Time: Next Day

This was the last test. So far, all four have been successful. So, right now, if Percy and Perses passed this test, then the former would be FREE! He could have all the time in the world for himself, Calypso, Artemis and Athena.

Percy did not think that he would be able to complete everything in a month. But he did. So, good.

He appeared outside the only hospitable sector of Tartarus. It was pretty big, but still small compared to the entirety of the realm. He should know. He had been there, right at the centre.

Percy looked around, trying to take all the sights in. The atmosphere was as oppressive as the Fields of Punishment. Snow had been left behind in Artemis' care, she did not want to come to Tartarus. The heat made Percy's skin prick like small needles, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. The landscape was desolate, but still not the absolute hell that was the inner circles. This was like a rocky desert, with eternal night. The wind carried the dust and sand in a violent draught, and the sharp rocks crunched underneath Percy's metal boots. The air was stale, and made it hard to breathe, and barely a few steps later, Percy was breathing heavily. Those who were used to this were not bothered, but he had returned in like... a few years. A few years of war.

Percy shrugged, taking his cloak off and sending it back to Ogygia. Trudging forward, he made for the barracks, which was the only building here, apart from Perses' throne room.

A few rifts spouted magma, which steamed and bubbled, sending forth even more poisonous gases. The lava flowed sluggishly along the plain, meandering in long stretches. A few Cyclopes were mining these solidified lava stretches for building materials. Hellhounds chased each other playfully, snapping with jaws the size of a child, each tooth as big as a banana. A few empousai and dracenae slithered along the path, their scales sounding like metal against the sharp rocks. They did not seem bothered much by it, only seeming irritated when one snagged in their scales. A lone telkhine was collecting water from the Phlegethon, which was flowing close by. A few monsters were trying to navigate the holy river, sitting in boats of metal, with their masts high. A flock of drakons were snoring on the neighbouring plain. Harpies flowed overhead.

In short, it was monster haven.

Tartarus kept them sustained constantly, the water from the Phlegethon healing any injuries or ailments.

Percy navigated up the dirt path that led to the throne room, turning heads as he went by. The monsters dropped whatever they were doing to bow low to him as he passed, promptly ignored by the indifferent Titan. At one point, Percy passed a cave with something gold glinting inside. He peeped in, and lo and behold, it was the Nemean Lion snoring inside.

Percy popped his head back out, inspecting some caves as he went.

The monsters were now housed in caves, which they had lived in since the start of monsterkind. But these were not ordinary caves. Finding caves in Tartarus was a challenge in itself. Finding so many caves so that the monster population could live close to each other? Impossible.

Besides, the natural caves of Tartarus were inhospitable. Frequent landslides, lava vents, rat infestations, and randomly dropping sharp stones always posed a threat.

So, all the Cyclopes and the monsters themselves worked together under supervision to build artificial caves in a cluster close to the river Phlegethon. It was an endless ocean of igloo-like domes, each with an acid-proof mortar and rock dome, because of the frequent acid rains here. The harpies had been housed in a massive nest made of straw and hay, while the drakons had rejected housing altogether.

Each cave was designed like an igloo, with a door that fitted the inhabitants' requirements. The door led to a tunnel, with the living chambers on the other side. The living chambers consisted of a fire that burnt constantly, a rack for keeping items, and a simple cot like bed. The telkhines had a different set up- each telkhine had its own forge, where they could make whatever they wanted. The fire could not be put out, and only required a little bucketful of Phlegethon water for sustenance. The seal-like monsters slept near the fires, and as such, their caves were the closest to the river.

Percy did not object. It meant fewer resources used on that side.

As such, the Tartarean forces, being an even more militaristic unit than the Underworld, they needed only the barracks and garrison, with only a single, albeit massive, training ground.

Percy stopped at the massive wooden door that allowed entry to the garrison. The door was designed like those of medieval European times, with massive pillars on either side, holding it up with supporting beams. The walls were manned with several bows peeking out of the holes in the stone walls, and all along the top of the wall. The structure itself was massive, standing taller than thirty feet, to house all the various, and numerous inhabitants, complete with several towers and pillars.

Percy raised his hand and knocked on the wooden door, three simple knocks which were amplified by magic, and resonated in three massive, earth-shaking booms that echoed throughout the settlement.

"Who is it?" Shouted a gruff voice, and Percy could make out a Cyclops peeping over the wall. The words were faded and blurred in the extreme chaos behind him, and due to the great distance separating them.

The Cyclops squinted with its single eye, it's single eyebrow furrowed as it tried to make out the visitor. It's frown cleared as it made out the person, and Percy heard its voice again. "Its Lord Perseus. Lower the gate."

Immediately, accompanied by the loud noises of the beams, and the groan of metal and wood, the massive wooden gate was lifted little, to allow Percy to walk through the relatively small gap at the bottom. The gap created was tall enough that the Titan did not need to stoop in the slightest to pass through. Once he was inside, the gate dropped- I mean carefully lowered- and with a crash, the wooden barrier was back in place.

Percy shrugged nonchalantly, walking into the clearing that he had entered.

The land was plain, and cleared of any rocks, so that it only consisted of soft sand. Footprints and tire marks marred the sand, crisscrossing each other to form a chaotic pattern. Several stands lined the clearing, each with a monster soldier manning it. They were not unlike the shops one finds in a market, except that most of them had to do with military stuff. There were several telkhines standing guard over a stall, lined with armour plates and helmets, eyeing the passing monsters distrustfully. Another stall held weaponry, quivers and arrows, bows and spears, swords and clubs. The only out of place stall in the spot was a rations shop, it had several foodstuffs like apples and meat on display.

Most of the monsters concentrated around a corner, shouting and cheering over each other, waving hands, and jingling bags of drachmae. The stall owners were eyeing them with distrust, and anger, shouting whenever one came too close for comfort. Floating over the relative chaos in the square were several grunts and roars.

"What's happening here?" Percy roared, storming over to the crowd, and drawing Fang in the process. His metal armour clanged against each other creating a menacing sound as he rushed forward, sword in hand. Anaklusmos was still strapped to his back.

The effect was ruined when he had to dodge two empousai who were carrying a tall ladder.

When Percy finally reached the crowd, everyone had parted aside, bowing low to reveal the offenders, two Cyclopes who were wrestling in the sand. They were a tangle of monster limbs, and once they had separated themselves from each other, they stood in front of the angry Titan, heads bowed low.

"Is this what the garrison is for?!" Percy shouted in anger. His face was red, and veins popped on his forehead in anger. His messy black hair stood up in clumps as he continued shouting. "If you all want to see wrestling matches so bad, then go somewhere else! I want everyone to get fully kitted out, and report to me in the practice arena in five minutes. You two," he waved Fang at the two Cyclopes, "go to the dungeons, and tell the guards that you were sent by me. Two days imprisonment, and if you don't comply, there will be worse."

He turned his heel on the grovelling monsters, sheathing Fang back at the hip and marching proudly up the corridors to the practice field.

The castle which served as the Tartarean garrison and Perses' throne room was the typical, stereotyped black castle. Roughly hewn stone blocks made up the black walls, with pillars and grand archways supporting the structure. Several potted plants, indigenous plants which Percy recognised from his time in the Pit, lined the corridor, with minds of their own, hissing and snarling at each other, and bowing as the Titan passed. The castle itself was cold, and largely deserted, with several repetitive lanes and corridors, each surpassing the other.

Percy finally arrived at an archway, looking over the troops assembled in the practice field. The flat, open field seemed to go on forever, lined only by the towering black walls of the castle. At the other end, Percy could see the equally towering back wall of the castle, at a distance of at least half a mile.

Percy turned his eyes towards the monster army. It consisted mostly of common monsters like lesser giants, cyclopes, hellhounds, dracenae and empousai. Classified into regiments based on their species, it consisted of several regiments, each similarly kitted out. The Minotaur, the Manticore, Echidna and Chimaera stood apart by themselves in an 'elite strike force'. Normally, the Nemean Lion was part of the team, too, but he was down with a mysterious illness. The best monster medics had been stumped, and he was being kept alive with copious amounts of Phlegethon water.

Percy shouted instructions about the drill, watching grimly as they carried out his orders. After some time of that, he shouted, "Repeat it for five hundred times! When I come back with the Titan Council, you must be still doing the drills."

He turned around, marching up to the throne room, following the map of the castle he had in his memory. Right, left, up the corridor, third door on the left, and so on and on. The repetitive task gave his mind enough time and relaxation that he could wonder what Calypso, Artemis and Athena were doing back in Ogygia, and fervently wishing that he could be with them.

After this day, he reminded himself.

He stopped outside the gateless archway that led to the throne room. Perses was sitting on his throne at the other end of a plush red carpet with golden lining that spanned the entire floor. The throne room was relatively simple, and bleak on the artistic side. Instead, it seemed to mirror the bloodthirsty aspect of the entire 'City'. Stuffed animal and monster heads lined the walls with the weapons that killed them, and several guards and higher-ranking officers standing ramrod straight along the hall. Each was garbed in armour and cloak, with their weapon of choice at their side, chests bedecked with medals. They bowed to Percy as he marched up to the throne, his feet quiet against the soft carpet.

He stopped in front of the head throne, where Perses sat. "Everything ready?"

Perses nodded in agreement, neither bothering to greet the other. Silently, Percy assumed his throne at the side, opting to wait for the Council instead. The animosity between the two was palpable.

Percy had never forgiven Perses for trying to auction off his loved ones. Perses had never forgiven Percy for preventing him from auctioning them off.

To be fair, Percy couldn't care less about whether the monsters and Perses passed or not. If he hadn't been tied up with them, then he would be celebrating already. But there were some responsibilities attached to the great political power that he commanded. He just had to suck it up.

Percy took out his gold timepiece, again clicking the button at the side as he waited for the Titan Council.

His secrets, and odd tidbits were his to know.

AN: 1000 words smaller than the other chapters, and a tad bit rushed. I don't feel like writing anymore, but had to update this today, because I have to go to the hospital again tomorrow to check up on the state of my feet. So, no update tomorrow...but, two updates today!Cheers!And no, I won't come back to this chapter again to edit and extend it. Percy's assessments are done, and I don't want to come back to this again. So, it is as it is.Keep calm and CR7!! Keep calm and LM10!! (Messi)