Well, after a really, really long wait, Here it is! Chapter...well I don't even know what chapter this is but it's finally done! Sorry it took me a whole month to write it :( My teachers decided that there would be a test for exams everyday until break so I was kind of busy and then I got sick again but anyway, I've just finished writing it and I din't have that much time to review it so sorry if their are any mistakes (I'll edit them some other time), so here it is! ENJOY...
SUMMARY: After a very long time, Everything finally seemed a little more hopeful to Percy and he was beginning to think that they had a good chance of winning the Giant War. But when Percy and Annabeth discover a clue to where the next key may be located, things go horribly wrong. Percy, Annabeth, Pythos and Coach Hedge journey to the ancient cave of Tartarus in hope to find the next key. When Coach Hedge "mysteriously" disappears and the cave crumbles down-splitting Percy and Annabeth apart- Percy realizes that he must control his powers and find a way to save Annabeth in the cave. When an old friend shows up, Percy discovers dark origins of why Gaea is planning to attack the gods, and the whole story takes on a new twist. But Pythos also tells Percy another chilling tale. The cave has a mind of it's own and traps people inside it, sending them on two very different paths...and only one person survives.
Percy Jackson -Somewhere in Tartarus:
For once, in a very long time, everything seemed "okay" to Percy. After he and Annabeth had escaped from the village, Percy figured that they needed a little rest before continuing on with the quest and apparently the monsters in Tartarus thought the same because they hadn't bothered him at all.
After flying as far away from the village as possible, Pythos, Annabeth, and Percy had settled in for a little break near a fresh blue lake that was surrounded by tall trees. Off to the distance, a mountain watched over them. The place didn't even look like it was in Tartarus, it was usually those kind of placed you would get a postcard from that said "Enjoying the vacation!" not, "Here I am, stuck in Tartarus…"
Percy, even though he was exhausted, decided to keep first watch just to be sure, and then after, he had woken Annabeth up for her watch. He would have wanted to stay awake all night, but he was really tired (they couldn't tell the difference between Night and day because the sun would never set, so they just used the mortal time with Annabeth's laptop).
During his sleep, Percy - for the first time ever - had no nightmare in Tartarus ever which was really weird. It was almost as if the gods had abandoned them, or they were too deep in Tartarus to hear from the gods…
All of a sudden Percy woke up and before he knew it, he was standing with a hand on his sword. Yeah…ADHD was sometimes interesting. The day seemed as good as it had ever been. The sky was nice and red, the ground was molten red, the trees where red…yeah, it was just a normal day in Tartarus.
Percy looked over to find Annabeth slumped against a tree and lightly snoring. She had probably been tired after her rest but didn't want to wake Percy up. Percy began walking around their camp that Annabeth had made and decided to keep watch for a while.
As he walked around the camp he noticed a log facing the lake. It had probably been a tree that had fallen down and had moss covered all over it. Percy walked over, took a seat on the log and looked at the lake.
Whenever Percy looked at the lake, it reminded him of his past. Growing up in New York, Meeting Grover for the first time (funny story actually), Finding Camp Half-Blood and seeing Annabeth. Times had been so easy back then, mostly because Percy was never in charge of such large groups. But now, everything seemed to weigh down on his shoulder and Percy knew that people depended on him.
As he sat on the log, he looked down to see a metallic red sea shell covered in dirt. He picked it up and examined it. The shape of the shell was almost perfect, with triangular ridges on the shiny red surface. The back of the shell was flattened out and was as smooth as … well let's just say that the shell was the most smoothest thing Percy had seen. It was as if someone had carved it out of a ruby.
An idea came into Percy's mind as placed the shell in his palm. Maybe this was a good time to "Test" his powers. He closed his eyes and thought about what he wanted and before he knew it, there was white smoke coming out of his hand and heat emanating from the shell. After the smoke stopped and the heat died down, Percy opened his hand and looked at the shell.
The shape of the shell was still the same, except on the back side, there were two tiny letters written in white: P & A and under them where even smaller engravings that Percy didn't even make, that appeared to be in Greek. He tried to scrape them off but not even a little piece came out. He decided to leave them alone.
Why don't you use your powers for something worthwhile? The voice of Eurynomos echoed in Percy's head.
"And why don't you shut up" said Percy.
As he continued to examine the shell, someone sat beside him on the log. When he looked up, he saw it was Annabeth.
Percy quickly hid the shell and innocently smiled at Annabeth.
"You're up early" said Percy.
Annabeth took a deep breath and looked at the ocean. "Yeah well, I had to sleep and I didn't really want to wake you up. But don't worry! If the villagers come, their only take you!" said Annabeth who began laughing.
Percy rolled his eyes.
"Haha - you're so funny! Ok so, we have a missing goat, a whole village after us, about 15 days left to meet Nico at the entrance of the Underworld, and no clue where the next key is." he said.
"…So we basically have nothing left" Annabeth concluded.
" Well…we do have" said Percy, hold out this shell he made for Annabeth, "This!"
Annabeth's eyes widened as she took the shell and looked at it. She seemed so intent on studying its architecture that she almost didn't notice the engravings in the back.
"This is so sweet, Percy," she said, "Thanks"
She leaned forward and kissed him, then they both sat together and looked at the lake. Both silent.
It was actually Percy's pants to break the silence. After a while, Percy began to hear a hissing noise coming from his pants and then something hot in his pocket. When he reached to see what it was, he realized that it was the map to the 10 keys.
"Whoa look at this-" began Percy but Annabeth snatched the map away and opened it up.
On the map where a few X's that represented all of the keys that they had found. And now, a red dot began to appear at a new location that wasn't very far from where they were right now…
After the red dot appeared, tiny letters began to fade in above the dot. They read: σπήλαιο του Ταρτάρου.
THE CAVE OF TARTARUS.
Percy and Annabeth both looked up at the same time and locked eyes with each other.
"Got anything to do today?" said Percy
"Nope" said Annabeth.
"Then let's go" said Percy, "And get the next key"
They both walked back to the camp to get ready. While Annabeth packed the few supplies they had, Percy was given the best job there was. To walk up an angry fire breathing, 10 ton dragon!
Percy walked up to the dragon's belly, that was vibrating as Pythos snored, and began to bang his fists on the hide.
"Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!" said Percy, and just as he finished he had to jump away as the huge beast spread his winds and roared into the sky.
The dragon's eyes seemed to grow red as he regarded Percy, and he couldn't help laughing.
"Sup" said Percy.
What is the matter with you, boy?! Do you WANT to be killed?
"Uhm…not yet, but listen, we found out where the next key is located, and…" said Percy while looking at the map, "It looks like some sort of cave that isn't really far away from here. See, look"
Percy opened the map and turned it to face Pythos so he could see. The dragon was silent for a long while as he looked at the map. Pythos's mind seemed to be calculating hundreds of things at once. He would make a god son of Athena, thought Percy, But then again he's a dragon so it would be kinda weird that… never mind.
I…I think that this cave is very famous in Tartarus- said Pythos, But for some reason I cannot remember much about it, except for its locations. I can take you to there, but understand that I cannot come with you but I CAN mentally talk to you.
Percy figured that they wouldn't really need help from the dragon. He was hardly with them for most of the time. "Yeah sure thing." said Percy, "I'll just go and get Annabeth and then you can take us"
Percy walked towards the camp to look for Annabeth except there was one problem. She wasn't there.
"Annabeth?" said Percy. He called out her name a couple of times but didn't get any reply. He looked at the camp. Most of the little supplies they had left were in tight bundles ready to be loaded onto Pythos.
Percy was about to go and search for her elsewhere when he heard a deafening scream coming from the forest. He instantly pulled out his sword and Pythos sprung up from his little bed of leaves and branches he had made. They both looked at each other and then Percy began to creep to where the noise had come from. He still wasn't sure if it was Annabeth or something else.
Before Percy could even enter the dark-red forest, a rustling sound came from a large bush on his right, and out came, Percy's long awaited friend, Coach Gleeson Hedge.
Annabeth was behind the satyr and gave him a big push.
"Look who I found" she said.
Percy was stunned, "We heard a scream and thought that-"
"Yeah well, that scream you heard was actually Coach Hedge, " said Annabeth grinning, "I found him sleeping on a tree while I was packing up and I guess he wasn't very happy to see me"
"She hit me with a branch and-!" began the old goat.
"Yeah, yeah, cool, now listen… we found out where the next key is located and Pythos can take us, but I don't know…it looks kinda fishy-all of this" said Percy and he found himself looking over at Annabeth, and she was looking at him. Percy knew that they were both thinking the same thing. The keys weren't that easy to get, and there was usually a trap with them. But this key looked really easy and simple. They just had to go into the cave and find anything that resembled a key. Easy right?
Coach Hedge grabbed the map and groaned. "Well," he said, "Let's go and get ourselves killed…"
Percy helped Annabeth load the supplies onto Pythos and then they all climbed on, with Percy right in the front.
Then the dragon spread its wings out and took off into the air. The warm Tartarus air hit against Percy's face and he couldn't help but feel how nice it would be to fly. The place itself was incredible. Even when he was at Camp Half-Blood, he could never have imagined a place like this. It was beautiful and creepy at the same time. Below them, he noticed the fog that covered most of the forest, it looked like a mist from a waterfall that snaked its way through the land. Percy didn't know why but for some reason he could see the fog getting thicker, as if a storm was coming.
And coming fast.
All of a sudden, Pythos changed direction and began heading downwards. He drove them right into the fog and for a moment, all Percy could see was whiteness. When the fog finally cleared up, Percy looked down at where Pythos was headed and gasped.
Below them was a huge mountain that was surrounded by dark clouds. There was a hole in the large spiky rock and a small clearing leading to the hole which was just perfect for Pythos to land on. The dragon opened his wings and slowly descended onto the clearing below.
Once they had landed, everyone jumped off from Pythos and just…stared at the cave. Literally.
Up close, the cave looked even more terrifying.
"There's something…odd about this place, I just don't know what." said Annabeth who just kept staring at the mouth of the cave.
"Well maybe it's the dark clouds above us, the fact that we're on a mountain in Tartarus, and about to enter a cave that's probably filled with traps." said Percy who had to back away from Annabeth to dodge a punch.
"Well what are you guys waiting for? Get going!" said the satyr.
"Yeah let- what? Wait! Aren't you coming with us?" said Percy. The Coach had volunteered himself to join the quest (well kind of), they had saved his butt numerous times, and now he was just going to sit back and watch Percy get killed? Well actually, maybe not having the goat with them might be a good thing. Bad thing happen when the satyr is involved…
"Well I ain't going in there! And don't you need someone to keep watch? Uh, OTHER than the dragon? And um come on guys, a goat can't go in there! I'll be killed instantly! And doesn't Percy have like super powers now? You guys can handle it without me!" said the Coach who began to back away from the cave. Percy also noticed that the Satyr was also wearing a yellow bracelet with a carved out eye in the center. Where exactly did this Satyr go…?
"Hey, that's not!-" Annabeth began but she was cut short by Percy.
"NO! no, I mean it's okay! Me and Annabeth can do this! Don't worry, it's just a cave right? We just have to go in and find the key, it'll be easy, trust me." said Percy who turned towards the cave, "And I'm pretty much invincible right?"
Annabeth held on to Percy's hand and Percy held on to hers and together, they entered the cave, fearing the worst. Once they where well into the cave, the only thing they could see was each other. Suddenly, an idea formed in Percy's mind. He stretched out his arm and opened his fists. Then, he concentrated on the thing that he wanted and after a moment, a small-bright-purple fire appeared on his palm. When he concentrated he could make the flame bigger or smaller. Awesome, thought Percy.
Annabeth looked at it for a while but didn't say anything, then she began to look at the cave room which appeared to have been dug out a really long time ago.
The room itself was, well…
The walls were covered with weird paintings depicted a woman in black clothes. The painted appeared to be like timelines and showed different parts of the woman's life. The first painting showed a young baby surrounded by a bright light and another baby flying up to the sky. Percy skipped a couple of the paintings and walked over to the last one. It showed the woman in black being sucked into darkness, with a look of horror on her face.
"This place is creepy," Percy decided.
Now remember, I can talk to you guys so if you ever need help, I will be there for you. Oh and by the way, this satyr is beginning to annoy me. Can I like, hit him on the head a couple of time?
"Uh yeah sure, you can do that, now listen…this place has a whole bunch of creepy paintings on its walls but I don't think I see a door or any-" Percy began but before he could say anything else, he heard a loud bang coming from the entrance of the cave.
Percy began to laugh, after a long time. "Did you actually hit him?" he asked Pythos.
Percy…that wasn't me, I thought it was you! Is everything alright in there?
Percy looked over at Annabeth who was busy examining the walls. He began to walk towards the entrance to see what the noise was when all of a sudden, a huge explosion filled the entrance of the cave and send large boulders tumbling down. After all the noise died down, Percy looked and saw that all of the rocks had covered their only escape, leaving them trapped.
Percy tried to move the rocks aside but it was no use. There were just too many rocks.
He ran back to the cave room to see if Annabeth was okay and luckily, she was.
Actually, it appeared as if she didn't even know what had happened. She seemed so intent on studying the paintings that she probably didn't notice that millions of rocks had covered their only entrance.
"Annabeth! Are you alright?" asked Percy.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I-I'm fine. I heard a big noise out there, what-what happened?" she said, still looking distracted.
"Well, the cave entrance just collapsed so I guess we're stuck in here. I…just don't know how the explosion happened. Maybe it was a bomb… but I'm not sure and-" Percy stopped talking as he noticed a small red flash in the corner of the cave. Curious to find out what it was, he began walking towards it while Annabeth stayed behind to look at the paintings. . Okay Percy, there's already been one trap, so let's not be stupid for once. he told himself.
Percy! Are you okay? Where is Annabeth? I want you two to stay close until we find out what to do. There was a large beep and then the wall exploded down. I think I remember something about this place, I just can't…
"It's okay, Pythos. Just try to remember while Me and Annabeth try to find a way out" he said as he walked towards the red light. He felt like a cat chasing the red dot.
Once he got close enough to the light, he made his purple flame get brighter so he could get a better view, and when he saw where the red light was he was even more confused.
"Uh yeah so…I don't really know how to explain this to you, Pythos." said Percy. What he was looking at was actually a small security camera that had several wires attached to it and running upwards. The red light on the camera would flash whenever Percy would move.
"It's a security camera with a red light that keeps on blinking" said Percy who waved his hand at the camera. This day was just getting more and more confusing.
"A WHAT?" said Annabeth and Pythos in unison.
"I know what I said, It's a camera." said Percy, but as Percy finished talking he realised his mistake. He realised what this whole cave had been about, and how the entrance had collapsed.
I WANT YOU TO GET OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW, PERCY, RIGHT NOW! screamed Pythos.
Percy felt his legs freezing but still willed himself to move. As he began to run away, the red light began to rapidly flash and Percy heard a loud scream coming from somewhere deep in the cave.
It is HERE! EVIL APPROACHES! spoke Eurynomos, inside Percy.
When Percy was only a few feet away, another explosion, a much bigger one than before, shook the cave and send huge rocks tumbling down. Some hit Percy and sent him to the ground. He could feel blood on his face and began to see black spots in his vision. More and more rocks fell onto him and separated him from Annabeth. He tried to get up but was forced down by a large boulder that was on top of him. He could see that he was trapped by a new wall of rocks.
"PERCY!" he could hear Annabeth's muffled voice that sounded very far away.
Before his vision blacked out, he heard another terrible scream.
And this time, he knew it was Annabeth.
Once again, Percy had no nightmare at all, which was really weird. You would think that he'd be happy that he got no bad dream, but it was actually starting to worry him. Nightmares where usually ways of gods warning people of their futures. It was almost as if the gods had abandoned their children. When was the last time Percy had talked to his father again?
Percy? Percy! Wake up, boy! Wake up!
Percy's eyes fluttered open as he realised that Pythos was calling him.
"I-I'm up!" he groaned. He took a look around him and discovered that that much of the cave had collapsed, leaving Percy stranded on one side of the cave…all alone.
He was trapped by a large boulder that had fallen on top of him. He tried to push it aside but it was just too heavy and Percy was just too weak. The good news was that he could still feel his legs meaning that the blood was still circulating around his body.
You've been passed out for almost an hour! I thought you were…dead.
"Yeah well, wouldn't that be funny? Percy Jackson- Killed in Action by a rock." he mused, "But I'm under a large rock had fell over me right now and I don't think that I can get out"
This time, Pythos didn't speak. Someone else did…
You must hurry, great wickedness is coming to you
"Is that all you can say?" said Percy to Eurynomos.
Use my powers, find the girl, and get out.
Well it was worth a shot. Percy, although he was exhausted, gathered his remaining energy and tried to push the rock away. Unfortunately, the rock didn't even move at all.
Just when Percy was about to give up, he felt a new/fresh wave of energy coming towards him and felt his hands getting hotter.
Percy, listen to me. You need to learn how to use your powers. Focus on the one thing you wish to do and Eurynomos will help you. Try to move the boulder away. Will your power towards it.
"I'M TRYING!" he groaned, "And .. how do you know all of this information?"
Just as Percy guessed, there was no answer.
Percy, with the help of Eurynomos, willed his power to move the rock. Soon he noticed that his hands had become even more hot and were actually smoking! Percy pushed at the rock as hard as he could, ignoring the sharp pain in his mind. Soon, the boulder began to move upwards as Percy pushed even more harder. When the rock was high enough, he wriggled free and let the rock go.
Percy winced as he examined his legs. He could still feel them but they were aching really badly and he thought that he could feel blood on his left leg.
Then he summoned a flame on his hands again and took a better look of the room. Surely, the walls of the cave room had fallen down and had separated Percy from Annabeth. There was no way for him to find Annabeth or to go back to the entrance. So basically…he was trapped.
If Percy would ever find the person who was responsible for this, he would make sure to give him an extra beating.
Percy scanned the room for any escape but there was none. He was about to give up (again) when he saw it. Out in the corner of his tight room, there was a small hole (one just big enough for Percy to climb through). Percy was sure that the hole hadn't been there before the room had collapsed.
"Uh Pythos? I think I see an exit, but I don't know where it leads or how it even got there. There was no hole when I first entered the cave…" said Percy, walking towards it.
The dragon was silent for a while.
Percy, listen, I …uh, I think I know what this cave is.
"Ok…so what is it?" said Percy, getting impatient.
Well, a long time ago, a very long time ago, there used to be a cave - just like this one - that had a spirit of its own. It would lure 2 people into it and then trap them. Nobody knew why, because everyone who came out of the cave would have gone insane. The cave basically trapped two people and would send them on two very different paths. One leads to the correct destination, the other…
"Yeah right, I get it, the other is another trap and the cave you are talking about is the same cave we are in right now. Couldn't you remember that before we entered? " asked Percy.
Don't you understand? The spirits of the cave play games with you and they follow only one rule.
"And what's that?" asked Percy, but he guessed what it would be.
Only one person survives the cave. That's how it has always been, only one person can come out alive…
Several thoughts entered Percy's mind at once. He didn't know where Annabeth was, or if she was okay. He had no clue where the key was and which path was the right path to take. So basically, he was hopeless.
He knew that he was falling right into a trap. The fissure had appeared in the cave just so that he could take it and once he entered, he knew that either he would never come out again, or he would find the key and be safe, which meant that Annabeth would get hurt or worse…killed.
However Percy knew that he couldn't just stay here in the cave and he couldn't dig his way out either. So he had no choice but to follow his path.
He summoned the fire once again, took a deep breath, and entered the hole. Once he was inside he noticed that the hole got bigger as he went further down. He could see that the path was very long and had a lot of twists and turns. He couldn't sense any traps which was a good thing. Sometimes it was good to be possessed by a maniacal demon that wanted to kill everything evil and gave you awesome powers. Yeah…
"Uh Pythos? Can you like, talk to Annabeth and see if she's okay or something?" asked Percy. He waited a long time but there was no reply.
"Pythos? My favourite dragon friend? You there?" he asked again, but there Pythos didn't answer.
Great, thought Percy, Guess I'm going to have to do this one alone.
He continued walking for about what felt like ten minutes. He stopped when the path split into two different direction. At this time, Percy really wished that Pythos could help, but sadly, the dragon had disappeared. Maybe it was time to ask him demon friend for help.
"Uhm, I don't really know if this will help but…do you know what way I should take?" asked Percy. He figured that if anyone was watching him right now, Percy would look like a mad man talking to himself.
Evil…it is near! Was all the helpful Eurynomos said. Which didn't help Percy at all. He couldn't sense any traps from both paths so maybe they were both good, but then again…
He was about to take the left path because he could sense water there when he heard a small noise behind him.
Percy quickly turned around and took out his sword. He could make out a hunched figure on the path where he had just come, meaning that someone or something was following him.
Percy walked closer to the figure to take a better look. There was a shadow covering the persons face so he couldn't tell who it was. When Percy was close enough he ignited his flame and took his first look at who his "stalker" was. When he saw who it was, he gasped and wished that he hadn't. It made him even more confused and probably meant that there was some deeper meaning of this cave that he had originally thought.
"You…" he managed to say, "What are you doing here?"
Before him stood his old enemy, Luke Castellan. But how was that possible? Luke had been killed in the Titan war! He even said that he would try for rebirth as he died. There was no way that Luke could be in Tartarus. It was just impossible. But yet, here he was, right in front of Percy. Millions of questions entered Percy's mind as he looked at his old friend/enemy, if it even WAS Luke…
"Percy? Is that you?" said Luke, his eyes flickered for a second and then returned back to normal.
"Uh, Yeah, but what the heck are you doing here?" asked Percy.
"Well dude, let's just say I didn't get rebirth. My dad had better ideas for me and Hades agreed. So I've been travelling…with people for about 8 months, and I got stuck here. And don't worry, I don't have a craving to kill you anymore.
"That's uh…good to know" said Percy who was still unsure about Luke, "Well if you don't kill me then I guess this cave will. "
Luke laughed for a while. "How did you even get in here?" he asked.
Percy quickly explained what had happened since his death and how he and Annabeth had ended up in the cave. He also explained how he had been "possessed" by Eurynomos.
"Creepy…but so awesome" said Luke. "Well if you're looking for a key, I think I might be able to help you. I've explored the entire cave…that's why there aren't any traps left, and I saw a key but I thought it might be a trap so I left it alone. I can take you to it if you want, trust me, I know this cave entirely."
Luke began walking towards the right side of the cave and Percy decided that he had no other better option than the follow him.
Once Percy caught up to Luke he noticed that he had scars all over his face and that he looked even more pale than ever. Percy decided that it would be a good time to ask his old enemy for questions.
"Hey Luke, so this cave traps two people and then sends them on different…paths, right?" said Percy.
"Yeah…so?" Luke said.
"Where you with someone else when you came to the cave? And how come you still have your body?" said Percy, hoping that he hadn't pushed too far.
Luke's face deepened to a darker shade of pale. Then he managed a forced smile. "Well that's a long story Percy. But at least it's still me and my soul right?"
"Okay…" said Percy.
After what felt like ten minutes of walking, they arrived in another chamber that had a very high ceiling and enclosed with mossy walls. He could hear the constant drip of water off the other side of the chamber. In the center of the large room, stood a stone podium and on it was…they key!
"So I can just grab it?" said Percy. He couldn't sense any traps, which was weird.
"Yeah, I guess," said Luke, "I've been in this chamber and didn't find any traps myself. Here, want me to get it for you?"
"NO! I mean, I'll do it, it's okay." said Percy.
He walked up to the key and took a deep breath, expecting the worse. How was it possible that there weren't any traps in the cave of traps? He closed his eyes and quickly grabbed the key from the podium. Then he waited with his eyes still closed. However, nothing happened!
He ran back to Luke and they both began walking back.
"That was strange…" said Percy.
PERCY? PERCY! What is going on in there? The satyr ran off again and I was trying to find him. There is a big storm approaching…you must hurry!
"Okay, okay…listen Pythos…I have a question." whispered Percy.
Yes?
"I got the key and I also found someone else…an old friend in the cave, but we didn't find any traps. Shouldn't there, like, be traps in the cave?" asked Percy.
Percy that is very strange. And did you say that you found someone else?
"Yeah, he's a…friend, I guess" said Percy, examining the key. He couldn't even believe that he had gotten the key without any trap being placed. Now all he needed to do was find Annabeth. Hopefully, she would have gotten over her crush for Luke…
Percy that's…that's impossible! The cave only traps two people at a time. The only people inside the cave can be You, Annabeth, and…
"AND WHO?" exclaimed Percy, although he could guess what Pythos was going to say.
The only people that can be inside the cave are you, Annabeth and…and the spirit of the cave itself.
Percy finally understood what the cave was all about. He had gone on the wrong path, and the reason that there was no trap in the cave was because he was with the trap ITSELF, and he didn't even know it. He had a brief flashback. Eurynomos kept on saying that 'Evil was near', no wonder! Percy should have known from before.
"Hey…Luke?" said Percy, "H-How long have you been on this 'journey' of yours?"
"About 8 months, like I said before." said Luke, who began to edge away from Percy. "…Is there a problem?"
That was impossible! The real Luke had died only about 6 months ago. This only confirmed Percy's suspicions.
Percy's head began to ache again, and he felt himself sweating. He could feel immense energy pouring into him. The same thing was happening to him when he was in the village. If he didn't control his powers now, then he would fail. It was like his final test. Either he would control his powers and defeat the cave spirit or die in the process. This time…dying wasn't an option. He knew he had to find Annabeth and get out if this cave.
Percy, the storm outside is getting stronger, you must control your powers and HURRY!
Percy could hear rumbling outside, AND in his mind.
You must kill it! Said Eurynomos.
"Hey I have an idea for you" said Percy, gritting his teeth, "Why don't you shut up"
He felt his vision get stronger and could see his aura around him intensifying and turning purple. He should have been able to use his powers but the pain was so strong.
He looked around him and saw that Luke had disappeared. Then, out of nowhere , a heavy mist appeared and Luke reappeared. Except this time, he looked nothing like Luke. The Luke-imposter, had grown jagged teeth, red eyes, and long claws. It basically looked like a cross between a human and a lion.
"Percy Jackson…" said the spirit, it sounded like a million voiced talking in unison. "Ready for your death?"
The pain was getting even more stronger and Percy fell to the floor. "Not…yet" he managed to say. The aura around him became even more stronger and his head was hurting really bad.
Percy tried to get up but the spirit just walked over and punched him in the face. He could feel the blood dripping out of his nose.
"Do you fear nothing?" said the spirit, clearly annoyed.
Percy ignored the spirit that was clearly a woman's voice. He needed to control his power so that he could defeat the monster. But how? Draco had once said that he wasn't the only person to have been possessed by Eurynomos. Well, actually, Annabeth had told him that. But how did those people learn to control their powers? Or maybe they never did, and died…
Percy's vision began to blur but he refused to give up. He decided to give one last try.
He tried to get up but the spirit kept on beating him down. He knew that there was water nearby because he could sense it. He tried to call it but he was too weak.
Focus on the one thing the keeps you anchored to the mortal world, Percy. And then project your powers to the spirit. said Pythos.
He tried to do what the dragon but he just couldn't focus through all the pain. But then he remembered that the gods, even though they didn't admit it, depended on Percy and his friends, and that if he failed, Olympus would fall. He ignored his throbbing head and tried to project his energy. He let out a yell as he felt the energy inside him waiting to be released. He then focused on the one thing that kept him anchored to the mortal world and almost instantly, he felt his pain stop and he noticed that his aura had changed color from purple to a mix of blue and green. The color of the ocean…
At that moment he knew that he had control of his powers and although he was shivering, he was able to stand up again.
Once he stood up he looked at the spirit in the eye, who looked pretty terrified itself.
"There is ONE thing I fear," said Percy, "It's all the pain I'm going to cause you"
Just as he finished speaking he let out a huge burst of blue energy and hit the spirit right in the chest. He then summoned the water that wasn't very far away. Soon, the walls of the cave burst as fresh water came pouring in. He combined his energy with the water and formed a large whirlpool and then sent it to the spirit. When the water died down, the only remains of the spirit was a black pile of dust.
"Yeah, next time, don't mess with us" he said.
Then came another problem. Just as he had defeated the spirit, the cave began to shake as if there was an earthquake and the walls began to collapse.
Percy! You did it! But the cave is going to collapse soon. You must find Annabeth and get out of their as soon as possible. It looks like you only have about 5 minutes before the cave comes crashing down. I've cleared up most of the debris from the cave entrance.
Percy ran as fast as he could to the spot where he had been separated from Annabeth. With his powers, he was able to move the wall of rocks away to reveal the other side of the cave. He could see the entrance of the cave had now cleared up which meant that he just needed to find Annabeth and get out. He looked all around the cave entrance but he found no sign of her. Just as he expected, he found another hole, on the opposite side of where Percy had gone. It was probably where Annabeth had gone, so Percy decided that he had no choice but to go and check to see if she was there.
Just as he was about to enter the other opening, Percy noticed something glowing on the ground. He walked over and picked it up. Percy gasped. It was a red sea shell that had been attached to a necklace. It was the same Sea shell he had given Annabeth the very day. He turned it around to see if the engravings where still there, luckily they were, however they appeared to be fading away. This was also the first time he noticed the other smaller Greek engravings on the bottom of the shell.
They read:
You may delay, but time will not.
Percy shoved the necklace, that was Annabeth's , into his pocket and ran into the corridor. He remembered what Pythos had told him earlier, that only 1 person would survive the cave. He hoped that Annabeth was still…alive. But he had killed the spirit of the cave, hadn't he? So maybe they could both get out alive. Unless there were more secrets to this place…
He arrived in a room with more paintings of the woman he had seen earlier. The paintings were now glowing green and more debris began to fall from the roof. Percy thought that he could sense another person in the room but all he could see was a pile of sharp rocks and some paintings. There couldn't have been any one in the room, unless…
"NO!" yelled Percy as he ran towards the pile of rocks. With his renewed energy, he managed to tear away at most of them. As he was removing the rubble, he saw some tufts of blonde hair. He called for Annabeth but he didn't get any reply. Soon, he could see Annabeth's pale face that had been scratched. Her eyes were closed but she appeared to be breathing which was a good thing. He got her out and then laid her down on the floor.
"Annabeth! It's me Percy, you've got to wake up! Annabeth!" he exclaimed.
After a while of calling her name, Annabeth's eyes fluttered open and she began coughing up dust. She looked at Percy and her eyes widened.
She tried to talk but couldn't and ended up gasping for breath. She then pointed at Percy's aura which had now gotten even more stronger and a deeper shade of sea green.
He tried to get her up but he legs looked badly bruised and he realised that there was no way she could run so he picked her up and made a run for the entrance.
Once they had arrived, Percy saw that the entrance had once again been covered with debris that was falling from the cave roof. There was a tiny hole in the middle of the debris that would have been perfect for them to go through one by one.
Percy called Pythos to wait on the other side and lifted up Annabeth higher so that she could get out first, through the hole.
"Walked right into a trap" she managed to say, "Stupid, huh?"
"Don't worry, you're going to get out of this alive" he said, "But seriously though, that would have been funny: Annabeth Chase; killed by a rock"
Annabeth laughed and then looked at Percy right in the eye. "And how about you?"
"I'll be fine, promise!" he said, "I'll see you on the other side," and he began to push her through the tiny opening. Pythos grabbed her by the shoe from the other side.
"I'm like, immortal now right? What can possibly go wrong?" he said, but soon he wished he hadn't, because just as Annabeth got out of the cave, the opening closed, leaving Percy trapped in the cave. All alone. Pythos's voice flashed in mind. "And only one person will survive".
Percy took out Annabeth's necklace and looked at the red shell. A tiny crack had appeared on where his name was engraved, and he knew that it hadn't been there before.
PERCY! said Pythos.
Percy could hear loud rumbles coming from the outside of the cave.
"Looks like I'm going to be a little late" said Percy as he saw more and more rocks fill the entrance. He looked around him and saw that he was surrounded by debris Sharp stalagmites began falling from the roof and landed around him. He could feel the oxygen escaping out and knew that he only had a couple of minutes left.
All the wreckage formed a large cloud of dust and Percy began to cough. He was forced to crouch down onto the ground and soon, he couldn't see anything. Was this it? Was this the end? He tried to move the rocks away but it wasn't working. Rocks hit him in the face and he felt more blood falling from his nose and mouth.
"Pythos…Annabeth" said Percy over the loud rumbling outside, "Get out of here, before-"
"We can't just leave you Percy!" Said Annabeth.
"You don't understand, this storm is going to get worse and then you guys won't be able to leave at all, just go while you can and-and ill catch up later" said Percy, "I promise"
There was no response but Percy had a feeling that Pythos and Annabeth hadn't left yet. A rock fell and hit him on the head and soon more rocks began to fall down on him. Percy closed his eyes and thought of a plan. He could try to dig himself out of the rocks but there were just too many and he was already having a hard time breathing.
His head began to throb again and he could feel his vision blurring. No, not now! Thought Percy as he felt his powers intensify. But maybe if he could get enough energy, he could be able to blow a hole throw the cave. It was worth a shot. Percy shut his eyes and concentrated. He winced as he felt more energy pouring into him and it became even harder to control. He saw his aura get stronger and flickering between purple and green and then finally green.
When he had enough power, he blasted a green stream of energy through the rocks and instantly turned them into dust, however, instead of the entrance opening up, the whole entire cave exploded as rocks and debris were thrown everywhere! Fire surrounded him as debris fell from the sky but Percy surprisingly didn't feel a thing. Actually, Percy felt better than before and when he checked his wounds, they were all gone!
The entire cave had exploded into tiny pieces and Percy had found the next key, he also realised that he and Annabeth were probably the first people who had ever escaped this place alive, and together.
Percy got up and casually walked through the fire while Pythos and Annabeth just stared at him, shocked. He looked behind him as he took his first look at what he had done.
"Oops." he said.
"Percy! How did you…" said Annabeth.
Good job, but now is not the time. We need to get out of here as soon as possible. With the storm picking up, I might not be able to fly.
"Alright let's go" he said. Annabeth was already on Pythos and helped Percy up, although she was pretty weak. "And what about the goat?"
Forget about him…I have a feeling he won't be back.
Percy looked at Annabeth and then was about to ask Pythos why, but he decided to leave it. If spirits could take form of anyone then was it possible that Coach Hedge was actually a…
As they took off into the air, Percy looked behind him and remembered about the old paintings he had seen in the cave.
"Uh Pythos, there were these paintings about a woman, I think, in the cave and-" began Percy.
And you want to know who they were right? Percy, do you really not know who that woman was? You hear about her everyday…
"Uh, no not really" said Percy, confused.
Percy, that was Gaea! This place, the whole cave was where she was imprisoned after she lost her battle to the Titans. The paintings describe her life, and how she changed from a loving woman to a cruel monster. And can you guess why she changed? And who did that?
"Let me guess…the gods? The titans? Basically everyone who wants to kill her?" said Percy.
Percy saw that Annabeth was looking at him as if to say: Are you thinking what I'm thinking? And he probably was. What if the key in the cave was a scheme by Gaea so that she could try to brainwash us to change sides? But then again, it was kind of the gods fault that they had turned Gaea evil after imprisoning her. But how did Pythos know all of this information?
"Uh Pythos? My favorite 10 ton-red-dragon friend? Did you…ever work for Gaea?" asked Percy, but the dragon didn't reply…
After what felt like a an hour of flying through the dark, gloomy and stormy sky, Annabeth had drifted to sleep, leaving Percy alone. Pythos hadn't spoken a word ever since Percy had asked him the question. It had been a tough day and Percy couldn't blame Pythos for being so stressed. Well, at least he now had full control of his powers. His aura had gotten smaller and had changed to a lighter shade of green. It was peaceful for now, and Eurynomos hadn't said much as well. They had also found another key to get themselves out of Tartarus but Percy couldn't help thinking about the paintings he had seen earlier. Sure the gods were supposed to be good and all, but they always abandoned their children and would leave them alone (well that's how most demigods felt), and they would only come to their children if they needed help. They had technically brought this war upon themselves. If they hadn't been so cruel and mean then maybe Gaea wouldn't have been all that evil, but then again Gaea wanted to kill every single demigod and that wasn't right as well. Then which side was the better side ?
Percy pulled out the shell he had given Annabeth again and examined it. It seemed to be glowing deep red whenever he touched it, which was weird. He looked at the Greek engravings he had seen at the bottom of the shell but they had vanished! Percy decided to ignore it and closed his eyes for a well deserved sleep.
And although he couldn't notice it, the crack on the shell had disappeared.
It looked bolder, and a little more hopeful…
Well, I hope you guys liked this chapter, if you did, then why not review or follow? :D
Q/A (sorry if I some of your questions weren't answered) :
1. As far as we know, Eris never went to any Roman of Greek camp and has basically been living on her own until now, well, that's what we THINK...
2. The Sphinx is a good idea, maybe I can add it into some of the next chapters :)
3. Yeah, the coordinates are in Athens,Greece meaning that there's going to be a lot of action there and maybe that's where the final fight will be...
4. Next chapter is a POV of someone who I never did before, CHIRON! :D I realized that I never really mentions what's going on with the Roman's and the Greeks so the next chapter will be a shorter one that focuses on the war at Camp Half-Blood.
Well, that's all i have to say, and also, please check out my new story if you haven't already (you can see it form my profile), and I'll update it soon too.
SO UNTIL NEXT TIME, GOODBYE AND REMEMBER TO FOLLOW!
HEY YOU! YEAH YOU...DO YOU LIKE THIS CHAPTER? THEN WHY NOT PRESS THIS NICE BUTTON BELOW?