V

(A/N: Shifting back to Percy ;)

Percy POV:

Nine days passed before I knew it, and suddenly the floor of Tartarus was in sight. It brought back horrible memories from when Annabeth and I fell. I remembered how scared she and I both were. Last time, there was a river that I was able to control so we didn't die when we reached the bottom. And it looked exactly like that again. A long river winded up for what seemed like miles and miles, and I could even see the river Phlegathon in the distance. There were cliffs jutting out, and in one direction it almost made a staircase of ledges. The orange-ish color of the rocks that made up the ground burned my eyes. Gods, I hate this place. I could see monsters wandering aimlessly, permanent scowls bombarding their faces; they were probably cursing the demigod that had killed them. I was probably a mile away from the bottom, and I was falling fast. The river cocytus came into view, and I glared at it, wishing I wasn't here. Wishing I was up there with Annabeth. But the Cocytus was my only hope, and so when I was 10 feet from the bottom, I quickly willed the water to cushion my fall. I'd forgotten how difficult it was for me to control water in Tartarus, so I put all my focus into it. A bead of sweat dripped down my face. Time seemed to go slow. Oh gods, what if I couldn't do this? Finally, the water bent to my will and spread out below me.

I landed in the water, hearing the whispering voices, urging me to end things. And I wanted to, so bad. Percy, you know all the people that have died because of you? Zoe, Bianca, Silena, Charlie, Michael, Luke… I winced at every name, the memories causing pain to shoot throughout my body. Were they all my fault. Jason Grace… one whispered. Too bad you weren't there… you could have saved him. I felt a tear slip down my cheek. Everyone hates you. So many people could have been alive today if it hadn't been for you.

Gods, was it true? Was it all my fault? It wasn't much of a surprise. I'd been thinking that for a long time. I never wanted the truth to settle in like this. I didn't want to blame myself, even though it was probably true. They all could have been alive. You're a burden to everyone around you. You know how easy your mother's life could have been if you hadn't been born? You ruined her. I shook with pain. Gods, why? Why me? Your dad and your uncles wouldn't have been mad at each other, if you hadn't been born against the oath the big three made. You caused so much pain and suffering. I started to push myself underwater, I was there for a few minutes, and my vision started to blacken. The voices started to recede, and I smiled to myself. They were finally leaving. The pain was finally leaving. I heard another voice, screaming to be heard.

Percy, don't you dare listen to them! Was that… Silena? Please, Percy! I don't know how I'm here, but I am, and I'm here to help you! Silena… I thought. The negatives thoughts started to dissipate. Percy, I've talked to the ones that died, and none of them blame you, Jason doesn't blame you, Bianca doesn't blame you! No one blames you, not even Luke. I started to fight the water pulling me down. Think about your future with Annabeth! You could get married and have kids! Don't give up now! I have to go now, but please listen to me! Good luck, Percy. I submerged from the water, the voices getting quieter. You should give up… one voice whispered. But their attempts were weakening. I ignored the voices and boosted myself out of the water. I landed on the sharp rocks that blanketed the ground. I coughed, and slowly started to sit up. My legs were already badly scraped from the rocks, but there was nothing I could do about that now. I had to get to the Phlegaton, or Tartarus would kill me. I got to my feet, feeling weak. The river was miles away. I felt hopeless, but Silena's words came to mind. I had a future with Annabeth, and the only thing standing in our way was Tartarus. My heart burst with anger. Why did everything have to go wrong? Why didn't I try harder to refuse this? But I was already here, and I had to finish this if I wanted to see Annabeth again. This would be the last time. The last time I ever gave into the gods' requests. The anger in my chest fueled me to pick up my pace toward the river, and before I knew it, I had walked two miles in the direction of the Phlegathon.

My legs ached, and every so often I would collapse onto my knees, and again feel the pain of the sharp rocks against my knees. I had to do this. I told myself it wasn't for the gods. It was for Annabeth. It was to save her… and save all my friends. It was to save my mom and my little sister, and my stepdad. The gods didn't deserve all that I had done for them, but the people I love did. And so, I pressed on. I finally reached the edge of the river, and I fell to the ground, breathing heavily. The water looked like liquid fire (not lava. It just isn't, okay?) I really didn't want to do this again. But really, that describes this entire quest. I imagined Annabeth was there next to me. You can do it, Percy. For the both of us. It only hurts if you think about it. I imagined her warm and assuring smile, and I gathered my courage. I finally scooped some of the fire-water out of the river and sipped the burning liquid. I almost passed out as I drank it. It felt like my whole body was on fire. I kept Annabeth's beautiful, blonde princess curls and stormy gray eyes in my mind. I imagined her here, cheering me on. And that was all I needed to get through this one triumph. And I already knew I'd need her for the next. She was my guiding light. I never knew how much I needed her.

I stood back up, already feeling better. My skin turned from red back to a light tan. It felt like a fan had been turned on, but the fan was, like, 20 feet away. Nothing could fix the blistering heat wave that Tartarus was. Now I was faced with a new problem: I had absolutely no idea where I was going. I scanned the area around me, and all I could see was an endless expansion of cliffs, sharp black rocks, and loitering monsters that had been slain and sent to Tartarus. That's when something far offf in the distance caught my eye. It looked like a dark black fog, shrouding the area. I decided I should probably go that way. Though, I could tell by where it was placed that it was miles and miles away. The descending cliffs were the only thing making it visible from this far away. Suddenly, I saw two dracenae hissing softly and secretively.

"Sssss… I can smell a half blood… he'ssss ssssoooo clossse." I swallowed. That's not good.

"Yessss, sssissster. I ssssmell him too." I took out Anaklusmos and uncapped it. I sprung to life, and I hid behind a rock, seeing if they were going to advance.

"Thisss way. He'ssss over here." I heard their footsteps as they got closer. They were coming in my direction. I figured now was the time to step up. I got to my feet and immediately swung Riptide, cutting one's head off.

"Ssssisssster!" the other one yelled. "How could you! You killed my-" Her sentence was cut off by my sword. The two monsters turned into dust and floated away. They would be back in a few hundred years. Let's hope I'm out of here before then. That's when I realized that the two snake women had been flanked by hellhounds and two empousai. I sighed, exasperated. I wasn't in the mood for this. I prepared myself in a battle stance as the monsters advanced. But there were ten times the amount of monsters than I had seen at first. They probably been trying to find the doors of death and escape. I started to slice, jab, and stab. It took me a bit to get back into rhythm, but when I did, I was unstoppable. I made my way through the horde of monsters and any one that crossed my path was dead in the second. I raced through the crowd stabbing hellhounds, slicing empousai, and whacking dracanae with the back of my sword. Finally, the entire horde of monsters had dissipated into dust and evaporated. I exhaled, not knowing I had been holding my breath in the first place. I really should have trained more this summer, I shouldn't be getting tired this quickly. I trekked on toward the black smoke I had seen ahead, knowing this would be a long walk. But as I looked to my right, I saw a worn rock path up the side of the ravine I was in. It looked like a shortcut, and besides, I wouldn't have been able to get down the large cliffs down the other way. I took the path, and I finally reached the top of the ravine. I could see the black smoke in the distance a little more clearly. I saw the cliff that Annabeth and I had met Nyx on when we had fallen into Tartarus. I could see Nyx's House of Night, too. I was hoping I wouldn't have to go there, because that scared Annabeth and I so much. Being in total darkness was a lot scarier than being able to see what you're up against, even when you wish you couldn't see the enemy. You have no idea what you're about to step on, or what's going to happen. Annabeth and I really needed each other's guidance when we went through the House of Night.

The path I took had an eerie feeling, and I wondered if I should have just continued on the way I was going. The path spilt into two directions, and I figured left was the right way. Was I sure? No! I probably just chose the path that leads to my death, but there wasn't really any navigation system that would help me get through Tartarus. You just had to go with your gut and hope you'd be okay. After walking about 3 miles, I stopped for a short break when someone tapped on my shoulder. "Now where do you think your're going?" Someone spoke with a gravelly voice. I gasped, not expecting to hear anyone's voice after everlasting silence that Tartarus usually was.

That's when my worst nightmare unfolded.

At first I only saw a man shrouded in a black cloak. I could see his red eyes shining faintly underneath his hood. I saw his face rise up in a smirk.

"You know who I am?"

"N-no…" He chuckled.

"Oh, Percy… you'll know who I am really soon. And you'll have no way to save yourself." I uncapped Riptide.

"Who are you?"

"You've met me before."

"Answer my question."

He took off his hood, and I recognized him quickly. The sandy blonde hair, the evil red eyes. His mouth was turned up at the corners, and he glared at me with intimidation shining in his eyes. Old age was evident from the few gray streaks in his hair. His cloak fell to the ground, revealing a white and gold tunic. His sword was sheathed in a gold belt around his waste. His aura was powerful, and his stance was confident.

This was a guy I prayed to the gods I wouldn't meet again.

This was a guy I could never, ever defeat because of his pure power

This was Tartarus- the primordial, and I was doomed.