May be typos for this chapter and the next, my original file got messed up. I apologize for that because this is when the story really picks up and gets good. Nonetheless, enjoy.

Chapter 11

I woke up from the darkness to find myself in a desk seat. I looked around and realized I was somehow back in my classroom. "Percy." I heard from behind me. At the door of the classroom door stood Grover, looking like his usual self.

"Hurry up, its time to start our summer break bro." He said casually.

"Uh, what?" I stuttered out. "I'll be waiting outside, hurry up." He said as he left the room.

Why is he acting all normal, I wondered. And why was I back in class? Maybe it was all just some twisted dream.

Discarding those thoughts I got out of my seat and grabbed my bag. As long as I was here that meant I may have been able to see my mom, and that's all I cared about right now.

Excited by these thoughts, I made my way out the classroom. I could see Grover all the way down the hallway, making his way out the front door. "Wait, hold up!" I yelled after him. He didn't seem to hear me so I ran after him.

As I was making my way down the hall I wondered how all the teachers were already gone. And for a split second I remembered Mrs Dodd's and her true form. But I quickly dismissed those thoughts. Just a dream, I reminded myself.

As I slowed down and approached the door to leave the school, I started to hear weird sounds coming from the outside. "Groaning?" I wondered to myself. I decided to see for myself. I took a step forward to open the door, the noises getting clearer and clearer. I pushed the door open, and the sights in front of me were... horrifying.

Right in front of me, laying on the front steps of the school, was Grover in his satyr form with a pool of blood around his body. He groaned at me and reached his hand out, as if calling out for to me for help.

I stood their frozen in place, horrified by the scene in front of me. But that was even the worst of it. All over the school courtyard, there were bodies of the students ands teachers, all lifeless.

"What- what is this?" I said with a shaky voice. I bent down to check to see if Grover was ok. "Grover?" I almost whispered. "Grover, please, please answer me!" I said desperately.

"Percy," Grover said with what looked like pain. "It's too late, you... you failed your quest. There's..no hope."

"What!? No, it's not too late! I will save you, just hang in there" I yelled.

"No Percy, there's no point. Just give up, it's... all over. Goodbye. Percy." He said. With those words, he went limp.

"No, Grover." I said with tears in my eyes. "Who did this!" I yelled out standing up. "Who did this to Grover." I was surprised when I was answered with a sly laugh.

I turned around to find a figure, completely cloaked in darkness. In fact he himself looked like a shadow.

"Who are you, and what did you do to everyone here." I yelled at him. "What did I do?" He responded. "I did nothing, this is all your doing." Said the figure.

"Quit the crap! Hurry up and give me an answer before I make you regret it." I said as I pulled of my ring in its scythe form. I was gonna make this guys pay.

"Did you not hear me? This is all your fault. Because of your weakness, you failed to retrieve this." As he finished he pulled out something from what seemed to be a pocket. In his hand he had two fragments of a diamond that looked like it was split in half. The odd thing was that it was a dark, dull brown.

"What is that" I asked.

"It's the Stone of Souls. The very thing you attempted to retrieve. As you can see I broke the seal on it, releasing hundred of corrupted souls into the world. This souls are breaking havoc in the world, with the gods barely able to fight back. There are similar scenes all around the world that look exactly like the one in front of you. And all of it could have been stopped if you weren't so weak.

"No. No your lying. I still had time for my quest. I didn't fail!" I yelled desperately.

"It doesn't matter how much time you had. With no resistance, I was able to to retrieve the stone with ease." Replied the figure.

"Shut up, I yelled at him. But I but I new inside then maybe he was right. Maybe I took too long in my quest. No matter who's fault it was, I wasn't gonna let him get away with this.

"I'm going to make you pay!" I said. I gripped my scythe tighter, getting ready to fight him.

"Hmm? You wish to attack me. Very well, go on. I won't stop you." He said, apparently amused.

The fact he was making fun of the situation made me even angrier. I charged at him full speeds, yelling out as I ran. With my scythe in both hands, I swung at the figure, aiming straight for his neck.

As soon as hybrid tip of the blade made contact with the figures neck, he pooped into smoke, as if he was made of smoke.

"Silly demigod, thinking's he is powerful. In reality you are the weak one. That is why you failed, and that is why, you must suffer." Said the voice, seemingly all around me.

"Until next time demigod, good luck surviving." It said, finishing with a deep, demonic laugh. And with that, the prescience left, leaving me standing in silence, with only my thoughts, and dead bodies.

"Why me?" I wondered. What did I do to deserve to this. I was woken up from my thoughts when I noticed something in the middle of the courtyard.

I went down the steps, attempting to get a closer look. I could see that the figure was a human. A weird looking one at that. All he was wearing was a kilt of sorts that seemed to be made of some sort of animal pelt. And over his head he had some sort of furry mask.

I couldn't make out anything about the person with it's back turned to me, so I decided I had to get closer. I approached warily, for all i new this could be the things that killed all the people. With that in mind I gripped my scythe harder, prepared to defend myself.

I did my best to avoid the bodies around me. I truly did feel bad but I knew I had to survive to pay my respects. Also my mom, I had to survive to make sure she was ok.

With that thought to rejuvenate me, I got close enough to speak to the figure. Something about it has a familiar aura. "Hello?" I called out to the figure. "Are you ok?"

The figure turned around to reveal that the "furry mask" was actual its head. For the figure, indeed, had a lion for a head. Not only that, but he was absolutely ripped. He gave me the feeling that even without a weapon, he could destroy me with his bare hands if I wasn't careful.

On instinct I stepped back on seeing this things face. But I knew I couldn't show fear, or else this thing may attack.

But before I could make any moves, the monster shimmered a little bit. And in the next second, in the place of the monster, stood Phobos.

"Phobos! What are you doing here?! You-you didn't do this did you?" I said, fearing his answer. But he said nothing, but just stood there, with a smile on his face.

"Answer me!" I yelled at him, raising my spear. But he simply rose his hand again. Soon he started emitting the same light as before, consuming me and blinding me from my surroundings. Then, darkness.

I woke up a second time from the darkness to find myself laying down on cold quarantine. "Grover," I remembered.

What did Phobos do to him and all those people? Could I really trust him? What if he was working with the guy cloaked in darkness. Did I truly fail? I laid there without moving for a second, defeated.

I didn't even know where I was, but what was the point? I had already failed, everyone I knew was gone, the world was probably ending rig now. But then I remembered something. My mom.

I didn't care if the Greek world died, what good had they done for me? Grover died because of them and my father still hadn't come to help me. But my mother could still be out there, and if there was one thing I cared about, it was her.

I stood up with my new objective in mind. But I couldn't get rid of the massive dealing of dread in my heart. It was so overbearing that I almost fell back to the ground, but I new I couldn't.

I observed my surroundings to find myself near the place I was attacked my the hellhound. It was a quick walk to my apartment but I was still weary. The strange thing was that there was no one around, something extremely strange to see at this time of the day.

But nonetheless I made way through the empty streets I made sure to keep my hand in my ring. I didn't know what to expect, but I wasn't gonna take any chances.

And I couldn't figure out why the streets were so barren. Maybe everyone was staying inside? Was the world being affected by the souls being released?

But why would the evil spirits affect normal people? Or maybe..."No" I said to myself. I was gonna think those thoughts, there's no way..."Everyone's probably just inside, they're all probably fine." I reassured myself.

I tried to get rid of these thoughts as I was approaching the front of my apartment. As I made my way up the stairs my mind races millions of miles at a time. What if she's not here...or worse. But I kept reassuring myself that she would be.

I walked up to the door with my heart filled with fear of certain possibilities. I knocked on the door nonetheless, because the fact I could get to see to my mom helped me push through it.

"Mom?" I said, praying for a response. After a second I heard a voice. "Percy is that you? Oh My God! Come in the doors unlocked." She replied.

I pushed the door open to find the room empty. "Mom?" I said. "I'm in my room." She replied, her voice coming from down the hallway. I hastily made my way to her room and pushed the door open. And in front of me, there was my mother, looking like she had just finished showering with her wet hair.

"Percy!" She said. Embracing be in a hug. I missed you so much. "I missed you to mom." I said. I didn't move from her arms, because they made me feel safe. After a moment of peacefulness she finally let go.

"Percy, how are you here right now? Don't get me wrong I'm happy your here but what happened to your quest?" She said.

"To be honest, I don't really know. I came across a god and the next thing you know it... they, uh, sent me here." I said. I didn't wanna break it to her that the world may be ending.

"But what about you? How did you get back home alive?" I asked her.

"Much like you, I don't know. Quite frankly the last thing I remembered was getting carried away. Then next thing I know it I was back in the living room." She said. "But it doesn't matter as long as we're back together." She said.

"Of course Mom." I replied. But something just seemed off. Like everything happening didn't make sense. "Wait mom, did you notice anything weird happening since you gone back?"

"What?" She said. "No, I haven't noticed anything. Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, it's just that the streets seem kinda barren." I replied.

"Oh that? Well what did you expect, there all dead." She said nonchalantly.

"What?!" I asked, taking a step back. "What do you mean there dead."

"Well you failed your quest, honey. What did you expect. Most people were killed and the others are in hiding. All because of those monsters that you failed to stop." She said in a tone that disturbed me.

"What? No! No they can't be, they can't be dead I said. "If that was true then why are you still here."

"I guess I was just lucky, but it's just a matter of time before they come for me too."

"No! Don't say that. I'll protect you mom, I swear." I said, desperate.

"Protect me? Like the way you protected Grover? Or the way you protected your school? In fact you weren't even able to stop them even after they killed them all!"

She said.

"You can't protect anyone, your just a little child that can't even stick up for himself."

"No...no..." I said, completely defeated with tears in my eyes.

"Yes cry those tears of defeat. Be consumed by DREAD!" She said as her body seemed to transform. Her fingers grew and her skin turned into scales. But that wasn't even the worst part.

Her face...her face was absolutely terrifying. Her eyes were gone and were replaced with park pits filled with green blazing fire. And her mouth transformed to reach from ear to ear. She had a smiling expression and a mouth filled rows and rows of teeth's, there had to be hundreds in there.

I sat on the floor, absolutely filled with terror. Not just by the fact that the monster in front of me was the embodiment of terror. But the fact that that monster was once my mother, and that my actual mom was probably long gone.

I sat their shaking beyond belief. The fact that I had nowhere to go didn't help at all. I was awoken from my little trance by the monster advancing on me. She raised her hands, that were twice as long before, with pointed ends.

"Now, you just die knowing that you have failed and that everything you lived for is gone!" Screeched the monster.

This thing was scarier than any fury or god that I could come across. It was like if terror was given a body. But for some reason that just made me want to survive even more. Maybe because it killed my mom, or maybe because I was tired of getting pushed around.

Whatever it was gave new the power to move on.

"No!" I yelled at it, getting up and summoning my ring in sword form.

"Little boy wants to fight back. How cute.

You do know that if you kill me your mother dies too" it screeched.

"Wha- what?!" I said slightly loosening my grip on the sword.

"Yes, now decide if you will save your mother or yourself. And if you cannot, then die!" Screamed the creature, lunging forward with its claws out.

I instinctively raised my sword protectively in front of myself out of fear. I closed my eyes, bracing for the pain.

Silence. It took me a second to gather the courage to open my eyes.

And I immediately regretted it. There, in front of me was the gruesome sight of my sword buried deep in the monsters stomach, blood gushing out. I tried my best now to throw up.

"P-Percy " said a weak voice. I raised my eyes above the stomach for the first time. And I was greeted with the face of my mother instead of the monster.

"N-No!" I said, in a sobbing voice. "This cant be real, what did I do?!"

"Percy, how...how could you do this?0 my mom said in a low voice. Then her body went limp as she breathed her last breath.

I sat there, tears dripping down my face, but sitting there silent. For the second time today, I had seen someone I cared about die before me.

And the worst thing was that it looked like it was all my fault. My fault for taking my time on my quest. My fault for not saving my mom from being captured in the first place.

As I sat there, thinking those sad thoughts, my heart was filled with nothing but fear and dread. It was then that another bright light started to fill the room.

"No." I yelled. "I'm tired of this. Just end it already. Just end me!"

No response. Instead the light continued to grow before I was consumed by light for the third time. But this time I retained my consciousness.

I found myself in what seemed like a void. I was standing on solid ground but I had no perception of depth.

"Hello?" I called out into the void. "Is anyone there?"

There was no response for a second. But a moment later there was a shimmer in front of me. And there appeared Phobos and Deimos in all their godly glory.