The Darkness Within

Chapter 22

Percy POV

Shadows emanate from my body. I stand up, swirling with newfound energy.

"How are you still alive?" Arak snarls.

I laugh. "I am a son of Hades. The Dark is my birthright."

Annabeth's grey eyes widen. "The Prophecy...it was never about the primordial at all. It was about Percy."

My eyes scan the surroundings with a new clarity. Pax is in a cage in front of us, screaming her lungs out and trying her best to slash through her cage. She is surrounded in a cloak of darkness and that is why everyone else can't see her.

I bend the dark cage around her and she comes out.

"Impossible!" Tartarus' eyes widened.

Pax runs over to me.

"Till the pride lands end?" I smirk.

Pax sighs. "Stop it with your kids' show references."

We run over and attack Unknown and Tartarus. The rest of the demigods soon join us after freeing themselves.

The primordial struggles to fight against the eight of us. Annabeth and Pax easily manage to disarm Arak.

Tartarus summons monsters after monsters. With my newfound powers, I manage to defeat them with the help of the rest of the demigods.

Tartarus obviously doesn't expect puny mortals to fight back like this. He tries to match our strengths, but there is only so much a primordial can do while half-asleep. 

Jason flies in the air and fights from above. I keep fighting from the shadows. Annabeth and Pax leave Arak disarmed and injured on the side as they join to help us. Hazel counters Tartarus' spikes with her own metal spikes. Frank changes from animal to animal fluidly and attacks where he can. Leo fires fireball after fireball and manages to reprogram a deserted automation that Pax and I have defeated when escaping the pit the first time. Piper joins Annabeth and Pax and charmspeaks like crazy.

Tartarus seems like he is having a hard time keeping himself awake. He finally manages to destroy the automation and sends his monsters to attack Leo. Jason manages to save him, but Leo has a claw sticking out through the side of his stomach.

Tartarus swipes his hand and Hazel goes off flying. Frank, in cheetah form, rushes to her. She seems to be bleeding from her head.

Annabeth is swarmed by spiders. She struggles to keep a determined look on her face, but I know she's terrified. Pax is luckily by her side and slays the spiders with a menacing glare.

Jason's nose is bleeding as he fights side to side with Piper and Leo. Piper fends off monsters that get close with her dagger. Jason summons as much lightning as he can, but it has consequences. I can see Jason becoming increasingly tired.

I know I have to do something or else we would fail the quest. I slice my sword through an approaching drakon and move to Tartarus. He doesn't see me as I am directly behind him. I run and thrust my sword through his heart.

Finally, Tartarus groans, drops of golden ichor illuminating the dark and dreary surrounding.

"You...you'll regret n-not joining me. There...is more c-coming." Tartarus stutters.

He closes his eyes and disappears.

I know I haven't killed him off. We are in his domain. I've only delayed the inevitable. We need to get back to camp and start preparing the campers for an upcoming war.

Sadly, Tartarus didn't take his monsters with him. I clean off my sword and join the others in fighting the monsters. Without the added strength of their master, they stand no chance.

After killing the last beast, we stand in silence for a moment, wondering what to do next.

No one looks me in the eye. They are all pretty shaken from my newfound powers. Darkness is always a fickle subject. There was so much darkness within me, that it finally burst out at the seams. The glass ball has shattered, letting all of my emotions roam free.

Everyone seems to feel what I felt the past few years of strife and loneliness. There is an aura of burden and hurt in the air.

Hazel looks around, a sweater wrapped around her bleeding head. She walks towards us, Frank limping by her side.

"Guys...where's Arak?"

A/N: Guess who FINALLY got enough time to update.

-points to self-

I am so sorry I couldn't update earlier...school started and it has been HECTIC.

I hope you like this slightly longer chapter released on a Saturday, not a Sunday, as a compensation.

Also, thank you all SO SO SO SO much for being amazing readers and sticking with my book to this point. We have reached 1# ranking in Tartarus and 1# ranking in forgiveandforget. This couldn't have been possible without all of youuuuuuu! Virtual hugs!

Stay safe!

Sapphy