Let's waste no time. Chapter four, here we go.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.
4. We Get Attacked On Both Fronts
Harper
"Rid the world of a few rotten gods?" Malachi said, baffled. "Are you insane?"
I didn't take my eyes off the Empire State Building for several seconds. "Probably, but I don't care. I'm gonna need my knife."
Sera was confused, she pointed at my belt. "But you already have both."
I shook my head, "the other one."
That sunk in, and Malachi nearly lost it. He walked closer to me with wide eyes.
"Don't be crazy, Harper. If we make too many enemies, we won't be able to look in one direction. It'll be several."
"It's already that way," I shot back. "Teleport and get the knife for me, please."
He hesitated, "I'm not sure you're in the right…headspace right now."
"Fine." I whistled, Kyros, who was on the ground walking among the dead bodies, turned his head and stood at attention. "I'll just take Kyros and come back."
"There's no need for that," Talon said, stepping in between Malachi and I. He sighed at his old friend, "just go get the knife, man."
Now Malachi was in complete disbelief. As was I, a little. It was no secret that Talon wasn't a fan of the gods, but I didn't expect him to even talk during this little skirmish. I expected him to just stand to the side and keep his arms crossed as per usual.
Malachi just shook his head, "Fine, I'll get it. But if this gets us killed, then it's not on me." He closed his eyes to concentrate on teleporting, but at the last second, I stopped him.
"Wait, don't get it yet. I have a better idea…"
Matt
After Eurybia and I came out of the tunnels and into another open space, it was a bit different.
Instead of fiery lakes and colorless rivers, this was more like…a swamp, rather than a barren wasteland. There were actually trees down here, and lots of them, along with a thick coat of various plants that covered the entire floor of the cavern. It was like some kind of giant, hellish greenhouse.
Granted, everything wasn't what it looked like on the surface world. On Earth, I guess you could call it, since this can't be anywhere near the place I'm used to. The trees had black, oily leaves, the same with plants. Instead of flowers or vegetation, they spawned horrifying, tiny creatures. We passed a flower that budded a little shrunken head of a monster, it's mouth agape, no eyes, and sharp quills for teeth. Guess where I didn't stick my finger.
"Stop for a moment." Eurybia said.
"What's up?"
"You want some water?"
I looked at her like she was crazy. She was pointing to the marshy water all around us, which wasn't very abundant, but enough so that if you piled it all together, it could maybe form a small stream. It wasn't disgusting looking or anything, like the oily trees and plants, but it certainly didn't look drinkable. It had a sickly green color to it that almost made me want to retreat back to the tunnels.
"That stuff? No way, I'm not drinking that."
She pursed her lips at me, "Watch."
Next thing I knew, she was pointing her finger at a nearby puddle and making a circular motion. The water came up in a little wispy tornado, seemingly shedding it's gross, mossy skin. What came of it, was half a bottle's worth of clear, clean looking liquid.
I hesitated, but was still amazed. "You're like a walking filter."
"Filter?"
"It's a thing that turns bad water into good water."
Her eyes sparkled, "Oh…well yes, I suppose I am." She lightly thrust her hand out to me, the condensed ball of water poking at my personal space. "Drink."
"Are you sure?"
"It is safe, I promise. If it weren't, I wouldn't be offering it to you."
She had a point. I figured why not, I was thirsty anyway, and this might be the only chance to do something like this. I had a feeling it was only going to get worse.
I opened my mouth, and she willed the water to go in. I let it swish around for a second, absorbing the coolness and freshness of it before swallowing. I almost hummed in delight. It was good, nothing off about it whatsoever. It gave me a new energy that I didn't know I needed, and I felt cold chills wash over my body.
"Thanks."
She nodded at me, and we started walking down a humped, muddy path that rose above the thin layer of water, in the middle of the line of plants, leading straight to the forest. It probably spelled danger, but it was something, and we had no alternative, so we were just drifting at this point.
It was a long path, and my mind began to wander off, like it tends to do when I'm cautious or anxious about something.
"Hey, would it be okay if I called you something else?"
"What do you mean?" She said, looking down at me. "Do you not like my name?"
"No, no, it's a great name. It's just a little…hard to say sometimes, you know? See, I always thought Matthias was a rough one to say too, and since names are said so often, I just went by Matt instead. Way easier to say." That was partly true. I mean, it was the original reason, but as of recent years, I honestly hate hearing that elongated version of my name. Ouranos, and now Tartarus have spoiled that for me. Whenever they say it, it's like a trigger. I differentiate the two often. Matthias is what my enemies call me, Matt is what my friends call me, and Shark Boy is what Harper calls me.
Harper. Man, I really wish she was here.
I was an idiot. A really, really worked up idiot. I ignored her feelings, and didn't even give her a chance to talk. I just ran away and fled to my mom's room in the hospital.
I wanted things to be better between us. Back to they way they used to be. But so much has happened, to both her and myself, that I'm not sure we can get there again. It's hard, damn hard, and I don't know what to do. If I even see her again, I'm sure I'll just screw it up.
Doesn't mean I don't miss her, though. I do, so much that it hurts. Even if I'm in a different plane of existence, the deepest part of the Underworld, I'll still be connected to her, and I'll still think about her. That single blue eye, and those black locks of hair will never leave my mind. Her smile too, yeah…
"Matt?" Eurybia was waving her hand in front of my face.
"What? Oh, sorry…I sort of zoned out there. What was I talking about?" I thought about it for a second, my mind shifting back to the earlier conversation. "Oh right, names. I also have this friend named Seraphina, but we just call her Sera." I grinned and gestured with my hands, "See what I'm saying?"
Eurybia humored me, but she still looked a bit confused. "I…think so."
"Yuri." I said, snapping my fingers, "Yeah, I like that. Does that sound good to you?"
She was taken back by this so much, that she ignored the fact she'd gotten too close to one of the plants. It reached out and bit her in the thigh, but she hardly reacted. She just absentmindedly slapped it away.
Her eyes were wide, "Y-Yuri? I…rather like that."
"Yeah?" I said, amused that she was so in awe about it. "If you don't want me to call you that, then I won't. Nicknames are just a weird mortal thing."
"What's a nickname?"
Oh…right. "Um, it's something that your friends call you. Like, it's not actually your name, but something they know you as." I winced at my explanation, "Does that make sense?"
"I think so." She said, looking at the ground, smiling. "Yuri is good, you can call me that."
"Alright." I chuckled, and continued to walk the path.
"Matt, what were you thinking about? Before, when you couldn't hear me?"
My smile fell. She knew about Harper, all of my friends, but talking about it was a completely different thing. Was I even ready to relive that? Talk about it? I wasn't sure.
"It-" I started, but couldn't get another word out. The sound of exploding water drowned my voice, and then the follow up of a muffled bellow.
Yuri and I looked to the swampy marsh, and backed up at what we saw. Just past the plants, was a massive arm, rising up slowly out of the mud. It had a pink palm, and matted white fur along its arm, almost like a monkey's.
Then its other hand burst forth, and it slammed itself on the array of plants next to it, offering little squeals from the monster heads as they were crushed. The monkey-like arms began to push themselves up, squeezing out what I assumed to be the rest of its body.
After its shoulders passed through, it writhed and thrashed around, creating space in the mud so it could come out. It managed to, and stood up tall. Almost as tall as Antaeus from before.
It was definitely a monkey of some kind. Its arms were disproportionate from its legs, in the fact that they were a lot shorter and stockier, and the arms were lanky and very long, almost touching the ground even when it stood upright. It was covered in almost gray, dirty looking fur, and it had a bit of a round stomach.
The strangest part wasn't its fur, or even its size. It was its head. It…didn't have one.
Where it should've been, was nothing but a stump, with dried blood on the surrounding fur. Like it had recently been killed. I didn't see any giant swords laying around though, so what had happened?
It didn't matter. The thing started beating its chest with its fists, puffing it's shoulders like it wanted to bellow or squeal, but it couldn't. No mouth to do so.
That fact seemed to make it angry, and it turned its attention towards us. Let me tell you, you haven't lived until you've seen a headless, giant ape coming at you full force.
It bashed its fists against the mud and charged me on all fours. I imagined if it had teeth, it would be baring them at me right now.
The sight was unnerving, but I unsheathed Viribus and got in a fighting stance. It was time to see if Yuri and I could keep up the small dose of teamwork we had in the tunnels.
Apparently, she was thinking the same thing. Her hand came out in front of her, she made a lunge motion with her leg, and pushed forward with the outstretched hand. The water instantly adapted to her movements, and a wall of the mossy water came up in front of the ape, pushing it back on its butt and causing it to slide on some more oily plants.
Vulnerable, I decided to make a quick move and kill it quickly before we draw any more attention to ourselves.
I leapt out and up towards the cavern roof, able to see everything. I soared in one long arc, Viribus by my side, ready to swing at the ape's head. Or well, neck stump.
But it was faster than I anticipated. Before I could even tense up a muscle, the ape kicked at the ground and forced itself to roll out of the way, just in time for me to slam into the ground, creating a massive cylinder of water, and a shockwave to burst into the surrounding rock.
The ape was nimble too, on its feet in half a second. It jumped at me, and I managed to ignore the shaking ground. I dodged each one of its wild haymakers, barrel rolling out of the way or outright jumping over an attempted sweep. It was strong, because Yuri, the entire time, created whips of water to latch around its limbs and slow its attacks. But it still kept moving at regular speed to me. At one point, I jumped over a grab, and it tried to use its neck stump to slam into me. I wasn't having any of that.
I threw Viribus in the air and brought my palms together. A powerful gust of wind hit the ape head on and blew it back, pushing it into the ground and making it bounce towards the array of scorching boulders.
It skipped like a rock, on its legs, it's back, and finally hitting neck stump first into the rocks, going about ten feet deep. I reached up and ignited my aura. The wind, available for my wishing, granted me Viribus back. I grabbed the club and held onto it tight, doing a somersault in mid-air, I secured a safe, but messy landing in the green water.
"That all you got, ugly?!" I shouted, and looked over to Yuri, "You good?!"
I saw her, now hundreds of feet away, still standing on the dirt path. She was looking towards the forest at something. Was it another monster?
My chest sunk when I saw another white furred hand slam out of the wood's entrance.
It was just as massive as the one in front of me. It wasted no time in emerging, showing off its identical self. They were twins. Both had dirty fur, massive height, long arms, and a monkey's body. Oh, and a lack of heads. What was it with headless monsters around this swamp?
Before I knew it, I'd wasted the chance of finishing No Head Number One in front of me. He was on his feet, and this time, when he charged at me, he didn't have his fists ready to strike.
He lowered his neck stump and thrust it at me. The closed-up wound actually began to open, expanding like a nostril and spraying blood.
I had no idea that was coming. The dark red substance covered me like a fire hose, spraying my entire body and hitting me with such force that I had to bring up my forearms to shield myself. The stench was vomit-inducing, and the feel of the blood made me want to pass out. When it was over, I could only stand there in disgust.
The ape began to twitch, and for several moments, it did nothing but that. Its shoulders were having some kind of muscle spasm, and its neck stump seemed to be…growing.
It's white fur, from the neck up, was changing to something scalier, with gray, even greenish skin. It was literally growing another head, but not a monkey's head. What spurted out, was a long jawed, multi-toothed, reptilian head.
It looked a lot like a crocodile. The snout, the sharp set of chompers, the skin, it was almost identical, just a lot more devilish looking.
"You gotta be kidding me."
It got used to its new body part, shaking and staggering around. Before I knew it, it was diving at me, jaws wide, tongue threatening to scoop me up and toss me in its stomach.
I pressed down on the ground and shot up in the air, disappearing from view. It was even faster now, its head weight giving it more leverage to attack. Screw the logic of it, I was being attacked. I couldn't think about the fact that it was headless before, and now it had one, from another animal. Sometimes you just have to accept these things and move on.
The monkey darted its new head around, desperately looking for where I had gone to. Little did it know, I was high in the air, careful not to hit the cavern roof.
Soon after, I let gravity take over. I straightened my legs and penciled into the monkey's back. It arched like a pretzel, letting out a loud, loud screech. No blood, but I felt it falter, and nearly go limp.
A single step on its back, and I flipped in the air, back into the mud. I paid no attention to what Yuri was up to. I just had to have faith in her.
The monkey turned on me instantly, its mouth open again. This time, it caught me off guard. Whether it be its anger, or whatever, it came at me even faster than before. I tried to jump away, but I felt it's slimy tongue wrap around my midsection, then the shadow of its mouth came over me. I felt it close up, and I was left in complete darkness.
The smell was putrid, and if I hadn't thrown up earlier, I'd probably lose it all here. Maybe even still. I clamped my nostrils with my fingers, but soon found that useless and bothersome. Everything kept moving, its tongue, its gums, the little flap in the back of its throat. Everything was so…squishy.
I took a step, and the thing moved. I slipped and fell on my side, cringing at the horrible feeling. It must've realized it had me, because its tongue came up and pushed me back into its throat.
There wasn't much I could do. I kept slipping and sliding, and it was enough for me to tumble back into its esophagus.
It was tight-spaced, and if I had claustrophobia, I would really be freaking out right now. It was one of the weirdest feelings I've ever felt. Imagine a crowded slide, packed to the brim with people. It's hot, it's sweaty, and smelly all together.
I knew what was coming next. The esophagus leads to the stomach, and I wasn't about to get dumped into a freaky monster monkey's stomach acid. Not that it would hurt me, but the smell…gods, just no. No.
So I did the natural thing. I sheathed Viribus and put it back around my neck, barely managing to do so with this tightness.
Once it was secure on my neck, I slammed my hand into the roof of the esophagus. It sunk into the tender flesh easily, and I heard a muffled howl outside.
I put a good bit of strength into it, and my arm pressed in deeper, sinking all the way up to my shoulder. Once it was that far, I just ignored the sliminess completely and saw red. I stuck my other arm in and separated them, ripping apart the flesh in one fell swoop.
I got into a squatting position and pressed down. My head went through, and like pushing into jello, I went through the monkey's body and came out of the top.
Blood and gore spilled everywhere on its back. I crawled my way out of the open wound, covered in said blood and gore, standing upright.
I breathed heavily. My entire body was sticky, wet, and being weighed down by pieces of monkey throat. But the satisfaction came when it fell limp, all fours sprawling out in every direction.
I found Yuri in the distance, forming a water tornado around the other monkey. It was spinning around, its backside in the funnel of the water, and its hands flailing up to grab onto something. But the closest thing were the rocks dozens of feet above.
Finally, Yuri must've pushed upward, because in a powerful burst, the water stiffened, and shot up like a geyser towards the jagged stones. The monkey catapulted into one of them, the stone impaling it in the chest, all the way through it's back. It hung on the tip, dead, for a few seconds. Then the blood acted as lubrication for it to slide down, and eventually fall off.
It landed in the mud. A huge eruption of the brown substance went everywhere, I even felt a few drops hit my arm.
When the explosion subsided, I expected both monkeys to turn to dust, but they never did. Makes sense though, I guess. We are in the place where monsters go once they die after all, so…do they just move locations? Come back to life a few minutes later? Go to the surface world? My guess was as good as anyone's.
Either way, the looming threat was gone. I caught Yuri's eyes and smiled, waving at her across the football field of distance.
She waved back. I couldn't tell if she was smiling, but I'd like to think so. Working together so far, even after only a couple of fights, I was liking what I saw from her. I didn't have to worry, or look over my shoulder to help her. She could handle herself, and I didn't even have to bat an eye. I mean, I don't know what I expected, she's a titaness after all.
I thought about what we were going to do next, and started walking towards her. Maybe we could go into the forest, or maybe we could try and go around. There were so many options here, yet we were so…limited, at the same time.
A rumble behind me interrupted all thought. The ground shook, I turned around and saw the mud opening up. But this wasn't a hole or an abyss forming, because it was right under the monkey/crocodile's corpse, and it didn't fall in. No, it was more like a barrier of darkness.
Something wasn't right at all. Every instinct I had was telling me to book it and run, but…where do I go?
Then, the ground erupted. A massive, black fist came out of the ground and grabbed the monkey by its midsection, lifting it up and wrapping its fingers easily. At the climax, it pulled down hard, yanking the monster out of the air and sucking it into the now bottomless pit.
On the other side, where Yuri was, the same thing happened. A dark hole opened up and a giant, shadowed hand came out of the ground, clenching the monkey and pulling it down into the darkness.
The hole where Yuri was closed up, but the one near me, stayed open. I wasn't sure what was going on. No way that's how they fade when they die down here.
The abyss began to gather, and even materialize into something, shrinking down and taking shape of a…person?
Then it clicked. My eyes widened, my heart started racing, and my fists tightened.
There, in the epicenter, stood Tartarus.
Harper
So, I know I'm being a bit reckless right now.
Okay, maybe a lot more than a bit.
I can't help it. With everything that's happened, with what I've lost, I can't go through that again. I refuse to let fate be this cruel to me. For once, just fucking once, it needs to let us have a happy ending. I'm not a sappy sack of joy by any means, and to be honest, happy endings are dull most of the time.
But this. Us. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to quote on quote 'ride off into the sunset' or sit on a farm porch, with nothing but peace surrounding me.
That's why I would do anything to secure that. Even if it meant storming Olympus and threatening the gods.
I knew it wasn't going to be pretty, so I told Kyros to go back to Camp. He protested, likely wanting to find out the truth about Matt. But after I assured him that we would most likely be talking to Zeus, he sort of made a disgusted caw and flew right back in the direction we came from.
Honestly, I just didn't want him to get hurt. He's a strong bird, no doubt about it, but if anything happens to him, Matt would kill me.
When Malachi teleported us there, I expected to find all twelve of them on their thrones, either just sitting there, admiring themselves or chatting amongst each other. I had envisioned walking right up to them and giving them a piece of my mind. An argument would play out of course, Sera would try to calm me down, Talon would be at the ready to fight, and Malachi would be shaking his head.
So when we got there and saw what we saw…I was more than surprised.
The flash of light disappeared, and thunder boomed, reverberating through the main palace. When the vision cleared, I found myself looking at nothing but ruins.
Yes, the main palace of Olympus, in ruins. Cracks and craters littered the perfect, shiny marble floor, now dusty and rubble covered. Most of the pillars had been split in half, nearly caving in the roof no doubt. I looked up, and sure enough, it was uneven, but that wasn't the worst part. A massive hole had been created, like a giant meteor had crashed into the skylight and landed in the center of the room.
We all walked forwards, our mouths parted, trying to take in all of the destruction. Every mural, painting, and statue had been defamed and obliderated.
I was in shock. What the hell happened here?
In front of us, were two figures. I recognized one of them immediately to be Zeus. I couldn't forget him even if I tried. He had his back turned to us, broad and tall, with black and gray hair covering his shoulders. He was accompanied by a woman, who's features I couldn't really make out from here. I didn't even try, because my focus shifted to what they were looking at.
The thrones. They had been destroyed too. Even Zeus's.
Usually, it was pretty easy to determine whose throne belonged to who. They each had their own color, marking, or design that specifically told you what god sat on it.
But now, they were downright unrecognizable. They had been smashed to nothing but a few pieces of debris, just enough to leave behind a trace that the vandalizer had been here. Zeus was particularly looking at his. Royal white stones lay on the ground, with hints of lightning blue traces on them.
The woman was desperately trying to tell him something, but Zeus didn't seem to pay much attention. His fists were clenched, and I could tell, even without an aura sense, that he was very angry.
With a booming voice, he spoke. "What do you want?"
It took me a second to realize he was talking to us. I gulped, nearly forgetting my resolve, but I managed to step forward.
"What happened?" Was all I could say. I didn't tell him my name, demand anything, I simply asked a question.
"Tartarus is what happened," he growled. "The Primordial has decided to destroy our throne room."
I was in shock. He was behind this? I mean, it made sense, because who was brave and powerful enough right now to even conceive of doing such a thing? But still, making this much noise couldn't be smart. I didn't care though, in a way, this was a good thing, because now he had Zeus's attention, and made him angry. Hell, I might not have to convince him after all.
When he said that name, the others decided to run up and huddle around me. I felt a nudge on my arm from Talon.
"That's…actually what we were coming to talk to you about."
Zeus didn't respond, but he did turn around a bit to stare at the destroyed palace. His eyes flashed between a white glow and his normal set of pupils multiple times. I noticed Malachi wincing every time he did so, clearly overloading his aura sense with the slightest of flexes.
Suddenly, I wasn't so confident in my earlier plan.
"Was it now?" He said, "Well, we can do some talking. Follow me."
"But lord!" The woman said, exasperated, "Don't you want to tell them what I told you?!"
It was at this point that I looked at the woman, fully, and I nearly lost my breath. She was…beautiful. Like Sera levels of beautiful. It was almost inhuman how perfect her features were. Every shape was in proportion, exactly the way most guys would fantasize about. She had on a perfect amount of makeup, not too much, but not too little, and her hair was like silk. So smooth, and it was weird, because it seemed to be constantly shifting from black to blonde, white to red, and all sorts of colors, like her body was constantly trying to cover every style of beauty.
Aphrodite. Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out.
Now this is really weird. I get Zeus being here, but Aphrodite? I never figured her to be first responder to a Primordial incident, and she never came off as a fighter. At least, not in the stories I'm aware of.
Zeus regarded her, then looked at the four of us, as if finally recognizing who we were, he reared his head back.
"Oh…of course, I didn't realize…yes, go ahead and tell them."
"What is it? What's going on?" I said, panic building in my voice. I didn't like the way Aphrodite was looking at me.
"I just talked to my daughter, Piper." She shook her head, her eyes almost looking saddened. "You're all friends with Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, right?"
We all nodded vigorously, none of liking where this was going.
Her eyebrows lowered in sadness; her big, color-changing eyes were watery. "I-I'm sorry, but…they've been captured by Tartarus."
For several seconds, we were left speechless. No. There was no way.
I started to get angry, and I thought about grabbing her by the neck and pulling her closer, but fought against it.
"Bullshit." Talon said, "You're lying."
"Why would I lie?" She said, "You can ask Piper. She said…she told me that she saw a black figure outside of her father's house, spying on them. When Percy tried to confront it, she said it smiled at him, and took both he and Annabeth underground."
Sera started sniffling, trying to hold back sobs. Malachi started pacing around the ruined room, looking like he wanted to punch one of the pillars. Talon just kept staring at Aphrodite, his jaw twitching.
My mind was a racing mess. First Matt, then the mortals, this, and now Percy and Annabeth? How did it get this bad in such a short amount of time? There has to be a limit to how much we can take. It can't just…keep adding on, can it?
My heart ached for them, but at the same time, I felt an uncontainable fire ignite inside of me, only furthering my hatred for the Primordial. They had been planning their wedding, far away from all of this. They had been to that hell before, and it still haunted them to this very day. Now…they were forced back into it, once again.
It made me sick. It made me want to scream.
Zeus saw the look on my face, and gestured to the side opening, leading outside.
"Come with me, girl. We can have that talk now."
I could only nod, my face impassive and blank. My body managed to move on it's own, even though that was the last thing my brain was focusing on. Immediately, I was trying to work up a plan to save them all, now two added on to Matt. And that was already enough to make me go crazy, but now them? Them?!
The odds were so…low, for us. If he can do this, then we stand no chance.
We walked outside, and I was greeted with yet another sight of destruction, this one even bigger than the first. The city of Olympus, where the minor gods, the muses, and several spirits lived, had also been ripped to shreds. Trails and signs of fire left in something's wake, several of the houses were charred, destroyed, cleaved, shattered, you name it, it happened, for miles and miles. But the strange thing was, no dead gods. Tartarus had left them be. They were frantic, of course, scrambling around, trying to figure out what to do.
Zeus almost eyed them pitifully, "They are afraid."
"Have you told them what to do yet?" I said, questioningly.
He nodded, "Yes, but they are still afraid. I can't blame them. Olympus hasn't been in this shape in millennia, not since…well, it's been a very long time."
"Where are the other Olympians?"
He glanced at me for a second, and I stood firm, taking all of my strength to remain intact at the sheer weight of his stare. Zeus was no doubt the most powerful being in our pantheon, maybe even all of them. Not just in raw power and supernatural ability, but in the way he carried himself, the way he stood and watched things. All signs pointed to a natural warrior and leader. It wasn't just for show. If there was someone more powerful than him out there…gods, I really, really hope they never become an enemy.
Finally, he averted it, and I could breathe again. "Forgive me, but you're Harper, right? Matt's girlfriend?"
"Yeah."
"I figured. I've seen countless faces in my lifetime, sometimes they get jumbled together. I just wanted to clarify. Now to answer your question, Harper, the others are looking for that demon as we speak. Besides Dionysus of course, he is needed at that Camp of yours. And Aphrodite, for obvious reasons. Everyone else is on lookout. If they see him, or so much as sense him anywhere, I've given them full clearance of attack."
For some reason, that didn't ease any worry. "You really think they'd be able to do anything? Against him?"
I said it almost scoldingly. Like he was sending his soldiers, no, his family to an execution. Zeus was the wildcard for Tartarus. I'd bet money Zeus could handle him, at least up here on the surface world, but it's still up for debate. The rest however…I was pretty confident that none of them stood a chance one on one. Even combined I wasn't sure. Then again, I haven't fought beside them or against them, so I don't know. I'm only going by what I've seen and felt from Tartarus.
Zeus registered my words, and to my surprise, didn't look confident. "I…don't know. Tartarus is very old, and usually very…neutral. Rarely does he ever even speak or take a physical form, let alone attack our home, or kill innocent mortals on the streets of New York."
My eyes darted up at him, a bit taken back. "You knew about that?"
"Of course." He said, "It happened at the exact same time as the attack here." He sighed, "It was a jumble of auras, a trick that he employed to distract me. He can be anywhere he wants, when he wants, at the same time, Harper. Omnipresence, is the better term."
I was somewhat familiar with it. "Can't you guys do the same?"
"Well, it works a bit different than you might imagine. I had to focus my strength here, to send his darkness away. I also might have been biased, and came here first. That's another explanation."
At least he was honest.
"So you saw him?"
"No. I saw a very small part of him. It was a mere projection of his energy that he used to destroy this place, and I sent it away with ease. If it had been all of him, it would've taken far more effort."
I could only exhale and shake my head. All of this was so overwhelming, I thought my knees might buckle and I'd have to catch myself on the railing of the city, but with some repositioning, I managed to stay upright.
I thought about Matt. Did he know about that too?
"He took Matt." I mumbled, not sure if he heard me.
"I…I know. When I couldn't sense his aura at your camp, I connected the dots."
"That, the mortals, this, Percy and Annabeth…" It was tiring just listing the things off. "What the hell's going on? Ouranos, yeah, I get. But this? Why's the literal underworld causing havoc all over the place?"
"Your guess is as good as mine. Like I said before, Tartarus has been silent for millions of years, doing nothing but sitting in his domain, collecting souls, and playing house." He scoffed, "Which is why I cannot wrap my head around it. Why now? Why attack now?"
I never would've thought Zeus had a side like this to him. A concerned, and even confused shade of personality. In the stories, and in the brief moments I'd seen him, he always looked like he knew everything, had it all together, not a care in the world. But now he looked lost, desperate for someone to tell him some good news.
"You think it has something to do with Ouranos?"
At the mention of the name, his eyes flashed another dangerous white glow. "The two are brothers. Godly brothers that get along, might I add. Which is rare. I have no doubt that Ouranos is involved in this. But as to why, or when…well, I'm still thinking on it."
Godly brothers that get along. Ouranos and Tartarus together was a terrifying thought, and the prospect that this was all part of the old sky psycho's plan was becoming more daunting by the second. When had he put Tartarus in his grand scheme? How did he get him to agree? Just by asking?
"I have to get Matt back," I said. "I...have to. If he dies down there, if anything happens-" I stopped, unsure as to why I was saying this stuff in front of him.
Then I looked at him, for some reason, without fear. Maybe it was my promise, my conviction, that put myself, in my own mind, on the same level as Zeus right now.
"I can't lose anyone else. Especially him. I would kill you and the other Olympians if it meant saving him."
For some reason, I didn't feel anything after I said those words. No sudden fear, no panic that I would be immediately struck down by Zeus. Instead...I felt confident. It couldn't be naivety, I knew that literally following what I said would be near impossible, and I stood no chance at doing such a thing. But I still said it, and I meant it. If I did have that power, I would.
And Zeus seemed to know that. He surprised me by simply nodding, "I know you would. And I'm not going to stop you in going after Matt." He chuckled, "Demigods don't exactly like rules, or restrictions. They have a way of doing what they want. I think I've come around enough by now to realize that it's useless trying to stop them."
Though I showed no visible shock. I was stunned on the inside. Had Zeus always been this way? No, obviously not. Despite my limited interactions with him, from myths, to encounters that I've heard around Camp, he always came across as an uptight, egotistical, uncaring ruler. Matt told me about the argument he had with him, that day we buried Levi. Did that have something to do with it? Maybe after losing Hercules, he wants that same relationship with Matt? It's a hard situation to read, but that's kind of how it's coming across.
My eyes darted back to the edge of the city, thinking on what to say next. I'd come here for help, but what kind could I even get now? This entire thing threw me off pretty bad, and my demanding resolve that I came here with was now long gone. Suddenly, I honestly felt like wishing him luck and being on my way. But I knew it wouldn't be enough. I needed something.
Just as my mouth started to open, I heard an explosion from the inside of the palace, followed by a screech.
At the opening Zeus and I walked through, my friends appeared, looking like they were being chased.
"It's Aphrodite!" Malachi shouted. "She's gone mad!"
From behind them, a pink blast of energy shot at their heads. Luckily, they ducked just in time for it to explode several feet in front of them.
They ran further out of the building. Talon raised his revolver and fired several rounds back inside. "This bitch is batshit crazy!"
I wasn't sure what was going on. What had Aphrodite done?
It was then that she emerged from the palace, and my eyes widened. I felt my hands tremble when I saw the same look that the cop had on the street plastered to her face. That demonic smile, and those dead, cold eyes.
"Didn't expect to see you so soon again, girl."
It was him. I quickly stopped my hands from shaking and I glared at the body of the love goddess. "You're going to wish you didn't, you sick son of a bitch."
She laughed, in his voice. "And you..." His gaze was directed at Zeus now, "You've grown since I last saw you."
Zeus took a step closer, shielding me with his arm. "In strength, more than anything, Tartarus."
I kept shifting glances to my friends and Tartarus, praying that he wouldn't try anything. I wasn't sure what kind of abilities he had in the bodies of other people. Was he limited to their capabilities? Or could he enhance them? I didn't doubt their strength, I would never do that. But the danger of the situation was growing, and I wanted to scream at Malachi to teleport them far, far away from here.
Tartarus smiled at Zeus, mildly impressed. "You know, when I heard that you killed my brother's favorite son, I was a bit surprised. I was sure that Kronos would remain king of the world for the rest of time. But looking at you, I'm not surprised. You are a formidable one."
Zeus smirked, "Funny you mention that. I also remember killing your favorite son, Typhon, quite a few times. I'm sure you heard about that too."
My eyes widened. Watching the two verbally spar was like watching two apex predators circling each other, inches away from striking. I knew any second, something was about to happen. I needed to make a choice, and fast. We either stay and fight or get the hell out of here.
Aphrodite's face twitched a bit at the remark, but Tartarus kept his nonchalant composure. "Touche, my friend."
She raised her chin and black smoke began to pour out of her mouth. It collected into a corkscrew and billowed in the direction of the minor gods, splitting into multiple, smaller bodies and shooting themselves into their mouths.
They writhed at the sensation, all of them moving in unison. Once the smoke fully entered their system, they all changed demeanors. There had to be more than a hundred minor gods smiling at us, the same way Aphrodite and that cop did.
I looked to Malachi, Talon, and Sera. Their eyes were glued to the eerie scene. Then to Zeus, who watched on as well. His eyes were constantly changing to a white glow, his aura slowly starting to show itself.
The minor gods began throwing themselves at one another in mid-air, all to a concentrated point. There was no jump, instead, it was like being sucked into a black hole. Something was pulling them in.
Black energy surrounded them with each impact, and with every added deity, it started to take the form of a giant, voided being. That being had legs, arms, and a head with horns. It grew to dwarf the palace, and we were forced to look up just to keep track of it.
The body formed eyes and opened them. Even though it had no mouth, it started to speak.
"I was going to give Ouranos the honors, but I think he'll cut me some slack. I'm going to bring you to your knees, and have you begging for mercy, my dear nephew."
When he raised his hand, Zeus shouted at us.
"Get behind me, all of you!"
We hesitated, and he screamed louder, his hair flashing a shade of white.
"Do as I say!"
We didn't disobey. All of us quickly scurried to get behind him. Tartarus's hand came down like a meteor from the sky, wind pushing around it and forming shockwaves that parted the clouds above him, and even shook the entire city, making it hard to keep our footing.
Zeus grunted, and his form changed. Instead of a pin-striped suit, he now wore a white toga. His hair had changed to all-white, along with his beard. He was getting serious.
In his hand, the Master Bolt materialized. A three foot long, cylinder of blinding light and pure energy. It whirred and radiated power, so much so that even the little sparks of lightning that danced off of it would be enough to kill all of us.
He threw it at Tartarus, and their was a flash of light. For a split second, I saw a bright blue line connect with Tartarus's fist, impaling it and shattering the black energy to a million pieces, taking it clean off. The Primordial let out a grunt, which sounded like ten thousand possessed demons all speaking together in unison.
He grew the hand back easily and went in for another blow. Zeus flicked his hand in the air and summoned enough wind to shift the Primordial, making him stumble and nearly fall onto the rest of the ruined city. The footsteps were like thunder, and each one created massive craters in their wake.
"Stay down!" Zeus ordered, "Cover your ears, close your eyes, and be wary of your thoughts! He attacks the mind!"
We did as he said, at least, the second one. We knew good and well what was coming, because we were with Matt when he fired his version of the Master Bolt on Atlas. It was the loudest thing I'd ever heard, even with my hands clamped over my ears, it nearly destroyed them. It was like packs of rolling thunder, mixed with a slew of nuclear bombs, all going off at the same time.
It came, and the world shook so heavily that I couldn't discern whether I had been launched in the sky or stayed on the ground. With my eyes closed, it didn't help. It felt like I was being thrown around and toyed with, but when the horrible noise and the shaking subsided, I found that I was still planted firmly to the ground, and the four of us had grabbed onto each other, unknowingly. I was holding onto Sera and Talon's arms, locked in a death grip.
Zeus raised his hand in the air and made a fist. The air surrounding Tartarus seemed to cave in, and it began to crush the body he had made with the minor gods. Inch by inch, he got smaller, being squeezed by what I imagine was unbearable pressure.
Finally, it combusted. The black energy flew in the air and the minor gods came tumbling from the sky, falling like drops of rain, they fell on the city grounds, as limp as a dead animal.
The darkness tossed itself around for a bit in its crazed manner and crashed into the ground too. But instead of falling limp, it took form of a much smaller body. This time, Tartarus looked exactly the way he did in the video. Tall, slender, covered in black, with nothing to contrast with except those white, shark-like eyes.
He eyed Zeus hungrily, with no mouth to grin, but I knew that's what he would've done. "Is that all you've got?"
Zeus twitched, and I could see that he kept looking back at us in his peripheral, his fingers had a mind of their own. At any minute, he was ready to reach out and shield us from anything Tartarus tried to do.
He was holding back. So, he wouldn't accidentally kill us.
I immediately knew what we needed to do. "Malachi, get us out of here!"
He was dazed, "W-What?"
"Take us back to Camp, now!"
It took a shove from Talon to fully snap him out of it. When he did, he tightened his grip on us, and gritted his teeth.
The light of his aura enveloped us. With one second left to spare, I took another look at Zeus.
The last thing I saw, was the clash. Fist against fist, lightning and darkness being thrown all over the place. It was a quick frame of chaos, and then it was gone. I felt the tugging in my stomach, the kaleidoscope fill my eyes, and my body get taken away.
Matt
When I saw Tartarus, my blood boiled.
I wasted no words. I threw myself forward and started running through the marsh to get to him, the water was at my ankles, so I had no trouble running. I ignited the red aura on my fist, ready to slam it into his face. I was going to put everything I had into it.
He just kept standing there, watching me.
"Fine, you wanna take the hit?! Go ahead!"
When I got close enough, he looked down at the water and widened his eyes. Something in the ground shifted, and the puddles rippled. I thought nothing of it, and kept running at him. That is…until I completely lost my footing.
About ten feet away, I fell completely underwater, in over my head. Underwater? That stuff was up to my ankles a few seconds ago. How did it change?
I didn't care at the moment, right now I was panicking. Which never happened when I used to swim at the beach, or even in the occasional pool. I can swim just fine, and if this was regular water, I would shoot right up and just fly instead.
But this was not regular water. I thrashed and kicked my legs, desperate to even get my fingers to the surface, but it was no use. The water might as well have been concrete, or thick syrup. I wasn't moving a bit, only wearing myself out.
So I did what I thought was the smart thing, and I stopped. I didn't move another muscle, I just crossed my arms and let myself sink. I could hold my breath for a long, long time, so this was a waiting game now. Once Tartarus got bored, he would have to pull me up.
But as the seconds went on, another weird thing happened. My chest started to get really tight, my nostrils stung, and I was getting very dizzy. What…the hell? I know for a fact I can hold my breath for hours straight, maybe even longer. It shouldn't be affecting me.
Panicking again, I started to slap my arms in long strides, hoping that if I remain calm, then it would somehow work.
That didn't change a thing.
I had been converted back to a normal mortal in the span of a minute. I was drowning. My chest was really tight now, my vision was hazy, even with the murky water, I couldn't even make out my hands in front of me. Every instinct was screaming at me to open my mouth and get some air, right now, or I'm going to die.
My lungs begged for mercy, but I couldn't give it. What am I supposed to do?
Then it happened. My mouth opened on it's own, and water went straight into my lungs. I immediately started coughing, only allowing more water to come in. They filled up quickly, and everything started fading between black and white, my muscles lost all strength, and my chest heaved up and down, trying to get the stuff out of my system on its own.
Just at the breaking point, when I really thought I was done for, I felt something snake around my waist, then pull me up.
My head splashed above surface, and I hacked like my life depended on it, which it did.
Whatever was holding me threw me back onto solid ground. I hit it hard, and that helped to get some of the water out.
I doubled over, with each cough, cups of water came pouring out of my mouth. It was scary, because I've never had that happen to me before, even as a kid. The sensation was very weird, and feeling all of that liquid inside you lit all kinds of red flags in my brain.
"Matt!" I heard the voice of Yuri, making her way towards me.
Through coughs and hacks, I managed to say, "No…get…back!"
She stopped in her tracks, but she didn't listen. She thrust her hand out and pulled, like she was yanking an invisible chain. When she did that, my mouth was forced open to let all of the water out. It came gushing in a constant stream, pouring like tap water on the ground.
It lasted several seconds, and I was surprised to see just how much water had gotten into me. It had to be enough to fill a gallon, maybe more. It's a miracle I didn't pass out and die.
Once it was all out, Yuri ran over and grabbed my shoulders, helping me up.
"Are you okay?"
I let out a few more coughs, still feeling waterlogged. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay."
Tartarus started chuckling, and I fought the urge to cover my ears. It was like the walls and roof were talking along with him. Every single organism gained a mouth and mirrored his own voice, as if his normal one wasn't loud and creepy enough.
"You seem to forget that down here, whatever I want to happen, happens."
He snapped his voided fingers, the trees in the forest that we originally set off towards shook, it's leaves letting off a noise.
Out of the entrance, two long tree roots sprouted and slithered towards Yuri and I, coming a lot faster than you would think. As soon as they touched the ground, it was like they were running on slick oil.
One of them grabbed me by the leg, Yuri unsheathed her sword and sliced it in two, but she might as well have done nothing. It just grew back and grabbed me again, while the other grabbed Yuri.
It yanked us, and we fell forward on our faces. I tried to grab the ground while Yuri tried to slice at the vines again, but again, it was useless. This time, when she tried to cut it, it wouldn't even go an inch through, despite it being nothing but a root.
My stomach nearly came out of my mouth, it drug me from our spot in the marsh deep into the forest. Green leaves and an array of colorful fruits passed me, I tumbled in several creek crossings, and it never seemed to end. It went on for several minutes, nonstop. From the outside, the forest seemed like nothing, the size of a small park maybe. But I need to get it through my head right now, that everything isn't the way it seems. Just like that water out there. This entire place is Tartarus's playground.
The vine let go of me and threw me into a clearing. I landed on a line of flowers and soft grass, a rather good feeling, the best I've felt down here probably. The sweet scent reminded me of Camp, strangely.
I snapped out of it quickly. No, don't get caught up in that. It's another trick.
I got up and looked around wildly, not seeing Yuri anywhere.
"Yuri!" I called, "Yuri, can you hear me?!"
A patch of leaves rustled, and I turned to it. Yuri came through like a bull, her eyes were crazed, and her sword was still drawn.
"Yuri." I said, walking up to her, "You alright?"
Her eyes widened when she saw me, and she looked me up and down. It was almost…defensive, in a way that told me she was on alert.
"You…" She said, her voice definitely unrecognizable. What? She'd never talked to me like that before. It sounded like she was greeting an old enemy.
I almost got stabbed in the neck when she brought her sword up. I managed to lean and stumbled back out of it, but I was completely surprised. What the hell?
"Yuri!" I said, not wanting to believe it. Was she hallucinating? "What are you doing?!"
"You dare show your face to me!" She screamed, and charged me again, much faster than I'd ever seen her move so far. She closed the distance and swung her sword with such skill that it made me do a double take. She was intent on killing me.
I dodged to the best of my ability, narrowly avoiding each strike. She was good, really good. Each swing was strong and straight. Every time she would reset or go for another hit, she wouldn't lose footing, or even fall one inch out of place. It was the mark of many years of practice, and I was glad in that moment, that I'm as durable as I am.
I noticed she hadn't laced the sword with aura, so I reached my hand out and grabbed it in the air. She looked a bit surprised, and started pushing against me. Her strength was incredible.
"Y-Yuri…" I said, straining. "St-Stop! I thought we were friends!"
"You ended our relationship when you betrayed me!" She cried, and bashed her shoulder into my chest. I fell on my butt in the grass. Betrayed? What was she talking about?
I didn't dwell on it too long. I was about to get cleaved. This time, she ignited her sword with a bright sea-blue aura, and swung it towards the ground. I pushed off with my hand and spun out of the way, the shockwave behind me was enough to send me flying.
I got on my knees, and felt a kick hit my spine, causing me to arch my back and double over again. Throbs and stings of pain shot up my nervous system. She really wasn't playing around now.
She made multiple stab attempts, but they all hit the ground as I rolled away, and she followed me. At one point, I waited until she raised her sword again, and at the same time, when I was in position to do so, I swept her legs and tripped her.
Getting up, I quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and held her firm. Not too firm though, but firm enough to get her to focus on me.
"Yuri, whatever it is you think I did, I'm sorry! Let's just talk, we can work it out!" I didn't really know or mean what I was saying, because just a minute ago she was trying to help me against Tartarus, now she was trying to kill me. It was pretty abrupt to say the least.
"You know what you did!" She yelled, and I thought I caught her voice breaking. It sounded…like she was about to cry. What was going on?
She forced me away, and sheathed her sword to raised both of her hands at her side. All of the trees around us began to shake, and at the same time, all of the water that inhabited the trunk and the roots was pulled out.
Yuri molded it into another ball of condensed liquid, and threw it at me. It was powerful, and I knew I'd be sent into next week if I didn't get a little serious.
So I growled, and felt the Red Aura surround me. It's warmth and glow filling me with power, far more than my regular self. It was like switching a light on and off now, I can access it whenever I want, usually.
Just as the water came down on me, I lifted my hand and met it with my palm. It's blue body broke and shattered into a layer of white foam and steam on the ground.
Yuri was surprised, she visibly took a step back and looked like she was a bit afraid of me, but she put up a good front.
I had no idea what was going on, but I didn't want to fight her. I knew she wasn't doing this out of her own volition. There was no way. I had put too much faith in her by now, too much trust to believe that she would just turn against me like that.
"Yuri, I don't know if you can hear me, but It's Matt, alright." I reiterated, "It's Matt. Not whatever, or whoever you're seeing right now."
At the mention of my name, her mouth parted, and her tense stance dropped. Something in her eyes seemed to clear, like a cloud being blown away across the sky.
She softened, "Oh, Matt…I'm-"
She didn't get to finish her sentence. From her left, the vine came back and wrapped itself around her waist, yanking her out of my view.
I tried to go after her, but I had problems of my own. The vine that had me came back with a few of his friends. Four of them attached themselves to my wrists and ankles, lifting me up like I was a sack of potatoes.
I ignited the Red Aura again, yanked and pulled as hard as I could, but nothing happened. They weren't budging, and they weren't letting me go.
"That won't work."
Tartarus came walking in from the entrance of the clearing, slowly, relishing in my helplessness.
"If you're so strong, why tie me up?" I said, trying to get a rise out of him. "Why not fight me?"
He wasn't fazed. "Why waste time with such a boring thing as that? Fighting. That's my brother's speed more than it is mine. He likes the physical pleasure of pain, I, on the other hand, prefer a more…mental approach."
"You're sick. Both of you are nothing but a pair of twisted fucks."
"What's twisted about playing with a lower life form? Do humans think twice about stepping on an ant? Conducting experiments on rats and other rodents? What about children? Do they care what an animal thinks when they prod and poke it?"
I said nothing, and tried to pull myself free again. Still no use.
Tartarus continued, pacing around me like I was his new lab rat. "Whenever a being joins me, in this place, I see their memories, their desires, their regrets. It's fascinating to me. It's like an endless library of pathetic stories. And the best part is, I can play with it." He turned his wolfish gaze up at me, "Just like I can play with yours."
I fought against the fear in my chest, the goosebumps on my arms. I shook my head, "I don't care if you can read my mind, you don't know a thing about me. You don't know what, or who I am."
He laughed, chillingly close to how Ouranos laughs, and that wasn't lost on me. "On the contrary, I think I know you better than you know yourself. I know the amount of guilt you carry about hating your father at such a young age, wishing that you could've spent more time with him before he died."
I wanted to scream at him to shut up, but I knew that's exactly what he wanted. I stayed quiet.
"That's a big one, isn't it?" He craned his neck, and nodded, very pleased with what he must've found. "Oh yes, a lot of thoughts and feelings on the father. Boy, you really hate yourself for letting him down, don't you?Oh wait, I'm sorry, I meant letting him die."
I could feel the old insecurities rising, and I pushed them down with all my might. He was trying to break me, and I wasn't going to let that happen. Any reaction only gives him satisfaction, and I won't give him any. It's not a physical fight at this point, it's a battle of wills.
I won't lose. I can't lose.
"I know what you're doing, and it's not going to work."
Tartarus shook his head, ignoring me. "What is it with demigods and father issues? Must be a trend. But letting him die?" He shrugged, "If you were stronger, you could've saved him." He didn't have a mouth that I could see, but I knew he was smiling. He raised a matter-of-fact finger, "In truth, if you were as strong then as you are now…you could've saved him."
Keep fighting. Keep fighting.
Suddenly, the blackness on his body changed to a tan skin color, and then...everything else along with it. He became more muscular, a hair taller, with a brown hair and beard to match.
Tartarus had transformed himself into the splitting image of my dad.
I knew it too. He's not him. It's Tartarus, but...they're identical. I hadn't seen my father's face since that day, that horrible, horrible day. I'd longed to see it. I begged that I would dream of it, but it only ever came in nightmares.
Seeing him smiling at me made my lip quiver.
I hid my face, growling at the show of weakness. I knew Tartarus caught it, because he came closer and started to perform.
"I'm so proud of you, son. You've become even greater than I ever was."
"Stop." I ordered, shaking with rage.
"What's the matter? I thought you missed me?"
"Get out of his body right now! GET OUT!"
He lurched forward, out of nowhere, making me flinch in surprise. His mouth was open, and ichor was trailing out, making a pool on the ground. In his chest, was a gaping hole, a stab wound from Ouranos's Heavenly Diamond spear.
He gurgled and choked on his own blood. Spiders and other bugs began to crawl out of his eyes and scurry all over his now melting body. He reached up and grabbed both sides of his mouth and yanked.
I heard a dreadful ripping sound, flesh tearing and peeling off all in one fell swoop, and I looked away just in time, shutting my eyes tight before I had the chance to see anything.
"No?" Tartarus said, "How about this?"
He placed his finger on my forehead, and I was forced to look at him, my eyes wide. But I didn't see the forest. No, I was taken somewhere completely different, back on the surface world.
I saw him standing in someone's back yard, the same form he'd taken now, staring down a figure wearing jeans and a blue hoodie. The man had black hair and held a bronze sword...
Tartarus said something, and the man said something back. He was shouting.
The back door flew open, and out came a tall, blonde girl. I knew her. It was Annabeth, and that boy was Percy.
Tartarus had found them.
Before either could strike, he cocked his head, and his eyes lost their white pigment. The grass turned black, and a huge abyss opened up from the ground, pulling apart the soil and dirt from the middle. It reminded me of when he drug em down here, the big crack he created in the road. This was just a bit smaller.
But it was Percy and Annabeth. There was no way.
A dome of black energy erupted around everything, enveloping both Percy and Annabeth, the patio furniture, the tables, the grass, the surrounding shrubs, everything was pulled into the hole, and when the black energy was gone, so were my friends, and Tartarus.
The hole closed up, and everything returned to normal.
I was brought back to reality, the image changing back to dark and jungle green. I breathed in hard, and scowled at him as menacingly as I could.
"You're lying. You'd better be lying, or I'll kill you."
"Now why would I lie? It's not like they haven't been down here before."
I was so angry, the adrenaline kept pumping into my veins, gallon after gallon of doses. But I couldn't do a thing about it, his grip was too strong, I couldn't break free from these stupid vines.
"What have you done with them?!"
He only stared.
"You had no right involving them! Whatever there is here, it's between us!"
"You say that a lot, don't you? You want to protect your friends, be the only one on the battlefield, fighting my brother. But...they don't want to sit and watch, now do they?" He chuckled, the volume rising the longer he did so. "Oh no, they don't. They want to fight, and what's even better, they would sacrifice themselves for you. You, the one that doesn't even see them as equals."
"Shut the hell up, you have no idea what you're talking about! They're my best friends, of course I see them as equals!"
"Really?" He asked mockingly, "Then what's this?" He pointed his finger in the air, and a muffled voice, my voice, began to play all around like some kind of old-style radio.
"Yeah well, I can't exactly lean on you guys this time around, now can I?" It said, echoing a few times for emphasis.
I lowered my head, not able to speak.
That was me. My legacy, if I never even make it out of this place. I was the guy that got obsessed with finding his enemy, and I pushed everyone away. I did say that. I did, and I hate it. I should've never said it.
Tartarus clapped his hands, "Now we're getting somewhere. I think one more thing should do the trick..."
At the last part, his voice was oddly mischievous. I just wanted out of here, at this point, I had stopped struggling. I tried with Red Aura, and it didn't work one bit, I tried with my anger, and that didn't work. I couldn't break out, I just wasn't strong enough, or...willing enough. I don't know, but I just can't do it.
With my head still lowered, I didn't see what he did, but above, I heard a loud rumbling noise, and then an explosion. Like someone had just let off ten thousand pounds of dynamite in the cavern roof.
I looked up then, to see Tartarus, his hand in the air, pulling downward slowly. He had ahold of something.
"What are you doing?" I said, rather hoarsely. That screaming had nearly made me lose my voice.
He didn't respond, he just kept pulling slowly, until finally, something hit the top of the tree line, shaking several of the leaves and making them rattle.
"Oof!"
A person fell hard to the ground in between Tartarus and I, groaning in pain and clutching their body. What the hell? Who was it? Who could even...survive that fall? Not a regular person, that's for sure.
They were hard to make out, since they were hidden in the grass so well. I looked at Tartarus, completely confused, "What game are you playing?!"
He scoffed, and kicked at the downed person. "Get up, girl."
Wait. Girl?
No.
No. No, please don't tell me...
But when the girl got up, it confirmed my worst suspicions. It was Harper.
Her clothes were torn, her face was covered in small cuts and dirt, her hair was a mess. It basically looked like she'd been pulled all the way underground from wherever she'd been at.
"Matt?" She said.
I just looked at Tartarus, "No, no, we're not doing this, not with her here. She leaves, now."
I didn't have any room to order, since I couldn't even break out of these bondages, but I had to say something. Something to quell the growing fear inside of me.
"I think she's going to stay."
Tartarus flicked his finger, and another vine sprouted from the ground, lengthening itself and snaking its way around Harper's throat. She grabbed at it a second too late and started choking.
"Don't!" I shouted, "Stop! Let her leave and I'll do whatever you want!"
He didn't listen. He just kept choking her, tighter and tighter, I could see the color leaving her already pale skin.
Tears were building up in the corners of my eyes. I writhed and shook violently, "You can torture me all you want! I'm serious, I'll play along or beg or cry, whatever! But don't hurt her!"
He didn't listen.
"LET HER GO!"
He held on for another moment, groaned, and finally let go. Harper instantly crashed on her hands and started coughing.
"Fine, fine. You know what? I'll just let you kill her."
The vines started wrapping themselves around my entire body, going from the ends of my limbs down my arms, up my legs, in my midsection, and basically forming a suit of plant armor around me. Now, I couldn't move or even twitch a single muscle. All control was lost as they forced me to float closer to her.
"NO!" I shouted, "Don't, Tartarus!"
He threw his hands up, but I could tell their was a devilish grin where his mouth was supposed to be. "Don't look at me, you're the one doing this."
He forced me to grab her by the neck with my right hand. Her coughing stopped, and she grabbed on to my wrists, her eyes pleading.
The tears fell then. Warm down my cheeks, and I couldn't stop them.
"Please, stop." I was begging now, "Please don't make me do this, I'm begging you. J-Just let her go, and do whatever you want, I mean whatever you want with me."
"What are you talking about? I already am."
Against my will, and quicker than I could even anticipate, my right arm went right through her stomach. I felt a horrifying warmth on my hand and forearm, and then the difference of the air on the other side of her body.
Harper's eyes went wide, and she looked at me in disbelief. I had impaled her, right through her body like it was nothing. My hand was covered in her blood.
"NO!" I shouted, and immediately, the vines fell away, leaving me in control again. I yanked my arm out as soon as I felt my body come back to me.
Blood trailed behind my hand, along with the signs of her internal organs. The attack had left a huge hole, as if I had the Red Aura around my hand and it burned some of the skin away. Her head went limp, and she fell back on the grass.
I just sat there for a second, not believing what I was seeing. That couldn't be real. No, that didn't just happen.
But something told me it was real. That he had actually pulled her underground. Harper, my girlfriend, and made me kill her.
It set in. My mouth was shaking in fear, more tears fell down my face as I scrambled over to her, cradling her in my arms.
"No, Harper, please stay with me..." I said, unable to speak clearly, "Please don't die, please..."
Every bandage keeping my heart attached suddenly fell off when she looked up at me. She was crying too, but there was something else inside of her eyes, and that was hurt. Emotional hurt. She thought I had betrayed her.
"M-Matt, how could you?" She said breathlessly, "I...I thought you loved me."
My face scrunched up, no doubt looking like a sobbing, ugly crying mess.
"I do love you! I love you more than anything! I-I didn't mean to, I'm..." I shook my head and held her tighter, "I'm sorry, just please stay with me, I'm going to make it better."
I let one of my arms fall and reached towards Viribus around my neck, practically ripping it off to unsheathe the club. Once it was out, I immediately pressed it against her wound, expecting it to close right up.
But it didn't work. I furrowed my eyebrows, and pressed harder.
"W-Why isn't working?" I cried, "Why isn't it fucking working?!"
When it continued to do nothing, I smacked it on the ground next to me, growling at it in fury.
"Heal her, you piece of shit! Do your job!"
Satisfied with my outburst, I tried again, to no avail.
Then I heard her breathe out a long exhale, and her entire body drooped over my arm. She wasn't breathing.
"What? No, no, Harper, stay with me! Please, stay with me!"
I leaned over to look at her face, her eyes were closed, and she...wasn't breathing.
"WAIT! NO, PLEASE!" I desperately took my other arm out from under her and set her down. My mind was racing on what to do, fear was taking over, and Tartarus was a complete afterthought. I wasn't even angry in the moment, at him, at myself, or anybody. I was just scared, scared of losing her.
Unable to think of anything else, I clasped both hands together and started pushing on her chest. I remembered one time in middle school, they taught us CPR. That probably wouldn't even work here, but I was willing to try absolutely anything if it meant even seeing her twitch in movement.
I pressed for a minute straight, and then bent down to press my mouth against hers, pushing breath down her lifeless throat.
It was lifeless, because there was no response. I didn't care, I kept trying. I repositioned, and kept pushing, tear after tear dripping off my chin. I was audibly sobbing now, my cries hitting the trees and leaves like an acoustic studio.
"Please, Harper, wake up! Come on, wake up! I need you with me!" I choked back a dry heave, "It's you and me, right? Always has been, since the start! That can't stop now!"
I went on for another minute or so, finally, before giving up and accepting the truth.
Her body had felt so warm under my touch, and then so...cold, within a few seconds. That blood was real, and that look on her face, it had to be real too.
This was real.
With nothing else to say, I fell over on her chest and wrapped my arms around her helplessly, crying softly.
"No..."
The one person I knew I could always count on, was gone. The literal light of my life had been snuffed out.
And it was my fault.
I remembered that argument we had on the surface, about Olympus knows what now. But I know that it was the dumbest thing that I had ever done, thinking back. I should've held her, kissed her, told her how much I loved her, if I had known this would happen.
No, if I had known, I wouldn't have let it happen.
Tartarus's voice returned, "Yes, you would've." I kept my face buried in Harper's collarbone but felt his intense presence behind me. "You would've, because you are weak. You're nothing, Matthias. Can't save your father, your girlfriend...or even yourself."
I hated him. I wanted to get up and kill him, do something, but I knew that wasn't possible. I wasn't strong enough, and deep down, I knew he was right.
Tartarus shook his head, and disappeared in black smoke, his presence leaving.
Left alone in the forest with Harper's corpse, I rolled over and laid there, staring up at the green ceiling above me.
Too many times now, I've had the feeling of hopelessness, and grief. But this...this was the worst of it. The absolute worst.
Part of me was dead. Her part. Tartarus- no I, had killed it.
(000)
And I think I just wrote the most depressing ending to a chapter in the story.
I'd like to talk more about it, but I think I'd be revealing everything If I do, so I'll just stay quiet!
Stay tuned to find out the truth!
Until Next Time.