CHAPTER 29: The House of the Dead
We chose suicide, and I agree. We should have never existed, never given the Titans the potential power to control the world. With these revelations, you must now understand what the third line of the prophecy refers to. The Seaborn's ace is the child born from Amphitrite, a child with the natural powers of a Titan to enhance their Enlightenment through Passion, and the child of the House of the Seas, the last of the Atlanteans, and a child cursed to loose himself in his own power.
- Poseidon's Notes, Page 34, On the creation of Atlantis.
Annabeth ran.
She could hear grunts of pain and even a scream from behind her as she did, and while her heart ached to help Percy, she knew she had to get out with the weapon.
Her mind was still reeling at the revelation of the titans, and as a result many things began to make some horrible sense. The theft of Masterbolt, the tensions, the breakout at Tartarus…Annabeth could begin to see the picture drawing itself in her mind, more and more pieces falling into place, yet for the life of her she couldn't figure out the why. Where was all this going? What was the end goal of the titans?
As she broke through the entrance to Tartarus, and into the keep itself, Annabeth was shocked to see the destruction taking place around her.
Monsters littered the halls, dead and alive, with hunters also decorating the floors. She recognized a few, including Sysiphus and Asterius, which broke her heart as they had been nothing but kind to her.
It was all happening so fast.
Hunters of Olympus were not trained in wars, they were trained for skirmishes. Find, locate, take out a monster, get out. It was simple. This…this was bloody, and ugly, and Annabeth had no idea how to even begin to process it. No doubt the moment she sat down to actually breathe all the events of the past few weeks would rush towards her, yet now, she had a mission, and she was oddly thankful and embarrassed that Hades had trained his hunters in actual battle compared to how Zeus preferred Olympus and New Rome to be run.
Annabeth ran into the main hall, and had to immediately dodge a sword that was headed to her neck. She spun, taking out a knife hidden in her back, and stabbed the monster in the neck, which collapsed almost immediately.
Another monster came, and she dispatched of it rather quickly, but by the fifth monster, her arms were beginning to tire, and it became clear when she missed her mark and received a wound to her arm.
The monster was about to end her, but a blur of bronze covered her eyesight, and when she looked again she was in Hermes' arms, in the entrance of the hall, and a line of dying monsters behind her.
"What in the name of the ten fools that sit the council are you doing here?!" Hermes' face was covered in blood and grime, his arms shook, and his eyes glowed bronze as behind him a staff with wings flew around the room, the metallic snakes causing devastation as they cut through the monsters.
"You need to help Percy!" Annabeth blurted out, "Hades asked him to pick up something from Tartarus, but…but…" Tears threatened to overwhelm her.
"What is it, Annabeth? Is he…"
"I…a titan, Atlas…Percy is holding him back—"
Hermes paled, his eyes widening in horror. A second later, they were standing in the infirmary, where a frantic Persephone moved from side to side treating people with the aid of the river sisters.
"Phlegethon, I need as much as you can give me."
"Hermes, it's the fourth time today, are you sure—"
"Percy's engaging Atlas in Tartarus, and I fear for his life." That made everyone in the room silent, as they stared wide eyed at Hermes, "I…I must move. Now, Plegethon!"
Hermes placed Annabeth in one of the cots, before the sister with the bright red hair touched Hermes' face. He doubled over in pain for a moment, but soon enough the cuts on his face and fingers began to heal, and he looked much healthier.
"Hermes…" Persephone approached him, "Do not engage Atlas. If the rumours are true…"
"I know. But I can't leave the kid to fend for his own either. I owe it to his old man, and to him. I'll save him." He then turned to Annabeth, "Heal, and then go find Nico and Bianca. I'll deliver Percy to you, and you will leave. Underworld is done for."
"Lord Hades—"
"Hades right now is the only reason why we're not all dead. He won't last longer. I'll retrieve Percy, and you will evacuate. We will follow shortly."
And with that, Hermes disappeared in a flash of bronze, leaving behind a worried Annabeth that, for some strange reason, couldn't shake the green eyes of the boy from her head.
Percy was dying, of that he was sure. The gash on his stomach was deep, and had taken everything from him to stop from crying in pain. Instead, he had reached deep into his body, and his mind, pulling every ounce of strength and power from…gods knew where.
As he slid to the floor, his back hitting the wall, he had a smile on his face. He hadn't won against the titan, something which now he realized was impossible, but the look of fear and, dare he say it, respect the titan shot him were more than enough to get him an ounce of satisfaction.
"You've fought well." Atlas said, walking calmly towards him. He was mostly untouched aside from a handful of cuts on his arms and one on his cheek. That was all the damage he had inflicted. "It has been some time since I've been injured, I had forgotten the fact that gods could bleed."
"You're no god." Percy coughed, "Just a monster."
"Heh, perhaps…" Atlas smiled, "Now, the weapon, please."
"I'm still living, aren't I?" Percy said with much more strength than he felt. Te prospect of his death was not something he had thought about, but now that he said it out loud, it suddenly hit him.
Percy was going to die.
"I'll see you soon, mom." Percy pushed himself to stand, holding his stomach as blood gushed through his fingers. He held his sword with another hand, chipped and with cracks forming, and raised it to Atlas. "I am still standing."
"HAHAHA!" Atlas laughed, "You're certainly a special one. When I meet your old man, if he's still kicking, I'll make sure to tell him you died with a sword in your hand and defiance in your lips!"
Atlas raised his massive sword, and as it came down, Percy simply closed his eyes. If he was going to die, he would do it standing.
Swoosh.
The sword fell.
Whoosh.
Cold touched his neck.
Clang!
His head…didn't fall from his body.
Percy opened his eyes, and was shocked to find himself held by a frantic looking Hermes.
"W-what—"
"You did…well…" Hermes said as he gasped for air, "Let me help."
"You can't…"
"Hello, old friend." Atlas smiled, "Been a while, huh?"
"I should've known." Hermes said as he laid Percy down. "The way you grew stronger and stronger…has Hyppolitos also join your merry band of brothers?"
"Our cousin has…more important things to do. And you know he was never one of us. " Atlas smiled, "He has been chosen by a higher power. No, I am here for something specific, something that my liege has asked me personally to retrieve. The boy and I made a deal, honour bound, so do not interfere."
"I don't care for your games, Atlas, nor for your deals. My job is not to fight you, but to incapacitate you." Hermes raised his staff, a bronze swordlike stick with two very sharp snakes on the side. "I shall do that."
Hermes threw the staff in the air, and he became a blur as he attacked Atlas. Two cuts appeared on the man's face as he screamed in pain, and two more on his chest. The staff flew around him, slicing and dicing as it went, and Atlas walked backwards as he tried to hold back the staff and Hermes simultaneously.
Percy observed it all with wide eyes. He had gone all out, attacking harder than he ever had, reaching into every ounce of power, and he had barely nicked the man, yet here was Hermes, attacking him and actually making him bleed.
Just as he thought Hermes was going for the kill, Percy felt himself being picked up and rushed out of the room.
"Y-you could've…ended him…" Percy gasped as Hermes ran. The speed was incredibly fast, and Hermes' eyes glowed bronze as they ran.
"No. I used most of my strength in that simple attack, and it barely fazed him. He would've crushed me the moment I stopped moving. I'm not here to kill him, I'm here to get you out."
"Hermes…"
"Save your strength. Persephone will heal you up." Hermes pushed into the upper levels of Tartarus, before Percy realized something.
"Tyson…"
"What?"
"Tyson…prisoner, down the hall…free him."
"Percy, those prisoners are dangerous…"
"Tyson…please…" Hermes looked conflicted, but relented. Perhaps he saw the plea in his eyes, or perhaps he wanted to see what it was about. Percy led him to Tyson's cell, and after a quick hand movement, the door was unlocked.
Inside, Tyson was hugging his knees. He was large, with meaty limbs, and a massive chest. His hair was short and long, and when he looked up Percy realized one of his eyes was larger than the other.
"He's like the one's we were fighting…" Percy realized. Tyson was one of those…monsters.
"Percy…you came back…" Tyson said, then his eyes widened. "Percy's hurt!"
"Leave, Tyson." Percy said, "Now while you can…leave…"
"I…Percy came back!"
"I...I did…" Percy said, wheezing, "I came back to free you."
"Free? Tyson is…free?"
Sound of doors being unlocked in the floors below caught their attention, and Percy felt Hermes begin to grow anxious.
"Tyson, go. Run. Don't let them catch you!" He nodded to Hermes, and the two ran, leaving behind a beaming Tyson as he realized his torment was now complete.
Percy looked back until they turned a corner, before sighing in satisfaction and finally letting go of his strength.
"Alright there?" Asked Hermes as they ran.
"I'm so…tired…" Percy said, "I…I almost let go completely…"
"Your training has come far." Hermes said, "Even with only a few weeks of training, you're just as talented as your father was. To hold back a titan, specifically Atlas…you did beautifully."
The two arrived at the infirmary, where Percy saw a frantic Persephone rushing towards him. From the corner of his eyes he saw Annabeth standing to a side, a pale face and her hands covering her mouth.
"Don't fight it." Persephone said as a warm feeling began growing from his chest towards his arms, yet the pain in his stomach remained. "Phlegethon, I need you."
A woman with bright red hair moved towards him, her reddish eyes contrasting with her dark skin. She saw the injury on Percy's stomach, and a gash on his arm that went from elbow to wrist. Then, she eyed him. "This will hurt."
Percy didn't have time to retort as a searing pain, as if his insides were on fire, exploded within him. By far the pain was the worst near his arm and stomach, and the pain was such that he was unable to scream. Yet just as sudden as it had come, the pain dissipated.
"You will feel fine for now, but you will be incredibly exhausted in a few hours. My enlightenment uses pain to heal, and pain takes a toll on the body. My sisters will tell you that pain makes you stronger, but I disagree. Pain is a result of weakness. If you want to get better, then make sure I never see you again."
Phlegethon left to tend to other patients, and Percy was able to stand on wobbly feet. Immediately, Annabeth rushed to him and placed his arm around her neck.
"We need to move." she said to Percy, her eyes eyeing the blood stains on his stomach, "Nico and Bianca are waiting for us."
"I'll escort you there." Hermes said, "Once you're gone, we'll begin our own escape."
Annabeth nodded, for Percy was unable due to the exhaustion he felt. The two followed Hermes towards the room that had been set up earlier for their mission outside Underworld. The moment they entered, Percy let out a scream in pain as Bianca rushed towards him and tackled him to the ground.
"Careful!" Annabeth said, "He's—"
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF PLUTO WERE YOU THINKING OF?!" Bianca yelled at Percy, her face red with fury, "What possessed you to just leave when the entirety of my home is being destroyed by creatures we thought extinct!"
Percy was about to retort, but the tears hit his face first.
"You could've died!" Bianca said as she cried, "And for what? Some stupid mission my father gave you?"
"It…It was important…the weapon…"
"I DON'T CARE! I don't care what weapon, tool, or whatever it was! Look at you! You…you…"
Percy reached out and pulled Bianca towards him, and he held her as she cried onto his neck. A shadow covered the window, and Percy was about to turn to Nico, when he realized that Nico was on the other side of the room.
"GET DOWN!"
Percy twisted, putting himself over Bianca in a protective manner. The wall exploded inward, and a tall man with pale skin, mismatched eyes and thin blonde hair stood up from the rubble with a twisted smile.
"Heh, I found the deathspawn. Heh, heh." He was dressed in a blinding yellowing armour that shone with light, a spear that glowed warmly, and when he turned towards Percy, the latter winced at the heat radiating off him.
"Koios!" Hermes said, who had pushed Nico and Annabeth behind him. Annabeth held Nico's head as the boy was clearly dazed.
"Not you." Koios slammed the spear forward, and Hermes was pierced in the gut and nailed to the wall, his face twisting in pain.
"NO!" Percy said, trying to stand. He felt Bianca trembling beneath him, and he hesitated at pushing the girl off him.
"Too slow." Koios said, "Now I have to—"
Koios himself was suddenly slammed into the wall with a loud clang! The titan screamed in pain as his body hit the stone, and a black bifurcated blade was slammed into his gut, cutting through the armour like butter.
"Get away from my children." Hades said as his body finished materializing from a burst of shadow. Percy stared in awe and fear as the Lord of the House of the Dead, covered in bruises and cuts, his armour dripping blood, stood tall against the man who had invaded his home. In that moment, Percy understood. When they had said that the Olympians were like gods, that the most powerful hunters were forces of nature…this was it. This man, beaten, bloody, crippled…Hades kept fighting.
Koios reached out for his spear, but Hades moved faster. The floor beneath his boots glowed red as hundreds of thin weblike cracks expanded. From the cracks, chain erupted, and holding onto the chains pale hands crawled out of the holes. The chains wrapped around his arm, pulling Koios to the side. Hades moved swiftly, slashing with his blade towards the titan, who barely managed to dodge. A snap of Hades' finger held him as his own shadow reached out to grasp his legs while the chains snaked around his body.
"You will share a worse fate than your predecessors for daring to harm my children!" Hades boomed, his voice sounding like a nail scratching on ice. Percy could hear several voices that overlapped when the Lord of the Dead spoke, and it sent shivers down his spine. "This house shall be your resting place, these walls shall be your tombstone, yet your name shall be forgotten just as your predecessors! No one remembers the last lord of the sun, and no one shall remember it after today!"
Ethereal screams, deadly cold, and dark mists covered the room, and Percy's eyes widened as Hades' hands slammed into Koios' face, the titan letting out a guttural scream.
"LET IT BE WRITTEN THAT LORD HADES OF THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD WAS THE ONE WHO SNUFFED OUT THE SUN!" Hades' eyes glowed a cold red, "There is only power, and there is only pain. Remember these words."
Koios' face began to crumble, spiderlike cracks forming around Hades' hands. Hades removed his hands, and an ethereal glow seemed to connect his hands to the decaying skin. Soon, Koios began to turn to dust, until only an empty, dull armour remained.
Hades sighed, and quickly turned to Hermes, who was bleeding from his gut. Hades slammed his hand into the man's chest, and Hermes gave a gasp.
"That should allow you to reach Persephone. Go, it won't last long. I shall take it from here." Hades turned his blade into a cane and leaned heavily on it as Hermes nodded and rushed away.
Bianca and Percy stood, with Bianca rushing towards her father's side. Percy, personally, was still in awe of Hades' power. The man was crippled, yet he had killed a titan as if it was absolutely nothing to him. He began to wonder how powerful his father and Zeus actually were.
"We can't leave from here anymore." Annabeth said, helping Nico up, "the crystals are all destroyed."
Bianca, holding her father up, spoke quietly. "I may be able to help…" she took out a coin, and Percy remembered the coin that Luke had given them to use in case of an emergency. "I…I don't know how much I trust Luke, but we have no other choice."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Annabeth said hotly, "Just because he rejected you it doesn't—"
"Oh will you shut up!" Bianca said, "I don't trust him because he has always been too secretive for my taste. That guy Nakamura gives me the creeps, and even Lou Ellen, who was once a friend of mine, turned sour when she began to hang around Luke. Yet I trust him enough to know that if he says this coin can take us to safety, I will take it. We don't have another choice."
Annabeth and Bianca glared at each other for a minute, before Annabeth lowered her face.
"You're coming too, father." Bianca said, leaving little room for argument, "You can no longer fight."
"I…daughter, I have to—"
"No. Leave it to the others. I lost my home today, nearly lost Percy, and I saw too many of the people I grew up around lying dead in the halls and fields. I don't want to loose my father." Bianca gave Hades a pleading look, and the Lord of the House's glare softened.
"You're too much like your mother." Hades sighed, before standing up straighter. "Fine, I'll leave with you. It might be for the better for Zeus to hear it from me. But first, let me do our home a final favour."
Hades limped to the hall in the wall, overlooking the army that slowly began to overtake the city.
"Underworld is the graveyard of the Hunters, where the ashes of Hunters past are laid to rest, but I've never explained to you the why behind of that tradition. You see, the ashes of the Hunters represent their mission in life, their will to fight. They might be gone, yet they are not forgotten, and we are prepared to fight even after we are gone." Hades raised his arm, his hand stretched out over the city. "Let me show you why we're called The House of the Dead."
Hades' eyes glowed red, and a thick red fog began to cover the city. From the fog, figures began to appear, and the urns of thousands of dead Hunters exploded into clouds of dust that solidified into the ghosts of thousands of soldiers.
"Go, children of Olympus, fight one last time for your home." Hades said, visibly slumping onto his cane. He turned to an awed group of Hunters, and a smile crossed his face. "That should hold them off for our forces to retreat. Achilles and the others will know its significance."
"Why…why now?" Annabeth asked.
"And why not earlier? Because they are mere ghosts, illusions. My power has significantly diminished over the years, and I am no longer strong enough to animate anything more than shades. They hold a minimum level of solidity, enough to fool the monsters, but not for long. I only regret that I will not be able to see the end of my ancestral home."
Bianca took out the coin, holding it between his fingers, and caught the eyes of everyone in the room.
"Ready?" she asked, and received nods from everyone. She dropped the coin, and the moment that it his the floor, a loud clap was heard, and the next thing Percy knew, he felt a tug on his navel and the world turned dark.