Chapter 25

I'm back – a little later than I expected – but here's the next chapter :D

Annabeth stumbled and fell to the paved ground, her eyes closed, her breathing slowed. Jason ran out, fear evident on his face, and lifted her head into his lap, checking her pulse. It had almost stopped. He lifted her up of the cobblestone and immediately flashed to Olympus. He arrived just outside the magnificent marble throne room of the gods, he barely stopped at the sudden intake of beauty and walked through the massive grand golden double doors.

The gods and goddesses of Olympus were doing what they almost always were – arguing. But as he dashed into the room, the Olympians stopped for once and looked at who was daring to interrupt their 'important meeting'. One glance at Annabeth, unconscious in Jason's arms, whom now had started burning up in fever and muttering unintelligible words, eased the glares but they were still clearly annoyed by the interruption, despite its nature.

"What happened?" Said Athena as she, walked down from her throne, transforming herself to mortal height. She was one of the only Olympians who really cared for the origin of the disturbance. She made her way to her only immortal and favourite daughter, and immediately began inspecting and recording what may or may not be going on. Ready to listen intently to Jason's recount of events

"The camp was attacked by hordes of monsters with three titans; Krios, Hyperion and Perses, there was no warning. The barriers did nothing against them, we were unprepared. They were everywhere, led by three titans, it was a well-coordinated, well-planned attack. The forgotten came to help, like they promised but without Strazio, and turned the tide and ganged up on the titan's, defeating them. After, Annabeth wanted to talk with the forgotten. They would tell her nothing. One of them, which looked like their temporary leader, said something about looking into Annabeth's past to find answers, and when they faded into the shadows, Annabeth fell to the floor unconscious." Jason said in a one breath, stumbling over his words.

The other gods shrunk down to mortal sized forms; some genuinely worried for the girl, others were simply curious, and some looking for answers to how this could have occurred, Annabeth was a goddess after all. Goddesses rarely fall unconscious, and certainly not without serious cause. Jason lay his immortal wife down onto the floor. Despite the fact that he was not faithful to her, he did love her enough to not wish her death or pain. He also had to keep up a hero façade of loyalty and kindness to her, as his father had told him, appearances were everything.

Suddenly a screen opened up above her twitching body, and the gods watched shocked, as it flickered as if in fast forward mode through Annabeth's life. From her golden cradle landing on her father's doorstep through to her living on the streets to her training at camp half-blood to her quests with the Traitor to the battle of Manhattan through to her arriving at Camp Jupiter to the journey across the world to Greece, which was punctured with painful images of Tartarus.

Then the flood of memories slowed to a slow trickle; lingering on every moment Percy smiled or even looked at Annabeth, every word spoken between them replayed, every kiss and every promise. The memories played even slower as Tartarus approached. They watched Perseus grow evermore darker and protective by each day. They watched him struggle against his fears when cracks in his carefree façade showed. As they fell into Tartarus, Annabeth's screams grew louder and far more pained, her body tossed and turned relentlessly as if trying to escape from an invisible grip.

The memories then sped up in an impossibly fast motion, flashes of running and fighting in the dampened dark red glow of Tartarus, and then the memories stopped and began to replay one. The land was desolate and grey, a lone deadened tree by a lake which was filled with black water like tar. Everything lit by the dim crimson glow. Beside the tree, Perseus was kneeling, even from the distance between the point of view and them they could see his body visibly shaking.

"Percy…?" Annabeth's uncertain voice called out.

He did not turn around; she continued closer to him noting that the volcanic ash ground was flecked in a strange silvery substance and sparkling golden monster dust. Beside him, his sword lay as if thrown aside carelessly. Annabeth knew something was wrong. Percy never left his sword lying around, especially not here – in Tartarus. Perseus' face was turned away from view but the audience could see that the silver substance was pooling around him, his hands clasped desperately to his chest, his dirty orange shirt torn into shreds.

"Percy…?" Annabeth's shuddering voice gasped in barely a whisper. Her right arm reached out and touched his rapidly paling skin.

He gasped for breath and his body shuddered once more.

"Wha- what's wrong" she stuttered speechless at what would make him so agitated.

Perseus looked up and Annabeth threw herself bodily away from him, stifling a horrified scream. The Olympians and Jason also look disturbed by the image, sickened by the sight before them. Perseus' skin was a ghostly white, his hair was longer but still an inky raven black. His eyes were a terrifying swirl of silver which was tinted with the faintest sea green. Nestled on his head was a crown of silver and bone, decorated in eddying black and blood red gems, which appeared to grow directly out of his skull. His body released power in abnormal waves, almost as much as a primordial at full power.

But that was not the chilling part. No, it was the silver substance pouring from a hole in Perseus' chest, more specifically a hole right where his heart was. The organ in question was dripping in silver, pulsating in his shivering hands. The substance, now identified as something akin to blood, poured from his chest but he ignored the loss, staring at the object in his hands, his own bloody heart.

He looked at Annabeth with his eyes, no longer full of joy and kindness but with hate and pain. Power rolled of him, hateful and arrogant, he looked at Annabeth and the audience flinched at the ferocity of the gaze, though it was not directed at them. Perseus stood up, his body no longer shaking, the sliver blood from his chest slowing to a stop as his self-inflicted wound healed, leaving a devastating scar behind.

"Why?" His voice was demonic and deep like an expression of nightmares. His silver eyes flashed with power and unconcealed barely restrained anger. His body was still shaking, not because of pain or cold, but of undiluted hate.

"Perseus- I – What's happening…?" She stuttered scared out of her wits.

He raised one eyebrow in question, still scarcely holding his blatant rage back.

"Your blood is silver, your skin and your head crown thingy… what are you?"

He threw his head back and laughed mockingly, "I am who I am, I am who I was and I am whom I will always be. Now answer my fucking question."

Annabeth was now the one shaking, she had never heard Percy swear ever, not once.

"What are you talking about, Percy? Why are you like this? What's happening to you?"

"Don't you dare change the subject." Perseus' eyes flashed and his aura grew angrier and angrier. "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, you cheating bitch."

"I'm sorry," Hot tears suddenly started streaming down Annabeth's face, "I didn't mean to, you were away for so long, I thought you'd never come back. And I need someone. I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."

Percy sneered unsympathetically, "Stop blubbering lies, bitch. You cheated on me, with Jason Grace out all the people on earth, and have continued to do so long after you had solid proof I was alive."

He threw his heart from his hands into the lake and a sword of silver, set with black and red stones, morphed into his hands. Riptide shimmered and disappeared from the stony ground.

"I'm sorry, Percy." Her whole body was shaking in fear.

"You will pay for this." His voice was barely a hiss but was filled with enough power to shake the confidence of the gods. They watched Percy, all but fly, over to Annabeth.

Review. Thx.

*Darkmoon111*