THIS IS IT, PEOPLE. I'm back from camp, which was amazing, but I don't have time to talk about that. This is the beginning of the end. The final chapters are here. So, please, keep reviewing and egging me on, because I really need to finish this!

Two and a half hours later, we had it all planned out.

It had taken a lot of arguing, several awkward moments, and a yelling session between me and Annabeth that had ended with us making out on the floor right as Dr. Chase came in. You don't even want to know. But the important thing was, we had made a plan- a simple plan, but one that I knew would work.

We spent the next thirty minutes going over the whole thing twice more, making sure everyone knew what we were doing. Then, finally, we were ready to go.

"We'll have to wait until it gets dark," Annabeth told her father. "Then I can drive us there, if you'll let me have your car."

I gulped. We had sort of blown up Dr. Chase's last car we had driven, and he wouldn't be eager to give us another one.

He seemed to remember this. "I'm not sure if I trust you driving into Mount Tam with five other teenagers in the car, Anna," he said. "Besides, you're barely sixteen."

"Dad!" Annabeth said, making herself taller so she looked him right in the face. "This is a matter of saving the entire world, not the city, not the country, but the world, do you hear me? And I am not going to have the entire world given into the hands of the Titan Lord because my father wouldn't lend us his car. Understand?"

Dr. Chase looked startled, but he just nodded. "Okay," he said in a small voice.

"Good." Annabeth looked pleased with herself. "It's all set." She walked over and asked her mother if she would bake some cookies. Dr. Chase shook his head and began walking up the stairs.

Rachel caught his arm as he was about to begin his ascent. "Dr. Chase, do you have a bow and some arrows I could borrow?" she asked innocently, which a wicked look in her eyes.

--

At eight o' clock that night, we stole into the Chase's van silently. Bobby and Matthew were asleep, Mrs. Chase told us, so we'd have to be quiet. She said it like the fate of the world was second to her babies getting a good night's rest. I sighed. Mothers.

We got in the van and Annabeth started the engine. In some ways I felt like I should be driving- I mean, this was my quest- but as the instructor said, my driving skills "needed improvement". Meaning as soon as I managed to not knock over every single cone or break someone's leg, I'd be good to go.

The Chases wished us luck and said they'd be expecting us by midmorning, then they shut the door as we pulled out of the driveway and began driving out of the main part of the city.

The van was silent, but none of us felt even the least bit tired. Traffic wasn't too bad, but I still felt tense, and I wanted to get there as quickly as possible.

Before long, we began to see the faint outline of Mount Tam in the distance. It was dark out, but I could still see the thick mist swirling around the mountain. I gulped and told Annabeth to speed up.

She looked at me with concern. "Are you okay, Percy?"

"Yeah," I said. "It's just…this might be the night I face Luke. And…I don't feel like I'm ready."

She bit her lip. "I don't know if you're ready either. But we'll all be right beside you if you fight him. Count on that."

The others gave approval, and I felt better, but the thought still clawed at my heart like an angry tiger.

We drove around to the main entrance of the mountain, avoiding the Garden of Hesperides, whose guard dragon had almost killed us the last time we'd tried to go that way. Annabeth had done some research, and it seemed that an anonymous someone had drilled a strange expanse of tunnels through the mountain's core recently. The mortals didn't notice anything, of course, but we could clearly see the wide gaping hole drilled into the side of the mountain. We parked a ways away and got out of the car.

I drew Riptide from my pocket. Annabeth had her bronze knife, and Grover his club. Nico had his black sword at his side, and Tyson would be fighting with his bare hands. Rachel had acquired a bow and a quiver of arrows from Dr. Chase. It turns out she had been taking private archery lessons with Chiron since she had come to camp, which would have been useful earlier if she had spoken up, but I didn't mention that to her.

We made our way towards the hole in the mountain. There were two guards posted on either side of it, regular mortals, with machine guns at their sides.

We came around the side of the mountain, and I turned. "Everyone know the plan?" I said. They all nodded. "Luke's shirt?"

Annabeth held up the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt that had once belonged to Luke. "Check."

"Air horn?"

"Check."

"Skeleton key?"

"Check."

I turned determinately toward the entrance. "Let's roll."

Seven heads peered around the side of the mountain where the guards were waiting. I waited until their backs were turned, then I signaled to Rachel. She emerged out of the shadows, lithe as a cat, and fired two arrows. The guards went down without a sound. I tried not to look at the bodies and hurried on.

We went through the entrance hole and found a tunnel leading down. We descended, hoping it would lead us to the dungeon. As we went, Grover and Tyson took deep whiffs of Luke's shirt. They could use the scent to warn us if he was getting close.

We didn't see anything but a hallway with doors branching off on either side, but we did find a helpful map nailed to the wall with a YOU ARE HERE sign and everything. We went past the various torture rooms, weapon storages, and jazz clubs, and soon found the dungeon, on the bottom floor. We exited the hallway…and found a hoard of hellhounds growling at us.

Tyson and I reacted first. He took a couple of nearby rocks and threw them at the hellhounds, cracking their skulls. Meanwhile, I felt a familiar tug in my gut and released it. In a few seconds, the corridor was flooded. The water didn't touch us, but it drowned all the hellhounds.

Annabeth cursed. "We have to hurry," she said. "This way!"

She sprinted off to the right, and we followed her.

We made our way down to the next floor, where a couple of Laistrygonians were chatting and swinging enormous clubs that made Grover's look like a twig. I moved forward, but Rachel stopped me. "I can handle them," she said. She strung two arrows and let the first one fly. It struck the giant in the temple, and he burst into yellow dust.

"Hey!" yelled the second giant, seeing us. Then Rachel shot him in the forehead. He growled angrily, but didn't disintegrate.

"Duck!" Nico yelled as a huge hand came down to swat us away. We hit the deck and the hand passed by. Then Tyson raised his fist. "You will not hurt my friends," he said, and punched him in the nose. The giant wailed in pain and vaporized.

I clapped Tyson on the back and ran forward. I heard footsteps from above and grimaced. This was where the air horn came in. I saw an elevator next to the staircase and I ran towards it. I opened it and hit the top floor button. Then I tied duck tape to the air horn so it went off continuously. I quickly threw it into the elevator right as it closed. Hopefully that would provide enough distraction to keep the guards busy.

We went down the staircase and finally reached the dungeon. It was colder down here. The metal door was locked. Tyson offered to smash through it, but we figured that would make too much of a racket. Instead, Nico took out his skeleton key, which he assured us would undo any lock. He inserted it into the lock, and sure enough the door swung open.

We went into the dark dungeon. Rows of cells were everywhere. Rats scuttled along the floor, carrying half-decayed bits of food. Most of the cells were empty, but one larger one contained a group of girls in faded silver jackets. One of them, I was relieved to see, had spiky black hair.

"Thalia!" I said.

The girl slowly raised her head, and her eyes widened when she saw me. "Percy?" she said in disbelief. "Annabeth, Grover, Nico! What are you all doing here?"

The other Hunters were stirring too. They looked half-starved; their eyes were sunken and they were white and shivering. When they saw us, some of them blinked uncomprehendingly, as if they couldn't believe we were actually here.

"We're here to free you!" said Annabeth, as Nico began working on the lock. "Are all of you here?"

Thalia nodded. "They put us all in one cell. Three of us have died, but the rest are alive."

I caught my breath. So some of them were dead. I had seen them being tortured in my dreams, but I had never thought Kronos would actually kill them, not with Artemis there. "Does Artemis know about this?" I asked.

Thalia shrugged. "She used to come visit us, but not anymore. We think she's given up on us."

Nico finally got the lock, and we pushed the door open. "Annabeth ran in and hugged Thalia tightly. "Oh, Thalia, I've got so much to tell you!" she said as she held her old friend.

"First things first," I said. "We've got to get you all out of here!"

I helped the Hunters get up and dust off their clothes, which were covered with dust and grime, and get the ones that had trouble standing to their feet. "Everyone ready?" I asked. "Okay, let's go."

I turned around and found myself face-to-face with a twelve-year-old girl with auburn red hair.

"You should not have come," said Artemis sadly, tears in her eyes. Then the walls of the dungeon suddenly melted, and we were standing in the throne room of Kronos.

Instantly, guards and dracanae with machine guns and javelins surrounded us. They formed a circle, and though we drew our weapons, I knew there would be no escaping this time.

Then a couple of monsters parted and Luke Castellan strolled forward. He was dressed just as I'd seen him in his dream: a gold and black shirt, black pants, and a long black cape that flowed behind him. He was smiling wickedly, but when he spoke, I was surprised to hear only Luke's voice.

"Welcome, friends," he said. "It's good to see you all again."

He signaled to the guards, and they left us and took their positions along the wall and the exits. Then he walked up the pedestal where his ornate throne sat and began pacing around it. Artemis remained by the pedestal, looking pained.

"So," Luke said finally. "You thought you could just barge in here and steal my prisoners away from me without me being any the wiser?" his tone was light, but I saw rage burning in his eyes, which I suddenly realized were strange: one was blue, like Luke's, but the other was gold, like the Titan Lord. "Well? Didn't you?"

"This is wrong, Luke," I said. "Let the Hunters go. You have no right to them."

"Don't I?" replied Luke. He held out his hand, and his half-bronze scythe materialized out of thin air. He stroked it as if it were his loving pet. "Artemis is under my command, is she not? And I suppose, if she is, then so are her servants?"

"The Hunters," Artemis said, her voice strained, "Are not my servants. They are my warriors and protectors. And I would be greatly pleased if they were freed."

"Silence, witch!" Luke snapped. Artemis winced, and I expected Luke to turn into a jackalope or something. But nothing happened. Luke turned back to us. "Did you honestly think you could do it, Percy?" he said softly. "Did you really think you could break into my domain and take what is rightfully mine?"

I spat at him in disgust. Luke sneered. Annabeth looked a mixture of suspicion and worry. "What's wrong with you, Luke?" she asked. "You've done some bad things, but even you have never resorted to torture. Look at these girls."

She was right. Most of the Hunters had terrible scars on their legs, and arms. One girl who looked about ten had a gash that stretched from the edge of her nose to her neck.

For a split second, Luke's face changed, and I thought I saw his gold eye flash blue. Then it returned to normal. "It was necessary," he said, waving his hand. "Our little goddess here was less than enthusiastic to help me out with killing you all, and I thought she needed some…motivation." He chuckled, and I wanted to rip that sneer off his face.

"Please, stop what you're doing," Rachel said pleadingly. "You killed Jacob, and three of the Hunters. When is this going to end?"

"It will end when little Percy here is dead," said Luke, glaring at me. "And I will not rest until he is. Do you wonder why Kronos has left me? No, he is still here, inside me, waiting to come out. Don't you see, Percy?" he said, staring at me. "My body is merely a sanctuary for Kronos until he is accustomed to this world again. And once I have killed you, and the prophecy never comes true, Kronos can detach himself from me and take his place on this throne as King of the World!"

Luke laughed, and I stared in shock. I had never even considered that Kronos could separate himself from Luke someday. And all he had to do was kill me, which right now looked like a pretty good possibility. "You can't avoid prophecies, Luke," I said. "You should know that by now."

He ignored me. "So," he continued, "I offer you a choice, goddess." He pointed to Artemis. "Kill these intruders now, or I will destroy your Hunters."

"What?" Artemis cried in shock. "No! You can't!"

"Do you doubt my powers?" said Luke. His left hand suddenly flashed and hummed with dark power. His scythe flashed greedily in the light, as if it were hungry for human flesh.

"No, but…" Artemis faded for a moment. "Lord Castellan, you cannot do this! We had an agreement…"

"Make your choice!" said Luke angrily.

Artemis looked from me to Luke, then back to me. "Artemis, you don't have to do this," I said pleadingly. "Help us escape. We'll get out together, and you can rejoin the Olympians."

Artemis looked at me sadly. "I'm sorry, Percy," she said, "but I must do what I can to help my Hunters."

She raised her arms, and Thalia cried, "No!"

But right then, the windows on the left side of the throne room suddenly smashed. Bright flashes of light struck the monsters along the wall, and they vaporized. Thunder boomed from outside. I hadn't noticed the storm gathering.

The lightning flash revealed the silhouette of a figure perched on the windowsill. The figure braced his knees and leapt, flying into the middle of the throne room and landing in front of the pedestal. He drew a flashlight keychain from his pocket and turned it on, and it transformed into a shimmering bronze sword. He turned around to look at us, and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Jacob.

"Hey," he said. "What's going on with you guys?"

"Sparky!" said Annabeth and Rachel together, rushing forward and embracing him. "How could you possibly be alive?" said Annabeth, blinking back tears as she hugged him.

"It's a long story that I don't have time to go into right now," Jacob replied. They let go of him, and he turned to face Luke.

Luke's surprised look quickly returned to a sneer. "So, you really did come back," he said mildly. "I'd heard rumors, but I didn't believe them. Oh, well. You won't be staying here long. I guess I'll just have to kill you too, Thunder Boy."

Jacob told Luke to do something that made even Nico blush. Luke's eyes flashed angrily. "So that's how you want it?" he said. "Fine. You'll die first!"

"Don't be so sure," Jacob replied. "I've learned a few new tricks." He brought his hands in close to him, then turned them, palms outward, and pushed towards Luke.

A gust of wind blew so hard that it almost knocked me off my feet. Luckily, I managed to stand my ground. The monsters were a different story. They smashed into the walls, flew out the windows, and were occasionally struck by bolts of lightning from the storm outside.

Luke held onto his throne as he struggled to his feet. His scythe had blown away; I didn't know where. He glared at Jacob. "You think you're the only one that can make some wind?" he yelled over the monsoon. "Well, you were wrong!"

His gloved hands hummed with energy as he raised them, but what he would have done I never saw, because just then a stag leapt out of nowhere and sent him flying against the wall. Then it fell on top of him and passed out.

"What?" he cried, struggling to get up. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" He tried in vain to get the stag off him while Artemis ran to us; the wind didn't seem to affect her at all.

"You have to get out of here!" she said. "You must hurry! I've stalled him as long as I can!"

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" Grover asked.

In answer, Jacob wound his hands together and pushed towards the wall. It smashed, leaving a gaping hole in Mount Tam. I could hear the storm brewing outside.

"I can't take everyone!" said Jacob. "I'm sorry, but I think eight is the most!"

Artemis nodded. "It's all right. I can protect the Hunters for a little while. But you must hurry and come back to save them!"

"So we didn't save them," I said. "We failed."

She touched my shoulder. "You did not fail, young one," she said. She turned to Jacob. "How many did you say you could take?"

He blinked, struggling to control the wind he had conjured. "Eight, I think."

Artemis looked at her lieutenant. "Thalia, you must go too."

"What?" Thalia said. "No, Lady Artemis, my place is here, with the Hunters. I must…"

"Thalia, I need you to go," Artemis said softly. "I need someone on the outside whom I can trust. Can I trust you?"

Thalia gulped. "Yes, Lady Artemis."

The goddess grasped her shoulders. "Then go, all of you, and assemble the Olympian's army. Battle is coming. I feel it growing stronger every day. It is up to you all to win this for the gods." She pushed us toward the hole in the mountain. "Go!" she said.

We said goodbye, then Jacob made a path in the wind so we could reach the hole. Far, far below, the ground awaited us, and I could see San Francisco in the distance. "You're gonna have to trust me on this!" Jacob yelled. "On the count of three, we're going to jump!"

"Jump?" Thalia said in a small voice. I felt for her; Thalia was terrified of heights.

"One…" We tensed, and grasped each others hands… "Two…" I watched the cars race by like ants, and I heard Luke groan as he finally threw the unconscious stag off of him… "Three!"

He pulled us toward the edge, and we jumped. Suddenly the wind was racing through my hair, my hands grasped Annabeth's and Tyson's, and we plummeted toward the ground as Luke's roar of outrage, now mixed with the voice of Kronos, shook the Mountain of Despair down to its foundations.