Ch. 22: Day 5: The Sword's Secret Part 2

A/N: PLEASE NOTE THAT THE CHAPTER IS OVER 5K WORDS, SO IN CASE YOU STOP READING MIDWAY DUE TO LACK OF TIME DON'T FORGET TO BOOKMARK THAT AREA! ALSO, THERE IS SOME CONFUISON REARDING HOW TARTARUS COULD TTACK DEMIGODS DESPITE HIS OATH IN THE REVIEWS, THAT WILL BE CLEARED IN THE EPIOGUE.

(Recap: For a fleeting moment we thought he had given up, but just then a bright red flash was seen as Tartarus appeared...in front of Chiron - who was armed only with a bow and an arrow. He had a spear strapped to his back, but by the time he would reach for it, it would be too late and Tartarus was already smirking, just about to bring down his scythe while screaming the words "SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR BELOVED TEACHER!". His back was turned to us, and we couldn't breathe any longer...)

PERCY'S POV:

My throat went dry as I stared helplessly at the horrifying scene in front of me. We were all scattered now, and while Annabeth had instructed us all to remain in small groups of 3 or 4 Chiron was busy making sure we actually were in groups. Tartarus was just about to deliver the final blow to our teacher and we had frankly lost all hope. Many people including me, Annabeth, Piper, Katie and Jake dramatically screamed "NO! LEAVE HIM!" in one voice. Just then the most astonishing thing happened. Tartarus actually stopped; but not of his own accord apparently, since he very monotonously lowered his scythe and backed a few steps away from Chiron.

Then as if just realizing what he'd done he stared at Chiron in horror as if some unknown force was guarding the old centaur. At first, I thought maybe Chiron being an immortal stunned him but...oh yes! So that's why Chiron was so nervous and awfully quiet! Just like the minor Gods, even Chiron was still immortal; but since Zeus had blessed him he must've been wondering if that boon would last once Zeus regained consciousness as a mortal! GAH ADHD!

Meanwhile, Chiron was equally shocked and stood rooted to his spot. In all the confusion we missed the golden chance to attack a very stunned Tartarus. The pit God though gathered himself quickly and...disappeared. Once again.

"ARGH! THIS IS ANNOYING! STOP RUNNING AND FACE US, YOU FREAK! YOU COWARD!" An irritated Leo screamed in frustration.

"This is bad.." Annabeth suddenly muttered, her eyes widened. Only the people close to us could hear that as we all looked at her in confusion.

She shook her head, not in a refusing gesture but more as in a 'No that's not possible' gesture. She said, "Tartarus isn't here!"

I frowned my eyebrows "Annabeth, stay alert. He is here somewhere and he will come and attack anytime!"

"He will attack soon yes, but right now he isn't here!"

"What does that mean Annabeth?" Nico suddenly spoke up, conscious now after that blow from Tartarus. Will was still by his side, but the son of Apollo looked exhausted.

Just as Annabeth was about to reply, Reyna spoke up "Wait...I think I know what she means...Annabeth, are you trying to say that when he disappears, he doesn't become invisible but actually...like teleports himself out like the gods do while traveling?"

Annabeth merely nodded at first then cleared our confusion completely "When Piper called him earlier using all her Charmspeak his appearance or form didn't even flicker into existence let alone completely form and attack us. But when she screamed for him to stop now, not even trying to charm speak but just using her natural voice we all saw the effect. The only explanation to that would he didn't come earlier because he didn't hear Piper. In that case, her Charmspeak is a very useful weapon we have."

My mouth opened a bit and I stared at the spot Tartarus had just vanished from. All I could say was "Oh."

"Great, but, uh...how does that help us Apart from learning the fact that Charmspeak is his weakness like Gaea?" Frank asked.

I could already see how it would, so I clarified his confusion

"It helps a great deal, Frank. If we can somehow stop him from going to wherever he disappears to and stay here, that will give us a huge advantage! I said.

"Oh I hadn't thought of it that way...that would be great!"

Jason's expressions looked doubtful and he spoke "What place can there possibly be that a Primordial cannot teleport out of? And if he can't teleport in how do you plan on bringing him there?"

We all thought for a while and suddenly my eyes widened seeing the army like this - lost in thoughts, weapons lowered a bit.

"EVERYONE! BE ALERT! WHILE WE THINK OF A PLAN TARTARUS MAY ATTACK ANYONE FROM ANYWHERE! SOME OF YOU HAVE EVEN LOWERED YOUR WEAPONS! THINK AND BE ALERT SIMULTANEOUSLY IF YOU WANNA LIVE!" I had to shout to make myself heard and followed immediately. Once that alertness returned in their posture I stared at Annabeth, silently asking her for a plan. She coughed and said

"There is one such place...I think."

Her hesitation made me nervous - Annabeth was never unsure of her plan, so she must be frightened by the idea. And what could frighten her... I gulped at the thought.

Upon receiving curious looks from us Annabeth continued "Tartarus..."

"Yes, wise girl. Tartarus...he cannot teleport out of..? Please just say it." I impatiently said.

Piper - who looked a bit fidgety spoke "Uh...Percy, I think she already did..." to which Annabeth solemnly nodded...and it finally hit me. Tartarus. Tartarus could not teleport out...of Tartarus!

"Of course!" I snapped my fingers.

Jason seemed to have realized too, and with a deep breath, Annabeth cleared the confusion of the remaining campers and the wild and Cyclopes.

"All throughout the war Tartarus has always been appearing out of crevices and cracks in the ground. We always thought it was a show of intimidation. But he appeared like this because unlike the Gods who can teleport out of the throne room, Tartarus cannot do so even in his own domain! Which also supports the theory that if granted permission, Gods can teleport in and out of each others' domains but not the pit."

"Okay, now our course of action is clear. Tartarus has been blown - the pit I mean, not the God obviously. So we should not face any threat treading there. We have to go in there and corner Tartarus so he can't escape. From there on our numbers should win the war for us." I suggested.

"Yeah but dude these cracks in the wall are all oozing hot lava. How do you propose we get in?" Leo asked.

Frank added

"Yeah and mate you destroyed only the monsters. There's a ton of absolutely nasty and deadly rivers in there. If we just jump and suppose somehow find a way to survive the lava, what's to say we won't fall into the river of flames and turn to ash or fall into the Lethe and lose our memories or something?" A few demigods shivered at the thought, but Annabeth had a confident solution.

"We don't have to jump. We created a very big crater ourselves and we can get in from there. I can't be sure of the rivers, we'll have to see that. But that way at least we won't have to jump in but walk in and see and choose the path for ourselves."

"You mean the crater that was created when we blew up the throne room?" Iapetus spoke...and he'd been so quietly traveling and fraternizing with the cyclopes I'd almost forgotten he was there. Annabeth nodded at the Titan.

"Okay so load the trucks fast before Tartarus comes back. The charmspeak was a bad shock, but he won't take forever to get over it. He'll attack eventually, and we need to be gone by then. Get into the cabs as you came and hurry to the empire state building, we'll meet outside, obviously... the inside is most probably the pit itself."

And with that, they all climbed aboard and Annabeth and I hopped on Blackjack who had appeared within two seconds of my whistle.

"I think I told you to get some distance between me and you blackjack, you were waiting close by weren't you?"

"You're too reckless on ya own boss, ain't leavin' ya alone ever..so what if ya girlfriend's scary..."

I just chuckled at that, but we didn't have any more conversations in fear of what my 'scary girlfriend' would do at once again being left out of the conversation. She just lay her chin on my shoulders and let the breeze hit her face, her hair dancing with the wind. Soon we reached the destination and once again I requested blackjack to stay away from me to be safe, but he just neighed a stubborn 'no' and flew away.

The site of the building was indeed depressing. The whole area of the lobby and the entrance ground were gone, a gigantic crater replacing it. Some remnants of the building still stood tall, but they looked as if they were just waiting to fall over and one strong breeze would do the trick. The crater was divided into many different small holes in the ground, some oozing lava while some allowing passage of the rivers while some just lay there in dark.

"First of all, we'll have to find an entrance safe enough to enter, seaweed brain," Annabeth spoke looking at me. I nodded and suggested that while others do that job she should go comfort Katie like Jake Mason was comforting the only living Stoll twin. She nodded, and once I saw everyone looking at me expectantly I said

"Okay, I doubt Tartarus will find us here for a while. Scout this place and see what you can find. If you spot a safer entrance call us. Don't step in alone, come what may!" I firmly instructed, and everyone began scouting. Annabeth went towards Katie after kissing me, and I set off to find some safe entrance that didn't require us jumping down into lava or a river of lost souls. Just when I was looking for something some mist caught my eye. An Iris Message...had to be from camp. Turned out it was, it was Will Solace.

"Will! What news?"

"Loads Percy, but what are you...wait WHERE are you?!" He exclaimed.

"No time for that. Just know that the safest place right now for us is inside Tartarus, so that's where we will go. You tell me what is the status of the Gods?"

"It's what we feared Percy. They're mortal now..."

I sighed in sadness. That was it. I had just condemned my father and my friends' fathers and mothers to an inevitable death and loss of immense power.

Will continued

"The good thing is their skills are still like unearthly, the bad thing is...well the phrase 'All good things must come to an end' just changed to 'all GOD things must come to an end; if that makes sense."

I nodded."It does, unfortunately. Okay, so I guess you'll be coming along with them? We need healers here now more than ever, not to mention added numbers in the form of...uh mortal Gods..."

"Yes, we are all just getting ready. And now we know your location so just wait for us for a while we'll come soon. But listen, Percy, there's more." When I motioned for him to go on he said "Hestia does not wish to fight. And your mom is in a coma, but she's safe and should return to consciousness soon. Should I leave your mom with Hestia?"

"Yes Will, thank you so much for allowing her inside the camp and treating her. I trust Hestia to take care of my mom. You guys come soon, we'll be waiting."

He nodded then again said, "Okay one last thing, there's this bad news I don't know how to say..."

"Just say it, dude." I encouraged him. And he did.

As soon as I heard him my eyes widened and I quickly erased the message in fear that anybody would hear it. I then scanned the crowd and fixated my gaze on Reyna who was busy assessing the surroundings. She looked so tired and worried, and I didn't have the strength to go tell her.

Tell her that some of Will's siblings had just returned from a scout carrying bodies of female warriors known as the Amazons...and that one of them was wearing the belt that belonged to the queen. I didn't have the courage to tell Reyna that Hylla - her sister and only remaining family was dead. I could see Thalia instructing the hunters about some things, and I could see that the sword I'd given her was sheathed at her side proudly. I realized just then...

I immediately went up to Thalia and spoke to her "Thals can I have a word with you in private?"

She looked at me with worry and concern

"Sure Percy. Just give me a minute." She proceeded to instruct her hunters to carry out various tasks and once we were alone she looked at me again "What is it Perce? Is everything fine?"

"Thals...don't use that sword...let your father use it."

"My father? Wait, dad is coming here? Is he fine? Is he mortal? Are they all fine? And why can't I-"

I had to cut her off "-Yes they are fine, but sadly also yes they are mortals. We no longer have the Gods by our side Thals. And as for that sword, I need you to trust me once again...can you do that?"

She looked at me for a while then breathed and let out a sigh "I trust you, kelp head. I hope you know what you're doing..."

I smiled at that "I do, don't worry. Just hand the sword to Zeus when I say, not too soon because I don't trust him enough with this." Once she nodded, I shouted for everyone to gather. Once they had I narrated the news of the gods' mortality and arrival. Most of them seemed to take it well; not caring much about their parents right now after having lost so much. Then I sent them all to once again find an entrance. I was counting on Hazel and Nico the most to find us a safe path into the pit given their parentage.

Suddenly a small snake slithered near me and I had to take out my sword in defense. Suddenly it spoke "Percy it's me! Hazel found an entrance! Come quick !"

"Frank ! Dude, honestly! Couldn't you have come up with something less threatening and more friendly appearing? You know I was about to cut you into two!"

"Oh sorry. Wait a second." He said and turned into a cheetah. "Climb on my back fast, Annabeth, Nico, and the others are already assessing the hole."

"Alright bro, let's go!" and I climbed on his back and we reached the hole in seconds. Almost every demigod had reached there by now. I went to the front and looked at it. The hole was dark but Leo's flames had lit some part of it.

"Percy, finally you're here. I was just telling them that this hole looks very safe. I sense a straight path in and a huge area inside." Hazel said.

"We have decided to properly assess the hole with our powers and abilities, Percy," Annabeth added.

I just nodded waiting for Annabeth to instruct us further.

She began "Hazel first tell us the approximate size of the place inside and how much of it do you feel safe."

"I feel the safe area is for the beginning approximately 400 meters or so. It's huge and can comfortably fit us all, but I can't say if there are rivers or ghosts or something; that's Percy and Nico's task."

Annabeth nodded and turned to Jason.

"Okay now Jason, go near the hole and tell us what kind of air do you feel inside and everything else we should know."

Jason nodded and went very close to the hole and closed his eyes in concentration. After a while, his face turned into a frown and still with eyes closed he spoke "Okay I sense a lot of Sulphur in the air. It's also too thick for all of us to breathe for more than some time. Maybe an hour max considering all of us here including the cyclopes and the wild enter and the Gods breathe normally.

Other than that there is a high amount of humidity and particles of Phosphorous and Celestial Bronze floating in the air. Due to the explosion, I presume. It's poison to all of us, so now we don't have more than half an hour inside. These time calculations are based on the size as Hazel said." Whoa...he is an expert in his domain, isn't he?

Annabeth nodded and turned to Nico "Nico, do you feel any ghosts or unwanted dead? Do you feel any life there? Do we have to be wary of any enemies?"

Nico went closer to the entrance and bent on one knee, put his right hand on the ground inside the entrance and stayed thus for about twenty seconds. Then he got up, dusted his black jeans and stood back where we were. Then he inhaled and said "There is a lot of monster energy, but it's impossible for a monster to have survived that kind of a celestial bronze blast. So they're all dead. It's clear, no enemies and no ghosts." He concluded.

Then she turned to me and her calculating gaze softened as she spoke: "I think you know what to do seaweed brain." I nodded and went near the entrance. I couldn't sense anything even after concentrating, but I didn't wanna leave things to chance.

"Leo, Frank come inside with me. We'll go about 50 meters in and I'll concentrate once again from there. Standing here I can't get much distance covered."

They both just nodded and flanked me on either side as I uncapped Riptide and went in. Leo set his hands on fire to provide light while Frank had his sword and shield out.

"Frank, I'll need some time to concentrate. Cover me and Leo. Leo meanwhile please keep the light bright."

They both nodded and I sat on a knee and sent out my powers to feel for any ancient waterbody or it's tributary that may have been formed due to the blast. After about three or four minutes I had what I needed and it was time to head back.

Once in the open air, I breathed some bouts of fresh air; I observed Leo and Frank do the same then go and stand by their girlfriends. I went beside Annabeth after giving my verdict to the people keenly watching me; which was that no river body stood in the way for at least 500 meters.

"So no rivers for 500 meters, but Hazel says safety is only in the first 400 meters. To sum up everything, we have about half an hour to go inside, set an ambush for Tartarus, kill him and get out; all while making sure Tartarus does not leave the region of approximately 400 meters." Annabeth concluded.

Reyna spoke up "Tartarus may not escape from here, but there is the other side as well which is unsafe for us. We will set up a line of archers at the border so that Tartarus cannot run away from there for respite. Same for this boundary." Annabeth liked the plan and nodded appreciatively. Just then we heard the voice of engines.

"Engines...I hear truck engines. The Apollo cabin and the Gods are close." Leo said. Soon enough the trucks came into view. They were parked and out came the rest of our friends of the Apollo cabin. The Gods stepped out next. They were looking more or less the same, but that regal aura was gone.

Whispers began about the Gods. "Are they really mortal?" "So they can die?" "So we can kill Her...I mean Hera can die?" Okay, that last one was Piper, but none of us took our eyes of this site. We were facing 'Mortal Gods'.

All of them looked the same as they did while they were battling Typhon and the Giants in the two wars, but we could feel that the power that you identified a God with was missing. They stood in a horizontal line and kept staring at us, gauging our reactions. None of them looked particularly happy, but it seemed everyone had faced it as the inevitable - even Hera. Zeus finally coughed and said "Uh...I believe there is a reason we are all here?"

We came out of our trance and focussed on the task at hand.

"Okay we have identified a few things and have come up with a plan; we need to act fast," I said. Then I went on to narrate the incidents of the day, right from the deaths to how Chiron was saved by Piper's charmspeak (that earned a loud squeal and a clap from Aphrodite) to our current plan of trapping Tartarus and our assessment of the entrance.

Once I was done I took a deep breath while the Gods looked unsure of entering Tartarus even after the threats were mostly blown. However, not-so-surprisingly Ares was still grinning like a madman. Hmm...so their powers are gone but the attitude and mindset stay. Oh well.

"Okay, now I believe Annabeth has a plan ready for us. Wise girl? The stage is yours." I looked at Annabeth to begin.

She cleared her throat and began, "We have about 400 meters of space inside the pit. A group of archers led by Apollo shall spread out through the circumference of the inside limit. Similarly, a group led by Frank will cover the outside as soon as Tartarus enters inside. Till then Frank and his group will be hidden somewhere and wait for a signal. Jason and Piper will have a group of demigods and a few Gods with them. This group will stay outside and wait for Tartarus to find us. Any questions so far?"

Athena spoke, "The plan is good, daughter, but I'd have Artemis and her hunters guarding the inside rather than a group led by Zhang. The Roman is a good spear fighter too and the Roman style of fighting will be more useful to you during the fight as it will bring variation."

Annabeth nodded and then looked at Frank and Thalia one by one as she spoke their names and continued, "Okay Frank, you got that? We'll need you inside. Lady Artemis and Thals you will be guarding the outside with your sisters." Once they nodded she again continued, " Okay so Jason as soon as you spot him, you know what to do." Jason nodded and said "Lure him in. Got that. But won't he disappear again as soon as he sees the pit? He will realize the whole plan when he sees the missing numbers and runs away again, then what?"

Annabeth was about to reply but a squealing Aphrodite beat her to it "Pipes will use her charmspeak! You have my daughter with you don't you!" Jason flinched from the squeal but understood that Annabeth had planned things just that way and gave her a thumbs up. Then Annabeth again continued, "Once Tartarus enters, Lady Artemis and the others will stand guard outside the entrance and rain down arrows at will when we are recovering or at a safe distance from Tartarus to take aim. Apollo and his group will do the same, but please don't hit us with our arrows. We might die and that won't be very nice."

The plan was good, I decided to conclude.

"Once Tartarus is inside he'll face all the Gods, a titan, the wild, the cyclopes and all of us. Jason, me you and Iapetus will be at the forefront since we are the best with a sword. The Gods will be with us. Piper, once we're inside please refrain from using charmspeak unless it is life and death. Because he's only one and he's a God. Your words affect all of us and if he recovers faster than we do we'll be in a trance mode while he kills us all. Anything else that needs to be sorted now would be the time to say it."

Hermes spoke, "Won't you guys put us in some cool formation like you did the last time Percy?"

I sighed. He's almost another Apollo.

"Against one opponent? Seriously?" I asked him and he just shrugged.

Zeus coughed a bit to get our attention and spoke,

"Okay, now we should get moving. Grab your weapons and armors and be ready. We have to end this thing soon. Jason, my son. Go and get Tartarus inside. We'll be waiting."

Soon enough the plan was arranged for execution. Jason and Piper along with a handful of demigods set up camp a few yards away from the hole and we were all inside the pit already, hoping Tartarus would be here soon else we would die breathing the toxic air. As decided, as soon as Tartarus appeared a lot of lightning strikes would be heard, courtesy of Jason. Then we would get ready and as soon as Tartarus was lured in, we would all attack as one. I had cleverly made myself and Annabeth stand beside Zeus and my dad so that when the time came Thalia could toss me the sword and I could hand it over to Zeus. I had taken an oath not to speak of the sword but after Zeus would use it, everything would become crystal clear. We were all waiting inside while the hunters were well camouflaged outside itself, waiting to block the entrance once Tartarus and our friends all entered the opening of the pit.

Soon we could hear the BOOM! of thunder followed by another and another until we counted about 10 in all. We all watched the entrance like hawks, gaze fixated for any movement and legs tensed to pounce on the entrant. Soon enough we could hear the voices of a raging tornado and Tartarus was suddenly forced into the entrance by his legs courtesy Piper's charm speaking skills. We, however, lost the element of surprise as Zeus couldn't resist saying "The Plan worked! Tartarus, we shall destroy you now !"

Tartarus' eyes widened so much you could maybe fit a tennis ball in it. Then he slowly started backing a few steps only to see Jason and the others staring at him with hate. A few arrows pierced his butt and he screamed an "OWW" that made a few of us raise our eyebrows. We didn't waste much time as we pounced on the pit God with all the anger and frustration, grief and sadness of the war. The Gods along with us combined were no match for him. I slashed, cut and stabbed constantly. All of us were going ultra offensive, neither one of us showing an ounce of defense in our technique. Leo wasn't flaming, but he was pounding on Tartarus' armour with his hammer. Tyson had a stick, but boy when that stick hit Tartarus once on the head he stumbled at least fifteen yards back because of the power of the blow. Soon enough we could see he was tiring out. Even he could feel it because just as we anticipated he made a run for the exit. To the other side this time, trying to go further deep into the pit. Apollo had the area covered, he shot arrows at unbelievable speeds. Tartarus dodged most of them being a Primordial, but the numbers were just too much for him and so were the archers. A few of them hit him in the leg and he fell down on the ground with a thud. For a while all of us stopped breathing, waiting for his next move.

Suddenly, he started shaking. Some ashes flew off from his body as if he were burning in flames.

We didn't understand what was happening, but Tartarus suddenly stood up with an air of confidence. He struggled to maintain balance, but he stood up nonetheless.

"Smart. Very smart indeed. I didn't underestimate you, but you still outplayed me. Guess this is the end huh. Well if it's the end for me I'll make damn sure it's the end for all of you as well!"

He then started muttering some words in a language that was neither Greek, Latin nor English.

Iapetus' eyes suddenly widened in realization. "He's gonna reveal his true form and blow the pit away along with us!"

My eyes widened at that. He needed to be killed before he finished his incantation.

"THALIA! THE SWORD, NOW!" I yelled and Thalia threw the sword in the air that I caught reflexively. I then threw it towards Zeus who caught it surprised.

"Do it fast! We don't have time!"

Tartarus and Zeus both widened their eyes, and Tartarus seemed to hurry his pace of muttering the incantations.

But the king of the Gods had amazing speed. He rushed towards the Primordial with the sword in his right hand and immediately cut through Tartarus' head. For a moment nothing happened, Tartarus' head lay on the floor with eyes wide and lips moving as if still muttering the verses. Soon it all stopped, and the pit started shaking.

"We need to get out before we sink into the pit. EVERYBODY GET OUT FAST!" I yelled and in a matter of seconds, every single soul was out and safe. In a dramatic kind of a way the pit just collapsed on its own as if it had been bombed. Zeus held the sword in his hand and everyone was so busy seeing the entrance of the pit that they did not see the sword glowing. Within a few seconds, it was glowing bright enough for everyone to stare at it.

Then one by one, without warning all the Gods starting with the big three collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Everyone was obviously confused, but before I could explain, Iapetus spoke, "The mystery of the sword finally reveals itself, and look, Percy, you didn't even have to break your oath!"

I just nodded and looked at the mortal Gods. I went beside Annabeth and held her hand in mine. To clear the confusion of everyone I said, "Look, I can't say anything. I'm still bound and we destroyed the monsters, not rivers. The Styx will still consume my soul if I break it. Just wait for the Gods to wake up and you'll see." The others just nodded.

It was over. It was all over finally. No more Tartarus, no more monsters, no more wars.

(A/N: POINT OUT ERRORS AND MISSING THINGS, IF ANY. BUT THE STORY IS OFFICIALLY OVER, AN EPILOGUE WILL FOLLOW. DO REVIEW, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS WELCOME)