I launched up in the air, the shadows giving me an extra boost, and I thought about my back bones extending. I felt an excruciating pain in my shoulder blades as time seemed to slow down while I was in midair. My shoulder blades shifted around along with my back bones. It felt like all my bones where getting snapped in half and then melded together again with molten lava. I scrunched my eyes up as a few tears flew from my eyes. Finally, the last and most painful part of the transformation began. Little cuts opened in my back near my shoulder blades and bones popped out of those slits coming out all the way until they took the shape of a pair of wings. Feathers, black as night almost so black they looked purple, started to grow on them until they were fully covered in them. I rose up into the air and spread my wings to full length. The guys that were chasing me ran away. I stayed in the air for a few seconds before the process reversed itself. All the feathers except for one, which fell to the floor, disappeared and the wings folded into my back until all that was left was two white scars lined on my shoulder blades marking where the wings came out.
I fell to the floor, exhausted, and I must have fell asleep because the only thing I remember next was waking up in my room. My dad was sitting on my bed, tapping his foot against the ground. He turned around and saw that I was awake so he grabbed my sore shoulders and gave me a giant hug. "So. How was your first week?" He asked me and I groaned just thinking about it. He chuckled and said, "You can tell me at dinner." He smiled at my surprised face. "Dinner? Usually a shadow servant brings me all my food and I eat up hear." He had a conflicted look on his face but then smiled again. "Well when I am here we eat at the dinner table." He said sternly. I smiled, got up and went to get ready. I hopped out of my training clothes and got in some black basketball shorts and a black t-shirt before running to the dining area. My dad was the only on sitting there so I began to tell him my week. "At fiwst(first) I thought Gwandma(grandma) was weiwd(weird) but now she pwetty cool." My dad smiled and stopped me. "Your lisp is cute but you don't want to be cute." I shook my head, "You want to be menacing to your enemies." He touched my forehead and a dark light went from him to me. In that moment I knew how to talk without using w's for r's. I wonder if he could do any more stuff for me. He must have read my mind because he said, "No, sorry I can't do anything else for you. But I can give you something. He touched my head again and said, "Now your wings won't hurt as bad." He must have seen my confused face because he said all of his kids have wings. "All of my brothers and sisters helped me too. I can name all of them. Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone, Hemera, Geras, Eris, and Arai are my aunts and Aether, Hypnos, and Charon are my uncles. Anyways right now they are training me in my powers. Damesen and Orion, the giants, are going to train me in fighting when I turn ten. Now Enceladus will teach me to be smart like you." Everyone was seated by then so they ate and went to bed.
~line break Percy's tenth b-day (by the way five years until the second titan war) ~
I flew up and fist bumped my teacher Enceladus. Another lesson finished and today was the day I started training with the big guys. I flew over to the arena where I'm supposed to meet my teachers. I landed in the dirt area and waited patiently for them. After half an hour of waiting they finally showed up. Orion looking smug as ever and Damesen looking bored out of his mind. That annoyed me for some reason. After were done training in a few years he won't be bored at all. I bowed down and got back up. "Ha Ha Ha." Orion's laughter echoed around the arena. "Little boy, right now you will bow to us but when we are done with you we will be equals." He laughed again even though there was nothing to laugh about. Walked over to them and flew up to bump fists. I couldn't shake their hands because they would crush me but before they bumped my fist they shrunk down to seven feet tall. I held out my hand and they shook it. "First thing first. Five laps around the arena. Only running. Then twenty sit ups and ten pushups. I know its five miles but I don't care. Every week we will add ten pushups and twenty sit ups and another lap. Get started" Damesen said and I took off before he could add a lap.
When I was finally done, many hours later and hurting all over, he had a long box in his hand. I ran over exhausted and waited to catch my breath before asking, "What's in the box?" He unlatched it and opened it. It was a sword. Pitch black with a red glow around it. The red was energy gained from killing enemies. The blade was Hell silver. That's mortal silver mixed with stygian iron forged in the waters of the Stygian Marsh. The place where all the rivers of the underworld meet. The handle was also black but instead of just leather handle there was a piece of the Nemean lion skin under leather made out of Apollos red cattle so it was blood red. At the top of the hilt there was a skull with mist circling in its mouth. "Inside you can capture the souls you kill. Up to three at a time and once you use them they disappear unless they choose to stay and you let them." Damesen told me and I tried to grab it but he held it out of my reach. "No no no. You don't get to even touch this masterpiece until you turn 16. For now use this." He handed me a heavy plain celestial bronze sword. It wasn't nearly as cool but it would work. I grabbed it and held it up with one hand. That felt right but know I need something in the other hand. Do you have another sword?" He raised an eyebrow but threw me another. "I can't get you another badass sword like that but I can get you a different one." He held up his own sword and we got into position. Orion, who was sitting down in the stands, blew a whistle and before I could do anything Damesen had his sword to my neck. He smirked and I pushed it away. I got up and tried again this time trying to block. When he collided with me I flew back into the wall. I somehow stood up again and decided to try one last time. This time I was ready so when he attacked I rolled to my right spun around and stabbed at his back. Unluckily for me he turned at the last second and deflected the blow. He attacked by jabbing his sword at my chest. I pulled my left shoulder back and hit his sword away with my left one. I tried slashing but he jumped back and quickly dashed forward. I tried to duck but he hit the flat of his blade on my legs knocking on my back and putting his sword to my neck again. "Nice job. You lasted more than ten seconds." We did that for the rest of the day, and I didn't win again. Next we did Archery with Orion.
Alright, I was getting the hang of this. I have been shooting arrows for hours now and not one bull's eye. I have been getting closer though. Orion did have a gift for me but he wouldn't show it to me until I was 16. It was stupid as hell, but it did motivate me. I let one go and it hit about the middle of the target. "Yes!" Orion looked at me smugly turned so he wasn't looking and shot a bull's eye.
After that we practiced all short ranged weapons like spears and knives and fists with Damesen and all long ranged like throwing knife and javelin. We did all weapons.
~ Line break Percy's 13~
So far I have been almost everywhere in Tartarus. Almost everywhere. The one place I wasn't allowed in was the forbidden area. I know, real original. I was shooting arrows with Orion when I accidentally shot on over the arena. I ran to go get it when I saw that no one was looking. I made a quick decision to check out the forbidden area. I let the shadows cover me so I was invisible in the dark unless you looked very closely, just to make sure no one saw. I quickly slipped into the cave. I walked for a while before I saw a bowl on an altar. I walked up and saw red liquid inside of it. I looked inside and saw nothing. But when I pulled back, that was when I heard the voice. "Hello Perseus. Nice of you to finally come to me. Yes I have been waiting for you. For only you can free me. Drink out of the bowl." I was about to turn and run when I suddenly felt like drinking it. I drank it and felt warm blood run down my throat. I think it was animal blood. I hope. "Yes. Good my champion. Come back to me every month. I will make you stronger." After that I came back every month and he did make me stronger, while I made him stronger.
~line break Percy's 16th b-day ~
Today was the day. The day I leave. I gulped down something, either fear or anxiety, and headed to the dining area. Everyone was there already smiling sadly. I smirked and sat down at the end. "Percy, there's something we need to tell you something. There has been a slight change of plans. Last summer the Olympians defeated the Titans again and now Gaea has decided to rise. We are joining my sister. Not only because she would rule better than those shit head gods, but Tartarus himself has decided to join her and he's even more powerful than Gaea. We need you to go undercover as a... A child of Venus." Nyx exclaimed and everyone burst out laughing. Not at Venus just as me being her child. See I have become one of the more evil things in the pit ever since I drank that blood and got his blessing. "Only because she has the most kids of all the Olympians. She won't notice one more so, sucks for you. Present time!" I sighed and smiled again at my family. Even my father has decided to conspire against Hades.
Nyx announced all of the presents, "First off we have Damesens gift... Bloodbath! The sword he showed Percy when they first met. Next we have... Devastator! Orion's old bow." The bow was made of Drakon bone that Damesen got and had an unbreakable string that when you pulled back created an Arrow out of the shadows. It could kill mortals and monsters. It was black and had engravings of hunting on it. Enceladus' gift was a pouch with unlimited throwing knives. I got everyone's blessings and then got ready to leave. "Wait, son." My dad called and I turned. "This blade is made from the frozen waters of the Styx. It never breaks or shatters and it freezes people when you will it to. Its name is Frostbite." It was light blue and had the same red handle as my other sword. There were swirly designs on it. I hugged my dad and then Nyx called me up. Here along with my belt that had unlimited supply of knives, two sheathes connected to it. I put my swords in and smiled. "If you lose your sword then they will return to these sheathes. Also here." She gave me a coke can that turned into a spear when I crunched it. I put it in a coke holster in my awesome belt. I also got a black backpack. "Thank you everyone. Really." Then I left. I shadow traveled to the doors of death and hopped in with two Cyclopes and a cat. Wait, a cat? It was sort of translucent but flickered to a regular black cat, more regular as we got closer to the surface. I grabbed it and put it in my bag. I then stabbed the two Cyclopes with Bloodbath. I felt their souls travel across the tip of the blade to the hilt. When the elevator finally stopped I got out and immediately closed my eyes. It was so dark in the Underworld that even at Sunrise it was bright. I finally got sort of used to it and saw that I was in the middle of the forest.
