Ch. 11
They only stopped a few times on the drive from New Mexico to California. To use the bathroom, change drivers and to eat. Otherwise, they just drove, trying to put New Mexico and the junkyard of Hephaestus behind them. It took them almost a full day but as the sun began to rise, the city of San Fransisco appeared ahead of them.
They stopped inside the city and found a YMCA where they were able to shower and change their clothes, something they all were in dire need of after being on the move non-stop for nearly four days.
As they gathered around the pick up truck waiting for Phoebe, the mood was tense. They all knew they were close to the end of their journey but none had any idea what lay ahead.
"So," Thalia began. "Anyone have the prophecy figured out yet?"
"Well," Annabeth said, a look of sadness covering her face, "the one lost in the land without rain..." She didn't need to finish. Thalia realized how foolish her question had been, that was quite obvious.
"The hero, traitor and a fealty revealed," Zoe continued. "The traitor might be Hades, or that could be the fealty. Or maybe one refers to his kids and the other to him."
"Wait, a fealty?" Thalia asked. "I forgot that one. What's a fealty?"
"Loyalty," Annabeth said like it should be obvious. "It means allegiance."
"Yes," Zoe continued. "Like an allegiance to the Titans, meaning Hades. That is going to be a blow to the gods. They had probably assumed he'd just stay out of it. But one of the Big Three joining Kronos is bad."
"It seems like it fits the prophecy." Annabeth agreed. "Though I'm not sure who the hero they're referring to is."
"And we still don't know what secret was concealed." Thalia added, eyeing Zoe had averted her eyes to avoid Thalia's questioning gaze. Before Thalia could press her about it, Phoebe came walking from up the street. She held three bags of McDonalds in her hands, which immediately ended the discussion about the prophecy.
They devoured the fast food in minutes, their diet of gas station sandwiches and bottled water over the past couple days had left them desperate for something more substantial, even if McDonalds only loosely qualified.
As they nibbled the last of their fries, they all knew what was next.
"How far to Mount Othrys?" Annabeth finally asked, tired of watching everyone stall and try to put off the inevitable.
"Maybe a couple hours," Zoe said hesitantly. "We can drive most of the way but we'll need to go by foot to get to the mountain."
Thalia crumpled up one of the brown bags and tossed it into the bed of the truck, "Well, putting it off isn't going to change the fact we're probably all about to die. Let's just do it."
No one argued with her. They got into the truck, Phoebe and Zoe up front with Thalia and Annabeth in the back.
With the traffic, it was nearly four hours to get to the mountain, even with Zoe's insanely suicidal driving. The continued on an overgrown road for a while when the way became impassable, forcing them to ditch the truck and continue on foot. The sun was beginning its decent and Zoe was moving fast, urging them to keep up.
"Why are we hurrying?" Thalia complained.
"We can only enter in the hour of dusk," Phoebe answered.
"Enter where?" Annabeth asked trying to keep sight of Zoe who was becoming harder to see as the mist thickened in front of them.
"Here," Zoe replied as she stopped a few feet ahead of them. As they caught up with her, Thalia felt her breath catch.
The fog and mist cleared and before them lay a lush meadow of shadows and flowers. The entire area was gorgeous but their eyes were immediately drawn to the massive tree that stood near the back of the meadow. It had to be five stories tall, every branch was littered with glistening golden apples. They all stared, forcing themselves to ignore the pull of the divine fruit. The fragrance of the apples was so intoxicating, it beckoned them forward. They knew a single bite would be the most delicious thing they would ever taste.
"The apples of immortality," Annabeth said in wonder. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."
Coiled around the trunk of the enormous tree was a monster more terrifying than could be imagined. The hundred heads of Ladon, the guardian of the tree, were still, sleeping as he rested at his post.
The shadows in front of the group began to shift and move. Four figures shimmered into existence in front of them and Thalia noticed the way Zoe tensed at their arrival.
Four women in Greek chitons solidified in their path. They all had caramel colored skin, silky smooth long black hair and beautiful dark eyes. Their expressions were not friendly.
Thalia couldn't help but think they looked familiar, though she couldn't quite place why.
"Sisters," Zoe said coldly.
Thalia's eyes widened. Well, now she knew why they looked familiar. They looked a lot like Zoe; their skin, their faces, even their stern, disapproving expressions were spitting images of the huntress.
"We do not see any sister," one hissed back at her. "We see two half bloods and two hunters. All of whom shall soon be dead."
Phoebe pulled her bow from her back and then brought out an arrow, staring down at the four guardians of the garden.
"Is that a promise?" She challenged. "Because I simply love a to prove people wrong." She didn't draw back the string but she didn't need to. The four hesperides shuffled a bit, a noticeable tremor of fear running through them.
"We did not come here to fight. Step aside and let us pass. You have no right to deny passage to Mount Othrys." Zoe's words were confident and firm, though they did not seem to sway the four immortals in front of them.
"You wish your death to come at father's hand then?" One of the sisters asked with a mocking tone to the question.
Thalia was looking back and forth between the Hesperides and Zoe, trying to piece together what they were talking about.
"Step aside or be moved aside," Phoebe growled, drawing back her arrow and taking aim at the last one to speak.
"You'll never get to the mountain! Ladon will stop you!" She hissed, trying to glare at Zoe while also keeping an eye on Phoebe's arrow.
"He will not." Zoe said confidently. "Now move aside." Before they could respond, Zoe cupped her hands to her mouth, "Ladon! Wake!"
The Hesperides stared at her in shock.
"You fool!" One spat. "Now you shall surely die!"
Zoe glared at them, "You never did have any courage, sisters."
Behind them, the enormous hundred heads of Ladon all seemed to come to life. Their eyes flicked open and several hissed in the direction of Zoe and her friends.
The Hesperides sent a final collective glare at the group then shimmered out of existence.
"I hope you have a plan," Phoebe said as she trained her bow on the slowly rising monster.
"Yes," Zoe said slowly. "I will deal with Ladon. You three get up that mountain first chance you get."
"What?" Annabeth protested. "We're not leaving you!"
Zoe smiled but kept her eyes on Ladon, "It will be fine, I raised this dragon when he was just an infant. He will not harm me."
Zoe began to slowly walk forward. Annabeth tried to follow but Phoebe held out her arm to stop her.
"No," she whispered. "Trust her. Zoe knows what she's doing."
As Zoe slowly approached, Phoebe began to lead Annabeth and Thalia around the outer edges of the garden.
Zoe focused on keeping her breathing steady. She held her hands in front of her as she moved closer and closer to Ladon. Several of his heads hissed at her, filling the air with noxious dragon breath.
"It's me, Ladon. It's your Zoe." She said soothingly. "You remember me, I raised you as a infant, cared for you, loved you."
A dozen or so heads paused their hissing and tilted to the side, eyeing her closely. A flicker of recognition ran through their intelligent reptilian eyes.
"That's right, Ladon." She cooed, "It's just Zoe."
She tentatively raised a hand and a few head moved towards her, bumping the tops of their skulls against her hand, nuzzling it.
Zoe smiled, "Yes, shhhh. I've missed you so much, my old friend."
A quick scream from somewhere behind the giant monster made him go rigid. Dozens of heads whipped around to find Thalia trying to get back to her feet from where she'd tripped.
Zoe was already backing up when one of the heads lunged at her, clamping its teeth into her side. Zoe screamed in pain and the head threw her backwards, sending her crashing to the ground behind some bushes and out of sight.
"ZOE!" Annabeth cried out.
"RUN!" Phoebe yelled, shoving both demigods from behind and forcing them up the side of the mountain. She didn't let either look back until they had run for a good five minutes. She turned her head and saw the dragon was not following them.
"He can't follow. He is bound to the tree and will not leave it unguarded." She said panting from the sprint.
"But Zoe!" Annabeth protested but Phoebe could only purse her lips. She felt a sharp pain at the thought of seeing her closest friend being attacked, perhaps even killed. She knew Annabeth had grown quite fond of Zoe since she'd rescued her on the train but she also knew she needed to keep both demigods moving, they had an important task to complete and going back for Zoe would mean having to face Ladon. They would not survive a second encounter with such a dangerous beast.
"She'll be fine. It will take more than a single dragon bite to stop her. We need to keep moving, she'll catch up when she can."
Annabeth tried to protest but Phoebe grabbed her arm and dragged her up the mountain. Thalia followed behind, her mind was racing. She was worried about Zoe but also couldn't help herself from replaying the confrontation with the Hesperides. She was struggling to process the fact that Zoe was the sister of the Hesperides and that her father, whoever that was, was going to be up there when they reached the Titan stronghold. If he was going to be up there, he obviously was not an ally.
"Wait, wait." Thalia said as she stopped, grabbing Annabeth's arm and forcing Phoebe to stop as well. Annanbeth yelped at being tugged into two different directions.
"What?" Phoebe snapped.
"What haven't you told us?" Thalia said with narrowed eyes. "Who's Zoe's father? He's going to be up there? Why would he be in Mount Othrys?"
Phoebe's expression soured, clearly not interested in stopping to explain this right now. But when she saw Thalia's unflinching eyes, she knew she must.
"The Titan, Atlas," she said coldly. "Zoe's father is the Titan Atlas."
Thalia took a cautious step back, trying to pull Annabeth with her, but Phoebe held firm to the daughter of Athena.
"The traitor," Thalia said accusingly as the line from the prophecy ran through her mind.
Phoebe yanked Annabeth forward, out of Thalia's grasp and then lunged at the daughter of Zeus. She grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her close, their faces only inches apart.
"You would question Zoe? After all she has done to keep both of you alive?"
Thalia tried to return the glare but found herself unable to intimidate the huntress.
"But," she started. "The prophecy says..."
"You are a fool, Thalia. Think about the prophecy! What does the prophecy say about parents?"
Thalia looked at her confused, not able to think properly with Phoebe looking so angry.
"And one will perish by parent's hand." Phoebe recited, growling the words at the demigoddess. "She came despite the fact she knows its likely to her death. She was banished by her father and those miserable Hesperides millennia ago. If she's not already dead, she is very likely walking to her death."
Thalia took a step back, her face flushed but before she could respond, a new voice spoke from behind her.
"We need to keep moving."
She spun around and found Zoe gingerly walking towards them. Her expression was dark and she didn't meet anyone's eyes.
"You're hurt!" Annabeth said worriedly. Thalia noticed the crimson stain covering the right side of her silver parka and camouflage pants.
"It's just a scratch, it's not deep."
"But..." Annabeth tried to protest but Zoe walked past them and began to make her way up the mountain.
"She's tough," Phoebe tried to reassure Annabeth. "She'll be fine." She shot a glare at Thalia and then followed Zoe up the mountain.
After another fifteen minutes of hiking, Zoe and Phoebe slowed their paces. The area around them looked strange. Partially constructed pillars of stone, half build walls and unfinished statues of unknown people lay in front of them.
"This shouldn't be here." Zoe said shaking her head.
"What?" Thalia asked.
"This," she gestured around her. "The gods blasted Othrys to pieces in the first Titan War. This place... it's... it's reforming."
"Oh styx," Phoebe said as she froze.
They had reached the entrance to a cavern filled with partially built murals and unfinished thrones. But what drew their eyes was what they saw in the middle of the room.
A vortex of swirling wind came down through an opening in the roof of the cavern and landed on the struggling shoulders of a groaning guy in his early twenties. His sandy blonde hair was matted with sweat and his entire body was tense with veins popping out of his arms and neck. He looked like he was barely managing to keep himself upright, the funnel of wind pressing him down and trying to flatten him into the earth.
"Hermes," Phoebe said worriedly. "Oh gods."
"Impressive, right?" A voice boomed from the far side of the room. They all turned and paled when they saw the hulking form of a man step out of the shadows.
He was enormous, looking like a living statue carved from stone. He had dark, slicked back hair and deep grey eyes. A darker grey than Annabeth's eyes and much colder. His eyes shone with intelligence and malice. He wore a neatly pressed brown silk suit that failed to hide his thick muscular frame. His biceps looked ready to rip themselves out of his sleeves every time he moved.
Thalia felt her blood go cold at the sight of an actual living breathing Titan. He looked absolutely terrifying. She glanced at Zoe and then back at Atlas, noticing the unmistakable resemblance in their faces. They both had the same regal expression and identical cold look in their eyes, though Atlas' seemed much more evil.
But what was perhaps even more terrifying than the Titan himself, was the chained up goddess he dragged behind him. Annabeth's eyes welled up with tears at the sight of her bruised and bloodied mother as she could only feebly struggle while being dragged across the rough cavern floor. Atlas pulled her along, unmoved by the fact that a living, breathing being was bound in those chains.
Atlas set his eyes on Zoe, his lips curling into an almost pleased looking sneer.
"Ah, yes." He grinned. "There you are, Zoe. How is my little traitor?"
"Don't respond," Phoebe whispered. "Remember why we're here. Do not challenge him."
Zoe just glared at her father, the look of contempt she gave him would have sent a mortal running for cover.
"We've come for Athena and Hermes. Free them!" Thalia wasn't sure where she found the courage to speak but it did seem like the right thing to say.
Atlas' smile grew, "Oh, have you? That's cute, little demigod. But I'm afraid Athena and Hermes can't come out and play today. They've been quite naughty and we've had to ground them."
"We?" Thalia asked before she could stop herself.
A shadow solidified behind the Titan and the god Perseus appeared, his smile looking somehow even more excited than Atlas'.
"Did you forget about me?" He teased. He took two quick steps forward and kicked Athena in the face like he was kicking a field goal. Ichor splattered across the ground as the goddess went motionless.
"Stop it!" Annabeth screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "Please! Don't hurt her!"
Perseus looked down at Athena and then back to Annabeth before giving Thalia a look of disapproval, "Really, Thalia? What is she? Ten? eleven? Bringing a child that young to watch her mother die was a tad cruel. And if I'm the one saying it, well..." He seemed to be enjoying himself.
"Then let her go! Enough of this sick quest for vengeance!" Thalia spat back at him.
Perseus tilted his head to the side, cracking his neck. He tilted it the other way and cracked it again, making Thalia shiver.
"Shut up, child. You act like you know what you speak of but you're just as misinformed now then you were when I tried to help you."
"You're insane!" Thalia snarled back.
Perseus chuckled and then looked at Atlas, who looked thoroughly amused by this.
"I'm insane? You came with a group of demigods to try to free a pair of gods from two immortals. That is simply suicide. You're just a foolish pawn that Zeus has sent out to test the waters. Expendable cannon fodder for a father who cares nothing for you." He mocked.
Thalia pulled out her canister of mace and activated Aegis, though the shield had no effect on either Atlas or Perseus.
"You're going to fight us?" He laughed. "Please child, fighting mortals is below us. But if it's a fight you seek, I've got my own demigods who would be happy to prove themselves." He waved his hand and the two children of Hades materialized in front of him. They were draped in black armor, each holding a stygian iron sword in hand.
"Yes!" Atlas grinned. "Finally a fight! Save my daughter for last. She gets to die at my hand."
"Don't do this." Thalia pleaded with the two siblings. "He's just using you."
Nico and Bianca turned and gave each other quizzical looks.
"That's kinda funny," Nico laughed. "It's like she has no idea how hypocritical that statement is."
Bianca smirked and spun the sword in her hand, "It's actually kind of sad, brother."
"Of course he's using us, you idiot." Nico mocked her, "the difference is, he isn't lying about it. Your gods send you to fight immortals on your own. Our gods, they tell us exactly what they want from us. And we are more than happy to fight for them."
"And you?" Bianca continued. "Are you willing to fight and die for Zeus and the other Olympians?"
Thalia's voice abandoned her. She didn't know how to answer it. She didn't know what the answer to the question was.
"Enough talk!" Atlas barked. "Fight! Let's see some blood!"
The Di Angelos didn't even blink. Nico ran straight at Thalia while Bianca was engulfed by a shadow. She reappeared right next to Phoebe who barely managed to jump back from being impaled.
Nico slashed his sword towards Thalia's waist and she raised Aegis to block. Before she could attack back, Nico sent a jab at her legs, grazing her thigh and opening up a small gash. She stumbled back, wincing in pain.
Annabeth pulled out her dagger and attacked Nico from behind. For his young age, he was rather skilled and incredibly fast. He parried Annabeth's blade and made another swipe at Thalia. He jumped around, bouncing back and forth and keeping both girls off balance.
Bianca was going sword to hunting knives against Phoebe. Sparks flew wildly from their clashing blades, neither able to gain and advantage. Zoe had stepped back a few feet and pulled out her bow. She took aim, first at Bianca and then at Nico. Then she spun and fired three arrows in quick succession. The binds holding Athena snapped between her unmoving feet and hands. The third would have hit Perseus but his easily stepped aside and allowed the arrow to thunk against the cavern wall.
Neither Atlas or Perseus moved to grab Athena. She lay unmoving, so her freed limbs weren't very helpful at the moment.
Nico turned and backhanded Annabeth hard. The young child of Athena was knocked off her feet, landing hard on the back of her head. She groaned groggily on the ground, blood leaking from her nose as she rolled around in a haze.
Thalia felt a surge of energy run through her at the sight of Annabeth laying injured. She charged at Nico, thrusting her spear at his neck. The son of Hades blocked with his sword and Thalia slammed Aegis into his chest, knocking him backwards.
She charged forward and jabbed at his stomach and forced him to jump backwards. When he did, she raised her spear and a single tendril of electricity shot out of the vortex on Hermes' shoulders and hit the tip of her weapon. She jumped and then stabbed at Nico's leg. He dodged but not enough. Her spear hit his outer thigh and his body went stiff as a board, convulsing and then collapsing backwards as the electrical currents ran through him.
She raised her spear, preparing to finish him off when she felt something hit her leg. She looked up and saw Perseus throwing small rocks at her. She was so shocked and confused that she was temporarily frozen.
Before she could gather her wits, she saw a blur of silver beside her. She turned and her jaw dropped when she saw Artemis appear on her left. Then a golden light flashed on her other side. She turned and was stunned to see the god Apollo, in full battle armor and bow in hand on her left.
"Well, well well." Atlas grinned. "This," he spread his hands, "is starting to get interesting."
"That's enough, little brother." Apollo said with steel in his voice.
All amusement left Perseus' face. He straightened up and the jeans and hoody he was wearing were replaced with black battle armor. His sword was gripped in his hand and he kept his eyes trained on Apollo.
"You would dare to call me brother?" Perseus' voice was so venomous, Thalia flinched despite the fact his words weren't spoken to her. "I'm going to make you fade, you jealous little bitch. I'm going to show you why I was always better than you in every way."
Thalia looked at Apollo and noticed a slight shiver run down his spine. She suddenly felt left confident with Apollo next to her, he was clearly worried about his ability to best his sibling.
Artemis was silent. She did not have the look of anger that Apollo did. Instead, she kept her face more stoic, though she noticed she kept her eyes on Atlas, instead of Perseus.
For a few moments, the four immortals just stared at each other. Then, when Bianca cried out as Phoebe opened up a gash on her lower back, it was like the bell ringing to start of madness.
Apollo tried to fire his bow but Perseus was way too fast. He closed the distance between them in less than a second, swatting aside every arrow Apollo fired. Instead of trying to run him through, Perseus lowered his shoulder and speared Apollo at the waist, sending them both crashing to the ground. They rolled around a few times but Perseus ended up on top. His fists were barely more than blurs, slamming into the sun god's face over and over.
Atlas charged at Artemis. His suit vanished and was replaced by traditional Greek armor. A javelin appeared in his hands and he tried to run the moon goddess through right off the bat. Fortunately for Artemis, she was fast. She used all her agility, darting around and using a pair of hunting knives to deflect blows from the titan.
Thalia's mind felt like jell-o. She looked back and forth between the two separate battles of immortals.
Apollo had managed to get free from Perseus and the two were locked in battle. Neither used weapons, the were fighting hand to hand, delivering blows that would have turned mountains to rubble.
Artemis was keeping the titan Atlas at bay, but it was tough. For all his strength, he seemed to lose nothing in speed. He was so fast, Artemis could only defend herself, unable to attack back.
Thalia spun around when she heard Apollo cry out in pain.
Perseus had him pinned against the wall and was pounding his face with right hands. He tried to raise his hands to protect his face but Perseus was relentless.
In less than a minute of combat, Thalia knew Artemis and Apollo were fighting losing battles. Both were outmatched and it was only a matter of time until they were defeated. She didn't know what to do.
"The prophecy," a weak voice said in her mind. "Thalia, remember the prophecy." She looked down and saw Annabeth on the ground in front of her. Her face was swollen, her nose bent at an unnatural angle. She was looking at Thalia expectantly, her lips were moving but no words came out.
Thalia's mind raced. She recited the prophecy in her head, trying to figure out what Annabeth meant.
The Titan's curse must one withstand.
It was like a lightbulb going off in her head. She turned and looked at Hermes still struggling under the weight of the sky. Before her brain could fully process what she was about to do, she ran towards the messenger god.
"Hermes!" She said frantically. "Give me the sky! I'll hold it! You help Artemis and Apollo!"
"No," Hermes groaned out. "It must be held by an immortal. It'll crush you, girl."
She growled under her breath and stepped up beside the god. She raised her hands and almost fell to the ground. The weight she felt was staggering. She forced herself to push against it harder, her arms burning with a level of pain she didn't know existed.
"Go!" She grunted. "Please! If you don't help, we'll all die."
Hermes didn't respond. But a few seconds later, the pain in her shoulders and arms increased tenfold. Her vision blurred but she could faintly make out the image of Hermes rolling out from under the burden. Despite his exhaustion, he sprang into action. He ran at Atlas and smacked him in the back with his freshly conjured caduceus, giving Artemis a chance to go on the attack.
Then he turned and tackled Perseus as he continued to smash Apollo's face like it was a speed bag.
The two gods rolled around until Perseus sprang to his feet, his sword appearing in his hand.
Apollo conjured a sword of his own and stood beside Hermes.
"Good!" Perseus roared. "Finally a worthy challenge!" Before they could react, he charged at them. The only word to describe his skill was... godly. He went toe to toe with two Olympians, alternating between the two and moving too fast for either to flank him.
Between the speed of their movements and her blurry vision under the sky, Thalia struggled to watch the battle. She tried to ignore the incredible pain she felt but it was simply too much for a mortal to endure.
That was until the blurs in front of her solidified.
Hermes had managed to sneak behind Perseus and knock the blade from his grasp. Before he could recover he wrapped him in a bear hug and pinned his arms behind his back. Apollo was panting in exhaustion but forced himself to move. The sun god's face looked like a piece of road kill. Even with his godly powers, his body couldn't heal itself from the thrashing it'd taken. He held a bronze sword in his hand and raised it over his head, preparing to strike his younger brother down.
Then the sun god stumbled forward, crying out in pain. Thalia would have screamed if she could have done anything but groan. They were so close to finishing him off and ending this madness.
A half dozen silver arrows stuck out of Apollo's back. They sent him stumbling forward in pain and surprise. He spun around and saw both Zoe and Phoebe with their bows drawn, aimed right at him.
Thalia wanted to cry. She'd had moments of doubt over the past few days, especially after her dream about Phoebe. But to see both Phoebe and Zoe attack Apollo to protect Perseus, was still too shocking for her to fully comprehend.
Apollo turned, looking at the hunters in disbelief. Thalia knew they were about to be destroyed when Perseus suddenly flung his head back and smashed it into Hermes' nose. Hermes lost his grip on Perseus who spun around and blasted him away with a surge of dark energy.
No one else saw it, but Thalia noticed Athena was no longer in her spot on the ground. Covered in her own ichor, the goddess appeared in front of the two hunters. She raised a spear right in front of Zoe who couldn't scramble away in time.
As she brought down the blow, a streak of blonde crashed into Zoe and sent her flying into Phoebe. Athena couldn't stop herself in time. She drove her spear right into the chest of her daughter.
Athena let go of the weapon, her eyes wide in shock as she stared at her daughter.
Annabeth staggered a bit then collapsed to the ground, the spear impaled through her chest and jutting out of her back.
"No! No!" Athena cried, tears welling up her eyes as she looked at her dying child. Before she could try to save her, she was yanked backwards. A thin golden wire was around her neck, a garrote. Perseus yanked her backwards and tightened the wire around her neck.
"Enough!" The god of night boomed. "Get back!"
Hermes reappeared beside Apollo and they both took a step back. Artemis jumped away from Atlas and appeared beside Apollo and Hermes, all looking too terrified to react.
"Back under the sky, Hermes." Perseus spat. When Hermes didn't move, he wrenched on the garrote. "Do it now, or she dies!"
Hermes stared at Athena and then at Perseus.
"You'll kill her anyway."
"On the styx, I will not kill her if you get back under the sky." Perseus sneered.
Thunder rumbled overhead and Hermes continued to stare at his former friend.
"Now!" Perseus snapped.
"Don't," Apollo warned. Hermes didn't acknowledge him though. He knew what would happen if his father learned he'd let Athena die. With a final look at Athena, Hermes walked to Thalia. He slipped under the sky and used his foot to kick Thalia out from under the burden.
She hit the ground and collapsed, greedily sucking air into her lungs.
"Good," Perseus grinned. "Come to me," he said, his eyes turning to Zoe and Phoebe.
The huntresses didn't hesitate. They approached the god and knelt down, their faces right next to Athena's as they bowed before the god.
"Traitors!" Thalia screamed. "You filthy traitors!"
Phoebe turned her head and gave her a look of sympathy.
"To be a traitor," Zoe replied. "Our loyalty would have to change."
"AGHHHHHHH!" Thalia screamed. "This whole time! You've been planning to betray us since we started this quest!"
Zoe didn't respond to her. She lowered her head again in front of Perseus.
"Rise, my friends." Perseus said smiling down at them. "You have done well."
Thalia looked back at Apollo and Artemis. The look of hurt was impossible to miss on Artemis' face, though she also didn't seem as stunned as she should have considering two of her oldest hunters had just betrayed her and all of Olympus.
Atlas approached Perseus, his eyes moving down to his daughter who was now standing beside his ally. It was clear this new development was as much of a surprise to him as it was to everyone else.
"What is this?" He asked, eyeing Perseus closely.
"I told you, Atlas, I had the quest under control." He answered simply. "Everything unfolded exactly as I predicted."
Atlas' eyes flicked over to the twin Olympians, "And her? Is your wife with us as well?"
Thalia couldn't hold in her gasp. She stared at Artemis uncomprehendingly.
Perseus growled under his breath, "No she's not, you fool!"
"You and Artemis?" Thalia said in disbelief. "That's your wife?"
The look that covered Perseus' face dropped the temperature in the room about ten degrees.
"She's not my wife." He snapped. "At least not once she's rotting in Tartarus!"
If possible, the look on Artemis' face became even more saddened.
"Enough talk!" Perseus growled. "Finish this one!"
He wrenched Athena around by the neck with the garrote and turned her towards Atlas. The titan got over his confusion quickly and grinned widely.
"Ah, yes! The first blood in a new war!" He raised his javelin to bring down the fatal blow.
Artemis and Apollo both tried to run towards the titan when a wave of silver flew at them from behind Perseus. The huntresses' arrows did little to injure the Olympians but slowed them down just enough.
Atlas' javelin went through the top of Athena's head like a knife through butter. Golden ichor splattered out in all directions, covering Perseus' and Atlas' legs.
"NO!" Artemis screamed as she watched Athena's body slowly start to dissolve into a brilliant golden dust.
"YOU LIED!" Hermes roared from under the sky.
Perseus glanced back at the messenger god and smirked, "Whaaaat? Me? No way, I was just an innocent bystander."
Atlas turned towards Apollo and Artemis, his grin threatening to spit his face in two.
"Well, one down. I've got time for a couple more."
Artemis ran forward and Atlas prepared for a fight. But the goddess turned left and snatched Thalia off the ground. She didn't stop running until she was at the entrance to the cave. Her head turned and her silver eyes met the dark ones of Perseus, the only god she had ever loved.
She wasn't sure what she expected to find there but whatever it was, she didn't find it.
"We need to go." Apollo whispered as his body shimmered and vanished into a golden light.
Artemis kept her eyes on Perseus for another moment before she and Thalia disappeared into a silver light.
"Why didn't you stop them?" Atlas growled at Perseus.
Perseus stared at the spot where Artemis had been for a moment and then shook his head.
"In time, my friend. We've taken out Zeus' best battle strategist. Let them go report back to Olympus. We aren't ready for a full scale war with the gods yet. We still have much left to do."
Atlas didn't seem pleased but he didn't argue. He turned and looked at Zoe, who was standing beside Phoebe and the two Di Angelos. They were helping to treat the children of Hades from their wounds.
"And her?" Atlas grunted nodding his head at Zoe.
"She's under my protection. I don't care about the past. I was the one who freed you and I was the one who's recruited all of our allies. These two have been my eyes and ears for two millennia. They're untouchable."
Perseus stared at the titan, waiting for him to protest but Atlas simply grunted and turned to walk away.
Perseus waited until the titan was out of sight before approaching the two huntresses.
"Are you two okay?" It was clear he wasn't asking about how they were physically.
They exchanged a look, it was clear they didn't like having to betray Artemis and Thalia.
"We trust you," Phoebe nodded.
Perseus put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. He did the same to Zoe.
"Thank you, my friends."
Zoe's eyes turned to the unmoving body of Annabeth.
"She died to save me." Her voice was thick with guilt and regret.
Perseus raised his hand and then waved it, Annabeth's body shimmering and then vanishing.
"She will go to Elysium. I will make sure Hades gives her her just reward."
Zoe gave him a small smile of gratitude.
"So what now?" Phoebe asked.
"I have many plans in motion as we speak. Rest and relax for now, we still have much left to do before we are ready."
A.N: I'm just gonna say it now: If you don't like Artemis being Perseus' wife, get over it. They're gods, it's common. Its not changing, so deal with it. Other than that, what'd you think? So, Athena and Annabeth are dead... That's different, lol.
But tell me what you thought, I use your feedback when I write future chapters.