Small problem with that plan (well maybe it was a bit bigger than small, and it was only the first problem they encountered) because they had to climb down the cliff that dropped more than eighty feet.
At the bottom stretched a nightmarish version of the Grand Canyon: a river of fire cutting a path through a jagged obsidian crevasse, the glowing red current casting horrible shadows across the cliff faces. Even from the top of the canyon, the heat was intense. It at least helped with their chills a little bit.
"Uh..." Percy examined the cliff. He pointed to a tiny fissure running diagonally from the edge to the bottom. "We can try that ledge there. Might be able to climb down."
"You're getting better at your acting," she said. "You almost sounded hopeful that time."
And the corners of his lips turned up as he shook his head at her.
Percy went first. The ledge was barely wide enough to allow a toehold. Their hands clawed for any crack in the glassy rock.
Percy's t-shirt that Cressida wore had come undone from its knot at some stage, but that was good because it reminded her that she had extra material to work with. She ripped a strip of it off, wrapping it around her and Percy's hands to try and prevent their palms from bleeding anymore and getting cut on the rocks. But their bodies were still weak, and blisters were beginning to form on their skin from being exposed to the Tartarus air.
A few steps below her, Percy grunted as he reached for another handhold. "So...what is this fire river called?"
"The Phlegethon," she said. "I would never have remembered it if I hadn't made that joke about Greek History Class."
"So technically I'm the one that's saving us by never paying attention in Greek History Class?" Percy said cheekily.
"Only you, my love, would try and turn your ignorance into brilliance...not that this is a brilliant idea. But on the bright side, if it doesn't work, you can have all the credit then."
"That's just mean," Percy moped. "But I must say, I appreciated one of my titles from before being the love of your life. Really boosted my ego."
"I'm surprised you can fit in this cavern with how big it is."
She could feel him grin from below her.
"Also," he said. "What's with these names? The Phlegethon?" He shimmied along the ledge. They'd made it roughly halfway down the cliff—still high enough up to die if they fell - but at least bickering with Percy passed the time. "Sounds like a marathon for hawking spitballs."
"Please don't make me laugh," she said.
"Just trying to keep things light."
"Thanks," she grunted, nearly missing the ledge with her foot as she hugged the cliff. "I'll have a smile on my face as I plummet to my death, but at least I'll love you for making me laugh."
"As you should," he said, and she nearly missed a foothold again as she chuckled.
"I hate you."
"Liar. You literally just said you love me. I have a tough time believing that you hate me too."
"Depends on my mood."
"Really feeling the love, Cress."
"As you should, Percy, I mean, I literally just said I hate you."
"Thanks for that. That's exactly what I need right now. The woman I jumped into hell for saying she hates me."
"You're really gonna milk this whole jumping into hell for me thing, aren't you?"
"Yep. And when we get out of here, I will take my payment in the form of kisses."
She grinned, albeit exhaustedly, but she grinned. "We'll see about that," she said, and Percy scoffed.
"We'll do more than just see about it."
"Pop quiz," Cressida blurted. "What does climbing down this cliff remind you of? There's one right answer."
Percy pondered this for a second before the three-year-old memory came to him, the déjà vu finally disappearing.
"June, three years ago. We were climbing up the cliff towards Polyphemus' cave to save Grover and Clarisse in the Sea of Monsters," he answered.
"Correct. Two points for you."
"Man, that seems like a lifetime ago."
"It was. We were thirteen years old and fighting giant cyclopes."
"Not much has changed except we're getting older."
"We are so retiring after this."
"So we retire from monster fighting and world saving so we can get jobs and become domesticated? Don't know how I feel about that," Percy admitted and Cressida gave him an incredulous look even though he couldn't see it.
"You were fine with it when we were floating in Misery, and you were trying to keep me alive."
"That was then," he replied but there was amusement in his voice that told her that he really was fine with it.
They kept going back and forth as they went one step at a time, their eyes stinging with sweat. Her arms trembled. But to her amazement, they finally made it to the bottom of the cliff. When she reached the ground, she stumbled. Percy caught her. She was alarmed by how feverish his skin felt. Red boils had erupted on his face, so he looked like a smallpox victim.
They had to move fast - well, at least faster than how slow they were currently moving.
"Get to the river. We can do that," she said. "But, let me cool you down first. You're getting too hot."
He grabbed her hand and stopped her before she could reach for his forehead. "First up," he said, his voice raspy. "Have you seen me? I can never be too hot," he boasted, and she rolled her eyes at him before he let go of her hand. "And second, you're not doing any kind of magic unless absolutely necessary. And this isn't necessary. We have to conserve our energy, and this won't do that."
"But you -"
"But nothing," he persisted. "You said, two years ago at Mount St Helens, if you're hot then I am too and I just had to deal with it. This is me dealing with it. If I collapse because of heat exhaustion or something, sure, then go ahead. But we can make it to your fire river before then... I think."
"We will make it," she promised, too emotionally exhausted to understand how his words made her feel but it was definitely making her knees weak- swoon-worthy if she had the energy to swoon.
They staggered over slick glass ledges, and around massive boulders, avoiding stalagmites that would've impaled them with any slip of the foot. Their tattered clothes steamed from the heat of the river, but they kept going for what seemed like a million more years until they finally crumpled to their knees at the banks of the Phlegethon. It was quite literally a river of liquid fire.
"Ok," Percy groaned, his lips still blue which was strange considering how much he was sweating. "We made it. Now what?"
"Well," Cressida said with a great breath. "We drink."
It took him a three-count to respond. "Uh...drink fire? Didn't you say all the rivers of the Underworld were designed to punish evil souls?"
"I did say that. And now I'm saying that some legends call it the River of Healing."
"Some legends?"
"I thought you said you trusted me?"
"I do. I would just like an explanation as to why I should drink fire especially because my mother told me not to play with fire."
Cressida rolled her eyes at his attempt at humour. Sally had to warn him away from most things as a child - and as a teenager as well actually.
"The Phlegethon keeps the wicked in one piece so that they can endure the torments of the Fields of Punishment. I think...it might be the Underworld equivalent of ambrosia and nectar."
Percy winced as cinders sprayed from the river, curling around his face. "But it's fire. How can we—"
"Like this."
And she thrust her hands into the river.
She was being serious when she said that this plan would really put all others to shame in terms of stupidity. But they really had no choice. If they were going to do this, they had to conserve their Solace Solution for real emergencies because no one, not the gods and probably not even Gaia could predict what they'd encounter down there to close the doors.
On first contact, the fire wasn't painful. It felt cold, which probably meant it was so hot it was overloading her nerves. Before she could lose her nerves, she cupped the fiery liquid in her palms and raised it to her mouth.
She expected a taste like gasoline. It was so much worse. Her sinuses filled with liquid flame. Her mouth felt like it was being deep-fried. Her eyes shed boiling tears, and every pore on her face popped. She collapsed, gagging and retching, her whole body shaking violently.
"Cress!" Percy bellowed as he grabbed her, holding her body and calling her name until the convulsions passed and he pushed the hair from her face.
She took a ragged breath and managed to sit up. She felt horribly weak and nauseous, but her next breath came more easily. The blisters on her arms were starting to fade faster.
"It worked," she croaked. "Percy, you've got to drink."
Percy's head began to wobble as if he was really dizzy and about to fall as he began to slump against her.
"Percy! Percy!" Cressida called before she reached into the river and cupped move fire, dribbling the liquid into his mouth. It woke up him enough for him to take the next sip on his own before he began convulsing and she held his head steady as best as she could. "Shh. Shh. It'll be over soon. You're going to be ok. Shh."
She repeated those sentiments over and over until he finally stilled, and his sea-green eyes looked up at her. His fever disappeared, his boils faded and whatever cuts and bruises were still on his skill healed.
"Ugh," he said as he smacked his lips. "Spicy, yet disgusting."
She gave a teary laugh, refusing to admit how much it scared her when she could do nothing but wait for him to be ok. She was so relieved, she felt light-headed. "Yeah. That pretty much sums it up."
"You saved us."
"Another point for me then."
He rolled his eyes as he simply lay in her lap, her arm cradling his head while the other rested on his chest as his hand covered hers.
"But we're not safe yet. We're still in Tartarus."
Percy blinked. He looked around as if just coming to terms with where they were. "Holy shit. I never thought...well, I'm not sure what I thought. Maybe that Tartarus was empty space, a pit with no bottom. But this is a real place."
"We haven't seen all of it," she warned as Percy sat up. "This could be just the first tiny part of the abyss, like the front steps."
"The welcome mat," Percy muttered.
"That's a comforting thought."
"Hey," he said as he cupped her cheek. "We'll find a way out. The Doors of Death. Nico promised to lead everyone there. That's where we'll meet."
The tears were still welled in her eyes as he realised that she hadn't known about that, that she'd fallen before that promise was made. She'd probably thought that they wouldn't come after her.
Though despite that, the very idea of being able to get to the Doors of Death that was probably guarded by every damn monster in this pit and probably more than a few that they sent down here was crazy. It was crazier than drinking fire, it was crazier than anything Cressida could do to someone's mind. The two of them, versus an entire pit of hell. They'd barely been able to stumble a hundred yards in this poisonous place without dying.
And it was as if Percy could sense the doubts floating in her mind.
"We can do it," he said. "We have to. Not just for us. For everybody we love. The Doors have to be closed on both sides, or the monsters will just keep coming through. Gaia's forces will overrun the world."
He was right. Still, the odds just seemed so stacked against them. They had no way of knowing where the Doors were. No way of knowing if it was upstream or downstream from the fire river. They didn't know how long it had been since the cavern. They didn't know how long it would take to get there or long would be too late. And Nico had mentioned a legion of Gaia's strongest monsters guarding the Doors on the Tartarus side. And it wasn't like the last time they were in the Underworld together. There was no Curse of Achilles to save them this time. They couldn't exactly attack head-on.
"And do you know why else we're going to do this?" Percy asked and she furrowed her brows as she shook her head. "For everything you promised me when we were drowning in that nymph temple. To go stargazing and to a Broadway show and to let me take you to prom in a purple dress. One that makes you look really hot and makes me look really good for having a date that's way out of my league."
She shoved his shoulder before holding his chin and turning his head from side to side. "Well, it might take a lot of work for you to look presentable," she said before he knocked her hand away from his face. "But we will be the best-looking couple there. And the best dancers. And your mom can take pictures like in that cheesy rom-com she made me watch with her. And-"
He kissed her to shut her up. "Exactly why we should keep going."
She took a deep breath as they got to their feet. "Ok," she said. "We can stay close to the river so we can have a way to heal ourselves. Then that leaves whether we go upstream or downstream and -"
"DUCK!"
That would be the second time that Cressida would've been dead if she didn't have Percy with her.
Thank the gods - actually scratch that, she wouldn't be thanking the gods anytime soon - so thank (insert something of your choice here) at the level of trust she had in her boyfriend. Percy's eyes locked on something behind her before he screamed the warning, and she heard the familiar sound of Percy's ballpoint pen transforming into a sword as she crouched down into a tiny ball.
His blade swept over her head in a glowing bronze arc. A horrible wail echoed through the canyon as the golden dust of a monster rained down on her and she dared look up at Percy, amazement etched on her face.
Riptide's Celestial bronze blade glowed even brighter in the gloom of Tartarus. As it passed through the thick hot air, it made a defiant hiss like a riled snake.
"Are you alright?" he asked as he helped her up, Riptide shrinking back into a pen.
"What the hell was that?!" she wondered.
"Arachne," he answered. "She must've smelled Annabeth on us or something," he reasoned as he began dusting the dust from her hair, his expression grim and unsatisfied. "After what she did to Annabeth and after everything you've been through and she had the audacity to try and hurt you, she died too easily. She deserved worse."
Though Cressida couldn't exactly argue with that, she didn't have a good feeling about this. Percy had always been protective, especially of her, and usually, she thought it was very endearing but this time...she didn't like the edge in his voice. He was never malicious or vengeful. Even when she'd taken that blade for him on the Williamsburg Bridge, he was more concerned with incapacitating the threat, not making sure it suffered for hurting her. Frankly, it reminded her a little of Luke back when he was evil. She didn't like it and it made her a little glad that the spider had died so quickly.
"I think dying in hell was punishment enough," she said nonchalantly as she shook the last of the dust from her hair. "How did you move so fast?" she asked, not giving him a chance to respond to her statement.
Percy shrugged. "Gotta watch each other's backs, right? Now, you were saying... upstream, downstream?"
She nodded, snapping herself out of it. "Yeah, uh, as much as I'd love to head upstream, it would probably lead up to the upper levels of the Underworld where the river starts. Which means heading down-stream, would lead deeper into Tartarus -"
"Into more dangerous territory," Percy finished. "Which is probably where the Doors are. Lucky us."