A/N: I took some more character liberties in writing this chapter, and I'm not sorry. Hope you haven't gotten tired of all the damn fight scenes in this fic because this chapter is just that. Didn't feel right to slap on something else that would feel jarring in comparison.
"I thought you were leaving the Underworld, not going even deeper."
Percy panted, shaking his head. He'd been running after Grover after the shoes just activated and, as grim as it might have been, imagined he wouldn't find Grover again.
Instead, Grover was being held by the Lord of the Underworld, just a few feet above a massive pit.
"Um, Lord Ha-Hades," stuttered Grover. "I a-a-appreciate you catching me, but-" Before he could finish, Hades took off the shoes and let Grover fall onto the ground. He studied the shoes for a moment, before letting go. The shoes flew up before diving down the pit.
"Cursed shoes," noted the god. "Meant to drag the wearer to Tartarus. I must applaud you, satyr, I have not heard screams as loud as yours since the days of Pan."
Grover flushed, unsure how to accept the praise.
"Thank you for the help, sir," said Percy. He gave a deep bow, eliciting an eye-roll from the god.
"While you're here, I have a favor to ask of you." Percy looked up at that.
"I cannot believe that it is mere coincidence that both my helm and Zeus's bolt have gone missing," explained the god. "I'd like you to see if that idiot son of his also has my helm."
"Yes, sir." Hades tilted his head downwards, causing Percy to gulp.
Was this... appreciation?
"Not all of us are conceited and cruel," said Hades, as though reading his mind. The god closed his eyes. "I'd like to believe that there are still some of us out there who remember what it was like in your shoes."
He stepped forward, shrinking with each step until he just was a little taller than Percy. His face softened, and for a moment Percy could have sworn that the person before him was not a god, but just another human in his life.
"My brother and his ilk may have caused you far too much pain for a lifetime, but we cthonic immortals will not let injustice be served."
The god's eyes glowed blue, and Percy felt himself jolt into a different space as he stared into them.
Stalkers.
Through Hades's eyes, he saw hundreds, if not thousands of gods, all gazing back at him. A man on a steed surrounded by spectral dogs with no back legs, a woman half beautiful and half mottled by decay, a man with the head of a canine, a woman lighting up torches with green fire. He could even see Styx amidst the crowd.
But the one that stood out the most to him was a god who looked somewhat like Hades, only he was wielding a trident.
Percy stumbled back, and found himself back in the Underworld.
"What the heck?" he gasped. "Did... what..."
"We all share χθών," Hades replied quietly. "And we will see to it that justice is done by you."
He snapped his fingers and three hellhounds appeared from Percy's shadow. They prowled around the duo for a few seconds before bowing to the god.
"Ready your friends. I will have them bring you to Ares himself."
Shadow-traveling was not fun.
First, it was wet. Not the familiar kind of wet, like when he played in the sea with his mom, but cold, sticky wetness, like a dog's drool. Percy hoped it didn't mean the hellhound he was on was licking him.
Speaking of the hellhounds, they were not particularly comfortable. Not bumpy, thankfully, but fast - almost too fast. Percy could have sworn he felt his face threatening to peel away from the rest of his head, and judging by the screams the others gave, they felt the same.
Katie's death grip around his waist was also a pretty good indicator of how awful the experience was.
When the hellhounds dove into the shadows, Percy felt them slip into another realm for a moment before stepping out of a shadow in the real world. The other realm had dozens and dozens of flitting shadows, all around a massive shadowy something. He wasn't sure what it was and was a bit annoyed that he couldn't see it clearly, but he did have a familiar sensation.
Stalker.
Whatever that thing was, it was staring back at him. And that honestly freaked him out more than it probably should have.
'It's alive, but I don't think I've ever seen any monster that big,' he thought. 'But I definitely felt eyes.'
Percy was brought out of his thoughts when the hellhound he was riding collapsed. He hopped down from its back, stumbled, and promptly fell over too. The world rushed towards him, as though reality was lagging behind, and he promptly lost his stomach.
"Shadow... travel," heaved Annabeth, eyes clenched shut. "That was... awful."
Percy glanced at his mom. Sally was looking nauseous herself, but had managed to hold it together. "I'm alright, sweetie. And you?"
He could only nod in response.
Katie slipped from the hellhound, and Percy managed to grab her in time. "Thanks. Gods, that... just, put me down. I need a second."
He placed her down before looking around. They were stranded on a beach, as the hellhounds slipped back into the shadows once they had rested. Hades had said that he would have the hellhounds go directly to the god of war himself, so he should have been-
"'Sup kids."
All heads swung towards the origin of the voice - a tall, buff man whose face was riddled with scars, clad in a biker outfit. There was a padlock around his neck and a hunting knife strapped to his boot.
"Ares," gasped Grover, paling.
The god of war clicked his tongue. "That's Lord Ares to you, satyr." Grover didn't respond, opting to hastily look down instead.
"What's the matter?" drawled Ares as he waltzed forward. "Can't a god get a little apology around here?"
"S-sorry, Lord Ares."
The god's mouth twisted into a cruel smile. "Now there's a good little goat." He turned to Percy and grinned.
"Cousin!" he laughed. "I'm impressed! Would have thought the vegans or Death Breath would have trapped you by now."
Percy glared in response, which only widened Ares's grin.
"That's a pretty look right there. Give it a few years and maybe you could even spook a toddler!"
"Where's the helm?" demanded Percy. Ares raised an eyebrow.
"So that's how you got out, eh?" tutted the god. "Collusion with the god of the dead? Dad won't be too happy to hear it."
He held out his right arm and a sword shimmered into existence. "If he hears about it at all. Let's get this over with, shall we?"
Ares struck first.
The god ran forward, and Percy had just enough time to put his sword up to block the god's blow. The god slammed his sword with far more strength than Percy was prepared for, and sent him flying backwards.
"Percy!" screamed Annabeth, running towards him. Ares turned to her, only to find Sally standing between them. He raised an eyebrow.
"Poseidon's toy, eh?" She bristled at the insult, and readied her gun, but Ares simply snapped his fingers. Chains shot out of the ground and pinned her down.
"Settle down, woman," said Ares. "I'll spare your life out of respect for Fish Breath, but I can't say the same for your son."
He sauntered towards Percy again but stumbled as weeds grew around his feet. He glanced down for a moment before turning to the offenders - Katie and Grover on his panpipes.
"You know what?" grumbled the god, turning to the two. "I think I hate animals more."
With Ares distracted, Annabeth managed to get to Percy. "Are you okay?" The demigod shook his head, spitting out a little blood.
"Did someone get the number of the train that just hit me?" She sighed and offered a hand.
"Come on Seaweed Brain, we have a god to fight." Percy grabbed it and grunted as Annabeth pulled him up. He looked at the god, who had sent Katie and Grover running off as fire swirled around his body, incinerating any vines they tried to slow him down with.
"Ares!" bellowed Percy as he charged at the god, heart pounding as he raced towards the god. Ares stopped moving and turned around to face Percy. Percy swung his sword at the god, who stayed still-
-only for the sword to clang against the god's skin without so much a scratch.
Ares grinned as he watched Percy's face grow baffled. "I'm fucking invincible, kid."
Then, before Percy could react, Ares delivered a punch to his gut. Percy's eyes bulged at the force of the blow, and another hit to the head sent the boy flying again, vision growing dark.
The sensation of water washing over his body snapped Percy back into reality, and he pushed himself up, glaring at the god who casually strolled towards him.
"I am War, punk," sneered the god. "Rage. Battlelust. Violence. And what are you? The bastard child of an old man past his prime. You think you can face me?"
Percy stood up, stumbling slightly. "You never answered me. Where's the helm?"
Ares sighed. "Gods, I asked you a fucking question kid." He shook his head.
"You know what, fine." He materialized a helmet in his hand, and Percy fought the urge to scream as it began to morph into more horrifying things, creatures, even just shapes.
It terrified him.
"You adolescent shits beat me, I'll give you the helm. I win, and you brats go back to Hades permanently. Sound fair?"
Percy cracked his neck and winced. "Swear on the Styx."
"You don't trust me?" laughed the god. "Fine, fine. I swear by your terms."
Thunder boomed above them, sealing the deal. Percy felt a familiar set of eyes once again sweep over him, but he pushed the feeling aside before running forward.
Ares steadied his stance in anticipation, only to be knocked aside by a wave. Spluttering, he was unable to defend himself from a strike from Percy to the head.
A strike that failed to leave a mark on the god.
"Right, son of Poseidon," muttered Ares. Without looking, he raised an arm behind him, grabbing Annabeth as she attempted to strike him from behind. He flipped the daughter of Athena over his head and gave her a mocking grin.
"No cowardly tricks, missy. Go on, hit me with your best shot to the front."
Annabeth exchanged an uneasy look with Percy before yelling and slamming her knife into his face, only to clutch her arm in pain as the weapon bounced off uselessly.
"That the best you've got?" asked the god. "Come on! Hit me! Put the big, bad god of war in his place, wisdom brat! Or do I need to call your whore of a mother down to do it for you?"
"Don't call my mom that!" screamed Annabeth, punching Ares with her good arm. "Screw you!"
The blow hit harder than she could manage, and Percy winced as the arm fell limply to her side. All there was to show for her efforts was a rumpled shirt.
"Too bad," sneered Ares, kicking Annabeth to the side. "I will say, girlie, you rise to taunts a bit too easily for my liking. Learn to control your pride a little, will you?"
Percy growled and charged at the god again. Water gathered around his feet, and he pushed back instinctively with his left hand. Two streams of water formed, propelling him forward, and slamming him into the god with much more force.
Although he still failed to so much as scratch the god, he managed to push Ares back a few feet.
"Slippery bastard, aren't you?" laughed Ares. He gripped Percy by the face, and despite the demigod's struggling, easily kept a hold of him. Without hesitation, the god slammed Percy into the shallow water multiple times, drawing blood as Percy continued slamming into the sand.
"You make a nice little toy," chuckled Ares. Grover frantically played a tune and the seaweed jumped out of the water in an attempt to restrain him - to no avail as the god simply incinerated it with his fingers.
"Always regenerating and coming back. I'm willing to bet I can beat your punk ass up for a good decade before you break."
"Fuck... you," spat out Percy. He moved his head and bit down as hard as he could on Ares's fingers.
They were hard as steel.
"Careful you little shit," the god jeered. "Not too sure if water will regrow your teeth."
Ares dragged Percy across the surf, stopping briefly to hurl a stone directly into Grover's stomach. He then jumped onto Percy's body, eliciting a scream from the boy as Ares fractured several bones on impact.
"You see," explained Ares, cracking his knuckles. "We gods have a reputation to keep. Can't have upstarts going up and deciding they can challenge us because we've gotten all weak and stuff. Any punk that thinks they can match up to us? It's my job to bring them back down to earth."
He pulled out a spear and stabbed it through Percy's left shoulder. The demigod let out another roar of pain as his ribs mended and broke under the war god's weight.
From the corner of his eye, he could see Katie and Annabeth hobble over to help free his mom. If he could just keep Ares's attention for a little longer...
"You've got spunk kid," admitted Ares, twisting the spear as he spoke. "Few people fight my sister and live, and fewer against my uncle. But me? I', the ugly side of war. Gotta keep up the image, you know?"
He raised a fist, and Percy swore he could see veins bulge out of the god's biceps.
"Let's see how long daddy's water can keep you alive."
A punch. And another. And another. And another and another and another.
Ares delivered punch after punch to Percy's head, constantly knocking him unconscious and conscious again. He could have sworn he felt teeth fall out, maybe even an eyeball rupture, but the water kept him alive, desperately healing him to just barely alive - and the god would repeat the process.
And then, the god stopped holding back and punched a hole through Percy's gut.
Time slowed down for Percy as he watched blood pour out of the wound. He could feel the water trying to mend it, but surely this was too much.
Right?
The god kneeled down to his ear. "I'm gonna keep you alive just a little longer. So you can see me string the guts of your friends along my spear, so you can see what happens when you fight war."
He snapped his fingers, and explosions went off along the road. Mortal screams filled the air, mixed in with car alarms and crying children.
And it was because he challenged Ares.
This was nothing like fighting Artemis, realized Percy.
The god roared with laughter as he watched the fires and smoke spread. "Do you see this? This is my realm, what I lord over! I am no person, I am a force of nature! I am hated, I am worshipped! I. Am. Ares!"
And then a gunshot rang out
Ares was quick enough to turn his head upon hearing the noise, but he was not prepared for the bullet.
A bullet that grazed his cheek.
A bullet that left a mark on his body.
A bullet that made him bleed.
The god touched his cheek, staring at the ichor wordlessly, before facing the source of the shot.
It was Sally, with Annabeth and Katie propping her up. Her chains lay scattered across the sand.
"You," said Ares quietly.
"Listen well, dears," said Sally, staring down Ares with a fierce glare. "There are two rules to fighting gods."
The god of war walked towards her, but another shot rang out, hitting his bicep. It also drew ichor.
"Don't fight a god you respect," she started, wincing at the shoulder pain. "You can't show mercy when fighting something like that."
Ares's face grew darker as he stepped back onto dry land. Sally began firing in earnest now, missing several shots, but a few managed to land on the god's body.
"The second is, you can't fear them," Sally concluded, taking a deep breath. "A god is only as invincible as you think they are."
Ares slogged forward through Sally's shots, stopping just in front of her once the gun jammed.
"You don't fear what I'm doing to your son?" he demanded.
Her glare intensified. "My boy is stronger than any of your kids. And his father was ten thousand times the god you'll ever be."
Ares blinked at her before the look of pure rage adorned his face. He grabbed her by the neck and raised her, knocking aside Katie and Annabeth with his left arm.
"You insignificant FUCK!" snarled Ares. "You useless, pathetic insect! How dare you defy me?"
Annabeth struck from behind, but Ares blocked the strike without looking, a sword appearing in his left hand. He swept it behind him, forcing the daughter of Athena to step back.
Sally bit the god's arm, but unlike Percy, she made the god yell in pain. He began shaking her, but her jaw remained firmly clamped onto his flesh. Ares tossed the sword away and gripped Sally's head, forcing her head back, and tearing a solid chunk of flesh with it.
"You whore!" Ares screamed. He slammed Sally against the sand, causing her to yelp.
"Just for that, I am going to drag you into Tartarus myself and hunt you there myself," spat the god. "Any final words?"
She didn't reply, instead reaching for her belt. Ares realized too late what she was doing, and she plunged the rifle's bayonet into his arm.
It didn't penetrate deep into the god's arm - Ares was too muscular, and she was rapidly losing oxygen.
But it stayed buried in his flesh.
Ares howled in pain, ripping the blade out before slapping Sally across the face. As she balled up her fists to retaliate, Ares stabbed the bayonet through her chest.
Sally looked at the wound for a second before her face hardened. She looked into Ares's eyes, and leaned in.
And spat out blood and ichor onto his face as she expired.
Spluttering, Ares tossed the woman's corpse aside as he tried wiping the fluids off his face. The god snapped his fingers and the fluids disappeared, but the scars of her bite still lingered on his body.
And then the world shook.
Percy was relieved he wasn't dead. He wasn't sure how, but the water had managed to close even a fist-sized hole in his chest. Maybe being a son of Poseidon wasn't such a bad thing after all.
Any thought of that instantly vanished when he saw Ares plunge the bayonet through his mom's chest.
The world went silent to him as he watched her body hit the ground, the last few twitches of her fingers, her blood staining the beach from Ares's callous throw.
He forgot about the quest, or the bolt, or even his friends. He forgot how terrifying Hades's helm was, or how Ares had casually murdered several mortals to make a statement. He forgot all the myths he had learned, all of Mr. Brunner's lessons.
He just snapped.
"Boy," warned Ares, lowering onto one knee for stability, as the earthquake grew stronger. "Control yourself, or you will find yourself with more blood on your hands than I do in a lifetime."
The earthquake just continued, and if anything, got stronger as Percy pushed himself up and walked towards Sally's body. He stopped once he was near Ares and turned to the god.
And threw a punch at the god so hard that he broke his left hand.
Ares wasn't unaffected, though. The force of the hit staggered him, and another hit knocked the god away a few inches. Percy uncapped Anaklusmos in a smooth motion and jabbed at the god. Although Ares managed to jerk out of the way of a direct hit, Percy's swing still managed to strike against the god's left side.
A strike that drew ichor.
"Alright you little shit," snarled Ares. His form shimmered for a moment before stabilizing, clad in metal armor rather than a leather jacket.
"You want a fight, you adolescent punk? I'll give you a fight."
Percy replied with a slash.
Ares parried it away easily, two god arms against one mortal one. He kicked Percy away before stabbing at his body, the son of Poseidon only barely managing to roll out of the way. The god of war tried again but yelled in pain as thorns dug into his heel. He tore the vines off before giving Katie a murderous glare.
With a push, he jumped towards her, far faster than she anticipated, but just as his blade neared her-
Clang!
Steel met Celestial Bronze as Percy got in-between them in time, water swirling beneath his feet. Ares pressed on, forcing Percy onto one knee as the god exerted more and more force. The demigod gritted his teeth, growling as he held Ares back
Suddenly, the water beneath Percy exploded into pillars, slamming onto the ground with enough force to knock even Katie away. The sudden pushback caught Ares off-guard, and with a shout, Percy managed to disarm the god.
Ares wasn't done for, though, and caught Percy's next swing with his bare hands. Ichor dripped down Anaklusmos as the blade cut into his palm, but the god remained firm. Ares grabbed the sword with his other hand, and with a sudden jerk, wrested the sword from Percy's grasp.
He tossed it aside before turning to Percy and cracking his knuckles.
"Come at it, sea spawn!" bellowed the war god. "Show me the strength that held my sister at bay! Show me the wrath of the ocean!"
Percy gave a slight tilt of his head before turning to Katie. She opened her mouth to protest but no sound came out when she saw him shake his head.
His intent was clear.
Don't interfere.
With a sigh, she nodded, before grabbing his broken hand. He gave her a confused look before she wrapped it in wet seaweed. She closed her eyes and it began glowing. Percy gasped in pain as the seaweed forcibly shifted his bones back into place, the seawater easing the pain away.
"Stay safe," she murmured, letting go. He nodded, before turning to Ares.
"Alright, Ares. Let's dance."
Ares threw the first punch.
Percy couldn't duck from it fast enough, and it clipped his ear. Unfazed, he struck back with a strike of his own which, although it no longer felt like punching a steel wall, felt like punching a tree.
Progress.
Ares grabbed Percy and slammed him to the ground, but this time, the demigod was ready. He slammed his fists into the ground on impact, offering up the memory of a birthday present from Sally to the Lethe. Power coursing through his veins, he hit the ground so hard it caused a miniature earthquake, knocking Ares off his feet.
Pranking Mr. Brunner with Grover and Nancy.
Another Lethe-empowered punch slammed into Ares's gut, causing the god to grunt in pain. Ares retaliated by grabbing Percy's arm and flipping him over, before stomping down.
Sleepover with Grover.
The River of Forgetfulness helped cushion the blow, and Percy bit the inside of his mouth to fight back the urge to sleep. With a roar, he pushed the god off, allowing him to get back on his feet.
Ares threw another punch, which Percy managed to block using both hands. He slugged the god with his own blow, which Ares also caught. The two stared at each other before giving each other a savage look.
Making a gift for Sally in Arts and Crafts class.
And proceeded to slam each other's heads against one another.
The headbutt disoriented both parties, and they stumbled back. Ares recovered first and tackled Percy down. He raised up his right arm and punched with all his might.
And missed as Percy twisted his neck to the side. Not giving the god the chance to strike again, he twisted around before biting Ares's wrist.
"Gods damn it!" howled Ares, slamming Percy repeatedly against the ground to get him off. "What is with you fucking mortals and biting gods?!"
Percy didn't let up though and forced himself to stay awake amidst the growing influence of Lethe and the repeated blows to the head.
Ms. Dodds comforting him after he did poorly on a test.
Percy let go for a brief second, before biting down with all his might, ignoring the pain in his head.
And something snapped.
Ares screamed as bone shattered under Percy's gambit. He grabbed a stone and smashed it against Percy's head. Although it failed to pierce the demigod's skin due to the strengthening of the Lethe, it disoriented him enough to let go of Ares's wrist.
Ares heaved, gasping as ichor poured out of the wound. He snapped his fingers on the other arm, and while the bleeding stopped, Percy could still see the teeth marks on the wrist.
"Miserable insect!" howled Ares, kicking at Percy. The demigod ducked and tackled the god's other ankle. A cloud of dust got kicked up from the missed blow.
The god screamed, fire exploding from his body, and knocking Percy back. Ares ran at him, only to get blindsided by a burst of water. Percy took advantage of the distraction and charged at Ares.
Swordfighting with Mr. Brunner.
The demigod rammed hard into Ares, pushing him back several feet. The god slammed his fists against Percy's back, blow after blow, in an effort to cause him to fold, but Percy remained firm. With a roar, Percy hooked his left arm around Ares's waist and pulled back his right fist.
The first history project he got an A on, which got featured on a board outside of his classroom.
Punch.
Grover chasing him and Nancy as they ran off with his lunch.
Punch.
Sally making blue pancakes for breakfast, his favorite.
Punch.
One punch after another, one memory after another. Percy lost track of how many times he fed memories to the Lethe, or how many punches he delivered to Ares's gut. Slowly each punch got faster, as he fed more and more memories, uncaring of the gnawing numbness on his brain.
He was too furious to sleep.
"Now!" roared Percy, delivering one final punch to Ares's stomach, causing the god to keel over. From behind Ares, shimmering against the Californian sun, was Annabeth, invisibility cap in her hand. She slammed the pommel of her knife against the god's helm, rattling his head. Ares turned to her murderously, but thorned vines burst out of the ground, latching around his arms, and dragging the god down.
From behind, Katie's eyes glowed green as she caused more and more vines to ensare him, with Grover holding her up.
Seizing the opportunity, Annabeth kicked sand into the god's eyes repeatedly, causing him to scream in indignation.
"That's for calling my mother a whore!" she spat. She slipped the hunting knife off his belt before thrusting it at Ares's crotch. Although she failed to cut the skin, the god screamed in pain from the impact.
"Hypocrite," she finished, walking to the side as Percy lumbered to where Ares laid.
"You think this is over brat?" sneered Ares. "I am war. I will raze your home, your entire city. Nothing you-"
"Shut up." In one swift motion, Percy uncapped Anaklusmos-
Seeing his mom again in the Underworld.
-and stabbed it cleanly through the god's chest.
Ares spluttered, ichor dripping out of his mouth. "Fuck!" He tried exploding into flames, but the vines tightened, breaking his concentration. Gradually more vines grew around the struggling god, until it fully closed over him. Soon, the sounds of struggling ceased.
Percy collapsed onto his knees, unable to fight against the urge to sleep any longer. The last thing he saw was Styx stepping out of the shadows and walking towards Sally.
"No," he begged, eyes falling shut. "Please..."
The title of the chapter should give a fairly solid indication of what "inspiration" went into this. This will not be the last time I do this.
I should keep a list of typical Pertemis tropes to try and modernize - within reason. As usual, I accept all criticism, and if you really want to complain to me or ask questions, you can find me on the Emerald Library discord.
