Struck by Lightning

XI

Mount Othrys was much like what Percy imagined the ruins of the Parthenon would have looked like if the Athenians were evil superpowered beings hell-bent on dominating the world and all that lived in it. There was rubble everywhere, much of it littering the fields of the flatter part of the mountain they were now approaching as they hiked up the side of Mount Tamalpais. The intricate columns, a remnant of the Archaic architecture of ancient Greece, and the half-crumbled marble statues that extended around the perimeter of the complex hearkened back to an age of glory long past. All in all, it was much like the ruins that could be seen around Greece.

That is, if those ruins were reforming themselves.

Even as Percy watched, pieces of marble flew back to what must have been its original place, slotting in like a puzzle piece that had been missing for centuries. Facades were repaired. Columns were rebuilt. Statues were reborn. The entire mountain – Othrys, that is, not Tamalpais – seemed to be returning itself back to its ancient self. An ancient self that was in direct opposition with the Olympian gods.

"What's going on?" Bianca asked quietly, keeping behind the battle-worn Zoë as they passed through the reforming marble buildings of the Titans' stronghold.

"Othrys is rebuilding itself," Thalia whispered, looking at the ongoing process with awe and no small amount of fear. For the Titan fortress to be repairing itself, the Titans themselves had to be gaining strength, which to any sane demigod was a legitimate source of deep concern.

"We are running out of time if it has come this far," Zoë growled out, her voice low and her movement steady forward. "We must move quickly. There is no time to waste here." Thalia nodded an affirmative, and the two women led the small group while Percy and Bianca took up the rear as they quickly, but cautiously, moved through the ruins of Mount Othrys.

Soon, they came to another path, one that led even higher on the mountain, and Zoë, with a distinct look of consternation on her face as she looked at the path and where it led, strode onwards, barely wasting a second in hesitation as she began hiking up the trail. Behind her, Thalia, Percy, and Bianca followed, wary of any possible attack. Even though there were no signs of monsters, the entire mountain gave off a vibe that unsettled even the most experienced of demigods. This feeling didn't dissipate as they moved onwards; on the contrary, it seemed to increase as they climbed, like a deadly sense of increasing pressure that settled in their stomachs and made the weight of each step seem like moving in molasses. By the time they moved past the rows of rocks and out into an open summit, Bianca looked like she was on the verge of being sick, her breaths coming in short and in gasps as she struggled to find her equilibrium.

The sky was a dark gray, with a vortex swirling to make a funnel cloud that reached down to nearly touch the ground of the mountain's summit. And at the center of the funnel cloud was a young girl who, from a distance, looked no older than twelve. Her auburn hair was infused with dust and soot, and her silvery dress was dirty and tattered. Once they approached, however, Percy could feel an aura of power radiating from her, as well as an equal sense of oppression and tightness that threatened to choke him from its density. The girl turned, and Percy felt her silver eyes fall on them. Even as they seemed unfocused and tired, he still had a sense of opaqueness, like she could see right through them.

"My lady!" Zoë yelled, abandoning caution as she ran towards Artemis. The goddess struggled to turn under the weight of the world.

"No!" Artemis said, her voice wavering under the immense weight she was forced to carry. "Do not approach. This is a trap. Leave!" Even under extreme duress, her voice had an authoritative quality that made Percy want to turn and follow her orders. Bianca, new as she was to the whole demigod world, did spin on her heel before she stopped and turned back. For Artemis' part, even though her words carried strength, she was clearly heavily strained under the weight of the sky. For the first time in his life, Percy saw an Olympian in actual pain, Artemis' breath shaky as she trembled under the awesome weight she bore.