Percy was by the lake at Camp Half-Blood, staring at his reflection in the calm waters. Something in his face shifted. He frowned and slowly leaned over to see what had caused the disturbance in the water. Suddenly, a shriveled-up, burnt arm grabbed his shirt and pulled him under. It was too quick of an action for him to let out a yell.
He was plunged into darkness, and for a few moments, all he could hear was the water bubbling in his ears as he was pulled deeper and deeper into the water. He was aware that the water seemed to go deeper than the water in a lake should go, but he could do nothing to stop it. He had no control over his movements. He did not feel the comfort he usually felt when he was in his birth father's domain.
He felt fear grip his heart.
Then, he heard a snap of fingers, and it was deathly silent.
A few seconds passed. He held his breath.
Lightning flashed in the darkness of the deep, thunder booming soon after it. A deep voice growled, "you cannot stop what is coming." The voice sent his mounting panic through the roof, and he found that he could move his arms and legs. He looked up and saw the sunshine through the surface of the water, a sight he had not been able to see a few moments prior. He waved his arms and legs about, trying to swim upwards, but to no avail. He was scared.
He could not breathe.
A laugh sounded out, menacing and loud, and suddenly everything was bright. He blinked once, twice, and the sight that greeted him sent shivers down his spine.
Luke Castellan stood in the center of the throne room of Olympus. The thrones were either crumbling or on fire, and the floor was cracked. The son of Hermes stood proudly with his foot planted firmly on the back of his father, his eyes glowing gold. He sent Percy a grin.
Beside Hermes was Apollo, who was unconscious and bleeding from his head. Artemis was nearby her twin brother, gasping for air as she slowly crawled over to the two.
Percy snapped his head left, and Zoe and Phoebe were there, bound in chains. Thalia was closer to him, but still out of his reach. She was sobbing, cradling her arm as she stared at Luke in fear.
He tried to reach out and move to help his friends, but he could not. They planted him in his place, and he found that the more he tried, the more it physically pained him.
"Remember, Perseus Jackson," Luke's mouth moved, but the voice was not his own, "that you cannot save everyone."
With that, a scythe suddenly formed in Luke's hand. He held it with a single hand, which should have been impossible given its large size. He raised it high above his head and swung.
Percy awoke with a gasp, startling the girl whose head was resting on his shoulder. Unfocused electric blue eyes stared up at him curiously.
"Percy? Are you okay?" Thalia mumbled, having been awoken by his sudden start. Her voice was soft, but he could hear the concern in her tone. He also felt her hand wrap around his arm. To his surprise, the gesture helped his heart calm itself.
The son of Poseidon gulped quietly, tearing his gaze away from her eyes to look around him.
Zoe was in the driver's seat, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly as she drove. Percy caught her eye in the rearview mirror for a moment, and the huntress nodded to him quietly, but her focus returned to the road almost immediately. Naomi was in the passenger seat, her head facing the window as they drove. He could not tell if the nymph was awake. To his left was Phoebe, who he knew for sure was asleep; her eyes were closed as she took in slow breaths, her head leaning on the window. He let out a shaky breath.
He turned back to Thalia, who was still looking at him quietly. She looked less coherent, and he saw her head already start to fall back onto his shoulder.
Percy sent her a small smile as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze with his own, "yeah, Thals. I'm okay."
He was not sure if the girl heard his response, with her head already settled back into its previous position, but she seemed content with knowing he had not run off on his own again. He remembered that was precisely the reason he was sitting in between Phoebe and Thalia instead of up in front with Zoe.
"So it'll be easier for us to stop you from being a dumbass," Phoebe had said with a no-nonsense tone after they had taken another car from a mortal using the mist. Oddly, to Percy's mild confusion, Thalia was the quickest to be seated inside the car after him, and she had sat next to him.
The ride started out quiet, largely in part because of Zoe's demeanor; she seemed defeated or resigned, and Percy was not completely sure why. He could not tell if the other hunters knew any better than he did, but they too were silent as they got into the car. Thalia was too tired to notice the strange atmosphere, he assumed, as she had fallen asleep almost immediately after they set out for what Zoe had called her home.
He slowly leaned his head back as he looked ahead. He took a few more breaths to steady himself, but he could not forget the things he saw and heard in his dream.
Percy felt as if they had dodged the true meaning of one of the lines in the prophecy when they were in the junkyard of the gods; in his head, he did not think it was fated for him to be the one to destroy the prototype. Hades pulling him out of the failing structure simply aligned with the prophecy, which saved them from having to lose one of the quest members for good. He considered them lucky for the god's intervention, but his dream only reminded him of and reaffirmed his greatest fear: that despite his best efforts, he would eventually fail, in some way, to measure up.
He knew that he had a responsibility to the people around him, and especially to the people that he held close to his heart. Despite wanting to be humble, Percy knew that a demigod with his skill set and talent was not ordinary. He knew he was gifted with the means to protect and fight for Olympus, and he was eternally grateful for the chance to repay his patrons for their support and kindness, but he feared the day would come when he was unable to do what was expected of him. What if he could not do what he was born to do? What if he was fated to fail when it mattered the most?
Percy glanced down at the slumbering Thalia. He scanned her peaceful expression quietly, his own breathing slowing in an effort not to wake her. He wondered if she was dreaming a good dream. He rubbed his thumb on her hand a few times and resolved to push aside his thoughts until the quest was over. It would not do well for him to be distracted, not when they were so close to the end of the quest. They needed to save Artemis, and he needed to be at his full strength.
He needed to focus on making sure all of his friends got home.
Eventually, Zoe's driving had brought them far from the smooth roads of the city and onto rougher, narrower pathways lined by tall forest trees. Percy's eyes were closed in contemplation for most of the ride, but an occasional glance outside treated him to views of more landscape than city. They were nearing a mountain, and he assumed it was their destination with how often Zoe would glance at it.
Percy began to smell something strange a few moments later. Zoe's eyes met his in the rearview mirror, her eyebrow raised in question. Percy sheepishly realized he had been sniffing the air loudly.
"I smell something weird," the demigod explained to the huntress quietly. Zoe smiled softly in response.
"It is eucalyptus," Zoe explained, gesturing to their surroundings with a tilt of her head. "In the trees. Monsters chew on its leaves."
Percy nodded slowly, remembering reading something similar in one of the books Hermes had given him before. "Right. Dragons especially?"
Zoe hummed in response. "I imagine if I had dragon breath, I would like to chew on it too."
The two shared chuckles, with Percy slowly settling in deeper into his seat to relax.
Soon, the mountain that seemed a lot smaller a few minutes earlier looked huge. Zoe spoke just as Percy was about to bring it up, "we are nearing the mountain."
Phoebe and Naomi both slowly sat up, with the former letting out a deep breath and the latter stretching in her seat. Percy gently shook Thalia awake.
Time passed by quickly, and the trees that Percy had gotten so accustomed to disappeared. Now, all he could see were grass and rocks. They drove over wide cliffs through surprisingly thick fog, their eyes peeled for any surprises.
"So, does this mountain have a name?" Percy asked, finding that the middle seat at the back was not advantageous for scouting. "I need to know what to call it when I tell this story to my grandchildren someday."
"To the mortals, it is Mount Tamalpais. To us, it is the Mountain of Despair," Zoe answered, oddly hesitating before revealing its other name.
Thalia looked back from the window and glanced at Percy, her expression confused. He shrugged back, "I don't remember this one."
"Why is it called that?" Thalia asked Zoe, whose face shifted. A few moments of silence passed before the lieutenant spoke again.
"After the war between the Titans and the gods, the gods saw fit to punish their enemies for their actions. Kronos was sliced into pieces and thrown into the depths of Tartarus. As for his right-hand man, the general of his forces," Zoe paused, her eyes rising to look at the summit of the mountain. "He was imprisoned there. His 'prison' lies just past the Garden of the Hesperides."
The tone Zoe had spoken with had made the two campers glance at each other. The huntress spoke of the topic with such familiarity. When Percy went to ask Phoebe about it, the latter was looking out the window, and he was positive that she was using her task to avoid his questions.
As he tried to catch the hunter's attention, he noticed that he could see the ocean from where they drove. He found a small sense of peace fill him at the sight of such a large body of water, and he smiled softly as he watched a wave roll by. The moment of calm passed quickly, however, as his gaze followed another wave that brought him to see something white near the beach. His eyes widened.
"Hey guys?" Percy spoke up. "Did Elaine ever mention what kind of ship Luke owned?"
Silence greeted him, but a glance towards the other members of the quest showed that he had caught their attention. Phoebe had also glanced back at him for a second, though her attention quickly returned to her window to look for the boat he spoke of.
"Was it, by any chance, a cruise ship?" Percy continued, a tinge of worry in his voice.
Thalia grimaced, cursing under her breath as she leaned forward to follow Percy's line of sight. Naomi exchanged a look with Zoe, who was busy driving.
"That's a cruise ship, alright," Phoebe confirmed quietly. Her hand was on the door of the car, and Percy noticed she was gripping it tightly.
"Kronos' army is here," Thalia said in a grave tone. "That's Luke's ship."
The rest of the drive was filled with silence, the nervous energy in the car too much for Percy to even attempt to break down with a joke or story. Even after the beach and the boat were gone from their view, the anxiety in the air did not dissipate.
Soon, Zoe pulled their car to a stop and unfastened her seatbelt without a word. The other two hunters followed suit, with Percy and Thalia following after. They all joined Zoe outside of the car as she stared at the mountain that towered above a thick wall of Mist.
"When we get there," Zoe spoke up softly, pulling their attentions from the summit, "allow me to do the talking."
The huntress ignored the questioning looks she received and slowly trudged forward with a serious expression on her face. Percy breathed out slowly as his friends went to follow, though Thalia hesitated for a moment, and decided to take up the rear.
He watched as Zoe walked into the fog, followed by Thalia, Phoebe, and Naomi, and shoved his hand into his pocked to thumb his sword in its smaller form. He braced himself as he too entered the fog.
When the fog cleared, Percy blinked a few times to process the different mountainside his eyes were seeing. The path had become dirt, and the grass that he saw looked to be thick and lush. The garden was huge, with flowers of all types and colors growing around him. The sunset made the sky look almost red where it met the sea, and when Percy looked up, it felt as if the summit was a lot closer than it had seemed before. Storm clouds swirled over it, as if they were telling him where he needed to be. His eyes lowered to see that a single path would lead them there.
He realized that he had seen this all before. His dream of Zoe and that man took place here, in the garden he stood in. It was no wonder the girl looked uncomfortable, if her constant alertness through her wild glances was anything to go by.
In between a path of black marble steps stood a towering apple tree with golden apples hanging from every bough. Just being in proximity to them made Percy want to bite into one, their fragrance tempting him and telling him that their taste was unparalleled in the mortal world. He would have done exactly that if not for two things.
"The apples of immortality," Thalia muttered quietly. A quick glance back at her allowed Percy to gaze at her unreadable expression for a moment.
The other reason he did not grab an apple from the tree was the presence of a huge, copper-colored dragon with more heads than Percy could count. It was asleep, coiled tightly and protectively around the tree, effectively cutting off any attempt at simply plucking an apple quickly.
Percy's head snapped to the left when he saw a shimmer out of the corner of his eye. To his surprise, Zoe was already looking in the same direction. Her bow was strangely still strapped to her back, and when Phoebe and Naomi went to retrieve theirs, the lieutenant stopped them.
Four figures began to appear in the shimmer. Percy did not have to strain his eyes to see the figures more clearly for long, as in a matter of seconds, they were standing in front of the quest. Four women with bronze skin and silky black hair stared at the group coldly, their Greek chitons being the only real difference he could see between them and Zoe.
"You have come to meet your doom," one of the women said, her eyes sweeping over the entire group.
"Sisters," Zoe greeted them, her tone strained.
"You are not our sister," another hissed. "Our sister died the moment she left our home."
"That's a little rude," Percy cut in. He felt his anger rise in his chest at the way the women spoke to his friend. "That is definitely no way to speak to family."
To his surprise, the four women did not retort with anything immediately. They sized him up, looking him up and down, before one spoke. "Perseus Jackson. You are the threat they spoke of."
Percy raised his eyebrow in response, "me? A threat? To who?"
One of the Hesperids looked up to the summit, "they on the mountaintop fear what you can do. They wished for the daughter of Zeus to kill you, and make it easier."
All eyes turned to Thalia, who snorted as she glared. "It can be tempting at times, but he's my friend. I would never kill him. You on the other hand..."
"Leave," cut in a Hesperid abruptly, her expression stormy. "There is no need for you to go on. As we said, there is only death where you wish to go."
"We won't leave without Lady Artemis," growled Phoebe. Naomi and Zoe nodded beside her.
"You will all die," came the response. There was a tinge of pleading in the Hesperid's tone. "Go now while you still can."
Zoe exhaled out her nose, "no. Let us through."
One of the four stepped forward and snorted, "we will wake Ladon. Do not test us Zoe!"
Zoe raised her head slightly, an action Percy had seen before; she was steeling herself for things to come. He gripped his phone in anticipation.
"Ladon will not hurt me," the lieutenant of the hunt asserted confidently.
The four sisters exchanged incredulous glances before one spoke, "can the same be said of your friends?"
Zoe let out a breath. A beat. "We will just have to see."
She snapped her gaze to Percy's for a second, then screamed, "Ladon! Wake!"
Percy's breath caught in his chest, his entire body freezing in shock. A moment later, he grit his teeth and let his instincts kick in. He grabbed Thalia by the arm and started to back away. He caught Phoebe's gaze and gestured for her to do the same with Naomi, who was staring at the waking dragon.
One of the four sisters screamed, "are you mad?!" Their gazes were locked onto the protector of the tree.
"Courage, sisters," Zoe yelled back defiantly. "Something you have always lacked."
The sisters disappeared shortly after, their white outfits disappearing in the brush as they ran. Zoe stepped towards Ladon slowly, her chest noticeably rising up and down with her breaths in an effort to calm herself.
"Zoe! You'll die!" Thalia yelled as she tried to resist Percy's pulling.
"He will not leave the tree," Zoe replied, her eyes still fixated on the dragon. "Stay out of his sight and he should focus on me. Go find Lady Artemis."
"Should?" Percy yelled back. "We can't risk everything on 'should'!"
"There has to be another way!" Phoebe yelled as well after she had managed to place the terrified Naomi behind her.
Zoe ignored their yelling in favor of addressing the multi-headed dragon that had risen. "Ladon, do you remember me? It is me, Zoe."
The dragon's heads all reacted differently. A few stopped hissing, and a few leaned in closer to inspect her. Its feet shuffled. Percy's eyebrows rose in surprise at how well the 'plan' was working. He locked eyes with Phoebe again and nodded, beginning to drag Thalia away to the right of the dragon. Phoebe would have done the same if not for Naomi being rooted to the spot.
"I used to feed you by hand," Zoe continued. She took another step closer. "Do you remember?"
Percy looked back and forth up the path and realized they had made it halfway. Thalia still looked as though she wanted to go back for Zoe, but Percy's grip on her arm kept her from running back.
Suddenly, the two children of the Big Three locked eyes. Something felt wrong.
They looked back at the large tree just as one of Ladon's heads was poised to strike Zoe.
"No!" Phoebe roared, charging forward just in time to knock Zoe out of the way. The lieutenant fell forward into a roll, narrowly dodging more heads and sprinting towards Percy and Thalia. Naomi sprung into action, her fear seemingly having been pushed away further into the nymph's mind. She slammed her hands into the ground, roots sprouting up a moment later around the dragon, preventing it from reaching the retreating Phoebe.
One of the roots broke apart just as it came to, and a dragon head managed to snap at Zoe's side. She let out a cry of pain, but she kept running. Thalia sprinted towards Zoe and stopped, her shield Aegis springing to life on her arm. She held it up to Ladon as Zoe sprinted past her, giving the lieutenant more time to escape.
"Go! Save Lady Artemis! We'll try to follow, but don't wait up!" Phoebe yelled as she and Naomi backed out of the dragon's reach. Luckily for them, the dragon seemed content with simply standing guard, and did not give chase. By then, Thalia had already made her way back to Percy and Zoe. The three locked eyes with the two worried hunters and nodded.
The three spun and quickly made their way up the mountain, while Phoebe and Naomi resolved to watch their stolen car and wait for an opportunity to climb the mountain themselves.
Soon, the three were close. Black granite and marble blocks were scattered around what looked like ruins. There were statues made of bronze that were in bad condition.
"Were these always just here?" Thalia asked out loud, her spear and shield now out in their true forms.
"These look like the ruins of Mount Othrys." Percy replied. "I don't think they're even supposed to be here."
"It is a bad sign that they are here now," Zoe wheezed, her skin looking slightly pale. "It moves with Olympus, both staying on the edges of civilization. For it to be here, though..."
The huntress suddenly stopped and fell to a knee, gripping her side. The two campers rushed to her side, with Percy kneeling down to check her wound.
"Zoe, move your arm," Percy said urgently. "I can try to heal it."
"We have no time, Perseus," Zoe responded, gently pushing away his hands. "We need to go now."
Thalia shook her head, "we won't be able to mount a proper assault if you aren't at your best, Zoe." The girl had an odd amount of concern on her face for the huntress.
"We will have to make do," Zoe said as she pushed herself to her feet. "This is Atlas' mountain. This is where he was sentenced to his punishment, to hold up the sky. However..."
Percy's eyes widened in realization, "you think Artemis is holding it up for him."
Zoe nodded grimly. "Which is why me must go. We need to save her, before all is lost."
Without waiting for their reply, the huntress walked ahead, though with a slight limp as she went. The campers exchanged a glance, then followed a moment later.
Eventually, and sooner than they had expected, they were at the summit. Ahead of them, clouds swirled in a vortex over a singular point that almost touched the mountain top, but instead, rested on the shoulders of a redheaded woman in ripped silver clothing. The woman's legs were chained in celestial bronze, her entire form drenched in sweat, and when she looked up at the sound of their approach, her normally lively eyes met Percy's.
"Lady Artemis!" Zoe gasped out. Despite her earlier injury, she rushed forward, sliding to a stop in front of Artemis and tugging at her chains.
"N-no Zoe! You must run! I-it's a-" Artemis' shaky, desperate plea was cut off by a familiar booming voice.
"Trap," growled the General. "As touching as this is, I am afraid we must cut this reunion short."
The group turned to see the General standing with Luke by his side. The large man stood with his arms folded over his chest, his brown silk suit oddly clean despite the dust flying in the air. The traitorous demigod held a sword to the throat of a blonde girl with gray eyes, though she was unable to say or do anything with a gag in her mouth and her arms chained behind her. Percy noticed a strange streak of gray in her hair. They were followed by a large group of monsters carrying the golden sarcophagus of Kronos.
"Annabeth!" Thalia yelled, taking a step forward. "Let her go, Luke!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that, Thals," Luke responded in a slight wheeze. "It is not my call to make."
Percy noticed that he looked worse than he did when he first saw the son of Hermes in the museum; his eyes still looked angry, but he was paler and unhealthier in appearance than before.
"Despite the circumstances though," Luke continued, "it is good to see you up and about."
Thalia growled in response, the only thing keeping her from charging being Percy's hand on her spear.
The General chuckled, "now is that any way to treat your old friend, daughter of Zeus? Speaking of, how are you Zoe? Do you miss the home you betrayed?"
Zoe did not glance back and continued to tug at the chains holding down Artemis.
The General did not like her lack of response and scowled deeply. "I will enjoy killing you, you traitor."
Percy stepped forward and growled, "you will not touch her."
"Do not challenge him," Artemis managed to say. "Do not... fight him."
Percy glanced between the goddess and the General, slowly coming to his own realization. "You're Atlas. You're the General of the Titans."
The General, Atlas, hummed. "You're not the brightest demigod around, are you? Yes, I am Atlas. And I will be the downfall of Olympus, right after I kill this troublesome huntress."
"I told you," Percy growled, his harpe shimmering into his hand as he stepped in line with Thalia, "I won't let you."
Atlas snorted, "were you not told to stay out of family affairs, boy?"
Percy's shock was apparent on his face. He looked to see Thalia looking back at him with a similar expression on hers. He cursed himself for not making the connection himself; if Zoe truly was a Hesperides, then he should have immediately known that the two were related.
Percy looked at Zoe, who had stopped tugging at Artemis' chains to look him in the eye. Memories flashed before his eyes; how she used to teach him how to catch the hunt's dinners, and how she helped him up after she'd knock him down in a spar. There were tears in Zoe's eyes.
"It doesn't matter who you are to Zoe," Percy said finally, his gaze still fixed on the huntress. "She is my friend."
Percy turned to Atlas with a scowl on his face as he took another step forward.
The titan laughed, his large hand on his belly as he shook his head. "You are nothing to me, boy. Make no mistake. I do not care for you or her, and you will both die on this mountain."
"Let Lady Artemis go," Zoe ground out as she stood. The tears in her eyes had fallen down her cheeks, but the vulnerability Percy had seen in her eyes was gone. In its place was the fiery determination he knew her for. They exchanged glances and nods before looking back at the titan.
"Offer to take the sky from her, then," Atlas taunted. "Take it from her if you want to save her so badly."
Zoe looked as if she was about to do exactly that, until she was cut off by the goddess herself. "Do not do it!" Artemis yelled out. "I f-forbid you!"
Atlas chuckled, "it seems as though the goddess is quite comfortable where she is. I wonder if the other Olympians will take to it as much as she has?"
"Shut up!" Percy growled. His temper flared at the thought of his other mentors going through the pain of carrying the sky.
"Do my words anger you, demigod?" Atlas grinned widely at Percy, his eyes twinkling with cold pride. "Are you going to do anything about it?"
Percy took another step forward, his intent to charge the titan clear on his face, but was immediately held back by Thalia.
Atlas laughed again as he shook his head. "The best heroes of this age and none of you are willing to step up to fight me? It seems this fight has already been won."
"How about you come to us?" Thalia jeered as she pulled back Percy's arm again. "If you're so confident, then why don't you just finish the job?"
Atlas' smile disappeared in an instant, replaced with a sneer and hatred-filled eyes. "You know of the laws that prevent me from doing so, foolish child."
"Sounds like a coward's excuse," Percy snarled out. "I thought you were the General for a reason?"
"You," Atlas growled, "are beneath me and my dignity. I need not stain my hands with your blood. Instead, Luke will rid us of you for me."
Thalia snorted, "Luke? Have you looked at him in the last few minutes, Atlas? Don't you think he looks a little worse for wear lately?"
Luke shook his head and exhaled, her words clearly stinging him. "Thalia, listen to us. All we need is for you to call the Ophiotaurus, and then we can build the Olympus we've always dreamed of."
"No, Luke," Thalia shook her head, a look of disgust on her face. "What happened to you?"
"What happened to me? What happened to you, Thalia?" Luke responded as he stepped forward, pushing back Annabeth into the arms of one of his monsters. "Don't you remember how much we cursed the gods? Our fathers? They have done nothing for us!"
Percy noticed Thalia's grip on her spear tighten as she spoke, "let Annabeth go."
"Don't you understand, Thalia?" Luke pleaded, the distance between the two sides of the war decreasing more and more as he spoke. "Mount Othrys will be raised once more, right here where we stand, and it will be greater, stronger than Olympus ever was."
In the distance, the marching of Luke's army from the beach could be heard. Distant roars and other inhuman sounds rang out from below. At a glance, Percy knew there had to be at least a few hundred monsters on route to the mountaintop.
"We will storm Camp Half-Blood," Luke swore, his voice strained. "Then we will storm Olympus. That is a promise."
Thalia shook her head again as she took a step back. Her mouth opened to say something, but no words came.
"We need you, Thalia," Luke said imploringly. "Just call on the Ophiotaurus."
Percy could feel the weight of his words on Thalia. The world slowed around them. The girl looked lost. And, to his surprise, just as he was about to do something to stop her, she looked at him.
Her hair whipped the side of her face as she looked at him. As their eyes met, he could see the silent plea in her lightning blue eyes. For him to stop or convince her to do something. Percy could only nod at her slowly. Just as slowly, Thalia slowly nodded back.
Thalia looked back at Luke with a hatred that surprised Percy. "You are not the Luke I know. I will end you."
Percy looked to his right to see Zoe retrieve her bow and notch an arrow in preparation. To his left, Thalia's spear began to crackle with electricity, and her shield began to hum.
"If we wait for the army and let them charge us, we won't stand a chance," Thalia muttered.
"We must go now," Zoe nodded.
Percy spun his sword once. "Let's do this."
The three charged forward, with each going to attack a different target. Thalia went straight for Luke, jumping up and stabbing forward with her spear. She landed just as Luke reacted with his own attack, bringing up her shield to block his wild slash. The air was filled with sparks as the two continued to clash.
Behind them, the small group of monsters were picked off quickly and efficiently, one by one, by the precise arrows of Zoe Nightshade. She would aim at their arms and hands, then their legs as they would try to retreat. Kronos' sarcophagus dropped to the ground with a dull thud as they either fled or exploded into gold dust.
Percy channeled power into his legs and rushed towards Atlas. Said titan grinned in anticipation, brandishing his javelin as he waited for the demigod to close the gap between them. As the distance decreased, the titan's suit melted into battle armor.
By the time Percy had leapt into the air, his sword swinging in an arc in front of him, the titan was ready. Atlas swung his javelin hard, knocking the demigod to the side. He slammed into a newly materialized block of the palace.
"I told you, Percy Jackson," Atlas roared, "you are nothing to me!"
Despite the pain in his side and back, Percy got to his feet and dashed forward again, this time opting to feint running to the left. The titan fell for it, allowing Percy to quickly side step into the larger man's guard. He jumped up, planted his foot on the man's knee and kicked off of it, allowing him to get into the air and slash at the man's face as he spun in the air. Atlas roared anger, but was unable to retaliate when Percy jumped up again planted both of his feet into the man's midsection, pushing the titan back. The demigod grinned as he landed, his pride at successfully completing one of Artemis' moves showing on his face.
The titan, now on defensive, was unable to mount a counterattack as the now unoccupied Zoe began to pelt him with arrows. They were largely ineffective against him, but they were angering him more and more. His anger only worsened with Percy's persistent pressure on him, keeping him from focusing on Zoe and allowing Thalia more time to overpower Luke.
Finally, Atlas managed to find a hole in their pattern of attack. Just as an arrow made its way into a chink in his armor, Percy paused in surprise, allowing the titan to send the demigod flying with a well-placed slash of his javelin. His harpe fell out of his hands as he flew, landing somewhere to the side. It would return to him soon, he knew, but it was out of his hands. The titan pulled out the arrow and growled at the ichor dripping from its head.
Percy rolled to a stop at Artemis' feet, his chest bleeding from the cut the titan had inflicted on him.
"P-Percy," Artemis wheezed out, "retreat while...you can. You cannot defeat him."
Percy looked up at his mentor, dirt sticking to one side of his face, his hand on his chest. He glanced to see Thalia doing a decent job of holding Luke at Bay, and Zoe still pelting her father with arrows to no avail. Atlas walked towards the son of Poseidon slowly, his javelin in hand.
Percy realized she was right: he could not defeat Atlas. He was not strong enough, no matter how much he switched up his position and strategy. He was no god.
As if a lightbulb went off in his head, he slowly pushed himself to his feet, groaning as the act made his chest wound sting more. He slowly shifted to stand beside Artemis, crouched down in preparation.
"Give me the sky, Artemis," Percy said simply.
"What?" Artemis hissed back, her voice surprisingly clear despite her ongoing physical labor. "You could die."
"Please," Percy pleaded as he glanced back and forth between Atlas and the goddess. "If I fight him, I'll die anyway. Give me the sky."
Percy grit his teeth and felt around in his pocket and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt his phone had already returned to it. He pulled it out, transformed it quickly, and quickly hacked at Artemis' chains. The broke apart with a loud snap.
Percy shifted again, closer to Artemis, and braced himself on one knee. He placed his hands up and felt for a surface, as he thought he should do, and was surprised to feel something generally solid touch his palms. He placed his hands on it and grunted, instantly feeling its weight on his shoulders. Despite having Artemis beside him, bearing the weight with him, it was by far the heaviest thing he had ever felt, and the pain it was causing him made him want to black out.
As soon as Artemis slipped out from under the sky, Percy felt it. The weight more than doubled, and he struggled to keep his back as straight as he had. He felt his knee digging into the earth beneath him, and he could feel himself shake under the pressure.
Percy managed to tilt his head up enough to watch the fights. Artemis was a blur, going faster than he had ever seen her before; in her hands were long wicked hunting knives that flashed as she slashed and stabbed at Atlas, who was pushed back by the sudden assault. Whenever the titan managed to get a hit in, she would duck or leap over it, and counterattack at an angle he could not defend. Zoe continued her onslaught on the titan, aiming for the chinks in his armor that she knew so well. Thalia's fight with Luke grew more lopsided as time went on; her shield was affecting the demigod greatly, and her constant pressure kept him from doing anything to tip the scales in his favor.
Something shifted in the dynamic between the goddess and the titan somehow, and suddenly, Artemis was backing up. Atlas' strength was nothing to scoff at, and it seemed as though the goddess had a difficult time stopping it. He slammed his javelin into the earth, though it was meant to impale the goddess into the ground, and continued his assault after pulling it out with ease. To Percy's confusion, it seemed as though her inaction offensively was intentional; she was leading the larger man back to him.
'Prepare yourself, Percy,' came the voice of Artemis in his head. He would have responded and asked what to prepare for, but he was losing his ability to think through the pain.
Suddenly, Artemis fell for a feint and went to block an attack that never came. Instead, her legs were swept out from under her. She slammed into a ground with a thud, and Atlas stood above her with a bloodthirsty grin on his face. He raised his javelin, ready to slam it downward, straight into the goddess' midsection.
"No!" Zoe yelled, taking a running leap Percy did not think she was capable of given her injuries. She brought her bow in front of her and let loose an arrow that flew straight into the titan's forehead, making him roar in anger. He swatted her away with the back of his hand, and the huntress went sailing off somewhere Percy could not see.
The sight made Percy grit his teeth and start to push against the sky harder. He felt his anger reaching a boiling point.
Atlas wheezed out a laugh, "it is high time I end this." He brought his javelin down, only for Artemis to grab the shaft and pull it into the earth beside her. She then planted her feet onto the titan and used the javelin to throw him over her and into the air, straight into Percy. The demigod was ready enough to simply let go, and the sky fell heavily onto the titan's back once he was placed right where Percy had been.
"N-no!" Atlas roared, fury and pain on his features. "H-how...how dare you!"
Percy would have stood if he could, went to find Zoe or help beat down Luke, but found that he could not stand. His body no longer felt like it was on fire, but he could not get it to respond either. He was able to lift his head up to watch Artemis get up and sprint off to find Zoe in his place, and watch Thalia edge Luke out.
Thalia had managed to back Luke onto the edge of a cliff, with the latter having cuts all along his body and sweat pouring off of him. Finally, seemingly deciding he had no other choice, the son of Hermes leapt forward, only for Thalia to slam her shield into his chest. He fell back hard, his head banging off the earth, and his sword fell out of his hands as a result.
Thalia pointed her spear at his throat, a look of disgust on her face. Silence reigned over the battle field, save for the heaving of Atlas under the weight of the sky.
"Finish it then," Luke hissed, though his expression clearly showed fear.
Thalia did not respond.
"Thalia!" A yell rang out suddenly, and Annabeth came limping into view. "Don't do it Thalia. Please."
Thalia stared at Annabeth in confusion and rage, "why the hell not Annabeth? He's a traitor."
"He can be useful to us, Thalia," Annabeth pleaded, though everyone could tell that was not why she wanted him alive. "We should bring him to Olympus. To your dad!"
Luke chuckled mirthlessly, spitting to the side. "To please Zeus? Is that how you do things nowadays Thalia?"
Thalia grimaced, and Luke took the chance to get to his feet and leap forward, reaching for her spear.
"No!" Annabeth screamed, but Thalia was quick and reacted as if it was instinct. She pulled her spear back and slammed her boot into his chest, knocking him off the cliff and into the rocks below.
Percy grunted as he pushed himself to his feet, finally finding his limbs were feeling less dead. He limped over as Annabeth and Thalia looked over the edge, and saw Luke's broken and unmoving body laid out on the rocks. The monster army that had been marching up had stopped and stared in shock. Percy doubted the son of Hermes was still alive.
To his surprise, Thalia's face was blank, though a tear slipped down her face as she looked upon the body of one of her oldest friends.
"Kill them!" A giant soon yelled out, and javelins sailed into the air straight at the three demigods. Percy ducked and Thalia raised her shield above herself and Annabeth, the campers retreating from the edge. They ran in the direction Artemis had went, led by the son of Poseidon.
"Artemis!" Percy yelled as soon as he saw the two hunters. The goddess cradled Zoe in her arms. The former Hesperides was alive, but barely. Her eyes were open, but her breaths were ragged.
When Artemis looked up at Percy, his heart caught in his throat.
"N-no way," Percy mumbled out.
"Her wound is poisoned, Percy," Artemis said, her eyes fixated on Zoe once more.
"Atlas?"
Artemis shook her head, slowly revealing a bite mark that had mangled Zoe's body on that side. Thalia grimaced and Annabeth looked away, but Percy stared on, the image burning into his mind.
"I-I... can't see the stars," Zoe gasped out.
"N-no," Percy said as tears blurred his vision. His heart was no longer in his throat, but deep down somewhere in his stomach. The grief in the air struck him as unnecessary. "No, not yet, Zoe, we can heal you."
"Percy..." Thalia whispered, but Percy had already moved to kneel beside the two hunters.
"A-ambrosia. And nectar. Or Apollo. Or Hermes!" Percy kept speaking, his hands shaking as he laid one on his lap and the other on Zoe's wrist.
Artemis simply shook her head, her own tears falling. "It is too late."
Percy leaned his head down, pain worse than the pressure of the sky on his back gripping his heart. He failed Zoe just as he failed his mom.
As a tear fell, he felt Zoe's hand brush his. He moved his hand slightly and to his surprise, felt her gently squeeze his hand.
"W-we need to go," Annabeth interrupted. Just as she said so, the first wave of monsters climbed over the hill. Thalia looked ready to step forward and defend them until the ground began to rumble.
The daughter of Zeus looked back in confusion, thinking it was Percy using his powers as a son of Poseidon, only to find his tearful eyes staring back at her.
The group turned to see a hole emerge between them and the monsters, the dirt and rocks of the mountain falling into it slowly as it widened. Screams erupted from the depths, and, most menacing of all, the barking of large dogs rang out into the air. The sound was familiar to the group, with the exception of Annabeth, who took more than a few steps back from the hole in barely concealed panic.
"What was that?" Annabeth asked, her eyes wide in fear.
Thalia raised an eyebrow at Percy, who had allowed a ghost of a smile o his face despite his grief. "I owe uncle a lot now."
"Come," Artemis said, her voice more gentle than Percy had ever heard. "We must leave this place. We will thank Lord Hades for his distraction later."
"Hang in there, Zoe," Percy muttered. The huntress did not respond.
The group watched as Artemis pressed her lips to her hunting horn, the sound almost drowning out the wails of the dead. Thalia continued to stand guard in front of the group, her shield and spear ready, as they waited for the moon chariot's descent from the skies. The deer that strung it alone were beautiful, though Percy had little time to admire them as he had done before.
Artemis and Percy both allowed the other campers to get in the chariot first before they carried Zoe on board. The champion of Hermes tucked the wounded huntress under a blanket just as they took to the skies.
The trip was solemn and quiet, despite Annabeth looking as though she wanted to ask the tired Thalia a million questions. Percy continued to watch Zoe quietly; he noticed her glow as a huntress in the night was not as strong as it usually was, and she was shivering in the cold air.
They landed in Crissy Field come nightfall, and the group filed out of the chariot quickly. They laid Zoe on the grass where Artemis and Percy tended to her wounds by binding it, but both exchanged looks as though they knew there was nothing more they could do. Thalia crossed her arms over her chest and watched them, with Annabeth doing the same beside her.
There was silence for a few moments before Percy spoke. "Even if you could heal her," he asked quietly, his question directed towards the goddess of the hunt, "it would be going against fate, wouldn't it?"
Artemis nodded silently.
"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Thalia recited. "I don't think we should fight this."
They heard Zoe sigh quietly, causing all to look down at her.
"Have I served the hunt well?" Zoe asked, her voice strained.
Artemis smiled and nodded, "with great honor, old friend."
Zoe then laid her eyes on Thalia, who offered her a strained smile.
"I am sorry we argued so much," Zoe chuckled weakly. "We could have been sisters."
Thalia sniffed and kneeled down to hold the hunter's hand. "No, Zoe. I'm sorry. I...I'm really sorry."
Zoe shook her head with a smile and finally looked at Percy, whose shoulders were slumped in defeat.
"I am glad to have been your friend, Percy Jackson," Zoe said simply. Her words forced his tears to spill once more. "You are nothing like the man you saw in your dream. You..."
Zoe shuddered suddenly. The group huddled closer to her. She whispered, "I can... see the stars again."
Artemis nodded quietly. "They are quite beautiful tonight, Zoe."
"Stars," Zoe mumbled. Then, she stopped moving then and there.
Percy hung his head as he continued to cry. Thalia slowly stood and stepped back, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Annabeth herself choked back a sob.
Zoe Nightshade was gone.
Artemis cupped her hand over Zoe's mouth, mumbled something quietly, and waited as a silver wisp slowly seeped out of Zoe's mouth and into the air. The goddess cupped her hands under the wisp as it floated in the air, said another prayer, and pushed it gently upwards. It slowly faded from their view until, suddenly, as if it were always there, a new constellation appeared in the sky. A girl with a bow.
"She will live on forever in the stars, where she can be honored until the end of time," Artemis said. She stared up for a few seconds before looking down just as Percy stood and embraced her, crying into her tattered top. The goddess said nothing, but her hold on him was just as tight as his was on her. Annabeth glanced at Thalia, who simply shook her head and looked up at the new constellation with a tight-lipped smile.
Artemis gently pat Percy on the back before pushing him away. "I must go, Percy. I need to be on Olympus."
Percy slowly nodded and stepped back, lifting his head as he sniffed back his tears and snot. "Go. We'll follow."
Artemis nodded, "I will call for aid for you myself." She paused and looked at the three demigods with the small amount of pride she could muster in the moment and nodded, "you were all heroes today."
The goddess laid her hand on Percy's shoulder and offered him a tired, yet sad smile. He returned it. Then, she turned and jumped into her chariot, and she promptly disappeared in a flash.
As soon as she left, Thalia rushed to Percy and grabbed him in a hug. Percy wrapped his arms around her back, closing his eyes and taking comfort in her hug.
"I'm sorry we couldn't do more, Percy," Thalia muttered. "She was less of a pain in the ass towards the end."
"I'm sorry, too," the son of Poseidon replied, and laughed at her joke. "I'm sure she thought the same about you."
The two stayed that way for a few moments, and possibly would have stayed for longer if not for Annabeth's interruption via a subtle cough.
"Not to ruin the moment," Annabeth said, an eyebrow raised in the direction of her friend, "but we do need to go."
Percy cleared his throat and nodded, now avoiding eye contact with the daughter of Zeus, who seemed content to do the same.
"Right," Annabeth continued on, now eyeing the two demigods curiously. "Does anyone have any ideas about how we can get to Olympus?"
Percy paused for a moment and shook his head, "I'm out of ideas. I would offer to fly us there but there's three of us and..."
The demigod trailed off as they heard the faint sound of something in the air. The three looked up to see 3 pegasi soaring down towards them slowly, the one at the front bringing a smile to Percy's lips.
"Blackjack, you beautiful beast!" Percy yelled, jogging to greet the pegasus.
"Now that's a greeting if I've ever heard one," Blackjack snorted back. "A certain goddess said you needed transportation to Mount Olympus?"
"We do," Percy said with a grin. "Thank you for your help, Blackjack."
"Thank Guido and Porkpie for coming along," replied the black pegasus. "They were snacking when Lady Artemis asked for our help. I did not know she could speak in our heads by the way. Crazy how that works."
Guido and Porkpie both nodded and chorused, "how ya' doin'?"
Percy waved and decided to ignore how similar they sounded to Blackjack. He turned and gestured for his fellow campers to get on a pegasus, "let's go. We need to catch up with Artemis."
He slid gracefully up and onto Blackjack and waited for Thalia and Annabeth to get situated on their own pegasi before they flew off into the night. Their trip was another silent one, with Annabeth looking over the city of San Francisco and Thalia looking up at the night sky from time to time. Percy kept his eyes forward, not wanting to think too much about anything lest he break down in tears again.
Eventually, and surprisingly quickly, they could see the lights of Manhattan in the distance.
"How's that for fast, huh?" Blackjack gloated. "How's about some more donuts when we get back?"
Percy laughed despite himself, "sure, Blackjack. I'll get it done."
The three pegasi soared for a few more seconds until it became clear: Olympus, covered by the Mist to all mortals but not to them, in all its glory. An island of light with torches and braziers lighting up the mountain it was and highlighting the marble palaces that lined it.
"There it is," Percy muttered. He slowly pushed off of Blackjack's neck to admire the view from afar.
"The winter solstice," Annabeth said. Percy glanced back to see her eyes shining as she looked upon the mountain. "The Council of the Gods."
In a matter of minutes, the pegasi slowly descended upon the outer courtyard of the hall of the gods, where they set down the demigods in front of the silver gates. As soon as the three stepped close enough to the gates, they swung open on their own, allowing the demigods to walk briskly towards the throne room.
Their entrance into the throne room was meant to be subtle so as to not disturb the ongoing discourse in the throne room, but they found that their arrival had been both expected and awaited. Twelve Olympians looked down at them from their godly heights as they entered. In the center of the throne room was Bessie, who floated around in a floating sphere of water. The Ophiotaurus looked excited to see Percy still alive. He saw Poseidon looking at him with relief and pride, and the same expressions could be seen on the faces of Hermes and Apollo. The god of messengers, however, had a twinge of sadness in his eyes that Percy knew was attributed to Luke.
To their surprise, Phoebe and Naomi, who had been seated on the steps in front of Artemis' throne, stood and ran over to them quickly. The two engulfed Thalia and Percy in a surprising group hug.
"This is..." Percy said as he slowly wrapped his arms around the group.
"Unexpected," Thalia finished with a snort. "But not unwelcome."
"We should have been there," Naomi mumbled, sniffling as she burrowed tighter into the group hug.
"We're sorry," Phoebe said with a voice so strained and tired it broke Percy's heart.
"Hey," Percy mumbled back, "it isn't your fault. We did what we could."
Annabeth stood off to the side, once again left out, and settled for waving awkwardly at the gods. She received raised eyebrows in response. She wondered how often she would be left out of future hugs between campers.
The group soon disentangled, with the two hunters jogging back to the steps they had occupied before the campers had come in. Zeus waited until they sat before nodding towards Artemis, who nodded back.
"Welcome, heroes," Artemis spoke, looking a lot more composed than she did when they had last seen her. She stood and shrunk down to her normal height and walked forward to address them.
"I would like to be the one to tell you that we, the council, are aware of your deeds," she began. "I myself can attest to their veracity. We both saw Mount Othrys, the army, and, of course, the titan Atlas' actions. Because of what has conspired in the last few days, we have discussed our options and have decided to act."
Percy heard some shuffling and mumbles around the throne room. He assumed not everyone agreed with the result of the vote.
"My brother Apollo and I will hunt down the most powerful monsters Kronos might approach in an effort to cut off any recruitment attempts before they occur," Artemis explained, and when Percy glanced at the male twin archer, he received a wink and a smile. He smiled back.
"Lady Athena will personally check on the securities of the prisons of the other titans, and Lord Poseidon will bring the Princess Andromeda down to the bottom of the sea," Artemis continued. Percy glanced at his father, who nodded at him determinedly. He glanced at Athena to find her sending a small nod towards her daughter, Annabeth.
"As for our heroes," Artemis spoke again after a moment, "you have done Olympus a great service. I do not believe anyone can deny this?"
The campers looked around the throne room, looking every Olympian present in the eye.
Apollo was the first to speak, for once forgoing the raising of his hand before he did so, "the kids did okay. More than okay. They did great."
Hermes nodded, "I vote to not disintegrate them. Who's with me?"
A few hands went up, just as the campers processed what was being discussed.
"Wait, what?" Percy exclaimed. He looked straight at his mentors, who only responded with apologetic looks.
"Disintegrate?" Thalia followed the son of Poseidon's example, staring incredulously at her father.
Ares grunted, "as much as I like your styles, you two are dangerous. The risk-"
"Does not exist," Poseidon cut in firmly. "Percy and Thalia are worthy heroes. They saved one of our own."
Zeus hummed, glancing at his brother once before speaking, "as loathe as I am to do so, I agree with Poseidon. My daughter did well."
Athena cleared her throat with a frown on her face, "and I am just as proud of my daughter. With that being said, despite your vouching of them, Lord Zeus and Lord Poseidon, the security risk very much exists."
"Mother?" Annabeth spoke up suddenly. "You can't be serious!"
Athena gave her a stern look and returned to addressing the other Olympians quickly, "Lord Zeus and Lord Poseidon broke their oath to not have anymore children. The latter even did it twice. As we know, the Great Prophecy states that a child of the three elder gods could decide the fate of Olympus. They are dangerous. There is nothing to debate in that regard."
"Then what the hell are we waiting for?" Ares said, pushing himself off of his throne. He was stopped by a glare from Hera. He slowly sunk back down into his seat.
"Do you truly think this is the wisest course of action, Athena?" Dionysus spoke lazily from his throne. "To destroy them?"
Athena shook her head, "I am only pointing out the obvious risk that it seems we are so willing to overlook. As how it has always been, I will await and support the decision of the Council."
Artemis spoke up with a firm tone, "then I move to make the obvious decision. We must decide to reward these heroes."
"Why?" Ares ground out. "We just talked about how dangerous they are."
"Because to kill those that have served us, helped us in our time of need makes us no better than the titans," Artemis replied simply. She paused as she looked around the room, "we are not monsters. That is not Olympian justice. If it is, then I will not stand for it."
Zeus hummed. He looked thoughtful before he spoke, "if that is the case, then we must at least kill the monster, no?"
Percy shook his head, butting into the conversation, "no, that is not okay. We can't just kill Bessie!"
"You named the Ophiotaurus...Bessie?" Poseidon asked incredulously. He raised an eyebrow at the demigod who only glanced at him in response.
"He is a sea creature. A kind, innocent sea creature. You can't just destroy him," Percy argued again. His heart felt heavy at the thought of losing another friend.
Poseidon glanced at the boy's mentors with a grimace, hoping to get their support, but the two gods looked as lost as he felt. He spoke, "the Ophiotaurus holds unimaginable and unparalleled power, Percy. If it were to be stolen, or worse..."
"You can't," Percy insisted. He looked straight Zeus as he continued, "you can't control the prophecies, so killing the Ophiotaurus won't amount to anything but a meaningless death. He's innocent, and taking an innocent life away is wrong especially over something that hasn't even happened yet."
Zeus mulled over the demigod's words quietly, then eyed his daughter for a moment. He spoke after a moment, "our situation remains complicated. Kronos knows that the power to topple Olympus lies in the hands of the two demigods before us. The threat and risk remain. Thalia herself turns sixteen tomorrow."
"You need to trust us," Thalia pleaded.
"It is not easy to trust demigods, daughter," Zeus countered, a small frown on his face.
Artemis spoke up again, "but Thalia Grace is right, father. As difficult as it is to accept, our fate lies in their hands."
The goddess allowed her words to float in the air as she looked around at her fellow Olympians before turning her attention back to her father. "With that being said, I must ask for your forgiveness as I cannot wait to bestow my first reward."
Zeus and Artemis stared at one another for a second, and then another, until Zeus slowly tilted his head, allowing the goddess to continue.
"As you all know, my lieutenant, Zoe Nightshade, gave her life to save mine and ensure our victory on this day," Artemis said. Her eyes shone with determination as she continued, "I must have a new lieutenant, and I intend to have one. Before I formally make my request to the one I have in mind, I must first have your permission, father."
Zeus raised his eyebrow, "my permission? For what?"
"I intend to take on Thalia Grace as my new lieutenant," Artemis declared, her gaze fixating on said surprised demigoddess. "Are you willing to join the Hunt?"
"Me?" Thalia meekly asked.
Artemis simply nodded. The throne room had gone silent. Percy felt a weird stirring in his chest at the thought of Thalia in the hunt. He did not understand why.
Another second passed until Thalia finally spoke again. "I accept."
Zeus' other eyebrow joined its counterpart, now both raised in surprise. "Thalia? Is this truly what you want?"
Thalia bit her lip and slowly nodded. With a sigh, she spoke up as clearly as she could, "yes, it is, Lord Zeus. I... do not want to turn sixteen. Nor do I ever want to be sixteen. This prophecy is not mine to fulfill, because if it was, I don't know if I could pull through for Olympus. But I do know who can."
Thalia turned to look at Percy, and suddenly, he felt as though the whole room had their eyes on him.
"Percy Jackson is the hero of the prophecy," Thalia declared with a smile. "Luke...or Kronos almost got through to me, but they will never get through to him."
Percy stared back, utterly shocked at the events unfolding. His heart skipped a beat when she smiled at him, and her words of support and faith in him made his stomach do flips. What was happening to him? What was happening in general?
Zeus narrowed his eyes at Percy and simply stared for a few moments, until he slowly nodded. "Very well. Your wishes will be granted, daughters."
Thalia cleared her throat suddenly, "though, if I may... can I ask for just one favor? I'd like to wait for a few hours before I take my oath, if that's okay."
Percy narrowed his eyes at the daughter of Zeus. She only had a few hours left until her birthday. Why push her induction into the hunt that close?
Artemis tilted her head in curiosity, simply staring at the demigoddess for a moment, before wincing and nodding. "If that is your wish."
Thalia nodded, bowed, and stepped back into line with Annabeth, who glowed with pride for her friend. The two shared smiles.
"That leaves the matter of the Ophiotaurus," Athena spoke up after a few moments. "The animal is still a danger to us. So is the boy."
Percy shook his head and pleaded, "you can't kill Bessie. We can keep him safe, somewhere in the sea or in an aquarium somewhere. We have to protect him."
"Why should we trust you, boy?" Ares grunted, his arms folding over his chest.
"Because if I really am the child of the prophecy, then I have time," Percy tried. "I'm only fourteen."
Athena shook her head, "that is plenty of time for Kronos to deceive you, or lure you to his side."
"Mother!" Annabeth exclaimed. "Please listen to reason!"
"I am listening to reason, Annabeth," Athena retorted. "Reason states that it is a horrible strategy to keep both the animal and the boy alive."
"I will vouch for him myself, Athena," Poseidon said as he stood. "As the god of the seas, I will do what I can to protect the creature."
Zeus stood as well, shaking his head in disagreement, "that can be arranged as long as you do not take it with you under the sea."
Poseidon snorted and sighed, "you believe I'll use him against you, brother? Truly?"
Zeus did not respond, but his expression did not change.
With a sigh, Poseidon nodded and spoke, "I will build an aquarium for the creature here and Hephaestus can help me. It will be safe here where all of us can protect it with our combined powers. I also personally vouch for my son, Percy, that he will stay loyal to us. Is that agreeable?"
Zeus simply looked to the other Olympians and held his hand out towards his brother, "all in favor of Poseidon's plan?"
To Percy's surprise, many hands went up. Only Athena, Ares, and Dionysus abstained.
Zeus nodded, "then if there is nothing left to discuss, I believe we shall honor our heroes today. Let the celebrations begin!"
The party was in full swing as Percy embraced his mentors in the courtyard illuminated by the moon. The three had let the other gods and goddesses congratulate him on his accomplishments and victory before approaching him. Apollo had grabbed the boy by the arm and dragged him through the crowd of people ogling at him, with Hermes ad Artemis politely pushing past everyone ahead of the two.
Once they were alone, Apollo gripped the boy tight, pressing his lips onto the kid's forehead, his words spilling out between his proud laughter, "you beautiful, beautiful child!"
Hermes chuckled and allowed them their moment, shaking his head softly. He readily accepted Percy's hug as soon as the sun god had finished praising the demigod, ruffling his hair affectionately. "You did absolutely amazing, Percy. Good job," he said with a smile.
Artemis stood off to the side, simply smiling at the three.
"That's not even an exaggeration," Apollo said as he once again clapped his hand on Percy's shoulder from the demigod's side. "How you managed to do all of that and live to tell the tale is beyond me."
Hermes snorted and shook his head, "though I hope you know that Apollo's complete lack of faith in your capabilities is not something he and I have in common."
Percy shook his head with a smile, though the expression dropped quickly as he looked up at the new constellation in the sky. He paused before he spoke again, "it wasn't enough to save Zoe."
Artemis spoke up as she joined him in looking up at the stars, "it was fated, Perseus. Do not take away from her sacrifice by taking the fault as your own."
Percy glanced at her and slowly nodded. He looked at Hermes and Apollo, whose previously joyous expressions were now somber. The son of Poseidon spoke, "I feel like shi-"
"With time," Hermes cut in almost immediately, a stern look on his face, "you will get used to it. The pain will most likely never leave, as most pains do, but you will learn to live with it. It will get better in time."
"Will it?" Percy mumbled back.
"It will," Hermes replied firmly. The two shared a long look before they once again looked up at the sky.
Apollo nodded quietly beside his half-brother, then made his way over to his twin sister and slipped his arm around her shoulders in a silent half-hug. The goddess, for once, did not push her brother away, and instead settled for laying her head on his shoulder.
The four were content in the silence that followed as they admired the constellation of the huntress in the sky. Percy's heart still ached for the friend he had lost, but as Hermes had said, the weight on his chest was already beginning to feel a bit lighter.
"Your training will only get harder from here, Perseus," Artemis spoke up after another minute of silence. "I hope you are ready to take the next step."
Percy nodded with a determined glint in his eyes, "I'm ready. I won't let what happened today happen ever again."
Artemis gave him a quiet nod before she slipped out from under her brother's arm and followed the path back to the party. Apollo went to follow her as he yelled back, "get back inside and find me! I have to introduce you to a few nymphs!"
Hermes sighed and muttered to the boy, "he won't. Not under my watch." He gave Percy a smile and followed after the two a moment later.
Percy smiled as he watched them go, and turned to find his father looking at him from a few steps away.
"Poseidon?" Percy said, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
"No, I wasn't listening in on the conversation," the god of the seas responded. "I was just, as you young ones say, chilling here."
The two shared a smile before the older of the two slowly walked closer. The god looked up at the sky and nodded approvingly at the new constellation.
"You must feel horrible," Poseidon spoke after a moment. Percy was once again surprised, though made no move to deny his father's words.
"You will prevail over our enemies, Percy," the god said. "And I am sorry that it may come at the cost of your friends."
Percy slowly nodded, his eyes drifting down to look at his hands, "I know. I'll be okay."
"You will be," Poseidon said with a small smile. A few moments of comfortable silence passed before the god spoke again, "I do hope you have no plans of letting me down, Percy. I know I owe you, but..."
Percy shook his head and surprised even himself by reaching out to shake the man's hand. "Thank you, Poseidon. What you did back there, sticking up for me and all that, it means the world to me."
The man simply squeezed his son's hand, his smile only widening as he looked upon Percy with pride.
"It is my job as the god of the seas, of course, and as your father," Poseidon replied as he sent his son a full-blown grin that eerily looked exactly like Percy's. "Please, for your own sake, my boy, enjoy the party," he said, and promptly made his way back to the party as well.
"Luke Castellan is not dead, Percy Jackson," a voice spoke up behind him, and he turned to find a woman that looked almost exactly like Annabeth staring back at him.
"Lady Athena," he bowed quickly. "I did not expect to talk to you-"
"Prepare yourself to deal with him," Athena cut him off quickly. "I do not regret speaking against keeping you and the animal alive earlier, do not mistake that. But you are our best chance at defeating that demigod. Do not let us down."
"I wouldn't dream of it," Percy replied quietly.
Athena paused as she turned, then tilted her head to look back at him, "your undying loyalty, Percy Jackson. It might be the end of you."
Then, she left, and Percy was simply left with his thoughts.
To his luck, someone tapped him on his shoulder, allowing him to leave the rather dark path he was going down in his mind. He turned to find a nervous Thalia standing behind him.
"Thalia?" Percy asked, relieved it was his friend and not some other god or being that he was unfamiliar with.
"Percy," Thalia said back surprisingly quickly, "hi."
"Hey," Percy said with a smile, his shoulders sagging from their former raised position due to his surprise. "How's the party?"
Thalia shrugged, her left hand reaching up to scratch at her right arm as she avoided his eyes. "It's okay, I guess. Kind of spent most of it looking for you though."
Percy's eyebrows rose in surprise, "you were? I'm sorry, I was out here with Hermes and the rest all night. I didn't know you were looking for me."
Thalia waved him off with an embarrassed smile, "no, no, you're fine. It's not a big deal."
Percy slowly nodded in response, sending her a smile in thanks. He then waited for her to say something else, but found that the comfortable silence he had shared with his patrons and father had been replaced by an awkward atmosphere. Thalia was oddly quiet, and the tight feeling he had felt in his chest earlier in the throne room had returned. He spoke up slowly, "hey? Earth to Thals? Are you still in there?"
"Oh. Yeah, yeah, I'm here," Thalia spoke quickly, as if her words were burning hot on her tongue and their presence in her mouth physically pained her.
"Are you okay?" Percy asked slowly. Her behavior was strange, as he had never seen the daughter of Zeus so out of her element.
"Can we... uh... go somewhere more private?" Thalia asked abruptly, finally looking up to meet his confused eyes with her pleading ones. "I need to tell you something but it's kind of... sensitive."
Percy slowly nodded and held out his hand, "I guess? Lead the way then."
Though he had only raised his hand to gesture forward, she had grabbed it quickly and dragged him further from the party and the crowds, through a plant arch and around the courtyard filled with bushes and trees covered in colorful flowers. They walked for a few more moments until they found a bench, where Thalia let go of his hand and sat down quietly. She gestured for Percy to do the same.
The two sat in silence for a few moments, with Percy glancing between the girl beside him and anything else that would catch his attention, and Thalia simply looking down at her wringing hands. The lieutenant-to-be spoke up eventually, though with great hesitance, "I... don't really know what to say to you."
"What is there to say?" Percy laughed, mostly in relief at the silence finally being broken, though he looked confused. "I'm sure whatever it is, you can tell me, Thals. It's just me."
"That's sort of the issue, Percy," Thalia sighed. She wrung her hands on her lap and looked down at them as she spoke, "it's you."
"Me?" Percy's eyes widened. "Listen, if I did anything to piss you off..."
Thalia snorted and shook her head, smiling at him. "No, you idiot. Not like that. At all."
The two stared at each other, the son of Poseidon staring at the daughter of Zeus in confusion.
"Then...?" Percy left his question hanging.
Instead of giving a direct answer, Thalia pursed her lips before asking her own question, "you know about the oath of the Hunt, right?"
Percy slowly nodded, "yeah. I've heard the pitch so many times, I think I could recite it for you right here and now, and then make you the lieutenant of the Hunt myself. Why?"
Thalia bit her lip before looking at him. "Because I wanted to wait a day before I took it for you."
Percy blinked. "I don't follow," he said slowly. "What's going on?"
Thalia sighed, closed her eyes and lifted her head up to the sky before taking another deep breath. She opened her eyes a moment later and met Percy's, the former's holding a surprising amount of defeat in them.
"I... like you, Percy," Thalia admitted with a deep exhale. "I like you a lot."
A beat.
"W-what?" Percy stammered out.
"You heard me," Thalia grumbled slightly, her eyes once again retreating from his and returning to her hands. "Don't make me say it again."
"B-but," Percy licked his suddenly dry lips, slowly shaking his head, and found that he could only muster a single word. "What?"
"It's not just because of how cool you are," Thalia began, a small smile making its way onto her face as she spoke. "It's because of everything you've done for us, for me. You saved our asses in Maine, helped me drive Apollo's stupid chariot, saved us again against the lion. For crying out loud, you jumped into a huge, rusty automaton just to fix a mistake that I made."
"Thalia..." Percy tried to speak, but he was cut off by Thalia shaking her head and softly grabbing his right hand with her left.
"You literally dragged me through that quest," Thalia said with a smile. "You gave me the strength to keep going even when I thought you were dead. You gave me the strength to fight Luke. I managed and we won because of you."
"I," Percy stared back at her, his mouth slightly agape, "I don't know what to say, Thals."
Thalia simply smiled a small smile and continued, "I don't want to keep you from the party, and I know whatever I feel for you isn't going to go anywhere. I'm going to join the Hunt and you need to get your head in the game so you can beat Kronos."
The girl was staring at Percy with an intensity he had never felt before. The air felt so much warmer than it had earlier.
"But I want you to know how I feel," Thalia finished. "I want you to know before I can't feel this way anymore."
Percy gulped down in shock as he continued to process her words. Her hand gripped his softly and squeezed, her eyes searching his.
"I know this wasn't really expected but I do want you to say something," Thalia snorted quietly, her cheeks burning now with a blush that lit up her face in the dark.
Percy paused and spoke slowly a moment later, "I...think I really like you too."
Thalia's shocked eyes locked onto his for a moment. They stared at each other. Before he could say something else, she had closed the distance between them. She grabbed the front of his shirt with her right hand and pulled him towards her. She pressed her lips to his as she closed her eyes.
A boom.
Percy's brain stopped working.
Before Percy knew it, she had stood from the bench and left him alone in the garden.
Behind a bush, Apollo celebrated his champion's first kiss.