Percy Jackson AU: Hell Born

Chapter 4:

A billion years later, with a dozen new blisters on his feet, Percy reaches the bottom. Ahead of him stretches miles of wasteland, bubbling with monstrous larvae and big insect-hair trees.

To his right, the fire river splits into branches that etch the plain, widening into a delta of smoke and fire. To the north, along the main route of the river, the ground is riddled with cave entrances. Here and there, spires of rock jut up like exclamation points.

Under Percy's hand, the soil feels alarmingly warm and smooth. He tries to grab a handful, then realizes that under a thin layer of dirt and debris, the ground is a single vast membrane...like skin.

He almost throws up, but forces himself not to. The prospect of firewater coming up isn't a nice one.

He starts to feel like something is watching him— something vast and malevolent. He can't zero in on it, because the presence is all around him.

Watching is the wrong word, too. That implied eyes, and this thing is simply aware of him. The ridges above him now look less like steps and more like rows of massive teeth. The spires of rock look like broken ribs. And if the ground is skin...

Percy forces those thoughts aside once again, but it is getting harder to ignore. This place is just freaking him out. That is all. It has to be.

As he continues down the cannon following the river downstream, keeping far away from the cave entrances, he notices something moving swiftly between rocks. With sudden clarity he remembers why he has been going at a slow pace. The Empousai are no longer in sight.

Trap his head screams, and as he draws his sword he is already surrounded. Kelli stands directly in front of him, a manic grin stretches across her face.

"Percy Jackson," she coos. "How awesome! I don't even have to return to the mortal world to destroy you!"

Percy recalls how dangerous Kelli had been the last time they'd fought in the Labyrinth. Despite those mismatched legs, she could move fast when she wanted to. She'd dodged his sword strikes and would have eaten his face if Annabeth hadn't stabbed her from behind.

Now she has four friends with her.

And he is alone.

There is nowhere to run. No help coming.

Briefly Percy considers calling for Mrs. O'Leary, his hellhound friend who can shadow-travel. Even if she hears him, could she make it into Tartarus? This is where monsters go when they die. Calling her here may kill her, or turn her back to her natural state as a fierce monster.

No...he can't do that to his dog. So, no help. Fighting is a long shot without the element of surprise on his side. So he resorts to talking and stalling, although with him he might just provoke them further.

"So..." he starts, "I guess you're wondering what we're doing in Tartarus."

Kelli snickers. "Not really. I just want to kill you."

He pauses unsure how to continue but his mouths talent to speak before his brain probably saves his life.

"Shame," he says. "Because you have no idea what's going on up on the surface" The other empousai circle, watching Kelli for a cue to attack; but the ex-cheerleader only snarls, crouching out of reach of Percy's sword.

"We know enough," Kelli says. "Gaea has spoken."

"You're heading toward a major defeat." He sounds so confident despite feeling like it was a lie. He glances at the other empousai, one by one, then points accusingly at Kelli. "This one claims she's leading you to a victory.

She's lying. The last time she was in the mortal world, Kelli was in charge of keeping Luke Castellan faithful to Kronos. In the end, Luke rejected him.

He gave his life to expel Kronos. The Titans lost because Kelli failed. Now Kelli wants to lead you to another disaster."

The other empousai mutter and shift uneasily.

"Enough!" Kelli's fingernails grows into long black talons.

She glares at Percy as if imagining him sliced into small pieces.

Luke was probably a low blow for Kelli, as Percy is pretty sure she had a thing for Luke, he had that effect on people— even monstrous ones.

"He lies!" Kelli hisses. "So the Titans lost. Fine! That was part of the plan to wake Gaea!

Now the Earth Mother and her giants will destroy the mortal world, and we will totally feast on demigods!"

Percy doesn't have time to contemplate those implications. The other vampires gnash their teeth in a frenzy of excitement. He prepares to attack, but how many can he dispatch before they overwhelm him? It won't be enough.

"The demigods have united!" Percy yells. "You'd better think twice before you attack me or those on the surface. Romans and Greeks will fight you together. You don't stand a chance!"

The empousai back up nervously, hissing, "Romani."

Percy guesses that they had experience with the Twelfth Legion before, and it hadn't worked out well for them.

"Yeah, you bet Romani." Percy bares his forearm and shows them the brand he'd gotten at Camp Jupiter—the SPQR mark, with the trident of Neptune.

"You mix Greek and Roman, and you know what you get? You get BAM!" He stomps his foot, a slight rumble sprouts from the collision, and the empousai scramble back. One falls off the boulder where she'd been perched.

That had felt good but their fear doesn't last long.

"Bold talk," Kelli says, "for a lone demigod lost in Tartarus. Lower your sword, Percy Jackson, and I'll kill you quickly. Believe me, there are worse ways to die down here."

He scrambles for something else when he remembers something from one of Annabeth's more obscure rants.

"Wait!" Percy tries again. "Aren't empousai the servants of Hecate?"

Kelli curls her lip. "So?"

"So Hecate is on our side now," he says. "She has a cabin at Camp Half-Blood. Some of her demigod children are my friends. If you fight, she'll be angry!"

One of the other empousai growls. "Is this true, Kelli? Has our mistress made peace with Olympus?"

"Shut up, Serephone!" Kelli screeches. "Gods, you're annoying!"

"I will not cross the Dark Lady."

Percy takes the opening. "You'd all be better following Serephone. She's older and wiser."

"Yes!" Serephone shrieks. "Follow me!"

Kelli strikes so fast, Percy doesn't have the chance to raise his sword. Fortunately, she doesn't attack him. Kelli lashes out at Serephone. For half a second, the two demons are a blur of slashing claws and fangs.

Then it is over. Kelli stands triumphant over a pile of dust. From her claws hangs the tattered remains of Serephone's dress.

"Any more issues?" Kelli snaps at her sisters. "Hecate is the goddess of the Mist! Her ways are mysterious. Who knows which side she truly favors? She is also the goddess of the crossroads, and she expects us to make our own choices. I choose the path that will bring us the most demigod blood! I choose Gaea!"

Fuck he thinks.

"I wonder what happens to a demigod killed in Tartarus, I doubt I ever had before" Kelli states.

And Percy is moving before she has the chance, swiping at a few of the empousai near him. Riptide connects with the neck of one, slicing clean through and she turns to dust, head thumping to the ground as a spoil. The other dodges, blade just scratching her side. The empousa hisses holding her side, blood leaking out.

Kelli and the other empousa launches at him, and the one he cut backs away. He dodges Kelli's first strike, putting himself right into the other's path. Her talons scrape across his chess and he stumbles back the one he had injured takes the opportunity and grabs his left arm yanking him torwards him, biting into his upper arm. The one who had scratched him takes his sword arm making him loose grip on riptide.

The blood loss makes him woozy and he falls onto a knee. Through blurry eyes he see Kelli approach. They hold him in place for her.

He has one last chance to survive. He reaches out to the river behind him. Hoping for it to respond. It responds but it feels like the fire is flowing through his veins. He lets out a shout as a fiery hurricane forms around him. He heals whilst it surrounds him, shakily raising to his feet.

He glares at them and smirked in a vicious glee as they scramble back, one of the vampires burst into dust when they connect with the water.

He feeds his rage into the storm and slowly the flames stop burning, starts to feel like ordinary water. The hurricane continues to grow, the winds pick up the two remaining Empousai, Kelli cursing him as they are blown into the river. Even after they are nothing but golden dust, he feeds in to the hurricane. When was the last time he had the chance to let loose.

Percy only stops when his energy leaves him. He lays sprawled on the ground breathing deeply, straining to stay awake. Here is not the place to rest, but he can't get himself up.

His gut aches in the location where he believes his powers reside.

The tug he gets when controlling water but sore beyond belief as if they are trying to burst out of the container. He is almost curious what will happen when the container is fully breached.

Eventually he rises, and continues downstream to the black fog

****

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