Percy appeared in front of the elevator silently.

Just one vapor travel made him exhausted lately. He has had trouble eating and sleeping after Tartarus. It made him lose energy and weight. Of course he was trying really hard to fix that but nobody really understood. Not even Annabeth.

His life has been so difficult so far and he hasn't even reached twenty yet. He feels about a million years older then he is.

Then the gods had to go and resurface his past from the box it was permanently locked it. It made the peace after Gaea seem nonexistent. Like he was fighting another war. In a way he was, fighting a war in his head.

Sighing, Percy started to walk toward the elevator when a hand placed itself on his shoulder. He tensed, then an ocean smell filled his nose. But he was still tense. What had Dad come for?

"I remember the first time I visited you as a child" A voice told him. "You were so small and I thought you would break when I held you. Of course your mother didn't know I was there. No one did except for myself".

He turned and faced his birth father. Poseidon was just casually standing behind him in his fishing hat and gear. He looked young, maybe a college student with a wispy beard and cowlick. Poseidon was looking wistfully at nothing.

What did this have to do with anything?

"You seemed so happy and unaware. Perhaps I was selfish and wanted you to stay that way forever. You now... Well I now wish that I could turn back time and see that child again. It pains me to see my children grow old and fight wars and come back worse then before or not come back at all." Similar sea green eyes peered into his own. He saw all the sadness and pain.

He gave the god a tight smile. "Sometimes we come back stronger then before, maybe more broken but stronger." He paused and stared thoughtfully at the doors in front of him. "A lot of things happened to me as a child and now I see that it made me stronger not weaker. I wouldn't have done all of the 'heroic' things without it." He continued somehow knowing it was true.

The silence was deafening and the familiar weight of his sword in his pocket made it bearable. Or it made him think of Tartarus. Made him think of something he wished to forget.

Poseidon seemed unaffected by his thoughts or actions as he sat down on the steps that lead off of Olympus and looked glazed at the elevator. He immediately sat down down next to him.

He took Riptide out of his pocket and twirled the pen through his fingers. He looked over the scar from protecting his mother for the hundredth time.

"Do you want to see the scars?" Percy breathed out nervously and anxiously and picked at his jeans. He didn't know why he asked or wanted to pull through with it but he did.

Poseidon deserved to know.

Poseidon snapped out his gaze and looked at him with a sad smile. "Not if you don't want to show me".

He wanted to show him or not show him...? It was confusing. Just the thoughts he needed right now. Distraction, as Annabeth called it. He huffed at himself silently at Poseidon's ever changing eyes like his own. Untameable and powerful.

"I do" He said shifting his body so it facing away from Poseidon and ever so slowly taking his shirt off. Monster scars, belt marks, cigarette burns and more almost filled his back and skin. Most signs of past abuse and war scars.

And Tartarus scars. Don't forget those ones.

Sure Percy bad looking with his swimmers body but the scars made it seem like he was weak. He knew he wasn't close to weak but people tend to think he let that person hit him. Not in his wildest dreams unless of course you were threatening one of his loved ones. Then he'd get run over by a train to save them.

"I wish I was there to protect you" Poseidon whispered and Percy could tell the god was wallowing in self pity. He does the same thing all the time. It again wasn't Poseidon's fault.

Poseidon looked at the scars for another minute or two before he got cold and put his shirt back on. Or he didn't want to remember the times where Smelly Gabe hit him. Same difference.

He gave the god a forceful smile and the god pulled him in for one last hug before saying goodbye and reminding him to visit Atlantis, then walking back towards the throne room with his hands deep in his pockets.

He took a deep breath, then stepped into the elevator.

Floor 550.

Claustrophobia sucks doesn't it?

Especially when your in an elevator that is going 600 stories down at an extremely slow rate. Percy also hates it when time seems to slow down and it feels like forever sense you get past one floor. That and the horrid music, he'd rather Led Zeppelin or Gun's N' Roses.

The good thing is, he hasn't had a flashback or broken down. Yet he was close to one.

Floor 500.

The walls aren't closing in. Nope. Nada. Perfectly normal walls. The intricate designs on the walls were almost distracting enough to you know...distract him. Moreover, he had denial issues he needed to work on later.

Closing his eyes helped a bit and so did leaning against the back wall and thinking of Annabeth.

Hmm.. Annabeth.

Annabeth was probably looking for him right now. Never had he wanted to worry her like when Hera kidnapped him a while ago.

Floor 450.

He wasn't dizzy, nor was sitting on the elevator floor nauseous. When the elevator goes down it kind of goes in circles and it was making him sick.

Motion sickness had never been a problem before now. Besides, he hated being sick. It sucks.

Floor 400.

My gods! Why was this elevator taking forever?! Haephestus needed to fix that.

Flashbacks are creeping up on him. He bet that in the next minute that he'd be deep in one. It reminds him of the time Gabe locked him in the closet as a child and the time Kronos stuffed him in one in his dreams and let all the air out of the closet slowly. Kronos liked to watch him suffer in silence. Then rewind time and do it again.

He doesn't get much sleep.

Floor 350.

"Percy I've never loved you. It was all fake."

"You let her die Percy! It was all your fault!"

"It was all your fault! You killed Luke. You monster!"

"Poison. That's your specialty, right?"

"Oh, good, more water"

"She was terrified of him"

"He didn't want to stop. He wanted to choke this goddess. He wanted to watch her drown in her own poison. He wanted to see just how much misery Misery could take"

"You have spread so much death and suffering, Percy Jackson. Let us repay you"

"The pain in his chest was worse, as if someone were slowly twisting a dagger"

"He'd never really thought about it from the monsters' point of view"

"The air was the breath of Tartarus. All these monsters were just blood cells circulating through his body."

"Pathetic, you really think they love you? The weak little boy who let his step father beat him? Surprise! You haven't changed a bit."

"Calculating and menacing golden eyes pierced his own. A poisonous laugh filled his ears."

"Have fun breathing! Or not breathing!"

"You left me on that island. Are you heartless?"

"You stabbed me Percy. Killed me with your girlfriends dagger that I gave to her!"

"Dozens dead. And you couldn't save any of them? What kind of hero are you?"

"Brain boy needs some more discipline. How would you like it today, belt or knife?"

Floor 200.

He cried softly as warm hands rubbed his shoulder and ran their fingers through his hair gently. He really needed to see who the person was and he needed to get his feelings out. Just...he just needed this in general.

His body was curled in the corner of the elevator. Fatal position against the wall with his knees against his chest. Hot tears were blurring his vision and making his eyes puffy.

"Ssshhh. You're not there anymore." The male person cooed gently. Like he was a baby whining instead of a teenager having a panic attack.

He peaked up and saw Apollo next to him. The god was dressed casually in loose jeans and a sky blue tee shirt.

He looked like an older brother or a friend, not a god. Apollo's expression was softened and concerned.

"Apollo" His name sounded weak and pathetic on his own lips. "I can't deal with it anymore. Pleaseplease...take it away. The guilt is killing me. I'm drowning in bad memories. Gabe, Tartarus, the wars, Luke, Tartarus..."

Apollo pulled his legs out from underneath him so he was just sitting against the wall and sat next to him. Percy's head fell onto the gods shoulder and he just cried all his bottled up feelings, babbling about anything he could think of. Meanwhile, the god of the sun was listening and comforting him by just being there.

Floor 100.

"Like I told you Perce. Everything will get better. It just takes time." Apollo said softly after listening to his rant about cookies.

Percy nodded softly and his eyes shut briefly but he found he couldn't find himself to open them again. He was just tired, tired of it all.

"Just get some dreamless sleep, I'll make sure you won't have nightmares. I'll bring you to your mothers house." Apollo told him and thread his fingers through his hair.

He couldn't help but fall into Hypnos's embrace.

He'd be okay it would just take some time that's all.