Percy Jackson, Son of Chaos - Edit

Chap 16 - New King of Hellhounds and New Pets

~PERCY'S POV~

Thalia and I stood before the entrance to Tartarus, staring into the red void. I could feel my breathing quicken as my heart raced in excitement. This was Tartarus, the ancient pit, the prison of countless monsters, and we were about to enter the ancient place.

I shook my head, I need to focus, Uncle trusts me to get this done. I turned my gaze to the map in my hands, which showed the red landscapes in extreme detail. Every rock was shown, every 'tree', everything. The only thing out of place was a bright red dot, moving around the map at immense speeds.

"You ready?" I asked, turning to Thalia. Her gaze hardened, and showed nothing but determination. She nodded, and we plunged into the pit.

~TIME SKIP~

We followed the dot for what felt like hours, though it might have been minutes. Time is difficult here.

The sound of our ragged breathing filled the air, and our legs were shaking with the effort of walking. "I'm too tired, we need to rest, Percy." Thalia gasped out.

I nodded, "Look over there, see that cave? We can take a stop in there." Thalia nodded, and followed me to the cave, where we both collapsed. 

After a while, I struggled to sit up, but eventually managed. I then summoned a fire, along with food and water. I lined the edge of the fire with furs and pillows, so we wouldn't have to lay on the rocky floor of the cave.

Thalia inched closer to the fire, still exhausted from our long trek through Tartarus. I crawled next to her, and she leaned over, placing her head on my shoulder. We sat together for who knows how long, enjoying each other's presence, accompanied only by the sound of our heart beats. 

After a few minutes of the silence, I heard the soft pads of feet nearing the cave. I abruptly sat up, and readied my sword for visitors. I then peeked outside, and what I saw made me skip a beat. Standing outside, there was a hellhound. But not just any, this hellhound was thirty feet tall, with bulging muscles, and razor claws and teeth. The very sight made me tremble, I had never seen anything quite like this. 

It seemed as if the hellhound could sense me, as no sooner had I saw him, he turned to face me. His face wrinkled in disgust, and his features showed extreme distaste upon seeing me. "Who are you, Demigod?"

I raised my head, doing my best to look braver than I felt. "I am Perseus, son of Chaos! Who are you?" I said, in my best imitation of Nick's pridefulness.

It seemed to work, as the hellhound growled. "Demigods. Always so prideful. I am Vasiliás, king of the hellhounds! Bow before me, and I might just give you a painless death."

I glared, again in an impression of Nick. I think this is the only time anything he's done has been useful. "As if you could ever kill me, I'm the greatest demigod to ever live!" Can you tell where that comes from?

He scowled in rage, before he lunged. Thinking quickly, I dodged to the side, and swung at his hind paw as it passed. The shallow cut seemed to not even bother him, as he spun, and pushed forward. I slid beneath his stomach with my sword faced upwards, opening a would on his belly. He yelped, and swiped at me with his paw. I raised my sword to deflect the blow, the power knocked me to the ground. I raised my head just in time to see Thalia plunge her spear into Vasiliás' other hind paw. 

I took advantage of his distraction, and thrust my sword through his chest. He gave an angry roar as he began to dissolve into dust. Almost immediately, a resounding howl was heard through Tartarus, a howl of a hellhound. 

The shadows of the cave seemed to dance with joy at the death of the hellhound king. But before long, they began to gather in the corner, and a new hellhound appeared. This one was slightly smaller than the king, though he seemed more intelligent, and keener.