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 looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things Percy originally disliked about Zoe, with none of the good things he'd come to appreciate.

"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 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 center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility." 

Percy looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motioned her head toward Luke. But all he could do was stare at her. He hadn't noticed before, but something about her had changed. Her blond hair was now streaked with gray. 

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "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 from you." 

He approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge." 

"Fight us," Percy said. "And let's see." 

Annabeth was seriously considering throwing a rock at his head. Finley still yanked at her chains. 

"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 declared. 

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.  "Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!" 

He waved his hand, and next to them a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. Percy could imagine Bessie in that pool. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he was sure he could hear Bessie mooing. 

Don't think about him! Suddenly Grover's voice was inside his mind.—the empathy link. Percy could feel his emotions. He was on the verge of panic. I'm losing Bessie. Block the thoughts! 

Percy forced himself to think of skateboards and the different kinds of candy in his mom's shop. Anything but Bessie. 

"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 four 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." 

Percy didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. He believed that Luke was in danger. His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And he 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, they saw images in the mist all around them: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around them, made of fear and shadow. 

Finley continued to pull at her chains. She didn't know how, but she freed herself before running forward. 

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak." 

"STOP!"

"Sunny?"

Percy was completely astounded. He was relieved to see her alive. then the panic settled in. She was here At a Titan's base. 

"Thalia, don't!" Finley advised. 

 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 leveled 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 met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded. He looked at the others, and he decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this. 

"Now," he said. 

Together, they 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 counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

As for Percy, he went straight for Atlas. 

"Percy!" Zoe said. "Beware!" 

Finley didn't acknowledge Zoe's warning seeing as she was fighting Luke. While Thalia wasn't fighting to kill (just yet), Finley was. She didn't hope for the old Luke to come back. She already knew he was gone. 

The Luke she knew was dead. This Luke was dark and vile. 

This Luke wasn't her family. 

This Luke was her enemy. 

And all of Finley's enemies met their end.

She brought her golden sword into a wicked ark. Luke blocked at the last moment. They fought viciously. Luke's bright blue eyes darkened, becoming more sinister. 

Luke brought his dark sword down in a verticle attack. He knew this was one of the few points of weakness Finley had. 

But she surprised him, she started gaining the upper hand as she pushed back.

But Luke couldn't have her winning. 

He swept his foot under hers, causing the girl to hit the ground hard. She started coughing for air as her sword skidded to the side. 

By now, Thalia was aiming to kill, but Luke kicked her back. 

"Finny," Luke said. "You can still join-"

"No," Finley said as she glared up at the man she saw as her brother. 

"So be it."

Luke brought his sword up, ready to deliver the killing blow. 

Finley threw her hand above her face, almost as if it would protect her.

And it did. 

Luke stumbled back as a beam of light struck his eyes. It wasn't yellow as she would have thought. It was light golden. It not only shocked Luke but Finley too.

"Holy Apollo-" she breathed out as she looked down at her hand. 

"Die, little hero," Atlas said, grinning maliciously.

He raised his javelin to impale Percy. 

"You help Kelp Head," Thalia grunted as Luke got over his momentary blindness. "I got Scar-Face."

Finely nodded before running through the volley of arrows Zoe sent at her father. Unfortunately, it didn't do anything. 

"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.

Finley had completely forgotten about her sword. She held out her hand, ready for something to happen.

Percy had thought he was going to die. His sword was gone. Atlas was impervious to Zoe's arrows. He was ready to die. But then a beam of light came. 

Finley appeared with a face full of fury. Her lip curled in distaste and her hazel eyes seemed electrified. The beam of light that came from her hands cast shadows across her face, making her looked sinister. 

And I thought she was scary when I stole her mac and cheese, Percy thought to himself. 

"I see you found your true worth," Atlas laughed. 

"I already knew my worth," Finley growled. "Your minions made me doubt it. But not anymore."

This was only half true. Finley didn't realize how much she meant to her friends. She didn't know how important she was for the outcome of the war. She just knew she is worth more than someone's sidekick.

Another volley of arrows came as Finley took notice of Percy speaking to Artemis. 

"The sky," he told the goddess. "Give it to me."

 "No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver."You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!" 

"Annabeth took it!" 

"She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long." 

"I'll die anyway," Percy said. "Give me the weight of the sky!"

Finley didn't wait for her objections. She pulled Riptide from Percy's jacket pocket before slashing the chains. Then she stepped next to her aunt and braced herself on one knee—holding up her hands—and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and Finley bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing she'd ever felt, as if she were being crushed under a thousand trucks. She wanted to black out from the pain, but she breathed deeply. 

I can do this.

Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and Finley held it alone. 

Every muscle in Finley's body turned to fire. They turned burned as if they were in the pits of hell. Her bones melted like chocolate left out in the sun. A scream died in her throat as she didn't have the strength to open her mouth. She began to sink lower and lower, the sky's weight crushing her.  

"Finley," Percy breathed out. "What did you do?"

Finley clenched her jaw as she tried to rise. Beads of sweat dripped down her forehead. 

"Fight," Finley grunted. It was clear she wanted Percy to fight, but he wouldn't move. 

Her eyes scanned the battle. 

Atlas, in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Zoe shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. 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. Thaliapressed 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. "Well see, my old friend." 

Finley's shoulders screamed in agony. 

Every time Percy tried to take the weight from her, Finley would glare at him. 

She wasn't sure why she was doing this. She considered letting Percy take the sky, but she wouldn't. She needed to prove something. 

She needs to prove she is strong enough. She needs to make amends for lost joining Luke. This is her redemption for something that doesn't need to it. 

She needs to make her father proud. She seeks that validation. It was a common thing among the children of gods. They always sought to make their parents happy. They wanted to prove they were worthy of their time. 

For once, Finley wasn't different from her siblings in that sense. 

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 in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward Finley. 

Get ready, she spoke in Finley's mind. 

Finley wanted to respond, but she couldn't. 

"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."

He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. Finley saw the trick coming. Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip 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. 

Finley wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but she couldn't speak or move. She couldn't even see where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up. 

"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward. 

As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her, Finley saw him coming down on top of her and she realized what would happen. She loosened her grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into her, she didn't try to hold on. She let herself be pushed out of the way. 

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late. 

"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"

Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

Finley tried to stand but she looked like a drunken man, stumbling for balance. Her body was burning up as Percy moved to help her stand. Her right arm was slung around her shoulder as Percy began supporting almost all her weight.

Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still, they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat. He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat. For a moment, there was silence. 

"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but Finley could hear fear in his voice. 

Thalia trembled with fury. Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!" 

"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!" 

In her daze, Finley realized that Artemis was no longer with her. She had run off toward the black rocks where Zoe had fallen. 

"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He... he'll be useful."  

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?" 

Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear. 

"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell. 

"Luke!" Annabeth screamed. They rushed to the cliff's edge. Below them, the army from the Princess Andromeda had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. 

Percy could not stand it despite hating him.  

The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving. One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. Percy pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over our heads. They ran for the rocks, back to where Finley lay after Percy set her back down, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as they passed. 

"Artemis!" Percy yelled. The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still... 

"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. Percy had almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. He 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," Finley said hoarsely as she gained her strength.

"Come on! We have to get her some." Percy insisted. 

No one moved. Grief hung in the air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. They might've met our doom right there, but then they 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!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to 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 at the antique plane, which was now banking around 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 all right!" 

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. Finley realized with amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder. 

"That's... my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement. 

They didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon. Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer Finely had ever seen. It landed right next to them. 

"Get in," Artemis said. 

 Annabeth helped Percy get Thalia on board. Finley helped Artemis with Zoe. They 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, still dazed with pain. 

Artemis took time to look back at him. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?" 

Seeing them safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed them like an honor guard. It must have 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 them, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of MountTamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky. 

They landed at Crissy Field after nightfall. 

As soon as Dr. Chase stepped out of his Sopwith Camel, Annabeth ran to him and gave him a huge hug. 

"Dad! You flew... you shot... oh my gods! That was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!" 

Her father blushed. "Well, not bad for a middle-aged mortal, I suppose." 

"But the celestial bronze bullets! How did you get those?" 

"Ah, well. You did leave quite a few half-blood weapons in your room in Virginia, the last time you... left." 

Annabeth looked down, embarrassed. 

Finley noticed Dr. Chase was very careful not to say ran away. 

"I decided to try melting some down to make bullet casings," he continued. "Just a littleexperiment." 

He said it like it was no big deal, but he had a gleam in his eye. Finley could understand all of a sudden why Athena, Goddess of Crafts and Wisdom, had taken a liking to him. He was an excellent mad scientist at heart. 

"Dad..." Annabeth faltered. 

"Annabeth, Percy, Finny," Thalia interrupted. Her voice was urgent. She and Artemis were kneeling at Zoe's side, binding the huntress's wounds. 

The trio ran over to help, but there wasn't much they could do. They had ambrosia or nectar. No regular medicine would help. It was dark, but Finley could see that Zoe didn't look good. She was shivering, and the faint glow that usually hung around her was fading. 

"Can't you heal her with magic?" Percy asked Artemis. "I mean... you're a goddess." 

Artemis looked troubled. "Life is a fragile thing, Percy. If the Fates will the string to be cut, there is little I can do. But I can try." 

She tried to set her hand on Zoe's side, but Zoe gripped her wrist. She looked into the goddess's eyes, and some kind of understanding passed between them. 

"Have I... served thee well?" Zoe whispered. 

 "With great honor," Artemis said softly. "The finest of my attendants." 

Zoe's face relaxed. "Rest. At last." 

"I can try to heal the poison, my brave one." 

But in that moment, Finley knew it wasn't just the poison that was killing her. It was her father's final blow. Zoe had known all along that the Oracle's prophecy was about her: she would die by a parent's hand. And yet she'd taken the quest anyway. She had chosen to save Percy, and Atlas's fury had broken her inside. 

She saw Thalia, and took her hand. 

"I am sorry we argued," Zoe said. "We could have been sisters." 

Finley decided not to comment on the obvious attraction between the two. 

"It's my fault," Thalia said, blinking hard. "You were right about Luke, about heroes, men—everything." 

"Perhaps not all men," Zoe murmured. She smiled weakly at Percy. "Do you still have the sword, Percy?" 

He couldn't speak, but he brought out Riptide and put the pen in her hand. She grasped it contentedly. "You spoke the truth, Percy Jackson. You are nothing like... like Hercules. I am honored that you carry this sword." A shudder ran through her body. 

"Zoe—" he said. 

"Finley," the dying huntress turned to her. "You would have made a wonderful huntress. I know why you are hesitant. Follow your heart."

"Zoe—" tears fell from Finley's eyes, but she never got to say as she wished. 

"Stars," she whispered. "I can see the stars again, my lady." 

A tear trickled down Artemis's cheek. "Yes, my brave one. They are beautiful tonight." 

"Stars," Zoe repeated. Her eyes fixed on the night sky. And she did not move again. 

Thalia lowered her head. Annabeth gulped down a sob, and her father put his hands on her shoulders. Percy watched as Artemis cupped her hand above Zoe's mouth and spoke a few words in Ancient Greek. A silvery wisp of smoke exhaled from Zoe's lips and was caught in the hand of the goddess. Zoe's body shimmered and disappeared. 

Artemis stood, said a kind of blessing, breathed into her cupped hand, and released the silver dust to the sky. 

It flew up, sparkling, and vanished. For a moment Finley didn't see anything different. Then Annabeth gasped. Looking up in the sky, she saw that the stars were brighter now. They made a pattern Finley had never noticed before—a gleaming constellation that looked a lot like a girl's figure—a girl with a bow, running across the sky. 

"Let the world honor you, my Huntress," Artemis said. "Live forever in the stars."