The Night Wing

Chapter 1

"Never," he said. He looked up at Nico, fifteen feet above.

"The other side, Nico! We'll see you there! Understand?"

Nico's eyes widened. "But—"

"Lead them there!" Percy shouted. "Promise me!"

"I—I will."

Below them, the voice laughed in the darkness. Sacrifices. Beautiful sacrifices to wake the goddess.

Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.

"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."

Only then did she understand what would happen. A one way trip. A very hard fall.

"As long as we're together," she said.

She heard Nico and Hazel still screaming for help. She saw the sunlight far, far above—maybe the last sunlight she would ever see.

Then Percy let go of his tiny ledge, and together, holding hands, he and Annabeth fell into the endless darkness.

~Time Skip to House of Hades, where the duo get attacked by Kelli. Everything before is the same~

"Hecate is the goddess of the Mist! Her ways are mysterious. Who knows which side she truly favors? She is also the goddess of the crossroads, and she expects us to make our own choices. I choose the path that will bring us the most demigod blood! I choose Gaea!" Kelli shouted, baring her fangs.

Her friends hissed in approval.

Annabeth glanced at Percy, and he saw that she was out of ideas. She'd done what she could. She'd gotten Kelli to eliminate one of her own. Now there was nothing left but to fight.

"For two years I churned in the void," Kelli said. "Do you know how completely annoying it is to be vaporized, Annabeth Chase? Slowly re-forming, fully conscious, in searing pain months and years as your body regrows, then finally breaking the crust of this hellish place and clawing your way back to daylight? All because some little girl stabbed you in the back?"

Her baleful eyes held Annabeth's. "I wonder what happens if a demigod is killed in Tartarus. I doubt it's ever happened before. Let's find out."

Percy sprang, slashing Riptide in a huge arc. He cut one of the demons in half, but Kelli dodged and charged Annabeth.

The other two empousa launched themselves at Percy. One grabbed his sword arm. Her friend jumped on his back.

Percy tried to ignore them and staggered toward Annabeth, determined to go down defending her if he had to; but Annabeth was doing pretty well. She tumbled to one side, evading Kelli's claws, and came up with a rock in her hand, which she smacked into Kelli's nose.

Kelli wailed. Annabeth scooped up gravel and flung it in the empousa's eyes.

Meanwhile Percy thrashed from side to side, trying to throw off his empousa hitchhiker, but her claws sank deeper into his shoulders. The second empousa held his arm, preventing him from using Riptide.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kelli lunge, raking her talons across Annabeth's arm. Annabeth screamed and fell.

Percy stumbled in her direction. The vampire on his back sank her teeth into his neck. Searing pain coursed through his body. His knees buckled.

Stay on your feet, he told himself. You have to beat them.

Then the other vampire bit his sword arm, and Riptide clattered to the ground.

That was it. His luck had finally run out. Kelli loomed over Annabeth, savoring her moment of triumph. The other two empousa circled Percy, their mouths slavering, ready for another taste.

Then, Percy heard a faint twang of an arrow being released. An arrow whistled towards the empousa, and the unlucky one who got hit exploded into golden dust. Percy's eyes swept across the battlefield, trying to find the new friend or foe. A pair of midnight blue eyes stared back. And a hooded stranger, wearing pure black Assassin's Creed style clothing with  glowing midnight blue eyes and numerous weapons on his body slipped onto the battlefield like a shadow.