A/N: I'm getting a damn headache with all of the stories I have both posted and not posted.
Fuck my life.
Disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians along with Heroes of Olympus do not belong to me.
Prince of the Pit
Chapter One
1032 B.C.E.
A six year old boy was doing what could only be considered running for his miserable life. It had been five days since his stepdad, Gabe Ugliano, had killed his mother, Sally Jackson; and only two days since he ran away from the stepdad who was going to sell him into slavery. The boy was running from two enormous black hounds and blood red orbs for eyes. He was running through the woods just outside of Sparta, not knowing anywhere else to go. Perseus Jackson simply acted on instinct to survive, and instinct told him to go this way. He didn't know why, nor did he care. He didn't have time to wonder or care, due to the fact they were only ten feet behind the since year old and gaining. The dogs were gaining on him. Eight feet. Five feet. Two feet. "Stop!" a beautiful, mellifluous voice commanded out of nowhere. The hounds immediately stopped and… bowed their heads? Percy was wondering what happened and turned toward the source of the beautiful voice. There stood a woman standing a proud 6'3", with great black locks flowing down to the small of her back. She had pale skin and kind, black eyes that seemed to hold infinite mysteries. To the woman's left was a 6'4" man with messy black hair and deep black eyes, like his eyes were where darkness belonged, where it dwelled. He had the same pale skin as the woman, and gave off an air of extreme power, similar to the woman and the other man. The other man was a slight bit less pale, he had raven hair going down to his shoulders. His face was riddled with various scars, but the most prominent feature of the giant 6'5" man was his fiery purple eyes. The eyes seemed to hold immense amounts of pain, but also incredible endurance, and extreme power. The boy returned his attention to the woman who said something in a language that he didn't understand, resulting in the massive dogs running into the shadows after bowing their heads. The woman then turned her attention to young Perseus and inspected him, with her kind eyes. She frowned, because every part of visible skin was riddled with scars, deep and nasty scars. She started to approach the boy but he cringed and held his hands up, crying, as if trying to ward off an attack. All three of the figures looked at each other and nodded, after having a silent conversation. They all turned towards Perseus once more, taking a careful look at the scars, as if he were a diamond, inspecting all the flaws. There were four prominent scars on his face. A long jagged scar stretching from his left temple to his jaw line; a deep scar in the shape of a 'G' on his right cheek, and a similar one on his left, only this one was a 'U'; the final prominent scar ran from his right temple to just above his left eye. The boy's arms were riddled with similar, large scars, all very deep.
They all sighed and slowly looked at each other again, "We should check his memories…" the man with fiery purple eyes said. The others nodded their heads in agreement and all looked into Perseus' eyes, watching his memories, the further they went into the boy's memories, the more their face filled with rage. The three people looked at each other again with pained expressions. The man who had spoken before quietly whispered, "He's suffered worse than he would have if he were in Tartarus for an entire lifetime. I for one don't think we should just leave him here, all alone. We all know that mother would make an exception for the ancient laws if she saw this," he sighed. "I would like to adopt him," he added, drawing gasps from the others, but before they could argue, he continued, "I haven't had a demigod child ever, he may not be a demigod child by my blood, but I would love to be able to treat him as such. It gets so lonely in the Pit; meanwhile, you two have each other." He finished, shutting down the other two figures' objections.
The woman sighed, "Very well, you may ask him if he would want to be your child, but in the very least, you have a point, he has suffered too much. After you ask him, I will give him my blessing, making him the first being to ever get it," when she finished her sentence, the other two beings' eyes widened in shock.
The man with darkness for eyes stared at the boy coldly for a moment, his eyes softening as he looked into the sea green orbs the boy had for eyes. "Well if you're going to bless him, I might as well, too. Now shouldn't I?" Drawing a shocked look from the woman and another shocked looked from the man with purple eyes. "What? I can do that, too, you know! He'll be the first being to ever receive my blessing. You're not the only one who is hard to impress, Nyx!" The dark eyed man whined, drawing a quiet chuckle from the boy, who had happened to hear every word the three figures were saying. This drew their attention back to him and they all smiled slightly.
"Well, then, what is your name boy?" the purple eyed man asked.
"P-Perseus, si-sir," he told the man quietly, almost apologetically, which made the three figures mad. Mad at whoever would make a child Perseus' age sorry to simply say name.
"Well, I'm Nyx, "the woman said, "the Primordial Goddess of Night; that's Tartarus," she pointed at the purple eyed figure, "and he's the Primordial God of the Pit; and that's Erebus," she added, gesturing toward the dark eyed man, who simply nodded his head in acknowledgement, "and he's the Primordial God of Darkness," she concluded kindly.
"H-h-hi N-Nyx. H-hi Ta-Tar-Tartarus. H-hi E-Erebus," the boy said shyly, causing the three Primordials to share a smile.
"Now," Tartarus started, sighing, "how would you like a new home?" he finished hopefully, his eyes gleaming with poorly hidden hope— which is ironic when it comes to Tartarus.
"Really?" Perseus asked hopefully, wary that the man might be tricking him.
"Really," the man concluded. "You would live in a palace; and if you would like, I will adopt you, making you a prince!"
"YES!" the boy shouted attacking Tartarus' legs with a hug, drawing a chuckle from the immortals. "Thank you… daddy," he added, "I can't believe I finally have a daddy," which caused the powerful beings to look saddened for a moment, before remembering he is now their family.
"Yay! That makes me your aunt, and Erebus your uncle!" Nyx cheered happily.
"Before we do anything, though, let's make it official," Tartarus said. Once he finished, he began chanting in a language older than Ancient Greek. Once he finished his incantation, Perseus' eyes changed to a deep shade of purple, with only remnants of his former sea green eyes left.
Perseus had tears of happiness flowing down his head as he said, "Thank you daddy!"
"You're very welcome Perseus," the happy man said, hugging his now son.
"Call me Percy," Perseus sniffled, drawing chuckles from Erebus and Nyx, and a fool's grin on Tartarus' face.
"That I will, Percy, that I will," he replied. "Come on, son. Let's go home," he added before pausing, "uh, just out of curiosity, Percy, do you know anything about Greek mythology?"
The boy answered with a muffled, "No," from his position hugging his father's leg.
"Well, let me explain it to you, then."
(Line Break)
8 Tartarus Years Later (3,033 Earth Years)…
Tartarus…
"Good job Percy! Good job!" Tartarus cheered (Again, ironic.).
It'd been eight years since young Percy Jackson was adopted by the Lord of the Pit, well, eight years in Tartarus. Eight years since he learned about Greek mythology. And eight years since he learned that it was real, and that his father was in charge of Tartarus, the Pit, which is where monsters go to reform. He learned that, since Tartarus is his father, most monsters will obey him, though, there are the occasional few who completely ignored the boy's authority. He also learned that when he accepted the position of Prince of Tartarus from his dad, the monsters started to treat him with even more respect.
"Thanks dad," Percy shouted as he hacked at Perses, his teacher, in a spar. He quickly sidestepped a blow from the Titan of Destruction's massive axe, before bringing the flat of his blade down on the Titan's elbow, causing an audible crack and a grimace from his trainer. He then slid under the Perses' legs baseball style, before putting his sword to the Titan's throat, drawing cheers from his father, aunt, and uncle. His aunt and uncle gave him their blessings and taught him how to use the powers he got from them. He practiced with the powers every day since he was given them. He also practiced the powers he had inherited from his father, Tartarus, mastering them within the first year. Another blessing he had received was from his other uncle, Chronos. The Primordial God of Time's blessing gave him control over time to the extent Kronos had had. His physical training, sparring and such, started when he was seven, as his father didn't want him to get hurt; but, the enthusiastic young boy finally managed to convince the old man to let him start earlier than he had planned. Percy now had the skills of Theseus, Perseus, Achilles, and Orion; the intelligence of Odysseus and, again, Theseus; along with the strength of Heracles, who he happened to hate.
"Good job, Perseus, you beat me fair and square," Perses told Percy, as the boy helped the Titan with his arm by giving him a square of ambrosia.
He groaned, "I told you, Perses, stop calling me Perseus. It's Percy! Say it with me now, P-E-R-C-Y, Percy!" he whined, drawing a chuckle from his teacher.
"Very well, Percy," he said, teasing the young boy by emphasizing his name. Percy rolled his eyes at his teacher's antics. "I can officially say, now, that you are the best fighter I have ever seen," he claimed, beaming at his long-time student.
"Thanks," the fourteen year old boy replied happily, as he hugged the man he considered his uncle. You see, a lot of immortals make their homes in the Pit, and quite a few of them liked Percy. They liked him a lot; like, 'to the point he got their blessings' a lot. He now consider all of them close friends and family. To name a few beings who blessed him, there was Moros, the God of Doom, Akhlys, the Goddess of Misery, Thanatos, the God of Death, Perses, the Titan of Destruction, and Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, who didn't really live in the Pit, but simply visited the boy's aunt, her mother, Nyx.
When Percy had turned eleven, his father had given him his sword.
Μανία της κόλασης.
Hell's Fury.
It was a beautiful, blood red blade. Along the edges of the blade was a deep black and purple fire that could only be known as Hellfire. On the hilt of the sword were the words 'Μανία της κόλασης' written in Ancient Greek. Hell's Fury. He still remembered what his father had told him about the blade. Apparently, his sword was forged in Hellfire in his father's palace. It was made from a combination of the rarest metals in existence: Adamantine and Void Metal, which Percy's father had obtained from his father. His father told him that the sword was unbreakable and was blessed by the guardians of the Five Rivers of the Underworld, giving the blade multiple unique characteristics. From the Phlegethon, it was blessed so it would heal him as long as he was in possession of it. From the Lethe, it was blessed to give him the memories of all of the greatest heroes to ever live, along with their skills, which helped his skills with weapons drastically. From the Styx, it was blessed to have properties similar to those of Stygian Iron, mainly the ability to absorb souls and make the wielder feel replenished from said souls. From the Acheron, it was blessed to cause immense pain with the tiniest cut, pain that was far worse than any pain Kronos' Scythe could provide. And, from the Cocytus, it was blessed to cause any who attempted to wield it, other than Percy, all of the misery that had ever been felt. His father, then, personally blessed the sword so it would always have Hellfire running along the ends, making it extremely deadly, and, at the same time, fucking awesome. He chuckled, remembering the last part to have been his father's exact words. Erebus also blessed the sword, giving the wielder complete and utter control of all things shadow, unless it was being used against him or his wife, of course. Nyx blessed it so that the wielder could open a portal straight into the Mansion of Night, something Percy did immediately after receiving the sword. And, finally, Chronos had blessed it so the wielder's control over time was amplified significantly. With the boost the sword provided and his own natural skills, Percy was able to fight an army of monsters all alone.
On Percy's twelfth birthday, his father had informed him of what was to come within the next few years. When his father told him that he would have to help free Artemis in, at that time, two years, the boy had thrown a massive fit, adamantly refusing to help 'those damned Olympians'. After his father managed to convince him, he immediately asked why they were helping the Olympians.
*Flashback*
"Fine!" twelve year old Percy Jackson shouted at his father, Tartarus. "I'll help if you tell me why we're helping the Olympians instead of the Titans."
"Oh," Tartarus rumbled, not seeing any possible harm telling his son the truth could cause. "It's because the Titans are being led by Kronos, the Titan of Time. The reason this prevents us from helping the Titans is the fact that castrated your uncle, Ouranos, and corrupted you aunt, Gaia. "
Percy stood there staring at his father blankly, unnerving the Primordial a bit. "Oh," he finally muttered. "Fine."
"Oh, one more thing," Tartarus added.
"What now!?" Percy sighed, exasperated.
"By the time you return to the mortal world, it will have already been around 3,000 years there, just thought I'd warn you," the Primordial rushed out, before disappearing in a burst of Hellfire, leaving a shell-shocked Prince of the Pit in the middle of Tartarus' Throne Room.
*Flashback End*
"Percy," Tartarus said, breaking Percy out of his thoughts and bringing him back to the arena.
"Yeah dad?" he asked.
His father looked solemn, "It's time for you to go. We've decided that, since the odds of you getting put on the rescue quest are slim to none, you are to shadow the quest group."
Percy looked relieved at his father's last words, "That, I can do."
Tartarus nodded and waved his hand at his son, making the boy disappear in a bout of Hellfire.
(Line Break)
Camp Half-Blood…
*Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.* (Excerpt from The Titan's Curse).
Zoe Nightshade, the Hunters of Artemis, and the campers of Camp Half-Blood all stood stock still, as if the slightest movement could unravel reality. Well, all except for Rick Johnson, arrogant son of Poseidon. "Well," he announced in his own self-important way, making Percy, who was hiding in a nearby tree, look down at him in disgust, "I volunteer to lead this quest as it needs me in order to succeed."
That broke Zoe out of her shock, "Like Tartarus you are! You're staying here, boy. Don't presume that I'll take you just because you think that the quest needs you to succeed, you pig." She finished with a harsh glare at the son of Poseidon, an action that was soon mimicked by the rest of the Hunters of Artemis. "I'll take Phoebe, Bianca, Atalanta, and," she stopped, and looking as if she was choking on her words, "Thalia."
"What!?" Rick shouted, angered at the huntress' blatant disrespect towards him. "No way, one of them has to stay behind, because I have to go on this quest!" He finished, his tone going from angry to pleading in less than two seconds.
"I've made up my mind, boy," she sneered back at him, drawing a chuckle from the hidden son of Tartarus.
"Rick," Chiron began, pale, "it is her quest, she gets to choose who accompanies her." He then turned to the rest of the camp, "Alright, the game's over! Let's get to bed!"
(Line Break)
The next morning…
An annoyed Percy Jackson chomped on his ham and cheese sandwich as he sat on a tree just outside of Camp Half-Blood, waiting for the quest he was supposed to follow. There were two reasons he was annoyed; 1) he was hungry, even though he was eating a delicious sandwich, and 2) the quest members were taking too long for his liking. He looked at his watch and sighed.
2:30 A.M.
"Damn," he muttered to himself, "talk about sleeping in." He finished his sandwich and masked his aura, a skill his uncle Erebus had taught him. He jumped out of the tree and stretched, deciding to get some archery practice in while he waited for the quest members. Percy pulled up the hid that enshrouded his face in shadows and stuck through the camp, going to the archery range. As he got there, he twisted a ring on his finger, causing a beautiful bow to take its place in his left hand. He smiled lightly as the bow's grip felt just right for his hand and pulled back the string, making a pitch black arrow appear. He closed his eyes and fired. As soon as he heard the 'thump', he opened his eyes and grinned when he saw his arrow sticking in the center, as a bull's eye, from his distance of 200 feet away.
He looked down at his bow. The bow had been a gift from his Aunt Nyx on his tenth birthday. She had told him that it was named, 'Τέλος σκιάς'. Shadow's End. The bow was elegantly forged from Adamantine, the same metal as part of his sword, which was only found in the deepest pits of Tartarus, a place not even he, the Prince of the Pit, dared to go. The bow's handle was forged to look like a hellhound mid-jump, while the string was a beautiful mixture of black and silver.
He continued shooting his bow, losing track of time in the process. He was only brought out of his trance when he heard a bowstring get pulled back behind him. He immediately let go of his bow, making it turn back into an onyx ring with a ruby on his left middle finger. He put up his hands calmly and turned around slowly, expecting the trainer, Chiron. He was not, however, expecting an angry looking huntress to be standing there. He knew, however, that she was only angry that a man could shoot a bow that good, something he was feeling quite smug about. "What can I do for you, Zoe, is it? The famous daughter of Atlas?" he spoke as if he was talking about the weather.
The huntress' left hand tightened her grip on her bow at his jab about her father, trying, and failing, to hide her shock over her most precious secret being so easily discovered. By a male no less, she thought in her head. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"
Percy smirked under his hood and allowed the shadows to reveal his eyes and mouth. She gasped when she saw his raging pools of red, purple, black, gold, and silver, shocked and in awe at the amount of power the boy's eyes held. "Well," Percy began sarcastically, quirking his lips, making his smirk more pronounced, "I'm me, and you're you. As for what I'm doing here, I'm obviously practicing my archery."
Her facial expression quickly changed to rage as she let loose her arrow towards Percy's groin, removing her eyes from her target momentarily. She smirked, thinking she had successfully castrated him, but when she looked up, she saw no sign of the person who had just been there. All of a sudden, she felt a slight weight get added to her outfit, and was shocked to see her previously shot arrow hanging off her sleeve. What really surprised her, though, was the fact that she didn't even get so much as a scratch, even though her hunter's garb was snug against her skin. She quickly turned around looking for her target, only to see nothing. After a few minutes of searching for him, she began to walk back toward the Artemis cabin, intent on getting a little bit more sleep before she left. As she approached the cabin, she stopped in her tracks when she saw Percy laying on a branch high in the tree right next to the cabin.
He looked down at her and smiled, "'Sup?"
Zoe quickly took aim and let loose her arrow, making sure she didn't take her eyes off of him this time, and was dumbfounded when she saw him lazily swat the arrow to the side, acting as if it was little more than a fly to him, albeit a very pointy fly.
"Well," he began before he disappeared in his shadow, only to reappear behind the stunned huntress, "that wasn't nice."
He swiftly ducked, narrowly avoiding Zoe's silver hunting knives and quickly tapped his watch, making his own hunting knives, a gift from Chronos, appear in his hands. The blades of the knives were solid gold while the hilt of the knives were skinny hourglasses with miniature rubies in them instead of sand. On the side of one knife was the inscription, 'άλφα', Alpha, while the other was inscribed with, 'ωμέγα', Omega.
Zoe quickly struck again after getting over the fact that he had two enchanted weapons, when having even one was extremely rare. She sliced and she diced, using all of her two thousand years of practice, only to end up being blocked or parried each time. She became infuriated, not only at her failure, but also at the fact that Percy looked like he wasn't even trying, which he wasn't.
"Who are you?!" she growled out, still trying to gut Percy.
Percy fake sighed in exasperation, he was immensely enjoying how angry he had made the huntress. "I told you, already! I'm me and you're you!"
She growled angrily and tried to kick Percy in the groin, only to have her foot knocked away with Percy's foot, making her lose her balance and fall to the ground. Before she could recollect her bearings, Percy quickly kicked aside her hunting knives and put his own at her neck. Zoe looked at him fearfully, scared about what he was going to do to her. She soon decided, though, that putting back on her Huntress persona would be the wisest course of action, and proceeded to spit in Percy face, which only mildly annoyed him.
"Ok, I have a feeling that you think I'm trying to harm you, so I'm just going to put away my knives and we can talk like the civilized demigods, well, demi-primordial and demi-titan, we are." Percy spoke quietly, before slowly removing his knives from the confused huntress' neck.
Demi-primordial?! A stunned Zoe Nightshade screamed in her head.
Percy chuckled when he saw her expression, as if he had read her mind. "Yes, demi-primordial. You know, the child of a mortal and a primordial god or goddess."
(Line Break)
Meanwhile, in Tartarus…
"Told you," Nyx said smugly, as she collected her winnings from the groaning gods and goddesses surrounding her.
