Becoming a Hero

The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoe, the same cold, proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it just looked evil. "Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.
Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."
Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."
Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers. "Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the centre of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."
"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered. "The weight should've killed her."
"I don't understand," Percy said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"
Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it for you." He approached Percy and Thalia. "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.

Atlas's 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 I didn't hate his guts so much, I almost would've felt sorry for him. "Thalia, you can still 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. "Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."
"Luke..." her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"
"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!"
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." I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. I believed that Luke was in danger. His life depended on Thalia's joining the cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.
"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame. "Thalia," Percy said. "No." Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images in the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.
"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak." he pointed towards the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where a cruise ship was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hellhounds, harpies and other things I couldn't even name. They were marching towards us. In a few minutes, they would be here. "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. Then she levelled 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, we would be overwhelmed. Percy looked at me, Zoe and Thalia, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.
"Now," he said. Together, we 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 counter-attacked. When his sword met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightening erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.
Percy did what was probably one of the stupidest things of his life. He attacked the Titan Lord Atlas. He laughed as Percy approached. "Go on, then!"
"Percy!" Zoe said. "Beware!" He 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. It wasn't good.
"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoe's arrows. "Did you think, simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to me?" Percy charged again. I turned my attention to the approaching army. I knew I could not kill them all, but I shot arrow after arrow at the monsters. Most of the arrows found their targets and monster turned to gold dust as they returned to Tartarus. I trusted Zoe, Percy and Thalia to have my back.

I looked back at the battle scene behind me and froze. Artemis was free, with Percy holding the weight of the sky on his shoulders. Zoe shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armour. 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 still 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."
He bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."

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 opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him to Percy. "You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me." He feinted with the tip his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. Atlas's javelin swept round and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin for the kill.
"No!" Zoe 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. I unfroze and ran for where I had seen her fall. It wasn't long before I heard Atlas bellow, "NOOOOOO! NOT AGAIN!" Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

I ignored what was going on behind me as I searched for Zoe. It wasn't difficult to find her. I knelt down next to her. Artemis joined me and scooped Zoe up into her arms. "Artemis! Ruby!" I heard Percy yell. It didn't take long for Percy and Thalia to show up, too. Thalia's face looked almost as grief-stricken as Artemis's.
"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said
"Atlas poisoned her?" Percy asked.
"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas." She showed them the wound in Zoe's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.
"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them."
"Nectar and ambrosia," Percy said. "Come on! We have to get her some." No one moved. Grief hung in the air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. I had done my best to cross off as many as I could, but it wasn't good enough. I had killed too little. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir.

We might've met our doom right there, but then I 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!" my uncle called down, and his machine guns burst into 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. She stared up the antique plane, which was now banking round for another strafe.
"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come. We must get Zoe away from here." She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoe's eyes were fluttering.
"Hang in there!" Percy told her. "It'll 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. I realised with amazement that somehow my uncle must've got hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulphurous yellow powder.
"That's... my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement. We didn't have mush time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Uncle Fred would be in trouble soon. Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us. I recognised it as Artemis's chariot.
"Get in," Artemis said. Annabeth helped Percy get Thalia on board. I helped Artemis with Zoe. We wrapped Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.
"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," Percy murmured, probably still dazed with pain from the sky.
Artemis took time to look back at him. "Indeed, young half-blood. And were do you think that legend came from?" Seeing us safely away, Dr Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honour guard. It must've 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 us, 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.