10/10/20

Listen, I have no plans to abandon this story anytime soon, I can say that right now, but don't expect chapters to be posted in a week or two. I'm not a very good writer, so expect an update every month or so. That being said, please like, review, all that jazz, and please enjoy!

Wordcount: 277

The Doors Pt. 2

Percy POV:

The closer to the doors they got, the denser the monster horde became, and the weaker the hurricane became. He was tired even before they started the assault, but now all that was keeping him up was adrenaline. Zoe was behind him, making sure no monster snuck up behind them. Gold dust caked the ground around them, painted on their weapons. His limbs felt like they were dipped in lead, but he kept moving. Hunger wracked his body, and it was probably a good thing that monsters didn't leave behind a corpse.

There was a loud crack, like a rifle round going off, and the tip of a massive whip sailed into the sky a hundred feet in front of them. Then there was shouting, shouting in an old language that he somehow understood. Stop Running! The voice hissed, and a shiver ran down his spine. He knew that voice. He didn't realize he stopped until Zoe bumped into him.

He managed to get his legs moving again, and he continued to push closer to the doors. He blocked a slice by what looked like a person with two snarling dog heads instead of a regular head, before cutting it in half down the middle.

A sword slice skidded across the side plate of his armor, and he barely glanced over as he dispatched the perpetrator. He was getting sloppy, fatigue weighing down his limbs. Thankfully, the armor coating his body was tough enough to make sure he didn't turn into Percy-kabob.

Another monster tried to charge him, its club held high over its head. Percy detonated a vein of Styx, causing a spurt of black water to shoot up, just powerful enough to send the monster sprawling. The flesh that was ripped open bubbled and the vein sealed itself. The thought of why it did that began to make him sick, so he pushed it out of his head. Annabeth had always told him some questions were better left unanswered.

Gods, he couldn't wait to see Annabeth. He had been down here so long he could barely remember what she looked like, what she sounded like, gods even what she smelled like. When he got to the surface, he decided, he would hug Annabeth until the sun dipped under the horizon. He could wait to hear Leos jokes, see Hazel and Frank being adorable together,

The thought of seeing her again gave him a burst of energy, and he kept moving, impaling the monster without even slowing down. A javelin was lobbed at him, and what remained of the hurricane wasn't enough to blow it away. The throbbing behind his eye returned, and a golden mist surrounded the flying spear. Vengeance struck the wooden shaft, sending it flying into the ground. The tip struck first, embedding a few inches into the ground. He grabbed the shaft, yanking it out of the ground. Finding the balance point, he whipped it into the crowd in front of him, sending the bronze spearhead deep into some random monster.

The telltale tug in his gut finally receded, and the hurricane flickered out. The last of the water fell to the ground and Percys legs buckled underneath him, almost sending him flat on his face had Zoe not grabbed his shoulder. She managed to get him standing again, but his legs felt like they would give out again at any second.

With the help of Zoe, the last monsters in front of them fell, and the Doors of death stood 10 yards in front of them. Towering next to the doors, massive whip in hand, was Kampe. The last he had seen her, she was buried under a pile of rocks at camp. She had reformed quick, and this time they didn't have a hundred handed one to save them, but they had to try.

Thankfully, she hadn't noticed them yet, which gave them a little breathing room, but they had to make a plan, fast. Percys mind raced, if they attacked together, they would have a better chance of winning, but they could be easily snuck upon by the other several thousand monsters that surrounding them.

Making his mind up, Percy turned to Zoe, "Make sure none of them sneak up on me." She opened her mouth, probably to tell him exactly how stupid he was, bet he darted away before she could.

Luckily, there weren't very many monsters between him and Kampe, but that didn't stop him from having to slide between a Laistrygonians legs as it tried to smash him into pieces. As he slid, he held his sword to his side, cleaving the monsters foot off at the ankle. He went from sliding to running again with a roll, quickly closing on Kampe.

Kampe didn't notice him until he struck, cutting deep into one of her back legs. She yowled, cursing in that oh so strange language that he somehow understood. She turned to face him, her whip sailing above his head, forcing him to roll away.

As Kampe spotted him, a wide grin split her face, "Perseus Jackson, what a pleasure. I see you don't have that coward hundred handed one with you this time." She cackled, swiping her fiery whip at him. He hit the dirt, the whip-cracking above him, sending embers raining down on him.

Percy scrambled to his feet, barely making it out of the way as Kampe stomped where he just was. He flicked his sword down her flank, drawing black blood to the surface. Wait, blood, that was water too, right? I mean he controlled Ichor when he met Akhlys, or at least he thought he did, he didn't remember much of what happened then. He shook himself out of his thought before he got himself killed. Later. That could wait.

He sidestepped another whip strike and lunged forward, Vengeance shifting into a scythe mid-swing. He struck where the bubbling flesh that separated her upper body from her lower body. The scythe sunk deep, the whole blade sinking into Kampe until only the wooden handle was visible.

He didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. A head formed around the blade, clamping its bear-like jaws on the handle, holding it in place. Kampe's whip cracked once again, and this time it hit its mark. It slammed into his armor, sending him sprawling. He tried to sit up but everything was spinning, his chest felt like he had just been kicked by the god of war, and was it just him, or were there two Kampes?

He didn't even notice she had gotten closer until her clawed hand was wrapped around his left forearm. She hoisted him up until he was staring her in her yellow eyes. He could still see his scythe embedded into her waist, and his free arm twitched, trying to grab the handle. She was saying something, but he wasn't paying attention, too focused on trying to grab the scythe.

His fingertips just drifted across the handle when Kampe realized what he was doing. With a twitch of her fingers, she snapped his forearm in two with a wet snap! Burning pain immediately raced up his arm, and a scream tore itself out of his throat. His free hand closed around the shaft of the scythe, and despite pulling on it as hard as he could, the bear head refused to release its grip.

Suddenly, Kampe reared up, screeching loud enough to hurt his ears. She released her grip on his forearm, sending him plummeting down to the ground. He landed on the ground with a soft groan, the shock sending needles of pain up his arm. He glanced up and saw Zoe standing over him, fending off Kampe with Riptide. She glanced down at him, concern shining in her eyes, before turning back to Kampe. Percy managed to get standing again, but his scythe was still stuck into Kampe's side. His left arm was bent at a thirty-degree angle, but thankfully the bone wasn't coming through the skin.

He tucked his arm up to his chest and leaned over to whisper to Zoe, " You distract her and I'll grab my scythe, ok?" Zoe nodded and whispered back, "Alright, on three. One, two, three!" She lifted Riptide and charged. Percy ran around to Kampe's side, the shaft of the scythe jutted out in front of him. He grabbed the bottom of the shaft and twisted it towards him, causing Kampe to scream again, cursing him a thousand times in the name of Gaia. The blade finally became loose, so he yanked it out. Black blood spurted out of the wound.

It shifted back into a sword as he rolled underneath Kampe. He stuck the sword into her stomach, roughly dragging it down her body. Entrails spilled out of her stomach, and Kampe collapsed on top of him. He shifted his sword back to a watch and crawled out from underneath her, covered in black blood. Zoe ran over, grabbing his shoulders and helping to pull him out. He watched as Kampe slowly dissolved into gold dust, blown away by an invisible breeze. The blood coating him slowly disappeared in much the same way.

They stumbled towards the doors of death as the monster horde gathered around them. He hadn't gotten a good look at the doors before, but he instantly recognized them. They were a set of elevator doors, exactly like the ones that led to Olympus, but inverted. Instead of white and gold, they were black and grey. Stygian Iron chains held the doors down on either side, stuck into the ground with large spikes. On the Elevator frame, there was a large, green button with the word "UP" written on it. 12 minutes. He would need to hold it for 12 minutes.

The doors hummed and slid open as they approached, beckoning them to enter. Vengeance flashed, and one of the chains was cut in half. The door shuddered, and Percy put his foot into the doors as they tried to close. Zoe cut the other chain, and the doors tried to close again.

Percy gestured with his unbroken arm, "Get in, I'll be right behind you." Lying to a friend didn't come naturally, but it was what he needed to do.

Zoe shook her head, "I am not a fool. You will press the button as soon as I get in. You are needed in the prophecy to stop Gaia. Get in, I will hold them off."

"No! I'm not letting you die! Not again!" Percy was nearly shouting, but Zoe didn't seem to be listening.

"Pl-" Whatever Percy was going to say was cut off by the monster horde surrounding them beginning to shout. They glanced up, expecting to see some horrifying monster ready to kill them, but he couldn't see anything wrong. Then, a Laistrygonian flew up into the air, sailing overhead. The monsters closest to them scrambled out of the way as a Drakon burst through the horde, with a Giant riding on it's back.

"Damasen!" Percy cheered, "You did it!" Damasen grinned down at him, "I remembered, I remembered the sun and sky. The moon. I tamed the drakon and went to find you. Get in the elevator, I will hold the button." Percy went to argue, but Zoe grabbed his wrist. She pulled him into the elevator, and Damasen unmounted the drakon and stood next to the button, ready to press it.

Then, everything went wrong. There was a loud explosion, and then a deafening silence. An orb of inky black smoke hovered above them and several eyes stared down at them. Inky black tentacles stretched out of the ball, wandering every which way.

A disembodied voice echoed around them, "Perseus Jackson, the Godkiller." He winced at the use of his full name, and that title. Zoe glanced at him, confusion painted on her face, "Godkiller? Percy wh-" He had skipped over much of what happened with Akhlys.

The voice continued again, "Did you really think my Wifes tricks could hide you forever, son of Poseidon? I am well aware that you will escape my grasp today, so I have a 'gift' for you." The voice chuckled, and one of its many tentacles stretched out, reaching towards him. Percy shook himself and tried to raise Vengeance, but it felt like trying to lift the sky. The words Ares told him so long ago echoed in his head, Your weapon will fail you when you need it the most. Gods, next time he saw Ares he was going to punch his lights out.

The tentacle finally reached him and tapped his forehead. His helmet was, for some reason, missing. Pain, several times worse than his broken arm erupted in his head. It felt like his brain was wrapped in tinfoil, then microwaved. He collapsed backward, falling into the elevator. His vision went blurry, and the laughs of the voice slowly died out. His vision grew clear again, and he watched as Zoe stepped into the elevator as well.

He watched as the doors slowly slid shut, closing them off from Damasen and the monster horde, and Percy only hoped he would be able to stand for twelve minutes.