Disclaimer: Same as always. Credit given to where credit is due.

Enjoy!

Chapter 27

Percy must've looked weird.

Even if it was the middle of winter, wearing a thick black trench coat and a hat to cover his face had to look suspicious.

He blinked a few times to get used to the coloured contact lenses. He had darker eyes now, sort of like a certain shade of brown. Glancing behind him, he saw the blonde haired head of Luke following him a few blocks down the road. Percy cursed. He knew he should have checked if he was being followed. Obviously, the son of Hermes was letting him walk away, since the manticore had also gone this way, but Percy needed to be alone for this part to work.

Annabeth was right. It was going to be a gamble. If things didn't work out explicitly to the way he wanted, the plan would fall apart. He would have to make another one. Truth be told, he was never great at plans. Or anything strategic. For years, despite hanging out with Nathan, he relied on strength and ADHD to get through hard times and crappy situations.

Now, that was impossible. He cursed again.

Percy just needed to see the group once more and hope they were on the right track. If the manticore was going after them, there would be no way they could survive. Even last time the manticore survived the attack from Artemis herself. There had to be a way he could help without Luke noticing.

He dove into the crowd and slipped down to the beach. He found the manticore.

"We have to protect him," Bianca was saying. "If Luke gets hold of him—"

"Luke wouldn't hesitate," Thalia muttered. "The power to overthrow Olympus. That's… that's huge."

"Yes, it is, my dear," Dr. Thorn said. "And it is a power you shall unleash."

There was a quiet whimpering sound, and Percy edged closer to the conversation. There was no way Luke could force him to come back. It would cause a scene, and that would catch the attention of the quest members.

Then he saw the Ophiotaurus. It really was half-cow, half-serpent.

Now that he looked at the group, something seemed odd. Zoë, Thalia and Bianca were definitely still there. So was another Hunter. But Nico was supposed to be a part of the group. Where was he?

"Long ago, the gods banished me to Persia," the manticore said. "I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honour me, and I shall feast on the flesh of half-bloods!"

"Where… where are the skeletons?" Bianca asked the manticore daringly.

He sneered. "I do not need those foolish undead! The General thinks I am worthless? He will change his mind when I capture you myself!"

"We beat you once before," Thalia challenged.

"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas… that goddess is preoccupied at the moment. There will be on help for you now."

Zoë notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. The guards on either side of them raised their guns.

"Wait!" Bianca said. "Zoë, don't!"

A voice next to Percy said, "She's going to become a formidable opponent if we don't turn her now."

Percy nearly jumped two feet into the air. "Luke! I mean, uh, what are you doing here?"

The son of Hermes didn't look happy. Ever since the dip in the Styx, and the fight afterwards where Percy had destroyed him in combat, he'd been feeling more and more depressed. He looked downright sickly now, even though he had the Curse of Achilles. Even though he was invincible except for one spot, he looked frail, like a castle of glass: a hardened fortress made of a fragile material.

"I saw the manticore leave, and you followed him," Luke replied. "He will fail. But if you interfere… I don't know what your plan is, but if you took a dip in the Styx, it obviously means you either want to challenge me or become the host. Since it's likely you don't want to be the host, you're more of an enemy than ever before. You won't beat me so easily next time, Percy."

The manticore laughed. "The girl is right, Zoë Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would be a shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."

Clearly, Thalia was still used to fighting close combat. She had her hunting knives out. "What are you talking about?" she growled.

"Surely it is clear," the manticore said. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos has let you live. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for the next two years, you will slowly tear the gods down and overthrow Olympus."

"What about Percy Jackson?" Bianca shouted.

"Percy Jackson." The manticore growled uneasily. "The boy is dead. Terrible fate. I wish I could have destroyed him myself, but Lord Kronos gave him punishment only the strongest can endure. Specially designed for the son of Poseidon."

"What is he—?"

Luke clamped his hand over Percy's mouth. "It's a lie to make them feel hopeless. In all honesty, it would be better if you were dead, Percy. But I don't want to rule this world unless we fight as true enemies or become partners."

Thalia looked completely stunned.

"Why isn't Thalia saying anything?" Percy asked.

Luke pursed his lips. "Her fatal flaw: power. She wants power. Like you, she is much like her father. Power means a lot to her. In a sense, it is the opposite of what you want. You want to live a normal mortal life. You want to be less powerful. But in order to bring that, you need to be more powerful. And you are willing to do that. It's a contradiction within itself. That's why it is harder to control you. That's why they all want Thalia, both Titans and gods."

"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told her. "You friend Luke recognized it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympus underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your knives."

"Please, Thalia," Luke said quietly. "Believe him. Save me."

No one said anything. Both Zoë and Bianca both looked like they believed the manticore. They looked like they believed Zeus didn't care.

"I… I don't—" Thalia stopped herself. She looked dazed, almost uncertain.

Bianca glared at the manticore will an emotion Percy had never seen on the girl: hatred. What had happened?

The demigoddess then shouted: "Serve me!" and clapped her hands together.

It was stunning.

A dark, cold air passed over them.

"Fire!" Dr. Thorn ordered the guards.

They made the mistake at shooting Bianca.

Percy didn't realize it at first, but when the bullets made impact, he realized she was wearing the Nemean lion's fur coat. The bullets knocked her back, but she stayed upright. Their mistake led to the three Hunters letting loose six arrows that exploded at the guards' feet in clouds of sulfurous yellow smoke. Fart arrows!

The guards started coughing. The manticore shot spines in their direction, but Bianca deflected them with her coat. She had suddenly become a lot braver.

All around the manticore, bony hands shot through the sand.

The manticore, stunned, gasped, "No, it can't be."

"I am Bianca di Angelo," the dark-haired, olive-skinned girl snarled, "daughter of Hades. And you will pay for everything you did to my brother!"

Six of the skeletons rose and began attacking the manticore, as behind them, another circle grew out of the ground. The first six were swept aside by Thorn's massive paw. He roared in indignation.

The guards were beginning to fight through the fart arrows. If the guards were there, there was no way they could win. Percy wanted to help, but that would only make things worse. No, he had to help indirectly. There had to be something he could do, like call for help or something. But Luke grabbed his arm and held him aside.

"There is nothing you can do. Thalia and Bianca will live. The others will die. Besides, what love do you have for the Hunters. Their leader hates you. They hate you. Why would you dare to feel compassion toward them?"

Percy gritted his teeth.

Then Zoë and the other Hunter did something he didn't expect. As Thalia went to help Bianca, the two of them shot steel-tipped arrows at the guards. The first one got hit in the neck. Another had one straight through his face. The Hunters were killing the mortals. They were murdering the enemy. Even though it should have been a good thing, Percy couldn't help but feel horrified as to what they were doing.

Then they finished and turned to Dr. Thorn, who was wailing and roaring in anger. Bianca was more powerful than he thought. She managed to hold back the manticore as Thalia shot arrows at him. Thorn's tail hadn't fully healed, so he was lacking some power.

Slowly, the four surrounded him and shot him to death. Thorn died with a wailing hiss, before crumbling into sand, as if he'd never been there.

Bianca collapsed soon after, and the three Hunters went to tend to her.

"No way." Luke was shocked. If he was seeing things right, he could've sworn Luke was showing fear in his eyes. Percy would have been scared, too, seeing a girl who found out she was a half-blood less than a week ago become that powerful. Something had to have happened.

The few bystanders around were calling police on their phones.

"They have to get out of here," Percy said urgently.

"Yes, they do. And so do we."

Percy swallowed. How could he just leave after seeing that? Bianca di Angelo was a force to be reckoned with. He hadn't calculated this part in. How? Why? He needed to know.

"They will pay!" Bianca screamed, clearly arguing with the Hunters. "For my brother's sake! I don't care if you hate men. I'm doing this for my brother. Nico won't have sacrificed himself for nothing. He won't have died for nothing. We will survive today. We'll rescue your goddess and Annabeth. Please, don't let Nico die in vain. You're all powerful. Help me get revenge."

"Bianca…" Percy trailed off.

Luke grabbed his arm and yanked him away. As the son of Hermes led him away, the atmosphere seemed to get colder, as if the dead were planning their rise from the Underworld. Bianca had a fierce look on her face. Something had definitely happened to change her. And that was the fact that Nico di Angelo was dead.

And worst of all, Bianca was a child of Hades.

Percy pulled the hood over his head. His orders were to stand beside Annabeth without interfering.

The only way to pull his plan off was to play along. He wouldn't try anything anyway. He needed to summon the Ophiotaurus, not Thalia. If Thalia summoned it, it would only make things a little harder. But if he did, he could pause and stall until the king of the gods could do his deed.

The Princess Andromeda was anchored down at the shore, and hundreds of monsters were climbing up toward the mountain's summit. Many more than he'd seen the past summer when trying to retrieve the Golden Fleece. Percy remembered how his quests had been so jam-packed with action that it felt like something happened almost every hour of every day. Meanwhile now he was reaping the reward of pretending to be on the Titans' side: hospitality.

Half a dozen dracaenae were bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Apparently, they were reforming the Titan's conscience bit by bit inside that box. It was a horrifying thought, especially because eventually he would have to host the Titan's spirit.

It might be Luke, a part of his mind said.

No, it has to be me, he fought back. I won't let him suffer anymore.

They found the four at the top of the mountain speaking to Artemis.

On the summit, grey clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains.

Percy remembered her lack of faith in him because he was a guy. Resent swirled in his innards.

"My lady!"

Zoë rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."

Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. Percy had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.

Zoë was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis' protests, and tugged at the chains.

A booming voice spoke from Percy's side: "Ah, how touching."

The four turned. The General was standing in his brown silk suit. Luke, Percy and half a dozen dracaenae stood next to him. Annabeth was between Luke and Percy. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was holding the point of his sword to her throat.

It took all of Percy's willpower to refrain from beating Luke up. But he couldn't remove his act. Not yet.

"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."

Luke's smile was weak and pale. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."

Thalia spat at him.

The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoë. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."

"You're not going to hurt Zoë," Bianca said boldly. "I won't let you."

The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little heroine. This is a family matter."

She frowned. "A family matter?"

"Yes," Zoë said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."

Now that Percy had a good view of both of them, he could see the family resemblance. Zoë had the same regal expression as Atlas, the same cold proud look in her eyes when she looked mad, though his looked a thousand times more evil than Zoë's.

"Let Artemis go," she demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."

Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoë! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.

"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."

Atlas approached Thalia and Bianca, studying them. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."

Bianca looked away, her expression full of fear, sadness and anger.

Atlas turned his attention to Thalia. "As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. "Thalia, you can still join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"

He waved his hand, and next to them a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus.

"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."

"Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"

"Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"

Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."

"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world."

"What about Percy, huh?" Thalia glared at him harshly. "You let him die. He's the one that truly brought us together. What world would it be without that idiot? You let him die. He was only after Annabeth, but you killed him. You killed him."

Annabeth turned her head slightly to glance at him. Her eyes asked the question he was hoping she wouldn't: What did you tell them?

"Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…" Luke's voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."

"Do not, Thalia," Zoë warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.

"Thalia," Bianca said. "No."

Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, Percy saw images in the mist all around them: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracanae and Laestrygoanians, monsters and half-bloods, hellhounds, harpies, and other things he couldn't even name. In a few minutes, they would be here.

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me… don't make him destroy you."

She glanced at her comrades. They all seemed to understand what to do.

"Now!" Thalia commanded.

Then together they charged.

Bianca, Zoë and Phoebe immediately went for Artemis and Atlas.

Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. Then she dropped it and switched to her hunting knives.

But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's knives, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

On the other side of the battlefield, Percy saw Bianca get flung to the feet of the goddess Artemis. Atlas was in full battle armour now. A huge javelin had appeared in his hands. It seemed hopeless, but he needed the demigods to win. They needed to win.

He bent down and helped Annabeth out of her cuffs.

She grabbed his shoulders and said, "Percy, before you do anything, I want you to know… I want you to understand—"

"Please, Annabeth," he said. "I don't have time for this!"

She grabbed his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. His brain seemed to melt when he touched her lips. When they broke apart, she said, "Go! I'll help Thalia!"

He nodded and burst toward the pool of water. He thought very clearly of the creature that he saw down at the beach.

The more he thought about it, the more he could hear the distant mooing of some distant creature. He closed his eyes and forced himself to think about the king of the gods, Zeus. He hoped the god would sense the danger and interfere to prevent a disaster for Olympus. That was his plan. The Ophiotaurus would be slain, but the entrails would be taken by the gods before anyone could sacrifice them. That's what happened before. Hopefully history would truly repeat itself.

When he opened his eyes, the Ophiotaurus was swimming, alarmed, in the small pool of water. It looked fearfully into his eyes.

There was a loud groaning sound from the summit. Percy looked up and saw Bianca under the sky trying to scream a warning. But she didn't have the energy. She was losing the battle to the sky. Artemis, on the other hand, was now busy with another task. She was fighting Atlas with incredible speed, like a gazelle attacking a lion. The lion was sure to win, but the gazelle was putting up a great fight.

Zoë noticed Bianca's struggling and turned to face him. Her eyes glowed with malice and she took an expert shot. Percy barely dodged the arrow as it brushed across his chest and cut the string holding the cloak up. It fell and his face was revealed. He no longer had his contact lenses, and they could clearly see that it was him, Percy Jackson.

"Impossible!" shouted Zoë.

Then Atlas roared and swatted her away like a fly. Phoebe followed suit.

Artemis turned to look and him and she suddenly seemed to change her focus. Her anger was now directed toward him. The Titan Atlas laughed mercilessly and stepped in front of the goddess.

"How rude!" he bellowed in amusement. "Just like a girl. Too weak to face me and decides to challenge a much weaker opponent. Coward!" He swiped at her with his javelin.

For that moment, Percy realized the Titan was actually helping him, keeping the goddess at bay while he began the sacrifice.

With all his heart, Percy begged: Please, Lord Zeus. Realize the threat and kill the beast and retrieve its entrails. I'm begging you.

Percy uncapped Riptide and slowly leveled it at the monster. He closed his eyes and tried to feel the scene around him. He could sense a power shift in the sky. He could sense the goddess' relentless attacks to get past her Titan opponent. He could sense Thalia's shock and her increase in fight power against Luke. He could sense the power emanating from Bianca as she struggled under the weight of the sky. Then the hairs on his arms rose on end and he dove backward.

A huge lightning bolt streaked out of the sky and struck the Ophiotaurus. He heard the wailing moo as it died. In the ensuing shock, an eagle swooped down from the sky and retrieved the corpse of the monster. It flew off into the sky and disappeared into the clouds.

"No!" Atlas bellowed in anger. "No! That is against the ancient laws. You are not to interfere with the quest!" He turned to Artemis and raised his javelin to unleash his fury. But that was his undoing. He was fighting with all emotion. He wasn't thinking properly.

Artemis swiftly dodged out of the way, grabbed his javelin shaft, and directed it downward. It hit the earth, and she used the momentum of the giant Titan to pull backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the General and sending him flying over her. He landed right on Bianca, knocking her out from under the sky and releasing her from the immense burden.

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas' back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get ot his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.

"Nooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"

Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

At the same time, Thalia had backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a cut across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Thalia and she grabbed his blade. Using momentum, just as Artemis had, she forced the blade out of Luke's hands. So Thalia was a better fighter than Luke. His sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. With an expert kick, she sent him flying off the cliff's edge.

Percy rushed the cliff's edge. He knew that Luke had to be alive, but fifty feet below Luke's body looked broken. He wasn't moving. Was that even possible with the Curse of Achilles? To look dead but not be dead?

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

Thalia's eyes were full of grief and anger, tears streaming down her cheeks. With an ear-piercing scream, she let loose and blast of electricity that made a lightning storm seem insignificant. A huge portion of the frontlines were demolished instantly. Electricity arced from everywhere, tendrils of yellow light flickering among the piles of sand. Then she turned to Percy.

"You traitor!" She blasted electricity at him.

He was sent flying backward, and landed at the edge of the cliff. He was caught off guard, but before Thalia could stab him, he rolled in and got into a fighting stance.

"You were alive but you betrayed us!" she yelled. "How could you? I thought you'd learned. But apparently all you care about is revenge. Did Annabeth know? Bastard!"

She charged at him and attacked relentlessly. Percy found himself outmatched for the first time. Her speed was unmatched. Did it come with being a Hunter? She was already good at combat before but now… He couldn't hope to beat her without killing her. She was unleashing every ounce of strength she had into this fight. She truly felt betrayed, even more so than just Luke. And she was right. They had been friends, and the situation must have looked bad in her eyes.

"Listen, Thalia!" he shouted back. "It's part of the plan. I begged Zeus to snatch the entrails of the Ophiotaurus before it could be sacrificed. It's all part of the plan."

She nearly took his ear off. Well, at least, if it could come off, she was very close to doing so.

He ducked from an attack, but watched as the bottom of her combat boots smashed into his face. He flew backward, dazed and in pain. So much for invincible. He couldn't even beat another demigod, not to mention a Titan or a god.

When he stood up, he noticed that a shield was lying at his feet. It was Aegis. Thalia had dropped it earlier in the battle to make room for her new Hunter skills.

It was Annabeth who saved him from having his secret curse revealed.

In that moment, Thalia tried to attack him, but Annabeth, bleeding from a wound on her arm, stood in front of him and begged her to see sense. She was shouting about his plan, but the daughter of Zeus wasn't paying attention. She was focused on killing the traitor. She was focused on doing her duty to the goddess.

"Artemis is right," Thalia said, trembling. "Zoë is right. Men truly are horrible. You trick and deceive everyone around you. You don't deserve to be a human anymore. And since my lady isn't here right now, the only punishment for you is death!"

Then she raised her knives and darted forward.

Percy braced for impact, but then a shadow passed over him and the blades never hit him. No, it wasn't a shadow. It was the body of another person. Percy started in horror as Annabeth fell backward, the blades sliding out of her chest. He caught her and gently laid her on the ground. Even Thalia was too shocked to even attack him.

Now Annabeth was bleeding profusely. Blood stained the dirt.

"Annabeth." Percy's voice was weak and quiet. "A-Annabeth?"

"Percy," she said, raising a hand to put on his cheek. "Don't… please don't…"

"Annabeth?" His voice grew desperate. He couldn't believe what was happening. He refused to believe that Annabeth was dying. He could see the life seeping out of her. "Annabeth, no! You can't be dying. No, Annabeth!"

She clutched his hand in hers. With a brave smile, she said, "I—I love you, too, Percy. I love you."

Then her body went limp.

Percy, still in shock, shook her body. "Annabeth? Annabeth?! ANNABETH!"

He dropped her and numbly looked over at Riptide and Aegis, which were both lying on the ground. The memory of fighting Ares flashed in his mind. He remembered how he'd used both Riptide and Aegis to fight the god. If he could defeat a god, who says he couldn't defeat a demigod.

He picked both weapons up and swiped weakly at Thalia, who raised her blades in defence. She looked about as shocked as he was. But the more he swiped, the more she realized she should have been paying attention to the fight.

He made a lame attempt to attack her torso, and she knocked him down to the ground.

"You killed Annabeth," he said stoically. He looked up at her. "You killed Annabeth. You killed Annabeth."

Something inside of him snapped. He suddenly felt angry. He wanted to grieve, but the feeling of hate crept up his bones.

He stood up and jabbed quickly at Thalia, who deflected it easily. Then the dam broke, and he screamed in grief and fury. With all of his might, he fought Thalia, determined to end her life the same way she ended Annabeth's. With every slash and stab, he made sure it was a devastating blow. He wanted her to suffer. He wanted her to feel the same pain he was feeling.

Percy kicked her knee, then slammed her face with her shield. He slashed down and took out one of her arms. She screamed in pain. He attacked the other hand and eventually forced her to drop her knife. He hit her in the face with the shield once again before kicking her jaw as hard as he could. She flew a good ten feet and lay on the ground motionless.

"You dare attack my Hunters!" Artemis shouted, and the goddess charged it from what was seemingly nowhere.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bianca drag Thalia to the black rocks.

Artemis was fast, but the longer Percy fought, the angrier he felt and the faster he attacked. He hated the Olympians for bringing this fate upon him. It wasn't his fault he was the son of Poseidon. It wasn't his fault that he was dangerous. Why couldn't they have been nice to him? Perhaps then he wouldn't have defected. Perhaps then he would have fought for them. But they made him their enemy. And he promised to be a formidable one. Annabeth would not die in vain. She wouldn't have sacrificed herself for nothing.

Thalia Grace would die. He would make sure of that.

Percy slashed down and felt air. A split second later, Artemis slashed at him and made what would have been a fatal wound had he not taken a dip in the River Styx.

Percy thought about the vision he'd had in the Styx, the thing that kept him part mortal: Annabeth. In horror, he realized that the one thing that helped tie him to the mortal world was dead.

Artemis, stunned, lost her balance. Percy quickly changed direction and stabbed at her. She twisted so that she could avoid a horrible blow; however, the edge of his sword caught her cheek and made a long cut. He kicked her to the side. Unlike what a demigod would have done, Artemis regained her footing immediately.

"I will kill Thalia Grace!" he bellowed, and continued attacking the goddess.

He slashed at her, cutting her already torn dress into smaller pieces. There were lines of gold on the goddess' arms and face. She stabbed his neck, but the blade just ricocheted off. He smashed the shield into her face, just as he'd done with Thalia. She quickly grabbed his arm and put him in an arm lock. But he couldn't feel any pain. His whole body felt numb.

Percy twisted and began engaging in hand-to-hand combat. After what seemed like two seconds, he found himself choking the goddess. She was staring at him with hatred and horror, both angry of what he'd become and terrified that a mere demigod was doing this to her.

He probably could have choked her into unconsciousness, but an arrow hit the side of his head. He turned to see where it had come from when Artemis punched the side of his head hard with her fist. He let go and collapsed to the ground. She stood over him, looking at his sorrowful form.

"Annabeth," he cried. "Annabeth."

She kicked him one more time before turning and running toward the black rocks. Before he fell into unconsciousness, he heard the sound of the hunting horn. Slowly, he faded into unconsciousness with two thoughts: Percy Jackson was the traitor to Camp Half-Blood, and Thalia Grace was Annabeth Chase's murderer.

"I will avenge you, Annabeth," he whispered. "I promise."

Hey. Like it? Hate it? Review to give me feedback. Also, don't forget to point out any grammatical errors if there are any! Thanks so much for reading and I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Who am I kidding? I killed Annabeth. If only I'd been making an original story, then I would've made her more appealing and developed her relationship with Percy more. However, I feel like I can't drag this story on for too long.

I'm estimating the final chapter to be between chapter 32 and chapter 38. Probably closer to the end.

Anyway, thanks for reading,

ShArKaTtAcK719