Chapter Text
Annabeth
Falling .. that's all they've been doing so far. They haven't even made it to land yet. Right as Annabeth thought that, the chute-like hole they've been going down opened up into a hauntingly large cave of sorts. Her grip on Percy tightened. She could see the cavern floor.
They fell into the River of Lamentation, slowly struggling their way out. Annabeth's muscles ached, but she pushed on regardless. Percy was fine- barely. The black sand felt like shards of glass, etching themselves onto their hands and legs. Annabeth felt like she was breathing in acid. It was painful, but Annabeth knew it would only get worse.
As they collected themselves, Annabeth felt a wave of dread wash over her- it was large and brutal, knocking her off balance unlike the waves Percy made when they went to the beach that one time. They were in Tartarus, where all the monsters they've slain reside. She didn't even have her blade, backpack, anything. How would they find the Doors of Death if they could barely fight through monsters? Sure, Percy had Riptide, and Annabeth hated that she had to put the burden of protecting the two of them onto him, but still. This was Tartarus. They've made it out of many terrible situations, but would they make it out of this one?
"Can you stand?" Percy asked, his sea-green eyes looking more dull and brown in the lighting. Annabeth nodded. "Yeah. Let's go."
Their hands locked as they helped pull each other up. Annabeth's bubble wrap cast was still on, despite her leg feeling fine. The ambrosia must've done its work, finally. Speaking of ambrosia, she really wished she had some right now. Glass did not feel good stuck in her flesh. Annabeth looked around, only to find a suspiciously familiar car. The car that drove into Arachne. The windows were shattered into a bajillion pieces and the inside was empty. Annabeth felt like the pizza from what seemed like a century ago would lurch out. "This is Tartarus, home court of the monsters. Maybe they can't be killed here," Percy wondered out loud. After realizing that that was probably not something he should say, he quickly added, "Or maybe she's injured and crawling away."
Her wounds weren't healing. Odd. Her breathing was erratic. Also odd. They were going to die if they just stayed here. But Annabeth could've sworn that there was some .. fire, or something that might help. Her head worked on overdrive, before the memory pops in like a cork pops out a bottle. The River of Fire.
At the edge of the cliff nearby, where the beach of black sand ended, was a canyon, but with a river of fire at the bottom. Her eyes burned just looking at it, but Annabeth knew this would probably be their only shot at surviving. "Do we have to cross this nightmare-version of the Grand Canyon?" Percy asked. "No. We've got to get to the bottom of it- like, literally."
The two slowly, carefully, made their way down. Twice, Annabeth missed the ledge, but thankfully, she managed to spot it before plummeting to her death. She could only hope that she could keep spotting it.
"What's this river called?" Percy asked. "The Phlegethon, now concentrate and don't die, or I'll literally kill you."
Percy paused for a moment, letting out a light chuckle. "How would you kill me if I was already dead?"
After a few slow, tense moments, they somehow made it to the bottom relatively unscathed. The scars from the glass still burned, and their ragged clothes felt like they would evaporate from the heat, but it wasn't as bad as it could've been. Annabeth walked over to the river before turning back to Percy. "And now, we drink." A moment of silence. "Drink fire?" Annabeth nodded, and, before her mind registered what the heck was happening, she scooped up some fire. "Like this."
The fire was not pleasant to drink. It felt like eating a ghost pepper, except that the ghost pepper was dipped in hot sauce and was also hot and steamy, making it worse. Annabeth coughed. Her ears felt like they would pop off at any second. It was like every bit of moisture that could exist in her throat were sucked out. She hacked and gagged, with Percy, obviously, being worried. "Annabeth?!" The pain stopped. Her open wounds became nothing more than a light scab, if noticeable at all. "It worked. Percy, you too."
After reluctantly filling themselves with fire water (could it be classified as water, since they drank it?), they were about to go downstream. Percy looked like he had seen a ghost, before slashing behind Annabeth. She turned, only to find yellow dust of what was once Arachne. Her eyes widened. Annabeth hated feeling scared, but her hands trembled nonetheless. To think that she was about to die, and not even know it- she didn't like that thought. "Downstream, right?" Annabeth snapped back to reality thanks to her boyfriend's voice, which managed to soothe her just a bit. She nodded. "The river should flow deeper into Tartarus, meaning .." She trailed off, before Percy continued her sentence. "It'll be more dangerous, so the doors are probably there. Wonderful."
They barely walked before the sounds of voices made Annabeth, who felt like she was drunk from the fire, snap to attention. "Percy, get down!" she whisper-shouted. They hid behind a random boulder before straining their ears to listen. Annabeth timed her breathing with the rushing of the river. The two stayed as discreet as they humanly (demigodly?) could. One voice sounded raspy. Another sounded like your stereotypical popular girl from school. The things they were talking about sure weren't reassuring. The Earth Mother? If they were found, this would not end well. ".. after that, everyone will fear my name: Kelli!"
If not for the fear, Annabeth would've yelped in response.
She remembered Kelli- she was a cheerleader at Percy's orientation, and she and her lot attacked them in Daedalus's workshop. Annabeth never really thought about her after that. Once they passed Percy and Annabeth's boulder, Percy muttered under his breath, "Let's go too." A few seconds ago, the five empousai were talking about the Doors of Death. And, as much as she didn't want to, they had to follow them if they wanted even a sliver of chance at finding those doors. Very reluctantly, Annabeth started shuffling in the direction Kelli and the others went in.
Annabeth didn't know how long they've been following them- time felt like an illusion in Tartarus. The empousai stopped in front of something Annabeth couldn't see. They ate it the same way Annabeth would eat a Big Mac if she suddenly got it: fast and furiously. Once they left, Percy and Annabeth saw what they had eaten- well, what was left. A few bones scattered about. They really licked whatever it was clean. Their parents must be proud. Percy's hand intertwined with Annabeth's as he subtly led her away. "C'mon, we're gonna lose them." His hand was calloused and warm, just like usual. Annabeth nodded as they followed after the empousai.
A bit of light talk ensued, perhaps to ease tension, perhaps to think of something less horrifying than walking into their potential doom. They talked about the river Lethe, Bob the Titan .. As they started going down another cliff, Percy seemed uneasy. Well, of course he was uneasy, they were in Tartarus, but it was a bit different. His eyes darted around, as if someone were to ambush them if he stopped. Whatever her Seaweed Brain was thinking, or feeling, or noticing probably wasn't good. But there was no time to dwell on that. While thinking, they'd walked into a clear plain. Annabeth couldn't find the empousai anymore. That meant that they were way ahead, or ..
Percy drew his sword, but it was too late. The empousai pounced on them from all directions. They were trapped.
Penny
In her head, the seconds practically counted themselves. She waited for a few seconds before using the Celestial Bronze blade in her hand to scratch a line onto the floor. She got up and slung her orange backpack onto her shoulder. Lines upon lines decorated the floor around her. The air was as putrid and toxic as ever. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so why did Penny feel so .. off? Was her life finally going to end today? Just what was creating such a large pit of fear appear in her stomach?
It was probably nothing. Penny looked into her bag, grinning at her spoils of war from earlier today, before the adrenaline finally wore off and her body grew limp. Right before collapsing, she wobbled her way closer to the altar. The closer she was, the safer she was. She could only sleep so much, so it was better if it was safer. Penny hated feeling weak, collapsing, but she couldn't do much about it. And, as usual, she had a dream. It started off peaceful, which was never a good sign.
-
Penny was sitting on the side of a cliff. Up above was the dark, murky sky with speckles of light breaking through what might've been pure darkness. The grass felt wet and sharp. Maybe that was why it was called a blade of grass, and not just a piece of grass. Oh look, there's a shooting star. The shooting star glided across the sky effortlessly. The cool air wafted through her hair, which was long again. It reminded her of a peacefully time. Before she fell, when she was with her mother and stepfather. Penny felt a hand atop hers. Speak of the devil. Penny's stepfather, who she didn't hate, but didn't really like, watched the shooting star. "Did you wish for anything, Penelope?" A shiver ran down her spine.
No, she was not Penelope anymore. She was Penny. But he wouldn't know that. "No, I forgot to," Penny answered sheepishly. Her stepfather turned to face her. Penny didn't notice this before, but his eyes were .. black?
"I wished for something, Penelope. I wished .." His body twitched, and his face was hidden in a shadow. Her stepfather looked up to reveal a face melting as if it were a birthday candle. Penny's heart pounded, and the grip he had on her hand increased by tenfold. "I wished you were gone. And it looks like my wish came true." Suddenly the feeling of grass disappeared. When Penny looked down, she saw that the whole ground had disappeared, too. What replaced it was a dark, ominous hole. Penny yelped as she gripped tightly to the only thing she could grip to: her stepfather. Her stepfather in question smiled a smile that went from ear to ear, literally, before letting go.
"This was your fault, y'know? You brought this upon yourself."
No, no, I'm sorry! Please, please don't do this to me! What about Mom?!
"She doesn't care for you. Now you will be punished for your wrongdoings."
-
Penny woke with a start, and before she could decipher or grieve or cry about her nightmarish dream, her ears heard something. A small bead of sweat ran down her spine. She was not alone.