The Arrival
"Idiot!" Atlas roared as he watched Luke lose the hostage so easily, though he seemed more annoyed that even he hadn't noticed when Percy had gotten behind him. And that seemed to bruise his pride a little.
He was close to Percy, who was still hugging Annabeth, and for a moment he looked ready to grab his spear and attack him. But he quickly stopped himself, though it seemed to take every ounce of his self-control.
Instead, his gaze shifted to Zoë, Bianca, and Grover. He seemed to ignore Bianca, focusing only on Zoë and Grover. After all, the gods had to abide by the ancient laws, and unless a demigod challenged them first, they couldn't strike back. But beings like Zoë or Grover, who weren't human, were a different story.
When Atlas raised his spear to attack them, Zoë seemed to realize it.
So she shoved Grover out of the way while at the same time raising her bow, trying to attack her own father to stop him.
But Atlas seemed to be just a little faster, because he was already about to throw the spear.
Yet, at the very last second, he stopped.
When, all of a sudden, Percy's Spectral Clone appeared right in front of him with its arms spread wide and a mocking grin on its ghostly face.
The sight didn't just make Atlas stop.
It filled him with rage.
He even hesitated over whether to throw the spear.
But the moment that thought crossed his mind, black chains began rising from the shadows beneath him, threatening him.
Atlas immediately lowered the spear in fury.
Then the chains of the Underworld sank back into the darkness.
"Weren't you the one calling me a coward for not facing you? Is this how you fight, supposed champion of a being from another plane?" Atlas roared.
"I can be even more shameless," Percy's Spectral Clone replied with the same mocking smile.
At that exact moment, the arrows Zoë had prepared shot toward the Titan.
He casually knocked aside the first few with his spear and raised one hand, making as if to attack her again.
But Percy's Spectral Clone stepped into his path once more, still wearing that amused grin.
"GRAAAAH!" Atlas bellowed, glaring at the shameless brat.
Or rather...
At his shameless clone.
That brief moment of distraction was enough for one of Zoë's arrows to strike him beneath the arm.
"Idiots. Do you really think a few wounds are enough to bring me down?" Atlas said disdainfully as he ripped the arrow out with ease. Then he caught another arrow that was headed straight for his eye and snapped it in half with a slight squeeze. "Even if all you're doing is buying time, all that's waiting for you is your own destruction. You don't have what it takes to defeat me. And you certainly don't have what it takes to defeat my army," he added contemptuously.
And he was right.
There was only one person present who could truly stand against the Titan.
And that was Artemis.
Even Percy, no matter how much he provoked Atlas, couldn't attack him, because doing so would only allow the Titan to defend himself against Percy. And simply getting in the way wasn't enough, since Zoë couldn't kill an immortal being.
After Percy freed Annabeth, he heard Atlas's words, and a thought crossed his mind.
"Only a divine being can fight another divine being..." Percy murmured to himself as he briefly looked toward Artemis.
But not because he wanted to carry the weight of the sky on his own shoulders.
Then Percy let out a small smile as he reached into his bag and pulled out what looked like a conch shell, bringing it up to his ear.
Annabeth was just about to ask what he was doing, since she hadn't been there when Percy received that shell.
But before she could say anything, Percy spoke as though he were talking on a phone.
"Hey. I need you to do me a favor. You have to say these words exactly the way I'm about to say them. Oh, and after that, go hide somewhere," Percy said with a shameless grin—the very same grin his Spectral Clone was giving Atlas at that exact moment while keeping him from attacking.
…
Meanwhile, Thalia's spear clashed against Luke's sword. Even though he looked exhausted and worn down, he was still strong enough to hold his own against her. Even when the sparks of electricity from her spear grazed his arms, Luke merely grimaced before attacking again with the same ferocity.
"You could've accepted it. You could've had everything. You could've stayed by my side," Luke roared as his sword knocked Thalia's lightning-wreathed spear aside and drove it into the ground, pinning it beneath his foot. Then he mercilessly thrust toward Thalia's neck.
Thalia stared straight at him.
But at the very last moment, Luke's hand faltered, and instead the slash veered toward her cheek, leaving behind a cut as blood began to trickle down.
Luke gritted his teeth.
The instant Thalia took advantage of it to wrench her spear free, throwing Luke off balance, she unleashed three thrusts in rapid succession, each one deadlier than the last, aimed at his chest, throat, and head. Luke dodged them all with practiced skill.
Luke could tell exactly how Thalia was fighting.
She was trying to kill him.
Or force him to kill her.
It was, quite literally...
...a fight to the death.
But he couldn't kill her.
He didn't want to.
And he couldn't bring himself to do it.
That was exactly what Thalia was using to her advantage.
"Do you really want to do this, Thalia? You'll only be giving him what he wants. Is that really the fate you want?" Luke said, trying to make her see reason. "You know what'll happen if you kill me, or if you die. Either one of us will end up in the hands of Kronos or Zeus, and all that awaits us is endless torture. The only ones who'll come out of this are Percy and his master, and everything will go on as if nothing ever happened. He's probably just as arrogant as Zeus. Neither of them deserves our loyalty. Even Percy is probably being used."
For a moment, Thalia hesitated.
But her expression didn't.
"That might be true for you and me, but... I believe in Percy. And Percy believes in his master. He trusts that his master will finally set this world right," Thalia said as her expression hardened once again, along with her resolve to face her friend.
Luke let out a mocking snort.
"If he believes in his master so much, if he's so sure he'll always be there for him... then where is this supposed being? Leaving his student to face all this danger alone because of his pride? This competition started because of the clash of pride between Zeus and that man. He can't interfere with the Trials, fine. But then where is he when another divine being is putting his student in danger?" Luke shouted, pointing toward Atlas, who was growing more furious with every interruption from Percy's Spectral Clone, looking as though he was reaching his limit and might kill Percy at any moment, even if it meant being punished by the Trial.
But the moment Luke shouted those words, a sound like crashing waves suddenly began growing louder and louder.
Very much like the roar of a storm at sea.
But it wasn't coming from the distance.
No.
It seemed to be coming from the lake that had formed earlier to lure the Ophiotaurus.
Everyone turned toward the artificial lake in confusion.
Then they saw the water suddenly begin to churn, not like the surface of a pond, but like a piece of the open sea.
The waves rolled violently, making it impossible to see the bottom.
But what they could see...
...was an enormous shadow rising in the center.
Then, all of a sudden, the water split apart.
The prow of a ship burst out, carved with a dragon's head and unmistakably Nordic in design, all the way down to its sails, as torrents of water cascaded from both sides.
The ship continued rocking atop the raging lake as though it had just sailed out of a massive storm.
Then the waves slowly calmed, returning to stillness.
And now a ship floated upon them.
Standing on its deck were Clarisse, Malcolm, and Tyson, completely soaked, clinging to whatever they could grab while still coughing up water.
Bessie, inside what looked like a massive cooler, poked her head out a moment later, looking around in confusion as if she'd only just realized they'd somehow ended up somewhere else.
Until her eyes found Percy.
She let out a happy sound.
But there was one more person.
Standing motionless on the deck, his expression so cold it seemed capable of freezing the blood in everyone's veins.
And at that moment...
His eyes were fixed on Percy alone.