Chapter 37

Atlas Shrugged

Light fluttered through the windows of Elysium in a strange distorted way. Shadows were too long and were drawn into unfamiliar angles, the air felt too hazy and the sunlight managed to lose its warmth once it trespassed into the dark obsidian halls.

The sun was slowly rising, clawing its way across the distant sky and colouring it sickly faded yellow, yet the darkness inside Elysium remained oppressive and ever present. At times like these this darkness was almost a cozy blanket, providing a crooked moment of peace.

Thoughts swirled through Percy's head. His nightmare was still fresh in his mind but he forced himself to think logically.

What would Annabeth have done?

Easy, gather information, and Mount Othrys happened to contain a particular titan who should know more than any other.

Morning had come all the same to Elysium, but this time a lonely shadow moved across the barren hallways.

The battlefield outside hadn't restarted yet, maybe the gods were truly intent on keeping to their end of the ceasefire, or far more likely, it was a trap.

Winged monsters and spirits circled the sky outside, patrolling the air, determined not to be lulled into a false sense of security by the divine promise. Monsters, human soldiers and automaton-like constructions rebuilt their fortifications, aimed their weapons at the horizon, and awaited Olympus' next assault.

Although the former Titan stronghold was a masterwork of fortification, the internal defenses were lackluster and Percy had no trouble slipping past checkpoints and avoiding patrolling monsters and soldiers.

His invincibility cap shielded him from prying eyes and the cameras that had been installed and although he did ran into several dead end hallways, navigating to the heart of Elysium proved to be far easier than locating anything else.

And so Percy made his move, determined to get something out of his visit to this hellish fortress.

He'd go to Hades again, Tartarus even. A shiver ran across his spine, yet he knew in his heart of hearts that his fate lay down there.

Percy scarcely knew what Nico was thinking, going back to that treacherous place, but silently and without really realizing it, Percy determined that he'd draw his own plan once the time came near.

If he could open the Doors of Death while he was at it then that would be a nice bonus, but first he wanted to find the puppet master. And for that, he needed more information.

The darkness cloaked halls of Elyseum swallowed his footsteps. He managed to slip past unnoticed, and it was through this that Percy managed to burrow his way into the heart of the complex.

Percy slightly pushed the heavy door open and slipped through the crack, before closing it, leaving no trace of his entrance.

Immediately he felt the atmosphere shift. A heavy damp air wafted through the place, carrying a nauseating hint of sweet decay.

Faint memories flooded Percy as he stepped into the room. He'd seen this place as a ruin, housing that terrible sarcophagus and witnessed history trying to claw itself back from the awful past and drag itself into the present. The place he had traveled to all the way across the states to find Annabeth, and now, this place once again, beckoned to him.

It made sense he'd come by here, now the world was ending and all that.

More stories than just his own had transpired here. It had left its scars on history, and most likely would continue to do so. Here the sky and earth met and started history, started the Titans who would bring forth the gods, who in turn would bring the end of history.

And now, after thousands and thousands of years, moving from Greece, to the Roman Empire, to England and to America, after everything this place has become a seedbed for rot.

An oozing black substance covered the walls like tumorous growths and tiny insects crawled across the floor.

Traces of what once must have been a breathtaking garden still shimmered through the bleak sanctuary. A decrepit rebar archway stood, its roses had withered and instead dried out branches with jagged thorns curled around the frame like skeletal fingers. In the back of the little courtyard was a cracked black marble fountain with a brown sludge instead of water. The trees had taken on a faded ashen colour and overripe fruit had fallen into the brown faded grass and started to fester.

The exterior was lined with what once must have been beautiful flower beds, but now were nothing but overgrown roots and flies buzzing around.

Black marble columns stood at regular intervals in the garden. Strange symbols had been inscribed into them, but they didn't support the roof, for there was none.

Instead of an obsidian marble dome Percy had a full glorious view of the sky.

Above clouds swirled together into a vortex that rested upon the shoulders of a Titan, the true centerpiece of this garden.

Percy's breath hitched. The sight of the sky was far more terrifying than the Titan could be. The immense weight of the world, he could feel the pressure by merely looking at it.

Atlas stood, motionless, like a statue. His grey coloured eyes stared into nothingness, a dull expression was on his face. He shouldered the burden of the sky, but he may as well have been a pedestal, if it wasn't for the occasional blink and the slight rising of his chest as he breathed.
Percy slowly approached the titan, his hand resting on his pocket with Riptide, just in case the titan made a wrong move.

"I know you're there." Atlas's faded eyes twitched slightly into Percy's direction. "Come to take a laugh at the old Titan?" Atlas huffed undignified. He shifted his shoulder slightly. "I don't care much. Soon, it will all come to an end anyway."

The Titan, like everything, also had seen better days. His skin had lost its rich tan and instead taken on a pale bony tone. It had been stretched thin across his body and although he still had his muscular physique, he didn't look healthy.
Percy swallowed and focused. The sky on Atlas' shoulders yearned for him, beckoned him to take its burden again. To be one with it.

Percy was quite certain that taking the sky wouldn't be pleasant.

"What do you know?" Percy asked. He removed the invisibility cap and walked in front of Atlas.

A macabre part of him begged to be put back underneath that mind numbing be released from all responsibilities save one.

Atlas shrugged. With a deep and heavy voice he answered, "It's the end, for all of us. I already told your friends and other mortals everything I know. You're not getting anything new out of me, I'm sorry."

"Shouldn't you be happy, of all people?" Percy kept calm, determined to get anything out of the former 'General'.

Atlas furrowed his brow, a small smile played on his cracked lips. "Even in her most cruel fits, the Earth Mother would not wish for everything to end. This is not one of her plans, if you think so."

Gaia? Percy had scarcely thought about her. Her essence had been scattered after Leo's death, so there was no way she was still involved, right?

Percy coughed. "What about Nyx?"

A light flickered in Atlas' eyes - a slight hint of fear ."The Primordial of the Night? What has that to do with anything?"

"The gods went to the depths of Tartarus to investigate something. After that they all declared war. Someone is pulling the strings, who else could it be but her?"

"Ha," Atlas' mouth curled up. The dry cracks on his lips splintered. "Haha!" A set of yellow teeth became visible as Atlas let out a roaring laughter.

Panicked, Percy turned around, making sure that no one outside the door was attracted to Atlas' laughter. The door remained closed.

"Stop laughing, I am dead serious." A celestial bronze blade manifested underneath Atlas' chin. It would take Percy but a twitch of his wrist to stab the Titan through the throat. It wouldn't kill him but it would pull him away from his burden.

"You think you can threaten my demigod?" Atlas roared, half laughing. "Have you gone mad? The only reason your miserable world still stands is because of me."

Percy tentatively pulled the blade away. "Just tell me, what's funny."

Atlas grinned, and for a second he looked completely unburdened. "You still have hope. You still think that your precious Olympians wouldn't ruthlessly decide to murder us all. Have you learned nothing from the stories? Have you not seen their cruelty when you met my daughters?"

"It has to be Nyx," Percy murmured, more to himself than to his conversation partner. "The Olympians went to Tartarus, that much is known. I confirmed this with several sources. They held a vote afterwards, something in the pit changed them."

"You think the Primordials have any care in the world for what's happening?" Atlas asked. "The gods threatened to unleash them, no?" Atlas shook his head. "It's a bluff. This is a theater show to them, a movie. Well, most of them."

"They'll die as well." Percy gritted his teeth. "Look around you, your stupid garden is rotting, you're not worshipped either and you already look way worse. You simply can't know what the Primordials are thinking."

"But I can guess," Atlas smiled, self assured.. "And from their perspective, nothing really matters. The Night doesn't need mortals to exist. Oceans won't disappear if we're all gone, in fact, maybe Hemera will have forgotten about us when the next spring rolls around."

"You're wrong. I met Tartarus and he threatened me personally, Gaia tried to bring herself alive and I've had dreams," Percy insisted. "I know that even the Primordials face extinction at the hands of Olympus and Nyx spoke to me."

Atlas didn't respond immediately. For the first time he seemed to be genuinely considering Percy's words, and for a moment Percy had hope.

"No, it doesn't make sense for Nyx to be involved at all." Atlas sighed, a pang of sympathy showing through his proud but also tired face. "Controlling others isn't one of Nyx's domains, or the thing she concerns herself with. Maybe if something rolls her way she might give it a push, but the Night is also lazy. Even when the world was young and fresh, she rarely bothered with trivial matters such as life. If she wanted the world destroyed, she would have done so herself. Same for any other Primordial. They are reactive forces that only act when invoked. Even our mother took thousands of years to just begin a plan. You're grasping at straws."

"Then how do you explain my dreams?" Percy asked.

Atlas shrugged again. "Nothing really makes sense anymore, does it?"

Percy didn't answer.

"He…hehe," Atlas chuckled again. "I can still hear some whispers from inside here, you know. The gods want you dead, and you're headed down into Tartarus. Maybe you're carrying a bigger burden than me after all."

An ear scraping hollow laughter escaped from Atlas. It was a rolling laugh, one that started, rises and falls but never fades. Atlas shook and heaved as the sincere joy tore him apart. It was like he had heard the funniest joke, a joke Percy didn't particularly like.

Percy finally was forced to accept that Atlas wouldn't be able to tell him anything new. In fact, all he did was dash his hopes. But there was still one thing, the dreams.

Reyna had accepted the current status as truth, and so had everyone else Percy knew. Leo died, Hestia despaired and Atlas thought it was the same old cruelty he was used to.

The only ones that really cared were him and Kampê. What a twisted world it had become.

Percy put on his invisibility cap with a heavy sigh and carefully opened the door to the courtyard and slipped between the crack again.

Swiftly, he closed it and turned around.

"Ah, Percy Jackson," an amused voice greeted him from the left. "You heroes really can't help but to sneak around."

Prometheus was leaning against the wall, wearing a smug expression on his scarred face.

Percy turned to face him and considered his best move, but the titan's eyes were fixed on his location and was able to sense him perfectly.

The corridor wasn't wide enough for Percy to comfortably fight in and he was with his back towards the rotting garden, so any fight against Prometheus would be at a heavy disadvantage.

The Titan didn't seem to be in a mood to fight either, something that put Percy far more on edge than if he'd been carrying around a big stick.

Like before the Titan was wearing a tuxedo, and as always looked ready to swindle a person with a cheap lie and an expensive promise. His eyes held the same cruel kindness he always had. Ready to please someone with a smile while looking for a weak spot to dig in the knife.

Even though he knew Prometheus wouldn't fight, Percy's instinct warned him.

Apparently Prometheus took his lack of answer as a sign of defiance because he said, "Please Percy Jackson, I thought we were over this. We are on the same side. You really think anyone can come this close to Atlas without tripping the alarm?"

"So you overheard the entire conversation?" Percy asked. He didn't quite reach for his sword, but he kept it in mind. The walls were pressing in here and by all accounts, he was trespassing.

Prometheus smiled gently. "I am here to help you, Percy Jackson. I convinced every single monster here not to kill you, send out Nico to look for you and even gave you and your monster friend warm food and a place to sleep. What else can I possibly do to convince you I am on your side?"

Percy rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what you're even doing here. Last time you were siding with Kronos."

"I think we both can agree this is on a different scale. Like your monster friend I too want Western civilization to exist, and for that reason we are on the same side." Prometheus raised his hands to show his innocence. "Really, you don't understand how much I already helped you. I swear on the Styx Percy Jackson, all I want is what I think is best for humanity."

A late and tired thunder lit up the sky in the distance. Despite everything, some promises still were worth something, though it wasn't much.

Despite the binding oath the feeling of strong distrust emanating from the Titan didn't waver.

"What do you want?" Percy asked. "Reyna said you and Nico have a plan, what's in it for you? Why not cower and wait out for the heroes to save the day."

If there was even a day left to be saved.

Prometheus smiled widened. "What I want is easy. I want to save the world, get in good grace with those who will inherit the Olympian's world order and then probably just laze off like I've always done. Is that too hard to imagine?"

Again there were no lies to be found in his words.

"Really you're being awfully rude to me. You became friends with Kampê, Khione and even other traitorous beings. I want what you want."

"You don't know what I want," Percy spat.

"Percy, I'd like to offer you a story." Prometheus said suddenly, shifting the tone of the conversation. "Atlas isn't a good source of information, you know with being trapped under the sky and all that. But I can tell you something."

"About Nyx?" As if the Night was listening in, the lights momentarily dimmed.

"Yes. It's a story most people have long forgotten, and those that know it," Prometheus clacked his tongue. "Well Zeus probably doesn't want people to spread it. But I keenly remember it, because it was the only time I've ever seen your uncle afraid."

Percy didn't like how he called Zeus his uncle.

"What happened?"

"It happened long ago," Prometheus tapped his watch. "A young hero, such as yourself, was driven mad by the Queen of the gods. However, Zeus wouldn't let Hera torment his favored son, so with no other options, Hera asked Hypnos to put Zeus to sleep."

Percy grimaced.

"Well, Hera did all of her dirty business while Zeus was sleeping. It was a bloody and messy time, the gods had little…well less, self restraint than they do now. Or used to, but when Zeus came to, he realized what happened."

"He wasn't happy?"

Prometheus chuckled. "The sky was enraged. Of course Zeus couldn't take it out on his wife, so he took it out on Hypnos and chased that poor god to the edge of the earth. Ultimately, Hypnos came back crawling to his mother."

"Nyx."

"Yes indeed, and when Zeus came face to face with the Primordial of the Night his anger ceased completely. You met her, but even you can't fathom her true divine form. It was enough to extinguish Zeus' desires." Prometheus tapped his chin. "I think you might be onto something with your theory, but I also want you to stick to the plan."

Prometheus' eyes narrowed and he pointed a finger at Percy. "Reyna explained the Endless Crusade to you, right? If you and Nico can't open the Doors of Death, everyone involved, including all your friends will die." A dark expression crossed Prometheus' face. "I hope loyalty is still your fatal flaw, because all our lives and the entire world depends on it."

"I'm going to see Nico now." Percy refused to answer.

Prometheus nodded. "Smart choice. Let me bring you to the vessel. It might be a good idea to leave as soon as possible. Who knows who might be tempted by the Olympian's offer. But remember Percy." Prometheus' big hands clasped his shoulder and forced him to stop in his tracks.

"Try avoiding the Empress of the Night while you're at it. If the Olympians want you dead, then who knows what she is up to."

A/N I really like this fanfic. It's one of my favorites, which is weird since I am the author, but it gives me so much freedom to explore different themes and writing pros. So yeah, I am really happy with it. Hope you, reader, is also entertained.

-CaptainMoonShine-