So...guess who's back? XD

I guess the first thing I should say is HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Hope you all had a great time with your family and friends and got all the gifts you wanted. I did. My new laptop! I'm writing on it now and I have to say I like it. Even though I've never been a fan of Windows 8, my parents paid loads for it and drove a long way. The squares and shit confuse me, but whatever. I also got a smexy pair of DC's, headphones, a Syndicate Riot Lion t-shirt...the list goes on, and everything is currently strewn across my bedroom. Anyway, I've had a good time this year and I hope you did too.

I know that I'm a day late, which I apologise for, but I had to badger my dad to transfer my files from my old laptop on to my new one. I was going to ask him to do it yesterday, but being Christmas we were busy as fuck. He did it for me about an hour ago, and the second it was done I got to work on this for you all. Anyway, it's done now. Whoop!

I just want to say a massive thank-you to everyone who left a review for the author's note last chapter - I was expecting there to be a lot of complaining or whatever but you guys were all really supportive and nice about it. Thank you! And then to everyone who's had the patience to wait for this chapter.

So, I decided to convert the entire thing to Poseidon's POV. One reviewer pointed out that I've been extremely inconsistent with my POV's and I should switch between them more often. That's what I've done with this chapter and will be doing for the next couple of chapters. The sequel will be a lot better, I promise. I'm even considering writing it in 3rd person just because it's easier and my writing is a lot better.

Anyway...that is quite possibly the longest ramble I've done. I'm going to leave it here, now. Once again, thank you to everyone. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and it doesn't ruin your holiday cheer (it's a little sad).

Warnings: Swearing and child abuse.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN PERCY JACKSON!

Poseidon's POV

There are now words to describe how hard it is.

Just thinking about it brings a bad taste to my mouth - seeing it makes me wants to curl up in a corner somewhere and just...stay there. Sometimes, it makes me wish I was a shell. Yes, a shell. Shells don't feel things, and feeling nothing would be better than the pain of seeing in Percy in such a horrific state brings to me.

I remember everything of what happened when I found out Percy had been 'saved'. Receiving that phone call off Annabeth was like the best moment of my life. I remember her voice, frantic and tired and in pain, "Poseidon, i-it's me! Annabeth! Hades has me and Percy, we're-,"

I didn't really hear the rest of what she said because her previous words were running through my mind. Hades has me and Percy. Hades has me and Percy. Percy. "I'll be right there," I managed to stutter in response, before dropping my phone and sprinting to my car. All I could think of was seeing my son again. Seeing him safe. Hugging him and quite possibly locking him in a room for the rest of his life with 24 hour CCTV.

But, of course, that didn't happen. I pulled up on the road I vaguely remembered Annabeth describing to me and threw myself out of it before I even killed the engine, rushing towards the trio sat on the side of it. My brother was paler than usual, looking at me with his creepy dark eyes. They held none of their usual sourness, and his face was lacking the sneer he always had without Nico around. Instead, he looked sympathetic.

My eyes landed on the girl next to him. Annabeth? She didn't look like Annabeth. Her skin was grey and bruised and her blonde hair matted with blood. All sorts of injuries littered her body, explaining the pained look on her haunted face. Her eyes were streaming with tears as she held on to the hand of the other unrecognisable person at the scene.

Black hair which was slick with sweat and blood. A deathly pale face beneath more blood and big, purple bruises. Tattered clothes. Some sort of stab wound in his leg. He looked close to death.

And then I realised.

"Percy!" I fell to my knees unwillingly besides Hades.

My son looked up at me, his usually bright-green eyes glassy and...not quite there. "D-Dad," his voice cracked and sounded hoarse, as though he'd been screaming. He probably had been. He looked terrified, but relieved. Relieved to see me. I felt myself breaking down, but I put on a brave face. Percy was in a worse state than I was - I couldn't act like more of the victim than him.

"I'm here," I choke, reaching out to wipe the tears from his cheeks - trying to ignore the blood it left on my hand. My eyes glance up and down his broken body unwillingly, and a part of me dies. I want nothing more than to hug him and promise that everything is over. But I can't. I might break him further. I stroke his hair instead, gently combing out the knots. "I-I'm not leaving you..." Not again. Not ever.

"P-please don't..." He was getting weaker. I wanted to tell him to suck it up or something. He couldn't give up. I wanted to tell him how much it would hurt if he left - how hard it had been for me when he was gone, and how unbearable it would be if I never got him back. But he was slipping away. All he could manage was a quiet, "You too," in Annabeth's direction.

Annabeth managed a smile, gripping Percy's hand as though he was her lifeline. "Always," she whispered.

If I wasn't so overwhelmed with my son's state, I might have thought about what the pair of them had been through together. How close they must be after being...being tortured together.

Percy's eyes slid close. He fell limp, letting out a breath. I waited for him to inhale another, but he didn't. His chest went still.

"Percy?! Percy, wake up," I demand, brushing the hair on his forehead back to get a look at him. My panic level went up a ten-fold. "Damn it, open your eyes! Breathe! Do something!"

"Percy?" Annabeth breathed, more tears falling.

I heard sirens, indicating help was near. But not near enough. Every second they got closer, Percy was getting further.

"Please!" I beg, not even aware of he burning in my eyes, nor the wetness on my cheeks. "Percy, please, don't leave me...don't leave us...wake up! If you don't I'll...I'll...ban you from chocolate or something! I don't know! Please..."

The ambulance pulled up. Paramedics swarmed us. Annabeth was lead away, and with little complaint as she was too busy sobbing into her hands. Someone tried to pull me away too, to give the paramedic room. I stay put, pressing my forehead against Percy's and saying, "Please, please, please..."

"Poseidon!" Hades grabs me and yanks me away from my son, making me look into his dark eyes. "You have to give them some space - you're doing nothing to help Percy by blubbering over him,"

"But-," I look at the paramedics. They've ripped open what's left of his shirt, revealing his black and blue chest. They were talking to each other in a language only doctors would understand. One of them pulled out a yellow box and attached some sticky pads to Percy's chest. I recognised the box because we have one at the aquarium. "What wrong with him-?!"

"Take a guess," Hades snapped, hauling me to my feet.

I wrestled against him, yelling, "Get off me! I have to be there for him! I can't lose him, Hades, I can't-," I look over at Percy again and see his body jolt; back arching as the defibrillator tried to shock his heart back into action. My words are lost in my mouth as nothing happened and the paramedics prepared for another shock.

"Settle down, brother," Hades dragged me away, but he needed not use much force. I was in so much shock, and flooded with so much horror, I couldn't breathe. I felt like I was drowning, which has never happened before. I'd never felt such...heartbrokenness. Percy was...he was clinically dead. He was in cardiac arrest. If they didn't get his heart moving soon...

The paramedics shocked Percy again. And again. On the fourth time, his chest heaved. He sucked in a tiny breath, though after so long of not breathing it seemed like a massive breath. I felt like I'd been shocked too. The second the paramedics had him on a stretcher and were carrying him towards an ambulance, I was at his side.

Annabeth shouted behind me something about wanting to be with him, but I could hardly hear her. The sound of a heart monitor was all that filled my ears, and all that filled my vision was Percy. He was breathing again - living again. That was all I could ask for at that moment.

"Don't leave..."

The next couple of hours fly by in an incoherent blur. Percy is whizzed from the ambulance the second it pulls to a stop, heading in the direction of the operation theatre. Hades had to hold me back from following him in there. Half an hour later, he was out again. I trailed after him as he was taken from room-to-room on every corner of the hospital. I was trying so hard to keep up with all the information being spouted about his condition that I had not time to consider my broken emotions.

Eventually, Percy's lay to rest in a private room in the hospital, apparently stable. And here I am - sat next to him, holding his hand and stoking his hair. An oxygen mask as been placed over his mouth, making it easier for him to breath. There's a tube up his nose, feeding him loads of much-needed nutrients, and a bunch of needles sticking out all over his body. He looks in a worse state than he was before, but at least his chest is rising and falling and the heart monitor is bleeping.

We're left alone for about ten minutes before a doctor enters. He looks important and official, which a clipboard in his arms that probably holds the information concerning my son's health.

"What's the news?" I ask, still stroking Percy's hair.

"He's in a bad state," says the doctors. No shit, Sherlock. "However we're confident that thanks to such immediate treatment, he'll get through the night. As you know, we've stitched up numerous lacerations to his skin across his entire body. The knife in his leg avoided an artery, luckily, and now that it's been removed the wound will heal. We've also dealt with some head trauma, broken ribs, a broken wrist, welts on his back, severe bruising and lowered the risk of a punctured lung – one of his ribs was pressing against his right rib dangerously,"

I breathe out, closing my eyes, bowing my head, wondering why I couldn't stop all this from happening to him. Why I couldn't have been a better father to him and protected him.

"There will be scars," continues the doctor. Great, I think bitterly. More to add to his collection, then... Too you. He's jut too young. "Specifically from the welts and a few of the cuts. There is one cut in certain that I'm afraid will scar in more than one way..."

I lift my head at this. "What do you mean?"

"Under his arm, on his side. Whoever did this carved a word,"

Oh, fuck. If Kronos did this to Percy, and he probably did (therefore I will soon be hunting him down and personally ripping his head off), he'd have carved something sick into my son. Those words just don't belong in the same sentence together. "...What does it say?"

"Simply the word 'mine',"

"That bastard..." I hiss under my breath. Kronos has claimed me son as his property. Can that get any worse? These scars will never leave my son. The doctor and I are silent for many minutes. I hold Percy's hand tenderly and squeeze it gently, and rest his forehead on the bed next to his arm, once again wishing the roles were reversed to he didn't have to feel the pain...

"Before I leave, sir, there are a few other things," the doctor says finally. "The first is that Percy may remain comatose for some time,"

My head lifts up instantly. "Comatose?" I repeat. No, no, no, no, no.

"Yes. He seems to have hit his head many times and has lost a lot of blood. Percy won't be able to move his body, speak or open his eyes. We'll do what we can to see that he wakes up, however in comatose patients there's always the small chance that they won't wake up,"

My hand tightens again on Percy's, bile creeping up my throat. Never wake up? That's as good as dead, really.

The doctor continues, a little nervously. I realise that I'm glaring at the floor. "But don't let that dishearten you. I've heard of patients waking up from a coma and saying that they were awake the entire time. For all we know, Percy is listening to us right now,"

"He probably is," I mutter, a little fond as my hand finds Percy's hair again. "He doesn't like being left out of conversations that involve him,"

"A curious boy like himself," the doctor agrees, even though he's never actually met Percy. Still, his comment brings a slight smile to my face.

"What else?" I ask.

"There are numerous visitors waiting to come and see him. Unfortunately the girl that was with him isn't able to move from her bed yet – she has similar injuries to Percy, however they are not as serious. She should wake up soon enough,"

I squeeze Percy's hand and smile, knowing that he'd be glad about that.

"Can you send my sister in?" I ask after a moment, changing the subject. "And my brothers. I don't want Thalia or Nico to see him just yet - not in this condition,"

The doctor nods. "Of course, sir. Before I go, there is one last thing – there are police officers outside who would like to have a word with you about your son and his disappearance, as you know,"

I grit my teeth, smile quickly fading. "My 'father' took him, I know he did,"

The doctor doesn't reply. He leaves the room silently. I sigh, hand still stroking Percy's hair. Things are silent for a couple of seconds, and then the door opens again.

"Oh, Poseidon," I hear Hestia say. I turn around and see my said sister. Her tone was watery, which matches the look on her face. There are tear-tracks down her cheeks and her eyes are red and puffy.

"Hi, Hestia," I reply, trying to answer with as much positivity as possible. My tone still ends up really glum.

Hestia can't seem to make words. She strokes Percy's hair too and kisses his ice cold cheek. "He looks so young," she whispers. I almost tear up myself, her emotion rubbing off on me. She sounds so hurt. "A-and so...so broken..."

"The doctor said he's comatose," I tell her. "He could be asleep for a while, if he wakes up at all..."

"Don't think like that," Zeus scolds from behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see him stood there with Hades, arms crossed and no emotion on his face. "You're not helping him,"

"Well, how would you feel?" I shot back bitterly. "What if it were Thalia in Percy's place, huh? Would everything you think about be sunshine and rainbows? Because it's not, Zeus,"

"Oh, do shut up," Hades sighs, rolling his eyes. I direct my glare at him, but he ignores me. "When Nico was in a coma, he woke up and said that he heard everything around him. Percy's probably listening to us right now, and I doubt that he's happy about your arguing. Grow up, the pair of you,"

True...I think. That's definitely true...

"Sorry," I huff, looking back at Percy. His skin resembles ice. "I'm just...I'm scared,"

"We all are," Hestia says, wrapping an arm around my waist in a hug. "But don't worry, Poseidon. Percy is going to get better and we will help him through this, understand? Soon, he'll be back to the lovely boy we knew. I promise,"

"After all he went through, Hestia?" I ask doubtfully. "Do you remember what Nico was like after his experience?"

"Nico was traumatised," agrees Hades. "However he saw his mother and sister die. Things are better of for Percy. He escaped the worst of it,"

That sparks my temper once more. "The worst of it-?!"

"Quiet, all of you," snaps Zeus. "I don't know about you three, but I came here to see my nephew and check whether he is going to survive so my own children will stop whinging. I certainly did not come here to argue. Like Hades said – grow up. Percy is what matters right now,"

I stare at my oldest brother in surprise. The most affection he and Hades have ever shown was welcoming Percy to the family the other week. And now they're Percy's at side in hospital, practically declaring that they sort-of care about my son too (though only due to my nieces and nephews, which is close enough). I smile at them gratefully.

"Alright," I sigh. "...Alright. Thank you, brother. You too, Hades. You found him – I don't think that I'll ever be able to thank you enough..."

"Cut the sap," Hades interrupts. Well, if he was sentimental before, he isn't now. "The kids did most of the job themselves; they escaped, they made it through the forest and stayed alive. Police are heading to the old vineyard as we speak to find evidence of any...activities going on there,"

"He was tortured," Hestia mumbles, mainly to herself. "That's what the doctor said. Whipped, electrocuted, cut, beaten..."

"Don't," I command, hand squeezing Percy's. "Please don't talk about that, Hestia..."

We fall silent. I sigh to himself, brushing my son's hair back off his forehead. Tortured. I suppose I've never really considered the severity of that word today. My son was tortured. That's just...that's just incomprehensible.

"We should go," Zeus says eventually.

I nod. "Alright,"

"We'll come by again tomorrow," Hades adds. "With the children. Nico's been crying for him since he went missing,"

"You think they'll be alright with seeing him like this?" I ask.

"If it means seeing their cousin..." Hestia says. She wipes her eyes and kisses my cheek. "I've got to go, brother, alright? I'll return tomorrow, too. Stay strong,"

"I'll try,"

"You will," she corrects. She kisses Percy's forehead, mutters something to him, and leaves.

"Try not to punch anyone," is Hades's reply. Short and blunt, I know. Zeus's goodbye is worse - he has no words for me. I turn to Percy, sighing once more. I swear to god - two weeks ago, I was a regular twenty six year old. Now I feel like a seventy six year old.

"Love you..." I kiss Percy's forehead and lean back in my chair, closing my eyes.

So...this chapter was longer originally, but I thought 3000 words was pushing it. I like having my chapters all equal lengths and usually I stick to around 2300 because then , but as this is a chapter posted on Boxing Day...a little holiday present for you all.

What did you all think of Poseidon's POV? It took me a while to change it (not to mention I accidentally reloaded the page without saving and lost about half of it :P) but I suppose it turned out well. Zeus and Hades are a little OCC, but...meh. I think it works well enough. Is there anything you want me to add to his POV? Anything you want me to change? Do you like his POV? Would you like Percy's POV next chapter? Any answers to these questions would be helpful.

If you have anything to say about this chapter, please leave a review. If you like this story, then add to favourites or whatever. I cannot believe the number of reviews and favourites and follows we're on, guys. It's crazy. I never share my work with anyone. I'm uber-protective over my laptop and my stories on it, and I hate it when I've written an essay for history or English and my teacher has to mark it. I just hate it. I've always thought my writing sucks - which I know now it doesn't because I've got over 250 freaking reviews and I got the award for English at school. In short: thank you, this has been quite a boost for my self-esteem. I'm debating asking my English teacher if she will help me with my writing or something.

Yeah. More babbling. I'm going to go now. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, and the next one will be out soon! Have great evenings/days/whatever-it-is-for-you! :)

(PS: Omfg it's snowing where I live. That's not happened in years! XD Happy holidays again!)