… you know something interesting? This chapter was 11,000 words long before I cut short. Andy and Percy were supposed to be reunited in this chapter but I decided otherwise. Wait two more months. Or less if I feel generous.
I really don't want to say what's coming next you know. I'll just say it. I can give it about, say, three more updates. That's how long I'm going to wait it out. If you guys still have not said who you want Andy to be paired up with, I won't wait any longer. Because I'm already behind schedule. I tried to give you the power to choose how the story goes but if you don't want it, I'm not going to chase. I'm not a teacher and I certainly don't want to chase for it.
Annabeth lost track of how long she and Percy had been falling—hours? A day? It felt like an eternity. They'd been holding hands ever since they dropped into the chasm. Now Percy pulled her close, hugging her tight as they tumbled through absolute darkness. The shadowy object Nico had given Percy jabbed at a little, but at least it was safe. She would hate it if they'd lost their only bargaining tool—if they survived the fall.
Wind whistled in Annabeth's ears. The air grew hotter and damper, as if they were plummeting into the throat of a massive dragon. Her recently broken ankle throbbed, though she couldn't tell if it was still wrapped in spiderwebs.
That cursed monster Arachne. Despite having been trapped in her own webbing, smashed by a car, and plunged into Tartarus, the spider lady had gotten her revenge. Somehow her silk had entangled Annabeth's leg and dragged her over the side of the pit, with Percy in tow.
Annabeth couldn't imagine that Arachne was still alive, somewhere below them in the darkness. She didn't want to meet that monster again when they reached the bottom.
She wrapped her arms around Percy and tried not to sob. She'd never expected her life to be easy. Most demigods died young at the hands of terrible monsters. That was the way it had been since ancient times. The Greeks invented tragedy. They knew the greatest heroes didn't get happy endings.
Still, this wasn't fair. She'd gone through so much to retrieve that statue of Athena. Just when she'd succeeded, when things had been looking up and she'd been reunited with Percy, they had plunged to their deaths.
Even the gods couldn't devise a fate so twisted. But Gaia wasn't like other gods. The Earth Mother was older, more vicious, more bloodthirsty. Annabeth could imagine her laughing as they fell into the depths.
Annabeth pressed her lips to Percy's ear. "I love you." She wasn't sure he could hear her—but if they were going to die she wanted those to be her last words.
She tried desperately to think of a plan to save them. She was a daughter of Athena. She'd proven herself in the tunnels under Rome, beaten a whole series of challenges with only her wits. But she couldn't think of any way to reverse or even slow their fall.
Neither of them had the power to fly—not like Jason, who could control the wind, or Frank, who could turn into a winged animal. If they reached the bottom at terminal velocity...well, she knew enough science to know it would be terminal.
She was seriously wondering whether they could fashion a parachute out of their shirts—that's how desperate she was—when something about their surroundings changed. The darkness took on a grey-red tinge. She realised she could see Percy's hair as she hugged him. The whistling in her ears turned into more of a roar. The air became intolerably hot, permeated with a smell like rotten eggs.
Suddenly, the chute they'd been falling through opened into a vast cavern. Maybe half a mile below them, Annabeth could see the bottom. For a moment she was too stunned to think properly. The entire island of Manhattan could have fit inside this cavern—and she couldn't even see its full extent. Red clouds hung in the air like vaporised blood. The landscape—at least what she could see of it —was rocky black plains, punctuated by jagged mountains and fiery chasms. To Annabeth's left, the ground dropped off in a series of cliffs, like colossal steps leading deeper into the abyss.
The stench of sulphur made it hard to concentrate, but she focused on the ground directly below them and saw a ribbon of glittering black liquid—a river, with a figure just beyond it.
"Percy!" she yelled in his ear. "Water!"
She gestured frantically. Percy's face was hard to read in the dim red light. He looked shell-shocked and terrified, but he nodded as if he understood.
Percy could control water—assuming that was water below them. He might be able to cushion their fall somehow. Of course Annabeth had heard horrible stories about the rivers of the Underworld. They could take away your memories, or burn your body and soul to ashes. But she decided not to think about that. This was their only chance.
The river hurtled toward them. At the last second, Percy yelled defiantly. The water erupted in a massive geyser and swallowed them whole.
Annabeth gasped as the cold touched her. Freezing water shocked the air right out of her lungs. Her limbs turned rigid, and she lost her grip on Percy. She began to sink. Strange wailing sounds filled her ears—millions of heartbroken voices, as if the river were made of distilled sadness. The voices were worse than the cold. They weighed her down and made her numb.
What's the point of struggling? they told her. You're dead anyway. You'll never leave this place.
She could sink to the bottom and drown, let the river carry her body away. That would be easier. She could just close her eyes...
Percy gripped her hand and jolted her back to reality. She couldn't see him in the murky water, but suddenly she didn't want to die. Together they kicked upward and broke the surface.
Annabeth gasped, grateful for the air, no matter how sulphurous. The water swirled around them, and she realised Percy was creating a whirlpool to buoy them up. Though she couldn't make out their surroundings, she knew this was a river. Rivers had shores.
"Land," she croaked. "Go sideways." Percy looked near dead with exhaustion. Usually water reinvigorated him, but not this water. Controlling it must have taken every bit of his strength. Luckily, the whirlpool stayed. Annabeth hooked one arm around his waist and struggled across the current, going over to where the figure was unmovingly. The river worked against her: thousands of weeping voices whispering in her ears, getting inside her brain. Life is despair, they said. Everything is pointless, and then you die. "Pointless," Percy murmured. His teeth chattered from the cold. He stopped swimming and began to sink. The whirlpool worked furiously to stop him. How that worked, Annabeth didn't know and didn't care. Not now.
"Percy!" she shrieked. "The river is messing with your mind. It's the Cocytus—the River of Lamentation. It's made of pure misery!"
"Misery," he agreed.
"Fight it!"
She kicked and struggled, trying to get them to move. Maybe the whirlpool would prevent them from drowning but it didn't mean they wouldn't get hypothermia. Not going to happen, you hag, Annabeth thought. They were not going to die here.
She hugged Percy tighter and kissed him. "Tell me about New Rome," she demanded. "What were your plans for us?"
"New Rome… For us…"
"Yeah, Seaweed Brain. You said we could have a future there! Tell me!"
Annabeth had never wanted to leave Camp Half-Blood. It was the only real home she'd ever known. But days ago, on the Argo II, Percy had told her that he imagined a future for the two of them among the Roman demigods. In their city of New Rome, veterans of the legion could settle down safely, go to college, get married, even have kids.
"Architecture," Percy murmured. The fog started to clear from his eyes. "Thought you'd like the houses, the parks. There's one street with all these cool fountains."
Annabeth started making progress against the current. Her limbs felt like bags of wet sand, but Percy was helping her now. She could see the dark line of the shore about a stone's throw away.
"College," she gasped. "Could we go there together?"
"Y-yeah," he agreed, a little more confidently. "What would you study, Percy?"
"Dunno," he admitted.
"Marine science," she suggested. "Oceanography?"
"Surfing?" he asked.
She laughed, and the sound sent a shock wave through the water. The wailing faded to background noise. Annabeth wondered if anyone had ever laughed in Tartarus before—just a pure, simple laugh of pleasure. She doubted it.
She used the last of her strength to reach the riverbank. Her feet dug into the sandy bottom. She and Percy hauled themselves ashore, shivering and gasping, and collapsed on the dark sand.
Annabeth wanted to curl up next to Percy and go to sleep. She wanted to shut her eyes, hope all of this was just a bad dream, and wake up to find herself back on the Argo II, safe with her friends (well...as safe as a demigod can ever be).
But, no. They were really in Tartarus. At their feet, the River Cocytus roared past, a flood of liquid wretchedness. The sulfurous air stung Annabeth's lungs and prickled her skin. When she looked at her arms, she saw they were already covered with an angry rash. She tried to sit up and gasped in pain.
The beach wasn't sand. They were sitting on a field of jagged black-glass chips, some of which were now embedded in Annabeth's palms.
So the air was acid. The water was misery. The ground was broken glass. Everything here was designed to hurt and kill. Annabeth took a rattling breath and wondered if the voices in the Cocytus were right. Maybe fighting for survival was pointless. They would be dead within the hour.
"Or," a familiar voice broke in, "you could stand up and we can talk." Andy stood from where she sat, staring down at Annabeth with no emotion. Rather, she unhooked a pitcher from her waist and threw it at her feet. "Even Tartarus has a way of surviving." Andy explained off-handedly. It was an answer for a question that didn't even form in their heads yet. "In there is water from the River Phlegethon, Tartarus's version of your ambrosia and nectar. Just don't expect it to taste good."
Percy grunted. "Sounds like a marathon for hawking spitballs."
"What's a spitball?" Andy asked. Annabeth and Percy looked at her incredulously. "What? You can't find a spitball in Tartarus. Fireball, on the other hand, is quite common."
"I forgot you grew up here." Percy muttered. Annabeth looked around. At the nightmarish version of the Grand Canyon. The whole place meant to kill. She didn't understand how any demigod could grow up here. Grow up here and survive that is. "How do you even grow up here?"
"Not all monsters are cruel, er, Annabeth." Andy said cuttingly. "Are you going to drink or not?"
Annabeth and Percy had a silent conversation.
Should we trust her?
Do we have a choice? Percy pointed out.
And if she tries to kill us?
I think she would've already done it by removing that whirlpool.
You mean you didn't make it? Annabeth scowled.
I did, at first. Then she strengthened it.
That did it. Annabeth took the pitcher and drank from it.
On first contact, the fire wasn't painful. It felt cold, which probably meant it was so hot it was overloading Annabeth's nerves. She expected it to taste like gasoline. It was so much worse. Once, at a restaurant back in San Francisco, she'd made the mistake of tasting a ghost chilli pepper that came with a plate of Indian food. After barely nibbling it, she thought her respiratory system was going to implode. Drinking from the Phlegethon was like gulping down a ghost chilli smoothie. Her sinuses filled with liquid flame. Her mouth felt like it was being deep-fried. Her eyes shed boiling tears, and every pore on her face popped. She collapsed, gagging and retching, her whole body shaking violently.
"I did tell you it wouldn't taste good. I kinda expected you to be more prepared than this." Andy sighed in the background.
The convulsions passed. She took a ragged breath and managed to sit up. She felt horribly weak and nauseous, but her next breath came more easily. The blisters on her arms were starting to fade. "It worked," she croaked. "Percy, you've got to drink."
"I…" his eyes rolled up in his head, and he slumped against her.
"Percy!"
"You should probably hurry. He doesn't have much time. Controlling the Cocytus took much out of him." Andy speculated. When Annabeth glanced at her, she was staring at Percy with clouded eyes. Almost… confused? Wistful? Something like that. However, Annabeth couldn't be bothered right then.
Desperately, Annabeth placed the pitcher to his mouth and poured a little into Percy's mouth. He didn't respond.
She tried again, pouring a whole mouthful down his throat. This time he spluttered and coughed. Annabeth held him as he trembled, the magical fire coursing through his system. His fever disappeared. His boils faded. He managed to sit up and smack his lips, smiling weakly at her.
"Ugh," he said. "Spicy, yet disgusting."
Annabeth laughed weakly. She was so relieved, she felt light-headed. "Yeah. That pretty much sums it up."
Percy turned to Andy. "You saved us. Why?"
"I helped with one problem," she said. "You're still stuck in Tartarus."
Percy blinked. He looked around as if just coming to terms with where they were. "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."
Annabeth recalled the landscape she'd seen while they fell—a series of plateaus leading ever downward into the gloom.
"We haven't seen all of it," she warned. "This could be just the first tiny part of the abyss, like the front steps."
"Indeed. Trouble still awaits you if you try to search for the Doors." Andy agreed.
Before, her senses were too wired to think. Now she carefully glanced at Andy. And she gasped in horror. The dress did nothing in her favour. Around her, Mist lazily curled around, which was probably why she didn't check before. Scars littered her skin, like she was a magnet for them. Most were pale, healed, but they all looked horrifying and gruesome. "Holy Zeus…" Percy's stunned silence was also likely from seeing them.
"Yeah, unfortunately you can't survive Tartarus unscathed." Andy said, not at all bothered. "It hurt like a bitch back then, but I did get a sort of immunity towards pain."
"Andy, who did this to you?" The question just fell from Annabeth's mouth.
"Hmm, many people. We could be here for weeks before I finish. Let's see, my first scar, on my neck, over here," she tilted her head, baring her neck, showing a crescent shape scar. "Hyperion got the first scream out of me. In my defence, I was four."
Annabeth didn't listen, just stared at Andy's arms as she moved. Her face was the only patch of skin untouched, surprisingly enough. The rest wasn't so lucky. "They tortured you."
"Tried to break me." Andy agreed. "They were so very creative, you know. Whips. Celestial bronze knives. Claws. Hands. So many. I learned many things from them. They were all idiots, thought after what they put me through, I would still fight for them. Nico had a good suspicion—I was some Big Three kid. Cute boy, too bad he went wrong." Andy hummed. Out of the shadows, a hellhound leapt out, running straight to them. Annabeth yelped. Her dagger along with her entire bag was gone. She had nothing to defend herself with. But then she saw—on its back—a very familiar pack. "H- how?"
"Something so invaluable should be saved. Nightshade preserved it. You better thank her." Andy warned as the hellhound, Nightshade, stopped before her, allowing Andy to take the bag. Nightshade's red eyes gave Annabeth a predatory look but made no move to attack. Instead, she ran off. Andy tossed Annabeth the bag off-handedly. "I have no idea what the things in your pack are. So hopefully you take good care of it. Now," she grabbed Percy, pulling him to his feet. Their faces were inches away. Something tugged at Annabeth. "Return it."
"How did you know?" He asked. "The blessing of Lord Chaos is powerful, idiot. He gave it to me, of course I would recognise it. Give it to me. I saved your life already. At first, I was planning on helping you then convincing my pup to go find Nico, but since you're here, it's so much easier."
"Or," Annabeth interrupted. "We throw the key into the Cocytus."
Andy whirled around. Annabeth couldn't help flinch at her expression. It was… too similar to the expression she had seen on other monsters' faces."You wouldn't dare."
"She would. She's done worse." Percy warned. "Curse demigods." Andy muttered angrily. "You help them so much but they are never grateful. Instead they get greedier and ask you for more."
"Okay, first, you are technically also a demigod. Also, what did you ever do for Nico?"
"He never told you? Of course. Demigods always take the glory and hate sharing it." Andy growled. She shoved Percy away, turning her back to them. "We first met near the Underworld." She said at last. "I found him passed out, overwhelmed by monsters. I shooed them away and took him to heal. He woke up and we talked a little. He offered to take me to Olympus, find my family, and be welcomed like a hero."
"You didn't accept?" Annabeth asked. Her eyes darted to Andy, realising how less they knew about her but she knew quite a bit about them. "Of course not. The last time I saw them was 13 years ago. I do not know what happened to them, whether they were alive, if they forgot about me, or if they hate me for what I have done and what others have suffered because of me."
Beside her, Percy's eyes widened and he started to choke. Annabeth felt like doing that as well, the story wasn't going well.
"He is a son of Hades." She continued. "I refused because he couldn't have fulfilled his part if the people didn't accept him either. But I did travel with him for a while, acting as his healer and guide. Near the goddess of Misery, the giants caught up, they fought. Nico lost."
"He said you betrayed him. You told them his location." Percy accused.
"I did. Or rather, he thinks I did. I merely did what I had to ensure he lived. He did, didn't he?"
"He went through a week worth of trauma because of you!" Annabeth argued.
"I went through 11 years of torture. Forgive me if I think a week is nothing. When I was his age, I was being forced to use a sword and perfect archery." Andy said scathingly. Then, her body tensed. "Just on time. Help yourself. And demigods? Turn around."
Annabeth turned just as a massive dark shape hurtled down at her—a snarling, monstrous blob with spindly barbed legs and glinting eyes.
She had time to think: Arachne. But she was frozen in terror, her senses smothered by the sickly sweet smell.
Then she heard the familiar SHINK of Percy's ballpoint pen transforming into a sword. His blade swept over her head in a glowing bronze arc. A horrible wail echoed through the canyon.
Annabeth stood there, stunned, as yellow dust—the remains of Arachne— rained around her like tree pollen.
"Very good reflexes, Percy." Andy praised.
Annabeth stared at her boyfriend in amazement. Riptide's Celestial bronze blade glowed even brighter in the gloom of Tartarus. As it passed through the thick hot air, it made a defiant hiss like a riled snake.
"She… she would've killed me," Annabeth stammered.
Percy kicked the dust on the rocks, his expression grim and dissatisfied. "She died too easily, considering how much torture she put you through. She deserved worse."
"It is hilarious really, how demigods think that of monsters and vice versa. If you knew how many times I have heard monsters' complaints, you would also find it funny." She sighed. "If you want to find the Doors, go downstream."
Annabeth managed to keep the tremor out of her voice as she thought of what Andy said. "If the river comes from the upper levels of the Underworld, it should flow deeper into Tartarus—"
"So it leads into more dangerous territory," Percy finished. "Which is probably where the Doors are. Lucky us."
"Very lucky. There's two of you this time. Better be off then. Return my key first." Annabeth had to admire her dedication and devotion to that key. In a way, they should be thanking the key. Without it, they wouldn't have met Andy, and they would've collapsed or drowned in the Cocytus.
"No. Not so easily. If you help us, we'll return it." She said in Andy's face. They were the same height so it was quite easy. "How the tables have turned." Percy snickered.
"Help you? And why should I?" Andy raised her eyebrow. "I could easily steal the keys."
"Because I believe that underneath all that pain the Titans and Giants gave you, you still have compassion for the humans who will unfairly die if we fail." Andy's eyes darted away from her. Now Annabeth realised they were brown. But before this, she was sure they were red. Unless Andy was purposely hiding the true colour and using the Mist that surrounded her to change their colour.
"Nico also tried to appeal to my compassion. I had asked him, what about my life? Can you answer that question? If you do, I will help you." Andy snorted at the last word, like she didn't believe they could.
What about her life? Annabeth was stumped. It wasn't a question she could use her brains for. There was no solution to it. There wasn't even an answer. This time, Percy had a clever answer. "You're immortal, aren't you? Don't you have time to figure that out?"
"If you cannot answer, just leave me alone." Andy was not moved.
"Your life is for you to figure out yourself."
"I didn't ask what to do with my life!" Andy threw her hands out. "I asked, what is the meaning of my life! What purpose do I still have!"
"To give the Titans a middle finger." Percy suggested. "To show, 'hey look! I survived!' To show them no matter what they throw at you, you can live and you won't be deterred."
That was a clever answer, Annabeth had to admit. "Your life was ruined by the Titans who tried to shape you into the perfect weapon. Well, time to go a different path. Your life questions aren't something we can help you with but we can guide you to find the answers you need. Right now, I can tell you, going on this path will lead to unhappiness. Help us and answer your question yourself."
Andy stared back unblinkingly. "In my entire 17 years of living, that had been my only question. Everyone, even you, use me as a stepping stone. You promise me a place of belonging but when you get what you want, I will be forgotten. Like Nico. He didn't even mention me until I confronted you. You will be the same. Just go."
Annabeth couldn't do this. She couldn't just go. She asked Percy silently. He passed her the key. "Andy, hi. I think we got on the wrong foot. I'm Annabeth Chase." She said slowly. Only later did she realise Andy might not have understood the wrong foot part, and thought it meant literal.
"What are you going at?" Andy asked bluntly. Annabeth winced.
"My parents are Frederick Chase and the goddess Athena." She continued, undeterred. "For a long time, I thought my father didn't want me after finding me at his doorsteps. He remarried and I was left forgotten."
Andy faced Annabeth, eyes flicking to the key. But she didn't snatch it, which meant a lot to her. "What I am trying to say, Andy, is that all demigods have pain." Annabeth abandoned the rest of her story. "Andy, I understand how it must look like to you, but you aren't alone in this. You aren't the only one whose life was ruined because you are a demigod. Because the monsters target you. Percy here, was abused by his stepfather just because his stepfather could hide his demigod scent. Nico isn't even from this timeline. He was actually born in the 1940s with his older sister who first left him for the hunters of Artemis but then died soon after. Hazel Levesque died to prevent Alcyoneus from rising in the 1940s. Leo Valdez blamed himself for his mother's death. Jason Grace's mother was forced to give him up to placate Hera. Frank Zhang's mother died in war. Piper McLean lived under the shadows of her famous father who was too busy to deal with her." She felt a bit bad for revealing everyone's secret, but it wasn't like Andy was going to act on those. It wasn't like she was going to use it against them. She didn't care about them other than Nico. Actually, she didn't care about any of them, just her key.
Now Andy was fully paying attention. "All of us had suffered in some way. While yours was most unfair, we would understand. The seven of us had helped each other to figure out our own paths. Now you are asking us what meaning does your life have. I can tell you, if you were to come with us to camp, everyone would love you. Everyone would want to help you. That's the difference between Tartarus and Earth. On Earth, there are people that are similar to you. They would help you. If they learn of your past in Tartarus, they wouldn't shun you, but help you go through everything. Your life would be a reminder to the demigods that they can be strong and go through anything. You would be a motivation to them. That's the meaning of your life for now. Before you die, make new stories, new meanings. Because us demigods need all the motivation we can get before dying a tragic life."
Behind her, Percy listened to the story silently, smiling at the lengths Annabeth went to to get Andy to listen.
Andy herself stared at the demigoddess in front of her before smiling. Annabeth didn't understand how a simple smile could change her entire look. She went from enemy to young teenager in a second. How she could even smile in Tartarus… Annabeth could not fathom. "No wonder you are a daughter of Athena." Annabeth's smile faded. "You have a way with words much better than Nico. It really is too bad that I gave up on that a long time ago."
"I didn't lie." Annabeth insisted. "Help us and we'll help you. Come with us to Camp Half-Blood and make your own point of view, not just what the Titans say." She sighed, hand outstretched with the key in her palm. Andy raised her eyebrow. "I return this to you, Andy. Whether you help or not, will be by your decision. It's time you get to decide on your own free will."
Andy smiled faintly, taking the key from Annabeth with surprising gentleness. She snapped her fingers, and the key vanished, possibly in a safer place. "I think I might like you, Daughter of Athena. Perhaps in a different world, we could have been friends." Without another word, Andy went downstream. Annabeth took it as a sign for them to follow.
Percy clasped her shoulder. "Good work, Wise girl."
"She lost hope." Annabeth shook her head. "I think this journey will help her like she's helping us."
"You think that's why Nico gave us the key?"
"I think he was feeling guilty as well." Not really. Annabeth knew. He didn't have any pleasant intentions for Andy. He just gave it to help them. That just made Annabeth grow sad. How lonely it must be for Andy, to grow up with only enemies, pain and death. She couldn't have survived if it was her. That just made Annabeth marvel at the strength Andy must have, not just physically.
Percy tugged her hand. "C'mon, can't lose our guide now, can we?" She nodded, catching up to Andy."
