Ever since they left Rome that Bucky didn't sleep very well, he knows a fair amount of it was because Emily wasn't there in his arms fast asleep, safe and sound. The only other time he slept was when he was frozen in ice when he wasn't needed for a mission during his time as the winter soldier. So without Emily there next to him or being frozen in ice that he has a hard time sleeping so did Lauren, however she sleep alone for most of her life till a couple of years ago. So did Emily, but she was married to him before he fell and they sleep together in bed for a couple of months before he fell. At the moment, Bucky was laying on the bed, his arms were wrapped around the pillow that Emily used while they were traveling to Rome to rescue her two half siblings, Nico and Arabella. The pillow was a small comfort to him since it smelled like Emily but he wasn't sure of how much longer the smell on the pillow would last. For it smelled of nature and cinnamon just like her. Just the thought of where Emily went to kept bothering him.
As Bucky laid there that he felt the ship being attacked once more by the mountain giants, Bucky groaned when the attack came. If Emily was with him, he would be able to sleep through it, but she wasn't though, so Bucky got out of the bed and went up to the deck. As he went to the deck that he thought of Emily, Emily was the one that kept him ground and the reason he fought and live for. Even after his memories were wiped and she was the only thing he could remember, he remember wishing that the woman he kept seeing and hearing was real. During that time that Bucky could still remember what Emily smelled like, but it was just of Nature at the time though. When Emily became pregnant with their child two weeks ago that he was even more determined to make sure that Emily was kept safe and protected. With what he heard about Tartarus that he was worried of what might happen to her, he was glad that Steve was with her. No offense to Phil, but Bucky feels better when Steve was there to help and back Emily up when she needs it. Steve was with her now, even though Emily and Steve was in the last place he wants them to be, Tartarus. When Bucky reached the deck that he dragged himself out of his thoughts and he saw Nico on the foremast of the Argo II yelling.
"Hard to port!" At the helm, Leo yanked the wheel, the Argo II veered left, the oars were slashing through the clouds like rows of knives. Bucky managed to get to the railing and stood next to Emily's half sister, Hazel, she looked at him before looking over the railing. A dark spherical shape hurtled towards Bucky, than he yelped at the same time as Hazel did and hit the deck. The huge rock passed so close that he could feel the air moving past him, than crack. The foremast collapsed, sail, spars, and Nico came crushing down to the deck. The boulder, of which was about the size of a pick up trunk, tumbled into the fog like there was somewhere else it has to to go to before coming back. Hazel scrambled over to Nico as Leo brought the ship level.
"Nico!"
"I'm fine." Nico kicked the folds of canvas off of his legs, Bucky stood up as Hazel helped him up before they stumbled to the bow. Bucky looked down just as the clouds parted long enough to reveal the top of the mountain below them. A spearhead of black rock jutting from mossy green slops, standing on top of the summit was a mountain god, there was a Greek term for those guys, but it has a different name for the Romans like most other things were. No matter what group called the mountain gods, they were still rather nasty when angered or if someone tries to cross their mountain. Like the others that they faced in the last couple of days, this one wore a simple white tunic over skin that looked rough and dark as basalt. The mountain god was twenty feet tall and extremely muscular but with a crazy hermit look, for he has a flowing white beard, scraggly hair and a wild look in his eyes. He bellowed something at them before he took another chunk of rock out of his mount is and began shaping it into a ball. The scene disappeared but when the mountain god bellowed again that the other mountain gods answered in the distance.
"Stupid rock gods! That's the third time I've had to replace that mast! You think they grow on trees?" Bucky shook his head when Leo said that, for mast are made from trees.
"Masts are from trees."
"That's not the point!" Leo snatched up one of his controls and spun it in a circle, a few feet away that a trapdoor opened in the deck. A celestial bronze cannon rose from the trapdoor, Bucky barely covered his ears in time as the cannon discharged into the sky. It sprayed a dozen metal sprees that trailed green fire, the spheres grew spikes in midair, like helicopter blades before they were hurtled away into the fog. A moment later that a series explosions crackled across the mountains followed by he outraged roars of mountain gods."Ha!" Bucky figures that only annoyed the mountain gods, another boulder whistled through he sir off to their starboard side.
"Get us out of here!" Leo was muttering something about the mountain gods that were not very flattering but he turned the wheel none the less. The engines hummed, then sticks rigging lashed itself tight and changed the ship's direction to port. The Argo II picked up speed and retreated north west as they been doing for the past two days. Bucky watched as the fog cleared and the morning sunlight illuminated the countryside, rolling green hills and golden fields. It looked similar to Camp Jupiter, Bucky stared at the countryside, unsure to what to do. Sure in a sense he was in a similar spot as he been before but not quite though, for in many ways that this was different. During his time as a winter soldier that he was frozen or doing missions that he followed like the soldier that he was and in a sense still is, he will still follow orders but he would only listen to Emily or Steve when it comes to orders. However during that time, most of his memories were gone expect that of Emily, what she looked like, sound like, smells as well as the nickname he gave her, Flower Princess.
He remembered when he first used the nickname to her, it was shortly after he meet emily when he was seven. She asked him of why he wanted to call her that besides the fact that her father calls her that, he told her the truth, that it fits her because he thought she looks like a princess. Later on after he les red that she was a daughter of Demeter, that the nickname seem even more true because of the fact that she could grow flowers and plants. Bucky also thought of her as his princess, the ironic thing about the princess part was that she became the underworld princess while he become the winter solider. He remembered that dream with Hestia of where she put a blessing on him that when he went to England and that if he was lost that he would find his way back through his love. That did happen, now he felt lost once more like he was lost as the winter soldier, he wished that he went with Emily or he went with Steve. At least than he knows that Emily was safe or with him, not that he didn't dislike Lauren, it was just that he wanted Emily back. Bucky remembered when he meet Lauren for the first time when Steve asked him to join the howling commandos. Lauren hardly paid any attention to him of which made feel odd and out of place, as well as making him wondering if that how Steve felt when he took him a double date with Lauren.
That was also the funny thing, that when Emily made her way to Camp Halfblood, or after she ran away from the one family, that she become Lauren's best friend and the other way around. It was the same for Bucky and Steve, but they were best friends for a much longer period time than Emily and Lauren have been. Bucky was glad that Lauren and Emily were best friends while Emily was Camp, even if he wasn't there with her that he was glad to know that someone was looking out for her. Bucky hoped that Emily was okay as well as their child, after Emily fell into Tartarus that he did reveal the fact that Emily was pregnant even though she was not very far along. It seems that Piper and Jason knew about that since that fact was revealed before Emily and Steve fought the Giants at Rome. Lauren and Phil knew about that as well, everyone else was surprised by that news of Emily being pregnant. But that was not the only thing that Bucky was worried other than Emily and their child, for there other worries as well. Bucky looked over at Nico and Hazel as Nico picked the mast splinters out of his arms, Leo was punching buttons on the ship's console.
"Well, that was sucktastic. Should I wake the others?" Bucky didn't say anything, he might be the oldest awake but it was still their quest though, it was Hazel who answered.
"They need rest, We'll have to figure out another way on our own."
"Huh." Leo was scowling at his monitor, he was in his tattered work shirt and grease splattered jeans, he looked like he fought in a wrestling match with a locomotive or something. Ever since Percy, Annabeth, Steve and Emily fell into Tartarus that Leo been working almost non stop. He been acting angrier and even more driven than usual, Bucky wasn't sure of he liked the changed or not. Though he was rather worried about the change and he was sure the others were as well, he hoped Leo would be able to get some rest at some point. "Another way. Do you see one?" On his monitor glowed a map of Italy, the Apennine mountains runs down the middle of the boot shaped country. A green dot for the Argo II was blinking on the western side of the range, a few hundred miles north of Rome. The path should have been simple, that they needed to get to a place called Epirus in Greece to find an temple called the House of Hades or Pluto. To reach Epirus was to go straight east over the Apennines and across the Adriatic Sea, to their luck, it didn't work out like that. Each time they tried to cross the spine of Italy that the mountain gods attacked. For the past two days they skirted north to find a safe pass with no luck, the mountain gods were sons of Gaea. So as a result that the Argo II may not make it across the range without being smashed.
"It's our fault. Nico's and mine. The numina can sense us." Bucky looked at Nico, Bucky noticed since they rescued Nico and Arabella that they started to regain their strength but they both were still painfully thin. Arabella was sleeping at the moment but when he did see her that her clothes hung off her skeletal frame just like Nico's clothes did the same thing. Their complexion turned it into a sickly greenish white color like the tree sap of which worried Bucky. When he did see Arabella that she was usually with Phil for comfort, Bucky knew, after Lauren, Steve and himself, that Phil and Arabella were the closest to Emily. However he noticed that Nico seem to be hurt a lot more Emily and the others falling into Tartarus. He knows Hazel and Jennifer seen that in Nico, but Hazel and Jennifer seem unsure of how to help Nico. Bucky knows that Arabella was sixteen almost seventeen while Nico was barely fourteen years old, the same age as Hazel or in human years. Hazel and Nico were demigods from another era, they both radiated a kind of old energy, like they know that they didn't belong in the modern world. Bucky wasn't sure if he gave off that same energy, he spend about sixty eight years, or close to it, as the winter soldier. Than he was giving a mission to kill Steve, his memories return in October that he would gained his memories back in for two years. Bucky questioned himself, a few times in the last about two years, of how manage to keep his sanity after he regain memories. But he knew why, it was Emily, Bucky dragged himself out of his thoughts trying to make sure he focus so that they could get to the House of Hades.
"Earth spirits don't like children of the Underworld. That's true. We get under their skin – literally. But I think the numina could sense this ship anyway. We're carrying the Athena Parthenos. That thing is like a magical beacon." Bucky wasn't sure what to think of that statue, no one knows what to do with it and it seem to alert more monsters to them. Leo was tracing his finger down the map of Italy.
"So crossing the mountains is out. Thing is they go a long way in either direction."
"We could go by sea. Sail around the southern tip of Italy."
"That's a long way. Plus, we don't have …" Nico's voice cracked. "You know … our sea expert, Percy." The name just hung in the air, Bucky didn't know Percy all that well, the only real time he spend with the guy was the war with the titans and about the last day of the quest to Alaska.
"What about continuing north? There has to be a break in the mountains, or something." Leo fiddled with bronze Archimedes sphere that he installed on the console. Bucky didn't like that thing, just like he didn't like the statue. The sphere grew a camera lens before it projected a 3-d image of the Apennines mountains above the console.
"I dunno. I don't see any good passes to the north. But I like that idea better than backtracking south. I'm done with Rome." No one argued with Leo when he said that, Bucky was trying to forget about Rome.
"Whatever we do, we have to hurry. Every day that Annabeth, Percy, Steve, and Emily are in Tartarus …" Nico didn't need to finish that, Bucky hope that they could survive long enough to find the Tartarus side of the doors of death. When Nico told them about the doors after they fell that Bucky panicked, for someone would have to stay behind. Knowing Emily and Steve that they would be willing to stay behind if Percy and Annabeth would make it out alive. Honestly, he wasn't sure what to do if that happens, he was sure Lauren felt the same way as well. He hoped that they might be able to open the doors on the mortals side to save them and seal the entrance so that Gaea won't be able to use it or her forces. Nico was scowling at the countryside below them.
"Maybe we should wake the others. This decision affects us all."
"No, We can find a solution."
"Besides if we do, we might just start arguing again. That is the last thing that we need now, we need to work together but that is working well at the moment." The other three looked at him, ever since Rome that Bucky hardly spoke to anyone, even to Lauren, Emily's best friend and Phil, Emily's other half brother besides Nico that Bucky was aware of. Steve didn't count, for one he wasn't here and tow, Steve was her full brother as oppose to half brother like Nico and Phil. Before their fall into Tartarus that the eight were beginning to learn to work as a team but than Emily, Steve, Percy and Annabeth fell. Percy was like the backbone of the eight and Annabeth was more or less the leader and the one with the answers. Steve and Emily were like the second set of Annabeth and Percy, Emily was more like the leader and the one that gave hope to the others. Steve was more like the warrior and one who helped with the planning or the one that was quick on his toes. Though more or less Emily and Steve were the ones that the eight looked up to the most to give the hope that they could make it though the tough challenge that they have in front of them. Since Emily and Steve lived through a lot of challenges in the past couple of years as well as during the war, more with Emily than with Steve. Bucky dragged himself out of his thoughts as Jennifer stood next to Bucky, he looked at her as she shrugged as well as when Leo spoke up once more.
"We need some creative thinking. Another way to cross those mountains, or a way to hide ourselves from the numina."
"If I was on my own, I could shadow-travel. But that won't work for an entire ship. And, honestly, I'm not sure I have the strength to even transport myself any more."
"I could maybe rig some kind of camouflage like a smoke screen to hide us in the clouds." Bucky stared down the rolling farmland below. As he watched that he noticed a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. Something small and beige was racing across the fields at an incredible speed, leaving a vapour trail.
"Arion."
"What?" Leo let out a happy whoop when Hazel said her horse's name and as the dust cloud got closer.
"It's her horse, man! You missed that whole part. We haven't seen him since Kansas!" The beige dot circled a hill and stopped at the summit, the horse reared and whined.
"We have to meet him. He's here to help."
"Yeah, okay. But, uh, we talked about not landing the ship on the ground any more, remember? You know, with Gaia wanting to destroy us and all."
"Just get me close and I'll use the rope ladder. I think Arion wants to tell me something."
"Can I come?" Hazel looked at Jennifer before she nodded as Leo lowered the ship low enough for Hazel and Jennifer to use the rope ladder. Bucky watched as Hazel and Jennifer went down the rope ladder and they ran over to Arion. Bucky noticed that Hazel was talking to him while Jennifer was petting him, he knows that Hazel can't talk to horses for that was a child of Poseidon thing. Bucky looked away and towards the storm that was forming or he assumed that it was a storm but he was unsure about that. Than Nico called from the ship.
"Hazel! Jennifer What's going on?"
"It's fine!" Hazel summoned a gold nugget and gave it to Arion, than she smiled at the three of them. "Arion wants to take me somewhere." The three of them exchanged nervous looks before Leo pointed north. Bucky looked to the north to see that the storm gathered over some old stone ruins, it might been a Roman ruins of some kind at one point. Than a funnel cloud snake it's way down towards the hill like a black finger.
"Uh … Please tell me he's not taking you into that?" Hazel and Jennifer looked at the cloud before looking back at Arion.
"You want to go there?" Bucky was worried, he knows Emily looked out for her half siblings no matter if they were roman or not. But he knows that she was closer to her roman half siblings from Pluto than from Ceres. He knew that she didn't want anything to happen to her siblings, he felt that being her husband that falls to him now. Bucky watched as Hazel tighten the straps of her cavalry sword while Jennifer grasp the hilt of her sword before the two of them climbed onto Arion's back. Than Hazel called up to the three of them.
"I'll be okay! Stay put and wait for me."
"Wait for how long? What if you don't come back?"
"Don't worry, I will."
"Hazel! Jennifer!" Jennifer and Hazel looked up at Bucky. "Be careful!" They nodded when Bucky said that. Than the three of them shot across the countryside, he hoped that Hazel was right as he watched they two of them head for the tornado. Bucky wasn't sure of how long it has been when Hazel and Jennifer went into that storm, but it seemed to take forever. But no one spoke or even said anything during that time, the three of them just sat there and waited for Hazel and Jennifer to return. Bucky looked at Nico, Nico seems tense and worried, Bucky was still trying to get used to Nico for in a way that Nico was a bit creepy. But Nico wasn't a bad person or anything, in a way, Nico reminded Bucky of Steve before Steve became Captain America of where he couldn't defended himself well but was an outcast. But Bucky knows that Nico could defend himself well enough, but he seem to use his powers more than he does with his sword or any other weapon. After a while that he saw the beige dot moving back to the ship, when close enough at he saw it was Hazel, Jennifer and Arion. As Hazel, Jennifer climbed back on the Argo II that Leo spoke.
"What happened?" Bucky noticed that Hazel's hands were shaking as well as Jennifer's, Bucky glanced back and saw that Arion ran off once more to wherever he was going next or what he was going to now. The countryside, that was below them, sparkled as the summer sun hit the morning dew of the grass. The mountains could been seen now, they were old, stood white and were silent, no sign of anything unusual or from the godly world. Bucky was slightly worried when Hazel and Jennifer just looked over the railing and didn't respond to the question.
"Hazel?" Hazel's knees buckled, Bucky managed to catch her and helped her to the steps of the foredeck. Jennifer also buckled, but it was Nico that caught Jennifer. It seems that Hazel and Jennifer wee out of energy from whatever happened in that cloud that was now gone.
"I met Hecate." Hazel told them of what she could but Jennifer remained quiet, somehow he felt that there some things that Hazel was holding back from them. Bucky figured that if she wanted to talk about whatever it was she was holding back that she would in time. She told them about the secret northern pass through the mountains and the detour that Hecate described that could take them to Epirus. When Hazel was done with telling them of what happened that Nico took her hand, his eyes were full of concern.
"Hazel, you met Hecate at the crossroads. That's … that's something many demigods don't survive. And the ones who do survive are never the same. Are you sure you're –"
"I'm fine." Bucky wondered what happened out there with Hecate, Emily told him about her, honestly, Bucky wasn't sure if he wants to meet her.
"What if Hecate is tricking us? This route could be a trap." Hazel shook her head.
"If it was a trap, I think Hecate would've made the northern route sound tempting. Believe me, she didn't." Leo pulled out a calculator out of his tool belt and punched in some numbers.
"That's … something like three hundred miles out of our way to get to Venice. Then we'd have to backtrack down the Adriatic. And you said something about baloney dwarfs?"
"Dwarfs in Bologna, I guess Bologna is a city. But why we have to find dwarfs there … I have no idea. Some sort of treasure to help us with the quest."
"Huh, I mean, I'm all about treasure, but –" Nico and Bucky helped Hazel and Jennifer to their feet.
"It's our best option. We have to make up for lost time, travel as fast as we can. Steve's, Emily's, Percy's and Annabeth's lives might depend on it."
"Fast? I can do fast." Leo hurried to the console before he started to flip switches. Bucky went done stairs, hoping that he might get some sleep, but he doubted that will happen. He noticed that after a minute that Nico came down below as well, Bucky just reached the door of his cabin when eh saw Nico come down. Nico looked down at Bucky before he looked away and started towards the stables, or he was guessing the stables at least. Before Nico could go to far that Bucky spoke.
"Nico!" Nico turned to look at Bucky, as Bucky walked over to him before standing in front of Nico. "Look I know you are close to Emily, maybe not as close as you are to Arabella. But if you want to talk ... "
"It's fine." Bucky looked at him. "I am fine. I thank you for at least saying that if I want to talk. But I prefer to be alone." Bucky stared after Nico as Nico walked away, even though in that small way Nico reminded of Steve that Nico was utterly different from Steve. Bucky walked back to his cabin door to sleep.
Emily's pov
Emily held onto Steve as they fell down and down further in Tartarus, Emily knew she wouldn't fall alone since Annabeth was also pulled into Tartarus as well. But she was rather glad that Steve was with her, even with how much she wished that Bucky was here as well. In a way she was glad that Bucky was standing there when emily and Steve fell, otherwise, facing Tartarus might make things worse for her, nightmares wise. As she thought of Bucky that she thought of her best friend since the age of ten and sister in law, Lauren. Emily was sure that Steve was wishing the same thing about Lauren as Emily was wishing with Bucky or that Steve was glad that Lauren wasn't with them. Emily couldn't began to think of what might happen to her child now that she was falling into Tartarus or what will to the child down there. Emily has no idea of how long the four of them have been falling, it could have been days or even years, she hoped it wasn't the latter. Wind was whistling in her ears, the air was slowly growing hotter and damper as through they were not falling to Tartarus but to the center of the earth. It was absolute dark, despite the fact that Emily could see everything clear as day, she was a bit glad of her night vision that came from Hades.
Emily knows that her ankle was no longer in the spider's silk, Emily wasn't sure of how her ankle managed to get trapped by the silk, in the Spider's silk. Expect for the fact that maybe Arachne using it to catch another demigod to go to Tartarus with Annabeth. Most likely to be the other demigod that was used to wake up Gaea in the ancient lands, Arachne thought it was a male when she managed to get a hold of Emily. So that there three extra demigods that were falling with Annabeth since Rome, Emily hoped that Bucky was all right. She couldn't began to think of what could happen to him, she just hoped that he won't go back to being the winter soldier. It seems so unfair, she found found new siblings, that the two siblings found a place into her heart and helped heal her wounds from World War II of losing Steve and Lauren disappearing. Than after sixty eight years she found Steve and Lauren, so that those huge wounds, that become part of her, started to heal more. A process that started when she found and saved Phil from the Manticore, a process that ended when Bucky came back into her life.
Than a few months later, her life seem to turn upside down when she learned to what happen to Bucky, only to learn that his memories of his life as Bucky were gone till he saw her. This his memories were restored by looking at her and going to the museum of where the Lieutenant USA and Captain America exhibit was. So Bucky was back and returned to her after a couple of months of not knowing if he should find her or not, filling in that last miss piece of Emily. The months afterwards, when Bucky saved her on the one HYDRA base, was difficult, for there were battles and monsters kept coming at the camps or the demigods. A few times the Romans and Greeks were close of finding each other, than she took care of some traitors as Gaea started to wake up from her long sleep once more. Things started to look up more when she learned she was pregnant but than the prophecy of the eight truly started, two of her half siblings are part of that prophecy. Things were going their way when they reached Rome, than Emily's ankle managed to get silk on it and she was pulled into Tartarus along with Annabeth, Percy and Steve.
Emily never expected her life to be easy, but she expected to have her family besides her! Once she found Bucky and Steve and than growing close to phil after losing Lauren, Steve and Bucky. She felt so alone after the war ended in Europe, than she helped other demigods not to have since have the same hard life she did as well as the ones that went before them. At least Emily did her best that hard life was not repeated, but there times when a demigod would have a hard life before she finds them or when they were found. Even with Phil and Arabella, Emily still felt lost and lonely without Lauren, Steve and Bucky to a certain degree, for she never felt as lost and lonely when Phil and Arabella came around. But keeping the hope that she would learn of what happen to Lauren, Steve and Bucky, even if they died before Emily hadn't learn of what happen to them before that she finds them alive. For Emily wanted, at the very least, closure, maybe go on with the life she had since she accepted Hades offer. She knows that demigods die young at the hands of monsters, that's what happened since the start of the demigods and the Greeks invented tragedy. That the greatest hero's didn't always get the happy endings that they deserved after going through so much suffering, pain and lost. But this wasn't fair, true she has her brother with her, but once more she lost Bucky, though it would be more like that Bucky lost her, not the other way around.
That this was a twisted fate sent from Gaea, Emily knows that Gaea was older, more vicious and more bloodthirsty than any other god or goddess that was known. Emily could almost hear Gaea laughing as they fell further into the earth, Emily held tight to Steve as they fell and he was holding onto her just as tightly. She has her head against his chest and he put his head over the top of her head to do his best to protect her from the landing that was bound to come, maybe. Even before he serum that Steve tried to protect her but it was more like Emily protecting Steve tulle Bucky came along. For Emily was the one less skinny and not so small twin, but she was still small and skinny for her age at that time. But Steve was worse than she wa a before the serum, Emily went through training hat made her more fit, not so skinny as well as not too small. Emily has no idea if they would even land and that they just keep falling and falling for there would be no end. As Emily held onto Steve that she wish that she could think of what to do, but she wasn't sure of what to do. As the four of them fell that Emily noticed that there was some changes in their surroundings, so that must means that they were almost to the pit. for the whistling become more of a roar, the air was become even more intolerably hot, with a small like rotten eggs and the darkness took on a grey red tinge. Suddenly the chute that they were falling through opened into a vast cavern, it surprised Emily to see the cavern below her.
The cavern was maybe a half mile below them, the entire island of Manhattan could fit into the cavern below them. It was hard to see the full extent of the cavern below them, it seems endless of how big it was. Red clouds hung in the air like vaporized blood, the landscape, or what she could see of it, was rocky black plains that was punctuated by jagged mountains and fiery chasms. To Emily's left, on the other side of Annabeth and Percy, that the ground dropped away in a series of cliffs. Like they were steps leading deeper into the abyss of Tartarus, it was like that one saying, come face your death. Emily could smell the sulphur in the air, Emily managed to allow the poppy to grow below herself and Steve as they fell, but with how weak she was that she couldn't put it under Annabeth and Percy. So that when Emily and Steve landed on the ground, that they landed on top of the poppy, Emily and Steve managed to get up once they landed. As they got up and her poppy grew back that she barely heard Percy yell before the water of the nearby river erupted in a massive geyser and shallows Percy and Annabeth whole.
Emily cried out when the water went back down into the river with Percy and Annabeth in the massive geyser, Emily knows what river that the two of them entered. For she went right by that river many times in the last around seventy years, plus she gained a knowledge of the underworld when she was adopted by Hades. Emily ran towards the river and Steve followed close behind Emily, Steve sounded like he was out of breath as they ran. Emily's own breathing was getting heavier as she ran to the edge of the river. Percy and Annabeth managed to break the surface with Annabeth helping Percy through the river, Percy seem to be losing his strength as he tried to get himself and Annabeth out of the river. Emily thought of entering the river to help Percy and Annabeth to the shore but Emily decided against going into the river, for she was unsure of the river would react to her if she stepped into it in Tartarus. Steve managed to say something.
"There is a river in Tartarus, I thought we just fall till we fell through another hole or something."
"Yes, all the rivers of the underworld flow through Tartarus. This is the Cocytus – the River of Lamentation." Steve raised an eyebrow when Emily said that. "In other words, it is also called by the river of Misery."
"River of Misery?" Emily nodded.
"Yes, I walked by this river a lot in the underworld." Emily looked over at Percy and Annabeth as they struggled though the Cocytus, or the Grumpy River as Emily likes to call it. Emily could see them coming closer to the shore and it seems like they were having a hard time of swimming through the river. When Annabeth and Percy were close enough to the short that Steve and Emily helped them out of the river. Percy and Annabeth were shivering and gasping, both of them collapsed on the dark sand, Emily went down on her knees. Steve remained standing next to Emily, but he looked like if he might fall over any minute now, she couldn't blame him for it. But it was than that Emily noticed something as she looked at her arms, they were covered by an angry rash. Emily managed to get to her feet and suddenly she realized that the sand was jagged black glass chips and not sand. It seems the air was acid and the water was misery, along with the other rivers of the underworld. Emily could understood of why no mortals could survive this place, it was a wonder of how Nico and Arabella managed to get out of this place. Than Percy coughed before he spoke.
"This place smells like my ex-stepfather." Emily managed a weak smile, Emily heard that Percy have two step fathers, though she never heard about the first step father. Emily managed to kneel down again and cut off the spider web from Annabeth's ankles with her dagger before Emily stood up once more. Emily remembered that Annabeth lost her knife as they fell into Tartarus along with the laptop along Annabeth's backpack. Emily knows that Annabeth would need to defend herself down here in Tartarus and Emily has two swords that she can use down here when she needs to use them. So Emily held out the hilt of her dagger to Annabeth of who looked slightly surprised that Emily was giving her the dagger.
"I know your dagger is lost when you went to get the statue somewhere, I already have two swords that I can use instead. you can keep this dagger." Annabeth took the dagger from her hand and smiled slightly in thanks. Than Emily looked over at Percy, Percy looked bad, worse than Steve did at the moment, but she couldn't say if she looked worse than he did or not. His dark hair was plastered across his forehead, his shirt was ripped to shreds, his fingers were scraped raw from holding onto that ledge before they fell down here. Percy was still shivering and his lips were blue, Steve was in better condition than Percy, he wasn't shivering at least but Steve was pale and he has angry rash on his skin as well as Emily and the other two.
"We should keep moving or we'll get hypothermia, Can you stand?" Percy nodded, Emily and Steve helped Annabeth and Percy to their feet. It seems Steve and Emily were a bit stronger than Annabeth and Percy or at least at the moment that they were. Emily looked up and saw no sign of the tunnel that they fell from, she couldn't even seen a roof over them though though has to be one for there was no sky. All Emily could see, above her, was blood colored clouds that were floating in the hazy grey air, of which unnerved Emily. Yes, she was used to not seeing the sun when she was in the underworld but she knew that she would be able to see the sun, stars, and the moon again in a few months time. Emily looked away from what was above her and back at the ground, the black glass beach stretched inland for fifty yards before dropping off the edge of a cliff. Emily couldn't see the bottom of where the cliff dropped off, but she could see red light flickered as though it was illuminated by huge fires. As Emily looked to the cliff that it seems that the image flicked and Emily could swear that she saw teeth and a mouth instead of a cliff. Emily shook her head, trying to get her head straight, she hoped that Nico and Arsbella saw Tartarus the way she was seeing it. Or at least hoped that was how Arabella and Nico saw Tartarus, than Percy pointed downstream.
"Look." A hundred feet away, a familiar looking baby blue Italian car crushed head first into the sand or glass of the black beach. It looked just like the Fiat that hit Arachne in the cuffs, the very same one that sent that spider into this pit that they were in now. Emily was sure of it, for there were not very, if any other, cars down here, before Emily could say don't go near it that. As well as to say to get to the doors of death and make sure that this place doesn't kill them that Annabeth gripped Percy's hand and walked over to the car. Emily sighed when Annabeht did tat, so Emily followed Percy and Annabeth with Steve at her side. As they neared the car that Emily saw that one of the tires of the car was off, the windows shattered, under the crushed hood lay tattered and glistening remains of a giant silk cocoon. The giant silk cocoon looked like the same trap that Arachne was when the ship fired and send her to Tartarus. There slash marks in the sand making a trail downriver, as if something heavy, and with multiple legs, scuttled into the darkness.
"She's alive."
"It's Tartarus, Monster home court. Down here, maybe they can't be killed." Emily sighed and rolled her eyes, Emily knows that Percy was stating a fact, but that was something none of them wanted to hear. He gave Annabeth an embarrassed look. "Or maybe she's badly wounded, and she crawled away to die."
"Let's go with that." Emily was shivering slightly as well as Steve, but they were not shivering as bad as Annabeth and Percy were. Not only that but her breathing was getting more labored as stood there.
"This place is killing us, I mean, it's literally going to kill us, unless …"
"Unless what? You've got a brilliant plan, haven't you?" However it was Emily that spoke.
"My guess is the plan is to find the river of Fire, the Phlegethon." Steve, Percy and Annabeth looked at her, she looked at them before she spoke. "Unless if you forget, Hades adopted me. So I know the underworld and it's rivers. Thankfully all of those rivers run through here, but don't ask me to direct this place like I can with the underworld, for I don't know anything about this place besides from what I heard about it in poems, stories and as well as knowing about the rivers."
None of them said anything, instead the four of them walked to the edge of the ledge of the cliff that was some ways ahead of them. When they reached the ledge that Emily saw what lay ahead of them, as she looked out that she wished that she was back on the one HYDRA base of where Steve and herself freed the Howling Commandos and Bucky. At that time, that seemed like a challenge to her in a sense at any rate, but it seems everything since than make that look like a piece of cake. But it seems that Tartarus was topping of everything else that she ever down in her longer than normal demigod life. The cliff dropped more than eighty feet, at the bottom stretched a nightmarish versions of the grand canyon. A river of fire cutting a path throughout a jagged obsidian crevasse, the glowing red current casting horrible shadows across the cliff faces. Even though she was immune to the heat of fire, she could feel the heat of the fire from where she was standing, so that she felt raw and sunburnt.
"Uh …" Percy was looking at the cliff. Than he pointed to a tiny fissure running diagonally from the edge to the bottom. "We can try that ledge there. Might be able to climb down." He sounded hopefully, but Emily had a better idea.
"I got a better idea than climbing down that." Emily let her poppy grow and tied itself around a rock that was was strong and big enough to allow four people to climb done a vine. Emily went down first while the others followed her on the stem of the poppy, it took a couple of minutes before they managed to make it down to the ground with the poppy. When Percy got off that Emily allowed the poppy to go back of how it was before they climbed down the stem. Emily looked down at her rash skin, there was red boils were forming over their skin, Emily was worried that this might affect the child in her, provided that she gets out of here. Emily's vision was getting a little blurry as well, her throat felt blistered as though she hadn't drank anything for a long time, and her stomach was clenching. Annabeth managed to say something.
"Just to the river, We can do this." The four of them staggered over the slick glass ledges, around massive boulders. Emily's tattered clothes steamed from the heat of the river, but they kept walking till they reached the banks of the Phlegethon. Percy and Annabeth crumpled to their knees when they reached the banks of the Phlegethon. "We have to drink." Percy swayed.
"Uh … drink fire?" It was Emily that spoke.
"The Phlegethon flows from my father's realm down here like all river of the underworld do at one point or another. The river is used to punish the wicked, like Minos for example, he now swims in this very river after playing that trick on Nico of which almost lead to the death of two his children. Of which something he doesn't take to kindly to. But there are some legends that also call the river of fire, the river of healing." Steve looked in her surprise when she said that but it was Percy who spoke.
"Some legends?" Emily swallowed before she went on, but breathing was becoming more difficult as she spoke.
"The Phlegethon keeps the wicked in one piece so that they can endure the torments of the fields of punishment or any other form of torture, depending on who it was that was or in there. This river is like the underworld equivalent of ambrosia and nectar, but ambrosia and nectar, as well as my healing abilities won't have any affect unless if we drink from the river." Percy winces as cinders sprayed from the river and curling around his face,
"But it's fire. How can we –" Before Percy went on that Emily knelt down and thrust her hands into the river, Emily put her hands in this river before. But it was in the underworld and it didn't seem to effect her as much as it was now, Emily figured that was partly because of the fact when she did that before that it was in the underworld. For the underworld was in her realm or might be one day of Hades fades from this world, of which she hopes never happens. Emily figures that Tartarus makes everything worse from air to rock for demigods, of which was not surprising to Emily. However like in the underworld, the fire was cold to the touch, Emily cupped the fiery liquid in her palms and raised it to her mouth. Of which was something she never did before, for she has no idea what it would taste like, but Emily didn't expect the taste to be like Chilli pepper. Her sinuses fillies with liquid flame, her mouth felt like it was being deep fried, it felt like her eyes were going to shed boiling tears. Emily was close of collapsed but she felt her healing ability kicking in, she started to breath normally, the rash and boils were starting to fade. Than Steve spoke.
"It worked."
"It did, but I have a feeling your guys reaction to it would be worse than my was. But drink it though." Steve, Percy and Annabeth managed to follow suit and drank from the Phlegethon. Emily could tell that the effects inside were similar to her own or at least of how she felt inside, but the others collapsed and started to gag and retching. Their bodies were shaking violently, Emily managed to grabbed the three of them before they could rolled into the river, Emily used her poppy to pull Steve back from the river while she grabbed Percy and Annabeth. They started to breath more normally and the breathing was coming easier, their blisters on their bodies were fading just like hers. But Percy, Annabeth and Steve looked nauseous of which looked better than the andy red rash and the boils, Emily was sure that she looked nauseous as well.
"It worked. For now. The problem is we're still in Tartarus." Emily spoke up after Annabeth said that.
"It still will work, we just needed to keep drinking it and Tartarus won't kill us like it was when we entered this place." Emily got up from her kneeling position and looked around, her vision was coming back, it seem hard to believe that they were really in Tartarus. Than Percy spoke.
"Holy Hera. I never thought … well, I'm not sure what I thought. Maybe that Tartarus was empty space, a pit with no bottom. But this is a real place."
"We haven't seen all of it. This could be just the first tiny part of the abyss, like the front steps."
"The welcome mat." All of them gazed up at the blood colored clouds swirling in the grey haze, there was no way that they would be able to climb up that cliff, even if they wanted to. They either going to go upriver or downriver of the Phlegethon, as Emily looked up that she put her hand over her stomach. She knows the child was still alive, even after of what happened, she wasn't sure of how that was possible. For she could still feel her Hestia powers telling her that she was with her child, as she put her hand on her stomach that Steve spoke.
"I forget about that." Emily looked over at Steve, confused for a minute before she remembered what happen with those nymphs and how Hago revealed she was with a child. Emily looked away from the sky before looking at Steve while Percy and Annabeth looked over at Emily and Steve.
"It's hard for me to forget." Annabeth spoke up.
"What are you talking about?" Emily looked over at Annabeth.
"I am pregnant and have been for about two weeks, it might be three weeks if that one poem is correct in saying that it takes nine days to fall into Tartarus."
"You're pregnant? How could you know after two weeks, that's impossible."
"No, it is not, Annabeth. I am the champion of Hestia and I can sense when a new family connection is made, no matter through marriage or a new life. My Hestia powers been in going haywire in the last couple of weeks." Annabeth was about ready to say something when Percy spoke up.
"Emily being pregnant so not the point, Annabeth. But we need find a way out. Our best chance are The Doors of Death." Annabeth nodded before she shuddered, Emily remembered what Percy and Steve said before they fell down here. That they promise Nico and Arabella to lead the Argo II to Epirus, that might been one of the worst part about the whole thing. That just after getting her two siblings back that she fell into Tartarus, after over a week of worrying about them and the state that they were in. After this whole thing is over that Emily decided not to being this up if Fred's mother ask of what happen to Emily and Arabella when she sees them. Emily hoped that they could live through this place, seal the doors of death and than be back in Bucky's arms as well as see her other half siblings, Nico, Arabella, Hazel, Jennifer and Phil. Emily couldn't began to think of what was going on with her mother now besides her two sides fighting with each other.
"We have to. Not just for us. For everybody we love. The Doors have to be closed on both sides, or the monsters will just keep coming through. Gaea's forces will overrun the world."
"Well. If we stay close to the river, we'll have a way to heal ourselves. If we go downstream –" What happened next happened rather quickly that she didn't get all of it, something was behind Annabeth was ready to kill her, Emily barely noticed that it was Arachne before Percy's pen turned into his sword and killed Arachne. Emily stood there stunned, just like Annabeth, the only difference was that Emily wasn't covered in gold dust like Annabeth was.
"You okay?" Emily scanned the cliffs and the boulders, she wondered how many monsters were down here, including ones she killed in seventy years Annabeth was staring at Percy in amazement, Emily looked at Steve who looked shocked and stunned. Emily could hear riptide moving around the air of Tartarus as it made a defiant hiss like a rattle snake.
"She … she would've killed me." Percy kicked the dust on the rocks, his expression was grim and dissatisfied.
"She died too easily, considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse."
"How did you move so fast?" Percy shrugged.
"Gotta watch each other's backs, right? Now, you were saying … downstream?" Annabeth nodded, she was still in a daze and Emily couldn't blame Annabeth for that after what happened. Emily was at least glad that monsters could be killed but they would reform faster down here than they could above.
"Yeah, downstream. If the river comes from the upper levels of the Underworld, it should flow deeper into Tartarus –"
"So it leads into more dangerous territory: Which is probably where the Doors are. Lucky us." They travelled a few hundred yards when Emily heard voices, all of them were pretty much plodded along. Emily was about ready to say something when Annabeth beat her to it.
"Percy, down!" Annabeth pulled Percy behind the nearest boulder, while Emily took hold of Steve's arm and they backed up to the cliffs. Emily allowed the shadows to cover them so that the monsters wouldn't see them, on the narrow path between the river and cliffs was where the voices came from. The voices sounded human enough, but she doubted that they were human though, for some monsters do sound like human even in their monster form. Emily was worried that the monsters might have smelled them by now, for there are four demigods, two of which were children of the big three. Originally Emily wasn't a daughter of Hades, but once she become a daughter of Hades that her smell increase to the monsters. As the monsters entered her view that she nearly gasp but she held it in, for it was Empousai, there was at least four or five of them. Emily was also able to hear them.
"Soon?" The one spoke with a raspy voice, Emily wondered if she couldn't breath properly down here.
"Oh my gods!" The one that just spoke was more younger in looks and voice as well as more human. The one that spoke was a teenage mortal girl in a tattered cheerleader outfit. "You guys are totally annoying! I told you, it's like three days from here." Emily could see Percy and Annabeth, she noticed that Percy was gripping Annabeth's wrist. Than they paused at the other side of the Boulder that Annabeth and Percy were behind and were out of Emily's sight for the moment. Emily hoped that a demigod's scent was different down here, though it seems it might be or there many other smells that cover up a demigod's smell down here.
"I wonder, if perhaps you do not know the way, young one." The cheerleader spoke up after the other one spoke.
"Oh, shut your fang hole, Serephone. When's the last time you escaped to the mortal world? I was there a couple of years ago. I know the way! Besides, I understand what we're facing up there. You don't have a clue!"
"The Earth Mother did not make you boss!" There was more hissing, scuffling and moans, like ally cars fighting but bigger. Than the one called Serephone yelled.
"Enough!" The noise died down. "We will follow for now. But if you do not lead us well, if we find you have lied about the summons of Gaea –"
"I don't lie! Believe me, I've got good reason to get into this battle. I have some enemies to devour, and you'll feast on the blood of heroes. Just leave one special morsel for me – the one named Percy Jackson." When the one cheerleader said that, that Emily knew that this cheerleader faced Percy before a couple of times, but Emily wa sun sure of when those two face each other in battle. "Believe me, Gaea has called us, and we're going to have so much fun. Before this war is over, mortals and demigods will tremble at the sound of my name – Kelli!" Emily than realized who the cheerleader was, she was one of the ones at Colonel Phillips's workshop, or Daedalus. She remembered her because Annaberh stabbed Kelli in the back and sent Kelli here to Tartarus. The five Empousai walked away from the boulder. When the Empousai were far enough away that Emily allowed the shadows to return to normal and both Steve and Emily went over to where Percy and Annabeth were as Percy rose from where he been kneeling.
"They're heading for the Doors of Death. You know what that means?" Emily knows what that means all right.
"Yeah, We need to follow them."