Read on!

Chapter 7

3 days later ….

Annabeth had been detained in Olympus for a few days for further questioning after which she was taken to camp in one of the vans along with her mother, Athena, and Artemis, who was transporting the hunters to camp.

Along the way, Athena and Annabeth kept discussing about the blueprints of the temples and palaces of the gods to be made on Olympus when Artemis called out to Annabeth and said, "I didn't want to interrupt but I couldn't help wonder that as the war is now over, if you would like to be a hunter again.

Thalia then butted in and said, "Yes Annabeth, it is fun in the hunt. You would love it there. We kill monsters, camp in forests, have every type of meat that there is. And the company of each other is also quite satisfying."

Artemis then said, "You already know the terms. You would be a wonderful addition to the hunt."

Athena coughed and everybody looked towards her. Then she said, "Excuse me, but my daughter is not going to join the hunt. She is now the architect of Olympus and has duties which she cannot neglect. I'm afraid she has little to no time to spare to the hunt. Now come here daughter, we have to make more designs."

Artemis' eyes narrowed and she said, "Sister, it is Annabeth's decision if she wants to join the hunt or not. You shouldn't come in between."

Athena then said, "And as she is my daughter I know what is best for her. The war has been quite strenuous for her and it would do her good to be in camp with her fellow demigods and lead the rest of her life in peace. After a few weeks of rest she would start designing Olympus – which has always been her dream."

Thalia then said, "How about we let Annabeth decide? But you should know that you will be immortal – and would only be able to die in a battle. And with the skill and experience that you have, you would surely never die."

Annabeth was silent for some time after which she spoke, "I'm sorry, Artemis, Thalia, but I am already being offered immortality by Zeus and mom because designing the whole of Olympus would take years much more than my life contains. It has always been my dream to design something which would last forever. I cannot join the hunt."

Artemis sighed and said, "It is your decision dear. But if you ever change your mind, you should know that you will always be welcome."

The face of Zeus suddenly appeared in between Athena and Artemis and he said, "Daughters, come to Olympus immediately. We have another emergency meeting. Perseus has survived the fall in the River Styx and well … come quickly. We have much to discuss."

Athena nodded and said, "We will be there instantly father. And I was wondering if I could bring my daughter – you could complete her ritual and then work would begin right away."

Zeus nodded and said, "OK." Then he slashed through the mist, thereby cutting the connection.

Athena grabbed Annabeth's shoulder and then she and Artemis flashed in their godly forms and disappeared.

Meanwhile Thalia wondered aloud, "Percy escaped from a fall in the River Styx – but didn't he already have the Curse of Achilles? Why would he jump in again? I will ask my lady when she gets back."

There was a sudden thud and the van suddenly stopped and Thalia fell forward and cursed quite a lot. Phoebe shouted at Argus, the driver, "What the hell happened? Why did you stop the van?"

Argus looked back slowly and scared the hell out of Phoebe with his numerous eyes. He then pointed to the front of the car and then looked forward. Thalia got the message and opened the back and all the hunters drew out with their bows drawn.

They all went in front of the van to find a boy fallen face down with a sword lying nearby. Not looking at the sword, Thalia knelt near the boy, assuming him to be a demigod, and asked, "Are you okay? Are you feeling alright? Are you in a condition to speak?"

The boy's hand moved a bit and he started getting up. He had jet black hair and was wearing a coat. He got up only to stumble forward. He then bent down to grab his sword.

Only then did Thalia get a good look at the sword. It seemed as if she had seen the sword before and it was on the tip of her tongue. She then looked at the grip and saw keys in it.

It then hit her like a lightning bolt (no pun intended) – it was the Sword of Hades – but what was it doing with this boy?

She then asked him, "How did you come in possession of this sword?"

The boy didn't answer but kept standing motionlessly. Something about him made Thalia feel very uncomfortable, as if she was to be wary of him.

She then reached out to grab the shoulder. In that instant, he grabbed her hand, threw her above his shoulder and slammed her into the ground. Hard. She started groaning and clutching her head.

All the hunters then started shooting at him and the arrows stuck in his back, legs, hands, and head. He turned around and the hunters recognized him by his eyes. He was Perseus, the murderer.

He ran towards one of the hunters and kicked her in the stomach. Then he backhanded another in the face. She fell into 2 others. Phoebe dropped her bow, took out her hunting knifes and ran towards the former Hero of Olympus.

Percy saw her coming and stabbed another hunter in the stomach before turning to face her. She kept running and just as she reached him he slashed at her. She ducked and was able to nick Percy in the arm.

Percy ignored that and instead punched Phoebe on the jaw. She went sprawling back. But she got in a stance and waited. Another hunter tried to hit Percy from behind but Percy ducked and pushed her from behind and she ran into Phoebe.

He then sliced at another hunter's hand and kicked her in the side of the head. She crumpled then and there. He then turned around to see Phoebe and the second hunter ready, Phoebe with her knives and the other one with her bow.

Thalia was just getting up and at first she saw everything hazy and blurred. After rubbing her eyes a few times she saw that there was silver and golden blood splattered everywhere. She quickly got up and looked around to see Percy and Phoebe and another hunter in a melee fight.

The occasional hunter interfered but was literally thrown back by Percy's strength and the 2 hunters were also starting to tire out. But Percy seemed to have infinite strength as he fought of the age old hunt with little to no problem.

Thalia then got up and raised her hands in the air. She then mumbled, "Sorry Percy" and shouted, "Go to hell, asshole" and a huge lightning bolt stuck Percy. For a few seconds nobody could see anything because of the light.

When it all cleared Percy was on his knees and appeared dazed. With lightning speed Thalia shot an arrow at Percy which turned to celestial bronze rope at the last moment to bind Percy. Thalia then fell down because of the exhaustion caused due to the excessive power use.

Percy tugged and tugged, but even his superhuman strength was not enough to break the rope. Phoebe then got up and kicked Percy in the side. Percy was already bleeding a lot but it was as if he didn't even feel any pain. Phoebe then said to the other hunters, "Our guest must be taken care of properly. So shouldn't we take out these arrows out of his body?"

Hearing that, all the other hunters got a maniacal grin and gathered around Percy except one, who went to check on Thalia. They all started pushing the arrows inside Percy's body and taking it out the other side. Percy kept standing and the hunters kept doing it till all the arrows had come out.

By then Thalia was completely fine; but when she saw the whole scenario, she just sighed in sadness and said to herself, "Percy, why are you doing this? Why are you killing everybody you see? Why?"

But then she wondered – how could Percy bleed when he had the Curse of Achilles? And taking out the curse was impossible, or so she thought. This was one of the many things she would ask Artemis, but for now she had to decide what to do with their captive.

She went near Percy and shouted, "Hunters, today another one of our sister has fallen. But we have finally caught the one who is responsible for all this. We shall go on and take him to Camp Half Blood. There we shall give our hunter the last rites and also decide what to do with our captive."

Phoebe nodded and then came up to Percy and punched him in the face. She then screamed loudly and shouted, "I broke my hand, I broke my hand. Ouch, ouch, ouch."

Thalia again wondered - how did it break? If Percy doesn't have the Curse of Achilles anymore, then how did Phoebe's hand break? I think Percy's face must be too strong or Phoebe's hand must have been hurt from earlier.

She said to all the hunters, "Come on, hunters. Let's go on to the camp. There we will have some rest and I will Iris Message Artemis as soon as we reach there."

All the hunters and Argus loaded Percy in the van and then sat in themselves. Then they all drove to the camp without any further incidents.

In the Council Meeting

When Athena, Artemis and Annabeth flashed into the throne room, the council had already started. Hades and Zeus were shouting at each other and the word Styx and Perseus was used a lot of time. Poseidon was seething on his throne and when it got over his head he banged his trident on the ground and shouted, "If you two don't want the world to drown and the end of all civilization to come then you two better sit on your thrones and shut the hell up.

He then noticed the trio of goddesses and demigod standing and said, "Ah, here you are, come on sit down, Hades had called an emergency meeting 3 days ago but Zeus, our king decided to hold one now."

Athena and Artemis sat on their respective thrones and Annabeth went and sat near Hestia. After everybody was settled down Poseidon continued, "So Hades, what was so important that you had to call another emergency meeting?"

Hades muttered some curses at Zeus after which he said, "After the last council meeting was over, I had gone to the underworld and was taking a walk through my domain. When I was near the River Styx I saw a lot of foams being formed at the surface of the river. I went near and after a while the foams went away. So I summoned the goddess Styx and asked her about the body of young Jackson. She said that the body was still intact and was lying at the river bed. And the place where the Sword of Hades had stabbed him, lots of foams were rising from that wound. So I decided to call an emergency meeting then and there. After Zeus refused to my demand, I went to the bank once again and sensed death in the vicinity. I searched around but could not pinpoint where it exactly was coming from but I could tell that an immortal had died. So I called Thanatos and asked him if he had seen any death on the banks of the River Styx. He told me that a death had taken place and it was …" At this point stopped and sighed.

He muttered something inaudible and then continued, "The goddess Styx had faded." Gasps of goddesses were heard all around the room. "Somebody had defeated her in a fight and made her fade. Sensing the fading of its goddess, the river also started moving faster and faster. Then it completely slowed down and has been stagnant ever since. I immediately IM'ed Poseidon and gave him my permission to come in my domain. After he came, I asked him to check if there was a body in the river. As its goddess was gone, the river in nobody's domain and so it was free to be used, unlike earlier, by other gods or goddesses. Poseidon checked and told me that there was no body."

By the end everybody had understood what would have happened and so there was complete silence. Then Ares spoke up, "Well, the punk killed a goddess. So this means he is declaring war on Olympus. We should search him out and crush him, maybe send him to Tartarus."

Athena then said, "Ares, think before you speak. Perseus' master is in Tartarus itself. So if we send Percy there, won't he just come back out as easily as we sent him and come out with much more power than he already has?"

"So it is decided then. Percy is now officially an enemy of Olympus and if seen, shall be killed on sight. Artemis and her hunters will search for him in the forests, the demigods will be sent on quests and all other creatures will be warned about his presence. All Olympians will be given a conch – which you have to sound as soon as you set your sights on him." Ordered Zeus.

Poseidon then shouted, "Noooooo, he is being possessed by somebody else. We can't kill him because of somebody else. We all know that he would never do that in his own free will. Please don't kill him, I beg you brother. Please."

Zeus looked at Poseidon sadly, for he knew that if the life of Thalia was at stake he would be in the same position. But Zeus was the king of Olympus; he had to think for everybody, not just Poseidon. Even then he said, "OK, don't kill him on sight, try to capture him and bring him to Olympus. If he presents a threat then blow the conch and we will decide what to do."

There was silence after which he said, "If there is nothing else to be added…"

"In fact father, I was wondering if you could bestow immortality on my daughter, now that she is the architect of Olympus."

"Oh yes, immortality. OK then, daughter of Athena, please step forward." Annabeth was very nervous but she stood up and went in the middle of the thrones.

Then Zeus said in that booming voice of his, "Daughter of Athena, you are the architect of Olympus. As the king of Olympus, I now grant you immortality." Then he raised his hand and an electric blue orb of light came out of his arm and entered Annabeth's chest.

She then fell down.

There was more silence after which Zeus said, "Meeting Dismissed" and disappeared in a big boom of sound and a huge lightning bolt along with his wife, Hera.

Athena shrunk down to human size, picked up Annabeth and flashed out along with the other gods except Poseidon, who was sitting on his throne, crying, and Hermes, who was looking at the god of the seas with sympathy and pity.

He then walked up to him and said, "Poseidon, I know how you feel. I felt the same way when they wanted to kill my son for betraying Olympus. Percy is the strongest demigod I have ever known – both physically and mentally. If there is one person who can overcome any odds then it is him. Don't worry, uncle. Everything will be alright; it always is, in the end."

And then Hermes flashed out. Poseidon then thought – I have to be strong and start searching for him. It won't help if I just sulk all day. If the others capture him then it will not bode well for him.

And then Poseidon too flashed out. And only Hestia was left who just mumbled, "Oh Percy, my special, special boy. What has happened to you? You don't deserve any of this. Why are the fates doing this to you?"

Then she continued to take care of the hearth, deeply buried in her thoughts.

In the Depths of Tartarus

"Now do you give up, petty demigod?" asked 'the voice'.

"If I was so petty, then why are you so desperate to convert me to your cause?" said Nico. 'The voice' had fixed Nico's vocal cords and voice box because it liked to hear his screams when he was in pain.

However, Nico's witty retort only seemed to make 'the voice' angry because he shouted at Dr Thorn, "Put his head in the water again. Make him so desperate for a breath of air that he will give up his freedom for it."

The manticore grinned and pushed Nico's head in the water again. Nico struggled but his tortured body didn't have the power to fend off the monster.

For the past 3 days, Nico had been subjected to different kinds of tortures. On the second day of his torture he had been whipped again and then was immediately dropped in a big pot of salt and pins and the lid was closed. There were enough holes for him to breath and the screams could be heard till 2 hours after which even the manticore had pity for him.

The next day, Dr Thorn bought some water from the River Phlegethon and forced it into Nico's throat which burned all insides of Nico except the heart, the brain and the lungs. Then 'the voice' had ordered Dr Thorn to stand back as they waited for Nico to puke out the water, but Nico didn't have the stomach to do so.

Then yesterday only, 'the voice' drove Nico to the brinks of madness as it showed him visions which are too horrible to describe.

Unknown to Nico, 'the voice' wasn't torturing Nico to make him fight against the gods. 'The voice' was slowly destroying the very essence of his being, his identity and was making Nico a mindless warrior – like Perseus.

But, to control Perseus, 'the voice' had to use its essence because any amount of torturing would not have yielded any results – all thanks to Percy's fatal flaw; and also because 'it' needed some of its essence out of Tartarus.

Nico on the other hand already had some mental issues against the gods and bringing them out was quite fun for 'the voice'; mainly because of the methods that were being used.

In all 'the voice' was laying out a very intricate web of plans and deception and it only had to wait for the butterflies to get stuck in the web before the it closed down.

"Nico, it has been 4 days since I have been torturing you. Why are you resisting? I wouldn't have to do any of this if you just agreed to my demands. Please, for your sake, say yes. Don't give the manticore the pleasure of torturing you again and again." said the voice in a surprisingly worried voice.

Nico was now starting to black out in the water, but it had still heard 'the voice'. He was now desperate enough but a voice in his head was telling him to black out and not respond.

'The voice' got angry because of the lack of response and so projected one last vision in Nico's mind : of Zeus ordering Bianca to be transported to Fields of Punishment and Bianca being raped everyday to make her suffer due to her hunter's vow.

This drove Nico over the edge and he shouted yes in such a way that the pot broke and Nico fell down.

'The voice' was surprised and asked the manticore, "What did he say? What did he say just now?"

The manticore just shrugged and picked up Nico by the throat. Then he started punching him all over the body, and with every punch Nico coughed up a bit of blood.

Then 'the voice' told the manticore to stop and asked Nico, "What did you say just now?"

Nico just grunted a yes and started puking blood over the manticore's face. This angered the monster as he just threw Nico in the air and then kicked him on the face, making Nico fly to the other end of the chamber and knocking him unconscious.

'The voice' started laughing and said, "Finally! Phase 1 is complete. Now that Nico is mine, the downfall of the gods is completely ensured. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I will finally rule Olympus again, and nobody will stop me.

Well, that is it for now.
So Percy has been captured by the hunt but he managed to kill another hunter.
Phoebe punched Percy but broke her hand.
The council put out a 'capture or kill' order for Percy and Zeus also made Annabeth immortal.

And Nico finally said yes and gave in to the tortures of 'the voice'. Now we will see what 'the voice' has in mind.

Well, as nobody was able to guess the identity of the 'mysterious entity', I am giving one last chance to everybody else, but I am increasing the prize and now you will get the last chapter of this book as well as the whole first chapter of the second book.
But instead of two, now only one reader will get the prize.
Also,
Olympus97 – no, it isn't Kronos' father, because Ouranos is a primordial and the entity is not a primordial. But nice try, why don't you guess on? Keep trying, you still have some time.

Hope that somebody guesses it!
Read on!