Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus Series.
Story: Champion of the Pit: Destiny's Warrior
Chapter 4: I Meet Some Old Friends
Tartarus - A month later…
Percy left the mines and walked down the long dim corridor toward his cell. He walked past the crowded cell block that stood between him and the home he shared with his mentor Perses. As Percy walked down the corridor he noticed that the hallway was unusually empty for this time of day. He felt the hairs stand up on the back of his neck as he realized something was wrong. He put his hand in his pocket and gripped Riptide; he hadn't used the blade since his descent into Tartarus, but the weapon would never leave his side until he was dead, which was almost impossible now, since he was a true immortal.
The sound of feet scraping the stone ground drew Percy's attention. He uncapped Riptide; the celestial bronze glowed within the dimly lit corridor.
"I see you still have the sword," a familiar female voice said. Percy turned toward the sound. A woman dressed in black with her head covered by a wrapped scarf stepped into the light that emanated from Percy's sword. She wore dark sunglasses that covered part of her face, but Percy knew this woman.
"Medusa," Percy said.
The woman grinned at the sound of her name. "I see you remember me."
Percy frowned. "It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"I've been here in Tartarus. What do you think?" she spat.
Percy chuckled. "This is my second time here. I guess I'm starting to get used to it."
Medusa snapped her fingers. Two larger figures stepped out of the shadows. Percy recognized them. His eyes narrowed as he looked at them. The first was a large burly man of at least twelve feet in height, but it appeared that he wore something on his head until the sound of an animal snorting filled the air. The man stepped further into the light. Percy knew this creature all too well. The monster's large head had two horns on top and a long snout. The Minotaur growled as drool dropped from its mouth onto the floor. The creature only wore his white underwear. Percy held in a laugh at the sight. The second figure was not quite as tall as the other. He looked like a man at first in a long trench coat. He had one blue eye and one brown eye. Percy could see something moving behind the long coat. Percy knew it had to be his tail.
"Doctor Thorn, I see that your company hasn't improved," Percy observed playfully.
Thorn bared his teeth. "Percy Jackson, we're going to destroy you," Thorn snarled. His Manticore tail moved quickly before it shot a spike toward the son of Poseidon. Percy caught the spike with his free hand before he threw it straight at the Minotaur striking the creature between the eyes. The Minotaur fell backwards and hit the floor with a resounding crash. The creature didn't dissolve at first, but a moment later its skin began to turn into a black liquid leaving his internal organs and skeleton visible before they too dissolved into the black oily goo and seeped into a crack in the stone floor.
"Ew, you guys don't die any nicer down here," Percy exclaimed. Thorn and Medusa stepped back. They had never expected Percy to be so fast. Percy flipped Ritpide over in his hand causing the sword to create a strobe light effect in the dark corridor. Percy's face was lit up by his blade, but his sea green eyes were nearly black. Thorn looked terrified, but Medusa just looked pissed.
"You cannot stand against my power boy," she said angrily. She took off her head dress and the vipers that covered her head began to writhe and snap toward Percy's direction. Medusa took off her sunglasses revealing onyx colored eyes that glowed with power. Percy stared directly at her, but he didn't turn to stone. Medusa's mouth dropped open in surprise. She turned toward Thorn causing the Manticore to turn to stone before her eyes. Her powers worked, but why hadn't they worked on Percy.
Medusa's questioning look made Percy laugh. "The first thing is that the gods made me immortal before they sent me here, and the second is that I can now control my molecular structure. My teacher has done well," Percy explained.
Medusa gritted her teeth at first before her expression changed. She gave Percy a seductive look before she walked toward him swaying her hips. She unbuttoned her shirt slightly to show her large breasts that were held tightly within a black lacey bra. "We could have a lot of fun together. Your dad always praised me for my skills."
Medusa was only a foot away from Percy she ran her hand down his chest. Percy stared into her eyes. Her magic had no effect on him now. Percy leaned toward her and whispered, "I don't like slutty bitches." He stepped back quickly and swiped his sword across the air severing Medusa's head from her neck. Her head hit the floor before her body did. The head rolled down the corridor before it disappeared into a hole in the floor. Medusa's body hit the floor with a dull thud before it met the same fate as the Minotaur. Her body turned into the same oily liquid before it disappeared into the nearest crack in the floor.
Percy walked toward the stone statue that was Doctor Thorn. He sliced Riptide across the Manticore's body causing the statue to crumble to dust. The dust turned into the same black liquid before it seeped into the ground.
Percy turned around and continued his walk down the corridor. Monsters began to exit their cells once again, but they all stared at the son of Poseidon in fear. He had taken out three monsters in a few seconds without any trouble. Percy ignored the shocked stares and fear filled eyes of the other creatures. He finally made it to his cell, but the door opened up on its own. Perses stood in the doorway with an amused expression on his face.
"I see you took care of those three easily enough," Perses said.
Percy grinned at his mentor. "I think your training is paying off," he replied.
Perses held the door open for his student. He looked down the corridor and smiled at the expressions on the faces of the other creatures in the corridor. He made a slice your head off sign with his hand before he slammed the door behind them.
In another galaxy far, far away…
A man clad in a black hooded robe sat on a throne made of a black metal. His features were obscured from view, but his hands were as black as the depths of space. He looked up towards the door as the sound of metal hitting the floor drew his attention. He looked up to see a metal woman, she was curvy in all the right places, but she was clearly a robot of some type. She knelt on one knee before the man.
"My lord, I have grave news about your child," she said with a metallic voice.
"Explain Epsilon," the man's voice said. His voice emanated from around the room. It didn't sound like it came from the cloaked figure, but Epsilon gave no indication that this was unusual.
Epsilon's yellow eyes glowed. "Gaea has been defeated by the Olympians once again my lord."
The cloaked figure shifted in his throne. The room became darker as he peered through his hood at the robot below him. "How goes our progress in this galaxy?" he asked.
"Eighty percent of the galaxy has been assimilated," Epsilon said.
"Good. It will only take another year to complete the task," the cloaked man said.
"My lord, we await your orders," Epsilon said.
The cloaked man stood and removed his hood. His skin was as black as outer space, stars and constellations moved across his body like small boats in an ocean of blackness. "We will finish the assimilation of this galaxy into the new universal order." He looked down at the robot before him. "When that task is finished we will go to the home of my children to begin the assimilation of that galaxy."
Epsilon stood and bowed her head. "As you command Lord Chaos," she said before she turned and left the throne room.
Chaos looked up into the darkness of space above him. His eyes burned with the brightness of a hundred suns. "No one will stop me from bringing order to the universe."
Center of the universe, the remnant of creation…
A sphere of energy glowed in the center of what had been the beginning of everything. In this sphere the energy of destiny and time itself stretched out toward the universe. Inside the sphere of energy was another dimension, the remnants of the previous universe that was destroyed to create the new one. Inside this sphere were two thrones made of pure energy, on these thrones sat the father and mother of the universe, Chronos and Ananke. Chronos was the being of time. He had many names, but his true purpose was that of the male counterpart of creation. Time was everlasting, but ever changing. His will balanced the non-physical universe. His wife Ananke was destiny itself. She balanced the physical universe.
"My love, there is a great upheaval in the universe," Chronos observed. He was twelve feet tall and dressed in a white robe. His hair was white and he had a flowing white beard. His eyes were two purple balls of energy.
"Our son has laid waste to almost an entire galaxy. We cannot allow this to continue," Ananke proclaimed. She was ten feet tall and dressed in a flowing white dress that reached her ankles. Her eyes glowed pure white like the newly fallen snow. Her hair was black like coal and it flowed down to her shoulders. Her skin was light brown and glowed with power.
"Our other children have mostly faded away," Chronos began. "How do we stop him?"
Ananke smiled. "We need a champion; a warrior to bring balance to the universe."
Chronos opened a portal into Tartarus. His eyes locked onto the figure of a teenage boy as he worked in the dark and dreary mines of hell itself. "Are you sure that he is up to the challenge?"
Ananke smiled at her husband. "He is learning about true strength. There will be a time in the near future where he will be ready."
Chronos nodded in understanding. "He will need to clear his mind of those negative emotions. When the time comes he will certainly need our help."
Ananke took out a nail that was a size of a railroad tie. The nail glowed white like her eyes. "He will be the one that will bind the universe together in its time of need."
"I hope you are right my love. I wish Erebus and Aether were here to help the boy."
Ananke reached out and took her husband's hand in hers. She squeezed his hand gently. "My love, we have existed since the beginning and we will be here till the end."
Chronos smiled at her sincerely. "I hope the end is not here."
Ananke shook her head. "The end is far into the future. I wish Chaos would have chosen another path, but he chose the path of interference and obstruction. He has made his own followers. He has corrupted the necessity of life and the destiny of creation. It is our duty to set the physical and mental worlds in balance. Unfortunately, it will mean the destruction of our last child." Ananke looked down at the ground sadly.
Chronos squeezed her hand tightly. "I will be by your side always."
Ananke nodded. She looked back at the portal and watched the boy. "He has a pure spirit." Chronos nodded in agreement. "Percy Jackson will be ready when the universe needs him the most."
AN: In this story I'm following another mythology tradition in which Chronos and Ananke created the universe and their children were Chaos, Erebus and Aether (basically, matter, darkness and light) Now we see a glimpse of the danger that confronts both the god's of Olympus and the universe itself. Stay tuned more to come.