"Zeus seems to be the root of all our problems here," Silena said. After the fight, Pallas has invited Luke and I into his private quarters. Zeus hadn't only thrown Luke into Tartarus. He removed many of the demigods from the first Titan war and made sure that they would be in the worst place for a demigod to be.
'We're here,' Silena had said. 'We're scattered and scared, but we're here.' She had been in Pallas' arena for a long time. It was hard to judge the passing of time in the demigod equivalent of hell. Pallas let her arrange the fights and entertainment. After getting to know the Titan… somewhat… he didn't seem all that bad.
"Right, Zeus is bad, and he needs to be removed," Luke laughed, interrupting my thoughts. "It's like I was right all along." Pallas stood from where he was leaning on the wall, with a harsh laugh of his own.
"You may have had the right idea, son, but Kronos would've been worse. Much worse." Luke's amused smile straightened as the Titan's words silenced him. "But enough of the past. What about the future? What is your plan, Perseus?" All eyes turned to me. All three pairs of eyes… all looking at me. Shit. I can't fight a war against Olympus with just three people. As if reading my mind, Silena was the first to speak up.
"We need soldiers and a way out of here. Pallas, do you know of an exit from Tartarus, other than the House of Hades?" The Titan of War began to comb through his memories of the pit, rubbing the rough Spartan-like beard that covered his chin. After what felt like an hour, he snapped his fingers.
"There's actually one near this arena," he muttered. He began to pace, looking for something. "But I believe it is guarded." He began to dig through a chest in the corner of the room, pulling out a comically large sword, a breastplate, a shield, a different one than what was used in the arena, several arrows, a bow, a spear, a helmet, and a strange brooch. All items he pulled out were discarded, save for the brooch. He pocketed the ornament, muttering under his breath his frustrations about losing it. Finally, he found what he was looking for. A rolled up piece of ratty and torn paper. He unfurled it with a flourish and laid it out on a table. It was a map of Tartarus. All five of the rivers were marked their full length, showing the edges and other prominent locations. Nyx's Night Mansion, the elevator to the House of Hades, all of it was marked. He pointed to a small dot.
"We are here," Pallas said. He traced his finger to the left a few inches. "This is the exit. I have no idea where it will put you in the mortal world and I don't know what guards it. But if you want to get up there, this will be the only way."
"Right, easy peasy," I muttered. "Get on the surface, gather an army, and kick the asses of the gods that threw me in here!" Pallas interrupted my rant with a quick negative.
"Gathering an army is going to be mostly our job, down here." I raised my eyebrow and gave him a questioning look. "You need to revisit your matron and another titan, living on the surface. She has some words of wisdom for you."
"And who would that be?" Luke had gotten off the wall he was leaning on and had joined the conversation. Pallas' eyes held an intensity that I had never seen as he turned to face us, a smile spreading across his face.
"Phoebe, the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It's~a~Line~Break~~~~~~~~
"Can I come to the pond?" We were standing on the edge of the area where the five rivers meet. Luke had asked that question five times already, always followed up with a 'Why not?' when I answered no.
"No," I told him for the sixth time. "And do not ask me 'why'." A resigned 'fine' came out under his breath and I left him where he was standing, making my way to the center of the grove. The rivers churned in a whirlpool at the center, their colors and textures mixing together. There was a slight breeze as the Cthonic River deities stepped out from behind their respective statues. The Phlegethon's sadistic smile was one more of pride now… kinda.
"What a show, Perseus," he said with a laugh. "I enjoyed the fight." He was the first in front of me, the rest, including my matron, joining him.
"Wasn't much of a fight," I told him. "I think it would've been nice to know that Pallas wanted to help me." The Phlegethon shook his head and tutted.
"It wasn't something you needed to know," he said, his smile slowly leaving his face. "You treated it as a real fight because you knew it was. Though you did take care of Polybotes. The giants aren't exactly on your side after the war with Gaea." I rolled my eyes as the river god spoke about keeping me on a need-to-know basis. After minutes of his ramblings, I finally interrupted.
"Fine, I completed your test, what's next?" The Phlegethon's smile crept back onto his face. He stepped to the side and motioned to the swirling pond.
"You receive my reward," he answered, any form of trickery free from his voice. "Take a drink of my waters and I will give you my blessing." I stepped to the edge of the pond and saw all the rivers combining into one source. The Phlegethon's fire swirled across the outer edge. I dipped my hand into it and pulled a small amount of the liquid-like fire into my hands. With a deep breath and hopes for not throwing up, despite having not had any food for however long I was here, I drank the handful in one gulp. This time, it was tasteless and I felt the warmth of the fire spread throughout my body. My hand began to grow warmer before burning intensely. I dropped to my knees in a scream of agony, clutching the tattooed limb. The mark of the Phlegethon appeared in the swirling mass: a fiery skull with two spears stabbed through the eye sockets. Then, as soon as it appeared, it was lost in the swirling black mass.
"That hurt," I said, hoarsely from my kneeling position. The Phlegethon let out a sadistic chuckle.
"Pain is a good thing, kid," he said to me, holding out his hand. "Let's you know you can still kick ass." I gripped his outstretched hand with my own and he yanked me to my feet. "I've given you an ability similar to that of Hephaestus' favored children. You have power over fire and aren't able to be burned." I stood, flexing the hand of the Styx as fire began to spread across my palm. As quickly as it lit up, the fire disappeared. I frowned in annoyance.
"I can only keep it going for a moment." I looked up at the river god as he tutted and shook his head.
"It takes practice to get this kind of stuff," he said. His voice was beginning to sound more prideful than just mean. It was a nice change. I looked at the other 4 rivers.
"Any other tests?" I asked them. The Styx gave me a smile, the Cocytus and the Lethe paid no attention to me, the former lost in her sorrows and the latter staring into the distance, and the Acheron stepped forward.
"You're next test is mine," he answered. His voice was smoother than the Phlegethon, but at the same time, it felt like needles in my ears. It was painful but soothing. "I hear you're planning to leave the Pit. To do so, you'll have to fight a beast that once belonged to myself. I must apologize for it's escape a few years ago, but you returned it. Now, you'll have to do it again." He seemed kind of sheepish about the moment.
"Right, right, out with it. What pet of yours do I have to return?" The Acheron smiled and rubbed the back of his neck before straightening himself out.
"I need you to kill the Hydra, the guardian of the hidden exit to Tartarus." I blinked at his request.
"The Hydra," I muttered. "It's always something big and scary. 'Percy, you have to fight the fury. Percy, kill the minotaur.' Why can't it be as simple as 'Percy, just walk out.'?" The Acheron laughed at my mocking.
"It wouldn't be much of a test of your talents if it wasn't something big and scary." He laughed again before disappearing on the wind, followed shortly by his relatives. All that remained were the Lethe and my matron.
"You did well, Perseus." She spoke with a smile in her voice, and her eyes were bright with pride.
"I wouldn't have been able to make it near this far without your help." She gave me a nod before disappearing like her siblings. The spirit of the Lethe stood before me, alone and lost. Her eyes were glazed over, focused on something in the distance. I turned to leave, eager to escape this hell, when her eyes snapped to me. They were a bright cyan blue with specks of white. It was a startling contrast to the normal shifting of colors. They locked onto mine for a brief moment before she let loose a bloodcurdling scream. I covered my ears and flinched the deafening sound. As soon as it started, it stopped and she collapsed to the ground. I rushed to her side and placed my hand underneath her to lift her up. As soon as I touched her, the world went dark.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It's~a~Line~Break~~~~~~~~
I saw sights and heard sounds that I'd never encountered before. The peaks of snowy mountains and the warm valleys that were tucked away between them. Beautiful places and the extremes of temperatures. They all flashed through my mind. Then they rested on one spot in particular. Mt. Saint Helens. I heard the scream again, the same one that Lethe had made. It was horrid, bloodcurdling, painful… and it was coming from inside. Lethe's ever changing voice echoed in my mind.
"Free her, Perseus," it whispered. "She will prove to be an important and powerful ally." The vision began to fade as the scream pierced my ears yet again. As the vision of Mt. Saint Helens disappeared, my vision of Tartarus began to return. Bleak, bland, and flat scenery bled into view, along with Luke's bleak, bland, and somewhat concerned face. He raised one of his eyebrows at me.
"You good, Godslayer?" he asked. I cocked my head. Godslayer. It was a good name. It made me feel… powerful, sorta. Kinda guilty, too, but nevermind that. Luke was right with the name. I am a Godslayer… or want to be… or need to be. I will be a Godslayer. Olympus took my life, my freedom. Now, it's my turn to take it back. I stood from where I was laying on the ground and dusted my pants off.
"I am now," I answered with a half-cocked grin. "Now let's get going. We have a Hydra to take care of."
(A/N)
Like I said, I'm gonna try to update as much as I can, as soon as I can. Once again, I appreciate anyone who gives this a read and would love to hear your thoughts. Leave a review and tell me what you think. Who could this mystery prisoner be?/s Find out probably in a few chapters. Also, do y'all think any of the gods besides Hades and Hestia should be spare/ join Percy in his quest or just kill them all? I would love to know. Thank you for the read, and please leave a review. See you guys in the next chapter, I promise it won't take another year. :D