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Chapter Text

Annabeth Chase was bored.

She had been falling for what felt like days now, her initial adrenaline had run out and she was beginning to wonder if there was a bottom to this place. She assumed so since Nico had been down here before, but with how long it had been since she fell... She was kinda hoping there was no bottom.

She knew if there was a bottom that it wasn't going to be a very demigod friendly place. Annabeth wasn't a stranger to fear. With the amount of quests she's been on, some of the monsters she's faced, and having her memory wiped by Hera; fear became a common theme in her life, but now she was downright terrified. She wants nothing more than to curl into a ball and sob, to be held by her mother like she was a normal child instead of a piece of the prophetic puzzle that just needs to serve her role. But unfortunately she couldn't afford to do that.

Ever since she was 12 and Zeus' bolt was stolen, she's had to be strong, be a leader. She can't afford a moment of weakness. She needs to retrieve the bolt, get the golden fleece, hold the sky, navigate the labyrinth, and defeat Kronos who was inside her first crush's body. Just when she thought she was done... Poof. Memory gone and a whole new camp she had to save from being destroyed by 2 giants and a second great prophecy she had to be apart of. Defeating Arachne was one of the most daunting tasks she had ever done, yet she did it. She had accomplished what no child of Athena could do in the past millennia and right when she thought she was able to celebrate her victory she was dragged into the pit.

She had promised Nico she would meet them at the doors of death, but in all honesty she had already resigned herself to death. She didn't feel any hope falling into the pit of eternal damnation, only a heavy sadness. Sad she was going to fail her friends, sad that her life was going to end in such an awful way, and most of all sad that she felt so alone. No one could ever quite relate to her experiences, she was always the one getting the short end of the stick. She had suffered tragedy after tragedy and was forced to keep moving forward. So when the hole she was falling into opened up into the largest cavern she'd ever seen... she accepted she was going to die.

Her brain couldn't comprehend a way that she may live this fall. She would splat on impact and that would be it. She saw one of the underworld rivers under her, it's black water the closest thing to beautiful in the landscape she could see. Even if she wasn't going to land 20 feet away from it, hitting water at this speed would be worse than hitting concrete so Annabeth did the only thing that she could think of... She closed her eyes and waited.

...

What she did not expect was to hear a loud rush of water envelope as if a giant hand reached out and caught her, using the water to slow her down gradually rather than make her go splat. Unfortunately the water was from the river Cocytus, so the newfound hope she felt initially was immediately squeezed out of her as the water invaded her mind, making her feel like life was hopeless. She could hear the souls of the damned speaking to her, telling her life was pointless and nothing but misery. Annabeth couldn't help but agree, her whole life was nothing but terrible and the last of her willpower crumbled as she didn't even try to swim to the surface.

Just as she closed her eyes ready for death, there was a strange force pushing her to the top. Like the water was rejecting her and she was spat out onto the bank. Immediately she yelped as she felt countless glass shards cut and slice her arms and legs. She couldn't believe it.... She was alive. In Tartarus. Where it seemed like everything was designed to hurt and kill, even the air felt horrible on her lungs. There was oxygen thankfully but it felt like inhaling smoke, it was obvious it was not going to be good for her in the long run, but she could think about that later. For the moment she tried to sit up and take a second to think about what her next move was going to be, when she felt a cold metal press against her throat.

Her blood ran cold as she felt the blade dig into her neck slightly, just enough so she knew if she moved she was dead. The assailant slowly walked around her so she could finally see them, and she couldn't believe what she saw. It was a human, or at least someone who looked distinctly human. They were covered head to toe in dried red blood, and judging from the scars all over their body, it was probably their own. She assumed it was a man, but she couldn't make it out. With how dark Tartarus was and their long black hair she couldn't really get a good look at his face, but she could tell from his eyes and his body that he was a fighter. He was wearing what looked like a jacket made out of hellhound fur, he had large baggy shorts on clearly fashioned out of a monster hide, with a belt made of some sort of plant, his feet were covered in makeshift shoes he had clearly stolen from some monsters, they were hilariously mismatched as one was a dark black color and the other a neon yellow and purple. He must have gotten that one recently with how clean it looks, the thought crossed her mind for only a second before she remembered how much danger she was in when she heard him growl. Annabeth froze not wanting to provoke him, she didn't know what he was. He couldn't be a human or a demigod he would have died from the countless monsters that should be lurking down here. Most likely he was a minor deity, but then where did all the red blood come from?

The man suddenly took a step forward, careful to keep his sword in place at her neck ready to kill her in a second if she tried to move, so she held her breath and waited as the man reached out and touched her hair gently. He lifted a small amount to his nose and sniffed. His actions were definitely creeping Annabeth out, but when he pulled back slightly he had a soft smile on his face and he lowered his sword. Annabeth gently raised her hands in a placating gesture, trying to ensure that she meant him no harm. He seemed content with her actions and his sword disappeared in a flash. It seemed to shrink down into a ballpoint pen. "Neat trick" she said calmly. "My name is Annabeth. What's yours?" The man opened his mouth slowly and seemed sad when no sound came out. After a moment he simply flashed her an OK sign and beckoned her to follow him as he took a step away from her.

Annabeth wasn't sure she necessarily trusted this mysterious man. In truth he terrified her, he had an aura of power that surrounded him and his eyes seemed deadly. Annabeth had perfected her own wolf stare with her time under Lupa's care, and yet his was leagues above. She knew she had no hope of beating this man in a fight, especially without her knife, but his eyes seemed so much friendlier now. It was like sniffing her hair made her a friend and no longer a foe. Was it really as simple as that? Or was he leading her into a trap. Sadly she didn't really have much of a choice as he looked at her expectantly wanting her to follow him. She hated not having a plan, but this seemed to be the best she was going to get. She just had to trust this man and pray to all the gods her hair continues to smell nice lest he turn on her.

So without much of another option, she began to follow her green eyed savior.

Chapter Text

Annabeth's everything hurt. Her entire body was tired and sore and so drained. She could tell her body was significantly weaker than she should have been. Her ankle which had mostly healed during the fall began to hurt again, the cuts on her body were bleeding more instead of less, and she could feel herself getting slightly light headed from the less than ideal oxygenated atmosphere of Tartarus. She had been following the mystery man for almost an hour, and other than his occasional less than reassuring smile over his shoulder, she had no clue where he was leading her too. Her initial fear of him was only beginning to grow, after watching a small group of empousai turn tail and run the moment they saw him. When a monster such as an empousai fears him to the point they would rather run than fight him, she realized she was probably underestimating just how strong this man truly was. Less intelligent monsters such as hellhounds would still attack, but the man dispatched them with an ease that frankly made her feel a little inadequate. Each hellhound was killed in one swipe of his sword, which revealed another difference in tartarus.

Blood.

Monsters didn't just turn to dust right away when killed. It was a gradual transformation into dust, but they bled. The only part of them that didn't turn to dust was the blood they spilled, which made her newfound acquaintance look even more barbaric as the hellhounds blood covered his arms. Other than the hellhounds their walk was actually fairly peaceful. Nothing was bothering them which made her extremely anxious. This was supposed to be land of monsters and yet she wasn't seeing very many. When she was on the run with Luke and Thalia there were monsters just about everyday they had to fight. Over the years there seemed to be less and less. She assumed they were siding with Kronos and just waiting for the time to strike, but even his force he led upon Olympus was much smaller than she expected.

She realized that the reason for the lack of monsters is likely the man who helped her. The aura of power he exudes was extraordinary and he seemed well versed in this place, he was constantly on alert, eyes that never seemed to stop moving. It was unnerving how natural he seemed in this place. Slowly as they walked a glow began to appear in the distance, and after getting closer it finally came into view. The river Phlegethon.

The man happily jumped up and down as he began to walk faster, beckoning for her to follow with a large smile on his face. Annabeth couldn't help but smile as well. In terms of monster fighting and power he was a frightening enigma, but in that moment he seemed like a kid, jumping for joy and wanting to share with his new friend.

Annabeth had never seen such a strange and beautiful river before. The constant flow of fire water, casting off a beautiful glow in such a dark place. It's flames licking the edges of the banks. The man carefully sat down at the bank and gestured for her to do the same. After sitting down the man had a big smile on his face as he rocked back and forth in place, it was a little endearing. "So did you bring me here so I'd have some light?" Annabeth questioned. She had no idea why he had led her to this river, she had heard it been called the river of healing before, but she didn't know how exactly it could heal someone.

As if he heard her internal thoughts he summoned his sword by uncapping the pen, (a feature Annabeth would kill for on any weapon) and cut a small line upon his hand. The man quickly gave her a thumbs up before shoving his other hand into the river of fire. He brought a small handful to his mouth and swallowed it in one gulp. He gave a small cough but Annabeth watched as the cut on his hand stitched itself back together before her eyes.

He pointed at her and then at the river before looking at her expectantly. Annabeth knew that her cuts weren't getting better but the thought of drinking fire was still a bit much. That is until she began coughing up some blood. Of course! Everything here was meant to kill and hurt, she already compared the air to inhaling smoke but it would make sense that it is slowly destroying her lungs and the only way it would seem to heal it is with this river.

The man saw the blood and swiftly grabbed a large handful with two hands and gingerly brought his cupped hands to her mouth. Now Annabeth wouldn't normally drink fire from another mans hands so readily, but when you can feel your lungs bleeding and you're coughing it up... It made her decision pretty easy. She brought her lips to the fire and drank from his hands, the pain was immense. She had never experienced something like this before. It was like drinking a ghost pepper smoothie and washing it down with some hot sauce.

Annabeth recoiled and began coughing again but the cuts on her body slowly started to heal and a warmth spread throughout her body. She began to feel much better, not perfect by any means, but the thought she might die any second went away.

The man smiled big and clapped before giving her a thumbs up. Annabeth smiled back, she didn't really understand this man very well yet, but he seemed lonely and was just glad to help her. The man stood and offered her a hand to help her to her feet, but a moment after pulling Annabeth up his eyes locked onto something behind her. Annabeth was thrown to the ground behind the man as he dove forward tackling their assailant. When Annabeth turned around her blood ran cold, the man was fighting for his life against Arachne in a dangerous deathmatch. He must not have had time to draw his sword before tackling her, so he was using his arms to prevent her from biting him, but he was clearly losing. His 4 limbs against her 8 wasn't going well and after a short scuffle Arachne used her webs to pin the man to the ground.

"So Athenian spawn it seems I made a grave mistake on the surface, so lets correct that shall we?" Arachne began moving towards Annabeth slowly, knowing that Annabeth had absolutely no means of escape. "I'm going to devour each and every part of you, but I'll start with the limbs first. Having you drink fire water will prevent you from dying right away so I can take my time enjoying the noises you make as I take chunk after chunk of that savory flesh you have."

Annabeth wanted to throw up, she wanted to scream and she wanted to cry, but no matter what she did she knew she was powerless. She stood there waiting as Arachne got closer. Could the Fates really be so cruel? After everything she's done she's about to be killed in such a gruesome fashion? "After I enjoy killing you I need to find the best way to kill the infamous demigod I just caught. That man has wrecked havoc in Tartarus for the past 7 years or so, a lot of monsters want him dead including plenty of immortals. Do you know why he's here? He was cast down here unfairly by the very gods you fight so hard to protect." Annabeth couldn't believe it. How could the gods cast someone down here just like that? Arachne had said seven years ago, but he was only her age so he was only a child when it happened...

Arachne laughed. "Does that knowledge upset you? A lonely demigod cast into Tartarus all because his pathetic father couldn't keep it in his pants. Meanwhile Zeus had not one but two children who go to live on the surface." Arachne laughed again before turning to look at the writhing mass within her webs. "There is no demigod with a worse fate than Percy Jackson." Upon hearing his own name, the man stopped struggling and let out a low growl. The river of fire seemed to respond to his anger as it bobbed angrily before exploding outwards.

Miraculously it avoided Annabeth entirely or maybe that was the ma- Percy Jackson's doing. It engulfed Arachne and dragged her within its banks. Arachne wailed and tried to pull herself out but it was unforgiving. The river pulled Arachne into its depths with a hiss. This Percy Jackson just killed Arachne like it was nothing, manipulating a river made of fire to do his bidding, it didn't make any logical sense how he could do that, but honestly she was too relieved to care. She watched as a thin tendril of fire water snaked its way towards him before burning away the webs holding him down.

Percy sat up with rage evident in his eyes, he got to his feet quickly and ran over to her checking her body over for injuries frantically. Once he had looked over her and realized she was fine he grabbed her and pulled her against his chest in a gentle yet firm hug. Annabeth wasn't sure what to do, it was a little uncomfortable given the man she was hugging clearly hadn't had a proper shower in so long and stunk like hell. Yet she found herself hugging him back. "Hey, I'm okay she didn't hurt me or anything. You saved me." She felt his shoulders tighten around her and the smallest little wet spot forming on top of her head.

She realized he was crying. Does he really value her that much? Why does he care so much about her? Of course he does Annabeth realized. He's been down her for 7 years and she's most likely the only friendly face he has seen much less another human being. He's been all alone for so long, losing her would probably hurt him so much. Annabeth doesn't know how he survived down here for 7 years, but she's content with letting him hug her and cry. If anyone deserves it it's Percy Jackson.

Chapter Text

Once again Annabeth found herself walking endlessly following the enigma known as Percy Jackson. The only problem this time... she was hungry.

Monsters yet again weren't much of a problem, most stayed away and the less intelligent creatures would attack and Percy would dispel them with ease. Once a harpy attacked and after Percy chopped the chicken lady's head off, he began to cut off her legs. Annabeth was confused as to what he was doing, but realized he was cleaning it and once done he walked over to the bank of the phlegethon and used his sword as a skewer to cook the legs.

Percy looked over and smiled at her patting his stomach to sign that he was hungry, but Annabeth would try her best to not sink that low. She isn't outright disgusted by the fact that Percy is eating monster meat, it makes sense being down here, but she didn't exactly want to start if she could help it. The only problem was the oversized chicken legs he was cooking smelled very good. He offered her a leg when they were done, which she politely declined.

Percy looked at her confused before taking a bite of his own chicken leg and offering the other to her again. This time when she declined her stomach betrayed her and grumbled loudly, making it obvious she was very hungry. Percy looked at her deep in thought for a moment before smiling and motioning for her to follow him again, this time instead of holding his pen/sword he was duel wielding chicken legs which he ate with gusto.

Since his hands were full any monster that came near was swallowed up by the fire river, he hardly even gave them a second glance as he walked enjoying his meal. While walking Annabeth began to wonder what kind of demigod this Percy Jackson was. He was clearly powerful, probably the most powerful she's ever seen and it doesn't even look like he's been trying, which is a sobering thought she'd unpack more later. With how much control he has over the fire river her initial thought was Hephaestus, but that wouldn't explain why he would be cast down here, or how he controlled the Cocytus. Her next thought was a son of Poseidon, but that didn't necessarily make much sense either. This river was most certainly not any type of actual water, and as far as Annabeth knew, Poseidon had no control over any Underworld rivers, so how had he done that?

But she couldn't think of another god that would make more sense to be his godly parent, it would make sense why he was cast into Tartarus, because of the prophecy... Annabeth nearly exploded with realization. No one knew what to make of the line of a child of the eldest gods reaching 16 against all odds, Thalia was eternally 15 and Nico certainly wasn't there, but if he was in Tartarus the entire time...

Suddenly Percy started pointing ahead of them and after squinting her eyes for a bit she noticed a structure appearing through the haze in the distance. Percy picked up the pace and Annabeth had to almost jog to follow, when they finally reached their destination it turned out to be a shrine to Hermes. "It must have fallen down from the surface" Annabeth said amazed, she could feel some of the power emanating from it, which admittedly was comforting. Percy slowly walked down the slope leading to the statue and pointed to the base of it using his other hand to signal Annabeth to follow.

Once she was beside him he pointed at her, then at the ground, and then made a sleeping gesture with his hands beside his head as he closed his eyes. "You want me to sleep?" Annabeth wasn't too sure about sleeping in Tartarus, but she could tell that she was bone tired and if she didn't get sleep at some point she would likely collapse from exhaustion. A little reluctantly she agreed and layed down to try and get some rest. Percy twirled his pen between his fingers, walking the perimeter of the indent the statue was in. She felt bad for not letting him sleep first, but she knew she couldn't fight back if monsters ambushed them anyways. "Wake me up later so you can get some sleep too." Percy didn't turn around but flashed an OK sign, which was good enough for Annabeth as she drifted off to sleep.

Sleeping in Tartarus turned out to be a bad idea. Her nightmares were potent and downright terrifying, they all seemed so real. Visions of her friends and family dying, Camp Half-Blood in ruins, Camp Jupiter swallowed by the earth, and Gaea laughing over her victory claiming that she has already won. The Athena Parthenos standing on top of Half-Blood Hill telling her the Roman must bring her. It was enough to freak anyone out. Annabeth rose slowly, her body damp with sweat from her dreams, but as she sat up a wonderful smell reached her nose. She inhaled deeply looking around before noticing a large plate of roast beef beside her, and a bit further away a half a hotdog, a Coke, and a pack of Peanut M&Ms. She looked up about to ask Percy where the food came from, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Annabeth began to panic, she had been relying on him so much so far, he had the only weapon between the two of them and he seemed to know the landscape of Tartarus fairly well. She quickly scrambled up the edge of the indent only to gasp at the sight she saw on top. There were countless monsters surrounding the shrine, which normally would scare Annabeth, but every single one was dead. Every single one killed with a decisive decapitation and standing amongst them was Percy. He was absolutely COVERED in the unique black blood of the Tartarus monsters, but he still had that same goofy grin when he saw her.

He began walking back over after taking a quick pit stop to take the jacket off of a cyclops he slew. He used the jacket to wipe off some of the blood on his face before practically skipping over to her. He noticed the food in the pit and smiled pointing at it and gesturing for her to eat. Annabeth was amazed at the incredible act of violence that must have taken place, but she was still hungry so she walked back over to the shrine and began to eat.

He waited patiently as she scarfed down her food, taking long sips of the Coke, and in between bites she began to question him. "Where did this food come from?" to which his reply was just a simple shrug before he poured a few M&M's into his hand. She took a second to think before realizing it must have come from Camp Half-Blood, Connor always sacrificed a pack of Peanut M&M's to his dad for dinner.

"Percy do you know where I'm trying to do down here?" Percy just smiled and nodded. "Ok so you know I need to get to the Doors of Death, do you know where they are?" Again he nodded with a smile slightly bobbing his head side to side like a dog wagging his tail, which was a bit adorable, but she decided not to comment. "Will you lead me there and help me close them?" Without hesitation he nodded again this time a bit more serious.

Okay so now she had confirmation he was an ally, as if his acts to protect her weren't enough already, but something was eating at her still. Her dream about her mother's statue and how the roman needs to bring it back. Like a lightbulb being flicked on an idea formed in Annabeth's head. "Percy can your pen-sword actually write like a pen?" He looked at her confused for a second before looking at the pen and uncapping it, letting the sword spring out. "What if you capped the other end? Like if you were going to write with it?" He raised an eyebrow at her, but tried it anyways, and sure enough there was a ballpoint pen with the writing end sticking out. "Thank you." Annabeth took the pen and smoothed out a napkin that was on the ground beside her and began to write, meanwhile Percy was sitting there with his mouth open in astonishment.

After a few moments she finished writing her letter and handed Percy back the pen. "Now we just need something to light this with, are you able to make any sort of fire?" Percy thought for a second before closing his eyes. Annabeth was confused but a few moments later a small tendril of fire water floated over to them from the river Phlegethon, proving once again that this Percy Jackson is stupidly powerful. Annabeth lit the napkin with the river water and watched as the smoke rose upwards. She could only hope her message actually got out.

"Ok I'm ready to go again." Percy simply nodded before taking the lead yet again to lead her closer to the Doors of Death.

Chapter Text

Tartarus was beginning to really irritate Annabeth. All things considered being irritated about a situation is much better than being dead, but she's never felt so powerless. Percy had to protect her from everything so far. He defeated Arachne with the help of the Phlegethon, he's taken down every monster who dared get close, his presence alone seems to ward off most, and to top it all off while she slept he was awake fighting an army for her. Situations where she has been physically powerless, she at least had her mind. Her most potent weapon in her arsenal just couldn't think of a better plan while down here. There were just too many unknowns for her to comprehend and even if she knew the terrain like Percy, his instincts were the thing keeping them alive the most.

It was like he could sense monsters before he could see them. The only monster to ever surprise Percy was Arachne, but Annabeth had been distracting him. So navigating Tartarus for him looked like a piece of cake and he was ruthless when it came to killing monsters. If any monster came close enough Percy would attack with gusto, his movements so precise and quick Annabeth could barely keep track of his sword swings as he decapitated yet another group of Telekhines. He seemed to enjoy it which unnerved Annabeth down to the core. His grin was a bit endearing, but seeing the smile that broke out on his face after each kill gave her shivers. It was like a switch was flipped between a cool, calm, and happy Percy and something that could have only been cultivated in this pit of damnation.

After Percy wiped some of the blood off his sword and resumed their scenic hike, they came across what looked like some sort of forest. All of the trees had no leaves and seemed to be dead, and there was a fog along the ground so she would have to really watch her step. Percy stopped at the edge and gritted his teeth, Annabeth didn't know what was agitating him, but for a Tartarus expert like him to be unnerved it shook Annabeth to her core.

Percy turned towards her and brought a single finger to his lips, an obvious sign to be quiet, and he began a stealthy walk into the forest. He took hold of her hand which normally might have flustered Annabeth a bit, but the situation seemed a bit too dire for thoughts like that. Their progress was slow and careful, Percy weaving between trees with purpose like he could somehow know the correct path they needed to take. She was rather impressed how knowledgeable he seemed about this place, it seemed he knew what to do in every situation they had encountered so far, which she was grateful for.

So as soon as she had that thought things just had to go wrong. One misstep. A single fallen tree branch that she somehow missed under the fog and the one second of hearing the tree branch snap under her foot. Just as soon as it happened Percy started sprinting dragging her along with him. She didn't understand why they were running, but his sense of urgency left no argument. They sped through the forest as fast as they could, Annabeth could here something following them or maybe multiple somethings, but she didn't risk turning around.

Percy seemed even more agitated now he was practically dragging her along trying to get as much distance as possible. Percy stopped suddenly and grabbed Annabeth around the waist to stop her from running, she realized they had almost sprinted right over the edge of a cliff with no visible bottom. She was glad to not fall to her death but the monsters pursuing them had finally caught up. Tons of fat bat-like old ladies flew down in front of them and began to laugh. "Quite the chase you led us on, but you can't escape from the Arai your actions will always catch up to you." The demon ladies laughed again and Percy growled stepping in front of Annabeth.

"You think you can protect the daughter of Athena? Most of us curses are aimed at you dear Perseus. You've spent so much time killing monsters down here they all want you dead, which death will you choose?" They laughed again and began to close in. Percy didn't hesitate killing 4 Arai with a single swing of his sword, but what Annabeth didn't understand is why he started bleeding. Percy continued to fight but every kill earned him another slash on his body, another puncture, another purple and black bruise. Something was clearly wrong and the demon ladies seemed to enjoy what was happening. "Oh so many wonderful curses aimed at you Perseus, you're only killing yourself!" Annabeth's eyes widened as she realized what was happening, and yet Percy didn't falter. His attacks didn't slow in fact they seemed to speed up, he had created a semi circle in front of her he wasn't allowing them to enter.

Annabeth wanted to help, but didn't know if she'd be able to, if she stepped forward now she would likely get in his way. His movements had become animalistic, like he was relying solely on instinct to react in time to the demon ladies trying to get to her. The thing that turned the tides was an arai that had tried to sneak around behind her, Percy noticed it trying to attack and threw his sword, cutting her clean in two, but now he had no weapon. He continued to fight, stomping on their heads and using his teeth to tear out their throats. He was so desperate to not let one reach her, but finally one did. Annabeth knew that when she killed it a curse would befall her, but when it's razor sharp talons were flying at her face, she made her decision. She grabbed it's leg and judo flipped it over her shoulder, bringing her elbow down onto its throat with a decisive blow.

The reaction was immediate Annabeth fell onto her face unable to use her muscles any longer. She didn't understand what was beginning to happen to her but the demon ladies began to laugh. "The curse of Phineas? What an excellent and painful choice of death daughter of Athena." Annabeth couldn't do anything but lay on her back helplessly as Percy continued to fight on her behalf. His whole body seemed to be shaking at this point, his body was almost entirely covered in his own blood. He had gashes all up and down his arms and legs, and worst of all it looked like he had a hole going straight through his side. She couldn't understand how he was still standing let alone fighting, but she could feel her consciousness begin to slip.

She felt weightless, kinda like a balloon filled with helium. Only problem was she could tell that her balloon was going to pop soon. She could hear Percy fighting but it sounded distant, she wished she could help him, the only person she's ever met to make her own trauma seem like childs play. She wished she could give him a better life, she wished she spent more time with the members of the seven, she wished she spent more time with her family in California. Most of all she wished she could've heard her mother's praise... Just once to hear that she was proud of Annabeth. Suddenly Percy's fuzzy face cut into her vision, and she felt him cut her arm with the same sword he had thrown off the cliff earlier? Her mind was too fuzzy to try and think of an answer and Percy seemed to be glowing? No that's not right just his eyes were. Suddenly she felt a stream of liquid shoot out of her arm and her vision cleared considerably, she felt as though her balloon had deflated just a tad, preventing her from popping just yet.

She tried to thank him, but nothing came out except a grunt of pain. He wordlessly scooped her up and began to walk, she didn't know how he could move with his injuries let alone carry her. She began to lose consciousness and the last thing she saw was his glowing green eyes, and a landscape of blood and chunks of flesh. Almost as if the Arai were the ones whose balloons had popped.

Chapter Text

When Annabeth finally awoke she thought she must've died cause the sight before her was just too weird to be true. She was inside of some sort of cabin, on top of some gigantic bed with a little calico cat sleeping on her chest. When she looked beside her she saw Percy Jackson holding her hand at the edge of the bed, which was an admittedly funny sight because she could only really see his shoulders and up since the bed was so tall. As soon as he noticed that she was awake his eyes widened and he grabbed a cup off her bedside and chucked it into an empty corner of the room. That was until the entire corner of the room turned and spoke. "Ow! You little bastard! This is the thanks I get for helping your friend?" The giant figure turned around and Annabeth was able to see he was an actual bane of the gods type giant. She tried to move, but her body didn't seem able to yet and the giant seemed to notice.

His voice took on a much softer tone when addressing her. "Don't worry child of Athena, I won't let you die just yet." He turned to look at Percy. "She will live and I give you my word I'll get her to back to an acceptable level of health. Now close your eyes and sleep child, don't die before she has time to thank you." As soon as the giant finished his sentence, Percy collapsed against the side of the bed and a soft snore was heard almost instantly. The giant scooped him up and placed him beside Annabeth in the bed. "Once again I am left to wonder how that boy can possibly still be alive. Most mortals would have died with half his wounds and only he would have insisted on waiting till you woke to rest."

The giant walked over to a pot that was hanging over a fire and made a small bowl. He then went to a bench filled with weird plants and other ingredients that Annabeth would never be able to identify. He began to take from his stock and add it to the bowl while speaking to Annabeth. "I understand you are fighting the giants and my mother Gaea, but I am not like the others, I am the bane of Ares. I am peaceful for a giant and I mean you no harm, unfortunately for me I have grown fond of your little savior, so if he asks me for help in healing you I will do my best." He walked over to the side of the bed and lifted her head up slightly, his touch was surprisingly gentle. "Drink this." He brought the bowl to her mouth. "After get more rest and we will talk more when you wake." Now Annabeth was taught not to trust strangers, but she didn't really seem to have much choice, and as much as she didn't trust giants. She trusted Percy Jackson with her life, if he was comfortable enough to finally sleep then she must be in good hands. She brought her lips to the bowl with help from the giant, which she had to admit tasted wonderful, as soon as she drained the bowl she got extremely sleepy. "Rest child, you'll need it for what's to come." Annabeth closed her eyes and fell asleep almost instantly.

The next time Annabeth awoke the entire bed was shaking. Not enough to fully alarm her, but at the very least it was confusing. After looking around for a moment it seemed to be coming from the calico, which had moved over to laying on top of Percy's face. The sight made her smile a bit until she remembered there was another in the room with them. She looked over and saw the giant sharpening what looked to be a sword made of ivory? Before she could decide what it was entirely the giant looked up and noticed she was awake. "Glad you are awake again, how are you feeling?"

Annabeth did a quick self check of all her muscles and found she was able to move better than she has the entire time of being in Tartarus. "I feel like I never even fell into Tartarus, so pretty good actually. Thank you-" She paused for a moment before she realized she didn't know his name. "Damasen." Answering her first question. "Percy brought you here after a nasty run in with some Arai. Gorgon's blood is tough for a mortal to deal with, I'm impressed you lived long enough to make it here." She thought of his words for a moment. How did she survive? One moment she was on the verge of dying and the next-. "Percy helped me, he did something to my arm after cutting it and the poison seemed to slow."

Damasen's eyes narrowed and he spoke quietly to himself yet Annabeth still heard. "That fool" He sighed deeply. "Well I'm glad you managed to live although in Tartarus perhaps it would have been a mercy to let you die. Are you able to get out of bed yet?" Annabeth nodded and slid out of bed, her feet a little unsteady but they held her just fine. Damasen patted a normal sized stool on the other side of the table. "Good because I require payment for my services." At her obvious closed off reaction of distrust he smiled warmly. "I don't require anything malicious, I want to know who you are. Tell me your story." Annabeth felt her defenses deflate as he reassured her and she sat down. It felt quite cozy in his home, and talking to him felt like talking to Chiron. She didn't know Damasen, but he seemed kind, like talking to a grandfather.

Annabeth began her story of living with her dad, about how she ran away with Thalia and Luke. How she went on many quests and adventures to try and stop the rise of Kronos and ultimately defeated him. She then spoke of the quest of seven and the progress they had made thus far. "And now I am down here, but so far Percy has protected me from most enemies pretty flawlessly, until the Arai." At the name Damasen scowled. "Yes the Arai are one enemy I wish for Percy to never encounter again, the amount of curses leveled at him are about as many as the stars in your night sky." Damasen chuckled fondly. "There is a reason why monsters fear him so much, after learning that monsters here were trying to join Kronos's forces to wipe out fellow demigods he left my home and lived on his own. Killing as many monsters as he could possibly reach." Damasen shook his head. "They call him Destroyer, a rough translation of his name, but an accurate one. You have him to thank that Kronos wasn't able to multiply the size of his army by ten.

Annabeth looked over at Percy Jackson, he was still asleep in bed with the calico purring away on top of his face. She knew he was powerful, and time and time again he seems absolutely godlike with the strength he wields, but right now he seems like just a normal kid. It was sad really, he was banished here at a young age and had to grow up here, the only thing he's known for certain since then is violence and pain. She turned back to Damasen. "Thank you for helping him, how did you meet?" Damasen smiled fondly at the bed. "Well I was making dinner one day and I received a small knock on my door." Damasen laughed. "When I opened it there was a little 10 year old Percy Jackson standing there with his favorite cat beside him. Apparently when he arrived down here he had some snacks in his pocket, I think he said blueberries. That foolish child found the cat first down here and fed him, so the cat adopted him and guided him to the only other safe place it knew of."

"I've known of the cat for a while longer than Percy, monsters are not typically able to come into my swamp and yet that little one kept appearing at my door. I still have no idea how he does it." Damasen added as an afterthought. "Regardless Percy was with me until he learned of Kronos' rising. He's been fighting on his own since then, with occasional visits. Typically when he's hurt or hungry. Annabeth smiled as well thinking of little Percy knocking on the door after fighting monsters to get this giant to cook him food. "So you've known Percy for what 7 years now?" Damasen looked up in thought. "I assume it would be around 7 human years if we were on the surface, but time passes differently here, a day in Tartarus is not the same as a day on the surface. Time stretches and contracts, there is no way of knowing in Tartarus how long it has been maybe it was less, more than likely it was more.

That answer made Annabeth even sadder. An ally she didn't even know she had, who has been living in the pit fighting an endless amount of monsters has been down here for more than likely more than 7 years. "How did he get down here? If he was only 10 his scent shouldn't have been very strong." Damasen looked at her sadly. "You call something like your average giant a monster, more often than not they are just a mindless creature with a connection to the Greek world. The true monsters are you humans, not all of you, but it seems Perseus was living with one. He always spoke of his mother fondly, he loved her with all of his heart, but the man she married was not so kind. After especially painful night Percy tried something different, he had recently learned about. His mother sometimes would tell him stories of the Greek gods and it seems he prayed to one in the hopes of freeing the two of them from the smelly mans torment."

"Zeus did hear young Percy's plea, but instead of helping him." Damasen scowled "It drew attention to the fact his father is the god of the sea's Poseidon. Zeus was outraged and kidnapped young Percy with the intent to kill him. Poseidon found out and confronted his brother upon Olympus. Percy said after arguing for a while they took a vote on whether to kill him or not, it seemed he lost and instead of killing him outright they banished him into the pit." Annabeth looked down at the floor. "His father gifted him his trusted sword before his descent and a woman I would presume was Hestia gave him a blessing. He is able to detect the river Phlegethon no matter the distance." Damasen grabbed the same sword he was sharpening earlier and resumed his previous actions. "For a mortal he has proven resilient, but his own strength scares him sometimes and to be honest me as well. There are few beings down here that have ever truly scared me, I am fortunate Percy holds me in high regard."

Annabeth was taken aback, for a giant to be scared of a demigod is outright crazy, I mean just looking at the 40 foot tall giant and then looking at the scrawny boy sleeping in a bed 5 times his size it should've been a no brainer that he was no threat. "How does Percy do what he does? I understand he's an incredible fighter, but his powers are strange. He caught me with the river Cocytus, and controlled the Phlegethon multiple times. Then there's what he did when I had the gorgon blood inside of me." Damasen scowled. "He has had to adapt and grow in ways he should never have down here. I ask you remember that he truly is down to his core a kind soul, his powers have had to control things that are not meant to be controlled." Damasen stood suddenly. "I do not wish to speak on this matter further, and you need to get more rest."

As soon as he mentioned rest Annabeth could feel her eyes get heavy, it seemed he was correct from how tired her entire body seemed. Annabeth walked over and crawled back into the bed beside Percy. One thing was still bothering her though. "Damasen? How did you learn what happened to him if he can't talk?" Damasen smiled. "He was able to talk when he initially came down here, but years of non stop talking seems to have damaged his voice with the Pit's air, he simply chooses not to as it is painful. I'd wager he'll speak after he wakes if only a little, he was talking when he carried you here." Annabeth was surprised and honestly excited that her companion truly could speak. "What did he say?" Damasen smiled. "He just said. "Help Annabeth" before threatening to attack me if I didn't comply. Now no more questions, you need sleep, I'll have supplies ready for you when you wake."

Annabeth closed her eyes and went right back to sleep, but not before putting her hand on top of Percy's.

Chapter Text

Annabeth awoke in bed feeling a bit of pressure on her chest, and when she opened her eyes she realized Percy had managed to roll over in his sleep and clutch onto her. She rolled her eyes with a smile, this "Destroyer" really was just a lonely and sweet kid. She turned her head to see Damasen hunched over a small leather backpack, it seemed like he was sorting through its contents. "So do you have a spray bottle or will he let go on his own?" Damasen turned around with a smile on his face. "Normally he would let go on his own, but I have a feeling you might be stuck with him for a while. I have made you both bags for the journey, I know you need to close the doors of death. The only problem with that is it is impossible without the death mist, and getting the death mist is also a horrible plan." Annabeth groaned. "So every option I has sucks and is pretty much impossible? Sounds par for the course honestly." Damasen grunted. "Percy will be able to lead you to get the death mist and to the doors of death I only ask that when the time comes you do not hesitate, and... if possible I would like Percy to return to the surface with you. He deserves a life, not this hell." Annabeth nodded, she had already made up her mind to do everything she could to bring Percy with her, he had done so much for her already even before she fell into the pit. "I'll do my best, I want him to come with too."

Damasen nodded satisfied with her affirmation. "I will pray for your safe travel Annabeth Chase, now its time to wake up the sleepy child." Damasen had a big playful grin on his face as he walked over to Percy with a bowl of broth, he then slowly poured it onto Percy's face as he slept. After a moment Percy woke with a start dripping wet with the broth, he glared at Damasen and pulled the broth off of his body with his powers and sent it straight at Damasen's face. Damasen opened his mouth and swallowed the delicious attack in one go. "Time for you to get up Percy, and stop clinging to your guest." Percy glare at Damasen subsided as he looked down at how his body was wrapped around Annabeth and in a panic he launched himself across the bed red in the face. Annabeth laughed, he really was just a boy.

Annabeth rolled upright. "Ready to be my tour guide and take me to get some Death Mist?" Percy's face instantly got serious as he pointed an accusatory finger at Damasen. "She will not be able to succeed without the Mist and you know it little one, even you can't take on that army of monsters." Percy looked like he wanted to argue, but couldn't find a fault in Damasen's logic so he settled with sticking his tongue out at him. "Brat." Damasen threw a bag at Percy and handed Annabeth the other. "These have a change of clothes, some rations and medical supplies I've made." Annabeth was so appreciative she got teary eyed, this giant was so kind and gentle, doing everything he could to help them. She couldn't believe a giant was really helping them. At that moment she had a sudden revelation. "You need to come with us!" Damasen frowned. "I don't have to do anything Annabeth, besides I cannot leave this swamp it is my curse." Annabeth wasn't ready to give up yet and she grabbed the giant's hand. "Then break the curse, we need you to close the doors, foes bear arms to the doors of death means you a giant and us demigods working together!"

Annabeth was so certain that this was the correct decision she thought there was no other way. Damasen looked at her sadly. "You must go now Annabeth, time passes differently here in the pit so if you want to meet your friends you'd best not wait." Annabeth was heartbroken, but Percy was already walking to the door and she didn't have much choice. "Wait." Damasen stopped her and held out the ivory sword to her. "I cannot send my new favorite demigod out into the pit unarmed." As he finished the sentence a piece of jerky flew over Annabeth's head and into Damasen's face. "Exactly my point she doesn't throw things at me." He smiled. "I wish you luck Annabeth gods know you will need it."

With that and a heavy heart she left the comfort of Damasen's home and back into the pit's oppressive atmosphere with Percy at her side. "Lead the way tour guide." Percy looked over at her and took a short bow before starting to walk again. He seemed to be doing a lot better now that he had gotten some real rest, it didn't escape her that before Damasen's she hadn't seen him sleep which must've been days. The biggest change was that he now had his pet cat on his shoulder, occasionally giving it little head scratches with a smile on his face. Every time she saw him smile like that she felt her own face heat up a little. Once the blood and dirt and grime had been wiped away at Damasen's she was beginning to notice how naturally good looking he was, and his smile was something straight from Olympus that made her feel all warm inside. She scolded herself for getting flustered like some school girl and to focus on the situation at hand.

They walked for quite some time with minimal interruptions by monsters until Percy suddenly stopped. He closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath before going to the left at a 45 degree angle. She didn't know why the change of direction, but the air did seem different all of a sudden, it was a bit colder than the usual Tartarus heat. She was very glad for the extra clothing from Damasen at that moment and made sure to follow closely behind Percy. She wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but he had his pen in hand ready for action any second so Annabeth was on high alert.

After walking for just another hour or two the fog seemed to lift and a figure appeared at the edge of a drop off, the figure appeared to be a woman sobbing hunched over something. As they approached the woman looked up and Annabeth felt like throwing up. Her face was horrible to look at, incredible disfigured and like something out of a horror movie, and she kept raking her nails across her cheeks leaving a trail of blood behind. "Who are you?" The woman seemed to wail. "I am misery, I am what awaits every living creature, I am one of the only certainties of the world, I am Akhlys!" She raised her hands out in a sort of grand gesture and that's when Annabeth noticed the shield with what looked like a similar face. "Is that the shield of Hercules?" Akhlys looked at it with disdain. "It is indeed, he had it modeled after my face so that the last thing his enemies saw was misery, it's not even a good likeness!" She crossed her arms.

"Okaaaaay I heard that you could supply us with some Death Mist?" Akhlys looked outraged. "My Death Mist is not for helping mortals! How dare you ask for it when you're not even dead, and yet you had the audacity to bring that one here!" She pointed at Percy who looked rather annoyed. "Last time I saw him he was still a child, I let him live because I wanted to feed on the misery he was going to be subjected to, but he refuses to die! Perhaps if you kill him I will give you the Death Mist." She crossed her arms as if the conversation was over. Annabeth looked over at Percy who raised an eyebrow at her, but Annabeth had an idea. "If you want to feed on misery giving us the death mist would be the perfect plan. Think about it, there's an army of monsters that wants the two of us dead, if we escape there will be plenty of misery going around. We plan to close the doors of death so you'll be able to bask in their wailing." Akhlys seemed intrigued. "Wailing is good, and I would like that one out of my sights." She pointed at Percy. Annabeth smiled. "Well then it's decided give us some Death Mist."

Akhlys looked over Annabeth for a moment before grinning herself. Death Mist isn't just a gift to give, it is a state of being that can only be obtained at the edge of life and death, come I will take you there." And with that Akhlys turned and began to walk. Annabeth turned to Percy. "Well I don't really like it but ready to get some Death Mist?" Percy simply nodded and the two followed the goddess.

Chapter Text

Annabeth was holding her breath while following Ahklys. She expected something to go wrong any second, but the goddess hadn't tried to do anything yet. In fact she seemed rather happy, which made Annabeth even more disgruntled. Her gut told her that misery being happy with her decision was not good for her health. Percy was beside her with his hand still wrapped around his pen tight enough his knuckles had turned white.

Akhlys took them to a cliff edge clear of fog and twirled as she turned to look at them. "Here we are young demigods! The place closest to death, can you feel it?" Annabeth peered over the edge into the infinite darkness, and she sort of did. There seemed to be a light smoke coming from her body. "Ok so now that we're here, give us the Death Mist." Akhlys laughed. "Oh but you already have it child of Athena. Look can't you see it?" Annabeth looked down at her hand and it seemed to shift, from her natural look, to a much more ghoulish appearance. She gasped and looked at Percy, but that made her almost want to throw up. He looked horrible, his skin was loose and looked like it would fall off any second, she could see exposed bones on his arm and he looked like a more realistic zombie from those old horror movies she used to watch with her dad.

Akhlys clapped her hands with glee. "Only a mortal is able to receive the Death Mist when they are the closest to death." She then noticed the calico curled up on Percy's shoulder. "He shouldn't have been able to come here? How does he do that?" Ahklys waved her hand. "No matter". Annabeth asked the goddess. "So we will be able to pass undetected now? We can make it through the Doors of Death?" Akhlys smiled maliciously at her. "You would be able to pass through undetected, but you won't make it that far." Her nails elongated into razor sharp claws. "I cannot gift you the Death Mist unless your death followed shortly after."

"Yeah I figured you'd betray us" Annabeth said. Akhlys looked annoyed. "Then it is hardly a betrayal if you expected it, but I think it's about time you both died." Percy uncapped his sword and took a shaky step in front of Annabeth. The cute little calico jumped off of Percy's shoulder and began to grow until it was a full grown sabertooth. "No interruptions!" Akhlys waved her hand and their feline friend disappeared. Percy roared in outrage and swung his sword at the goddess, but it passed through her harmlessly. "You are not able to harm me young destroyer, perhaps with time you could master your new gaseous form, but that is time you do not have.

Akhlys lunged forward raking her claws across Percy's forearm. Before she could continue the attack Annabeth was able to get close enough to yell in the goddess' ear. "HEY!" She quickly backed up, out of reach of the goddess' retaliation. "Fine if you want to die first then so be it!" Akhlys rushed towards Annabeth and while Annabeth wasn't exactly in peak condition, she began to get the hang of having legs made out of Jell-O. She kept backing up and dodging the goddess' attacks while Percy kept swinging his sword at the deity, but it was to no avail. No matter how much he swung he wasn't able to make contact and actually damage the goddess.

Finally Akhlys was able to get a decent gash on Annabeth's thigh, slowing her down. Percy utilizing all of his brain power decided to open his back pack and throw a large piece of jerky at the goddess. Annabeth wasn't exactly impressed with his choice of weapon, but at least it made contact. The piece of jerky smacked the goddess right in the eye, turning her attention to Percy who was attempting to pelt her with his remaining ammunition. "No one pelts me with dried meat!" Akhlys began advancing on Percy and he responded with the same kind of dance Annabeth had been doing.

He made eye contact with Annabeth for a fraction of a second and he clearly was hoping she could think of a plan. Percy likely hadn't found many enemies he couldn't damage with his sword or powers and was clearly frustrated, but no matter how much Annabeth thought she couldn't think of a way to defeat this goddess. Percy tripped on a rock and Akhlys raked her claws across his chest drawing out a lot of blood. "HEY HAPPY!" Annabeth shouted and just as she hoped Akhlys turned to her offended. "I am not happy! I am misery!" She began to advance on Annabeth again so Annabeth kept pelting her with compliments. "You are just downright joyful, and absolute delight to be around!"

Each adjective was like a slap to the goddess of misery, but very quickly she had reached the tipping point. "Enough!" Akhlys spread her hands and flowers appeared all around her oozing a dark liquid. "You shall die from a thousand poisons!" The pool of poison began to move toward Annabeth in little waves, and she quickly found herself at the edge of the cliff surrounded without anywhere to go. Annabeth fell to her knees, the fumes from the poison making her brain go fuzzy. She couldn't make out what was happening, she could barely think. She knew Akhlys was laughing at her, she saw the blurred shape of Percy attempting to attack the goddess still, but it seems she was fixated on Annabeth now.

Just as suddenly as the poison had rolled in it rolled away, and Annabeth took desperate gasps of the less toxic Tartarus air. When her vision cleared she saw Percy standing there with an arm outstretched, his eyes were glowing green and the air seemed to be charged with power. "No" he said simply and the pool began to move around the goddess. "Impossible! You should not be able to use my poison!" The poison reached her feet and she wailed in pain as she tried to get away from it, but she was surrounded. Percy closed his hand and the goddess seemed to choke, trying to gasp for air and Annabeth could see the goddess' tears were flowing into her mouth unnaturally.

The ground was trembling and still Percy didn't even seem like he was overexerting himself. He was in complete control and honestly it terrified Annabeth. Akhlys tried to beg for her release. "Please... Stop.... This..." The most unnerving thing was Percy's sinister grin as she spoke. Without missing a beat he hurled his sword at Akhlys piercing her straight through the stomach and Percy released the tears and spit from choking her. She coughed heavily before speaking. "You cannot kill me demigod, I am an immortal! I was there when Gaea was born! I was birthed directly from Chaos and are among some of the oldest primordials! I cannot die." She grinned. Percy took a few steps towards the goddess and Annabeth held her breath. She wanted him to stop, he shouldn't be doing this, he seemed more monstrous than anything she has encountered down here. But it wasn't her place, she felt insignificant in this fight and had no right to try and hold him back.

"Die" he muttered calmly before raising both hands in front of him with his fingers outstretched. Annabeth saw Akhlys eyes widen. "So this is who you are." Akhlys smiled. "Destroyer." Percy clenched his hands and ichor began to flow out of the hole in her stomach and into the air. The ichor kept draining out of her until she looked like a gray sack of skin. The ball of ichor then was sent over the edge into the realm of Chaos and what was left of Akhlys began to dissolve. It was similar to a monster being killed on the surface, only much more significant. Annabeth had never heard of a god dying before, only fading like with Pan. She knew that what Percy just did, Akhlys would not be able to come back from.

He turned towards her slowly, his eyes still glowing that sinister green. He took a few steps towards her and Annabeth took a step back. Percy looked hurt, but she couldn't help it. What he just did scared her more than having to fight Kronos. Percy looked down at his hands, they were shaking badly and he looked at them with disdain. He fell to his knees and punched the ground before letting out a scream. He screamed for a few moments before coughing up a bit of blood from his damaged throat. He began to sob as tears streamed down his face.

Annabeth took a few uneasy steps towards him. This is what Damasen had mentioned, he should not have been able to do what he did. No one should be able to control a gods blood, but she didn't forget that he was a kind soul at heart. The entire time she's been down here with him he's done nothing but try to help and protect her. Even this was a result of him trying to save her from the goddess. She took a deep breath and closed the rest of the distance between her and Percy, kneeling down in front of him. She lifted his shoulders and embraced him in a tight hug. "I'm sorry you had to do that. Thank you." He clutched her tightly as he sobbed into her shoulder. They sat there for a while before a woman's voice spoke above them.

"Destroyer indeed."

Chapter Text

Annabeth's blood ran cold and her and Percy both slowly raised their heads to see a 40 foot tall woman floating over the abyss in front of them. She was draped in a black dress littered with stars so it looked like a distant galaxy, her skin was pale and fair in contrast, and her hair was pitch black. When she spoke she seemed amused. "Well then, what do I find, but two little demigods have killed my daughter." The woman waited for a moment while Annabeth caught up. "Wait, your daughter? So that would make you the primordial goddess of Night Nyx." The smile Annabeth received told her she was right, which was anything but reassuring. "It seems that my daughter underestimated the two of you." Her eyes shifted to Percy, who was now clutching his sword again with a snarl on his face. "Or at least one of you."

"Tell me son of Poseidon, did you really have to strip her of her ichor? It will be much harder to find a successor for Misery." Nyx looked at Percy for a moment. "I could of course appoint you the new manifestation of Misery, you certainly have mastered the concept." Percy growled angrily and raised his sword to point at her. Annabeth was astounded he could actually raise a sword against someone this powerful, but Nyx simply laughed. "We'll have none of that boy." She then flicked her wrist and Percy instantly collapsed. Annabeth knelt at his side, afraid he had been killed, but her worries were put at ease when she heard him gently start snoring. "I wouldn't kill the boy that easily, I just didn't want my thoughts to be interrupted again. Now where was I? Ah yes the replacement."

"My lady Nyx if I may, why does there need to be a replacement?" Nyx looked down at her with a look of contemplation before answering. "Akhlys wasn't just the goddess of misery, she was the personification of it. Misery will always exist and as such there should be a deity to harness that power. I contemplated appointing Poseidon's offspring, but if I were to give him access to a power like that he would likely turn it against me. So no, I refuse to appoint him that domain, I think I'll just have to make another child to take over. One I hope is more competent than Akhlys was." Annabeth was stunned. "You don't seem very upset that your daughter was killed." Nyx simply shrugged. "My daughter had such a powerful domain and still fell victim to this demigod here." She pointed at Percy. "My children need to be strong and strike fear into the hearts of others, yet she was the one to feel fear at the end. I don't need a daughter who tarnishes my name."

Nyx shrunk down to a reasonable 8 feet tall and stood in front of Annabeth. "In all honesty you both intrigue me greatly. I knew of a demigod somehow living within my brother's domain, giving him grief everywhere he went. I did not know however another demigod had joined him. I know the two of you seek the Doors of Death otherwise you would not have sought the Death Mist." Nyx stared at Percy's unconscious body. I am a little annoyed he overpowered and killed my daughter so easily, but if he were to escape from my brother?" Nyx laughed surprisingly warmly. "It would enrage him to no end, he's wanted this one dead for years now, but refused to deal with him himself. I like the idea of him being tormented by you two escaping his grasp. Now this does not mean I will be helping you, but I think I will allow you two to live.

Annabeth wasn't sure how to answer. She felt so insignificant in the face of this powerful deity, she thought Zeus or Kronos were powerful, but Annabeth could tell neither of them would hold a candle to lady Nyx. "Thank you my lady" Annabeth bowed her head, aiming to be as respectful as possible. Nyx patted Annabeth on the shoulder. "Don't thank me yet my dear, just because I don't want you to die just yet doesn't mean Tartarus would just let you leave." She looked over at Percy and snapped her fingers, he shot up like he was just electrocuted. "That's better, I'd prefer you both listened to what I had to say next." Percy growled at Nyx, but Annabeth stepped in front of him and held up an arm to stop him. "Go on my lady."

Nyx smiled clearly amused. "You both will need to get to the doors rather quickly and the only way will be through my Mansion of Night." She gestured over the ledge where an all white building was floating 100 feet down. "I will allow you to attempt to go through it, but I will not stop my children from pursuing you." Annabeth didn't like the sound of that, but she figured it was better than nothing. "If you can make it all the way through you will be near the doors and if you are able to reach them I ask that you use this." She holds out a small orb of darkness that was flat on one side. "The button on the doors must be pressed for 12 minutes for iyou to return and, this will do that action for you. I'd rather both of you escape so my brother gets no satisfaction." Annabeth was especially grateful for this gift, she never even considered one of them would have to stay behind when they reached the doors. Even after only knowing Percy for a short time, she knew he deserved to be on the surface and wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she left him behind.

Annabeth grabbed Percy's shoulder and forced him to bow with her. "Thank you Lady Nyx, we appreciate this kindness you've shown us." Nyx hummed softly. "Don't thank me yet child of Athena, when this one gets to the surface he will be the catalyst of something I can't wait to observe." Annabeth didn't know exactly what that meant, but she accepted the semi-sphere gratefully. "Now then my children are getting a bit restless, but lucky for you I will give you a head start through my mansion." She opened her arms wide spreading darkness around her, and from the darkness emerged a plethora of deities that Annabeth assumed were here children. "Better hurry young demigods. 10...9..."

Annabeth took that as her cue, she grabbed Percy by the arm and rushed to the edge, where far down below she could see the Mansion of Night. She nodded at Percy and proceeded to jump, hoping she didn't miss her target.

Chapter Text

Annabeth was sick and tired of falling so much, but here she was again, jumping off a ledge to a landing zone 100 feet below. She knew that under normal circumstances people would be crushed by the height, but her options were limited, so as the ground got closer, she braced her legs for impact. They successfully landed on their feet, the impact causing her to stumble, but she was surprisingly alright. "Come on!" She urged Percy to run with her as fast as they could. Luckily he understood they were in a dire situation as he picked up the pace, after a moment or two he was the one leading her by the hand. Even after showcasing just how amazing he is he has the nerve to be faster too.

Once they were through the doorway, the world went black. She couldn't even see a hand in front of her face, but they never stopped running. Annabeth closed her eyes, using her other senses to try and make sure they didn't run into anything, but Percy seemed to know where to go. They always ran forward, but there were constant slight right and lefts that he navigated perfectly. Maybe he could see in the dark that well? She didn't fully know how he was doing it, but she trusted him to lead them through.

After running for a short while, she began to hear whispers. Creatures of Nyx and her children, likely their pursuers trying to slow them down. Percy seemed to speed up and very soon he grabbed her to stop her from moving, in one swift motion he lifted her up in a bridal carry. Which she would have detested normally, but all things considered she allowed it because she had no idea what was happening. She could hear the sound of water moving nearby and after a moment Percy jumped with more strength than any human could possibly use. Her best guess was he used the water to somehow boost his jump, whatever it was, they thudded onto solid ground where Annabeth finally opened her eyes.

Percy set her down and Annabeth did a quick scan, it seemed the water she heard was the River Acheron, yet another river that Percy showed he could control. The rivers souls were crying out in pain, it seemed even the children of Nyx were not fans of crossing the Acheron, since she saw no signs of the Mansion of Night or their pursuers. Annabeth turned back towards Percy who sitting on the ground rubbing his ankles. He likely used the River to boost his jump dipping his feet in and as a result withstanding a lot of pain just to get them out of there. How selfless could one guy be?

She offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet. "Thank you." Percy seemed to understand and gave her a small smile, but stopped quickly as he whipped his neck around. Annabeth readied herself for another enemy, but saw no one. She glanced at Percy to question him, but saw that his eyes were closed. He held one hand straight out in front of him and began slowly walking away from her. Without realizing what was happening she began to follow him, a common occurrence on her Tartarus vacation.

After walking for just a few minutes, she began to feel small rhythmic vibrations in her steps. Something was shaking the ground in a sort of pattern, and it was getting closer. Annabeth gripped her new sword tightly, ready for a monster to appear at any moment. Instead she watched Percy's kitten walking over to them, the ground shaking from his purrs. Annabeth laughed and scooped up the cat, cradling it to her neck. "Now how the heck did you find us?" To answer her question Percy raised his hand again and she felt a small vibration under where she stood. The kitten responded with another purr.

"You are using acoustic location to find each other?" Annabeth asked astonished, but Percy just looked at her with a slight tilt to his head clearly confused. "You used the vibrations to tell where the other was?" She elaborated using a bit more simplified words. Percy just smiled and gave her a thumbs up. He scratched the kitten on the chin and gestured for Annabeth to follow him again, as he began to walk. Annabeth followed behind, one hand on her sword and one giving scritches.

They walked for about an hour before there was any sort of difference. There seemed to be a sort of thumping coming from the ground, and as Annabeth climbed up a ridge, she caught her first glimpse the heart of Tartarus. There were thousands of monsters in a gigantic circle, surrounding what she could only guess were the doors, but they were obstructed from view by the monsters. She took another look at Percy, his Death Mist was still active so he looked horrible, but the hardness of his eyes told her that she was right, this was their destination.

They began to move forward cautiously, the monsters didn't seem to notice them as they approached, which was a good thing, but they were so close together there was no way to navigate their way through without causing a scene. Percy solved that problem, by walking straight ahead. All of the monsters that he got close to touching were slowly pushed away from him, giving the two of them just enough room to squeeze by. The monsters didn't even seem to notice, she was following as close to Percy as she dared, afraid one misstep could be their death.

After what felt like ages, they had broken through to the center with a large clearing surrounding what must have been the doors. Honestly Annabeth was annoyed by the Doors of Death, at least appearance wise. They looked identical to the elevator doors that led to Olympus, the irony wasn't lost on her. On either side of the Doors appeared to be two Titans, one was clearly Hyperion and the other she guessed was Krios based on Jason's description. The latter had his finger jammed against the up button on the elevator, while Hyperion animatedly talked to his brother. On either side of the doors were two sets of chains, connected to spikes that were jammed into the ground.

Annabeth turned to Percy and spoke in a hushed voice. "We need to cut those chains and get inside those doors, we can use the gift from nyx to hold the button, but if we try to fight I don't think our disguises will last." Percy nods back to her and the two of them slowly begin to walk towards the doors from behind the titans line of sight. They both walk to a set of chains and Annabeth holds up three fingers, slowly putting them down. Upon the last finger going down they both swing destroying the chains.

The two titans notice instantly and Hyperion locks eyes with Percy, while Krios roars angrily at Annabeth.

Hyperion's eyes light on fire. "YOU!!! You killed me over and over! Preventing me from joining Kronos' army! If I could have joined that last battle, we would have won!." Hyperion unsheaths his sword and angrily charges at Percy.

BOOM!!!

The entire area seemed to shake from an explosion of power, half the monsters were vaporized instantly, including the two titans. Annabeth and Percy took shelter behind the doors, until the rumbling of the landscape stopped. When they finally stood back up and looked behind the cover of the doors, Annabeth felt like she was about to have a heart attack at the being that stood before them. The being had to be at least 50 feet tall, his body a sick purple and wearing an all black armor. Faces swirled within the armor, constantly moving with silent screams, but most horrifying was the swirling face under the helmet, that seemed to be drawing in the life of everything around them.

"Such an annoyance you mortals are." The being spoke. "I allowed you to walk across my body, allowed you to live this long, because I never expected you to make it this far. I cannot just allow you to escape, so take great pride mortals. You are about to be killed by Tartarus himself!"

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The whole world seemed to be at a standstill. Every monster that had lived the initial blast of power from Tartarus was frozen watching. Annabeth had to focus remind herself it was okay to breath, her entire body felt like it was going to shut down from pure terror. The being before her was on par with Nyx, but at least she didn't seem malicious. Tartarus' mere presence was enough for her to want to give up, to know that level of power was likely to be leveled at her was just too much. She could feel herself panicking, no matter how hard she tried to steady her breathing she couldn't. She was sweating, her arms were shaking as she clutched her sword. She felt like she was bathing in the Cocytus, she wished for death rather than stay within his presence.

A hand was placed over hers and she looked over at Percy. He had moved over beside her and placed his hand on hers to try and ground her, he gave her hand a slight squeeze. She noticed that his own hand was shaking. Yet despite that he began to walk forward sword at his side as he stepped in front of her and leveled his sword towards Tartarus.

"You believe you can best me?" Tartarus laughed. "You are an impressive mortal I must admit, but you are not anywhere close to the power I wield." He swiped his hand out to the side and a wave of monsters simply disappeared, not even a single drop of blood left behind.

Despite this Percy continued to move forward, his eyes were closed and he looked somewhat calm. When he opened them again he turned back to Annabeth. "Chains" he said simply. He started to run forward, rushing towards Tartarus as if he was just another monster that he needed to kill, another obstacle towards survival. Percy's words jarred Annabeth out of her stupor. The doors, she needed to cut the chains binding it. She rushed forward and sliced the chains on the left. She knew Percy stood no chance against a being this powerful and yet she had to have faith. He'd surprised her at every turn already, now she could only hope he could somehow delay the primordial from killing them.

Annabeth cut the second chain and then screamed for Percy. "It's done!" Percy didn't even acknowledge her as he rushed the remaining distance towards Tartarus. She watched as the primordial summoned a 20 foot long stygian iron sword and cocked his head as if amused.

"I'll entertain you little demigod, perhaps I'll know the joy of using a physical form that Nyx seems to appreciate." He leveled his own sword towards Percy. "Come! Show me the strength needed to survive!" With that Percy began to engage in battle with the primordial.

Annabeth had seen talented fighters all her life. She grew up idolizing Luke and his immense skill, she watched Jason and his Roman style of fighting, and even Artemis fighting against Atlas a battle above a mortal. Yet she had never seen someone move like Percy did. His fighting style was clearly more instinctive than anything you could find in a textbook. His movements were jagged and quick, as if each action was meant to end his opponent as quickly as possible, but this was Tartarus. He seemed amused at Percy's attempts, simply sidestepping and batting him away with his sword.

"You are entertaining if nothing else little demigod, but I think I had better wrap this up." His faceless head turned towards Annabeth and she could swear he was smiling. "I can't let either of you escape after all." He turned towards the crowd of monsters. "Kill her! Leave the boy to me."

Annabeth quickly moved to the front of the doors so they wouldn't be able to attack her from behind, but she would be quickly overwhelmed by the sheer number once they closed the distance. Percy noticed this and with a wave of his hand, a geyser of fire water from the river Phlegethon exploded out of the ground, destroying most of the enemies to her right.

Tartarus seemed infuriated and quickly snatched Percy in a giant hand, squeezing him tight enough he couldn't move anything but his neck. "That's enough puny demigod, stop ruining all my fun!"

As Annabeth began to engage the few monsters that were quicker than the other's Percy decided to defy Tartarus once more. With a roar of power, Percy began to cause explosions all over the place. If this truly was the heart of Tartarus, Percy was using every single vein and Artery he could access to cause as much damage as possible while keeping Annabeth safe. A mere moment later Tartarus roared with fury and threw Percy with enough force he slammed into the doors and fell to the ground in a heap, but Percy had finally succeeded in doing some sort of damage. The primordial was clutching his chest in pain, it seems this truly was his heart and Percy had essentially just gave him some pretty serious heartburn, but it was only slowing him down.

"You've done it now boy." Tartarus growled in anger. "I will not tolerate another second of-" Tartarus didn't finish his sentence as a spear pierced through his stomach. Tartarus roared in pain and whipped his head around. "YOU!?"

Damasen pulled the spear out and twirled it at his side. "Miss me father?" He locked eyes with Annabeth. "Seems I was able to find a way around my curse, and so did my new friend." A second later the Maeonian drakon ran over the ridge, charging at the monsters that were still hesitantly moving towards Annabeth and Percy. "Go now, my father can't be defeated but I can buy you some time." Damasen began engaging his father in combat, the two trading blow for blow.

Annabeth rushed to Percy's side and helped him stand up, it looked like the impact from hitting the doors left him barely conscious. "Come on Percy we need to go now." She pulled him towards the doors, but he seemed to be dragging his feet. Annabeth looked back to see Percy watching Damasen with a grimace, it was obvious he didn't want to leave him, but she knew there was no other way. "Please Percy, don't let his sacrifice be for nothing. Reach the surface with me." Her words were a bit harsh, but they dragged him out of his stupor and he stepped into the doors. Annabeth reached into her pocket and pulled out the gift from Nyx, slamming it onto the button before scrambling inside herself. Before the doors could shut, Percy let out yet another harsh roar of anger, destroying as much of Tartarus' heart as he could. He fell to the floor with a small smile on his face as the doors shut with a hiss.

They began to ascend and Annabeth wanted to cry, she knew that she was finally going back to the surface which was reason enough, but she felt horrible that Damasen had to bite that primordial sized bullet for them. She looked over at Percy who's eyes were drooping heavily, fighting to stay concsious, but she watched as his eyes rolled back as he passed out from exhaustion. The sight left Annabeth with a small smile on her face, but she could feel her own exhaustion catching up to her. She tried to sit down beside him, but with the adrenaline leaving her body she instead fell onto the floor beside him. She decided maybe the floor was a better idea and she took the time to examine Percy a little closer.

A boy thrown into Tartarus at a young age with a heart of gold and unimaginable powers for a demigod. He was an enigma in every sense of the word, nothing about him made sense given his situation. Yet somehow here he was, a shining beacon for her inside of literal hell. She reached out and moved some of his hair out of his face. "Thank you." She spoke softly. Thank you couldn't really cover it all, but it would have to do for now as the doors began to slow to a stop with a ding. Annabeth scraped the bottom of her adrenaline tank and stood up, grabbing ahold of Percy and dragging him towards the doors, but they weren't opening. Annabeth began to panic, all of the horrible scenarios running through her mind of mistiming meeting with the Argo II and what that would mean for them. Then the doors opened and Annabeth spilled onto the ground with Percy in tow.

As soon as she was out the remaining strength left her body as she lay on the ground. She was able to notice Leo and Hazel, as well as a shadowy giant standing nearby them, but she couldn't tell what anyone was saying. Her attention instead focused on the demigod beside her on the ground, who began to rise like a zombie. She couldn't believe he was able to still stand after such a short reprieve, but her tired eyes widened as she realized only the whites of his eyes were showing. He was still unconscious, and yet he was rising to his feet, sword hanging limply at his side.

He took two steps towards Annabeth and turned to the rest of the room. Percy leveled his sword and he waited standing guard over Annabeth even unconscious, his unwavering willpower doing everything to protect her. That was the last thing Annabeth saw before she blacked out.

Chapter Text

Hazel is beginning to hate surprises. First Hecate appears and claims that she must learn to manipulate the mist, otherwise they will fail their quest. Then when they made it to the House of Hades, her and Leo get separated from the group by a landslide that she can't move out of the way. Hecate making an appearance and being a bystander to their conflict. The most surprising of all however is after defeating Pasiphae and Leo making an amazing throw to open the doors, Annabeth had brought along someone else. As soon as they stumbled forth she could sense power, it oozed off of the stranger in waves. The pair of them looked dead, the stranger wasn't even concious, but he still stood over Annabeth with his sword drawn.

Everyone in the cavern seemed to be holding their breath at the sight of this man, but he made no moves standing guard for any to approach. Black smoke began to pool around them slowly closing in, the stranger struck out with his sword, but it couldn't kill smoke. Hazel watched as it began climbing up his body and in through his mouth, causing his body to writhe in pain for a moment before suddenly standing still. When he next spoke it was raspy and deep as Clytius spoke using the strange man's body

"Congratulations daughter of Pluto, I never expected you to defeat Pasiphae in such a way." Clytius walked over and raised a foot over Annabeth's collapsed body. "But you have not won little demigod, I need but 2 of you to survive, and seeing how these two are too weak to resist I believe it is time for you to die." More smoke began to pour off of his body, engulfing Annabeth's body entirely.

"NO!" Hazel used the Mist to teleport the two from under Clytius to stand beside her and Leo, but before she could say another word she felt a sword press against her neck. Hazel froze and looked beside her to see the stranger had regained consciousness and was eyeing her warily. His eyes were a deep sea green, unblinkingly staring at her as he stood over Annabeth. Leo took a step towards them but stopped when the strange man locked his eyes onto him, pushing his sword ever so slightly more against her neck. "Please... we're Annabeth's friends. We won't hurt her or you." Hazel was desperately hoping she was reading the situation correctly, and lucky for her the man seemed to understand and lowered his sword.

Annabeth began to stir and was struggling to point towards Clytius. "Hazel... the chains..." Annabeth said weakly.

Following her gaze and looking past Clytius she saw the doors of death straining against the chains. "We have to cut the chains, stay in the white mist you guys, don't touch any of the black smoke. I'll deal with Clytius."

Leo's arms caught fire and he readied himself. "Or I could just light him up" but Hazel quickly stopped him.

"No Leo my father's house my rules. Keep Annabeth and her new friend within the mist." And with that Hazel charged straight towards Clytius, who seemed a bit off guard at her straight forward approach and was slow to draw back his sword. Before he could swing it down onto her head however, she raised an arm and a dozen different gems flew from the walls, peppering the giant like a shotgun. Hazel ran between the giants legs and jumped as high as she could before stabbing him somewhere that would've made Annabeth proud. The giant roared and staggered forward, Hazel took the opportunity to rush forward and cut through one set of chains. Clytius recovered and swung his sword, but Hazel made a desperate dive to the other set of chains, slicing through them before being slammed by the flat of the giant's blade into the far wall.

Immediately she could taste blood and she knew for certain at least a couple of ribs were broken. Clytius began to stalk towards her, even without a voice she could tell he was pissed.

"Well done Hazel Levesque you have done very well." Hecate hovered above the Hazel's crumpled body. "It seems your friends just needed a little bit of time." A wall of mist appears in front of her and Frank, Piper, Nico, and Jason all step through. Frank's arm is bleeding and bandaged, but he seems alright otherwise.

"Is this the giant that needs killing?" Jason levels his sword at the giant and together her friends charged the giant.

Hazel almost felt bad for Clytius, the only reason she didn't was the grudge her ribs had for the one who broke them. Her friends swarmed the giant from all sides and barely even gave him a chance to fight back. Jason was using the winds to fly in from above, quickly striking before backing away. Piper danced between his legs with grace as she sliced through his legs at any opportunity. Frank was switching from animal to animal, attacking with claws or tusks or teeth, whatever suited the situation. Nico was running around using his sword to absorb any of the black mist that was getting near her friends. Leo was shooting fireballs at the giant's feet constantly, but the biggest problem for the giant seemed to be the new stranger Annabeth brought back with her.

He stood with his sword at his side, crouched down low, but keeping his body entirely relaxed. His eyes were unblinkingly staring at Clytius absorbing every little detail, and whenever Clytius would try to attack one of her friends the stranger would intercept. In a burst of speed that was unnatural for a man as injured as him, he would deflect the giant's blow ensuring that even if he was about to get a lucky shot in, it was never going to land. The stranger would then return to his spot, going back to his trance like state, not even bothering to wipe away the blood running down his face or the drool pooling in his mouth.

Jason finally flew in and kicked the giant in the face, causing him to fall flat on his back. "Well done children, I believe it is now my turn." Hardly missing a beat, she walked over to the giants head and thrust her twin torches into the giant's face, causing him to explode in a plume of golden dust. All of the demigods gather around Clytius' golden remains with the stranger being the one to assist Annabeth in walking. "You children must continue on your journey, Gaea must be stopped and you all must-" Hecate cuts herself off as she notices the presence of the stranger for the first time. Hecate's face breaks into a wide grin. "Ahh I never expected this to be the crossroads we now walk, this will make for an interesting future indeed." On that ominous note, Hecate simply disappears into mist.

All of the demigods are silent for a moment, but Piper is the first to break out of their stupor as she moves towards Annabeth who gently pulls herself away from the stranger to meet her in a hug. Everyone begins to crowd around Annabeth in a large bear hug, but Hazel waits for a moment as she notices the stranger is watching everything unfold, and he hasn't put away his weapon. He seems to be eyeing the demigods surrounding Annabeth, never relaxing for a second. Against her better judgement Hazel walks over to him, being careful to move slowly not wanting another sword to her throat. "Thank you for helping Annabeth, we're all just so happy she's alive."

The man looks at her for just a moment before speaking himself, his voice is raspy and he seems surprised by it when he talks. "You are Annabeth's friends." He poses it as a statement rather than a question. "She helped me out of that place, somewhere I never thought I could leave." He looks at Annabeth as she cries happily with the rest of the seven with a smile on his face. "I like it when she's happy." He says softly and Hazel is stunned by how gentle his eyes look, when just moments ago he could've turned medusa herself to stone.

Suddenly the cavern begins to shake and groan as it threatens to collapse. Hazel throws out a hand to try and slow down the shaking, but isn't able to slow it by much, until the stranger raises his own hand and the shaking stops entirely. His arm is shaking but he seems calm and the rest of the seven debate on how to get out.

"I can manage a few people during shadow travel at most, but I can't travel with this many people." Nico tells the group.

"It'll be fine you have me to help you this time, I'm a child of Pluto so how hard can it be?" In truth Hazel had no idea if she would be able to do much, but there didn't seem to be much options. The seven came together in a circle and joined hands, Hazel being the only one besides Annabeth to link up with the stranger.

"Okay, Hazel try to imagine everyone appearing on the surface and I'll do the rest." Nico closed his eyes and concentrated on his task. After a few moments they all shadow traveled onto the surface, landing on top of a hillside overlooking the river Acheron. After a moment Annabeth fell onto her back, seemingly exhausted from her trip to Tartarus.

"You know, that seems like a good idea." Leo joked a second before joining her, and within seconds the rest of the group did as well. The only one who was still standing was the stranger, who was looking out at the ocean with a look of wonder.

"Percy?" Annabeth addressed the man. So that's his name Hazel thought to herself.

Percy doesn't answer right away, simply staring at the ocean for a few moments. "It's just been a while."

Chapter Text

Nico still couldn't believe Annabeth was back. After having fallen in himself and being captured by giants, he'd be lying if he said he didn't doubt she'd make it out alive. Annabeth had done some pretty incredible stuff throughout her demigod career, it would be pretty safe to say that she is up there with Hercules and Achilles, another hero so legendary she should go down in legends. When Hecate transported them into the chamber with Clytius, Nico was overjoyed to see that Annabeth was alive. His entire body had lit up with warning signs as he looked at the bloodied homeless man standing beside her. At first he thought it must be Thanatos, because he's never met anyone that smells of death like this guy. It was nerve-wracking to say the least, but at least he helped defeat Clytius.

As they all lay on the ground utterly exhausted, the enigma that was Percy was just standing there, looking out at the ocean. It was clear to Nico that he came from Tartarus, but how? How did a demigod none of them have ever met, fall into the pit and come out alive? Nico kept an eye on him at all times while they were resting on that hill, waiting for Coach Hedge to bring the Argo II. The group began talking asking Annabeth questions wanting to know how she could have lived. She mostly avoided answering saying she'd tell them all when it wasn't so fresh, but she did say that the demigod was Percy Jackson, and he helped her stay alive. Percy was still just looking out at the ocean, enamored with just simply breathing and looking at the horizon.

"So how did Percy Jackson end up down there?" Nico asked Annabeth without taking his eyes off of Percy.

Annabeth looked at her feet. "I don't know how, just that it's been a long time." She looked at Percy sadly.

Leo worked with Coach Hedge to begin lowering the Athena Parthenos onto the hillside. All the demigods, even Percy watched as the statue stood tall on the hillside.

Nico watched as Reyna approached surprised that she was even there, but Annabeth said that she sent a message to her in Tartarus and was just thankful that she came.

"Well what's the plan with your mother's statue then? And what's your plan with Reyna?" Nico looked to Annabeth.

Annabeth took a breath before beginning to explain that she had dreams in Tartarus about how the Parthenos needed to stand at the top of half-blood hill, and that the roman must deliver it.

Leo stepped forward looking confused. "I don't mean to interrupt your plan, but how will Reyna deliver it to Camp? I mean Reyna is pretty strong, but I think this might be a little much for her. Plus she can't even fly since she lost her Pegasus!" Leo winced as Reyna glared at him before reluctantly agreeing.

Nico took a step forward realizing what he had to do. "I can do it, I can deliver them using shadow travel."

Hazel immediately began to protest. "Nico you just said that shadow travel can be dangerous, and just moving us 8 took me and you together, how will you be able to take it halfway across the world?"

Nico sighed, the task was daunting, but he had a feeling it would have to be this way. "We won't do it all at once, we'll make small jumps. We will be able to move gradually and Reyna can protect me while I rest, cause I'm going to need some recharge time between each jump."

Reyna began nodding. "That could work, although I would like another to come with us if possible. 3 is the standard number for a quest after all."

Coach Hedge immediately stepped forward hefting his favorite baseball bat. "I'll go, I can make sure these cupcakes get back safely."

Frank was strangely insistent that it was a great idea, but Nico didn't really care. The only things on his mind were the task ahead of him, and the thought that he'd be leaving the crew with a monster. He eyed Percy Jackson yet again, who was now standing beside Annabeth looking at the grass oblivious to the conversations happening around him. "Alright then we will meet at the base of the statue in about an hour, that way we can grab some gear." Reyna and Hedge quickly agreed and they all began to board the Argo II. Nico looked back and saw Annabeth guiding Percy by the hand onto the ship, but the two stayed on deck looking towards the horizon.

After packing a bag for their departure, Nico went back onto the deck wanting to talk with Annabeth before he left. "Hey Annabeth is it okay if we talk for a minute?" Nico looked at Percy nervously, who's eyes had locked onto him. "Preferably alone." Annabeth nodded and took a moment to reassure Percy that she would be right back, and then followed Nico below deck. Nico turned and looked at Annabeth taking in the sight of her clearly exhausted body, covered in all sorts of dark colors. "I'm glad you're back, I know how hard that place can be, but are you sure we can trust that guy? His power is insane. He feels much more like a god than a demigod, and he reeks of death, more than anyone I've ever met."

Annabeth looked down at her hands for a moment before speaking. "He is the only reason I am alive Nico. He was in that place for years and somehow managed to stay alive all that time. I know better than anyone just how powerful he is..." Nico noticed how she looked a bit scared for a fraction of a second before it was masked over. "But he didn't abandon me at any point down there, and he saved me so many times. I trust him."

Nico sighed, he would just have to take Annabeth's word for it. "Okay then. I'll see you again after you save the world I guess." With that Nico began walking back up to the deck to meet with Reyna and Coach Hedge, but he stopped as a question began nagging at the back of his mind. "Hey Annabeth, what's his godly parent anyways?"

Annabeth smiled softly, "He's a son of Poseidon."

Chapter Text

Annabeth felt sad as Nico, Reyna and Coach Hedge left. Coach Hedge at least seemed eager to return home, but Reyna had to betray her people just for a chance to stop the war. Nico had probably the hardest task of all of them, transporting the parthenos across the world seemed impossible, but he was insistent he could do it. Annabeth hoped that their trip wouldn't go south, but as she watched them all dissolve into shadows she had one thing on her mind. She needed a shower. So on that note she returned to her room, grabbing a change of clothes and a towel before heading to the ships bathroom. Annabeth groaned as she peeled off her bloodied clothes, seeing plenty of new scars on her body underneath all the grime. She wanted to cry the second she touched the water, the shower slowly cutting through the layers of grime getting rid of the visible evidence of that place.

She stayed in the shower for a long time, probably about an hour. She knew the others likely needed the bathroom, but sue her. If she had to walk through literal hell, she gets to extend her shower time by a bit. Besides it took a long time to successfully get all the dried blood off of her. Finally she stepped out of the bathroom with a fresh set of clothes on and her towel around her shoulders, but when she opened the door to leave she saw that Percy was sitting beside the door spinning his pen between his fingers. "Percy? What are you doing outside the bathroom?"

Percy looked up at her with a smile before standing up. "I didn't know where you went cause I was still staring at the sky, but the big bow and arrow guy told me you'd be here. So I waited." His voice was still raspy, but it was gradually improving, the surface world doing wonders already in healing him. "Figured I'd stand guard outside, can't be too careful right?" He had a big innocent grin on his face, but it broke Annabeth's heart as she realized he probably has trouble wrapping his mind around not being in danger.

"Percy, that's very thoughtful of you, but I don't need you to stand guard every time I go to the bathroom. We're out of that place now, this ship is like Damasen's hut. It is safe, and anytime something threatens it we have 7 powerful demigods to defend it." She takes Percy by the hand and leads him down the hallway to the mess hall where she finds Jason eating a sandwich. "Jason, do you think Percy might be able to borrow some clothes? I think he needs a shower more than anyone." Jason takes a moment as he has a mini stare down with Percy, it's obvious he is on guard around Percy and she can't really blame him. Jason has always been one of the most powerful demigods of modern age, and to meet someone who oozes such an insane aura of power is undoubtedly unnerving.

"Yeah I can grab him a set of clothes and a towel." Jason starts walking towards his room, but yells back over his shoulder. "But we really need to stop borrowing my clothes! I'm running too low!"

"We'll grab some more clothes once we stop at a city." Annabeth takes Percy back down the hallway to the bathroom and thanks Jason as he drops off a set of clothes. Annabeth sets the clothes down on the edge of the sink in there and is about to leave, but stops. "Do you remember how showers work?"

Percy smiles at her. "I think I can figure it out, get in the tub, turn the knob, use the water and some soap to bathe, and then get out and dry off. Did I get it right?" He flashes her another cheeky grin.

Annabeth rolls her eyes. "Yes that's exactly what you need to do, and make sure you use extra soap. You stink." Percy laughs and Annabeth leaves the bathroom clicking the door shut behind her. After heading on deck she finds all the remaining crewmembers on deck talking in a circle, but quickly stop as she approaches. "Yeah guys, cause that wasn't obvious. Spill it." The crew looks at each other for a second, but Leo is the one to shrug and start talking first.

"Sorry Annabeth, we were just talking about that Percy guy you found down in the place that will not be named. He just kinda freaks us out. We know nothing about the guy except that he was down there for, and I quote, a long time. His power is off the charts strong and all he's been doing is standing on the deck looking at the sky or the ocean. None of us know what to make of him."

Annabeth looked to see the rest were nodding their heads along, the only one who seemed conflicted was Hazel. "Hazel? What do you think?"

Hazel looked alarmed to be called out so suddenly, but quickly composed herself. "He is scary there is no denying that. I agree with Leo that his power is something that none of us can even compare to, but at the same time it seems like the only thing he cares about is you Annabeth. Back when we were at the House of Hades he credited you with helping him escape, and he held a sword to my throat until I told him we were your friends." Hazel looks at the rest of the group. "I know he makes everyone a little uneasy, but during the fight with Clytius didn't you guys see him? Even battered and weakened like that he prioritized protecting everyone over dealing damage himself. He might be a bit of an enigma, but he seems willing to do whatever he thinks will make Annabeth happy."

Leo threw his hands up in exasperation. "So he's a nuclear bomb and Annabeth is the big red button? Do you know how often I annoy her? I'm practically a target already!"

Piper punches Leo in the arm. "He's not a weapon Leo, he is still a person, but he's had to live down there for who knows how long. It's a miracle he has a good side at all." She turns to look at Annabeth. "The real question is, do you think he is going to be alright going on a quest like this? We all thought Nico was the seventh member, but since he's gone it's most likely Percy. Percy doesn't know anything about this world that he is supposed to save. He doesn't know anything about the gods of Olympus or the threat of Gaea, is it really fair to ask him to fight with us?"

Annabeth was a little stunned at Piper's question because it wasn't something she had really considered. She thought it was a no brainer that Percy would be alongside them all in their fight against Gaea, but Piper was right. It wasn't fair to have him fight their war, but after seeing his power she knew it was someone they needed. "It's not fair to ask him to fight, but I think he has to. He is the last member of the prophecy and if he doesn't help us nothing else will matter cause it will be game over for humanity."

Just then a few of the crew members looked past her, and when she turned around Percy was standing at the top of the stairs. He was worse off than Annabeth had realized. He was even paler than she thought and Jason's clothes hung off of his frame terribly. The worst thing however was the scarring on his body, it seemed that every inch of his arms that were still showing were covered in scars, some faded and some much more prominent. Despite that he had a smile on his face as he saw her and began walking towards her. Annabeth squinted as she noticed something wiggling on top of his head, until she saw that it was Percy's pet cat from the pit. She had completely forgotten about the little guy! "So where was he hiding this whole time?" Annabeth pointed to the top of his head.

Percy gently lifted the cat off of his head and handed it to her as he approached. "Looks like he hid himself in my clothes, probably fell asleep cause I didn't even notice him until I started getting ready to shower."

Annabeth cradled the cat against her cheek affectionately, the cat purring in response causing her whole body to shake. "Man I love this little guy he's just so adorable."

Hazel and Piper also went over to admire the cat, gently scratching it behind the ears. Hazel giggled happily and turned to Percy. "What's this little guys name?"

Chapter Text

Alright so my bad on not updating this story for so long, life’s been a little too hectic lately so this got kinda thrown on the back burner and it likely still will for another month or so. I promise I will start again once my life stabilizes a bit more. Im getting deployed so ive been really unmotivated after doing all sorts of training and getting everything ready for when I leave, but I promise I will not abandon this!

Thank you to everyone who has shown your support I read every comment and I love to see them!