Percy tumbled through the darkness, constantly struggling to keep consciousness as his body screamed toward the ground of the Underworld.
The dark energy that was pulling down on him continued to shift, trying to find a way to enclose itself completely around Percy and suffocate him. Fighting back, Percy tore his hand through one of the sides causing the energy to suddenly fizz out of existence. Stunned, Percy didn't realize the ground rushing up on him and slammed into the rocky floor of the Underworld. If it wasn't for his Achilles heel, he would have been dead.
Shaking the dust from his head he looked around. Nico was nowhere to be found.
"Figures", Percy muttered to himself, "The little creep is too squared to fight."
Standing up and straightening his skirt he muttered to himself, "Great, I'm stuck in my least favorite place, with no idea of the exit is."
"Go to the river", a voice cooed from above, "Go to the river."
"Great, now I'm going insane with voices in my head", Percy spoke softly as he began to wander around.
"Go", the voice cooed, "Go."
"If I go, will you shut up!!", Percy yelled in every direction.
Silence.
"Oh, so now you decide to be quiet!", Percy yelled shaking his fist.
"Go."
With a sigh, Percy started to head toward the Styx.
The first thing Percy noticed was the stench, as if someone had decided to dump a thousand rotting bodies.
"As many times as I've come here before, I've never realized that smell", he muttered to himself as he stumbled across a series of sharp jagged rocks.
Tripping and falling Percy slit his arm open. At first blood poured from the wound, but in a matter of seconds the cut resealed itself to the point that it looked like the cut never happened.
"Note to self… I love this Achilles heel," he laughed as he cleared the rest of the jagged rocks and walked over to the edge of the Styx.
The onyx colored water oozed and bubbled as little spurts of water leapt up and over the banks of the river.
"That's sickening", Percy said aloud, "I can't believe I took a bath in that."
"Oh believe it Percy", a voice came from behind him, "In fact, believe that Percy, and believe the fact that I took one too."
"Nico", Percy seethed as he turned face to face with the son of Hades.
"In the flesh", he cackled as he drew his Stygian blade.
"Let's finish this", Percy yelled as he pulled out a sword that was floating with the other garbage in the Styx.
"Let's", Nico shouted as he clasped his hands together and sent out a shockwave that sent Percy spiraling backwards.
Landing on his feet, Percy charged forward and lunged at Nico ribs with the sword.
"Tsk. Tsk", Nico laughed as he easily parried Percy's attack, "You're out of practice."
"Not really", Percy yelled back as he summoned water from the Styx and fired it at Nico, hitting him square in the chest.
Gritting his teeth, Nico tried to shake the excess water off of his body before resuming the fight.
"Don't do this Nico. Don't become another Luke", Percy tried to persuade him as he fought off another series of blows by Nico.
"I gave Olympus a chance", Nico seethed as he jump back away from Percy, "And they let me down."
Before Percy had time to react Nico stomped his feet on the ground, causing a hand to form from the ground. Then with a motion of his hand, it raced across the ground at amazing speeds and encased itself around Percy's legs, rendering him immobilized from the waist down.
Racing toward Percy, Nico flipped over top of him to the exposed area on the small of Percy's back.
"Goodbye Percy", Nico laughed as he lunged with his blade.
In an instant, Percy let loose a wave a strikes from the water of the Styx, knocking Nico backwards and washing away the dirt that covered his legs.
"You'll have to do better than that", Percy laughed, twirling his blade.
Then Nico did something unexpected. He dropped his blade.
"Nico?"
"I'm sorry Percy", Nico murmured, hiding the evil glint in his eye.
Percy, confused, lowered his sword.
"Their controlling me Percy, I can't stop this."
"Hang on a minute!!!", Percy screamed, "You're telling me this whole time you've been controlled into doing this?!? That's impossible!?!"
"You're right Percy", Nico laughed, "It is."
Percy didn't have time to react before Nico slammed into him, sending Percy tumbling backwards, dangerously close to the Styx.
"NICO!!!"
"Never trust your enemies", Nico said with and evil glint in his eye, "Never."
And with that, Nico clasped his hands together and sent out another shockwave. A shockwave that burst into Percy, sending him flying backwards… straight into the Styx.
Percy's body suddenly felt extreme pressure as his body became submerged in the Styx. The water curled around his flesh, slowly eating away at the edges of his mind.
"I will not die", Percy murmured to himself as he desperately tried to reach for the bank, "I will not die."
The river soon began to burn all around Percy, every part of his being felt ablaze and on fire.
"I will… not…", Percy murmured as his body slowed down from the constant attack from the Styx.
"I… will… not…"
Percy's vision began to blur, as he began to slip back and forth from consciousness.
His body burned; the river had now started to eat away at his soul, feeding on his memories. Visions of camp, Naomi, his mom, Poseidon began to flash before his eyes.
"I…"
A vision of Annabeth flashed in his mind.
"Anna…beth…", he murmured. He felt a strong surge of energy flow through his body from his Achilles heel as he thought of Annabeth, but even his Achilles heel felt as if it were no longer there.
With one last effort he thrust his hand out toward the bank, only this time his hand caught hold of it. Using the remaining energy that the Styx had not drained from him, he pulled himself up and out of the river.
Percy laid on his back breathing hard, as his strength came quickly back to him. In seconds, he was already back on his feet.
"So you survived your second bath", Nico said with his eyes narrowing, "Darn you Jackson."
"Sorry to disappoint", Percy said as he stumbled forward and regained the sword that he had used before, "But I like being alive."
"That's too bad", Nico laughed, "Because I'm about to end it."
Raising his arms, Percy sent a wave of water crashing into Nico.
Sputtering he cursed, "You'll pay for…", but he didn't have time to finish before Percy was on him. Easily Nico parried Percy's blows and then followed up with a few of his own.
Stumbling backwards, Percy intercepted each of Nico's blows, except for the last one that passed cleanly through Percy's left knee.
Percy's body collapsed, as his weight was too much for his knee to bear.
Nico was on him in an instant, but Percy once again summoned the water from the Styx to assist him and blast Nico backwards, buying Percy precious time.
Blood oozed from Percy's knee, as Percy sat and waited for it to miraculously heal like before. But it didn't. Percy's ligaments hung fresh from his knee, as Percy tried to gain footing, using the sword as a crutch.
"It's an amazing thing", Nico cackled as he waltzed forward, "The Achilles heel. It's so hard to obtain, but yet so easily to be taken away by a simple bath in the Styx."
"You knew", Percy said gritting his teeth, "You knew how to take away my Achilles heel."
"Honestly Percy it wasn't that hard. All I had to do was bring you to the Underworld and you'd make the mistake for me."
"So this is your whole plot! This is your part!", Percy said as he fell back onto his backside and lost his sword, "To kill me!?!"
"No", Nico said as he raised his blade at the defenseless Percy, "This is only the beginning."
Then Nico ripped his blade through Percy's side.
Percy's vision began to go black.
"Oh no you don't!", Nico yelled, "I won't let your soul leave. Not until I've had my fun. After all I'm the son of Hades."
Holding Percy's soul in place, Nico lashed out hacking at Percy's body. Blood sprayed as Nico hit vital arteries. Bones cracked as Nico ripped them from Percy's body, and broke them on his knees.
Percy tried to scream, but Nico shoved his fist into Percy's mouth and held onto his tongue. Then he swiped his blade, and ripped it from his mouth. Next Nico shoved his blade deep into Percy's eye sockets and gorged out his liquefied eyes.
Then almost satisfied, he plunged his blade into Percy's chest and ripped a hole open on his left side. Then reaching his hand in, Nico pulled out Percy's heart. With a sickening pop, blood vessels broke as Nico detached the heart from Percy's bodies.
Laughing he shoved his blade through Percy's heart, before letting his spirit go.
Thunder crackled in the distance.
"It is done, my lord", Nico murmured, "You're now freed."
"YES!!!", roared the voice of Typhon, as Nico could already hear the screams of people being slaughtered.
"YES!!!"
Typhon was free.