Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews last chapter! :) Ok, let's do some vague responses, shall we? First off, let me say that I was so surprised reading the reviews from last chapter. I thought people would be so mad that it was so short (again), but you guys didn't yell at me! Instead, you ENCOURAGED my sleep! That's absurd. That definitely threw me off. I was so ready to be sad and disappointed at your hatred of me, but that was not the case! It was really weird. Anyways, let's move on to the actual reviews themselves. I love reading predictions, but I refuse to say what is right! You'll find out soon enough. ;) Even if it is definitely unintentional that my recent updates have been so short, I can't say that I'm not enjoying leaving the cliffhangers. But of course, you all already knew that. ;) That's about it that I needed to mention... You guys are absolutely amazing though. Especially since I own nothing, but I hope you enjoy this chapter anyways! :)

Third Person POV

Silena, a little on edge after that loud cry, asked Luke without as much hostility as before, "Do you know what that was?"

Annabeth, eyes haunted and wide, answered for him. "Percy," she breathed.

Percy hadn't seen Kronos appear.

He was watching the video in vague boredom, interest only gathering when he saw that Thalia was crying and again when Chiron started his speech. But when the deceased camper was classified as Annabeth, his Annabeth...

A protest had formed on his lips, but he knew that Kronos couldn't be lying anymore. This TV screen hadn't shown him anything save the truth since he had been a part of Kronos's horrid gang. It couldn't start showing him lies now.

Annabeth must be dead.

"Pity, isn't it?" a deep voice murmured in false sympathy.

Percy started violently, body convulsing instinctively in the pool of blood he was sitting in. Wide green eyes watched as the golden-eyed titan crouched down next to him, examining the demigod with a small smirk settled on his borrowed face.

"Why is it that such beautiful specimens must die so young?" the titan mused, straightening himself out a moment later. Percy followed his feet as they paced back and forth in front of him.

Suddenly, he was grateful that there was a wall at his back.

Fighting the desire to spit insults at the titan for daring to talk about Annabeth, Percy stayed silent.

"If she hadn't died, I would have loved to capture her during the coming battle. Imagine the look in her gray eyes as I chained her to this very wall right here..." Kronos traced his fingers along the wall above Percy's head, causing him to shiver. "Imagine the look in her gray eyes as I did the same things to her that I've been doing to you." Percy bit his lips hard to stop himself from hurling threats in the titan's direction. "Imagine the look in her gray eyes as I forced you to torture her."

"I would never do that," Percy finally spat, unable to contain himself. The aura of apathy clouding his mind disappeared, replaced by the blinding hatred he fought down for his entire period of captivity. "I would never hurt Annabeth."

Kronos shrugged indifferently. "You say that, but isn't it your fault that she's dead?"

Percy faltered slightly, but that was all Kronos needed to regain the reigns.

"You're the one that broke protocol and started talking to her. You're the one that kept breaking protocol, even after being ordered to stand down. You're the one that couldn't control yourself. Did I force you to interact with her, your enemy? No, I specifically told you not to. Did someone else influence you into continuously interacting with her? I don't think so, Apprentice. You are supposed to listen to my commands but did you? No. You made the choice, and because of that choice, the daughter of Athena died." Kronos paused. "It was a shame, really. A brilliant mind like hers had so much to offer to the world. But you made your choice..."

He had made that choice, hadn't he. He chose to disobey Kronos without paying attention to the consequences. If he had known that Annabeth would die... He would've jumped out of that window instead of staying and talking to her. But none of his regret could bring Annabeth back from the dead. All his apologies were useless because he would never be able to apologize to her. Not unless he's dead, but even then he would end up in the Fields of Punishment. Annabeth was an angel; she was born from Elysium.

The dead sometimes had audiences with Hades. Didn't the god of the dead owe his nephew a few favors...? Maybe...

"Do you have something to say, Apprentice?" Kronos asked, interrupting Percy's thoughts with his too-knowing smirk. "By all means, don't hold your tongue on my account!"

Percy opened his mouth, intending to speak, but closed it a second later. How could he do this?

Kronos raised an eyebrow. "The son of Poseidon is a fish after all, it seems," he mocked. "Do you want to share your thoughts, or do you plan on keeping them to yourself?"

Percy just couldn't outright ask for Kronos to kill him. The titan would never agree. And if he did, he wouldn't do it the way Percy wanted it to be done. But he also couldn't ask the titan to leave a weapon in the room when he left. The being would suspect a coming revolt, even if the reality was the exact opposite. So what could he do?

"I was planning on keeping them to myself," Percy heard himself say, "especially because I don't think your tiny brain could handle it. Tell me, did you inherit Ethan's brain size when you possessed his body? Because if so, that was a terrible decision."

Somehow, pissing people off always (or almost always) got them to do what you ultimately wanted.

Or, at least, that's what Percy's entire life had told him.

He was sitting, back against the wall, waiting with blurry vision for a furious comeback which would lead to Percy's sudden, undetectable manipulation. He wasn't expecting Kronos to skip the angry exchange of words and cut straight to the violence.

The hand that smacked him across the face told him that he should've been wary of anything and everything. For a second, he had underestimated his opponent. His smarting cheek warned him not to make the mistake again.

"I see our fun is not quite over yet, Perseus Jackson!" Kronos exclaimed, voice a disturbing mixture of glee and sadism. "Here I thought you had given up, that I had lost the toy I worked so hard to steal from the other kids. But you've always defied the odds... Or, at least, that's what Luke told me."

Luke told Kronos about him? No, that can't be right. Sure, Luke was really into joining Kronos during Percy's first year in camp, when he stole Zeus's lightning bolt and actually attempted to kill Percy (several times, mind you). But after that year, the son of Poseidon thought that the son of Hermes changed his mind. He hadn't wanted to stay with Kronos, had he? Why had he schemed with Percy on how to escape? If he was telling Kronos that Percy defied all odds, this had to be more recent. It wasn't until the Battle of the Labyrinth that he was known as the camp general, the hero that couldn't be defeated.

(If only they could see him now.)

Maybe Luke hadn't wanted to tell Kronos about him. (No, he could've lied. He could've avoided the question. He didn't have to answer.)

Maybe Luke had tried to get away with a lie, but he had no choice. (There is always a choice if you're brave enough to see it. Pity Percy wasn't brave enough.)

Maybe Luke was being tortured and Kronos forced it from him. (What kind of idiot tortures their minion to get information about an enemy the minion barely knows?)

Maybe Luke was lying to him. Maybe the entire time Luke was "helping" Percy, he was turning around and reporting everything to Kronos. The plan of escape was Luke's idea to get Percy to commit treason against his new lord, or maybe the idea was fueled by the lord himself. Did the titan want to see what Percy would do? Did it amuse him to see the demigod scrambling for hope in all the wrong places, only to get denied in the end?

But Kronos hit Luke. No, not hit, he threw Luke into a wall. And you don't throw your trusted minions into walls.

But Kronos is a powerful titan, older than the gods themselves. Hell, he is their father, of course he would have more power. Maybe he was able to make it took like Luke crashed into the wall, wounding the son of Hermes horribly, and leaving him to die. In actuality, Luke was faking it. Or maybe that wasn't even Luke to begin with, that was a monster disguised as the son of Hermes.

Luke was probably still in the compound, serving Kronos, fully content to let the son of Poseidon think him dead. After all, they weren't friends. Not really.

Percy wasn't sure if he wanted to cry or if he wanted to scream. He settled for silence.

Kronos smirked down at the son of Poseidon, clearly seeing the turmoil in his mind. "Was it not enough that you had to be the literal death of your dear friend, Annabeth Chase? Do you think that, even if Luke was ever your friend, he would want to see you after what you did? You are the sole being responsible for the death of the daughter of Athena. She was Luke's best friend. I almost wish he was calm enough to come in here and end your pathetic life himself."

Percy flinched, even as he tried to stop it. Don't let them know you're weak, he tried to tell him. His mantra didn't really work, especially since he couldn't shift his thoughts from "gods, so this is the mighty son of Poseidon".

Kronos, seeing the flinch and the anguish written across his prisoner's face, shrugged. "Yes, I almost wish Luke was able to join us. He certainly had enough to say about your lack of worth and your complete disrespect for anything he holds valuable. He wanted me to pass along his wish for your death. Preferably sooner, rather than later."

And if that didn't sound like the best idea he'd heard in a long time... Percy shook his head. He had no way of doing it. It would hurt too much to dream of it and then lack the reality. Kronos wouldn't let him die.

As soon as he thought that, a celestial bronze knife blade flickered into life in the hand of the titan. Bringing the knife up to his golden eyed gaze, Kronos studied the blade, taking in the way the light glinted off it. "I suppose I can't have an angry mutiny on my hands, can I?" He mused, more to himself than to the son of Poseidon.

Percy's eyes didn't leave the flashing blade, the sharp metal catching the green artificial light and running with it.

"The overwhelming opinion is that I should simply put you out of your misery," Kronos informed, eying the knife and the dancing light with a wicked fascination. Percy's eyes traced the movements, green orbs never once straying from the course. "Of course, I think it would be more satisfying to watch someone else do the job for me."

Before Percy could wonder what the sadistic titan meant, Kronos flicked the celestial blade from his hand. It landed on the cement ground, inches from where Percy was sitting. If he reached out his hand, he could touch the cool metal.

His fingers twitched, but he forced himself to remain still.

"Pick it up," Kronos commanded, eyes watching his prisoner like a hawk. "Don't try to tell yourself that you don't want to hold it in your hands, to feel the smooth metal beneath your fingers. Pick it up."

Slowly, Percy obeyed.

The metal was so smooth, just as Kronos promised. It felt so nice, nestled into the palm of his blood-stained hand. Like it was meant to be there.

"Trace the edge," Kronos demanded. "See how sharp it is. I watched you watch it cut through the light. How sharp must it be to slice cleanly through light itself?"

A small voice in the back of his head was screaming at him, but Percy ignored it. It sounded vaguely like Annabeth, but she was dead. She had no right to haunt his thoughts.

Lifting up a trembling digit, he traced the length of the blade. Blood pooled from the thin gash, trickling down his finger and dripping into the pool already beneath him.

"Isn't it so nice?" Kronos asked, voice hushed with awe. Percy thought he detected a bit of cruel smugness smuggled in there, but a new voice told him to ignore it. (This voice sounded a lot like the voice of the titan standing in front of him, but he didn't want to put too much thought into it. Especially since the voice told him not to.)

Percy found himself nodding listlessly, answering the question without being fully aware that he had even heard it.

"Imagine how it would feel to slide that between your ribs."

Suddenly, Percy couldn't think of anything else. The knife tucked between his ribs, settled between his eyes, drawing a waterfall from his throat.

His hand twitched.

"Ah, don't get so excited, Apprentice," Kronos warned, grinning wickedly. "Your use to me is limited as it is, currently, but you would be so much more useful should you put that knife to work. Imagine how it would feel, leaving this all behind. Free, blissful, floating. Don't you want to be free?"

He did. Gods, he did. He didn't want anything else.

"All you have to do it one simple thing. I already gave you all the tools to your freedom. You just have to take the jump."

Could he do it? He looked down at the knife, fingers wrapped around its bronze hilt. He could do it. Should he? Annabeth was dead and Luke hated him. Camp no doubt loathed him and Olympus probably had a bounty hanging over his head.

Slowly, the knife rose. When it reached the height of Percy's heart, the hand froze, the knife within it shaking and sending fragments of light everywhere.

"Don't you want to see Annabeth again?"

The hand steadied. Taking a deep breath, Percy closed his eyes.

He didn't see the maniacal grin that shot across Kronos's face, nor did he see the satisfied, sadistic gleam in his eyes. He didn't see the knife about to plunge into his chest, but oh did he feel it. For the last time, Percy screamed.

Hey guys! Longer chapter, are you excited? :) So, next chapter will be Monday, November 12! Thanks! :)