianca di Angelo's command, and distantly, I wondered if this was how I looked to the view of an outsider. Did I look this awesome when I was raising the dead, or just a scrawny kid trying to play King?

"Who—What are you?" Atlas asked incredulously, and the smug superiority of his regal face seemingly vanished in thin air, and raw horror took its place.

"I am Bianca di Angelo, Hunter of Artemis," my sister answered, brandishing her sword, "but you can refer to me as the Daughter of the Underworld."

Well then, I thought. The cat is shredding the bag now.

The look on Atlas' face was the equivalent of the phrase: oh, Styx. "A daughter of Hades? Another child of the Eldest Gods?"

Bianca's eyes flickered to mine for a millisecond. I mouthed a safer answer, and I sincerely hoped she could lip read. "No. Thanatos. I am a daughter of Thanatos," she claimed hurriedly, and it sounded convincing enough.

I prayed Thanatos wouldn't be offended by the false claim, and I prayed my father wouldn't be offended even more.

Atlas didn't look so convinced. "We shall see about that."

Bianca shrugged and the undead soldiers brandished their own decaying swords. "I guess we will."

Then the fight began. Bianca launched herself at the Titan and the skeleton warriors followed her blindly. Grover ran over to Zoë, and I was grateful to see that she was still hanging on to the sliver of her once immortal life that hadn't yet fallen into Death's grasp, though I knew it was only a matter of minutes—certainly less—before Death finally claimed her. Artemis joined Bianca's side and shapeshifted into seemingly a hundred different forms in mid-battle; a deer, a gazelle, a tigress, an eagle, a bear, even a woodpecker that… well, pecked at the Titan's eyes. Thalia charged into the fight too, but the guilty glance she made towards the cliff didn't escape me.

I heaved and stumbled a little, and I felt terrible that Percy and Annabeth had to quite literally pick up the slack.

Get a hold of yourself, I reprimanded myself internally. You chose to do this. Besides, this is nothing new. You've faced worse before.

Tartarus made sure of that.

Sparks flew and shadows danced along the walls, all while various animal noises from roars to meows sounded in the haze of emerald light.

"You have imprisoned me and harmed one of my hunters," Artemis hissed in between transformations. "You will pay dearly."

Atlas threw her against the wall, which she promptly ricocheted off of it like it was no big deal, and used the momentum to kick the General back. He stumbled. "Oh, please!" He barked. "You made it too easy!"

My hair stuck to my forehead uncomfortably as fat beads of sweat rolled down my jaw. I watched Bianca and Thalia fight in the most epic team up I've ever seen since Percabeth; it was like they were in a deadly dance of music only they could hear. Very rock, heavy metal music, or maybe more classic indie rock? They sliced and diced in synchronization, and when Thalia unveiled aegis in Atlas' sight, Bianca came barreling in with her soldiers by her side, slashing the general's suit until it looked about as dapper as a dumpster fire.

Thalia met Bianca's gaze, and something passed between them. My sister nodded, and my cousin kneeled in front of her, angling her shield in an odd position. My eyes widened as I realized what they were planning.

The final act, I thought dimly through the pain.

Without another word, Bianca was sprinting over to Thalia like her heels were on fire and leaped at a height that was impossible for the average demigod to reach. She landed on aegis, in which Thalia responded by launching the shield—and my sister—through the air. Bianca seemingly floated in midair, and it was like she had these ravenish angel wings that she soared with, ascending from deep down below to deliver a message.

She finally landed, impaling her sword right through the shoulder Atlas used to toss his own daughter. She whispered so low I could only understand by reading her lips: "That was for Zoë."

Time sped up again and she yanked the Stygian iron out of his shoulder, an unearthly cry of protest sounding from the General. The Daughter of Hades shoved him towards Percy, Annabeth, and I, but it wasn't enough. He merely staggered, his gigantic hand pressing his shoulder, and chuckled darkly. "That was quite the show you put on, Daughter of Thanatos."

Bianca heaved and panted, looking even more exhausted than I felt, and I knew she was done. Like Atlas commented, she put on a show alright, but every show must end eventually. Thalia and even Artemis seemed tired, and suddenly the idea of spending the rest of my short miserable life upholding the sky didn't seem so unrealistic.

Just when I thought we were all out of tricks, something amazing and terrifying happened: An unidentifiable helicopter hovered just beyond the cliff, aiming its humongous guns right inside the chamber of ruins. By the looks of it, Atlas looked just as confused as everyone else.

A wryly man with tousled blond hair and thin wire glasses stuck his head out the window. "Annabeth?!" He shouted into the chamber. "Annabeth, are you in there?!"

She sputtered out a reply from next to me. "Dad?! What… Are you…" she heaved, "doing here?!"

"Hi, Mr. Chase!!" Thalia and Grover greeted in unison. Percy looked like he wanted to say something as well, but was probably too exhausted to.

I don't know what I was expecting from Annabeth's dad: A complete nerd, a bum who couldn't express his feelings, or maybe even a first-class jerk, but it was not this.

"I came here to help my daughter!" He announced like a crazy person to no one in particular. "Who do I need to shoot?!"

If only all of our dads acted this way, I thought gloomily. For a moment, I tried to imagine Hades wearing an aviator jacket and goggles, soaring the skies in a fighter jet, and bombing evil Giants and pesky Titans while screaming, "WHO DO I NEED TO KILL?!"

It was a weird thought.

"The Titan, Dad!" Annabeth wheezed, and I hoped her dad knew the difference between a Titan and a demigod. "The Titan!"

Everyone but Atlas had the common sense to back away from him and against the walls as Mr. Chase clambered back inside his helicopter. I was too exhausted to even wonder where he got that thing.

"Guys," Annabeth said, turning to us. "When I…" She groaned under the strain of holding the sky, "give you the… the signal… move."

"Will do," Percy answered distractedly.

I nodded tiredly, though I wasn't sure if she saw me.

Mr. Chase fired up the engine and slid some goggles over his face, and I could only catch the expression of utter horror on Atlas' face before Mr. Chase went to town.

To put it into words: It was glorious.

A stunning masterpiece of a Titan being overwhelmed by the sheer firepower of an insane mortal helping his demigod daughter in any way he can. Bullet after bullet bounced off of the general's suit, forcing him further and further back as he sputtered in outrage—but there was nothing he could do, there was nothing he could hit, there was nothing he could throw. A shining example of how strength wasn't everything, Atlas might as well have been swallowing his pride and his victory with every pellet of celestial bronze finding its way into his mouth like disgraceful dog food.

Now, that was the way to end a show.

Atlas was inching closer and closer to us, and I wasn't sure which the Titan would impact first: A bullet, or us. I really didn't want to find out.

"Now!" Annabeth exclaimed, and somehow we found the strength to roll out of the way just as Atlas was forced under the sky. I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt the burden leaving my arms. In every sense I felt free. Free from the weight of a thousand giants each lifting a thousand pounds, free from the burden of a curse that was not my own to bear, but not free from the crushing sensation of another wildflower, the shade of luminous silver joining the field.

Zoë. Is she okay?

But I didn't need to look to know—I could sense her depleting life force just fine. Still, I tried to stand, but I collapsed before my feet even lifted from the ground. "Nico!" Bianca exclaimed and ran up to me from her place next to a very pale lieutenant.

Dimly, I noticed the skeletons crawling back into the closing fissures of the ground. The room returned to its normal dim light, but the sarcophagus was nowhere to be seen.

"M' fine," I mumbled, but it didn't take a genius to know I wasn't. I leaned into my sister's arms and took deep breaths, trying to slow my heart rate.

"No!" Atlas shrieked like a child who had been denied a toy, his master plan flushing down the drain all in one night, but we paid him no attention. The only thought I spared him was he got less than what he deserved.

She gave me the last of the ambrosia because we both knew Zoë wouldn't be needing it where she was going. She didn't mention the fact that I might as well have had a death wish for bearing the weight of the sky—we were both too tired to talk about it. Instead she set the sword aside and pulled me into a hug, and I think both of our shoulders became wet with tears.

The sword, I noticed, turned into a silver skull ring with ruby red eyes, and a burst of contentment rushed within me. I smiled and I reached out, grasping it with my remaining energy. It was familiar and calming as I twisted it therapeutically on my finger, like this anchor that was grounding me in this strange new life, and I was glad to have it back.

"You… you took the weight of the sky for me?" Annabeth asked Percy, and I came to the conclusion that even in a new timeline, some things never change.

"Of course," he answered irrefutably. Dimly, I noticed both of them had a matching streak of grey in their hair, like they were touched by moonlight. Their eyes flickered to me, but I already knew what was coming next.

I held up my hand. "Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it later. Right now, we have to get to Olympus before the war meeting is over."

"The boy is right," the Goddess of the Hunt announced. "Our window of opportunity is nearing to a close." She waved her hand, and ribbons of moonlight concentrated into the space in front of her, transforming into a beautiful silver chariot that seemed to brighten in the gaze of the moon. "Climb in."

Annabeth turned to her father. "Dad, I'm—"

"It's all right, Honey," he reassured her. "Just remember you'll always have a home with us, okay?"

She nodded, and I pretended not to notice the tears in her eyes. "Okay."

"Now go!" He shouted, firing up the engine and flying away. "You have a war meeting to catch!"

We didn't wait to watch him leave, all of us clambering into the chariot, Bianca carefully helping Zoë in, and I felt guilty seeing the Lieutenant of Artemis reduced to this delicately feeble shadow of the strong inspiring huntress she used to be. I laid my head on Annabeth's shoulder as I sat in between her and Thalia. As we soared into the starry night sky, I noticed a shopping mall beneath us just off the boardwalk, and a delicious chocolate scent seemed to linger from a café in the area.

Who knows, maybe I'll stop by the café when all of this is over.

We made a pit stop just outside of New York, the view of another one of its many bridges bathed in the vibrant neon lights of the city, though they seemed dimmer than normal, as if they felt death in the air too. The ringing was becoming unbearable now, and I noticed it was bothering Bianca's contorted face, it was bothering her as well.

We all got off and set Zoë gently down on the grass, her time nearly up. Her regal face, once a deep bronze was now ashen grey, and her dark eyes lacked their usual fire.

All of us stood at a respectful distance as Bianca and Artemis said their goodbyes. "Zoë, my faithful and loyal Huntress," Artemis said, "I will miss you, old friend."

"Please, don't go," Bianca choked out in between tears. Zoë merely smiled sadly and wiped her tears.

"Alas, it is time," the lieutenant breathed. I sensed a thousand lifetimes in her voice; all of her happiness, misery, and regret unearthed beneath the light of the stars, and I wondered if I would ever live a life as fulfilling as her's.

"Indeed," the Goddess agreed mournfully.

Zoë gazed up at the night sky in wonder like it was the most stunning sight she had ever beheld, and it would seem death had that effect on people; even as your eyes were closing eternally, they opened wide to the beauty they never payed attention to, for death was the callous reminder of all that was taken for granted, all that was too overlooked. But something told me Zoë Nightshade hadn't taken it for granted at all.

"Zoë—" Percy said.

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady."

A single tear slid down Artemis' cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight."

I saw thousands of stars dance within her eyes, and I wondered just how many of them Zoë had seen in her lifetime. "Stars," she whispered again.

The ringing suddenly became white noise, and I lowered my head, stifling a sob. I walked over to Bianca and held her as she cried.

Artemis slid Zoë's eyes closed, and whispered a blessing of some kind. Suddenly, a wisp of silver exhaled from Zoë's mouth—her soul—and flew into Artemis' hand. She blew it like a wish from a birthday candle and it flew to the sky, vanishing.

The stars burned brighter now, and a newly formed constellation gleamed in the night sky. It looked like a figure of a girl coiling back her bow, and suddenly this childlike wonder overcame me as I stared at it.

"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis declared. "Live forever in the stars."

A/N:

Hey guys, I know it's been a while since I've updated, but my life has changed a lot lately, and I needed some time to adjust. To make it brief, it involves a divorce with my parents, my sweet sixteen, an AP exam, and accidentally throwing my cat's mouse toy into the hole above our stairs (don't ask why there's a hole). Now, I'm in a much better place and thank the Gods that stupid AP exam is over (not that it should have ever happened), and quite frankly, I would really appreciate it if I didn't get a pity party over this. I understand there are people out there who are suffering a whole lot more than I am, and really, there were a few silver linings for me. For example, my little brother started reading the Percy Jackson series :)

Moving on, I wrote an extra long chapter because I wanted to make it up for leaving you guys in the dark for an entire month. I will make this explicitly clear: if I plan on abandoning this story or putting it on hiatus, I will make it official with an author's notes. That being said, I am definitely not abandoning this story any time soon, and two or three chapters from now, the sequel will commence. Also, I absolutely love writing this story, and I feel grateful everyday to be able to share the weird storylines going through my head with you guys. Oh, and I realized I've been spelling Zoë's name wrong this entire time!

So, that's pretty much it. Please keep yourselves safe!