Percy POV:

"Ares," I snarled, as I tapped the tip of his sword up against the smooth side of Shade. "What the fuck do you want?"

The man who had stepped out was big with a crew cut, wearing a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white muscle shirt, and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but I knew what was behind those glasses - hollow sockets filled with flames.

The war god glanced at the rest of the quest members, each of which had pulled or drawn their respective armaments.

"At ease, people," He snapped his fingers, only to be surprised to still find my blade up against his. He snapped again and growled, but my knives refused to budge.

"This is a friendly meeting," Ares snarled, subtlely pushing the blade towards me even more, to which I pushed back, not yielding an inch. He glared at Atalanta, who shot an equally enraged glare back, before the god turned his attention on me.

"I dunno who you are punk, but it seems that She has an interest for you," Ares said. "And though I would love to take your stupid head as a trophy, I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."

"Like you could even touch me," I mocked. "I can beat yo ass any day of the week."

The god's eyes seem to burn brighter, his shades unable to hide the flaring orange light. "Cocky aren't yah? Unless, you're a god, you're nothing but a maggot to me."

"A maggot that can kick your ass blindfolded with one hand behind his back." I said. "A thick musclehead like you is no much for a speed demon like myself."

"Hmph," Ares grunted, backing down for once. "I would curse you for your insolence and disrespect, maybe kill you right here and now, but someone is here for you. So that's out of the option."

"Who?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well I heard you were back."

He finally lowered his sword and moved away. I still kept my blades up, not relaxing in front of the god of war for a moment.

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "You're not hanging out with very good company."

"What's your business, Ares?" Annabeth asked warily. "Who's in the car?"

Ares smiled, clearly enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chine toward Zoe and Bianca. "Why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take whoever this guy is a few minutes."

"We won't leave him alone alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoe said, her bow redrawn. I took note that she was willingly standing within touching distance of me, but shook my head to shake my stupid thoughts.

"Besides," Atalanta managed, Riptide back in her hands. "The taco place is closed."

Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, sea spawn?"

"Go on." I said. "Whatever this guy wants, I can take care of it."

"You heard the boy," Ares said. "He's big and strong. He's got things under control."

My friends reluctantly headed over to the taco restaurant. Ares suddenly bowed his head down before jerking back up again.

"Lieutenant," Ares said, making Zoe look back in surprise. "She wants to see you too."

The war god regarded Zoe and I with a look of loathing, then opened the limousine door like a chauffeur. "Get inside punks. And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."

"Tch," I muttered, before stepping inside.

Unlike my younger naive self, my jaw didn't hit the floor when I saw the woman. She was wearing a red satin dress and her hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. Her face was the one of the few legitimately gorgeous faces I've ever seen: perfect makeup, dazzling eyes, a smile that would've lit up the dark side of the moon. Didn't mean I was falling for her charms however. I had spent enough time around Aphrodite before that I was immune to her charms, plus the fact that I've been exposed to countless times of Piper's charmspeak.

"Lady Aphrodite," I nodded politely. I didn't exactly hate the goddess, even though she made my old love life pretty hellish.

"You recognize me," the goddess grinned. "Hold this, please."

I managed to hold back an eye roll as I held up a polished mirror the size of a dinner plate for the flawless goddess. I didn't know what was wrong with her sometimes, but then again, this was the goddess of love.

"Do you why you are here?" she asked.

I shook my head. "Don't have a clue. Now, if we're done here, we," I gestured to Zoe who was right beside me. "have a quest to finish."

"No, no." The goddess grinned playfully. "There are... a couple things you should know."

§§§§§

"What did she want with you?" Bianca asked as we trekked through the junkyard.

It took a few minutes of hasty chatting to get me and Zoe outta the limo, with our audience with the two gods ending by Ares directly teleporting our entire group straight into Hephaestus' junkyard. After everyone properly came to, I told them all that we were meeting with Aphrodite.

"Tried to flirt with me a couple times," I began. "Asked about my background and whatnot. She also said not to touch anything in the junkyard, cause it could belong to Hephaestus. Oh yah, and something about fixing Zoe's English?"

"So..." Thalia surmised. "Zoe, are you still saying thou and stuff?"

The huntress huffed. "I told you, I'm used to speaking like that."

"..."

"You said you!" Thalia cheered. "Now I can properly listen to you without wasting a second to translate everything!"

Everyone burst into laughter, making Zoe huff indignantly again.

"Somehow I managed to drive her off," I shuddered. "Ugh, of all the gods, why'd it have to be them?"

"Why do you seem to hate them so much?" Bianca asked. "You were practically spitting at the sight of Ares stepping out of the car."

"Well, back in my world, Ares was just as much of a dick as he is here." I said. "I mean, his kids and I got along pretty okay in the future, but boy, he's just such an arrogant moron. And Aphrodite? Well, she essentially cursed me to have a Shakespeare worthy love drama with Annabeth, and a couple other girls, and well, that didn't do to well with my heart."

Bianca winced. "Makes me glad that I joined the Hunters so I don't have to deal with that drama."

Zoe grinned. "See, a boy free tomorrow is amazing."

I chuckled. "Yah, but then you never get to experience the joys of love and passion."

"Shut up, Percy!" Everyone else shouted back, making me cower.

"Alright alright, I'll keep it PG," I muttered. "Please don't hurt me."

"Which way do we go?" Annabeth asked. "The mounds of metal make it really hard to tell where we came from."

"That way," Zoe said. "That is west."

"How can you tell?" Atalanta asked.

"Ursa Major is in the North," I interrupted Zoe cheekily, not missing her adorable glare. "which means that is west."

I pointed west, then at the general direction of the northern constellation.

"Oh yeah," Atalanta rolled her eyes. "The bear thing."

Zoe looked offended, her hand raised as if she were deciding whether to smack me or Atalanta first. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real." Atalanta said.

"I mean, she is like really old," I shrugged. "Who knows what kind of messed up things she's seen."

"PERSEUS!"

"I'M SORRY, HEY WHY AREN'T YOU CHASING ATTI?!"

Thalia sighed. "Those two are chasing each other so much, I can feel the literal feelings they have oozing out. Can't they just call it a day and date?"

Atalanta groaned. "They can't, cause Zoe is a pledged maiden for life."

"Well," Annabeth blushed as she said this. "She can still be a maiden for life even if they date. They don't have to go that far."

"..."

Bianca swallowed, her face tinged pink. Thalia and Atalanta were a bit slow on the uptake, but realized what Annabeth was instigating.

"That... wow, that's deep." Thalia murmured.

"That's what she said," Atalanta joked, earning a slap on the head. "Ow, yeesh Thalia, that hurt!"

The four girls watched the lieutenant chase me around, all of them blushing to a certain degree for various reasons.

"How about... let's just go." Annabeth suggested, turning away from the awkward line they stood in. "Those two can catch up later."

"Agreed." Thalia said.

When Zoe finally got the beating she wanted, we found ourselves along in the trash piles. After a few nods in embarrassment, we caught up with the group, passing huge stacks of metal objects including but not limited to broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca was saying as we caught up. "That stuff... some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "But like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods. Any cursed item or broken tool is thrown here for a reason."

"Junk?" Atalanta's eyes were wide as she examined a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, but no less well decorated. "You call this junk?"

My eyes narrowed. "Atti, seriously. Don't even think about it."

"Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow?"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Atalanta's sword."

I facepalmed. "Way to ignore me Bi. You're the best."

Bianca blushed and dropped the bow. "So-sorry."

Zoe looked ready to chew her out, but one hand from me on her shoulder seemed to calm the huntress down.

"I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.

"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" Atalanta asked.

I couldn't help but chuckle. "Wow, you even joked the same as I did."

"Can't really help it bro," Atalanta deadpanned. "Technically, we have the same mind."

Thalia gave me a hard look. "Do we get attacked?"

"Well..." I began, catching everyone's death look. "Okay fine, we do."

"When?"

"Why not we just focus on getting across the yard?" I suggested, sweat starting to collect at the back of my neck. "If we could avoid the fight all together, that would be best."

"Why, do we lose or something?" Annabeth asked, her own knife out.

"We win," I said. "But at a cost. In case you haven't noticed, we're in a land without rain."

Every quest member stood stock still as the words of the prophecy crashed through their heads, and some even paled upon realizing that we indeed were standing inside a desert.

"Oh." Zoe stumbled.

I sighed. "Shouldn't have said that. Either way, none of you are going to die. I won't allow it."

"You have the power to fight fate?" Annabeth argued. "That's insane even for someone like you."

"I already swore on the Styx to save someone's life on this quest," I shot back, my eyes calm yet blazing green light, despite the night. "I have no problems fighting to the death for one of you, even if my opponent is fate itself."

"..."

"Anyways," I said, clearing my throat. "Now's not the time to mope about who's going to die. Because none of you will."

"You're willing to sacrifice yourself for us?" Atalanta asked.

I whirled around and didn't respond. "Hurry. We're getting close."

They reluctantly followed, Zoe tailing my footsteps closer than usual. "You're not serious are you?"

I grinned softly and turned to her. "Of course I am. My fatal flaw demands it. Plus, you have a quest to finish here. I'm expendable. You're not."

Zoe put her head down, her arms crossed as she kept pace with me. "Why must you do this?"

"It's for the benefit of the group," I said flatly. "I can't bear to see the ones I love most die or suffer again."

Zoe seemed to be choking back sobs, but I couldn't tell.

Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road...

"What is that?" Bianca gasped, her face pale.

Ahead of us was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. It was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.

"They look like–" Bianca frowned.

"Toes," Annabeth concluded, gazing at the structure with deep scrutiny. "You can't be serious..."

"Let's go around..." Thalia muttered. "Far around."

"But the road is right over there," Atalanta protested. "Quicker to climb over."

Ping.

Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe drew her bow, but then I realized it was only Atalanta, who had the gall to kick a toe experimentally.

"Atti," I managed in fake sweetness. "You have a death wish sis?"

"Don't do it again," Zoe said, her voice nervous.

"Come on," Thalia looked at me. "Around."

Nobody argued. The toes were starting to freak me out, mostly because I knew what they belonged to. And at any moment now, this thing was going to wake up and beat the shit out of us until we took it down.

After several minutes of walking, we finally stepped onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.

"We made it out," Zoe sighed in relief. "Thank the gods."

But apparently the gods didn't want to be thanked. No sooner had Zoe finished talking, a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal exploded behind us.

"Fucking hell..." I growled, activating my outer layer of cyber armor, my helmet already scanning for weakpoints. Shade and Blaze flashed into my hands, blazing with Greek fire at the tips. "This guy just had to wake up at this very moment."

The scrap mountain rose up and blotted out the sun, an impossible skyscraper of bronze and copper in full Greek battle armor complete with all its limbs, unlike the rest of its broken comrades in the junkyard. The giant gleamed wickedly in the moonlight, despite being deformed partially down his left side. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.

"Talos!" Zoe gasped, her bow drawn fully.

"Who's–who's Talos?" Atalanta managed to ask.

"One of Hephaestus' creations," Thalia said. "But that can't be the original. It's too small. A prototype, maybe. A defective model."

The metal giant didn't like the word defective.

He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon, a massive rusty and dull blade that screeched a remix of dying bird caws and fingernails against a chalkboard sounds that made my ears wanna crawl inside my head and weep. The blade was a hundred feet long, easy. It didn't need to be sharp to kill. One hit to any of my friends, and they were toast.

"Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?"

I grunted. "Now's not the time to care!" I took the first move, dashing into a pile of trash before leaping off and landing on another taller pile. "Yo, big and ugly! Hit me!"

"You idiot!" Thalia yelled, but joined the battle nevertheless. She launched herself at the giant's legs, taking great care in not getting crushed. Atalanta and Annabeth had to duck behind cover after the giant stepped forward. Zoe and Bianca shot at the giant's eyes, trying to rid our opponent at least of his eyesight.

The giant swung his massive titanic blade my direction, the slash slow enough for me to roll my eyes. I pushed off the pile I was balanced on and landed on the blade in midair, activating my suit's magnetic shoes. At the height of the swing, I ran down the arm and leapt at the giant's face, my knives flashing with the blazing neon green light of Greek fire. The giant was slow to react as I left two long yet shallow burning cuts across the giant's face. He roared and swatted at me, but by then I was safely hidden behind another pile.

The giant stomped around, scaring Atalanta and Annabeth straight out of their hiding places. I cursed. Of all places, we had to fight in a desert, where water was limited. I couldn't even pull much from the air without exhausting myself, not with all this dry air surrounding me. Okay, new plan.

"Hey Thalia!" I yelled, jumping out from my hiding place and flying up towards the giant. "Can you control lightning intensity?"

Thalia dodged a swipe from the giant and slashed back, managing to graze one of the giant's fingers. "Yah, sure. Why!"

"I'm gonna need your help with this plan," I said. "You'll know when to do it!"

I focused on the little amount of water in the air and concentrated, pulling any bit of water I could from the surrounding environment. The technique I was gonna use would probably make me fall asleep with the effort required, but I had to make sure Bianca didn't die again. Not this time.

Zoe and the others watched in amazement as water molecules from nowhere came together on my hands, forming two massive eighteen wheeler truck head sized gauntlets, outfitted with spikes and ridges that would make a punch in the face enough to knock one's skull clean off their shoulders.

"I'm jealous," Atalanta murmured. "He can do that with water?!"

"Holy crud." Annabeth agreed.

I clenched my new fists, my green eyes now shining with blue sparks. "Alright," I chuckled darkly, despite my growing exhaustion. "Let's give this motherfucker everything we got!" I flew straight at the giant and threw a straight, knocking his head sideways with the powerful blow, making him stumble back and forget Thalia, who huffed and looked up.

"What in the name of Zeus is going on?!"

The giant's face was expressionless, but I could tell that he was on the fringes of annoyance, possibly even more so. He stepped forward and sliced a wide arc, with which I ducked under and delivered a mean right handed uppercut, before comboing into another straight with my left fist and ending with a devastating right hook. While the giant stumbled back to regain his balance, I used my giant gauntlets to grab two telephone poles wrapped thickly with metal wires. My face was sweating with the amount of power I was exerting, given the lack of water to help support me, but I had to pull through.

"Yo Pinecone Face!" I yelled, startling the daughter of Zeus. "You ready?"

"Whatever you're doing, I hope it works!" Thalia yelled, her spear sparking with an oncoming bolt.

"Hit these!" I yelled, putting the two makeshift lightning poles into the air.

Thalia aimed her spear up at the sky as a crackling white beam shot down, an angry bolt shooting down from heaven itself. It ricocheted off the tip and into my two weapons, charging the poles with dangerous killer lightning. Talos had only just got his balance back when I suddenly appeared in front of him, my new swords in hand.

"Hey buddy," I sneered. "Time to play!" I whacked the giant point blank in the face with one lightning pole, shooting thousands of volts of power through his body, blue and white flashes sparking all over the orange metal, lighting up the night. The other one came right after, slapping him with another dose, before I dropped both and began whaling at the giant, punching his stupid deformed face like a gatling gun, my punches seemingly multiplying as I used all my power to put him down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I yelled, so powerful that I lost all my color anime style. I couldn't even see Talos anymore, his ugly face covered by my endless stream of punches, his legs backing up as I forced him backwards.

"Shiiiiiiit..." Atalanta stared in shock. "He's that fucking strong?!"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I put my last bit of energy into one full straight, the blow so powerful that I stayed in midair for a while. Talos' face was more deformed than a stonefish, yet his single purple eye told me that I hadn't been able to shut him down all the way. He fell on his back, a shockwave that flung me into a trash pile next to my friends at a hundred miles per hour. I smashed headfirst into a pile of wrecked armors, my head spinning from the amount of power I used.

"Percy!" Zoe was the first next to me, digging me out. Atalanta and the others joined soon after.

"Fuck." I muttered. "Used too much... power."

"You idiot," Atalanta muttered. "We're in a desert."

"Ah... you noticed?" I joked weakly, taking a chunk of ambrosia from Zoe. "Had to... do something to weaken him."

"He's not dead?!" Thalia asked, almost perfect timing as the sound of metal grinding metal started up again. "Are you kidding me?! You went all god mode on him, and he's still coming up?"

I nodded. "I saw his gaze as he fell. Like he was taunting me."

"Well, you're too weak to fight in this state," Zoe said with concern. "We'll protect you this time."

I swallowed another chunk of ambrosia before I stood. "Hell no. Now that I've weakened it, he'll be easier to take down. I'll be okay."

The others stared at me worriedly. To be fair, they were right to be worried. My mind was scrambled, and exhausted, cause thanks to Ares' visit, I didn't get sleep this night. Plus, after exerting that much power on an effort that wasn't well-planned at all, I knew I was on the brink of blacking out. My suit would protect me from the outside, but my insides were still one of a normal demigod, and I could still tire.

The giant stood, a massive tower of metal that made no sounds except for the sounds his sword made through the air. He raised his foot to stomp, making us scramble for cover again. I ended up with Zoe and Bianca, dashing to the left with the Hunters to avoid the massive foot.

"It's all my fault," Bianca said miserably. "If I hadn't picked up that statue–"

I interrupted her. "It may not have been just that. Atalanta and Annabeth were touching tons of stuff. Plus, I suspect this guy would react naturally if anyone came through the junkyard like that."

"Still," Bianca said. "I feel like this is my fault."

When the giant raised his foot to stomp again, we were able to see a massive hole shape on the bottom. Red words were printed around it, something we managed to decipher as FOR MAINTENANCE ONLY.

"Crazy idea time," I said, almost nostalgically.

Bianca looked at me nervously. "Anything."

"You saw that maintenance hatch?" I asked, nodding back when she nodded. "There's gotta be a control system in there or something. I feel like controlling it from the inside is a sure fire way to take it down."

"How? You'll have to stand under its foot! You'll get crushed!" Zoe said worriedly.

"Distract it." I said. "I'll just have to time it right."

Bianca's jaw tightened. "No. I'll go."

"Out of the question," I said. "You're new at this. You'll die."

"It's my fault the monster came after us." Bianca said firmly, intensity burning in her eyes. "It's my responsibility. Here," She placed the little god statue in my hand, pressing it against my palm. "If anything happens, tell Nico. Tell him... I'm sorry."

She whirled around and rushed the monster, only to take two steps before I yanked her back.

"Hell no." I said seriously. "Tell him yourself." I delivered a quick jab to the back of her neck, then a swift blow to her head. Nothing dangerous, but with enough force to knock her out.

"Percy what–!"

I whirled around and grabbed Zoe by the head before bringing her into a quick kiss on the lips. At the same time, I placed the statue and Shade and Blaze in her hands.

"Beta-activate," I said. "Add Zoe Nightshade, daughter of Atlas, to the archives."

"Voice recognized," an automated voice spoke. "Please provide a drop of blood."

Zoe didn't even flinch as I cut her finger, dripping the blood into the handles of my knives. I healed the cut instantly and grinned.

"Excellent, now you are coded to these." I smiled softly.

"Percy..."

"Not now, princess," I grimaced, taking Blaze and spinning it in my right hand. "If things go wrong, Blaze, this knife I'm taking, will appear in front of you. It's connected to my lifeblood after all."

I dashed away, my face passive as I flew beneath the next stomp, easily piercing through to access the giant's insides. I briefly wondered how the hell Bianca died in here before I reached the head, surprised to actually find the control system. The moment I touched the controls though, alarms went off.

"Fuck..."

"Intruder Identified," an automated voice spoke clearly. "Activating Beta-Defense."

No sooner had it finished, electricity shot through the whole system, piercing through my cyber suit with ease and throwing me into an impossible world of pain. I briefly remembered how the dragon Beckendorf had tamed had done the same thing until the ants were vaporized, and cursed. I yelled in pain, my body convulsing in horrible angles I didn't even know were possible.

"ARRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!" I winced, my eyesight blurry. I had to destroy this thing. I drew Riptide and sliced the console in half, exposing the maze of wiring inside. "Here goes nothing," I muttered, collecting water together into a small fist before smashing my hand into the wires. Instantly I howled, purple electricity shooting up my arm and into my body. I was in so much pain I didn't realize that the giant was alight in electricity as well, so much power inside that the metal was melting. At some point, my suit began leaking Greek fire, and well, that wasn't good.

My limbs weak, my brain absolutely fried, I slumped against the destroyed control room walls. I think at the point Talos tipped forward, cause gravity made me smash helplessly into the wall the console was on.

"Self-Destruction in 20 seconds." the automated voice coughed out, before fizzing out into static.

"Fucking hell..." I choked. My suit was protecting me from the worst physical damage, but it wasn't gonna be able to hold against a massive Greek fire powered and induced explosion.

"10"

"Ugh...ech...ech..."

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

The roar of fire shooting through the metal body seemed to wake me up just enough for me to brace myself. I had nowhere enough water to vapor travel out of there, and instead used my last bit of energy to smelt metal sheets onto me. My gaze pitched and turned, as bad as if I was drunk.

"Haha," I managed one final laugh. "Beat yah, ya stupid prophecy."

Green and orange light exploded in front me, the sound of the explosion so massive I thought my eardrums shattered. I couldn't really tell though, feeling pain everywhere, my legs, my arms, my head, and my body. I felt the whisk of air flying past me, suggesting that I probably went flying. I was in no shape to control where I was going though, and finally, perhaps mercifully blacked out as I was shot through the air.

§§§§§

The body of Talos exploded in a cloud of green and orange firelight, melted chunks of metal flying every which way as the giant was torn apart from the inside. Atalanta and Annabeth watched in relief, not knowing what had been done. Thalia huffed, her back aching after behind backhanded into a pile by the giant. Bianca lay unconscious on the ground while Zoe wept, one hand closed around the statue, for which she placed back inside Bianca's pocket. Her other hand held Shade, one of Percy's Tiber knives that now was magically connected to her as well. Her now free hand lifted up to her face as she sobbed quietly, her body frozen at what had just happened.

"We did it!" Atalanta cheered, rushing out of her hiding spot. She spotted Bianca on the ground and rushed towards the girl. "Hey, you alright?"

Annabeth rushed to help Thalia up, and together, the two joined Atalanta with Zoe and Bianca.

"Nice," Atalanta grinned, before faltering. "Hang on, where's Percy?"

It was then she noticed Zoe's muffled sounds. "He... he didn't, did he?"

Thalia stared at the ripped apart bits of the robot. "I mean, given the amount of damage that thing took, I'd say Percy really gave it his all."

Zoe was still, the Tiber blade in her hand no longer draining her power as it was connected to her now. She raised her head and stared at the wreckage, hoping for some sort of message that Percy was okay. The blade remained still in her hand, however, and its pair didn't come flying either.

"Um... what's wrong with Bianca?" Atalanta poked the girl. "She alright?"

"Per-Perseus knocked her out," Zoe murmured. "Then he... went inside to take care of the monster from the inside."

"Oh." Atalanta said. "Damn bro."

Annabeth looked just as stricken as the others but she remained serious with the task. "We're dishonoring Percy's sacrifice by standing here, moping around. Those skeletons are still after us. We only killed four in Cloudcroft, but Percy and I saw 20 of them. Without Percy's knives, we're pretty much toast."

"Agreed." Thalia said. "Besides, the prophecy couldn't have been any clearer. One will be lost in the land without rain. This junkyard fits that description."

The group sullenly picked themselves up, Zoe tucking the Tiber blade into her belt alongside her other hunting knives while Atalanta moved to pick Bianca up. Thalia and Annabeth had found a decrepit tow truck that was rusty and old, but the engine worked and the fuel tank was full. Thalia took the wheel this time, with Annabeth sitting in the shotgun and the 3 other girls occupying the back.

Thalia navigated through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like an insult after losing Percy.

Atalanta stared at Zoe, whose left hand was tapping her lips lightly. Her gaze trailed down to be surprised by the familiar looking blade on the huntress' belt, belong to the person who was no longer with them.

"Hey Zoe," Atalanta began, startling the huntress who was so lost in her thoughts. "How did you get that knife?"

"Perseus gave it to me," Zoe swallowed. "He-he logged my... DNA into the knives."

"Do they tell you if he's still alive?" Atalanta asked hopefully.

Zoe stared back out into the horizon. "Yes."

A/N:

That was the first major scene change for you guys. What do you think? Did you enjoy reading the battle? What would you like to see in the future? Well, Percy is pretty much cooked. We'll see if he made it out alive or not next chapter. Maybe he died? Who knows?

For those of you who were interested in how I made Percy lose with as powerful he is, these are the reasons why:

- Like he said, they were fighting in a desert. Water composition on the ground and in the air were minimal, no where like the snowstorm in Maine that Percy could use with ease. Actually, the original plan was fore Percy to create a massive water mech like a Gundam warrior, but once again, there just wasn't enough water around to do so. He's not a logia either, so water doesn't just come from his body.

- He was mentally exhausted. I think we forget this a lot, because of how powerful demigods are on the outside, but on the inside, Percy is still partially human, making him susceptible to natural exhaustion.

- Tiber metal blades work best against creatures with souls. I know that the original Talos myth has the robot described to have a human soul, but in the Titan's Curse, RR specifically writes in Thalia's words that the robot in the junkyard is smaller than the original, and probably a prototype, which makes me believe that this one in the junkyard was fully mechanical, thus having no actual soul. So even though Percy was able to slice the bronze shell with ease, it wasn't doing any real damage as the robot couldn't feel pain anyways.

- The bronze dragon reference came from "The Demigod Files" book, in which when Beckendorf and Percy stumble upon the bronze dragon later tamed by Leo Valdez, in an attempt to save the dragon from these freaky ants, Beckendorf makes an order called "Emergency Defense, Beta Activate" or something like that, which makes electricity shoot through the dragon's body, effectively frying anything on the surface. I thought that since both are creations of Hephaestus, it wouldn't be too far off that a Talos prototype would have the same mechanism as well.

I hope this will clear up some misunderstandings or confusion made during the fight scene.

Hope y'all are doing great!

Peace out, you legends.

- Zayden Shade