A second chance.

7. Discovery

Nico

I followed the Phlegethon for several hours, stopping once more to take another drink from the fire. I looked around as I walked, and I noticed that the terrain in Tartarus had changed since I had last seen it.

The sky had grown to a more ashy colour, and I swore I saw some shadows darting in and out of the ash overhead. I glanced down and stopped when I saw that the Phlegethon had veered off from it's original course, merging with another river. I narrowed my eyes as I realized that the Phlegethon was merging with the dark waters of the River Styx. 

"Great. This is great. I have no clue how to find Atlas and the other Olympian Gods." I growled as I glared at the two intersecting rivers. 

I sighed before deciding to just walk aimlessly around and hope that I would eventually find the place where Atlas and the Olympians were reforming. 

I stalked forwards, my hand on the hilt of my stygian iron sword. I was wary that a monster would swoop down try to kill me, and that would probably be a very high chance of that happening. 

I walked and walked until I heard voices up ahead. I immediately tensed before diving behind a huge boulder that was beside me. I peeked my head out from around the boulder and saw two dracaena standing a few feet away from where I was hiding. They both carried spears and fishing nets.

I tightened my grip on my sword as I heard one of them speak. "The titan, the titan that wassss down here, reforming. He esssscaped before we could catch him. Lord Perseus would be very disssappointed in ussss." 

My eyes widened in surprise. Percy had control over monsters down here in Tartarus as well? Man, my cousin is loaded!

"We musst find the titan, or elssse Lord Perseus will kill ussss." The second dracaena hissed, fear flickering in her eyes. The first dracaena nodded in agreement and the two monsters slithered off to an unknown destination. 

I turned back and slid against the boulder, resting my back against the hard material. I glanced down at my hand and saw that it was shaking. I gritted my teeth in annoyance before releasing my tight grip on the hilt of my sword.

"Atlas has reformed, and he's out there.....Oh my god, he's out there." I whispered, gripping strands of my dark hair. "I have to find him, though. I have to talk to him and reason with him, try to convince him that I'm on his side before I shove his ass back under the sky and free my Uncle."

I rose from my sitting position and cautiously crept around the boulder. I walked a few more minutes before I heard the sounds of a fight ahead of me. I narrowed my eyes and in the distance, I could see the shadows of some figures up ahead. 

I made my way quietly over to them, my hand sliding my sword out of the sheath strapped to my waist. I could see the hulking figure of a tall, brutish man. He had no weapons, only his bare fists, which were displayed in front of him. Surrounding him were the two dracaena I saw before, along with a cyclops.

I knew instantly that the man standing before me was Atlas.

"Sssssurrender, titan. Lord Perseus demandsssss that we bring you into captivity." A dracaena growled, raising her spear and pointing it at the titan. Atlas's eyes flashed before his gaze flickered to where I was standing. His eyes widened slightly with disbelief before I glared at him and put a finger to my lips. 

Atlas paused before he inclined his head slowly. The monsters started to turn towards me when Atlas spoke. His voice was low and gravelly. "Lord Perseus, huh? I wonder how he managed to influence you into believing that he will reward you for my capture. He changed into a sick, twisted human being, he's just lying to you. He will never reward you."