ᵐᵉⁿᵒᵈᵒʳᵃ ⁻ ᵗʰᵉ ʷᵒʳˡᵈ ᶜᵒˡˡᵃᵖˢᵉˢ
˚ ✦ . . ˚ . . ✦ ˚ . ★⋆.
ZOË HAD TOLD MENODORA A LOT about her father, and Zoë had made sure to mention he was a complete jerk. But "complete jerk" wasn't even close to what he was.
His sole presence made Menodora's finger tremble and glow with anger. She wanted to make Atlas pay for what he did to Zoë.
Atlas approached Thalia and Percy. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."
"Fight us," Percy said. "And let's see."
"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."
"So you're another coward," Percy said, taking the words straight out of Menodora's mouth.
Atlas' eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia.
"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."
"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. If Menodora didn't hate his guts so much for what he did to Percy, she almost would've felt sorry for him. "Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"
He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. Menodora could imagine Bessie in that pool. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she was sure she could hear Bessie mooing.
"Stop thinking about him!" Percy said. "Thinking about Bessie is going to summon him."
Menodora tried to make her head blank, which was a huge failure, but at least it wasn't filled with Bessie's mooing.
"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."
"Luke..." Thalia's voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"
Right then, Menodora could see herself in Thalia. And suddenly, she was back in Theos' room.
˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗
The room was gigantic, bigger than the accommodations the demigods lived in. Beautiful tapestries clothed the walls, and lively, green plants occupied every corner. For a son of Ra, his room was extremely dim. Menodora had noticed that the light in his room had been gradually losing its intensity, as if Theos' sun was burning out.
When Menodora walked into the room, she would never have seen Theos if it wasn't for her good night vision. He was mindlessly pacing around his room, touching the walls as he muttered to himself.
Menodora had been avoiding Theos ever since Cleopatra told her about his plan to overthrow Cleopatra. She was afraid that if she saw him, he wouldn't be the same. But, he had called for her, and it would be disrespectful and ungrateful if she ignored it.
When he saw her, a smile graced his lips and he hugged her tightly before giving her a soft kiss. "How are you, agapi?" He seemed the same like he was before, and Menodora had the feeling that the darkness wasn't just visual.
"Come." He took her hand and guided her to the side of his bed. "I've missed you."
"Why did you call me, Theos?" Menodora asked. She knew he didn't just call her to tell her he missed her. Well, he used to do that in the past. Menodora hoped he had called her to tell her Cleopatra was wrong. That Theos wasn't capable of doing something like that.
But he was. "I called you because I wanted to inform you about something. In a few days, I'm going to be the sole ruler of Kemet. There will be no Cleopatra."
"That will start a war," Menodora said. "Cleopatra is going to fight back. Are you willing to get thousands killed just for your own pride?"
Theos got up and looked down at her. "My own pride? I'm not doing this for me. I'm doing this for us! I don't need you to fight. You will remain by my side. I need you. I need you with me."
"Theos," Menodora said. "I don't... I can't do that with you. It's wrong."
"What Cleopatra and my mother made me go through was wrong! You don't... you don't understand! I can explain again! It's simple—"
"I understand very well, Theos," Menodora had muttered as she stood up, getting ready to leave. "But... it's still a bad idea."
Theos' eyes filled with anger, the same way they had when Menodora started hanging out with Cleopatra more.
"Say that again?"
"What?"
"Say it again! Tell me how my idea is bad!" Theos had closed the space between them and at that point, their ragged breathing had synchronized.
"I'm sorry! I—"
"Say it again!" He had yelled, pushing Menodora into a wall, knocking all the air out of her lungs.
Filled with anger and sadness, Menodora had pushed Theos off of her with so much force he fell onto the floor. "You're idea is bad! It's wrong! It's evil!"
Theos had regained his composure and breathed loudly. "Are you underestimating me?"
"No! I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with you! You're scaring me, Theos! You used to be so sweet! You told me you didn't care for the throne, all you wanted was to be with me. What happened to you?"
The anger in Theos' eyes had ceased and he dropped onto his bed, hiding his face in his palms. "I still want that. I still want to be with you. It's just... I was never good enough for mother, nor for Cleopatra. I need to show them my worth. The only person who I didn't need to be good enough for is you. I want to rule Kemet with you by my side, agapi. I want you to be my queen. If you join me, it can—It'll be just the two of us, and there will be no one who will dare to cross the line with us again. It's still me. I still love you, Dora, so much. Nothing can change that."
Menodora had shaken her head. "You're not the Theos I know. I don't recognize you anymore. You don't love me. Otherwise you wouldn't do this to me. You know where I stand! Cleopatra would—I can't betray the Pharaoh, Theos. You know that!"
"I knew it. You just used me to get closer to Cleopatra! You used me!"
Menodora shook her head as tears rolled down her cheek. "I didn't! Can't you see what I'm trying to do? I'm trying to save you from yourself, Theos!?"
"I don't need your saving!" Theos yelled. "I need you by my side! Why can't you understand that?"
"You're breaking my heart, Theos," Menodora said as she choked back a sob. "You're going down a path I can't follow. Do you think I want it to go this way?"
"Maybe it is you who doesn't love me. Do you love me, Dora? Tell me you love me. Because I love you. I'll kill whoever just for you! If you don't follow, I will kill you. I don't think I could stand watch you have a new life without me. We will be face to face and only one will survive. Unless you come with me. Please, agapi."
Menodora had backed away, towards the exit. From that angle, she had seen the tears that glistened on his cheeks. "I'm sorry. I really wish things could be different. Goodbye, Theos. We'll meet again someday."
"Dora, WAIT!"
˗ˏˋ 'ˎ˗
As if she woke up from a nightmare, the room melted back into the mountain summit and Thalia's and Luke's voice were returning.
"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!" Luke yelled.
Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."
"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree..."
His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."
Menodora didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. Menodora believed that Luke was in danger.
His life depended on Thalia joining his cause. And Menodora was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.
"Seriously, Thalia?" Menodora huffed. "First the manticore, and now this stupid idiot? Snap out of it!"
Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one Thalia had shown her at camp. A sacrificial flame.
"Thalia," Percy said. "No."
Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, Menodora saw images in the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around then, made of fear and shadow.
"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."
He pointed toward the ocean, and Menodora's heart dropped. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things Menodora couldn't even name.
The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more than Percy had described to Menodora. And they were marching toward them. In a few minutes, they would be here.
It reminded her of when she stood with Cleopatra and Julius Caesar's army, watching as Amun and Theos' army marched towards them. Menodora had been undeniably scared, yet determined to make every single enemy that dared stand in her way feel her wrath. And that was no different now.
"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."
For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Just like Menodora wanted to believe Theos when he said he loved her. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."
"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me... Don't make him destroy you."
There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, they would be overwhelmed.
Menodora looked at Thalia, Zoë, and Percy and she decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.
"Now," Percy said.
Together, they charged.
Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.
Everything was hazy as Menodora attacked whoever merely met her eyes. The monsters shifted from Kemetian soldiers and back. It overwhelmed her. It angered her. Emotions from thousands of years ago resurfaced. The happy ones, the less happy ones. Everything came at once, and she could feel the glowing surpass her arms.
Bianca died because of these people. Because of them Bianca would never smile at her again. She'd never make her jokes worth two francs again. Bianca would never be again.
There was a churning feeling in her stomach, urging her to summon them.
With a loud cry, she tugged at the feeling in her stomach, and she forcefully brought her weapon to the ground. The mountain rumbled so hard that Menodora should have lost her balance, but she felt light on her feet. As monsters and demigods fell to the ground, cracks appeared all over the place. As her hands went upwards, out of every crack, dozens of the undead climbed their way onto Earth.
Most of them wore ragged American army uniforms, and had a gun in hand. Most of them weren't even fully skeleton. Some still had flesh rotting. Others were fully skeleton and had other weapons which were much older. Menodora had summoned dead soldiers.
Menodora didn't have to give any instructions. They were connected with her, they thought as she thought, and they all had one feeling in common. Anger that could only be resolved through violence.
The whole resurrection of America's army had left the enemy confused.
"Who are you?" Luke asked as he turned to Menodora. "A child of Hades?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Menodora said as she leveled her scythe.
Percy yelled triumphantly as if they already won the fight as he charged for Atlas, reminding everyone that they were in the middle of battle.
Atlas laughed as Percy approached."Go on, then!"
"Percy!" Zoë said. "Beware!"
Menodora looked for someone to fight, but the zombie soldiers were doing a fine job. The best part, they just kept coming and they couldn't die unless Menodora ordered them to.
Menodora ran towards Annabeth. She unchained her and pulled out the gag from her mouth. "Hey, it's nice to see you again."
Annabeth's jaw dropped and she quickly shut it. "I—That was genius!"
"C'mon," Menodora said as she guided Annabeth towards Artemis.
"Percy!" Annabeth exclaimed. Menodora looked over her shoulder. Percy swung his sword, and Atlas knocked him aside with the shaft of his javelin. Percy flew through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.
"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoë's arrows. "Did you think, simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to me?"
The mention of Ares must've sent a jolt through Percy. He shook off hus daze and charged again.
"Don't move! I'm going to help him!" Menodora said.
The javelin's point slashed toward Percy like a scythe. He raised Riptide, planning to cut off his weapon at the shaft, but his arm couldn't raise the sword any further.
Menodora yelled out as she could see Atlas raising his javelin. "Percy!"
Percy tried to dodge, but the javelin caught him in the chest and sent him flying like a rag doll. Percy slammed into the ground. He was with Annabeth at the feet of Artemis, still straining with the weight of the sky.
It took way too much in her not to yell out Percy's name again, to make sure he was okay. Instead, she remained as calm as you could be while facing a titan. She turned to Atlas.
"Tell me," Menodora said as she leaned onto her scythe. She had enough confidence in her reflexes to counter Atlas if he'd attack. "What do you think would be a good name for my weapon? Apollo actually gifted this to me. He said I could name it to my will."
Atlas frowned in confusion. "Don't play games with me, child."
"Okay," Menodora said. "But I'm not. I'm dead serious. How about... Mustedir Al'arweh? Do you know what that means?"
"Stop that! Fight me, you coward!"
"Yes, yes," Menodora said as she distinctively got closer to Atlas. "Everything at its time. It actually means necromancer, caller of death, in Kemetian. I could name it Nekromantis. Maybe that's easier for you daft Greeks to understand."
"We Greeks aren't as daft as you Egyptians! And I don't care—"
Menodora accelerated and ran between Atlas' legs while he was busy telling her how little he cared and sliced his shin deeply. It was supposed to have unbalanced him, at least she should've fallen to his knees. But he didn't. He bellowed in pain, but he regained his posture instantly.
"You can't kill me, you fool!" Atlas laughed as his shin healed almost immediately.
"Okay, cool," Menodora said as she stood her ground, Nekromantis still leveled. "You might've foughten a million Greek demigods, but I'm positive you've never fought an Egyptian demigod. Otherwise you wouldn't stand here. We are afraid of nothing."
Atlas laughed manically as he leveled his javelin. "Show me how powerful you Egyptians are then!"
Menodora didn't know where she got the strength from nor how Nekromantis hadn't cracked in two, but when Atlas violently brought his javelin to her, Nekromantis' black, wooden stick countered Atlas' attack.
The collision made the ground tremble. Electric sparks jumped out of their meeting point, and there was a bright light that coated Nekromantis.
With a loud cry, Menodora pushed the javelin away and immediately leaped onto Atlas. Gravity wasn't holding her back—it was aiding her. She jumped higher and faster than she expected to, but she had no time to think about that.
Menodora had no clue how long they had been fighting, but she didn't see a close end to it. Atlas attacked. Menodora countered and attacked. Atlas blocked her move and laughed maniacally. It was continuous, and with every repetition, the collisions became more violent.
It was all going so fast that everything around Menodota became a blur of light and darkness.
Menodora rolled away and caught her breath as she studied Atlas. He didn't show any signs of fatigue. He could go on like this forever. Menodora couldn't. The moon didn't shine eternally.
The battle around her was hectic. But what bothered Menodora the most was that Percy was holding the sky. Alone. Artemis was nowhere to be seen.
Nice name Nekromantis is, by the way, a voice in Menodora's head said. You can ask Nekromantis to change in whatever weapon you please. A little gift from your mother. Try it.
"Apollo! Thank you, thank you, thank you, mom," Menodora whispered before politely asking Nekromantis in her head to turn into two long swords. And surprisingly, it did. Nekromantis broke into two long swords, still coated in moonlight.
"Your weapon protects you with multiple blessings," Atlas said, and Menodora could sense the annoyance in his voice. "How I'll enjoy destroying Osiris' favourite play-toy!"
"Stop talking so much!" Menodora said as she attacked Atlas. He anticipated her move, which was just what she wanted.
She thought her little plan would work. As Atlas jabbed where Menodora had stood half a second ago, Menodora was about to plant her sword in his thigh.
But Atlas was quick. He blocked her attack and harshly threw her into the black marble wall. She hit her head hard, and if it wasn't for the adrenaline that steered her through battle, she would've curled into a ball and cried.
Instead, she crossed her two swords and used them as a shield to stop Atlas from housing his javelin in her chest.
Menodora asked Nekromantis to change into an actual shield and spear. The sudden change took Atlas by surprise for a second. Menodora used the opportunity to roll away from under his javelin.
"You're not bad," Atlas laughed as stretched his arms. "You fight well for a mortal girl."
"And you fight pathetically for an immortal man," Menodora grumbled as she got ready to attack.
Then suddenly, Menodora started to tremble. It got so bad, Nekromantis transformed back into a scarab and dropped to the floor. A million voices echoed through her head again. Voices she didn't even recognize had found their way to her mind. It was even worse than at the ski town. She started to hyperventilate as panic struck her. Now Atlas could comfortably squash her like a bug.
Not now! Menodora thought as she covered her ears and dropped to her knees.
Atlas laughed again. "Even the Greek gods are against you. How about this sweet offer? I'll give you the privilege of joining us, or you succumb to your curse. If you join us, I can rid you of it. We can use forces like yours. If you join us, I will give you Luke's place. Between us, he's weak, too blinded by his hatred for his father to think clearly. And look at you, you have stood more than a few seconds against a Titan!"
Accept it, an unrecognizable voice said in her head, and Menodora felt the urge to say yes.
"Don't listen to him!" Percy yelled with all his strength, his voice was distant. "He's lying!"
The dead soldiers whispered eerily in her head all at once, making it impossible to decipher their words, and she swore she could hear her mind crack.
Control yourself, Zoë's voice boomed, louder than all the other voices.
All she felt was angry and scared. She tried to think of something that couldn't fail to bring a smile to her face.
She thought of Bianca, but every memory turned into her dead corpse she had seen in the prophecy. She tried to think of Zoë and all the time they spent together in the woods at night with Artemis. Menodora remembered how they fought side by side during the civil war. Menodora remembered Percy and how good of a friend he had become. Menodora remembered Aphrodite. She had talked like Menodora had an entire life ahead of her. And it would be with Percy.
And of all things, that anchored her. She was going to live. Live long enough to be with Percy, and that meant the curse wasn't going to kill her. Maybe her prophecy could be changed.
Either she was going to succumb to the madness, or she was going to fight with every sane cell left in her.
Well, you can guess for yourself what option she chose.
Not a single mortal could defeat Atlas. Not even Menodora's zombie soldiers. She had to find Artemis.
"You give up, Kemetian?" Atlas laughed. "The fun was only just beginning!" Menodora ignored him as he disappeared in the sea of monsters and mortals. She ran towards Percy.
"Percy!" Menodora yelled.
A lock of Percy's hair had turned gray, contrasting with his black hair. That's how Annabeth must've lost the blonde color of her hair—because of the Titan's curse.
Reading her mind, two well-built zombies marched up to Percy and pushed him away from under the sky, and he rolled limply. A zombie had no business having that much strength, but Menodora was eternally grateful they had. The two zombies barely held up the sky. Rocks crumbled as the sky got dangerously close to Earth. They weren't going to hold long.
"No," Percy said weakly. "I was... I was okay. Don't—don't do it. Please, Menodora."
After the junkyard, Menodora couldn't afford for Percy to get hurt again. Definitely not because of her. Menodora didn't want to see Percy suffer. He was too kind for that, too optimistic. It would just be wrong.
"Where's Arte—AGH!"
Percy had kicked Menodora away from the zombies holding up the sky. "I'm not letting you do that! You'll kill yourself! Let me do it! Tell your zombies to go!"
"No." Artemis shimmered into existence, sweat still beading on her forehead like quicksilver. But she looked better than she did before. "You don't know what you're asking, Percy. You could barely hold the first time. It will crush you!"
"Annabeth held it longer than that," Percy said as Menodota walked up to him, Nekromantis ready to attack him if he tried to push her away again.
"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You do too, brave soldier. But you will not last long either. Your fight with Atlas has tired you out."
"I'll die anyway," Menodora said, thinking about the Dionysus' curse. "Go fight Atlas! You're the only one who can do it!"
Menodora didn't wait for her answer.
Menodora groaned as she pushed the two zombies away. Percy yelled out her name, but it was too late. The sky crumbled, and Menodora caught it.
It was the heaviest thing she'd ever felt, as if she were being crushed under a thousand trucks. Menodora wanted to black out from the pain, but she breathed deeply. She could do this.
Menodora could hear Artemis say something to Percy before running towards Atlas. As Menodora felt her body on fire, her mind went quiet. There was nothing absolutely nothing.
Well done, Kemetian, Mr. D's voice echoed through her mind. I cursed you with the worst type of madness, losing yourself in yourself.
Menodora groaned, annoyed. This was not the time she needed Mr. D to talk to her.
Would you like to know why? I'm sure you do. He said before she could answer. It's because I have high expectations of you. I expect greatness, glory and victory from you. Make Olympus proud, Menodora Delune.
When Mr. D left her head, she felt reborn. She felt whole again. She recognized herself. She knew who she was, and how she was who she was, and why she was how she was who she was.
As the sky was crushing Menodora Delune, the little Kemetian soldier remembered everything.
She had no time to focus on it though, because the sky was, like, super heavy, and there was no point in remembering if she'd get crushed by clouds.
She could see Percy trying to reach her as the two zombie soldiers were pushing him away from Menodora. How greatful she was for their ability to think what she thought.
"I swear, if you get any closer, Percy," Menodora yelled from the pain, "I'm dropping the sky! I'm—fine!"
Menodora wasn't fine. She tried many times to explain how she wasn't fine, but she couldn't.
Every muscle in her body turned to fire. Her bones felt like they were melting. She wanted to scream, but she didn't want to show weakness. Otherwise Percy would have an excuse to help her out. Menodora began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky's weight crushing her.
Don't fight it, daughter, A soft voice said in her head, a voice she had never heard before. Become one with it. You are one with the sky just like the moon is.
Menodora concentrated on the moon. It was nighttime, and the moon shone down on her. She tried to feel the moonshine absorb her, and the burden became a tiny bit easier. She regained composure and lifted the sky half an inch. If she could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds.
Menodora thought about Bianca, who had given her life so they could get here. The thought of Bianca dead made the sky a million times heavier. What was the point of saving the world if Bianca wasn't there to enjoy it?
Menodora cried out as she fought the thought. Bianca died so that they could get here. Menodora wasn't going to let that be in vain.
The more she focused on the moonlight, the stronger she felt. Both physically and mentally. For a fraction of a second, she glanced down at her body. She was glowing. Not only her fingers—everything.
"You're... you're emitting moonlight..." Annabeth managed to say. "You are the moonlight! It's giving you strength! You can do this!"
Her vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with white light. Menodora caught glimpses of the battle, but she wasn't sure if she was seeing clearly. The light she emitted was too bright and she wasn't used to it.
There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or perhaps that was just Menodora's fevered brain.
Zoë shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark, but they affected him like bee stings. He just got madder and kept fighting.
Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning flashing around them. Thalia pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated, wincing and growling in frustration.
"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."
Luke bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."
Sweat poured down Menodora's face. The sky became lighter and lighter as the tingling feeling intensified. She was afraid she'd become a ball of light and fly away with the sky if it continued like that.
Gradually, she had managed to get onto her feet, but her knees were still buckling. She couldn't keep this up forever.
Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward Menodora.
Get ready, she spoke in Menodora's mind.
The glow around her body was slowly losing its intensity. Menodora was losing the ability to think through the pain. Her response was something like Agggghh-owwwwwwww.
"You fight well for a girl as well. Did you teach the Kemetian how to fight?" Atlas laughed. "Nonetheless, you are no match for me."
He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. Menodora saw the trick coming. Atlas' javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.
"No!" Zoë screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.
Menodora wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but she couldn't speak or move anymore. The sky was becoming heavy again, and Menodora fell to her knees. She couldn't even see where Zoë had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.
"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.
As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her. Menodora saw him coming down on top of her and she realized what would happen.
She loosened her grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into Menodora, she didn't try to hold on. She let herself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all she was worth.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas' back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.
"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"
Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
Menodora tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. Her body felt like it was burning up.
Zoë. Just the name gave Menodora enough strength to get up.
Zoë still hadn't come back, and Menodora had trouble sensing her life force. There were too many deaths, lives, and lives that were supposed to be deaths around her.
"Zoë!" Menodora yelled as she trudged through the mayhem of zombies, monsters and demigods. She slashed anyone who stood in her way. Foe or friend, she didn't care.
She stumbled down the mountain, too distressed to Moontravel. She could sense Zoë, she could sense her wounds, and she could sense her fading lifeline.
Sure enough, there she laid. Zoë's crippled body rested on the soft grass, her faltering eyes staring up at the skydome. "No, no, no, no," Menodora rumbled frantically as she ran toward her friend. "No! Zoë! Hang on!"
She dropped onto her knees, trying to find the most critical wound. There were wounds everywhere; on her back, stomach, head, arms, everywhere. But the nastiest one was the one on her side, the side where Ladon had bitten her. "Zoë. Oh, Zoë. I'm here, it's okay. It's okay."
"Zoë." Artemis got down on her knees next to Menodora and pulled Zoë into her arms.
"Save her!" Menodora pleaded as her tears blurred her vision. "Please! I can't lose her. Not again."
Zoë groaned in pain and Artemis hushed her soothingly. "I'm here, my Zoë. We are right here."
"Is she alright?" Percy, Annabeth and Thalia ran towards the three girls. Thalia and Annabeth's faces were almost as grief-stricken as Artemis'.
"It's poisoned," Artemis said.
"Atlas?" Percy asked.
Menodora blocked out the conversation and focused on Zoë. She stroked her cheek, whispering prayers to Osiris.
Please, please, please, don't take her away from me. I'll do anything.
"The stars," Zoë murmured. "I cannot see them."
"We need aloe vera and Sekhemtic Sand!" Menodora ordered as she put pressure to Zoë's side. She had done this exercise a million times in Ra's Army, and she thought she would be pretty prepared. Yet, she wasn't. She felt like she was doing this for the first time again. No one had prepared her to do it on her best friend.
"We only have nectar and ambrosia," Artemis sighed. "Sekhmetic Sand would've been more effective, but nectar and ambrosia will do."
"Come on!" Menodora yelled as everyone just stared at Zoë. "Staring won't heal her! We have to get her the nectar and ambrosia. HURRY!"
No one moved. Grief hung in the air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Menodora's zombies were outnumbered. She was too far, and too unwilling to summon more. All her energy was lost in the sky.
Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. They might've met their doom right there, and honestly, Menodora didn't care.
She didn't care if the world would come to an end because of that stupid army. She didn't care for anything but Zoë. If the world ended right then, Menodora wouldn't even be bothered to notice, her own world was falling apart right in front of her.
Zoë, her bestfriend, the girl who had never willingly left her side, was dying because Menodora had left her.
Then she heard a strange buzzing noise.
Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.
"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.
"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.
"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.
This shook Artemis out of her grief, but Menodora was still fixated on Zoë. Artemis stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe.
"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come. We must get Zoë away from here."
She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoë's eyes were fluttering.
"You're strong, Zoë" Menodora told her. "It'll be all right. You're going to be alright."
The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed.
The zombie soldiers jumped onto the roof of the biplane and some hung at the bottom, shooting at the monsters. One even helped Dr. Chase manage the plane.
The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder.
"That's... my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement.
They didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.
Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer Menodora had ever seen. It landed right next to them.
"Get in," Artemis said.
Annabeth helped Percy get Thalia on board. Artemis helped Menodora get Zoë on board. They wrapped Zoë in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.
Menodora laid Zoë's head on her lap as she kept on praying to every god she knew. Osiris, Selene, Ra, Ares, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Isis, Horus, Hermes and all of those other cabins back at Camp Half-Blood. She even prayed to Artemis, who's face grew sadder everytime Menodora mentioned her name in the prayer. But she prayed the hardest to Apollo. She couldn't tell you why, but that just felt like the right thing to do. He was the god of medecine, after all.
"Like Santa Claus' sleigh," Percy murmured.
Artemis took time to look back at Percy. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?"
Seeing them safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed them like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.
Behind them, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.
a/n
I dont do author notes anymore, but i just made this one to credit _queenyqueen_ on tiktok for giving me the amazing idea that made this already-so-exciting-to-write chapter to be even more fun to write, and for being so supportive since the very start.
and uh, we're almost at the end of titans curse? That was hella fast