Percy Jackson - Bane of Tartarus

Chapter 15

Artemis's POV

I don't know how long have I been in this cage but it sure feels like a century has passed. I have been assigned quite a straight forward routine, get tortured, fall unconscious, get awoken, get fed forcefully, get tortured and fall unconscious a few times and then repeat the cycle. Even puny monsters can torture me and get away with it due to these damn cuffs. Over past however many days I have been here, never have I been able to lay on the ground. Someone broke my cuff and laid me on the ground. I was too exhausted to open my eyes and look. After a while I gathered the strength to open my eyes as the person kept on splashing water on my face. I open my eyes to see a boy with deep sea green eyes grinning at me. His eyes reminded me of uncle Poseidon, wait a minute I know this boy.

"Perseus" I managed to say at the still grinning boy, "what are you doing here?"

"Helping you escape of course, Lady Artemis. Here have some nectar and ambrosia", he replied cheekily passing me a few cubes of ambrosia and a flask of nectar. The godly food helped a little but I still felt sore from the tortures. The smaller cuts and bruises disappeared but most of them were still very much there. I tried to sit up but the pain from a few broken ribs I guess overwhelmed me. I fell back down but the boy caught me before hit the hard ground. He helped me up on my feet, most of my weight was on his left shoulder as I could barely stand let alone walk but I could see him wince in pain like he was badly hurt. Before we got to the door I heard two male voices approaching the cave and I knew who those voices belonged to Perses and Orion. With me being in no condition to do pretty much anything and Perseus hurt there is no way we are getting out of this. I wasn't even aware when I started shaking in both fear and anger until the boy said something.

Percy's POV

"Lady Artemis, you should stay here, you are in no condition to fight" I helped her in a corner and expected a protest but I guess she is wiped out, I guess a month of torture will do that to you, "and if a green drakon tries to save you, let it. Its name is Achilles", I informed her about my pet drakon and ran towards the exit to stop whoever it is from coming inside.

As I walked towards the door instead of getting bright it got darker until I could literally see what seemed like very bright stars. Although I could see a lot of bright stars at the instant two just seemed to catch my eyes. They were brighter than any star and there seemed to be absolutely nothing around them. Suddenly the twin stars moved like they were getting closer to me but as they came closer I realized what they were, eyes. Eyes of a shadowy figure much like my dream but much more powerful and less evil.

"Who are you?" I yelled and saw what appeared to be the creature's teeth. I think it was grinning.

"Who do you think I am Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon?" Its voice was loud yet surprisingly soothing.

"Someone I need to beat before I can help Lady Artemis. Come on then show me your face"

"On the contrary Perseus I am family. I am your great great grandfather", the man spread his hands like he was expecting a hug. I pointed the sword towards him.

"After meeting my grandfather and great grandmother, let's just say I'm not very keen to meet another family member" He sighed in frustration.

"First of all I apologize for my daughter's and grandson's behavior. Second of all that thing is not even going to make a dent on me so why don't you cap it and listen to what I have to say, if you don't like my offer you are free to go." It seemed like a reasonable request in addition to the fact that power was oozing from the guy so if he wanted to kill me I would be dead before I blink. I capped my sword and motioned him to go on.

"Thankyou. I am here to offer you a way to escape Tartarus" the man spoke emotionlessly.

"And what's the catch? I mean no disrespect but I don't believe a higher immortal like you would just help me out without wanting anything in return"

"Although there is a catch it's not me who wants something. I am here just to offer you a choice, you can take me up on my offer and escape alone or you can stay here and help Artemis escape."

"If I wanted to escape alone why would I ever come to this damned pit in the first place? I am here to rescue her and I am not leaving her alone"

"Listen carefully young hero, there will be repercussions to both choices. If you leave Artemis and escape she might fade but if you don't return, the life you have worked so hard to build will crumble. Your loved ones might die. The choice is yours."

It felt like someone hit me with Leo's fiery hammer in my gut. How could I choose between the two? I won't leave Artemis like this if I can help it, I'll try to leave this pit early. That's it!

"No! I will not leave Lady Artemis alone. I came here to save her and will see it through. I will try to leave the pit early and save everyone"

"I admire your courage young hero, here, atleast let me help you get through Tartarus", suddenly I started feeling better like outside of Tartarus better. All the wounds and pain was gone in an instant and I somehow started feeling more powerful. "Consider it a gift. You are faster, stronger, have more stamina than before, able to breathe and navigate in Tartarus and now when you kill an opponent its life force will be used to heal your wounds if any. Good luck demigod and I am truly sorry for your loss". Ouch that hurt, I have to get out of here as soon as possible. Before he left he turned to me again.

"And Perseus, do not mention this encounter to anyone for your own safety", before I could ask why, he was gone and I mean not in a flash like the Gods, just gone. My surrounding instantly returned to where I was before meeting him.