AN: Right, a few more chapters to go and this will officially be done! Was debating on if I should have included the battle with the Olympians and Tartarus but I decided against it since I feel like you should be able to get a sense of what the final outcome was by the parts in this chapter. Apologies if you wanted to get the battle.
A few hours later
Percy was in The Big House, hunched over the big table with the members of the seven, the hunters, Chiron, the camp counselors, Derek, Nico, Artemis, and Thalia. All were arguing about some form of action against Tartarus, the lack of anything from the primordial of the pit had everyone on edge.
Something was wrong and Percy could feel it, the tingling sensation in the back of his head increased in intensity, earning concerned looks from the nearest to him as they could feel his power rolling off of him more than usual.
"Percy?" Thalia asked in concern as his chest started heaving, "What's wrong?" she asked as she watched Percy close his eyes.
Percy tried to feel out for his parents, coming up empty-handed and tried to reach Aether, Hemera, Gaia, and Pontus. His eyes shot open, "Something's wrong. They're not there." he stated to the room, earning some confused glances as to what he was referring to.
"Who's not there? What are you talking about Percy?" Annabeth asked, ignoring her as Percy stood up, his mask enveloping his head, and turned to Derek, "Lock the camp down. No one goes in or out until we return and get a team ready for me." his voice displayed the urgency of the message effectively judging by how Derek nodded seriously, running out of the house as he started speaking into his ear-piece to order the troops to surround the camp, a full lockdown being initiated.
Percy looked at the remaining members of the seven, hunters and Nico, "Meet me out front, now. Will, you as well. The rest of you stay here and fortify the camp!" he shouted out as he left The Big House. Artemis, Thalia, and the others all raced after him, "Percy, what's happening?!" Artemis yelled after him.
"Do you hear that?" he said as he looked around the camp, Frank looked confused as he tried to hear whatever Perch was hearing.
"Hear what?" he confusedly asked, looking at Hazel to see if she had similar emotions to him only to see that her face was rapidly draining of its color, the same with Nico as Will had to grab him by the arm to stabilize him.
"It's quiet…and that's not a good thing." as he said that, everyone suddenly realized that the waves stopped crashing against the shoreline, birds weren't chirping and it was as if the air stilled around them.
A Chaos team ran up to Omega, "Sir, where exactly are we going?" one of them asked as they checked over their gear.
Omega tightened his gauntlets as he looked them over, "Olympus." he said as he shadow-traveled everyone to Olympus.
Olympus
The sight before their eyes had them in shock as soon as their feet touched the stone beneath them.
Olympus was on fire. The shops were destroyed, palaces were collapsed and statues desecrated. A few of the minor gods were laid out on the stone pathway, their bodies showing serious damage as ichor poured out of their wounds, the spirits that were usually spotted on Olympus were slaughtered. Omega crouched down as shadows covered the bodies of the other gods and goddesses, transporting them to the medical tent in their camp.
"What happened here?" Annabeth asked in abstract horror, but she didn't get an answer as Omega ignored her, walking with caution as the others followed him, their eyes darting around the ruins. The ichor splattered walls unnerved most of the group.
After a short while, they reached the doors leading to the throne room, Omega deciding to rescue as many survivors as they could before engaging in a possible battle. He gave hand gestures to the Chaos soldiers behind him, motioning towards the doors as they stacked up on both sides.
"Doors locked." Omega said to the group when it seemed like the doors wouldn't open as normal.
Thalia's hands crackled with lightning, "Then let's bust this open then!" and Omega shook his head.
"No, I got it," he replied as he placed his palms flat against the doors, the others watching as shadows erupted from his outstretched hands, spreading from his hands and quickly covering the large embossed doors as they exploded open seconds later. Darkness flooded the room as they all rushed in, weapons at the ready.
The shadows receded into Omega's hands, granting everyone a clear view of the destruction in front of them.
They took a moment to observe the damage done to both Olympians and the room itself. Half of the walls were blown out, the hearth that was usually tended to by Hestia was flipped over and cracked, almost like it was pulled out of the floor and used as a weapon. Their thrones looked mostly intact with the exception that sizable chunks of the thrones were scattered around. A giant hole was created in the ceiling.
Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, Ares, Athena, and Heracles were laid out in front of their cracked thrones, ichor pouring out of them like a river. Ares had his arm sticking out the opposite way, his shoulder joint almost exposed as the muscle was ripped around it, his chestplate was caved in and his helmet cracked. Hermes had his caduceus sticking through his stomach, his right leg looking as if Typhon crushed it in his palm. Heracles had his club embedded into his borrowed throne, his arms cracked in three different places each and one of his legs took on a deathly pale color.
Athena had her spear lodged into her shoulder, Aegis lying in a pile of metal next to her, her armor almost burned onto her skin. Dionysus had his thyrsus rod snapped, his face a mangled mess of ichor. Apollo had his bow shattered, his hands obliterated and mangled, a part of his bow was embedded in his stomach.
"Where are the others?" Piper asked, looking around for the elder gods and primordials.
"What in Hades name happened here?" Annabeth commented as she ran to her mother, already digging nectar and ambrosia out of the duffel bag she brought with her.
"Hey! Stop using my dad's name as a curse!" Nico yelled as he glared at her.
As the remainder of the seven went to tend to the wounds on the Olympians, Artemis' eyes widened at the slight movement, a flash of steel in the dimly lit corner of the throne room and broke into a quick sprint, "DOWN!" she yelled out, tackling Percy to the ground just as a whip cracked overhead, causing everyone to duck and take cover behind the debris in the room. Artemis summoned her bow and nocked an arrow, an action mirrored by her hunters.
Kampê emerged from the corner that had everyone's attention. "Kampê." Omega growled out, pulling his xiphos out as the others pulled their weapons back out.
"So many immortals to devour, yet so little time. A new one!" the words slithered out of her mouth as her tongue flicked the dripping blades of her scimitars. Most of the seven tensed upon seeing her, the hunters included. Kampê kept her gaze on Omega a little longer as she examined him.
"How can we understand you?" Annabeth asked, clutching her dagger.
"You, I remember. A daughter of Athena that managed to escape my grasp." the monster snarled out.
"That's what she looks like?" Thalia asked, tightening the grip on her spear.
"Didn't you die from a bunch of rocks falling on you?" Will commented, fidgeting nervously as her gaze fell on him.
"You looked uglier back in the Labyrinth. Maybe that's why you can't find anyone and are such a miserable loner in a cave." Omega asked, his eyes trying to burn a hole through her.
"Sassing a monster? Ah, Perseus Jackson." Kampê said in revelation. "I knew your scent was vaguely familiar. My father is quite fed up with you and he would have met you here but he's...preoccupied with family at the moment." she said with barely hidden glee.
Omega's eyes darkened, his aura pulsing from him, "Where. Are. They?" growling that last bit out. Kampê looked at him with what looked like hesitation at the power and anger rolling off of him before a smirk overtook her expressions.
"It will end where it all began. Your time is ticking Jackson and your window of living is closing." she told him as she started to spin her scimitars in her hands. "Tell me something I don't know," Omega muttered out as he cracked his neck side to side. "I'm going to make sure you stay dead this time."
Kampê scoffed at the threat, "Zeus himself, had trouble defeating me so why would you think you have the slightest chance? My father has given me the greatest of blessings to defeat you! You ran away the first time at the sight of me." gesturing to herself.
Omega half-heartedly shrugged, "Hard not to run when I'm faced with your ugly mug." he could vaguely hear Jason and Nico snorting with the others along with Artemis glaring at him for sassing someone in a fight, "and you forgot one very obvious and important thing when it comes to me."
"And what is that exactly?" her scorpion tail flicking back and forth as she soon found herself surrounded by the hunters.
"I'm not Zeus." slamming his fist down onto the floor, jagged spikes erupting towards the monster as she swiftly evaded them, silver arrows flew at her as she evaded.
"Focus on them! She's ours!" Omega yelled out to the others when it seemed like they were going to pull away from healing the Olympians. He ducked to avoid the flurry of strikes from Kampê, the monster trying to avoid everyone else as she seemed determined to take his head clean off.
"Watch the venom!"
Nico formed a shield as the tail crashed into him, sending him crashing into his father's throne. He got back up with a glare, sending skeleton warriors at her, her annoyance was visible as she batted them away.
Omega sent her flying with a spinning back-kick and into the path of Thalia and Jason, who both summoned a bolt of lightning to strike her as she was in the air.
Kampê sent her whip flying at Omega but he deflected that with the flat of his blade, shadow-traveling behind her as he cut off a few of the snakes on her head, stabbing her through the lower back and rolling away.
Artemis pierced Kampê's shoulder with two glowing arrows, angering her further, and tossed one of the hunters into a pillar.
Jason ducked under her tail, landing next to Piper, "You want to try charmspeaking her?"
Piper shook her head, "Nope." tackling Jason to the ground as a chunk of the ceiling almost fell on him.
Zoë vaulted over the tail, slicing it off as it flopped around before it got pinned by Thalia's spear, a smirk on her face as she clapped the fake dust off of her hands with a smirk. "Impressive, but I could've probably done better."
Zoë scoffed lightheartedly, "Thou wish you could." as she dodged a strike from the whip.
Thalia scrunched her nose, "I thought your English was fixed when you were brought back?" raising her shield as a scimitar bounced off of Aegis, watching as Percy used the shadows to pull Kampê towards him as he landed a slash across her face, followed by a rather large shoulder-bash from Frank as a bear.
"It was but I like using it to annoy you." she replied, a smirk on her face. Artemis jumped over to them, making sure that the hunters that were injured were pulled off to the side, "Less talking and more fighting."
Kampê tried to make a dash towards those that were tending to the injured, but Omega intercepted her as he tackled her mid-air, his head weaving in between the snakeheads as they tried to bite through his armor. He took on a bright glow as he assumed his divine form, burning Kampê as she tried to escape his grasp, the room shook violently as Kampê was sent flying across the room.
Kampê engaged Omega in hand-to-hand as her blades were kicked out of her hand by Artemis, "Why won't you just die!" she screeched out.
Omega delivered several knees to her midsection, "Get in line cause there's a queue to kill me." he said as he pushed himself back, freezing time just as Artemis vaulted over him and drop-kicked her in the face. Her knives were a flurry of silver as she struck against her.
Kampê's blood splattered against the marble in the room, reaching out to grab Artemis by the throat and lifted her. Omega slid right between them, slicing the outstretched limb and catching Artemis.
Anchor-points appeared on the ground next to Kampê, pinning her form down and restricting her as she suddenly tried to break free.
Omega caught a grenade that was tossed to him by one of his soldiers, sliding in front of the bound of Kampê as Thalia and Jason electrocuted her, keeping her immobilized. "Open wide." sticking it into her face before he backed everyone up and a dome of shadows and earth covered her.
A bright flash later and the dome was lifted, a black scorch mark was visible on the ground with the only remaining parts of Kampê left being some of the snake scales, her whip and scimitars were blackened, chips on the blades.
Omega walked forward, picking up the blades and the whip, "So much for being blessed by your father." he mumbled out.
"We still don't know where the others are." Jason mentioned.
Omega's mask retracted and Percy turned to look at him, "No, but I know where he will be." he said seriously.
Percy turned to his troops, "Get the others back to the camp." turning around to look outside of the throne room, "Derek, I'm sending the guys back to camp with the injured."
His second-in-command's voice rang in his earpiece, "No problem, we'll open the gates for them. It's getting a little hectic around here but we have it under control."
"We're going to probably go black on comms for a bit. We're going under." Omega replied.
"Understood boss, we'll see you topside."
Percy turned to face the others, "Alright, those that want to hop out of this trip should follow my guys. They'll take you back to camp."
"Where exactly is this trip taking us?" Frank asked.
Percy stared at him expressionlessly, "Tartarus." the place of evil and the home of their enemy sent shivers down their spines, the only ones that could control themselves being Percy and Annabeth.
"Oh...I can't believe you've done this." Leo commented, his attempt to lighten the mood falling through.
Percy looked at him harshly, "I'm not exactly holding a gun to your head and forcing you to go, now am I?"
"Woah man, calm down." Nico said.
Chaos flashed into the throne room, "Chaos." Percy said as he saw his uncle appear.
"Percy, you know where they are?" Chaos asked carefully, putting all of his attention on him.
Percy nodded gravely, "Yeah, I have an idea of where."
Chaos returned his nod, "I can cut your trip down by half but that's about it." and Percy nodded once more, "That's fine."
A portal opened up beside Chaos, pure darkness and a putrid smell greeted them as they realized that the pit was on the other side of that portal.
Percy walked towards the portal with a steely gaze, preparing himself for a third visit to his hell when two pairs of outstretched arms stopped him only a few feet away.
Artemis and Thalia looked at him expectantly, "You really think that you're going to go without us? Thought we got rid of your stupidity by now?" Artemis asked, grabbing his gloved hands in hers.
"You have to remember that time moves differently down there. I don't know how long it'll take. It's confusing in the lower parts especially." Percy warned, trying to get them to budge without actually telling them to let him go alone.
Thalia placed her hands on her hips and glared at him, "Nice try mister, but you're not getting rid of us that easily."
Percy's lips turned upward in a slight smile, "Wouldn't dream of it." pressing a kiss onto the top of Thalia and Artemis's head.
"If milady will go, then so will we." Zoë said, stepping next to Artemis.
"If a male could survive then so could we." Celyn said lightheartedly, flinching when Percy, Artemis, and Thalia all glared at her. "Right...bad joke." she muttered out sheepishly.
"Elder hunters only." Artemis replied, the sounds of complaint from the younger hunters reached her ears but she blocked them out.
Percy turned to Jason and Nico, "Go with the others back to camp. They'll need you running security for the rest of the camp. We'll be back and hopefully before everything goes to shit."
"Wouldn't Nico be an asset if he went with you? He's already been down there once." Jason pointed out. Although he didn't like that place, Nico couldn't help but agree with Jason's statement.
"You're both equal to my level back at the end of the second giant war and maybe more. He'll stay at the camp with you so you guys can rain havoc if need be." Percy reasoned. "If the camp doesn't have two of us with them then they lose their powerhouses and that'll open them up and become vulnerable."
Percy clapped both of them on the shoulders, "You guys hold down the fort." giving them a parting nod as he stepped back, watching as the younger hunters hugged the elder hunters and their patron before dragging their feet over to the departing group.
He and the others all gave them a wave before Chaos flashed them all out, leaving himself, his fiancées, the elder hunters, and Chaos in the destroyed throne room.
"Anything we should be aware of and prepared about before we go in?" Zoë asked, tugging her sleeves up in preparation.
"The place will make you see things that aren't real. You'll be disoriented and everything in your body will tell you to turn back and run. Watch your breathing because the air is toxic to you. Got it?" he asked seriously, receiving nods from the hunters.
"How deep are we going exactly?" Phoebe asked.
"The Abyss. It's where he would keep the high-level prisoners." nods of understanding were quickly turned into looks of pity when they heard him mumble out the next bit, "It's where I was kept for the most part."
Percy turned to look at Artemis and Thalia, who were fidgeting slightly, "Last chance to back out." he offered one last time.
Artemis and Thalia simply smiled at him comfortingly, "No way we're leaving you alone down there."
"Uncle." Chaos looked at Percy, "We're going to get them back." he promised. "Alright, let's go." walking towards the portal, stepping through as his mask formed back onto his head.
Tartarus
The rescue group appeared in a large, dark hallway. Faint screams leaked into the hallway they were in, their only look to the outside being the bars on the few windows they could see.
Percy turned around to see his fiancées and the hunters bent over on the ground, choking on seemingly nothing but Percy knew that the toxic air was getting to them.
"Hey, look at me." kneeling as he gently grabbed Artemis and Thalia's faces, their eyes darting back and forth as they hyperventilated, "Focus on me, ok? Whatever you're seeing isn't real." trying to reassure them.
About a dozen monsters chose that moment to walk around the corner, eyeing the immortals with murderous looks. Percy snapped around, his mask forming back around his face as his blades popped out from his gauntlets. "Shit." as the monsters grunted. He wrapped the shadows around the others, forming a barrier around them as he launched himself at the monsters.
Everyone else snapped out of their funk a few moments later, Artemis being one of the first to regain her bearings, looking around for Percy. Her hunters and Thalia followed soon after, everyone pulling their weapons out as they noticed the barrier around them.
"Percy?" Thalia asked, looking at the hunters, who also looked at each other when the male wasn't with them.
The barrier dropped a few seconds after his name was uttered, their eyes widened as they witnessed the carnage before them.
Dozens of dead monsters laid at their feet, various cuts littering their bodies.
They looked at Percy, his armor covered in monster blood as he bashed one of them into the wall repeatedly before pulling back as he delivered a kick that resounded in a sharp crack sounding off, the monster sagging in his grasp.
Percy finally noticed them as he snapped out of his killing-spree, "You guys good?" he asked heavily.
"You've been...busy." Artemis noted, toeing at one of the corpses. Percy gave a single nod as he looked down the hallway, trying to catch sight of any other monsters coming their way.
"How long were we out?" Zoë asked, putting her bow behind her and pulling Anaklusmos out.
Percy waved his hands in front of him, "Ten minutes, give or take."
"What even was that?" Thalia asked as Percy started to lead them down the hallway at a quickening pace.
"The standard welcoming everyone gets when they come down here." he answered grimly as they went down a spiral staircase, jumping over the railing as he landed right on top of a demigod, killing him instantly as he drove a blade into his neck. "This way." motioning down another hallway with a locked door at the end.
Artemis ordered her hunters to watch behind them as they focused on busting the door down. "How exactly do we bust this open?" Thalia asked, poking the door with her spear. Percy turned to Artemis who had a thoughtful expression on her face, "Tell your hunters to close their eyes. We're going to overpower whatever energy Tartarus imbued into this place with our divine forms."
Thalia tapped him on his shoulder, "You know I still don't know how to do that, right?" reminding him.
"Just reach into your power and let it all out. Actually, better safe than sorry." Percy said as he pulled Thalia into his chest, wrapping his arms around her, "At least this way you won't accidentally kill the hunters. I'll keep yours in control."
Thalia nodded determinedly, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes and starting to glow with a deep blue aura surrounding her frame. Percy nodded at Artemis, who also started to glow a bright silver before he himself glowed a mix of purple, blue, gold, and brown.
The three of them glowed so brightly that the five hunters had to pull their parka hoods over their eyes as their hands weren't doing it.
The walls to the side of them and the door in front of them crumbled to nothing when their divine forms fully took over.
The glow from the three of them receded eventually and their forms returned to normal, Thalia stumbling a bit in Percy's arms, blinking rapidly as she adjusted, "Woah, so that's what it feels like." she mumbled in amazement.
The bottom part of Percy's mask dissolved as he pressed a kiss to the back of Thalia's head, unwrapping his arms from around her as he waved his hands around, the dust clearing.
Percy was the first to step into the room, immediately spotting what they came here for. The children of Kronos and Rhea were hanging from chains wrapped around their arms, the primordials were pinned to the wall and facing across from the Olympians. All of them had dry and fresh ichor pouring out of them, looking as if they went five rounds with Tartarus plus Typhon.
"Well, it took you fucking long enough!" Aether yelled out, his face splitting into a grin as ichor poured out from a wound from the side of his head.
Percy tilted his head as he went to release his family from their restraints, "You look like shit." he noted, leading to Aether letting out a snort.
Percy turned to see the hunters guard the remains of the door as Artemis and Thalia released the elder Olympians.
"Are the others alright?" Hestia asked as Artemis lowered to the ground, her body littered with bruises and cuts, same with the others.
"I sent them off to the infirmary at the camp along with the other gods and goddesses that were injured. The remaining seven, Nico and the hunters are with them." Percy responded, hoisting Aether and Chronos onto his shoulders.
"Does Olympus still stand?" Zeus quietly asked, wincing at the movement.
Thalia snorted, "Barely. Everything was either on fire or crumbling and that includes the throne room. Oh and there's a hole in the floor."
"Why is there a hole in the floor? In the ceiling? Yes but the floor?" Hades whispered.
"We fought Kampê in the throne room." Percy answered. "Now as much fun as it would be to answer your twenty questions, we really should go."
"CHAOS!" Percy yelled out, he and the others flashed out of The Abyss and Tartarus, later appearing at the camp border, Chaos looked at him grimly as he flashed in next to them, the meaning picked up by Percy rather quickly judging by the column of smoke coming from the camp.
"It's time, Percy." a nod of understanding struck Percy.
Percy looked back at his family, Thalia, and Artemis, their eyes wide as they looked at him. "Where is he?" his face set in stone as he eyed the smoking remains of the camp from the hill.
The blackened grass crunched under Percy's boots, the fires still burned at The Big House. Everywhere looked destroyed and in pieces as he approached.
He stopped in the middle of the camp as Artemis, Thalia and the others caught up with him, staying a few steps back as they spotted Tartarus sitting on the ruins of the Arena. Various injured and almost dead campers scattered out around him, his own forces looked none the better as some were trying to administer aid to themselves and their teammates. He spotted the remaining seven trying to help where they can despite their own injuries. They stumbled over to where the Olympians and his family stood, collapsing as a few of his troops rushed over to tend to them.
Percy looked at everyone, taking a longer look at those loves, giving them a loving smile as his eyes fell onto Thalia and Artemis, both were pleading with him as they stared at him. He walked back to the two of them and gave them both a lingering kiss on the lips.
"I love you." he whispered to them, pouring every ounce of love he had into the kiss and message.
He pulled back as his mask formed back onto his face, turning around to face Tartarus and unsheathing his xiphos from the scabbard on his back.
Tartarus inhaled deeply and stood up, pulling his greatsword out from the body of an unfortunate camper, the ebony blade stained with the crimson liquid. "Jackson. You are finally here." waving his hand as the campers and soldiers were flung away from him, giving them both a wide berth and setting the stage for the ensuing fight.
"Here I am." before Percy shadow-traveled behind him and struck.
AN: The final battle is upon us and I hope it'll live up to your expectations. I'll try and do you all proud!
