Guess who's back? Back again? Shady's back. Tell a friend.

TW for mentions of sexual assault

Artemis

8 months. It had been 8 months since she'd seen Percy (A/N haha). All of Olympus had not convened since the fateful meeting in which Percy had been thrown into Tartarus. Poseidon had nearly strangled Zeus to death before he was restrained, and has not left his undersea palace since. Hephaestus hadn't been the same since Percy fell — as far as Artemis knew he had not left his workshop in months. As for Artemis herself, she had been punished for hiding Percy's whereabouts and true power from the council. Zeus had forced her to remain with her hunters save council meetings, she was not even allowed into her own palace. In addition, he forced her to release him from the oath he swore to her stating that he'd never make her marry, as he believed "if you are ready for such an atrocious relationship, it is up to me to write your wrongs." If she hadn't agreed, Zeus promised that every one of her hunters would be killed, even his own daughter Thalia Grace. Of course she accepted. She'd refused to go back to Olympus since, spending her time among the hunt. She just hoped that if it were something crucial, it wasn't her father who contacted her about it.

I can't believe him. We lose our love and he threatens to force us into marriage.

Artemis just sighed. "Is to be expected, Diana. We must hold onto the hope that Percy lives still."

It's been 8 months.

"I know."

Hephaestus

Hephaestus anxiously watched the Argo II as it sailed over the Atlantic through the night, Roman and Greek demigods aboard. Thank the Fates the meeting of the camps went the way it did. That Octavian boy and the Annabeth bitch nearly messed everything up. Hephaestus remembered begging the council not to allow Annabeth to act as one of the seven members of the prophecy. Athena, of course, stopped that from happening very quickly; she was overjoyed that her favorite child was to partake in this quest. That was, until, the Argo II arrived at the Roman Camp. His boy Leo had stayed aboard the ship, Hephaestus remembered with a smile. So when Annabeth attempted to sneak back onto the ship and fire on New Rome, Leo was able to tackle her away. When the rest of the ship's crew returned from their meeting with the Romans, they found a blood-soaked Annabeth running from Leo's unconscious body, hoping to fire a ballista cannon towards the senate chamber. Jason stopped her, and the two were soon engaged in a duel. All this, Hephaestus watched. Few times in his godly life were as satisfying as watching the bitch Annabeth's head fall to the deck with a thump. A New 7 would voyage from New Rome: Jason Grace, Piper McLean, Leo Valdez, Nico Di Angelo, Hazel Levesque, Frank Zhang, and Reyna Avila Ramírez Arellano.

Athena was, of course, outraged. Due to the Ancient Laws, however, there was nothing she could do. The whole thing was recorded, it was clear that the son of Zeus was well within his rights to kill the daughter of Athena. Had it been my own son, Hephaestus thought with a snort, things would have gone very differently. However, as things stood, no punishment was doled out to the demigods, though Athena's rage only grew when Annabeth's soul was reported missing by Hades the other day. If Hephaestus hadn't been able to hide his smirk, he may still be reforming. He smiled at the thought, forcing himself back to the present to consider the creation before him that he had spent months constructing.

A tiny, bronze-reinforced bird gazed back with empty eyes, motionless. Hephaestus pressed a button on a remote and grunted his approval when the bird vanished from sight, then quickly reappeared when Hephaestus pressed the same button. Moving a stick, he watched as the bird sprung to life, flying around the room. He landed the bird on his hand before pressing a red button labeled "DROP" on the same remote. The bird dropped a nearly microscopic object in his hand. A tiny, landmine shaped transceiver that Hephaestus had spent a good part of the last 8 months developing and perfecting along with the rest of the bird. It was incredibly powerful, capable of transmitting and receiving data over much greater distances than anything he had previously developed. The bird was filled with several of these technological wonders. Hephaestus dropped the tiny transceiver, and watched as it rocketed towards the nearest surface – in this case the ground – and stuck to it. Hephaestus nodded, then stomped on it. He tried to smash it with his hammer, even bathed it in fire, and was satisfied to see it remained unscathed. Grunting, he deactivated the stickiness of the transceiver and returned it to its spot inside the bird. Finally, he pressed a button on the remote and watched as the bird's eyes sprung open, his face suddenly displayed on a screen in his workshop. As the bird flew around the room, the screen displayed all that the bird saw with stunning accuracy and clarity. For the first time in months, Hephaestus allowed himself a smile.

"Now we're in business."

Annabeth

Annabeth was a shade. She felt as though she'd been standing there for months. She was lucky enough to have died with a few drachma on her, but confident enough to await judgement. Her heroism in the Titan War would be more than enough to grant her Elysium. She sighed. "Too bad being judged means waiting an eternity," she said with a smile, "but not even Gaia is going to stop me from getting Ely—"

Annabeth was quickly cut off as she sunk into the Earth. Moments later she shot out of the ground to see two figures. One was a lady made of swirling dirt, sand, and silt. The other was a glowing, naked man. Both had their eyes closed. Yet, somehow, both looked very, very angry.

Gaea spoke first. "You failed us, girl. We offered you unlimited power should you succeed, and what is worse is that you tried to crawl back to your love in Elysium anyway."

Eros spoke next. "As always, your hubris is your downfall. If you had kept your mouth shut you might have been able to make it, too."

"But you had to just mention my name." Gaea struck Annabeth across the face, rendering her flesh and blood once more. She pulled Annabeth off the ground with earthen hands until she was just inches from her earthen face. "You will die in the pit. Your soul will live there. And when my eyes are opened I will pluck your soul from that pit personally and make you and that Luke boy pay for what you've cost me."

Without another word, the earth split beneath a shocked Annabeth, and Gaea cast her into the pit. Annabeth could only watch helplessly as the earth closed above her and she began to fall.

Falling. Annabeth had been falling for what felt like days. She prayed her spine would snap upon landing, sparing her from the horrors of Tartarus. Not even that offered her much solace, as she knew Gaea's threat was not an empty one. She cursed herself for ever succumbing to the honeyed words of Gaea and Eros. She knew whatever price she would pay was one that she deserved.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she fell into a cavern. Seeing the ground approaching, she closed her eyes and offered up one last prayer for a quick death. It went unanswered. Her descent slowed to a crawl before she touched down peacefully. She cursed and felt around for her knife. No luck. Panicking, she looked around for anything she could use to her advantage, and spied the River Phlegethon snaking through the landscape in the distance. Desperate for sustenance, she began her journey towards it.

Walking. Annabeth had been walking for what felt like days. Perhaps it was only a matter of hours, but who knows in this lightless hellhole. The river had been growing slowly closer, thank the gods. Annabeth had nearly made it despite the fact that she had to take numerous detours due to monsters traversing the distant plains of the pit, and the sight of monsters forming in her path. So far she'd made it without incid—

WHAM!

Ah, shit. I jinxed her. Annabeth flew across the pit after being slammed into by a massive hellhound. What's even worse, Annabeth's shriek seemed to have alerted a flock of Stymphalian Birds flying in the distance, which quickly flew down towards Annabeth. With no weapon, Annabeth did not rise from the spot where she had fallen, merely closed her eyes and awaited her imminent death.

Annabeth peaked open an eye, wondering why she hadn't died yet. She was greeted with the open maw of the Hellhound just inches from her face. Frozen. She scrambled backwards in panic and looked up at the Stymphalian Birds. Frozen. One by one, each burned; jets of fire shot up behind her encasing the birds. She looked behind her to see the source, and was greeted by a being walking towards her in black armor. She watched as it drew fire from the Phlegethon and incinerated the birds one by one. The figure wore a black cape, and as it grew closer she saw that its face was obscured by a fully black helm, save one glowing symbol. The armor had a different symbol, each had a red glow. Approaching Annabeth, the figure stopped shooting fire. She looked up to see that the birds were gone. With a growl, the creature drew a black sword and ran the Hellhound through with it, causing Annabeth to yelp. It pulled the sword out and leveled it on Annabeth.

"Gods, I wish I could fucking kill you," it said in a guttural voice.

Annabeth pointed her chin in defiance. "Do it."

"Of all the people to fall into this pit, I can't believe it was you."

Annabeth didn't look away. "I put my trust in the wrong people."

The creature laughed, a hollow sound like metal scraping across bone, causing Annabeth to shudder.

Without moving the sword from her neck, the being's helmet began to retract. "Good," it said in a disembodied voice. As more and more of the creature's face was revealed, Annabeth's eyes widened in shock and horror.

"Then I suppose you've gotten a taste of how it feels," said Percy with a grim smile.

Percy

Percy was pissed. Well, Percy had been pissed for a long time. He didn't know how long he'd been in this wretched pit for, but it felt like he'd been interrogating and fighting monsters for years upon years. It had been so long since he'd had a long rest — he'd been taking cat naps his whole time down here as to avoid being gutted by monsters. While he had no sense of morning or night, he'd just been rather woken up from a half hour long rest by a pack of Hellhounds that had been just a bit too curious about his godly scent. He trudged into the Phlegethon, wincing in pain as it restored his strength, as skin formed over the puncture in his shoulder that resulted from the hellhound's bite. Percy cursed himself for not being more careful.

He could have been out of here so long ago. Not long after he was dropped into the pit, he'd caught and tortured a group of empousae for information regarding the Doors of Death, hopeful he could sneak through them. Perhaps he could have, if it weren't for the fucking button. In order for someone to be transported through the Doors of Death, someone had to hold down a red button until they reached the surface. If they let go of the button? Poof. Someone with his power could not simply sneak onboard. He would certainly be detected, and the button released. So he was stuck. All he could do was survive, and he knew that it was only the will of the pit that allowed him to do so. If Tartarus wished him dead, he'd be dead.

Percy was jarred from his thoughts by a shriek. A human one. He donned his armor once more, walking towards the source of the noise. What he saw snatched the breath from his lungs. Annabeth. Not only that, but Annabeth about to be torn to shreds by a hellhound. Percy quickly stopped time for Annabeth, the Hellhound, and the birds he saw overhead.

"I could let that dog eat her alive. I should. It's what she deserves."

Percy thought a bit more, before the ghost of a cruel idea formed.

"An expendable person. One that I despise. One that's skilled in combat. One that may beg for forgiveness once she owes me a life debt. One that maybe, just maybe, can push a button."

Percy unfroze Annabeth and began killing the birds one by one. She watched her shock with a snarl. This was the girl that ruined his life, so vulnerable. He could douse her in fire. Gods, he wanted to. Continuing towards her, he stabbed the hellhound before lowering riptide to her neck, disguised with a glamour and still wet with hellhound blood.

"God I wish I could fucking kill you."

"Do it."

"Of all the people to fall in this pit, I can't believe it was you."

"I put my faith in the wrong people."

Percy retracted his helmet. "Then I suppose you've gotten a taste of how it feels."

He watched Annabeth's face morph from shock to terror as she scrambled to her feet, breaking into a sprint. She didn't get far before Percy stopped her. Her body frozen in time, her head still in the present. He walked over to her to see tears streaming down her face.

"Why do you cry?" he asked.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Or are you just scared?"

Percy swung Riptide toward her neck at blazing speed, surprised to see that she held his gaze without flinching.

Annabeth's face remained unchanged. "I'm no longer afraid to die a painless death. I'm barely nervous to endure a painful one. When Gaea and Eros wake, my soul will be handpicked for an eternity of punishment. So will Luke's. So will yours. I am not afraid of death. I'm sorry for what I did to you."

Percy tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Gaea and Eros coerced me, Percy. Eros enhanced my for you feelings to the point of insanity, turning them from the friendly type of love to the manic kind. After I did what I did, Eros stoked my hatred for you. Gaea promised me Luke back if I joined them, and of course I agreed."

Percy was enraged. "That's it? You sexually assaulted me because a primordial meddled with your mind. Fine. Not your fault. But you destroyed me and lied about it to cover your ass, then joined Gaea? Are you expecting forgiveness?"

Annabeth shook her head. "No. I did terrible things. I don't deserve your forgiveness. I'm telling you the truth."

Percy was unsatisfied with that answer, but confused about another thing. "But you're down here. You said you were lined up for an eternity of punishment. Did you betray them?"

Annabeth snorted. "No. I failed them. I was selected to be one of the Seven's Prophecy. They put me on a mission to fire on New Rome, but the other members of the Seven caught and killed me. They stole my soul from the underworld and threw me down here."

Percy sighed. "As much as I'd like to kill you where you stand, we can help each other get out of here. At least one of us can get out."

Percy explained the button system to her.

Annabeth snorted indignantly, glaring at him. "And you expect me to sacrifice myself for you? Why?"

Percy looked back with fire in his eyes. "Because if you have one decent fiber left in your body you'll realize you owe it to me. You say you aren't afraid to die, then die with honor. Die knowing that you've given yourself a chance to die in peace, to remain free of Gaea's grasp. If I can help defeat her from the surface, you can live an afterlife free of torment. Live with the hope that one day, some merciful God or Goddess will pluck you out of this gods-forsaken place, because you know it's better than falling to that bitch of an Earth primordial."

Annabeth swallowed, before nodding. Percy unfroze her. They began to walk. Percy knew his way around the pit, to some extent. He'd been around, all the way to the edge of Nyx's territory, and he knew that all monsters passed through there to get to the Doors.

Percy turned to Annabeth. "Whether we make it back to the mortal world or not, we need to sever the chains holding the Doors in place. Without doing that, the Gods and demigods will be helpless."

The girl nodded again. Percy sighed to himself. He still hated her. Despised her. Wished her dead, even. But she knew she was necessary if he wanted even a ghost of a chance of seeing his love again. The one good thing about her is her lack of fear. She was broken. She had broken herself more thoroughly than she had broken him.

Percy and Annabeth had been walking for a long time. They hadn't been speaking, just killing the monsters that occasionally attacked. Luckily, there weren't many, and Percy was able to make short work of them. Most of the monsters must be forming an army near the doors of death. Suddenly, Percy checked his surroundings to see a glint of bronze to his right. Drawing his sword, he whipped towards it, expecting to see some other monster, only to see a little bird. Suddenly, his armor began to hum. "Incoming transmission from Hephaestus." Percy's eyes widened and he deployed his helmet, accepting the transmission.

Hephaestus

The tinkerer god laughed, overjoyed as he began to receive signals from Percy's armor. His bird had been dropping microscopic transceivers ever since it entered the pit, and it was able to maintain a steady signal by dropping them incrementally. It was a bit finicky where the pit dropped you, so he'd been searching for hours before he finally began to pick up a signal from the armor. Zeroing in on the signal, he took control of the bird, turning its camera on to see two distant figures. The faint signal was emanating from one of them. As the bird sped towards them, Percy drew his sword. Hephaestus quickly started transmitting. In just a moment, he was staring Percy Jackson in the face once more.

"Percy!"

"Heph? What? How?"

Hephaestus smiled with a booming laugh. "I knew you were alive, I just knew it! I've been spending months developing these transceivers. Please just follow my instructions. Put out your hand." He guided the bird until it was hovering over Percy's outstretched palm. He then dropped the remaining transceivers into Percy's hand.

"Okay, I'm opening a hatch on the shoulder of your armor, I want you to slide these things into the hole carefully. You will be able to use your armor to drop one of these things every time the signal begins to get fuzzy, allowing you to stay in contact with me."

Percy did what he was told, then his smile faltered. "Heph, how long have I been down here?"

Hephaestus grimaced. "Just over 8 months."

Percy winced. "Is Artemis okay?"

Hephaestus sighed. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen much of her. She is forbidden to leave her hunters save council meetings, and has been choosing not to attend those. She could be anywhere. Who are you travelling with?"

Another wince. "Annabeth."

It was Hephaestus's turn to be shocked. "What? The bitch? How? Why?"

Percy sighed. "It's a long story, but let's just say we have a common goal for the time being."

Hephaestus rolled his eyes. "As long as you got it all under control. It's good to see you buddy."

Percy cracked a genuine smile for what seemed like the first time in a long time, it almost looked more like a grimace. "Good to see you too, buddy. Look, we're approaching Nyx's realm. I have a feeling we won't be able to transmit much from there, but I suppose you got what you were looking for from this endeavor. I'm alive. And if I can, I'm coming back."

Hephaestus smiled back. "That's good enough for me."

Percy faltered. "Do you think before I go you could relay a transmission to Artemis? I gave her a receiver shortly before I was thrown down here, it could still get through to her."

Hephaestus nodded. "Sure thing, just send me the receiver's details."

"Thank you. I'll see you on the other side," Percy replied gravely.

Hephaestus nodded. "May The Fates will it so."

The call went blank. Hephaestus slumped in his chair. Definitely worth the effort.

Percy

After hanging up, Percy called out to Annabeth, retracting his helmet. "We're approaching the realm of Nyx. It's more than likely you won't make it out alive. Wait here."

"What were you doing?"

Percy waved her off. "None of your business," he said, reactivating his helmet.

"What are you doing?"

Percy retracted his helmet just to roll his eyes at her. "Watching porn." He put his helmet on.

"Transmit to Hephaestus when complete, include information for Artemis's receiver in a text file."

Percy sighed and began the transmission. "Hey Artemis. Good news: I'm alive. Bad news, I don't know if I'm gonna make it out of this hellhole. Ever." He sighed again. "Heph told me it had been 8 months. We're coming up on a year together now, despite only spending three months of that together. Ain't that crazy? Just know that I love you just the same. Not a moment goes by when I don't think about you. I will love you always. And I hope you will feel the same about me. This might be the last you ever hear from me. But, with some luck, you'll be back in my arms soon. Either way, I just wanna thank you for making me the happiest god ever for the time we were together." Percy's voice had began to break as he allowed tears to escape for the first time in over 8 long months. "Never forget that no matter where I am, my love for you will never fade. See you soon."

Percy dried his tears, regaining his composure. "Send."

He removed his helmet again. He threw Annabeth countercurrent. "Take this."

Annabeth looked at him incredulously. "You trust me with this?"

"No," he smirked. "But you're probably gonna need it to stay alive. Don't open your eyes in there. What resides in that darkness is not intended for mortal eyes."

The duo trekked forwards towards the blackness of the Realm of Nyx. No sooner had they taken their first step into the dark when they were caught in a whirlwind of darkness. Moments later they were violently thrown into a grand room. Percy looked up to see a woman sitting on a throne cut from black marble. She had dark grey flesh and wore a pitch black dress that flowed halfway down her calves. From her back sprouted black wings, and she had dark hair that partially obscured said wings. Her face was radiant, though what was most notable about it was her shining, pitch black eyes.

"So," Nyx said, rising to her feet. "You must be the Perseus Jackson I've heard so much about."

If Artemis needs to wait 8 months to see Percy, so do you! Yeah I know I suck at updating, I know people are leaving because they think I've abandoned the story, but hey, joke's on them, they're missing out. A few notable changes:

Diana probably won't be too prominent in the pairing. Just gonna be tough working her in based on the direction this story took.

I uploaded a rewrite of chapters Chapters 10 and 11, nothing has changed but the prophecy. I reworked the last line to better fit the direction this story is taking in the future.

As always, read, review, hold me accountable for making you wait forever for updates, you know the drill. Catch you guys later.

~A