Thank you to all of those who reviewed! All reviews are much appreciated, and I will work on including all of your suggestions into my story after the third chapter, as the first three chapters are all already written. i'll try to post chapters in intervals so I can actually keep up, though I kinda doubt that I'll be able to maintain a really fast update rate that I'll set for myself. But enough of me. On with the story! - dumbothedumbo
Quest to the Underworld
Percy shouldered his backpack full of the necessities, the usual nectar and ambrosia as well as the silver hunting knife Artemis gave him. Might be useful, he thought before taking a deep breath and stepping into the DOA recording studios. Charon looked up as soon as he walked in.
"Hello Percy, Hades is expecting you." Charon greeted more warmly than usual as he stepped out from behind the counter.
"I see that Hades actually did give you a pay raise," commented Percy with a slight chuckle, gesturing to his new Italian suit.
"Yes indeed, and I feel that I deserved it." As they walked into the elevator, they fell silent.
"Free ride for everyone!" shouted Charon in an uncharacteristic act of generosity.
The spirits rushed to the elevator. As they got on, Percy could feel the hopelessness and despair emanating from the river Styx even from the lobby. Just like Percy's first trip to the Underworld, it was polluted, except this time, the air felt sickly.
The feeling of depression was literally palpable in the air. Percy felt the sudden urge to infuse the river with hope. It was an act on impulse, but he thought of all his hopes and dreams of his future, and let that tendril of thought flow towards the river. A strange wind blew, and all the pollution seemed to fade away. The Styx turned back into a majestic teal, instead of the depressed black of oil.
"Amazing," whispered Charon, "You humans have been polluting the river for millennia, and the river has been getting worse and worse the more spirits that come through, yet you come in, and cleanse the river of literally of eons of pollution."
"I don't know, it just sort of … well happened. I just had this impulse, and I followed it through." replied Percy.
"Well, this impulse saved me from fading." said a voice from behind him.
They both whirled around to face this voice to see a sixteen-year-old girl standing there.
"Who are you?" inquired Percy.
"I am the river spirit of the Styx, and you have my thanks for cleansing my river." answered the spirit.
"You're…welcome." replied Percy.
"To show my gratefulness, I would like to give you back your blessing that you lost during your trip through the Tiber River." Styx continued, "You will feel a slight ticklish sensation on your chosen weak spot, but no pain this time."
She put her hands on his shoulders with her eyes closed, and true to her words, Percy felt no pain.
Now, think of where you want your weak point to be.she spoke into his mind.
Percy thought of his upper back, just to the left of his back. As he did so, he did indeed feel a ticklish feeling on that spot, which faded soon after she opened her eyes and took her hands off his shoulders.
"It is done." she finished. "Thank you once more.", before disappearing.
Charon muttered, "Amazing. It is rare she gives her blessing twice. In fact, she's never done it before."
Percy replied, "Well, there is always a first."
They soon reached the dock, and while the spirits headed straight for the judging tables, Charon led Percy down a side path and pointed through two black gates. In the far distance, you could see a black palace, and even from here Percy could see tiny figures moving about.
"Just continue through those gates, the guards will let you through as Hades has already informed them, and head towards the palace. There, just go through the main hallway and you'll find the throne room."
Percy entered the gates without any problems, and was soon kneeling before Hades.
"Rise, Perseus." said Hades.
"Why have you brought me here?" inquired Percy.
"I have a favor to ask of you. As you have already been informed of, there are some problems at the entrance to Tartarus. it is a newly formed one, one I found only a few weeks ago. It is heavily guarded and patrolled, of course, but I'd rather not lose too many men attempting to enter at once. I think in this case, subtlety will be the better course of action, and one lone demigod shouldn't cause too much trouble. In any case, the problem is as I ordered my men to seal it, something or someone is killing my workers. I could do it personally, but that wouldn't hold up to the entirety of Tartarus. So I need you to go take care of the creature. Then, I'll seal up the entrance. By the way, I hear you cleansed the Styx. You have my thanks for that, as she has been growing more and more sickly. I shall have you properly rewarded after your (hopeful) return." replied Hades.
"Alright. Do I get any advice on where to go?" asked Percy.
"Just head south and you'll see it."
Percy did as he was told and after a fifteen-minute walk, arrived. he witnessed a huge wall being built. The entrance looked as if someone tore a hole in the Underworld, as the edges were all jagged, and just radiated unfriendliness and fear. Percy continued pass the patrols and found himself in a black forest. Percy shivered, and continued through. He heard a low growl and uncapped Riptide.
He saw a group of hellhounds behind him with their beady red eyes. He let out a sigh of relief. Percy charged forward and into the group, but even though they scratched him, they did no damage. He quickly dispatched them, leaving several small piles of golden dust. His shirt was torn up a bit, but that was all.
Percy soon exited the woods and saw a group of Cyclopes guarding a doorway into a mountain. Percy stealthily crept towards them, and slew 3 of them before they could do much more than have their eyes widen. Quickly killing the rest, he went through the doorway. The sight that greeted him was shocking. He saw Zoe Nightshade chained to the wall knocked unconscious. He sensed rather than saw the club that was hurtling swiftly through the air at his head. He ducked and threw his hunting knife in the direction that the club came from. He was rewarded by a low groan as he whirled around to see more Cyclopes armed with swords and clubs standing in the back of the room. Percy uncapped Riptide and waited for the Cyclopes to approach. The stupidest of them all, promptly charged at Percy, and Percy sidestepped and brought Riptide down onto his back, and he dissolved into golden dust, a look of agony on his face. The others now regarded him warily, and they all charged at once. He spun in a circle, and they too dissolved into dust. He ran towards Zoe, who hung limply, with her neck hanging downwards. Percy shook her a few times, and her eyes fluttered open.
"Percy?" she asked, believing herself to be delirious and very surprised that her mind's first instinct was to dream of Percy.
"Yeah, it's me. You're not delirious, you're alive, and chained to a wall in Tartarus." replied Percy.
"WHAT? Oh, yeah. Can you get me some of that nectar before I explain how I got here?" she inquired, suddenly realizing that her throat was parched, and her voice raspy.
"Sure, but drink slowly." he answered. When he handed her the ambrosia and nectar, she gulped down the cup, and licked her lips before continuing.
"After Artemis put me in the constellations, Ouranos, who actually is conscious, let me roam the Earth as a spirit, but no one could see me except for that accursed Zeus. He saw me and was furious, and immediately assumed that I was spying on the Gods, relaying information to the Titans, despite the fact that Ouranos told him about me, and specifically made it so that only Gods can sense me. He turned me into me solid form and threw me into Tartarus, but to make my life worse, he put me under a paralytic spell so I couldn't resist, but I was fully conscious when they chained me, and I was waiting to see their master, but in the meantime, they beat me until I was actually unconscious. Then you came in, and, well, you know the rest." she said bitterly when she mentioned Zeus. Just as she finished, they heard a low growl, and Percy turned around once more, his eyes widening in shock as he stood protectively in front of Zoe.
Author's note: Next chapter should be about the fight with the monster, (care to guess?) and the meeting of Artemis. To reiterate, this is a Percy/Zoe/Artemis fanfic. In the 3rd chapter, Percy will break up with Annabeth, and the romance can begin. This fanfic will escalate their relationship slowly, so don't expect much during the first few chapters.
-dumbothedumbo