A/N. review time.
"Please tell me the gods will fnd out Percy is the new Devil (or the new Lucifer). I really want to see their reactions to Artemis marrying the Devil." -GokuBlackSSJR14
While he's not the new Devil (Or Lucifer), and as I'm wanting to avoid spoiling it, I'll just say this, yes they find out.
"And here I lost all the interest in the story. The same old Hera arranges a marriage, athena somehow escapes it, and the two fighting gods just keep quite and accept it all within one chapter. like no argument, no threats nothing. while artemis trying to be accepting is a welcome change, that's all there is. coz percy too just accepted it. I mean he's now the king of hell and he just accepted it like that with his only argument coming for artemis as it always does. I had hoped for some originality and likely believable events. with the mix of christian pantheon, I had hoped it would account for some change. but it is what it is. good luck to u and ur story.." -yoganksri
Okay.
"A bit disappointing to see such cookie cutter fanfiction tropes, especially after what constitutes 4 chapters of pretty unique and original/fresh start. But I'll say this, the writing quality and the aforementioned start to me definitely makes me still view it as worth following and seeing where it goes. Because the quality is high (I definitely like the quirk you mentioned about Artemis. It's something I've seen used but it fits her well). and quite frankly the amount of times we see any trope, like this one, done and written well, is low. So fuck it I'm down. You're a talented writer.
Plot wise Don't reeeeaaally see how the Olympians could get Percy to agree to a damn thing here considering he's the new Devil / king of hell now. Like, good luck with that. Mephistopheles would probably be like "hurrr my lord, are these annoying Greeks tsk tsk…bothering you sir? Because they are so beneath you. We can go to war if you like".
For that matter how did Hermes even find him if he's in the kingdom of hell, and like, not mention those circumstances when they came up retrieving him."-Psych1c
If it makes you feel any better, the entire idea that started this fic was "Arranged Marriage but Percy's the King of Hell". Glad you're sticking with it despite it not being what you wanted. As for how they can get him to agree, it's simple. They're Gods, he's a demigod. He isn't the new Devil/Lucifer. It's literally just a moniker that gives him political power in Hell. Outside of hell, he's the same Percy Jackson. As for Hermes. Hermes went to the Underworld, Hades told him that Percy was on a quest for him, so he sent Nico to retrieve Percy. Nico returned with Percy and Hermes took Percy back to Olympus. (I was going to show all of this, but then when I wanted to make it all Artemis's POV (hence why you didn't really see Percy's thoughts about the marriage.) and so I just left it alone. I wll say, I actually like it this way, because it's kind of like real life, where while you're doing something, people you know are doing things and you have no idea unless they tell you.
"Oh yeah, one quick detail I forgot to mention before that I think is important for you to begin accounting for going forward in your writing: In Riordan canon, Artemis's preferred "default" form is a 12 year old child that mimics her hunters and young maidens and all that.
I've seen stories address and try to do some pretty interesting things with that lore. Anything is better than, as some authors on here have rightfully criticized and looked down on, being one of the people who just ignores that." -Psych1c
Yeah, I'll address it. I've got an idea.
"left a couple reviews that i dont see showing up with some critiques and praise. Oof" -Psych1c
Sometimes it takes FFN to register reviews, especially if you're a guest.
"This is amazing. Keep it up!" -Guest
Thanks!
Chapter Six
Percy stood up from the bench and sighed. He walked to the edge of the garden, where a railing prevented him from falling off of Olympus. Below him, sprawled as far as his eyes could see was his hometown—New York. Below him, people, so small he could barely even see them, went about their day, no idea that above them was a mountain suspended in the air.
For the first time in three years, the sun shined without being interrupted, drying the land below. For the first time in three years, the sea was calm. But despite all this, there was an underlying tension, the remains of a hurricane that was only waiting to go back over the sea to regain all of its strength.
He spied Central Park in the distance, Harlem just above it. The Upper East and West, where his Mom, Paul, and Estelle would be returning to any day now. Without him, of course, because he had responsibilities. Always some responsibility.
He ran a finger over the railing as he surveyed the city below. In the back of his mind, a thought, like a Devil on his shoulder, whispered, 'Jump'. He shook his head.
He wondered how long the peace would last. This marriage, between him and Artemis, would it actually work? He was used to being used by the Gods, he'd been a pawn for everyone his entire life after all. If it wasn't a God using him, it was a Titan, or a Primordial, or Lucifer himself.
He replayed the meeting in his head. Why hadn't he protested for himself? He had defended Artemis, but not himself, why? Was that just who he was? It wouldn't be the first time he had accepted something that was put on his shoulders. He accepted his death at the ripe age of sixteen because it had to be done. He faced Tartarus without flinching because Annabeth needed him.
Annabeth.
How could he get married when he wasn't over her? How could he get over her? She was a Goddess with red blood, Heaven on Earth, a golden nugget in mud. How could he ever move on, with Artemis of all people? It was an impossible task.
Could he come to love Artemis? With time, perhaps. Maybe with a miracle or two. The real question was, could she come to love him? That was harder to believe. But, she did seem willing to try. And if she was, he was.
They were both tools for a "greater" good. They had that in common. He stood up straight. He had been away from Hell for long enough. Mephistopheles had been quite clear when Nico came to take him away, he was to come right back.
He put his hands in his pockets, feeling for the golden drachma he had stashed away earlier. He spied a fountain, creating mist, to his left. He made for the fountain, taking the drachma out.
"Fleecy, do me a solid." He muttered, before tossing the coin into the rainbow. "Please show me Nico diAngelo, Camp Half-Blood."
The mist shimmered before Nico appeared. He was in the medical wing of the Big House, talking to someone, probably Will. He noticed the Iris-Message and nodded.
"I need you to take me back, please."
"I'll be there in a minute."
"Thank you." Percy said, before swiping through the mist, ending the Iris Message. He sat back down on the bench. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
The shadows of the Demeter statue grew as the air around him chilled. The hair on his arms raised. He stood up and turned around to see the Son of Hades standing there. He looked the same as he had that morning, when he walked into his throne room, informing him that he was needed on Olympus.
His sword was still by his side, as it always was, strapped to his waist by a chain. He wore a black bomber jacket over his black Camp Half Blood hoodie. The only color he had on him was a bracelet on his right wrist, made of yellow beads.
"Damn." He said, raising an eyebrow. "The Hell they tell you?"
Percy sighed as he turned his arm over and traced his trident brand with his fingers. "Marriage."
"Fuuuck. Who?"
Percy bit his tongue and looked left to right.
"That bad?" Nico asked, a smile starting to form on face.
Percy breathed out heavily before saying, "Artemis."
Nico snorted. "Nice knowing you. She's gonna feed you to her wolves."
"Maybe. Depends on if I can impress her enough for her to not do that. Although, it would get me out of the—" Percy looked around to make sure no one was listening before continuing. "The King shit."
"That is true. So what's it gonna be?"
Percy sighed as he turned around and walked to the railing again to look back at the city below them. He could jump, right there, right now. A few seconds, maybe a minute of freefall, before he'd become a red splat on the pavement. After all, he'd practically lost everything. Annabeth broke up with him, his future had been taken away, as had his freedom to choose a partner. The future looked bleak. "Death would be nice." He admitted. "Peaceful even."
"My father has already filled out the paperwork for Elysium for you. Everyone who fought during the Second Titanomachy, actually. You'd have peace, for the first time in your life."
Percy let out a silent chuckle. But as he stared at the city below, the city that raised him, the city he fought for, his eyes drifted to the Upper West Side, where his apartment would be. Empty, cold, alone. But not for much longer. "But my mom would be devastated. I couldn't live with myself if I made her feel that way. The way I felt after… everything."
Percy turned around and sat back down on the bench. Nico watched him with careful eyes.
"You know, that night, the night the war ended, I visited the Hermes cabin. There were empty beds, Nico." He looked at the Son of Hades. "I walked to the dying bonfire, where the ashes of each and every shroud was burned. And I sat."
Nico sat down on the stone walkway, crossing his legs. He could tell Percy was about to say some very big things and he needed to support him through it. He could also tell that most of it wasn't going to be connected until his final point.
"After the Battle of the Labyrinth, I watched the shroud burn. And as I watched, I realized I didn't know the names of almost all of the dead, and I felt…ashamed. But when I sat after the battle of Manhattan, I knew the name of every kid, every child who died in that week. Starting from Beckendorf to Luke, I knew every single one! And not just because they were written on that bead on my necklace." He grasped said necklace tightly as he spoke. "And the feeling that washed over me, hopelessness, or, or," he licked his lips as he tried to put what he felt into words before giving up. "I don't want anyone to feel that way, especially my Mom."
A moment passed, in which Percy collected his thoughts. "I don't want to die, Nico. I don't want to die. But if tomorrow came. And I didn't wake up. I wouldn't mind. Not at all."
They sat in silence, the only sound being the wind picking up, a breeze on the first sunny day in three years. Finally, Percy muttered one last thing. "Gods, I'm a piece of shit."
"You're not wrong for feeling that way Percy. Anyone would. Anyone should. You went through so much and yet, you can't even legally drink yet. Anyone in your shoes would have to be a sociopath to not feel anything."
Percy sighed. He felt vulnerable, and after years of being taught that a physical vulnerability was a bad thing, it made sense that one would apply it to emotional vulnerability as well. After all, getting emotional would get in the way of the job—Killing. It was easier to kill monsters, living things, if you didn't feel. If you weren't vulnerable.
Percy felt naked. Naked and afraid.
"When Bianca died, I felt that same way. Then Minos started talking to me, telling me I could raise her, bring her back. And when he showed his true colors, I felt like that again. But I got through it. You can too."
"What if I can't? I'm not as strong as you, Nico."
"Yes you are."
"No. Nico, I saw Tartarus, the real Tartarus, for only a moment, and I almost went insane. But you, you saw it for the entire time you were down there. I can't imagine how that would have affected me."
Nico looked down before smiling. "And yet you took me down with no problem in that prison cell."
"That was years ago. So much has changed since then." Percy said. "So much destruction, death, loss."
"That's so. But we have gained as well. New friends, lovers-"
Percy winced.
"-Right. Scratch that."
Percy sighed and stood up. "I need to head back. Mephistopheles was clear—"
"-About you getting back. I know, I was there." Nico finished, standing up. He held out his hand.
Percy took it and suddenly his vision went black. Wind whipped around his body at the speed of light, so fast it felt like his skin would rip off his body. Adrenaline filled his veins as whispers reached his ears.
Suddenly it all went away as they emerged in Percy's throne room. Mephistopheles was standing by the throne, his hands behind his back. It was the same place he had been standing when Percy left.
Percy walked up to the throne, his footsteps echoing off of the walls. Nico hung back, not leaving just yet.
"How was the meeting, My Lord?" Mephistopheles asked. "What did they need you for?"
Percy sighed as he sat down on his throne. "I'm getting married."
Mephistopheles froze before grinning. "How… exciting! Congratulations." But as he noticed that Percy wasn't exactly thrilled, he added, "Or not."
Percy waved him off. "Wasn't exactly either of our choices."
"If I may inquire, Lord, why didn't you just decline? You are the King of Hell, that title comes with power."
Percy leaned back and closed his eyes. "What power, exactly, does a title give me in the Olympian Council? I am a foreign leader, and I don't blame you for not knowing, but Zeus doesn't exactly take kindly to foreign leaders." Percy opened his eyes and turned to Mephistopheles. "The marriage is a peace treaty between Zeus and his brother, my father. And their war was fought because Zeus believed that my father, a King of his own place, was planning to usurp him.
"So tell me, why would I, a king of a powerful realm, reveal that to a paranoid God who just finished waging war for that exact reason?" Percy stood up. "The only power this title gives me, is the power to have a war on my front step. A war that I, for the record, do not want." Percy paused and took a deep breath. "I have fought two wars in my life, both before I turned eighteen years of age. I do not want to fight another one.
"Which is why I will not be revealing this-" He gestured around himself, at everything. "-To anybody, least of all the Olympians."
"I am sorry, My Lord, for the thought. I was only trying to help."
Percy sighed as he sat back down. "I know. I'm sorry, Mephistopheles. I just wanted to stress my point."
"Although, if I may." He looked at Percy for permission to speak again, lest he rile the King up.
"You do not need permission to speak, Mephistopheles."
"Sorry. It seems though, this marriage could be a pathway to a unification between the Olympains and Hell."
Percy sat up. "Maybe. Honestly, I don't even know if this is gonna keep the peace between Zeus and my Father. He seemed very pissed at Hera, but couldn't do anything because of Hestia. And he isn't exactly the forgiving type."
"Hm."
"That does remind me though, she and I are meeting every week, so I will be leaving Hell pretty frequently."
Nico raised an eyebrow. "You never mentioned this."
"I did now, didn't I?"
"Maybe she won't feed you to her wolves after all."
Percy snorted.
Mephistopheles shifted on his feet before sighing. "Well, I guess there isn't a better time to present you with this." He reached into his suit jacket and pulled out something wrapped in a red cloth. He gingerly handed it to Percy, who unwrapped it slowly, carefully, revealing a knife.
The knife looked older than him. An understatement really, as the blade itself looked ancient. The grip was wrapped in a weird leather he had never seen before, looking suspiciously like the skin of a demon. The blade itself was shaped like a lightning bolt, made of some metal that looked almost like stone. The entirety of the blade was covered in some kind of black rust
"It looks fragile, I know, but that metal is nigh indestructible. You can use it for fighting if you wish, but the main reason I give it to you is that it has been infused with ancient Luciferian magic. It has the power to open rifts in space, allowing you to travel to other realms, namely, and most important for you right now, Earth."
Percy twisted the knife. "Where on Earth?"
"Wherever you want. Just concentrate, and cut a line in the air in front of you."
Percy stood up and stared emptily in front of him for a minute. Suddenly, quick as a flash of lightning, the knife cut through the air with a whoosh, followed by a sound similar to the ripping of a sheet of paper. The very fabric of reality ripped apart, a tear in the air.
In the space he had cut, sat an empty, dark apartment. A thick layer of dust sat on every surface. The place hadn't been touched in years. Cobwebs sat in the corners of the walls by the ceiling. The window revealed a street, cars backed up, sitting idly. It was night but that didn't matter to the City that Never Sleeps.
The rift closed. Percy kept his eyes forward. He stood still, his face hidden from everyone in the room. Finally he turned his head, not all the way, just enough for Mephistopheles to see his cheekbone. "Thank you."
Mephistopheles bowed. "You're welcome, Lord."
"That's handy. You just have that lying around?" Nico said, flat toned.
"There's two or three in Lucifer's vault. He made them for his Knights to carry out, um, special matters. But they were exterminated, and he sealed them away. I am the only demon with the knowledge of their existence, and now you know too."
Nico nodded. "Hm."
"You didn't think to tell me about these earlier?" Percy asked as he turned around and sat back down on his throne.
Mephistopheles gained a sheepish look. "I was debating it, Sire. I wasn't sure if you would take it and just leave forever. I know how much you hate this place. But you must understand, without a king to lead the demons, they will descend on the Earth like a plague, and leave nothing left before moving onto the next realm. Only Heaven will remain."
"Why would Heaven be left alone? Wouldn't demons want to tear it down?" Percy said, studying the knife, pondering it.
"Oh yes, more than you know. The Fallen would love to tear apart their former home brick by brick. The Lilim would love to tear it down, as they built it in the first place. But alas, they can't, as they have all been barred access. Even the Knights of Hell, with that knife, couldn't access Heaven."
Percy was silent as turned the blade in his hand. After a couple of seconds he asked, "Could I?"
"Could you what, Lord Perseus?"
"Go to Heaven. With the knife?"
Mephistopheles stroked his pointy goatee. "It may be possible. You aren't a demon after all. But, regardless, I would highly discourage it. The Angels, God even, despise corruption, and you reek of it, Sire, being down here, mingling with us Hellfolk. They would most likely kill you as soon as you step through the rift."
Percy continued to twist the knife, catching the light from the fire behind him on the metal blade. He would clean it, polish it, make it look like it had a long time ago. He would fashion himself a sheath for it, strap it to his leg.
A silence settled over the room as Percy mused to himself. His mood had picked up considerably upon receiving the blade. He had a way to go back to Earth, to see his mom again. To see Estelle again. To see Paul again. He almost caught himself thinking he could see Annabeth again before he stopped himself. No, he was to be married now, he had to focus on Artemis now. Which reminded him…
"I have a way to get out of Hell, but I have no idea when a week will have passed." Percy said, standing up.
"I'll just come down here and tell you." Nico said. "Easy as that."
"What if you're busy, or forget?"
"Then you're fucked, I guess." Nico shrugged. "Right now, I'm your only option." he turned to Mephistopheles. "Unless you have some kind of realm clock shoved up your ass with those knives."
Mephistopheles shook his head. "No I do not. Sorry, Sire." He said, aiming the last part at Percy, who waved him off.
"Then I'll see you in a week." Nico confirmed. He bowed to Percy before turning around and walking into a pillar, disappearing in its shadow.
Percy sighed and sat down. "Damn. This is really my life now, isn't it? No going back."
Mephistopheles shamefully rubbed his hands together. "I'm sorry, Lord Perseus. I know it's a bad time, but we have been putting this off for a while, and they're getting angry."
Percy looked at his Royal Advisor curiously, an eyebrow raised. "Who's getting mad? For what?"
"The Princes, Lord. It's time you finally meet the Princes."
A/N. Percy has some fuckin trauma and I feel like I should probably mention that more often than I do. Bro needs therapy. I thought about adding that subplot, but couldn't make it fit cleanly, so I scrapped it.
Thoughts?