I'm kinda upset, 'cause I've working my butt off to get these chapters out and all I've gotten is seven reviews. While I appreciate the readers that reviewed, I do think it's a bit inconsiderate to not review a chapter after you've read it.
I would really appreciate your feedback.
And besides, the next three people who review get to be in this story.
Just sent me a review with your name, age, look and personality, and a crime that could have landed you in Tartarus. Accepting OC's, too.
As always, please review, and I'm not Rick Riordan.
PS- I forgot to put disclaimers on some of my other chapters, and I'm sorry, fan fiction gods, and I'm sorry to Rick Riordan.
PS- thank you to MashPotatoeSquishBanana, for commenting and helping me.
A Whole New Beginning
Chapter Ten
On Olympus, the gods gathered in the throne room. A large clock on the wall above the giant doors clanked and the hour hand turned to the twelve. One more day gone. One day closer to the end of the world.
The gods were busy watching a large screen that floated in mid-air. On it, was the magically projected shot of of Cass sprinting through a tunnel. Then Thalia screaming in a kitchen. Nico walking slowly. Annabeth running.
They watched with such intensity, wondering where the young demi-gods were. Then Hades figured it out.
"The tunnels of fear," he said in awe.
Athena got such a wide look in her eyes, wondering why she didn't guess it first. The other gods blinked slowly, all wondering how they couldn't of noticed. The tunnels of fear were some of the most well-known tunnels in underworld legends. They were horrible.
"First the Night of the rising moon, then this," said Artemis under her breath, then looked to her brother. The goddess's heart melted. The look on his face was one of complete worry and pain for his daughter. Swallowing deeply, Artemis got out of her throne and walked over to his. She lay a comforting hand on her brothers shoulder. "It'll be alright. She's strong."
"You don't know. Only Zeus and I do," sobbed Apollo.
"Don't know what," asked Aphrodite, wanting anything else to spice up her newest love story.
"Cass's mother had leukemia when she gave birth to her," said Apollo, looking up to face his family. "It was the cancer that put her in the coma for two years. I found the leukemia in Cass when she was ten. I've been visiting her, with permission from father, every three months when she's asleep to treat her."
Aphrodite suddenly wished she'd never asked. Artemis rubbed her brother back slowly, not really knowing what else to do, but feeling close to her brother, closer then they'd been in a long time. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, but not really knowing how he felt. She didn't have any children. The hunters weren't like children.
The screen now showed a dark chamber, with a long metal table covered in blood, and a pile of bloody rags. Little did they know, that that pile of rags was a body.
"Where is this?" asked Hera, squinting at the dark screen.
"One of the torture chambers," answered Hades.
On screen, a dark figure walked in, a golden scythe in his hand.
"Kronos," breathed Zeus and Poseidon at the same time.
With a harsh hand, Kronos flipped the pile over, and the gods saw that is was indeed a body. Percy's body.
A golden scythe, they saw, was branded into the boys skin. Poseidon's lip trembled when he saw how deep it was, and how broken his son looked, holding his left arm that was bent so much, that it had to be broken. His eyes were closed, he might have been unconscious, or he might have been dead.
Kronos seemed to be wondering the same thing. With a rough push, Percy fell to the floor, a loud crack, and Percy's eyes widened immediately.
They were no longer that happy sea green color. They were sunken in to a face that belonged to a body that clearly had not had nourishment for quite some time. The pupils were large, adjusted to the darkness of the cavern, and they darted back and forth nervously, always looking for the person who was going to hurt him.
Tears filled all of the goddess eyes, while the gods stared, unmoving at the screen.
Percy turned himself over, and you could almost see his pain. With his broken arm clutched to his side, he reached for his leg with his good hand, which, the gods now saw, had a horrific gash and a bone slightly sticking out.
There were footsteps that slowly faded away, and the gods were sure that Kronos was leaving.
Percy's eyes, which had been so dry until then, filled with tears. He blinked them back, but they fell anyway, and Poseidon's fell in perfect harmony.
His crying was dignified, just tears, no overload of snot and noise, but the gods could see that he hated himself for being this weak. He was obviously more hurt then he'd ever been.
His mouth started moving, a prayer, and his voice, like the voices of all prayers, lifted up from the ground of the throne room.
"Dad. Lord Zeus. Lord Hades. Anyone. Please. Help me please. Dad. Please." And then the screen went blank.
The throne room was quiet for a moment.
"What do we do?" asked Apollo quietly.
"There's nothing we can do," said Artemis just as softly, watching her uncle cry silently.
Later on, Kronos flexed his arms, then raised the whip. Percy flinched when it hit his shoulder, biting his lip to keep the string of curses and screams inside of him. He hit Percy again and again, until, for the first time, he shouted out, and Kronos laughed, and walked into the shadows.
The scythe on his chest burned, worse then the hot metal that had been pressed onto his back a few days before. At least he thought it was days.
Percy knew, like everyone( but only because Annabeth had told him), that the underworld was like the Labyrinth, and that time meant nothing.
Percy spent every free moment thinking about Annabeth, and his parents, and cousins and friends and the Gods. He wanted more then anything for them to come and rescue him. He thought of the prophecy, the one he never got to hear. He bet it had something to do with his imprisonment.
But back to the scythe. Percy was sure that it wasn't just a brand. The scar seemed to get deeper and deeper everyday, and Percy often felt himself grow weak whenever Kronos would approach.
He knew something was up. He couldn't place it.
Annabeth ran until she could run no more. Her feet were tired, her lungs were aching. In her head, she wished for a place to sit down, and a bench appeared.
Too tired to worry about the dangers of this magical chair, she sat and rested her feet. She felt her chest rise and fall rapidly with her breathing.
With a winded sigh, she leaned her head back. On the ceiling above her, was the most intricate carvings and molds. With a look of awe, she searched her brain to see what architect had designed it. It was absolutely beautiful.
"It was you," said a voice that was all too familiar, and Annabeth turned and saw Luke. With a cry, she jumped up and wrapped her arms around him.
"What are you doing here? Why are you down here?" Annabeth's mind was racing a mile a minute, and for those seconds she forgot all about Percy.
"You," he answered simply, and Annabeth took back everything she'd said about not loving him.
"What do you mean by me?"
"This is all you, Bethie. This is what you designed."
"Really?" she breathed.
"Really. You did all of this. You're amazing," Luke said breathlessly, taunting her horribly.
Annabeth looked up at him, her gray eyes burning into his blue ones. He leaned towards her gently, and she leaned back. "I can't do this. Not to Percy," she said.
"Do you really think he's gonna survive?" he asked, causing her lower lip to tremble. "No, no, Bethie. Don't cry, Percy's a good guy. He wants the best for you, I know he does. He loves you. He wouldn't want you to mope all alone."
Annabeth looked up to him, his lips mere inches away from hers. "But you're dead."
"Who says?"
The daughter of Athena was stumped. Tears came to her eyes as Luke lifted her chin and lovingly kiss her lips. "I love you, Bethie."
And then Percy was wiped from her mind and Luke filled his place. "I love you too."
