Chapter 27

Greetings readers! I hope that all of you enjoyed the previous chapter!

In response to ShadowHunter2077's review, exactly! The previous chapter was a reality check for Percy. Percy had sort of gotten used to the fact that apart from Protogenoi, there really weren't any enemies that could defeat him one-on-one. And the fact that three of those people – the Big Three, were people he would never fight, made him a bit complacent and a bit reckless. So, when he came face to face with the second strongest Titan out there, he was brought back to reality.

Zeus pointing out the fact that he sucks at stealth is my way of justifying why he doesn't get all that involved in fights in this AU. Unlike canon Zeus, it's not that he doesn't want to, it's just that he's far too noticeable to be able to be stealthy. Ohh I agree with Hades being the only one good at stealth. Maybe I will explore that in a future chapter. Thank you for your continued support!

In response to Jubby1905's review, I completely understand how hectic real life can be and I am just grateful that you take time out of busy schedules to share some kind and motivating words with me. These reviews and interactions really do make my day. Oohh I am definitely going to have a few more light-hearted moments with the Big Three all going into grandpa mode. The response to it has been so overwhelmingly positive so I'm happy about that. Coming to Percy's swords, I can't confirm or deny your theories, if you know what I mean ;) Thank you for your continued support!

Answering J's set of reviews, I am really, really glad that you enjoyed rereading this story so much. It's come a long way since I originally envisaged and wrote it but I'm definitely very happy to see how it's turning out. And I definitely am treating this as my magnum opus and even though I am taking much longer with this story than I did with the previous ones, I feel like it is my best piece of work to date. And I am glad you share that sentiment. Thank you for your continued support!

I would like to thank HellRaiderS for your continued support! I know this chapter took a few days longer than expected but I hope it was worth the wait!

In response to the guest reviewer( the one who reviews frequently), I am thrilled that you liked the previous chapter! I'm glad that the conversation where Zeus and Hera teased Percy and Athena formed a good icebreaker. This is a pretty intense story, both action wise as well as emotionally and given the length of these chapters, I realise it's important for the readers to not feel drained after an intense emotional piece or a fast action piece. And the best way to do that is with some humour and fluff. Yes, even though this story is mainly centred around Percy, I still want the demigods to have good character development. Thank you for your continued support!

In response to MyrddinEmrys2001's review, I completely agree with you and while I am usually not one to spoil my own stories, this is not going to one of those stories with a sad or ambivalent ending. I always wanted to write a trilogy where the hero earned his happiness. And I feel like I have achieved that. All that's left is to wrap up this arc, and the final one after. You know, I really loved the idea of Percy having a son with Athena named Achilles. And I hope you don't mind the fact that I've used that. Thank you for your idea and for your continued support!

In response to TheGracefulHuntress' review, I am really glad you enjoyed the portrayal of Atlas and Calypso's power in the previous chapter! I felt like it was important for them to be just as strong as or even stronger than their main opponents. I am glad that the Zeus of this universe is a likeable one. It's been a really long journey, spanning more than ninety chapters and I know that Zeus in the beginning of the trilogy was like his canon self and I'm glad that all that character development is showing through. I am also super glad that you liked the interaction between Percy and Jason because I want all the main characters of this trilogy to have some spotlight and develop. Thank you for your continued support!

In response to skotos07's review, yes, Calypso is a bit unhinged in this story but I like to portray her as the sympathetic villain. Of course, what she is doing is definitely not right. But you can't help but feel for her, because she is only fighting to retake what she sees as her only source of happiness in four thousand years of pain. And I am glad that's being so well received! Yes, this story is definitely harder to write than the previous one but I am still loving every moment of it! And thank you for being so understanding and supportive! And thank you for your continued support!

In response to Ryan Fowler's review, I am very glad to hear that you liked the humour in the previous chapter! Thanks a lot for your kind words of support! They really do mean a lot to me! Wow! I am flattered and fascinated by the fact that you modelled a dnd character after this version of Percy. If I may ask, what is the alignment you have gone for with the character? Thank you for your continued support!

Finally, coming to Arden2709's review, ahh, I guess by this point, the story of Percy's swords is an open secret :) I am thrilled that you enjoyed the previous chapter and I hope that you like this one as well! Thank you for your continued support!

All credit for the characters goes exclusively to Rick Riordan.


Two weeks after the failed assault at Westover Hall, Percy, Athena, Ares, the demigods and Zoe, who was representing the Hunters in Artemis' stead, were seated around the round table in the war room of Percy and Athena's palace.

"Zephyrus has found Atlas. Apparently, Atlas has set up base in the Smithsonian for now and Zephyrus thinks that they're moving west. And that can only mean one thing…." Athena started in a grim tone before her voice trailed off.

"They're going to Othrys." Percy finished for her and an uneasy silence enveloped the room.

"Does that mean that they're going to attack us?" Thalia asked with the barest hint of fear showing through.

"Yes. It appears that Atlas and the Titans are finally ready to make the first offensive move. I assume that there a few other Titans making their way over." Ares gruffly answered.

"Why didn't we secure Othrys after the Hesperides defected?" Annabeth asked with a confused expression on her face.

"We couldn't. Othrys is not an easy place to hold. There's always this force field around the place that puts crushing pressure on everyone unless they're immortals or they're with immortals. And it wasn't possible, nor was it safe, for us to keep a few gods at Othrys at all points." Percy explained with a sigh.

Securing Othrys had been the first thing he had thought of two years ago, when Atlas had first escaped and the Hesperides had defected. But once he knew just how much resources needed to be committed to such a task, he had immediately given up that proposition. It would always be easier and better to just deal with the Titans when they got to Othrys rather than waiting for them there.

"Isn't it unsafe to allow the Titans access to the Golden Apples of Immortality?" Nico asked with a worried expression on his face.

"Kid, we haven't given them access to the Golden Apples of Immortality. There's a difference between not holding Othrys and not watching Othrys. There is a long range RADAR in New Rome that has been specifically designed to keep a watch on Othrys. So we have always been in the loop. It's just that Othrys has never been defensible by gods. We had it firmly in our control for four millennia only because of the Hesperides. So, without them there was no way to hold it." Percy calmly explained.

"So what do we do now?" Leo asked, while impatiently tapping his fingers on the table.

"We attack Atlas, catch him off-guard and subdue him for good." Percy stated with a determined look in his eyes.

"Ok, Captain Obvious, what's the real plan?" Annabeth asked with a roll of her eyes, causing everyone to chuckle at that.

"This attack needs to be small, precise and concentrated. In other words, we can't lug around too many people. Only those who are in this room, will be a part of the strike force." Percy calmly answered.

"Don't you think that's a bit less, Percy? I am not questioning your tactical intellect but will you, two younger Olympians, Zoe, and the six of us, who while powerful, are not even partially immortal, suffice for this task?" Reyna asked with a fair bit of trepidation in her eyes.

"No. Not at all." Percy casually replied, earning him puzzling looks from all the demigods and Zoe. He continued before any of them could voice their confusion.

"Relax, I am not taking all of us on a suicide mission. The six of you, are getting an upgrade." Percy stated with a wide smirk on his face.

"Huh?" Leo rather eloquently put his thoughts into words.

"What Percy means to say is that we are going to make all of you partially immortal. That was always the plan. But we thought of waiting until you were at least eighteen. Since that's not an option anymore, we are calling in Hebe to age you until you reach the perfect balance between your physical and mental peak, which should be somewhere in your early twenties, and then, Ares, Percy and I are all going to bless you, which should be more than enough to grant you partial immortality." Athena expounded, causing all the demigods to look at her in awe.

"The six of you are already incredibly powerful, even rivalling and surpassing the power of partial immortals like the Hunters. However, at the end of this transformation, you will be capable of holding your own against even minor gods. Athena's blessing will gift you with enhanced speed and agility along with expanding your intellectual prowess dramatically. Ares' blessing will give you enhanced physical strength as well as significantly faster reflexes. Mine will give you much greater endurance and will also amplify your elemental abilities." Percy expanded more on Athena's points.

"And mind you, all of this enhancement is of your peak physical and elemental attributes, which you will reach courtesy of Hebe. And of course, you get the other benefits of partial immortality, such as immunity to diseases, no aging and faster regenerative factor." Athena concluded and was met with amazed looks from the demigods.

"Now kids, I know you'll lose a majority of your teenage years so I want to know, are you fine with this? And also, are you fine with being partially immortal? Because this will be a huge change in your lives and we will come up with another plan if you are not comfortable with this." Percy stated with some mild concern shining in his eyes.

"Of course we are fine with it. I think I might even squeal a little in joy." Leo stated with his lower lip trembling in anticipation and excitement.

"I insist you don't." Ares stated with an annoyed huff that sounded very similar to a growl. As it is, he heard enough of that high-pitched sound back home with Aphrodite.

"Do all of you feel the same way?" Percy asked, looking at each of the demigods, who vigorously nodded back at him.

"Then I guess you'll have to put up with me, and each other, for the rest of eternity." Percy stated with a small chuckle.

"Can we put a timer on Death Breath? I'm not sure I can deal with his gothic vibe for the rest of eternity." Leo stated with a snigger.

"The only thing we can't deal with is your bull-headedness, Kelp Head." Nico shot back.

"Well that's at least better than Jason and Thalia's stupid fatal flaw of hogging attention by doing something stupid." Annabeth mocked the two children of the sky god.

"Hey!" Both the aforementioned demigods, indignantly retorted.

"Zip it, punks. One more word and I am throwing all of you out of the room." Ares warned with an irritated expression on his face. These were good kids. But they could be a real headache sometimes with all their incessant bickering.

"Chaos help me if all of these boneheads fatal flaws are also amplified. Percy, please tell me that won't happen. I can't deal with an upgraded version of these toddlers in the skins of teenagers." Reyna lamented as she looked at Percy and Athena, both of whom had to stifle a chuckle.

"Calm down, Rey. I don't think that will happen. But I don't know. We have never granted partial immortality to someone on this scale so it's a shot in the dark as of now." Percy nonchalantly replied.

"Wow, that is so reassuring." Reyna sarcastically retorted.

"Trust me, daughter, you'll get used to it. Although, it most certainly will make them more reckless. Look at this big lug next to me. The more immortal he becomes, the more reckless he becomes. It's like he doesn't have an in-built control button. By Chaos, sometimes, it feels like I am dealing with a man-child." Athena answered with an exasperated sigh as she pointed her thumb at Percy.

"Funny that you should say that. At night, I don't see you complaining about me not having control. In fact, you seem to enjoy it very much." Percy responded with a sly smile on his face as he winked at Athena, causing everyone else in the room to gag and choke on the air they were breathing.

"Percy!" Athena exclaimed with a heavy golden dusting on her cheeks.

"That's it. I'm leaving before Percy scars my mind even more with his stupid innuendos." Ares groaned before disappearing in a puff of blood-red smoke.

"Percy, what did we say about making such references in front of the kids." Athena admonished, although there was still some traces of golden dusting on her cheeks.

"Relax, we don't have to pretend like we don't do it in front of them. They're old enough to understand all that. Besides, you look so cute and sexy when you're all flustered and that golden blush just enhances your ethereal features." Percy replied with a debonair smile on his face as leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on Athena's lips, causing Athena to blush even more and melting away all her resistance.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Zoe stated with a nauseous expression on her face as she along with the other demigods sneaked away, giving some privacy to the oblivious pair in front of them who were lost in each other's loving embrace.


Leo couldn't believe his own transformation. It had been a few hours since he had been aged and was then partially immortalized and even now, every time he looked in a mirror, he was a bit amazed by his own appearance.

Gone was the five feet nine inches tall sixteen year old teenage demigod with a lean, swimmer's build. In his place stood a six feet three inches tall, just three shy of his immortal elder brother, twenty one year old partial immortal. He had bulked up in accordance to his transformation and his face had lost all traces of baby fat. His high cheekbones and defined jawline were further enhanced by his clean shaven look.

All the other demigods had undergone similar transformations, with Jason looking like a professional boxer and Nico like an Olympic triathlete. Both of them had also grown taller to a point where Jason was an inch and a half taller than Leo while Nico was about the same behind.

The demigoddesses' too had changed drastically. Thalia's short spiky hair had grown long and now reached the middle of her back. Reyna looked almost exactly like Athena and Annabeth just looked like the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Her silky blonde hair was now adorned with the perfect princess curls and her eyes were the perfect shade of stormy grey. And she had this unmistakably regal and wise aura around her. And Leo couldn't help but stare at her while she was discussing something seriously with Reyna and Jason. He was brought out of his trance when Percy cleared his throat, startling Leo.

"I'm sorry, did I interrupt something important?" Percy asked with a smirk on his face.

"No." Leo sheepishly stated as he whistled away.

"Huh, Athena was right. You do look like a splitting image of me. I know who is subbing in for me for the next stupid bedsheet wearing ceremony in New Rome." Percy stated with a chuckle. He was right. Leo basically looked like a slightly shorter, less toned and less intimidating version of Percy.

"There's no way you're going to make me do that." Leo confidently shot back. He liked the Romans. But just like his elder brother, he was not a fan of their formalities and politics.

"Oh really? Not even me telling a certain daughter of Athena that she has a secret admirer?" Percy asked with a raised eyebrow as he gestured towards Annabeth.

"Well, it's not really a secret anymore." Leo answered in a shy voice and Percy's eyes gained a curious glint.

"Look at you two kids all grown up and in committed relationships already. Well at least you didn't dance around each other like the others." Percy stated with a small, fond smile.

"Well, we did talk about our feelings but…." Leo trailed off and the smile disappeared from Percy's face.

"Don't tell me both of you decided that this wasn't the right time or something stupid like that?" Percy asked in an annoyed voice and he groaned in frustration when Leo nodded his head.

"I swear to Chaos if I find out that Nico and Thalia are doing the same thing as well, I am going to throw each pair on one remote island and won't let you step out until you guys do what you really want to do. Ughh, now I know how the others felt about me and Athena dancing around each other for so long." Percy stated as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Percy, it doesn't matter if both of us are in the same place. It won't work out if only I ever wanted to act on it." Leo stated with a resigned sigh.

"Stop talking in teenager. I didn't understand a word of what you just said." Percy grumbled.

"She keeps sending me mixed signals, Percy. Sometimes, we feel really close and I feel like putting myself out there. Other times, she just zooms out and becomes all distant. Almost as if she's afraid of something." Leo stated with an exasperated expression on his face.

"Oh now I understand. She's basically doing what Athena did to me when she first realised that she had romantic inclinations towards me." Percy stated with a reminiscent chuckle.

"Huh?" Leo voiced his confusion.

"Athena's and by extension, her children's fatal flaw is hubris. It makes them fiercely independent and gives them a very degree of emotional resilience as they can, to a certain extent, anchor themselves. But it also makes them very afraid of cultivating deeper personal relationships, especially romantic ones, in fear of becoming too emotionally dependent on someone else. So, relax, if she is doing this, she must really like you a lot." Percy clarified as he patted Leo's shoulder.

"You think so?" Leo asked, with a fair bit of hope in his eyes.

"I know so." Percy replied with a reassuring smile.

"What makes you so confident? Even I'm not that confident." Leo curiously asked.

"Kid, if Athena and I got together, anyone can. People talk of love at first sight and all that mushy stuff but there was no romantic spark whatsoever during my first meeting with Athena, at least my first meeting with her when I was an adult. Of course, we started off on a pleasant note and we became friendly acquaintances fairly quickly, due to having plenty of mutual respect. But there was not even a whiff of any romantic inclination, on either side, for more than a decade. We did become good friends but for almost a decade and a half after we first met each other, we had a strictly platonic relationship." Percy recounted with nostalgia shining in his eyes.

"Wow, that's hard to believe. The two of you are basically what every couple aspires to be. I mean, I have never seen two people more devoted to each other. And you guys are so loyal to each other, you are practically inseparable and are super passionate with each other. It's like you were made for each other." Leo stated with an expression of mild disbelief on his face.

"I know mine and Athena's relationship sounds like a written in the stars love story, but it was never obvious that we would get together. In fact, for quite a long time, it was a preposterously unrealistic proposition. She was committed to being a maiden goddess and I was convinced that I could never love again, after what happened with Calypso. But then we started working together and we got closer and closer, over a long period of time. And it took even longer for us to finally start a romantic relationship, after many near misses. And we haven't looked back since." Percy answered with a fond smile before continuing.

"Kid, the point I am trying to make is that love isn't something that happens at first sight. It's not the beginning. It's more like the endpoint. And it takes a long time as well as plenty of effort from both sides in order to develop and mature. So don't give up Annabeth. Give her time. Make her feel comfortable. And eventually, the perfect moment will present itself for you both to have that conversation." Percy advised in a calm, gentle tone as he ruffled Leo's hair.

"How will I know when that moment is?" Leo asked, with uncertainty and anxiety written all over his face.

"Trust me, you'll know." Percy reassured with a knowing smile before going away, leaving behind a deeply contemplative and grateful Leo.


Percy and Athena were flying in comfortable silence, with Leo, Annabeth and Zoe behind them taking a short nap before the assault. At their current speed, they would be reaching their destination in about ten or so minutes.

"Some light sleep will help all of them. It will help cool off some of the adrenaline. Too much of that can't be good." Percy stated with a small smile on his face as he observed the three sleeping passengers and a comfortable silence enveloped the two of them before it was broken by Athena.

"Do you ever think about what Hera and father said the other day?" Athena cautiously asked. The question caught Percy a bit off-guard but he answered a few moments later.

"I do. And if I were to be honest, I think about those things all the time." Percy confessed, pleasantly surprising Athena.

"Really?" Athena asked with a wide smile on her face.

"Really." Percy confirmed with a similar smile on his face.

"That's good. Because I think about those things all the time too." Athena admitted with a shy smile on her face as she reached out and took one of Percy's larger, calloused hands between her two smaller, slender ones.

"So where do you picture us a few years after this war?" Percy asked with an curious smile on his face as he let Athena play with his hand.

"We would be married. And we would be living on an island in the Aegean. Not a very big one. But not a small one either. With a nice house that's been designed and built by us, incorporating both of our favourite styles of architecture. We would have twins - a daughter and son. You would take them out to swim everyday and when you come back, all wet and dirty from playing and splashing each other, I would have set up a bath for all of us and all four of us would just have fun and spend time as a family." Athena stated with a dreamy look on her face.

"You're a woman after my own heart, aren't you?" Percy stated with a chuckle as he leaned forward to nuzzle her cheek with his nose, causing her to laugh softly, a sound which he thought was very, very melodious. He swore it had medicinal properties because it never failed to make him feel great.

"That's exactly where I picture us as well, Athena. In fact, I have even picked out the names for our future children." Percy admitted with a sheepish smile on his face. Athena radiantly smiled when he said our children. Just the very thought of that made her feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

"Of course you have. I want to know what names you have picked out for our future children." Athena replied with a small chuckle.

"We would call the girl Metis, named after your mother. And we would call the boy, Achilles, you know since…." Percy trailed off, his voice suddenly thick with emotion. And Athena soothingly rubbed circles on the back of his hand to comfort him.

"Oh Percy, that's just perfect. I cannot think of two better names." Athena shared her feelings, with her eyes glistening and with a watery smile.

"Both of them would be dark-haired, taking after us. Little Metis would have your stormy grey eyes and would be a splitting image of you but would have my personality. And little Achilles would be the opposite. With my eyes but your temperament. And it would just be the four of us, of course, with plenty of time spent with the rest of our family, in our own little bubble of bliss." Percy concluded with a contented sigh as he leaned back and closed his eyes, imagining that picture for a moment.

"You know, sometimes, I can't help but feel devastated when I realise that we could have had all of this and more, if I hadn't been a goddamn vegetable for three thousand years. I mean for me, our relationship never had a break. It felt like I saw you only days after falling into a coma. But for you, it must have been living hell. You spent a hundred times the amount of time we have been together, clinging on to a hope that I would one day come back." Percy stated in a hoarse voice as a silent tear slipped out of his eye, despite his best efforts to keep his emotions under control.

"Percy, you don't need to think about that. All that matters is that now, we are together." Athena comforted as she rubbed away the tear with her thumb and planted a soft kiss on his forehead near the bridge of his nose.

"It's just….I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it must have been for you. If it were me, I think I would have gone insane or worse, just given up my own life. Athena, I am so, so sorry for putting you through all that and I will never forgive myself for what I did. And I promise you that I will spend every day atoning for my mistakes. I promise that I will do everything to make all of your dreams come true. To make all of our dreams come true." Percy promised in a subdued voice that cracked at the end, as his emotions got the better of him.

Athena immediately engulfed him in a warm, loving embrace, as he buried his head in the crook of her neck and he broke down, staining the strap of her sundress with his tears.

A few tears made their way down Athena's cheeks as her heart painfully constricted upon seeing him in such a sorrowful state. In all the time she had known him, Athena had seen Percy break down like this only once before and that was after Achilles' death. And it tore her to know that he was going through a similar level of anguish right now.

"Shh, Percy. I know you will make our dreams come true. I know you will. And you don't need to blame yourself for our lost time. Whatever you did, you did for us, for our family, for our future. And now, we have a glorious future to look forward to. So forget the past. And forgive yourself. Do it for yourself. Do it for me." Athena soft-heartedly advised, as she soothingly ran her fingers through his silky, messy, jet-black hair.

"I will. I will do whatever you want, Athena." Percy whispered and even though his voice was muffled and hoarse, Athena could hear the determination in it. And she held him tighter, unwilling to let go of him ever again.

Unbeknownst to the two of them, their conversation had woken up Zoe, who had unintentionally eavesdropped on it. And although she had been silent in order to not interrupt their privacy, at that moment, she made a vow to herself to do whatever it took to give Percy and Athena the happy ending they deserved. After all, she owed them, and Artemis, everything.


They had all finally made it to the Smithsonian and were now outside the Air and Space Museum, having sensed that Atlas was inside it, along with two more Titans and a small army of monsters.

"This is it. I can sense Atlas and by the feel of it, Krios and Perses as well. I don't sense any demigods or demititans but I do sense about a hundred monsters." Percy informed all of them mentally.

"I'll take Krios, Ares can take Perses. Zoe and the demigods will take care of the monsters. Percy, you will need to stall Atlas as long as possible. Once the demigods are done with the monsters, they'll immediately reinforce you. That should be enough until Ares and I are done with our opponents and we can take down Atlas together." Athena shared her plan with everyone who nodded at her.

All of them took a deep breath before simultaneously bursting through the front door and Percy wasted no time in striking his spear against his shield and unleashing a monstrous funnel shaped shockwave that destroyed a dozen monsters and sent the three Titans spiralling away.

However, Atlas recovered just a few moments later, with his armour enveloping him and his spear materialising in his hands as he blocked a thrust from Percy's spear in the nick of time. He immediately parried with a blow from the pommel of his spear which Percy blocked with his shield. But the sheer force behind the attack sent Percy skidding backwards, even though his shield had absorbed most of the impact.

"I knew that you would show up again sooner or later. And I knew your stubbornness and pride would not allow to attack me in any other way except an ambush. That's why I was ready for you. You have played into my hand." Atlas boasted with a proud smirk on his face.

"You talk too much." Percy coldly replied before condensing the air around him into a dozen javelins of solidified water and sending them at Atlas. Atlas retaliated by neutralizing all of them with his wind blades before zooming towards Percy and engaging him in a vicious spark of blades.

Elsewhere, Athena and Ares had already engaged Krios and Perses while the now partially immortal demigods and Zoe carved through the monster army like a hot knife through butter. They were felling hordes of monsters by the minute and just after a quarter of an hour, the demigods and Zoe had destroyed the entire horde of monsters.

In the meanwhile, while Ares and Athena were doing well in their fights and seemed to be actually gaining the upper hand, the same could not be said for Percy, who was managing to keep Atlas occupied but was struggling to do so and had already picked up quite a bit of internal injuries.

Atlas had just swatted Percy away and was about to charge towards him when he was forced to defend himself from a volley of silver arrows fired by Zoe. His attention immediately shifted towards her and he zoomed in her direction.

Thalia and Jason stopped him with a combined bolt of lightning that was powerful enough to slow Atlas' charge just long enough for Percy to launch a linear shockwave at him which propelled Atlas through a dozen trees. Instantly, Annabeth, Reyna and Nico joined Percy in his charge while Leo, Jason and Thalia provided elemental cover to them as well as Athena and Ares and Zoe constantly peppered the three Titans with volley after volley of silver arrows.

It worked splendidly, at least initially. While Percy still did most of the heavy hitting, the partially immortal demigods and Zoe provided extremely valuable support to him, distracting Atlas just enough for Percy to be able to fight Atlas the way he wanted, at longer range with primarily elemental attacks. But Atlas caught on this and quickly shifted the fight to a close range one, where he held the advantage.

Percy blocked a thrust from Atlas' spear aimed at Annabeth's head with his shield but the force behind the attack sent him skidding backwards a bit but before Atlas could press his advantage, Leo drenched the Titan with water condensed from the atmosphere before Jason and Thalia electrocuted him with a massive bolt of lightning.

Nico quickly followed up by using the shadows to temporarily bind Atlas' legs while Reyna aimed and thrust her spear at Atlas' throat. Atlas managed to deflect it and was about to backhand her but he was stopped midway by Zoe firing a volley of silver arrows into the chink of his armour. And a second later, he felt a giant fist of solidified water slam into his chest and he was sent flying away.

Before Percy and the other demigods could attack him again, Atlas drew out a large amount of his own energy, more than he would have liked, and unleashed a massive wall of Titanic force. Percy immediately jumped into action and encased the demigods and Zoe in spheres of solidified water, to protect them and cushion their impact as they were sent flying away.

He then curled himself behind his shield, which absorbed most of the impact from the wall of force but he was still sent crashing through the ground. Atlas immediately zoomed towards Zoe, who fired volleys of silver arrows but to no effect as Atlas cut or deflected away all of them. He then broke Zoe's bow in one fluid motion and just stood there in front of her.

"Zoe, please give me a chance to speak. I know I did something horrible to you and I am completely willing to atone for my mistakes. Please, just give me a chance to explain myself." Atlas pleaded with Zoe, who backtracked from him.

"Stay away from me! Why should I ever trust you again? You thought I was conspiring against you with that bastard Heracles and you not only banished me but also stripped me of my immortality. I would have been defiled and then most likely killed by that wretch if Percy had not intervened. You don't mean anything to me anymore." Zoe coldly retorted.

"But you mean the world to me, Zoey. There has not been a single day in the past three thousand years where I have not regretted my actions. Please, just give me one chance to make amends. Come back to me. To us. To your sisters. To your family." Atlas tenderly requested as he took steps towards Zoe.

For a moment, Atlas' nickname reminded her of how he used to play with her when she was young and she was frozen in spot as Atlas made his way towards her. However, Atlas was stopped when Percy fired a massive linear shockwave at him that dislocated his shoulder and caused the General to roar in pain.

"Zoe already has a family. With us. With the Hunters. With Artemis." Percy emphasised as he protectively stood in front of Zoe before charging at Atlas.

Atlas immediately popped his shoulder back into place and intercepted Percy's spear with his own before twisting his body and aiming a kick at Percy's face. Percy ducked and instead slammed his greave-outfitted knee into Atlas' face with enough force to break the latter's nose. But Atlas did not let it affect him as he caught Percy's leg and slammed him over his shoulder and into the ground.

Before Percy could get up, Atlas had shifted his hold on his spear, rapidly spinning the pommel of his spear above his head before he brought it down on Percy's head. Percy shifted his head at the last moment such that it struck his upper back but the attack drove Percy into the ground and cracked his armour, along with temporarily disorienting Percy. Atlas used that time to harshly kick Percy away.

He then turned his attention back at Zoe, who had not moved an inch from her earlier position, but was once again doused by water and blasted off his feet with a sizzling rod of lightning. He then felt a fist of shadows slam into his head while a dagger was embedded at base of his neck.

He roared in anger and backhanded Annabeth through line of trees with enough power to knock her out before knocking out Nico with a harsh kick to the chest that definitely broke some of the latter's ribs.

He immediately blocked a spear thrust from Reyna and was about to slam the pommel of his spear into her but Jason jumped into the fray and took the attack with his shield. The force behind the attack shattered Jason's Imperial Gold shield and it triggered an explosion that blew everyone away and knocked Jason out.

Atlas recovered first and launched his spear at Reyna but Percy materialised in front of her and deflected it at the last moment. Leo, Thalia and Reyna immediately came his aid but Atlas unleashed a barrage of wind blades at them.

Percy tried to protect them as well as himself to the best of his ability and succeeded but was drained by the effort, which allowed Atlas to fire a beam of stone grey energy at him that sent him flying away. Atlas immediately unleashed another wall of force that knocked out the remaining demigods.

Elsewhere, Athena and Ares had gained the firm upper hand but they were unable to land the finishing blow and jump to Percy's aid. Perses was stronger than what they had remembered and Krios had definitely recuperated more than what he should have.

"Atlas' daughter is a wonderful healer, wisdom goddess. With her and Phoebe in charge of our recoveries, all of the Titan Lords will be back to our full power faster than anticipated. Do you see the futility of this struggle?" Krios taunted with a cruel smirk on his face.

"Shut up." Athena silenced him with murderous look as she thunderously brought down Aegis on his head and drove him to his knees. She saw that Percy had been blasted away and that the other demigods were knocked and was about to rush to his aid but was intercepted by Krios, who was bleeding profusely.

"Your fight is with me." Krios bellowed before swinging his broadsword at her and engaging her in a clash of blades.

A few dozen feet away, Percy tried to slam Atlas away with a linear shockwave but Atlas countered it with another stone grey beam of energy before sending a dozen wind blades at Percy in rapid succession. Percy released a blast of sea green energy to neutralize them but immediately, Atlas was upon him, swirling the pommel above his head where it had a stone grey hue surrounding it.

Percy managed to bring his shield up at the nick of time but the strike still cratered the ground beneath him and caused another visible dent on his shield, along with causing some micro trauma to his shoulder muscles. But he weathered through the pain and immediately struck the inside of his shield with his spear and along with the recoil from Atlas' attack, he unleashed a linear shockwave that caught Atlas off-guard and hit him at point-blank range and blasted him dozens of feet away.

Atlas slammed into the ground and noticed that both of his arms were bleeding Ichor and filled with gashes, bruises and he could feel some internal injuries as well. It wasn't something that would hinder him but nonetheless, it was a fairly big injury.

His contemplation was brought to a halt when Percy zoomed at him like a meteor and only his unbelievable reflexes allowed him to deflect Percy's spear with his own at the nick of time. He immediately stopped Percy's shield with the pommel of his spear and sent a kick at Percy's mid-section but Percy twisted his body out of the way before aiming a roundhouse kick at Atlas' face.

Atlas caught Percy's leg and slammed him into the ground over his shoulder once again, causing Percy to hiss in pain but he retaliated by thrusting his spear at, and cutting a deep gash along Atlas' neck.

However, that did nothing to slow Atlas down and the Titan barrelled the pommel of his spear into Percy's shoulder. Percy roared in pain as he felt a few hairline cracks in his clavicle. He detonated a dome of sea green energy around himself and pushed Atlas away but by the time he was back on his feet, Atlas had launched a dozen blades of wind at him.

Percy managed to cut or block most of them but his hurt shoulder acted in that moment and he ended up being grazed by one of the blades. It put him off-balance for a second and that was all it took for Atlas to thunderously slam his side with the pommel of his spear.

The attack sent Percy all the way across and he barrelled through dozens of trees before finally tumbling to a halt. And a second later, Atlas was above him and brought down his spear in a vertical two-handed slash.

Percy held his shield above his head and expected the blow to only drive him further down and cause some more pain to his arm but unfortunately, the tip of Atlas' spear struck the edge of his shield in the exact spot where it had earlier suffered from a dent and to Percy's absolute shock, the spear ploughed into his shield.

Smirking in triumph, Atlas ripped his spear away, chipping a piece of the shield and repeated the process again and again, brutally and relentlessly tearing apart Percy's shield. Eventually, he hit the shield with enough force to split the remaining chunk in half and the shield exploded, blasting both Percy as well as Atlas away.

When Percy finally regained his senses, he found that all that was left of his shield was a small piece of it strapped to his hand. He was then caught off-guard when Atlas slammed the pommel of his spear into Percy's head, burying it into the ground and breaking his helmet in half.

Percy was then lifted off the ground by Atlas who then smashed his pommel of his spear into Percy's stomach once again, this time cracking his armour and slamming him away. Atlas then threw his spear at Percy's neck, but despite his blurred vision and extreme disorientation, Percy shifted his position at the last second and the spear instead rammed into his chest.

The sheer force behind the attack destroyed his already cracked armour and sent him flying before he crash landed a few feet away from Athena and Krios. He groggily got onto his knees and coughed out a wad of Ichor, and he could also feel some dripping down his nose.

"Percy!" Athena screamed as she tried to zoom towards him but she was unable to come to his aid because Krios rammed into her.

"So, it seems that the invulnerable Perseus Diaboles can bleed after all." Atlas stated with a dark chuckle as he walked towards Percy, who had nasty bruises littering the entirety of his uncovered torso.

However, he was caught off-guard when Percy launched himself in his direction, with a geyser of condensed water propelling him and before Atlas could react, he felt Percy's spear impaling and emerging through his left arm. He immediately retaliated by kneeing Percy in the chest and causing the latter to fall to his knees.

"You have my respect, Diaboles. If nothing else, your will truly is indomitable. Now I can see why Gaia and Tartarus both failed to break your spirit. It simply is an impossible task. You will never give up. But Calypso knows exactly what to do with you." Atlas complimented with grudging respect in his eyes as he stared down at a panting Percy.

"She….will….never….succeed….I….will….never….love….her." Percy rasped out and tried to stand up but he was swiftly knocked out when Atlas slammed the pommel into head once again.

"You'll be exactly what she wants you to be." Atlas coolly commented and was about to chain Percy before Zoe's shrill scream reached his ears.

"STOP!" Zoe cried out from a dozen feet away from him and when he shifted his gaze to look at her, he saw her holding a dagger to her own throat, causing Atlas to freeze in fear.

"Get away from him, father. And ask everyone to stop fighting. Or else I will slit my own throat and you will never see me again." Zoe threatened.

"Zoe what in the name of Chaos are you doing? Put that dagger away. You could die." Atlas frantically stated, the fear of losing his youngest daughter, one who he had so much to apologize for, so much to repent for, overtook all his rational thoughts.

"No. Get away from Percy and stay there. And if you move even an inch from that position, you will be seeing my corpse." Zoe threatened as she pressed the dagger to her throat, drawing a drop of blood.

"NO! I will do whatever you want. Please don't hurt yourself." Atlas pleaded, desperation evident in his voice as he immediately did what Zoe asked and kicked Percy's limp form away from himself.

"Athena, Ares, this is your chance, take Percy and the other demigods away and leave. The metaphysical barrier around this place has been weakened. I will distract my father." Zoe informed Athena and Ares through their mental link.

"What? No! Zoe I can't let you do this, this is-" Athena replied back but she was cut off by Zoe.

"Athena, listen to me. You don't have a choice. If you don't do this, you will lose Percy forever. I won't let that happen. Please let me do this." Zoe firmly replied. And the threat of losing Percy forever was enough for Athena and Ares to accept Zoe's decision.

Athena immediately used most of her energy to detonate a dome of energy around her, blasting Krios away. She then threw her spear at Perses who was caught off-guard by it and roared in pain when it impaled the base of his neck. Ares immediately kicked him away and with a snap of his fingers, he gathered the unconscious demigods near himself before taking his divine form and with great effort, he broke through the metaphysical barrier surrounding the place and teleported away.

This was enough to bring Atlas back to his senses and when he realised what was happening, he immediately zoomed towards Zoe and disarmed her in the blink of an eye and before she could react. But it was too late and Athena materialised next to Percy before teleporting away with him, just in the nick of time as Krios brought down his large broadsword at that spot a second later.

"You stupid, traitorous Hesperide, you will die for this." Krios roared in rage as he charged at her at blinding speed.

Zoe closed her eyes, having already accepted her fate. She even had a small smile on her face because she knew that she had kept her promise to herself. But the blow she expected never came because her father had blocked Krios' sword with his own spear and he followed that up by sending a brutal right hook at Krios' face, breaking the latter's nose with a sickening crunch.

"Stay away from my daughter." Atlas bellowed in fury as he stood protectively in front of Zoe before vanishing in a stone grey light along with her.

Atlas was angry that Diaboles had slipped through his hands. But he didn't care about that for now because after eons of wallowing in his own guilt, he finally had a chance to be reunited with his youngest daughter who he had so unfairly punished. He finally had the opportunity to atone for his misdeeds and complete his family once again.


Hey guys! This chapter took a few days longer than what I would have liked but I wrote this with crucial bits of the next three chapters, basically writing four chapters at once, so that I could get a smooth flow to end this arc. So doing that, I realised that this arc will be ending with Chapter 30, bringing us to the final arc of this story!

This chapter predominantly deals with Percy's stubbornness to try and fight Atlas alone, with disastrous consequences. And it also gives a glimpse into Atlas' character and helps him develop as a character rather than as just an antagonist.

Finally, I would like to give a shout-out to MyrddinEmrys2001 for giving me the idea of Percy naming his son with Athena as Achilles!

Read and review, I hope that all of you enjoyed reading this chapter! Have a fantastic day!