CHAPTER 28: Pain, Blood, Tears.

I have reasons to believe that the Titans knew about this secret, about our curse and the potential world-shattering power we could hold, so the Atlanteans did the honorable thing. They killed themselves before Othrys could breach into Atlantis, and all that remained was one line of Atlantis with the mission to protect our secrets.

- Poseidon's Notes, Page 34.On the creation of Atlantis.

Percy coughed, the dust making him gag.

Something had struck the balcony, destroying it and nearly killing them all. It was only Hermes' quick reactions that had saved them, but not all of them had been as lucky as Percy.

"BIANCA!" Percy yelled, noticing the body of his girlfriend laying against the wall. Her eyes were closed, blood running down her face from a gash from her brow.

Nico was limping towards her as well, and the two locked eyes and came to a silent understanding.

Protect Bianca.

"We need to move out!" Percy heard Hades' voice say from within the cloud of dust. Soon enough, Percy saw him walking towards them, a heaving Hermes over his shoulder. "Persephone!"

"Yes, yes, I know. Gosh…" It appeared she was the least injured, with only her hair looking a bit fazed. Apparently she had also been quick enough to shield Annabeth, for aside from paleness and shaking slightly, the blonde girl looked fine.

Slowly, the group made their way from the room, with Achilles dragging a still bound Ares behind him, and Percy bride carrying the unconscious Bianca.

"What do we do?" Asked Nico, eyeing his sister with concern.

"What we can. The presence of the Titans changes everything."

"I…I thought they were myths…" Annabeth said, her voice shaky.

"Olympus has been carefully manipulated to believe it to be so." Hades said, leaning against the wall with Hermes. "The power of the titans…if a Hunter were to learn those skills, they would become much more powerful than any monster out there, and much more unstable. It is a closely guarded secret, one of the many we have hidden for your protection."

"Okay…well, how do we stop them?"

Hades' face fell, and then his eyes earned a glare.

"We can't." Hades said, "Not with that army."

"What?" Nico said, turning to his father with anger, "Father—"

"Underworld is gone, son. We have no chance stopping an army that size, we were barely holding on as it was. New Rome, even if by some miracle ends up sending help, will arrive too late for it to matter. And those three titans…" Hades walked up to his children, placing a hand on Bianca's head and caressing her hair. "Ares, will you really fight for us?"

"Titans…" a reddish glow took Ares' eyes, and he smirked cruelly, "I've always wanted to try my hand at one. I don't like you deathbreath, and my loyalty is to Lord Zeus, but I will not turn down a good fight."

"Very well, then these are my instructions." Hades stood up straight, and turned to look at the group, his expression one that belonged in the portrait of kings. "Ares, take down as many as you can. Hermes, save as many as you can. Protect each other, do whatever you can to bring as many people into the safety of the keep while taking down as many as you want. Find my horsemen and give them that order. Persephone, I trust your skill with healing hasn't decreased?"

The woman scoffed, before reaching out to touch Bianca's head.

"Set up an infirmary near the great hall. I'll have the sisters and my own hunters assist you in what you can."

"What about us, father?" Bianca suddenly said, her eyes still groggy but aware, "I…I can fight…"

"No. Bianca, Nico, and Annabeth, I need you to prepare to leave. Your little incursion into he outside has proven a success. Repeat it. Leave Underworld, travel to New Rome or Olympus, and warn them. Your job here is done."

"Father! I wont—"

"These are my orders. Fulfill them in the name of your lord." Hades said, walking back towards the room where they had left. He stopped, however, and turned to look at Percy in the eye.

"It's time."

After a second, Percy nodded, and Hades walked into the room.

"Will you fight them, father?" Asked Nico, staring at Hades through watery eyes.

"I must, son. They are my people, and one day they will be your sisters and yours. Fight, fight, fight, until you can no longer do so. The certainty of death is the truest form of prophecy." He turned to Achilles, "Old friend, do you remember the dance?"

"Never forgot."

Cold and darkness exploded around Hades, cracks of red and gold began to spread on the ground. His sword reformed, and the shadows around his clothes coalesced into thick metal around his body. Soon, all that was left was a man in a pitch black armour, with a horrible helmet that the more Percy looked at it the more panic he began to feel, yet he didn't understand why. His sword was pitch black and it split down the middle to form two thin blades in one.

"Go now, I will buy you as much time as I can."

Hades lunged, and the skies darkened as he fell like a meteor from the pitch black sky, and like a shining star Achilles followed.

"Holy gods…" Hermes said, observing the devastation that Hades' attack had dealt, with his landing having taken out dozens of monsters that had begun to swarm Orpheus. After a second of hesitation, Hermes breathed deeply, before he blurred and dissapeared in a streak of light towards the battlefield, jumping over the destroyed balcony and into the fray. Ares followed, leaving Persephone to walk deeper into Underworld to set up her infirmary.

"Let's go, Percy, we need to get out." Bianca said, holding on to Nico.

"Go, I…there's something I must do."

"What could be more important now, Jackson?" Nico asked in a huff, "You heard my father, we have to—"

"Your father asked something of me the first night I arrived. It's time I pay back his kindness." Percy approached Bianca before taking her face into his. He kissed her deeply, giving her a smile against her confused brow, before turning and walking deeper into the keep.

"Percy?"

"I'll be back, just head to the room where we did the rainbow travel. I'll meet you there once I've done what I have to do."

Percy didn't give Bianca a chance to respond as he walked through an arched doorway that led to the basement of the keep. Lord Hades had explained to him the way to the prison, and he knew that usually, it would be very well guarded. However with the current situation, Hades had carefully manoeuvred the guards away from Tartarus, taking the risk but allowing Percy to walk into the large hallway unopposed.

The hall was very long, damp with moist greying stones, illuminated with a handful of torches. At the end of the hall there was a tall metal door with an engraved skull carved onto it. As Percy approached it, he felt a chill running down his spine, and a coldness running from the pit of his stomach to the tip of his lips as he pressed a hand onto the door.

"Darkness begets the darkest of monsters, remind us that we are monsters all along."

The words were something Hades had told him to say, a sort of prayer that was tradition for those who entered the deepest layer of hell, a ward against the evil he was about to face.

The first thing he noticed about Tartarus was the cold. A chilling cold that reached right down to his bones. As Percy walked, and shivered, he began to notice the dozens of corridors that seemed to deal to even more doors. From behind them, Percy could hear faint whispers and screams, as if the monsters locked behind them sensed his presence.

As Percy walked deeper, he noticed a long corridor that seemed to be in shambles, with broken stones covering most of the space, a sunken roof, and chains scattered around. He had remembered that Bianca mentioned an escape, and now he was seeing the results.

As he crossed the hall into the depths, a meaty hand reached out through a steel door and grabbed his arms.

"AH!" Percy gasped, pushing away the hand.

"Ah, im sorry, I really am…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…" said a gentle voice from behind the door. Curious, Percy approached the slit of the door, where he could faintly make out the form of a large man with short hair, very thick arms, and a large back.

"It's…okay?" Percy said, "You…are you alright?"

"I…alright? Maybe…alright? alright. Yeah. Alright. I am alright."

"Are…are you a monster?"

"Mother called me monster…but she could've been referring to my father? No…it was me. Monster. My name is not monster!" He slammed his hands against the door, making it shake, "I am not monster!"

"What's your name then?"

"Name? I…I don't remember? No…it's there, before they took me here, before they took my mind…son…yes…Tyson, my name is Tyson."

Tyson hesitantly stretched a meaty hand through the bars, as if he was trying to imitate something he had seen but wasn't sure of. Percy, after a moment of deliberation, took his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Tyson. My name is Percy."

"Percy…Percy…did…did your father abandon you too?"

"What?"

"That's why you're here right? Father abandoned you…you looked for him…they captured you because they didn't want to let you see father…" Tyson's hand began to shake, "see father…I…they didn't let me! I promise! I swear! They didn't let me! THEY DIDN'T LET ME! I didn't want to kill them, no…I just wanted father…FATHER!"

"Tyson! Tyson…it's…it's okay. You're okay…" Percy felt awkward, but something within him couldn't stand hearing Tyson's pained yells.

"I killed them…I killed them…all of them…father…Kill…kill…." Percy heard Tyson's whimpers grow fainter and fainter as he retreated to the depths of his cell, and he wondered whether it was fair to leave him there.

He debated with himself as he walked away. On the one hand, Tyson didn't match with the profile of the monsters he was told were in Tartarus, in fact, he reminded him more of himself when he was in some of his worst drug induced paranoias…yet on the other hand he knew what he himself was capable of in those moods…could Tyson be the same? Another victim of abuse, pushed to far? What if he was? and what if he didn't have a Nico and Annabeth to pull him out of that alley?

He shook his head as he decided to revisit the Tyson situation at a later time. Instead, he saw the stairway that led to the darkest part of the prison, where the cells were no longer individual doors but sets of interconnecting walls that created an inescapable prison. He ignored the yells and shouts, focusing instead on going lower and lower into the prison.

Eventually, he reached a large stone chamber, circular, and open. The only thing in the chamber was a single torch, burning a bright blue, and below it, a large stone table with an object floating above it.

It was a scythe. The handle was jagged, made out of a strange dark twisting wood, with a long thick blade painted a dark purple. Prcy could see how sharp it was by the way it cut the light around it, and it seemed to pulse with a power that called to the deepest, darkest needs within him.

"Take me..." it whispered, "Take me and use me…power…I can give you power…"

Before he noticed it himself, he was reaching out to the scythe, his hand hovering above the handle. All he had to do was reach it and—

His hand was slapped away, and out of thin air Annabeth appeared, her face flushed, pale, and with angry concern on her grey eyes.

"What in the name of the gods are you doing?!" she whispered furiously, "Do you even know what that is?"

"I…" Percy shook his head, feeling foolish at how he had been drawn in by the power. Hades had warned him…"What are you doing here?"

"Stopping you from doing something stupid!"

"Leave. Lord Hades asked me to take care of this personally…" Percy noticed Annabeth's eyes widen for a fraction, before her hand reached to her hip.

"What…what do you mean?"

"He asked me to retrieve this…weapon, and take it away from underworld. He seemed afraid for it to fall into hands of those…monsters."

Annabeth, after a second, visibly relaxed, lowering her hand from her hip. Was she going to…

"Okay…alright…how are you planning of getting it out?"

"I…I just thought to grab it and take it?"

"This is why you're a seaweed brain…" Annabeth muttered, before pulling out a silver ring from one of her fingers. "Listen, Luke gave me this. He said to…well, that's not important. He knows about the Scythe, and he told me to…protect it. If im correct, when I tap this ring to the scythe it will be absorbed, making it easier to get out of here." Annabeth didn't meet his eyes, but Percy nonetheless nodded. He trusted Luke.

Annabeth did so, and touched the ring to the weapon. A flash of light later, and the ring had turned a deep purple. Percy reached out to it, but Annabeth held it in her hand.

"If we need to run, I have a better chance at hiding with my hat. They will assume you to be carrying it because you're the more powerful one." she placed the ring on her finger, "let's go."

Percy hesitantly followed. He wasn't entirely comfortable about Annabeth usurping his mission, but at this point he was a bit too late to fight back.

A they made their way to the surface, the two stopped as they were met with a creature that sent shivers of absolute terror down their spine.

"Good evening." he said. He was huge, much taller than any man had the right to be, with arms as thick as Percy's torso. His eyes were shining a bright blue, which iluminated a cruel smirk on a scarfilled face. His clothes were tattered, most of them dripping blood, and he carried a large weapon that shone with an incredible intensity and weight. "I believe you have something that belongs to us. Hand it over, and you can leave. Refuse…heh, Sky has tasted Olympian blood today. He raised the sword that almost as tall as Annabeth, making the two take a step back.

"W-what—"

"The scythe, boy. I know you have it, I heard it from the death lord. Heh, he fought valiantly, still might be. He's a tough one, you know?"

Percy felt fear unlike he had felt in his life. This man…no…this monster was one of the vilest creatures he had met.

"What…what are you?" Percy managed to ask, catching the man off guard.

"Do they really not teach you anything in that little school of yours? Well, since you asked so politely…my name is Atlas, the General in charge of this army, but you may simply call me Titan."

Annabeth hissed, taking a step back and reaching of her knife. Percy stopped her, sending her a look that he hoped she would understand.

"A titan…that…" Percy took a deep breath. There was only one way out, he knew now. It was suicidal, impossible…but what other choice did he have? "I have the weapon. I will grant it to you once you kill me."

"Oh?" Atlas raised an eyebrow, "Very bold of you to assume I could not simply kill you right now. How can I know you have it?"

Percy reached a hand out to Annabeth, imploring her with a look for her to understand. After a second, Annabeth handed him the ring, and the scythe materialized in his hand.

The power rush that followed was unlike anything he had felt. A deep longing, a desire for it to be let loose. He managed to hold his mind, however, and turned the scythe back into a ring.

"Is that enough proof?" Percy said between gasps.

"To the death, eh?" Atlas smirked, "You're awfully confident for a scrawny punk."

"My name is Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, Heir to the house of seas." that seemed to genuinely surprise Atlas, "Power runs through my veins as it did my father, and his father before him. You more than anyone should understand the truth about power. If I lose, its because I was too weak, and if you lose…well…for the supremacy of those to come."

Atlas gave a loud chuckle, that quickly turned into a laugh.

"You know the ways, very well. I shall give you an honorable death, Perseus Jackson, heir of the seas, last of your line. I shall rip the weapon out of your dead body."

"If you can find it on my body, be my guest, but you will let Annabeth go. She has nothing to do with this fight."

Annabeth looked at him, eyes wide, before Percy slapped her in the back, pushing her forward.

"Very well." Atlas agreed, circling around Percy, ignoring Annabeth. The boy sent her a look, and Annabeth followed his eyes to…her ass? No, her pocket! She carefully touched it, feeling the outline of the ring, and with a shaky nod, she left.

"Noble of you, to not have your little girlfriend see your death."

"First, she is not my girlfriend. Second, my real girlfriend is waiting for me, so I must make sure not to die." Percy pulled out his sword, and reached into the powers deep within his gut. "And third…you should be worrying about yourself."

Atlas grinned, and then he lunged.

And Percy's world exploded into pain, blood, and tears.

Sorry for the long wait. Was trying to hash out this entire arc before publishing, and had to go back and do some major rewrites. There are only 2 chapters left in this part before we start part 4. We're getting there.

I'm also working on my personal project, trying to graduate from university, and my personal life, so...busy.

Thanks to those who waited on this story and those who commented, it is nice and helps my writing process to receive so much positive feedback. Next chapters should be up soon...but I make no promises, i'm afraid my writing process is really unpredictable.

Hope you enjoy the story, and will see you soon.
~ AWL