Zoe knew she was getting overwhelmed. Her injury from Ladon earlier didn’t help and even at her best, she would be no match for her father. She tried to flank him but he managed to catch her with the butt of his spear and threw her to the ground.
She knew this moment would happen since she heard the prophecy back at Camp. Looking up at her father she’s closing her eyes, getting ready to “perish at her parent’s hand”.
Suddenly she hears the sound of a blade hitting flesh and she feels warm liquid hitting her face.
When she opens her eyes the Son of Poseidon is standing in front of her, protecting her from her father's spear which pierced his stomach and stopped mere inches from her chest.
Atlas grabs Percy’s body and pulls his spear before throwing the limp Demigod to the side. ‘One less to worry about’ he smirks.
Zoe gets up furious and vows to avenge her newfound friend while attacking her father with renewed vigor.
Artemis while still holding the Sky up is shocked at the sacrifice the Son of Poseidon made for her Lieutenant. She desperately wants to help her friend in the fight but she knows she needs to stay under the sky. She can feel herself losing hope and a tear rolls down her cheek.
Suddenly she hears groaning and heavy breathing next to her and when she manages to turn her head a bit she can see the bloody, beaten Son of Poseidon slowly making his way to her while holding his side and limping.
‘What are you doing?’ she asks.
He comes up next to her, takes a shuddering breath, and positions himself beside her to take over the weight of the sky from her.
‘What are you doing? she asks again. You’ll never be able to hold it in your condition. You’ll die.’
‘And if I don’t, then we all die, and Atlas will help Kronos overthrow Olympus.” is his labored reply.
She looks at him for a moment in a way he can’t quite identify. But then it fills with determination and she nods with certainty.
‘Ready?’ is all she says.
Percy shakingly nods and prepares himself to shoulder the burden of Atlas. If only for a short while.
He was wrong. Nothing could prepare one for the weight now resting on his shoulders. Immediately he buckles to his knees. He feels like an ant, holding up the boot trying to crush it. His bones feel like they’re being ground into dust. His blood burns like molten lava. His entire being screams at him to let go and to survive. But he knows he has to hold on or everything will be lost. He opens his eyes and tries to look out to his friends. His vision is already shrinking. A dark tunnel trying to swallow everything.
He can see Artemis fighting Atlas. So fast she is almost a blur slashing at him with her Hunting Blades.
He closes his eyes, desperately holding on when he can hear someone scream his name.’Percy!’
With his last bit of strength he rises up a bit and a moment later something crashes into him and sends him flying. He lands on the ground like a wet towel and remains motionless.
Artemis, Zoe, Thalia, and Annabeth are next to him in a few moments and when they turn him onto his back a collective gasp is heard. They all know the only future left for the young half-blood.
Annabeth is openly crying. Thalia has tears in her eyes. Zoe looks at him with respect and sadness. He managed to defy a prophecy given by the Oracle and took her place instead.
Artemis meanwhile looks up to the sky and calls for help: ‘APOLLO!’
When after a few seconds nothing happened she calls for him again with a hint of desperation in her voice. ‘APOLLO! BROTHER!’
Zoe looks to her and whispers ‘It must be because of Mount Othrys. He can’t hear you Milady’
They can hear a groan from Percy and when they turn to him his eyes are barely open but he’s awake.
Annabeth immediately takes his hand and squeezes it in comfort.
‘It’s okay, Wise Girl. You’re safe now.’ he stammers. ‘Why the long face, Tree Girl? It doesn’t suit you’
Suddenly Artemis stands up and rushes away.
Zoe is the only one that notices but she decides to stay with the son of the seas in his final moments.
‘Annabeth. Please tell my mom that I’m sorry. And that I love her and want her to be happy.’
Annabeth squeezes his hand again and nods.
‘You will tell her yourself, Perseus Jackson’ suddenly rings out from behind Zoe. She turns and can see Artemis rushing over to them. What she sees in the hands of the Goddess shocks her and she quickly makes room for the Olympian.
In Artemis' hand is a Golden Apple.
Artemis props the boy's head up and holds the apple to his mouth. ‘Here, take a bite!’
But she can see he doesn’t even have the strength left to open his mouth. His eyes are slowly closing while he’s fighting to stay conscious.
The Goddess of the Hunt doesn’t hesitate and does something nobody would ever expect from her.
She takes a bite from the apple, chews it a few times, and then presses her lips against the boys’ and forces the chewed bite of apple into his mouth with her tongue.
She massages his throat and tilts his head forcing him to swallow the mass.
Immediately she repeats the process again and by the time Percy swallowed the second bite they can hear him breathing slightly stronger and they see his face beginning to color again.
Annabeth, Thalia, and Zoe all look shocked and surprised at the Goddess but she ignores their looks. ‘We have to hurry. He should be stable enough to get to Olympus but he still needs healing.’
She closes her eyes for a moment to summon her carriage then picks the boy up and turns around to where the carriage is already landing. The group follows her and they all huddle onto her carriage which takes off and turns east towards Olympus.
They rushed through the halls of Olympus, Artemis still carrying Percy in her arms.
When they reached the Throne room and the doors opened the entire Council was already assembled. Most of them weren’t sure why they were called but Hera was angrily walking in circles in front of her throne and Zeus looked nervous.
As soon as they stepped into the room, Artemis called for Apollo. ‘Brother!’
He was next to her in an instant and she lowered Percy’s body to the floor where Apollo put a Hand on his chest and started to heal him.
‘YOU!’ they suddenly heard the furious Queen of Gods scream.
‘How dare you, you insolent bastard! To steal one of my Apples and to feed it to a half-blood!’ Hera raged on.
‘There was no other way! Artemis defended herself. He would have died.”
‘Oh, do I seem like I care, Girl!’ she spat at the Huntress. Now step aside. I will punish you after he is dead!’
‘YOU WILL NOT KILL MY SON, SISTER!’ roared Poseidon.
‘And you will leave my daughter alone as well’ added Zeus, much more quietly
‘He saved Olympus again. Without him, the Ophiotaurus wouldn’t have been found. Without him, my Lieutenant would have died. Without him, Atlas would still be free and helping Kronos!’ Artemis tried to reason. ‘We need him!
Hera was in thought for a few minutes while everyone else waited to see what would happen next.
When she turned around her eyes were gleaming with schadenfreude. ‘You want him to be around, fine! But he will be your responsibility.’ Her mouth formed a sinister grin. ‘But it will be as your Husband!’