A/N So this is the first real chapter in my opinion. The others have just been kind of prelude. Thanks to all those favoriters/reviewers/alerters!

Not much to say really... It's longer which is why it took me two days to update. (Really not sure where this updating frenzy is coming from guys, I just hope it last) And now, I've got to go through and EDIT this chapter... whoo... well, see you at the bottom.


They rested for a few minutes before continuing down the narrow corridor. Percy felt a dark sense of dread creeping up his spine. Somehow, this well-lit passage way was more foreboding than the vast dark cavern they were previously in. Something about the dimensions just screamed 'monsters.' Of course they would run into something horrible here, where he barely had room to uncap Riptide.

Moving along carefully, Percy kept his eyes peeled for any sign of approaching danger. The farther they got into the tunnel, the more sure he was they were about to be attacked, but nothing happened.

From Annabeth's rigid composure on his back, he could tell that she felt the same way.

Hours passed, and Percy's legs grew heavier and heavier until it was all he could do to keep them shuffling forward.

"Percy, maybe we should stop for the night," Annabeth suggested. From her tone, Percy could tell that she sensed his weariness.

He shook his head forcefully, trying to get back on track. "No. I'm fine. If nine days have already passed, we need to keep moving! We need to reach the others as quick as possible!"

"Wearing yourself out isn't going to help us at all!" Annabeth pointed out. Seeing that Percy was still determined to keep going, she tried a different tact. "Come on, Percy! You've been carrying me for hours. We need rest."

When he still refused to listen, Annabeth sighed, but squirmed out of his grasp, landing hard on the stone floor. She winced and gently prodded her chest to make sure that she hadn't re-broken anything.

Percy stumbled from the sudden unbalance of weight and had to put his hand to the side of the passage way to remain standing. He turned to face Annabeth who had pushed herself up against wall and was leaning into it, staring at him, her gray eyes stormy as always.

"Annabeth, we need to keep moving!" He said again, casting a glance around in all directions. He couldn't shake the feeling that something or someone was watching them.

He held his hand out to her, but she just crossed her arms and shook her head. "No. Percy, you need to rest. I'm not going any further."

Percy sighed, but then sat down next to her. "Really, Annabeth I'm fine for now. I just think we should get out of here," he said gesturing to the corridor around them. "Something about it just feels wrong. Let's just go a little farther. If we haven't reached anything then, we can spend the night in here."

Annabeth grudgingly accepted his offer. "Fine, but just one hour."

Percy nodded, and helped her get on his back again. Barely fifteen minutes later, they came out in a room. Like the first one, it was large, much larger than the passage way, but it was also lit.

In the eerie glow of the torches swept along the walls, and Percy saw that they were in some kind of dungeon. Cells with rusty iron bars lined the walls. They went down farther than Percy could see. Cautiously, he leaned forward in order to look into the nearest one. To his relief it was empty. Looking around, he realized that all of the cells were empty, at least all the ones he could see.

He tested the bars and saw that they were so rusted that they broke easily. This must have been some old abandoned part of Tartarus. Did Tartarus have abandoned parts? Percy had no idea. With all the monsters that had been on the lose for the past couple of months, it seemed possible…

He screwed his head around to look at Annabeth. She shrugged her shoulders as well as she could while hanging on to Percy to show she didn't know what was up with the empty cells and more than he did.

"Well this seems like a place as good any to sleep," he said.

Annabeth nodded.

Percy went into the nearest cell and put Annabeth down, hoping that if anything attacked them the bars could serve as some sort of protection. "Are you good?" He asked.

She nodded again, and rested her head against his shoulder breathing heavily.

Noticing her I'm-in-pain-but-I'm-too-strong-and-proud-to-admit-it look, Percy fished out the bag of Ambrosia. Giving her another dose this soon could be dangerous, but enough time had probably passed, and if her expression was anything to go by, she needed it. "Here," he said, breaking off a small corner of the divine food and handing it to her.

"Thanks." She ate it quickly.

Looking at the ambrosia in his hand, Percy felt his stomach growl and he remembered that he hadn't eaten anything since they'd fallen into Tartarus. Picking up a square, he looked it over, drool practically falling out of his mouth as the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted to him. "Hey, Annabeth, do you know if this stuff can be substituted at real food?" he asked.

She frowned, looking at it. "I don't know. I've never had any need for it before now. But, now that I think about it, I'm not hungry. Logically, it should heal an empty stomach just like a wound. Try it in super small portions, just to be safe."

Percy anxiously nibbled the edge. Instantly, the taste of warm cookies exploded in his mouth. He swallowed, and at first nothing happened, but finally he started to feel something in his stomach. Slowly but surely the gripping pain of hunger was leaving. He smiled wide.

"Did it work?" Annabeth asked, but his smile already told her the answer. "Now, water."

"That's easy," Percy stated closing his eyes. It took some effort, but he finally located a small puddle of water about twenty feet away from them. Concentrating even harder, he brought it over to them. It was tougher than it should've been though, like something was smothering his power. "Here," Percy said, cupping his hands and mentally pouring the water into them. He gently gave Annabeth a long sip.

"Thanks," she muttered, wetting her lips. She looked up at him and smiled. "There are some definite advantages to dating the son of Poseidon," she said almost thoughtfully.

Percy laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. They sat like that for a few minutes before, as usual, Percy decided to ruin the moment. A huge yawn racked his jaw.

Annabeth laughed, but pulled away. "You need to get some sleep, Seaweed Brain. I'll take first watch."

Percy mumbled his thanks. And closed his eyes, but reopened them as a thought occurred to him. "Speaking of keeping watch, where are all the monsters Nico kept talking about? I don't mean to sound ungrateful or jinx us, but does it seem a little odd to you?"

A crease appeared between Annabeth's eyebrows, and Percy could tell that she had been thinking the same thing. After a few seconds, her expression turned light again. "Don't worry. I'm sure we'll run into more than enough of them before this adventure is over."

Percy nodded. This time, he sunk almost immediately into sleep. Just as his eyelids fell shut, he thought he saw a flash of something white, but it disappeared, and he was lost in the realm of sleep.


For once, Percy had no dreams. No flashes of Gaea's forces or of Nico and the others, just darkness. He was floating in it. It wrapped around him like blanket and squeezed, suffocating him. It was pulling him down, farther and farther until he thought he'd never be able to get back to reality.

To his relief he finally sat up, hands shaking slightly. Cold sweat dripped down the back of his neck.

"Percy," Annabeth whispered above him.

He turned and saw that she was gripping his shoulder. With a start, he realized that she must have woken him. "What is it?" His words slurred; he was still groggy.

She didn't answer, just nodded in front of them.

Turning again, Percy saw that they were surrounded by maybe fifteen ghostly figures. They differed in shades. Some were nearly transparent; Percy had to focus to even see their vaguest outlines, but others looked practically solid, the only hint that they weren't just human were the slight blurring around the edges of their forms.

One of the more solid looking ones stepped forward. Percy was sure that he had seen him before, but where eluded him. The ghost was dressed like an ancient Greek hero, and he looked a bit like Ares, tall and buff. Even their dark closely shaved dark hair was the same. The biggest difference between the two were their eyes. Squinting, Percy looked into the very human green eyes. Suddenly, he remembered. "Achilles," he breathed.

Annabeth looked at Percy incredulously. "Achilles…?" She glanced at the ghost then back at Percy as if silently asking him where he had met one of the most famous Greek heroes.

Achilles didn't acknowledge Annabeth at all, just stared at Percy. "So, we meet again, Perseus Jackson. I see you no longer bear my curse."

Percy got to his feet. Even if Achilles was a Greek hero, there something about his cruel features that Percy didn't trust. He moved to stand between Annabeth and the ghost. He drew Riptide from his pocket, but left it capped, ready to use the sword at any moment.

"Percy," Annabeth said wearily. "If that is Achilles…" she trailed off, but he understood her full meaning: If this was Achilles, he didn't stand a chance. Maybe when he was if he still had Achilles' power, but now…

Still, he stood his ground. "What do you want?" Percy asked. Then, another question occurred to him. "What are you doing here? You weren't sent to Tartarus when you died, right?"

Achilles looked Percy over, sizing him up. "No. This is a place reserved for monsters. When I died I went to Elysium. But the she called to me…" he didn't elaborate, just held up his hand and marveled at it, as though surprised that it was there. "She whispered secrets into my ear. She told me of her plans to rise and retake the world, how the era of the gods is coming to an end. She offered the chance of a second life. To live again, as myself, Achilles, hero of the Trojan War, but this time, I would be immortal.

"She promised me riches, castles, and power beyond anything! All I have to do is capture two small demigods and hand them over to her," He paused and glanced at Percy and Annabeth. "Just that, and everything's mine!"

Percy backed up as Achilles took a step forward, going straight through the bars. Once he had reached the other side, he seemed to solidify again.

Realizing what was going on, Percy uncapped Riptide and held it up. He searched desperately in his mind for anything that could get them out of this. Unfortunately, he came up with nothing.

Achilles took another step forward, forcing Percy to stand almost on top of Annabeth. Trying to buy some time Percy started speaking, trying to keep Achilles talking, because as long as he was talking he wasn't killing them. Hopefully. (Percy really had no idea how well this guy could multitask, but hey, it was worth a shot.) "But you're a Greek hero, why would you turn against the gods?"

Achilles frowned, but it looked more like a grimace. "Eternal life, boy! That's what Gaea offered me! Do you have any idea what that means? The gods, bah! No matter how many men I killed, no matter how good of a fighter I was, they'd never let me become a god. No, that was a right they reserved for their precious children! The gods," he said again. "What did they ever do for me?"

Annabeth looked up. "Well Athena helped you win the fight against Hector," she pointed out rationally.

"I could have easily won that fight on my own, but the goddess of wisdom," he said wisdom sarcastically. "Didn't trust me. I had no godly blood." His face was contorted, as if it couldn't contain his rage. After a second, he shrugged and a cruel smile reappeared. "It's of no matter, for soon I shall be elevated beyond Athena or any of the pathetic Olympians! Now, to uphold my half of the bargain." Achilles stepped forward again. Now, only a bout a foot separated him and Percy.

Well, that appeared to be the end of the conversation. Still, Percy had bought them a couple of seconds. Now just a couple more to give them time to think of a plan. Even though he was horrible with Greek myths, Percy remembered that Achilles was extremely proud (that, Percy could tell just from their little chat) and would never back down from a fight. It probably wasn't the best idea, Achilles was the greatest warrior who ever lived, and pretty much invincible. On the other hand though, Percy knew his weakness. If he could just get to it… And besides, Achilles didn't want to kill them. Worse case scenario, they'd just wind up in the same situation. "I challenge you to a dual," Percy said loudly.

"Percy!" Annabeth cried indignantly, clearly thinking he had lost his mind.

A spark lit up in Achilles' eyes and, for a second, he was almost indistinguishable from the god of war, all humanity seemed to drip from them until nothing was left but hard rock. A wide grin spread across his face. "You would be so arrogant as to challenge me?"

When Percy didn't answer, Achilles' shrugged. "If that's your wish, I accept. I only hope that you are a worthy opponent, son of Poseidon." With that, he slipped back through the bars and waited for Percy.

Percy carefully went around the remaining bars and stood a few feet away from Achilles, in the middle of the wide hallway. The rest of the ghosts quickly surrounded them, forming a loose circle around the two warriors.

"Percy!" Annabeth cried again, this time more desperately.

He turned to look, but her face was lost in the sea of ghosts. He faced Achilles again, who drew his own sword.

The two exchanged a series of blows, mainly trying to get a feel for the other's style, rather than trying to hurt them. Soon, that changed. Percy jabbed and slashed, but no matter how complicated the move was, Achilles' sword was always there to block him.

It was a pretty even match. Achilles' skill was just about equal to Percy's. For a number of minutes they switched defense and offense, neither gaining the advantage. Finally, Percy swung his sword and before Achilles was able to block it, it found a chink in his armor. It should have cut right through the flesh, but instead it stopped like Percy was trying to chop steel. The reverberations of the contact racked Percy's arm, almost making him drop Riptide.

Again, a smile crept across Achilles' face. "You're beginning to see how hopeless your efforts are."

Percy said nothing, just parried Achilles' next blow and managed to get back into the fight.

More time passed. Percy had some pretty near misses, and soon he was covered in small cuts, each stinging and dripping blood. Finally, he saw his opening. He quickly faked to the left, and as Achilles raised his arm to stop the blow, Percy pulled his sword back, and rolled under Achilles' outstretched arm.

Before the Greek hero had time to react, Percy was behind him. In a fluid motion, he swung Riptide at Achilles exposed ankle. (The moron was still wearing sandals. Didn't he learn his lesson after he died the first time?) For a moment, it looked like Percy had won, but to his horror, his sword passed straight through Achilles leg like it was nothing but air. Looking up, Percy saw that Everything about Achilles had become almost transparent, including his sword.

Achilles started to laugh. "Foolish boy. I'm still a ghost. The closer spirits get to the Doors of Death, the more solid they become. At this distance, I can change my density if I only concentrate! You have no hope of winning this fight!"

Realizing the truth of his words, Percy was too slow in reacting to Achilles' next attack. As the now solid hilt of the sword hit him in the head, Percy slumped to the ground, unconscious.


A/N There's chapter, what is it now, four? Wow, this story seems to be flying by. For once I'm actually satisfied with the length.

Sorry about the reusing of Achilles... Wow my main goal with this story seems to be, 'how can I break my promise of not reusing things?' Anyway, Achilles had such a small role, I don't really count it.

I don't have anything else to say besides to beg for reviews! So, please, review!