Hey my lovely (yes, your lovely!) fanfic readers!
So, I know I haven't posted a chapter in...*looks at watch* in about three months? heh...
But! I have posted one now! (as you probably know since you've clicked on the chapter link...O.o, anyways...)
this is a pivotal point in the story and i hope you like it!

Chapter 19: Storm or Fire

Percy POV

I stared at the black serpents, transfixed. One stared at me with beady silver eyes, hissed, and then continued fighting and writhing with its siblings.

"Get away!" Hector shouted suddenly. I started as he flung me backwards.

"She's a monster!" he shouted.

"Wha-what do you mean?" I said slowly, finding my voice.

"Have you not figured it out?" he said furiously. "She's been tricking us! She's Proteus'-!"

Suddenly, an earsplitting scream cut through the air. Tria cried out as black lightning engulfed her. I rushed forward but Hector pulled me back.

"It's just like Queena said," Hector muttered. "The curse. None of his family can hear his name or voice."

Hector grabbed a rope out of his backpack and tied Tria's wrists together. "Don't you dare do anything; I know your brother's curse."

Tria nodded and made no effort to resist. The serpents had become hair again. She stared at the ground with her sad, strange silver-green eyes. Sherman had rushed over to examine Felix's wound. Hector pulled her up and tied her against a tree. I looked over at Annabeth. She looked bewildered.

Hector glanced at us. He said in a low voice, "Let's go."

Ignoring Queena and Nicholas' questioning gazes, he walked swiftly past them. Nicholas gestured over at Tria and opened his mouth to talk. He noticed our expressions and said, "No explanation? No? Oh, okay then."

"Percy?" Tyson asked, frightened.

"Don't worry about it, big guy," I said, trying to sound confident.

"Is Tria a bad guy?"

"Well, buddy, she's just diff…" I stuttered to a stop as I looked up at his big eye. His one aberration that still repelled most of the campers. I swallowed. "We can't trust her, big guy."

He just about drooped with sadness but he still followed me up the mountain. Time seemed to slow as we approached the top of the mountain. Hector had been up at night, wringing his hands, trying to figure out a strategy. There was no planning anything. We eventually convinced Hector that we just had to brawl, but he was visibly uncomfortable about it.

There was no backing out of this fight. Hopefully it wouldn't be our last.

"Fight with me?" I asked Annabeth. The rest of the demigods began engaging their fights.

"'Till the end," she said, smiling faintly.

I spotted Atlas holding the sky. The swirling gray clouds and gloom was immense. It brought back bad memories.

"Sup, Atlas."

"Shut up, Perseus Jackson," he replied.

Well, he still had his nice sense of humor.

Annabeth and I approached two wraths. Brother and sister, Achlys and Timoleon, were back to back.

"Leon, stay back," Achlys said soberly.

Leon? So monsters gave each other nicknames.

"I'll get Achlys," I said to Annabeth.

"Got it."

I uncapped Riptide and charged.

Nicholas POV

How did I end up fighting Proteus? Oh, well.

I dropped to the ground as a blade of water flashed above my head. Queena ducked and shot bolts of lightning. Proteus' water shield absorbed the bolts and dissipated into mist. Almost instantly the mist collected and attacked us again. In the most ungraceful manner, I, well as people say, hit the floor. My knee skid painfully along the ground as I flung myself on the rocky ground. He was so strong! I spotted Atlas some distance away. At least he was weighed down by the weight of the world right now. I was glad that I didn't have to fight him like Percy did.

"Where is Winter?" Queena demanded.

Was she talking to Proteus? Of course Queena would try to taunt a monster who was just about overwhelming us!

"Right around here," he said leisurely. It sounded like he was just taking a stroll in the park. "Didn't you know?"

Queena charged forward and swung her sword. Proteus deftly dodged. I summoned the sea to slip his landing. With a flick of a wrist, he pushed the water away. This was so frustrating!

"Of course I didn't know! Why would I ask otherwise?" Queena spat.

Queena! Enough with the wisecrack remarks!

Suddenly, Proteus swung out with his arm and knocked Queena down. He raised his sword. I rushed forward, but I was too late.

"Proteus!" an unfamiliar voice hollered. Who was it?

Proteus faltered for a second and I didn't bother identifying our newcomer. I dashed forward and pulled Queena away. I set her down and she glanced at her elbow, which was scraped up and bloody now. Then, she looked up.

"No way," she said, looking past me.

"What is- whoa…" I stopped.

Ash was standing at the mountain top. His shirt was smeared with blood, grit, and sweat. Dirty hair and grime framed his face. Despite looking like he just fought a war, his expression had a frightening intensity. His eyes were filled with alarming fury, almost to the point of madness.

"Oh, you're alive," Proteus said. His tone almost shocked me more than Ash's appearance. He didn't sound the littlest surprised, just vaguely disappointed. "I thought you'd died."

"Too bad," Ash said. "but I'm not the one that's going to die."

Thunder rumbled overhead. Startled, I looked up at the gray clouds accumulating. These clouds weren't the swirling storm Atlas was holding. Then, I looked towards Proteus, who was looking upwards. This was my chance! I raced forward, tightening my grip on my sword. Suddenly, he flicked his hand. A torrent of icy water hit me and threw me backwards. I hit the ground and I coughed up water. Let me just say, belly flopping against rocks does not feel nice. I pushed myself up with difficulty, my clothes thoroughly soaked through. When I finally looked up, I gasped. The sky was completely covered in stormy gray clouds, laced with sparking white lightning and silver lining. I grimaced. The irony. I looked behind me and stumbled backwards. A cliff dropped straight down behind me but that's not what I saw. Monstrous waves leapt and crashed against each other. The agitated dark azure water looked like there were fifteen tsunamis, hurricanes, and riptides happening at once. What was happening?

"Queena!" I shouted over the wind. "What's going on?"

"It's Ash and Proteus!" she shouted back. Rain began joining the torrent of wind.

"What? Are you serious?"

"No! I'm joking! I'm totally being sarcastic!"

"I'm sorry I asked!"

I crouched low against the ground, gestured Queena to follow, and crawled in front of a rock; I didn't know what else to do. I glanced at the monstrous Titan holding the swirling gray clouds and gloom. Even he seemed to be having some difficulty facing the storm's wind. Suddenly, a prophecy line came to me. To storm or fire, the world must fall.

I struggled to my feet, I had to stop Ash and Proteus! In a moment of imbalance and sudden wind, my feet were swept from underneath me. I winced as I hit the ground. I couldn't do anything. I looked up helplessly. All I could do was wait. Atlas had his head down, his body positioned against the wind. His arms muscles seemed to tremble from the weight of the world. Were they before?

A huge tornado of lightning created a whirlpool in the sky. Bright white flashes and scarlet sparks of fire fought each other in the summoned one bright flash, the lightning and flames collected and shot towards the earth in a spiral of hellfire. To storm or fire. A dark flood of surging water flew overhead just before –BAM!

The divine collision of elements flung me backwards. I crashed against the boulder and my head snapped backwards, connecting with the rock. I stumbled to my feet and looked up right as an immense mass of swirling gray gloom, clouds, and haze obscured the sky as mortal kind knew it. The world must fall.

It dawned on me.

Oh gods, Atlas had dropped the sky.

Hello again!
just to clarify, Atlas did drop the sky.
any other questions? just review :)

i will try to post the next chpt as soon as i can (in a month?) and hopefully it won't take as long as this one :/