Work Text:
Deadweight
The trek through the Pit was not fun to say the least. Between having to drink from the River of Fire aka the Phelegon and following deadly greek metal and donkey vampires it wasn’t a fun experience. But the worst part of it all in Percy’s mind? How gods damned useless his girlfriend was! Like don’t get him wrong he loved-loves her dearly. But she has a busted ankle, she lost her only weapon, that stupid knife, and she can’t even be bothered to help. Needing him to carry her? She’s not invalid just a bum ankle.
Khaos he needs to stop this negative thought process. It’s like the Pit was trying to make him resent his girlfriend!
He wouldn’t know until much later on when he leaves or when he meets Damasen really.
That’s exactly what the Pit was doing.
It takes your preexisting negative thoughts about someone or something or even the smallest buried traces of resentment and anger and cranks it up to 100.
And the longer your feelings have been bottled up.
The more explosive they’ll be once finally let out. And for Percy Jackson?
A boy who's been told his entire life to restrain himself? To push down all his feelings for the betterment of others. The good and the bad, all of it will come out within Tatarus.
One way or another.
-Emposai-
Percy grunted as they had to carefully climb down a sheer cliff to follow Kelli and her crew. Annabeth wasn’t much help due to her leg but he refused to carry her down, it wasn’t safe for one. And for another there was no way he’d be able to climb down safely while carrying her like some stupid damsel in distress. Something of which he knows she hates.
Gods why is she being so unbearable?!
She wanted to ask about Bob but Percy refused to talk. He was not in the mood to discuss his Titan friend. Honestly he should visit him more.
They talked briefly, well Annabeth talked, but Percy wanted to keep going and keep quiet. He didn’t want the girls to hear them. They could probably smell them down here even with all the noxious and toxic fumes that reminded him of his bastard of a stepfather.
Gods he couldn’t believe Annabeth even had the audacity to laugh at him when he said that. He wasn't joking. The moment he broke past the surface of the river of laments, it was like he was 12 years old again walking into a too tiny apartment that reeked of stale beer, nasty cologne, tobacco from cigars that burned the soles of his feet, and that gods awful SMELL of moldy garlic wrapped in used gymshorts.
He mentioned only once back when they were 12 about how Gabe wasn’t good, she saw his bullshit sob story on the news, and even after all that. After all their years together as friends even before becoming ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ for like 2 months - if that!
She had the gods damned fucking audacity to laugh at his trauma!
She just-
Percy didn’t bother to calm down as he finished his climb down and waited for Annabeth who was taking her sweet time due to her injury. Gods how pathetic is she?
She’s been at camp since she was seven years old and didn’t bother to ever once take the mandatory first aid class?
Oh that’s right, according to Annabeth such things were useless and a waste of time.
And now here’s the price of her pride once more.
Gods how often has he done that?
Paid the price for her pride? From his first quest to now, she’s always done something that’s nearly gotten him killed for her pride.
The arch and waterpark ride.
Circe, the Sirens, and Polyphemus.
Tackling the Manticore when the hunters were taking aim at the monster.
That same quest, with her begging to spare Castellan.
The Labyrinth… and everything she did. Refusing help, the Sphinx, the forge, and then-
…
She claimed his glory….
She told Daedalus about having done the things he and Tyson had done! Claiming she faced Kampe and Geyron when HE had done that! Claiming she faced the Sphinx when all she did was piss it off because she refused to adapt! She didn’t even take down Anteaus, that was him!!
Gods how could he be so stupid! She-
“C’mon SeaweedBrain we don’t have all day,” she had the fucking gall to chastize him for thinking deeply while waiting for her to hurry her own fucking ass up.
Percy grunted, not trusting himself to not yell at her and give away their position.
“Seriously you’re still mad that I wanted to talk earlier?” She questioned as if not comprehending from where they sat earlier. They easily could’ve been overheard by the emposai or any other monsters in the pit. This isn’t some ‘impromptu date’ in Rome trying to find where the Parthenos path is.
This is quite literally the Greek version of Hell. Not Hades or Erebus which is a level above. No. This is where they used to send the worst of the worst. Separating out human souls at some point into Eerebus for punishment rather than keeping the punished souls down here in the Pit.
They cannot afford useless chatter which can be heard by the enemies all around them! This isn’t a place where ‘keeping your wits’ will help you fully in the long run. Wits can only take you so far. You have to survive off power and the raw desire to not die. How does she actually survive outside of the camp when she’s so loud? Doesn’t she understand monsters have good hearing?
He just glared at her, giving her an expression of ‘what do you think?’ Before cautiously looking around and listening for Kelli and her girls.
“Gods you’re so childish,” Annabeth rolled her eyes as she cautiously looked around finally herself.
Percy huffed and kept his ears open, they’re too far from the river now that they’re on the ground.
The creepy-
Percy shook his head, he refused to put more stock into that thought, not now when he has to focus.
“Well, well, well, look what we have here girls,” Kelli mocked as she and the emposai came out of hiding to surround the pair. Annabeth tried moving closer to shield herself using Percy. He ignored her and focused on the problem at hand. He brought out Riptide and was hopelessly outnumbered with a useless brat weighing him down.
“We’ve got some yummy demigods to snack on before heading back topside! This is our lucky day!” Kelli laughed at the irony of it all, her hated enemies are here before her!
“Or you’ll go back into a nasty ass pimple to be reformed once more,” Percy snarked at her.
“Oh sure now you talk,” Annabeth bitched from behind him.
“You should shut up Athena Spawn, down here, we’re the top of the food chain,” one of the emposai mocked.
“And naive demigods like you?” Another laughed.
“You’re just a delicious snack we can consume.” A fourth snarled excitedly.
“Let’s beat them down and eat up girls,” Kelli grinned as she was ready to use her magic.
Sadly for the emposai girls, Percy Jackson was done playing around.
His anger was ready to explode.
And what doesn’t help for them, is he’s done protecting some whiny girl from the consequences of her own actions.
He won’t let Annabeth Chase hold him back anymore.
Screams of terror filled the air as Perseus Jackson slaughtered the enemies around him. He ignored Annabeth’s pleas for help, he ignored her trying to get his attention and distract him from doing his job. To keep them alive! He fought viciously like the predator he was, the soldier he was!
Fighting with everything he has and then some to survive because he refused to die.
Riptide hummed in the air as he sliced through the emposai and even pointedly injured Kelli just to drag out her pain. If only because she was the most annoying of the group.
Percy’s blood sang with joy as he let loose finally, and once he cut off Kelli’s head and noticed the emposai were all dead, did he finally calm down enough to summon some of the fire river’s water to them to heal up. Well… to himself really since it seems Annabeth only has a few cuts and scrapes.
“What the hell was that?” Annabeth demanded. “I called for your help and you didn’t help me!”
She was standing as best she could with her bum ankle.
“Why should I?” Percy demanded finally having enough of her voice and bitching. “All you do is complain and whine when shit doesn’t go your way. You’ve been like that since we met and it sure as Khaos hasn’t changed over the last five years.”
“Wh-HOW DARE YOU! You would’ve died on that first quest if it wasn’t for me!” She snapped back at him.
“Really? Because last I recall from that first quest the only useful things you did were distracting Cerberus because I was too nervous to properly gain his attention, your calculations on the love ride would’ve killed us hadn’t Grover been outside the ride in the first place, and you only had me kill Medusa because she never would’ve let you get close enough even with my sword.” He snapped back. “You didn’t kill a single monster. I'm the one who did that, repeatedly, in fact I’ve only ever seen you kill two monsters. One was the emposai Kelli, and the other was Joe Bob the Lastrogyian.”
“Both of whom would’ve killed you hadn’t I been there to save your useless ass!” She snapped back.
Neither noticed the Titan Bob aka Iapetus coming up and listening to this argument. He came since Annabeth tried to speak his name earlier, but actually came since he heard Percy think his name. He remained silent watching the pair who were supposed to be a loving couple fight. Though even with holes in his memories he knows how the Pit works, it seems as if Perseus Jackson’s true emotions are finally coming to the surface.
“THE ONLY USELESS ONE HERE IS YOU!! GODS YOU’RE DEADWEIGHT! YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN DEADWEIGHT!” Percy screamed at the daughter of Athena, and Bob knew any monster or immortal nearby was either going to come attack or listen in on this gossip.
Bob himself was in the latter category, one does not normally get something this hot for drama in the pit.
“HOW DARE YOU! I am the reason YOU became a hero!” She snapped back. “I molded you into a perfect tool! Without me you never would’ve become the Hero of Olympus!”
There was a sudden pressure change that made every living being in the pit nervous. That is not normal… no one can-
“Is that what you think of me? A tool? A weapon? An object at your disposal?” Percy demanded as the pressure got even more intense, Bob swallowed a whimper as he felt the Pit’s gaze upon this area. The primordial was watching the disturbance.
“What else could you possibly be, SeaweedBrain? It’s the only thing you’re good for.” Annabeth mocked back clearly not taking the shift in pressure seriously or she somehow didn’t notice it.
“How about a living being with thoughts and feelings that don’t revolve around a spoiled rotten brat who cannot comprehend the world doesn’t revolve around her, and she’s not some infallible goddess. She’s not even a good human being. Even a child with a basic understanding of empathy wouldn’t laugh at someone saying the pit smells like their ex-stepfather.” Percy tells her. Percy took a breath and his expression was so guarded that Annabeth never would’ve known what he was thinking. But then again she never really did.
“I’m done. As of here and now, I am no longer your boyfriend, I am not your living meat shield to use against the forces of our pantheon you choose to antagonize in an attempt to prove you’re better than them. I will not defend you. I will not protect you. You wanna survive Tartarus, Annabeth Chase? Then grow the fuck up because I’m done babying you.”
Annabeth was floored and before she could snap at Percy he wasn’t allowed to break up with her, the Titan of Mortality decided to speak up.
“Well said my friend, now we should get going, your shouting match was heard by many in the pit,” Bob reminded the pair of their location. Tartarus kept watch but the primordial wasn’t interested in touching the pair, not yet. Perhaps not until they leave.
But for now the trio left, with Bob more on Percy's side than Annabeth’s. The titan’s memories may be coming back, but he knew for certain he’d rather have Perseus Jackson on his side than Annabeth Chase. Any being who can cause a shift within a primordial’s dimension was someone you wanted on your side when surviving the hellish landscape of the pit.