Hey guys, I'm back. I just want to start by apologizing to you all about the whole no update in months thing. Some things came up that I just couldn't keep under control, and my life was pretty fucked up for a while there. Well, now I'm back, hopefully for good. I wrote this chapter over the course of the last few days, and wanted to give you guys an early fourth of july present. There are a lot of surprised here, suspenseful and all, and I hope you enjoy. I had to re-read the entire story twice 2 days ago to get the feel of it back in my head, due to the lack of work the past four months. Please don't forget to review. It really helps me become a better writer and will keep me motivated to not give up.
Now on with the story!
P.S. sorry for the 4 month cliffhanger.
Disclaimer: I do not own PJO or HoO, I only own my OCs and ideas.
Percy stared at Adrastos with shock, completely astonished at the truth that had come out. The reason his life had spiraled downhill. The reason he was twisted into an evil killing machine. The reason why he was who he was, was because of his best friend, Adrastos. The shy, somewhat innocent Adrastos who had befriended him from the beginning.
Percy's eyes flared.
"You..." he replied, speechless. Adrastos shrugged, looking somewhat regretful at first, but his expression immediately turned smug. He winked at Percy, turning his back on his commander and friend.
"You FUCKER!" Percy screamed as he pulled a shadow towards him, and reappeared in front of Adrastos. He punched Adrastos square in the nose, causing blood to ooze down his face and mouth, like a flowing waterfall of red liquid. Adrastos stumbled back. wiping the blood off his face. He cracked his neck and knuckles, glaring at Percy.
"If this is the way it's gonna go down, then bring it on Perce!" he challenged. Percy snarled angrily as he pulled his sword Riptide out, Primordial Obsidian gleaming in the sun. He pointed it at Adrastos and charged.
The battle seemed to last for hours. The monster army, seeming to have heard commotion from the Officer's tent area, rushed over, expected an enemy battle, but instead were greeted by their leader and second in command battling it out. Many cheered them on, circling the two as the battle invigorated them into an almost bloodthirsty state.
Percy did not let the crowd get to him. He had one focus and one focus only. Obliterate Adrastos entirely.
He charged the son of Prometheus, and was about to shadow travel behind him when it seemed he warped straight into a wall. Percy was confused at first, but then realized what was happening. It was very similar to that anti-magic barrier he had encountered in Tartarus.
"Shit," he muttered under his breath. Adrastos was also confused, but being the fair soul he was, he did not strike Percy while he was searching for the cause of this interruption.
"Who would have thought that those two would be fighting to the death right before a war," a deep, evil voice boomed. Percy turned around, knowing what was behind him. He gulped, knowing he experiences with those three could have been the death of him.
In their full war plethora, stood the three Wrath-Bringers, Brutallus at point, flanked by Azarad and Trelopades, smiling sadistically as ever.
"What an amusement. Please, puny mortals, carry on with your fight. Don't let us distract you," Azarad mocked, polishing his weapon. Percy rolled his eyes at their arrogance, and turned to Adrastos.
"Looks like we've got quite the audience," Percy joked to Adrastos. Chuckling, Adrastos replied back. "Let's make it a show then." He charged Percy with his mace, swinging with renewed vigor. He swung with fluidity and grace, tearing through the air towards Percy. Percy sidestepped the first swing, before countering a thrust towards Adrastos' midsection. Adrastos leaned back Matrix-style, as the blade cut through the air above him. Percy took note, impressed by his flexibility. The Champion of Erebus then feigned two strikes at Adrastos' chest, setting up the perfect opportunity to then sweep his legs out from under him. Adrastos crashed hard onto his back, landing with a thud. The monsters cheered. The Wrath-Bringers lipped their lips, hoping for some bloodshed.
Adrastos kipped up onto his feet once more, unfazed by the army. He picked up a rock from the ground and hurled it towards Percy. Percy, focusing on dodging the rock, was not expecting Adrastos to charge towards him, mace in hand. He turned his attention back to Adrastos, but it was too late, as the son of Prometheus was already in mid-swing. The mace made shattering impact with Percy's ribs. No roar of pain could have been louder than what left Percy.
The son of Poseidon lay on his back, coughing up blood as he examined his wounds. He could barely breathe. He had at least 2 cracked ribs, more of them broken. He most likely had a punctured lung as well, as it felt like his respiratory system was shutting down. Adrastos walked over to him, shaking his head at his commander. Percy glared daggers at his former friend, as he tried to stand up. He somehow managed to get on his feet, despite the sharp pain in his side.
"Ready for more, Perseus." The son of Prometheus spat the name in disgust. Percy collapsed over, as his vision began to fade. Adrastos walked up to his limp body.
"I'm sorry, Percy," he said, raising his mace one last time. He brought it up high, roaring at the top of his lungs. The monsters watched on in horror, seeing their Commander about to face his demise. Adrastos brought down the mace with great spread and power, right onto the skull of the one and only Perseus Jackson.
The Wrath-Bringers looked on in shock. Adrastos looked at the bloodied body of his friend, then back at the Wrath-Bringer's. Staring Brutallus in the eyes, he raised his mace up into the air, earning a cheer from the monsters. He yelled with victory and vigor, unbelieving what he had done. He did not, however, realize the shadows gathering around Percy's body.
All the monsters did however, as they stared at Percy's body, levitating off the ground with darkness pulsing through his lifeless body.
Adrastos mumbled, "you have got to be kidding me."
Dark rays of energy pulsed through Percy's eyes and mouth, replaces his once black eyes with red, green, and black eyes; a swirling mix of power and darkness. A white aura emerged from his mouth, before sinking into the ground. The monsters, seeing what was happening, were made aware of the prophecy told by Chronos long ago. The second half of the prophecy, which fortold the rising of an unstoppable force, lost within texts ages ago. They began to chant.
"Άνοδος στο σκοτάδι! Άνοδος στο σκοτάδι!" rise to darkness, rise to darkness.
Adrastos was still unaware of what was happening, until Percy's body crashed down to the ground, cracking the earth below him. Except, something was off. It wasn't exactly Percy. Adrastos studied the body, but shivered when he heard the voice.
"Ah, it has been too long since I have taken on a host body... now the Olympians will face their DOOM!" the voice of Erebus came from Percy's mouth. The monsters cheered. Adrastos gasped. The Wrath-Bringers exchanged nervous glances, knowing their past threats to Erebus while he was not incarnate could very well backfire on them now.
"Good work Adrastos. You have unintentionally completed my wishes," Erebus grinned evilly, thanking Adrastos. The son of Prometheus only nodded, still shocked by the ordeal. Erebus turned his head to the Wrath-Bringers.
"As for you three, if you do not swear your allegiance now, I will assure you that there will be no where on heaven and earth for you to hide. Now, what say you," he asked, shadowy balls of eerie fire forming in his hands, as his eyes glinted with pure malice. Brutallus knew that it would be a bad idea to oppose the Lord of Shadows, knowing that he was much more powerful in the form of a body. He grudgingly stepped forward.
"We swear on the River Styx to be loyal to you, Lord Erebus," he choked out angrily, knowing he had been defeated. Erebus smiled.
"Good. Now, lets destroy these puny Campers and their 'almighty gods," he mocked. The monsters cheered. Adrastos was still in shock at what had occurred. He stared into his hands, a tear streaking down his face.
"What have I done..."
Camp Half-Blood:
"Are you sure this is going to work, my dear?" Chiron asked a familiar blonde girl, now in her twenties, whom he had raised since she was only a small child. Annabeth, daughter of Athena, nodded at her mentor.
"It has to work Chiron. It is our only shot," she replied grimly. She looked around at her friends who would be joining her. Her longest, oldest friends Grover and Thalia, who was taking Phoebe and 2 other hunters with her. Jake Mason was coming, as was Clarisse, Malcolm, Pollux, Travis and Connor Stoll, Nico di Angelo, and none other than Percy's brother, Tyson. She smiled gravely at her friends, knowing inside her that not all of them would be coming back from this trip.
"We get Percy good!" Tyson cheered. The campers followed suit. Clarisse grinned at her old rival Annabeth, who she had become good friends with the past few years.
"Let's get this show on the road. Let's show these Primordial meatsacks not to mess with the daughter of Ares!" she exclaimed. The campers around her grunted in agreement, before a blinding flash appeared in front of them. They shielded their eyes, and when the light finally subsided, there stood the figure of the Messenger god.
"Lord Hermes," Annabeth greeted, bowing to the god. Her entourage followed suit, except for Travis and Connor. They both grinned at their father.
"Hey dad," they said in unison.
"Hey kids. Hello campers," the Messenger God replied, forcing a smile on his face. The gods were going through tough times with the rise of multiple Primordial Gods and the fact that the largest army they have ever faced was marching on their doorstep. They were also still shocked at Percy Jackson's return and his untimely fall to darkness. Hermes, although happy to see his children, was still mournful for Percy's fate as he had once experienced the same thing with his son Luke. He knew it could only end badly for Percy, and he was not looking forward to his favorite camper that was not his child's fate. Nor was he looking forward to Poseidon's grief if anything happened, which he strongly believed would.
Annabeth turned to Chiron, her teacher for over 15 years and by now very close friend. She hugged him dearly.
"Chiron, we will succeed. Hold off the camp as long as possible. Our plan will work. The light always trumps the darkness," she assured. Chiron smiled at the daughter of Athena.
"My dear. All the training I have given you comes down to this day. Tartarus is a place that holds no bounds. Even I do not know what lurks in the shadows. You, however, have survived the ordeal the pit has to offer once before, and you can surely do it once again, with the help of friend." The wise centaur then turned to the other campers. "Remember your training. Watch each other's backs. There are things in the darkness of Tartarus that will strike when you are least expecting it. Ancient... powerful beings. Like the ones that attacked Olympus to free Percy. Just be on your guard, and you will prevail," Chiron finished. He had dark thoughts of what would happen to his students, but he pushed them aside. He nodded encouragingly to them one last time, before ushering Hermes to teleport them to Los Angeles.
"Alright kids, gather round," Hermes ordered. The campers came closer to Hermes, and he snapped his fingers. A gush of fast winds and bright lights ensued the crowd, and merely a second later they appeared in front of D.O.A. Record Studios in the streets of Los Angeles. Charon jumped out of his seat in shock, and began yelling at the for scaring him to the point where he almost got ink on his suit, but quickly shut his mouth when he noticed an Olympian in his presence.
"Lord Hermes, what is the meaning of this?" he asked, bowing apologetically. Hermes looked grim.
"These campers have an incredibly important role in the future of Western Civilization and the world as a whole. The need to meet with Lord Hades before descending into the depths of Tartarus," he said. The air grew ominously colder when the name 'Tartarus,' was spoken, but the sensation quickly passed. Charon had a look of shock on his face, but merely nodded.
"Right this way, Half-Bloods," he ushered. He nodded at Hermes, who pulled his kids aside before departing with them.
"Travis, Connor," he said. They nodded to their father. "Whatever happens down there, just know that you have made me so proud in your lifetimes. Just know that I will always be with you, no matter where you end up." He smiled at his kids, who hugged their father dearly.
"Don't worry dad, we packed plenty of fart bombs and traps to keep the whole of their army at bay," Connor retorted. Travis joined in, saying, "Yeah, and I have twenty rolls of toilet paper coated in Celestial Bronze for overkill incase Typhon needs some reassurance to join in." The brothers high-fived, and Hermes smiled.
"That's my boy! Now, run along, you have work to do." Travis and Connor ran after their friends, laughing and joking as if this was what they did every day of their life. Little did they know that things were about to go very south in the near future.
"Good boy. Thanks for letting us through, Cerb." Nico di Angelo patted the son of Echidna, Cerberus, on the nose, after the guard dog of the underworld let them pass into the judging area. Cerberus stared daggers at Annabeth, remembering her from the time she tricked him with toys to get through with Percy and Grover. He growled at the daughter of Athena, who quickly hurried past into the judging courtyard. They could hear the judgment of the ghost-judges, and Nico rolled his eyes.
Nico di Angelo spent so much time in the Underworld that he knew it front and back. Including all the "staff," that he helped his father around the expanse of the underworld. That included the Ghost Kings: King Midas, Thomas Jefferson and one other man he never knew the name of. The Furies, Cerberus and other spiritual workers he also had began to befriend these past five years. Especially after Percy left.
Percy and Nico weren't always great friends. Their relationship hadn't always been fond of each other, as it started with Nico blaming Percy for the death of his sister. He then ran away and later, after realizing it was not Percy's fault, befriended him and helped Percy defeat Kronos's army. Nico had been missing Percy for years and when he found out that Percy was the leader of Tartarus and Erebus's army, he was not only shocked, but also very upset. He felt that he let his friend down and that he had, in a way betrayed percy for letting him fall to darkness. He also felt bad for not sticking up for Percy when Zeus thought that Percy had murdered Zade. Nico had never been fond of Zeus, because Hades was his brother and Zeus had never treated Hades well. Nico was on Percy side of the matter for the whole murder accusation and banishment to Tartarus, but he opinions meant nothing to Zeus. The king of all the gods and lightning was very stubborn and egotistical. Zeus did not often listen to the thoughts, opinions, and ideas of others, especially when he was upset over a matter. This trait, however, would be his downfall in the end. That was at least Nico's view of things.
Nico escorted his companions up the steps to his father's Great hall. Hades' palace looked very much like Mount Olympus, however, it was the polar opposite. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover had made this very same observation when they had visited Hades in the underworld on their quest to retrieve Zeus' master bolt. It was made out of black marble, similar to Primordial Obsidian, except the Olympian gods did not know of that material until recently. The halls and throne room of the palace were identical to that of Olympus except instead of 14 large thrones around the room, there was only one in the middle, black as night, and covered in the bones of the dead. There was also one throne next to it for his son and prince Nico, and one next to it for Persephone, Hades' queen and wife.
Nico smiled at his father, who had grown much more fond of him after the Titan and Giant war, which was very unlike the Lord of the Dead. After Percy was left for dead in Tartarus, Hades noticed his younger brother's moodiness and pure sorrow, and Hades knew he did not want Nico to have an untimely death. He still was grim as always, just not as much as before.
Hades regarded him with open arms.
"Nico my son, it is good to see you. For the rest of you, I cannot say the same thing. If you are to save your precious camp, I guess you must do this, although I have my doubts freeing the Storm Lord would be the wisest of options," Hades said. He said the last bit in a way that was almost like he was trying to convince them to give up on their mission, because it was sure suicide. However, the campers were unfazed, and Hades shrugged. Clarisse broke the awkward silence with a question.
"Lord Hades, we were told you had some information on how to get to Tartarus and on something else that was left unspecified," she inquired. Hades nodded gravely, almost sorrow. Grover cocked his head to the side.
"The directions to Tartarus are the easy news. The... tougher to swallow news is what I'm about to tell you. So everyone shut up, listen, and don't you dare interrupt me," the God of the Dead said sternly. The two two hunters and Phoebe grew very pale, as they had never dealt with the God of the Underworld and did no want to test his temper. Hades cleared his throat.
"To get to Tartarus, you have to cross through the Fields of Punishment, then walk past Elysium until you reach a very large cave. Go through that cave, and you will approach the pit. There is a narrow, treacherous pathway that leads down into the Abyss. I believe Grover and Annabeth have been over there before?" he asked. Annabeth and Grover nodded. They remembered the time Grover's winged shoes almost dragged him into the pit, courtesy of Luke and Kronos.
"Now on to the bad news... There was a soul that entered the Underworld the other day. A soul that I never expected to see, as I thought this person was immortal. Although in the past he has done things to grant him a hero's stay in Elysium, his recent actions have caused my ghostly judges to place him in the Fields of Punishment, where the Furies are keeping constant watch on him, and his area of.. well... punishment. I have a feeling Nico had felt this as well, but I will leave it to you all to find out who it is, so you will not be in too much shock before your journey." Hades finished by nodding at Nico, who had grown very pale throughout the lecture. Hades gestured for them to leave.
"Good luck! And just a reminder, Typhon will only be swayed by immense bargains. I suggest you strike a deal with him he cannot refuse. Now, I must attend to the dead." Hades bade farewell to them before snapping his fingers. A gust of wind came through the Throne Room, and the campers disappeared.
They appeared outside the fields of Punishment, where the cries of agony from many tortured and battered souls echoed throughout the Underworld. The disturbing moans for help caused some of the task force to shudder, but Annabeth recuperated the group and urged them to move on.
After about a mile of walking they came across the Furies. Except, they were under much more distress than normal. They seemed to be harnessing a soul, a very, very, very powerful soul. They had just managed to throw him into a deep pit in the center of a clearing. The pit was surrounded with fire, for a sure containment process. Annabeth started walking towards them, but Nico stopped her.
"Annabeth... this soul.. is not who you think it is," he warned. Annabeth brushed it aside and kept walking. She approached Alecto, who snarled at the group of demigods. She drew her whip, but Nico, being the Prince of the Dead and all, commanded her to stop. The head of the Furies grudgingly put her whip down, before snarling once more at Annabeth.
"What exactly are you doing here, honey?" she asked in her Mrs. Dodds voiced. Annabeth scowled.
"We wish to speak with this soul. We were told it could help us on our quest," she replied. Alecto cackled evilly. Her sisters joined in.
"Speak to him? Alright, be my guest, daughter of Athena. Just don't cry too hard," she laughed, while she and her sisters flew off to check on the other souls. Annabeth furrowed her eyebrows in punishment. She had an idea on who this was, but it was impossible. She approached the pit and the fires subsided. She heard a cry of terror from inside.
She looked over the edge, and could not believe her eyes.
There, in the bottom of a 50 foot pit, stood a man she once knew, surrounded by every monster he had ever killed. There were spikes along with walls, and only one way up the pit. There were stones along the side, very similar to the prison in that Batman movie she had recently seen. Fire shot out along the perimeter at random intervals as well.
The man stood horrified on a ledge, trying to climb for his life, until her caught the eye of the gray eyed girl.
"Annabeth?" the voice cried out. Annabeth gasped and broke into tears. The man at the bottom was none other than Percy Jackson."
Bum... bumm... bummmmmmmmmmmm!
How was that? So good to be back. Geezus christo I took a long time. Have no fear though, this time I'm here to stay. I'm super sorry about that whole 4 month hiatus. That was super douchey of me. How intense do you think it is going to become? Don't worry, I have a lot of ideas and twists up my sleeve that will come into play the next few chapters. All i'm going to say is I'm going to set it up for a SEQUEL. Haha, thanks for reading. Review, give me your feedback please! I'm a little rusty, so I hope this was adequate! All right, thanks, see you next time!
