Chapter Seven

When Thalia was younger, she got turned into a pine tree. She had almost died on the hill of Camp Half-Blood, surrounded by monsters. In that moment as she faced them down, she had cemented her belief that monsters were something to be avoided.

And now here she was, marching through their home turf, with Percy by her side. He looked less sick than he did when they left, which was a relief. Whatever happened back at the arena clearly affected him majorly. She just wished that he would tell her what happened so that she could help him.

He walked on the right side of her, matching her step for step. The river Phlegethon, which he told her to drink from every once in a while, ran on her left. Percy had distanced himself from it, telling her that it was a little too hot for him. He had winced whenever he got too close.

She didn't know where they were headed. Percy had reasoned that they could find a way out. His only problem was that the Doors Of Death were gone, courtesy of him and Annabeth. Thalia reasoned that monsters came back from the pit all the time. They came back before the doors, and they left after the doors. So they must've had another exit somewhere.

So now they were walking. They were following the river Phlegethon, as mentioned before, so that she could drink from it. Percy never drank from it, saying that Tartarus gave him the ability to breathe the fumes without issue. Apparently he didn't take them away when he was fighting Percy. Which was kind of stupid of the Primordial.

Thalia felt the fire in her lungs again. She paused and knelt down to drink from the river. Percy waited for her, hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. He looked mighty fine in it, and he damn knew it. Thalia appreciated the way the jacket looked on him.

She plunged her hands into the river. She would never get used to the way the river looked hot but actually felt cold. She pulled her hands out, fire cupped in her hands. She brought it up to her lips before drinking. She swallowed as the taste of gasoline went down her throat. She coughed violently, falling on all fours.

Percy knelt down beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder, helping steady her. "I got you."

Thalia finished coughing, before grabbing Percy's shoulder. She kept one hand on the ground, not knowing if she could balance without it.

"You okay?" Percy asked.

Thalia nodded. "Yeah, just.."

"Tastes awful?"

"Yeah. Yeah it does."

"I know. I'm so glad I don't have to taste that any more."

"Fuck you."

"You'd like that wouldn't you." Percy teased.

'More than you know.' Thalia thought. She was glad this was real life and not some fanfiction where blood would leak out of her nose. 'Hold on, let's focus on actually dating before we go there.' She thought.

She stood up. Percy followed her. They started to walk again. They walked for a while. Eventually, Thalia got tired. She might've been a huntress, but Artemis's blessing only went so far to heighten her endurance.

"Percy, can we take a break? My legs are killing me." She asked him.

"Yeah, yeah of course."

They set up camp right there. Well, they didn't really set anything up as they had nothing on them. More like they sat down on the bank of the river. Percy sat farther away from the river than Thalia did.

Percy took the first watch. Thalia laid down and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

Thalia was stuck in her tree. The roots had grown over her body, trapping her in the dirt. Her face just barely rested above the ground, allowing her to breathe. She felt the roots get pulled away, and the dirt get dug up around her.

The sunlight blinded her. She felt herself get moved, out of the sunlight and into the shade. In the shadow, she could see. In front of her was a young man. He looked a little younger than her, a little shorter too. He had black hair that looked like he just got out of the wind. He was looking at her with eyes the color of a green sea. He was tanned, like he spent all of his time at the beach.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded shakily.

He turned to the crowd of people behind him. "Well don't just stand there, bring her some ambrosia. Some nectar. Let's go!" He said, like he was chastising them for just standing there.

The crowd went off, doing as he said. He turned back to her. "So, who are you?"

Thalia stared at him for a second. Why was he being so kind to her? He didn't know her. She hadn't seen him before today. Finally, she registered the question he asked. "I'm Thalia. Daughter of Zeus."

Annabeth was the one to break the news to Thalia about Luke. Thalia had grown angry, before storming off into the woods. Lightning sparked on her skin, occasionally arcing into the air before dissipating.

She came across a creek. In it stood the boy who helped her out of the tree. The only one to help her while everyone else watched in shock. He stood in the creek, knee deep. He had a peaceful look on his face.

She decided that she owed him thanks at the very least, so she cleared her throat to let him know that she was there. He opened his eyes. "Hello." He said.

"Um, hi. I just wanted to say thank you for helping me get out of the tree and all."

"Of course. Anyone would've done the same."

"But they didn't."

"What?"

"Nobody else did. Only you."

"Well." The boy paused. "They were in shock."

"You're optimistic."

"Am I?"

"You seem to be."

"To you, maybe. But you don't know me well enough."

Thalia smirked. "Well maybe I'd like to work on that."

Percy snorted. "Well here's a start. My name is Percy. Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon." He said. He walked towards the edge of the creek and held out his hand.

She shook it.

"Well, I guess that makes two kids of the Big Three."

"I believe it does."

That was the start of their friendship. They had bonded over their responsibilities, the things that were expected of them. For once in her life, Thalia didn't have to be a leader. She could be, well, whatever she wanted.

Maybe that was why she fell for him. He let her be anything without judging her for it. He never took a second glance at anything she did or said. If he didn't agree with something, he made it known.

"What do you mean Green day isn't the best?!"

Percy shrugged. "I just prefer Led Zeppelin."

"How dare you?!"

But he never said that his opinion was better. He stated his, but respected hers. (And she definitely caught him humming Green Day later that day.)

But when the prophecy was mentioned, the big one mentioning the big Sixteen, things started to get a little dicey. Percy didn't want to be the child anymore than she did. But she found an out. The Hunters of Artemis.

She felt bad leaving him with the responsibility, but from what she heard, he decided to take it upon himself to make sure that Nico wasn't given the responsibility. If she wasn't in love already, she was definitely smitten now.

He was just so caring and considerate.

And now, she was stuck with him in Tartarus. And even in Greek Hell, she couldn't say that it was all that bad with him by her side.

Thalia awoke to Percy humming. She was pretty sure that it was Whatsername, but she was too groggy to tell. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

Percy found it cute, the way she would rub her eyes, the way she would yawn. It was adorable. Nothing to be expected from the fearsome lieutenant of the Hunters.

"You ready to go?" He asked. "After you have your breakfast of firewater of course."

Thalia nodded. "What about you? Aren't you hungry?"

"No, no, I'm still feeling quite full." He said. His face grew dark, but it must've just been a shadow or something. The Phlegethon had weird lighting sometimes.

They got up and continued their journey. They found a couple of Earthborn and decided to follow them. They stayed a good distance away from them, not wanting to get caught.

It was a long journey. A very boring one too. There wasn't much to say besides that. So when there was a change in scenery, it was a huge deal.

It wasn't even that big. It was literally a stairway, with light shining through a hole in the roof. They both knew at once that that was the exit. Only problem was that the place was crawling with monsters. They hid behind a rock to stay hidden.

Thalia drew her bow and an arrow. She aimed it at some stalactites that were hanging from the ceiling. She fired, striking the rock formations. Her aim was true and a couple of them fell, squashing most of the monsters.

Percy jumped over the rock and drew his knife. Apparently Venom decided now was the appropriate time to play as he took over. He smashed into a group of cyclops. With one slash he cut one into ribbons. He bit another's head off, before jumping and digging his claws into another's back.

The corpses of the monsters littered the floor. The rest of the monsters in the area fled, choosing life over dismemberment. They saw what he did to Tartarus, no need to feel it themselves.

Venom retracted, leaving Percy standing there. Thalia stared at him. Not in fear per se, more shock. "Percy. What was that?"

Percy looked kind of ashamed. "I... I can explain. But can we please leave this place first?"

Thalia nodded shakily, before joining him on the staircase, climbing to the surface world. With each step they took, they came closer to freedom. They exited the Underworld, in a place that they recognized. The Grand Canyon.

Percy took in the fresh air. His first in a while.

End of Arc 1