Hey everyone! Been a while since I posted a new story, right off the bat lets get some things clear, this story was originally written by a lovely user called Raven347 . If you've been around this site for as long as I have and been an avid reader of PJO fics you might just remember this one. Ravens original story was called "Seven War Lords Of Olympus" and ran from July of 2013 all the way to February of 2017 until ultimately never being finished. It "ended" with a whopping 59 total chapters and over 170k words! Now, Raven had an amazing story with an intricate plot built into it but unfortunately fell short in the grammar department, but man did they have raw talent for writing. This fic was probably one of my first ones back when I was barely in middle school and looking back on it now halfway through college, I feel as if it deserves some love and an update, Raven347 hasn't been active since around 2018 and I've been unable to reach out to them to ask for permission. But massive disclaimer, I take ZERO credit for the majority of this story, I will however tweak it here and there, Ive already rewritten all of the first two chapters, and will periodically post the others. Go check out the original story here- https/m./s/9461311/1/Seven-War-Lords-Of-Olympus?_cf_chl_tk=FKQ6F3zpP8leQBB3Gv8UgXxvRQSNKOaTTZzAa4D1AKc-1663692467-0-gaNycGzNE-U
Now, please enjoy the revival of an amazing story!
Darkness was all around us, the only thing lighting the place was the torches on either side of the walls that seemed to stretch on forever. Monsters were chasing us, I could hear their footstep and growls, sometimes distant, sometimes as if they were right behind us. We were stuck down here, our only hope of escaping were the Doors of Death. The part of Tartarus we were currently running for our lives in reminded me of the Labyrinth, with different types of doors on the walls surrounding us that could lead into any number of strange places. We figured it out when I opened a door out of morbid curiosity and we stumbled across Typhon chained in his prison, his bellowing nearly shattering our eardrums. Each door held a surprise, some nasty and some that we simply couldn't comprehend. The maze was like a shortcut to all the levels of Tartarus. One of the first doors we opened led into a seemingly normal desert. We took our chances and went in, any place was better than literal hell. The heat of the desert was almost pleasant compared to Tartarus. We met a strange man while ambling, he explained to us that the maze we came from was known only to a select few beings and that it was no accident we found ourselves in it. He went on to say that the maze was unpredictable, constantly shifting and opening up in random places. He told us where and when to find it next. The stranger waved his hand lazily, flashing us a knowing smile that confused me, my vision suddenly turned blurry. Feeling dizzy I forced my eyes closed to steady myself, and only when I opened them did I realize we were back in the maze.
We'd been running now for what felt like a lifetime, unable to rest even for a second. Somehow Gaia figured out that we found the maze and she sent a horde of her minions to hunt us. I turned to my companion, she was falling behind until ultimately she had to stop, it was a wonder she was still alive, much less running. She was covered in blood from her injuries fighting monsters. Some of the wounds from the time we got captured and were tortured still hadn't healed yet. I must have looked just as worse as her, I know I sure felt that way. I jogged back to her, watching with a pang of sadness as she held herself up with one hand on the wall. Her breathing was ragged and labored, and I could see her wince in pain every time she took a breath.
"Pipes, we've gotta keep moving, we can't let them catch up to us."
"Perce.." she rasped out, " I... I don't think I've got anything left in me anymore," silent tears fell onto the ground.
I took her other hand and reached into my pocket, holding out my last piece of Ambrosia, she shook her head upon seeing it.
"I can't, it's yours."
"Take it, I've got one more." I didn't.
She took it, hastily chewing as a rare look of contentment washed over her face, instantly her remaining wounds slowly stitched themselves together leaving behind dried blood. She took a deep breath, the rattle that was there before finally gone. Standing up she gave me a quick nod and we took off again. I didn't know how long we'd been in Tartarus, time moved differently in the pit. There was never a chance to think about anything, at any and nearly every moment something would be trying to eat us, disembowel us, torture us, or just straight up kill us. We had to be on alert every single second. Tartarus would drive even a god insane. I would have never survived this long if it weren't for Piper, she was the only one I could trust in this god's forsaken place. We relied on each other to survive, She watched my back and I watched hers. She was a light that held my sanity together, if she wasn't there with me, I would have gone mad long ago and died. I relied on that light to give me strength and the courage to live. At some point, I came to love that light. I couldn't exist without her. It was unintentional, but the more time we spent together, protecting each other, surviving, and relying on one another, the more and more our relationship deepened. Finally, I saw the door we were looking for, the man from the desert told us to look for a specific door that had Death inscribed on it. "Come on, almost there," I couldn't tell if I was talking to Piper or myself. Uncapping Riptide, I watched as it grew into the three-foot Xiphos that had been by my side since I was 12, its bronze glow casting shadows across the corridor. Piper mimicked me and slipped Katoptris out of her belt loop. We stood in front of the door, Θάνατος was carved into the top.
"Thanatos, Death." Piper translated.
Just like the other doors, it was made of stone and slid open and closed. Piper and I looked at one another, I think she was doing the same thing I was, soaking the image of each other in, just in case. We each took one side of the stones and slid it open, cringing at the grinding noise that accompanied. On the other side was yet another corridor, on the right, was pure darkness, and on the left, there was some sort of commotion and a streak of light that hurt my eyes, I pointed to the left "The doors must-" before I had the chance to finish, a bone-shaking roar cut through the darkness, coming from directly behind us, following it were the howls of Hades' knows what. I could smell the Drakon before I could see it, the stench of its acid cutting through the air and stinging my nose. It was a miracle the thing fit in the hall, but it was trying its hardest clawing at the walls and floor dragging itself towards us at an alarming speed. We got right to work closing the doors, as if we needed any more motivation.
"Holy Hera why do these weigh more than when we opened them," Piper gasped out, and by the gods was she right.
"Just PUSH" I yelled back. Inch by inch the stone doors slowly started closing, I risked a glance through the opening and met the Drakons hate-filled gaze, it let off another roar, vibrating the very air around us. Piper and I both let out a yell of our own, screaming against the strain of our bodies threatening to give out on us. Finally, the stones slammed together, shutting the door. A second later a massive impact rocked the corridor knocking Piper and me clear from the stones. The door and the surrounding walls cracked, but luckily it held strong. I sat up and quickly checked to see if Piper was ok, she was already getting up and dusting herself off. I followed suit and cast a glance at the stone doors, and saw the greenish bluish blood of the Drakon slowly seep through the cracks.
Piper let off a quick chuckle, then sighed.
"I'm getting sick of all these doors."
I put my hand on her shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze "Come on, one more to go," we started down the left and arrived at a massive dome room, I had to squint my eyes, the light up ahead wasn't super bright but being in darkness for so long made them sensitive. The sound of yelling came from up ahead but was quickly overlapped by a thunderclap. It took a while for my eyes to adjust but eventually, I could see monsters lined up, their backs to us. On the other side of the dome stood two massive obsidian doors with silver skeletons sticking out, a shiver went down my spine as I realized the skeletons weren't statues and were chained to the doors. A Dracanae noticed us and let out a surprised cry, causing the rest of the horde to turn until they were all facing us, oddly enough they seemed surprised, I guess they weren't expecting us to have survived. I looked at Piper as she looked at me. Her choppy brown hair was braided, and the feather she wore in it was long gone, replaced with dried blood and mud. Her kaleidoscope eyes that I hadn't seen in the light for a long time met mine. Her clothes were ripped and nearly unrecognizable, scars, fresh and old littered her arms and legs and yet, she could never be more beautiful than at that very moment. I went to touch her cheek, my hand hovering right over her, she held the back of my hand and pressed it to her, leaning into it and closing her eyes, she opened them again with a sigh, sea-green met kaleidoscope, we leaned in at the same time. The moment our lips touched, I forgot about everything, my mind melted. She was my sanctuary from this living nightmare. When we separated I looked at her ever-changing eyes full of love, and adoration. Now that the end of our journey together was close I couldn't help but wonder what would happen to us. If we lived, I knew that our affair wouldn't, no, couldn't last. I knew that from the moment we first kissed, and made love in that cave. We both had people waiting for us beyond that door, people who loved us.
"Together?" I asked.
She smiled "Forever,"
We screamed our battle cry and charged.
An eager hellhound rushed out to greet us, the thing was massive, at least the size of a truck. I went low as piper went high, I slid under its belly and rammed Riptide straight up and in one swift motion pulled it out as I finished the slide and came up behind it, standing up just as Piper landed next to me. Her dagger wasn't in her hand, it was currently occupying the middle of the hound's head, looking like a weird wolf unicorn until it dissolved in a golden puff with a surprised look on its face. The sound of Katoptris hitting the ground caused all Hades' to break loose.
Piper and I fought like we had been fighting together for years, which in all honesty we very well could've been, we covered each other's blindspots, more than once fighting literally back to back. At some point, Piper got separated from me and for a brief second I panicked, that is, until I saw her standing on top of a Cyclopes, clearly charm speaking it as it smashed its clubbed axe into smaller creatures. I couldn't help the laughter that erupted from me, causing the three Dracaenae I was dueling to look uneasily at one another. I locked eyes with the main one and let a wicked grin sprawl across my face, launching myself at her as she flinched. Ducking under the spears of her companions, she managed to get a shield up in time but it didn't matter, I rammed Riptide into it and watched in satisfaction as it punctured the shield and cut straight through her neck. I dispatched the other two with ease as I surveyed our surroundings. They clearly hadn't expected us to survive, counting the remaining horde left, they must have concentrated more than half of their force on the other side of the doors, focusing on fighting the remaining Seven. Still, they were probably around more than two hundred strong. I rushed forward, my body on autopilot. Slash, stab, duck, block, parry, deflect, riposte. A subconscious dance I didn't have to think about anymore. That was probably the only highlight of being in the Pit, you had no choice but to improve your fighting style to perfection or die. I vaulted off an Earthborn's back, cleaving its head off in the apex of the flip. I landed a couple yards away from Piper, mesmerized by the way she fought. A Centaur tried to decapitate her, she twirled her blade into a reverse grip, spinning into a duck and stabbing it in its stomach, quickly dropping down and slashing at its front knees. Using the momentum of the spin she thrust Katoptris up and lodged it firmly into the underside of the Centaur's skull as it fell forward. Dodging to the side to avoid a Trident trying to skewer her, she didn't miss a beat in gutting the Dracaenae responsible. she did all of that in seemingly one motion. A Cyclopes almost got me while watching her, I backstepped as its club smashed where I was just standing. The cyclopes once again tried the same move, lifting its club up in preparation to make me a pancake, but I rolled forward and stabbed it in its heart before it could bring it down, the club landed harmlessly nearby as the one-eyed giant turned to dust. Piper was suddenly standing next to me.
"We have to keep moving forward," she grunted out as she stabbed a Hellhound trying to creep up on us. "But these bastards are endless."
"I'll handle it. As soon as you get a chance, make a run for it, I'll be right behind you," I replied.
"What's the plan?" she asked.
"I'm gonna make my dad proud," I grinned at her, only grinning wider as she rolled her eyes. Sobering up, I turned towards the remaining monsters in between us and the Doors of Death. "All right you assholes, get ready for the ride of your lives," I muttered under my breath. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the power inside me, feeling my stomach tighten in response. Opening my eyes I let loose a roar and slammed my foot on the ground. The ground in front of us instantly cracked and caved in on itself as the earthquake spread out and ahead of us, monsters roared and yelled in surprise as they suddenly lost their balance and footing. It would've been a hilarious sight, the cyclopes losing their balance and accidentally crushing smaller monsters as they fell and thrashed around trying to stay upright and failing, if I had time to laugh. Piper instantly dashed forward, traversing the uneven ground easily, leaping over rocks and newly formed chasms and slashing at anything that reached for her. I was hot on her heels, finishing off any monster that I could, once I caught up with her we slipped into our usual rhythm. We were a tornado of death as we made our way to the doors, cutting down anything and everything in our path without mercy. Finally, we reached the other side, the doors stood wide open, almost tauntingly. Something like glass, but dark and foggy, stretched between us and the living world, a barrier of some kind. I could see a massive bear spit out a dead hellhound from its maw as it roared a challenge to a group of cyclope, Frank. A shadow seemed to dance in between the monsters, slicing and stabbing them with a dark precision and reaping their souls with a Stygian Iron sword, before flittering away into another shadow and flanking them all over again, Nico. Further in the back, I could see Jason and Annabeth going toe to toe with Porphyrion, king of the Giants. To the left of the doors, a golden blur raced around, leaving nothing but dust in its wake and a whole lot of cursing, Hazel on Arion no doubt. To the right, Leo stood smashing anything that got too close with his war hammer that didn't get incinerated by the intense heat radiating off him and the waves of fire he'd send out. I couldn't help the grin that split my face at seeing my friends again. "Nico!" I shouted. The son of Hades snarled and looked towards us, only to get a shocked look at seeing Piper and me.
"Huh?!"
That was all he got out before accidentally shadow traveling right into an Earthborn's back. I heard Piper giggle next to me. A Hawk landed in front of the glass barrier and quickly morphed into Frank.
"Guys! Mars almighty you're alright!" He laughed in excitement and reached for the barrier. A hand shot out of the shadows and stopped Franks from touching the glass.
"Don't. Not unless you want to die, Zhang." Nico said, apparating from the darkness.
"What is it?" Frank asked, quickly pulling away his hand and double-checking to make sure he didn't touch it.
"It separates the world of the living and the dead," Nico replied, eyeing the barrier with morbid interest. "One half of the door is here, in the mortal world, the other is there in Tartarus, but both need to be closed at the same time."
"Can we pass through?" I asked as I tentatively checked the glass.
"You'll be fine, it won't harm anything coming back to the mortal world, think of it as a form of rebirth," Nico explained.
"Percy, we've got company," Piper said darkly, causing me to turn around. The monsters seemed to have regained their bearings and were starting towards us once more.
"Hold on to something Pipes," I replied as I stabbed Riptide into the ground. I concentrated once more on my power, raising my hands and imagining the stale air around us slowly coming together, rapidly increasing in speed until forming a hurricane that would make Zeus jealous. I could feel the pressure in my ears, traveling down into my fingertips and out. I opened my eyes as the hurricane ripped to life right in front of us, focusing, I clapped my hands together and forced it forward. I fell to a knee breathing hard. I've used too much energy up, I thought darkly to myself. "I don't know how long that'll hold them all back," I coughed out as Piper helped me to my feet. Nico looked at me with worry.
"The doors need to be closed, monsters aren't staying dead for long, I don't know how much longer the others can hold out." He said. Nico stared straight at me, and I realized then and there that he knew what I was going to do.
"Frank, help Nico get your half," I said and they both nodded and got in position. "Piper, help me." I capped Riptide and Piper slipped Katoptris back into her belt loop, we moved as one as we began pushing. When the doors were half closed I stopped and uncapped Riptide again. Piper looked at me confused.
"Perce, what are you..?" she asked incredulously.
"I promised you I'd get you out of here, Pipes," I replied, locking eyes with those kaleidoscopes one last time. An Oath to keep with a final breath. those were the lines in the prophecy. Her eyes widened in realization, I lunged before she had a chance to argue, hitting her head with the flat of my blade, and knocking her out. I caught her before she hit the ground, letting Riptide fall out of my hands. I took one last glance at her beautiful face and smiled sadly. I leaned down and whispered, "I'm sorry, I'll always love you."
"Percy.." I looked up at Nico, he had an understanding look in his eyes, Frank was freely letting tears fall.
"We all knew someone had to stay behind," Was all I could manage as I looked down at Piper again. I passed her through the glass, Frank carrying her on the other side. "Kick some Giant ass for me, buddy," I said to him, putting on a smile.
"Percy.." he sobbed out. I looked at Nico. "Tell Annabeth... tell her I'm sorry," I felt a lump form in my throat.
"I will," he replied simply, yet it carried so much emotion. We began pushing once more and with a loud bang the Doors of Death finally closed, the last of real sunlight faded away. The hurricane that was chipping away at my energy died out the moment the doors closed, the monsters no longer buffed back by it. I faced them down, me versus at least a hundred of them. I felt as Riptide came back to my pocket and took it out and uncapped it all in one swift motion. I swung it in an arc in front of me.
"Are we doing this or not?"
I was dying, there was no denying it. I was slumped against a wall in some dark corridor. I could literally feel my life draining from me, it kind of felt like when I had blood drawn when I was a kid, a cold feeling inside, not knowing exactly what was seeping out but knowing I'm losing it. I killed most of the bastards, I started to get sluggish though and caught a spear with my gut, I was missing my left shoulder, which was taken by a Hellhound that I promptly eviscerated. A cyclopes landed a lucky hit on my sword arm and rendered it useless, the bones crushed into what felt like powder. I managed to let out another earthquake to cover my escape, but I knew it was useless, they'd find me eventually, or if I was lucky, which I never was, I'd bleed out first.
Maybe it was because I was dying, but I swore I could see through the wall in front of me, the Fates themselves on the other side. I watched as Clotho held up an innumerable amount of threads, slowly pulling out a sea-green one. Lachesis spread it out, almost as if she was presenting it to me, mockingly.
Ah, guess that one's mine.
So this is how I die, here in this dark place, all alone.
Unable to help my friends fight the Giants, to defeat Gaia.
"You drool when you sleep."
"I hate wonder bread."
"What the Schist."
"Can your sword do grenade form?"
"Do we get WANTED posters?"
"I don't smile."
"You want some, Seaweed Brain?"
My friend's voices filled my head, why was I thinking of those moments now? Was that my life flashing before my eyes? I was sad to leave them behind, but I reassured myself that I had done everything I could for them, and now It was time to rest. As I closed my eyes, Piper's face filled my mind.
"I love you."
My eyes snapped open as I let loose a primal yell. Atropos's scissors were millimeters away from snipping my thread. The Moirai stared at me, frozen in shock.
"I... Will...Not...Die...Here," I growled out. Forcing my left arm to put pressure on the wound on my stomach. "I.. Refuse.."
I closed my eyes again, determination coursed through me as I plunged into the depths of my mind. Even if I had to make a deal with the vilest creature in existence.
I will see her again.
And there we go! I hope you all enjoy this revival and remember to leave a review! Feedback is always helpful and I'll never say no to criticism!
Much love to Raven347, I sincerely hope they're living their best life, I consider this a tribute to them 3
I'll see y'all soon, take it easy out there :)