Chapter 7

It was far from easy to adjust the shield's enchantments to work with both lightning and with natural light, but when they were determined five demigods could accomplish quite a lot in only a short space of time. They could also sink into something they were intensely focused on and completely ignore the passing of time, so Annabeth barely noticed the time passing as the shield and the enchantments were slowly drawn together. Jason, Lou and Piper were working together on the enchantments themselves off to the side before they'd attempt to stick them onto the shield itself and see if they worked as intended. Annabeth and Leo had been working on the shield design itself and making sure they could incorporate the new additions.

It seemed like little time had passed when Leo set the video-shield upright on a stand at his workbench, grinning widely. Annabeth smiled as she stood back to admire it where it was set.

Jason chuckled, his grin wide as he shook his head slightly. "Can we test it?" He asked eagerly. Lightning dance up from his fingers to his arm. "Best to know if it works or doesn't before we need to use it."

The magic runes on the shield's rim and inside were active and glowing slightly under the Bunker's lighting with white, green and yellow flashes.

"The magic looks solid," Lou Ellen murmured as she inspected the runes closely. Piper was peering over Lou Ellen's shoulder, looking pleased with the work the two of them had done.

Annabeth paused briefly, her eyes flicking to where the Bunker's large doors were closed slightly. The day had grown late outside and little of the natural light was breaching the workshop, lit mostly by the bright lights overhead. "So we know Tartarus' light isn't natural down there," Annabeth said. "There's still enough sunlight getting in here from outside and it'll be difficult to test it properly while we're in here… throwing around a lightning bolt in here wouldn't be a good idea."

Jason grimaced and nodded in agreement with a glance at all the celestial bronze around them. "So we have to hope the lightning will work and trial it down there," he said.

Annabeth nodded. "But we can test the natural light up here," she agreed. "Leo, can you open the doors a little more?" Annabeth asked.

Leo was already reaching for the lever to open the Bunker's doors and even before Annabeth had finished speaking, he was opening up the doors and allowing more of the evening's Sun inside. The sunlight danced across the surface of the shield, reflecting fractals around the workshop. Annabeth removed it from the stand and placed it faceup on the workbench, gaze focusing intently on the gleaming surface.

The bronze shield's face rippled like the surface of a lake being suddenly disturbed before colour danced across its surface and an image of Camp Half-Blood outside the workshop formed in the shield. The image tilted and shifted before it was showing an avenue in Manhattan at the entrance to Olympus. Annabeth focused again after a brief glance at Jason, and then the shield was showing the entrance to Camp Jupiter. Jason frowned briefly at the sight, letting out a short breath.

The images faded and the silence was broken by Leo's gleeful whoop. "Finally!" He exclaimed, groaning as he dropped his weight against the workbench.

Annabeth smiled, picking up the shield and carefully placing it back onto the stand. "Well done, all of you," Annabeth said, looking between Leo, Piper and Lou Ellen.

The daughter of Hecate smiled brilliantly. "It's good to have a success," she agreed with clear pride.

Piper shook her head slightly. "Makes me wonder just how advanced Daedalus was if it's taken us all this long to find out how to replicate it."

Leo nodded quickly in agreement. "Kind of jealous that Beckendorf got to play with all Daedalus' things straight out of his laptop," Leo said mournfully. "What wouldn't I give to get my hands back on it for our cabin?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "I think you'll have to get through my cabin first."

Leo raised his hands up. "Okay, but our cabins would share, right?"

Annabeth only smiled slightly and shrugged. She honestly doubted that her cabin would give up the original Daedalus laptop for anything.

"Could the shield have breached the perimeter of Camp Jupiter?" Jason asked.

Annabeth paused and looked back to him. "I don't know," she answered honestly. "I didn't want to try. I already know it can't see onto Olympus if it's outside the barriers from the one we made three-hundred years ago. Some magical barriers block the spells and I'm not sure how magic might be woven to get around them." Annabeth glanced briefly to Lou Ellen, whom seemed to have perked up even further at the sight of a challenge for her magical knowledge. "It depends on the magical barriers erected around Camp Jupiter."

Jason just nodded slightly, looking thoughtfully at the shield. "So we won't be able to see down below until we're down there ourselves?"

Annabeth hesitated briefly, before she glanced over to the shield again as a knot formed in her throat. The evening sun was still reflecting off its face, and Annabeth focused on the image of Hermes' shrine that she could recall. The shield shimmered like a rainbow, reflecting a dizzying array of colours around the workshop, before all the colour vanished and the face turned black as if ink spreading in water. "It's not reflecting anything back," Annabeth finally said, feeling a flood of relief as the knot eased. It made sense for all light to be absorbed in the depths, since the Pit was an all-consuming abyss that devoured and twisted. Anything left surviving would be corrupted and broken if it was ever spat back out.

"It was worth the try," Piper murmured.

Annabeth watched the bronze shield return to its natural colour, nodding slightly. She took a deep, trembling breath, bracing herself against the workbench.

Annabeth did not want to return to Tartarus.

"Hey," Jason said, stepped forward and his hand squeezing Annabeth's shoulder in a rare emotional display from the Roman. "It'll be fine. If he's still alive down there, we'll find him," Jason reassured her.

Annabeth smiled slightly and nodded. "Of course we will," she agreed. Annabeth tried to think of anything else that might be useful for them down there, but there were limited supplies they could carry with them and yet still be able to keep on the move if they had to. They'd take some food down there with them, but the rest would be given to them by the Camp via Hermes' shrine.

"Leo," Annabeth said. "Can I leave the shield here until we need to leave? It'll be safer in the Bunker."

Leo was quick to nod. "Yeah, sure. I'll make sure to bring it along when we leave." He reached for the arrows he had yet to sharpen and finish off.

Now if only Annabeth knew when that would be. She nodded slightly to Leo, who just waved a hand at her as he became distracted with continuing his work. Annabeth led the way back outside through the clustered workshop of Bunker Nine, sighing tiredly when she noted the sun beginning to dip beneath the horizon.

Once back in the main part of Camp Half-Blood, Annabeth raised an eyebrow when she spotted Nico and Thalia sitting together on the porch of the Big House. Another Hunter of Artemis – Phoebe – was also with them, looking anxious and concerned as she held a glass out to Thalia with a small amount of nectar in. Thalia looked as if she'd been dragged through a forest and dropped into Long Island Sound.

"What happened to Thalia?" Jason asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"No idea," Annabeth muttered. She sped up to reach Thalia, her eyes furrowing in concern. "Thalia?" Annabeth called once she was closer, noticing the cuts and bruises across Thalia's face and visible skin. "What happened? Why do you look like you've been dragged across the ground and dropped into the ocean?"

Nico pressed his lips together, looking like he was trying to hold back a smile in a situation where it would be inappropriate. "Probably because she was dragged across the ground and dropped into the ocean," he said.

Annabeth's eyes widened. Phoebe looked appropriately grim, directing a frown in Nico's direction whilst Thalia turned to also glare at him. "Fuck off, the both of you," Thalia snapped at them both.

"The Sound," Phoebe mildly corrected, looking entirely unconcerned with Thalia's annoyance and her glare. "She was dropped into the Sound."

"How?" Jason demanded. "What happened?"

Thalia scowled. "We got word that Kampê was in the area from some nymphs so I took some Hunters out earlier to see if we could at least chase her off," she bit out, looking murderous. Electricity crackled between her fingers and Nico uneasily shifted away from her slightly before he could get shocked. Phoebe had no such worry, shoving the glass of nectar into Thalia's hands.

"Drink," Phoebe instructed. "If you all intend to descend into the Pit soon, you'll need it."

Annabeth eyed Phoebe curiously, still not knowing which era the Hunter had been inducted into the Hunters from. She only knew that Phoebe had an accent which suggested she came from Ancient Greece, but nothing else. Thalia sipped at the nectar briefly before she raised her head with a dark glare again. "We had Kampê cornered, or we thought we did, but –" Thalia paused to take another sip. "She's getting help from somewhere – or someone. She has to be."

Phoebe pressed her lips together, her bright green eyes clouded and mysterious. "I shouldn't have been here. I could've helped – maybe."

Thalia shook her head slightly. "You're Lieutenant of the Hunters if something happens to me," she said. "I didn't want us both to go."

Phoebe sighed. "I keep telling Artemis that's a bad idea, but she doesn't listen to me about that."

"Hold on a minute," Annabeth said, shooting a glance at Phoebe. She'd never been able to figure the older Hunter out, though she couldn't say she'd spent loads of time with her either over the centuries. "How do you know she had help, Thalia?"

Thalia scoffed. Lightning sparks flickered between her fingers again. "Because there aren't usually blizzards that come out of nowhere in the State of New Jersey in the middle of August, Annabeth."

Annabeth conceded to Thalia's point. "That's true," she muttered.

Thalia just snorted. She nodded her head slightly. "Someone is helping her," she repeated.

"Khione?" Jason asked with a faint frown.

Thalia shrugged. "Could be her," she agreed. "No way to know unless we catch her helping Kampê."

Phoebe's eye were furrowed. "It's possible… but it could also be – one of many other different deities or nature spirits too," she added. Phoebe grimaced, shaking her head slightly as if trying to throw out an unwanted thought.

Nico shrugged slightly. "Kampê's gone again now anyway," he said. His dark eyes landed on Annabeth. "I spoke to my dad," he said to her, immediately getting Annabeth's full attention.

"And?" Annabeth urged. "What did he say?"

"Mt. St. Helens," Nico answered, his gaze slightly grim. "You know – after Percy made it erupt? Way back in the Titan War?"

"Yes," Annabeth said. Thalia grimaced next to Nico.

"Apparently, Hades said after Typhon tore his way out after the eruption, he caused even more damage. That hole extends a lot further than we were told," Nico said. "If we go down through the former volcano, we can get right down to the Pit."

"Percy caused a hole down to the Pit?" Jason asked, an odd tone to his voice. Annabeth glanced back to him, noting the deepening frown on his face.

"Yeah," Nico said. "My dad's tried to close it up, but he said it's been… resisting."

Annabeth paled. "I didn't know that," she said, her voice dropping slightly, looking annoyed at not being told something so important.

Nico shook his head. "Me neither," he admitted. "Don't think the gods wanted that information getting out to their enemies."

"I did," Thalia admitted. "Lady Artemis told us because monsters have been able to claw their way out of it. We've had to track down a few nastier ones that got out through there. It's relatively easy for them to get out through Helens, so a lot have tried. The wind gods watch it constantly for Zeus and the other Olympians and alert them when a nastier monster leaves through there," she added.

Phoebe nodded slightly. "It's how we knew Kampê was out so soon after she left the Pit." She grimaced, her eyes on the horizon with an odd green shimmer. "I expect you'll all be wanting an early night if you want to leave to be there for sunrise tomorrow morning?" Phoebe asked them.

Annabeth blinked. "I'm not sure if we agreed a time to go yet?" She questioned, looking around to everyone gathered.

"It makes sense to be there for first thing tomorrow," Jason said.

Nico nodded. "And we wouldn't want to go near it at night," he added, eyes flicking to the sunset on the horizon. "Something tells me that's not a smart idea."

"St. Helens is behind us by a couple of hours," Thalia said helpfully.

Annabeth took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "Early nights for us then tonight. First thing tomorrow, we head over to St Helens."

"That's one big hole," Leo muttered, leaning over the edge of the hole torn through what had once been Mt St. Helens. Uneasy, Annabeth grabbed him by the arm and tugged him back. Leo raised an eyebrow at her, but let himself be pulled away from the edge. "It really goes all the way down?"

Annabeth shivered at the thought. She'd avoided going past the gaping, seemingly endless hole in the earth – which fascinated mortals despite how many seemed to go missing when they tried to explore it's depths – merely because it reminded her too much of Percy.

"Instead of trekking down the slope, you could always jump in and find out, Leroy," a voice drawled from behind them.

Annabeth's lips twitched as Leo frowned and peered over at Dionysus. "Rude," Leo muttered under his breath.

"Believe me," Dionysus continued as if Leo hadn't spoken, his purple eyes narrowing down into the chasm, "we're certain it does."

Annabeth didn't doubt him. Her skin crawled just standing this close. It felt like the inexplicable feeling she remembered when standing before the Primordial god of the Pit himself, a gaping chasm devouring everything in its depths.

Annabeth shivered at the freezing wind which blew in from over the shattered remnants of the northern side of the volcano, grimacing slightly.

"Thought it was usually warmer than this in August," Frank muttered behind them, rubbing his hands together to try to keep them warm.

"It is," Thalia said with a fierce and suspicious scowl directed towards the woodland around them.

Annabeth pressed her lips together, gaze also flicking around uneasily as she reached for the drakon bone sword at her side. Clarisse stepped up next to her, electric spear in hand. Jason, Frank and Hazel were grouped together slightly separated in their own bright orange Camp Half-Blood shirts.

Much to Annabeth's surprise, Lou Ellen found them before they left with a brilliant and eager smile as she handed Nico ten Camp Half-Blood shirts – her older brother, Alabaster Torrington, came through for her overnight. The rogue demigod had found a way to send Lou Ellen instructions on how to dampen a demigod's scent, regulating internal organ temperatures and also with filtering the poisonous breath of the ancient Primordial god himself. Included was also a different type of spell which would allow the wear to run off less food, water and energy than they'd usually be able to… Annabeth didn't really want to know how Alabaster Torrington knew such spells, but she wasn't about to complain here when they were going to be helpful for them.

The tenth of the orange shirts was tucked safely into Annabeth's pack, intended to be for Percy when they found him.

"Are you brats going to stand around all day or did you want to get this started?" Dionysus called from the lip of the chasm. "The sooner you all descend the sooner I can return to Olympus, my wine and my wife. The wind gods have been complaining about the northern winds for over a century now," the god said, clearly amused by their unease.

Annabeth dragged her eyes away from the woodland. "Come on, let's go," she said, pulling her pack on properly. Nico was already starting down the slope, leading the way down.

Clarisse grunted. She was still standing next to Annabeth. "This is going to be a fun one, Princess," she said, her tone clearly sarcastic. Annabeth snorted in amusement at the familiar name. "If we're this twitchy already, it's going to be ten times worse when we're actually down there."

Annabeth slowed, a lump in her throat. It's going to be ten times worse down there. She closed her eyes – tried to forget the resurfacing, blurred memories of Percy when he had drowned Akhlys in her own poison and tears, the Pit itself appearing before them in a physical form and when Percy had turned his back on her to protect her and stay behind in the Pit.

Annabeth cast her eyes back behind them before disappearing beneath the lip of the descent down to Tartarus, and her breath caught in her lungs with a sudden gasp. Back behind Dionysus, from within the depths of the woodland, she noticed a pair of icy blue eyes watching them from the darkness.

Annabeth's skin crawled, a chill creeping up her spine. Her hand went to the hilt of her drakon bone sword, head whipping around to call to the others as she started after them. "Something was watching us!" Annabeth called to them. Annabeth only made it a few steps after the others before she felt a shove to her back and a freezing wind that made her trip.

"Annabeth!"

It shoved Annabeth hard enough that she toppled half over the edge with a panicked shout before Clarisse was grabbing her arm. The daughter of Ares hauled her back up quickly, eyes wide. "Careful!" Clarisse exclaimed worriedly.

"There were eyes," Annabeth said urgently as Clarisse helped her to her feet. "Past Mr. D." Thalia bounded back up to the lip of the chasm, bow and arrow in hand.

It was nearly a minute later that Thalia looked back to Annabeth, shrugging with a bewildered look in her eyes. "I don't see anything," she said.

Annabeth stared at her. "No – that's –" Annabeth made her way back up so she was next to Thalia, but where she'd seen the eyes before, there was only woodland now. Annabeth dragged her gaze back to the others. "I saw eyes," she firmly said to them. "Bright blue eyes, like ice." Thalia's eyebrows drew together into a frown next to her, turning to scan the woodland again. "They're gone."

"Annabeth –"

"I swear on the Styx I saw eyes," Annabeth firmly said. Thunder rumbled overhead.

"Well, they're not there now," Thalia said quietly to her.

Nico appeared out of nowhere next to Annabeth. "You sure you want to do this, Annabeth?" Nico asked, his voice low and his concern obvious.

"Yes," Annabeth said firmly. "I do," she said.

"Get going!" Dionysus shouted at them from where he was watching, scowling down at them for being so slow.

Still, Annabeth cast a final check over the woodland around the entrance to the chasm before she returned to the others.

No icy blue eyes materialised again, but the freezing wind continued whistling over the crater of Mt. St. Helens from the far north. Annabeth almost thought she heard deep laughter carried on the howling wind, the voice of some ancient god taunting them as they continued their descent.

"And Tartarus followed with him."

Anddd we have the descent into Tartarus! Yay! There will be monsters, a cute kitten, and lots of other things that I won't mention because then I'll be spoiling them XD.

Bigg101 (chap 4): during the war, yes, when there's constant life or death situations, but they didn't have any time to be friends outside of that. I mean, Jason had never met Piper and then suddenly Piper has fake memories of an entire relationship - when she'd only actually been friends with Leo? Leo suddenly becomes the third wheel where he never was until Jason suddenly appears... I figure that's very difficult to get over when you have time to think about it :)

Bigg101 (chapter 3): thanks! Percy's a special boy XD

jujp: thanks!

Guest: See, if I answer either yes or no to that it's a spoiler :). We have entry into the Pit! XD.