The Son Of Hercules

by Echoxenvy

Follow Matt Beckett, the Son of Hercules, as he and his friends wage war on the Primordial God Ouranos and his wide variety of allies. Love, hardship, battle, loss, and glory are just five of the many things he will experience on his epic journey. Current Book: The Rising Sun. OC-Centered.

78. For The Rest Of My Life

You've made it, the final chapter of Book Three. It's going to be a good one, and I don't want to waste any time, so strap in, and get ready for a ride.

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 seventeenth chapter.

17. For The Rest Of My Life

Matt

For one of the most dangerous objects in the universe, the Master Bolt sure is slow.

I felt the warmth of it on my palm, yeah, but as far as taking shape into something...nothing yet. It could've been the pain distracting me from concentration, or the visual aid of Harper and Levi dodging death time and time again.

Vision tunneling, I could see flurries of desperate movement on their part, circling Atlas like wolves to a bear. Only in that case a pair of wolves actually have a chance at wounding the bear. Atlas was carefree, almost getting bored with the antics. It was clear that he wanted to kill me first and get me out of the way. He'd already incapacitated Malachi, for now, but I'm sure his intentions were to kill him next too. Then, he could have fun with the pair of siblings.

Finally, the levee broke. Atlas opened his palm and aimed to smack Harper, likely knocking her off the mountain. The act should've been quicker than her perception, but to my surprise, she caught it as it started. Her aura shone in a light gray hue, matching the color of a full moon. It passed on to her knives, coating them with formidable energy.

Atlas had already attempted his strike when Harper stuck the blades out in front of her, his palm hit both on their tips and the sharp points stuck inches into his hand.

The Titan growled in pain and yanked his hand away, backing up a step. There was a moment where he looked at Harper with something akin to hatred. It was the first moment in the fight where he had been somewhat wounded. It was a blow to his ego.

Levi, even without aura manipulation, tried to follow up with a stab of his own. Atlas had enough, and didn't even touch him. He turned his head and widened his eyes at the son of Nemesis, in such an angry, frightening way, similar to Talon's bloodlust. But this was on another level, it actually had a force of energy attached to it, knocking Levi back on the ground.

He then grabbed Harper by the throat, two fingers was all it took to choke her, the rest of his hand clung to her shoulders, encompassing the entirety of them. His movement was so quick that she dropped her knives from the momentum.

She was defenseless, and she had angered the Titan. I knew she was in trouble.

Why couldn't I do something?! Why wouldn't this thing work? Zeus hadn't crossed my mind once, and my body was so focused on repairing the pain it had been dealt...I guess I literally couldn't concentrate. But something had to be done fast, or we're dead.

Unable to even beat at his fist or try to escape, Harper was slammed into the side of the mountain next to me, Atlas's palm pressing against her windpipe. I saw the eyes roll in the back of her head, gasping for air.

It was then that Atlas reached over and grabbed me with the other hand, positioning his thumb and index finger to latch me up like a claw at the arcade. He pulled me up and caught me by the neck, pushing me hard into the rock. My hand fell off of the Master Bolt, dispersing it immediately.

Talon tried to intervene, now back on the mountain, he snuck up to Atlas's rib cage on my side and fired an explosive slug. The round bounced off harmlessly and Atlas kicked him in the chest, his boot covering half of Talon's body.

Harder he pressed, it felt like our bodies would be crushed in seconds. He was slowly applying pressure, just like when he tried to hammer my skull in earlier.

Levi appeared by Atlas's shoulder in the distance, fiddling in his jacket. Quickly, he shouted in Harper's direction. "Harper, here!"

Something flew through the air, a glint of blue and silver. Not even trying to sense it, I felt a familiar chaotic energy tumble and land in Harper's grip. Glancing over, I saw her holding the Heavenly Diamond knife tightly, it's long, sharp blade only in my view for a moment, because in the next, it was in Atlas's eye.

His bad one. She had acted as soon as she caught the knife, and stabbed at the first thing she saw. The nearly transparent shaft sunk into Atlas's scarred eye, placing itself perfectly in the middle of the faded white gash, reopening it.

Atlas howled in pain, making a series of grunts and loud growls too, he held his grip on us still, and Harper shifted her wrist, cutting the knife even deeper and letting it fall across the majority of the scar, basically tracing it into a new one.

It was then that Atlas let us go and backed away, holding his eye tightly and wincing in pain. Harper and I fell to the ground with a thud. Levi watched on with satisfaction, and shot a prideful look at Harper. Ouranos on the side, for the first time in the fight, looked a bit wary. Like a gambler nervous about the hand he'd been dealt.

It had been used sooner than I expected, but I was glad Levi did that. Otherwise we would've been toast. Besides, feeling Atlas's aura now, I could sense that it had dropped steadily. It was still massive, and very much overwhelming...but not as overwhelming as before.

He shook his head and wiped the new scar. Ichor covered his hand and trailed down his face. Once he got over the shock of being hurt, he turned to us and gave an ecstatic grin.

"Oh, you little bastards are scrappy." He ran his tongue across his palm, tasting his own Ichor. "Been a while since I've actually been hurt."

He clenched his fists and spread his boots out. It was odd for a moment, and I wasn't exactly sure what he was trying to do, that is, until I felt his aura rise, and saw his body get bigger.

"I'm done playing games with you brats." He said, "What you've felt so far is just a little taste...but now, I'm gonna give you the full meal."

The most frightening thing began to happen. His muscles started to expand, ripping and tearing sounds roared in the air. From his neck to his shoulders, down to his feet, his bones sounded like they were breaking, something akin to logs being split with an axe. But in reality, they were growing.

Purple aura seeped from his pores, not even a violet shade, but more like a wine shade. Atlas seemed to be in slight pain at the transformation, he would grimace at the loudest pop or breaking sound. But of course, that could just be the result of his new scar.

Finally, Atlas now towered over us at ten feet tall. For reference, he was eight feet tall before. His shoulders had broadened even further, his fists had grown so big, they could probably palm a bulldozer, and his midsection...he might as well have eaten a small tank before he did this.

I lost focus for one moment, and when I regained it, he was gone.

Faster than light, he had rushed us, and grabbed Harper by the arm, once again with two fingers. She had no time whatsoever to even process that she was being attacked. Atlas threw her in the air, like a skeet shooter, and not even six feet away from him, he spun around and clipped her with his hand.

Fingers pointed out, as straight as it could be, he had chopped her in the neck. There was a horrifying crunch, and I saw Harper's body go limp, her face go slack, her other eye go white, and her neck bend out of place. Her head had literally shifted over several inches from where it was supposed to be.

She fell to the ground, seemingly lifeless, in an awkward position. She was facing away from me, and the Heavenly Diamond knife was next to her.

A cheer from Ouranos and a cry of uproar from Levi. Her brother suddenly exploded in a blur of several black figures, wings flapping viciously around them. I still had trouble seeing, so I concluded in my mind that he had turned into a flock, or in the actual term, a murder of crows. Ironic, considering he looked like he really wanted to kill the Titan.

As pointless as it may be now, it was actually a good thing. Atlas needed to be distracted so he wouldn't get the knife, or hurt Harper further. My loss of blood was interfering with my aura sensing...so I just silently prayed that she was alive.

The crows pecked and flew around Atlas's face, the Titan was unbothered. It didn't take long before he found out which one was the original. His eyes flicked to the original crow, he reached out and caught it out of the air. With a squeeze, it cawed in pain and transformed back to Levi. His eyes were bulging out of his head and blood was sputtering out of his mouth.

Atlas threw him down like trash, and aimed his sights towards me.

"Now, where were we?" He said, "Oh right, I was just about to kill you."

I thought I was done for. His thigh tensed, just about to pounce. I knew in the very next frame of my life, I'd see his fist in front of me, and that would be it.

But rolling in front of me and holding up a heavy, bronze encrusted shield, was Talon. Atlas's fist smashed against it, and it shattered. The shock of my friend's appearance was enough to disorient the Titan. In the moment his fist hit the shield, Talon threw something behind his shoulder. Whatever it was, it hit me on the chest and stayed there.

My life returned to me, quickly. The shattered arm put itself back together, the bones sticking out of my skin were forced back into their original place. Even the blood off the ground snuck back into my body. I felt reinvigorated in seconds.

I didn't even need to look down. I grabbed Viribus by the hilt and shot up, coating my fist in Red Aura, I bashed Atlas in the chin. When I landed on my toes, I pressed down and darted to the side.

"New plan, kid." Talon said, right next to me. "I'm gonna be your human shield for a minute, while you heal everyone with the magic stick."

"But what about-"

"No buts! Just do what I say!"

I knew there was no time for talk, as Atlas was glaring at us. We had a very small window of opportunity here, and remembering Harper's neck...she didn't have long, nor did Malachi or Levi.

"Okay!"

Atlas jumped forward, Talon met him, blocking me with his body. The Titan's fist connected with his chest, purple aura and all. His strength was unreal, astronomical. I was about to protest that there was no way even Talon could take such punishment, but he did in stride. Of course, the momentum of his punch, sent Talon flying into me, and we tumbled in the dirt a bit, but we always recoiled quickly.

I dove over to Harper and pressed the tip of Viribus against her neck. Atlas was on our tail, much faster than we were. But I only needed a single second to get her back.

Just as I had touched Viribus to her skin, I felt Talon hit my side again, and we went tumbling once more. I stuck my hand out and dug my fingers into the ground, trying to stop our eventual descension to the ground below.

I took a sliver of precious time to look at Harper. Seeing her stir and start to push herself up, brought a great sense of relief. She was okay.

But the others were not. Glancing over, Malachi and Levi were farther away, and Atlas stood nearly in between them. If only Viribus could heal without someone holding it, then I would just have to gamble and throw the thing over to where they were, hoping I'd at least make it in their crater. But it doesn't work that way. Viribus has to be held by somebody, and yeah, if can be anybody, for it to heal.

"Talon, duck!"

He weaved his shoulder and I summoned lightning to Viribus, with all I could muster. The great bolt connected with its tip and ricocheted to Atlas. I expected some sort of resistance, maybe he would even slow down. But no, he simply kept running through it. The lightning pressed against his chest, but just bounced off the sides like water to a wall.

"Okay, don't duck!" I yelled, and we rolled out of the way just in time, avoiding a deadly hit that ended up smashing the ground and forming yet another crater behind us.

I pushed Viribus into Talon's hands and motioned with my head to go heal Malachi and Levi, while I distract Atlas. He gave me a look that said are you crazy?! And I gave a look in return that replied yeah, probably.

Talon ran off towards them. Atlas, not being just a dumb brute, knew that Viribus was the only thing keeping us alive. He chased after Talon.

I intercepted Atlas's fist with my own. Our knuckles smashed into one another. Immediately, I felt a force that made the weight of the World Serpent seem like nothing, and that's saying a lot.

I pressed my other hand against his fist, pushing back with all my might. Atlas's physical strength was unparalleled by anything I had ever fought, or probably would ever fight. The amount of pressure he could generate was other worldly, and the amount that he could resist against...it was no wonder the guy held up the sky for so long.

I couldn't relax a single muscle, if I did, his fist would go right through me. I looked up to see him grinning down at me, wickedly, with a small hint of admiration.

"Impressive strength, kid. Even greater than your daddy." He pushed harder, torturing my limbs. "But he was no match for me, so how do ya think you're gonna fair in the long run?"

"Don't talk about him." I growled.

"Only thing that's keeping you on your feet is that stick, and your little friends." I didn't even consider his other hand, I was so focused on the one trying to kill me, that I didn't expect it to smash against the side of my head. My body did a near flip in the air, but my temple caught the ground.

"How many more of those little shits are gonna die for you? Huh, hero?"

I groaned, feeling my limbs go weak once again, my ears ringing. Every hit I received from him was structure shattering, bone breaking, and I needed to make it count.

Even though I could barely hear through the shrill ringing sound, I made out a voice saying, "None."

Atlas looked over to see Malachi and Levi standing upright, next to Talon. He was good as new, in the shape he started in. I saw the Titan's anger boil over, his eye twitched and he scowled.

Next thing I knew, Harper was in the air, behind Atlas's back. The knife was in her hand, and she aimed to stab him in the shoulder. But Atlas wasn't going to be hit a second time. His new scar still leaked Ichor, and it was still hurting him. He would remember that kind of pain, even through sensing, he knew where the chaotic energy was now.

He caught Harper's wrist and grabbed her by the face, slamming her in the ground. Malachi dove forward, using the air to fly straight into Atlas's stomach. He heaved and ascended towards the sky, pushing Atlas with both hands.

"Talon!" I reached for Viribus. He threw it to me without hesitation.

"Kid, what are you-"

I didn't stay to hear the rest. I had to help Malachi. Launching off the ground, Red Aura erupted around me and trailed my path across the sky. I quickly caught up with them. Malachi still had his hold on Atlas, and when he saw me, he accelerated his force, and then abruptly stopped.

Atlas flailed in the air. I knew what he was setting up. Using Viribus, I flew around the Titan and raised it over my head, he got within five feet of me, and I smacked the sweet spot of the club across his forehead.

He fell back down, faster and faster, shockwaves burst around him, hitting the clouds and dissipating them. He was breaking the sound barrier.

Malachi and I somehow connected on what to do next. We both flew down as fast as we could and met on either side of Atlas. Both of us brought lightning to our hands and shot them at the Titan. He stopped falling however, completely aware of our attack. With a pair of purple gloved hands, he blocked our lightning and deflected them both into space. There were two separate crashes of thunder, each one enough to shake the entire city.

He came towards me next, I had meant to swipe Viribus at him, using wind to push him back, but as I started to cock my arm back, the weirdest thing happened. The aura that swirled inside Viribus, at least Zeus's part, died. The light that seemed to inhabit the club was gone, the wind underneath me disappeared, and I started to free fall in the sky.

I looked at Viribus incredulously, "What the-" it had never done that before. Sensing it quickly, I felt that Zeus's aura had completely disappeared from it, and that it had been waning slowly ever since I started using it. I always assumed...I don't know what I assumed. It never crossed my mind that it had a limit, a moment where the fuel ran out and I was stuck.

It had been a year after all, I'd used it countless times. But I thought it would regenerate? But it wasn't in a body, maybe that's why...

I cursed under my breath, and still felt Gaea's energy inside it, at least that was there. Feeling the wind roar behind me, I turned and saw Atlas chasing after me through the wind. He smiled in delight at the turn of events. Malachi was close on his tail, I motioned to him for a trap.

Malachi swirled his hand, and cast a wind cage around Atlas, trapping him and slowing his descent just for a moment, but the stop was enough for me to gather my thoughts. I reached behind me, Viribus trailing in hand, and aimed at the ground below. It glowed a brown color, and I felt a force against it, knowing I had locked on to Earth, I slashed the air.

Thousands of rocks shot past me and hit Atlas, all over his body. One clipped his knee, the others hit his face, his neck, his shoulders, everywhere all at once. He was merely distracted by this though. But that was all I needed.

I tapped Viribus and it morphed back into a necklace. The lion's head at the end didn't shine like it used to, or even glimmer the bronze color that it did. Something was wrong, it was out of juice or something.

The horrifying realization occurred to me, and I inwardly asked the question. Could it still heal? I remembered, every-time I used that ability in the past, it was Ouranos's aura that entered me, not Gaea's. If it were hers, she would've been in my head too. But I only heard his voice.

When Ouranos sucked the aura out and took it back, Zeus replaced it. But now, it was gone. All gone.

If we couldn't heal with it anymore...

I tried to push the daunting thought away, and clapped my hands in front of me. A shockwave erupted, and my body lurched forwards, Atlas's figure became farther and father away. Finally, I crashed into the ground, back on the same mountain.

A curtain of dust surrounded me, in that dust, were hands tugging on my arm, black hair tickling my face, and then finally, another face in my vision.

"Matt, get up!" Harper shouted urgently.

I saw a massive shadow and a flash of blue warning behind it. They were close.

I grabbed her quickly and wrapped my arms around her as far as they could go. Pulling us both to the side, we rolled in the ground, or I did, she was safe on my chest as Atlas's fist planted where I once lay.

I let her go and we stood up. Harper's mouth was slack with effort, she was breathing heavily.

"Thanks." She said, "You alright?"

"Not really. Still got that knife?"

Malachi tussled with Atlas on the ground, Talon and Levi played whack a mole with Atlas's eye, stabbing at it whenever he rolled over and Malachi claimed temporary dominance.

"Yeah." She replied, showing me her white knuckled hand, gripping the weathered blue knife like it was life support.

"Good, cause we're gonna need it. Viribus is out of juice."

"Wait, huh?"

"No time to explain, but I can't heal with it anymore, or fly with it."

Her eyes became saucers, "Holy shit..."

Atlas made for a grab at Malachi, but he teleported away in an electric blur, appearing ten feet away.

"We gotta help them!" I said, "Jump on my palm!"

She didn't ask questions or hesitate. Thank Olympus for the level of trust we had built and her insane combat awareness. She jumped up and I held out my palms, the left behind the right. When her boots landed on it, I swung upward and sent her in an arc towards Atlas.

"Aim for the neck!" I ordered as I ran after her.

She did. With cat like agility and grace, she aimed straight for the Titan's windpipe. However, once Atlas felt the sense of chaotic energy nearing him, he went into a different mode. He kicked Malachi off of him, sending him into the mountain, a hole as deep as a tunnel, and stuck out his hand to block the attack. The knife sunk through his hand, blade protruding through the other end, Ichor covered, all the way to the hilt. He went with a small wound to save himself from a big wound. His quickness and intelligence nearly made me falter.

He wrapped his fingers around the hilt and slung Harper my way. The force was too much, and she let go, crashing into my stomach, I caught her.

"RAGHH!" Atlas roared, and a burst of purple energy flashed around him, surging from his body and sending us flying back.

Nobody managed to fall off the mountain, but we all shot up as quick as we were able, in fear that he'd be on top of us again. Instead, he stood firm, holding the deadly knife like a toothpick.

He smirked at it and threw it behind him, it skidded at Ouranos's feet.

"Assure that it doesn't fall in their hands again." He ordered, "Wouldn't want an accident, now would we?"

Ouranos, his pride practically on his sleeve, curled his small lip. "Are you ordering me? Mind your tone when-"

"SHUT UP!" Atlas roared. It was the first time I'd seen Ouranos flinch. He did, and his eyes bore a hateful, murderous glare at the moment of insubordination.

"Your ego will be your undoing, Primordial. Mark my words." Atlas nearly spat on him. It was clear there was no respect whatsoever. Honestly, It was the first time I felt positively about Atlas. Knowing that he didn't like Ouranos in the slightest was kind of cool.

He continued, "If it weren't for me, these worms would've sent you back to Tartarus, took the girl, and hauled their asses back to wherever they came from. You're placing all your cards on me. Remember, you aren't in your prime form at the moment, so I advise you listen to me, lest you get killed."

The threat was enough to send chills down our spines, and it wasn't even aimed at us. Ouranos' face flushed, and he promptly picked up the knife, not uttering even a peep.

Atlas turned back to us, his satisfied smile returning. "You little devils are more formidable than I thought. You almost remind me of the Olympians, if they were a bunch of teenagers."

Talon gestured between himself and Malachi, "Yeah, we're like twenty one, so...not teenagers."

Atlas ignored him, "But your little spark of resistance is fading. That club, the light in it has gone out. You think I'm stupid? I know that's the only reason you're still standing."

I wanted to unsheathe Viribus again, maybe try something else. Maybe I could steal his aura and store it in there, or fuse the Master Bolt with it to make some super weapon. I knew that sounded crazy, but I was getting desperate. We were so overwhelmed, any idea sounded genius.

Atlas spread his hands out and smiled at us. "Rejoice! Your worth on this planet has been fulfilled. You gave me a warmup for Zeus! That's more than many demigods such as yourself can say. You should be proud of yourselves."

He started to chuckle, and look around at us with a creepy smile, as if we'd actually be delighted by his passive aggressive praise.

Levi murmured, "He's insane."

"No shit." Talon said.

Malachi was worried, "We have to try something else. Any ideas, Matt?"

"I-I'm thinking…" I said.

"Maybe we can use that red blast again?" Harper suggested.

"Or I can try to go gold" Talon added.

"But can you control it?" Malachi asked, "Matt, what do you think?"

"Yeah Matt, any ideas?"

My head buzzed, and I couldn't keep up with everything that was going on. I felt a hot chill wash over me, knowing death was near.

"I'm thinking!" I said, "I just need time to think!"

"There is no time for you." Atlas said, strolling in his step. "Savor this last bit of breath, this feeling of consciousness. It's going to be gone from you in a minute."

There had to be something. The Master Bolt, or something! If I used it though, he would only see it coming. It was too obvious. Besides, I couldn't even summon it before, what makes me think I'm going to be successful now?

Atlas walked closer and closer, pushing us back as a group. We were all clueless on what to do. We'd thrown everything at him, and nothing had worked so far. The invisible weight between us was too much to stand against.

"We can't die here." Levi said, "We can't."

"We're not." Harper affirmed, though her voice didn't match her words. "We'll come up with something."

"We only got like five seconds." Talon said, "We need to act now!"

"I…I'm thinking." I muttered, helpless.

Then, something flashed behind Atlas, something light gray and powerful. It shimmered in our view, and I felt a new aura enter the fray. Atlas's eyebrows flickered, and he turned his chin slightly to greet the newcomer.

The tables turned, because we all looked over to where the powerful aura was standing. It was a woman. Dark hair, black clothing, and earrings that resembled a crescent moon. There she stood, glaring at the titan, her eyes flickering towards her son and daughter.

"That's enough, Atlas." Nemesis said. "I won't let you harm them any further."

---

Percy

"I'm going to die today?" Oceanus said, repeating my statement. "I think you're confused, boy."

Riptide was practically shaking in my hand from anger. My dad was right there, right there on the end of his spear, lifeless. He had finally succumbed to the punishment. His domain had been lost, and he was gone. I couldn't do a thing about it.

Except avenge him.

Triton muttered unheard words, but he was pointing down at something.

"G…g-get…it…Percy…"

I followed his direction, and saw what he was pointing at. In the sand, fifty feet below us, lay my dad's trident, flat on it's side. It shone in the water with unimaginable power, I could feel it's tremendous aura from here. Which was strange, since it wasn't a person. It was like my dad's aura was imbued in it, his last little bit of life…

Oceanus and I locked eyes with each other. I made a swim for the Trident, but he was too fast. I felt the water around me change sides, and bend to his will. It pressed against my body with unstoppable force, shooting me up to the surface of the ocean like a cannonball.

I burst through the water and landed hard on the damp sand above. People screamed and started running, grabbing their children and carrying them, their belongings, everything to get out of there. I didn't want to know what they saw, but whatever it was, it couldn't be more insane than what was really going on.

Riptide lay two feet next to my hand. No sooner than when I picked it up, the water burst all over the place, like a volcanic eruption. Droplets flew everywhere as a giant head emerged from the sea, then shoulders. It had leathery, scaly skin and empty eyes. With slimy tentacles all over it's face, muscular shoulders and an aura that made my own look like an insect's, I knew Oceanus had realized his form from my vision.

He raised his hand and flicked it, throwing something in the air. It wasn't long before the figure crashed on the shore, just in front of the water. It was my father, in a fetal position, soaked and pale. He never gets wet, like me, he can choose to stay dry in the water. Unless we don't want to, or we lose control over the ability. He'd lost control of it, because he was dead.

The thought enraged me. Oceanus threw another form, and it was Triton. My half brother weakly glowed his true form in mid air to stop his fall, but Oceanus's throw was too much. He crashed against the sand next to me, on his back.

"Triton!"

I ran over to him and inspected his wounds. They were bad. A lot had apparently happened in the time that I used to rescue Annabeth and the others. Triton's lip had ichor all over it, and he sustained several wounds across his body, mostly small cuts, and a few large gashes that looked serious.

"M-mother…he killed her." Triton croaked, trying to raise his head up. "He stabbed her with the spear, just like…just like Dad. They're-"

Just as his voice broke, Oceanus's fist flew through the wind, a giant, reptilian fist that could crush the entire city. I raised Riptide and transferred all the aura I could into the sword. Even though I barely knew how, I simply willed all of my power to go above me and block the attack.

I still felt the pressure of it, though. A sea green dome formed around Triton and I, Oceanus's fist smashed into it, shattering it instantly. Heavy vibrations rattled me and Triton, kicking up sand and rock everywhere. I pulled him and we dove to the side. I had to focus on the fight, but I couldn't just abandon him. He'd kill Triton too.

"She'll reform." I promised, "She'll…she'll be okay, Triton."

He gained some life and raised his voice, "Don't you understand?! It'll be years! He caused all of this!" Triton coughed, "Kill him, Percy! With the Trident! The Trident!"

Oceanus's fist came once again. This time I grabbed Triton's body, and with effortless strength, threw him into the sand dunes behind us. They were the softest thing in near sight, and I had no choice. I just hoped it hadn't hurt him further. I barely had enough time to roll out of Oceanus's blow. But I still felt the shockwave of it hit me in the ribs, throwing me off balance.

"It is futile, Percy Jackson." Oceanus said, in a low, thunderous voice that boomed across the entire beach. Fifty thousand megaphones must've been attached to his face. "You cannot win."

The tentacles on his face extended, and stretched all the way from his face to the ground. They shot like arrows, all of them and their slimy shafts trying to destroy me. I sidestepped one, having to jump twenty feet out of the way to avoid it. It created a large crater in the sand, and even nearly burned it with it's momentum. I dodged another one, this time, swinging Riptide down on the edge of it. To my surprise, the green aura cut right through it, and lopped off the tip of the tentacle.

Oceanus's loud voice grunted, and he retracted the tentacles. Instead, pushing his hands out in front of him. I wasn't sure what he was getting at, if he was trying to trick me into thinking he was going to surrender, or what. But then the water swirled around him, and started to gain a mind of it's own. It raised to a height near his, white foam dripped off the giant wave in clumps, half of it was blue and the other half salt. It remained suspended for a few moments, hundreds of thousands of gallons of water, probably more than that if I'm being honest. Millions, maybe.

I knew it was more than I could push back. I could survive, yeah, but the city? This thing was beyond tsunami level, and the city was so close to the beach. Though the mortals had mostly evacuated, there were still people nearby, and if he threw that thing full force, or heck, even with minimal force, it would wipe out the entirety of Manhattan. It was only growing as he charged it. There was no way I could return it all to sender.

But I would try anyhow. I would do it with some stupid force of will. I'd tap into some level of aura that I'd never heard of before, that even Matt's never heard of before. Whatever it takes.

"COME ON!" I shouted, "THROW IT!"

I sheathed Riptide, and held out my hands, just like he did. Oceanus raised a nonexistent eyebrow on his slimy squid skin, and seemed intrigued by my resistance.

"So be it."

He pressed his hands forward, and the wave came crashing down.

Immediately, the water was free game. It had no master, that is, until someone claimed it. I did the stupid mistake of claiming it.

When I did, It felt so massive, so large and encompassing, that I fell to one knee. The green aura was revving like an engine around me, giving it all I had, it became brighter and larger in outline, but I could tell it was straining, and it couldn't hold out for long.

The giant wave stopped momentarily in the air, mid crash. A few gallons of water fell in buckets on the sand, a few behind me, but that was it for now. I was actually somewhat holding it off.

But I could see my skin turning a pale blue, my veins jumping out of my skin. My muscles howled in agony, my brain was screaming for me to stop, my teeth felt like they would shatter at any moment from the grinding. I needed something to distract me from the pressure, but I knew if I focused on anything else, I would slip.

Just when I thought it was too much, when I knew I was about to let go. An orange light flashed in the sky, near Oceanus's face. It beamed like a shooting star, and slammed into the giant squid temple, knocking it to the side in recoil, causing the giant to stumble.

Then it flew down towards me, it's light blinding, very blinding. I found myself looking away from it, because if I looked any longer, my eyeballs might burn up, or I might be atomized. But in the few seconds that I viewed it, I saw the form of a giant owl.

The aura flew towards me, and then landed by my side. It had a woman's voice. "Percy!"

"Athena?"

"Together!" She said, "Push, now!"

I pushed away the relief that she was okay, and pushed forward with all I had. A new strength supported me, her strength. I was able to look at the wave, now surrounded by a mixture of green and orange. It dispersed in mid air to steam and salt, falling back into the sea and filling it. The sound was that of a nuclear explosion. You think a big kid doing a cannonball in a swimming pool is loud? Boy, you should've heard this.

My entire body slumped to the ground, the echoes of the struggle throbbing in my nervous system. I could hardly move; I could hardly even open my eyes. I was utterly beat.

But then, it must've been Athena. I heard her kneel down next to me, soft kneecaps hitting the sand and a firm hand grab my chin. She forced my mouth open, and suddenly my taste buds were overcome with the sweet taste of chocolate chip cookies. Blue chocolate chip cookies.

My strength returned to me, adrenaline filled my bloodstream. I was back up in seconds. Athena standing right there.

"It's not over yet, Percy" she said. Her helmet had been torn off, from the looks of it. Her hair was tangled and a bit messy, falling out of it's woven bun she had made. Her armor had scratches on it, and the ball of the shoulder was ripped off completely, on her skin, a cut wrapped around her armpit to her elbow. Oceanus had swiped at her, and succeeded.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Nevermind me. We need to pull him to land. He's weaker on land."

"Pull him to land? But how?"

"Call Blackjack."

"Huh?"

"Call Blackjack!" She shouted, "Do it!"

She brokered no argument or questioning. I closed my eyes shut and screamed in my head. Blackjack! Blackjack, get up here! Please!

It took a few moments, but his black mane could be seen coming from the water, behind Oceanus. The titan made a swipe at him with one of the tentacles, nearly knocking the pegasus' head off. Blackjack whinnied and barely swerved out of the way.

"When he gets here, get on him. You and I will attack together." Athena ordered, like she was going down a list of strategies she'd made. "Go for the eye, and I'll go for the chest."

I didn't question it, I just had to trust her plan. I nodded, "Okay."

Blackjack, swoop by! I'm gonna jump on your back!

As he flew closer, he noticed Riptide, and reared his long neck back. Whoa, boss! You got a lightsaber? Why didn't you tell me?!

I'll explain later buddy, right now we gotta hurry!

He tucked his head in and soared to a curve, swooping down near the sand. I watched him closely, knowing I had to time this just right, otherwise I'd hit the dirt on my face, and Blackjack would be in danger.

A three count.

One…

Two…

"Three!" I said out loud, and flung myself, wrapping one arm around Blackjack's neck, and one leg around his stomach, I held on for dear life. When I was secure, I noticed we were flying high above the ground, nearing Oceanus.

Whatever you're gonna do, boss, you might want to go ahead and do it!

The wind was heavy, but I managed to stand up on Blackjack's back, like we did in the water. We were nearing the top of the titan's head, below, I saw Athena's blinding owl form again, aimed straight for his sternum.

Oceanus shot tentacles in our direction, each one looking about as sharp as a teddy bear, but I knew better. The way they crashed into the sand; they could cut me in half if I wasn't careful.

The orange glow that was Athena flew into Oceanus, blowing over a circular shockwave that resembled Saturn's ring. Oceanus lurched forward and grunted, losing balance, he stumbled backward and started to move his arms.

I jumped off Blackjack, not frightened at all by the distance. I knew what was below. I had jumped off the St. Louis Arch before, so this was nothing.

I dived to Oceanus's eye, and stuck Riptide right through the milky surface. It cut clean through, and the titan roared.

I dug my shoes into his skin and cut further and further, as far as it would possibly go. I slashed it around and yelled like a maniac, thinking of my dad's body on the beach, the lifeless form he inhabited. Like Triton said, he caused all of this…and he had to pay.

Oceanus felt the wound and howled at it. I thought I might slice it open so wide that I'd be able to dive into his very eyeball, but surprisingly, he reverted back to his original form, much quicker than I would've thought. There was no transformation, no metamorphosis, just one minute a giant monster, and then the next, a titan.

He was enraged, and had Riptide by the shaft, his entire hand wrapped around it. Looking at him, I saw just how much damage I had done.

Riptide had gone completely through his eye, socket, and all. I could see the very edge of the sword poking out the side of his head, as if I'd taken it and chopped him in the temple with it, executioner style. Ichor was gushing out and caked the blade, Oceanus's eye was completely gone.

"In the name of the sea…I WILL NOT LOSE!"

He still had more than enough power to muster up a shout like that. He grabbed me by the throat and rammed his spiky boot in my gut, knocking blood from my mouth and filling my tongue with it's iron taste. We then began to fall, and I saw his spear in his hand, flown from Olympus knows where, he must've summoned it from the water.

"You're dead!" I shouted, "I won't let you take over what belongs to my dad!" I tightened my grip on Riptide, despite the throbbing pain in my stomach, and the fact that we were falling very quickly towards the ocean. I pushed harder and harder, and then finally, yanked Riptide sideways, cutting clean through the side of Oceanus's face.

"AGHHH!" He shouted; a whimper mixed with a cry of some sorts. He let go of me, half of his cheek dangling off by godly muscle tissue and ichor, strands of it, holding it together like weak, wet clay. His eye was nonexistent, now a sunken hole of nothing. I'd never seen so much godly blood, it was overwhelming compared to my fight with Ares, where I had only knicked his ankle. That was like a paper cut compared to this. It seemed to be oozing from Oceanus's head, falling in clumps towards the water.

"You'll pay for that! You little-" He was cut off by an orange glow slamming into his side. Athena caught him in the ribs and sent him flying sideways. Oceanus's shouts could still be heard, his spear followed them, flailing, and spinning.

This might be it. If I could just control myself, call Blackjack over, I could grab his spear and deliver a double blow with Riptide. It should be enough to send him to Tartarus.

But just as I was about to call Blackjack over, Oceanus opened his mouth, half of his teeth and gums revealed by the cut I had given him, and reared his head back. He screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE IT FROM ME! A CHILD AND A SECOND-RATE GODDESS! YOU WILL BOTH DIE! YOU'LL DIE AT MY HAND!"

His teeth gritted and his good eye wide with madness, he summoned his spear back to his hand and grabbed the very bottom of it. Jutting it forward with a blur to even my eyes, it reappeared in Athena's shoulder, below her collarbone.

Athena's eyes widened and her mouth fell with shock, the orange glow around her faded and ichor flew from the wound as Oceanus yanked the spear out.

"NO!" I shouted, reaching for her. But I couldn't catch her.

Oceanus shifted his weight in the air and grabbed her mid-spin. At the end, he let go and flung her towards the shore, where my father lay. I watched her soar in an arc, ichor trailing her the entire way.

Blackjack, catch her!

I didn't even see if Blackjack heard me or not, because the moment I turned around, Oceanus's spear was flying in my direction. I didn't even see the shaft, the hilt, or the tip. I saw a glimmer of silver light, and then felt unimaginable pain, similar to the pain I'd felt in his attack on Camp, again.

I looked down, and saw half of it sticking out of my chest, the other half through my back. I coughed, and felt the air leave my lungs. Sleep overcame my body, and I felt myself slowly leaving the world, like my soul was being lifted without consent.

I continued to fall, and then I plunged in the water, slowly descending to the sandy floor, my body limp. Above the water, I saw light, bright light, not from the sun. It was something else.

They say your life flashes before your eyes when you're about to die. But mine didn't. There was no highlight reel of my time on this planet, no memories in my mind. I thought of nothing, nothing at all. I only watched a titan come down after me, his zombie-like face probably the last I'd ever see. He stuck out his hand and summoned the spear back to him. I felt it leave my body, but it was a splinter being pulled now, not a spear. I didn't even feel pain, for that function was leaving me.

My back softly hit the sand, and I lay there, at the bottom of the ocean.

Oceanus's spiky, metal boots made a tipping sound in front of me. He held his spear upright, and didn't mind his nearly split face. He was horrifying. The helmet he wore before had been long gone, and his gray hair was golden, covered in his own blood. Half of his mouth was normal and closed tightly, while the other showed long teeth, the deepest part of his gums. The cut went all the way up to his ear and behind his head, and it was several inches deep. Riptide might have even touched his brain. If Titans even have one.

His speech was different, but still clear. I hadn't cut his tongue after all.

"Valiant effort, Percy Jackson. But between your will and mine…it was no contest." He hefted the spear. "I'm going to kill you now. No need prolonging this."

This couldn't be it. No…I was so close, so close. This was the last fight, the last one. And then I was finished, for good.

I glanced down at Riptide, now floating away from my hand. I'd fought so many monsters with that sword, in a way, it was my symbol. It always had been. Not even the-

The…Trident.

Shimmering next to me, it sat. Five feet away, a long, three-pointed spear. My Dad's Trident.

I felt his energy inside of it, his life force. It felt similar to mine, like they were one and the same.

They were one and the same. His energy flows through me, just like it does that Trident. Gods' weapons are a part of them…and so are their children.

I coughed, and managed to croak out a few words. "One thing you seemed to forget about us demigods, Oceanus…is that we're not just the sons of gods and goddesses."

He raised his eyebrow, and hesitated to stab.

"We're a part of them!"

Suddenly, my sea green aura misted around my right hand, and I felt an invisible string between me and the Trident, Like I did with Riptide. It was an extension of my arm, of myself.

Reaching out to it, it rose up off the sand and flew towards my palm. I wrapped my fingers around it, and blocked Oceanus's coming stab. He realized what was happening, and tried to stop it, but it was too late.

The Trident clanged with the spear, and Oceanus was knocked back on his butt, skidding in the sand and looking up at me with fright.

Yes, looking up at me. When I made contact with the Trident, I knew it was attached to my skin from here on. It wasn't leaving my grasp. Energy filled my body, the wound in my chest closed up as green wisps danced around me. Something was different now, it seemed much more powerful, much brighter, and far more…majestic.

My hair rose out of my face, and swirled above me, but yet, I wasn't soaked or even wet, it was doing it out of some unknown force. I looked down, and saw that I had gotten slightly more muscular, my shirt had been burned off, now revealing bare skin, covered in strange markings.

My body had been outlined with green aura, but on my chest, sat the marking, the glowing tattoo of a trident, and on my arms, a swirling pattern that went from my shoulder, all the way down to my wrist, stopping at my knuckles. It glowed too, a near white, enflamed color.

My entire body felt like a walking atom bomb, I was so overcome with power, that I sensed no limit to my energy, my supply of stamina, even my aura…it felt boundless.

I was aware of everything; the death of the sea was truly hitting me now. I could feel the very life of the water, all of the fish that had died, the coral reefs, the plants, the sharks, the dolphins, all of it. I could sense their memories, their entire lives, I knew the experiences of the merfolk, all underwater creatures…I was omnipresent in their existences, and I could feel them, not just aura wise, but they were pieces of me. The entire sea was a piece of me, a large piece, and I could use all of it at my disposal. I knew with a single flick; I could summon the entirety of the ocean and wipe out the cities of the world. But I would never do that.

I would unleash it on him…

Oceanus quivered in fear, and backed away from my new form.

"You're not a demigod…" He breathed, "T-There's no way…your power, it's-it's beyond comprehension! Just what the hell are you, exactly?!"

My voice was unlike my own, but a thunderous, commanding mixture of others. When I spoke, spoke with a thousand voices at once. Mine, my father's, Triton's, Amphitrite's, the merfolk, and the entirety of the seven seas.

"We are Percy Jackson" I said. "Oceanus, for your crimes against not only our kind, but the world...you shall pay the price you are due."

---

Matt

All of us stared at Nemesis, slack jawed. I've only seen her in visions, so actually standing in the same vicinity with her, was a bit surreal.

A splitting image of both Harper and Levi, she had long black hair, dark as night, free and tucked behind her shoulders, falling over her ears in a way that reminded me of her daughter's, when she undid her braid. That was very rare, but when she did, she looked absolutely stunning, like a goddess. And well, seeing the original blueprint…the beauty was pretty much matched.

She wore a necklace with a crescent moon on the end, much like the lion for Viribus with mine, only hers was shinier, and gave a stainless-steel glint in the sun. Her skin was pale, smooth, and only shown through her sleeveless leather vest, covering a shirt much like Harper's. The vest was tucked in by a belt that held a dagger as long as my forearm, radiating power. The vest itself continued in a cloak like manner, trailing behind her all the way down the crooks of her dark jeans.

"M-Mom?"

"Mother?"

Both Levi and Harper spoke at the same time, giving each other a surprised glance and looking back at their godly parent. Everyone else was just as stunned, and Malachi looked a bit guilty even, since he captured her not long ago.

Ouranos was the closest to her, but he didn't look surprised, he looked annoyed. Yet another fly entering the fray, he probably thought. But this fly is an immortal.

Atlas was the opposite, he rasberried a laughing snort. "And who the hell are you?"

Nemesis kept her glaring, hateful eyes on him. "A mother, keeping a predator away from her children."

At that, Atlas scoffed in amusement. "How interesting. By the feel of your aura, you're nothing but a minor goddess."

Instead of being strengthened or comforted by the fact that their mother was here, Harper and Levi looked anything but. They were fearful.

Levi had to hold Harper back from running to her. "Mom, get out of here! He'll kill you!"

Atlas chuckled, "Yes! He will! Run along, little one…you don't want to witness what I'm going to do to your kids."

Nemesis didn't even think about it. She looked over to her children, "Abandoning you two was the biggest mistake I ever made…I plan on righting that wrong by standing with you here. Even if I die."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, and neither could they. Levi was thunderstruck, looking at her like she was a different person, and Harper looked like she'd seen a ghost. For her, the goddess that she hated all of these years, her entire life, to hear her say such words with genuine intent…it must've stirred up a thousand emotions.

But this wasn't good. She shouldn't be here, like they said. Even with her help, we still stood no chance against him. She'd only die with us.

Atlas slammed his fist against his palm, "Doesn't matter to me. The more I get to fight, the more fun I have. Come at me, puny goddess!"

Either through sheer confidence, or resolve, Nemesis smirked. "Oh, I plan to." She raised her hand, gray aura danced on it, and then it permeated on the side of the mountain, a part that hadn't been destroyed by rogue blasts or us slamming into it yet. It was the thickest part, farthest away from the entrance to the cave.

It exploded, throwing debris everywhere, rocks big and small. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but when I saw several sparkles, almost like stars, in the air, I knew.

Precious metal fell on the ground, shining in the sun, a blue and white transparent color. It radiated in little pieces of chaotic energy all over the ground. Tiny pieces, no bigger than the fingernail of my pinkie.

But besides that, in the rough of the tiny diamonds and the dirt, there were bigger chunks, pieces as big as my entire hand, and even going further than that, seven inches, even eight inches in length. They were jagged, and although beautiful in appearance, appeared rough in texture. They looked like unrefined versions of Levi's knife.

Both Atlas and Ouranos's eyes widened at the display, they turned to look at Nemesis, and maybe try to stop her, but she had already vanished in makeshift moonlight.

She reappeared at the fallen diamond, sifting through it and walking around, picking out the best pieces. Now if I were Atlas, I'd kill her right here and now, because it was clear what she was doing. It was awesome, and I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner. But she was taking precious time, and giving them an opportunity to strike. But they didn't. Ouranos, probably because he wasn't physically powerful enough, and Atlas, probably because of simple amusement and curiosity. Ego might have something to do with it also. Even if you get more of the cursed rock, it won't change a damn thing.

Nemesis picked up three arrowhead shaped chunks, very carefully, and walked back over to us.

She looked to Talon first, "You're Talon, right? I've heard you can create anything from nothing. Is that true?"

Talon didn't even question how she knew that. He straightened himself, "Yeah, just about anything."

"Make leather, and industrial tape, please."

Talon nodded, and did as she instructed.

"Shouldn't we…" Malachi started, not able to find the words for a moment. He gestured subtly to the immortals that wanted us dead. "You know, worry about them?"

"Oh, if the titan wanted us dead by now, he'd have disposed of us." She informed, rather grimly and bluntly. "That's one of the few advantages we have in this fight. Atlas himself. He's deprived of battle, and he's hungry for a good fight. If we bring more threats into his territory, the more of a thrill he has."

It made sense…kind of. It made sense in the way that yeah, Atlas was like that, but it didn't make sense for his survival. I glanced over at him, and saw that his arms were crossed, and he simply watched us. As if there wasn't a care in the world. Maybe he knew this wouldn't change anything, and maybe it wouldn't. But I can tell you, it's a spark, and it's something. His other eye was still Ichor-covered too, mind you.

Dim golden light flashed in Talon's hands, for a moment, and out came a roll of industrial tape, thick and black, along with several pieces of leather. He handed them over to the goddess.

She went to work, and in seconds, we had makeshift knives. They looked gnarly, like something out a zombie apocalypse. But they would provide enough grip and protection for use, that was for sure.

She handed them over to Levi and Harper, each in one hand, while the third was tucked in her armpit, by the handle, of course.

"Take these." She said, "Be careful."

The pair looked at them dubiously, then back at her. Before they could question, or even make a noise, she'd turned around and gripped her own knife.

Harper gave her a look I'd never seen on her face, to my recollection anyway. It was a different front that the ones that I'd seen before. She eyed her, as if trying to figure out which one to put on: the caring daughter, or the uncaring daughter.

She decided on the latter. "Mom, whatever bullshit final stand you're planning on having here, forget it." She sounded tough, but an undertone of a tremble was there, that maybe only I could hear, and maybe Malachi, due to our enhanced hearing.

"If all of us die, that's the entire family gone, Mother." Levi added, a nervous laugh escaping him. "It'd be kind of tragic, like a real myth or something."

"I don't plan on a final stand, Harper." Nemesis scolded, "And I don't plan on any of us dying either, Levi. If we think smart, we can slay him."

Atlas smirked, not saying a word. He was giving us all the time we needed, patiently waiting for us to come up with whatever plan we could muster. If it was good, or even immaculate, it would make it more interesting for him. At best, for us, we can hurt him. The Heavenly Diamond, while helpful, wouldn't be enough to kill him.

Then again, if I add another Red Beam Cannon, and maybe a hit or two with the Master Bolt, it just might be enough to put him down.

All of a sudden, Nemesis addressed me. "And you must be Matt. Not how I imagined meeting my daughter's boyfriend, yet here we are."

"Yeah…uh, it's nice to meet you, ma'am."

"No formalities." She said, "I'm cutting to the chase. With the knives, we can only do so much. We need something that can do a lot of damage with a single hit. Do you have anything like that?"

"Yeah." I said, that literally described the cannon. "I've got an aura attack, but it has to be charged up."

"Okay. Can anybody here teleport? Besides me, that is."

Malachi looked like he wanted to raise his hand, but fought against it. "I can."

"Okay. Considering your power, it's better if you help the others fight Atlas. I'll stick with Matt. If he gets close, we'll keep hopping around the area. That way, he can't catch you, and you have time to charge up whatever attack you plan to use." She then spoke to Malachi, "Your perception is faster than theirs. If you even think that one of his attacks will land on my children, you teleport them away from him immediately."

He nodded. "Of course."

I was surprised by Nemesis' on the fly plan. It was smart, very smart. With two people that can teleport, we can keep everyone away from safety, and it gives me enough time to charge up the cannon. If she weren't here, I would've had to use Malachi, but that wouldn't have worked, because without him holding off Atlas, the titan would be coming at us constantly. I needed concentration, and time to pull it off.

"Whenever your ready." She said, talking to me.

"Got it." Before, it didn't work in the slightest when I simply summoned energy from my friends. I'd have to go bigger, much bigger, if I wanted to create a peak cannon. I'd have to draw from the entire planet.

Atlas called out to us, "I hope whatever plan you've cooked up is worth it. I'm sacrificing patience for the stakes to be raised, you know."

We didn't respond to him. I put my hands out in front of me, "Now!" I said.

They jumped into action. Malachi summoned a quick lightning bolt and pitched it with his hand. It hit Atlas on the shoulder and pushed him back a little. Harper, Levi and Talon ran in, attacking from all sides like before. This time though, the titan was far more wary of them, what with having weapons that can actually cause damage now. He dodged with more ferocity, more urgency, than before. Between Malachi's constant assaults, and the flurries of Heavenly Diamond, we might have something here.

The red ball of energy began to pop up in my hand, no bigger than a candle flame. I concentrated, first putting my own energy out there, forming the path from my body to my palms. That was easy, the harder part was getting in contact with the surrounding areas.

"Stay close." Nemesis said, "If he gets near, I'm going to grab your shoulder."

"Okay." I said, straining.

"Matt, tell me." She started, "Will it work?"

I cocked my head at her, not wanting to lie about my worries, especially to a goddess. "I don't know. But I sure hope it does."

She took that as a good enough answer, and let me be.

After a bit, I stopped focusing on the fight, that became a blur to me. I had to let go of earthly tethers, I had to forget about what kept me attached, and everything in between. It sounds crazy, but it's temporary, and a very strange feeling. If you're going to draw from nature, from the life of the Earth, you have to be one with it. I pushed my aura sensing to its limit, locking on to the millions of trees in the state, the small animals, the big animals, the fish, the insects, the bacteria, all of it. A massive radar inside my head showed tiny thermal dots across thousands of miles.

I envisioned my energy mixed with theirs, I willed it to leave my body. Once the red aura burst forth around me, I let go of it, and it drifted through the air like shooting stars, fragments of it connecting with my targets across the world. It wasn't as quick as I wanted it to be, but it was working, surely.

Like drops of water on a flat surface, the cohesion of the auras began to play out in my head, in the tingles on my neck. The red ball had now become the size of half my body, swirling and whirring loudly with monstrous power. I could launch it right now and it would do considerable damage, at least I hoped. But it was too soon. We were going for the showstopper, not a decent finale.

"By the gods…" Nemesis breathed, "You weren't kidding."

Ouranos started to get nervous, I heard him make a noise, and it gained my attention.

"Atlas! The boy, you fool! Matthias!"

Atlas was in the middle of a tussle with Malachi. The latter had just teleported Levi and Harper to the edge of the mountain, away from a hammer fist, and charged the titan again, his lightning spear in hand. Atlas slapped it into little sparks and kicked Malachi into the ground, my friend rolling and lurching with pain.

"What the hell are you on about now?!" He roared, angry with Ouranos. I prayed that the noise of the cannon would outmatch his voice, anything to keep him from hearing. It was going so well! I was so close!

"Shut up!" I shouted, "Stay out of this!"

Ouranos thrust his finger in my direction, his eyes wide. "Kill him now! Before he blasts that thing!"

Atlas blocked another hit from Talon and turned to me. His good eye went wider than I'd seen it go, the lip that was visible under his mustache was open. He seemed to have felt the massive aura that I'd accumulated.

"What the fuck…" He practically whispered, "…Is that?!"

"GET HIM!" Ouranos screamed, "NOW, BEFORE HE KILLS YOU!"

Atlas heeded him this time. As the others charged him once again, he growled at them and slammed his fist in the ground, forming a miniature earthquake. The ground rumbled, rocks flew, and a ditch made it's way across the ground, hitting them where they stood. My friends fell forward with the momentum, and Atlas jumped after us.

Nemesis grabbed my shoulder, and just as Atlas was on top of us, we disappeared. Swirling in the void universe that we always went through when teleporting. I never thought about what would happen if we got stuck here somehow. Could you just teleport out? What if Nemesis let go?

She didn't, so that was relieving. The tug in my stomach stopped and the universe faded, we were back in reality twenty feet away from Atlas. The cannon was still going strong, I hadn't lost connection with my aura sense yet.

Atlas had thrown his fist and nearly tripped. He was angry now, and looked back at us with a hateful scowl. "Slippery little-"

At that moment, Harper and Levi came up behind him and slashed him on the legs, the crooks of his knees to be exact, so the soft part above the calf. He growled in anger, more so than pain, and turned around to end their lives. Thank Olympus Malachi was there, he reappeared behind them in a blue glint, grabbed them, and disappeared again.

"STAY STILL!" Atlas roared.

"Is it almost done?" Nemesis said urgently. "We need something here!"

"I need more!" I said, my teeth gritted and my entire body tensed up. I was pushing everything to the limit with this one, it was going above and beyond any other Red Beam Cannon I'd ever summoned. More powerful than the one I used against the Draugr, against Zane Williams, against the Sons of Thor, Hyperion, everybody. It was the cream of the crop.

But it still wasn't enough! Just a little more!

I raised my head to the sky and looked at the sun. I then closed my eyes and pushed even further. As far as my aura had already gone, it was now like a fire, it had a life of it's own. It had wrapped itself around the entire world, hitting every life point that inhabited this planet. Yes, even the gods. I had felt several auras in different places across the country, a couple of them on Olympus. They ran across my radar with big, noisy pings, and I had picked up a good bit of it as I passed through, adding unbelievable power to the cannon. If they were mad about me stealing their energy, they can take it up with me at the next meeting.

Seven billion people, even the gods, in my grasp, taking bits of their energy. It would make them tired, and that's about all it would do. By morning, they'd be perfectly fine, two days at most. I didn't like taking things from mortals against their will. Gods and goddess, along with my friends were one thing, especially the enemy, but mortals? I didn't like that. But there was no choice here, it was the only way.

The very clouds became part of my arsenal, the water in the ocean, I was absorbing every last part.

I heard a shout and my chin lowered. I saw Malachi being thrown out of the way, and Atlas coming towards us again, this time running with his head lowered, like a bull.

"Brace yourself!" Nemesis warned. And again, closer to death this time, she zapped me away. We reappeared another twenty feet from him.

She breathed heavily, most likely from the panic of the situation. His knuckles were inches from our heads, that was…very close. Too close.

"How much longer? We need to launch it now!" She said, "There's enough power in that thing to destroy the damn universe!"

Not sure if she was exaggerating that point, but taking a little gander at the size of the cannon, which now had grown bigger than my entire body…it might not be a far-fetched claim.

I shook my head, "More! I still need more!"

The red aura around my body was higher and brighter than it had ever been. I felt drained, absolutely fried. Like this move would be my last. I had gathered a small portion of every known source in the world. What more did I want?

Looking at Atlas, the answer was clear. It was standing right in front of me.

I need his. I need his energy to complete it.

I felt his aura, and locked on to it. He wasn't guarding it at all, and I might've smirked if I wasn't so tired. Purple wisps left his body and joined the cannon, mixing with it and creating an interesting color. Purple on red.

Atlas stopped fighting for a second, noticing what was happening to him. He looked at the aura leaving his body, then at his hands, as if he was the cause. But one look at me, and he figured it out.

"You little shit." He growled, "Taking my energy?!"

He shouted, a thunderous, enraged roar. Shockwaves burst from his body, sending everyone but Nemesis and I flying back. He glared at me, and I knew he was about to come at us so fast, we wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Fire it!" Nemesis said, but she couldn't say anymore. She sensed as I did, that Atlas was coming.

Nemesis jumped in front of me the same time Atlas did. The titan snarled in annoyance and quickly brought his fist down on her shielding forearms. She smashed into the rock, ichor coming out of her mouth. Atlas grabbed her by one arm and flung her to the side.

Too late. That was all I needed.

"Hey, Atlas!"

He looked up.

I smirked, "How's this for a worm?"

I didn't allow him to raise an eyebrow, pounce, scowl, or glare. I thrust my hands forward, and the massive ball of burning energy erupted. There was no doubt in my mind that it was the most powerful Red Beam Cannon I'd fired so far. It's size was that of a tower in circumference, a beaming cylinder that hit Atlas solely. Little slivers came off the sides, like sun rays, and shot into the sky, shooting up to space within an instant, far faster than light.

The brunt of it hit Atlas, and he was no longer in my sights. The force of the blast launched me back, my feet skidded on the ground, I was speeding towards the edge of the mountain. That wasn't good, if I get cut off, it won't finish the job!

But I felt two hands hit my shoulder blades. Strong, supporting hands that stopped my momentum, and kept me placed in my tracks. I looked over my shoulder, and saw Malachi standing there, the force of the cannon and the gushing wind blowing his hair wildly. He had squinted his eyes, as to not get blinded from the red brightness, but he still saw me, and nodded.

I nodded back a thanks. My hands were on fire, they seared with hot, agonizing pain. It takes a lot to burn me, but this is an exception. Right now, I felt as if I'd dipped my hands into a magma lake in Tartarus. No, even that would pale in comparison to this.

And the sound. Man, the sound. I'd have to apologize later to everyone for destroying their eardrums. Imagine the blaring sound of that tripod monster from War of the Worlds, mixed with a UFO shooting an experimental beam at a farm field, then throw in some atomic bombs, and you've basically got my little blast.

Malachi shoved my shoulders, "Matt, your hands!"

My eyes flicked to them, and I gasped at what I saw. They were very red, burning and about to melt off.

"Stop the attack!"

I did. Though it was easier said than done. I had to stomp the ground, plant my feet firmly, and put all of my weight into it. Fast, like ripping off a band aid, I ripped the blast open, and it dispersed, trailing off in the air as it followed.

Silence fell. Steam and dust clouded our vision, I could hardly see Malachi behind me, and none of my friends in front of me.

"Guys!" I called out, having to heave just to shout the words. I was dog-tired from that blast, and I winced at the horrible pain in my hands. "Agh, that hurts right there."

"Is everyone okay?!" Malachi said, speaking for me.

There was a series of coughs, and then shadows creeping in the dust. "We're good!"

I sighed, my eyes closed, and I fell to my knees. My energy was gone, completely gone. I had nothing left, nothing to give, nothing to attack with. Sensing outwards towards the direction Atlas had been in, there was nothing. His shadow was big enough that it would appear in the dust, but it didn't. He was dead.

Relief filled me, and I smiled. I felt sleep coming over me, and I started to fall over towards the ground. But then someone caught my shoulder and help me up.

"Whoa there, partner." Talon said, chuckling. "Here, eat this."

He placed a green square of ambrosia in front of my mouth. I leaned forward and bit into it. A sweet taste entered my dry mouth, and I found myself gobbling up the entire block. It helped, that was for sure, but it was no where near as fast as Viribus would've been. It would heal me with time, though. I could already see my charred burns fading.

It was amazing that we finished this now, at the right time. Viribus' healing ability was gone, and if one of us had gotten hurt here…we'd be in fatal trouble.

More of the dust cleared, and I could see withing ten feet around me. It was all I needed, because everyone was in the circle.

Harper came rushing forward and kneeled down to my level, an urgent concern etched on her face. "Holy shit Matt, your hands!"

"They'll be fine…just need…some rest…"

Her concern faded; she saw the ambrosia effect taking place. The tension of the situation out of the way, she smirked and nodded. "Yeah, you can sleep for a week if you want. It's over now."

Nemesis studied me, not out of suspicion, but more out of respect. "That was quite the attack. Well done."

"Piece of cake…" I mumbled, about to go to sleep again.

But Levi's voice caught my interest, he was gazing over at the center of the rock platform we were on, pointing. "Guys, his body…it's right there."

We all looked over to where he was pointing, and saw that Atlas had moved about twenty to thirty feet from where I blasted him. He was laying on his back, steam and fire rolled off of his body.

"He's not alive, is he?" Harper said, helping me up off the ground.

"I don't feel an aura." Malachi added, but he didn't sound sure.

"He could be suppressing it." Levi mumbled.

Talon snorted, "An attack like that? Ain't no way. He's dead."

Cautiously, we walked over to where Atlas was. As I got closer, I could see just how bad the attack had affected him.

The first thing I noticed, was his head. The hair that he once had was now completely gone, including his mustache. Once I got past that, my eyes trailed down the rest of his body.

It was horrifying, probably the most disturbing thing I've ever seen to be honest, and that's including all of the cryptic and trippy visions in my dreams over the course of my life. Atlas's entire body was blood red, mixed with charcoal black. He had third degree burns basically everywhere, his nose had nearly melted off, his ears had been reduced to mere holes on the sides of his head, his eyebrows gone, his eyelids burned off, white streaks of muscle fat and tissue hung out of his skin, ichor flowed from his body in multiple places like little geysers, most of it steaming with the heat. His clothes had been disintegrated too, the tiny fragments of cloth that had fallen on his body in the wake were black and had embers in their corner. Generally speaking, if you told me that at some point in this fight, Atlas would lose his clothes, I would've contemplated not coming at all, to save my eyes from looking at more wrinkles than I had bargained for in places I did not want to see.

But whatever body parts he had down there, were no longer visible, at least to the point where features could be made out. Everything had been cauterized and charred so badly, that all I could even discern was a large lump in his groin area, like whatever had been there was coated in magma and then dipped in water, like black rock had formed around it. It wasn't just there either, it had also formed on his hands, his neck, his chest. To put it simply, I'm not fully able to describe the sight, it's that awful. But just know, the Cannon did its job, very well.

Harper cringed, leaning over to look at the damage. "Damn, you really got him. I think it's safe to say that he's not getting back up."

"Almost feel sorry for the bastard." Talon scoffed.

Nemesis grumbled, "I don't."

I was tired, all I wanted in this very moment was to get back to my cabin and go to sleep. But I couldn't help the emotion that came over me when looking at Atlas's downed, hellfire burned body. Victory.

I was in awe. We had done it. We had killed him.

There was a moment where all of us remained silent, and we simply inspected the titan. Several minutes passed, and he didn't move, didn't open his burned eyes, not even a muscle. The coast cleared, and the tension of the battle broke, and we all broke out smiles.

A couple of incredulous laughs, some high fives, and even hugs. The impossible had been done, Atlas, one of the strongest beings in the universe, top five even, was dead. And it was us. Not Zeus, not the Olympians combined, but us.

It was Talon first who decided to prance around the dead titan and animate himself, gesturing a large square frame with his hands.

"I'm thinkin' a group shot. All of us with one foot on this dude, thumbs out in the air, smilin'. We make it big, print out a few copies, and tape it to every cabin door in the place." He spread out his hands beside him, proud of himself. "Whaddya think?"

"It's a bit conceited, man." I said lazily, still ready to pass out on the ground.

"Yeah, it's probably best that you don't return gloating." Levi agreed, "Considering the last time you saw the campers, they were chasing you out, on my account." He gave a nervous head scratch at the last part.

Harper was excited, "Oh come on, Lee!" She playfully punched Levi on the shoulder and ran over to join Talon, propping her elbow on his shoulder and smirking at us. "We just killed a freaking titan! Atlas! The least we can do is brag a little. We went through hell to get here, what with almost being trapped in an alternate universe, and facing…oh I don't know, a thousand near death experiences?"

Talon crossed his arms and nodded. "Damn straight. After all we went through, we deserve a shred of glory. And hell, if you goody goodies don't want it, goth girl and I can take all the praise" He turned his head towards her, "Can't we?"

She shrugged, "I'm not about to leave a perfectly good cake sitting if no one else is going to eat it."

I chuckled, shaking my head. "Alright you two, try not to act too humble."

They laughed and Harper threw a dismissive hand at me.

"We're just kidding, Shark boy. We all know we couldn't have done this without you." She then nervously glanced at Nemesis, her eyes darting between her and the ground, like she was guilty of acting so cold towards her. "And…we couldn't have done it without you either, mom. So thanks."

Nemesis smiled warmly, "You're welcome. I know this doesn't even begin to repay the hurt I've caused you." She wrapped an arm around Levi, looking at him tenderly. "Both of you. But I hope that it can be the start."

Levi raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Nemesis looked up at the sky, then towards the horizon, all in slow movements, like she was expecting someone to pop out of the sky and smite her for what she was about to say next. But then her resolve took over, and her fear faded quickly. "To hell with the ancient laws. Heracles set an example with Matt when he joined all of you on that quest last year, and I plan on doing the same. I'm going to spend more time with you two, no matter what the Olympians say, or even what Zeus says."

Both Harper and Levi looked at each other, their smiles growing even bigger than before. The flame of hope was strong in their eyes.

"Really, mom? But what if-"

"What if nothing." She said, "If they can't accept it, then tough. It's not like they can fire me or anything. They'll yell a bit and threaten, but that's about all they'll do. It will be okay, my children. This is the beginning of a new era for our family."

Levi's eyes twinkled, and for a flash, I saw a little boy replace him. The same one that I'd seen in those visions Harper showed me a long time ago, the boy that still loved his mother, that held no hatred towards her. As quick as it came, it ended, but I knew it happened.

Levi returned her embrace, and Harper took her elbow off Talon and came over to where they were, unable to hold back any longer. She threw her arms around the two, and the family entered a tight group hug.

I grinned from ear to ear at the sight. My legs on fire from fatigue, my brain fried, my aura low and slowly returning, yet I still felt an unmeasurable amount of joy at seeing the three together. But most importantly, seeing Harper and Levi happy again, together again. After the two years of her hating her brother, wanting to kill him, seeing them fight over and over, it was now at an end. They had converged, and returned to that place they were at all those years ago. As family.

I looked over to Talon, and saw him matching my grin. He caught my stare, and gave me a small nod, as if to say beautiful, ain't it?

I nodded back. Yeah, it is.

The only problem was Malachi. This entire time, he hadn't even upturned his lip, no smile, or even acknowledgment of the situation. We had won, yet he hadn't said a word. He just stared in the direction of the cave entrance, a hint of fear in his emotions.

Huh?

"Malachi, you alright man?" I nudged.

He stayed silent for a moment, his face was dark, grim. What was going on?

"Dude, you good?" I pressed, tapping his shoulder.

"My father." He said, "My father's gone."

Oh…no. Oh no, no, no.

Ouranos. I'd completely forgotten about him. In the wake of Atlas, I had literally forgotten the true bad guy in all this, the one pulling the strings. How? How…could I be so stupid?!

I looked over, and saw that yeah, he wasn't standing there anymore.

My grin fell, my body tensed up, a small portion of my fatigue fading and my strength returning. I aimed to jump towards the cave's entrance, to go after him, to save Sera in the process. She was still in there, she was still a part of this. We had to save her.

But before my feet could leave the ground, the unthinkable happened.

The ground shifted, and the dead titan before us woke up.

There was a fleeting moment where in my peripheral, I saw his upper half lean up faster than light, and two arms thrust forwards, coated in purple aura. I pushed off the ground with my foot, my instinct taking over. I didn't think, I only acted. An imaginary skull was placed above my head, and I had to get rid of it.

CRACK!

I heard my armor break, in the area of my right rib cage. I felt searing, horrible pain erupt in my side, blood splattered on my face. Atlas' wrist was against my bare skin now, where he had stabbed me with his fingers. Had I not moved in time, I would've been run through completely, and my intestines would've been on the rocky floor. However, his aura had touched me, and he had pierced a vein. I knew it, because immediately, I fell to one knee, unable to get back up for several moments.

It was then that I heard screams, and realized that he had thrust out two hands, not just one. He had aimed at me…and someone else.

I looked up, greeted by a horrific sight. In Levi's back, all five of the titan's fingers had sunk through, down to the beginning of the wrist. On the other side, I could see the very tips of Atlas's fingers protruding through his stomach, blood covered. The son of Nemesis had never seen it coming, his back was arched from the attack, his chin was raised in the air, eyes wide in shock and mouth agape.

I could do nothing but stare for half a second. I saw blood pouring out of Levi's back, hints of his insides peeking from the areas next to Atlas's hand, where the skin was falling apart with every movement. Harper and Nemesis had a delayed reaction, one moment they were embracing, and the next moment when they pulled apart, it happened.

Harper screamed, "NO!"

Nemesis was quick. She turned on the titan in pure rage, her face now scrunched in fury. She drew her knife quicker than any I'd ever seen, and stabbed Atlas right in the chest, next to the sternum, opposite the heart.

The Heavenly Diamond chunk sunk five inches in, not as far as the entirety of the blade mind you, since it was so rough in texture and the sharpest point was still dull compared to something more refined. But Atlas reacted still, howling in pain from not only the reminder of the severe burns he had taken, but the stab itself.

Malachi and I reacted next. With what little energy I had at the moment, I was still able to join him in a simultaneous attack. We both jumped at him and connected our fists with his face. Atlas' face crumpled, he shot back and rolled on the ground, coming to a stop fifteen feet away on his stomach.

With his arms retracted, and his hand now out of Levi's stomach, the son of Nemesis fell, and would've landed flat on his face, had Harper not quickly maneuvered herself to his front, and caught him.

He put all of his weight on her, the brunt of it, and the shock of what happened, was too much for her to keep them both standing. Both she and he fell to their knees, and she hugged him, so tight that you'd think they were Siamese siblings, never split apart from birth. Her hand found it's way to the back of his head, and she unconsciously, without though, began to cradle his head, the other hand snaked around his back, her pale arm was covered in his blood within seconds, but she didn't care. In fact, that was the last thing she was thinking about.

Levi didn't talk, he didn't get to say a last word, a proclamation or statement of any kind. He did however, weakly wrap his arms around her body in a loving hug, and turned his head to kiss her on the cheek. It wasn't forceful or strong, mainly because he couldn't muster it. But it was strong enough that she could feel it. Her eyes widened at the sensation.

Then, he fell limp, and his aura faded to nothing.

Harper felt the new weight on her shoulder, and a single tear escaped her eye. She didn't look sad though, only shocked.

"L-Levi?" She said, shaking him. "Levi?"

That was it. It took no more questions or name calling to know that he was dead. She realized it, didn't deny it, and once it was accepted, she buried her face in his neck.

---

Percy

Oceanus regained his resolve and somersaulted on the ground to a standing position. He gripped his spear tighter than before.

With absolute control over the water now, I waved my hand, as far as I could see, the ocean floor turned to pure ice, blue water and cream-colored sand turned to snow white, hardening beneath our feet.

Oceanus, his face visible, raised the eyebrow above his good eye. I flicked my finger upwards, and we shot towards the surface. The momentum bothered neither of us, as we stood firm.

After a few seconds, we burst forth from underwater, and entered above ground. Storms had gathered, the evening sky was filled with gray clouds and lightning, rain and destructive, raging waves. The new circle of ice that we stood on rocked like a boat. It was our new fighting arena, solid and sturdy.

Oceanus looked around, taking in the fact that he hadn't caused these storms, created this ice platform, or urged the sea to move around angrily. He scowled at me, and we both began to walk at the same time, circling each other.

"That trident doesn't change destiny." He said, not taking his eyes off me. "It doesn't change the fact that I'll do anything to regain the sea."

"You'd kill your own people?" I replied, my voice again, the voice of thousands. It boomed and echoed powerfully, almost making the titan flinch.

"I will do anything." He affirmed. "I'd kill my own son if it meant keeping my power. The sea belongs to me! Not Poseidon…and not you!"

"It belonged to you." I said, calm and smooth, like taking a stroll and having a chat with a business rival. "Once. But that age is gone, the age of the titans is over. You proved weak when the gods dethroned you, and you proved unfit to lead the moment you killed innocent people."

"As if your father hasn't done so! As if he hasn't caused misery to the innocent! Did Medusa not exist?!"

"He's not perfect. But he's better than you." My words were simple, yet they seemed to invoke such jealously, such underlying anger, that he didn't speak again. He roared and charged me.

Jumping in the air, he raised his spear above his head, bringing it down in a deadly arc. However, time was far slower to me now, and he was moving at a snail's pace when I wanted him to. I raised the trident casually, and blocked the attack.

Oceanus pressed hard, straining, his face turning red with effort.

"Power…is nothing…to will!" He said between grunts and presses, all of which were nothing to my new strength. I didn't budge an inch. "My will is absolute! It grants me victory!"

"You're delusional."

I pushed up, and the spear flew out of Oceanus's hands. It was awesome…terrifying at the same time. Every move I made, I had to do so with extreme care, otherwise if I put too much effort into something, too much strength into an attack, the entire world very well may be in danger. That's how crazy this new strength was. It made me wonder, is this what it would be like to be a god?

The spear spun in midair, Oceanus looked up at it in shock, not at me. His mistake, he might've been able to see my attack coming. I kicked him in the chest, shattering the armor on his chest and sending him skidding back on the ice.

He slammed his fist in the ground and stopped himself. Reaching up, he caught his spear without looking, tucked it by his side, and charged me again.

I spun the trident around my back and turned, ducking in the process. I knew what he was going to do before he even did it. It was like I had years of knowledge about this guy all of a sudden, like I had fought him many times before. It was crazy, because I hadn't, but the memory was undeniably there.

The tip of the trident smacked the spear away, leaving Oceanus vulnerable to attack. I spun around again and swiped with the trident, hitting him on the shoulder of his armor and his leg. A green glow surrounded the places I had hit for a second, then there was a loud cracking sound. For a second, I thought it was the ice breaking beneath us, but it was actually his armor. It exploded off of his body and fell in the water, on the ice, everywhere, leaving him with no protection, and in a tight black body suit.

I thrust my hand forward and palmed him on the chest, he fell backward and coughed up ichor.

This fight was over. He no longer stood a chance.

He tried to get up, but slipped, and fell back down to one knee and one fist. With that fist, he began beating uselessly on the ice, like a little kid throwing a tantrum.

"I will not fail!" He said, "This isn't over! I-" He coughed up more ichor and spat out the remainder of it. "I will take back what's mine!"

I didn't say anything. I waited for him to make his choice, to take in his options. He could give it all back now, and I might show mercy. But if not…

By my lack of response, he growled and moved both his hands inward, forcing the water beside me to furl up in massive waves. They came toward me as if to eat me.

I didn't even have to move, with a single thought, they stopped, and splashed back in the water. I reared the trident beside my head, and threw it with my full available strength. As it sailed through the air, the wind split, the earth quaked, the sea behind it was tunneled for a few moments, the force of the throw was nigh unbearable.

It hit Oceanus square in the chest, the three tips of the trident going through him like he was made of Play-Doh. The middle of the shaft was all that was left as it impaled him. He looked down at it with wide eyes, then up at me, and he burst into golden dust, scattering with the wind and dancing across the ice until he hit the water, out of my sights.

I stared at the water for a moment, then raised my hand towards the sky, and calmed the storm. The clouds that were gray became white, the sky brightened to a light blue, and the ocean left behind it's anger. I walked over and picked up the trident. When I did, instinct told me to raise it above me.

I did, and an unbelievable, extraordinary thing happened. Sea green aura seeped from it, and trailed off into a million different places, most of them in the ocean. I saw a vast majority of color jump in the water, giving it back it's majestic color. The lack of fish life that I had seen simply ceased to exist, as they jumped happily out of the water, whales swam by, dolphin fins could be seen. With my aura sensing, I felt millions upon millions of life forms return to the ocean, popping up at a rapid rate.

Four trails of aura also went to the beach, and in my radar, I felt four more return back to health, good as new, as if nothing had ever happened.

Annabeth, Athena, Triton and…my dad.

Not caring about anything else, I jumped off the ice platform and soared into the sky, not flying, but rather a giant leap from the middle of the ocean to the beach shore.

I landed in a sand crater, then ran over to where they were. Annabeth was a bit further down the line, but when I squinted, I could see that she was fine, leaning up against the palm tree, getting some much-needed rest.

The other three were stirring near the water, even my dad was somehow alive. I looked between him and the trident in awe. Something inside of it, maybe a reserve of his own aura, had saved him, and perhaps the entire sea. I wasn't sure, but it might've had something to do with my own as well.

I ran forward to him, stopping with a halt because I didn't want to accidentally hurt him with a hug. As he got up though, I could see black hair, tan skin, and a muscular build, just like the way he had been before.

He stood, and studied me. Then he smirked and nodded, holding out his hand, he materialized Riptide into his palm.

"I'll trade you."

---

Matt

Rage.

I'm familiar with it. At this point, rage isn't an emotion, it's a friend. A sentient being that inhabits my mind, someone that I can look at, talk to. It's a he, and he looks identical to me.

He's looking back at me in the mirror, his face is unrecognizable. He saw Levi get killed, and he transformed into something else.

Well, the problem is, his actions somehow influence mine.

I turned to Atlas, my entire body now invigorated with fury, no longer weak and tired. "You bastard..."

Atlas had the nerve to croak a laugh, through his burned, ash encrusted lips. "That blast...not bad at all, you little brat. Got me good."

"You bastard..." I said again, "You fucking bastard. You killed him."

I did not focus on Talon's face, Malachi's face, or anyone else's, I only felt anger on Harper's behalf. Next to me, Nemesis felt the same. I saw her aura light up, a darker shade this time.

Together, we jumped at the titan. Though torched to a crisp, Atlas still relished in the oncoming assault. He still had a supply of strength, and in the heat of my anger, I didn't even process just how durable he was, to be able to take an attack that's more powerful than him, not only survive, but continue fighting. I thought for sure the cannon would be enough to take him down.

Nemesis tried to stab him again in the neck, but Atlas smashed his fist into the side of her face, bringing her down. I jumped next, my hands clasping together for a brunt attack, but I felt myself lurch forward, and constrictor like claws grab my arms and midsection.

His fingers were hot from the cannon's heat, still. It pained me to feel such temperature, I couldn't imagine what he was feeling right now, all the more terrifying, that he's able to do this.

He smiled; ichor dripped from the corners of his mouth as he did so. "You'll join him soon, little lion. Don't worry."

I felt Malachi and Talon jump after my stead, but more wood filled the fire of chaos, when a child's voice screamed from the cave.

"EVERYONE, STOP!"

Everyone froze, even Atlas looked over to see what was going on. At the cave entrance, now much larger than it was before, due to the rogue blasts and punishment it had taken during the fight, stood Ouranos, and in front of him…Sera.

He wasn't tall enough to hold the original Heavenly Diamond knife that Atlas had thrown him, so he controlled the wind around it to level it at Sera's neck. She looked as horrible as Sera can look, so still virtually flawless, and almost perfect in appearance, but slightly less so. Her hair was matted, her cheeks were stained with tear marks, blue dress ripped in several places, chains wrapped around her ankles and wrists…

Ouranos scanned around at all of us, "That's right, not one of you move. She'll be erased from existence if you do."

Malachi was barely keeping his composure. I could feel him shaking behind me, out of hate. Ouranos directed his stare to him.

"Malachi, I'll give you one last chance. Come back to me, come back to us. Do so, and I won't harm the girl."

I turned my head a near one eighty to see him conflicted, the gears turning rapidly in his head. He was back to square one again, the serpent slithered away to get leverage on us, because he knew his protective bear was weakened.

"Don't do it-" I started, but was crushed by Atlas's grip, tightening around my body.

"Silence!" Ouranos said, "This is his decision!"

"You're not giving him a choice!" Talon roared, his face twitching with the urge to kill the Primordial. "Hidin' behind a hostage, you coward! Let her go!"

"What's it going to be, hmm? Kill all of them, but leave Matthias to Atlas, that is the offer!"

Malachi was stunned, he moved his head back and forth, trying to think of something, anything.

"Don't, kai!" Sera cried, then Ouranos inched the knife closer, yelling for silence again.

A few moments passed, and I felt Atlas edge closer to Malachi, taking very small steps. No one spoke, no one moved, we just waited.

Then, Ouranos shouted at the titan. "Now! Kill him!"

At first, I thought he meant me. But I was surprised to see Atlas's other fist raise in the air and aim to strike down my friend. It was a mere distraction.

Malachi didn't see it coming, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to block it. It was headed straight for his skull.

Across the distance, Sera let out a painful shriek, "NO!"

The ground shook, and all of a sudden, Atlas's fingers around me didn't feel so hot anymore, in fact, they were freezing cold. The spectrum of temperature shifted so quickly, and the pain of being too hot became the opposite, so quick that it would've sent any normal human into fatal shock.

Atlas made a grunt, then looked at his hand with a wide eye. His fingers were slowly turning to ice, thick, transparent, ice. It trailed up his forearm and made way for his elbow.

On the other side of me, Malachi had been surrounded by a dome of jagged ice, shooting up out of the ground and stopping Atlas's fist in it's tracks.

The titan scrambled backward, letting me go and flapping his hands wildly to get rid of the freezing substance. Snowflakes and particles flew from his hands, and they became clear once more, I could see him fighting the urge to blow on them with hot breaths, so he just stuck them to his skin instead to heat them up.

I fell on my rear, and glanced over to see what had happened. Was there some sort of crazy reaction with her powers? Did Ouranos kill her?

No, it was the former. Sera had coated the Heavenly Diamond knife in ice next to her, and a platform to hit Ouranos in the face. I put two and two together by the cylinder of white and the Primordial flat on the ground, grabbing his nose.

Sera herself was a sight to see. Her hair was even whiter than before, practically glowing with light, her dress had changed from blue to white as well, the tatters of it fixing themselves, and even lengthening the dress. Patterns of snowflakes littered the sleeves, what skin was showing was paler, and covered in a thin layer of protective frost. I averted my gaze up to her face, and saw that her expression was serious, and her eyes were completely blue, dark blue.

I'd seen this once before, in her old home, the Griffith Mansion. She had gone berserk and completely overpowered her entire family, sinking the house and burying them with it. I called it her "Absolute Zero" form, because well, that's the point of impossible temperature, where something freezes to the extreme, that it is absolutely zero on all scales.

Ouranos awoke from his disorientation, and out of anger at being smacked in the nose, growled at Sera and darted up, trying to grab the knife that had fallen to the ground.

But Sera was completely aware, she thrust her hand at him, and he was enraptured in a prison of white, it slammed him against the side of the mountain and trapped him from neck down. He strained and struggled, yanking his body back and forth, but he couldn't break free.

Her aura was through the roof, even stronger than when she first entered this state. It wasn't just something to be annoyed at, it was something to be scared of, she was formidable.

I broke out of my trance and got to my feet, throwing my hand out. "Surround him!"

We did. Malachi shook his head vigorously, having previously stared at Sera with his mouth open, he cleared his head and jumped to Atlas's right. Nemesis recovered from the blow to her head, and jumped behind him, Talon to the left, Sera walked casually over to stand next to me, and I stood facing him. Harper was still behind me, holding Levi. She hadn't let go of him yet, and hadn't removed her face from his neck.

She was done fighting for now. None of us would make her go any further.

Atlas did a slow spin and inspected us, "Well look at this. It's all come down to right here, hasn't it? You're all gonna gang up on me, and you think that'll be it, huh?"

We didn't say anything, we just glared at him.

He laughed, and clenched his fists, banging them against his chest like a gorilla. "Well come on then! If you think I'm just gonna lay down and surrender, your damn wrong! Give me all you've got! Give me a thrill worth dying for!"

He sounded so happy. It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen or heard, really. We had stabbed his scar, creating a new one, sliced him several times with knives that do permanent damage, and even burned him all over his body, to a crisp. Yet he's smiling, and laughing, like he's having the time of his life.

I hated that attitude. For some reason, it rubbed me the wrong way. He should be worried; he should be scared. But he's not.

I hated the very small part of me that respected him. Respected the fact that he would die for a fight, that he was so passionate about battle, that he smiled and welcomed the challenge, and didn't cower or try to make bargains. That was Ouranos's style, making deals and resorting to dirty tactics to avoid death or loss. Atlas was different, it was a straight up fight, and if he lost, he lost, but he'd be smiling and enjoying it the entire time. It was the ideal image of every great warrior. He doesn't get mad at his general for sending him into combat, or blaming him for the predicament. He accepts it, and keeps going.

I shouldn't respect that, I shouldn't. He's a monster, he just killed her brother.

Even if I do in some small way, respect his will, my anger overcomes that respect, by a lot.

I began the final attack, jumping up to his level, I threw my fist towards his face, he managed to dodge, and I landed on the ground past him.

Everyone else moved after me, Talon summoned a shotgun and fired slug after slug to Atlas's midsection, Nemesis went for his side, sinking the Heavenly Diamond knife near the burned rib cage, Sera got the other side, doing the same thing with a large, powerful piece of jagged ice, and Malachi followed up immediately after me, pitching lightning in the titan's face.

He was perfectly set up, standing still, weakened, everyone on him all at once. It was time.

I decided to use it. It felt like the right moment, and I wasn't about to pass this up, it could be our only chance.

I put my hand over the watch that held the Master Bolt, once again, only this time, I focused.

I remembered my times meeting Zeus, when I spoke with him, the power that he held, commanded, it rang in my memory, it inhabited the skies that surrounded me. I coated my hand in red aura, sinking all of my power into it, nowhere else. I might as well have been normal with all of It focused into one point, I'd rarely done that before, but I remembered my older alternate self telling me that it was a must, otherwise the force of the bolt would blow my arm off.

Finally, I felt a massive wave of warmth wash over my body, I heard thunder crack in the sky, gray clouds gathering like farm animals at dinnertime, I felt the aura from the bolt rise and rise, to levels far beyond Atlas, and even me when I launched the cannon not ten minutes ago. It was the most powerful thing I'd ever felt, it was a part of Zeus, it was no different than seeing him in battle. Only I held it, the power.

Electricity crackled around the watch, and it sprang to life, exploding in sparks and whirring with tremendous power. I looked down at it for a moment, and awed at it. It was three feet long, a zig zagged cylinder of blue and white lightning, swirling and coiling with pure, hot energy. The sound it made was like that of a busy industrial machine, mixed with an idle jet. The way it moved in my hand, the way my hand looked holding it…I felt myself wanting to stare at it all day.

But I knew I couldn't. I broke my thoughts, and shouted a warning, "Everybody, step back!"

They all looked, and I saw every pair of eyes widen at the bolt. Malachi and Nemesis especially, because they could feel the insane power radiating from it. Everyone knew that it was time to get the hell away, because this was the showstopper.

They backed up, jumping several feet away and running some more just for extra measure. I kept the bolt wrapped tight in my palm, lightning started to dance around my entire body as I ran towards Atlas, I even saw my vision get brighter, as if my eyes had begun to glow white too. They may have, for all I know.

I threw my legs forward and ducked, doing a baseball slide between Atlas's legs, and coming out in front of him.

I thrust my other hand in the ground, stopping myself and turning to a standing position so I was facing him, I held the bolt beside my head, all of this in one swift movement.

For the first time, probably ever, I saw a hint of fear in the titan's eyes. There was a moment where time slowed, and he simply watched me, and stared at me, in horror. He was a deer in headlights, and I was the car. Only I wasn't stopping for him.

I straightened my other arm, like I was throwing a javelin. There was no time, no room for parting words, so I didn't say any. Not like he deserves it. As fast as I could, enhanced by the bolt to go many times faster than light, I released the might of Zeus.

The bolt was so quick, I almost groaned in disappointment at the fact that I didn't see it. But there was a flash, a frame, that my years of training and experience had allowed me to see. Had I not practiced, fought the things that I have, and done the things that I've done, I would've missed the single millisecond.

What I caught, was the bolt extending itself across the foreseeable world, hitting Atlas above his armpit, in the ball of his shoulder. It stayed in my hand, and stretched both ways, all the way to the horizons of the distance, splitting the clouds and sky. Atlas' face contorted in pain, and I saw his arm leave his body.

Then the flash was over, I felt a pressure overcome me like no other I'd felt before, the aftereffect of the bolt against my body. I was brought to my knees, withstanding what felt like the entire universe weighing down on my shoulders, it was heavy, hot, it dried my throat, it burned my skin, it was agonizing…but thrilling, all at once.

I then looked over at the bolt in my hand, and saw that it had shrunk to it's normal three foot length. It was crazy, not one second ago it had been as long as hundreds of miles, maybe even hitting the tops of skyscrapers in the distance. Gods, I hoped not.

I knew there would be a crack of thunder, so, with disappointment at not being able to use it for a longer period of time, and only getting to see it for about thirty seconds. I placed my hand back over the watch, instinct telling me to do so.

The bolt shrunk back to it's candle flame like state, and stuck itself back in the watch, happily dancing around in the tiny glass frame.

I then slammed my hands against my ears, yelling, "COVER YOUR EARS!"

I hoped that they heard me, because if they didn't, they were in for a rude awakening, and destroyed eardrums. I held my head tight, and even still, it sounded like I hadn't covered anything at all. It shook the entire Earth; I knew that for a fact. There was no way, no other earthquake, that even came close. I saw rocks fall from the mountain, the very surface of the rock crack, the trees below quake, the city in the distance nearly tumble into the sea. Above it, in the sky, there was a huge red circle, in between the parting of clouds. It had ruptured the ozone layer, and broken through to the atmosphere.

I nearly let go at that sight, the red circle, compared to the tallest buildings in New York, was monstrous in size. That was…not good. I had literally opened up the atmosphere to space, the whole city could be burned up!

After a minute, when nothing else sounded, I let go of my ears, and heard them ring, felt my skin go numb, and my legs go weak. That was the most exhilarating thing I'd ever done in all of the time spent in this weird life. Throwing that bolt, had been my most powerful moment. I couldn't believe the sheer might that it held, the repercussions of simply firing it at a target. The craziest thing was, I hadn't even aimed for the sky, it just ricocheted off Atlas and hit the ozone layer. Had I actually shot it directly above the city…the entire atmosphere, and even the layers above themselves might've been atomized.

I wanted to fall down, from exhaustion, but I knew it wasn't over. I stumbled and tripped over myself, hearing several people yell my name, asking me what the hell that was, and if I could hear them. I ignored every call. I had to see if it had done the job.

I got close enough to Atlas, finally. Breathing heavily and peering forward, I saw him pushing himself up out of a crater…with one arm.

He rose to his knees, and kept his good arm on the ground, propping himself up. As for his left side…it looked absolutely horrible. His entire arm had been blown off and destroyed, no trace of it left. It looked like a shark had bitten him and taken out a chunk of his torso, from his trap muscle down to his waist, his body was shaped like a C, where the Master Bolt had blown off part of him.

Ichor hang in spider webs, clumps holding his body together. I could see his bones, especially his ribs, fat, muscle tissue, and even organs. His lungs and heart peeked out of his burned, torn skin, beating slowly, while the lungs were still.

Ichor fell and fell, such an amount that I never thought it would stop, you could have filled a bathtub with it, and it would overflow. It was pouring out of him like a waterfall.

I shook my head, slumping forward a little in sheer disbelief. "How and the absolute hell are you still alive?"

He tried to answer, but ichor only fell from his mouth when he opened it. He was done for. Even if he was still alive, he wouldn't be fighting again, at least not for a very, very long time. We had done it.

And we could end it forever. With Heavenly Diamond.

I glanced over at the knife Harper had dropped, and thought about picking it up, and putting the titan out of his misery.

But then…that would be wrong. It shouldn't be my choice. He didn't kill my brother, or my son.

Nemesis walked up next to me, rubbing her face where Atlas had punched her. She stared down at him with no pity whatsoever.

I turned to her, and barely got out the question in tired breaths. "It's up to you. What do you want to do with him?"

She remained silent.

"You can end it for good, or you can go another way. I'm fine with both, as long as he can't hurt anyone again."

Still, she didn't respond. But she did look back at Harper, still holding Levi. She had taken her head out of her brother's neck, and I could see her face clearly now. Puffy eyes and wet cheeks, she locked gazes with her mother, and shook her head gently, pleadingly.

Nemesis hesitated, and bit her tongue, as if to retort. But finally…she sighed.

"So be it."

She bent down and grabbed Atlas' good shoulder, heaving it up and throwing it over her back. She proceeded to drag the titan towards the cave entrance. I looked to Malachi in confusion.

"Follow her." He said, and we did.

Walking by Ouranos, I gave him a scowl. "Sit tight, we'll come back for you."

He didn't say anything, he wouldn't even look at me. He just stared at the ground in defeat.

We followed Nemesis in the darkness, down a long tunnel. When it got to the point where the light at the end nearly faded out, we found it. The place where the sky met the Earth at the beginning.

There was a giant swirling cloud coming down from an opening in the mountain. So large that I questioned my own eyesight, how I didn't see it coming from the sky and poking out of the mountain outside. The mist around it must've been so strong, that even we couldn't spot it. But I could see it well in here, it got smaller as it descended, like a top, and underneath it, on his knees, trembling, was a man.

Well, not really a man. If he was, then he was an odd looking guy, because he had arms protruding from his entire body, I counted way more than a dozen, definitely more than fifty, and maybe even a hundred. All of them held tightly to the sky's edge, the knuckles blood red and pale white. The man was groaning in pain and quivering, he had been doing this for days, maybe even weeks.

Malachi immediately shouted to him, "Briares!"

"You know this guy?" I said.

"Yes!" He answered, and ran over to Briares, kneeling down and reaching for him.

"My friend, are you okay?"

Briares didn't answer clearly, he groaned loudly and mumbled an incoherent response.

Malachi cringed, "I apologize, that was a stupid question." He then looked at Nemesis, who was still holding Atlas, patiently waiting for something.

"You intend to return him to the burden." Malachi said, "Right?"

"It's what she wants."

So that was what that look was about. Harper told her mom not to kill him, but to put him back where he was in the first place. It…kind of bothered me that I didn't know that until now. I should've.

I pushed whatever feeling I had of that aside and nodded at her. "What can we do?"

"Pull the Hekatonkhiere on my mark, and I'll throw him under."

I bent down next to Malachi and we both placed our hands on Briares, we both signaled that we were ready.

"Ready…pull!"

We both did, at the same time. Briares came flying out from under the burden, the very moment he did, Atlas fell in his place. The sky seemed to come falling down, the top of the mountain shook for a moment, and it might've been crushed completely if Atlas hadn't caught it just in time with his good hand.

It was like instinct had kicked in, and not his brain. His hand had come up behind him and grabbed it by the palm, like an automatic machine. He groaned in effort and got to one knee, holding the sky straight up with the one hand.

Nemesis spat at him, "Be grateful my daughter has spared you. I would not grant you such. Goodbye, scum."

She walked away. Briares had fallen unconscious, his entire body limp. I felt out for his aura, and it was very weak, he had been holding that thing for a long time, and it was no wonder his body hadn't been crushed. I guess through sheer will, that's the only explanation.

Malachi picked him up and carried him in his arms, the multiple hands seemed to keep getting in his face, lightly hitting his nose or hair like tree branches, but he kept walking.

I stared at Atlas indifferently for a moment, nothing but silence between us. It was hard fought, and probably the most hellacious battle I'd ever been in, definitely the hardest, that was for sure.

He had killed Levi. When I looked at the titan, all I could think about was the memory, it kept replaying in my head.

"Ironic. The arm that got blown off is the one you killed him with." Was all I said, and all I could say. It was the only thing I could think about. At first, I was angry, but now I was just sad, sad for her.

I started to walk away, but just as I turned my back, I heard him chuckle.

"Guess I got to fight Zeus after all, huh?"

I turned my head, and saw him smiling at me, ichor covering his teeth and chin. It wasn't maniacal, it wasn't devilish or bloodthirsty…it was something of respect, admiration. He gestured with his head towards the Master Bolt watch, and then he gestured to me as a whole.

Take that as whatever. I knew what he meant, and I didn't care. Zeus. That name isn't something I want to hear right now, and definitely someone I don't want to be compared to.

I said nothing, and kept walking.

I exited the cave, greeted by a setting sun on the horizon of the city. We had been here much longer than I thought. It felt like hours, a whole day even, to me.

I looked over at where Ouranos had been, and found that the ice trap that held him was broken in the middle. He'd somehow forced his way out.

It didn't take long to find him. I looked down at the tree line leading from the base of the mountain to the city roads, and found him running in the woods. Escaping.

Malachi had set Briares down, and was next to me again. "Let's kill him, and be done with it."

"I got him." I said, "You rest, man. You've been through a lot."

He hesitated, and looked out at where Ouranos was running. There was a small spark of fire left, that he wanted to kill his own father for all he had done to him, but there was also exhaustion, and the desire to simply be done with it.

"You shouldn't have to." I said, "Let me carry that weight for you."

He turned quickly to me, in shock. "You'd-"

"Yeah."

Another moment of silence. I wasn't worried about him getting away. I'd catch him in the state he's in. I wanted to hear it from Malachi. I wanted the affirmation.

Finally, he nodded. "Okay…okay then. Thank you."

I accepted that, and jumped down the mountain.

Wind roared in my ears for a few seconds, but I descended quickly, and didn't have to hear it for very long. I landed on the ground, uprooting soil, and cracking nearby rocks. I could still see him in front of me, a speck, that would soon be full sized.

I look two steps, one very long one, and then another. The second one assured his capture.

I darted around and stepped in front of him, stopping him in his tracks. He skidded and fell on his rear to avoid hitting me.

"It's over." I said, "You've lost."

He had one hand on the ground behind him, and his legs were sprawled, one bent in the air, the other on the ground, like a half criss cross position. He smirked up at me.

"You've done it again, Matthias. You've proved just how unpredictable you can be. You make this quite interesting, you know. The Master Bolt?-" He chuckled, "-I honestly didn't see that coming."

I felt anger at his words, I would always feel anger whenever I saw him, or heard him talk. After all he's done, it was destiny at this point. But my fatigue…was so strong that I needed to end this quick, otherwise I might pass out.

"Stop running and talking, Ouranos. Just accept fate. It's over. We beat Atlas, and now I'm sending you back to Tartarus."

"Oh I'll be going to Tartarus…not as a soul, though."

"What does that mean?"

"I told you once before. I always have a plan. Always."

He then flopped on his back on the ground, and the earth began to swallow him up, literally. A hole behind him opened to an abyss below, the roots and grass encircled his body, grabbed his arms. The strangest thing was, the grass started getting burned, and the surrounding plant life withered into black.

"I'll be seeing you." He said, and started to sink.

"No!" I shouted, and dove after him, not wanting him to get away. But as I dove, the process sped up, and he shot down the abyss quicker than I could catch him. My hand went inside the hole, along with my entire arm. The ground closed up around it, and the dirt came back with it, so instead of feeling nothingness, I felt worms and soil.

I pulled my hand out of the ground, and stared at the black, charred circle. Tartarus?

Standing up, I realized that where I had laid to grab him, there was a symbol. Not an outline of my body, but what looked like the lower half of an egg. Then on top of that, a faceless demon with horns.

---

Percy

In the aftermath, my father gathered up both the remaining forces he had allied with, and the captured ones. He had already known about Amphitrite, and didn't want to talk about it. I understood.

What little mortals there were left sticking around, which mostly included police officers and firefighters, directing traffic away from the "sea storm" I'm guessing the mist had created, I borrowed one of their cell phones, and called Argus to come pick up Annabeth.

She didn't want to leave me, but it was for the best. She looked even more tired than I was, and I still had to ask Athena for her blessing. It would kind of ruin the surprise if she overheard or saw.

That was about ten minutes ago. For that time since they drove off back to Camp, I'd been steeling myself to ask the goddess the question.

I looked over to see Tyson was okay, and most of the forces we had come with weren't badly injured. My dad was talking to them now, thanking them for all of their help.

I spotted Athena waiting for him, in front of the now calm water. She probably just wanted to let him know that they were rivals again, and that this whole thing meant nothing.

"You haven't asked her yet, have you?"

I turned to see Triton next to me, looking at Athena and mirroring my stance.

"Huh?"

"To marry that girl. You haven't asked her yet, have you?"

I slumped, "No…not yet."

He smirked and put an arm around me. "Listen, little brother. You just saved her daughter, the captured forces of our father, healed her wounds, brought dad nearly back to life, and rid the world of Oceanus. I think you've got it in the bag."

I chuckled, "Hopefully."

He took his arm off and looked at me seriously. "Thank you, Percy. Without you, none of this would've been possible. I was wrong before, for being cold towards you. I guess I was just…jealous, and afraid that father would love you more than me."

"Oh come on, that's crazy-"

He held his hand up for silence, "I know it is. I don't feel that way anymore. I'm…glad to have you as a brother. Well, half-brother."

I smiled. It was a far cry from when I first met him, and even recently, when he was rather sarcastic and dismissive of me. I never thought I would hear Triton say such a thing.

"Same goes for me. You pull off two merman fins way better than I could."

"Shut up."

We laughed, and I looked once more at Athena. She had noticed me.

"Well, I'd better man up and go ask. See you around, Triton."

"Of course."

I waved at him, and walked over to where she was, like a timid little kid, I could hardly look at her.

"What happened to your confidence?" She quipped, raising her chin. After a moment, she dropped the serious tone. "That was impressive, what you did out there."

"I just…did what felt right. That trident did all the work."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that. Will a rock throw itself? Will a car turn or reverse on its own?"

I knew what she was getting at. But still, I felt like I didn't do too much, or enough. But I guess that could all be in my head.

"If you say so."

She studied me, "You came to ask me something, didn't you?"

I gawked a little, "How did you…I mean, how-"

"Oh, I didn't." She tried to be convincing, but the way she said told me that she had an inkling of an idea. "I'm good at reading people."

I sighed, "Yeah, it's about Annabeth."

"Go on."

This was it. The moment I had been dreading for so long, been afraid of for so long. And even now, I was nervous, but…not afraid. No, I wouldn't say I'm afraid, after the events of today, how could I be?

I looked her in the eye, "I'm going to be honest with you, no beating around the bush. I love Annabeth. We've been together for a while now, and I honestly can't see myself with anyone else, ever. I want to…I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I want to marry her."

Athena's eyes widened a little, maybe not at the fact that I was asking her, but the fact that I said it without breaking eye contact or stuttering.

"I know you don't approve, or at least, you haven't for a long time. But all I ask is that you give me a chance. Let me prove that I'm worthy."

She stared at me for a moment, then put her hands on her hips and turned to the water. I thought she was going to throw me in for a minute, as she was biting her lip, seemingly angry. But no, she was holding back a laugh.

Because she started doing that, softly.

I stood there, a little awkwardly. Wow, I expected rage, to be turned into an animal, or run through with a sword, but I didn't expect that. Ouch.

She waved her hand and shook her head, "No, no, I'm not making fun of you. It's just…by Olympus, you actually said it with confidence."

"Wait, you were expecting me to say it?"

She nodded.

"Then…why make me go through all the trouble?!"

"Because you didn't know that I knew. And I can never make it easy for my daughter's boyfriend. That's just not how this works. I wanted to make sure you had the courage to ask me."

I grumbled and lightly kicked the sand, "Thanks then, I guess."

"Percy, look at me." I did, and she was smiling with reassurance. "You are worthy. At first, I'll be honest, I didn't like you. I didn't trust you, because my daughter had her heart broken once, and I never wanted that to happen again. But you've proven that you would never hurt her, you would only protect her. I know that now, and I feel differently about many things I once strongly supported."

"So…"

"Yes. You can marry her."

When she said it, I wanted to jump up and down, pump my fist in the air, and let out a loud shout of victory. But I just stayed still, and stared at her, wide eyed.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes."

"Th-thank you! I mean, I don't…" I shook my head, "Thank you, ma'am. So much."

"What's going on over here?"

I turned and saw dad walking over, his forces, along with Triton had left, going back underwater.

"Just having a little talk." Athena told him, "He finally asked me for my blessing."

"Ah, that." Dad said, like it was obvious, bound to happen eventually. "Good of you to confront your fears, Percy, good of you."

"Wait, did you tell her?!"

"Oh no. She already knew. But I knew that you still hadn't asked her yet. I could tell by the way you nervously fiddled with your fingers on the way down to the stronghold."

I rolled my eyes, and thought about retorting with a comment, but then I looked towards the water, and saw that it was blue now, much clearer than before.

"What will happen, dad? I mean…Amphitrite? Atlantis?"

I didn't want to bring the subject up, but I was genuinely curious. I wanted to make sure he'd be okay, that if he needed my help, I'd be there.

He sighed, "It will take time, but we will rebuild. Atlantis will stand once more, Percy, do not fear about that. It has been destroyed in the past, and come back many times. As for Amphitrite…well, I am devastated to hear what happened. But she is a goddess, so she will reform. It may take a while, but it will happen, I'm sure of it."

I looked up at his eyes, and while they were happy with victory, they were also sad, with loss.

"I'm sorry, dad."

He turned and cracked a weak smile. "Don't be, my son. Now tell me, did you ever get a ring?"

"A ring? No…I never had time."

"Well we can't have that. A man's got to have a ring when he proposes! I suppose as a gift for all your help, we should do something for your predicament."

I looked between them, "What are you-"

Then, they raised both their index fingers, and pointed them at me, so they were parallel to each other. Dad's glowed sea green, matching my aura, and Athena's bright orange. In the air, they were forming something with their auras. I watched it materialize right in front of me, starting out as a metal circle, then forming into…a ring.

When they were done, they lowered their hands and it fell from the air. I caught it carefully, and opened up my palms slowly to look at it.

It was…beautiful. No other word can describe it. It was bronze and silver, thin and royal. It had the design of waves on both sides, leading up to the middle, and in that middle, was the symbol of an owl holding a trident. A mixture of both deities.

I was speechless. I stared at both of them, unable to express my gratitude.

"I…I don't know what to say…"

"Don't waste you words on us, Percy." Dad said, "Spend them on her."

He snapped his fingers, and a small pearl appeared in his hand. He tossed it to me, and it landed in my palm, where the ring was.

"Throw that on the ground, and it should take you to Camp. Annabeth should be waiting for you."

I touched it, and held it. Hesitating, I held it above the ground. "Thank you…both of you."

They nodded, and gestured for me to throw it. I did, and it smashed against the sand. I was enveloped by a green orb, it circled me and stuck to me. My stomach lurched, and I felt like I was spinning at a million miles per second, the world went dark, and then…I was back.

Cabins entered my view, the Big House behind me, a lake, trees, a pavilion, volleyball pit, all of it. I was here.

Home.

I looked around, and simply breathed in the fresh air, the sweet scent of lingering strawberries. Even though it wasn't the time of year for them, I could still smell it.

Campers walked around, several of them spotting me. They came up and greeted me, claps on the shoulders, welcome backs, the works. I didn't spot Aiden and Nico though, or Matt's group, They must've been resting.

It didn't matter right now. I had to find Annabeth.

I walked over to the Big House, where I saw Argus standing by the door.

"Hey man, where'd Annabeth go?"

He pointed towards the door, inside the Big House.

"Thanks."

I opened the door slowly and peeked inside, finding Annabeth right there in the living room, laying on the couch. She looked so peaceful, so tired. I smiled.

Then she stirred, like she could feel my presence. When her gray eyes fell on me, she shot up and ran over, throwing her arms around my neck.

"Thank the gods you're okay!" She hugged me fiercely, and I returned it. Not long after though, she practically threw me off and started hitting me on the shoulder. "Idiot! How could you just leave me sitting on the beach like that?! And then you come back, your hair's standing up, you've got all kinds of weird markings on your body, and you don't explain! It's just 'Argus is taking you back to Camp!' And- what are you smiling at?!"

I had been smiling the whole time. It made her angry. She huffed and crossed her arms, I found it adorable.

I reached down and grabbed her hand. "Come here, I want to show you something."

Her anger faded, and she was overcome with confusion. Together, underneath a sunset sky, we walked in Camp and sat at the Poseidon table together, side by side, the rest of the pavilion empty. Nobody paid us any mind, it was just oh, Percy and Annabeth are at it again.

Annabeth raised an eyebrow, "Okay, what are we doing here? Dinner's been over for an hour, and-"

I shushed her, placing a finger to my lips and gesturing at the Camp. It looked like a kingdom under the orange glow of the sky, hints of darkness falling over it only complimenting it. You could see a portion of the beach from here too.

"We've got all we need right here. Don't we?"

She looked around, and finally calmed down. Sighing, "Yeah…I guess we do."

"Remember our first kiss?"

Her ears got a bit red at the sudden subject change. "Yeah, in Mt. Saint Helens." She snickered, "You looked like a dead fish."

I blushed, "I did not, and I didn't mean that kiss. I meant the one right here, after we beat Kronos."

She fondly remembered, "Oh, that one. Yeah, it was pretty good."

"That was the first time, Annabeth. Mt. Saint Helens, I was an idiot, and I pushed away my feelings for you, but right here, that night, I embraced them. That's why it was our first real kiss."

She chuckled again, a bit nervously this time. "What are you getting at here? Trying to stroll down memory lane?"

I didn't answer that. My stare might've been more intense than I meant it to, but I couldn't help it. This feeling, this moment, it was so right. This was the time to do it.

"When I think back on my life, the life that I lived in this world, not the mortal one. You were…there, every step of the way."

She looked at me, a bit stunned, speechless now. Like my tone of voice brokered my intentions, and she was waiting patiently for me to finish.

"I've realized that I don't want it to be any other way…for the rest of my life. Annabeth, I want you there, every year, every month, every week, and every day. You complete me."

She smiled tenderly; a tear even fell down her cheek. She's smart enough to know where I'm going with this.

"You remember when we talked about our future? About New Rome, about living there and going to school?"

She nodded, laughing through her tears of joy, and wiping them away. I grabbed one of her hands from her face and stopped it, holding it like a precious gem.

"Well I want to go a step further than that. I want us to get married, have kids, raise them, and grow old together. And maybe, just maybe, one day, monsters and gods will be a distant memory." I kissed her hand, unable to resist, "But I know the memory of you will always stay intact."

She blushed crimson, and I revealed the ring, I had been holding it in my other hand the entire time.

At the sight, she gasped, and more tears fell. She put her hands over her mouth, and I scooted off the bench, getting down on one knee.

It was at this time that people started to notice what was going on, and we had gathered quite a crowd. I saw basically the entirety of Camp watching on with anticipation, their fists clenched, their eyes twinkling at our little scene.

I ignored them, and smiled, looking into those gray eyes, seeing how happy she was, I resisted the urge not to cry myself. Swallowing, and straightening myself, I managed to ask the long-awaited question.

"Will you marry me, Wise Girl?"

Nodding rapidly and laughing, she jumped up and tackled me in a hug. We fell on the ground, and she raised her face above mine.

"Of course I will, Seaweed Brain." She then showed off that vintage Annabeth smirk that drove me crazy. "About time you asked."

We then matched grins, and I leaned up to meet her lips. The crowd squealed and cheered, practically exploding, with raised hands and hugs all around, they roared with excitement.

Our lips stayed locked for Zeus knows how long, moving in sync, arms wrapped around each other, never letting go. The sea in the background was the cherry on top, crashing each time we went back for more.

And it was pretty much the best kiss of all time.

---

Matt

Nemesis, Harper, and I stood under the red leafed tree at their old home.

After Ouranos's escape, I went back up on the mountain and informed them of the bad news. I felt horrible, for letting him escape once again, but they didn't give me too much hell for it. To be honest, everyone was so given out that they didn't even want to think about it.

I would though. It would haunt me, just like every other failure of mine.

I called Kyros back to take Briares home. Briares, before leaving, apparently going back to Poseidon's army, thanked all of us for freeing him, and even gave Malachi a hug, whispering something to him. I didn't catch it, but the look on Malachi's face, told me it was something about Sera.

The white-haired girl gave several sheepish looks to Malachi, now out of her Absolute Zero form, she was back to normal. Whenever the other wasn't looking, they would take turns staring at each other, longingly, and sadly.

Harper, understandably, wanted to bury Levi at their old home. Nemesis was of course in agreement. We all decided that Malachi would teleport himself, Talon, and Sera back to Camp, and we would meet up with them later. Nemesis at first didn't want me to go with them, since this was a "family matter" but before I could insist I was going to be there for Harper, Harper herself insisted for me.

"He is family, mom. He's going." She had said, and it warmed my exhausted heart.

She embraced Sera before we left though, very tightly, and she was on the verge of tears when Sera said something in her ear, comforting words most likely. I'd forgotten how close the two were, and just how long apart they had been. They were like sisters after all.

Finally, they had grabbed on to Malachi's shoulders, and disappeared, zapping away in the air.

We did too. Harper held Levi, and we all grabbed on to Nemesis' arms, teleporting away from the mountain and to the old farmhouse.

When we materialized, we stood in front of it. Surprisingly, nobody lived there, it hadn't been bought by a mortal or even condemned by the government. It was just…empty, like the mist had hidden it from everything. Grass and plants had grown into it, covering the outside and coming out of the windows, the roof looked like it was beginning to rot, cobwebs littered the corners of the building. It was a far cry from it's prime.

Then we had walked over to the red leafed tree, where we stood now. It, unlike the house, was in perfect condition, beautiful and full of bright red leaves, swaying back and forth with the wind. Looking at the trees that surrounded it, they were all just branches and sticks, since it was fall, but this one looked like it had been stuck in summer for years. Maybe it wasn't something from the mortal world, maybe a god planted it.

We set Levi down on the ground gently, and dug with three old shovels we had found lying up against the back of the house. There was an assortment of tools back there, like they had been thrown or forgotten by the owner, which had most likely been their father.

We could've blasted a hole in the ground, but we didn't want to use our powers. The entire time we dug, we didn't speak, we didn't even speak to agree to digging the hole, we just did it. We wanted to do this the right way.

When we dug it deep enough, we placed the shovels back where they were originally. Harper and I stood back, while Nemesis placed her son in the grave, biting her lip and holding back tears.

The last I saw of Levi, was his eyes closed, and the hint of a smile on his face, like he was at peace, happy. No longer suffering from his past deeds.

Then the dirt covered him, and he was gone.

For a while, maybe hours, we stood there. Long enough to where the sun was getting very low, and only hint of light shone across the horizon and through the trees.

I broke the silence, my mouth was dry, so it came out as a croak. "Why'd you do it?"

Harper didn't look at me, she kept staring at the grave, emotionless. "Do what?"

"Why did you spare him? Why place him back under the burden, when we could've killed him forever?"

There was no accusation in my tone, no condescension. I simply wanted to know.

She was silent for a moment, then finally, she shrugged.

"I'm tired of revenge. I'm tired of hating." She started to say something else, but ended up shaking her head weakly and sighing. "I'm just…tired."

Her good eye was dead, more dead than I had seen it. I had to look away, I didn't want to see her like that, so I wrapped an arm around her shoulder, and pulled her close. I felt her lean into me, both out of sadness, and exhaustion.

"I know. I am too."

There was a crack of thunder behind us, and a rustle of wind against the trees. Nemesis turned around and let out a low groan.

"We have a visitor."

I turned my head, not wanting to let go of Harper, because I could feel her falling asleep in my side, her weight starting to push on me. It was enough for me to spot who had come.

In the middle of a grassy field, stood a man in a pin-striped suit, long salt and pepper hair, with a beard to match. He radiated power.

Zeus.

Something inside me lit aflame, and I wasn't so tired anymore. Anger filled me, annoyance along with it. What the hell does he want? Interrupting something like this?

"She's tired. Can you take her back to Camp, please?" I said, "Once you're…finished."

She nodded, "Yes. Thank you, Matt."

I let Nemesis hold on to Harper, while I walked towards the king of the gods, in a bit of a stormy, angry fashion. I was very annoyed with him, actually scratch that. I was mad.

Levi's dead. We all could've died, because we had to face Atlas on our own.

I closed the distance, and stopped about seven feet before him, staring indifferently.

He, however, looked sympathetic. "Matt…my grandson, how are you?"

I said nothing.

"I'm aware of what happened. I'm sorry for your loss. Atlas is a beast, an old one that we thought was contained. Turns out Ouranos is more slippery than we could've ever thought."

I clenched my fists, rage filled me even more, like a kettle reaching it's limit.

Zeus either didn't notice, or placed it as anger towards Atlas. He noticed the watch, and pointed at it.

"Heard you used my weapon. Heh, had to check to see if I still had it, and I did. Not sure where you got it from, but you used it perfectly. Almost like a younger version of myself."

He then furrowed his eyebrows at Viribus. "The aura…it's run out. Hmm, I figured it had more than a year in it, but I suppose that was a miscalculation. Here, I'll refill it for you."

He held out his palm for Viribus. I glared at his hand, but obliged, and took off the necklace.

He held it tightly and closed his eyes in concentration. A blue, dim glow ignited the club, and I saw it regain life. Aura flared in my senses, as Viribus was returned its power.

He handed it back to me, smirking. "There you are."

I took it, my hand shaking. I grabbed it and sheathed it back into a necklace, putting it around my neck.

"Um, Matt…are you alright? You seem a bit-"

"Where the hell were you?"

He paused, and reared his head back. "Excuse me?"

"Where were you when we were fighting Atlas? You show up now all proud and ready to refill Viribus, but where were you when our lives were on the line. When Levi had a titan's hand through his stomach?"

Zeus was in disbelief. His face twitched a little, "You dare accuse me of-"

"I'm not accusing you of anything!-" I said, raising my voice. I knew what I was doing was stupid, and I knew that I had thought in that fight we don't need the gods. I was placing blame, because I blamed myself for not being able to save Levi. Still though, I kept going with it. "-I'm stating the truth! You weren't there!"

"You act as if I abandoned you. You didn't need me; you won the battle."

"Barely! And one person died! Which to you, I understand doesn't matter one bit, but for a minute, your gracious and powerful king, lower yourself to the demigod level, to the human level, and think! Think that maybe the casualties matter, that maybe when someone dies, it affects us!"

"I realize that! And I am sorry for your loss! But there's nothing I can do, Matt! There are laws in place that-"

"What fucking laws?! Nemesis helped us! She's a goddess, right?!"

"That's different! I am King! I can't just bounce around place to place and blast anyone I-"

"Why not?! You fought all kinds of beings back in the day! Typhon-"

"Do not interrupt me." He growled.

I didn't care, I kept yelling. "-Kronos! The Giants! What changed! Why won't you help us now?! Why won't you fight for your kingdom?!"

"DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" Lightning crashed down from the sky and hit him, spreading out in small shockwaves all around him, blowing wind in my hair and face. His power was tremendous, frightening, but I stood firm, my anger overcoming my brain.

I spread out my hands to my side, a welcoming gesture. "Go ahead! Strike me! You'll kill me for interrupting you, but you won't kill the enemy that's trying to destroy everything you've built! Funny, isn't it?!"

That one enraged him; I could tell. Part of him, a more destructive and uncaring part, wanted to smite me for being loud and disrespectful. He held it, but I could see his massive fists clenching.

"From what I remember, I aided you on that Cursed Island. Fate was altered because of that, and I heard nothing but racket from the fates, from fate itself for a year! Everything I do has consequences! With a mere strike, I could destroy this universe I've created!" He took a deep breath, and calmed down a bit, his aura lowering. "Every time I step in, I risk the lives of everyone in the world. That is what you don't understand."

I scoffed and turned my back to him. "As far as I'm concerned, every time you don't step in, you risk the lives of everyone in the world." I scowled at the tree, seeing both Nemesis and Harper still there. Harper was asleep, and Nemesis was pretending not to listen to our argument.

"When my dad died, your son, I didn't see an Olympian in sight. Now It's Levi. How many more, Zeus?"

He said nothing, but I could tell that the use of his name, instead of a formality, or grandfather, made him very mad.

"Here's a message to you and the other gods. Those of you that don't want to step in…fine, don't. We don't need you after all. We've come this far on our own, we might as well finish it on our own."

"Matt!" Zeus called, demanding. "Get back here at once!"

I ignored him, and walked to Nemesis.

"Are you ready?" She said.

"Yes."

As we dematerialized and teleported away, I turned back to see Zeus still standing there, bewildered at what just happened.

It took a few moments, but when we reappeared, we did so in front of my cabin.

Harper was surprisingly still asleep, now in Nemesis' arms. The goddess looked awkwardly around at Camp Half Blood, probably never standing here before.

"I'm going to go, if you don't mind. I don't want to…well-"

"I understand. Here." I said, holding my arms out for Harper. She nodded and handed her over to me, bridal style, her head rolled onto my bicep. She was out like a light.

"I'm going to spend more time with her." Nemesis vowed, looking down at Harper. "Screw whatever the rest of them say. She needs friends in this dire age, and certainly her mother. To be honest…the situation is vice versa now. I couldn't bear to lose her too."

She leaned down and kissed Harper on the forehead, then hesitated, as if to say something to her. But she decided against it.

"Goodbye, Matt. We will meet again at some point, I'm sure."

"It was nice to meet you, ma'am. Thank you for helping us with Atlas. I truly appreciate it, especially after…well, you heard me."

"Yes. Well…you're welcome. Farewell."

With that, she glowed a bright gray, and disappeared like a flash, causing a small burst to blow wind in my face.

Harper stirred from the action, nearly waking, but I held her tighter and shushed her.

"It's alright now, we'll both rest soon. I promise."

Carrying her to the cabin door, I temporarily held her with one arm, then opened the door with the other hand. Pushing it open, I was greeted to the smell of wood, of my bed. That familiar scent that I had dearly missed.

I closed the door behind me, and carried Harper over to my bed. Placing her down gently, I pulled back the covers and laid them over her. She snuggled closer to the pillow under her head and clutched the comforter.

I stared at her for a moment, and felt my eyes sting, my face get hot. She wouldn't see him again. After all of that effort, and to get so close…yet to lose him.

I couldn't think about it any further, at least not tonight. I was exhausted. I wanted nothing more than to curl up next to her, hold her close, and forget about the weight on my shoulders for one night.

So that's what I did. I lifted the covers on my side, slid underneath, wrapped one arm around her, and pulled her to my chest.

Soon, sleep overtook me, and I felt myself drift away.

---

(End Of Book Three: Bane Of The Seas)