It was all still a blur to him.
Sure, he remembered stumbling out of Tartarus with Annabeth by his side. He remembered the seven's relieved faces when they saw that their friends were okay. He also recalled flashes and booms coming from behind him, as monsters and giants stomped down the Doors of Death. And of course: The way his own battle cries mixed with the rest of the seven as they all charged for the final war.
At one point, he felt a sharp pain to his side, and fell to the ground. Someone behind him screamed. Another touched his shoulder warily. His sight was foggy, but he saw a silhouette of a woman in front of him. Every monster parted ways to let her forward. She was beautiful, he vaguely thought, before he passed out.
After that… Nothing. He woke up to darkness, his hands in handcuffs. It was cold. He tried not to make a sound while slowly detangling his hands. No such luck. The woman from the battlefield paid him a visit. She was indeed beautiful, but radiated a sense of coldness that made him uneasy. Also, the biggest catch: She had her eyes closed, and that sick smile was indeed permanent. It didn't take long for him to figure out who she was. It was still hard to accept that as the only form of her he knew was the giant sleeping head in his demigod dreams. She came in and said: "I already said I had big plans for you! Let the fun begin!" Apparently, Gaia the primordial goddess of earth's idea of fun was a tad different from his.
She took a hold of his arm, and started walking. He had still no idea where he was, and his eyes darted desperately at walls, trying to find an escape. How Gaia manoeuvred them in the right direction, he had no idea. Every time he tried to break free from her grip, her grip tightened. Her creepy smile was still intact. He wanted so badly to kick her face and remove that smile from her face. He made a promise to himself: Later. More people joined them. He could see their shadows from behind him. Probably her minions, he thought. Seeing her calling for backup made him proud.
They stopped. She let go of his arm. When he looked up, his heart crawled up his throat. He stood in some sort of a ring, with seats for audience around him. That wasn't the reason for his awareness. It was the audience. They were all monsters-more specifically every monster he had ever defeated.
The monsters didn't come at him all at once. Not that they lacked the motivation. It was more like that Gaia wouldn't let them. Every night a new monster would inflict wounds on him, and kill him… but not really kill him. When he passed out from exhaustion or pain, Gaia would force the life in him again, and send him back to his cell. His wounds never truly healed, and every night new wounds would appear. He pretty much felt like Saehrimnir, the beast the ancient Norse people hunted and killed every night. Yeah, he was the Saehrimnir of entertainment for Greek monsters. Thinking about the Norse creature, made him also think about the person he learned the myth from. At first, he was all like: "Im gonna be strong for her. I refuse to give up. I will meet her again". The first few days, his eyes shone of pride. He refused to scream, or even acknowledge his wounds. He even tried to fight back. But it was impossible, even for a strong demigod like him. Every attempt of getting out had failed. After nearly dying many times, and being resurrected just as many times, something was bound to happen. All he felt was broken and hollow.
It was on what he assumed was the 37-th day of his abduction that something changed. He was laying on the floor, shivering. His shoulder felt like it was on fire- courtesy of Atlas. His leg was definitely broken. His whole body was burning. Suddenly, queen dirt face herself emerged. Her visits had started to come at the minimum, so he was surprised. She still had her eyes closed, and cackled like a maniac. She stepped inside his cell, and hauled him to his feet. He didn't meet her eyes. She shook him like a ragdoll, and tossed him with no difficulty against the wall. She was getting even stronger. He couldn't help it: He groaned in pain. Then he growled at her. The chains that bound his arms to the wall rattled. Oh, how he wanted to punch the living daylights out of her, and trample her back in the ground-where she literally belonged. But his arms just wouldn't obey him anymore.
- Aww, what is this? No friends….no gods…no Annabeth to save you. What took them so long? Do they even care? She had hit a weak point. He tried to keep awake, but his eyes turned drowsy. He had problems standing at his own feet. Gaia came closer, and punched his gut. He doubled over. She laughed that evil laugh of hers. Lately, she wouldn't even talk to him at all. But when she did, he also didn't let go of the chance of humiliating her.
- What? You almost sound relieved… He managed to croak out.
- It's almost as if seven demigods and the Olympian Gods scare an ancient goddess as yourself. She slapped his face. He also knew what her weak point was. He also had a plan, a complete hopeless one, but still a plan, nonetheless. The only problem was that she had the upper hand. Even though his ears ringed, he smiled through his split lips. The look of shock that passed over her face felt good.
- I am not afraid of anybody. You know what? Your screams have kind of starting to bore me. It's a pity, really, that you won't join us, and end this misery of yours. To make you choose the right side, the winning side of this war, were going to pay homage to your very own home and see who is afraid.