Percy Jackson and the Saviors of Tartarus

New Life

Piper's POV

One year.  It had been almost a year since Percy and Annabeth had been banished to Tartarus.  I hoped they were alive and had somehow found each other, but realistically I knew what had happened to them.  Their close friends were still reeling from the loss, but the better part of camp seemed to have moved on.  Percy's display of power against Ares and Artemis had scared a few of them so much that they were relieved that he had been banished.  Others had used the sudden lack of leaders to jockey their way up the ranks.  Jason, Leo, Calypso, Nico, Grover, and I tried to keep our spirits up. Nico said that he couldn't find them in the Underworld, but that didn't mean that they weren't in the Fields of Asphodel. Grover's empathy link wasn't negatively affected, it seemed to just be inactive.

For the first month or so, Chiron as well as the majority of the camp seemed to be in a state of shock. It was oddly quiet, and I'd caught Chiron crying a few times. My eyes seemed to be permanently red and puffy. After the initial shock had worn off, everything had slowly returned to normal, except not quite. Leo and Calypso spent increasing amounts of time in Bunker 9; Jason started to get distant; Nico was always in the underworld searching; and Grover threw himself into his work as Lord of the Wild.

• • •

I stared at my food, finding myself without an appetite, which I never had these days.  Everyone was gathered in the Pavillion eating, and it was nearing the end of lunch. 

"Piper," Dylan, one of the Aphrodite campers, said.  "You have to eat something."  I looked at my food again and mushed it around with my fork.  I felt a tap on my shoulder.  I turned to find Nico standing over me.  He looked more excited than he had in weeks. 

"I think I may have found something-" I didn't even let him finish talking. 

Springing to my feet, I said, "Let's get Jason."  We headed to where Jason was eating, the sole inhabitant of his table.  He looked up as soon as we approached, and walked over without question once he saw the hope in our eyes.  I looked at is table and found that he also had barely touched his food.

"Where are Leo and Calypso?" Nico asked, scanning the faces of the crowd but not finding them.

"Bunker 9." I said, and he nodded. 

"Good, we can talk there."  Nico led the way, Jason and I a bit behind.  I hadn't seen Nico in months, and every time I saw him he seemed even more powerful.  Shadows seemed to warp around him, giving him a strange, almost otherworldly effect.  I figured the constant stress he was in had something to do with the growth of his powers. 

We soon found ourselves outside of Bunker 9.  I could hear vague sounds coming from inside, like someone was operating some sort of machinery.  Nico knocked a few times, and when that didn't work, he turned. 

"I'll open it from the inside." 

Jason's eyes widened.  "No, wait-" but it was too late.  Nico had already disappeared.  The door began to open, and Jason and I only had time to glance at each other before all of the alarms went off.  The noise felt like it was penetrating my skull and liquefying my brain.  I clamped my hands over my ears, but it did little to help.

Leo came running from the back, brandishing a wrench.  When he saw it was only us, he sighed and jogged to a control panel on the wall.  He punched in a code, and it went silent.  He wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand.