Percy's Pov:
The first thing I noticed was the massive hordes of monsters, thousands possible tens of thousands stood around jostling and fighting amongst each other. Hellhounds the size of tanks wandered snatching up smaller monsters in their maw, Hydras leaking poison melted others, like Telkines and Empousai, packs of what I could only assume were werewolves, wolf-headed men, aria, cyclopes, Drakons, Dragons, even some headless human-looking monsters. But possibly the scariest parts were the titans, I couldn't really see them, but titans just have this aura or force and power, they also glow really brightly, especially Hyperion...
I was distracted by a sound off to my right, as I hid the dim light of a titan began to creep over a hill. I hadn't even noticed earlier, at this point I had begun to panic, but when a mop of silver hair peeked over the crest, I felt immense relief again, Bob the Titan was back. The amount of guilt I had been carrying about him had been excruciating, early on I had promised that in order to fix things I needed to get him out of this hell hole and then let him choose if he wanted to join his brethren or if he wanted to continue to be my friend.
Just before we crested the peak of the hill down to the doors of death Bob spoke again,
"Percy you will need to cut the chains," I was about to ask a question but "hush you will know what I mean when the time is right, but beware the guardians my mother has placed there" I nodded and I saw some sort of battle in his eyes before he spoke again,
"Percy, you reek of Night, I hope you kept your eyes closed through her mansion, if you angered her I would hate to see what horrors she will have in store for you when you die. " I ushered hi in closely before quietly muttering thanks and reassurance that when this was all over they would have a conversation about their separate journeys
With him at my side I marched towards tiny pinpricks or black metal at the far end of the cavern, I figured that this had to be the doors of death. From a distance, they didn't really look like much, but I figured that they would be more impressive up close, radiating death and such.
Walking into a horde of monsters is scary, even with a Titan it's scary, I can attest to this. The death mist seemed to be working. But still, I was on high alert. Walking in Tartarus' heart was hard, there were large veins everywhere all being funneled towards a massive chunk of what could only be describes as flesh. It was at least seven stories tall and relatively heart-shaped, and not the fun lovey shaped heard, like the beating mass in your chest. As we got closer gravity seemed to get even heavier. It seems that Tartarus' Grace had done a lot for me but it could completely block out the effects, for instance, I was seeing Tartarus in its raw form, every inch of the ground was his body, the monsters were his blood cells, the whole expanse, this never-ending pit was his body. Most of my other problems seemed to have lessened like the air seemed to be less toxic or at least I had adapted, or maybe they were so badly damaged that they just couldn't hurt anymore.
My attention was brought back to the real world when I heard a commotion up front and noticed what could only be called auras, one was hot and angry, and another was very similar, but the other was completely different cold and gloomy. A lump formed in my throat as the hoard opened into a ring to show one of the most gruesome displays of authority I had ever seen. A glowing Titan was in the middle of a circle performing a beatdown, it seems that Antaeus had finally reformed.
I didn't usually feel sympathy for monsters especially not ones like him, but now pity was the only feeling I could have, his face was dented and his arms were muscle, sinew, and bones, it seemed his healing spell didn't work on Tartarus' fleshy ground.
Somehow he got up fast enough to roll away from the first stab of Hyperion's spear, but the moment of hesitation on Antaeus' part cost him his life, as he stood back up Hyperion threw his weapon which hurtled through the air before traveling straight through the fifteen-foot, five thousand pound giant. Bob stood by me and when Hyperion waltzed over to decapitate the head. A gruesome sight but when raised all the monsters cheered, Hyperion looked pleased for a second, and as the fiery Titan spoke, I saw the other two titans, they were standing right next to two regular-sized elevator doors. With delayed awe, my mind realized I had seen those doors before. They were framed in Stygian Iron with black and silver doors etched in art deco designs, they were a complete inversion of the doors to Olympus.
Once Hyperion had finally dropped the head he waltzed back over to the other Titans greeting one of them,
"Did you see that son, that's how you restore order to the ranks. Krios what's the next group," Krios looked out at the crowd before his eyes landed on me or more accurately Bob the titan. Krios waved his hand at Bob to tell him to come, however skeptical I was I stayed close to my Titan guide as the crowd of monsters parted in front of him, once we had made it to the platform where the doors actually sat. I understood what Bob had meant about cutting the chains, attached to the doors were large black chains that anchored to the ground via massive rounded hooks. Both Titans had a foot on the hooks I guess as a redundancy. I had identified one of the other titans present, Krios The Titan Lord Of The North, a Titan that Jason had fought, just the thought of his friend in a passing manner hurt, Akhlys had done a lot of damage even if Nyx helped.
I had to think about the other titan, the only son of Hyperion I knew of was Helios, but he was said to have faded, so for him to be back would indicate powerful magic, he most likely was not as strong of an immortal but he was the central sun god for thousands of years before Apollo took over. So, I imagined he'd be pretty bitter towards the Olympians and their children.
Unsurprisingly Hyperion spoke first,
"Iapetus" Hyperion Bellowed. "Well, well I thought you were hiding under a cleaning bucket somewhere"
Bob was stiff both in posture and in his curt reply,
"I was not hiding," Bob paused before continuing "Hyperion and Krios. I remember you both."
"Do you, Iapetus?" The golden Titan laughed, glancing at Krios to share the joke. "Well, that's good to know! I heard Percy Jackson turned you into a brainwashed scullery maid. What did he rename you ... Betty?"
"Bob," snarled Bob.
"Well, it's about time you showed up, Bob, Krios my Son, and I have been stuck here for weeks"
"Hours," Krios corrected, his voice a deep rumble inside his helmet.
"Whatever!" Hyperion said. "It's boring work, guarding these doors, shuffling monsters through at Gaia's orders. Krios, what's our next group, anyway?'
"Double Red," said Krios. Hyperion sighed. The flames glowed hotter across his shoulders.
"Double Red. Why do we go from A-22 to Double Red? What kind of system is that?" He glared at Bob. "This is no job for me the Lord of Light! Titan of the East! Master of Dawn! Or my son the All-Seeing, Titan of the Sun, why are we forced to wait in the darkness while the Giants go into battle and get all the glory? "
"I always get all the worst assignments," Krios muttered, his thumb still on the button.
"But my son and I?" Hyperion said. "Ridiculous! This should be your job, Iapetus. Here, take our place for a while." Bob stared at the Doors, but his gaze was distant lost in the past.
"Four of us held down our father, Ouranos," he remembered. "Koios and me and the two of you. Kronos promised us mastery of the four corners of the earth for helping with the murder."
"Indeed," Hyperion said. "And I was happy to do it! I would've wielded the scythe myself if I'd had the chance! But you, Bob ... you were always conflicted about that killing, weren't you? The soft Titan of the West, soft as the sunset! Why our parents named you the Piercer, I will never know. More like the Whimper."
"I can still pierce, "Bob said, his voice low and even. "You brag too much, Hyperion. You are bright and fiery, but Percy Jackson defeated you anyway. I hear you became a nice tree in Central Park." Hyperion's eyes smoldered.
"Careful, brother."
"At least a janitor's work is honest," Bob said. "I clean up after others. I leave the palace better than I found it. But you ... you do not care what messes you make. You followed Kronos blindly. Now you take orders from Gaia."
"She is our mother!" Hyperion bellowed.
"She did not wake for our war on Olympus," Bob recalled. "She favors her second brood, the Giants."
Krios grunted. "That's true enough. The children of the pit."
"Both of you hold your tongues!" Hyperion's voice was tinged with fear. "You never know when he is listening." The elevator dinged. All three Titans jumped
"Double Red! Where is Double Red?" Hordes of monsters stirred and jostled one another, but none of them came forward. Krios heaved a sigh. "I told them to hang on to their tickets. Double Red! You'll lose your place in the queue!"
Hyperion muttered a curse. "Just wonderful. This will completely mess up our schedule." He
sneered at Bob. "Make your choice, brother. Fight us or help us. I don't have time for your lectures." Bob glanced at me and I thought he might start a fight, but instead, he raised the point of his spear.
"Very well. I will take guard duty. Which of you wants a break first?"
"My son and I, of course," Hyperion said.
"Me!" Krios snapped. "I've been holding that button so long my thumb is going to fall off.'
"Well we have been standing here longer," Hyperion grumbled.
"You two guard the Doors while my son I go up to the mortal world. I have some Greek heroes to wreak vengeance upon!"
"Oh, no!" Krios complained. "That Roman boy is on his way to Epirus the one who killed me on Mount Othrys. Got lucky, he did. Now it's my turn."
"No Krios, I need to return to the upper world with my father, Apollo and I have a long-awaited reunion scheduled, that usurper, and dad promised me my revenge." Bob had gotten them all thoroughly arguing about who should stay and who should leave, a constant back and forth Hyperion and Helios on one side and Krios on the other, this seemed like it might be my chance.
I crouched low and slowly circled towards the doors of death, I had to skirt behind Bob and around Krios to reach the backside of the doors, once around I drew Riptide and a Drakon bone sword, duel wielding I waited. I only had one shot at this so I patiently waited for Bob to give me a sign, eventually, It got so heated literally, the Titans, one of them being the literal Titan of the Sun, the other was the Tian of heavenly light and heat. Bob quickly lamented that he would let them all go and remain to do their job alone, just when they were about to get into the elevator Bob struck, the doors hadn't opened yet, and the second before Hyperion pushed the up button, Bob stabbed Helios. His physical body which must have been barely contained quietly turned to ash, it seemed that he was not an immortal anymore but instead an extremely old and powerful entity, the last of his legacy fading into the very same Void I had confronted before The House of Night.
At this moment I slashed down with my swords and cut the chain on the left, I quickly moved over to the right, cleaving the second set of chains in half. The only other problems were the enormous monster army and two remaining Titans one of which would now be furious over the death of his son. The doors didn't go anywhere but I knew they needed to be defended one last use and their only ticket out would be gone.
As I stepped back out, things didn't look good, Krios and Hyperion were on either side of Bob who was on one knee, his spear was held up in defense, and the broom's bristles had all been burned away. It seemed that aggressive actions like cutting the chains had removed the death mist. Now I was back to my normal self, the green armor that I had gotten from Damasen adorned me once again.
I ran and jumped kicking out at Hyperion with both my feet, he stumbled falling to the ground and I closed in, this had fortunately given Bob a chance to get up and push Krios back. We were standing back to back, and the foes in front of me seemed still unsurmountable. The last time I had fought Hyperion it had taken every bit of my strength and I only defeated him with the help of Grover and like fifty nature spirits, I didn't know if I had the strength to do it at the moment. I hadn't eaten or slept for days possibly weeks, mainly consisting of firewater and pure determination.
At this point, Hyperion was on his feet and looking at me in amazement and something else, something terrifying,
"Oh hello, Jackson, how so very pleasant see you hear, first I'm going to kill you, then I'm going to kill BOB then I'm going to go with my brother and I will raise From This STINKING PIT to battle on the surface world," The moment the Titans mouth closed off in the distance an earthquake erupted and it was so powerful a massive chunk of the ceiling above calved off like a massive iceberg and began to fall. I had no idea how I knew it was falling but I did. I only had about five seconds before a chunk of Tartarus rock the size of a pirate ship was falling here and I didn't want to be here when it arrived. I jumped back and ran, shouting out
"Bob lookout above," he must have seen it because within a second he was running at my side, Krios and Hyperion close behind still confused but all the more ready to kill. We made it far enough away to not get seriously injured but the pressure wave that the boulder massive stone released slammed into me and my body was thrown, Bob, Hyperion, and Krios were not left out of the fun though.
Off in the distance, the ground rearranged, and out of a wall walked one of the biggest people, Gods, Monsters whatever. A colossal Being made of Purple flesh and muscle, easily two thousand feet tall, mind you, I could see him 20 miles away. As he approached us the environment which wouldn't have been suited for him in such a tall form began to change, the ceilings immediately growing to accommodate their lord. Before me stood Tartarus. Once he was close enough to the tower and I mean tower over us as he spoke, and his voice, belonging to a body so big was, to say the least loud.
"I Will give you an ultimatum nephew, fight here and now. The Great Hyperion battles The son of Poseidon Percy Jackson, if you win right here and now, I will take you to the surface world but you will owe me an apology first."
In my brain spoke the Massive God,
"Barter Noww! and I did, I understood what he was doing now,
"Lord," I hollered, "It's only fair that if I win, you take my companions and I to the mortal world" putting on a show he brought up his massive hand to scratch his chin.
"I suppose that could stand, it seems you two are both fighting for the same thing then, Let the fun begin" he fell backward crossing his legs, and a throne appeared to catch him,
Once again, my vision seemed to stick, and then when I blinked it away the whole landscape was different. First of all, Bob and Krios were gone, and second I was standing in the middle of an arena, it was gargantuan. The central oval must have been about two maybe three football fields in length and another one or two in width, the walls accommodated what I hoped was most of the Monster army that was going to be cheering for my death. Lovely, The whole construction was made of some dark stone and quite a bit of Stygian Iron which was hardly distinguishable, but this thing definitely needed some extra reinforcement.
Hyperion was standing a little way off maybe twenty to thirty feet, getting ready to gut me. I drew Riptide in defense, I would need to learn to dual wield on a less deadly occasion. He walked forward his spear aimed and his armor white-hot, he was ready. Once we were in front of each other we circled, both waiting for a single flaw that would allow one of us to attack, he made the first move, a powerful bat-like swing that could have cleaved the top of a mountain. I swiftly ducked out of the way and the momentum of his first attack carried him around as he adjusted, he was off balance and it was my chance to strike, or at least it might have been if I was faster. Hyperion's body ignited in a column of light and heat, and after being trapped in almost complete darkness the light that he immitted blinded me, it took me all of ten seconds before my eyes could comfortably see, in that time though Hyperion had fully recovered and was running at me again. I missed when I fought this guy at the water reservoir, I had the pleasant power of dampening that light. Then it struck me, I had controlled a lot down here, reaching out with my senses I found what had hoped would be there, several large vein-like tunnels were still present just beneath our feet.
I thrust out my hand and the ground in front of Hyperion exploded in a multicolored geyser. I had a great sense of satisfaction when his skin which had been a blinding white was now covered in red, green, and blackened patches, it seemed that even Titans were subject to the negative effects of Tartarus' rivers. If I had to guess, the large patch of black skin on the right side of his head was from The Styx and I laughed, which had the intended effect of enraging the Titan before me. This was one of the first real-world lessons I had learned; an angry enemy is a reckless enemy.
I decided it was time to take this fight head-on if I could just get him to make mistake. So, I charged going straight in ready to fight for my life, when I was about five feet in front of the Lord Of Light, I swung Riptide to the side before switching to an upward slash. Unfortunately, Hyperion wasn't just the Titan of light, and he shot a concentrated burst of fire at me, forcing me to leap back. Hyperion stood up to his full height before whirling his spear around him, raining dozens of devastating attacks. No doubt he thought that would end me. But I remained to balance on the tip of his weapon.
"You seem different from our last bout demigod,"
"Just got a little more power is all," and with that, I leaped forward and punched his armored head as hard as I could. Hyperion went flying back a couple of yards before using his lance to halt his momentum. In the blink of an eye he was charging again, he tried to fake me out with his spear but I anticipated it, however, I did not anticipate his hand as it came out to grab me by the neck,
"OHH wow you are quite a bit stronger and faster than before mortal, but you are just that, MORTAL, you couldn't have hoped to win could you, you are nothing," And with that, he threw me back as hard as he could, and I slammed into the wall and fell to the ground, the air knocked from my lungs.
"THAT IS IT" I yelled, this fight had lasted too long and it was time for it to end I stomped my foot into the ground hard, and an earthquake ran through the battlefield it was strong, stronger than I meant it. I watched as Hyperion fell to the ground, along with most of the arena, which collapsed crushing anything in the stands. By this point, I was running at Hyperion riptide held firm as I jumped swinging the blade down just as a golden spear shaft came up to meet it. I had heard the consequences of breaking a divine weapon, but the resulting blast as Riptide cut through the haft of his spear blew apart the ground and sent us both flying again, I heard my ribs crack as I landed. Once I was back on my feet I could see the damage that had been done, Hyperion stood opposite me, his eyes glowing like embers, and laughed before leaping across the massive trench in one bound.
"You will need to use the darkness inside of you to win, but be careful, don't let it consume you." The words coming back to me, and after everything I had dealt with in the house of Night I realized something. Hyperion was right I was mortal, but I was also more.
I felt power flood me and it was like my boundaries had been rewritten, I was going to do what I needed to in order to win. My hands flew out and I caught Hyperion mid-air, suspended by his Immortal Ichor. As screamed in agony, I pictured his heart pumping golden blood all over his body and clenched my fist it took maybe two minutes before Hyperion's body was shaking, foam exiting his mouth the nine yards, but then he went still and Dissolved.
I turned around and addressed my onlooker,
"I have defeated Hyperion, it is time to return me and my friends to the mortal world,"
"Very well demigod, though it seems one of my sons is on his way here though, I would hate for you to leave him to suffer down here," and with that, the colossus was just gone, the landscape what it had been before, and in front of me stood a man I had seen before, the same Black suit and spiky black hair.
"Have a seat Percy, Bob should be here soon, hopefully, Damasen isn't too far behind, but in the meantime, I need you to listen," he pointed to a table that had appeared behind me, and so I sat waiting patiently for him to continue. "Once you arrive in the House of Hades you will need to defeat a giant, one named Clytius, he was born to oppose Hecate and as such he will such he will absorb all the magic used in front of him. The magic of my sister and I is so strong he will not be able to nullify it, so you need to be the one to kill him. The second thing I need to tell you is important, and I wouldn't go as far as lifesaving but, you need to learn how to control your new powers. My Grace most likely gave you power over fire, darkness, not to mention the physical and mental effects it might have on you,"
"I understand Tartarus, I am lucky, but I am also one of a kind, the responsibilities you and Nyx are giving me terrify me a bit, but I need to return to the mortal world and as such I will do what is needed."
"I'm glad to hear that Percy, great pain lies before you, but how you choose to handle it is up to you, fight and overcome or give up and fail."
I reiterated "I will do what I must." the dark God and waited for maybe two more minutes before Bob arrived, he was happy to see me still alive and kicking. The first thing he did was search me for injuries, and as the Titan of pain and mortality all he needed to do was touch me.
"Broken ribs and a fractured arm, those must hurt, Ouch" and with that thought, my ribs cracked back into place and my arm healed.
"Thank you Bob it seems my adrenaline hasn't quite worn off." I chuckled and he pulled up a chair.
"What exactly are we waiting for Lord, and Percy," Tartarus stayed silent and a humungous roar split the silence he had been perpetuating,
"That, if I had to recon would be a Giant riding a Drakon, I did say I would take all of your allies to the surface didn't I."
And triumphantly Damasen came charging into view riding a gorgeous Drakon, but unfortunately, I was wearing the skin of this specific reptile, I wondered if he'd let bygones be bygones.
Damasen lept off his steed lance ready and then faltered,
"Father, what are you doing here, it is not your place to interfere, don't you remember what happened to Nyx last time, it took her several millennia to reform, Chaos will not take this lightly"
"Yes I remember, but that was a long time ago and my father apologized, plus after Chaos made us all husbands and wives, we even did some family therapy, things are a lot safer, not to mention the state of the world, Chaos only checks on his creation every eon or so, and he is overdue, we must take this into our own hands."
"Very well, Percy, it is good to see you, I'm sorry it took me so long, but I am happy to say I was able to follow your directions, I believe we have an earth goddess to visit." To emphasize his point, Tartarus snapped his fingers and the Doors Of Death appeared a few yards off.
Follow me he said before standing up and walking over to them, after the primordial went me than Bob then Damasen, the same order in which we arrived.
"You will need to hold the doors closed on the inside, they are severely damaged and I am not the right god to fix them, and trust me you don't want the doors to open, The Void would consume you," That was all the warning I needed before pushing the button and entering the elevator. Next was bob who shrunk to fit, maybe Titan Magic or maybe the elevator's magic, next was Damasen who also shrank, so it was the elevator then. As the doors started to shut Tartarus stuck his foot out and they halted.
"Remember my warnings." And with that, the doors slid shut. Bob took one door and Damasen and I took the other, both pushing towards the middle as the doors lurched upward. Towards the open sky, towards the House of Hades, towards my world.