All Rights belong to Rick Riordan

Perseus Jackson Titan of the Hunt

Chapter 1

Bug Stomping

(Percy)

Looking around myself I found myself in what seemed a dark dimly lit cave with an invisible ceiling however recent event told me otherwise, I spied some blond hair a little away beginning to stir.

'Annabeth are you ok.'

'Other than being in Tartarus in the middle of a war, after fighting the mother of all spiders, fine really Seaweed brain.'

'No need to get sarcastic wise girl'

'We need a plan if we are to survive this and meet up with the others at the doors'

'Well last I checked we don't own a map of the pit, which means we either wing it or we have to deal with the locals, who just happen to be most of the worst monsters known to Olympus, who already hate me for putting them back down here'

'Not everyone is as well 'liked' as you are, hopefully for us. Most of them will be in the real world now that the doors are open or are guarding them for Gaia'

As if answering Annabeth's hopes a pile of boulders nearby began to rise and shift revealing one injured and very pissed Arachne who was looking at us with eyes full of hate.

'You were saying' I couldn't help it, resulting in Annabeth looking at me as if to say now is not the time, 'It's not my fault some people get scared, I get sarcastic'

'Like mother like daughter both take everything from me, but now I will my revenge on both by killing you and ridding my nemesis of her favourite daughter.'

There are few things that truly annoy me: betrayal, hurting women and most of all threatening my friends and family. So as soon as she finished talking I interposed myself between Annabeth and Arachne drawing Riptide as I did.

'Oh yes the son of Poseidon the mistress has plans for you, I'll capture you after I deal with Athena's spawn'

'Percy I have plan' Annabeth whispered

'Anytime is fine, our favourite spider seems to have the patience of one and hasn't move anything apart from her mouth so far, but I can't see that lasting much longer'

'I need you to attack her left legs while I go invisible and attack her right ones, she already injured so if we can incapacitate her we should be able to escape'

'Why not kill her' I asked confused.

'Because I feel guilty of her, my mother made her like this simply because of jealousy, I saw her works in Rome and they truly are as good as mothers' she admitted.

'Fine on three then 1…2…'

Just as Annabeth was reaching for Yankee's hat, she suddenly found herself covered in spider web that Arachne had thrown at her causing her to stumble and fall to the ground, giving Arachne a chance to attack. Seeing Annabeth helpless caused me to start to see red as I charged at the spider queen. As I reached her she swung at me with her left foreleg, but I had already sidestepped to her right while bringing riptide down in an arc severing her three hind legs at the hip causing Arachne to stumble and scream, but I wasn't finished as I proceeded to sever all of her left before ignoring her screaming and returning to Annabeth.

The thread entangling her was like steel forcing me to use Annabeth's knife which had fallen to the floor to sever the threads around her legs and chest, the thread cut easily by the celestial bronze blade.

'Percy…thank you'

'You know me I never could ignore someone in distress, loyalty is my flaw rememb…' I replied just as Annabeth cut me off by kissing me, which left me gaping like a guppy as always.

'Close your mouth seaweed brain you'll catch flies, now let's deal with Arachne and get out of here'

As we approached the writhing spider she seemed to be slowly crumbling into dust as her wounds seemed to be fatal causing Annabeth to shake her head in dismay.

'All you had to do was let us pass, I truly am sorry this had to happen, what my mother did to you was wrong you did not deserve this fate to be stuck forever as a monster' she said with tears in her eyes. However the look was lost on Arachne whose look of rage only seemed to increase with the pity she was receiving from her enemy's child.

'I don't want your sympathy, I want your head but if I can't get it I curse you, when you think of yourself with a hope of victory, you will lose everything to be cut down in place of those who you call dear, child of Pallas Athena, I swear on the Styx.' She spat as she tried one last attempt at lunging at us only to impale her torso on Riptide and crumble to dust leaving a ball of silk in her place.

Annabeth had a shocked look on her face at the death of Arachne

'But why... I don't understand why would she do that' as she broke down in tears.

'Annabeth its ok she chose her fate, her words were the rambling of a mad woman.' I tried to sound sincere but I wasn't so sure myself it was the rumble that had seemed distant like an echo of thunder when she had sworn on the Styx that was worrying me but I swore to myself to protect Annabeth no one was taking her from me'.

'Come on let's get out of here' I said looking at the ball of silk to which she nodded limply as we walked further into the darkness

We walked around for what felt like days encountering little in the way of monsters apart from the occasional hellhound or empousai who would immediately attack us and fall prey to Riptide or Annabeth's knife, she still seemed shaken by the experience with Arachne muttering to herself as if trying to find understanding in her actions and fate, every time I questioned her she would deny any problems.

'So you have any idea who we could ask for directions in this place' I asked hoping to break her out of her trance.

'Well we have to hope we don't find one of the usual mindless drone monsters with a death wish as this place answers only to one master and that is the primordial god Tartarus but I would rather avoid him and his followers personally'

'Why wouldn't he help us after all its Gaia who is the enemy and she is a primordial'

'Gods seaweed brain you can be ignorant, there may be no love lost between the two now but you forget that the giants are the children of Gaia and Tartarus he may not want Gaia to win but he will not stand against his own children.' She replied matter of factly.

As we continued to walk we began to hear the sound of water coming from the distance, which being a son of Poseidon to me was an increase in our prospects. After half an hour we could see pale light reflecting of the surface of a slow flowing river, what caught my attention was the debris flowing in the current, stuff I had recognized from my first visit to the underworld back when we looking for Zeus's masterbolt. Rubbish like diplomas, flowers and love letters and other detritus of broken dreams cut short by untimely death.

'The River Styx, it flows into Tartarus after leaving the underworld' Annabeth replied factually as if I wouldn't realize.

However her words disturbed a shadow that had sat by the river revealing the form of a man in his late fifties with grey and white hair, however what caught my attention the most was the fact he was about 10 feet tall, his whole body was covered in scars as if had been sliced apart and definitely the fact he had golden eyes that I had seen before however unlike before they were not filled with the hate and promise of pain but simply weariness.

'Percy do you know who that is' obviously she had not seen the flash of his eyes when he looked up, I nodded to confirm.

'Hello Grandfather' I called to the shadowed figure.