I FINISHED THIS A WEEK BEFORE I SWEAR BUT I FORGOT TO UPLOAD I'M SORRY SO HERE
Percy POV
Kronos put his fingers under my chin, forcing me to look at him.
"Let's try again." He said calmly. "Will you obey me?" I glared at him. He raised an eyebrow.
"Will you betray your friends?" He asked again, growing impatient. I growled at him and bit at his fingers. He slapped me across the face. The sound echoed around the room and my cheek stung.
"We'll try again later." He snarled. I sat back against the wall. The stupid chains were long enough to jump rope. I tried for sleep. For the last few days- I don't know maybe 5 or 6?- he asked me to betray my friends over and over again. I would've said yes, if this was still Tartarus. He would've dragged the people I love into the horrid pit and torture them in front of my eyes.
"Why?" I screamed. "Why can't you just leave me alone?" I slammed my fist against the wall, then cried out in pain when my finger cracked. I wanted to slap myself for my stupidity, then I realized Kronos already slapped me. I growled. I moved the chains in front of me and sat against the wall, doing nothing. Then a thought hit me like a truck. Sleep. You need to sleep. I recognized the voice. It wasn't mine, and it wasn't evil like Kronos. My eyes widened. Father. I immediately shut my eyes, and through the dull pain of my cheek, fell asleep right away. I was on Olympus.
"Dad!" I shouted. My dad was sitting next to my mom, holding her shoulders as she cried into his shoulder. Annabeth was clutching a piece of paper, silent tears running down her face. Apollo was standing between my mom and Annabeth awkwardly.
"Mom! Annabeth!" They looked towards me. Annabeth sobbed. My mom ran towards me but my dad stopped her.
"He's in a dream, Sally. You can see him but you can't touch him." He reminded her. My mom looked like she wanted to hug me anyways.
"Annabeth." I whispered. I looked at her curiously. She showed me the paper. It wasn't a regular piece of paper; it was a photo. It was the photo that Kronos took when I was kissing her forehead. For a Titan Lord who'd been around for eons, he took pretty damn good quality photos. Annabeth had just begun to glow with a soft golden light and my eyes were pressed closed, kissing her forehead, the chains dragging behind me. She looked up at me with tearful eyes.
"Two shall come back, one left in chains." She recited. "I wanted that to be me, for once. I wanted you to be happy, for once." She said. I reached out for her face and winced as my finger shifted in its socket.
"What's wrong?" Annabeth asked, standing up.
"Nothing." I said quickly.
"Yeah, nothing my ass." She retorted.
"Fine. I'm in Kronos' clutches, again, I'm in chains, again-"
"With your hand." She cut me off.
"I know." I sighed. "I got mad at.. Well, everything… and I punched the wall and like broke my finger or something."
"Yay!" Apollo shouted. I raised an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" Like dude, I get that all the gods have peaceful lives up on Olympus but jeez, harsh much?
"I get to do something." He singsonged. I rolled my eyes.
"Can you even heal me in a dream? Isn't this all in my head? This isn't like real, is it?"
"As a famous man once said, 'of course it's happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean it is not real?'" Apollo sighed.
"Who the hell is Harry?" I snapped.
"Doesn't matter." He said. "What matters is I can heal you." Apollo stepped forward. I watched closely as he put his hand on my finger. I almost expected myself to disappear or become fuzzy like a hologram when it's touched. However, my finger began to mend itself under my skin. I thanked Apollo quietly and turned to Annabeth who was itching to say something.
"We can't figure out where you are, though." Annabeth said.
"Um, Kronos' lair thing." I said obviously.
"Yeah, I know. We found the place where his lair apparently was, but it's not there anymore. It just… disappeared. There's no trace of it. So, maybe he took you somewhere else while you were sleeping. As long as you stay in one place, though, we'll be fine. We might be able to track you down. This dream used a lot of power. There'll be a visible energy line for Apollo to follow."
"Wait, can Kronos see it?"
"No. Apollo created the dream, so only he can see the energy line."
"Okay. I'll be here. It's not like I have anywhere else to go." I muttered.
"Be safe, Percy." Annabeth tried to kiss me but my image faltered.
"I created the dream. Only I can touch him." Apollo said.
"Thank you." I croaked. My mom stared at me, biting her lip.
"Come home safely, please?" She asked. I nodded.
"I'll try my best." I promised. My body was thrown to the floor. I grunted. A shooting pain shot up my leg as something pressed down on it. I looked up at Apollo desperately. He lurched forward, trying to grab at me. My image flickered. My eyes widened. Kronos, I thought. Then, I was yanked out of the dream into a very angry looking Kronos.
Annabeth POV
I groaned, pulling my hair in frustration.
"Annabeth, dear. Do you want something to eat?" Sally's gentle voice entered the room. I looked up and saw her carrying a bag of chips and a sandwich.
"Thanks." I said, getting up and taking it from her. I broke the sandwich in half and gave her half. She bit into it, trying for a smile.
"I'm just.. Trying to figure out how to get Percy back from Kronos."
"I know it's hard. I'm his mother. Okay, calm down, Annabeth. Calm down and breathe." She soothed. I looked into her eyes, hesitantly. She was scared too. Her son was at the mercy of a merciless Titan. But she was trying to be strong. I could be strong for her. I took a deep breath and ate. I stopped thinking about Percy and how to save him. For a peaceful moment, everything was fine. Then a thought struck in my mind. I groaned.
"It didn't work?" She asked.
"No, it was fine for a moment. But I'm Athena's child. I can't help but think. I'm going to bet you Kronos is really mad. If he's that mad, and he knows we're trying to track him down, what if he moves Percy?"
"Oh, no."
"Oh my gods he's going to move him. Oh my gods I know he's gonna move him." I panicked. Sally hugged me, whispering words of encouragement.
"How are you so calm?" I asked shakily.
"Because as a goddess, I have to model perfection and ease. Calmness comes easily to me, dear." She laughed. I gave a weak laugh.
"What if Percy is really in danger, though?"
"Trust me. I know he's in danger. But my son is really strong. He suffered years- centuries- of Kronos' torture. Now he knows we have his back. He'll be even stronger."
"If I know Percy, the fact that we're alive is a relief as well as a burden."
"Why?"
"Kronos can take us and use us to make him obey him. And there's nothing stopping him. Kronos is one of the most powerful beings in the world. And Percy is the other half; the only other person who can defeat him. Percy is the only one who has a chance at defeating him. But, he's in chains."
Percy POV
I ducked as another object was thrown at me.
"That was a knife!" I shrieked, looking at the dagger that was hilt deep in the wall.
"You were going to escape. I told you that escape wasn't possible!" He growled. He flung another dagger at me. It grazed my shoulder and implanted itself on the wall with my shirt. He flicked another dagger at my other shoulder. I winced and tried to wriggle out of this trap. The blades were close enough to my neck for me to not move too much.
"Torture was going to start tomorrow. But, I'm bumping up the schedule." He grinned evilly. A water bucket shimmered into existence.
"What-?" I began. A towel materialized out of thin air and plopped into the bucket. Then, finally, a huge giant appeared.
"Oh, no." I muttered. "It's giant ugly face." I raised my face to look him in the eyes. I grinned weakly. Polybotes looked angry.
-time skip-
I struggled on the cold metal table. Polybotes flicked a hand and a knife shot down from the ceiling. I flinched but the blade never came. It was tied to a thin string, pointing precariously close to my neck. I stilled.
"Okay, so this is new." Kronos said.
"Two centuries and you haven't done this yet?" I asked. He growled. I shut my mouth.
"Polybotes, put that wet towel over his face. Tie it loosely around his neck and make sure only his nose and mouth are covered. I want him to see us torture his friend."
"My- my friend? Who? Who did you bring-" Polybotes smacked my face with the flat of the blade. A figure stumbled into the dim-lit room, dragging chains along. It was definitely a boy. A scrawny, black haired-
"Nico!" I shouted. The son of Hades tugged at his chains but walked forward, glaring at Kronos murderously. The towel was tied around my neck and Polybotes accidentally choked me. Accidently, my ass.
The towel pressed against my face, which would be suffocating if I wasn't a son of Poseidon, those idiots. As soon as I thought that, Kronos spoke up.
"Now, Polybotes. Your poison is deadly to sons of Poseidon, yes?" I froze.
"Of course."
"Make. Him. Suffer." Kronos said coldly. I struggled, shaking my head, trying to get out of the towel. Polybotes slapped me, sending poison down my throat and pain on my face. I coughed and gasped for air, only to swallow more poison. Nico ran forward.
"Percy!" His voice was far away. My eyes felt heavy.
"Go to sleep and it will be Nico's turn." Kronos warned. I heard that loud and clear. So I kept breathing in the poison.
"P-ple-please." I choked out. "S-stop." The towel lifted from my face. I gasped for clean air, retching and gagging. I coughed out some poison, still feeling the burning.
"Once upon a time, Polybotes wanted the son of Poseidon at his feet. Once upon a time, Polybotes wanted to take him to the depths of the ocean and poison him and kill him slowly." Kronos said wickedly. I struggled furiously.
Kronos took Nico by his hair and dragged him away from us, kicking and screaming. I watched as a glass wall built up around me. It began slowly filling with water. A rock replaced the table and chains replaced my cuffs. I was breathing fine. I forced the poison out of my lungs with a loud cough. Polybotes jumped in, his giant body barely creating a splash.
"This will be fun, son of Poseidon." He grinned.
"No! Fight me instead. Don't win this way. Don't be such a coward and fight me!" I screamed desperately. I glanced out and saw Nico in combat with Kronos. Kronos aimed a strike and Nico, but Nico used that powerful strike to cut off his chains. He grinned darkly, shaking out his hair. He drew his sword and went into battle.
"No, no. I don't mind being a coward. I want to kill you slowly." He growled. I can control poison! I almost shouted. Then I wanted to hit my head. You can control poison, you idiot. He has no power over you. Polybotes shot a stream of poison at me too quickly for me to react. I pushed the poison out of my lungs. I split my mind into two parts. One controlling the water to break apart my bonds, and one pushing away the poison that the giant was sending at me. My bonds shattered. I stood up on the rock and took a deep breath of clean water. I jumped up and shot myself toward Polybotes. My sword was in my hand but it clanged against Polybotes' armor uselessly. I swiped at his legs, making a deep gash. He roared. Kronos and Nico stopped fighting to see what was happening. Kronos stared dumbfounded at Polybotes, who was bleeding. Nico just gave me an impressed look and stabbed at Kronos. Kronos caught the strike. I turned back towards Polybotes. I leaped onto his head and stabbed downward. He roared and swatted me off of his head. I smacked into the glass but the water healed my bruise and cracked rib immediately. My sword appeared in my hand, not in my pocket. And I knew that my father was helping me. I charged into battle. My dad wasn't here in person, but he was here, helping me. I could kill Polybotes. My vision turned fuzzy but I leaped onto Polybotes head again and yanked a few basilisks out of his hair. I jumped out of the water and he followed.
"Okay, dad. It's just you and me, together, fighting." I muttered. I raised my sword and plunged it into Polybotes' neck. He gave one final shout and exploded into monster dust. Nico and Kronos had stopped fighting again. Kronos was staring at the monster dust, but Nico was staring at me and he was illuminated in a blue light.
"Why are you glowing?" I asked him.
"I'm not glowing, Percy. It's you. The blessing of Poseidon." He replied. I stared at him. I lifted my arms and saw a blue glow. The color shifted to red.
"Um, I'm red." I said stupidly.
"Blessing of Ares."
"Wait, isn't that only for his children?"
"I thought so. I guess he found you a worthy fighter."
"Worthy fighter, my ass." Kronos growled. He tackled me but he stumbled back. I grabbed his arm and cut it off. He roared and bled golden ichor. I cut off his head. The golden blood on my hands didn't even faze me. I cut Kronos into pieces, so angry at everything that he ever did. I was cutting him up, each piece for someone who died because of him. Silena. Beckendorf. Ethan. Luke. Michael. Nico was staring at me in half horror and half awe. I gathered up his pieces and Nico opened the earth below us. The ground split and I dropped the pieces into the depths of Tartarus. The ground closed and I collapsed, no longer glowing. Nico stood over me, shouting something. I didn't hear him. I blacked out and for once, I had a dreamless sleep.
When I woke up, I was completely confused. I was in a cell, but I was almost certain that Nico and I had destroyed Polybotes and Kronos. I stared at the chains on my wrist and saw a shadow cast on the floor. I looked up.
"What-" I began.
"Your dream," he spat, "was just a dream. You can't defeat me. Not that easily." Kronos glared down at me.
"Blessing of Ares? Really?" He snorted. "Ares only gives his blessing to his children and to the most powerful warriors in a millenia."
"I defeated him." I pointed out.
"True enough. However, he's only a god. Try me." He challenged. I thought about the dream. It wouldn't be that easy.
"And if I don't win?"
"You serve me."
"And if I do win?"
"I'll be dead." He said with a 'duh' tone.
"Oh. Right."
"So.. Challenge accepted?" He asked. I hesitated. Saying yes would mean my doom. Kronos never plays fair. He would beat me quickly. If I said no, it would show me as a coward but I would be able to live.
A thousand thoughts swirled through my head. I made my decision. "No." I bit my lip, watching him carefully. The chains on my wrist twisted in the air and pressed my arms onto my back. The chains lifted me up to my feet, gasping in pain. I was leaning forward, barely on my feet as Kronos bent down to eye level with me.
"Good choice." He growled. He flicked his hand and the chains dropped me weakly to my knees. He flicked my chin with the tip of his scythe so I was facing up at him.
"Lashes." He said. My eyes widened.
"No!"
"Excuse me?"
"N-no." I swallowed nervously. "Not lashes." I said with an undertone of begging. He smirked.
"Oh, Jackson. When have I ever listened to you?" He snarled. Someone came into the room. At first, all I could see was fire. I squinted. Then I heard a faint clanging as the figure made its way over to me. Kronos smiled and the torches flickered on with fire. I adjusted to the light and refocused on the figure. I gasped. Ripped cheerleading uniform, fire for hair, one metal leg and one donkey leg.
"Kelli." I groaned quietly. She sneered.
"Perseus." She whispered seductively. "You look so, so handsome. Even in chains. You'll look even more handsome covered in blood."
"Your blood? I don't mind being covered in your blood."
"How many lashes?" She snapped.
"None." I tried. Kronos smacked me hard. I tasted blood on the side of my lip.
"Twenty."
"For what?" I demanded.
"Thirty."
"No, I just want to know why." I argued.
"Forty."
"What did I do?" I screamed.
"Fifty." He growled. I opened my mouth but he cut me off. "Another word out of you and it's 100 lashes." I shut my mouth.
"Percy Jackson." He spat. He made me rise to my feet.
"Let's make this fun. How about we get you a trial? Don't worry. I'll be the judge." Kronos grinned.
"That's the end of me." I mumbled.
Kronos swiveled around in his chair and banged the gavel.
"We are here for the trial or Perseus Jackson, for crimes against monsters." Kronos announced. The room was filled with bloodthirsty monsters and I'm pretty sure I was the only demigod here. I scanned them and saw these were all monsters I'd killed: all monsters who can testify against me to kill me. Even my so called lawyer was a monster. A telkhine. I shifted in my handcuffs uncomfortably. I saw another empousai slash her sister to dust.
"Our first witness." Kronos called. The Minotaur stood. I groaned.
"What crime did he commit against you?" Kronos asked.
"HUH- GRAH- ROD." He grunted. Kronos nodded.
"Anything else?"
n Tartarus. My lips turned blue. I wondered if I could… Ice is a form of water.. I wonder if I can melt ice. I focused, trying to find water. Immediately, the ice responded. I focused on moving the ice off of me. The ice slid off of my face and into my hands. I slammed it onto Khione's face. She toppled backwards, flailing her arms. The monsters gasped. There were murmurs and a dude with a lot of acne began to help her up. She waved her hand to shoo him away. That probably didn't help my case.
"Do you see-"
"I never even fought her!" I interrupted, pointing at Khione.
"I don't care." Kronos said.
"Do you see how he has no respect for me? I'm just a minor goddess and he attacks me." Khione said with a thick voice, like she was on the verge of crying. Tears dropped from her eyes: beads of ice dropped from her eyes and hit the floor with soft pings.
"Fake." I coughed. I cleared my throat.
"What?" I asked innocently. Khione stepped forward.
"Why you little-" I blasted water at her as she came forward. She flew back into her seat. The monsters surged forward. Someone grabbed my neck and lifted me up. I rose three feet off the ground, struggling and kicking. I gasped for air.
"Throw him down! Let us punish him for what he did to us!" They shouted.
"No! We follow my orders." Kronos growled. "Iapetus, put him down."
"Brother, I am Iapetus no more. My friend called me. So I escaped from Father and came. I am Bob! I am Percy's friend." Bob said.
"Too tight! Choking me." I choked out. Bob laid me in his hands. I breathed. He stuck me in his pocket. He was still wearing his janitors uniform. I peeked out, loving the comfort of this. The pocket was a little too small for me to stretch out but if I stood my whole head was exposed. Kronos rose to his full height. Bob pointed his spear a"GUF!" Need-A-Kleenex Ugly Bull Man added. Kronos' eyes glinted.
"He killed you." Kronos said plainly. The Minotaur grunted. "Twice." Kronos corrected. There was an uproar from the other monsters. I swallowed.
"Thank you." Kronos said. "Next!"
"Ugh. Percy Jackson is soo handsome but he only kills me. The first time, his girlfriend killed me. The second time was in Tartarus and some Titan dude killed me."
"My brother." Kronos said icily. "Iapetus."
"Bob." I corrected. Kronos' eyes zeroed in on me.
"Iapetus. My brother who you corrupted."
"He was corrupted before! I made him better-" My voice faltered. Had I made him better? He ended up being killed. How had I really made him better. He forgot his family; I know how that feels. I made him forget his whole life so he could help the gods and demigods.
"You see?" Kelli shrieked. "He can't even convince himself that he's not guilty."
"I-" I began.
"There will be time for the defendant's testimony later." Kronos said. "Please have a seat, Kelli."
"Wait-" I began. Ice began to form on my mouth. A thin layer of ice wrapped around my head, first blocking my mouth. Frost formed on my hair. What monster- Oh. I faintly remembered Jason and Leo telling me about the ice goddess, Khione. They fought her when they were fighting Porphyrion and when I was it Kronos.
"Stay out of this, Iapetus."
"Percy is my friend."
"Titans aren't friends with demigods." Kronos shouted.
"Percy is my friend." Bob insisted.
"Bob, is Damasen here?" I whispered. Bob looked down at me then nodded discreetly.
"Damasen? That disgrace of a giant?" Kronos laughed.
"You're no match for him. He almost defeated Tartarus himself. If Tartarus wasn't immortal, Damasen would have destroyed him."
"Now, now Bob. You flatter me." Damasen walked into the room. He pointed at Kronos. Black energy fizzled on his fingertip. Kronos' eyes widened.
"Did you know a giant can defeat a Titan?" Damasen blasted him so quickly I almost missed it. Kronos rolled out of the way quickly. He drew his scythe.
"You're on buddy." Kronos scowled. Damasen met Kronos' first strike with his drakon bone. The bone shattered on impact but he quickly drew another one. The scythe hit Damasen's shoulder. He didn't even flinch. Dirt rose up slowly, as if hesitating. The dirt covered his wound and crumbled away, leaving no scar. Bob jumped as the scythe skidded under his feet. I flew out of his pocket and into the crowd of monsters. I swallowed and began to crawl away quietly. Someone stepped on my arm. There was a snap and pain shot up my arm, almost making me black out. I bit my tongue to stop myself from screaming. I looked up to see who broke my arm. It was a demigod. He had a gold mask on with gold clothes and gold sword. I cursed silently. He stared down at me and I could see his sneer. He grabbed my hair, smacked a hand over my mouth and dragged me out of the room. He brought me into another room, dimly lit. I could barely see his gold figure. He tossed me on the ground and laughed.
"Well, well. We meet again."
"You swore." I growled. "You swore on the Styx." He narrowed his eyes.
"There's always a loophole."
"What are you talking about?" I growled as I struggled to my feet.
"I swore not to bother you anymore. I won't be bothering you. She will." He said. Kelli walked into the room.
"I really hate you." I sighed weakly. She sneered.
"As if I care. And the feelings mutual." She hissed. I was about to retort but a strangled scream left my mouth instead. Kelli's hand dripped with leftover smoking poison. I dropped to my knees in pain, screaming. I staggered back onto my feet, accidently grasping Chrysaors shoulder. He flung me off and I flew across the room. I flinched, biting back a sob. My vision went hazy. When it cleared, I saw Kelli being handed.. A stick? She switched it on and it buzzed with electricity. I scrambled away, my hoarse voice begging.
"No, please- AHHHHHH!" It left a burn on my skin. I hissed and watched the skin around the burn blacken.
"St-stop.." I croaked. Kelli laughed and jabbed me with the cattle prod again. I flinched away.
"You brought me so much pain, Percy Jackson." She jabbed my rib cage, hard. I let loose a piercing scream. She only sneered.
"I'll get Khione to hang you with ice. I'll make sure she keeps you alive. Her ice is made of water, so it will heal you. But there'll be frostbites that come with it. I will bring Annabeth and chain her at my bedpost and make her watch as I take advantage of you. I'll torture you then make you confess your love for me. When you see the damage you've done to your little girlfriend, maybe I'll let you go. In Tartarus. Your life is going to be a living hell. I'll make sure of it." She stuck it in my back, burning through my shirt and leaving bloody wound. I screamed hoarsely, tears stinging my eyes.
"What do you have to say to that, Percy Jackson?" She snapped. I swallowed down the huge lump in my throat.
"You'll make my life a living hell?" I repeated weakly. She sneered widely.
"Wh-what else is n-new?" I said quietly. Shock flittered across her face but it was gone as soon as it came. She gripped the front of my shirt and I was pulled weakly into her face.
"Get ready for hell." She growled.
"I was born ready." I shot back wearily. Then I passed out in pain and exhaustion.
OKAY THIS IS LIKE A HUGELY LATE UPDATE BUT ITS BC I DONT HAVE AN EXCUSE TO GO ON MY COMPUTER ANYMORE SO I HAVE TO TYPE AS MUCH AS I CAN IN THE SPACE OF 10 MINUTES AND CONTINUE LIKE THE NEXT WEEK OKAY BYE
Quote for Today:
"A strong person is not the one who doesn't cry. A strong person is the one who cries and sheds tears for a moment, then gets up and fights again." By I don't know.