TW: Abuse. Please proceed at your own discretion if this disturbs you.
Piper sank into her knees aboard the Argo and buried her face in her hands. The forty-foot-tall Athena Parthenos statue was finally aboard and secured, but it had cost the questing demigods greatly. Everyone on board was feeling the same sense of loss as it permeated the atmosphere. Even the son of Hades, Nico di Angelo managed to look even more dour than usual due to his disheveled figure from being held captive for days and watching his friends fall into the Underworld as soon as he was free.
"I'm going to lie down," Nico said weakly, coughing as he made his way inside to occupy an empty bed.
"Let me help," Hazel offered, taking him by the arm and gently guiding him inside.
Leo turned to the head of Festus, furiously working with the new Archimedes sphere he had acquired, muttering to himself about how stupid he had been. He looked like he wanted to pull a tool from his pouch and bang his head against it. Small flames fizzled in and out of existence around him as he paced near the bow. Seeing that, Frank excused himself, looking a bit pale faced as he also departed for bed. Coach Hedge soon followed in tow, grunting angrily, but with none of the usual Coach fire behind it.
Smelling ozone in the air, Piper looked up to see Jason staring over the rails at the Italian landscape below. Leo had initiated takeoff and plotted a course to Epirus in Greece. A mix of emotions flowed over the son of Jupiter's face as the wind began to rush past them. After leaving the Americas, they had finally made it to Rome, and despite the multitude of setbacks on the way, they had managed to rescue Nico, kill the twin giants that guarded him and retrieve the lost statue of Athena.
Then it had all gone wrong. The dark pit that had opened under Arachne's den had pulled Annabeth to it in one last spiteful act from the weaver. Jason thought he had good reflexes, but it was Percy who managed to get to her first. After being nearly useless the entire journey to Rome, Jason could once again do nothing but watch as his two friends were damned to the Underworld. He was supposed to be a leader, yet he had nothing to show for it but failure and two missing crew members. Percy had even risked life and limb for him escaping Camp Jupiter and he had let him down.
He looked down at Piper and helped her up to her feet. She threw her arms around him, sobbing quietly as he embraced her back tightly. "They're strong. We'll make it to them and get them back," Jason said, unsure which of them he was trying to reassure.
"Gods Jason, Tartarus…" Piper choked through tears.
Jason closed his eyes. He couldn't begin to imagine what horrors the two of them would have to face. All of the pain and regret he had been trying to keep down welled up and tears began to roll from his sky-blue eyes. "They have each other."
"And so do we," Piper finished, kissing him on the cheek.
"I love you Pipes," Was all Jason could muster back before his throat choked up.
When the young couple had finally settled down, they both decided it was best to take a breather before they arrived in Greece. Parting ways to their respective rooms, the two shared a kiss before Jason closed his door behind him. Piper decided to check on Nico quickly and arrived to see Hazel pulling a blanket over his sleeping body. Nico's aviator jacket was neatly folded, and his sword placed on top if it, weighing it down. The boy was so pale, gaunt and thin that he looked more like a corpse being prepared for a funeral than a tired teen. Hazel put a finger in front of her mouth before quietly leaving the room, shutting the door.
"Is he doing okay," Piper asked.
"He's been through a lot," Hazel said, Piper solemnly noting that she really meant they all had. "We made it just in time but he's going to need time and a lot of ambrosia and nectar to make a full recovery."
Piper nodded as Hazel began to walk past her. "Where are you going," She asked the younger girl.
"As much as I like the underground…I'm not really feeling it right now. Going to get some air and see if Leo needs anything."
The daughter of Pluto disappeared down the hall as Piper returned to her room. Finally relaxing, she decided a shower was in order, throwing her belongings on the bed. In a few minutes, she was out drying her hair, ready to clean off her things so she could lie down in the soft fabric. She usually tried to be tidy about this kind of thing, but she was tired and in no mood. Sweeping the fabric clear of everything including her new cornucopia, she accidentally swept the scabbard off Katoptris. The bronze parazonium glinted pearly in the light of the room and Piper had to resist the urge to throw the cursed thing out the window.
Just before setting out to face the giant twins, the blade had shown a vision of the Romans preparing invasion routes in New York. They poured over maps of Long Island as Octavian schemed and Reyna argued in defiance. Octavian may have been smart, but Reyna was a warrior, and she knew battle plans much better than he did. Piper remembered the look on Percy's face when the blade had shown them that scene. That was when Piper had pieced it together. Reyna was the key, the romantic foil that was bothering Percy after they had fled from the Roman camp.
Once they were over the Atlantic, Piper knew something had changed after the ambush at Fort Sumter. Her mother appearing at the same time was also no coincidence. Annabeth seemed, at least, slightly more put together what with the Mark of Athena hanging above her head and Percy looked more confident that things would work out. Then Rome had happened and Katoptris had shown Percy a glimmer of hope that Reyna was doing her best to stall the Romans. Now, he was gone, condemned to suffer in the worst of ways the Underworld had to offer, his hope snatched away.
As if falling for eternity to an inescapable pit of torture wasn't bad enough, the frigid waters they landed in just had to be a flow of unending misery. Percy had managed to manipulate the oily black water to cushion their fall, but once inside its grips, drowning in the icy depths seemed preferable to living. Annabeth was the first to regain her wits and flailed desperately to keep herself above the water. Every nerve in her body screamed in agony as she tried desperately to tread water. With her ankle broken and one hand firmly ahold of Percy, it was a struggle to produce the necessary force to do so even with Percy using every ounce of his power to create a whirlpool to stay buoyant.
"Come on," She muttered, trying to drag him conscious. She could see the light in his eyes fading as the swirl of water was quickly losing strength. "Land. Go sideways."
"Pointless," Percy muttered back as the ghosts of the river flooded their minds with thoughts of despair.
"Percy!" Annabeth yelled, trying her best to get his attention. "The river is messing with your mind. It's the Cocytus – the River of Lamentation. It's made of pure misery!"
"Misery," He responded dully.
"Fight it!" She screamed back. "Think back, what kept you going while you were away from us?"
"Duty… I had a quest to complete," Percy mumbled, though sounding more lucid than before.
"Keep going," Annabeth encouraged, hope welling to combat the tide of voices.
"Protect my friends…Frank, Hazel," Percy continued. "You. Get back to you."
For a brief, terrifying moment, Annabeth and Percy lost their concentration and were sucked under. The air in their lungs felt like it was about to freeze and Annabeth willed the last bit of her strength to propel them back up. His thoughts now clearer, Percy managed to jet them towards the banks and the two demigods rolled ashore, coughing and shaking in Cocytus drenched clothes.
"So this is what it feels like to have damp clothes," Percy coughed. "This sucks."
Annabeth couldn't help but laugh and the two embraced, gripping each other tightly. The warmth of the other helped with the shivering and offered a brief respite after overcoming the first trials Tartarus had to offer. All they had down here was each other and the hug offered them reassurance that they weren't alone in this. The two finally managed to stand up as wet sand slid off of them, both their faces blue with cold.
Slowly, the pair made their way through the fields of broken glass and past Arachne's Chinese handcuff prison which now sat conspicuously empty. A pit formed in Annabeth's stomach, but Percy placed his hand to her back and gently ushered her away from the woven silk. Every step and breath was agony in the pit. This wasn't a place mortal were meant to enter and the atmosphere felt like poison to the trespassing demigods. Down below, they spotted a raging river of flames illuminating the landscape. Annabeth breathed in sharply, recalling the legends about fire in Tartarus.
"There, we have to go there," She said, pointing weakly to the river. "This place is killing us. I mean it literally going to kill us unless…"
"Unless, what?" Percy asked, hopefully. 'You've got a brilliant plan, haven't you?"
"It's a plan. I don't know about brilliant."
Percy wasn't about to complain about some warmth after being dunked in a river of ice and misery but he wasn't thrilled about the prospect of drinking fire. Annabeth was much worse off physically and drank first from the flames. Seeing her cup fire in her hands and down it nearly fried Percy's brain with how wrong it looked. After a worrying period of spasming, Annabeth calmed down and confirmed that the Phlegethon worked.
With now dry clothes and a stomach full of supernatural fire water, they readied themselves for the long trek to the Doors of Death. Unfortunately, Tartarus was just as hostile as every story had made it out to be. Arachne had been lying in wait, attempting to have one last shot at ending the life of the daughter of Athena. Faster than Annabeth even realized, Percy's body had already moved to intercept the malevolent spider. Riptide slashed through her head and torso like butter, leaving a cloud of dust in its place.
Anger welled up in Percy's chest looking down at the dust pile and at Annabeth's horrified face from her most recent brush with death. "She…she would have killed me," Annabeth managed through shaky breaths.
"She died too easy considering how much torture she put you through," Percy responded, kicking and sweeping away at the dust that had settled. "She deserved worse."
He wasn't sure where the hate he felt was coming from, but all he knew was that he meant every last word.
Percy was sick of the walking, the air, the glass in his skin, and the fire water sitting in his stomach. Kelli and her empousa posse were just the most recent kick in the gut in their hellish journey. Everything about the demon vampire cheerleader brought back awful memories of those sharp fangs trying to tear into him at every opportunity. To make matters worse, the longer they stayed in the pit, the more his thoughts felt clouded and like his judgement wasn't up to par.
When Annabeth started talking in an attempt to buy them time and space, it had been difficult for Percy to stand his ground. Every nerve was screaming out for blood, and he could feel his knuckles turning white on Riptide's handle. Holding back that urge became nearly impossible once Annabeth decided to goad Kelli on with Luke's death on Olympus. Percy could start to see red spots appear at the corner of his vision and it wasn't long before his chance to act came.
If he had been thinking normally, leaping into a three-on-one would not have been the first option in his mind. It was only thanks to his honed reflexes that he managed to arc his blade through one of the monsters before the other two could act. Kelli charged Annabeth and Percy hesitated for a split second on his next course of action. That was all the other two needed as they used the power in their donkey legs to close the distance and leap onto Percy, pinning his sword arm and back. As he tried shaking them off, he felt a searing pain as one of their jaws sank into his forearm. Riptide clattered to the ground and the fog in his brain seemed to clear momentarily as he took in what was about to happen.
This is it. This is where I die. Percy thought. Then his vision went silver.
Bob was a miracle in the abyss. He had healed Percy's injury and the scratches Annabeth had sustained and reduced the empousai to dust. On top of that, he had even guided them to a safe haven; an old temple to Hermes which the monsters avoided. Apparently, its godly power was still intact after all this time. The silver Titan had encouraged them to rest but Percy refused, offering to take watch and let Annabeth sleep for now. He tried to make it sound positive, but really, he didn't want to talk with her now.
Soon enough, Annabeth was asleep and food had arrived. Bob explained that it was probably offering food that made its way down even to Tartarus. Percy could smell and taste Camp Half-Blood as soon as he dug in, even recognizing some of the offerings from the campers. Tears welled up as he ate, recalling all the fond memories and Bob patted him on the back. That didn't help at all as it just reminded Percy of how underserving he felt of Bob's kindness after he hadn't even bothered with the friendly Titan since wiping his memories.
Eventually, the food and exhaustion got to him, and he began to feel his eyelids droop. Darkness filled his vision and whispered words began to fill his dreams. Annabeth's word about Luke replayed over and over, his own words in the River Cocytus and even his talk with Reyna seemed so distant. The whispers grew louder and louder until he began to make out the voices.
Little demigod, you suffer so. A female voice cooed. Why do you let them make you suffer? If it weren't for this girl, you wouldn't be down here. It's her fault.
Yes, down here you will never make it back. A second, male voice added. Look around you. Nothing but broken promises. The friend you betrayed, the girl who will never love you, even yourself, who will never make it back to the one you swore to.
Even in his dream, it felt like the fog was rolling back in, the anger he felt before when killing Arachne bubbled up. Feelings he didn't want to admit to rushing out from the depths of his heart. He had promised Reyna, but things were moving so fast, he wasn't sure exactly what he was feeling towards her. He liked her, sure, but they had only known each other for a brief time and he was becoming more unsure that he was even worth her time. Not only that, but Tartarus had unearthed his ugliest truth. That despite everything he had told Reyna, he still had unresolved feelings buried deep down for Annabeth.
Annabeth. It's her fault. The female voice echoed. If only she weren't here. If only you never knew her. You wouldn't have to feel this way.
If only she didn't exist! The male voice shouted.
Suddenly, Percy felt himself jolted awake and flying through the air. His back hit one of the columns of the temple hard, knocking the breath out of him. He fell to the ground, gasping as his lungs recovered from the shock and his brain tried to catch up to what had happened. His hand went to his pocket instinctively and gripped the pen inside. Eyes darting, scanning for danger, he could see Bob tending to Annabeth, who was now awake, gripping her throat and coughing.
"Bob…" Percy squeaked. "What happened?"
"Tartarus is bad for you," Bob said, shaking his head sadly. "Make you do things. Make you hurt friends."
It took a moment for Percy to piece together what Bob meant. But when Annabeth finally lowered her hands and looked at him with tears in her eyes, his stomach felt like a black hole had been put in its place. There were red hand marks on Annabeth's neck. His hand marks. He wanted to retch and cry all at once, as he lost all strength in his legs. Brain racing, stomach churning, all that escaped his voice was "I'm sorry" before he ran.
A/N: Sorry If this chapter feels like it rehashes too much directly from the books. There's a couple reasons for that: I really like what HoH does to establish how terrible Tartarus is and I did write a good portion of this in a depressive daze over the last couple of days. Hopefully, I can get out another chapter by Christmas so you won't have to wait long. I thought about writing more for this one, but felt this was a good place to end it. As always, thanks so much for reading, it really does mean the world to me right now!