Disclaimer: I don't own anything, Rick Riordan does.
AN: Finally, FanFiction is working again, now I can put up this next chapter. Also, I've started doing this thing where I write a chapter then write the next chapter's HoH parts at the same time, so hopefully that means that chapters will be up a little bit faster.
Death Fury: Okay, I have to know what timezone you live in, because I swear as soon as I post a chapter, you review. Thank you for that by the way, cause it's kinda amazing.
KriKri: I've always loved/hated cliffhangers too, but now I realize they're so much more fun to be on the opposite side of. This must be how Uncle Rick always feels. Anyways, I will definitely read that story once I have some more time. You know, I think that you're not completely over how long our summers are, I mean, just a guess.
Meistar: Here you go!
DeadlyHuggles: We can only hope that miracle will one day happen, but it seems that as of now, sleep is still an elusive mythical creature. And thank you!
Leo was running towards the door before anybody even processed that there were people that came from the light.
Leo had been the first to recover from the light and immediately started looking around when he noticed a tall, broad-shouldered girl with stringy brown hair standing next to the most beautiful girl he had ever seen in his life.
He had only one thought, Calypso's here.
Once everybody got a hold of themselves, Calypso asked, "What are we doing here? Clarisse and I were just in the arena at camp sparring when the light blinded us."
Athena explained to them what everybody was doing here and gave them the knowledge of everything that had happened in the book so far with a snap of her fingers. It took them a little while to process it all and once they had, they just had to sit down from all of the emotions they were experiencing all at once.
"Okay, so what happens next?" Calypso asked curiously.
"And who do these arai think they are, threatening you guys?" Clarisse asked angrily
Suddenly, Percy and Annabeth remembered what came next, and realized why Calypso was brought here, they weren't too sure about Clarisse though. Annabeth theorized that the light was only meant to take Calypso, but Clarisse had been too close and was accidently pulled in with her.
Ares decided that he wanted to read next, since there was going to be a bloody fight in this chapter.
Ares began reading with his booming voice almost echoing in the large room.
"After a while, Annabeth's feet felt like Titan mush. She marched along, following Bob, listening to the monotonous slosh of liquid in his cleaning bottle. Stay alert, she told herself, but it was hard. Her thoughts were as numb as her legs. From time to time, Percy took her hand or made an encouraging comment; but she could tell the dark landscape was getting to him as well. His eyes had a dull sheen-like his spirit was being slowly extinguished. He fell into Tartarus to be with you, said a voice in her head. If he dies, it will be your fault."
"Stop that," Percy interrupted. "It was my choice to fall down with you. If I had died it would have been my own fault, nobody else's, okay?"
Annabeth remained silent.
"I need you to say it out loud. Say, "It wouldn't have been my fault if anything would have happened to you."
Annabeth hesitated for a second before repeating it.
"Stop it," she said aloud."
"Percy frowned. "What?"
"No, not you." She tried for a reassuring smile, but she couldn't quite muster one. "Talking to myself. This place...it's messing with my mind. Giving me dark thoughts."
"The worry lines deepened around Percy's sea-green eyes. "Hey, Bob, where exactly are we heading?"
"The lady," Bob said. "Death Mist."
"Annabeth fought down her irritation. "But what does that mean? Who is this lady?"
"Naming her?" Bob glanced back. "Not a good idea."
"Annabeth sighed. The Titan was right. Names had power, and speaking them here in Tartarus was probably very dangerous."
"Really? Why did nobody tell us that names were dangerous?" Piper asked, referring to Leo, Jason, and herself.
"To be fair, we didn't really have a lot of time to explain everything to you guys before you had to leave for your quest." Annabeth replied.
"Can you at least tell us how far?" she asked."
"I do not know," Bob admitted. "I can only feel it. We wait for the darkness to get darker. Then we go sideways."
"Sideways," Annabeth muttered. "Naturally."
"She was tempted to ask for a rest, but she didn't want to stop. Not here in this cold, dark place. The black fog seeped into her body, turning her bones into moist Styrofoam. She wondered if her message would get to Rachel Dare. If Rachel could somehow carry her proposal to Reyna without getting killed in the process… A ridiculous hope, said the voice in her head. You have only put Rachel in danger. Even if she finds the Romans, why should Reyna trust you after all that has happened?"
"Annabeth was tempted to shout back at the voice, but she resisted. Even if she were going crazy, she didn't want to look like she was going crazy."
"She desperately needed something to lift her spirits. A drink of actual water. A moment of sunlight. A warm bed. A kind word from her mother. Suddenly Bob stopped. He raised his hand. Wait."
"What?" Percy whispered.
"Shh," Bob warned. "Ahead. Something moves."
"Annabeth strained her ears. From somewhere in the fog came a deep thrumming noise, like the idling engine of a large construction vehicle. She could feel the vibrations through her shoes."
"Oh gods, that sounds like something big and dangerous." Grover muttered.
"Yeah, but the bigger they are, the more bloody the battle." Ares said, butchering the old saying.
"We will surround it," Bob whispered. "Each of you, take a flank."
"For the millionth time, Annabeth wished she had her dagger. She picked up a chunk of jagged black obsidian and crept to the left. Percy went right, his sword ready. Bob took the middle, his spearhead glowing in the fog. The humming got louder, shaking the gravel at Annabeth's feet. The noise seemed to be coming from immediately in front of them."
"Ready?" Bob murmured. Annabeth crouched, preparing to spring. "On three?"
"One," Percy whispered. "Two-"
"A figure appeared in the fog. Bob raised his spear. "Wait!" Annabeth shrieked."
"Bob froze just in time, the point of his spear hovering an inch above the head of a tiny calico kitten."
"Wait, what?" Demeter asked. "Did Ares just say a calico kitten, or am I just crazy?"
"Well, you are crazy, but he did, in fact, say calico kitten." Hades snarked.
"So, what's a cat doing down there?" Hestia asked, while Demeter glared harshly towards Hades, who just looked back at her innocently.
Neither Percy or Annabeth answered her.
"Rrow?" said the kitten, clearly unimpressed by their attack plan. It butted its head against Bob's foot and purred loudly. It seemed impossible, but the deep rumbling sound was coming from the kitten. As it purred, the ground vibrated and pebbles danced. The kitten fixed its yellow, lamp-like eyes on one particular rock, right between Annabeth's feet, and pounced. The cat could've been a demon or a horrible Underworld monster in disguise. But Annabeth couldn't help it. She picked it up and cuddled with it. The little thing was bony under its fur, but otherwise it seemed perfectly normal."
"How did…?" She couldn't even form the question. "What is a kitten doing…?"
"The cat grew impatient and squirmed out of her arms. It landed with a thump, padded over to Bob, and started purring again as it rubbed against his boots. Percy laughed. "Somebody likes you, Bob."
"It must be a good monster." Bob looked up nervously. "Isn't it?"
"Annabeth felt a lump in her throat. Seeing the huge Titan and this tiny kitten together, she suddenly felt insignificant compared to the vastness of Tartarus. This place had no respect for anything-good or bad, small or large, wise or unwise. Tartarus swallowed Titans and demigods and kittens indiscriminately. Bob knelt down and scooped up the cat. It fit perfectly in Bob's palm, but it decided to explore. It climbed the Titan's arm, made itself at home on his shoulder, and closed its eyes, purring like an earthmover. Suddenly its fur shimmered. In a flash, the kitten became a ghostly skeleton, as if it had stepped behind an X-ray machine. Then it was a regular kitten again."
"Annabeth blinked. "Did you see-?"
"Yeah." Percy knit his eyebrows. "Oh, man...I know that kitten. It's one of the ones from the Smithsonian."
Thalia and Grover both had looks of realization on their faces.
"Annabeth tried to make sense of that. She'd never been to the Smithsonian with Percy… Then she recalled several years ago, when the Titan Atlas had captured her. Percy and Thalia had led a quest to rescue her. Along the way, they'd watched Atlas raise some skeleton warriors from dragon teeth in the Smithsonian Museum. According to Percy, the Titan's first attempt went wrong. He'd planted saber-toothed tiger teeth by mistake, and raised a batch of skeleton kittens from the soil."
"That's one of them?" Annabeth asked. "How did it get here?"
"Percy spread his hands helplessly. "Atlas told his servants to take the kittens away. Maybe they destroyed the cats and they were reborn in Tartarus? I don't know."
"It's cute," Bob said, as the kitten sniffed his ear."
"But is it safe?" Annabeth asked. The Titan scratched the kitten's chin. Annabeth didn't know if it was good idea, carrying around a cat grown from a prehistoric tooth; but obviously it didn't matter now. The Titan and the cat had bonded."
"I will call him Small Bob," said Bob. "He is a good monster."
"End of discussion. The Titan hefted his spear and they continued marching into the gloom."
"Okay, those two are adorable. Also, I didn't really realize that Titans could think of something as cute." Poseidon said.
"Annabeth walked in a daze, trying not to think about pizza. To keep herself distracted, she watched Small Bob the kitten pacing across Bob's shoulders and purring, occasionally turning into a glowing kitty skeleton and then back to a calico fuzz-ball."
"Here," Bob announced. He stopped so suddenly, Annabeth almost ran into him. Bob stared off to their left, as if deep in thought."
"Is this the place?" Annabeth asked. "Where we go sideways?"
"Yes," Bob agreed. "Darker, then sideways."
"I've gotta say, those are some A+ GPS directions, right there." Hermes said. "And, I should know, being the god of travellers and all."
"Annabeth couldn't tell if it was actually darker, but the air did seem colder and thicker, as if they'd stepped into a different microclimate. Again she was reminded of San Francisco, where you could walk from one neighborhood to the next and the temperature might drop ten degrees. She wondered if the Titans had built their palace on Mount Tamalpais because the Bay Area reminded them of Tartarus. What a depressing thought. Only Titans would see such a beautiful place as a potential outpost of the abyss-a hellish home away from home."
"You know, I never really thought about it like that, no wonder, they called it the Mountain of Despair." Calypso said.
"Bob struck off to the left. They followed. The air definitely got colder. Annabeth pressed against Percy for warmth. He put his arm around her. It felt good being close to him, but she couldn't relax. They'd entered some sort of forest. Towering black trees soared into the gloom, perfectly round and bare of branches, like monstrous hair follicles. The ground was smooth and pale. With our luck, Annabeth thought, we're marching through the armpit of Tartarus."
"Suddenly, her senses were on high alert, as if somebody had snapped a rubber band against the base of her neck. She rested her hand on the trunk of the nearest tree."
"What is it?" Percy raised his sword."
"Bob turned and looked back, confused. "We are stopping?"
"Annabeth held up her hand for silence. She wasn't sure what had set her off. Nothing looked different. Then she realized the tree trunk was quivering. She wondered momentarily if it was the kitten's purr; but Small Bob had fallen asleep on Large Bob's shoulder. A few yards away, another tree shuddered."
"Oookay, so, the trees are moving. I think that it might be time to get out of there, as fast as you can." Frank suggested.
"Something's moving above us," Annabeth whispered. "Gather up."
"Of course, of course you guys don't run." Frank continued.
"What else did you expect, man?" Percy said.
"Bob and Percy closed ranks with her, standing back to back. Annabeth strained her eyes, trying to see above them in the dark, but nothing moved. She had almost decided she was being paranoid when the first monster dropped to the ground only five feet away. Annabeth's first thought: The Furies."
"No, my Furies stay up in the underworld with me, so it couldn't have been them." Hades said.
"The creature looked almost exactly like one: a wrinkled hag with batlike wings, brass talons, and glowing red eyes. She wore a tattered dress of black silk, and her face was twisted and ravenous, like a demonic grandmother in the mood to kill. Bob grunted as another one dropped in front of him, and then another in front of Percy. Soon there were half a dozen surrounding them. More hissed in the trees above. They couldn't be Furies, then. There were only three of those, and these winged hags didn't carry whips. That didn't comfort Annabeth. The monsters' talons looked plenty dangerous."
"What are you?" she demanded."
"The arai, hissed a voice. The curses!"
Hades and Nico's eyes widened. They knew of the curses.
"You guys should have listened to Frank, and ran while you could." Nico said.
"Yeah, I think it might be a little too late for that, now." Percy said.
"Annabeth tried to locate the speaker, but none of the demons had moved their mouths. Their eyes looked dead; their expressions were frozen, like a puppet's. The voice simply floated overhead like a movie narrator's, as if a single mind controlled all the creatures."
"What-what do you want?" Annabeth asked, trying to maintain a tone of confidence."
"The voice cackled maliciously. To curse you, of course! To destroy you a thousand times in the name of Mother Night!"
"Only a thousand times?" Percy murmured. "Oh, good….I thought we were in trouble." The circle of demon ladies close in."
"What?! You can't end the chapter there. The action was just starting." Ares whined.
"Yeah! I wanted to see those so called curses get their butts kicked." Clarisse agreed.
Hephaestus decided to piss off Ares even more by delaying the violence and suggesting a break.
AN: The reason that people didn't have much of a reaction to Calypso and Clarisse show up, is because the way I see it, they've had so many weird things happen in their lives, that they've just learned to accept it quickly and move on. You know, I've been recommending a lot of long, dramatic stories recently. So, this time it's just a short fluffy fic called Haunted House by Bananannabeth. I'm going to try to get the next chapter done by the middle of next week at the latest. So, see you guys then.