With Percy's last words, he took hold of the handle with his free hand, since the other was still grabbing hold of Zoe's, and carefully twisted the knob. Percy could feel how it wasn't a regular door since he could feel the ancient and raw power radiating from it. He took one deep breath to try and calm his nerves until he felt Zoe squeeze his hand in a comforting manner.
"I'm with you on this, don't worry," those simple words from Zoe were more than enough to push him through.
Just as his hand was going to push open the door, it vanished and made Percy and Zoe jump back. They were surprised at seeing the door disappear out of thin but they came out of their state when they heard a giggle and chuckle from behind them.
"Wh-what? What is going on?" Zoe asked, a bit confused as to what was going on.
"Hahaha, ooh, you two are so gullible," Nyx giggled.
Erebus just shook his head before signaling us to sit. "Don't worry, you don't have to be so serious with us, we want you both to be comfortable with us,"
Percy and Zoe were so confused by that point that they didn't say a single word and just sat back on the couch and waited for them to explain. Nyx and Erebus took a couple of seconds to settle down before starting.
"Sorry, but you gotta understand that it isn't every day that we get to interact with mortals, much less the walking legend," Nyx said while gesturing to Percy, who blushed and tried to hide his face. "So please forgive us for that little prank,"
Percy nodded while still hiding his face and Zoe just stared at them, but a sudden thought came to her mind. "Wait, but what was behind the door?"
"That was Chaos' realm, if you were to go in there your entire essence would literally be erased from existence with no trace left behind, making your soul impossible to go to the underworld," Erebus nonchalantly explained, making Percy and Zoe chocked on air at hearing that.
Percy and Zoe looked at each other with looks that said the same thing. "That's a prank?!"
"Oh, don't be too surprised, we never would have let you two go through the door, we aren't that bad," Nyx said before sitting up straight. "Well, now, to what we came here for,"
Percy and Zoe immediately understood that the conversation was getting serious. They both nodded before sitting straighter.
"We have a proposition for both of you," Erebus started before summoning a book and placing it in front of Percy and Zoe.
"What is this book? Looks... old," Zoe pointed out as she curiously eyed the book.
It was easy to say that the book is at least millennia old if not millions of years old. The book was made out of thick paper and black leather that looked to be as old as time.
"It's a book that will tell you the way to defeat our sister Gaea once and for all," Nyx stated as she opened the book and went to one of the first pages.
"What is this, 'Law of the Conqueror'? What is that?" Percy said after he noticed that it was written in ancient Greek.
Erebus and Nyx nodded before beckoning them to sit down, which they did. "It is a law that was made by Chaos herself. It is a law that decrees that if any immortal being has abused their power, anyone who deems themselves worthy of doing a better job than said being, could challenge that being by stating a challenge in the law of the Conqueror," Nyx started explaining before Erebus took over.
"The law makes it so that the one challenging the god can have a chance, meaning that only skills are used and no powers," Erebus stated, making Zoe and Percy think of what they were saying.
"Okay, so what? You want us to take Gaea's powers?" Percy hesitantly asked.
Erebus and Nyx nodded. "Yes, we know that it sounds hardcore, but Gaea has it coming after everything that she has done to the mortals,"
Percy was so stunned about the primordial couple wanting him and Zoe to take her power that he forgot that he and Zoe were still holding hands. The daughter of Atlas was aware of them holding hands but the situation stopped her from taking her hand.
"Why weren't we aware of this before? Do the gods know this?" Percy asked, still trying to comprehend such a law.
Nyx and Erebus shook their heads. "No, these laws are so old that they were lost to time. Not even the younger primordials know of them since they were too dangerous to let anybody know about them. Chaos wanted us to just show them to whoever we deemed worthy of using the law to create a better world,"
"But how will that help us? When Zeus and the rest of the council know that either of us took the powers from Gaea, we will be executed almost immediately," Percy pointed out and Zoe nodded.
"The thing about it is that you can't use or properly claim control over the domains until Ananke or Chaos herself says so. You will just get their powers but at a much lesser scale, more than a demigod, but less than the original god or goddess of the domain," Nyx stated before summoning a pair of black and silver rings. "You taking Gaea's power is just the start of our offer, it goes more into depth than that,"
Percy and Zoe raised an eyebrow at that, causing the primordial to chuckle at their reactions.
"But, what is the entire proposal?" Zoe asked.
Nyx and Erebus were quiet for a second as they shared a glance before looking back at the mortals.
"We want you to be the new leaders of Earth with us primordial as your guidance,"
Line Break
Percy and Zoe had been shadow traveled from The House of Night to a cliff overlooking the doors of death. When they reappeared on the barren burn wasteland, they didn't feel the poisonous gasses burning their lungs nor their skin burning thanks to the partial protection that Erebus and Nyx were giving them until they left Tartarus.
"You ready to do this?" Percy called to Zoe after a minute of looking over the monster.
Zoe shrugged her shoulders. "It's not like we have much of a choice," She said before she twisted the ring on her left finger and a beautiful, midnight lever action compound bow appeared on her hands with a quiver on her back. "Besides, I want to test Nyx and Erebus' gifts,"
They both had received a pair of black and silver rings, one for each hand. Their left one was a bow while the right one was a dagger. Percy, for obvious reasons, just placed the ring that turned into a dagger on his left hand while the other ring was placed on his necklace from camp.
"Alright, but we got to do this right or things can go really bad," Percy stated as he twisted the ring and a black and silver dagger appeared on it and uncapped riptide on his right one. "Just make sure to keep the giant ones away from me as long as possible,"
Zoe nodded before pulling out three arrows from her quiver. "I got you, just... be safe," She added the last part as a worried expression settle on her face.
Percy smiled as he nodded. "Got you, and also, please be safe," He then headed out for the opposite side of the cliff to where the monsters were going through.
Zoe looked down and noticed that Percy was already in position with both of his weapons drawn out. She then pulled back don't the string and just placed one arrow while the other two were ready for the next shot. The daughter of Atlas aimed at the biggest cyclopes in the area before releasing the string. The black arrow soared through the air and perfectly perforated the cyclopes skull all the way through, causing its body to fall over several oblivious monsters, crushing them to death.
That little action got the rest of the monsters to spring into a defensive stance. Percy used the opportunity to jump from his position and stab his dagger into the head of a hellhound that was too distracted to notice. The monsters around Percy noticed him but their heads were cut off by riptide before they could yell.
By the time the three monsters were dead, the rest of the monsters noticed his presence.
"Demigod!" A cyclops shouted as the rest of the monsters started moving towards Percy.
A dracaena tried to pounce on Percy but a black arrow pierce her head before she could get close enough.
"Thank Chaos that Zoe is here," He thought before rolling between the legs of a cyclops and parrying the spear from another dracaena, and using his dagger to stab her in the neck. But just as he killed the serpent monster, the cyclops behind him fell dead to two arrows on its head.
Percy then remembered the words Nyx and Erebus had told them, that as long as they had their protection, their powers won't be nulled because of being in Tartarus. With a grin on his face, he stomped his foot on the burned ground, focusing on the powers of his father as the Earthshaker, causing the entire cavern to abruptly shake with a 6.3 earthquake.
Zoe also felt the impact of his earthquake as she shot down all of the bigger monsters with her new bow as fast as she could so she could join Percy. She had almost killed all of them, which were about 50 or so, and just needed a few more.
After finally a dozen more arrows, she killed the last earthborn and jumped from her position with her dagger already in hand and unsheathing her sword. She had never taken Percy out of her vision even while shooting down the bigger monsters.
When Zoe landed, she landed on top of a hellhound that soon found a dagger in its skull. She removed her dagger before rolling off the hellhound and parrying the sword from an empousa with her sword. Zoe did the twist-disarming technique that she saw Percy do during her time in the stars and luckily for her, she had practiced during her time in the stars. The sword from the vampire monster before stabbing her in the chest with her dagger.
Zoe slowly moved through the ranks of monsters as quickly as she could to get to Percy. They were still trying to get their footing right since Percy continued with the earthquake, which was worrying her knowing that it cost a lot of energy to do.
When she finally made it to the demigod son of Poseidon, she had to refrain from gasping in awe when she saw him. Percy's body was radiating a sea-green aura that had a purplish tone because of Tartarus' scenery. She could feel the power radiating from him in waves that definitely weren't normal even for strong demigods such as Heracles and maybe Thalia.
"Percy!" Zoe called out as she twisted her body to avoid a spear before plunging her dagger hilt-deep into the empousa. "You can stop the earthquake!"
As soon as Percy heard those words, he stopped doing it and felt how his body was really drained from using it for almost 5 minutes. Before he could even exhale in relief, he had to make an X symbol with his dagger and sword to block the axe from a telekhine. The force behind the attack made him break his x formation and take a step back before parrying another swing from the monster. He locked the axe's blade with his dagger and sword before kicking the telekhine in the stomach, making it double over and stabbing it with his dagger.
Percy and Zoe soon found each other with their backs touching. "Wow, never thought I would be fighting side-by-side with Artemis' lieutenant," Percy joked as he stabbed a hellhound with riptide before slashing his dagger across an empousa's throat.
"I don't believe right now is the best time to be joking, Percy," Zoe stated as she beheaded a telekhine.
"No worries, this is just me doing my best to relieve some tension," Percy then though of an idea to give them the advantage. "Ready to release hell?" He joked.
"Ready when you are,"
Percy then concentrated a good amount of his energy into creating a very powerful earthquake while making Zoe invulnerable to it. After a short 3 seconds of concentration, he stomped his right foot onto the ground, causing the entire chamber to start shaking and monsters falling.
The moment Zoe felt his power increase, she knew that he was thinking of using it for something to help them and she wasn't disappointed. The moment she felt the ground shake, she started using every single move that she learned during her time in the hunt and at the stars to kill the monsters. Percy was on the same mindest but just more tired.
Percy and Zoe soon found themselves covering each other's backs while helping each other deal with tougher opponents. Zoe would stab a monster while Percy defended her back before he attacked and Zoe defended his back. They turned into a killing machine with fluidity like water(pun intended) and skills that supported their reputation as the best fighters in history.
After so many slashes, parryings, stabs, and blocks, they ended the army of monsters with Zoe taking the final hellhound. They were both breathing heavily but Percy was the worst. Having to use his earthshaker powers was too taxing on his body and he was on the verge of collapsing if it weren't for the fact that he saw two figures standing by the doors of death.
"Come on, got to be kidding me," He grumbled as he noticed that one of them was Hyperion and the other was a Titan he had never met. "Weren't you in a maple tree?"
At hearing Percy's taunt, Hyperion's body started shining with harsh light making the two mortals to look away. "Jackson! You will pay for the humiliation that you made me pass!"
"Man, it's not my fault that you ended up as a maple tree," Percy responded as he looked back at the Titan since the light died down. "And who is your friend?"
The man beside him was tall, very tall, around 3 meters (10 feet) in height. He was wearing a full set of black metallic armor with a helmet shape as ram horns. Zoe seemed to recognize who he was because she got into a defensive stance, causing Percy to get into his, well, as much as he could with how tired he was.
"Percy, that is Krios, the Titan of constellations and stars, one of the elder Titans, the Titan Lord of the Sout," Zoe informed Percy, making him internally groan at hearing that it was a TItan once again.
"The girl is correct, Jackson. Now, surrender so we could give you to our mother and finally get the respect we deserve," Krios stated as he took a massive sword from his back.
"What?! Don't even think about it brother, he is mine to kill," Hyperion growled at his brother as he also took his giant golden sword.
"You dare defy our mother's orders?" Krios growled back but Hyperion wasn't backing down.
"I do brother, you wouldn't understand since you weren't killed by this insolent demigod!" Hyperion's body started to emit more light and heat, causing Zoe and Percy to avert their eyes.
While the two brothers continued arguing, Percy leaned toward Zoe. "We are in serious problems if we are going to be fighting Hyperion," The former huntress nodded for him to continue. "His body gets too bright, not being able to see him. I was only able to properly fight him because I created a hurricane to put him off,"
Zoe then remembered the epic fight that went down between Percy and Hyperion during the Titan War just last year. She had been watching the entire battle between the two of them while holding her breath. Zoe wouldn't have admitted back then, but she was scared of Percy dying to Hyperion since the Titan was the second oldest and really powerful, just behind her father Atlas and Kronos himself.
"Then how are we supposed to fight him if we can't see him?" Zoe asked, never taking her eyes off the brothers arguing with each other.
"I don't know. There's no amount of water here in Tartarus to create a hurricane to put his brightness down. It's not like there is another-" Percy then abruptly stopped as he facepalmed. "Oh Chaos, I am such an idiot," He grumbled before laughing.
Zoe watched him carefully since his sudden mood change was worrisome. "Percy, what did you think? What is going on?"
Percy finally stopped laughing and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Hyperion stabbed Krios through his chest with his sword. "That will teach you who is oldest and stronger!" He shouted at the limp body of his younger brother.
The son of Poseidon and daughter of Atlas were completely baffled at seeing Hyperion killing his brother.
"That just makes things easier," Percy mumbled before walking up to Hyperion.
"Perseus! What are you doing?!" Zoe demanded as she also approached the Titan right behind Percy.
"You got some nerve to walk up to my face, Jackson, I'll give you that," Hyperion growled as he took a step forward.
"Alright, but I have a better way to make this go," Percy then cracked his neck.
"Oh, and what would be that, demigod? Not that it will matter, I'll still kill you,"
Percy smiled a sinister and sadistic smile. One that sent shivers down the spines of Zoe and Hyperion.
"I call upon the 'Law of the Conqueror' against Hyperion for his titles, domains, and immortality," Percy's words echoed through the almost abandoned cavern.
A heavy presence settled upon them and the hazardous environment of Tartarus changed. The sulfuric air in Tartarus turned fresh and regular air. The area around them changed from a barren wasteland to regular dirt. Percy's body healed up from the few slashes that he got from the monsters and all energy returned to his body.
Zoe's eyes widened when she heard Percy's statement and saw the changes around them. It was a bold move, but she knew that if they had any chance at defeating Hyperion and escaping Tartarus, then it would be the Law of the Conqueror. Nyx and Erebus had explained how it work after they talked about their offer and as crazy and simple as it sounded, it worked just as Percy did. The area of challenge is physically changed by Chaos to make it fair and the opponents are restored to their full health and energy.
"What? What are you talking about?! What is going on?!" Hyperion started shouting as he felt his powers and immortality leave his body while shrinking down to his mortal height. He felt weak, vulnerable, and tired, which was really weird for him
"It's a little something that we learned during our time here in Tartarus, Hyperion. It makes it so that the battle is fair and if you lose, I get all of your titles, domain, as well as immortality," Percy responded as he held riptide in a ready position with his dagger in an ice-pick grip.
"Wh-what?" There was an emotion in Hyperion's voice that none of the three thought would ever hear. Fear. Pure fear was seeping into his words and body as he finally understood what was going on. He was fearing for his life since he had always been immortal and now he could die forever. Hyperion was also in fear because he knew that he was going to lose to the son of Poseidon. The only reason why he had always won, was because of his reflexes and strength as a primordial. He was very skilled also but knew that he was still behind in skill if compared to the best swordsman in history.
"I made the fight fair, Hyperion, unlike the last time," Percy's voice was cold and dark, sending shivers up Hyperion's spine. "I'll make you pay for all the lives that you took,"
Before the Titan could properly process what was going on, Percy lunged forward with riptide in a vertical strike, making Hyperion lift up his sword, barely blocking the strike. Hyperion tried to retaliate with a strike of his own but Percy quickly parried it before punching him in the face with the butt of his dagger.
"Come on, Hyperion! You gave me more of a fight before you turned into a tree! What? Did turning into a tree made you weaker?!" Percy taunted, really wanting to get the Titan to make mistakes while being mad.
"I'll rip you apart, Jackson! After I am done torturing you, I'll then move on to your little friend here," Hyperion pointed at Zoe, making a huge mistake.
"Don't you dare threaten her!" Percy hissed before slashing his dagger across Hyperiond's left leg and kicking his right knee, causing him to kneel on the ground. "You can insult me, threaten me, torture me, and even kill me, but never, never..." Percy moved to his ear as he whispered. "Threaten my friends, because you'll end up regretting it,"
Hyperion then rolled to the side to avoid a slash from Percy's sword that was directed at his neck. He brought his long sword up before slashing diagonally at Percy's midsection. The son of the sea god had predicted this move and twisted to the side while taking a step back, missing the tip of the sword by an inch.
Hyperion's attack had too much power behind it, causing him to spin more and leaving his back unprotected. Percy quickly moved forward and stabbed his dagger into the Titan's back and perforated all the way to what would be Hyperion's left lung.
The Titan of the East cuffed out mortal blood, causing him to finally accept that he was going to die at the hands of the son of Poseidon. Hyperion tried to stand up but Percy just kicked his legs.
"I'm really sorry for this, Hyperion. I would never kill someone who isn't immortal or a monster. But this had to be done and you wouldn't even have a second of doubt if I was the one in your position," Percy stated, his voice heavy with regret.
Zoe was having a hard time believing what she was seeing. Right in front of her, was the boy who almost 3 years prior was fighting alongside her against her father, and now, he had defeated one of the strongest Titans in existence with his supreme swordsmanship skills and determination.
"Just do it, Jackson. But know this," Hyperion coughed blood into the dirt underneath them before taking as much air as possible. "The gods will betray you. They will fear your power and either imprison you or kill you, just like we Titans would have done the same during the Golden Age," Hyperion laughed a malignant and delirious laugh before looking into Percy's eyes now that he was in front. "Zeus is just like my brother Kronos. He fears those who have much more power than him and will deal with them one way or another. You will either die by his hand or be cast away here just like any other being who was strong and he couldn't control,"
Percy and Zoe believed every word that the Titan of the East was saying. They both knew of the risks they will face after the war against Gaea is finished. It was a gamble, but they both needed to do it in order to save the world.
"We know, but it is a risk we are willing to take if it means we save the innocent from them," Percy stated before lifting riptide for a finishing blow. "Goodbye, Hyperion, may Chaos have mercy when you are judged in the void,"
Hyperion only sent Percy a sinister smile as riptide cut his head clean off. The head of the Titan dropped and rolled on the ground right before its body. Blood oozed out of both the head and neck, covering the dirty in a bright red liquid with small amounts of ichor.
Zoe and Percy were completely silent as they watched the body slowly turn into pale-white ash and were blown away by a non-existent gush of wind. When the entire ash was blown away, there was a small ball of pure energy on the ground. The ball was perfectly round with swelling lights of bright gold, yellow, and orange.
"So that's the core of a Titan?" Zoe asked as she walked up to Percy.
Percy didn't respond immediately and just opted into looking at the ball of power. He knew what he needed to do next, but doing so meant that there was no going back on the plan. Zoe saw his hesitation and took his hand in hers before giving in it a reassuring squeeze.
"Remember that you aren't alone in this. I'll be by your side the entire way," Her voice was soft and caring, giving Percy the required amount of will to take the ball of energy on his free hand.
Percy studied it for a couple of seconds before turning his gaze to Zoe while showing her the ball of energy. "Can't believe that this thing has the power to grant immortality as well as the domains of Hyperion," Percy confessed as Zoe studied it.
"Yeah, to believe that this ball gave Hyperion the necessary power to cause so much damage in the past," Zoe stated as all of the things Hyperion did in the past flashed through her mind.
Percy was also thinking of everything Hyperion had done. He was scared that the amount of power he would gain will corrupt him just like it had done to everybody else. The son of Poseidon knew that his fatal flaw will keep him in check if not broken once again after Annabeth. It was a huge risk, but he was going to take it if it meant the safety of the innocent even if he knew about the Olympians' future betrayal.
Zoe seemed to notice the hesitation and fear in his eyes. Percy and Zoe had openly talked about his fear of becoming corrupt by the power over their conversation with Nyx and Erebus. She knew that words couldn't do much at this point, so she just tightened her grip around his hand before sending him a small smile.
The son of Poseidon saw her smile and knew that she believed in him. "Alright, I'll start," he took in a deep breath while closing his eyes for a couple of seconds. He finally exhale and opened his eye once again, but now, they were filled with determination.
"I, Perseus Jackson, proclaim Hyperion's status of immortality, titles, and domains. I shall earn complete control of his domains and immortality until Chaos or Lady Ananke deem me worthy," This, is a simple sentence that had great power behind it.
Percy then felt how a rush of power went through his body. He then felt a tremendous amount of pain making him double over, he knew that his blood was boiling inside of his body for an instant before it was gone, a clear sign that he had now more ichor than blood. He then felt a connection to the fire in Tartarus, giving him a small rush of strength before it settled. Percy then felt how his skin, which was paled from being in Tartarus for three days, turned to a coppery skin tone, almost similar to his original tan skin.
Zoe had to take her hand off Percy's because of his sudden movement when his blood started boiling for a second. She saw how his skin turned from an almost pale white to a coppery tone like hers, but still lighter. She then saw how his raven-black hair turned into a deep dark brown. She could feel the power radiating off of him in waves way stronger than before.
"Ugh, that hurt like hell, almost like the Styx for a second," Percy groaned as he stood straight up with heavy breathing before turning to Zoe and making her gasp.
The moment Zoe saw Percy's eyes, she let out a gasp. His eyes weren't only sea-green anymore, they were now mixed with a flaming gold like Hyperions were, but instead of a harsh and furious color, they were calm and warm.
"What? What happened?" Percy asked, a bit worried because of Zoe's reaction.
"Y-your hair color changed and your eyes are now mixed with swirls of golden color," Zoe slightly stuttered as she felt his power and how beautiful his eyes had changed.
Percy's slightly frown as he pulled a hair from his head and saw that instead of raven-black color, it was now a deep dark brown. He couldn't see his eyes but he could tell that it was a big change because of Zoe's reaction.
"Hopefully it's only momentarily until we meet Nyx and Erebus once again," Percy stated before looking at the doors of death that were chained by Stygian iron chains.
Zoe had to remind herself that they were nowhere near done with their mission and were barely starting it. But after fighting a small army of monsters and Percy fighting the Titan of the East and gaining his domains and titles, it seemed like they had done a lot. Even if Percy fought the Titan for immortality as well, he is just more immortal than demigods but not fully immortal until Chaos or Ananke say so.
"Alright, now let's free the doors so we can get back to the surface," Zoe stated as she brought her sword out.
Percy followed suit with riptide before slashing across the chains. After a few hits from both mortals, the chain finally gave and broke.
"Alright, now let's get out of this hellhole," Percy groaned as they both entered the doors and pressed the button. (A/N: I am making them normal doors because of the story)
Zoe nodded and just silently sat on the floor alongside Percy as they waited to leave Tartarus. They knew that it would take 12 minutes to get back to the surface and decided to take a well-deserved and needed rest.
"How are we going to tell the others about your new appearance and power surge?" Zoe asked after a few minutes of silence.
Percy let out a tired sigh before looking at her. "Let's just tell them that things happened and we needed to do certain things to get out of there alive. They won't question us about it because we literally went through hell, so they will keep clear of the subject after that. Probably only An... probably only Annabeth will question us for being a daughter of Athena but we should be okay,"
Zoe had to stomp down the feeling in her gut when she heard the name of the traitorous daughter of Athena. It wasn't any secret that she hated the blondie since she cheated on Percy, but she also hated it for hurting her only male friend and love interest, not that she would confess it any time soon.
After that, both mortals rode the rest of the way in silence. They were both nervous about Percy's reunion with his quest mates while Zoe was nervous about meeting them and meeting Annabeth once again.
"Alright, let's get ready in case there is a battle outside," Zoe stated as she summoned her dagger and drew her sword. Percy followed her actions by summoning his dagger and uncapping riptide.
Once the doors opened with a familiar ting, they got into their defensive stance. Right in front of them, was a small number of monsters, probably about two dozen of monsters, who were oblivious to their arrival probably thinking they were another batch of monsters.
Percy and Zoe shared a glance while nodding at each other, knowing already how to act. Zoe immediately unsummoned her dagger and sheathed her sword before conjuring her bow and shooting at the few cyclopes and earthborn in the cavern.
The monster's sudden death caused the rest of the monsters to go into a panic searching for who had killed them until showers of gold got their attention. They looked towards the doors of death to only find the famous son of Poseidon slashing a hellhound's abdomen before impaling his dagger hilt-deep into the chest of an empousa. A few meters behind him, right outside the doors, was a girl with a bow shooting down the biggest monsters. They didn't waste any more time before rushing to kill the two mortals.
Percy immediately tapped into his newly gained powers of Hyperion and surrounded himself with a blinding and powerful amount of heaven fire to keep the monsters away from him. The heat that he was radiating was too much that some of the dirt beneath him was starting to crystalize.
The sudden wave of heat momentarily shocked and scared the monsters long enough for a few of them to get an arrow to their heads, or be stabbed or slashed by Percy's blades. Now that they were back on the surface and Percy's renew strength that he gained, the small army of monsters didn't stand a chance against the two most skilled mortals in history.
When they were finally down with the final monster, Percy was breathing slightly heavily and on a knee from not being used to using his new powers while Zoe just rotated her shoulders to keep them warm.
"That was easier than I thought," Zoe stated as she helped Percy up from his kneeling position.
"Thanks," He said before looking around and noticing that it was really dark. "Let's free the doors and then w can get out of here and wait for them to arrive,"
After breaking the chains on the doors and almost vanishing instantly, Percy and Zoe then started making their way through the tunnels for a couple of minutes until they found their way to the main section of the temple. Percy had to remind Zoe that they were at the House of Hades in Greece and that Nico alongside the other 6 members of the quest was on their way to Greece.
"How much time do you think it has passed?" Percy asked as they finally made it out of the temple.
Zoe shrugged her shoulders as she finally took in a deep breath of fresh air. "I don't know for sure, Percy. The only thing I know about Tartarus is that time flows differently there from the rest of the world,"
Percy nodded before walking down the steps of the temple and heading over to the cliff. Zoe followed him and finally took in their surroundings. The place was magnificent and brought her back memories from the time she was in Greece with Artemis and her hunters.
"This is nice," Percy stated as he commanded a few liters of water from the sea. "To finally be able to breathe fresh air and feel the water in the air instead of the sulfur and burning air from Tartarus,"
Zoe nodded as she saw Percy command the water to their bodies to close up any wounds that they had gotten. She smiled at being reminded of her former powers as a Hesperide and daughter of an ocean nymph. She also felt how it felt her energized and happy.
"Come on, let's find a place where we can stay for the night, I don't feel like staying in the woods after what we went through in Tartarus," Percy stated as he made his way to the main road that lead to the town.
Zoe agreed with Percy's idea. They had gone through enough shit to not be able to have a good night of rest. She was more familiar with the wild, but a good bed, rest, and a good plate of food sounded fantastic to her.
Line Break
After hitching a ride to a local hotel in the small town called Valanidorrachi, they paid for a room with two beds for the night before going out to the nearby stores to buy new clothes. How were they paying for all of it? Well, when you come out of the temple of Hades, you tend to find a couple of ancient coins that were sold at a local shop.
After getting some casual clothes, they went to eat and finally back to their hotel room to rest for the night after asking what day it was, and found out that it had been almost 2 weeks since Percy fell into Tartarus. They took a shower and Zoe set up a spell around the hotel to avoid monsters for a couple of hours at least.
"You should sleep, tomorrow we have a long day ahead," Percy suggested and Zoe nodded before laying on her bed.
"You should go too. The spell will last for a couple of hours, at least until morning and we should be awake by then," Percy nodded and headed to sleep too.
Zoe was still awake after a couple of minutes, which Percy didn't waste before falling asleep after fighting for half the day. The daughter of Atlas had to confess that without Percy she would never have made it out of Tartarus. If it were any other demigod that fell into Tartarus instead of Percy, she was willing to bet an arm that they would have died.
The daughter of Atlas had to finally accept that her feelings for Percy were more than just respect. It was hard for her to admit it, but she knew that she had fallen for him besides his good looks. He was brave, loyal, determined, strong, and respectful. All of the characteristics that all men should have, but no, only Percy had them.
Percy had shown her that everything was possible even with the odds against them. She had seen him defeat a Titan in pure skill and still hesitate to take the Titan's powers when he had the right because he was afraid of being corrupted by it. He had shown her that he doesn't have the greed for power like every other male does and prefers to stay as his true self.
Finally, after these and so many more thoughts, the daughter of Atlas finally fell asleep with a small smile on her face as she thought about the sea-green-eyed demigod that had rescued her from Tartarus.
Line Break
Percy and Zoe had finally made it back to the House of Hades after seeing the Argo II in the distance. They probably had a few more minutes before they arrived at the cliff and decided to go to the nearby trees to wait for them.
"You ready?" Percy asked, making sure to keep his rings in his pockets.
Zoe nodded as she also hid her rings in her pockets. "Yeah, I don't think that there would be a better time to get this over with than now,"
Percy nodded as they sat in silence waiting for the demigods to arrive. When they finally arrive, the ship settled over the cliff a couple of dozen meters away from them. They still haven't seen them but obviously could feel Percy's power radiating in waves.
"You guys feel that?" It was Jason's voice as they got off the Argo.
Leo nodded before taking out a piece of wire from his toolbelt. "Yeah, man, feels somewhat similar to my fire but harsher,"
Zoe sent Percy a look as they watched them from the shadows of the trees a couple of meters away from them. The son of Poseidon nodded and both walked out of the trees.
"Gotta say, you guys took longer than expected," Percy stated as he spread his arms in an exaggerated manner.
All of the demigods immediately turned their heads in the direction from where the familiar voice had come. Their reactions vary but had one in coming: amazement. Jason was incredibly shocked and confused as to how Percy had gotten out of Tartarus. Piper and Leo were basically shocked by his sudden appearance. Hazel, Frank, and Nico were slacked-jawed with widened eyes. Last but not least, Annabeth, was on the verge of tears and had a look of regret and happiness at the same time.
Percy chuckled at their reaction before turning to Zoe. "Told you that it was going to be funny,"
Percy's statement finally broke the demigods out of their shock and finally noticed the girl walking beside him. The girl was around their age with shoulder-length, dark-brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, a slight upturn nose, and facial features that gave her a Persian princess look.
None of them knew who the girl was except Annabeth. She immediately recognized who the girl was but was confused since she was supposed to be in the stars after her death. It also was confusing since she was around 16-17 years when she was originally 14 years old.
"Z-Zoe?" Annabeth stuttered as she regain her bearings from seeing Percy back once again.
"Yes, Annabeth, it's me," Zoe sneered at the girl but relaxed when she felt Percy's hand on her shoulder.
"Relax, Zoe, now it's not the time," Percy gave her a stern look, which she reluctantly complied with a huff. "Now, how have you guys been doing during the time we were in hell?"
Line Break
After a rather awkward couple of minutes of hugging and death threats to not do it again from Nico, they made their way back to the Argo. Zoe only greeted Piper and Hazel while giving Annabeth the cold shoulder and a few glares. Percy greeted everyone while giving Annabeth an awkward hug. They questioned him about the new color of his hair and eyes but all he said was that he will explain it to them later.
"What is her problem?" Piper whispered to Jason.
Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I seriously don't know. All I got from Annabeth was that she was Lady Diana's lieutenant for her hunters but died while saying her from Atlas," Jason replied and Piper remembered that story being told to her by Annabeth one time.
"But how is she back alive if she died and went to the stars?"
Jason shook his head while looking at Zoe, who was by Percy's side the entire time and whispering things to him. "I don't know, but if I know anything about the hunters is that they don't like males and she seems rather close to Percy,"
Piper thought about it for a second before the rational reason came to her mind. "Yeah, but you gotta understand that they helped each other out of the pit. I believe that surviving and successfully escaping that place with anyone would make them rather close,"
Jason thought about his girlfriend's words and found the logic behind them. From what little they had told them was that they helped each other out of Tartarus. just thinking of the malignant feeling he got when he was flying over the pit to get the Athena Parthenos was enough to send shivers up his spine, he wouldn't dare to actually be there like Percy and Zoe.
They all eventually made it back to the Argo II and sat around the kitchen table. They were all sitting beside Percy and Zoe, the two survivors of Tartarus were standing at the head of the table. The demigods could feel the power radiating from Percy as well as the protectiveness that Zoe and Percy have over each other.
"So, who wants to go first?" Percy asked after a moment of tense silence.
Leo was the first to raise his hand and ask after a nod from Percy. "How did you find her?" He asked while signaling to Zoe. "Annabeth told us that her name was Zoe and that she was the lieutenant of Artemis' hunters prior to her death,"
Percy turned to Zoe for permission, who gave him a nod. "Well, she actually found me just after I had pulled myself out of the river of misery. She was nearby and broke me out of my depression induced by the river,"
The questers were nodding and thinking about Percy's response. It was clear that they needed each other to survive, but it also brought another question.
"How did you survive the fall?" It was Frank who asked this time.
Percy nodded before he sighed. "I had to use the water from The Acheron to survive the fall or I would have hit the ground at terminal velocity,"
Annabeth was rather impressed that her boyfriend was capable of commanding the river in Tartarus when he was out of his domain and a river completely out of his control. The moment she thought about calling Percy her boyfriend she felt a pang of guilt. She hadn't told him that she had an affair with one of the girls from camp while searching for him. She didn't intend to at the beginning, but she was so stressed by her search for Percy that she succumbed to the seducing attempts from her lover.
"Okay, I'll ask the question that is in everybody's head," Jason started, too impatient to not ask. "Why was Zoe in Tartarus,"
Zoe immediately flinched at being reminded of Zeus' visit to the stars and having to fend for herself an entire day on her own before finding Percy. She was brought out of her thoughts by a familiar callous but gentle hand on hers. Which didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the demigods in the room.
"You want me to tell them or you?" Percy softly asked, his voice low and gentle, making he feel safe.
Zoe took a deep breath. "I'll do it, don't worry about it," She then exhaled before looking at everyone. "It was the day that you all were on your way to Rome when Zeus, or Jupiter in the case of the Romans," She stated while sending a look to the three Roman demigods. "Came to visit me in the stars and tried to 'seduce' me," Zoe said and all of the demigods got the hang of what she was going with her story.
Zoe felt like her chest was tightening and couldn't breathe properly until she felt Percy's hand give her won a gentle squeeze. She turned to him giving him a grateful smile before looking back at the demigods. "When I told them that I wasn't interested, he got furious and tried to have his way with me,"
The demigods weren't that shocked but felt really bad for the ex-huntress. Meanwhile, Jason was furious after hearing what his father did and his body was radiating arcs of electricity, making everyone back away from him. He couldn't believe that such a person was his father, given it was Greek form, but it was still his father.
"I'm guessing he cast you to Tartarus after that?" Piper timidly asked to only receive a nod from the daughter of Atlas.
The entire crew of the Argo was silent processing this information while Percy was comfortably holding Zoe's hand. Annabeth was starting to feel jealous of their hands holding but she would be a hypocrite if she said anything, but then the thought of him not knowing came to her head.
"Why are you still holding her hand?" She asked in a rather angry and jealous tone.
Piper, Leo, and Jason rolled their eyes at hearing how much of a hypocrite Annabeth was being while Frank, Hazel, and Nico were also confused as to why Percy was still holding Zoe's hand. Percy took a deep breath to try and control his bubbling anger but Zoe couldn't.
"Like you should be talking, cheating daughter of Athena," Zoe snapped at Annabeth.
The moment Annabeth heard the word "cheating" made her blood froze. She didn't know how Zoe knew about her affair with her secret lover when nobody knew. But she knew that she didn't have any type of evidence so she wasn't going to back down.
"What are you talking about? Are you insane?" Annabeth snapped back at the former huntress of Artemis.
Zoe's facial features changed to one of hatred. "Don't you think I don't know about your little affair with the girl at camp while Percy was missing with no memories of anybody besides you," Zoe said with clear disgust.
Annabeth finally knew that Zoe did know about her affair but didn't know how. The rest of the crew were shocked at hearing Zoe know about Annabeth's affair while Hazel, Frank, and Nico were glaring daggers at Annabeth for doing such a thing to Percy when they heard him talk so affectionately about her.
"Percy, don't believe her, she is lying!" Annabeth tried to argue as she saw the look of betrayal and sadness on his face.
"I don't have to believe her because I was the one who told her," Percy's statement surprised every one of the questers.
Jason, Piper, and Leo were rather confused as to how did he know about her affair when he wasn't at camp. Hazel and Frank were just surprised at hearing that since Percy never told them about his girlfriend cheating on him. Nico was just plain lost and surprised after hearing Percy's statement. Zoe just smirked at seeing Annabeth's reaction of panic, regret, and tears in her eyes ready to spill.
"I learned about this a few days before falling into Tartarus," Percy started explaining before anybody asked. "I came down here and heard Piper, Jason, and Leo talking about telling me something, which got my attention," At the mention of their names, the three demigods nodded in the realization of how he learned. "I heard Leo arguing with the two about telling me about you cheating on me and how he can't always be lying to my face," He directed that statement to Annabeth, whose tears finally spilled from her eyes.
"Pe-Percy-" Annabeth tried talking but Percy continued explaining.
"I heard how he saw you along with a girl from camp in the woods," Percy stated and Annabeth started sobbing. "I didn't want to believe them but your behavior since we met once again just supported that. So I gave you the chance to confess the following days by bringing it up, but you never did," Percy's voice was fragile and low. "Be grateful that we are in the middle of a war or things would be much more violent making the battle in Manhattan look like child's play,"
Annabeth shivered as she felt the power radiating from Percy as his anger increased. She knew that Percy wasn't lying because she has witnessed how destructive his power can be if provoked.
"If it weren't enough, I had to fall into Tartarus for saving your sorry ass, wise girl. Zoe and I had to fight our way out of the pit. We fought monsters nonstop, we fought a fucking giant drakon that almost kill me, and I had to fight Hyperion to get to the doors of death," Everyone's eyes widened at hearing him fighting the Titan of the East. "We did all of that while breathing air that was slowly killing us from the inside and burning our skin. The ground was covered in shards of broken glass with almost no light to see where we were going," The questers winced at hearing Percy's description of the pit while a shiver went down Zoe's and Nico's spine at remembering that place. "We had to drink from the river of fire in order to keep us alive. We had to crawl in holes to have some rest to avoid monsters. We traveled Tartarus for miles with no support while the environment and everyone there was trying to kill us,"
Annabeth had shrunk down to her seat while avoiding eye contact with everyone. Zoe was hugging Percy's arm in a comforting manner as she felt his aura radiating.
Percy took a deep breath to try and relax. He felt how his aura went back to him and the sea outside calmed down as well.
"We went through all of that and you still have the guts to demand why I was holding her hand?" His tone was calm but everybody could feel his rage behind it. "Zoe saved me from death, she had my back the entire time, and trusted me with her life in every decision that I took, she had trust in me," His words hit Annabeth like a truck.
Her cheeks were completely covered in tears that never stopped falling from her puffy red eyes. Her lower lip was quivering and couldn't form any words to even say sorry.
"But you, what did you do while I was away? While I was on the other side of the country with no memories of anyone but you what were you doing? You were scissoring with a girl from camp while I went to the Romans, went to Alaska to free Thanatos and for a fucking golden eagle, fought Polybotes, and rejected Reyna's offer for you," His tone was deadly, daring her to interrupt him.
Annabeth was completely broken by the end of Percy's statement. It was clear to everyone that she was the one who fucked up. Her amnesiac boyfriend was on the other side of the country trying to understand Hera's plan while she was fucking with some girl because she was stressed.
"I did everything for you, Annabeth. I declined Calypso's offer to stay on Ogygia, free from being the child of the prophecy, immortality, and a life fill with pleasures and love with her for you. You were who saved me from the Styx, you were the person who grounded my body to the mortal plane. You were the reason why I trusted Luke with the dagger to save Olympus," Tears were streaming out of his eyes while Annabeth was a complete mess.
Piper and Hazel spilled some tears after hearing Percy's statement and how much his love for her went. Jason felt disgusted at Annabeth for cheating on Percy since he also valued loyalty over almost anything else. Leo and Frank were just quiet and felt sorry for their friend. Nico was furious after hearing what Annabeth did to Percy after everything he did for her.
"This quest, this is the last, Annabeth," Percy stated after a couple of seconds trying to calm himself. "After this, you won't see me again. I'm done with doing the gods' work for them, I am done with doing everything I can for others while being stomped by them, I am tired of being used," Percy said with finality as he headed out of the room and to his own room.
Zoe gave the demigods a quick glance before speaking. "Percy has endured more than anybody in this world. His fatal flaw has been broken and is losing ties. The only reason he keeps fighting is to save others from having a fate like his and the innocent from things they don't deserve," Zoe then gave Annabeth one last glare before following Percy, leaving the rest of the demigods in silence.
The demigods in the room started to file out in silence with only Piper giving Annabeth a second look before leaving.
Annabeth for her part was broken. Sobbing and crying was all she could do as her body trembled from Percy's words. It was true, every single word he said had been true. He had given it all for her while she does what? She lets her frustration, hubris, and curiosity get the better of her and fucks a girl from camp behind his back. He went to great lengths for her while she cheated on him and let him fall into Tartarus alone. Finally, she left for her own room to cry in solitude.
Line Break
Zoe cautiously approached the door that had a trident symbol on the outside. She knocked on the door a few times before pushing it open. The lights were turned off but the light coming from the window was bright enough for her to see Percy's form on the bed.
"Percy? I'm here," She softly said as she cautiously closed the door and sat at the foot of the bed.
"W-why? Wha-what did I do to-to de-deserve this?" Percy cried and sobbed into the pillow.
Percy's state broke Zoe's heart. She had seen several girls that joined the hunt in such a state but not like Percy's. The son of Poseidon had given and done everything for Annabeth while she cheats on him with a woman.
Zoe slowly moved up to Percy's head and placed a hand on his back, slowly rubbing circles as he cried into the pillow.
"Shhh, you did the right thing, Percy," She said before pulling his head over her thighs. "I'm going to be right here for you, all the way through, just like in the pit," She moved her hand from his back to his deep dark-brown hair and massaged his head.
Percy would normally be weirded out by Zoe's behavior, but he was too emotional to care. He placed his head over her thighs as he also hugged them, crying and sobbing.
Eventually, Percy's cries and sobs quieted down until he fell asleep over her thighs. Zoe slowly smiled at his sleeping form. She saw how peaceful his face was when resting and she almost didn't believe that he was crying and sobbing his heart out if she hadn't seen it.
"I'll be here for you until you are ready, and maybe... maybe, help you see that I can reciprocate your loyalty," Zoe whispered before giving him a soft and sweet kiss on the cheek. "You just need someone who will help you heal your heart, and I wish to be that person,"
Zoe then carefully placed his head back on top of one of the pillows that were dry and covered him with a blanket. She was about to leave when her body made her give him one last kiss on his cheek. However, this kiss was closer to his lips and lingered for a couple of seconds before she moved back and left the room with one final look back to his sleeping form.
The daughter of Atlas let out a big breath before making her way outside of the ship. She saw that only Jason and Nico were on the top taking watch. Zoe was rather surprised at seeing the son of Hades with the questers but she remembered Percy telling her about them rescuing Nico from the giants. She was also surprised at how much he had grown from the last time she saw him in the battle of Manhattan against Kronos and his forces.
Zoe made her way to the two demigods that were watching the horizon for any signs of threats. When they heard her footsteps they turned around to only be met by the girl who was believed to be dead.
"Nico, Jason, how are things?" Zoe asked as she looked at the horizon.
Jason and Nico were feeling a bit uncomfortable being in the presence of Zoe, who is known to be one of the biggest man-haters in history beside Artemis herself.
"Quiet and calm, for now, let's pray it stays the same," Jason answered, his time as praetor thought him how to politically interact without letting his emotions get in between.
Zoe nodded and took a look around before she turned around to take her to leave but Nico's question stopped her.
"What happened to Percy? You know... his skin tone change as well as his hair... and his eyes have gold in them?" Nico hesitantly asked.
Zoe was about to just leave without saying anything until she remembered Percy's words.
"Percy and I had to do things in order to get out of there," Zoe said before turning her head back to them. "Things that you wouldn't believe us,"