Chapter 7: Love Advice and Shocking Betrayals

Perseus glanced at his watch again. They would be reaching their destination in fifteen minutes. Beckendorf was driving while the speakers blasted soft jazz. Beckendorf certainly didn't look like the type of guy who listened to jazz, but he said it helped him focus and calm his nerves, and as they were about to face a Titan Lord, focus and calm were necessities. Annabeth was glaring out the window, having just been woken up by a few jolts of electricity, courtesy of Thalia, and Luke was fiddling with a screwdriver.

Perseus had complete confidence in his team. Sure, everything could go wrong at any point and they could die horrible deaths, but that was the point of quests. There had to be a certain amount of risk for the reward to matter.

SKREEECH!

The car suddenly stopped and Perseus' head slammed into the dashboard.

"Ouch," he muttered as he lifted his head, blinking rapidly to cure his groggy vision.

"Hey!" Beckendorf yelled. "Watch where you're driving, idiot!"

Perseus turned his attention to the reason for their sudden stoppage.

Luke whistled. "Damn,"

A striking red Lamborghini was parked in front of them. It seemed as if Beckendorf hadn't hit the brakes immediately, their ambitions of dying heroic deaths would have been crushed by a car accident.

"I am going to kill them," Beckendorf said, cracking his knuckles.

"Chuck," Perseus let out a deep breath. Unfortunately, he recognized that particular car. "Don't,"

"What do you mean?" Beckendorf asked incredulously. "We nearly died! I don't mind going out killing a few dracaena, but not a fucking car accident!"

Perseus agreed with the son of Hephaestus. After risking their lives countless times on several dangerous endeavors, dying in a car crash seemed a bit anti-climactic. But this was no ordinary car in front of them.

"Yes I know," Perseus rolled his eyes and nodded. "Honor and immortality, blah blah blah. But I am afraid you can't kill them,"

"Kid's right," a gruff voice said, from inside the Lamborghini. A gate opened and a large, bulky man stepped out. He wore sunglasses, a leather jacket, a white T-shirt, and black jeans.

Luke groaned from the backseat.

"Who the hell are you?" Thalia yelled out.

"Thalia," Annabeth looked at her sister in all but blood. "Don't,"

"You wound me, sister," Ares, the God of War, said. His eyes burned like miniature suns behind his black sunglasses. "Perhaps you would like this better?" he snapped his fingers as his white T-shirt changed into a black Green Day one.

"Woah," Thalia said, the awe evident in her voice. "That's so punk rock,"

"Not this again," Luke looked like he was about to burst a few vessels in his forehead.

"Hm," Ares looked down at his attire. "I prefer AC/DC though," he clicked his fingers again as his T-shirt changed, now featuring an AC/DC logo.

Thalia gasped.

"I'll handle this," Perseus said, getting out of the car. "Greetings, War God,"

"Perseus Jackson," Ares grinned, his perfect white teeth looked very pointy. "It has been too long,"

"Not nearly long enough," Perseus met Ares' eyes with a steady gaze of his own. "To what do I owe the pleasure? You do realize that you are interrupting a quest that your father, the great king of Olympus, himself had ordered me to lead?"

"Father won't mind a little conversation between allies of Olympus," Ares said, his eyes burning brighter. "After all what would happen if I told him what you and my dear uncle were up to?"

"Well played," Perseus said, nodding his head. He could respect a good threat. "What would happen if I accidentally told him that you were behind the sudden increase in Titan weapon stocks?"

Ares barked out a laugh. "Touché,"

"We don't have to deal with this," Annabeth said from inside the car. "Let's just run him over!"

Luke vigorously nodded in agreement.

"No," Beckendorf said. "We are not going to run over the God of War," he stepped out and stood beside Perseus. "He'd just flash away. I have a cannon, permission to fire?"

Perseus looked at his team and wiped a fake tear from his eye. "I love your enthusiasm regarding the murder of Gods. But I'm afraid that it will not be necessary this time. I can handle him,"

Beckendorf had already pulled out his activation remote. "You sure?"

Perseus nodded. "Yup,"

Beckendorf glanced at the red button on the remote. "Damn it,"

Perseus chuckled. "Sorry,"

"I'm afraid I'm not here on personal business, Jackson," Ares flashed him a feral grin. "She's waiting for you,"' The War God unveiled his eyes and gave him a rare view of the blazing infernos in his irises. "And you don't want to keep her waiting,"

Perseus gave Beckendorf another reassuring nod and prepared himself.

Ares chuckled. "Good luck,"

Perseus opened the door and entered the Lamborghini. As soon as he entered, all his senses went into overdrive. He looked around and realized he was in a pocket dimension. In front of him was a nice pink couch, and behind him was the last person he wanted to meet.

"Hello Perseus," Aphrodite whispered in a sultry voice, snaking her hands around his waist from behind.

"My beautiful lady," Perseus replied, his eyes snapped shut.

Aphrodite didn't like that. "Really? You won't even look at me?" she whispered, getting closer to his face. She pulled him by the hand and sat him down on the couch. "Open your eyes, I'm sure you'll like what you see,"

An easy grin made its way onto his face. "No, I'm quite sure I'd like to keep my eyes closed, thank you very much,"

Aphrodite laughed. "You're afraid of me? You have taken the Sky Lord's lightning bolts point blank and lived to tell the tale. You're the infamous Perseus Jackson, free of fate. Yet you're afraid of who you'll see when you look at me?"

"I have no time for love, milady," Perseus grinned. "I'm afraid I have far greater ambitions,"

"You don't need to find time for me, Percy," her soft fingers gently caressed his face. "I'm always here for you,"

His eyebrow twitched. "I'm sure you are, milady. But unfortunately, I must leave soon, I have a quest to complete and a Goddess to save, y'know?"

Aphrodite's form flickered, and her voice changed into a softer tone. "Oh yes, the quest. You have revealed our existence to the Graeci, Perseus. The king is certainly not happy about that,"

Perseus' eyes darkened. "The king can come down here and kill me right now if he feels so strongly about my decisions. He can fight the Titans all by himself and save his daughter. I'm doing this because it is Fate."

Venus let out a melodic laugh. "Fate? Yes, I suppose you would know a lot about that wouldn't you? You keep doing everything to keep the world together, but you forget about yourself Perseus,"

He clenched his fists as tight as he could.

Venus reached out and grabbed his face with both her hands, the warmth of her soft hands, slowly melting his insides. "You don't have to do this. You can just leave it all behind. I can give you the greatest love story ever, and the most comfortable life, if you just let me,"

He bit his tongue.

"If you would just open your eyes,"

He bit down hard, his teeth drawing blood. The sharp pain waking him up from Venus' allure. He swirled the blood inside his mouth around.

"No, I don't think I will, milady,"

He could feel Venus' eyes on him, studying him. He could hear her soft chuckle as he resisted her power. She raised her hands from his cheeks, ran them through his unruly hair, and brought him closer—so close that he could feel her hot breath on the skin of his face.

"Why do you resist me, Percy? I can give you anything," she whispered, her soft lips touching his face.

He managed a grin. "Ma'am I'm afraid that I am underage, please do not try anything with me,"

She let out a beautiful laugh again. "Don't jest, Perseus. You and I both know the things you've done,"

He chuckled. "Then you know that I don't have time for anymore. You don't know what I want, Goddess. You can't see my heart,"

"I can't," she smiled softly. "You just won't give in,"

"Then how about a deal?" he said, grabbing her hands and pulling them off his face. "You leave me alone, and after all this is done…,"

She cocked an eyebrow.

"I'll give you the greatest ending ever,"

"Jackson!"

"Yes, Zoya?"

Zoe felt if she talked to the boy any longer, she would pop a blood vessel, but she steeled herself nevertheless. It was for her lady. "How do you know that the Wolf House is unsafe?"

"Aside from the fact that a highly menacing power is coming from there, that couldn't be anything but a Titan? Maybe it's the fact that there are no wolves here, there are always wolves here. You should know," Perseus answered, a grin forming on his face as he looked at his old friend, who seemed downright murderous.

Thalia intervened. "Alright, now if you two are done, can we finally get moving? I mean the Romans should have reached there by now right?"

"Wait," Phoebe raised her hands and looked at Thalia incredulously. "Romans are there? You know about them?"

"Blame that guy," Thalia pointed her thumb toward Perseus.

"Of course," Phoebe replied. "Now, should we move?"

"Yes," Perseus said. "But you guys go ahead, I'll be catch up,"

"Where are you going, boy?" Atlanta glared at him. "Scared?"

"Atlanta," Phoebe said dryly, glancing at the green-eyed demigod. "Leave him be, let us go. Come on, campers,"

Perseus nodded at the hunter of Artemis, who nodded back.

Luke clapped his hands. "Come on, Annabeth. Let's go,"

They all ran off into the forest as fast as they could, leaving Perseus behind. He watched them go and exhaled deeply. He quickly checked his surroundings to see if no one was watching and sent an Iris Message.

The familiar music began to play as he waited for the call to be accepted.

"Percy,"

Perseus' face broke into a wide smile. "Ethan,"

"I thought you were with your other friends," the son of Nemesis tilted his head and regarded Perseus with cold eyes.

He was unimpressed. "Drop the act. Do you have the Ophiotaurus?"

Ethan tucked a stray strand of his hair behind his head. "Yes, the Titan of the North plans to let Thalia Grace or Jason Grace sacrifice it. If not them, he has plans to kidnap the younger Underworld spawn from the camp,"

"So he told our guy to capture them and wait for him to arrive?"

"Yup,"

"When is he going to arrive?" he asked.

"By tomorrow morning at the latest. He'll give the Grace siblings a choice, do the same with the Underworld spawn, and if they refuse he'll just kill them all,"

"Naturally," Perseus nodded.

"So what are you going to do?" Ethan asked, as he lazily twirled his sword around.

"Oh, I'm sure I'll figure it out" he grinned at the boy. "After all I'm on your side,"

"Don't play tricks with me, Percy," Ethan glared at him. "Don't try anything, my mother sees all,"

"Me?" he chuckled. "I wouldn't dare incur your mother's wrath, that's why I'm helping you,"

"Your patron," he drawled. "Or should I say, patrons. They haven't told you anything? No clue?"

"Nope," Perseus grinned. "What can I say? Fate works in mysterious ways,"

"I'm warning you, Jackson," Ethan glared. "If you try to betray us, my mother will have your head,"

"Yes I get it," he shook his head. "I am vengeance and all that. Terrifying. The Titans will win of course,"

"Yes they will," Ethan Nakamura swiped through the mist with his sword.

Perseus shivered. "That dude has some serious issues," he looked around again, just to make sure, and sprinted in the direction his other friends had left.

Dakota gulped.

"That's him?" Reyna whispered. "That's the Titan?"

They stared at the seven-foot-tall man in front of them, sitting on a rock, a large white wolf lay unconscious next to him in a cage.

"That's-," Jason's voice rumbled with silent fury. "That's mother Lup-"

"Quiet," Michael shushed. "We'll free her,"

"I'll kill him," Jason's eyes flashed a bright blue. "Titan or not,"

"W-Why isn't he doing anything?" Julius' voice conveyed his fear. "He's just sitting there, menacingly,"

Jason stood up. "I'm going to end him,"

"Jason!" Dakota whispered. "No! Don't!"

The son of Jupiter paid Dakota no attention and walked past the cover, his hands reaching into his pocket to bring out his trusty coin.

"Jason Grace," Atlas smiled predatorily. "I have been waiting,"

Jason flipped the gold coin in his palm into the air and it morphed into a golden spear. "In the name of my father, Jupiter, and the name of Rome, you will answer for your crimes against Olympus, Titan,"

Atlas chuckled playfully. "You say Titan as if it is some sort of slur, we were here first you know,"

Jason growled, and the sky darkened even as thunder rumbled. Help me, Father. "Die!" he leaped at Atlas, the winds propelling him forward.

Atlas spun his javelin in his hands. "I'm immortal, boy," he swatted the airborne son of Jupiter away like a fly with the back of his hand. Jason's electrified form crashed into a nearby tree.

"Damn," Michael winced. "That's gotta hurt,"

"Shut up Michael," Reyna said, elbowing her friend in the gut. She picked up her spear and readied herself in a fighting stance. "Michael, hack at his legs, Dakota stay here and shoot, aim high, and Julius-,"

The Praetor was crying.

Michael butted him in the head with the pommel of his sword, and the son of Ceres crumpled down.

Dakota and Reyna glared at him.

"What?" Michael raised his hands. "He was going to pass out anyway, I just sped up the process,"

Reyna shook her head. "Dakota, I don't want you to join the fight, at all. Just keep on shooting arrows, if we get captured or incapacitated, I want you to run,"

"Reyna I-"

"No," She said firmly. "I want you to run back to Rome and alert them of the severity of the threat. Don't waste your life trying to save us. Help Rome,"

Dakota looked into his friend's eyes and saw nothing but fiery determination. He nodded in agreement, and Reyna grinned.

"Strength and Honour! Charge!"

With Michael hot on her tail, Reyna ran out to face the Titan. Dakota steadied himself and began to let arrows fly.

Atlas spread his arms, welcoming the attack with a manic grin. "Yes! Thank you Earth Mother! Two battles in one day!" he laughed giddily. "Come on Romans! Let me show you the might of a Titan!"

Michael roared and rushed toward the Titan's hulking figure. He raised his dual swords and met Atlas' strikes with his own. Reyna aimed her efforts towards his torso, but Atlas' technique was perfect, refined through thousands of years worth of experience and practice. Not a single strike got through his impeccable defense.

"Yes," Atlas laughed. "Faster now!" he picked up the pace, using his Javelin as a staff. It was a blur, his hands moved faster than thoughts could travel in the demigods' brains. Small cuts and bruises started appearing on their bodies before they could feel the pain.

"Fuck!" Michael exclaimed, scrambling back, away from the Titan. "Reyna! Get back!"

The daughter of Bellona tuned him out, giving her everything to track the Titan's strikes. Using her spear like he did, blocking his shots.

"Most impressive, girl," Atlas smiled. "But I grow bored," he channeled some power into his strike, breaking Reyna's spear in half. He grabbed her by the throat and hoisted her up.

Reyna struggled under his iron grip, getting out her knife to stab at his hand, but he didn't seem to care, even as small droplets of ichor started flowing.

"Join us," Atlas said. "It will b-"

An arrow whizzed toward his face, but he brought his hand up to block it.

"By my grandmother! If you do not stop with those arrows I will crush her throat right now and I will use her cold carcass to beat you to death!"

Dakota stopped shooting.

Atlas took a deep breath. "Now where were we? About the offer, yes. You will live a life of luxury under our rule, no more quests, no more fear. You will be happy,"

"Fuck you," Reyna coughed out.

Atlas grinned. "I had to ask, n-"

An electrified missile slammed into his ribcage, sending him flying straight into the forest.

Jason brushed some dirt off his purple t-shirt. "I hate trees," he held out a hand to Reyna, who had been fortunately let go by the Titan.

She clasped his hand and pulled herself up. "I hate Titans,"

A loud rumble came from behind the tree as Atlas, who looked relatively unscathed, reappeared. "Come on sky spawn! Show me your father's strength!"

Jason turned away from Reyna and locked his sights on the grinning immortal. The skies parted again, and lightning danced across his fingertips. "IT'S MY STRENGTH!"

A bolt of lightning hit Atlas head-on as Jason charged him with his golden gladius. Atlas blocked and slashed with his Javelin. But even with his superior strength, he failed to land his hits. Jason had the wind and sky on his side, he flew around the Titan, teasing him with electricity.

Atlas' eye twitched. "You're like an annoying mosquito!"

The son of Jupiter called another bolt from the sky. "Thank you!"

Atlas' skin had started smoking from the intensity of the bolts, his cheerful facade was starting to break.

"Don't forget about me!" Reyna yelled, driving her spear through Atlas' thigh.

"And me!" Michael sprung out of nowhere and slashed at his face, Atlas raised a hand to block, and the son of Venus' sword cut the ring finger off the Titan's hand. Dakota had started shooting arrows again and three of them had lodged themselves in his back. Jason wasted no time in using that moment of pain and shock for the Titan to stab his sword through his stomach and call another divine bolt of lightning.

"Clear!" he yelled, as Reyna and Michael jumped back and Jason punched Atlas in the face. The lightning hit Jason and Atlas dead-on as a few nearby trees caught on fire.

The Titan was no longer smiling. His clothes were tattered and his body was pierced in various places with numerous sharp objects.

"Okay," Atlas breathed. "I'm done,"

BOOM!

A giant shockwave sent Jason and the others flying away. Jason yelled out in frustration, using the air currents to stop himself from slamming into more trees, and propelled himself down. Reyna and Michael were out cold, they couldn't handle the brunt of the Titan's divine energy and the impact.

"You demigods," Atlas raised himself slowly, using his javelin as support. "Are so very annoying," he cracked his neck. "I'm going to enjoy this,"

A barrage of arrows flew in from the bushes aimed at him, but they all crumbled to dust mid-air.

"Starting with you," Atlas said, moving toward the bushes at a breakneck speed. He could sense the son of Bacchus behind the cover.

Dakota immediately let go of his bow, picked Julius up, flung him away to safety, and ran as fast as he could.

"DAKOTA!" Jason screamed, flying toward Atlas' running form. His spear aimed straight for the Titan's head.

Atlas ignored Jason's scream and ran after the fleeing demigod. The arrows were a constant pain to him, and he hated archers. Ever since the old days, he hated how cowardly they were, hiding behind cover, shooting from afar, and never having the courage to face the opponent directly. And Dakota had just made his way onto his shit list.

"Die already damn it!" Jason swung his spear down on the Titan's neck.

Atlas stopped and grabbed the spear without even sparing the demigod a glance. Annoying. He was frustrated, he wanted to kill the son of Jupiter, but he wasn't permitted to. Not just yet, anyway. He would have to wait for Koios' command. The anticipation of fresh blood on his hands was just too much.

"I could kill you right now," Atlas turned to Jason, who was hovering behind him, trying to pry his golden spear out of his grasp. "But I'm afraid I can't," Jason's eyes widened in horror as Atlas plucked him out of the air and grabbed him by the throat. "So I'll settle for what I can get," He swung Jason by the neck, straight into the ground.

"F-Fuck you," Jason breathed out, spitting some blood out of his mouth.

Atlas growled and delivered a swift punch to the demigod's face, knocking him out once and for all. He picked up Jason's limp form and marveled at his handiwork. Jason's nose was broken and his face was bloody, bruises and scars covered his entire torso, which was only covered by a tattered and torn purple T-shirt.

"Hm," Atlas grunted out a sound of approval, the demigod had fought well. He flicked his hand and flung him away where the rest of his friends were lying.

"Now," he turned toward the forest. "Your friends fought me head-on, that's why they still breathe," He paused for good effect. "But you, archer, you stayed in the bushes, hiding. I don't like that. That's why you're going to die,"

Dakota could hear the Titan's words and quickened his pace. Somebody had to alert New Rome. He had his orders. He had to go back.

Atlas grinned. "Found you!" he raised his Javelin and threw it into the forest. He could sense the demigod, and he was accurate enough.

Dakota couldn't move. He was pinned down. Atlas' Javelin had pierced his thigh and embedded itself into the ground. He let out a strangled scream, but there was no one to help, as all he could hear was Atlas' laughter.

Atlas laughed and clicked his fingers, summoning his Javelin back in front of him, with the demigod. With a loud pop, the silver spear was on the ground in front of him, with a screaming demigod.

"Stop your incessant crying," Atlas smirked. "I'm tired, so I'll end this quickly,"

Dakota looked up at the Titan with a defiant gaze and glared as he came to pull his Javelin out of his thigh.

Atlas' eyebrow twitched as he twisted his spear, causing the demigod to shriek in pain. He pulled it out slowly and looked the half-blood in the eyes.

Dakota remained defiant and flipped him off. Even if these were his final moments, he wouldn't submit to his fear.

"That look," Atlas growled. "All of you half-breeds have the look. Those six had that look the day they slew the King." Atlas plunged his Javelin into Dakota's heart.

With the last of his life, Dakota spat at the Titan's face.

Atlas growled and twisted the spear, ending the demigod's life. "I hate that look,"

Thalia was mildly terrified.

"He's ahead," Phoebe confirmed for them after she and Zoe had scouted ahead. "He's just sitting there. The Wolf Goddess is in chains and next to her are three demigods,"

"So it's a trap," Luke summarised.

"Yes, it is," Atlanta replied, even she didn't have the energy to call Luke boy.

"So why are we springing it?" Thalia asked. He didn't exactly feel comfortable with the idea of charging a Titan Lord when it was most definitely a trap.

"Oh," Annabeth's gray eyes lit up in realization. "You want to use the chains, free the wolf, and put the chains on the Titan, right?"

Zoe nodded. "Thee catch on quickly, unlike some people," she spared a distasteful glance toward Luke and Thalia. "The chains should work on all immortals if they are keeping one immortal down,"

"Ok," Beckendorf nodded. "So we should wait for Perseus, right?"

"We are not waiting for that boy," Zoe spat with as much venom as she could muster. "We do not need him. We will go and confront him head-on, surrounding him, while Bianca goes to free the Goddess,"

"Why me?" Bianca said. "Luke would be a much better choice-"

"It is going to be thee," Zoe said. "Can thee not feel it? Thee are of the Underworld, Bianca. The shadows cloak thy presence. Thee can sneak up to the cage undetected and free the goddess,"

"Ok," Luke said. 'I get all that, but not waiting for Perseus is just stupid,"

"Yeah, we could use his help," Beckendorf added.

"Thy input is noted," Zoe said. 'And ignored. Atlanta, Phoebe go. Bianca you know where the cage is, feel thy strength. Thee campers can help us if thy want to,"

"I hate hunters," Thalia muttered under her breath. "Fine, what can we do?"

Zoe nodded. "Take Beckendorf and go with Atlanta. Luke take Annabeth and go with Phoebe. I will go down the middle. Charge in as soon as I fire the first arrow,"

They all nodded and headed away to their designated locations. Phoebe, Luke, and Annabeth went left and Atlanta, Thalia, and Beckendorf went right, Bianca slipped away to the back of the clearing where the cages were, while Zoe stood her ground.

She hadn't sensed her father's presence in millennia and had no interest and seeing his face again. But she had to confront him. To save her friend. To save Artemis.

She ran through the trees, with her bow raised and arrow notched, ready to shoot as soon as she saw her father's face.

"Zoe Nightshade," Atlas' eyes showed love for his estranged daughter. "I have been expecting you,"

"Rot in the Pit," Zoe said, letting her arrow fly, aimed straight between the Titan's eyes.

Atlas boomed with laughter, as he easily swatted away the silver projectile. "Was that supposed to do something?"

"Yes," Zoe said, anger flashing through her onyx eyes. "Now!"

Nothing happened.

"Were you expecting something, my dear daughter?" Atlas' laugh was mocking, and a cold dread overcame Zoe. "Your friends maybe?"

"Yes, she was," a voice came from behind her.

"Percy…" she breathed out, the sight of the son of Poseidon filling her with a bit of hope.

"Perseus Jackson," Atlas narrowed his eyes at the demigod.

Zoe notched another arrow at her father's face, expecting Perseus to back her up.

To her surprise, Atlas' face broke into a wide grin. "How have you been?"

"Splendid!" Perseus replied cheerfully. "Here you go!" from behind him, came seven struggling demigods, tied up, hovering in the air, moving forward and landing near the Titan's feet.

Zoe recognized those faces. Phoebe, Atlanta, Bianca, Thalia, Luke, Annabeth, and Beckendorf. She turned her bow to Perseus' face. "You bastard!"

Perseus flashed her an easy grin and raised his hands. "Woah there! No hard feelings Zara! Not my fault the Titans pay better," he shrugged.

Zoe glared at the person she once called a friend. His easy grin and sea-green eyes were the same as always. But he wasn't. She let her arrow fly.

Perseus disappeared, and reappeared behind her, delivering a swift chop to her neck and knocking her out.

Atlas looked satisfied. "You have done well,"

"Obviously," Perseus tied Zoe up and dropped her off near Atlas's feet. The rest of the crew was awake, their mouths were gagged but their eyes displayed feelings of anger, betrayal, and hurt. Luke looked at him pleadingly, as if silently asking him why. Perseus just winked.

"She's a feisty one, your daughter," he acknowledged.

"She is no daughter of mine," Atlas made a sour face.

"I mean you just called her, and I quote, 'my dear dau-'"

"Shut up!" Atlas' eyes flashed with power. "You are paid for your work, not your big mouth,"

Perseus chuckled. "I'm sorry milord," he looked around. "But, now what?"

Atlas exhaled deeply and flashed him a grin. "Now, we wait,"

Happy New Year guys.

Sorry for the extremely late update.

A huge thanks to TheSpartanPoet, go check him and his story out.

Bye.