Here we are, the buildup has led to this. Let's jump right in.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

On with the sixteenth chapter.

16. The Summit Of Our Desires

Percy

Blackjack flew down as fast as he could, landing on the wet sand, he galloped to a stop right in front of me, nearly butting his nose in my face.

Yo, boss! He whinnied happily.

I grinned and rubbed his head. "Hey buddy, how you been?"

Ah, I've ate a few donuts here and there, flew around the world a couple of times. Nothing major. What about you? I thought you decided to retire.

I shrugged and sighed through my nose, "Can't escape it, I guess. I'm back again."

Well, no need to worry, cause you got me! He then lowered the tone of his whinny, almost in a snobby way. Bet I ride way better than that hellhound, huh boss?

I knew he was talking about Mrs. O' Leary, my pet hellhound. Which if you don't know me, that sentence might sound like the weirdest thing in the world. Having a pet as a hellhound is not common, so no, you aren't wrong. But she's an exception. She's like a giant puppy, and blackjack gets jealous of her a lot.

"Don't give her such a hard time, man." I said, "She loves you!"

Believe me, I've had enough slobber on my fur to last a lifetime. He grumbled, but got off the subject, straightening himself. Alright, we ready to get this show on the road?!

"Yes." My dad said, and I turned around quickly to find him looking at us. Huh, forgot for a second that he could understand horses too. Which is dumb of me, since I literally inherited that trait from him.

"Everyone, mount up!" He ordered. Even though withered, it amazed me that he could still summon just enough force to exert a thunderous shout like that. He had an iron will if I'd ever seen one.

The small army we had gathered mounted up on the hippocampi, all waist deep in the water. I saw that Athena didn't have one, and she just stood there, in the water.

I turned to Dad and motioned towards her, "Hey, she doesn't have a hippocampus."

He looked over and raised an eyebrow. "That she does not." He raised his chin and voice to address her. "Athena, would you like a hippocampus?"

She eyed the creatures, and shook her head. "I have my own way of travel. Besides, I do not think they trust me."

It was true. The things were half horse after all, and I guessed they held some sort of resentment towards her. They were kind of backing away and whinnying with annoyance.

"Are you sure?" I said. I didn't want to leave her behind. We sort of needed her anyway. If we're even one step ahead and she doesn't get the chance to help Dad and Triton with Oceanus, it could mean the outcome of the battle.

But her determined nod changed my mind. I could see that it would be us having trouble keeping up with her, with whatever she was going to do. "I am. And I should warn you, Percy, not to look in my direction until we reach the stronghold."

Oh, she was doing…that. "You're going into your true form."

"Prepare yourselves!" Triton shouted, practically standing up on his hippocampus to raise his bident in the air. "Today, we take back what's ours!"

There was a magnificent war cry, so loud I wasn't sure if the barrier they had set up would conceal it from the mortals. It made us seem a lot larger in numbers than we were. I was left out, because I kind of didn't expect it. It almost made me fall off Blackjack, if I'm not gonna lie. The Pegasus himself was a little startled too.

Gee, they sure know how to do a pep rally, huh Boss?

I felt a sudden presence loom on my right, I turned and saw Athena leaned in ever so slightly, as if to tell me something in secret.

"Good luck, Percy." She said, "And remember; save Annabeth first, worry about us later."

I nodded, and gulped down a wad of spit I hadn't known built up. "I-I will."

She gave me a look of affirmation and turned towards the sea, placing her helmet on her head, it hid most of her face.

This was really happening, and there was no turning back.

"ONWARD!" Triton shouted, and the horses obeyed. The hippocampi displayed an uncharacteristic aggression in their press, diving underwater like it was their singular life's purpose.

Blackjack followed with ferocity, and we tore through the surface of the ocean like a hot knife to butter.

I willed the water to form an air bubble over his head so he could breathe. I wasn't sure if pegasi could do it anyway, but I just wanted to be sure that my ride didn't drown before we even got there.

Descending into the depths with my father, my half-brother, my soon to be mother-in-law (hopefully) and the armies of the good side of the sea…I gotta admit, it felt like I had the Mark of Achilles again.

I felt invincible.

Matt

Kyros swooped down towards the mountain, flying in a great swirling arc, circling the top a single, quick time.

I could spot them below, both of them. They were waiting for us.

When we reached a safe point of landing, Kyros dipped his head down and curved at just the right moment, his talons scraped the edge of the rocky cliff, chipping off a few pebbles. He stopped himself on the surface and ran to a complete halt. Letting out a low caw and a snort through his nose, I could tell that he already wanted to leave.

I decided not to look in their direction, not yet. Instead I kept my gaze on the ground. I walked over to the side of the saddle, and let the situation sink in. We were here, this was it. It was time.

I took a deep breath, audible and full, it gave my lungs all the air they needed, and some more on top of that. The air was cool and thick with life, too much life for a day like today. I closed my eyes and felt the sun's warmth, knowing that the blue sky was filled with fluffy clouds, that the giant yellow orb that let off the amazing heat of the day was in between it's peak and the horizon, marking a mid-evening time.

The anxiety that I once held seemed to go away in a moment. Realizing that I was truly here, I held no qualms, no worries about dying. I felt the auras of my friends before stepping off, just to reassure myself that I wasn't alone in this. I wasn't alone.

With little effort, I jumped off of Kyros and felt the bottom of my boots hit the ground. Several thumps followed afterward, my lead giving them the signal. Everyone; Harper, Malachi, Talon, and Levi, they landed beside me.

With my head still bowed, I turned my chin slightly. "Kyros, it's time for you to go, buddy."

The great eagle understood, and even gave a little nod of his head. There was something else there, something very human that I'd never seen him do. Kyros was always more aware and intelligent than other Greek monsters, but the gaze he gave me when he hesitated for a single step, told me that even though he remembered what Atlas did to him, the danger of this situation…he wanted to stay by my side and help me. He didn't want to lose another owner.

The connection of that almost made my eyes sting. I would never allow that here, though. Giving one inch to Ouranos and Atlas, one sign of fear or sadness, and they'd stretch it to the ends of the Earth. I remained strong, and gave Kyros an encouraging nod.

"It's okay. You can go now. I'll be okay."

As little as he liked it, he understood that I wasn't going back on this. With a running start, he flapped his wings once and left our sight, soaring off into the distance in a brown dot.

Now, there was no turning back. I raised my head and finally looked at them.

There they stood, unmoved, only fifty feet from us, in a direct parallel position. So, like our other confrontations, we were in a standoff, only this time Atlas was present.

The titan stood both beside, and in front of Ouranos. Like he'd walked in an L shape away from his temporary boss. He somehow looked even more intimidating than when we fought on the beach, perhaps even more terrifying than the younger version of him in the vision too. You'd think that with his seemingly old appearance, that he would be weaker. But that wasn't the case. In this world, or at least the world of immortals, age means nothing. I was looking at the best version of him right now. The only hindrance being his blinded eye, which now in the sunlight, I noticed went all the way from his cheek to the top of his forehead, a white, horrible gash that looked more akin to a dragon scratch than a knife cut.

Besides that, the rest of his face looked just as weathered and rugged. Wrinkles covered the entirety of his skin, his eyebrows were furrowed in what you'd think to be anger, but the sliver of lip I could see under his thick gray mustache showed a wolfish smirk. He was ecstatic, and holding himself back from jumping on us right now and bashing our heads in.

Attire wise, he hadn't changed a thing. He still wore camouflage fatigues, wide combat boots, a tight black shirt, with stone gauntlets on his wrists. Simple, but effective for movement. He knew how to dress for a fight, that was clear.

As for Ouranos, well, switching from Atlas to him, then back and forth a few more times, it was like looking at Atlas's little grandson who wanted to come out and watch his pop-pop beat the crap out of a few teenagers today. The Primordial was half my height and size, wearing a gray t-shirt and navy-blue shorts, along with basketball sneakers. His features struck very close to Malachi's, from his tan skin, to his face, to his smooth blonde hair, falling over the sides of his head like his son's. You'd think he was just a normal little kid that got lost on his way to school, but I knew better. Behind that façade, this temporary form, was the man that killed my father, a monster of a creature that called himself the king of the new world.

Looking to my right and my left, I sized up my crew. Harper was clutching her dual knives, glaring at our enemies like soon-to-be prey. She had tied her hair back in its usual thick braid and shed herself of the trademark leather jacket, instead keeping the black tank top, tight jeans combo. Given the heat of the day, I couldn't blame her. The only part that gave her away as a demigoddess, would be the leather belt around her waist, with two sheathes for her knives. Other than that, she looked like a normal teenager.

Levi too. Like his sister, he'd gone for the more casual look today, keeping the same clothes he's worn on this entire trip; a black denim jacket, t-shirt underneath, with jeans and black shoes. While he didn't look nearly as withered as he did before, he still didn't look his former self, so he gave off a "weak link" sort of vibe. And I knew he'd use that to his advantage. I forced my eyes to stay away from where I knew the knife was. Can't give any indications.

Now other than those two, everybody else looked like they'd dressed to impress for this showdown. I wore my classic sleeveless chestplate, covering my torso and freeing my arms, along with a small lion's pelt around my waist that I had brought with me. I liked it, as it made me look a little bit like dad. Sure, it wasn't as big or cool looking as his, but I wanted Ouranos to see it, and be reminded of him.

Malachi didn't have a spare set of clothes when we kept him, and given the short amount of time between our fight and here, he didn't exactly have time for a change of wardrobe. He was still shirtless, and only covered his lower half with the Japanese looking thing that he used to wear when he was possessed. Kind of like samurai garments, I can't really describe it.

Lastly, Talon looked the same as ever. Western duster with jeans and cowboy boots. He'd left behind his hat and let the dirty blond hair free. He did keep the sunglasses of course, which covered his eyes right now. I could tell though, without seeing them, that he was infuriated, and glaring death at Ouranos.

Dust from the mountain swirled with the wind between us. Five against two, this was the fight that all of it had been building up to. I could feel the tension rising in the air.

The first to break the silence was Ouranos himself, who sighed and put his palms up, gesturing to us like we were lost sheep that had found their way back to the pin.

"You know, I have to say…I kind of missed you all. To see your bright and shining faces again, well, it brings a bit of warmth into my heart."

Still a piece of shit, I see. The way he talked was even more annoying now, since it was a bratty child's voice. At least before, it was booming and kind of gravelly, but now it was like listening to the snotty neighbor's youngest kid brag to you about how much money they have.

"Levi, Levi, Levi." Ouranos clicked his tongue, shaking his head at the son of Nemesis. "Back for more, are we? You should've done the smart thing and ran to the other side of the world, as far away as possible from me." He gave a fake smile, "But at least you got your greatest wish before you die. Standing next to your sister again in battle. Must be quite the moment for you, eh?"

Levi and Harper glared at him, not saying a word.

Ouranos chuckled and moved on, addressing Malachi, "And my son. Oh, my son. What are you doing, standing over there? You should be with me, where you belong."

Malachi too, said nothing. I could tell a war raged inside his head though. I didn't make a move, I didn't give him a reassuring look or a shake of my head, because I knew that would only cause more outburst, more turmoil. This time, I just stood there, and let it go.

Ouranos let the silence ring for a minute, and when Malachi didn't respond, he sighed. "Very well. I'm not so dense that I can't see your mind has been made. A grave mistake."

I expected him to talk to me next, but instead he did the opposite, and actually skipped me to greet Talon. He eyed him like he was a statue, a prize to be won.

"Talon. My, aren't you something else. The very embodiment of the modern cowboy, the great American west in one person. You've got the coat, the weapons, the boots, everything! The boy with all the questions, all the wonders about life, about purpose, about destiny. Quite a personality too. Funny, sarcastic, witty, loyal. On paper, you're a very special individual."

Talon's lips were so tight that I could see his cheeks slowly turning a pale color. His hand was hidden behind the duster, gripping his revolver. Not out of a will to draw and fire, at least not yet, but to hold on to something so he wouldn't lose control and go rampant.

Ouranos smirked at him, "But you're not special. You're just like every other speck of vomit on this pathetic excuse for a world. You're greedy, murderous, vengeful, disrespectful…heh, the list goes on. Whether it be sex or drachma, you desire every materialistic item that every other demigod craves. I'd say the only thing really special about you is your father. A shame you don't even know how to use his powers. What fun this fight would be if you did, you might even give Atlas a run for his money."

I felt my blood boil. Everything he said about Talon was so untrue, so wrong, I wanted to charge him and end his life here and now.

"Yet another place where you're wrong, Ouranos."

My voice was the first on our side to speak. My friends glanced at me, Atlas did too…but Ouranos did not.

Hatred and frustration filled my core. Furrowing my eyebrows in anger, I felt my face get very tight. "Look at me. Don't act like I'm not here, you son of a bitch."

He gave the first sign of acknowledgement, closed his eyes, and sighed a small laugh. Finally, he turned to me and opened his eyes, his smirk as wide as ever.

"Ah yes…Matthias. Don't get jumpy now, I was only saving the best for last."

"You're wrong about Talon." I said, "You're wrong about all of us."

He raised a small eyebrow, "How so? He used to be a hitman, yes? He's visited Aphrodite's Oasis numerous times, no? Those two points prove both greed, and lust. You think he's special because he spouted some nonsense about purpose and existential pondering? Please. If you are so easily swayed Matthias, then perhaps I should've coaxed you more to join me."

A humorless laugh escaped my throat, "And you act like you aren't greedy? You want to take over the world, for crying out loud. You manipulated four teenagers to kill for you, and three of them to die for you, too."

At the mention of Axel, Cherry, and Grayson, he didn't even flinch or twitch, not a shred of remorse rang in his features to show that he ever cared about them or grieved over their deaths. "I never manipulated them. I simply offered them a better life. They screwed up, not me. They got themselves killed because they were weak."

I was about to retort, when I heard Levi laugh next to me. If mine was humorless, then his was on an entirely different level. His was almost one of anger, years of deception and bitterness crept into his tone as he spoke.

"I can't believe I ever listened to you. You never cared about us, you never planned to give us the things you promised, did you?"

Ouranos shrugged, "I did. But look at what happened. Those three proved to be weak, and the strongest one, you, decided to abandon it all for…family." He looked at Harper with disgust, and said the word like it was unspeakable.

"Yes." Levi said proudly, "I did. I woke up from your nonsense, and I'm here to kill you, today. After we kill the titan."

Harper nodded and stepped in front of her brother, almost protectively. "We're here to kill you today. It won't just be him stabbing you through the chest, it'll be me too."

Ouranos and Atlas simply stared at them for a moment, before they both started laughing. I mean straight up guffawing at the very sight of the two standing together, scowling bravely. Of course they wouldn't take this seriously, none of our words would ever matter to them, so we might as well shut up and get on with it.

Atlas wiped a tear of laughter from his eye, "Demigods have gotten funnier over the millennia, I see. As much as I enjoy a good joke, I think it's time for the talking to stop." He moved his head around his beefy neck and popped it, bringing up both his hands, he slammed a fist into a palm, sending a small gust of wind in our direction. "Come at me, any way you want."

Ouranos held up a hand. "Before the massacre begins, my dear titan, I would like to impart some words to Levi and Malachi. I want them to hear this before they die."

Atlas didn't look happy about that at all. I could tell by the way his muscles were tensed, the way his aura was borderline glowing around his fists, that he was ready to get it on. He scowled down at the interruption, clearly agitated.

Ouranos didn't notice it, he just walked over to the edge of the mountain overlooking San Francisco. He gave a wave of his hand, "Take a look at all of this, you two. Imagine the scale of the city, then imagine the scale of the state. Now multiply that by tens of thousands, and try to picture the globe of this planet. Just try, in your head, to picture yourselves with the power to change the tide of it, to rule over it. Every blade of grass, every source of life, the stars above, even the suns in the outer worlds, you have influence over."

He then pointed at myself, Harper, and Talon. "Now, take a look at them. They may be young at the moment, but within a mere sixty years, they'll be old, their powers will have faded, they'll barely be able to walk, let alone fight. Another decade or so after that, and they'll be dead. Buried in the ground, forgotten." He stepped a foot closer and shook his hands in frustration at Levi and Malachi. "Don't you understand the foolish decisions you've made? They're temporary! Camp Half Blood is temporary, all of the pathetic campers there will die off one day. The Olympians…even their rule, is temporary. They are the fifth age in this world, meaning that every other age before them, came to an end. Theirs will too. The only thing that's everlasting…is me." He pointed to himself. "Me. You gave up the immortality I could've granted you, the power I could've given you, for them?! For friendship?!"

"Not friendship." Levi said, "Family."

Ouranos glared at him, then turned to Malachi. "And what about you? The only family you have is me, boy. You can't change your fate. No matter which way you look at it, or how hard you try to avoid me, I am your fate. And you cannot escape fate, no one can. It is one of the only things in this life that's inevitable."

Malachi processed his words, stared at the ground for a moment. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but I sure hoped he wasn't going back to that place he was in earlier, where he didn't think himself worthy enough to stand next to us and fight his father. I did nothing, but inside, I was praying that he would make the right choice.

He looked at me, then at everyone else. With a huff of determination, he made up his mind.

"They are my family, and Sera is too. It has never been you. You are not my father…you are my tormentor."

At that, the taunting act fell and Ouranos's face contorted in fury. His eyes widened at his son and he looked like he wanted to come at him and strangle Malachi to death, but he wasn't powerful enough, so he kept all the anger bottled up inside his small frame.

"Fools, both of you." He growled, face turning red. His mouth opened wide, and he shouted as loud as he could. "After all I did for you! I made you both what you are! I crafted your strength, I molded you, I taught you every lesson you hold dear! I was the backbone for-"

"SHUT UP!"

We all flinched and looked to the source of the scream. It was Talon.

Veins popped out of his forehead, his cheeks were blazing, and his teeth were gritted. I could see him trying his absolute best to contain himself, judging by the heaves of his breaths, he was one inch away from charging Ouranos.

"Just shut the hell up, you piece of shit." He growled, "All the manipulation, all the damn talk, all the silver-tongued crap you spout…I'm sick of it! Sick and damn tired of you pullin' the strings in this little game of yours!"

Ouranos was caught off guard. He looked on at Talon without interruption, a bit of amusement tugging at the corner of his lip. It was almost like he was impressed. But I wasn't. I knew Talon was angry, but going after Ouranos was the last thing we wanted right now, we had to take care of Atlas first, and he knew that.

"You've taken something from every person here!" Talon shouted. "Every single person! Most of all your own damn son! You killed his mother, you forced him to be your own personal slave, you possessed him to kill Matt's dad and my master!" He nearly paused at the mention of Jack Colter, and I could physically hear his lip twitch in hate. "You ruined the relationship between Harper and Levi, and practically caused the death of their father!" He pointed towards the darkness of the cave's entrance, "You captured Sera and kept her away from both Malachi and myself!"

Ouranos was silent for a moment. Talon breathed in and out, waiting for a response. Whatever he said next, would determine if our plan was about to be thrown out the window, or secured and saved.

I prayed for the latter to happen. Keep a level head, Talon, please, just this once…

But instead, the Primordial shrugged and scrunched his face in mock confusion. "And your point is?"

That was the trigger, the end of the line, the last straw for Talon. He roared in outrage and pulled out his revolver. "THAT'S IT! I'M KILLING THIS FUCKING BASTARD!"

"Talon, wait!" I said, reaching out to grab him, but it was too late, he was already gone.

All of our faces rang in alarm as he ran towards Ouranos, screaming with rage and firing several rounds of his revolver. Cracks howled through the air as each bullet missed the target. Blinded, Talon was firing like a wild animal, pure rage, no accuracy. Ouranos himself smirked in victory. He had manipulated the situation perfectly, yet again.

"TALON!" Malachi shouted, "NO!"

Atlas hadn't been dozing off, he had been paying attention. As Talon reached his line of fire, the titan grinned with excitement, the action had finally started for him. It was time to rumble.

He bent his elbow and reared back his fist, twisting his torso so all of his weight could be put behind it. Talon, without even noticing the titan, ran right through the zone of danger. Atlas's fist glowed a dark purple, and with a mighty, thunderous shockwave, he brought it down on my friend's skull.

Dust flew everywhere, the force of the blast sent all of us on our rears and backs, skidding back near the edge of the mountain. I heard rocks fly and hit the ground next to us, some even flying over the side of the cliff. The spike in his aura had been tremendous, and he focused a great deal on that single blow there, almost in overkill.

I didn't care about nearly falling off the mountain or the dust in my eyes, Atlas just punched my friend with nearly everything he's got, that was all I though about for the few seconds it took me to push myself up and scramble over.

"Talon!" I yelled, "Talon!"

I swiped my hand in the air and cleared the orange haze from my vision. Greeted by the sight of Atlas's fist in a crater, pressed on top of Talon's chest, my eyes widened.

"He's killed him…" Levi said, mouth slack. "He…he, he killed him!"

"No, he didn't." Harper said in awe, pointing at the scene. "Look."

She was right. In the greatest test I've seen of Talon's invincibility, he lay there, on his back, unscathed. No blood, no disfigured limbs, heck, not even a dent in his structure. He had taken Atlas's punch head on and survived without injury.

Atlas was very surprised by this. He had put all of his weight on the post that was his fist and arm, leaning on Talon and looking down at his successful kill. Only it wasn't successful. Atlas raised an eyebrow and reared his head back.

"Not dead, then?" He chuckled, "Put a bit of effort into that one. Not bad, kid. Guess I'll have to try harder."

"Try all you want." Talon growled, "Ain't gonna work, old timer."

Atlas grinned maniacally and reared his fist back again, this time, his aura spiked to astronomical levels, I'm talking some very, very serious power, power to blow a hole in the planet with the slightest bit of movement. The fight had started, whether we wanted it to or not, and I wasn't about to risk Talon's durability here. I knew nothing about how his powers worked, but if there was a limit…well, I didn't want to find it today.

"Shit, we gotta move!" I yelled, "Malachi, go!"

Malachi understood, and together, we powered up. Channeling my inner anger, feeling my aura flow inside of my bloodstream, my brain, my heart, I let it rise and boil, ascend to it's highest peak. Malachi did the same. Red and blue colors erupted around our frames and whirred with energy.

Simultaneously, we disappeared from view and reappeared beside Atlas, me on his left side, and Malachi on his right, just before he could bring his fist down on Talon again.

His face sparked with awareness as he looked at both of us. A groan of annoyance.

I almost faltered and aborted the strike. He had already noticed us, as soon as we got here. He was faster than both Malachi and I combined, that was for sure, this moment proved it. I suddenly felt that anxiety come back, that even with the Master Bolt…I didn't stand a chance.

Yet still, Malachi saw my hesitation, and shouted directly at me. "GO FOR IT!"

Snapping me out of my trance, I gave everything I had and shifted my weight in midair, aiming my fist straight for Atlas's face. Malachi did the same, bellowing a war cry in the process that would've terrified most people.

Atlas simply chuckled and caught both of our punches dead in their tracks. Shockwaves burst around us, wind blew dust everywhere. His palms didn't even budge, his fingers didn't even bend back in the slightest. He'd caught us at our full strength like it was nothing. Like we were mere toddlers.

"Oh, the fight's started!" Ouranos said excitedly. "Do your worst, little demigods!"

I wanted to go over and deck him right here and now, but I had much more serious problems at the moment. Atlas closed his fingers over our wrists and half our forearms, clamping so tight that when we tried to pull free, we didn't move an inch. No amount of butter or sweat would've given a slip factor here. He had us.

Clenching his chest muscles, he threw Malachi and I together. Letting go of our arms, he grabbed the back of our heads and slammed our skulls into each other, a loud BANG erupted in the air, any bystander would've thought that our entire skeletal system had exploded, and it sure felt like that was the case. Pain coursed through my head and brain like I'd never felt before. Both Malachi and I voiced this when we croaked in agony.

Atlas then latched us by the scruff of our necks and flicked us off the side of the mountain. We flew clear over the cliff and started to plummet hundreds of feet. The wind rushed in my ears; my eyes were watery from the new throbbing sensation I had acquired. I could hardly see a thing.

But even over the roaring air, I could hear Malachi's voice. "Matt, grab my hand!"

My momentum now making me do flips in the air, I found it hard to lock on to Malachi's hand. And given the mixture of me rag dolling and the blurry vision, I might as well have been legally blind.

"Here!" He said, "You can do it!"

I saw what looked like three hands thrusting out for me. I took the chance, threw caution to the wind, and just flailed my hand about until I hit something solid.

Malachi did most of the work. Once my fingers grazed his, he latched on and gripped it tight. The very next second, just as I saw the green top of trees in one of my flip spins, we were gone. I heard the faint sound of a zapping shock and then a wrenching in my gut. Like a tv switch, everything seemed to turn off for a moment.

Then another zap, and we were back in the air, higher this time. I wiped my eyes and shook my head, looking down, I saw Harper, Levi, and Talon going at Atlas with full effort. Talon fired round after round, skillfully barrel rolling and circling the enormous titan to avoid any stray hits. Each bullet bounced off harmlessly though, and one even ricocheted past my ear.

Harper and Levi weren't making any progress either, at all. Talon must've formed a sword for Levi, because that's what he was using. The guy was very skilled with one, I'll give him that. He poked the titan and swiped him with precisive attacks, moving with energy and incredible footwork. Harper was the same, like a big cat mixed with a spinning blur of a blade. She jumped on Atlas like he was a playground set, from his arm down to his back, she slashed and avoided his half-hearted strikes. None of the attacks left even the slightest tear of his clothes though, so as impressive as she looked…it was pointless.

I knew if he wanted to wipe us out right now, he could. He was lazily swinging his arms around like a gorilla and smiling at my friends' futile attacks, all while Ouranos watched on from the sidelines, loving every minute of it.

"We gotta help them!" I said, "Malachi, summon a lightning bolt!"

"A bolt?!" He shouted back, hovering next to me. I hadn't even realized that he was keeping me up in the air with his wind. I could do the same thing, but it was kind of amazing that I hadn't even noticed his quick attention to detail, how he had immediately propped me up to form a plan. Malachi was more prepared than I thought for this.

"Yeah, a bolt! Everything you have!"

He nodded, and thrust his hand out in front of him. His blue aura crackled and his pupils faded from his eyes, replaced with an electric glow. Lightning danced from the ball of his shoulders down to his fingertips, forming the shape of a zig zagged bolt.

Quickly, I undid Viribus from my neck and squeezed the lion head. Instantly, the necklace formed from bronze molding to a wooded club.

"Alright, let us down! And on my mark, throw the bolt!"

Malachi understood, and let the wind under us cease. We descended story by story, I held Viribus tight and threw my arm back, aiming at Atlas's receding gray hair.

"Okay, one…two…THREE!"

On my mark, perfectly, we both threw our possessions at the same time. Viribus soared and spun at Atlas like a throwing knife, and Malachi's bolt elongated from a two-foot-long cylinder of energy to a giant crack in the sky, a white line hit the titan directly on the soft spot of his neck, while Viribus was just a hair behind Malachi's blast, that turned out to have the best affect I could've hoped for. When Atlas recoiled from the strike and arched his back, the tip of Viribus slammed into his nose, knocking his head sideways and causing him to stumble.

"GO!" I said, "RUSH HIM!"

The burst of the impact spread out my friends and made them take several steps back, offering Malachi and I room to go in and try to take Atlas by surprise.

Willing the air around me, we dove. Bounced off of Atlas's nose, I saw Viribus slung high in the air. I flew level to it and reached, forcing the air behind it to summon it back to me. Would've been pretty rough if missed my mark and summoned Viribus to the spot next to me, or accidentally hit Malachi in the face, or didn't come at all. It took a lot of work to perfect wind manipulation. Its sort of like aura sensing, where extra sensations are added on to the normal five that humans have. I'm sure you don't want to hear about it. The point is, I caught Viribus.

I grabbed it in my palm and swerved to the side, twisting my shoulder, and signaling for Malachi to attack first. I was pleasantly surprised once again to find that he understands everything, every move or little mark that I make, he follows up with perfection. He's very combat aware, which is nothing short of what I'd expect from a guy who's been training and fighting his entire life.

Malachi shot past me like an arrow from a bow, diving headfirst into Atlas's shoulder, knicking it and causing the titan to grunt in reaction, he stumbled back further, far enough so that he was nearing the mountain's side.

I took my chance. I landed on the ground for a single step and used the rocky surface as my personal launchpad, pressing with as much strength as I could muster, I jumped and gripped Viribus with both hands, steadying myself and strengthening my posture to the point of absolute solidity. When I crossed the sweet spot where I could see the middle of Viribus's ancient wood pressing against the bridge of Atlas's nose…I swung. Like eyeing a pitch across the home plate, Viribus circled around and hit the titan.

His chin ended up in the air and he tripped over himself. Had the side of the mountain not caught his fall, he might've landed flat on his back. But instead, his shoulders hit the mountain and cracked it.

"Everyone, now!"

On that order, Harper and Levi both dove in, opposite each other and stabbed Atlas in his sides, just below the massive rib cages. To my surprise, both of their blades pierced through his skin and drew ichor, if just a little. Maybe the distraction brought down his durability for a bit, I don't know. But either way, I wasn't going to complain. Talon kept his revolver at his thigh, and used his other hand to slap the hammer back and forth after each shot to the titan's face. Smoke and sparkles of fire erupted on Atlas's forehead and chin, where the bullets hit him. Malachi jumped in the air and summoned a legion of storm clouds to him. The white cotton that once inhabited the sky turned a dark, dangerous gray, like they'd gained thousands of pounds of rain in mere seconds, which they probably had.

His entire body glowed a bright blue as he charged a massive attack. When he saw fit, he threw a massive blue lightning bolt on top of Atlas. A blue arc surrounded his form, like an alien sucking someone up into their UFO. It forced Atlas on one knee, and I could tell by the shaking of his head, and his gritted teeth, that he was putting effort into staying off the ground completely. He tried to raise his fist to strike back, but it was being blown down by Malachi's force, like someone trying to touch their head under a raging waterfall, the pressure's just going to keep you down.

I knew this was our best shot to actually do something. So I did. Not pulling any of the "saving this attack for later" crap, I decided to bust out the Red Beam Cannon.

Yeah, you remember that move, probably because of the awesome name. (Yes, it's awesome, and you know it.) Where I concentrate my energy into a single point, and even steal the energy of others to strengthen the blast. I had used it a couple of times before, when Sigurd and I fought the Draugr in Scandinavia, and when I killed Bjorn, the Son of Thor in the same place.

Before, it had worked. But this time…I wasn't so sure it would. I wasn't gambling on killing him with it though, I just needed it to hurt him. If I could weaken him with this, then maybe we could open up a chance for the Master Bolt and the Heavenly Diamond knife to end the fight.

I jumped back several feet and thrust my hands out in front of me, pressing my wrists together and spreading my fingers out like a flower. At this point, after some practice, I could concentrate my own energy into my palms no problem. But I knew that wouldn't be enough in this scenario, I needed more.

"Everyone, don't be afraid of what you're about to feel, trust me!" I shouted.

Levi was the only one that looked at me with confusion, "What do you-" He started, but Malachi shushed him.

"We've got it! Take all you need!"

I nodded a thanks, and smiled. He was really impressing my today. It was like he could read my mind. I didn't have time to ask everyone their permission to borrow their energy, since Atlas wasn't going to be disoriented forever. So I reached in everyone's auras, locked onto it with my own, and started to take portions of it. How it works is rather complicated, but my dad taught me. Basically, you have to read the other person's aura so deep, to the point that you can access and mix it with your own. Then…you can steal it.

I felt everyone's energy. Malachi's was easy, as he was in full power and not blocking me off at all. Harper's was too, since I was so familiar with hers, and while she wasn't very skilled in aura manipulation, she was at least trying to make it easy for me to access hers. Talon's was a bit harder, since his aura is so strange. He doesn't know how to manipulate, and probably doesn't care about doing so one bit, but before long, I locked onto it too. Levi's was the same, he didn't know how to manipulate his, and he kept looking at me like I was crazy for just standing around with my hands outstretched, but he'd see in a minute.

Once I gathered enough to satisfy, I gauged it's power. It was massive…I had taken a small part of everyone's auras and added it up to a very large output. This would be enough to wound even Atlas.

I smirked over at Ouranos, who had his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth parted in shock at the now forming red ball of energy in my palms. He'd seen it before, but not me taking energy, that he had not.

"Alright, time to even the odds!" I yelled, and once I saw the ball widen to half of my body size, whirring with pure power, I thrust my hands outward as hard as I could, digging my feet in the ground. "RED BEAM CANNON!"

I wasn't sure why I yelled the attack name, but it just slipped out, and was kind of drowned by the sound of the blast leaving my body. When I pushed my hands forward, the ball became a giant cylinder of bright red, spinning in the air until it hit Atlas at a speed far beyond light. The glowing sun encircled Atlas and I could see the mountain behind him disintegrate at it's destructivity. Soon, he disappeared from view.

I was being pushed back, hard, nearly over the edge of the cliff. I strained and winced, trying my best to keep myself on my feet. It had been a while since I used this move, and I forgot how much pressure was needed to push against it. It's actually kind of odd, how the physics work. Because you'd think that with me pressing forward and shooting the attack at someone else, all of the momentum would be on them. But no, it was so powerful that it ended up pushing me back too, like an unstoppable force going both ways.

I skidded until I dispersed the blast, a loud grunt, and I forced my hands apart. The connection of the energy breaking in a loud explosion like sound, only there wasn't any fire or smoke, just the sound of thunder. Dust flew everywhere, fire raged on the green parts of the mountain, now charred black. I could see that I had basically dug a tunnel where Atlas stood. As for the titan himself, I couldn't see him, and I couldn't feel his aura.

His aura, it was gone.

I stood there, breathing heavily from the exertion. I had used more of my energy than I thought, and it was taking a good bit to regenerate. I felt my mouth get dry, and my entire body slumped unconsciously, like I hadn't eaten in days. I lazily eyed the dust devils in front of me, trying to make out a shadow, hopefully a wounded shadow. But still, I didn't see one.

My friends had stayed in their spots, all of them with their arms over their faces to shield themselves from both the shockwave and the brightness of the cannon. They lowered their arms and looked towards the place where Atlas stood with concern, and a little bit of awe.

"My gods…" Levi said, "What was that?!"

"Red Beam Cannon." I whispered, barely able to get it out. It sounded more like one single word than three separate ones.

Malachi had his eyes as wide as saucers, "That was incredible…I-I can't even feel his aura."

"Was it enough?" Talon asked.

Harper snorted, "Guess the bastard wasn't as tough as we thought."

No. No, something wasn't right. I raised a confused eyebrow at the still lack of movement. I looked over at Ouranos to see him anticipated, just as much as I was. So he couldn't feel Atlas's aura either? What was going on?

It had to at least hurt him, right? I mean, some level of damage. But enough to knock him out, or even kill him? I don't know about that. The blast itself was much more powerful than me at full power, but it wasn't even half of what I felt from Atlas when he was about to punch Talon a second time. Maybe I just took him by surprise?

But then, a voice echoed from the dust. "Not bad."

I saw a hulking shadow emerge and rise up from what I assumed to be a pit formed by the blast. I saw a head, broad shoulders saunter up, and then fists. His waist came level with the top of the pit, and he raised his finger in a flicking position, aimed at me.

Too late. Whatever I assumed he was going to do, he had already done it. A purple flare, just a second, flashed in my eyes as I felt Atlas's aura spike once again. I saw blood fly from my stomach, and I automatically fell to one knee, feeling the pain hit me in one massive wave. My intestines felt like they had been rearranged, a poison that I can't describe spreading to my stomach. I looked down for a brief moment and saw a small hole in my armor, thick, red blood dripped from it.

I looked back up and saw him clear the pit, rising eight feet tall above it and stepping through the frame of dust. Atlas appeared, stopping in our view.

My eyes widened and I gawked as I looked him up and down. He had been hardly affected by the cannon, if at all. He had no burn marks, not even the slightest hint of red on his skin, heck, not even his hair had been singed. The only trace I could see that I had done anything at all, were his torn and burned clothes. Ripping at the chest and shoulders, small embers glowed on the rips, lightly flapping with the wind. It revealed more than half of his chiseled torso, which too, was unscathed.

I felt absolute dread fill over me, the gasps of my friends as they realized the same thing. It had done nothing. Even the stab wounds on his sides had been closed up. Whether he had healed from my blast or not, I couldn't tell, but judging by how I couldn't feel his aura, he hadn't. He'd just taken it head on.

I had put a considerable amount of power in that, enough to at least…I don't know, make him completely bald? But I couldn't even do that.

Malachi growled and jumped in the air to attack him again, but this time, Atlas allowed no room for that. He turned his hand quickly and aimed it at my friend, flicking three times. Three individual dots of purple aura left his fingers and shot towards Malachi, hitting him in the shoulders and the stomach, making three circles that would form a triangle if you connected the dots.

Malachi recoiled in the air and ragdolled, blood flew from his body, and I saw his eyes roll into the back of his head. He hit the ground hard and slumped over on his stomach, out cold and blood seeping in an outline around his body.

Just like that, he was down. Maybe more powerful than me, and all it took were three flicks of the titan's finger.

I tried to get up, but the pain was so much, I felt myself slump back down, not able to do anything. I growled to myself like a wild animal. Get up! Come on, get up and do something!

Harper, Levi, and Talon all tried to charge Atlas again, but the titan was solely focused on me. He simply waved his hand at them in a sweep, and a wind surge erupted from the force, knocking them away and sending them tumbling in the dirt. It would be really helpful if we were fighting in some field, or something without bounds. Because I saw Levi nearly fall off the edge of the cliff, and Harper had to catch him, all the while holding on to Talon to keep herself from falling off.

Atlas stalked towards me, a smirk lining his mustache. "Suicidal idiots, the bunch of you."

I tried to raise Viribus to my body to heal myself, but he was quick on the draw. He fired another purple dot at me. Hitting me in the wrist and knocking Viribus out of my hand, like a cowboy disarming another cowboy in a duel.

"AGHH!" I cried out in pain, the blood spewed out in ropes like a geyser, splattering on the rocky ground in front of me. The blood seemingly spelled out look what you've gotten yourself into.

I clutched my wrist to my chest to somewhat apply pressure, but it wasn't working. I could practically feel it leaking on my armor, and without Viribus, I could very well bleed out here.

Atlas, now without obstacle, was mere feet away from me. Ouranos looked on from the sidelines, smiling with delight. He crossed his arms, like the fate of this battle had been decided.

And maybe it had…

Atlas reached to his opposite shoulder and grabbed the now charred shirt he wore. With one movement, he ripped the entirety of it clean off his body. Throwing it to the side like it was trash, he was left shirtless, showing off tufts of gray chest hair, the most well defined and largest sets of muscles I had ever seen, and an utterly intimidating sight. He appeared in perfect shape, while I was bleeding and on my knees.

He chuckled, "You're really in trouble now, worm."

Percy

The ocean looked horrible.

I know, something you probably never thought I would say, but diving down with my dad's army, I couldn't help but notice the deterioration.

Oceanus had really done a number on it. Trash and various particles floated around, as we passed, there wasn't even ten feet of clear water, there always had to be some sort of debris in it. And don't even get me started on the water itself, it was a disgusting mix of brown and green, like polluted river water or a sewer. It was awful.

I saw dead marine life too, which is the part that really made me sad, and angry at Oceanus. Fish with their eyes wide and lifeless, floating around like fake bath toys. It made me sick to think that he would do this, yet he claims to care about the sea. He was a hypocrite.

Anger bubbled inside me as I thought of Annabeth, trapped in his clutches.

I'm coming for you. I promise. I said to myself, hoping that somehow, just maybe, she could faintly hear my thoughts.

We kept going, the silence deafening. I was itching to fight, to go down and invade as soon as possible. I wanted nothing more than to jump off Blackjack right now and charge down there myself.

Blackjack noticed my tensed legs tighten around him. You good, boss?

I didn't say anything. I just kept thinking about her, if she was okay or not. She had to be okay…

Suddenly, Dad raised his head like he had sensed something, as if peering over to look downward. "There are a lot of auras down there, and a very large one. It's him. I can feel it."

There was a silence, and we slowed a bit. I couldn't feel the auras that well yet, I needed more practice, but the big one that he was talking about…yeah, even I could sense that one. It was Oceanus.

Not giving us time to plan or think at all, out of nowhere, a metal spear burst from the clouds and murk of the water below us, shooting beside me and stabbing one of the mermen in the shoulder, knocking him clean off his hippocampus. He yelled as he flew behind me, his voice fading with distance.

I widened my eyes, along with everyone else. "What the heck was that?!"

"Harpoons!" Triton yelled, "Spread out, spread out!"

But it was too late. A barrage of long, sharp pointed metal harpoons came flying out of the depths, all of them aimed at us. They stabbed our group, stabbed the hippocampi, there were shouts of pain and agonized whinnies all over, everything became frantic as the volley of death kept raining upward.

Boss, look out! Blackjack yelled.

I turned and saw one of the harpoons headed straight for my face. Thinking quickly, I reached in my pocket and uncapped Riptdie, the celestial bronze sword glowed in the water. I barely timed it right, but I smacked the harpoon away from my path and sent it off behind me.

There were several others, effectively taking out a quarter of our forces. These harpoons weren't just made of metal. As I looked closer at the onslaught, I saw that they were laced with poison, and they shined silver. They were made of an Atlantic metal, making them even more dangerous than I thought.

Another one came at me, this time, for Blackjack's chest. I grabbed him and heaved upward, together, we barely avoided it.

"This is utter chaos!" Triton said, deflecting several harpoons with his bident. "We need to charge, now! Before everyone is killed!"

"POSEIDON!"

The loud, thunderous voice boomed from the ocean floor, echoing all around the sea, loud enough for anyone on the other side of the world to hear. It was deafening, and long. I found myself scrunching my eyes and grabbing my ears to avoid them combusting.

It was Oceanus's voice. My dad glared at the direction it came from. Materializing his trident, he gripped it, and waited.

"Dad…where is he?" Triton said, immediately clinging to my father's side.

It was then that I saw Athena swim up in front of me, a protective bubble around her head as well. "Poseidon, he's using the pollution to mask himself. Sense his aura!"

"It's suppressed!" My dad yelled, "My abilities are weak!"

I looked back and forth, all around us, my head darting in a circle to find the titan. I saw shadows cast upon us, what looked like something large barely escaping my view and swimming of before I could catch it.

Athena concentrated and felt with her aura sense. When she did, her eyes widened. "Look out!"

Out of the green and black dust, burst Oceanus, donning his silver armor and giant spear. He was surrounded in a dangerous teal glow that lit up the dark water like a torchlight. It all happened so fast, I couldn't even process it correctly. One minute he wasn't there, and then the next…he was.

He roared and tackled my father right off the hippocampus, the two clashed in shockwaves and thunderous booms, rising up to near surface level and becoming small dots in my view. Many people gasped at the sudden turn of events.

"Dad, no!" I cried, and started to swim up towards him. But just as I did, I felt a firm grip on my shoulder.

It was Athena. "Percy! Remember your mission!" She steeled her eyes and gave me a stern look, a commanding look. "Save Annabeth! I'll help your father!"

I didn't want to just leave him. Oceanus was too strong. I could even see it now, he was thrashing him around, hitting the butt of the spear on my father's chin, kicking him in the stomach, lining him up for a devastating stab. Ichor floated from my dad's mouth. I couldn't bear to see it!

"I can't just leave him!"

"GO!" She shouted, this time grabbing my other shoulder with what can only be described as a goddess' strength. "The more we argue, the less time we have! Go, now! Triton and I will help him!"

I knew she was right. I knew it. Annabeth needed me, that was first and foremost. I had to get her out of here. I trusted Athena and Triton, they could keep him safe until I got back, they might even be able to end it all.

But with Oceanus's might…that's doubtful.

There wasn't time for this. I couldn't weigh everyone down and act like a little kid. I shook it off and nodded at her. "Okay. Be careful!"

She squeezed my shoulders, "Same to you." Athena turned and glared at the titan. She found Triton on the other side, dodging another harpoon, they locked eyes, and actually seemed to be thinking the same thing. There were no differences or dislike here now, they knew what they had to do.

Both of them began to morph, to shift into something even more powerful than they already were. Athena's body glowed a bright orange, and Triton's a sapphire color. Their auras became so blinding, that I knew I should look away, but I couldn't help it. They were entering their true forms. I saw Athena shift into something like an owl, flying up to intervene and strike Oceanus. And to the right, I saw Triton ready to attack him once Athena knocked him his way, his two merman fins glowed, and his entire body was outlined like that of a fish. It was bizarre, but insanely cool.

Annabeth. Get her, now.

I took myself out of my trance and felt that anger all over again. It boiled up inside of me. Feeling the sea all around, I felt more invigorated than before. I focused my aura to my body, spreading out, coursing through my veins with undeniable power.

With a burst of energy, the familiar sea green glow erupted around me. My energy multiplied five hundred times, my sensing abilities peaked, I was able to feel the life force of every living thing in the vicinity. Even Riptide's blade glowed the same color as me, and I could practically feel it's durability, it's newfound deadliness.

On instinct, or perhaps something else, I yelled out to the remaining forces. "CHARGE!"

They didn't even care if it wasn't my dad or not, they figured I was the closest thing, that, or they just wanted a leader. Probably both. With me in the front, we dove down at Mach speed and cleared the wall of murk.

What greeted us was something magnificent, and probably a structure I would've marveled at if we weren't in the middle of a battle right now. It was Oceanus's stronghold, mirroring Atlantis in most ways, but the one thing that was missing, was the sense of royalty. It looked more like a Victorian castle than a palace, it was more dark and edgy, whereas Atlantis was bright and peaceful.

I could make out thousands of Oceanus's forces lined up and ready to fight. There were what looked like fish men on the towers manning the harpoons. Not merfolk, but people with almost reptilian scales, spiky fins and weirdly shaped bodies that reminded me of those guys from Pirates of the Caribbean.

It didn't matter one bit. They wouldn't stand in my way. Not now, not ever. They could be shrimp and lobsters for all that I care, I was going to plow through them and get to Annabeth.

"Blackjack!"

What's up?

"I'm gonna stand up on your back! Do you mind?!"

Uh…kind of-

"And when I say to buck me off, you do it! Alright?!"

Wait a sec, where are you going with this-

"Ready?!"

Hold on a minute! What are we-

"THROW ME!"

Blackjack didn't question it further. I stood up on his saddle and he arched his back and threw me towards the direction of a harpoon tower. What looked like an ugly mixture of a hammerhead shark and a human was manning the harpoon. It saw me and turned to aim, firing a single harpoon straight towards my nose. But now, instead of it being too quick to notice, I could see it just fine. In fact, the harpoon was going much slower than I expected.

I swerved around it with ease, and stuck Riptide out in front of me, holding it with both hands. I collided with the base of the tower and obliderated it. Stone shattered and the harpoon fell off, clanking on the sand and rocks below. The shark man fell along with it too, assuming he was a monster, I caught him in midair with a swipe of my blade. If he was truly human, then it wouldn't harm him.

When the blade hit his skin, he turned to golden dust. So…monster.

Half of the wall crumbling and our small group not fifty feet away from clashing with Oceanus's forces, they didn't know whether to look between them or me. It didn't matter, I was only seeing red, all of these creatures were in my way.

"Where is she?" I growled, inaudible to them. My energy surged and forced many of the monsters back, from there, I went on a little massacre of my own, heck, my dad's allies didn't even need to come down here.

I fought like a demon. I dove down and charged the courtyard of the stronghold, swimming around and slashing monster after monster, fish man after fish man. Any strikes they tried to deliver either bounced off of me, or didn't even hit me. They all moved so slow compared to me, it was laughable. It was like hitting still ducks. I mean, I would never hurt an innocent duck but, agh, you know what I mean.

I went from one to the other, like a rollercoaster in the water, I was all over the place, stabbing, slashing, swiping, you name it I did it. Just as I stabbed a fish man and forced the blade of Riptide into several others, forming some sort of monster shish kebab, I looked over to see another harpoon tower.

I glared at it. Raising my hand and forming a fist, I manipulated the water pressure around it and crushed the tower, smashing it to bits just like the other one. Not a stone was the size of my hand by the time I got through with it, only little pebbles.

They kept coming. Jumping through the windows of the stronghold, they came crashing down and charging me more than the literal small army we had brought. I found myself encircled at one point, with hordes of monsters practically throwing themselves at me.

One jumped from the top, wielding a longsword. I sidestepped his aim and slashed him through the stomach, golden dust erupted and landed on my entire body, covering my eyes, and tickling my nose.

I wiped it angrily, my teeth gritted. "Where is she?!" I yelled, and killed several more monsters. "Where is she?!" More and more, they fell, sea green aura was buzzing across thousands of feet of distance, nothing could stand in my way.

"WHERE IS SHE?!"

My shout was so loud that it shook the entire courtyard and stronghold. I looked around and saw that I had killed so many monsters, I hadn't even realized that the entire vicinity was piled up with golden dust. It was more visible than the sand that surrounded the base. It floated up to the surface more than the pollution that I saw earlier, thousands of monsters' worth.

My adrenaline didn't cease, because I thought I heard something, or felt something inside the stronghold. Looking at the entrance door, I thought I heard the faint sound of shackles, or some kind of clanging metal.

I turned my head and pointed my ear in the direction, drowning out all other sounds. The sounds of Oceanus's remaining forces fighting my allies, the screams and war cries, all of it faded as I focused on what I thought I heard.

It took a minute, but it was like I had formed a tunnel with my eardrum, all the way to wherever the sound was coming from. I definitely heard chains and shackles, and the lightest sound of a muffled voice.

A female voice. It had to be her.

My eyes widened at the door. She was in there, I knew it.

"RAGHH!" A monster yelled. I felt it's aura right next to me and I dodged it's stab easily, simply leaning my body back, I saw it's long pointed spear miss me by a few inches. The momentum of the monster's blow brought it's body in line with my knee. Growling in anger, I brought it up and connected it with the monster's gut, sending it flying towards the surface.

"I'm coming, Annabeth." I vowed, and stormed the door. I slashed with Riptide in a simple, quick arc, and cleaved the door in two, allowing me entrance.

"Annabeth!" I shouted, swimming down hall after hall, room after room, finding a few monsters here and there, and wiping them out with ease. Still though, no prison, nothing.

I stopped, frustrated. I closed my eyes and clenched my fists. Dad was up there, Athena, Triton, they needed my help. I was losing time. I had to get Annabeth out as quick as possible and help them! But where is she?!

"Give me a sign." I whispered, "Please, wise girl."

Then I heard it.

Tapping of a knife, or something metal on metal, maybe a rod or something, I didn't know. But whoever it was, got my hint, or heard my outside, and gave the signal of where they were.

It was her. Who else was smart enough to know? To know that I was here?

Following the sound and the faintest feeling of energy, I traversed the massive, elaborate stronghold, until I nearly passed the room I was looking for.

I stopped myself and floated back to find a rather wide entrance with a low, dark stone roof. Inside the dim room, I could make out black lines that looked like bars, several slumped figures, and in the middle…a pair of lithe hands clinging to the cell door, a nest of blonde hair swirling around inside a helmet shaped bubble.

Annabeth.

I rushed forward faster than I charged the harpoon tower. I practically slammed into the cell door just to get to her.

"Annabeth! Annabeth, are you alright?!"

But she couldn't respond. All I heard was a muffle. It was then that I stopped freaking out and actually took notice of what was going on. She had a gag in her mouth, some kind of white rag that had been shoved in to keep her quiet. Her eyes were frantic, and she was screaming something, like she was trying to warn me.

With one pass of the room, I saw that everyone else was gagged too, and they all had fish tails, mermen, and mermaids. These were…my father's forces. They had been captured after all, so Triton was…right.

"I'm gonna get you out of here." I promised. "Just hold on."

I took a step back and raised Riptide over my head slowly to let everyone know what I was about to do. Quickly, I broke off the lock and opened the door, stepping aside to let everyone out.

I expected them to stick around, so we could at least discuss what we were going to do next, maybe I could catch them up to speed on what was going on, but no, they literally trampled me to get out, squishing each other in the door and practically throwing themselves just to escape. I couldn't blame them, I guess, they'd been cooped up for a long time.

By the time they cleared out, Annabeth tried to run with them, grabbing my hand and tugging. But I wasn't ready to go just yet. I had gotten her back. She was safe.

I pulled her into a tight hug, and nestled my head into her shoulder.

"You're okay…thank the gods, you're okay."

I pulled back and gently got the gag out of her mouth.

The second it was out, she coughed and shouted, "Percy, we've got to get out of here!"

"I know. Dad's up there and we've-"

She interrupted, "That's not what I mean! This entire place is about to explode!"

At that, I furrowed my eyebrows, "What are you talking about?"

"Oceanus rigged this place with explosives! He timed it perfectly to when you invaded the stronghold! He's trying to kill you along with all of us!"

My eyes widened, and suddenly, I heard another sound with my enhanced hearing. The sound of hissing in many corners of the stronghold, seemingly clinging to the most supportive pillars. The closest one was in this very room, I turned, slowly and with dread, to see a jar of Greek fire attached to the corner of the dungeon, it glowed on and off, bright and dim, a few seconds away from blowing.

And then, it did.

Immediately, I covered Annabeth's body with my own. Dozens of explosions rang out in the depths, the sound not muffled a bit by the fact that we were underwater. I felt immense force pressing up against my body, throwing Annabeth and I around the room like dolls, we crashed into the cell bars, the stone wall, even a weapon rack on the far side of the hall. It was like we were pinballs at the hands of the explosions. They continued in the background, and I could feel the stronghold crumbling.

"He's bringing the entire place down!"

"Percy!" Annabeth warned, her eyes wide with fright at something coming up behind me.

I turned to see a sharp piece of debris falling from the crumbling roof, straight for my skull. I slashed with Riptide and cleaved it in half, but the mistake was that I didn't just obliterate it, because the two pieces crashed into the floor and cracked it.

The entire building was falling apart, and the roof was collapsing along with it. The dungeon's ceiling in particular was raining stone, cracking the floor even further. To the point where I figured we'd be standing on sand in a minute.

However, when the floor gave, I was surprised to find that a pit lied underneath, a deep chasm of darkness. When it shattered completely, Annabeth and I seemed to get sucked down, like the thing was the mouth of some giant monster, like Charybdis from the Sea of Monsters, kind of. Only I knew this wasn't the Sea of Monsters, this was one of Oceanus's tricks. He was trying to trap us.

Further and further we descended, and I held on to Annabeth's hand the entire way.

"Just hang on!" I shouted, searching frantically for anything to grab onto. Finally I saw something. The side of the chasm. Taking a gamble, I put my hand as far down the hilt as I could on Riptide, so I could get the best reach. With as much force as I could muster, I stabbed Riptide on the side of the deep pit, stopping our fast descension.

But that didn't stop it completely, while we may have ceased to move, I was slipping. The force of whatever was pulling us in was very strong, and between holding on to Riptide and holding on to Annabeth, I wasn't sure if I could hold on much longer.

"Percy!"

"It's okay!" I gritted my teeth, feeling my muscles expanding to the point of agony, it felt like I was being ripped apart, torn piece by piece from this alien pressure. I could feel Annabeth's hand moving slowly down mine, her fingers and my fingers barely latching on to each other.

Looking up, I saw just how far down we had gone. The wide hole of the chasm was a hundred feet above us. I saw the difference in light, with the top being only slightly more lit than where we were now. Shadows of debris flew across my vision as they joined us in the pit, passing us and falling down wherever the bottom lay…if there even was a bottom.

"AGHH!" I screamed, feeling something tear. Yep, something definitely tore there, audibly, it sounded a bit like ripping pants. It was more agonizing to hear than to feel, honestly, it sounded horrible.

"Let me go! I'll be okay!" Annabeth said, "Just help your dad!"

I looked down at her, her face desperate and pleading for me to just go on. It wasn't worth it. She wasn't worth saving over the world. She whole heartedly wanted me to just forget about her and go save the ocean from the monstrous titan.

I suddenly found myself in a different setting, in the deepest caves of Ancient Greece, the Athena Parthenos attempting to be lifted out and into the sky by the Argo II.

I was holding on for dear life, clinging on a lost hope. The hope of getting her and I out of there, both alive. Nico was above us, his hand outstretched, pointlessly, but he still tried.

"Percy, let me go. You can't pull me up."

"Never! You're not getting away from me. Never again."

"…as long as we're together."

Voices from what felt like years ago echoed in my head, the memory played through, and I saw It paralleled to this moment.

"It's too strong!" She tried again, "I'll be fine, just go!"

But I wouldn't do that again. I wouldn't fail this time. We went through hell together, all because I wasn't strong enough to pull us both out. I should've been. The guy that defeated Kronos, supposedly, couldn't even pull himself and his girlfriend up fifteen feet.

"No!" I said, "Remember what we said? Always together, no matter what. I'm not repeating the same mistake!"

"It's no use!" She cried, "We can't escape! Oceanus has complete control of the sea now, the pull is too strong!"

I closed my eyes, feeling complete anger fill my veins. Imagining his face, his foot on my dad's chest. It wasn't something that I could bear to see, to even think of. I wouldn't let it happen.

"He doesn't control the sea." I said, "not yet. He hasn't beaten us yet!"

With a rush of adrenaline, I drew from the depths of my power. My anger rose and rose, and so did the green aura around me, it brightened and expanded like a small sun.

Annabeth's face was one of pure shock, she had never seen such a display from me before, and heck, neither have I.

"We're getting out of here…" I said, "No matter what!"

With a roar, and a burst of energy, I felt the levy break, and for a split second, my power overcame the force of the chasm's pull, and I took that shot. Had I hesitated, or waited for even a moment, we would've been buried forever.

But I tightened my grip on Annabeth's hand, and with all of my power, I pulled myself up on Riptide and yanked the blade out of the rock. Together, we shot up out of the pit, smashed into the stronghold debris, and came up to middle ground of the water, my aura protecting Annabeth and I the entire time.

When it was over, I looked back and saw the entirety of the ruined stronghold slide into the chasm, like a trash bin, it sucked it all up and took it deep down, where it would never return.

I capped Riptide and scowled down at the wreckage, feeling a sense of relief when I saw our captured forces make it out alive, the ones that charged with us helping them with their wounds.

Oceanus…I couldn't believe it. He would do this to his own people, just to get to us. Just to get to my dad. He still had his army down there, and he blew them up without a care in the world.

Annabeth was clinging tight to my side, she looked down at the catastrophe and gawked. "That was…that was…"

"It's okay." I said calmly, "Let's get you to shore."

She didn't say another word, and simply nodded.

I held her firmly and we shot up to the surface. Willing the water to push me forward, and with my aura strength, it didn't take but a few seconds until I saw the slope of the sand and the blur of palm trees on the beach.

I landed on the underwater dune, both of us trudged up until we emerged. When we did, the bubble around Annabeth's head disappeared, and she took a deep breath of surface air in.

I guided her over to a palm tree, where she sat down, trying to reacclimate herself back into land life. She had been down there for hours, after all.

"This air is totally different." She said, "I mean, you'd think it wouldn't be, but it's totally different."

She didn't hear me respond, and looked up at me. "Percy?"

"I gotta go help my dad, Triton, and your mom. They're fighting Oceanus."

She leaned up, "What? My mom's here?"

"Yeah. I have to go help them."

"Let me come with you! If my mom's here-" She tried to get up, but she entered another series of coughing fits.

I kneeled down and grabbed her arms gently, "You need to rest up and stay here. Besides, Athena told me specifically to save you first. I doubt she'd want you to step right back into the danger."

"I can still-" She said, but then she must've felt just how truly exhausted she was, and absolutely waterlogged. The bubble protected her head, but not the rest of her body. It was soaked, pale, and wrinkled. It takes quite a toll on a person who's not used to so much water at once. It's like taking a bath for an entire day and never getting out.

"Stay here." I urged, "I'll be back, I promise."

Lazily, she looked up at me and nodded. "Okay. But just…be careful."

"I will." I affirmed, about to turn to go back in the water. But just as I did, I felt something, something on the aura radar, if you want to call it that. It was a sudden drop in someone's power, a drastic fall that came out of nowhere.

My entire body went stiff, my heart raced in panic. Dad…

"Dad."

I immediately broke out into a run and dove into the water, using my aura even more so than before to propel me downward. The sea practically split itself open to let me pass, I was creating such water pressure that the ripples beside me went all the way to the surface, bubbling and shaking the water.

I clenched my fists, one around Riptide in it's pen form. I pushed as hard as I could, but it still wasn't fast enough to satisfy me. I was going so much faster than before, but even nanoseconds were crucial here.

That was when I stumbled on it. It made me stop in my tracks abruptly. The shine of a silver spear, and ichor all around it.

Oceanus was there, a hand gripping Triton's throat tightly, choking the life out of him while my half-brother beat uselessly on the titan's forearm. And his other hand…was holding his spear, and that spear was impaling my dad.

"Dad…" I croaked, tears welling up in my eyes. It had gone clean through his chest, ichor was spreading out like squid's ink all around him. I was viewing dad from behind, and I could see that his shoulders, no, his entire body was slumped, lifeless.

Athena was nowhere to be found. Oceanus must've disposed of her already. The titan looked directly at me, this time wearing a terrifying helmet. It matched his spiky, metallic armor, but it had a certain, monstrous design on it. Surrounded his head, were individual heads of the Hydra, sprouting out like Medusa's hair, they're mouths open and sharp teeth showing, as detailed as any painting I'd ever seen. I couldn't see his eyes through the helmet, or his mouth. Only dark, empty slots.

But I knew he was there. I knew who was behind that helmet.

"You'll…pay for this." I growled, hate and rage rising inside of me, making my very bloodstream hot. I could feel my aura heating up, boiling the water around me. I was shaking, my head was shaking, veins were popping, I felt like I was going to explode.

Oceanus regarded me. "Percy Jackson." He looked at my limp father on the end of his spear, and then back at me. "You shouldn't have come."

"Well I'm here now, aren't I?" I snarled, "And I can tell you this, Oceanus-" I uncapped Riptide, and pointed the glowing saber at him. It matched my hate, whirring with unbound power. "-You're going to die today."

Matt

Atlas kicked my shoulder and knocked me on my rear.

Pain entered my right arm, I whimpered as I scooted back, trying to put as much distance between myself and the titan as possible. It wasn't working though; I might as well have been crawling. The agony screaming in my left arm was worse than my right, since that's the one that Atlas shot a hole in with his purple aura.

Viribus was still out of arm's reach, the club laying ten feet away from where it flew out of my hand.

I was cornered, beaten the crap out of. And it was only going to get worse.

Atlas seemed almost impressed. "You came here, willingly, to your death. You knew I waited for you, and yet here you are." The titan chuckled, "It almost mirrors something a man would do."

He raised his boot in the air, preparing the stomp me into little Matt pieces. I could barely feel my left arm, I was trying to simply stay alive, let alone roll out of the way.

But yet again, instinct saved me. My legs acted on their own and I rolled out of the way, hearing a horrible BOOM behind me, where Atlas brought his massive shoe sole on the ground.

I had no time to rest, no time to think. Next thing I knew, I saw a giant fist barreling towards me, the soft spot of his hand, the part where the pinkie trails down to the wrist, was aimed straight for my head.

I slammed my arms together to form a makeshift shield. His wrist hit both of mine, immediately forcing more blood out of the hole in my arm, spouting it all over my face in little droplets. The force was unbelievable, it felt like I was fighting against the weight of the entire world. As he pressed down against me, with a single hand mind you, my muscles screamed for relief, my blood was burning, the very aura inside of me tried it's best to help me out, channeling itself to the point of contact. But it was no use, with every passing second, Atlas applied just a little more pressure, bit by bit, forcing me down in the ground with it. First it was my feet sinking into the Earth, then one knee, then both knees. Soon I was in a near crouch, and he was grinning down at me, clearly winning the struggle.

"But you're not a man." He said, craning his neck closer to my face. "You're just a boy. A naïve child in over his head." His stomach rumbled a laugh. "The Olympians are such cowards that they have to send children to do their dirty work!"

My teeth were gritted, my insides were so strained that I started to taste the horrible taste of iron. Thick liquid, no doubt blood, filled my gums and trickled down my cheek. The pressure was so much, so painful, so strong, I couldn't fight back, I could simply sit here and act as the middleman between him and the ground. I was like an object under a hydraulic press. Before long…I would be crushed.

"We'll…beat you." I forced out, part of it muffled from my blood. "They sent us because…they don't even need to…agh…step…in…"

He pressed harder, and I screamed in agony. His breath now blew against my face as he spoke. "Oh they'll step in. Once I kill you and your little friends…I can enact my revenge against the ones who trapped me under that wretched curse. I can fight to my hearts content! Buried in vats of Ichor! Zeus's ichor!"

I saw the sudden image of Atlas standing amongst the bodies of my friends, his fists caked in their blood, his eyes glowing like a demon, licking his lips of the red saturation. It was something I couldn't take, something I would not accept.

Adrenaline coursed through me, I snarled at him. "I won't…let you…HURT THEM!"

The red aura returned, enveloping me with it's warmth and tremendous power, this time, even greater than before. My anger reached it's limit, I raised my head to the sky and screamed with the might of ten thousand lions. It was so great, that the clouds parted from the force of the roar, literally, a giant circle blew back the clouds for hundreds of feet in the sky.

Atlas raised an eyebrow, surprised at my newfound strength. I felt his pressure wasn't so terrible anymore. His image kept splitting to the image of him killing my friends, something that I wouldn't allow.

Taking the element of surprise, I pushed up and broke free of Atlas's press. The red glow around me rocketed towards the sky, elongating my outline, and making it look more like a beacon. Atlas stumbled back, still disoriented and confused at how I gained such power in the matter of seconds, especially with injuries like the ones I'd sustained, and not healed yet.

But I didn't even feel that, temporarily, all pain left me, and I felt only strength. An endless supply that I could tap into. I saw red surrounding Atlas; he was my target.

I jumped at him and unleashed on him. Much faster than light, I reappeared in front of his face and connected my knuckles with his cheek, knocking his head to the side in recoil. I followed up and didn't stop, relentlessly, I battered him as hard as I could, punching him in the nose and the eyes, kicking him in the chest and making him skid in the dirt. I ran forward with my head down like a bull and plowed into his lower ab area, causing him to double over.

I ended the combination with a deadly uppercut, jumping up to his level and swinging upwards as hard as I could, feeling the sweet sensation of my fist hitting his chin, I knocked it in the air and delivered a spinning kick, right to his temple.

Atlas fell hard on his side and slid a few feet in the rock. My friends, save for Malachi, who was still trying to regain consciousness, were amazed. They'd stopped trying to attack and simply watched me pummel the titan.

Or at least, I thought I'd pummeled him.

Atlas started to laugh again, his shoulders were shaking with it, and he was practically giggling at my little display.

He pushed himself back to his feet with a single finger, and spat a wad of saliva in the ground, turning to face me with a smug smirk. He was completely undamaged. "That all you got?"

Rage filled me once again. He just shrugged that off like it was nothing? Screw this, screw being scared. I'm going to show him not to mess with me, or threaten those I care about.

"Oh, I'll show you what I've got!" I shouted, and roared yet again. Doing the same thing, I disappeared in a thunderous gust of wind and reappeared at his face, rearing my fist back, I punched him even harder than before.

But this time, his head didn't move.

My fist planted in his cheek, and he simply took it. Like a normal person hitting a brick wall, nothing happened. His skin wrinkled a little bit at the contact, and his lips got a little smushed, but that was it. He smiled, a terrifying grin with one wide, maniacal eye, to let me know that he was utterly enjoying my effort.

He reached up and wrapped his massive hand around my entire arm, each of his fingers five times the size of mine. Quicker than I could react or escape, he gripped me tight and squeezed.

Not gradually, but in one fell swoop, one appliance of pressure, and he broke my entire arm. Not just broke it, but shattered it.

You could hear the bones break and crack from a mile away, it was so intensely loud. Ten snaps rung out through the area, jagged pieces of little bone stuck through my skin, all over, making it look like I had grown little shark's teeth across my arm. Blood sprayed out from each cut and break, covering me completely in it and soaking my armor.

I heard the others gasp, and someone scream "NO!"

You bet I screamed. I screamed and screamed in agony and looked at my arm with utter horror. The pain…I will never be able to describe it. I might as well have been amputated…without anesthetic.

"AGHHHHHHHH!"

"Know pain, worm! Know pain at the hands of a true warrior!"

I didn't even see his next attack; it was so fast. But judging from the sensation and getting the wind knocked out of me, I figured he'd punched me in the gut. I felt all air leave my body, my frame crumple and lurch forward, my eyes widened and my mouth open without consent. I soared through the air and crashed into the side of the mountain, back first.

I bounced into it and fell to my rear, hitting the tailbone hard on the sharp rock. I felt debris fall on my shoulder, pebbles trinkle down on my head to my neck. My arm was fully limp, not even throbbing, at this point, it was numb and useless. I had lost way too much blood.

Talon jumped above Atlas's back, trying to go for a sneak attack on the titan. But Atlas was in a whole other league. If he hadn't proved it on the beach, he was proving it now. He smacked the sword out of Talon's hand and palmed my friend in the opposite direction, throwing him over the side of the mountain. I wanted to go help him, but I saw that he had caught himself on the edge, judging by the fingers I caught gripping the rock.

Atlas rushed towards me and raised his fist, trying to finish the job. He would've connected too, because I couldn't move. I absolutely could not move. But behind him, I saw a jet of brilliant blue light flash.

The blast hit Atlas in the back. Not even fazing him, it bounced off and the titan turned his head, rolling his good eye in annoyance.

Back on his feet, stood Malachi. His shoulder was slumped, blood was coming out of his wounds, and he was breathing heavily.

"Fucking pests." Atlas growled, "Why can't you just let me kill you one by one?!"

Malachi ran at Atlas, throwing bolt after bolt at the titan. He pitched them underhanded, throwing small cracks of electricity as he ran, Atlas simply waved his hand at each of them, slapping them aside like they were toys being thrown at him.

When Malachi got fifteen feet from him, he sidestepped with wide strides, forming a zig zag and materializing a lightning spear from his hand. He stabbed at Atlas's neck, but the titan just raised his shoulder and blocked the attack, dissipating the spear with a small crack of thunder.

Malachi's face contorted to that of pure shock, and then his body wasn't standing anymore, it was being thrashed.

Atlas clobbered him into the ground. He hit my friend on the skull like he'd meant to hit me a few minutes ago, then he stepped over Malachi's crater, straddling both sides of the new pit, and started punching Malachi repeatedly. Several shockwaves exploded, I saw blood fly out from the crater, I could see the side view of Atlas's mustache, and his devilish smile.

"Stop…" I croaked, "S-Stop!"

He hit him once more and raised his fist, admiring the blood that inhabited it. He didn't have much time, because both Harper and Levi now went at him, despite seeing what he just did to Malachi, which I didn't even want to think about. His aura was very faint, and waning rapidly. He'd hit him several times, and he might've just killed him.

I was no better. My vision was becoming blurry, I had lost all feeling in my arm, and I was in a puddle of my own blood. I was slowly dying, and I was about to watch my girlfriend and Levi die too.

Atlas scoffed as they came at him, annoyed. He wanted to get to me, but people kept getting in his way. Levi swiped at his knee, and he casually stepped back. Harper jumped up on the opposite knee and leaped up towards his eye, aiming for the one weak spot that we absolutely knew of. But Atlas was protecting it well. He simply reared his head back to avoid any strikes.

We were done for. This was far more one sided than I even imagined. We hadn't done any considerable damage on him yet, no, not even a literal scratch. We burned some of his clothes off, and that was it. He was going to kill us.

If I didn't use my last resort.

I hadn't planned on breaking it out this early, but it was the only thing that could save us now. Talon was still teetering on the edge of the mountain, Malachi was utterly beaten down by Atlas, Harper and Levi were going on the same road, and I was a sitting duck, motionless and unable to even move.

But I could move my neck, and with a small turn, I glanced at my watch.

Inside that watch, was one of the most powerful weapons in existence. I wasn't sure how they hadn't noticed it yet, how they hadn't figured out what it was. But then I realized, feeling for it's aura…that it was very low. It was actually suppressing itself, so it wouldn't be found out.

It was like it had a mind of its own…

"Two things that you need to know. One, if you want to use it, for a last resort only, the way to activate it is touching your palm to the surface and holding it there. You'll need to focus your strength solely on your palm, and concentrate on your connection to the sky, your connection to your grandfather."

"Got it. What's the second thing?"

"It's a drawback. A major drawback." His lips tightened, "Since you aren't a god, and don't have an immortal soul. Each use of the Master Bolt will damage you. The power is just too great to withstand, unless you simply cannot die. That means there is a limit to how many times you can use it and stay alive. In your case…" I felt his aura brush up against mine, as he gauged it. "Five times. Huh, more than I expected."

I looked back and forth at the bolt and him, "Only five times?"

"Yes. Depending on how far apart you use it, perhaps one or two more, but you'd need years of time in between strikes. No, this weapon is very dangerous, it's energy is unboundable, and any more than five will surely kill you. So make every shot count."

It was the only way. This shot would count, because I would make it count.

I groaned in pain as I used every bit of feeling I had left to raise my arm and twitch my fingers just enough to reach over to the watch. I had to twist my shoulders and force my body to convulse just to get the hand over there. But when it did, if fell on pure warmth.

The little bolt of lightning inside the small glass box glowed with power, and connected to my hand. I could already feel it's energy, it's limitless, dangerous energy.

I glared at Atlas, and thought of my grandfather. Tightening my grip around the soon-to-be Master Bolt…I prepared to unleash the might of Zeus.

(000)

When push comes to shove...always remember to use that lightning bolt on your wrist.

How do you like that cliffhanger? Hope you loved it. So that wraps up the first part of the final battles of Book Three, Percy vs Oceanus is under way, and everyone vs Atlas is happening at the exact same time. Things aren't looking so good for either of them though...wonder how the tides will turn next chapter? Got to stay tuned to find out.

Hope you all enjoyed this one. Next chapter will be the final chapter of Book Three. The battles come to ahead, and victors will be decided.

Until Next Time.