Legends Never Die

Returning From Hell and Other Fun Games

"Annabeth," Percy breathed.

The girl looked up and croaked, "Now you guys are really torturing me. It wasn't good enough to put me through endless hours of pain, you had to make an illusion too?" She chuckled hysterically. "Well I won't fall for it!"

"What did they do to you down here," he asked gently, almost rhetorically since she didn't believe he was real.

"They brutally tortured her. Anything Tartarus or the other monsters down here could come up with. She's immortal down here, permanently reborn if she dies. They try not to let that happen now though. It takes too long they said. I'm the same way. Even if we leave, should we die, we will come right back here."

Percy growled. "I can change the location. I'll tie you two to my life force. Wherever I am is where you will be reborn at. I won't see you guys forced back down here again." He ripped the bars off the cage and proceeded to pick up his former girlfriend. "Let's go, Zach. We've spent too much time here and any more will give Tartarus a reason to confront me. Grab on my shoulder."

-/-

They reappeared in the Hunt's camp and surprised the hell out of twenty some odd preteens.

Artemis came out of her tent and looked at Percy. "Who is the boy?"

"That's my little brother. We need to get medical aid to Annabeth. Then, I need the one in Camp Half-Blood brought before me. I'm going to slaughter it and get that idiot to appear before me. He has a lot to answer for."

Artemis wrapped Percy in a hug. "Calm down. One thing at a time. She looks like she needs help, and so does your brother. Why does he look like a teenager? Shouldn't be younger?"

Percy let out a breath. "Yes. She needs to be put in the infirmary, and so does he. Lets get them both checked out. I need to preform a magical bonding ceremony to them. Tartarus tied them to his Pit and if they die, they will be reborn there. Not quite immortality, but in a way it is. I'll tie then to myself so they will be reborn wherever I'm at.

"Annabeth isn't lucid. She thinks I'm a product of Tartarus' tortures. We need to get Dionysus to help her, if it's even possible at this point. Not being a true immortal might mean she's past her breaking point already."

Thalia took Annabeth from him. "Follow me kid. We'll get you checked over. And Percy. Return him to his own age, or the girls will start to get agitated. It's bad enough they have to deal with you," she said with a smirk.

Percy sent her a playful glare until a ball of water dropped on her head. He laughed while she fumed, but she couldn't do anything with her friend in her arms. He shooed her away and pulled Artemis back inside her tent. "Are you oka–"

She was interrupted by his lips slamming into hers. She held the kiss for a few seconds and then jerked away. "What is wrong with you?" She looked into his eyes and saw them changing colors from green to red to black and back again. "Percy?"

He turned away from her and clutched his head. "I'm sorry. I've been gone for so long I thought my curse would kill me. I couldn't hold back any more."

"Gone? You've been gone for a few days, that's it."

Percy shook his head. "Time in Tartarus and the Demon Realm are very different. And in Tartarus, it fluctuates even worse depending on how deep you go. I've been gone for several years. Nearly a decade in the Demon Realm, and more in Tartarus. He kept those two in the deepest parts of himself as possible."

Artemis shuddered. She knew it must have been bad. His curse must have taken a harsh toll on him. She hugged him from behind. Laying her head on his back she sighed. Despite how she knew it might be wrong to her girls, this felt perfect being with him like this.

That is...until a little cry came from the crib near the bed. Percy looked at it questioningly. Then it dawned on him what happened before he left. "I nearly thought that was a dream," he laughed. "How's she doing?"

"She's great. Growing faster than a human baby, but a lot slower than any immortal baby I've seen before, except Athena."

Percy walked over and picked her up. She stopped her little fussing cry and giggled at him. "This is nice," Artemis whispered.

Percy looked at her distractedly. "What's that?" he asked.

Artemis just smiled and shook her head. "Nothing. I was just thinking out loud."