DISCLAIMER: All rights belong to Rick Riordan, as well as the characters (except for a few characters that I might create myself).
This is just a fanfiction. If you haven´t at least read Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus, you probably won´t understand half of the story.
The story will be written focusing on different characters every so often (Heroes of Olympus style).
English is not my native language and I would like if you pointed out any mistakes in the reviews.

I appreciate any reviews and ideas.

Now, on with the story.

WARNING: This chapter contains descriptions that are rather violent. If you don't like, don't read.

Chapter Fourteen

PERCY

Darkness. That was all that Percy could see. He didn't knew how long had passed. "Ironic." He thought "The God of Time doesn't know how much time has passed."
He could feel a presence by his side every once in a while, but he could not open his eyes.

He felt an immensely powerful presence enter his mind and a vice that he had only heard once spoke:
-I told you we'd meet again, Perseus Jackson.
-Chaos. What are you doing here?
-I'm here for you, young one.
-I'm fading, aren't I?
-Close, my boy, close. But your time is not here yet. You must go to the throne room. Someone tried to murder you and the Gods are delivering a severe punishment. One that she won't survive unscarred.
-Let me guess… Phoebe? – Percy took the silence as a yes – What is her punishment?
-They are making her live all your pains, physical and mental. Including the ones from…
-Tartarus. – Percy finished for him. Once again, he took the silence for a yes – have to stop them!
-Easy, my boy. I've healed your wounds but I can do nothing to replenish your energy… and you know what that means.
Percy flinched.
-It doesn't matter. She can't go through that. – he replied to the Creator.
-Perhaps it's time for everyone to learn the truth. The full truth. Now go, she has almost reaching Tartarus.

Having said that, the Creator retreated from Percy's mind. The latter opened his eyes but the world remained black. Hiding his body has best as he could, Percy flashed to the Throne Room. Due to his low energy, the most he could do was the doors.
-STOP IT! Stop it before she reaches Tartarus.

Percy felt everyone turn to look at him, even though he couldn't see.
-And why should we do it, Perseus? – asked someone he recognized as Athena – She is being rightfully punished.
-Please, I'm begging the council to stop it. No one should suffer as I did. I beg of you… Stop this. – Percy answered while kneeling and bowing, touching the floor with his forehead.

There was a loud snap sound and Hestia said:
-It's done. Her punishment his interrupted, right when she was falling to Tartarus. Now may I ask the real reason you don't want her to see that specific part?
-Like I said, no one should suffer as I did.
Athena couldn't help but to ask:
-But, Percy, from what you and Annabeth told us, it wasn't that bad. Why don't you want her to see it?

Percy took a deep breath:
-Because that wasn't the full story. Not even Annabeth knew it. And I never told her.
-What is the full story the, son? – asked Poseidon.
-Before I go on, you must swear on the Styx that what I say and show you will never leave this room. That includes the Hunters.

There was a sound in the middle of the room. The Gods watched as Phoebe opened her eyes. They were read and puffy from crying. When she saw Percy, she started to cry again and ran to kneel at his feet:
-I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… - she said between sobs – I didn't know… I thought you were just like all the others… Please, will you ever forgive me?
Percy pecked her up by her shoulders.
-I already forgave you. Go join your sisters. – Then, raising his, he said – She has been punished enough. Don't hold any grudge.

Hera cleaned her throat:
-Back to what you were saying…
-Like I said, you must all swear on the Styx to my terms.
After a little bit of Silence, everyone swore on the Styx to his terms.
-Now – said Zeus – What is it you were saying?

Percy didn't answer. Instead, he took off his shirt, he ripped off the bottom half of his jeans and he took his hair form his eyes. The only indicator that everyone was still there after he did this was the multitude of gasps, cries and sobs that he heard.

ARTEMIS

Artemis couldn't help to let out a small gasp when she saw Percy's body, and she wasn't the only one: Athena had tears in her eyes, as did Hera; Hestia was openly crying; Aphrodite and Demeter looked like they were about to let out their breakfast. And this was just the Goddesses. On the Gods' part: Zeus, Poseidon and Hades were staring at him, eyes wide open; Poseidon had tears running down his cheeks; Hermes and Dionysius were unable to look straight at him; Ares was looking but even he was having problems keeping a straight face; Apollo was also looking away but Artemis suspected he already knew because of his warning in the Temple a few days ago. Even the Hunters were shocked: all had a look of horror in their faces; and Thalia, Phoebe and a few more, mainly the younger, were openly crying.

His torso and arms were filled with scars of varied nature: knife wounds, burn marks… you name it, he had it. His legs weren't much better: bite marks, jagged cuts…

But, seeing his eyes, Artemis couldn't help but let a sob she had been forcing in. The skin around his eyes was filled with cut marks, as well as the eyelids. The eyes themselves were not the usual sea-green colour everyone was used to and loved. They were a dull grey, like if they were covered with a thin silver veil.

-Percy… - asked Hestia between sobs – Can you… see anything?
-No, Hestia. Your suspicion is correct. I'm blind.

This was the last straw. Artemis finally let out the tears she was keeping in and leapt out of her throne. She ran to Percy and hugged him, not caring anyone was watching, and openly cried in his shoulder.
-Shhhh, it's okay. – he reassured her – It's only temporary.
She didn't listen and continued to cry on his shoulders for a while.

After a couple of minutes, she had stopped crying and returned to her throne. Percy too went to his throne. When he sat, some of the scars on his legs, arms and torso faded, but his eyes remained the same.
-Percy. Who did this? How? When? – asked Poseidon.
-Like I said, nobody but me knew the full story.
-Then tell us, kelp-head. What is the full story? – asked a worried Thalia. After all, Percy was like a brother to her.

Percy took a deep breath:
-Like most of you should have already figured out by now, this happened in Tartarus. Do not think I was lying when I first told this story; I was merely hiding some parts of the truth. The first part is like you know it: me and Annabeth fell for what seemed an eternity and we were able to, luckily, land on the Cocytus. After that, we made our way to the River of Fire. That is where the story gets different. Once there, we were ambushed and the monsters were able to overpower us. They took us to a cot in the banks of the river, where we met an old friend: my beloved Grampa, Kronos. He was his usual maniacal self. I rambled about what he was going to do to us and whatever. I could care less. But… Annabeth was with me. And I couldn't let anything happen to her. So…
-You made a deal with Kronos. – interrupted Athena.

Percy gave a wry smile:
-Precisely.
-And what were the terms of the deal? – asked Hestia, although she had a slight suspicion
-I'm pretty sure someone has a little idea; am I right Athena?
The Goddess of Wisdom nodded.
-If I'm right, your "agreement" was to leave Annabeth alone and do whatever he wanted to you.
-Almost. The deal was that he left Annabeth alone and to erase her memories of the encounter. In exchange, he could do whatever he wanted to me.
-How long? – asked Hades.
-Real time? Five hours.
-And to you, how long was it? – asked Hermes.
Percy's face became dark.
-The same number… but years instead of hours. One year of torture for every time I ruined his plans.

Hearing this, Artemis let out more tears, as did others like Athena, Hestia, Thalia and even Phoebe; most of the Hunters were openly crying. Even some of the Gods (male ones) were on the brink of tears.
Artemis, gathering up a little courage, asked the million-drachma question.
-What… What did he do to… to you? – she asked, between sobs.
-I can't even begin to describe what he did. That's why I didn't want Phoebe to see it… It was too much. Name any torture technique you know. Kronos performed all of them and more on me. I was stabbed, burned, drowned, used as a Hellhound's play toy, used as a Cyclops' golf club… My wounds were cauterized using water from the Styx. I was forced to drink water from the Cocytus and the Acheron. He never used Lethe water, though. I guess he wanted me to remember the torture.

Aphrodite had long ago walked out of the room; most of the Hunters had puked at least once; Hestia was crying while hugging Hera who was also crying; Athena had her hands over her ears, trying in vain to block the words; Demeter had followed Aphrodite's example, as did Dionysius; Hermes was grabbing his throne's arm rests with such force that they were starting to crack; Apollo was looking at the ground, trying to preserve some dignity and not pass out in front of everyone; Ares had been looking away for a while now; Hades was looking sadly at his nephew, thinking that not even the most wicked souls in the Fields of Punishment had been through so much; Zeus looked at him with a new found respect; Phoebe was crying and thankful to Percy that he stopped her visions when he did; Thalia was swearing under her breath, clenching her fists in anger; and Poseidon, much like Artemis, were crying their eyes out.

Percy continued:
-But the worst of all was the mental torture: images of my worst fears – so deep, obscure and terrifying that even Phobos and Deimos would go running for their mommy. I saw both camps destroyed; I saw Olympus razed to the ground; I saw Paul, my mom and my little sis dead, looking at me accusingly; I saw all the Gods dead and their thrones destroyed; I saw a mountain made of the bodies of my friends – the Stools, Katie, Clarisse, Tyson, Nico, Hazel, Frank, Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Luke, Thalia and… Annabeth – all looking at me and whispering "It's your fault. You did this to us". I saw all my worst nightmares come true.

Percy was crying too at this point. Phoebe had seen his pain until he reached Tartarus, but she knew that what she had felt was nothing compared to what he experienced while in Tartarus. Percy regained his cool and continued:
-For five long years, I was tortured, both physically and mentally, day and night. I never slept during that time. And never did I give him the pleasure of hearing me scream or beg for mercy. But, at long last, the day for him to release me finally came. But he had one last gift for me. – Percy pointed to his ruined eyes – He did this using a blunt knife made out of Stygian Iron and covered in water from the Styx. – even Ares winced hearing this – "My face will be the last thing you'll ever see!" he said. And then, he threw me out and into the Phlegethon.

Percy let out a cold laugh at this point.
-That didn't go as he had planned. He thought that the River of Fire would burn my very soul. But the Spirit of the River took pity of me and healed me. Well… almost. Even the River of Fire has a limit. He healed me, yes; but, every time my energy reserves drop bellow one percent, my scars show and my eyes lose their ability to see, until my energy gets above fifty percent. After that, you know the rest.

Everyone was silent for a while. The only thing you could hear was the sobbing of those who were still crying like Hestia and Athena. Artemis was doing her best to keep them in. She knew Percy didn't want pity. The ones that had left the room had come back when he finished the story. Finally, Athena spoke:
-Thank you Percy. You did that so that my daughter could be safe. I could never thank you enough.
-It was nothing, Athena. I would never let anyone I love get hurt, no matter what it did to me. – he took a glance at Artemis while saying this – You said it yourself, my fatal flaw is loyalty. I would see the world burn to ashes before I let anything happen to those I love. – again, he sent a peek at Artemis and this time, she noticed it. She made a decision; she would tell everyone, here and now, of their relationship.

-Everyone, I have an announcement to make. – she said
-Go on, daughter. – said Zeus.
She didn't. Instead, she stood up, walked to Percy and gave him a big kiss right in front of everyone. Aphrodite let out a large "EEEEEEEEP" and was jumping up and down in joy and Apollo had a look on his face that said "Finally!".

She pulled back from the kiss and looked at her Hunters.
-I'm sorry girls. You must hate me now. It's okay if you leave the Hunt. I won't be mad.
Thalia spoke:
-Are you kidding, milady? We are just happy that you finally assumed it!
-You knew?! – asked an incredulous Percy.
-Almost everyone knew. Only Phoebe and Atalanta were with doubts. Guess they own me ten drachmas each now, don't they?
-And how do you fell about it? – asked a concerned Artemis.
It was Phoebe who answered:
-Honestly milady… We are happy for you. If it were any other man, we would gut him like a pig. But Percy is… different. – Atalanta nodded, showing her agreement – I see that now and I'm sorry for what I did. – she added with a look of regret.
-It's okay, Phoebe. I already forgave you.

Now that the Hunt was dealt with, it was time for their biggest challenge: their father's.
Both Poseidon and Zeus had a look of anger on their faces. But, seeing their worried faces, they couldn't keep the farce anymore and they let out a good laugh. Artemis and Percy were confused.
-Ah, I was wondering when you were going to admit it publicly. You found a good man. I'm happy for you, daughter. – said Zeus.
-You knew as well? – inquired a shocked Artemis
-Trust us, niece. – said Poseidon – A father always knows.
-If that's everything, this meeting his adjourned. – said Zeus – Oh and Percy? I may approve of you but if you wanna keep your hands intact, keep them to yourself for now.

With that last threat, Zeus left the room, followed by most of the other Gods and Goddesses, leaving behind The Hunt, a heavily blushed Percy, an even more blushed Artemis and Apollo.

Turning to the Hunt, Percy called the five youngest Hunters: Catherine, nine years old; Chloe, eleven years old; Steph, seven years old; Claire, twelve years old and Gabby, eight years old.
-I'm sorry you had to hear that. – he apologized to them – Do you want me to take those memories away?
They all said no and little Steph said:
-It's okay. It's not good to keep it all t yourself. – then, she surprised everyone by hugging him, quickly followed by the other little ones – Welcome to the Hunt, Big Brother!
Percy couldn't see their faces but he knew they were all smiling. Soon, all the other Hunters joined the hug.

After that, they separated. Apollo chose that moment to talk:
-I know you're a good guy Perce, but you hurt my sister and you're a dead man.
-I know that, Apollo. She would kill me.
Apollo was mocked hurt.
-You wound me cuz… you wound me.
Percy laughed. Apollo grabbed his shoulders.
-You said it yourself: when your energy is above fifty percent, those scars will go away, So, until then, no leaving my Temple. Arty can go visit you there.

Before Apollo could flash them away, he gave a quick peck on Artemis's cheek and whispered:
-Save me!
But she whispered back:
-You're on your own.

Then, Apollo flashed them to his temple, leaving behind a smiling Moon Goddess.