AN: The titan's curse arc has gone on far too long in this story, and with all the cut scenes and what not, I feel like everyone has just forgotten the titan's curse arc. I'm sorry, this will be the second last chapter of the titan's curse.
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Perseus meets his match
Ascension of the Fallen: Chapter 17
Thalia let out a deep breath, attempting to steady herself despite her tingling senses.
Before her stood the infamous former home of the titans.
Mount Orthys.
Thousands of feet tall, it towered above them menacingly, casting an ominous, dark presence over the group. Although there was no one besides them, she could feel multiple eyes upon them. The daughter of Zeus touched her necklace, sending a prayer to her patron.
Almost immediately, she felt the calming presence of Perseus wash over her, instilling a new confidence in her.
She studied the group. Annabeth's eyes were wide with fear, and Thalia pulled the ten-year-old closer, hugging her.
Zoe's eyes were almost unreadable, but Thalia could see a hint of fear through them, even if Zoe herself would never admit it. Her body language was tense, and she fidgeted slightly in place, something that the daughter of Zeus had never seen from the ancient huntress before.
Celyn and Phoebe each gave her a hug. Thalia moved forward to the daughter of Atlas, feeling a strange sense of confidence to do so.
Even though the two girls had never been close, Thalia gave her a hug, knowing the origins of the former Hesperide. She accepted the hug, and Thalia felt the confidence of Perseus flow from Thalia to her.
Zoe straightened herself in response, no longer nervous. Her face changed into a mask of determination. Nothing would stop her, not even her death on this very mountain. The huntress nodded her head.
"Let's go."
They continued their final trek up the mountainside, steep though it was.
Thalia took a deep breath, pulling herself over the hilltop. She felt her breath hitch as she gasped in shock at the beauty of the garden.
Just about every species of plant, both mythical and mortal resided happily within the garden. The Garden of the Hesperides was filled to the brim with flowers, shrubs, and trees that molded perfectly to each other to create a perfect portrait of serenity. Countless flowerbeds littered the vast expanse and hundreds of streams weaved in and out of the groves of trees that were spread throughout the famed garden.
Suddenly, a thick fog covered the entirety of the garden,
The moment the group of girls reached the base of the hill, they were greeted by four women. Gorgeously beautiful, they could each pass easily for Zoe. Caramel skin and glassy black eyes with dark black hair that tumbled loose around their shoulders, they were gorgeously beautiful that even Thalia became a little jealous.
"Sisters," Zoe greeted coldly.
"We see no sister. Only half bloods, hunters, and a backstabbing traitor," one of them hissed right back.
"Very well Arethusa. Let us pass and we shall not harm you," the lieutenant of the hunters replied, not showing any emotion.
"Ladon protects the apples," another of them replied.
"We seek father on a quest for the gods. Let us pass."
"You shall not get past Ladon," the four hissed together, retreating into the thick mist.
The magical mist cleared, as hundred-headed dragon was revealed.
It was a monstrous, behemoth of a thing. He was terrifying and enormous, with one hundred heads that looked like hundreds of pythons fused together. His bright scales glistened like copper, and his acidic breath could be smelled even from here, making their skin crawl with unseen maggots and their eyes burn.
"I will distract Ladon."
All heads turned to the brave daughter of Atlas, who stood, unwavering under the accusatory stares thrown her way.
"No way!" Phoebe exclaimed incredulously, "I am not leaving one of my best friends for millennia to die."
The ancient huntress shook her head, "Ladon will surely remember me."
"I have an idea," Thalia spoke up, making all eyes turn to her, questioning.
"Perseus blessed me; maybe I can try to shadow travel us to the other side?" Thalia suggested, while the others shook their heads.
Annabeth spoke up, "Maybe she can shadow travel us over there," pointing at the halfway point, "and then we can give Ladon a wide berth and get to the other side."
The others seemed to agree with her idea, and the group moved towards one of the shadows of a tree, gathering around Thalia.
She took a deep breath, touching her necklace as she felt some of the power of Perseus flow into her.
Her eyes glowed golden, and she commanded the shadows to envelop her and the rest of the group. At first, the shadows resisted with all their might as she tried to pull them towards her, but upon feeling the presence of their Lord, Thalia only felt a slight, painful wrench in the gut as they flew towards the group.
After just a few moments of traveling through the nauseating shadow realm, they were deposited on the ground. Despite their dizzying stomachs and heads, they all leapt back from Ladon's bites, taking refuge under a tree.
Thalia recovered slightly faster than the rest of the group although she still had somewhat of a headache. The rest of the group was busy heaving their lunch into the ground.
After a few minutes, all recovered, and they moved cautiously around Ladon to reach the end of the garden.
With quick, swift steps, Thalia began to make her way uphill, the rest of the girls following behind her.
The group walked in silence as Thalia observed the unsteady rocks, contemplating her immediate future.
"LADY ARTEMIS!"
The goddess of hunt was more than beaten up. Her silver hunters' garments were cut and torn everywhere, and her body was layered in sweat and grime. Her face twisted in pain constantly as she was on her knees, holding the greatest weight in the world on her shoulders.
The weight of the sky himself.
The three ancient huntresses ran towards the goddess to try to free her in an Oscar-worthy act, while Thalia and Annabeth remained alert.
"Well, well, well. My traitorous daughter and a couple of demigod friends." A deep voice boomed, so deep in fact, that it seemed like the earth itself was talking, and the ground vibrated under their feet.
Standing off to the right of the struggling Artemis was the former bearer of the sky.
Atlas. The Titan of Strength and Endurance.
He stood at a gargantuan six foot five, and his very presence demanded respect and fear. His hulking, muscular frame was clad in a set of ancient Greek armor, as a heavy javelin rested in his right hand, with a large, intricate shield slung across his shoulders.
The Titan himself looked like a living statue, with dark slicked-back hair and intimidating, grey eyes that seemed to pierce right through you like stone. He had light caramel skin and hands that could snap a flagpole in half.
A cold, regal expression settled itself over Atlas' face as he examined the group.
Shivers ran up Thalia's spine, tingling her nerves as she instinctively took a few steps backwards. The manticore, Dr. Thorn, had been intimidating, but before Atlas, Thorn looked like a buffoon.
He smashed his javelin into the ground with a massive display of strength, causing the ground to shake like the earthshaker himself.
All of them fell to the ground as the titan of strength laughed maniacally, as if it were all a joke to him. Which it probably was.
"PATHETIC!" he bellowed to the heavens.
"LUKE! GET YOUR ARSE OVER HERE!"
The daughter of Zeus began to growl slightly as the traitorous son of Hermes entered the scene. Before he could even open his mouth to preach how the titans would usher in a new age, she rushed forward, spear in hand to pounce on him.
Atlas frowned, as Zoe barreled into him from behind him, her twin hunting knives out for blood.
She attacked viciously, but the titan backhanded her in anger, sending her flying into the ground. The titan of strength growled, stalking towards the other two huntresses.
Meanwhile, Thalia and Annabeth were battling Luke together, their moves syncing perfectly as the son of Hermes was on the backfoot. He backpedaled frantically, swinging his sword to parry everything they threw at him.
Despite having Luke on the backfoot, Thalia and Annabeth could not get past his admittedly excellent defense, until Luke tripped over a rock that Thalia swore hadn't been there before.
He fell, and rolled away from Thalia's spear, but was impaled in the thigh by Annabeth. The daughter of Zeus slammed the blunt end of her spear into his head, as the dazed Luke got up, swinging for Annabeth's head.
The ten-year-old ducked quickly, but not quick enough for Luke to throw a haymaker at her head.
Her head snapped back as her body tumbled over, falling onto the ground.
"ANNABETH!" Thalia screamed, electrocuting Luke.
"Luke, you've changed for the worse. You aren't yourself anymore. You've... you've turned into a monster."
With that, any lingering sympathy for the son of Hermes was extinguished like a flame, and Thalia charged towards the man.
She swung her spear, jabbing everywhere, but the expert swordsman always had his angles covered. They linked weapons, and the daughter of Zeus sent electricity across the link, electrocuting the son of Hermes again.
He inadvertently dropped his sword, and Thalia banged his head with her shield three times before kicking the son of Hermes.
He skid to the edge of the mountain cliff, and Thalia let loose one final bolt of lightning to end it.
He fell off the side of the cliff, crashing into the rocks below.
Thalia took one last look before turning to the battle Zoe waged on her father.
The titan flew far too easily; Zoe easily outmatched him in every aspect, strangely enough. With the other two huntresses came to help her, peppering the chinks of the armor with arrows.
He swung his javelin wildly, missing dramatically as Zoe kicked him in the groin.
But the titan did not double over in pain; instead, he flew backwards as if she had leveled him with a massive hammer.
Atlas fell backwards, and the imprisoned goddess was pushed out from the sky.
However, "Atlas" dissolved, turning into a singular pole of metal.
The goddess appeared confused, as booming shook the mountain. Everyone fell to their knees as a powerful titanic presence washed over them.
Atlas appeared in the clearing. The real Atlas.
And he was much, much more intimidating.
Zoe, Celyn, and Phoebe simultaneously sent arrows into the goddess's back as Artemis turned around in shock.
"Zoe. Celyn. Phoebe. Why?" the tired and frustrated goddess cried out, defending herself.
"We will never forgive you for the death of Perseus," the three sneered together, launching towards the goddess.
Far away Atlas stood, watching the fight with a stony face.
Perseus smiled as he gave a boost of confidence to Zoe.
The god stiffened as he felt an ominous, primordial presence wash over him, before grinning.
He bent the shadows to his will, restoring his dark black and gold armor to his body. A screaming face plate flew onto his face, as the god waited for the primordial to arrive.
Dark, ominous clouds rolled in from the skies, and Perseus resisted the will to roll his eyes.
A lightning strike hit the ground, and out stepped Ouranos himself.
Heavily muscled, he was around Perseus' height of six foot four, and he wore a chiton over his intricate, blue and gold armor. His very presence commanded that all immortals bow, but Perseus did not. His lightning blue eyes turned upon Perseus' black ones, and the god met the primordial's eyes with an unwavering confidence.
Perseus spoke coldly, "You have been influencing Zeus from behind the scenes to prevent my Ascension. You, the faded primordial of the skies, want to rule once again. Your primordials are rising, and not all agree with the side you choose. This I know. And so, you have come to challenge me."
Ouranos only shrugged at Perseus' accurate description of his actions, "And how did you come to this conclusion?"
The god of darkness rolled his eyes, "You are an imbecile."
With lightning swiftness, he darted forward, locking blades with the Sky himself.
Thunderbolts reigned down from the sky, shattering the earth as they fought.
Perseus froze the primordial with his powers and the staff of Aesea, but the primordial broke free in no time, launching himself at the surprised god. The god sent dark daggers toward the primordial, who deflected all of them.
Ouranos took a step backwards, summoning his full power, and Perseus did the same. Blades of darkness fell from the dark clouds, and bolts of power fell from the skies. These two were so many in number that they broke through the earth and plunged through the seas, reaching even the depths of the domains of Hades. Olympus and Orthys even felt the power, trembling at the strife as the earth groaned under the grappling powers. The sky was stricken with rolls of silent dark blades and deafening thunder, cleft by lightning as the very winds themselves were set aflame, carrying the ruinous fire far away to the ends of the globe. Up in the skies, Zeus, pale white, gripped his throne in fear as beads of sweat formed on his forehead. In the sea, Poseidon could feel the great powers being exerted, staying on the edge of his throne. Down in the underworld, Hades shook with trepidation upon his infernal throne, feeling the power that his brother waged upon the earth.
Ouranos finished his display of power, clearing the skies. He was surprised to see Perseus utterly unaffected.
The god grinned savagely at the primordial, "Come at me."
Ouranos roared, blasting lightning at the dark god, who summoned a golden shield. The metal creaked and groaned after several seconds, finally giving way to the blast as Perseus used his time powers to move out of the way.
He dashed abnormally fast to Ouranos' eye, reaching Ouranos and trying to slice his head straight off. The primordial sky god leapt backwards, heaving a massive blast of lightning at the god.
Perseus' eyes widened as he took the hit to the chest, slamming against the dirt of the ground. He groaned, rolling away just in the nick of time as Ouranos continued to press him.
He snapped his fingers to freeze Ouranos, but he broke free each time.
The god roared in anger, exerting more influence and power over the move, and Ouranos stayed frozen. Perseus tried to decapitate the primordial, but he slipped away from his control of time again, electrocuting the god.
Perseus took a wounding slice to the leg, as he returned a powerful haymaker that Ouranos caught, stopping it dead in his hand.
Spikes of earth from the ground rose, impaling Ouranos as the primordial stumbled backwards in shock.
Perseus used his powers to uproot a thousand-foot-tall mountain from the ground, shaking the earth as he heaved it towards the primordial.
Ouranos stood still, splitting the mountain in half with his powers. The primordial god blasted lightning again at the former king of Olympus, wearing him out.
Perseus grunted with exertion as he summoned layers of darkness to wrap around yet another shield.
He tried to freeze time again, but Ouranos kept on breaking out of his bonds.
The god of time leapt hundreds of feet into the air, as Ouranos did the same.
They landed on a mountain, as Perseus abused his earth powers to keep Ouranos light on his feet.
Earthen spikes and walls would pop up from nowhere, and the primordial would have to improvise on the spot every time. Unfortunately for Perseus, he was quite good at this.
The pesky primordial just would not die.
Ouranos kicked Perseus away, creating distance between himself and the god.
With an angry roar, he brought out his symbol of power once again. He pulled on his reserves, feeling them begin to drain, but doing it regardless. With an unprecedented amount of power, he made the largest bolt of lightning, never seen before in the mythological world.
He launched it at the eldest god. Perseus tugged on the strings of time, commanding them to bow to him, but the bolt just broke free of it.
He quickly erected an earthen barrier, summoned a shield of darkness, and layered his skin thickly with shadows as the massive behemoth bolt of power barreled straight at him.
So powerful it was that it tore straight through all three barriers, scorching his skin as it sent him flying off the mountain.
His dark black eyes closed as his body flew away, crashing into the world below.
AN: That's it. Let me know how you liked it! Read, comment, review, favorite, follow, whatever.
'Til next time!
-thann3