Hello everybody! Before you kill me *dodges pots and pans* I just have to say that I was on vacation! No wifi. D`:
Also, my s key is kind of broken, so it's harder to type. Not like I use the letter s in almost every sentence or anything. **sarcasm**
Leo's Pov
Leo was next in Kronos's awesome chamber of punishment. The demigods had nicknamed the place, 'The Punishment Room'.
Leo wondered what he had planned. In his head he ticked off the tortures his friends had gone through. Thalia had lava. Percy had that fork thing. Hazel watched Frank die. Reyna was soaked in water. Jason was stung by stingrays.
Lots of variety. Leo wondered if Kronos would set him on fire. That would be a cool punishment.
Leo waltzed in the Punishment Room, calm, cool, and collected.
"Wassup, Kronos, my man?!" Leo called.
Kronos's golden eyes flashed with anger. "You will be shown what pain means today, Valdez."
"Dude, you have no idea what real pain is."
Kronos gestured to his Cyclops guard, and the Cyclops left the room for a moment.
"So…" Leo continued the conversation awkwardly. "Researched anything new about us lately?"
Kronos narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, boy."
The Cyclops came back into the room, carrying a gun.
"Whoa! What's that? Is that a gun?" Leo backed away from Kronos, who took the gun, cackling maliciously.
Without warning, Kronos cocked the gun and shot at Leo. He hit Leo square in the shoulder.
Leo stumbled back, a look of shock and confusion plastered on his face. He looked at his shoulder, watching the blood flowing from it. His breath quickened, and Leo's brain went on shock-mode. He couldn't move. Even though the adrenaline was kicking in, Leo's eyes rolled back up in his head and he passed out.
LINE BREAK
Leo woke up around thirty minutes later. He was back in their nice little cell, propped up against a wall. He looked down at his shoulder.
"Oh, no. Was I shot? Am I really shot?!" Leo started to panic.
"Relax! Just relax." Reyna said soothingly. "Yeah, you're shot. But you'll be okay."
"No, no, no I totally won't. Man, it hurts so bad!" Leo moaned.
"I know, I know. Just try and relax." Reyna slowly wrapped the bandage around his shoulder wound, coughing more than not.
"It's burning. Is that a good sign? There's no fire, and it's burning!"
"I'm sure it's normal."
"Really?"
"Maybe. It's not like I have Internet to look anything up! I don't even know if Thalia's hand is infected, or if Jason's sting is gonna be! I have nothing to go on, and absolutely no idea how to treat any of this stuff. I'm totally guessing, and we're lucky I haven't killed anyone with my lack of knowledge yet." Reyna exploded, and then began to cough loudly. The sound came from deep in her chest.
"Hey, hey. You've got it. I'm sure you'll…" Leo yawned. "…figure out something. And be careful with that cough. Who knows what symptoms of what sickness you're getting. Just…" he yawned again. "…be careful, okay?"
After the word 'okay', Leo passed out from the pain.
LINE BREAK
Nico woke up when everyone else was surrounded by Leo. He wandered over, wondering what Kronos had done to Leo.
Percy answered his unasked question. "Leo was shot."
"Oh." Nico replied, then took a shaky breath.
"Everyone. I have an announcement." The demigods turned to look at him. "I've been practicing with old souls, and I think…I think I can bring back the souls of the dead. Temporarily."
The half-bloods stared uncomprehendingly at him.
"Maybe it'll be better just to show you." Nico held out his hands to the darkest corner of the wall, concentrating hard.
Out of the shadows, a silvery light brightened the room. After a minute the glowing light stabilized, forming a girl.
"Bianca." Thalia breathed.
"Hello, Thalia. Hi Percy." Bianca smiled at Percy wistfully. Then she turned to her brother. "It's been a long time, Nico. But who are these others?"
"That's Jason, Piper, Leo, and Reyna." Nico nodded. "Oh, yeah, and Jason is Thalia's brother."
"Interesting. I guess a lot has changed." Bianca looked down sadly. "Where are we? I don't recognize…"
"Kronos's underground palace. We're the last demigods alive, and he's having some…fun with us before we die." Percy explained bitterly.
"I'm so sorry. I've noticed that the amount of deaths have increased lately. Your friends must be in line or something, because I haven't seen anybody. Well, except Annabeth." Bianca looked up shyly.
Percy shot to his feet. "You've seen Annabeth?" His voice trembled.
"You've seen her? How is she? Where is she?" Thalia asked/demanded. Her intensity made Bianca take a step back. Even though she was just a ghost, Bianca seemed intimidated.
"She's…she's okay. She said that she should've been faster, and if she was, she'd still be with you guys. She's in Elysium, but the souls of your friends who were killed in the war are being kept separate from us. That's what Annabeth said, anyways. She said she hopes that Percy waits for her."
"What do you mean?"
"As souls, we get another chance. We get a chance at another life, and Annabeth's afraid that Percy will take the chance without waiting for her."
"I would always wait for her. I just hope she waits for me."
"I know, that's what I told her."
"Tell her that I love her, and to wait for me. It won't be long until I join you." Percy muttered the last sentence under his breath.
"Tell her that our family survives, but without her, it'll fall apart quicker than it'll come together again." Thalia told Bianca, who looked at her strangely.
"Okay." Bianca sighed. Her form flickered. Nico strained to hold her. "I've gotta go. I'll tell Annabeth what you guys said. Nico, be careful. I don't want you in here with me too soon." She smiled at her younger brother, then waved goodbye.
"Bye, Bianca."
"Be careful."
"I'll see you soon, Bianca. I promise." Nico dropped her hands, and Bianca faded back into the darkness.
"Who next?"
Percy thought for a moment. "Clarisse."
"Why her?"
"She'll tell us what really happened, and knowing her, she didn't just lose focus because she was scared. She faced her death bravely, so I wanna talk to her." Percy explained.
"Alright." Nico concentrated, but nothing happened.
"Why isn't this working!?" Nico kicked at the ground, frustrated. "I've never been not able to do this!" He stared at the wall, sweating with concentration for 10 minutes.
"Maybe whichever titans are controlling the Underworld are blocking the connections." Reyna said thoughtfully.
"But why did Bianca work then?"
"Maybe they're only blocking the kids who fought in the war. That would explain why Bianca had only seen Annabeth."
"Maybe." Nico dropped his arms, pouting.
"We'll figure it out…." Percy said awkwardly.
Annabeth should have been there. She should've been there to comfort the demigods, to say something confident, to say something, like 'don't worry, I have a plan!'.
But she wasn't. Annabeth was dead. Frank was dead. Nico couldn't contact them, either.
Nothing was going as planned. There was only one plan.
Survival.
Sorry for not updating, and sorry for the short chapter. The next will be longer.
Also, check out my very first one-shot! It's called Do You Wanna Build A Snowman?
Until next time,
-SetFireToTheRainbow
