7/11/20

Soup time

I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters, they belong to Rick Riordan

Word count: 1916

Misery

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Argo II POV:

The Argo II was sitting still, engine idling as they hovered over the Mediterranean. The crew meandered around the ship, on the watch for their incoming guest. They didn't need to rush to the doors of death anymore, so they had time to wait for Reyna to reach them.

The crew was silent. Percy was dead and Annabeth was taken. Leo pushed himself harder than before, staying alone on the helm until Jason and Piper physically pulled him off and brought him to his room. Jason was least effected, having not gotten to know Percy well. He tried to lead the crew, but his grief distracted him. Hazel was inconsolable, having cried for hours when she heard the news. Percy was like her big brother she had never had.

Frank had gotten to know Percy well during the course of their quest and was understandably upset when they found out he perished. He held it together, though, for the sake of Hazel. Jason, Piper, and Hedge were doing the best out of all the crew, not having known Percy well.

Nico was by far the most affected. They had been able to get him to eat and socialize a little before, but now he wasn't eating at all, and he stayed in the crow's nest at all hours. Hazel was worried, but Nico assured her he was fine.

A light brown pegasus burst through the clouds, it's rider directing it to the ship. A griffin flew behind the pair, squawking angrily. The ship's crew spurred into action, Ballista swiveling into action. A bolt flew past the pegasus, slamming into the griffin, detonating into a ball of greek fire. Golden dust floated down into the ocean, washed away with the current.

The pegasus landed on the deck and the rider slid off. She looked at the crew and her eyebrows knitted together.

"Wheres Percy and Annabeth?" Reyna asked.

Olympus POV:

The city in the sky was empty. The market place was barren, and the whole city radiated sadness. Olympus was mourning. Hades had brought the news that the hero of the gods, Percy Jackson, had perished in Tartarus, and his soul lost in the pit. The gods had called an emergency meeting.

Poseidon sat on his throne, hand clenched on his Trident. His eyes were slightly red as the rest of the gods sat down in their thrones. Hera, as usual, was absent. She had been banned from Olympus after all. Most of the gods were groaning, clutching their heads, not him though. The Romans hadn't worshiped him all that much, and he only had one child, who was greek.

When the other gods settled in, Poseidon spoke up, " I refuse to let any more of our children die on this quest. I say we accompany them until we reach Olympus."

Zeus glared at him, likely upset that he had stolen the first words, "The ancient laws forbid us from interfering, you know this. Our children must fight their own battles."

Artemis spoke up, "This is our battle too. We have already lost two, we cannot afford to lose any more." Several gods mumbled agreements. Zeus furrowed his eyebrows in thought, "Let's take a vote, all in favor?" Poseidon, Artemis, Vulcan, Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and Hermes raised their hands.

"All against?" Dionysus, Demeter, Zeus, and Minerva (who was stuck in her Roman form.) raised their hands. 7-4. They would be helping their children.

Percy POV:

Fog curled around Percy, blocking his vision so much that he could barely see. It stuck to his skin like a blanket, weighing him down as he stumbled about. If you asked him, the only reason he could breath was because he was the son of Poseidon.

His stomach growled, shrunken to the size of a gumdrop. He hadn't had anything to eat since Leto's cell, and it was beginning to take a toll. He was constantly tired, even more so than normal. His eyelids felt like anvils had been strapped to them. He couldn't remember the last time he actually slept. He would occasionally pass out, and that was the most he slept since Damasens hut.

A quiet sobbing broke through the silence, and Percy was instantly on guard, Vengeance appearing in his hand. He crept forward, sword at the ready. The sobs grew louder and the fog dissipated. A figure was hunched over, facing away from him. Her hands covered her face as she sobbed. A sheer drop extended as far as he could see on either side, a deep black void extending into the distance.

Something in his gut told him this was very wrong. That he should turn tail and run. But, he forged on. Approaching the figure, he noticed something lying at her side. It was a circular shield. As he got closer, he could make out the picture on it. A woman held a shield aloft, and the shield had the same drawing on it as this one did, creating an increasingly small set of copies.

"Admiring the shield of Hercules, Hero?" a voice spoke, and Percy's eyes shot up. The figure had turned, revealing her face. Her eyes were watery, and tears streaked down her face. Several cuts fan up and down her face, leaking golden Ichor as if she had been trying to claw her eyes out. Her stringy hair was patchy as if she had been tearing it out. Everything about the goddess in front of him screamed psycho!

He leveled his sword at her, the twin metals glinting dangerously in the light. "Who are you?" Percy demanded. The goddess cackled, grinning maniacally, "I am the being that lurks in the corners of the mind, that haunts every man and immortal. I am Misery!" She gestured to the void behind her, "My father is lord Chaos, the void itself." He was standing next to her now, his sword dangerously close to her throat.

He looked down at the shield laying on the ground, "Hercules shield you say?" He picked it up, turning it over. It was polished celestial bronze over a wood core. Light but sturdy.

The goddess grinned, a gleam in her eyes, "Indeed, he painted my likeness on it to bring misery to his enemies, and when he turned immortal, it was cast down here."

Percy reared his arm back and threw. The shield sailed, flying into the void. When it passed into the darkness, it began to break into pieces, shredding apart as it fell into chaos. The goddess flew to her feet, crying out in outrage, but Percy ignored her.

"That was for Zoë Nightshade," he muttered. He turned back to the angry goddess and shoved a finger into her shoulder, "Now listen here you withered old hag," Percy lifted Vengeance, "This is Kronos scythe. It will separate your body from your soul with one cut. Now, unless you want me to flay you alive with it, you are going to lean me to the Doors of Death."

The goddess snarled, but nodded, "Follow me closely, child, wouldn't want you falling into Chaos now." With that, she turned around and marched into the mist, plants cropping up in her wake. Percy had no choice but to follow her.

The Mist faded around Percy, revealing he was on a peninsula jutting out into Chaos, the only way back was the way he came. He spun around, but a tide of foul-smelling liquid blocked his path.

A laugh echoed around him as Misery mocked him, "I am the goddess of poison as well, sea spawn. I wonder if I can drown you in it?" A wave of poison flew at him, forcing him to roll to dodge it. He struggled up, clenching Vengeance, when another wave blind-sided him, he flew one way and his sword another. The liquid burned his skin and clogged his nose, making him feel light-headed. He shakily stood, glancing around. Vengeance had fallen in a pool of poison, but the liquid hissed and cackled when it touched his sword.

The poison worked it's way towards him, like a tide rolling in. Uncapping Riptide, he backed up until the ground behind him stopped. He was stuck, back against the void, as the poison inched closer and closer.

Misery walked closer towards him, the poison parting for her as she walked. She sneered at him, coming to a stop just out of the reach of his sword. Percys mind raced, trying to find a way out. If he had his scythe, he could easily reach her, but Vengeance didn't reappear like Riptide. An earthquake or hurricane wouldn't help, nor would his water powers.

Wait. Water. He didn't know if it was just the fumes from the poison, but he started cackling. If it moved like water, it must be water, or at least part water, right? He looked down at the poison, which was now about to reach his sneakers, and focused. There was a familiar tug in his gut and the poison stopped moving.

He looked up, a grin threatening to split his face, as he looked at the frowning goddess of Misery.

"Poisons your specialty, right?" and with that, all Hades broke loose.

The poison on the ground lept into action, jumping at the goddess. She shrieked as it wrapped tightly around her, freezing her in place. She screamed in pain as the liquid burned her skin. Tears flowed down her face as she cried out. Oh good, more water. Her tears forced her eyes open, and her saliva blocked her throat.

He walked up to her and grabbed her throat, choking her even further. He dragged her over to the cliff and held her over. She coughed, desperately trying to clear her throat. She grabbed his hands in a desperate attempt to save herself.

"W-wait! I-I can help you!" she choked out. Percy ever so lightly lessen his grip on her throat, "Then spit it out before I change my mind."

"You can control poison, right? Well, blood and Ichor are water too, right?"

Percy glanced at her cheeks, which were still dripping Ichor. He focused hard, and something inside him broke. It felt like a glass ball broke in his chest, flooding his whole body with power. The goddess's eyes widened as she began crying again. The wound on her cheek began flowing, golden ichor dripping down her face. She began saying something over and over, and it took Percy a moment to realize what she was saying. Please. Please. She was begging for her life.

Percy leaned in close to her ear, and whispered, "Say hi to daddy." Her eyes widened as he released his grip on her, letting her plummet into the void. She screamed as she was ripped apart by the void.

He was panting heavily, and the broken glass began to smooth over, but he was still tingling with power. He had just killed a goddess, and he didn't even care. He reached down and picked up Vengeance, looking it over, making sure it was ok.

He was brought out of his thoughts by clapping behind him. He spun around and nearly dropped his sword. Standing behind him was a figure, 40 feet tall. She was wearing a dress as dark as night, but had pale white skin.

"Greetings. I am Nyx."