Chapter 6 - The Black Fortress

Nico was left confused. He didn't know what had happened, where Hades was or where Percy, Thalia and Clarisse were now. They were supposed to meet up with him, but their disappearance was worrying.

Still, Nico knew he couldn't afford to linger too long in Wyoming. It was dangerous being on the surface. Every block in a city there would be a monster, every nymph was a potential informant to the Titans. But the demigods also found many whom weren't. Nymphs would pop out of their trees or bushes to watch the demigods pass for a brief second, and then turn their heads aside. Others would even turn around and stare off in a different direction until the demigods were no longer there.

So at least Yellowstone seemed reasonably safe from the Titans. Nico wasn't sure how long that would last or how often, but he wasn't sticking around to find out.

He was just grateful that not everything in this new world would be aiming to kill them.

Nico snuck into Jackson, Wyoming and managed to grab some more food and a map of the USA. What he was about to pitch to the other demigods would sound like suicide to them, but it needed to be done. Perhaps ironically, it could be the only safe place in the world for the demigods now.

Nico rolled out a map on the ground for everyone, late one evening. Will made his body glow to give them some light with which to see it.

Nico placed a finger on the map. "We're in Yellowstone right now," he said to the other demigods. "I don't know what's happened to Percy and the others-"

"And Hades."

"And Hades," Nico added distractedly, "but we can't stay here for ages. I'd be surprised if the Titans haven't already found out where we are and sent monsters after us. So we have to keep moving, they can look after themselves." Percy, Thalia and Clarisse were three of the most capable demigods he'd ever met, with a close rival. "There is a safe place we can go," Nico said. "Or at least – safer than out here where the Titans can find us." The son of Hades took a deep breath, and slowly set a finger above San Francisco. "Here," he quietly said.

Annabeth's eyes widened. "Mount Othrys?" She demanded angrily. "Are you insane? We'll all be killed! That's – right on the Titans' doorstep!"

Nico shook his head slightly. "Not Mount Othrys," he said. "There's somewhere else – Camp Jupiter. It's where my father suggested we go," Nico added.

Will's eyes furrowed. "What's Camp Jupiter?"

"There are Romans," Nico said flatly to the gathered demigods. "That's their Camp. We were on the East coast to protect Olympus, they're on the West to watch Othrys. But it's protected, shielded with similar defences to Camp Half-Blood – the Titans can't find it."

Annabeth stared down at the map, looking completely disbelieving. "How – why weren't we ever told about this?" She demanded.

Nico shrugged. "Bad blood," he said. "Lots of things happened in the past between the Greeks and Romans. The gods probably don't want to deal with the headache of another Civil War, but at this point I think we need to go there anyway."

"What were they doing?" Annabeth asked. "While we were defending Olympus – where were they?" She demanded. "We could've used their help."

"Hades told me they stormed Othrys," Nico said. "They were winning too, but the gods managed to get a warning to them to pull back when K – when the Titan Lord appeared. Wouldn't have been able to take him on when he returned to Othrys, so they pulled back to their base. Hades was pretty convinced that the Titans wouldn't be able to find their Camp – it's the best option for us now."

Annabeth grimaced. "Romans," she muttered under her breath, saying it much like a curse. "Alright," she said as she stared at the distance on the map between Yellowstone and San Francisco. "I guess that's the best option we have," she said tiredly.

Nico nodded and rolled up the map, looking around at the others. "It's the only option we have," he tiredly corrected.

"We should rest for the night," Will firmly said. "Before moving on. The guys – two are still too injured to move without help. They can't get up on their feet yet," he whispered.

The son of Apollo looked dead on his feet. Nico nodded. "Neither can you," he noted, worried as he looked at Will.

Will just nodded slightly. "Yeah. I need a break too, sorry," he said tiredly.

Nico wasn't surprised and had figured that a while ago when they'd stopped before. He took a deep breath as he pushed himself back to his feet, looking around at the darkened landscape around them. None of them had been willing to risk a fire even in Yellowstone where there were very few people around. No one knew how far or well the Titans could see, what Kronos might be able to latch onto from Othrys.

"Let's just hope that we're not Seen," Annabeth quietly said.

Nico nodded. He was tired himself. Every time they came across monsters which caught onto their scent he had to either shadow travel or fight off the monster, which just got even more attention. The past while they'd been ducking in and out of the Labyrinth so often that Nico wasn't really sure how much time had passed since they'd split up from Percy, Thalia and Clarisse.

All Nico knew was that their absence was worrying.

There was something unnerving about sleeping out in the open knowing that Kronos and his Titans would be scouring the Earth looking for them. Nico would be able to relax only when they reached Camp Jupiter.


Percy wasn't sure how long had passed between their encounter with Koios and him finally waking up.

All he knew was that his muscles were stiff and he was extremely cold. It took him several long minutes between waking and opening his eyes. Percy stared uncomprehendingly at the black marble wall in front of him, blinking several times – but no, it was still there. He groaned, pushing his aching body up so he could sit. Percy stared at the black marble wall, dread pooling in his stomach. He reached to his pocket and felt for Riptide – nothing. After squeezing his eyes shut and counting to ten, Percy took a deep and calming breath.

Despite wanting to scream and cry, Percy knew he couldn't. He knew those massive black marble blocks, knew that it meant he was in Othrys. He recalled several years ago when he'd seen Artemis trapped beneath the Sky, how Othrys' blocks had been reassembling before his eyes. Well, now he was trapped in the depths of Othrys.

Percy stared at the bronze bars which covered one side of the cell he was stuck in, letting out a deep breath. Because of course the Titans would go for the classic, medieval cells. He scowled, pushing himself unsteadily to his feet and stumbling towards the bars. Percy was startled to find his muscles stiff and he struggled to force them to move.

There was a puddle of water where he'd woken up, likely from the forced freezing he'd endured at Koios' hands. Percy shivered and rubbed his arms, ignoring the cuts and tears in his shirt and pants from the fight he'd had against the monsters.

And Hades – Percy glared down the corridor as he rattled the bars, a futile gesture. His cheek was pressed against the bars to look, but it was so dark down there that he couldn't make out the end of the corridor. Percy shifted slightly as he heard a low groan, though not sure where it was coming from.

There was a responding growl from down the corridor, and Percy watched as a red-eyed hellhound paced down the darkened corridor. Only two glowing red eyes were initially visible, before the truck-sized hellhound stepped forward and paused right before Percy's cell. Percy narrowed his eyes, noting the matted fur and the feral gaze which flitted over him before the hellhound continued on, baring it's fangs at the occupant of a cell three down from Percy.

Percy swallowed thickly as he watched the hellhound's shaggy backside disappear into the darkness again, the monster horribly quiet as it moved. He shifted back from the bars, groaning.

He wasn't sure if he should be furious or terrified.

Kronos had killed his mother and Paul. He'd destroyed Camp Half-Blood and murdered Percy's friends. And the gods had all vanished. The Titan Lord was winning – and Percy was terrified. He tucked his knees up to his chest and sat in a corner in the back of the cell, watching the bars and the short length of corridor that he could see.

Percy rested his head back against the wall, staring duly up at the ceiling for a few moments. He didn't know what was going to happen to him, only that Hades had betrayed them and Koios had captured him and clearly brought him back to Othrys.

Kronos. Percy felt a chill track down his back as he recalled those sharp, cunning eyes which had fixed on him in the dream. It was clear that Kronos didn't care the slightest for the lives he took in seating himself on the throne. There was a darkness to the Titan Lord, clear even in dreams, that made Percy want to curl into a ball and die just to avoid facing him.

Percy knew he'd be facing him. He was the kid of the Prophecy, the one who had been destined to save or raze Olympus… and clearly, Percy had failed. Kronos would no doubt want to lord that over Percy's head, rub his failure in and make it clear to Percy that he had failed and Kronos had won.

But Percy was scared shitless at even the thought of that meeting.

He, a little mortal, had tried to stand against the Titans – against Kronos – and Percy knew that none of them would take to that kindly.

Percy squeezed his eyes shut. "Please," he murmured, his voice low as he dared to pray to any god whom might still hear him, "help me." His eyes furrowed slightly. "Please, Poseidon – help."

Percy kept his eyes shut for several minutes, but he felt no different. No comforting presence, no sign of any of the gods or his father answering to him. Poseidon didn't always answer, but Percy knew he did when he sensed that Percy needed someone to speak to.

Though how Poseidon might be able to speak to Percy, he didn't know.

The gods were gone, and Percy knew he couldn't count on them to help anyone anymore.

The sound of a door slamming open made him jump slightly, and Percy raised his head as he watched a guard stop across from Percy's cell and hand a plastic plate of food to the occupant, along with a small plastic cup of water. He then turned to Percy's cell and did the same, sliding the plate and cup through a gap in the bars.

Percy paused briefly, hesitant to eat the food, but the person across from him was eating with a ferocity which surprised him and Percy was suddenly aware of his empty stomach gnawing at him. He sighed and took the food.

Percy rolled the food around the plate with the plastic fork, grimacing slightly after a taste. Naturally, the food was bland and tasteless. But the other person seemed fine, so Percy ate, and then he drank the water.

At least he was being fed – the Titans wouldn't waste food and water on him if they were just going to kill him. Though as Percy stared at the now empty plate, he half wished they were going to execute him. It was a better option than endless torture.

The water at least gave Percy a much-needed boost. He returned to the bars, trying to peer through the darkness to make out the features of the person opposite him. "Hey?" Percy hissed. "Hey-" A furious growl down the corridor cut off Percy's words, and instinct had Percy lurching back from the bars a split second before a hellhound collided with them, red eyes burning holes into Percy's body and fangs bared as it paced the other side of the bars.

"Hey," a voice said back to him out of the darkness.

Percy paused, eyes furrowing slightly. The way it was said was off and the back of Percy's neck crawled. "Who are you?" He asked, the hellhound snarling wildly at him through the bars. Clearly, Percy wasn't supposed to talk.

"Who are you?" The voice mimicked. Percy glared, but his eyes furrowed slightly as the darkness shifted and a red shape, smaller than Percy and four-legged moved just beyond Percy's vision. Percy hesitated when he heard a clacking noise in the corridor.

Percy swallowed, slowly inching back from the bars. He didn't know what monsters were down there with him, only that he doubted they were friendly to demigods.

Percy curled up in the corner of his cell and tried to ignored the heavy breathing of the monsters in the corridor beyond the bars.

The demigod wasn't sure how long he'd been in the cell when someone finally came for him. He could only guess that it had been several days at least – days of doing nothing except staring at walls and listening to the agonised screams that occasionally reached him.

The red-furred monster slunk around the corridor, imitating voices whenever anyone spoke. It's imitation was so terrifyingly good that Percy could never tell if it was the monster or a person.

Eventually, Percy was woken at some point, though time was meaningless down in the cells with no natural light and the exact same meal every few hours. He was startled awake when he felt his wrists twisted in front of him and immediately struggled, yelling incoherently in his surprise. Percy's ankles were similarly shackled and his wrists connected to a length of chain between them. Percy swore as he was forced upright, his heart lurching in his chest and threatening to come out of his throat.

"Hey-"

There was a red blur at his side as he was dragged out of the cell, forced to walk awkwardly in the chains and Percy spotted the flank of a red-furred lion disappearing ahead of them as he was marched down the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Percy demanded. It was obvious that the two guards forcing him to move were mortals, most likely demigods. They could understand him, but they didn't answer him. Percy bristled, gritting his teeth. "Hey, I'm talking to you-" he cut himself off with a sharp curse as a spear point was jabbed into the back of his knee, causing his leg to buckle underneath him. It didn't break the skin, thanks to the Curse of Achilles, but Percy still swore at them. "Bastards," he bit out angrily.

"Walk," one of them said sharply. It wasn't a voice that Percy recognised, and the guard didn't seem very young either – older than Percy, he'd guess.

"Where are we going?" Percy repeated as he struggling to get himself upright before the guards just decided to drag him down the corridor.

They began to go up a flight of steps, then a second. Percy grunted when several flights later they emerged out onto a dimly-lit corridor. This one was far larger, and Percy couldn't help but gape open-mouthed. He had stopped moving, eyes wide as he stared either way down the massive corridor. Even the statues visible in alcoves were at least forty feet tall. Green Greek fire torches flickered at intervals down the corridor, casting the black marble an eerie green that reflected off the polished floor and walls.

Othrys was nothing like Olympus. Olympus was open, wide avenues, parks, shrines and temples in the city. Othrys was a single, immense fortress clearly designed to cater to one individual only with sweeping halls and yet Percy suddenly felt tiny under the eyes of the statue directly ahead of him.

Percy swallowed thickly, heart skipping a beat or two. "Shit," he whispered as he gazed upon a fully-reformed Black Fortress.

One of the guards snickered and the other shoved Percy in the back, making him stumble forward. "Move," he said, the guards either side of Percy. There was nothing Percy could do except listen and do as they'd ordered, even if their words send chills down his spine in the frigid corridor. "Lord Kronos won't wait forever."


I was so tempted to put Kronos in this one... but thought I'd instead leave it on another cliffhanger for you guys and do that next chapter haha

Erin Dark Masters: Yeah, no Percy and Annabeth anytime soon (if at all) lol. Hades is absolutely self-centered and he'd want to survive at any cost, I think... even if that means allying himself with Kronos.

sapientia et gloria intrat: I look forward to the Percy and Kronos scene too! It's going to be great fun!

thegoldraven: yeah, Hades is a dick XD. The other Olympains are 'missing' to the demigods... either imprisoned in various places or dead to the Titans... or they've gone turncoat like Hades did last chapter. I updated soon!