A/N: Hey guys! First and Foremost: HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERCY JACKSON! BLUE CAKE FOR EVERYONE! It had to be said. So this chapter is Percy's POV in Tartarus, and since we still have to wait an agonizing two months, and have no real description of Tartarus, this is just my interpretation based off the HoH cover.
Chapter I
(Percy POV, First Person)
"Fear the King of Tartarus," the voices whisper in the shadows. It's constantly repeated, a warning echoed by a few voices.
"Back to your holessss," a serpentine voice hisses, then calls out "Perssseusssss, you cannot hide forever. Come quickly, and your death will be far lessssss painful."
I almost chuckle. Like Gaea would have any mercy, especially when it came to me. I can only have nightmares about the horrible things the Earth Goddess would do if I gave myself up: burning me alive (which could take a while), feeding me to the hellhounds (almost happened a couple times, not eager to try again), or whatever else she could think. I still think she's not all that happy I took down a couple of her kids, either.
I allow my eye enough space only to peek around the corner of my hiding place. It's a small search group (well, small for some of the others I've seen), made up of about twenty monsters. Merged in with the brigade are a couple dark centaurs, some Scythian Dracanae, a grumbling Cyclops, and a mini pack of hellhounds milling at the edges, their twitching noses to the ground.
At this point, they're about five feet below me in the valley, slowly approaching the target position. The pooling lava that runs down the rocky hills illuminates the hellhound's razor sharp claws and fangs, their bright red eyes glowing intimidatingly. As they near, I can hear their eager snarls, ready to attack anything in sight. But I know they wouldn't dare kill me, not yet. Gaea wouldn't be happy about that. But that's not to say none of them would like to have any 'fun'.
Once they get within thirty feet, I take a deep breath, strengthen my hold on Riptide, and push myself from the shadows of my boulder, walking to the edge of the tiny cliff, becoming within full sight of the monsters.
As planned, they easily spot me, stopping not far in front of my mound's rocky base. The lead Dracanae's green lips pull into a devilish grin, fangs poking out. "Perssseussss Jasksssson," she says in a voice that sends a chill down my spine, "Ssssso glad you've finally decided to come out of hiding. Come with usssss, demigod, and the Mistress will show mercy."
I glance around through the corners of my eyes, watching some of the shadows shift around the volcanic walls. Time to stall.
"Why should I believe what you say?" I shout, uncapping Riptide. The plastic pen lengthens into a three foot blade of monster killing celestial bronze. I grip the hilt with both hands, pulling it so the blade meets the middle of my face. The shadows move again, but none of Gaea's little task force take notice. All their eyes stick to me.
The Dracanae waves her hand. "She still believes you have use, demigod. If you join the Earth Mother's forces, ssssshe will forget your past sinsssss. And, Sssson of Possseidon, you would one again gain what you most desssire. You would be returned to her."
I almost flinch at her mention of Annabeth. An image instantly comes to mind: her blonde hair waving around like crazy with tears streaking down her face as she begs me not to through with my plan. I shake my head, pushing it to the back of my mind. I can't let that distract me now. "Yeah, I can see it now; me and your Mistress having a nice chat while she slowly burns me alive then throws me to Spot and Fido." I nod towards the black dogs, who growl in response.
The serpent woman shakes her head, that same darks smile covering her face. "What life do you have here; consssstantly hunted, forced to look over your shoulder every second of your day? Here, you are no more than a single mouse in a cage filled with cats. The Mistressssss offers ssafe haven, so long as you conform to her wishes. And in time, perhapsssss she would return you to the home you ssssso longingly misssss."
"Tell Gaea thanks for the invite," I say waving my sword to the right, the final signal, "but I'm not the one who should be afraid. We're tired of being pushed around."
"We?" One of the dark centaurs ask, confusion spreading across his face as well as that of his companions. They have little time to react as the clop of hooves against stone echoes through the valley, a cream colored pegasus galloping to a rest be my side. I quickly wrap an arm around her neck, pulling myself onto her broad back. Without wasting any more time, I raise Riptide above my head and yell "For Olympus!" at the top of my lungs.
The reaction is immediate. Horns sound from the shadows, a thunderous chorus of hooves soon drowning them out. The grin soon fades from the lead Dracanae's smug face as she realizes her mistake. "It's an ambush!" the enemy Cyclops howls, wielding his five-foot spiked club.
"Don't you think I know that, you idiot!" the Dracanae screeches. "Fall back you foolsss!" The centaurs turn, nearly trampling the roaming hellhounds, who are currently scrambling around in a panic.
Figures of all different builds and shapes burst from the darkness: centaurs wielding bows and long swords, Cyclopes swinging clubs, and unicorns, their horns fitted in celestial bronze, charge their foes.
"Let's go, Andromeda," I whisper to my pegasus. She rears, belting out a fierce whiny as she spreads her enormous feathered wings and leaps down into the midst of the battle. A confused hellhound instantly spears itself on my sword, disintegrating into swirling black smoke. I've found monsters in Tartarus tend to do that; they become a dark mist and usually reform somewhere near the place where they first entered Tartarus. It basically means that every time I go into battle, I'm left hoping that some cyclops doesn't suddenly land on me. Yep, the great Perseus Jackson, Hero of Olympus, survives five years in the deepest, darkest pit of Hades only to be crushed by a random Cyclops butt. Oh, the joys of being a demigod.
"Ahhhh!" a loud grunt echoes off to my right as a dark centaur barrels into Andromeda, sending both of us deeper into the fray. I'm knocked off her back, somersaulting into a crouch while trying to avoid being trampled. Before I can regain my balance, he slashes his dark long sword in a frontward arc, a shadowy blur that grazes my left arm and takes out one of his own brethren as he follows through with the swing. He doesn't seem to care much though, as he lowers his horned head towards Andromeda, aiming for her neck.
I almost leap in to parry, but my wounded arm is slammed by a stray monster, and I'm left reeling from the pain. But as usual, she doesn't' really need my help. Momentarily exposing her stomach, my pegasus flips onto her back, using the momentum to twist around and kick the horseman straight in the forehead with her hind hooves. An ugly cracking sound follows, as well as a bellow of agony as he stumbles back, dropping his sword and pulling his hands to his inured face. He makes the mistake of rearing, and the unfortunate centaur is shish-ka-bobbed on a unicorn's coated horn, his form dissolving into shadow.
None of us really have any opportunity to revel in the small victory, though, as the enormous cyclops that had been traveling with the group was pummeling our small rebellion. His spiked club connects perfectly with an allied centaur's chest, sending him rocketing into a small group of our own before fading into the darkness.
Andromeda gets to her hooves, shaking out her mane. You alright ?she asks me telepathically, stretching out her wings.
I'm fine, I lie, working my left shoulder. I readjust my breastplate and bracers. Nothing here's really a perfect fit, but beggars can't be choosers. We've all learned to take what you can get. I turn to Andromeda, already standing tall and ready for action. Ready to take out another one? I ask her.
She snorts, pawing (or hoofing?) at the ground. As long as you've practiced your aim, she challenges as she lowers herself down, giving me the opportunity to pull myself up with my right arm and get a good and painful grip on her mane with one hand while brandishing Riptide with the other. I raise my sword arm, yelling at the top of my lungs "Fall back!"
My allies turn and charge in different directions, moving the smaller skirmishes away from the behemoth of a Cyclops. He snarls, turning his one bloodshot eye to me and beating the base of his club in the palm of his hand. His body is covered in dull and slightly rusted armor, the same as his own allies; obviously not one of Gaea's elite. This sign only strengthens my belief: the great Earth Goddess still isn't taking me seriously. That's alright by me, it only means we still have surprise on our side.
Following the classic Cyclops strategy, the ugly beast growls and barrels toward me, club outstretched. I see Andromeda roll her eyes, shaking her head slightly. As soon as he gets within a few meters, she begins galloping towards him, rapidly getting closer. She gets a little too close for my comfort as she uses her powerful hind legs to launch off the ground like a springboard, using the momentum from her run to leap over his shoulder, landing gracefully on the other side.
Andromeda immediately swivels around on her back hoof, crouching down and spreading her wings. The Cyclops takes a little longer to slow down, stopping himself with a boulder and swinging around, bellowing some curses I really shouldn't repeat. Before he can make another move, a voice hisses from the crowd "Stop you fool!" The same Dracanae who'd spoken earlier slithers out from the raging battle, a scowl contorting her green skinned face. "The Mistress wants him alive."
One-eye huffs. "She won't mind if he's only maimed a little bit." He puts his meaty fingers in the air, pinching them together.
"He musssst be brought back in one piece!" She hisses, her forked tongue lashing.
While the Cyclops's attention is turned away, I pat Andromeda's side. She quickly takes off, closing the distance in mere seconds. Before the big dope can even react, I slash Riptide across his scarred knee, leaving a deep gash. He bellows in pain, collapsing on his right side.
I take a hold of her neck and fling myself to her right side, now only half on her back. By this time, he's just blinded by fury, his weapon slamming into whatever unfortunate monster that comes close enough. We gallop past him again, moving far out ahead. He looks up at us, snarling as he white-knuckles his club. I have a feeling at this moment that he doesn't give a crap about what Gaea's orders were.
Andromeda makes a fast U-turn, now charging full speed while trying to balance me on her right. The injured Cyclops finds the strength to pick himself off the ground, starting to lumber towards us.
Really hope he doesn't move too much, I think out loud.
Andromeda whinnies underneath me, still partially struggling with my uneven weight. Your confidence really reassures me.
I glance down at her. We're roughly ten yards away and closing. You sure you can pull this off?
She snorts. Haven't you learned by now? Never underestimate me. She says (thinks?) it so confidently I start to believe her.
The final few feet comes up to meet us and just as the first time, Andromeda leaps up to his shoulder. This time though, I let go of her neck, landing right on target as I plunge Riptide into the Cyclops's one large eye. It makes a sick squelching sound, and it's soon met by a howl unlike any I've ever heard, before being cut off as he disintegrates.
I'm left panting on the ground where he stood, trying to collect myself again. Andromeda canters up to me, not looking winded in the least. Way to go, she says, flicking her wing at some spiraling black mist, you pulled it off.
"Yeah," I say out loud, not bothering with telepathy. "We did." I pull myself to my feet, ignoring the reawakening pain in my left arm. I survey the field, now only occupied by a small surviving group of Gaea's troops, all surrounded by my own. "Well, I guess we should properly introduce ourselves, eh?"
A/N: Yeah, finally finished with chapter 1! Hope you guys enjoyed it. This chapter was written a little quickly, so there will probably be some edits later. I wanted to get it out on Percy's B-Day. As I said, this is Tartarus based off the new U.S. cover, so I basically see it as mostly dark volcanic fields. I'm not really sure if it's addressed in the series, but in here, friendly monsters go to Tartarus as well, mainly so I can give Percy a fighting chance and make this more interesting. Not really sure if they do, but I'd assume so. Anyway, not really sure how often I'll get to update since school's started, but I'll try to keep you guys in the loop and update you on my profile. As always, thanks for reading, reviews are appreciated, and I'll see ya next time.
