DA : Chapter 18: Gathering the Fallen III

All Percy could do was pout at her, getting a giggled from not only Nyx but Rhea and Andromeda while Eros and Phanes chuckled at him.

"No support whatsoever," he grumbled for a few moments before he sighed as he looked at the group. "As much fun as horsing around like this is … I do believe I had a mission."

...

That got the group sober quick as they looked at him. This mission's importance could not be understated, as it could become the basis for some of their biggest possible allies. Sure, Percy would have preferred fighting this entire war himself, but even once he becomes a full primordial, he was still one man.

He might be able to win in the end … but only after decades, possibly centuries of battle against the Olympians and their hundreds of allies. He would need his own forces … and it was time to start gaining some.

"Be safe Percy," Andromeda murmured as she hugged him quickly.

Rhea soon followed up with a kiss before pressing their foreheads together and whispering, "Come back in one piece."

"Hey, it's me we're talking about here," he replied with a smirk. "It's not like I'm going to start a war right now."

"Exactly," several voices answered him making him deadpan.

"Love the vote of confidence," he replied before pecking Rhea one more time and then, seamlessly dissolved into shadows as he left Tartarus.

'I wonder if flashing will be any different to my shadow traveling,' he mused for the second or so it took him to leave Tartarus and arrive in the mortal world.

He looked around his arrival, Mount Tamalpais, and noted the entrance to a certain garden. He smirked as he pulled his hood up, completely hiding his features aside from his chin and the glow of his eyes within the shadows.

He closed up his coat as well, keeping even his body hidden and with the current night and shadows slowly seeping off him, he looked like a shade as he nearly glided along the ground.

His movement was soundless as he entered the Garden of Hesperides with a familiar tree and dragon in sight. He doesn't even bother giving it a second glance but soon stops as four girls materialize before them.

"Who are you?" one asked as they look him up and down.

"Just someone passing by," he answers in a deepened voice.

"To try and steal an apple, no doubt," a second one said with narrowed eyes.

"No need," he retorted while subtly turning one finger in a shadowed claw and pricking another finer with it before bringing the finger up to show the ichor. "I simply wish to speak with someone."

"And how do we know this isn't some sort of trick?" a third asked before the fourth continued, "We should report an unknown immortal to Olympus."

"Sorry," he said with a faint smile, "But I can't let you do that."

"Wha—"

She never got to finish her sentence as Percy rushed forward, driving a sucker punch into her gut. She coughed while doubling over before her eyes rolled in the back of her head and she slumped to the ground.

Before the other Hesperides could react he continued his attacks with practiced precision. A sharp jab to the head of the second, before he flipped while driving his heel against the temple of the fourth.

When he landed he dashed to the third, got behind her and grabbed her into a choke hold specifically limiting her blood flow to her head. She struggled in vain for several seconds but with the lack of air and proper blood movement, soon blacked out in his arms.

He set her down beside her sisters, chuckling softly before murmuring, "Mnemosyne, if you would?'

At his words a soft white glow surrounded the heads of the Hesperides, wiping their memories of encountering him.

'Done!' a peppy voice chirped in his head making him smile.

Now that was one happy Titaness, it was no wonder that she was one of Rhea's favorite little sisters. When Mnemosyne and Andormeda got together, the atmosphere was so overly positive that Percy sometimes looked for Tartarus and tried asking him for jokes.

Nothing was more depressing that his uncle's sense of humor and it was the perfect balance to his sister's antics.

He shook his head at the thoughts before he continued on his way, easily making it past Ladon since they'd been too far for the dragon to properly hear without their being an explicit call for his name and Percy kept some distance from the tree just to be sure.

He soon made his way up to the top of the mountain, taking in the sights though they weren't really much to begin with.

At one point he looked in the direction that he knew Camp Jupiter was and wondered how some of his old friends were? Jason, Piper, Frank, and Hazel had stayed there but with his disappearance, he hadn't really thought to check on them.

He knew they were strong so he wasn't worried about them in that sense but he was just more curious to see how their lives were going.

He thought finally paying a visit sometime after he finished the mission, though he wouldn't be able to greet them … not yet anyways. 'But if I made them choose … who would they side with in the war?' he wondered as he continued to walk.

They were his friends and fought with him, sure, but at the same time three were loyal romans and Piper probably wouldn't do anything without Jason. Reyna was a most likely no as well but he could hope. 'Thoughts for later then,' he mused as he arrived at his true destination.

He stood a few meters away from the person he sought out, Atlas, Titan of Strength and Endurance. He stood at a hulking 8 feet, body packed with dense muscle and lightly tanned skin. His hair was a yellowish blonde from the constant sun and his beard had grown shaggy from lack of care, his arms held up to lift the skies.

Percy observed the monument meant to serve as the powerful Titan's punishment with distaste. Many forget that the sky and earth were not originally meant to be connected like this but was done by the Olympians with the help of the Elder Cyclops.

With the banishment of Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios, the Titan lords of the North, South, East, and West, the sky was naturally destabilized and so, this meeting point was formed to keep Atlas imprisoned … but Percy needed to destroy it.

Balance needed to be restored … and adding Atlas to his ally side was a big plus if he managed it.

It brought a bitter taste to his mouth, helping him when it was thanks to him that Zoe died but then again, Percy had a plan for that as well. So, with that in mind he walked up to the weary titan and made himself known by clearing his throat. Atlas lifted his head up slowly to look at him, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Atlas," Percy began as he walked closer.

"Who are you?" Atlas asked in a tired voice as he shifted his shoulders slightly.

"One who has come with a deal," he answered, not wanting the titan to know his identity for now.

"A deal?" Atlas echoed with a bitter tone. "And what sort of deal could you offer me mortal?"

Percy chuckled at the titan thinking he was mortal. He really needed to thank Nyx for giving him that charm to hide his presence though it wouldn't work anymore once he ascended to being a full primordial.

"I offer freedom from your burden," he said, watching the titan's reactions.

"How …?" Atlas asked slowly as he looked him up and down. "You can't take the burden yourself without dying so what would be the point? And I doubt you have another god in reserve somewhere looking for a workout," he added with a scoff.

"Oh, I do plan on taking your burden … just not at this moment," he answered getting a surprised look from Atlas.

"Just … who are you?" Atlas asked suspiciously.

"Someone who will see Olympus fall," he answered darkly, his eyes glowing in agreement.

Atlas chuckled at his claim before saying, "Many have made that claim. What makes yours any different?"

"Oh I don't know …" he said with a shrug as the darkness and shadows around him started to writhe and move like hungry claws as frost spread from his feet, a modicum of his power and killing intent aimed directly towards the titan.

With satisfaction he noted that Atlas shivered slightly with a new unease in his stony grey eyes.

"Just … trust me on this," he said as he reigned his power in. "I will swear on the Styx to take your burden from you if you swear to follow the next order I give you to the letter once I free you. Deal?"

Atlas looked at him silently for some time, keeping his thoughts rather well hidden with a poker face and blank eyes. After nearly 5 minutes passed Atlas sighed as he nodded.

"Very well … I swear on the river Styx to—"

"Ah-ah," Percy interrupted with a raised hand. "Swear on the Styx … and your immortality …"

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