Nico

I followed the Phlegethon for several hours, stopping once more to take another drink from the fire. I looked around as I walked, and I noticed that the terrain in Tartarus had changed since I had last seen it.

The sky had grown to a more ashy colour, and I swore I saw some shadows darting in and out of the ash overhead. I glanced down and stopped when I saw that the Phlegethon had veered off from it's original course, merging with another river. I narrowed my eyes as I realized that the Phlegethon was merging with the dark waters of the River Styx. 

"Great. This is great. I have no clue how to find Atlas and the other Olympian Gods." I growled as I glared at the two intersecting rivers. 

I sighed before deciding to just walk aimlessly around and hope that I would eventually find the place where Atlas and the Olympians were reforming. 

I stalked forwards, my hand on the hilt of my stygian iron sword. I was wary that a monster would swoop down try to kill me, and that would probably be a very high chance of that happening. 

I walked and walked until I heard voices up ahead. I immediately tensed before diving behind a huge boulder that was beside me. I peeked my head out from around the boulder and saw two dracaena standing a few feet away from where I was hiding. They both carried spears and fishing nets.

I tightened my grip on my sword as I heard one of them speak. "The titan, the titan that wassss down here, reforming. He esssscaped before we could catch him. Lord Perseus would be very disssappointed in ussss." 

My eyes widened in surprise. Percy had control over monsters down here in Tartarus as well? Man, my cousin is loaded!

"We musst find the titan, or elssse Lord Perseus will kill ussss." The second dracaena hissed, fear flickering in her eyes. The first dracaena nodded in agreement and the two monsters slithered off to an unknown destination. 

I turned back and slid against the boulder, resting my back against the hard material. I glanced down at my hand and saw that it was shaking. I gritted my teeth in annoyance before releasing my tight grip on the hilt of my sword.

"Atlas has reformed, and he's out there.....Oh my god, he's out there." I whispered, gripping strands of my dark hair. "I have to find him, though. I have to talk to him and reason with him, try to convince him that I'm on his side before I shove his ass back under the sky and free my Uncle."

I rose from my sitting position and cautiously crept around the boulder. I walked a few more minutes before I heard the sounds of a fight ahead of me. I narrowed my eyes and in the distance, I could see the shadows of some figures up ahead. 

I made my way quietly over to them, my hand sliding my sword out of the sheath strapped to my waist. I could see the hulking figure of a tall, brutish man. He had no weapons, only his bare fists, which were displayed in front of him. Surrounding him were the two dracaena I saw before, along with a cyclops.

I knew instantly that the man standing before me was Atlas.

"Sssssurrender, titan. Lord Perseus demandsssss that we bring you into captivity." A dracaena growled, raising her spear and pointing it at the titan. Atlas's eyes flashed before his gaze flickered to where I was standing. His eyes widened slightly with disbelief before I glared at him and put a finger to my lips. 

Atlas paused before he inclined his head slowly. The monsters started to turn towards me when Atlas spoke. His voice was low and gravelly. "Lord Perseus, huh? I wonder how he managed to influence you into believing that he will reward you for my capture. He changed into a sick, twisted human being, he's just lying to you. He will never reward you." 

The dracaena pointing the spear at Atlas faltered, her face full of uneasiness. Her companion growled and shoved the dracaena hard. "Don't lissssten to the titan. He isssss full of liesss as well. We will do as Lord Perseus sayssss." 

The dracaena didn't respond for a moment before she raised her spear once more to point it at the defenceless titan. "I will not repeat myssself. You will surrender and you will come with ussss, where we can keep an eye on you." 

Atlas huffed in annoyance as he shook his head, a small smile appearing on his face. The monsters surrounding him shifted uneasily as he continued to speak. "You really think I will surrender? I'm not going to come with you. I am a titan, I will not listen to you incompetent fools!" 

The monsters snarled before advancing towards Atlas. Just before they reached him, I jumped into action. I leaped towards the cyclops, and just as the monster was turning around to intercept me, I drove my sword straight through his chest. The monster stiffened and I yanked my sword out just as the cyclops dissolved into golden dust.

The dracaena turned but Atlas lunged, wrenching the spear out of it's hand and driving it into the monster's skull. The dracaena wailed in agony before disappearing. The last dracaena looked at Atlas and I nervously before turning around and fleeing. But before it could get very far, Atlas threw the spear with deadly accuracy, striking the monster in the leg. The dracaena screeched before collapsing. 

Silence came across the plains of Tartarus as Atlas and I stared at each other. I was ready to anticipate any move the titan might make, such as trying to kill me. But to my surprise, Atlas remained where he was.

"Son of Hades." Atlas started, his dark brown eyes looking at me with curiosity. "What are you doing down here?" 

I exhaled slowly before I said "I came down here to see if you had reformed yet. This is because I heard about what happened to you when Percy took the throne from Zeus." Atlas's face contorted into anger at hearing my cousin's name, but he didn't say anything about that. 

Instead, he tilted his head, his eyes boring into my skull. I was extremely uncomfortable with the way the titan was looking at me, but heck, I'm surprised he didn't kill me yet. That's a bonus with him.

"Yes, he's gone rouge. He went to where I held the sky to just kill me because he wanted Zeus to have his punishment. But what is your real reason to come down here? Many wouldn't just venture into Tartarus willingly." Atlas said slowly. 

I swallowed, feeling sweat drip down my face. I prayed that Atlas wouldn't see how nervous I am.

"I want you and I to work together. To get an army and rebel against my cousin." I paused, seeing Atlas's eyes widen in shock. I'm guessing that he would've never thought those words would come out my mouth.

"Percy Jackson needs to be stopped. He's imprisoned most of my friends up on Olympus, and tortures his ex-girlfriend daily just because of what happened many years ago. He's created an army of monsters to serve him, and he took down the mist that obscures mortal's vision of our world. He's turned them into slaves to do his bidding. I, along with my friends, can't allow this to happen anymore. That's why we need your help. You're one of the strongest titans, Atlas. You'll be a powerful asset to our army."

Atlas didn't say anything after my little rant. He was staring at me, no emotion visible on his face. I was afraid he was going to reject my offer, and that Zeus would never be free of his burden. 

Atlas suddenly smiled, and I breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped forwards, extending his hand out to me. I reached out and gripped it firmly as he spoke. 

"You're a good speaker, son of Hades. I'm impressed. But that aside, I'll be willing to join you and your ragtag army. I'm glad to know that we're all on the same side against Perseus." Atlas nodded at me before he released my hand.

I lowered my arm before I decided to address the one thing that might make Atlas go against his word.

"There's one other thing you should know first before we start making our way out of here." I said, and watched as Atlas's smile disappeared, his eyes narrowing in suspicion at my words.

"The other Olympian Gods that Percy had killed, they're down here somewhere as well. I need to find them, to see if they had reformed yet. I need them to join my army as well, if we're ever going to have a chance against my cousin and his army of demigods and demi-titans."

Atlas's expression didn't change, but his eyes had gone dark and cold. I was once again nervous that he was going to go against his word of joining my army. 

But thankfully, the titan of strength and endurance just sighed in defeat. "I knew there had to be another reason for you to come down here, Nico Di Angelo. Very well, I understand that we need all the people we can get. I will still join your army, even though I have to work alongside Olympians." 

I breathed out another sigh of relief before I hesitantly patted Atlas on the shoulder. "Thank you for understanding. Now, we should go and see where they are. Do you know where they could possibly be?" 

Atlas scowled as I lifted my hand off of his shoulder. "Yeah. They were near the place where I was reforming. Though it's going to take us quite a long time to get there. When I reformed, I instantly ran and didn't look back." 

I cursed under my breath about having to walk more, but I nodded in agreement. "Okay, that's fine. I'll follow your lead." 

Atlas smiled before turning and walking off into the darkness. 

Word count: 1685

so I woke up at like 4AM today and I'm dead on the inside