Chapter Four
The bed was comfortable. Seriously, the bed was soft as all hell, and Percy seemed to sink into it. Many blankets laid on top of him, keeping him warm. They weighed down on him, feeling like a hug all over his body.
Apparently, Tartarus knew hospitality when it came to it. That night gave him the best sleep he had had in a while. He couldn't remember the last time he woke up feeling as refreshed as he did.
He got out of bed and went into the bathroom. The room Tartarus had given him was similar to a hotel room. It even had the smell of one.
Say what you will, but since he took the deal, Tartarus has upheld his end of the bargain. The Primordial gave him shelter, food, water, and made the air not affect him. Percy could breathe without feeling like he was inhaling a bunch of fire.
"Would competitor 12 please make their way to the arena. It's almost time for your match. Competitor 12, to the arena. Your match is about to begin." An automated voice said over the loudspeaker.
Percy sighed. It was time to hold up his end of the bargain. He wondered what it was that he had to fight. Would it be something easy or something like a God, where he would be killed instantly.
He exited his room, knife strapped to his thigh. It was his only weapon and he had a feeling that Tartarus wasn't going to give him one. This was a 'bring your own weapons to the party' kind of event. Even if he did provide them, he would stick with the knife.
Percy followed the signs directing him to the arena. He ended up in front of some double doors. A sign next to them read "Please wait until the doors open to enter the arena.". So Percy did that.
The doors opened a few moments later. Percy stepped into the arena.
The first thing he noticed was the blinding lights. They shone so bright he almost forgot he was in Greek Hell. His eyes adjusted to the new light a few moments later. He looked around. He was in an arena, with a floor made of sand. Rows of bleachers surrounded the arena, similar to a sports stadium. Every seat was filled with some resident of Tartarus, all of them cheering for blood to be spilt.
In the emperor's box, near the top of the bleachers, was Tartarus himself, sitting in a throne made of Stygian Iron. He looked down at the arena with glee, not that anyone could tell with his vortex of a face.
Percy looked at the figure in front of him. It was tall and muscular. Beefy legs, arms, torso, the whole nine yards. It held a large wooden club in it's hand. A singular large eye sat on the creature's forehead. A cyclops.
"Betting is up! The match is about to begin!" Tartarus boomed. He looked down at the fighters. "And... FIGHT!"
Percy unsheathed his knife. He held it in front of him. He heard the cheering of the monsters, calling for his death. He felt a sense of deja-vu. Twice before he was forced to fight for the entertainment of others. And here he was, doing it again.
The cyclops charged at him, bringing the club over its head for an overhead strike. He swung down, but Percy rolled to the side. The club hit the sand, kicking a cloud of it up on impact. Percy tried to cut off the cyclops hand, but he missed. He forgot that he had a knife, which has a shorter reach than a sword, which he was used to. He would have to get closer.
He remembered that when you have shorter reach, you have to get inside the enemies guard. Percy backed up a couple of steps. The cyclops picked up the club and stretched his shoulders.
Percy charged in, catching the cyclops off guard. It stumbled forward, but Percy already reached him. The cyclops swung its club. Percy ducked under it, going into a roll. He rolled between the cyclops's legs. He slashed behind the knee of the cyclops, bringing the one eyed monster to a knee.
It turned, leaving a leg out to try and knock Percy off his feet, but Percy jumped over it. He jumped onto the cyclops' knee, and climbed onto the monster's shoulder. The cyclops Tried to swat him off with his free hand, but only succeeded in smacking himself in the head.
The cyclops stood up. Percy jumped off of it's shoulder and stuck his knife into the cyclops back. The cyclops screeched in pain, dropping his club. He tried to knock Percy off of his back with both of his hands, but Percy evaded them.
Percy hooked an arm around the cyclops neck and used his other hand to pull out the knife. He flipped it around in his hand and drove it into the base of the cyclops neck. He severed the spinal cord, disconnecting the brain from the body.
The cyclops stopped moving, and fell to the ground. Percy braced himself for impact before jumping off and into a roll, like he was doing professional parkour. He held the knife as he came to a stop and approached the cyclops. He lifted its head, before slitting its neck.
It's blood poured onto the sand, staining it red. Percy stood, breathing heavily with a knife in his hand. A roar of boo's came from the crowd, all from the monsters who had bet on his death.
"Well, monsters and other monsters, we have a winner. Percy Jackson wins his round!" Tartarus announced. "Looking at the betting here... congrats to the Minotaur, for being the only one to bet on our victor here."
A loud moo came from the crowd, coming from a now rich Minotaur. Percy left the arena and walked back to his room. Along the way, he cleaned off the knife, wiping the cyclops blood on his white shirt.
He sheathed the knife as he entered his room. He took off his shirt and went to the closet. He had an endless supply of white shirts in there. Seriously, Tartarus knew how to be hospitable when he wanted to.
He put one on, before looking in the mirror. He looked a lot better than he had the past few days. Besides the sweat that beaded his forehead, he looked like he just went on a four week vacation. He ran a hand through his hair, before deciding that he wanted to go for a walk and get some fresh air.
He exited the room, and walked towards the exit of the building. Well, it was more like a castle. Tartarus had a castle built with an arena in the middle, surrounded by stadium seats, and then rooms surrounded that.
He exited the castle and walked aimlessly for a while. He was lost in his thoughts. Thoughts of what he would do when he left the pit. First thing he woul do was find a good place to see the night sky. He missed seeing the stars. And the moon.
He wished he could've seen it one last time before he was sent down under, but alas, the Gods gave no comforts. At least he was able to see Artemis one last time, with her beautiful silver eyes, her fiery auburn hair, and plump lips he just wanted to kiss-
Wait, where did that come from? He couldn't be thinking that! She was a maiden Goddess, one that would castrate him without hesitation if she saw what he just thought! Oh Gods, he was fucked.
He ended up at the Phlegethon river. He sat down by it, the fire warming him. Gone were the days of needing this river to survive. Now he was able to watch it as he raced by, occasional sparks coming up from the river and landing on the ground.
He would have stayed there for a while, but his river watching was interrupted by a howl coming from behind him. Percy turned around to see a hellhound growling at him. It was looking at him hungrily, like it found its next delicious meal.
Percy reached for his knife, but he wasn't able to grab it before the hellhound pounced on him. It tackled Percy to the ground. He reached up and grabbed it's mouth. He held it's mouth away from himself.
Some black substance came from the dog and got onto Percy. Percy pushed the hounds head up, still keeping it away from himself, but he misjudged his strength. The neck of the hellhound snapped. The hound fell limp onto him.
Percy pushed the hellhound off of him and got up. He looked at his hand, which seemed to be black. He moved it and the blackness was gone.
"Must've been the shadow from the Phlegathon." He muttered to himself.
He looked at the corpse of the hellhound and felt himself feeling hungry. He shook his head and went back to Tartarus's castle. He wondered if they had any tater tots.
Or chocolate. Chocolate sounded really good.
LINE BREAK
Artemis was at another boring meeting for the Gods. She didn't know what her father was complaining about this time, and honestly, she didn't really care. She was much more involved in her thoughts, something she had been doing a lot lately. She would go through memories from her life, specifically the last few years.
She gazed into the hearth that sat in the middle of the throne room. Hestia tended it, stoking the coals with a fire poker. She turned towards Artemis and smiled at her. She motioned to the fire.
Images started to fill the Moon Goddess's head.
After the Second Titan War, right after Kronos was killed. When the council came together to reward the demigods for their actions that led to victory. She praised her lieutenant for her bravery and leadership in leading the Hunters in a battle that seemed hopeless.
She watched as Athena rewarded her daughter. She watched as Grover, the satyr she vaguely knew, got crowned the new Lord of the Wild. And she watched perplexed as a small cyclops chose a stick as a weapon.
But what she really paid attention to was Percy's reward. It took awhile for Zeus to choke it out, but eventually he got there. He offered Percy to become a God.
She stared at Percy intently. She could see the gears in his head turning. She hoped he would accept. After all, what better of a reward for someone so deserving of it? Yes, that was it, she just wanted to make sure that he was properly rewarded.
His eyes locked onto hers briefly. Not long enough to arouse suspicion, but long enough that it felt like forever to Artemis. She thought that that would be the nail in the coffin. The decision that would keep him out of one. She was ready to celebrate, to join in the festivities for once. She would party with the other Gods, welcoming their new member.
And then her hopes shattered.
"No." He said.
He laid out his demands. Artemis never heard them though. She would have them relayed by Thalia later on, and she would be impressed by him, but not at the moment.
All she could think was that he denied eternity. He denied her.
She felt a tear try to fall from her eyes, but she kept them in.
Later that night, she decided to surprise him. It was his birthday, and as his friend, she wanted to do something nice for him. She held a brand new bow in her hands, along with a cake. She would invite him to celebrate with her and the rest of the Hunters.
She walked through the forest of Camp Half-Blood with the surprises. She reached the edge of the woods. She was about to walk out when she saw what was happening at the dining pavilion.
Percy was kissing Annabeth.
Artemis felt a pain in her chest. She dropped the cake. It smashed on the ground. The bow fell next landing in the cake.
Artemis ran away from the clearing, tears starting to fall.
She didn't know why it was affecting her so much. She was supposed to be the stoic man hater, so why was she affected by this boy so much? Why did witnessing him seeing him kissing another woman hurt so much?
As the memory faded, and Artemis came out of her thoughts, she knew the answer.
She had fallen for him.
She loved Percy Jackson.
