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Luke had betrayed him.
Not just betrayed him, Luke had manipulated him, used his hope, and then laughed at him like Isaac was the fool for wanting Luke back. And the worst part was that even though the logical side of him knew that there wasn't any logical basis for it, he still hoped Luke would change his mind.
It was a crushing realization, but not as crushing as the weight of the sky.
He had no idea how Atlas had held it up for millenia- the difference between a titan and a demigod, he supposed. Still, especially for someone as cruel and selfish as Atlas, Isaac was surprised he hadn't just decided to let the sky fall and take everyone else with him. Really, what kind of punishment is “you'll be in pain for all eternity but you can walk away at any time but that would end the world.”
Maybe there was some sort of magic that keeps the person holding the sky from leaving without someone else to take it. Isaac knew he wouldn't leave, even as he could feel his body and soul being crushed and warped by a weight no mortal was meant to bear, but that was because he wouldn't let his weakness kill Mary and Hector and the rest of camp, even if it would’ve been a very understandable weakness.
Time felt different under the weight, like it had stopped entirely but already lasted an eternity. Distantly, Isaac wondered if it actually was different. If time was affected by gravity, was it so impossible that something as heavy as the sky, concentrated into one point that a human could hold, would warp time and gravity around it?
The point was, Isaac had no idea how long it had been when the weight lessened. He hadn't seen anyone coming to help him with his eyes squeezed shut, or heard their approach over the pounding of his blood in his ears. And maybe it made him as bad as Luke, but Isaac didn't hesitate to collapse to the floor the second there was someone else to shoulder the burden. He opened his eyes, and saw Luke talking to a titan- must be Atlas- while his mom? No, that was Annabeth- while Annabeth held up the sky. He still couldn't quite hear right, but Luke said something that made Atlas wave a hand dismissively and turn to walk away. Isaac's eyes drifted closed again and he slipped into blissful unconsciousness as he felt shackles close around his wrists.
—--
“And now we have the complete set.” Isaac was awoken by the coldly satisfied voice of Atlas, and opened his eyes. His wrists were chained to the wall of the sky pavilion, and Annabeth was still holding up the sky, but now Atlas stood before a shackled god Isaac recognized as Perseus. “Let me tell you how this is going to go, little godling. You can go help your better half; ease her burden. Or you can try to fight me. You'll lose, especially with those shackles, and I'll make her watch me torture you every day while she holds up the sky, all alone.” The ease with which the titan offered the choice between being tortured by the sky and tortured by himself was chilling. Isaac had occasionally had the stray fantasy of being made a god, but right now he was beyond thankful that his pitiful mortal self seemed to be below the titan's notice.
Perseus glanced between Annabeth, Atlas, and himself (Isaac was pretty sure the god recognized him but was trying not to reveal that he did) before seeming to deflate a little. He trudged towards the dais where Annabeth was trapped, pressed a quick kiss to her cheek, turned back to spit at the titan, and then dropped to one knee to help his secret wife (if the dryads’ gossip was to be believed).
“Such fire from a deity of the water!” Atlas smirked. “We'll see how long that defiance lasts. Remove his shackles.” the titan ordered a dracaena as he left. “He'll need every last bit of his strength.”
“I'm sorry.” Isaac croaked once the monster had unchained Perseus and left the three of them alone.
“Don't be.” Annabeth grunted, sounding startlingly human at the moment. “My choice.”
“Not- not your fault.” Perseus groaned in agreement.
Isaac nodded, though he still felt guilty. There was quiet for a minute, except for the gods’ heavy breathing and the wind around the mountaintop, before Isaac shyly offered “Would it help if I talked to keep you distracted? Or do you want to focus?”
“Talk.” Annabeth said, though her tone made it sound more like a request or even a plea than a godly command.
“Heard- son of Zeus- boat?” Perseus prompted.
“Yeah, poor Hector got super seasick. I was shocked that your father didn't sink a ship that dared to carry a son of Zeus and a son of Athena, but we met this cyclops, Tyson. He said he knows you, actually.”
“Good kid.” Perseus commented.
“Yeah. I'll admit I didn't like him at first, but we needed passage to the Sea of Monsters…”
—--
It had been a few days, and Isaac was running out of stories to tell. His tale of the Sea or Monsters had been met with the occasional bit of commentary from the gods- the memory of Polyphemus wasn't quite as terrifying after hearing Perseus say he was dumber than his sheep, and Annabeth had forced a shocked laugh out of him when she called Circe a “weapons-grade bitch.”
He'd moved on to telling them about the rest of the quest where he'd first met them, but other than a quiet “nice” from Annabeth when Hector killed Medusa and a strained chuckle from Perseus after hearing his account of them sabotaging the dye vats, they were unresponsive. He'd moved on to stories from growing up at camp, but at that point not even his recounting of the Stoll’s greatest hits could get a reaction. But talking to them was the only thing he could do to help, so he started in on the time Clarisse challenged Chiron to an archery contest before slamming his mouth shut when Atlas, Luke, and the dracaena from before entered.
“I told you keeping that one alive was a mistake.” Atlas snarled, gesturing at Isaac without looking at him.
“Respectfully, sir, the only one who's a threat is Artemis, and she's not here for him.” Mixed feelings were at war in Isaac's chest- on the one hand, he had to reluctantly admire Luke for disagreeing with an angry titan, and apparently being the one to have his life spared. But also, going from kissing up to the gods to kissing up to the titans? Big improvement, traitor.
The rest of their argument was derailed by a new group of people bursting into the pavilion. The person leading them, despite looking even younger than Isaac, had to be Artemis, based off her shining silver hair and eyes. Not to mention that the woman standing next to her was clearly one of her hunters. But the goddess had also brought Thalia, and Mary, and even Hector! Isaac had no idea how he'd swung that one; maybe it was a son of Zeus thing? Artemis was technically his half sister.
There wasn't any big argument where the villains revealed their plan, only Atlas’ angry growl of “Daughter!” The hunter, by process of elimination. Then everyone burst into action. Thalia charged Luke with her spear, shield, and an angry battle cry. Mary's axe clashed with the dracaena's, sending sparks scattering across the floor. The other three engaged the titan himself.
Two thirds of the fight were going really well. Luke was clearly on the defensive, losing ground to Thalia's ferocious onslaught. A clever feint had Mary turning the dracaena into golden dust before running over to start hacking at Isaac's chains.
But even against a goddess, Atlas seemed unstoppable. He barely seemed to notice Hector's electric blasts or cuts from his sword. His daughter's arrows were mere inconveniences, wounds healing as soon as he ripped the projectile from them. Artemis’ glowing silver arrows seemed to be the most effective, but the damage they inflicted still healed, just slower. And all the while, the titan swung his javelin in savage arcs and brutal thrusts.
The problem was obvious. Atlas could seemingly fight forever. The Titan of Endurance would outlast a demigod, his immortal daughter, and even an Olympian goddess herself. He could take damage indefinitely; one unlucky hit was all that he needed against Hector or the hunter, and Isaac wasn't sure how many Artemis could take either.
“What's the plan?” Isaac asked softly as Mary freed him.
“Save you, save the Athenides.”
“Okay, but how?” He asked as he stood up. Mary grimaced and handed him his dagger in lieu of a plan.
A groan from Perseus distracted Isaac from the hopelessness of their situation, and Isaac realized that the god was holding the sky by himself now. Next to him, Annabeth was standing up, growing and glowing until she was as tall as Atlas, clad in battle armor and wielding a spear and a shield embossed with a wreath of olive branches. Isaac had been exhausted when he escaped the sky, but the goddess seemed to have gotten a second wind from it, throwing herself into battle against her captor.
Having someone who could engage the titan head-on, even if each strike she blocked cracked her shield and made her feet slide back a few inches, seemed to be what they needed to turn the tide. Atlas roared in pain as a silver arrow hit him in the eye. Hector's sword stabbed into his thigh. A solid bash from Annabeth's shield sent Atlas sprawling towards Perseus, who with a cry of agony, reached out a hand to grab the titan by the collar and drag him under the sky while he rolled himself out from under it.
Isaac decided there was definitely something keeping a lone sky-bearer from abandoning their post as Atlas screamed and spat curses at them, but didn't leave. He breathed a sigh of relief. They had won. “Oh gods, Zoë!” Hector cried out, shattering his moment of peace. The son of Zeus was kneeling at the hunter's side, and Isaac could see the spot in the wall where she had impacted. Her body was twisted and lumped unnaturally.
“There's an army coming up the mountain; we need to go.” Artemis said as she picked up her fallen follower.
“I don’t think I have the energy left to teleport passengers.” Annabeth said reluctantly.
“I can do one, maybe two if they don't mind popping up in the East River.” Perseus volunteered.
Artemis sighed, snapped her fingers and a gleaming silver chariot appeared. If he wasn't starving and still aching from the sky, Isaac would probably be nerding out about the fact that he was possibly one of the first mortals or men to ride in the moon chariot, but as it was he could only slump down tiredly against the side of the chariot and watch Hector, Mary, and Thalia try to tend to Zoë.
Artemis set them down in a clearing in the woods and knelt down next to her hunter, but her expression was grim. “Zoë, I-”
“It’s okay, my lady.” Zoë said weakly. “And one shall fall by a parent's hand. I knew we would be facing my father.”
“Anaklusmos. Percy, Anaklusmos!” Annabeth gasped. Isaac knew that's what he'd seen Perseus wielding in New York, but he was almost distracted from that by how weird it was to hear a god's nickname. Also, he had no idea what Heracles’ old sword had to do with anything.
Perseus apparently did, because with a twist of his wrist he was holding it. “Annabeth, I've never done this before, maybe-” This day was full of firsts; Isaac had never heard a god sound so nakedly uncertain.
“Neither have I, and you have the sea connection. She's fading fast.” Annabeth said, putting a hand on his shoulder. Perseus nodded, took a deep breath, and broke the blade over his knee.
The scholar in Isaac would've normally objected to the callous destruction of a historic artifact, but he instead watched with fascination as, instead of snapping in two, the sword shattered into dozens of fragments of blue light hovering in the air. They started to fade and drift apart, but the god grit his teeth and suddenly they all flew into Zoë's body. The hunter gasped, and a moment later Isaac did as well as her body began righting itself. If Hector and Mary had tears of relief trailing down their cheeks, well, that didn't need to make it into the official retelling at camp.
“So that's where that went.” Zoë said hoarsely as she sat up. “You have my gratitude, Lord Perseus.”
“And mine as well.” Artemis added.
“And mine! Uh, for what it's worth.” Hector said. “But, um, what just happened, exactly?” Isaac grinned at Hector, although in this instance he was just as stumped.
Zoë sighed. “In my youth, I created Anaklusmos from my essence and foolishly gifted it to Heracles. I know not how it came to be in possession of it, but I believe he returned it to its previous state in order to heal and strengthen me.”
“I stole it from Heracles, then gave it to Annabeth to get her mom off my back, then she gave it to Ares to get him off her back, then Ares gave it back to her to convince Athena to undo some curse on one of his kids, and then she gave it back to me as a gift around the end of the Napoleonic Wars. I would have returned it to you sooner but I only learned of the circumstances of its creation back in the 70s.”
“Will you need another sword? I could make you one!” Mary suggested eagerly. Hector shot him an amused look that Isaac pointedly ignored. He wasn't nearly as bad about architecture as Mary was about smithing. Right?
“I am honored by your offer, Miriam, but a son of the sea needs a blade with a connection to it. I'll ask my father for one at the Winter Solstice.” He shot Artemis a grin that normally would have made a woman blush- hells, it would probably make Isaac blush- but being directed at Artemis, it made Isaac fear for his safety. “If you like, my lady, I can make sure to mention your presence, let him make one of his Suggestions, and then tell him he owes you a gift for forgetting your vows.”
Zoë sat up angrily, glaring at Perseus. “If the Lord of the Seas has been dishonoring-”
“Peace, Zoë.” Artemis said with a soft laugh. “Uncle P, believing his son to be unattached, has long suggested that I take Perseus as my husband. But given that he has been surprisingly polite about it, and Perseus has always been nothing but respectful to myself and Annabeth, I choose to see the humor in the situation rather than take offense. That said, the Solstice is tonight, and each of your parents has been led to believe that their child has been kidnapped by the other, so unless you wish for the Athena-Poseidon feud to turn into full-on warfare, I suggest we make haste to Olympus.”
“Father!” Perseus groaned.
“I'd hoped she'd be wise enough not to fall for it, but nooo!” Annabeth grumbled. “If you wouldn't mind us hitching a ride a bit further, Artemis, we'd appreciate it. We've kept our parents at peace so far, but it can be… taxing.”
—--
Taxing was certainly a word for what happened when they got to Olympus. When they entered the throne room, Athena and Poseidon were accusing each other of being responsible for Artemis’ absence, and it took them a full minute to notice the three gods in question were giving them unimpressed stares. After Thalia joined to hunters to prevent herself from turning 16 and the surprising alliance of Hector and Poseidon saved an adorable fish-cow that Hector vaguely recognized as the Ophiotauros, Artemis and the Athenides began explaining what had happened while Olympus was busy trying to calm down Athena and Poseidon.
Apparently, that was exactly what the titans wanted, according to Annabeth. Having two gods in their stronghold, even minor ones, was a risk, but it would be worth it to have a war between two Olympians. Fortunately, Annabeth had missed a meeting she'd requested with Artemis, and that combined with a prophecy was enough to set the rescue party on their trail.
In the end, Athena and Poseidon gave each other the least sincere apologies Isaac had ever heard, (even Zeus rolled his eyes) a war council was called for the next day to discuss the threat of the titans, and the gods let them hang around for the party they apparently were going to throw for the Solstice anyways, but was now a celebration of nobody being kidnapped anymore.
Isaac had never really been big on parties, but hanging out off to the side with Hector was pretty good. It would've been better with Mary there, but she was deep in conversation with Hephaestus, and he wouldn’t deny any demigod the rare opportunity to have their divine parent's attention, so he'd make do. Except then Zoë introduced some minor god to Hector to divert his attention while she slipped away, and then Isaac was awkwardly standing there by himself.
“Castellan is far beyond saving, my child.” Isaac jumped as he turned to see that his mother had snuck up on him, Annabeth trailing behind her. Getting unsolicited advice about really complicated feelings from the mother he'd never met in person before today was actually more awkward than standing at the edge of a party by himself, it turned out. “The impulse to save him is a noble one, but he has gone too far down his path to turn back now.” Athena continued.
“I- I understand, mother.” He said, because what else was he supposed to say? Besides, he did get where she was coming from, logically, it just… might take his heart some time to catch up to his brain.
“Still, despite taking the sky from him being a foolish decision, you bore the consequences with strength and dignity. It does me proud to know the only mortal to hold up the sky is one of mine.” Isaac tried not to grin at the fact that his mother, in her distant, Athena way, had said she was proud of him, even if it was a backhanded compliment. “And your companions… children of Zeus are powerful, but often in need of guidance. And when the minds of Hephaestus’ children meet with one of my own, true marvels and wonders are created. Both choices would suit you.”
Athena gave him a curt nod and walked off, ignoring how Isaac's cheeks burned at the realization that he was getting dating advice. “Sorry about her.” Annabeth said apologetically as she moved to fill the spot their mother had vacated. “She can be… a lot. But she does care, in her own way. Even about you demigods.”
“A lot. That seems accurate.” Isaac said. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about his mother dropping that on him and then walking away like she'd checked a chore off her to-do list, but whatever.
“Yeah. I also wanted to thank you for keeping Perseus and I company up on the mountain. It helped to have company, and a reminder of what we were doing it for.”
“Of course!” Isaac said. There was a beat where Annabeth looked at him expectantly. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course.” Annabeth said with a knowing smile.
“In the throne room- it felt like you left something out of your story. Not a lie, but…”
Annabeth grinned, but in a friendly way rather than a threatening one. “That's not a question.” She said teasingly.
Isaac took a minute to put his thoughts in order. Annabeth seemed happy to wait for him. “Perseus said he'd known Anaklusmos was Zoë's since the 70s but he made it sound like he decided to just give it to her the next time he saw her. You said you'd arranged a meeting with Lady Artemis that you missed, and that's what put her on your trail. You and Perseus are… close.” Annabeth nodded encouragingly. “How frequently do you have pre-arranged meetings with Lady Artemis?”
Annabeth's grin turned from that of an encouraging teacher to that of a victorious chess master. “That was the first time I'd ever arranged such a thing.” Annabeth said.
Isaac's eyes widened. “So you knew?”
“I suspected enough to make plans in case my suspicions were correct.” Annabeth said lightly, though her grin was still wolfish.
“Did Perseus know?”
“He knew enough, and trusted me for the rest.” The goddess said, her smile melting from a victorious smirk to something soft and fond.
“Well I'm glad your rescue plan worked, my lady.”
Annabeth blinked. “You have the scope, but not the aim. The goal wasn't to be rescued, the goal was the war council meeting tomorrow to discuss the testimony from three well respected deities, each with the ear of one of the most stubborn Olympians, that the titans are preparing for war.”
“Oh.” Isaac said quietly. He had heard that Artemis was one of Zeus’ favorites. “You know, Perseus really did you a disservice when he introduced you as the Goddess of Olives. I thought you were scary when you were fighting Atlas, but that… wow.”
Annabeth gave a distinctly un-godly snort of amusement. “He knows I'd rather be underestimated than overscrutinized. Being known as Perseus's lover and my mother's blind spot affords me many more opportunities than I would have if I was known primarily as a politician.”
“Terrifying, and inspiring! I have much to learn.” Isaac said, trying to hide his nervousness at teasing a goddess. Annabeth just laughed.
“I'm sure you do. Your camp isn't that far from Athens, I'll talk to Chiron and swing by sometimes.” Had he just convinced a goddess to teach lessons at camp? It kind of sounded like that. The Ares kids might actually kill him- unless she also taught some of her spear moves.
“Isaac, why did you leave me with that- oh, hello lady Annabeth.” Hector said.
“Was it Diamedes? I've known him for thousands of years and I'm still not entirely sure if his domain is really boredom or if that's a running joke from before I was created.” Annabeth said casually, and Isaac smiled as he heard Hector choke back an inappropriately loud laugh. “I’ll leave you two to it. And Isaac? She means well, but don't think mother's last bit of advice means you need to make a decision now, or that the options she mentioned are the only ones.” Annabeth said, smirking as Isaac felt the heat rise in his cheeks.
“What did your mom say to you?” Hector asked as Annabeth walked off.
“Nothing!” Isaac said quickly. “Wanna go find Mary?”