Author's notes at the end as always. Hope you all enjoy!

Percy:

I hit the water hard. In an instant, a powerful current seized me, dragging me into the Styx's murky depths.

I shut my eyes and braced myself for the searing pain, for the river's hunger to tear me apart - but it never came. Instead, I remained suspended, locked in place by an unseen force as the water churned around me.

I opened my eyes, looking around in shock. "Wha- how am I not?"

"Dead?" A woman's voice hissed. "You already are, child. My waters are toxic to the living, but to the dead, this is simply water."

"Lady Styx?" I asked incredulously.

The waters before me stirred, shifting and solidifying into a shape, a woman's. She was tall, almost impossibly so. With sunken cheekbones that housed eyes darker than night itself. (Who I'd met, so I would know) Her hair, flowing with the river around us, was a deep obsidian black. She wore a robe of liquid shadow, so seamless it was impossible to tell where fabric ended and flesh began.

"Perseus," Styx said, her voice marred with hatred - not towards me, but woven into the very fibre of her being. There was no anger here, it was simply how she spoke. I made a mental note not to enrage her, if this was her normally, I'd hate to see her mad.

"Why am I here?" I asked the goddess cautiously, making sure to keep my tone flat and respectful.

"You know why, oathbreaker. You swore a vow on my name, you lied. By right your soul belongs to me now."

"I had no choice," I began warily. "I was-"

"Forced. Yes, my child. I know."

"Then why am I here?"

"Irregardless of the circumstances surrounding your oath, the fact is you made it and as such, you are bound to its terms."

How is that fair? I thought to myself. All desire to remain diplomatic left me, I'd had more than enough of being blamed for things out of my control. "You're working for him, aren't you? Tartarus. That's why I'm really here."

Styx sneered in disgust at the accusation. "How dare you. I have been loyal to Olympus since the time of the Titans, I have never faltered in that loyalty, not once."

"Then why help him?"

"I did not bring you here to serve Tartarus, child. I am here to warn you, one child of the ocean to another."

"Warn me of what?"

"That your execution has little to do with you, it was merely a means to draw out who Tartarus is truly hunting."

"Wait what? Who-"

"You know who, Perseus. Who do you think is both mad and powerful enough to come to Hades himself and demand your return?"

My blood went cold. "Dad?"

Styx nodded. "Yes, your father. As we speak he is on his way to the Underworld to retrieve you."

Despite the situation, my heart soared. After how things had gone the last time I saw him, I didn't know if he would ever want anything to do with me again.

Styx, somehow reading my expression flawlessly, shook her head. "No Perseus, regardless of what you may believe, he is your father. He loves you beyond measure. A fact that Tartarus is counting on."

"Then I need to go to him, now."

Styx shook her head. "Not so fast, Perseus. I am not done with you yet."

"Fine, do whatever you want to me. But you need to warn him now!" I said urgently, frustrated at how casual the river goddess was being about all of this.

"I cannot warn him, child."

"Why?" I said furiously, anger truly getting the better of me now. "You claim to be loyal to Olympus, prove it."

"I am loyal," Styx said indignantly, glowering at me. "But this is not a matter of loyalty, simply self preservation. The river runs through the heart of Tartarus, he would see such an overt move as a direct move against him, I will not spark his ire. Besides, Poseidon would never listen to me. He is here for you, he will not leave or change his course without you."

"Then let me go!"

"Such loyalty…" Styx remarked. "I admire it, I truly do. I want to help you, Perseus. But letting you go is not as simple as simply granting you release from my waters. Your soul is tied to here, to me. If I were to release you, I'd have to release you from death itself."

"Can… can you do that?"

"I can, but such an act demands a high cost."

"Please," I pleaded. "I'll do anything."

"Be careful of your words, Perseus." Styx said dangerously. "Words, especially here, carry great weight. Do not utter them lightly."

I nodded stiffly, with that warning said aloud, I was reluctant to say more. Styx, noticing this, gave me a reassuring smile and spoke again. "My ask is simple, any single request, at any moment I deem appropriate."

"Just one request?" I asked, stunned. Surely it couldn't be this easy?

"Yes, child. Just one. But before you decide, remember, I do not make this offer lightly. If you agree, there is no going back."

The way she phrased that made me uneasy. I had no clue what kind of favour she wanted from me, but something told me she didn't simply want me watching her dog for a weekend. She'd want something big.

What would Annabeth do? I wracked my brain, trying to picture her in my shoes. Knowing her, she'd probably ask a million questions and run through every scenario possible. I didn't have the smarts for that, but a question or two couldn't hurt. "Why me?" I asked. "Why do you want a favour from me?"

Styx chortled, making the waters around us ripple. "I'd heard you were humble to a fault, it seems the stories are true. Fate still walks hand in hand with you, Perseus. The Moirai still have great plans for you. Having you in my debt could prove most useful."

My eyes narrowed suspiciously, this didn't sound good. "I'm not sure…" I began.

"Then we can forget it," Styx said dismissively. "I have no interest in pressuring you, child. A deal must be made in good faith. I'll send you to Asphodel-"

"Wait, wait!" I exclaimed. Good faith? This was the opposite of that, Styx had me cornered here and she knew it. Eternity in Asphodel while my father suffered some horrible fate trying to save me wasn't an option, I had no choice here. "Fine, Lady Styx. Fine. I agree to your terms."

"Then we have terms. From this moment forth, our agreement is binding."

A weight set over me as our deal took hold, I'd just set something into motion that I couldn't take back. Something told me this would come back to bite me one day. "So what now?" I asked.

"Now?" Styx said questioningly. "I do what I promised, I'll restore your life to you. Brace yourself, this will be unpleasant.

Styx's form melted into the currents, leaving only the churning river around me. I closed my eyes, steeling myself for whatever was coming next.

Unpleasant was the understatement of the century. This was agony in its purest form. Moments after the goddess vanished, the waters consumed me. I may have been dead, but every nerve - every shred of my existence - ignited in unbearable pain. I had no flesh, but the river didn't care, it was trying to dissolve my very soul itself.

As the rivers began to gnaw away at me I found myself back at my mom's apartment. She and Paul were in the kitchen together making waffles. Blue waffles. I smiled, I could almost smell them, they looked delicious. I tried to cry out, to get their attention but they just kept their backs to me as they continued cooking. They couldn't hear me.

"He's not coming, Sally," I heard Paul say. "You know what teenagers are like, he's too busy with his friends and new girlfriend to hang out with us, it's nothing personal."

"It's his birthday," My mom replied. "We always spend birthdays together, he'll be here."

"Maybe," Paul said, he didn't seem convinced. "Maybe we should give him a call?"

"I tried earlier, he didn't pick up. He's probably busy, let's try later, I don't want to ruin his big day."

Ruin? I thought, the pain in my soul growing tenfold. I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry. I'd been a terrible son recently, I hadn't even thought to call her.

Her apartment faded, and suddenly, I stood atop a cliff, bathed in moonlight. Far below, waves crashed against jagged rocks, the sound a distant roar beneath the howling wind. The gusts battered me, relentless, as if urging me forward. But they didn't need to. The pull was already there, the desire to jump, to end it all was overwhelming.

"Do it," a voice in my head whispered. "No more pain, no more heartbreak."

I don't know… I thought uneasily. I'm not sure I-

"Want to? Of course you want to! Even if you get out of here, what happens next? You father is doomed, spare yourself the pain of seeing him suffer. Let go."

Maybe the voice was right, what was I going to be able to do that my dad couldn't, if Tartarus was coming for him, I couldn't stop it, I couldn't save him. I couldn't save anyone.

"Exactly," the voice said again. "Just give in, let the current take you, become one with the water."

I stopped trying to fight, the pain grew so intense my senses began to numb. Every thought, every feeling, every memory I had began to fade. Every part of my being was being washed away.

"Percy!" I heard a voice say sharply, Annabeth's voice. "Snap. Out. Of. It."

"Annabeth?" I asked incredulously.

"Who else?" She replied warmly. "You're in the Styx… again, you idiot. This is what it does, it eats away at you, you need to push back or it will consume you.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth… I failed you."

"You didn't fail me, Seaweed Brain. You couldn't if you tried. This is the Styx talking, not you. You need to fight it."

"I don't know if I can anymore."

"You did it once before." She retorted.

"But that was back when-" I didn't finish my sentence, I didn't need to. She was my lifeline, now she was gone.

"When you had me? Percy, you will always have me. I'm here now, aren't I?"

"Yes but-"

"No," Annabeth said firmly. "No buts, I'm putting my foot down. You're not letting some oversized puddle beat you. Fight it."

"I don't know if I can do this alone."

"Then we'll do it together. Keep your eyes closed, take my hand."

"I-"

"It's okay, Percy. Reach out, take my hand."

Slowly, I did. My fingers brushed against a familiar feeling hand. It was really her.

I made to open my eyes, but Annabeth, reading my mind as she always could, stopped me. "No, Seaweed Brain. Keep them shut, don't ruin the moment."

Our fingers interlaced and my strength returned to me, the pain from the acidic waters still there, but I didn't care. Pain just showed me I was alive, that I still had reason to go on. The intensity of the rushing current had died down, the river became wary, sensing that perhaps I wasn't the easy prey it took me for. I could feel the goddess lurking all around me, I sensed her surprise, even a slight tinge of fear from her as I took control of the waters. This may have been her domain, but the water was my home, and it would obey me.

The sensation of weight returned as my soul fused back into flesh and bone. I opened my eyes and looked down at myself. I was alive. A surge of power coursed through me, electrifying every fibre of my being, I couldn't help but grin.

"Congratulations," I heard the voice of Styx muse from all around me. "Most impressive, in truth I wasn't certain you would survive."

"Wait what, so I could have died? What about our deal?"

"Our deal was I would bring you back to life, and in return you'd owe me. If you had perished here, you'd have faded from existence itself. There would be no deal to uphold in that scenario."

"Oh great…"

"It matters not," she said flippantly. "You survived, for that I congratulate you."

"Thanks? I guess?"

"You're welcome. Now begone, I wish for peace."

"Yeah sure, I'll-"

Before I could finish my sentence, the waters coiled around me, sending me surging towards the surface in a blue. The river spat me out, sending me flying high in the air, higher than any son of Poseidon wants to go.

"Oh sh-" I said aloud as I saw what I was flying towards. Rocks, lots of rocks.

I hit them hard, knocking the air from my lungs, tearing open my newly regrown flesh.

Ouch. I thought. That hurt. I really should have asked Styx to give me the curse of Achilles back. I was kidding of course. Mostly.

I rolled onto my side and started crawling off the jagged rocks, dragging myself toward the softer dirt ahead. Every movement sent pain lancing through me, but I pushed forward. My limbs felt like they weighed a million pounds, I still hadn't fully adjusted to being alive again.

My pocket hitched on the point of a rock, as I dislodged it, I felt a strange sensation that made me pause. I reached down, putting my hand in my pocket, fingers closing around something familiar. I had Riptide back. It was a small comfort down here, but it was something.

After some more crawling, I made it to the soft dirt. I turned to my back, panting. Exhaustion crashed over me like a tidal wave. Gods, I was tired. I felt my eyes close, too heavy to keep open.

Just a few minutes, I thought as sleep enveloped me.

I awoke to the sound of cheering. Groggily, l rolled onto my side, trying to get my bearings. I was lying on a dune, the 'dirt' I'd crawled too was actually the most perfect pillar of sand I'd ever seen, me soft and white, almost too flawless to be natural. Below, a river stretched out before me, though this one was nothing like the Styx. The water was impossibly blue, shimmering under a light being cast from somewhere above, radiating warmth and something that felt an awful lot like happiness. Wherever I was, it was a far cry from where I'd just been. This was paradise.

Just beyond the river was the pearly gates of Elysium, the whole place looked just as stunning as the last time I'd seen it. A bustling city where it's always sunny, with a sprawl of Georgian style mansions, Roman villas, castles and huts by the ocean. It was like the ultimate seaside resort, but it somehow felt like home. My stomach began to rumble as the unmistakable scent of my Mom's blue pancakes wafted over to me, almost as if Elysium itself were beckoning me to enter. My eyes darted to the source of the smell, a large banquets table, though table may be the wrong word, it was as long as a freight train and as wide as a city block. It had every kind of food you could imagine, and even more you couldn't. The ultimate feast, fit for only the most worthy of people. I looked down at the groups of people sitting around the table. Laughing and smiling, talking and reminiscing. They looked so happy, so truly fulfilled. They'd lived good lives full of purpose, they had no worries left. They were truly at peace.

Beyond the feast stretched a vast field, filled with more people than l'd ever seen - and I'm from New York, so that's saying something. There had to be millions down there. At the front, a stage flashed with a kaleidoscope of lights, as if they were throwing some kind of undead concert. Center stage, a man clad in all leather danced and sang with reckless abandon. Was that Freddie Mercury? The lights pulsed with his every move, causing the crowd to glow in a dazzling array of colors. It was mesmerizing. And somewhere in that sea of faces was... Annabeth.

No, I thought, quashing any fantasies of rescuing her before they festered too deep. I need to find my dad, I can come back for her later. But I will be back, I told myself. I wasn't going to leave her there.

But maybe I should? I wondered. Elysium seemed so happy, so homely. Would she even want to leave? Would anyone?

Before I could dwell on that thought further, a low shiver down my spine ran down my spine - danger. Instinct took over. I rolled to the side, drawing Riptide as I did. Thank the gods for my reflexes, I thought as a sword arced through the air where my head had just been moments before.

I sprang to my feet, putting space between me and my attacker, Riptide raised and ready. Then I saw him.

"Ares?" I asked, shocked. He was the last person I expected to run into down here.

His biker leathers were in tatters, ripped to shreds. His face was gaunt, his forehead slick with sweat. Dark purple veins bulged along his arms. He looked sick - really sick. The flames that danced in his eye sockets were gone, leaving nothing more than a dark void in their wake. Still, I could tell his gaze was firmly locked onto mine.

"I've gotta say," He spat as he sauntered toward me, his voice lined with hatred. "You've gotten better, kid."

"Yeah. Six years of practice will do that to you." I quipped back sarcastically, backing up as I spoke. I wasn't going to let him throw another cheap shot. "Well? Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to fight."

Ares grinned, baring his crooked teeth at me. "C'mon then, punk. Humour me."

I lunged forward, swinging for his neck, he moved his blade to meet mine, at the last second I shifted, changing course, aiming my blade between his ribs. There was no way he could react in time-

CLANG.

The impact sent a shockwave up my arms, rattling my teeth and forcing me back a few steps. My ears were ringing. I shook my head, trying to clear my vision, and refocused on him.

He's faster than I remembered, I thought through gritted teeth. Though I could have just gotten slower, my limbs still felt heavy.

I tried again, this time feinting low and then aiming high. Ares didn't even bother using his blade this time, he just slipped out the arc of my strike and then stood there, watching me, waiting.

"Better," Ares said thoughtfully as I approached once again. "But still not good."

I continued my attack, but to no success. Every strike I threw was parried, every feint read expertly, his defence was flawless. He wasn't even trying to attack me, this wasn't a fight, he was toying with me.

With a sigh, I capped Riptide and took a step back. Fighting him was pointless, I wasn't going to win. The only way to be him was to just not engage him at all.

"Oh," Ares said in disappointment. "Are you done already?"

"Yeah," I sputtered, gasping for breath after throwing everything I had at him. "I'm done."

"I thought you had more fight in you than that, how disappointing."

I didn't rise to his challenge, this was what he wanted. "Nope, you win."

Ares' expression stiffened. "Okay then. Well, I thank you for providing me with a modicum of entertainment."

Huh? Since when did Ares talk like that? Any word with more than two syllables in it seemed to be beyond him.

"I must say," Ares continued. "Fighting is a new sensation to me, I try to avoid taking physical form, but this was most… enjoyable, despite how crude it is. I can see why you mortals do it so much."

Oh.

"You're not Ares, are you?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"No…" Tartarus answered as Ares' form flickered dangerously. "I'm not." As he spoke, the ground beneath me trembled. With every breath he took, the air around us seemed to inhale and exhale with him, as if the entire Underworld was breathing in sync with his presence. "Be honoured, boy. I told you once before, few are worthy of my personal attention. You are in prestigious company."

Yippee for me, I thought sarcastically.

Tartarus turned and looked down on Elysium, as he did I noticed a strange branding on the back of his neck, some kind of writing, I didn't recognise the language. Ares didn't have that normally.

"No," Tartarus said aloud, answering my thoughts. "He didn't. The mark is of my making, it is far beyond the understanding of a simpleton like Ares, your so-called god of war."

We stayed silent for a few moments as I did my best to not think, I didn't want him probing around my thoughts.

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" Tartarus remarked. "I've always loathed the boundary between myself and the earth, but I cannot deny it - it is a place of profound beauty."

I stared at him in shock, unsure what to say. This was not what I expected.

Tartarus turned to me. "I have spent eons in the pit, boy. Do not forget that. This is all new to me."

"So," I said, finding my voice at last. "Is that why you're here, just to admire the view?"

Tartarus laughed, it was a hearty, genuinely amused laugh. It was a disturbing sound. "Of course not. We're waiting."

"For?"

Tartarus didn't reply, he just turned back to Elysium, watching the crowds below dance joyfully to the music. He almost seemed… wistful? We stood in silence for a few minutes, just watching the world go by.

Eventually I broke the silence, it was too weird and the awkwardness was getting to me. "So, are you going to kill me?"

Tartarus peeled his gaze from Elysium and looked back at me. "Kill you? Now why in the name of my good wife would I do that? I am in your debt."

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

Tartarus smiled, a twisted, depraved grin. "You brought your father to me! You have proven to be most helpful!"

My blood ran cold. "What do you want with him?"

Tartarus sneered. "With Poseidon? Nothing." He spat in disgust. "He's nothing more than a gnat, a pale imitation of a true god. But his absence will serve me greatly, with oceans in disarray, my brother will be forced to finally show himself again."

"Your brother? Who?"

Tartarus waved a hand airily. "It is beyond you, I will not waste my precious time explaining ancient history to a child."

Wait, I realised. Dad. What did he do to him.

"I have not killed him," Tartarus replied, once again answering my thoughts. "If that is what you were wondering. Poseidon lives, and will continue to do so for as long as I see fit."

I shuddered at his words, the casual way he stated he hadn't killed my dad made me realise he probably could, and very easily.

"I could," Tartarus whispered in the back of my mind. "All fallen immortals end up in my domain, they reform or fade according to my will."

"Do not worry though," Tartarus continued aloud. "Poseidon remains unharmed, he took little effort to restrain."

"How- how though? You're here!"

"I am everywhere, what is before your right now is a small expression of my greater being. Your father is with the rest of me. Believe me, you are getting the better part of me."

I shuddered at that. "Why tell me all this?"

"Because you cannot stop it." Tartarus replied matter of factly. "What harm would it do."

In response, I uncapped Riptide, levelling my blade at him once again.

"Oh please," Tartarus said with a sigh, not even looking at me. He clicked his fingers and Riptide disappeared from my hand, seconds later I felt a familiar sensation as it returned to my pocket.

I thought about reaching for it again, but one look from Tartarus made me think different. There was no fighting him, it was pointless.

"I've been asked to keep you alive," Tartarus said. "But I am not a patient man. Do not push me."

"Asked? By who?"

Again, Tartarus ignored me, his gaze fixed back on Elysium. This time, he watched the banquet table as the dead feasted and toasted each other and their great deeds. The smell of pancakes hit me once again, and with it came the thought - what food would Tartarus smell, if any. Did he even eat?

If Tartarus was still listening to my thoughts, he didn't show it. He just kept watching in fascination, his nose twitched slightly, almost as if he were smelling something.

Finally, he spoke again. "Well, I think it's time, don't you?" Tartarus said in a questioning tone, joining me in looking down at the dirt, I looked up at him, confused.

Why was he asking me a question? Quickly, I got my answer, he wasn't asking me.

The ground beneath us began to shake with an unholy amount of force. A demeaning rumble echoed through her air, like tectonic plates shifting, as the Earth itself spoke in a long- forgotten tongue. The sheer volume alone was so intense that blood began to stream from my ears, the force of it knocked me onto my back. After a few terrifying moments, the rumbling subsided, leaving me staring at the dirt around me in terror. I never thought I'd feel that presence again. Her presence.

"Very well, my love," Tartarus said with a genuine smile, looking down at the Earth around us lovingly. He then turned to me. "My wife wants to speak with you."

The rumbling returned with a vengeance. I desperately tried to scramble away, but something hurled me painfully into the ground. The soil beneath me twisted and swirled, pulling me into its grasp. I felt the dirt run up my body before solidifying, I was trapped within the Earth. The ground began to shake with such force all around me the ground began to crack sporadically, opening up endless canyons that led into the dark void below, somewhere from within that void I could hear the poetry of the Earth and the Pit, laughing joyfully in unison. I closed my eyes as the shaking began to concentrate around me as the ground swallowed me whole.

Chapter 10 will be out in a day or so, it's very close to being finished now. After that I'm travelling for around a week, I'll likely get chapter 11 out over that time but obviously for that week I won't be able to keep up my average of 3 updates a week. I'm not disappearing though, we'll be back to the regular update schedule as soon as I'm back from travelling.

Also. Yes Gaea is back, all I ask is people don't jump to conclusions. I hated the way she was handled in HoO in all honesty and I want to handle her differently. You'll see next chapter, I think it's some of my best work though. On another note, Percy and Artemis will have their first proper scenes together very, very soon.

Thanks again for all the support, this story is growing at an insane rate now, I don't even know what to say beyond that I am really thankful and glad you're all enjoying it. I'll respond to some reviews here.

Posaitan, thanks again for commenting, always love seeing your reviews! That's a bunch of interesting ideas, I don't think I'm going to be going in that direction but if I were to, I'd definitely have implemented some of that. Also yes, no more throne rooms lol. Also, Percy sucking at archery is a funny quirk of his character, he's far more interesting to me with flaws so he definitely isn't going to suddenly become some archery wizard, definitely agree with you there. As for additional weapons, I'm not sure. One thing I really loved about the original series with the simplicity of Percy just having Riptide, I'm undecided on if I want to give him anything new or not.

Pertemisplz, thanks for the lovely review! I remember your name from my original story years ago actually. I'm glad you liked the Hera abuse aspect. I will be expanding on that further down the line. It's always been a headcanon of mine that Apollo would be good at therapy, he can't lie and he's the god of healing. He's very close with Artemis and half the Hunt are his children so him therapising them just makes sense.

Alphaomega99, I have no plans to discontinue this story. I have almost all of it planned out and the final chapter was fully written years ago, I'm definitely going to finish it. It's going to be very long, but I'm updating regularly and will continue to do so until it's completed.

As always, any type of feedback is appreciated! Hope you all enjoyed, chapter 10 coming very, very soon! (It may or not not be fully written already :)