So, here's the third chapter.
Don't forget to R&R.
_

Chiron was in the van, which was speeding up to Camp Half-Blood, the only safe haven for demigods on Earth. (A.N = For now, let's consider that he is not thinking of Camp Jupiter and is concerned only with the Greek demigods)

Chiron should have been happy that they had won the war but the way that the whole situation had taken a drastic turn was too much for him to take in after such a grueling battle.

Two of his best demigods were gone – one in the Olympian Infirmary healing, the other ….. Chiron shuddered at the thought of what had happened to Percy.

He had the worst luck ever, maybe worse than all previous demigods like Achilles or Heracles. He had to go on four quests and fight in the Titan War, all in just four years, from the age of 12. He had to lift the weight of the world literally and figuratively.

He had fought titans, gods and countless monsters but always had the innocence that Chiron had first seen in him at the age of 12. The Fates really had it all out for him.

When Percy was found, IF he was found, Chiron would send Percy to a long vacation to some place which was monster-free, but the problem was that the boy couldn't stay out of trouble for long, even if he wanted to.

But then there was this other problem, Percy's mother. Her body had been discovered along with that of Paul Blowfish and the security guard that carried the pass key to Olympus.

They had all been discovered stabbed to death and the death of so many people including the blessed mortal and the nymph was unnerving him.

Poseidon had broken down and fell down on the ground, his mortal family completely destroyed. He had flashed back to someplace and since then the seas had been completely still.

Even man-made structures like fountains had stagnant water and the aquatic life all over the world was suffering.

After all, it's no everyday that someone would kill two living beings in the palace of Olympus and escape all the security, with no one catching even a glimpse of this killer.

All this had led Chiron to one question – Was Olympus really safe anymore? After all, the defeat of Kronos, disappearance of Percy and these mind-boggling series of murders couldn't be all just a coincidence, could it?

Had there not been this other option which Chiron absolutely refused to consider, he would be so proud to admit that Percy had been his favorite student, so humble, so modest, so kind, so loyal, so…,"Hey Chiron, we have reached camp. Let's get off." said Nico, the son of Hades.

Chiron nodded and then got off the van and walked into the camp.

Nobody in question was happy, as everybody liked or loved Percy in some way or the other, and they were all nervous about the murders that had occurred.

Percy interacted with everybody; young or old, small or big. He was the one that everyone looked up to. And now, that same role model was gone.

But Nico knew better, for he had reached his own conclusions, conclusions which all evidence seemed to point to, but towards which everybody remained ignorant.

But he didn't tell all his to anyone as it was obvious his father would have reached these conclusions by now and he wouldn't want such a fact to spread among the demigods, it would create panic and they would all force themselves to look after Percy when there were other more important things that needed a lot of attention.

Chiron saw the camp and shook his head in sadness, the camp was dirty and some parts were even in ruins as there had hardly been anytime between the Battle of the Labyrinth and the Titan War, to repair camp.

And the extra time was utilized by everybody for training and building armor. But he knew that the demigods would make this a camp again in no time.

But then he thought, could things return to what they used to be before the war? Only time could answer that question.

He went to the big house; his head hung down, opened the door and an arrow flew just above his face and out in the open.

The nymphs had been taking care of the young demigods and along with them, had been planning to attack anybody who entered the big house from the Titan army as they hadn't got an IM from Chiron of any news from the war, so they had had assumed the worst.

Of course, they didn't tell that to the young ones, they cooked up some excuse and the underage demigods believed it all.

So when they saw that it was Chiron who was the entrant, with shock all over his wrinkled face, there was silence.

Chiron was lucky he was sad because if he wasn't, the arrow would have been stuck in the head of the trainer of heroes.

And then all nymphs ran and swarmed around Chiron, hugging and kissing him all over, because they now knew that the war had been won and from now on there would be peace.

They asked many questions as to what all happened and how did it all go but Chiron froze when he heard the question," Did anybody die?"

He again looked down, remembering Percy, and told the nymphs to take all the demigods to their respective cabins and to leave him alone. He looked so sad that the nymphs followed his orders without any argument.

In the Olympian Infirmary

Annabeth slowly opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was the face of a nymph whose nose was almost touching hers. So she screamed and pushed at the nymph who fell back.

By the time she got up Annabeth was gone. And the nymph sighed and murmured," That was really a brilliant plan by Athena, making her daughter go straight towards the Throne Room just as she woke up, just like Lord Zeus offered."

Annabeth was running and so was her thought process. She kept asking herself questions like Wasn't the Titan War over? and Hadn't they won? and Where the hell were all the other demigods? She came upon the Throne Room, pushed open the huge doors and ran in.

Only to come upon an entirely empty throne room with no gods. Annabeth looked around the ruins and thought that the victory was just a figment of her imagination and that they had truly lost. If so, where was Kronos?

"Annabeth, Annabeth, what are you looking at?" a voice called out. Annabeth could hear somebody call her name but she was so lost in her thoughts she didn't bother to respond. And there was this sudden feeling of warmth near her chest and it kept getting hotter.

The temperature kept on increasing till it became painful and then she was literally shaken out of her thoughts by an 8 year old goddess of the hearth. "Annabeth, what are you thinking about so much? I kept a fire burning in front of your body but it's like you didn't realize it at all. See for yourself, your clothes are also slightly burnt."

Annabeth didn't bother to look at her clothes and didn't even hide the look of surprise that came upon her face. "How are you still here? And where is Kronos? We need to escape right now before the titans find us here. Maybe we can go from that direction or maybe from that one…." Annabeth started rambling.

Until Hestia decided to interrupt," ANNABETH, WE WON. THE WAR IS OVER. THE PATHENON OF THE GODS STILL LIVES."

"Then where is everybody else? And why is there no party for our victory? And where are the other demigods?" Annabeth started asking questions in rapid fire.

Hestia kept quiet till Annabeth got tired of asking and then slightly touched the Annabeth's temple with her index finger. And Annabeth's head got filled with memories and she had a slight moment of dizziness and nausea.

Then she remembered everything and started crying. Hestia knew the reason why so she just led her to the hearth and sat down, putting Annabeth's head in her lap and running her hand in her hair.

Then she said," My dear, I know it's hard to deal with the loss of such a close friend but you have to be strong, not just for yourself but also the demigods that will now look up to you for inspiration, support and motivation. They need somebody who can help them get over the loss of somebody very close to them and it's your duty to do so."

But Annabeth contradicted her saying," How can I be a role model when I myself need help? When I am myself so broken by recent events."

Then Hestia said," Being a leader doesn't mean being devoid of any emotion and being perfect. Being a leader means keeping your own pain at bay and keeping on a smiling face so as to show that there is always hope. Why do you think Percy always smiled even in the most hopeless of situations? He always knew that he may never live the next moment so he gave others the hope that everything could still be alright and shouldered other's responsibility on himself. Sometimes, the heart and its emotions are much wiser than the brain."

With this new dawn of knowledge on her she asked," And what about my emotions for Percy? I finally realized my true feelings for him but by then it was too late. I am such an idiot."

Hestia wasn't much surprised to say the least as she had always known of the budding romance between Percy and Annabeth. So she said," There is nothing you could have done. Think of it this way; he gave up his life so that you could lead a safe, successful and happy life. He did it because he too loved you just as much as you do."

"How can you say that? He had so many girls running after him, even a few goddesses. Why on earth would he want to be with me?" asked Annabeth, not believing a word of Hestia.

"Because that's what love is, my dear. For him, you were the only one that mattered. He had started to consider his feelings for you as more than just friends ever since you and he returned after your first quest together." Said Hestia, in a voice so full of conviction and sweetness and warmth that all Annabeth wanted to do was stay in that position for all day.

But Annabeth still asked," How do you know all this? You are not the goddess of love, how can you be so sure?" Hestia chuckled and said," I don't just sit here and keep the hearths burning. I am the one goddess who knows almost every secret of Olympus, as almost all gods both major and minor, especially my brother Poseidon, confide in me their hearts deepest thoughts that they dare not tell anyone else. This is because I have earned the trust of everybody and would never be a gossip girl who tells all secrets just to gain popularity, like the actual goddess of love."

Annabeth just smiled because she was now certain that her secret would always remain just that – a secret.

Line Breaker

Percy was walking the streets of Manhattan, New York and the city was slowly coming to life. Many were starting to wake up and were confused as to why they were passed out in shops and buildings and parks, etc. While some were still sleeping!

A gang of rowdy teenagers, who had seized the opportunity and were pickpocketing the still groggy citizens, came upon Percy who was just walking through the city, not killing anyone as a voice in his head kept telling him to not waste any time and that the people lying around were already dead.

When the teenagers saw Percy, who appeared a bit blurred to them, the leader, who was quite muscled and tall, grinned and raised his hand and they all stopped.

He flinched slightly when he saw the burnt face of Percy but kept a strong face and waited for him to come in front of them and stop.

None of them could see the sword as the mist was affecting them and they all thought it was just a pen. (A.N = the weapon in Percy's hand is not Riptide but something else. It is just the mist affecting mortals! Can you guess what the actual weapon is? The first one to tell me the answer gets a virtual cookie.)

But Percy kept walking without even glancing towards the group, and they all felt like idiots. So they all took out their weapons which ranged from baseball bats to knifes to just their fists. The leader called out to Percy but got no response.

The other group members looked strangely at both Percy and then their leader, and the leader, who called himself, Al, got a nervous look on his face as this show of blatant ignorance from the boy would lead to his loss of importance and respect in the group.

So Al ran towards Percy and tackled him to the ground, thereby unknowingly dooming them all. Percy just got up and ever so slowly turned around.

Al stared in the emotionless eyes of Percy and could see his own eyes in them – eyes filled with surprise and fear.

Percy got angry that somebody dared to attack him but was also happy as he now got to kill somebody. And so Percy swung his sword at the mortal.

At the last moment, Al saw the pen change into a sword and so he ducked on instinct. He then knew that there was something strange going on and it would be better to just back off.

So Al, raised his hands and said," Hey homie, I'm sorry man, I'm sorry. You can take that big sword and just go on your way. I will just run away and find a place to pee."

But Percy wasn't listening, at all. He slightly tilted his head and looked behind the man to see… nobody! Percy couldn't see the other people that had come too. Maybe they had all run away.

At least he had only one man to kill. Oh well, something is always better than nothing.
Al, seeing that the boy was looking behind, turned around to see that all his "friends" had deserted him and run away.

So he turned around to apologize and make a quick getaway when he got kicked hard in the gut and he crashed in the nearby wall, his knife clattering in the distance.

Percy seeing that the mortal was distracted knew it was the perfect chance to attack. So, when the mortal turned around to face him, Percy kicked him in the gut with all his power and watched in satisfaction as the man crashed in the wall nearby, and crumpled to the ground.

Al was now in a lot of pain, but that all faded as the only emotion that came on the surface was anger.

He got up and rushed towards the teenager with his fists balled and raised. The only thing he wanted to do was beat down this arrogant son of a bitch within an inch of his life.

Because one might call Al anything, but he was a very good fighter who grew up on the streets and so knew his way around.

And now that he had already seen the sword, the mist wasn't trying to trick him anymore. He could see Percy properly and he threw his first punch.

Percy saw the man coming but didn't and just stood there, taking it all. Al felt like he was punching an iron wall, but he kept going on, his anger and the adrenalin rush feeding him on, making him oblivious to the bleeding knuckles.

Percy had the curse of Achilles on him, so of course he didn't feel anything. When Al got tired, he gasped and asked," What are you? None of my punches seem to even faze you."

Percy just grinned a maniacal grin and backhanded the mortal, and Al crashed into the wall again. Then Percy ran towards the fallen man and slashed at him. Al rolled out of the way and the sword got stuck in the ground. So Al roundhouse kicked Percy in the head with as much power as he could surge from inside of him.

But Percy just stood there, having no reaction at all and just trying to pull out the stuck sword. Al kept kicking him and in the end it was his leg that was bruised and bleeding.

Then Percy finally pulled the sword out free, and swung sideways immediately. Al, barely dodged the otherwise fatal shot, but the work was done.

Al could never see the other attack coming and by the time he realized it, it was too late. His hand was severed of his body and there was blood spurting all over the place. Al screamed in pain," You monster. Aaaahhhhhhh."

Percy then cut off the other hand and Al, who knew that all hope was lost, attempted to head butt Percy but ended up busting himself open and falling to the ground. There was blood all over his face and he was blinded by it.

Al couldn't even get up as he had no hands, they were lying around somewhere. So he kept screaming in pain, shouting for help and obscenities at the teenager, who had rendered him blind and handless.

Percy, seeing so much blood, left Al lying on the ground, not because he got sick but because he knew that Al would eventually die of blood loss. So he continued on his way, this time with a destination that the voice in his head told him, where he would be sure to get some good competition and the pleasure of this particular hunt would be excruciatingly fun.

And so Percy walked on to Camp Half-Blood.

The Underworld

Hades was personally judging all the people who had died that day as there were many heroes who deserved Elysium and many who deserved the Fields of Punishments.

When he saw Sally Jackson and Paul Blowfish, he got off the table and went to talk to them. When they saw him, they bowed to him. Hades waved that off and personally led them to Elysium. While walking he asked them," This may seem like a bit too quick and rude, but I really have to ask, who killed you?"

At first he didn't get any response, but suddenly Sally stopped and looked at Hades with what was a happy expression on her face. She then said," My Lord, I feel that my life is blessed. My true happiness began when I looked at the beautiful sea green eyes of Poseidon and it all ended when I looked in the equally beautiful eyes of my son, Percy."

Hades couldn't believe what he had heard," Are you sure, Sally? You're saying that your son Percy killed you himself."

Sally then recounted her whole experience and said," Even though his face was burnt very badly, I can never forget those eyes. Those beautiful sea green eyes of his have always had a charm of their own. Yes, I'm very sure that I was killed by my own son and not some monster or complete stranger. Now I can say that my life is complete."

Hades felt very sad hearing this, since a great mortal had died, but he had to report this newest development to Olympus. So he dropped the souls of Sally and Paul at Elysium, Iris Messaged Nico to come quickly to the Underworld and then Hades teleported to his personal quarters to think about everything that had happened so far.

But one thing was sure; if he was right then Olympus wasn't safe anymore; instead it had just traded one dangerous enemy for another, someone who could completely destroy Greek Mythology.

Somewhere in Tartarus – Unknown POV

"Ahhh, my power. Finally, the signal of Kronos comes. It's quite faint but it's there alright. Now all I have to do is climb out of Tartarus and merge with whoever has inherited my power, while my present host will kill all those arrogant demigods.

Then I will be in my complete form and then no one, not even the mighty Olympians will be able to stop me from completing my original mission - erasing those petty gods from existence itself and forcing each one of them to fade forever. HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

And here it is the third chapter. Will Percy really kill all the demigods that he worked so hard to save? And who is this voice that commands him what to do and what not to? And what role does this entity in Tartarus play in the act? Keep reading – and reviewing – to find out more.