Chapter One
The blood was on Percy's hands. There was no doubt in anyone's mind about that. He hadn't washed his hands since it happened. The evidence was right there.
Percy didn't regret his decision. In fact, he enjoyed it. He reveled in it.
Then the Olympians called him to justice. They had met in their throne room, just like the solstices that had had in years before. The demigods joined them, witnessing the trial of Percy Jackson.
The Gods looked at him with varying degrees of disinterest. Most didn't really care how the trial went, it didn't affect them. The only ones looking at him with anything other than boredom was his father, Hestia, Aphrodite, and Apollo.
The Hunters gathered at the foot of Artemis's throne, looking at him with a mixture of disgust and pride. Disgust that he was a man, pride that he killed a bad one. They all looked at him like that, except for Thalia. Artemis herself looked at him with worry. Why, no one else knew.
Percy looked forward, his eyes trained right in Zeus. He didn't let his eyes wander. The blood on his hands dripped onto the marble floors. His face remained stoic, no emotion in his usually expressive eyes. They had taken Riptide from him, and it hadn't returned to his pocket. He wondered if the magic had gotten messed with.
The room was quiet as they waited for the trial to begin. Finally, after minutes of waiting, Zeus stood up. He banged his master bolt on the ground twice. "Perseus Jackson. You have been accused of the murder of Octavian Apollous. How do you plead?"
"Guilty. I did it. I killed him." Percy spoke. He didn't hesitate. His voice remained even. Now he let his eyes wander. They grazed over the Gods as he thought of what he was going to say. "That's right. I did it. I killed Octavian, and I saved the lives of many demigods. He was working with Gaia. Need I say more?"
It surprised the Gods. He admitted to murder like he was admitting to stealing a cookie from the cookie jar. There was no emotion in his voice, not even anger. If anything, there was an underlying sense of satisfaction, like he could die happy knowing that he did what he believed was right.
What had his time in Tartarus done to him? The Gods could only wonder. The older Olympians knew of the horrors down there, horrors that even they had run from. Kampe, the jailer who scared them shitless, Percy had faced at the age of 14. Maybe the fact that he had only commited murder now and not earlier should've been looked at as an accomplishment.
"But do you have the right to condemn me? You all have killed for much less, haven't you? Too little of a sacrifice, a sarcastic comment on a bad day? An entire flood to wipe out an entire age? If you're going to stone me. May who be without sin cast the first stone." Percy said.
"Apollo. The victim was of your blood. What do you propose we do to this murderer?" Zeus asked.
"The victim wasn't without fault. I believe Percy should be let go, having done the right thing." Apollo said.
"I propose Tartarus for the little bugger. Ought to bring his ego down." Dionysus said, sipping a Diet Coke from a wine glass.
"Quiet child." Zeus reprimanded.
"I think that death is a fair enough punishment." Athena said. "After all, pay for a death with another life."
"Just kill the boy already. Get it over with." Hera muttered from her throne.
Percy scratched the base of his neck. He scratched an itch that had started to bother him. In doing so, his shirt moved, revealing a mark burned into his skin on his pec. A skull over crossbones.
"What is that?" Demeter asked, pointing at the brand.
"The mark of Tartarus." Hestia whispered, horrified.
"A spy?" Questioned Zeus.
"Now that I think about it, who was in the tent with Octavian when he was murdered? Anyone but Percy?" Athena questioned. "Can we really be sure that Octavian was working for Gaia? What proof, besides the word of a murderer, do we really have?"
Percy started to feel less confident. The stupid mark Tartarus had given him to make sure he wouldn't forget the worst time of his life was causing him to be questioned as a liar.
"If I may." Apollo intervened. "Percy was indeed telling the truth about Octavian. He was working for Gaia. He was the one to summon the monsters to march on Camp Half-Blood."
"So we're dealing with two traitors?" Ares asked.
"But Percy killed Octavian, so that means that Percy is on our side, right?" Poseidon asked, worried for his son.
"Unless that is what Tartarus wants us to think. It's possible that the plan was to have Percy be a spy, kill Octavian to gain our trust, and bring us down later."
"Percy?" Poseidon asked with tears in his eyes.
Percy was silent, processing what was being said. They thought him a traitor, a spy for Tartarus. They were looking into every possibility. The Olympians took his silence as admittance.
"I believe he is guilty." Dionysus said.
"As do I." Athena said.
"All in the belief that Perseus Jackson is guilty of charges, raise your hand." Zeus said.
Zeus raised his hand. Hera was next. Then Demeter, Ares, Athena, Dionysus, and lastly, Aphrodite. That last one was a surprise. Percy thought he was on good terms with the Goddess of Love, but maybe she was just a fan of his relationship. After all, with him and Annabeth broken up, the "Greatest Couple Since Troy" was no more, and she was left without entertainment.
Another big surprise was that Artemis didn't vote against him. She typically wouldn't hesitate to call a man guilty. Percy wondered if she had some kind of truth knowing that she got from being a sibling of Apollo. Or maybe she knew lies and knew that he wasn't telling one.
"What is the punishment for treason against Olympus?" Zeus asked.
"Imprisonment in Tartarus." Athena said. "That is the punishment for treason, under Article 13 of our punishments list."
"Percy Jackson, you are hereby sentenced to life in Tartarus!" Zeus decreed.
LINE BREAK
Percy was brought to the edge of the Underworld, where the entrance to Tartarus sat. The bottom of the pit was nowhere in sight. Ares held Percy in chains as the other Gods watched what was about to happen.
Poseidon couldn't make it. He didn't want to watch his son become a fallen hero. In fact, the only God who showed up but believed him innocent was Artemis, who was looking at him sadly.
They were set to throw Percy into the pit. They were waiting to see if Hades would come to watch. Once they got a response back, they would throw him in.
Percy wasn't really happy with going back to Tartarus. The whole experience had a terrible effect on his and Annabeth's mind, it caused their breakup. It changed them, and him for the worst.
What would happen when he got down there again? Would he go crazy, killing everything that moved, brutally murdering everything? Controlling blood, becoming as crazed as Kronos?
Artemis walked up to him while no one was around him. The golden chains that held him were enough reassurance that he didn't need a guard. A stupid decision really.
Artemis leaned down next to him. She grabbed a knife that was sheathed on her leg and gave it to him. "It's sharp enough to cut through your chains." She took off the sheath and strapped it to his leg. She grabbed the knife from his hand and placed it into the sheathe.
"Why are you helping me?" Percy asked quietly. "Shouldn't you hate me?"
Artemis looked at him sadly. "You are right. We don't have a right to do this. Least I can do his help the man I-" Artemis caught herself. "-a man I respect."
"Don't think I can get out of going to Hell?"
"I'm sure you'll find a way. You did it before." She reassured him. She was about to leave when she looked at him again. Quickly, she leaned in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Percy's cheeks felt like they were on fire. He was blushing so hard that he could've been confused with a tomato. By the time he registered what had happened, Artemis was long gone.
LINE BREAK
Hades apparently decided not to show up. Guess he didn't want to see someone get thrown into Tartarus.
With his decision made, it was time for the main event. Ares grabbed the chains that wrapped around him and started to pull him towards the pit. Once he was close, the War God picked up Percy.
"Any last words punk?" Ares asked him.
Percy's eyes stared at him, cutting sharper than any knife. He was silent, but his intent was clear. He would leave, and their asses would be grass when he was done with them.
"Guess he's mute now." Ares said.
Ares lifted Percy up and threw him. Percy flew through the air. His eyes scanned the crowd, finding Artemis. He locked eyes with her, conveying his thanks, before he fell into the pit. The rocky edge blocking his view.
Percy looked down, towards the endless blackness. He set his jaw, preparing himself for a new challenge. As he fell, like a disgraced angel, one thought ran through his mind.
'I will come back, and you will all see. You will see your mistake.'
