While the meat cooked, I read. It was difficult (reading always was), but it also occupied a large part of my mind and would help keep me awake. I'd already washed the skin I'd used to carry my food—thankfully, it didn't seem to rot here so much as it just kind of slowly disintegrated—and now all I had to do was wait. So I read the chapter in Nico's book on making the most of one's demigod powers.

You aren't fully utilizing your powers, it started. Yeah, that sounded like Nico. Especially if said with that dry deadpan while he just sort of stared through you…

I snorted and read on.

I don't care who you are, you're not. Demigods have aspects of their godly parents, and those aspects depend on how many of those domains were present in your godly parent at the time of conception. The gods can be in multiple places at once because their different aspects can separate into their own beings. They can even duplicate themselves aka those aspects from each other (although this seems to be more difficult for them the more they duplicate themselves) depending on what is needed in each situation.

Hmm… that sounded more like Hades than Nico… how much had the god of the Underworld put into this? Did Nico even know it?

Due to this, you may not have all of the traits of your godly parent. For instance, Apollo is the god of many things, but some of the more prominent are archery, music, poetry, visual art and healing. Very rarely will you find a child of Apollo with all of these specialties or gifts, even if they aren't terrible at any of them.

Also, gifts can evolve sometimes depending on what you practice and your needs. You may not have a certain aspect of your godly parent, but you have divine power within you, and that can change and evolve like humans tend to do if enough will, necessity, and work goes into the needed talent. This, however, is extremely difficult to say the least and I recommend figuring out more ways of using the power you currently have than trying to develop new ones. At least, you'll have a far better chance of surviving.

No matter what your gifts are, you have not discovered every way to effectively use them—and it's likely you haven't discovered all of them. A common trait from Demeter's children is the ability to grow plants quickly. Depending on how quickly one can make them grow, that can be a devastating power on the battlefield, even if one rarely finds Demeter's children in said battle unless absolutely necessary.

However, Demeter's children would have a particular edge in Tartarus as they can make things grow. Sometimes they don't even need seeds, conjuring a plant of their choice. Even if it takes a while to grow something, having your own fruit or vegetable plants can be invaluable down there.

Didn't I know it.

No matter how you are utilizing your demigod powers now, you can take it to the next level. Are you an Ares' child who has always been good at and trained in fighting? Learn to fight smarter. Leave traps and ambush. If you really need to fight monsters, let them out of traps one at a time and fight them to your moral code. (Look up thoughts on strategies and theories in the appropriate book chapter.)

Are you a child of Hermes who can only seem to steal? Tartarus is an entity unto itself, so what can you steal from it? Food? Water? Monsters? Even just your own life?

Or are you a child of Aphrodite? If how you look doesn't already have an effect you can exploit, use your words. Aphrodite's children tend to be charismatic even if they don't have charmspeak. Use it. If that isn't you, find a way to distract monsters, then sneak up and stab them. Or find a combination of the above suggestions and any others that come to you.

But this is a good example for one other reason: Aphrodite was born in the sea and can be considered a goddess of the sea to an extent. Depending on the aspects present, you may have some success with water powers and hydrokinesis. Not that there is much actual water in Tartarus, but still. Maybe find one of the five rivers and see what you can do. Just remember that the only river that is remotely safe to drink from or touch is the Phlegethon—the river of fire, as the others deal with depression, guilt, forgetfulness and death respectively. Phlegethon is pain, but it will also heal you, so finding it may be a necessity.

In any case, figure out what you can do—from both your godly and mortal sides. Write down a list if you can. Then go over each aspect. Refine them. Combine them. And then, once you've mastered any new techniques, start over and do it again. Branch out because, as I mentioned before, powers have definitely been known to focus and be altered, almost to a point of mutation. You're part god, yes, but you are also part human, and humans adapt. We survive.

So survive.

I thought about the passage a lot as I continued to tend to the meat. I'd always been a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of fighter. Oh sure, I studied strategies and trained and prepared that way, but once in the middle of a fight things just… clicked. It had never really occurred to me to sit down and figure out what exactly I can do and analyze that.

It sounded boring.

Unfortunately, it also sounded helpful.

The next time I got into a fight, I would be a little more focused on what I could and couldn't do. Because why not? Should be a good place to start.

Another pack of Cynocephali attacked me not long after I finished reading, being drawn to the smell of cooking meat. Luckily, the fifteen or so members didn't attack all at once. The faster ones got to me first and so I took care of them first. I didn't even need to use the Phlegethon during the fight, although I did end up with several nasty bite marks I had to cure up later.

Once finished with that, I continued to think on the subject of my actual powers as I gathered the meat up, put it in the skin I used for carrying said meat, and continued on my way.

Several hours (or not hours?) later, I saw the familiar deepening darkness in the distance.

xXx

Surprisingly, I found the Hermes' altar pretty quickly. I had to do some climbing and searching, and the landscape already looked different in a lot of ways from what I remembered (I got a sense it was closer than it should be), but I found it, and it almost made me collapse in relief.

I spent the next several minutes, after I dropped the meat off by the altar itself, finding a place to hide. There really wasn't much as while the area looked like… well, like a several-thousand-year-old altar and anything immediately surrounding it had been dropped into literal Hell, it was also surprisingly clean. Eventually, though, I found a small nook a little ways up into the surrounding mountain that would work. It even fit my sleeping bag inside it for the most part. I really loved that as my sleeping bag tended to turn even the rockiest, most uneven ground into something resembling a feather bed. It was, by far, the best physical gift ever given to me by a god, next to the demigod scent-hiding necklace. I didn't know specifically who had given me those, but they would definitely be on my 'potential forgiveness' list. Likely at the very top of it.

Once I got that situated, I returned to the altar and began to write a note on one of the still blank-pages of Nico's book. It wasn't anything special, but I hoped it would get my point across.

Hey, guys. Was wondering if I could get a couple of things: Paper—both to write and burn, pencils, matches, and any food that is not exclusively meat. Yes, I'm still in Tartarus. Yes, I'm still alive. Yes, I'd appreciate the help. Yes, tell Annabeth. Thanks!

Percy

Not perfect at all, but it would do, I supposed.

Now I just needed something to burn it with. I searched for my obsidian rocks and tried to light it with that, but it didn't work. The sparks only landed on the paper, marked it and went out. Unsurprising. That had been my problem for almost two years. Hence why I wanted the matches. Catch 22. Goody. Not for the first time, I wished Bob was there to make fire with his spear. (And, you know, talk… or just so I would know he was safe.)

Eventually, I decided to just try and burn the paper with Phlegethon water from my canteen and hope it would work even if it wasn't fire. I laid the paper on the stone, then upended the water-lava from the canteen until it covered the whole thing. It didn't take long for the paper to vanish and I hadn't used much of the resource, so I was proud of my solution.

Now I just needed to wait and see if anyone would see it…

After twenty minutes of nothing, I sighed and went to bed. I'd have to figure out what to do about my fire problem when I got up.

xXx

I woke up to a bombardment. I opened my eyes curled in my sleeping bag and stretched, wondering how long I'd been asleep then glanced out of my little nook and saw a small pile of stuff both on and falling off the altar. I blinked, but it didn't go away. So I sat there staring for several minutes unable to process the view for some reason. Human things didn't belong in Tartarus.

I had to wonder if Hermes was taking any of the sacrifices… If not, I may have to say thanks. Or put him higher on my 'maybe forgive' list.

I approached the pile on top of the altar cautiously, almost expecting it to be a trick or a vision or a dream or something.

Then the smell reached me. Pizza. It was a pizza.

I'd been right; I did almost cry as I began to search through the pile. They had buttery rolls and salads and fruit and soda and desserts… desserts. I never thought the idea of a chocolate bar would bring me to the brink of tears. I grabbed the first piece of cheese pizza I saw and shoved it in my mouth. I'm not ashamed to admit that I did cry then.

So I ate. A lot. Because it just tasted so good. I ate until my stomach ached and I wanted to throw up before I finally stopped. I hadn't felt that full in a long time. By then, I'd found a ream of white, printer paper, a box of wooden pencils and a box of matches along with the food.

They came with a note.

I love you too, Seaweed Brain. Anything else you need? How are you?

Annabeth

Almost immediately I wrote a thank you note back, then seriously considered the food around me and thought about it. After a moment, I added on a couple of lines.

Guys, I can't tell you how much this means. No, seriously, thanks. Especially you, Wise Girl.

I'm doing alright. I have a kind of system going that's worked so far but… it sucks down here. Not going to recommend a vacation home any time soon. I'm working on some of the tricks from Nico's book—oh, thanks for that, Nico! It's been helpful.

As for anything I need… a couple of backpacks to carry this food in? Maybe some towels and washcloths? I'd love a toothbrush and some toothpaste. Oh, and soap. No, seriously, soap. I have water and all, but soap. And maybe some shampoo? Dunno how well any of that will burn though. Then again, there are cans here, so yeah?

Honestly, whatever you guys can give me would be welcome.

I'm okay, but I miss you all.

Annabeth, look at the stars for me, K? That's another thing I miss. Also, I don't want anyone coming after me unless you guys know you can get back out again.I MEAN IT. I'll live until then.

Percy

I reread it a couple of times before nodding and taking out a match to burn it. I watched it go up in flames for several seconds, then stared at the spot where it had been. After a minute, I smiled and began to arrange all the food. Breads in one pile, fruits in another, veggies in a third and some jerk (probably Clarisse) had still sent me a rack of ribs. I kept the desserts in their own pile as well, and anything else in the miscellaneous pile.

Along with a lot of soda cans (how could cans burn? I'd never actually tried…) someone had been cool enough to send me a bottle of rubbing alcohol and some cotton swabs as well as some regular ibuprophen. That… was actually extremely thoughtful and I appreciated it. The paper, pencils and matches all went into that pile as well.

I'd gotten about half-way through sorting everything when I heard a loud howl. It was too close.

I sighed.

More hellhounds. They were, without a doubt, what I ran into the most down here. I reached for my pen but paused and glanced at the bag of monster meat. I would certainly not have to eat that now… Even if it was hellhound meat… were they cannibals?

"Hey, guys," I said as they appeared out of the shadows just outside the circle of stones. "I don't suppose you'd like my bag of meat instead?" I held it up, then threw it in front of the group of advancing canines. To my credit, about half of them stopped to examine the offering. The rest of them, well… didn't.

"Worth a shot," I muttered, taking off Riptide's cap.

I'd gone through about four of them when I realized some of them had gone for my food on the altar. I wasn't sure why, I'd never seen it happen before, but I was not about to let them take my food away from me. I redoubled my efforts, letting out a battle cry as I chased the dogs that had gone after my stuff.

By the time I'd finally taken care of the whole pack, more stuff had begun to appear on the altar, dropping out of the fire that just appeared. Feeling tired but accomplished (and ignoring the couple of bites I'd gotten), I went back to continue to sort.

They sent me several bags. A backpack, a shoulder bag, another backpack, a purse (why did I think that one was from Drew?) and one of them did, indeed, have shampoo and soap in them. No towels, but I'd deal, I supposed. I could dry myself off with hydrokinesis, but… it would have still been a nice reminder of home.

The soap would still be heaven. I could barely imagine being clean again without having to practically bathe in the Phlegethon. Sure, my seawater was awesome, but it didn't really clean.

Coming here had been the single best decision I'd made since being banished.

The note that came with all of that asked me if I was going to stay at the shrine, and once again I seriously considered it. But then I glanced around, realizing how undefendable it was, and couldn't bring myself to do it. Not even for all of the food.

I'd just have to come back.

So I wrote back saying just that.

Annabeth sent me another note saying she approved, even if she hated it too. She did make the point that the altar could easily be destroyed if someone powerful enough turned their eyes to it, and so me constantly coming and going from the area would likely draw more attention to it. I hadn't thought of that. I just hadn't wanted monsters to take up residence or start frequenting the area.

I briefly considered telling her about Tartarus and his threat—about me becoming a monster if I stayed down here long enough. Then I dismissed it. That was definitely not something I wanted to talk about, especially if someone else could see it. I'd tell her the next time I saw her in my dreams… maybe.

Instead, I wrote down that I could use her help coming up with new ideas and ways to use my powers. Then I went about packing the food into the bags, starting with the non-perishables and heavier cans of drinks first and then placing gradually softer items as I filled them.

I only stopped when fire appeared, leaving me another note.

What do you mean 'new ways' exactly? And what ideas have you had so far?

Annabeth

I wrote back on a smaller scrap I tore off of one of the larger sheets, not wanting to waste the paper.

I hadn't gotten around to coming up with ideas yet.

I didn't even bother signing that one.

I really should have expected the note I got back all too quickly.

Then start, Seaweed Brain.

So I wrote back, Give me a minute.

I sat down and really thought about it. Eventually, I began to write on a new sheet of paper.

The book said to be more specific than 'hydrokinesis' but, I can control water. I can also hear fish (very unhelpful down here), breathe underwater (also pretty useless, though more helpful than the fish thing– and I can keep the water of the rivers from touching me, but dunno how that will help me unless I have to cross them), I'm stronger than a mortal, but weaker than most monsters—which really sucks—faster than a mortal and I tend to keep up with most monsters, I heal a bit better than mortals… normal demigod stuff.

Oh! I can talk to horses! Which doesn't help at all down here. The horses are either poisonous or carnivorous (or both… those suck) and don't care if I can talk to them. Honestly, some of the things they say would make Clarisse blush. BTW, please tell Blackjack that I miss him. And I keep running into hellhounds down here. So many of them. I miss Mrs. O' Leary too.

I just… I'm at a loss here, Wise Girl. I get the idea that I'm not using my powers to their fullest, but nothing is really coming to mind without going into the… you know… poison thing. Which no. Just no. That's why I need your help.

Thanks,

Percy

I burnt that (hoping I'd spelled 'hydrokinesis' right, although I didn't think so…) and went back to packing the food, thankful that most of it had been less perishable… except for the bread and the fruits. Although some of the campers had sent me the little plastic cups of fruit and veggies. Thoughtful.

Annabeth's next letter didn't arrive for several minutes. I'd actually finished packing up what I could by the time I saw the altar light up and then smiled at the Ancient Greek in my girlfriend's handwriting.

I'm proud of you for drawing lines and boundaries, Percy. That power might come in useful, but not using it unless you absolutely have to sounds like a good idea to me. I stand by what I said: some things are not meant to be controlled, especially by mortals.

As for everything else, here are some ideas. Temperature. You're set up near the Phlegethon, you said. Can you cool it down? Or make it even hotter? I'm sure I don't have to say much about how even hotter liquid could help you out in fights. You could also use it to melt metal maybe? And cooler may be easier to drink?

I stopped reading right there and immediately took out the canteen I'd filled with Phlegethon water. Drawing a little out, I focused on cooling it down and then slurped it right out of the air.

It tasted worse…

And it didn't actually do anything when it came to my lungs. Or, at least it didn't feel like it was helping. I sighed, disappointed. It seemed part of the whole heat thing was what gave the river its healing powers.

I went back to the note.

Can you freeze your seawater into ice? You're resistant to cold as well as heat, right? Freezing over your pool may make it more difficult for others to reach you… although it could also block you from seeing anything while inside it and may draw attention. Still, frozen water is easier to carry around than normal water on the fly.

That could be a good exercise, though, just carrying around a bubble of water wherever you go. Maybe you can change its shape into different things. Things you see? Things you remember? Just to help you keep remembering. Or the density? That's probably how you walk on water. Normally, water isn't meant to be solid, but these are divine powers we're talking about. A literal wall of water?

Or maybe you can visit each of the rivers and have a bubble of water from each? You can shove the Lethe at another Titan or giant if you run across them. You'd have to have almost unconscious control of the water and a place to put it when you're too tired, though. We'll burn some water bottles for you. Or save the cans you have already?

And I know you know water can be a terrifying force. Even in small amounts. You can force it into small spaces and then freeze it. Ice expands. That can break apart rocks. Maybe armor? Dunno if it would work on magical armor, but something to think about if you want to test it. If you can get the shape-changing down with the water bubble idea I mentioned before… someone here said they saw a cartoon where someone used it as a whip. Don't know if that would work either, but worth a shot? Shoving a bunch of hovering ice-spikes into a target sounds like it could be a devastating attack, though.

You can already use water to lift things. You made giant fists and grabbed monsters. Work with that, maybe? What else can you grab? And going back to walking on top of water, that could come in useful if you have to cross those rivers… although if you can find a better, safer method, I'd appreciate it. Still worth considering.

Also, can't you sense water? Or any liquid? If not, could you try and hone that? (And by hone, I mean practice a lot.) It could be very useful for sensing enemies. Maybe you could freeze them in place with ice manacles without them even realizing? Or too fast for them to attack you? Or just burn them with superheated water before they can do anything?

Hmm. Give me a little while to think of more things, but that's what we came up with off the top of our heads. That should help.

Anything that can help keep you alive.

Love, Annabeth (and everyone at camp)

Oh. So that was what Nico meant when he said 'specific'. It never would have occurred to me to try and raise the Phlegethon's temperature… Unfortunately, none of their suggestions seemed to really help me when it came to traveling… like through the darkness towards a swamp I only knew existed somewhere on the other side…

Part of me wanted to know how Iapetus had known where to go, but part of me really didn't want to know either. Was that a Titan thing? Or a monster thing? Did someone have to be a permanent resident of Tartarus to get that?

I shuddered and read the note again.

Then I wrote a note back.

This makes a lot more sense and I'll think about it. Thanks everyone. And you, Wise Girl, especially.

Love you.

Percy

I burned that then went back to read the note for a third time. I'd probably continue to do so for a while to come.

The altar burned again, this time with more bags, some towels (finally, I wanted to kiss whoever had found them) and water bottles. I smiled, but decided to save those for drinking. Instead, I got out one of my larger seashells and summoned water through it until I had a decently sized bubble floating before me. I carefully put the seashell away and then contemplated the bubble. It wasn't clean. Not by any means. It was pretty clear, but I could sense the minerals and other substances in the water. I separated some from the rest and then held my hands below it. This was something I'd done a lot recently. I caused the bubble to evaporate (not difficult) which left behind all the salt and minerals in the water. The white, salty substance fell into my hand and I looked at it carefully. It seemed like a bit of a waste to just not use the stuff, so I walked over to where I'd left the monster meat and sprinkled it over that. At least any monster coming by would have a good meal.

I shuddered and then went back to where I'd been standing. Something I hadn't done before was try to bring the water I evaporated back. And wasn't that really shape manipulation? Or temperature manipulation? I wasn't entirely sure… but I wanted to undo it. So I closed my eyes and felt for water other than the floating ball the size of my torso bobbing around behind me. I knew there was water in the air, I just had to feel for it.

I concentrated harder. Nothing.

No… it was there.

I would find it…

I reached out and tried to bring the water molecules together again, wishing for the water to return… Wait… there…

I pulled on that little vibration I could sense… It kept trying to slip through my fingers, but… I refused… to… give… UP.

When I opened my eyes again, breathing hard (that had taken more out of me than I would like to admit) I had another small ball of water floating in front of me. For several seconds, I just stared at it. I'd brought back maybe a third of the water I'd started out with, but the clean water was still there. Not summoned, but extracted, and there was a difference (although they took about the same amount of concentration and power). I smiled. Not perfect, but still a success.

After that, I sat back and tried to concentrate on holding both orbs of water separately. Then, I combined them and made them into different shapes. Obviously simple objects like squares and triangles weren't difficult, so I stepped it up. Stars led to planets, which led to specific planets—like those with rings, each named after a Roman god, which led to me trying to make the shapes of the different gods' faces with the water. I didn't think I was very good at it, but once I tried Annabeth, well, that came far easier than the others, mainly because I could remember her face so well.

I sat there for several seconds, just staring at her while she smiled back at me, then reached out to touch her only to feel disappointment when I just touched water, even though I'd known.

Wanting to take my mind off of everything but not wanting to leave yet as I didn't know whether to go forward or head back to my 'base camp', I eventually decided to get Nico's book and settle in to read while I continued to keep the bubble of water afloat. Splitting my attention shouldn't be that difficult. I have ADHD after all. And this would be good practice for getting some of my abilities to come naturally, to a point where I could do them unconsciously.

(I hoped.)

Wanting a refresher on some of the ideas listed in the book, I read through the passage on powers and how to expand on what a demigod could do with theirs again. I'd gotten about half-way through when something in particular caught my eye. It said to combine my powers. I paused and looked over Annabeth's list again.

With some concentration, I could control the temperature of water. I could control the shape. I could control the density and I could telekinetically float it… that was actually a lot to work with, now that I thought about it. And combining any of those two…

She mentioned a water whip… what about one that could freeze something else in place? Or burn them, even if I didn't have access to the Phlegethon? She'd said something about a wall of water. I'd thought she meant to defend myself with, but what about being able to ram it into things? Could I add spikes? I shuddered at the thought of ramming the equivalent of a wall of porcupines into my attackers, but it still held merit. What about rope? Sure, it would only last for as long as I could concentrate on it, but again, the idea held merit. I could climb and lower myself down when it came to cliffs and…

Wait…

What about a water platform, like an elevator? Could I use the water like that? I glanced over at the floating bubble of liquid and flattened it out, forcing it into a square shape. Then I lowered it to the ground, took a deep breath and stepped onto it. Concentrating on keeping it flat while walking on top of it was… about as easy as trying to get through downtown traffic in Manhattin at rush hour. Moving it at the same time? Yeah, no. I tried anyway. I fell right through it the moment I lifted the platform from the ground and could only watch as the water splashed on the crumbling bricks of the old stone of the shrine. I glared around in frustration, then sighed and closed my eyes, reaching out for the liquid, slowly drawing it back out of the rock and grooves. It took me several seconds, during which I realized I could take the shrine apart. If I wanted, I could take the entire place down stone by stone. I'd just have to coat it in water first. Huh. What could I build with a technique like that, I wondered, thinking back to Annabeth's plans of architecture and then wincing at the reminder and deciding to focus on the water again.

I didn't draw all the water out, but I did get a lot of it back. By that time, I was beginning to feel the strain on my powers and I had to frown. I hadn't been practicing for very long… Although, I was used to just using said powers in fights. Those didn't usually last very long. Except with Giants. And Titans. Those lasted too long.

I grabbed one of the water bottles and began to chug it. Filtered water tasted very refreshing, rejuvenating, and clean. I pulled out a second bottle once I'd finished the first and drained it until about a third remained, then I dumped the rest over my head. It felt great and I had to give a sigh of relief when I realized how much I'd pushed my powers already.

The two empty bottles became the new home for my seawater. It only fit about half of what was left, but I didn't want to waste more filtered water and could always call more seawater. So I let the rest fall back to the floor of the shrine and then glanced at some of the left-over food. Sure, the camp had sent it to me, but I really wanted to thank Hermes for allowing it. So I lit a couple of matches and some of the newspaper they'd sent me (to burn, I hoped, as I'd scanned it and found nothing of particular interest… albeit, that may have had to do more with my dyslexia than anything else) before sacrificing a chunk of the food I had left. It vanished, of course, and I couldn't help but smile.

Today had been a short day, but I felt accomplished, so I ate some more food, then went up to the nook I'd been in before and crawled back into bed. Tomorrow I had some decisions to make.

xXx

AN:Wanted this up last night. Migraine said no. On top of whatever the heck else I have. Yes, sickness. Yay.

I know, not the most exciting chapter, but necessary for later. Thanks to Quathis, Found, Undead Prince and Berix for their help on this. :) I do have this finished... for the most part, but I'm not the most well versed in this fandom like I am in, say, Star Wars or FFVII. Heck, even Demon Slayer. So please excuse any mistakes. My beta readers are awesome, but things can still get past them.

Thank you for reading!

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