Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Rick Riordan does.
AN: Deadly Huggles: I know, it's really weird how there aren't any other HoO ones out there, that was actually the reason that I started writing this one. I kept looking for one about their time in Tartarus, but they just didn't exist. I actually never found any for The Last Olympian, could you please recommend some to me? I do have the Dark Prophecy, I just need to find the time to sit down and read it.
MCATO068: The way that I see it, is that they're trying to appear like they're doing better in front of their friends and family, but then when they're alone, that's when they stop pretending.
AnnaUnicorn: I definitely agree with that, but also I think that it's helping them indirectly tell people about what happened to them down there, but also they are kind of trapped in the throne room until they're done with the book, so… there's that.
Anyways, onwards with the story...
"I think that I want to read next," Hephaestus said. "Here you go." Poseidon said, handing him the book.
"When they reached the ledge, Annabeth was sure she'd signed their death warrants. The cliff dropped more than eighty feet. At the bottom stretched a nightmarish version of the Grand Canyon: a river of fire cutting a path through a jagged obsidian crevasse, the glowing red current casting horrible shadows across the cliff faces. Even from the top of the canyon, the heat was intense. The chill of the River Cocytus hadn't left Annabeth's bones, but now her face felt raw and sunburned. Every breath took more effort, as if her chest was filled with Styrofoam peanuts. The cuts on her hands bled more rather than less. Annabeth's foot, which had been almost healed, seemed to be reinjuring itself. She'd taken off her makeshift cast, but now she regretted it. Each step made her wince."
"What's happening?" Apollo said, looking distressed. "How are all of your wounds reopening?"
"Assuming they could make it down to the fiery river, which she doubted, her plan seemed certifiably insane."
"Aren't most of our plans certifiably insane?" Frank deadpanned.
"Hey! You…. are very correct. Nevermind." Leo finished.
"Uh…" Percy examined the cliff. He pointed to a tiny fissure running diagonally from the edge to the bottom. "We can try that ledge there. Might be able to climb down." He didn't say they'd be crazy to try. He managed to sound hopeful. Annabeth was grateful for that, but also worried that she was leading him to his doom."
"You know, you're not the only one, I'm pretty sure we all think that we're leading everybody to their doom at some point." Percy said.
"Our lives wouldn't be the same if there wasn't any risk." Hazel said.
"Yeah, we would be happier." Frank snorted. Needless to say, there was a awkward silence after that.
Sometime later, Hermes said, "All right, so I think it might be time to get back to reading now."
"Of course if they stayed here, they would die anyway. Blisters had started to form on their arms from exposure to the Tartarus air. The whole environment was about as healthy as a nuclear blast zone. Percy went first."
"The ledge was barely wide enough to allow a toehold. Their hands clawed for any crack in the glassy rock. Every time Annabeth put pressure on her bad foot, she wanted to yelp. She'd ripped off the sleeves of her T-shirt and used the cloth to wrap her bloody palms, but her fingers were still slippery and weak. A few steps below her, Percy grunted as he reached for another handhold. "So... what is this fire river called?"
"Yeah, what is this mysterious river that Hephaestus won't tell anybody about?" Ares asked.
"I would have told you, if you weren't so impatient and and waited a few more seconds." Hephaestus replied.
"The Phlegethon," she said. "You should concentrate on going down."
"Oh."
"The Phlegethon?" He shinnied along the ledge. They'd made it roughly a third of the way down the cliff-still high enough up to die if they fell. "Sounds like a marathon for hawking spitballs."
Leo was about to say that he totally agreed but he was interrupted by Thalia."Of course, that's what you thought of, Kelp Head." she laughed. Leo decided it was best not to say anything. It took a minute for the chuckles to die down.
"Please don't make me laugh," she said. "Just trying to keep things light."
"Thanks," she grunted, nearly missing the ledge with her bad foot. "I'll have a smile on my face as I plummet to my death." They kept going, one step at a time. Annabeth's eyes stung with sweat. Her arms trembled. But to her amazement, they finally made it to the bottom of the cliff."
"When she reached the ground, she stumbled. Percy caught her. She was alarmed by how feverish his skin felt. Red boils had erupted on his face, so he looked like a smallpox victim."
"No, no, I made sure that Smallpox died out in the '80s. He's safe from that." Apollo said seriously.
"Her own vision was blurry. Her throat felt blistered, and her stomach was clenched tighter than a fist. 'We have to hurry,' she thought. "Just to the river," she told Percy, trying to keep the panic out of her voice. "We can do this."
"They staggered over slick glass ledges, around massive boulders, avoiding stalagmites that would've impaled them with any slip of the foot. Their tattered clothes steamed from the hat of the river, but they kept going until they crumpled to their knees at the banks of the Phlegethon. "We have to drink," Annabeth said. Percy swayed, his eyes half-closed. It took him a three count to respond. "Uh… drink fire?"
"The Phlegethon flows from Hades's realm down into Tartarus." Annabeth could barely talk. Her throat was closing up from the heat and the acidic air. "The river is used to punish the wicked. But also… some legends call it the River of Healing."
"How can the river be used to heal, if it's meant to punish the wicked?" Grover asked himself.
"Some legends?" Annabeth swallowed, trying to stay conscious. "The Phlegethon keeps the wicked in one piece so that they can endure the torments of the Fields of Punishment. I think… it might be the Underworld equivalent of ambrosia and nectar."
"Yeah, equal, just like everything else between Olympus and the Underworld, they're the exact opposite of each other." Percy scoffed.
"Percy winced as cinders sprayed from the river, curling around his face. "But it's fire. How can we-"
"Like this." Annabeth thrust her hands into the river. Stupid? Yes, but she was convinced they had no choice. If they waited any longer, they would pass out and die. Better to try something foolish and hope it worked."
"I feel like that's Percy's life motto." Nico smirked.
"On first contact, the fire wasn't painful. It felt cold, which probably meant it was so hot it was overloading Annabeth's nerves. Before she could change her mind, she cupped the fiery liquid in her palms and raised it to her mouth. She expected a taste like gasoline. It was so much worse. Once, at a restaurant back in San Francisco, she'd made the mistake of tasting a ghost chili pepper that came with a plate of Indian food. After barely nibbling it, she thought her respiratory system was going to implode. Drinking from the Phlegethon was like gulping down a ghost chili smoothie. Her sinuses filled with liquid flame. Her mouth felt like it was being deep-fried. Her eyes shed boiling tears, and every pore on her face popped. She collapsed, gagging and retching, her whole body shaking violently."
"She better be okay." Athena said, glaring at Hades.
"What are you looking at me for, niece?" Hades asked.
"Don't worry about it, dad. She's just looking for someone to blame." Nico answered.
"Annabeth!" Percy grabbed her arms and just managed to stop her from rolling into the river. The convulsions passed. She took a ragged breath and managed to sit up. She felt horribly weak and nauseous, but her next breath came more easily. The blisters on her arms were starting to fade. "It worked," she croaked. "Percy, you've got to drink."
"I…" His eyes rolled up in his head, and he slumped against her. Desperately, she cupped more fire in her palm. Ignoring the pain, she dripped the liquid into Percy's mouth. He didn't respond. She tried again, pouring a whole handful down his throat. This time he spluttered and coughed. Annabeth held him as he trembled, the magical fire coursing through his system. His fever disappeared. His boils faded. He managed to sit up and smack his lips. "Ugh," he said. "Spicy, yet disgusting." Annabeth laughed weakly. She was so relieved, she felt light-headed. "Yeah. That pretty much sums it up."
"You saved us."
"What does that bring the count up to now?" Percy asked Annabeth.
"I stopped keeping track after that first quest." she said.
"For now," she said. "The problem is, we're still in Tartarus." Percy blinked. He looked around as if just coming to terms with where they were. "Holy Hera. I never thought… well, I'm not sure what I thought. Maybe that Tartarus was empty space, a pit with no bottom. But this is a real place." Annabeth recalled the landscape she'd seen while they fell-a series of plateaus leading ever downward into the gloom. "We haven't seen all of it," she warned. "This could be just the first tiny part of the abyss, like the front steps."
"The welcome mat," Percy muttered. They both gazed up at the blood-colored clouds swirling in the gray haze. No way would they have the strength to climb back up that cliff, even if they wanted to. Now there were only two choices: downriver or upriver, skirting the banks of the Phlegethon. "We'll find a way out," Percy said. "The Doors of Death." Annabeth shuddered. She remembered what Percy had said just before they fell into Tartarus. He'd made Nico Di Angelo promise to lead the Argo II to Epirus, to the mortal side of the Doors of Death."
"I want to thank you again, for keeping that promise, man." Percy said to Nico.
"We'll see you there, Percy had said. That idea seemed even crazier than drinking fire. How could the two of them wander through Tartarus and find the Doors of Death? They'd barely been able to stumble a hundred yards in this poisonous place without dying. "We have to," Percy said. "Not just for us. For everybody we love. The Doors have to be closed on both sides, or the monsters will just keep coming through. Gaea's forces will overrun the world."
"Damn, that has got to be one of the worst unintentional guilt trips that I have ever heard." Jason said.
"Annabeth knew he was right. Still… when she tried to imagine a plan that could succeed, the logistics overwhelmed her. They had no way of locating the Doors. They didn't know how much time it would take, or even if time flowed at the same speed in Tartarus. How could they possibly synchronize a meeting with their friends? And Nico had mentioned a legion of Gaea's strongest monsters guarding the Doors on the Tartarus side. Annabeth and Percy couldn't exactly launch a frontal assault."
"Well, you could, you just wouldn't make it five feet without dying." Hades informed them.
"Thanks for that, it's not like we knew that, or anything." Annabeth said.
"She decided not to mention any of that. They both knew the odds were bad. Besides, after swimming in the River Cocytus, Annabeth had heard enough whining and moaning to last a lifetime. She promised herself never to complain again. "Well." She took a deep breath, grateful at least that her lungs didn't hurt. "If we stay close to the river, we'll have a way to heal ourselves. If we go downstream-" It happened so fast, Annabeth would have been dead if she'd been on her own. Percy's eyes locked on something behind her. Annabeth spun as a massive dark shape hurtled down at her-a snarling, monstrous blob with spindly barbed legs and glinting eyes. She had time to think: Arachne. But she was frozen in terror, her senses smothered by the sickly sweet smell."
"Why does she have to still be alive?" Athena asked.
"Then she heard the familiar SHINK of Percy's ballpoint pen transforming into a sword. His blade swept over her head in a glowing bronze arc. A horrible wail echoed through the canyon. Annabeth stood there, stunned, as yellow dust-the remains of Arachne-rained around her like tree pollen. "You okay?" Percy scanned the cliffs and boulders, alert for more monsters, but nothing else appeared. The golden dust of the spider settled on the obsidian rocks. Annabeth stared at her boyfriend in amazement. Riptide's Celestial bronze blade glowed even brighter in the gloom of Tartarus. As it passed through the thick hot air, it made a defiant hiss like a riled snake.
"She… She would've killed me," Annabeth stammered. Percy kicked the dust on the rocks, his expression grim and dissatisfied. "She died too easily, considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse."
Everyone except for Annabeth glanced warily at Percy, but he didn't notice them while he was staring at Annabeth.
"What?" she asked him.
"Nothing." he said, while not looking away.
"Annabeth couldn't argue with that, but the hard edge in Percy's voice made her unsettled. She'd never seen someone get so angry or vengeful on her behalf. It almost made her glad Arachne had died quickly. "How did you move so fast?" Percy shrugged. "Gotta watch each other's backs, right?"
"How did you move that fast? Because you shouldn't have been able to move that quickly, when you were almost passed out a few seconds before." Poseidon said.
"I actually have no idea how I did that, I'm just happy that I did." Percy said.
"Now, you were saying… downstream?" Annabeth nodded, still in a daze. The yellow dust dissipated on the rocky shore, turning to steam. At least now they knew monsters could be killed in Tartarus… though she had no idea how long Arachne would remain dead. Annabeth didn't plan on staying long enough to find out.
"Yeah, downstream," she managed. "If the river comes from the upper levels of the Underworld, it should flow deeper into Tartarus-"
"So it leads into more dangerous territory," Percy finished. "Which is probably where the Doors are. Lucky us."
"Why is the way out always closer to the danger?" Piper asked.
"I don't know about that, but I don't think I can handle more than one more chapter of the book for today." Aphrodite said.
"Yes, I believe it will be near bedtime when the next chapter is over, unfortunately, you all will have to sleep here. Whatever happened to the good old days, when mortals weren't allowed on Olympus?" Hera said haughtily.
AN: So, I'm listening to Muse as I write this and the song Dead Inside begins, and seriously, right after the first line I immediately thought of Nico. Is that bad? Because, I feel kind of bad. The next chapter is going to be short, so I'll try to get it done before the weekend is over. Also, I've been meaning to say, THANKS, for reading the story.