Chapter 3: Hell pays me a visit
Percy's Point of view
Two hooded figures stood in the clearing. The air was Sulfur, the ground filled with shards of glass. The entire place was designed to hurt and torture. Yes, the guess is right. I was in Tartarus. How did I get there? No idea at all. The hood covered their faces, so that I couldn't recognize them. All I could see was below their lips.
"How's the plan going on, general?" A deep, gruff, ancient voice spoke. It instilled fear into the minds of the listeners. I heard that voice somewhere.
The guy named General spoke, quivering. "I don't know, sire. The cyclopes on our side are practically useless. They only just follow orders. We need someone to lead them".
"You should have told this to me a long time back, general. You wasted a lot of time for us. It's time for you to meet your friends again". With that, he unsheathed his sword, a dark black sword. Not Stygian iron. It was darker and seemed to devour the already limited brightness of the pit. One edge was deadly straight and the other, jagged. Sorry, got distracted. In one swift motion, cut the other's head off. "I need to find a new general for the army as well". He said, coolly.
He turned and faced an army that came into view. "Go out to the mortal world. Capture demigods and bring them here. Any one of them dies, you taste the blade of my sword. We need more followers if we are to annihilate the gods". The monsters all roared in approval and dispersed, waving their weapons wildly. He smirked and stepped back. His form shimmered and dissolved into the pit.
I felt a tug in my gut. I was being pulled forward at inhuman speeds. Suddenly, the force stopped, sending me into an abrupt halt. I wanted to throw up badly. My mind was spinning so fast that I couldn't see straight ahead. Slowly, my head cleared, only to stop thinking again. I was in front of a mansion. My blood dropped to my feet. I felt my hands going colder by the minute. The man appeared beside me. He seemed to have formed from the floor- the floor of the pit. He walked forward, towards the mansion- The mansion of Lady Nyx, the primordial of darkness. I followed him in.
Unlike last time here, with Annabeth, I kept my eyes open. BIG. MISTAKE. One look into the mansion and for the first time, I felt real fear. I saw my second home, Camp half-blood in ruins. I was standing at the borders of the camp, near the magical barriers. Only, there was no barrier. It was shimmering on and off, weakly. The golden fleece above Thalia's pine tree was torn to shreds. Peleus, the harmless guardian of the camp was lying on the ground, breathing heavily but definitely alive, in a pool of his own black blood. I ran in quickly. Chiron was on the ground, dead. Apparently, his immortality was revoked. I ran as fast as my legs could take me into the big house only to find Katie Gardner and the Stoll brothers dead. All the cabins were now kindling for the hearth. Except... my own. Cabin 3, honorary to the God of the sea- Poseidon. I kicked the door open and walked in.
I saw a certain red headed friend of mine. The Oracle of Delphi, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. She was sitting on my bunk, head in her hands, sobbing. She looked up at me and her eyes turned into glowing red orbs that radiated a lot of power. She opened her mouth and an ancient, powerful voice spoke.
"Welcome back, Hero". She said the word hero like it was the worst insult in the world. "Look at all the destruction you have caused. This is all your fault Perseus. Look at the amount of innocent blood on your hands. It would have been better for everyone, had you just come over to my side". I stood frozen. She drew a blade and walked towards me, while I stepped backwards only to run into a wall. Or, should I say, walk in. She placed her knife on my throat. "What will you do now, Hero? I killed everyone you love. Where is your loyalty, Perseus? Was it just word of mouth?" She slowly dragged her knife across my throat, drawing rivers of blood. I felt horrible. So much pain as though my soul was being ripped apart from my body. She withdrew her weapon and slid her finger along the flat of the blade, getting my blood onto her finger. "Oh! How long I have waited for this!" She placed her finger in her mouth and... seemed to enjoy(?) it. "Ah! Much, much better than the nectar of the gods". In one move, she sliced my throat open and my vision darkened.
I felt my gut pull again. It stopped. I opened my eyes to find myself standing at the entrance to my mom's apartment, Upper East side, Manhattan. I looked down and felt my throat. No slicing. Still in one piece. Phew! The moment I said that, I realized what was happening. My mind was here, in Manhattan. My body was in the mansion of Nyx. If I was here, then I would see something that I definitely wouldn't like. I quickly rushed up the stairs to my mom's apartment and rang the bell. No one answered. No footsteps, no calls, no sound. It was eerily quiet. That was unusual. I broke open the door and my mind went blank with what I saw. Mom and Paul were sitting on the couch, not moving, not looking at me, not speaking, not... breathing.
The same ancient voice from my cabin at camp spoke. I couldn't identify the source of that voice. It seemed to be coming from the entire room. "Like it, Hero? I certainly do. Look at your pathetic, dear, dead mommy, son of Poseidon. Where were you when she called you for help? Where were you when she begged me to stop? Where were you when she shrieked while I sliced her throat open? Where were you when the light left her eyes, Perseus? Let this sink in now. You have seen your real fear. Beware, Perseus Jackson, each step you take henceforth is crucial. Each step counts".
My knees buckled and I fell face first into the floor of the mansion. I shut my eyes tight and took in my surroundings. I heard footsteps of the man walking in front of me. I quickly got up and followed him in. The man stopped. A loud creaking sound of a large door opening was heard. He walked in and stopped.
"Welcome back, brother," a woman said. I gasped. I knew this voice. It was the primordial of night, Lady Nyx herself. "I hope your mission was a success. How long until we execute the plan?"
"I'm sorry, Nyx. It will take a while before any of it is ready for execution. Our general turned out to be useless, so I chopped him up. Our armies have gone to find demigods willing to join our cause. But I doubt they'll find any, all thanks to that upstart, Perseus Jackson and the girl. The gods have now started favoring their children leaving us with no trustworthy allies. They escaped our clutches and put an end to the assault of our nephews and nieces at Athens. Though, from my sources, I know that the girl is now dead".
I paled. I now knew who the man was. Tartarus, primordial son of chaos, husband of queen dirt face, Gaea, brother of Nyx and all the other primordials, father of Typhon and Kampe and all giants, god of the pit. The last time I met him, my sword dropped from my hand. Not something to brag about. Definitely not something to leave out, either.
"We could assign the title of the general to any of my children. They would be more than willing to take up the job".
"WE ALREADY SPOKE ABOUT THIS, NYX. WE WILL NOT HAVE ANY OF YOUR CHILDREN IN THE ARMY".
"Yes, brother". She effectively shut up after that. Any person who instills fear in Nyx herself, is not someone to be meddled with. "We first take out the gods, individually. I think we should start with that goddess of the moon and her followers. If we get her, we also get her entire hunt to support us". Nyx merely nodded. I almost felt bad for her. Keyword: almost. "She is also the only goddess who is not held by the ancient laws, allowing her to interact with half-bloods freely".
"We shall send Gration. He is itching to marry that goddess". She said with a smirk. "Yes. Let him take an army of two hundred monsters. Tell him we will not tolerate any mistakes this time. The gods have ruled for long and now, it's time for us to do so".
I woke up to Athena shaking me wildly and screaming my name. "Percy, you were twitching and screaming like hell from the past few hours. Bad dream?" I nodded. "Athena, I need you to transport me to Artemis' hunt. An attack is going to happen soon".
"Percy, cool down. I'm not doing anything until you tell me what happened". And so, I did. When I finished, she looked pale. "Percy, I already lost my daughter. I will not lose a brother too". I was shocked. This is the first time she said it openly. "First of all, Athena, I'm honored to be your 'brother'". I said, drawing air quotes. She looked at me murderously. I continued quickly, not wanting to be an owl for the rest of my life. "If I don't go now, there is a good chance that they will be ambushed and cause a lot of casualties. Can you also contact Lady Artemis with your mind thingy and tell her about the attack? Don't mention me at all. I'll also go there, hidden and help them out. They would not appreciate a man's help, whoever it may be". She looked at me like I grew another head. She then smiled. "My daughter's intelligence has rubbed off on you. Percy, I didn't bless you in the throne room yesterday. I wanted to do so in private. I now give you my blessing. You will now be able to think in the lines of my daughter. You will also be able to talk to me through your mind". A grey light surrounded me. I started analyzing the room for entry and exit points, should a battle break out. I could feel my dyslexia wear off. I could read even small print on the books on their shelves.
"Thank you, sister". Her smile widened and gave me a hug and a kiss on my forehead. "I told Artemis already. She replied that she would watch out. Be safe, brother. If you get killed, I will get you back and kill you again, myself". She said, fake glaring at me. "You need to go now". She placed a hand on my shoulder and was ready to flash me away. "Wait! I need a cloak. They will identify me". She snapped her finger and a cloak appeared on me. It was black and extended to my knees. It had a hood that was enchanted so that only I could take it off. It was low on my face, at the same time, magically allowed me to see through it. I placed the Destroyer, sheathed on my back. I didn't want to use riptide there as it would give me away. I nodded and was ready to go. She placed her hand on my shoulder. "Mind- message me once you are done. I will bring you back here". I nodded. She flashed me away. I arrived in a forest. I could see smoke a few meters away. I figured that it was the hunters' camp. I kept a distance with the camp and ran around in a circle to check the weak points and the strongholds, thanks to Athena's blessing. I climbed and sat on a tree. A few minutes later, I heard footsteps a few feet away, still out of sight, too heavy to be human.
"HUNTERS, THE CAMP HAS BEEN BREACHED. ATTACK!" from the goddess of the hunt confirmed my suspicions.
Artemis' Point of view
I was peacefully sleeping inside my tent. It all started with a voice. That damned voice.
"ARTEMIS WAKE UP! ARTEMIS IT'S NOT THE TIME TO BE SLEEPING LIKE THIS" Athena's voice said inside my head.
"OKAY. I'M UP. STOP SHOUTING AND TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED". I shouted back.
"Artemis, I got information from one of my sources that your camp is going to be attacked today. The person leading the attack is..." she faltered.
"Who is it, sister?"
"Gration".
The ground spun under my feet. No. This cannot be happening. We just finished with a war and one more is coming up? Gration tortured my hunters in the past. He tried to violate them and... me. If he is back now, it is certainly not good.
"Thank you for the tip off Athena. I'll get my hunters ready now"
I replied back. I felt her nod and cut the connection. I got out of my bed, rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and refreshed myself with a snap. I made my way to the hunters' tent when I heard a branch snap. I turned around. There was no one there. A bird maybe? I walked in and shouted. "Hunters, wake up. I got information that we are going to be attacked soon. Call in those at the border. We do not want any deaths now". The instant I finished; noises filled the air. All the girls ran to get their gear and in five minutes, they were all locked and loaded. I felt proud of myself for teaching them.
Thalia came up to me.
"What is happening milady? How do you know of this attack?" She is definitely clever. "Athena gave me the tip off. She said her spy gave the information". A loud roar was heard in the distance. I knew it was far away, but still within range of the camp.
I took a deep breath. We have to win this war.
"HUNTERS, THE CAMP HAS BEEN BREACHED. ATTACK!" I bellowed. The first creature to cut through the trees was a... drakon. It suddenly stopped between the trees and turned into dust. I turned and looked at my hunters. No one here had the precision to shoot arrows in quick succession to kill the beast so quickly. They looked at my face and shook their heads fast as they did something wrong. My suspicions turned out to be correct when a black hooded man dropped from a tree, his back towards us, eyes scanning the area, and raised his hand, clutching his sword.
"Hunters, I'm going in for close combat. I need all of you to stay here and pick out the monsters I missed" his deep voice said. I somehow had the feeling that it wasn't his original voice. Considering all his body features, his voice seemed out of place. He looked eighteen-ish but had a voice of a fifty-year-old. I couldn't help but feel a tiny bit scared of his voice. The hunters shivered, but nodded fiercely. I turned to my sisters.
"I'm going in to help the man. As much as I hate it, he is here to help us. Do not misfire, hurting me or the man. I need archer support from the back. Few of you should take the other sides of the camp so that we are not surrounded in case we need to retreat". The hunters all nodded and took off to their respective duties.
I turned and ran behind the man, into the woods. He took out his sword and slashed at the nearest dracaena, turning it to dust. He fought with an inhuman speed, taking on four monsters with one slash of his sword.
I couldn't help but marvel at his technique. In no time, the only one left was my nemesis, Gration. We both sped towards him. The giant started throwing boulders at us. He leaped and dodged them with such grace that if he were a girl instead, I would've paid any number of drachmas to anyone to get her into my hunt. He took one giant leap from the trunk of the tree, held his sword in both his hands, drawing them all the way back over his head and thrusting it deep into the giant's chest. He then stepped backward and made a gesture with his hand telling me to go forward. I was stunned. I expected him to chicken out in between the war, being the filthy male that he is. In daze, I walked forward, and drew my hunting knife.
"You may kill me now, you pathetic goddess. When my master comes, you will feel his rage".
The man took a stone from the ground and stuffed it into his mouth without letting him say a word and looked at me as if to ask 'Are you going to do it?'.
I threw my knife straight into his forehead, turning him to dust while the man's sword fell to the ground. He picked it up, wiped the dust off it and sheathed it. All the gratitude within me turned into rage and embarrassment. I took the knife and pressed it to his throat while blocking him from behind with a tree.
He looked up at the sky. "Lady, anytime now would be good. I'm going to be skewered by an angry goddess of the hunt". He said in his fear-inducing voice. My anger blasted through its limit. "Who Are-". He cut me off by disappearing into nothing in a flash of light.
"AAAARRRRGGHHHHH!". I shouted into the sky, channeling all my rage. Some of the hunters came and stood by me, afraid to say a word. Thalia came to me and put a hand on my shoulder. "Who is he, milady?" "I don't know, Thalia. He escaped before I could ask him anything. I need to go to Olympus. Get back to camp and keep guard. We don't want any more embarrassing moments like this. And, talk no more about this man. I shall call the council and discuss the identity of the man". I flashed off to the throne room.
I summoned my bow and pulled the string back. A silver arrow appeared in it which I shot into the roof of the throne room. Instantly, all the gods appeared in flashes on their thrones. Athena looked at me and smiled. I sat on my throne and was addressed by Zeus.
"Why have you called this meeting, daughter?"
"Father, today the hunt was attacked by Gration and his army". All the gods gasped at this. What a bunch of cowards! "We were able to defeat him with a tip off from Athena". All the gods looked at her. She just nodded. "She told me about her spy who gave her this information". The gods narrowed their eyes at the wisdom goddess. I felt bad for it. She had helped me in the end. This is not how I repay her!
"That's not the only issue, father. An unidentified man arrived at the edge of my camp. He appeared to be on our side. He helped me kill Gration and the other monsters. I could not see his face as he wore a cloak. Before I could ask anything, he called for a goddess from Olympus. In his exact words, he said, 'Lady, anytime now would be good. I'm going to be skewered by an angry goddess of the hunt'". Apollo snickered at this.
"Good to know that he is afraid of my lil' sis".
"I'M NOT YOUR LIL' SIS APOLLO".
The other gods were trying hard to hold their laughter. "We need to know who this man is and figure out Athena's spy".
Athena stood up to speak. "As much as I wish to reveal the spy. I will not. All I can say is that he will not turn his back upon Olympus. I vouch for this in my honor". The gods looked surprised. Well, all of them, except Hera. She just smiled.
Zeus turned to me. "It is said daughter. I will not pester her anymore. I vote that you forget this incident altogether. For the honor of the hunt, we will swear on the river Styx to not talk about this man to the outside world". All the gods nodded their heads. Thunder boomed in the sky and the deal was sealed. "If we have nothing more to talk about, the meeting is adjourned". No one spoke. Zeus took Hera's hand and they both vanished in a bolt of lightning. All the gods teleported away, leaving only Athena and me. She gave me a murderous look before she, too, vanished.
I was determined to know this man. The next moment, I found myself at the door of Athena's palace. I knocked twice. She came and opened the door with an expressionless face.
"What do you want, Artemis? Well, whatever you want, I don't care anymore as I saw how you repay me".
I pushed her and walked inside. "Thanks for inviting me in". I said looking at her face. She sighed and closed the door behind her. "What?"
"I want to know how you knew about the attack". She sighed and led me through a corridor. Through one of the open doors, I saw a man lay on the bed, snoring away peacefully. With a jolt, I realized it was Perseus. I turned to Athena. "How could you do this?" She looked at me innocently.
"Do what?" "Break your oath. And that too, with Perseus". Her eyes turned murderous. She glared at me. She pushed me in through the door beside his room and held me to a wall. "PHOEBE ARTEMIS, I'm disgusted at your way of thinking. How could you think that I would break my oath? I consider him my brother. He respects my space unlike a certain goddess of the moon I could mention". She hissed. I hung my head down in shame. "I'm sorry, Athena". She went and sat by the couch in the room.
"Tell me now. How do you know?" I growled at her. "I told you I'm not going to talk about it so, you may as well leave". Anger surged through me. I took out my hunting knife and pushed her into the wall. She lost her balance and kind of smashed into it. I placed my knife at her throat, cutting lightly, drawing ichor. "I don't care about what you want to do, Athena. I want to know about that man who disgraced my hunt. Now, answer me before I make you fade".
"I wouldn't do that if I were you". A voice spoke behind me. I could also feel something sharp against the back of my neck. I turned and saw Perseus standing with his sword at my throat.
"As much as I respect you, Lady Artemis, I certainly do not appreciate this treatment against my sister. If you want some information, I would request you to ask nicely". I glared at him. "How dare you threaten a goddess, you filthy male? I thought you were better than the lot out there. Now I know, I was wrong. You are no different than any of them". His eyes widened at that and his expression showed betrayal. I didn't stop at that. I deflected his sword and tried slashing at him with my knife. Keyword: tried. He deflected all my strikes with the flat of his blade so that he wouldn't hurt me. Too bad, I wanted to do just that.
He slashed at me, using only the hilt of his sword. I forgot that Athena was still in the room until she made it clear.
"PERSEUS JACKSON". He stopped fighting and dipped his sword arm. And so, did I. "I appreciate your concern for me. But I'll fight my own battles. It will do good if you just wait outside". He looked downcast, but didn't question her decision. He quietly bowed to both of us and left the room. Athena narrowed her eyes. "When did you start bowing to me?" she asked. "When you called me 'Perseus Jackson'". He said in a perfect imitation of her voice, smiling ear to ear at her, closing the door behind him. Athena looked at him, her mouth agape and had a sparkle in her eyes. She turned to look at me and her eyes narrowed up.
"Ask what you want to know". The wisdom goddess growled. I had never seen her that angry. Not even when I falsely accused her of breaking her oath. I gulped and pressed on. "Who was the spy?" She didn't even hesitate. "Percy". I gasped. "Who was the man near my hunt?" The answer came just as fast. "Percy". I gasped again. "WHY?" "Why what?"
"Why didn't you tell me before?" "He asked me not to". I was getting frustrated with these single worded answers.
"Why don't you do me a favor and tell me every damn thing from the start?"
She took a deep breath and told me about his dream about Tartarus and Nyx plotting against Olympus, against me. "He told me to tell you immediately and not to mention him and I did just that. He also wanted to help you. He knew that you wouldn't appreciate his help so he asked me to cloak him. I helped transport him outside your hunt. I gave him the cloak. I flashed him back". I was in shock with the information I just received. "I'm sorry, Athena. I should have known. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused". She smiled. "Let's go make up with that overprotective idiot of a brother, shall we?" I nodded. She opened the door for me and I gladly obliged.
We found Perseus sitting on a couch, head in his hands. I went behind him and cleared my throat. He jumped and pointed a sword at me. Realizing who I was, he dropped it and bowed. "I'm sorry, Lady Artemis. I shouldn't have put my sword at your throat. But my anger got the better of me when I saw the ichor at my sister's throat. I should have left it there. But I didn't. I proceeded and fought you. If I caused you any injuries, please forgive me". He said, bowing his head down. I looked back at Athena. She was dying from holding her laughter. I realized I was in the same condition too.
We suddenly burst out laughing, drawing a shocked expression from the son of Poseidon. "Do I have something on my face?" He asked innocently. We shook our heads no. "Does this mean I'm forgiven?" I again nodded my head, in between fits of laughter. His shoulders relaxed. "Well, what a weird way to be pardoned". He said, completely poker faced. Athena went over and hugged him. "I love you, brother. But let me also fight, will you? "she said, laughing. He nodded, his face red with embarrassment.
"Thank you, Perseus. I don't know how many hunters we would have lost if you hadn't come or told me their plan. We would have certainly been caught off-guard. I'm also sorry for screaming at you. I didn't mean anything I said, Perseus. You are certainly a great man". "Thank you, milady. I too have a sister at the hunt". I looked confused. As far as I knew, he was the only living son of Poseidon. Oh! Thalia. Right!
He looked at the wisdom goddess. "Athena, I think I'm ready. I want to go to camp".
"WHAAATTT?"