First things first I haven't abandoned any of my other stories, however I am at least as disappointed in myself as you people most likely are, for failing to update Daughter of Juno and to a lesser amount Bound By Blood (I hadn't promised to update that fast, so I haven't failed another promise). All I can say in my defence is August was a lot less relaxed than I imagined I would be. Sincerely: a heavy case of writer's block, a job, getting my hand hurt, ... Sigh, but I am trying to solve most of my problems at the moment.
This little bit of story is so to say a reward for everyone who loved Daughter of Juno (and my way of apologising for being horribly late with the main story). I had originally several ideas about what story I would write and this was my second favourite variant of a Percy Jackson-story.
instead of diverging from the Canon story, this one would be set after that. Here Penthesilea (fem-Percy) would get banished to Tartarus for the customary charges of becoming to powerful, criticism upon the Gods, being rebellious, insulting... . To bad that most of the other (Greek) demigods don't nod and go along with that idea (unfortunately most of those eventually end up dead and swimming down the lethe or thrown in Tartarus as well).
It involves several ideas which I haven't really seen on fanfiction (I don't say they aren't there, just that I haven't read them). Tartarus as a constant warzone/ hunting ground with shifting alliances between the grand monsters, Fallen Gods, titans, giants and damned humans. A large part of the fic would involve Penthesilea carving out her/ Iapetus's kingdom in Tartarus and gathering allies+ settling some scores. There would be plenty of attention to the different inhabitants and their backstories and what drove or still drives them. There would be no grand new enemy rising, instant imagine a renewed alliance of gods, titans and giants rising to break the gates of Dead open (again) and the Olympian Gods are eventually forced to realise that they can't ignore the problem and that they are once more forced to intervene. so they send an army of cyclopes, satyrs, centaurs, ... down which is supposed to defend the gate, but this force fails to hold them. In the end Artemis (one of the few capable Olympians) and her hunters is sent down in an attempt to gather some reliable intelligence about the alliance. She partially succeeds in this but more importantly for the Olympians she discovers that Penthesilea is not bound to some torture-instrument, but instead is leading a substantial force in a kingdom nearly next to the gate.
The final pairing would either be Penthesilea-Aphrodite or Penthesilea-Khione, but she would have a small harem of friends with benefits, one of them (she is no OC by the way) is introduced in this part.
For those who wonder, I had also several idees for a male Percy as well, but I simply liked those less than the female approach
At the moment I have no plans to finish it, but if someone is interested, please PM me. (I am really looking forward to reading it)
The girl kept herself pressed against the wall of the tunnel, trying to ignore the sharp edges from the crevices and the shards of glass and rock in the wall which seemed to cut into the unprotected flesh of her nearly bare back. In an attempt to suppress the sound of her breathing, she pushed her own hand against her mouth.
The sound of approaching boots grew louder and she edged deeper into the tunnel, slumping deeper into protection of it's shadows.
For a few more moments she heard the sound of the heavy footsteps growing louder, then the boots stopped. In a matter of moments she expected to see the ugly face of one of the cannibals and she instinctively reached for the hidden weapon into the pocket of her pants, but almost miraculously she heard a loud bang as if one of the rocks had tumbled down and the monsters roared before running into the direction of the sound.
A loud sigh of relief escaped her when she sank down against the wall and she immediately pushed both her hands over her mouth whilst eying the entrance of the small tunnel warily, waiting for an ambush to spring. But if one of the monsters had stayed behind, it failed to react.
The girl waited for another minute, then she drew the ivory dagger she had strapped to her back.
With a feeling as if her heart was violently trying to escape her chest, she edged closer to the entrance of the cave.
A quick glance revealed to her that there was nothing alive in sight and she left the limited safety of the small tunnel.
The landscape outside of the cave was little more than a labyrinth of tunnels, caves, rocks and crevices which kept anyone from seeing for more than thirty feet. Those rocks were darkish red and black further adding the desolation of the ruining landscape. The ground itself was splattered with sharp rocks and bits of obsidian, forcing her to keep her eyes upon the ground whenever she walked. When she looked up, there was a low ceiling of similar rocks which was riddled with tears and bulges. There was only a little light, which made it seem as if it was permanent midnight, this allowed her human eyes a poor visibility. Even the foul air of the caves was warm and poisonous, capable of killing a human in a matter of days.
This was Tartarus, the very definition of hell, and the place the girl had been judged to spend the coming eternity in.
Still, even in Hell people could find a reason to live for and truthfully that reason was all what kept Penthesilea going for the moment.
It took her the better part of an hour to complete her journey, but despite that and the numerous monsters en route, she succeeded nonetheless.
Once she was certain no monsters were near her, the girl slipped into one of the larger crevices of the wall. Crawling on her hands and knees like an animal, Penthesilea was swearing non-stop since even a short distance laid the exposed skin open. She gave a sigh of relief when she noticed the light from the fire on the other side.
For a moment she paused again and reached for the dagger upon her back, a short pull and the gleaming white of the ivory escaped the worn leather from her backpack. Clutching the rough leather she had wrapped around the hilt of the weapon, Penthesilea pointed the tip of her weapon at the source of the light. With the crevice growing lower for the last time, Penthesilea was forced to crawl through the dust upon her belly. These last eight feet tore another three red scratches through the bronzed skin of her back and arms, but she had made it, again. She crawled further, now back upon hands and knees, then the ceiling gained another feet in height and she started crouching, taking one small step forward after another, her green eyes narrowed and she paused for a moment, trying to recognise the sounds. Detecting nothing out of the ordinary, she went towards the narrow gap which would allow her to exit the tunnel.
The girl took a deep breath and slipped through the slit, dagger in hand.
Despite her caution though, nothing happened and she gave a sigh of relief.
Unlike the claustrophobic gaps, holes and tunnels before, the cave which she had entered was rather large, almost like an ancient manor and with nearly as many chambers. Most of them were small, barely bigger than a closet, others were larger like an apartment or a room and three of them were huge, as in the seize of a ballroom.
Unlike the outside of "her mansion", like she had dubbed the place, there were several fires present, burning brightly despite the lack of visible fuel. Moving on, Penthesilea went on towards one the main hall, to her lodgers, curious to find out about the absence of her welcoming comity.
"No ambush?" Penthesilea asked with a tired but seemingly amused voice.
In front of her there was a flurry of movement around the four massive fires which had been lit in the hall. Each of the forty humanoid figures who had been sitting, laying or had stood up roasting an inhuman looking monster above the flames, turned her head or even her entire body towards her. Several of the humanoid figures exposed their fangs or revealed weapons in an unspoken challenge.
However despite the spirit of their motions, none of them actually dared to take the risk.
At the corner of the group, one of the demi-humans finally stood up and began limping towards her. Unlike the others, Serephone had been seated upon a small stone throne covered with furs and skins from monsters for comfort. What little that was visible of the dark stones out of which the seat had been build, had been carefully smoothed until there was no trace of splinters or edges. Two small flames had been burning above the corners of the back of the throne and these two fires began to fade away as soon as she stood up. Behind her own throne, there stood two more thrones. One only slightly bigger than hers and with plenty of curves edged in the stone as well as a number of pelts. The other was much larger, easily capable of seating five men and whilst already smoothed, there were no pelts covering the dark stone.
The occupant of the first throne was about her height, she had a pale skin which seemed to resemble ivory and which lacked the unhealthy shine which a human would have sported, but even so it still suffered from numerous scratches and blotches caused by the environment. Her eyes were red like freshly spilled blood and despite the glint of entertainment which was usually present, they were also hard and cold with a hint of madness. Her hair was long and contained several shades of blond with occasionally a hint of red. Despite the lack of wind, her hair was still moving as if it was caught in a breeze, reminding the demi-goddess in front of her of the flame of a candle. Serephone's figure was lithe but not notably slim, giving her a healthy appearance which contained plenty of curves and softness, but which was not entirely bereft of agility and strength. Unlike Penthesilea whose clothing had been mostly practical, Serephone wore nothing more than a thin, formerly bright white coloured sundress and beige coloured jacket. Her feet were bare and so were her legs, neither of them showing so much as a single blemish from their stay in Tartarus, if it weren't for the slight discolouration of the limbs they would have been the envy of every cheerleader. And that was just what she was, a poor young girl enjoying spring break until some kind of horrible monster had dragged her down into this figment of hell.
Penthesilea snorted at that last thought. The figure she saw might be as close to Serephone's real shape, as she ever would be voluntary showing. Penthesilea had learned some time ago that Empousai became rather sensitive when it involved their lower limbs.
Empousai rather liked to appear human and Serephone was no exception, so if ignoring the little illusions which she had cast upon her legs and hair made her happy, Penthesilea saw no reason not to humour her.
"No ambush?" Penthesilea repeated.
Serephone nodded in reply. "I'm surprised they kept trying for so long." She said.
"Guess they're starting to like me, hm." She said teasingly, ignoring the expressions of anger and horror upon most of the other empousai's faces.
Serephone narrowed her eyes for a moment, before moving her eyes across Penthesilea's body obviously inspecting and judging her. Penthesilea instinctively felt a shiver crawl up her spine, making the empousa smile.
"I can see why." She admitted. "A lean body with subtle muscles, round hips and a toned waist. High cheekbones, a nice even tan and brilliant sea green eyes."
Serephone gained a small mischievous smile. "Rather perky assets, but I wonder how much bigger they are then they seem to be."
At this point, Penthesilea showed a hint of blush. Serephone smirk grew wider in return and therefore encouraged she placed the palm of her hand upon the girl's exposed lower belly and began slowly to move upwards. "And considering you're Poseidon's daughter, I wonder if you ever suffered tan lines."
A quick step backwards ended Serephone's little game.
"And those legs." Serephone whispered, still spotting the same grin. "Those legs." She added wistfully and not without a hint of jealously.
Penthesilea stared for a moment into Serephone's eyes. Then she gave another snort and reached into her backpack.
"Can you use those?" She asked whilst offering her two large wineskins. Taking the offered bags, Serephone seemed to weigh it for a moment, at the same time enjoying the warmth of the liquid fire in her hand.
"Gorgo and Stephaney were burned by Cacus last night and Vicky nearly lost a leg to the manticore." Serephone replied.
"Did old man Thorn escape after that?"
Serephone gave her a cruel smile. "We invited him for dinner." She said whilst pointing at the slowly turning object above the flames of the farthest fire.
Another shiver crawled up Penthesilea's spine.
The next smile which Serephone shot was much kinder. "We'll sacrifice his tail tonight." She said.
Penthesilea nodded in reply, offering her a small smile, almost like an afterthought.
Serephone stared at the wineskins for a moment.
"Sometimes I wonder what's crueller: forcing them to respawn or forcing them to drink this." She said seemingly to herself.
Penthesilea stared at the roast whilst distracted weighing her own, much smaller wineskin.
"I don't know." Penthesilea whispered whilst staring at the remains of Thorn. "It keeps respawning, the worst of wounds and dying by hunger or thirst away, but that's all it does."
Truthfully, Penthesilea hadn't eaten since she killed and roasted the Clazmonian Sow, which was nearly five months ago and she had been forced to eat a lot less then she had hoped for due to unexpected arrival of a small army of Laistrygonians and the last time before that was when she was still on the good side of the doors of Death. And drinking anything other than l'eau de Phlegethon had taken just as long.
She had to admit that if she'd come across the Minotaur, one of the fire-breathing horses or even a centaur, she'd be sorely tempted to kill and eat them. Or at least the non-human parts of the centaurs. On a related note, Serephone had offered her a cup of blood from a Laistrygonian a week ago and she had begun wondering if she hadn't been wrong to dismiss it.
She shook her head dismissing the thought and pointed at the tunnel to her own room.
Penthesilea paused for a moment allowing Serephone to limp closer and catch up with her.
"You know, I was actually worried when I failed to hear or notice anyone when I arrived." She said.
"They're more intelligent than trying to kill you, young as they might be, you should give them at least that much credit." Serephone told her, although she failed to make it seem like she actually cared.
"I feared the gate had fallen, Serephone." Penthesilea corrected her. "Not one of those silly cheerleaders trying to kill me."
Serephone giggled for a moment, then she regained control over herself.
"I feel insulted and even devastated by having the proud race of empousai being labelled as mere cheerleaders." She said with bland tone of voice. "Throughout my many returns to the other side I have played many parts, I've been a poet, student, nurse, teacher, secretary and librarian, among others and never did I had to lower myself into confirming to that kind of stereotype."
Whatever impression she had made, was lost when she giggled again and added. "Besides, the sexy librarian is my forte."
Penthesilea rolled her eyes in reply. "I'll make sure to take some books back with me when I get to leave this hell."
"Enthusiastic, aren't you?" Serephone said, spotting the same mischievous smile which Penthesilea had come to associate with private embarrassment and even more private dreams.
Serephone reached for demigoddess' hand. "I promise I'll be gentle."
She brushed her head against bare shoulder and made certain Penthesilea would feel the kiss upon her arm.
The demigoddess simply knew the empousa had fires around them expanding, there was no other reason for the heat upon her face ... other then the tiny possibility she was blushing up a storm.
The same heat seemed intensify when the empousa kept staring at her face, she noticed Serephone's smile expand until it exposed her fangs.
Penthesilea shook her head. "Can we please return to the original subject." She asked, whilst mentally adding, "and leave the uncomfortable, uncharted grounds."
Serephone gave her a playful pout before nodding after an obviously exaggerated sigh.
"What was that original subject?" Serephone asked her.
"Me being afraid the gate had fallen." Penthesilea reminded her.
The empousa seemed to perk up again.
"Worried about little, old me, hm?" she asked sweetly.
She sighed again. she already knew she was going to regret answering that question.
"Actually I was." She admitted. "You're better company than the other empousai."
"I am also older, wiser, more capable, more in control of our gifts." She said impishly before adding angrily. "As long as there is no backstabbing bitch to plant a dagger in my back."
Another eye roll, it was an action which Penthesilea had been doing quite frequently ever since she met with the empousai.
"You don't hate me." Penthesilea replied, a bit more bitterly then she actually had meant.
"Nope, but I am rather grateful for you killing Kelly, twice!"
Penthesilea shook her head. She knew she had better things to worry about, then whether or not she needed her Riptide to keep most of her underlings from killing her in her sleep or if her fists and dagger would suffice.
"How's the situation at the gate for the moment?" Penthesilea asked her.
"Easy enough for now." Serephone admitted. "We keep most of the entrance blocked off for now. They can't enter with more than three at the moment, less or even impossible for the bigger monsters."
"How is our supply of Stygian Ore?" Penthesilea asked in reply.
At this Serephone frowned. "Slinking slowly," she admitted. "A dozen of new spears and ten times that many arrows, and we'll be all out."
The Empousa reached in the quiver from her own backpack, this was a small, primitive looking combination of a pack, quiver and knife-scabbard made from some kind of leather (Penthesilea had learned a long time that when told, "you don't wanne known", most of the time she really didn't want to know), which clashed heavily with the rest of her outfit.
The arrow itself was a slim piece of bone, fletched with the feathers from some of the winged monsters. The tip from the arrows however were made from numerous materials, most usual were the pieces of obsidian which provided the arrows with an razor-sharp point, however there were other types of rock and even bone present as well.
Presenting Penthesilea with two arrows which were tipped with stygian iron, she sighed.
"My last." she admitted. "Some of the girls might have one or two left and there are another twelve kept in reserve, but after that..."
"Obsedian is sharp enough." Penthesilea admitted tiredly. "but it breaks upon armour."
"Unfortunately."
Both girls fell silent afterwards and like that they entered Penthesilea's room.
The chamber was little different from the rest of her "mansion". Just a rather large cave with several smaller hollows into the walls which she used as closet, table or in one case seat. One corner of the room was littered with a pile numerous pelts which served as both sheets and mattresses.
Three more pelts were hung against the walls, one covered her main-closet, whereas the remaining pelts covered the entrance of her room and the opening which gave access to the adjacent room.
Penthesilea ignored her own room for now and walked straight towards the connected room.
The next room was large, easily three times the size Penthesilea's and with a much higher ceiling. Unlike most rooms which had no real shape, this one was shaped like an almost perfect rectangle except for four small coves on either side which seemed almost constructed with their similar shape and the equal distance from each other. Furthermore there were six stalagmites and stalactites in front of the coves, each so tall that they were only inches away from the ceiling or floor. In truth it seemed more akin to a temple devoted to a dark god then a cave and considering her goal, that suited Penthesilea fine. Behind the demigoddess Serephone made a small motion with her hand, causing four small flames to light up behind the "pillars".
On the other side of the room, the reflection of the flame caused a small gleam to illuminate the rear wall.
Once she had crossed the distance from the room, Penthesilea smiled at the silver bubble.
"Hey uncle," she whispered affectionately whilst placing a hand upon the bubble, a few inches above his cheek.
"I am back again." she gave a weak smile. "And with a few more offerings for you."
"I came across them when gathering some more water from the Phlegethon. I'd tell you about obtaining them, but it makes a rather poor story so I won't be bothering and risk disturbing your dreams with it."
She gave another sigh. "Serephone and her girls chased off some more idiots trying to get in whilst I was off." She shot him a sadistic smile, before giving the same to the empousa, who simply nodded gratefully. "I think you already noticed their offerings."
"I've tried to find out what happened with Clymene, however I've found no trace or even a single rumour of her. Damasen is still missing as well."
Finally she concluded with: "I hope you wake up soon, uncle. Preferable today."
She sighed. "But if you can't do that yet, I'll be back tomorrow, the day afterwards and perhaps for the rest of the week as well."
"Take care, uncle." She whispered before pressing a kiss upon the point- and index-finger of her right-hand and placed those upon the bubble above his forehead. "I hope you dream of the stars until you wake up."
She turned away and reached for her bag, pulling out a small number of scales, horns, claws and fangs."
"To Iapetus." She whispered whilst Serephone closed her fist with an audible smack, incinerating the trophies in the silver flames.
Finally both gave a sigh and abandoned the Titan Lord of the West.
"Your uncle is lucky to have his niece taking care of him like that." Serephone told her with a gentle, almost admiring voice.
Remembering the last time she had seen Iapetus and the time before that, Penthesilea shook her head.
"If only I was half the niece you think I am." Penthesilea whispered bitterly. "Trust me I have no reason to feel proud."
Serephone stared at her for a moment, then the empousa shook her head and threw a last glance upon the fading light which was reflected by the silver bubble. "I still believe you should be." She whispered, just loud enough for herself.
"Did you hear any new rumours?" Penthesilea asked Serephone whilst turning her back to the empousa.
"A few, some quite interesting." Serephone replied whilst moving a bit backwards, so she could lean against the wall of Penthesilea's room. In front of her, Penthesilea reached in her closet for new cloths to replace the rags she had been wearing for the past days.
"Tell me about them." Penthesilea ordered her, prompting Serephone to sport an obviously exaggerated lecherous smile.
Another sigh and Penthesilea made a circular motion with her index finger, which made the empousa turn around as well, all the time loudly moaning and complaining.
"I am not hearing you talking." Penthesilea told her with obvious pleasure about her little success in her own attempt at frustrating the empousa.
All the while learning about passing monsters, Damned and even the near approach of Krios at one point, Penthesilea began removing her old clothes and fitting the new clothes. Most of it fitted her nicely enough, forcing her only to replace the leggings.
"You can turn around now." Penthesilea told Serephone, prompting instantly a wolf whistle from the empousa, immediately followed by another eye roll from the demigoddess.
"So, how do I really look?"
Serephone stared at the girl for a moment, obviously enjoying the opportunity to objectify her friend.
The demigoddess wore a cuirass from dark leather which fitted her snugly, although it had the unfortunate side effect of minimising her chest. Underneath the leather there was a grey shirt with short sleeves which had likewise been reinforced with leather to protect her skin against the splinters and edges of the environment.
Her right arm was further protected by thin straps of leather which could resist the teeth and claws as well the lighter slashes of some of the weaker monsters. Her left arm remained bare except for a wristwatch.
Further she wore a rather short skirt of purely black leather which had several slits to allow her a wide range of movements. This resulted in an excellent of view of the toned skin and subtle muscles of her slender legs. (unsurprisingly it was the skirt which had prompted Serephone outburst)
Lastly and unlike any of the empousa her lower legs were covered by a pair of dark grey boots which reached till just underneath her knees and a set of ancient looking greaves from stygian iron.
"If it weren't for the boots I'd say you were one of my sisters." Serephone told her rapidly.
"Any way you could..." she began.
Penthesilea shook her head. "I wouldn't last an hour without some solid footwear." She said.
"The advantages of horn and bronze." Serephone told her bitterly.
She smiled a bit when she felt Penthesilea's hand upon her shoulder.
"Please, continue talking." Penthesilea told Serephone once they had reached the throne room again.
The demigoddess walked past the other empousai towards her own throne and sat down. Her back against one of the armrests and her legs upon the other.
"There are two new recruits." Serephone told her.
"And are they aware of me?" Penthesilea asked her.
Serephone nodded. "They are," she smiled for a moment, "even a known monsterslayer is a better option than Perses' arena or merely wandering through Tartarus without allies."
"Smart girls."
Serephone shrugged. "Obviously."
"They told me something you would like to know, though." Serephone told.
"Trying to make me curious, hm?" Penthesilea asked her with a little smile. "All right, I'll bite. What kind of earthshaking matters have taken place in my absence."
"A war between the gods and demigods in the upperworld." Serephone replied calmly.
Penthesilea had her eyes pointed at Serephone in less than a second.
"You're messing with me." She exclaimed with wide eyes.
"Nope, that's what they told me."
Penthesilea shook her head in disbelief whilst preparing to sit up straight.
"Get those girls to me. I think I wanne hear that from them myself." She told Serephone.
The empousa nodded and beckoned two girls who sat separate from the others closer with a motion from the two fingers of her left hand.
Both girls had retained the illusion of their human appearance, one was a dark blonde with a slight tan who seemed to fit every stereotype of the girl next door whilst the other was a brunette who's features showed a few signs of an Asian descent. She also noticed that both wore what looked like a cheerleader skirt.
The teen couldn't help but throw a triumphant smirk at her friend.
Both empousai were staring at the demigoddess upon the throne. Whilst they had been made aware of who ruled this band of empousai, the demigoddess had gained a status among the monsters during her last years in the upperworld which was akin to Achilles' among the Trojans. Having those sea green eyes now fixed upon them was hardly a reassuring experience.
"How long has it been since you've returned to Tartarus?" Penthesilea asked them with a reassuring voice.
"Two, three days?" The blond replied with a demure voice, obviously guessing.
"Not very long then." Penthesilea said, shrugging then she sighed.
"I am not going to kill you without a good reason." Penthesilea told them.
She pointed her gaze at them. "I don't know if we've met before, but as far as it concerns me, it is all water under the bridge."
She gave them a small smile. "You serve me, Serephone and Iapetus, in exchange I'll do what I can to protect and lead you."
"I'll do what I can to keep you safe," she continued, "whether that is by keeping to shadows and not attracting attention from the other Gods, Giants, Titans, monsters and Tartarus knows what else dwells down here in the pit."
"Or by killing everything that dares to raise it's head and threatens one of mine." At this point her eyes became cold and the soft almost gentle smile gained an ice-cold edge."
"So please tell me what's going on." She ordered them.