So like, I love this chapter- I love Percy, Nico and Leo together and I also think you may lightly murder me at the end of it because fuck letting you guys have nice things amiright. But also it's kinda funny because Percy's just like 'Huh, and somehow it still gets worse. What else should I have expected?'
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Undeath9087: I'm not entirely sure on how many times- a few but like I said, most of it will be Tartarus stuff. I've already got over 20 chaps for this fic and out of those 22 chapters 7 are from the crew of the Argo II, and 15 are Tartarus chapters. So hey, yall got a lot to look forward to.
It wasn't easy. Even from so far above the river the heat was intense. Percy could feel it on her face, worse than any sunburn, if not quite so bad as the lava had been from that time when she and Leo had blown Mount St Helens sky high.
And it didn't help that it was harder and harder to breath- the toxic air was painful, her chest was feeling tight and she was bleeding all over from cuts from the glass. Percy knew that they wouldn't be able to last forever- if they needed to they could have some of the ambrosia but- they only had a small supply and they'd all agreed that they would only touch that if there was no other choice.
Still, Percy managed to spot a tiny fissure that ran diagonally from the edge to the bottom, and sure it was less than ideal but Nico and Leo had both agreed that it was their best choice. And gods but Percy felt guilty just looking at them- she could see blisters starting to form, Leo's arms were bare, they were more visible on him, but she could see one or two starting on Nico's face and she was sure that there were some beneath his jacket- which she knew he rarely took off.
And of course Percy went first- the ledge was barely wide enough to allow a toehold. Her hands clawed for any crack in the glassy rock, blow slowly, so very slowly she started making her way down the side of the cliff
It was exhausting work- and it was so hard to keep going- Percy might have given up by the time they were halfway down if it wasn't for Leo- who started humming- and Percy couldn't help the giggle that slipped past her lips- as strange as it sounded in a place like Tartarus.
"L-Leo are you-"
"Hey, I figured you two losers would like the tune-"
"Hey, just because I'm the son of Hades doesn't mean I listen to MCR." Nico managed, clearly forcing down his laughter.
"Thals is the one who's obsessed."
"Hey, it's a good song." Percy laughed, "And- actually kinda fitting- she took a deep breath despite the pain in her throat and chest. "When I was, a young boy, my father, took me into the city, to see a marching band-"she sung the words loudly as she kept moving, grinning.
"He said son when, you grow up, would you be, the savior of the broken, the beaten and the damned-" Nico chimed in.
"He said will you, defeat them? Your demons and all the non-believers, the plans that they have made!" Leo almost screamed the words.
"Because one day, I'll leave you, a phantom, to lead you in the summer, to join the black parade-" all three of them sung at once- and when Percy managed to twist her head she could see Nico and Leo shooting her grins before they launched into the chorus again, singing as loudly as they all could- and Percy had to admit that she found herself moving faster despite the pain all over.
And Percy felt her confidence rising slightly at the sheer defiance of the song- maybe it was stupid but- it made her want to fight back, to scream 'fuck Tartarus!' and 'Fuck Gaea' and to fight anyone and anything that ever made her feel weak or helpless. Because- she was broken, she knew she was, but that didn't mean that she wasn't going to carry on.
And it was probably quite sad that Percy felt better in that moment, more herself than she had since her return to life.
And by the time the song was ended Percy was jumping down the last foot or so, out of breath, shaking from the effort but grinning, and Nico and Leo both shot her matching grins- and they looked horrendous- there were red boils on her face- though it was hard to tell since her vision was blurry, and she was sure there were some on hers.
"Come on."
And together they staggered over slick glass ledges, around massive boulders, avoiding stalagmites that would've impaled them with any slip of the foot. Their tattered clothes steamed from the heat of the river, but they kept going until they crumpled to their knees at the banks of the Phlegethon.
"Bianca said to drink it." Nico's voice was unsteady.
"I- I have a question." Percy managed, "How do we drink it?"
"Only one way to find out." Leo shoved his hands into the river- he blinked, "I- it doesn't feel too bad to me but I'm fire proof."
Then he opened his mouth and tipped the fire in his palms into it. Leo's eyes widened as soon as he tipped it into his mouth, and he almost collapsed into Percy's arms, gagging and retching- and gods he was crying, Percy felt sick at that thought- he was convulsing.
Percy turned her head towards Nico, letting out a weak panicked noise- it was getting much, much harder to breath now- because Nico was gulping down the fire- and she caught him as he buckled into her, clinging to her brothers desperately as they convulsed helplessly in her arms- and Percy clung to them both, closing her eyes and sobbing helplessly, she could feel the blankness starting to swallow her, she couldn't get in any air despite her panicked frantic attempts at breaths.
"I-it worked-" Percy could hear Leo's voice, croaking but relieved, and then- "P-Percy- Percy you need to drink-" Because now she was slumping herself, her eyes fluttering closed, she couldn't even muster the strength to open her eyes- and then Leo was moving laying her down and she could hear him yelling something to Nico- and a few moments later Percy felt fingers parting her lips and then- Percy had never felt anything like it.
She was fine with spicy food, she'd never minded it, she often enjoyed it but this? Her sinuses filled with liquid flame, her mouth felt like it was being deep fried, and she spluttered and coughed, desperately trying to force it all out, rolling onto her side, shaking violently as she closed her eyes, she could feel Nico and Leo's hands resting on her shoulder, steadying her- but- the pain was easing, she could feel it all fading away, though she had no doubt that it was only temporary, and when she managed to sit up she saw that Nico and Leo both looked much better, their skin was clear again, and while they were both looking as tired as she felt, there seemed to be no risk of them peeling over.
"Okay." Percy exhaled slowly, "We- thank you both."
"Thank the gods you're okay." Leo breathed the words as Nico shifted so that he was sat pressed into her side.
"As okay as any of us can be." Nico pointed out, "We- we're in Tartarus."
"We are." Percy let out a slightly bitter laugh, "Over four years after I nearly got tossed in when I was twelve and I'm right back where it felt like everything really started except this time I'm not dangling over the edge I'm actually in it." she scrunched her face up, eyes flicking around, an almost thoughtful look on her face. "You know- I've had so many nightmares of what this place was like- of what would have happened if Annabeth and Grover had never saved me but- I don't think I ever pictured it like this."
"It's not something you can picture." Nico muttered the words, "and we've barely scratched the surface. We're going to have to go a lot further I think."
"We need to find the doors of Death." Leo pointed out, "That's the plan right?"
"Yes." Percy nodded, "Yes it is. We are getting the Hades out of here."
"I hate to ask the question we're all thinking," Leo piped up, "But uh- what way do we go?"
"Downstream." Nico didn't even hesitate, "The rivers come from the upper levels of the Underworld-"
"Meaning that they flow deeper into Tartarus which is more dangerous-"
"And with our luck more dangerous means that's exactly where we want to go." Leo chimed in. "The Doors of Death are going to be nice and deep right?"
"Yep." Percy pulled a face, shrugging the backpack off. "So we have our plan. And before we get moving we're gonna take one protein bar and split it between us."
"Oh yay." Leo's voice was sarcastic but he was grinning, "A true feast."
"Down here it is." Percy pointed out with a wry smile and she rummaged through the bag and got one out, opening it and breaking it into three, and Leo and Nico took their thirds without complaint.
Admitted the protein bars weren't even nice ones and Percy would rather eat grass, but as there was no grass available it would do- and when Nico picked up the bag she didn't complain- it wasn't exactly light and it would be a good idea for them all to take it in turns carrying it.
And Percy would later be very, very glad that she'd let Nico take it.
And really, they couldn't catch a break, not even for ten minutes as they started to make their way downstream- sticking close to the river so that they'd be able to drink from it whenever they needed to.
It happened so fast that Percy didn't even have time to process it, not really.
One second they'd been walking and the next she heard something coming up from behind, almost skittering and Percy let out a shocked shriek as the think barrelled into them.
Nico and Leo were thrown to the sides, Nico almost falling into the Phlegethon- and Percy screamed even as Leo lurched into action, scrambling towards him to stop him from going in, and the monster had its arms around Percy, she'd been swept off the ground, and she struggled frantically but the arms trapping her had her own arms pressed against her sides as she screamed and thrashed- she couldn't even turn her head properly.
Percy could hear the skittering of the many legs and she let out an angry yell.
"You're her! You're Arachne aren't you!"
"You stole my prize from me-"
"Let me go!" Percy almost screamed the words, "Let me go!" if only she could break free, if only she could do something.
"No- no you stole my prize! You will pay for saving the daughter of Athena!" and still the spider was moving, carrying her further and further away from her baby brothers. And the spider moved so fast that the ground beneath her was a blur. Nico and Leo would almost certainly never be able to catch up.
Percy had to get free-no one would be rescuing her.
She managed to shift enough, get enough room to drive her elbow backwards into the monsters ribs- and the grip weakened enough that Percy managed to drop downwards.
But Arachne was fast, scary fast and one of the spiders barbed legs shot out, hitting her chest hard, sending her flying backwards, ribs protesting painfully as her head hit the glass ground beneath her, and then the spider was above her, sickly scent filling the air around her, making it hard to think clearly, but she was going to die- Arachne wanted to take revenge and the girl who saved Annabeth was the next best thing she supposed.
Percy pushed herself up onto her elbows, hand sliding into her pocket as quickly as she could, desperately trying to pull out Riptide but her hands were slow, shaking and that scent- Percy closed her eyes- desperately trying to force herself to focus, to think- then she heard the whistle of a blade through the air- heard the furious scream of Arachne and he eyes snapped open and yellow Arachne dust rained down on Percy like tree pollen.
"W-what- oh fuck." Percy groaned the last words as her vision cleared and she managed to focus on the figure stood over her, gripping a familiar golden blade. "It's fucking you."
"Gee Perce. Nice way to thank me for saving your life."
"I would say go rot in Tartarus but I would literally rather you were anywhere else right now." Percy muttered the words as she pushed herself up so that she was sitting and she met familiar emerald green eyes.
It seemed that somehow she couldn't even get away from Alabaster in Tartarus.
