Enjoy!

Chapter Quote:
"You are not going to die while I owe you a favor."
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Chapter 35: We Fight Tartarus

The six of them traipsed down the hill towards the Doors of Death. Only when they were on level ground did Tartarus decide to show himself. He towered over all them, including Damasen. Derek had felt like a Hobbit next to Damasen, but he felt like an ant next to Tartarus.

"Ah, the four of you finally decided to show up," Tartarus boomed.

"Got held up along the way by some of your minions. Sorry to keep you waiting," Luke responded.

"Yes, unfortunately you're all more competent than I thought. I also do not appreciate you sending my daughter down here."

"She tried to kill us. Didn't really have a choice," Silena said.

"There's always a choice. And I am making the choice to fight you four."

"Yes, four angry demigods versus one cocky primordial being. I see no way in how this can go badly for you," Luke remarked.

Tartarus grinned maliciously. "Oh you'll be fighting me one on one."

Tartarus shifted into four different people and suddenly the last two lines of the prophecy made sense. Luke, Bryn, Silena, and Derek each had to defeat a Tartarus to get back home. It was the ultimate test of trust and faith, something each of them had lacked in someone in the group at some point.

"Tartarus, before we begin your destruction, can you give me five seconds to do something?" Luke said. The primordial beings stared at him which he must've taken as a yes because Luke took Bryn's face in his hands and crashed his lips to hers. The kiss lasted so long that Derek, Silena, Bob, and even Damasen looked away in embarrassment.

When it finally broke off, Bryn appeared flabbergasted and unable to speak. She did manage to stammer out, "Wh-what was that for?"

Luke whispered something into her ear to which she replied, "You're not dying on me while I owe you a favor."

"Enough! Prepare yourselves!" Tartarus roared.

Bob and I will convince Thanatos to let you in the elevator. You must hurry in destroying Tartarus though. Be careful, he does not just play physical games but mental games as well. Damasen's voice echoed through Derek's head. Judging by the looks on the others' faces, they'd heard his voice too. Tartarus separated the demigods away from each other. Derek, naturally, had the scariest looking one. He was tall and seemed to be an endless void of darkness. At least the others were fighting a Tartarus that had a face.

"Dude you're fugly," Derek blurted before he could stop himself.

"Derek Lee Michaels, son of Hades and grandson of Apollo. I've heard of your great powers but I expected... more. I expected someone stronger like Luke, or maybe smarter like Silena, or more cunning like Bryn, but you, even with your powers, you're still the weakest of the bunch aren't you," Tartarus taunted.

Derek clenched his teeth. "If I'm as weak as you say, then how am I still here?"

"Your friends have a knack for saving you. Weren't you getting mauled by one of my precious arai before Luke destroyed them?" Tartarus swung his sword at Derek who tried to block it, but the force of their swords clashing sent the demigod flying back. He struggled to get up as Tartarus closed in on him. "What use are your powers when you couldn't save your dear best friend? You discovered your powers too late to save your precious Bryn and with what I have in store for her, she won't be making it out of this alive."

"Bryn could destroy all four of you single-handedly," Derek spat. "She doesn't need any of us to kick ass which she proved very well with what she orchestrated to defeat your daughter."

"My daughter was a fool for trusting that blasted daughter of Zeus. She should've known better. But even when Bryn was not with you, she was not alone. Luke has never been alone, neither has Silena. Only you. Only you have felt alone, as if you had no one. And do you want to know something Derek Michaels?"

"I figure I'm going to get an answer whether I say yes or no," he retorted.

Even faceless, Derek knew Tartarus was smiling. "It's because you are right. You have no one Derek Michaels. Your friends are friends with you because they pity you. You're weak, useless, and pathetic."

At that, Derek actually laughed. "Whether that's true or not, you're wrong about a few things. First I'm not weak, and second, I'm not useless, and third, I'm never alone."

All of a sudden, skeletons burst from the ground, hundreds of them. While Tartarus was occupied kicking the skeletons away, Derek lit himself on fire, but he made the flames form the shape of a man the same size as Tartarus. Derek, in the face of death, had never felt so alive.

"What are you doing?!" Tartarus demanded.

"I'm showing you just how pathetic I am," Derek growled.
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Luke

It was unnerving fighting a being that looked like your grandfather, straight from the black hair to the Hawaiian shirt to the Bermuda shorts to the flip flops. At least he didn't have a trident. And at least he had a face unlike Derek's Tartarus but Derek caught himself on fire and was repeatedly punching Tartarus in his nonexistent face so Derek seemed to be handling things smashingly.

"Luke Charles Jackson, grandson of Poseidon," Tartarus said.

"And Athena. Don't forget Athena," Luke said.

"That puny goddess?"

"Hey, don't call my grandma puny! She could whoop your butt faster than I'm going to!" Luke charged Tartarus, vaulting over him and slashing at his shoulder. Tartarus saw it coming and dodged out of the way.

"Is that all you can do? I expected a grandson of Poseidon to be more impressive," the immortal mused distastefully. "Besides, to defeat me, you'll have to go against a promise you made to someone you love. Now what are you going to do little one? Will you die for your friends which will prevent them from getting home? Or will you break the promise and trust of the girl you love? Choose wisely grandson of Poseidon."

Luke paled. He doubted Tartarus was going to give him long to figure this out. He had promised Bryn not to use his powers on peoples' blood and if he broke that, not only would she never trust him again, but the gods didn't look kindly upon broken promises. But then if Luke didn't use the power, Tartarus would kill him.

Before he could think of a solution, Tartarus swung his sword at Luke who rolled out of the way, leaping back onto his feet. Where was some water when he needed it? But that's when it hit him. Not Tartarus's sword thank god, but the answer. Each demigod was fighting their biggest weakness: Derek was fighting a nobody, Silena was fighting the equivalent of Athena, Bryn was fighting someone that looked almost exactly like herself, and Luke was fighting the equivalent of Poseidon. But the Poseidon heritage wasn't Luke's weakest heritage. That was always the one that came most naturally to him. It was his Athena heritage that was the hardest for him to use.

Silena! Switch places! We're fighting the wrong ones! Luke mentally told his sister.

What in Hades' name do you mean? She responded.

I mean we're supposed to fight our weakest point. I'm fighting the Poseidon equivalent when I should be fighting the Athena equivalent and it's vice versa for you!

You better be right about this!

I am! Trust me! Now switch and remember our conversation from earlier to help you! Be careful! The two demigods left their Tartarus and switched places, much to the annoyance of the Tartaruses.

"I see you figured out my little test," Tartarus snarled at Luke.

"Just because my Athena heritage is the hardest for me to use doesn't mean I can't. Now are we going to talk or we going to fight?"
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Silena

When Luke had first told her to switch, Silena had thought her brother had gone mental. It had made sense to her to fight against the Tartarus equivalent of Athena because that was her strongest heritage. She had no problem using her Poseidon powers but she was, admittedly, much wiser than her brother. But now that she was fighting the Tartarus equivalent of Poseidon, it made sense to her, especially after her conversation with Luke earlier.

"Silena Bianca Jackson, come to die because she believed her brother," Tartarus said. "How stupid."

"No, my brother's right. We're fighting against our weakest points. And it's not just my Poseidon heritage that's my weak point, but my choice to choose the wisest path. Well that's changing, right here, right now, and you get to witness that."

Then, Silena charged at Tartarus, sword lifted above her head. The immortal laughed as he jabbed his sword at her. She deflected it with her own and kept charging. He tried again and again but could not stop Silena's run until he finally slammed his sword into the ground, causing a blast wave that sent her twenty feet back.

"Rude!" She shouted. "You're not scared of a little sword fighting are you?"

Tartarus growled and tried to stomp on her. She jumped away. Silena risked a glance back to see how far along her brother was in defeating his Tartarus. He was jumping around like a little ninja and was nicking Tartarus more than he was getting nicked himself but she could tell he was tiring. Silena had to keep stalling. Unless she could handle the stunt on her own...

It was an unwise decision but that was the whole point of this wasn't it?

"Yes, little one, think. Think," Tartarus chanted.

Don't think! Silena don't you dare think! Luke chided. Be like me! Think like me! Which means don't think at all!

Silena snarled at her Tartarus and said, "Never bet against a child of Athena."

Silena thought about the blood coursing through Tartarus's veins, imagining how fast it was going. It needed to go faster. Much faster. Silena used her anger and frustration to accomplish what she needed to be done. At first she had no idea if it was working or not, but when Tartarus grabbed his throat, she knew it was.

"Stop this!" Tartarus ordered.

"No," Silena replied shortly.

"But you can't use this power against me! You promised!"

"Bryn made Luke promise her never to use this power, not me." Silena walked up to him, swinging her sword. "You underestimated not just me, but my abilities, and I'm going to make sure your last thought is that you never, ever bet against a granddaughter of Athena and Poseidon."
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Bryn

At first Tartarus appeared as Luke.

Then Derek.

Then Silena.

Then her brothers.

Then Hallie.

Then her mother.

None of these bothered her. She knew it was all fake. It was only when Tartarus shifted into herself that Bryn became frozen in fear. Bryn knew that the Bryn she was looking at wasn't what she looked like right now. Tartarus Bryn wore a business dress, blood-red lipstick, and had her hair pulled back into a bun. It was an outfit real Bryn had worn to see Hannah once.

"Bryn Elizabeth Winchester, you have a lot of demons inside you, but you are your biggest demon. So fight me, and let the best Bryn win," Tartarus said with a grin. It was weird seeing herself like this. Not many people got the chance to see what they looked like other than from photos and mirrors. Only identical twins saw themselves in person. It was nerve-wracking. But Bryn also realized that Tartarus Bryn made no move to attack her. She stood as still as Bryn did, in the same exact position.

What was going on here?

So her biggest demon was herself?

How was Tartarus going to incorporate that besides looking like her?

Bryn took a step forward. So did Tartarus Bryn. Taking a deep breath, she launched her attack. Her sword clashed with her enemy's in midair. Angrily she kicked out at her opponent's stomach only to be met with a kick to hers. Both of them stumbled backwards. That was weird. How had Tartarus Bryn known real Bryn was going to do that?

"Hey Bryn!" Luke shouted.

"Yeah?" she yelled back, pushing herself up and keeping a careful eye on her opponent.

"Do you like Italian?"

"What?!" she couldn't help but look in his direction.

"I was thinking-" Luke rolled over towards Bryn and away from his Tartarus's sword. "-for our first date when we get back to earth, how about Italian?"

"Luke Jackson, we are in the middle of a battle! How can you be thinking about our first date right now?" Bryn demanded.

"I'm multitasking!" he answered, running back towards his Tartarus.

Rolling her eyes, she turned her attention back to her Tartarus who had strangely remained in the position Bryn had last seen her (him?) in. What was going on?

If Bryn herself was her biggest demon, then that's why Tartarus appeared as her. But that didn't mean Tartarus had her powers. Grinning to herself, Bryn sent a massive lightning bolt towards Tartarus. She regretted the decision instantly when a lightning bolt hit her too. She somersaulted in the air before coming to a halt against a rock. Someone yelled out her name but Bryn wasn't sure who. Her head was pounding but all she could think about was how her Tartarus could attack her at any moment. Bryn had to get back up. She had to keep fighting. Her friends' lives were at stake.

But for once in her life, Bryn couldn't think of a way to defeat her enemy. For once in her life, she couldn't figure out how she was going to escape death this time. The second she thought that, Tartarus Bryn smiled at her, and a cold feeling settled in real Bryn's stomach as the answer came to her.
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