A/N: hello my friends! This chapter was kind of hard to write because I didn't know how to start. I finished it so it's all good! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and followed/favorited my story!

Disclaimer: not mine. All ricks

Chapter 10

Percy pov

I don't know how long I've been down here in Tartarus. Days, months, years, they all seemed to blend together. At first, I tried to keep track of the time depending on torture sessions with Kronos. That soon became unreliable because he would start to come sooner than normal or wouldn't come for a very long time.

I eventually gave up on trying to track the time. It didn't matter anyway. Kronos did something to me. Something horrible. It was like immortality but not. Whatever he did to me wouldn't kill me, but anything else could. I guess that's why he was always the one to come for my torture sessions.

It was hard to stay positive in a place like this and most of the time I retreat inside my mind, trying to hide from the pain. Most of the time it worked, but eventually I would have to come out and face the agony. It was horrible, being in pain every second of every day. I would have lost my mind ages ago if not for the voice.

You see, there's a voice in my head that talks to me and I talk back. Or I try to. I don't know if it actually hears me or not but I feel like it understands me. The voice, it sounds like an angle. It's soft and comforting and feels like home. I don't know if I'm just crazy or if I'm just desperate, but the voice is the only thing keeping my hope alive and my sanity intact.

The voice, it seems to almost fill my soul with newfound hope. It talks about my times in the upper world playing pranks on other cabins, sitting around the camp fire, the smell of my mothers blue chocolate chip cookies. It gave me a sense of home.

Ever since the voice came, the whispers in my head had faded to almost nothing, as if the voice drove them away. I rarely heard them anymore and if I did, the voice was always there to protect me against their words.

Kronos's torture sessions didn't bother me as long as the voice was there with me. When I was with the voice, I almost didn't notice the bloodstained walls, the rusty chains, the sting of a knife or whip. As long as I had the voice, the pain wouldn't bother me.

Sometimes, though, there were times when the voice wasn't with me. When I couldn't hear it, the pain would come back. I would scream and scream until my voice was raw and scratched. Then, when it was over, I would watch as Kronos would walk out of the room, mumbling about how it still wasn't enough power.

I would hang in my chains, blood dripping from some part of my body. Sometimes, Kronos would get creative and carve words or pictures into my flesh. They would heal, leaving white lines on my skin tracing a picture or word.

Always, after every torture session, Kronos would bring a tub of lake water to dump on me after the session was done. Even though I didn't have power over water I was still Poseidon's son and the water knew that. It would heal me but in the most painful way possible.

The water always drowned out the voice and I was in a state of madness and pain for the moments the water touched my skin. Then, when the water had dried, the voice would come back and soothe my pain. It would whisper comforting words in my hear, giving me strenght and courage.

The voice was my only source of happiness and hope in this hellish place. Tartarus was meant to heal and revive monsters. It was meant to kill demigods and anything else that wondered into it's depths.

As time went on, I could sense Kronos's anger and frustration growing. He would come in everyday angrier than the last with a new, more painful form of torture. The more pain there was, the harder it was to hear the voice and without the voice, I would lose everything.

Just then, the door opened and in walked Kronos. I searched his hands and saw that there was nothing in them. No knives, no whips, no poison. Nothing. He leaned against the wall and regarded me with his cruel golden eyes. I eyed him carefully, waiting for the expected pain that was sooner or later going to come.

For a few moments he just stared at me. I stared back at him defiantly. Ever since the whispers left, I had regained some of my original confidence. I wasn't the same person I used to be, not by a long shot, but there was some of that guy still alive.

Finally, Kronos moved from his position by the wall and moved to stand directly in front of me, never breaking his gaze on me. His eyes were unreadable, unnerving. I shifted slightly in my chains.

Then, he started to speak. "Ever since I claimed you, I have been trying to find a way to use your pain as my power." Kronos started pacing the length of the cell, his eyes never leaving mine. "In a way, it worked. I have been gaining strength, retaining my power. But it's not enough. Almost as soon as your pain stops, the power is gone. It's infuriating, to have that power in you grasp and for it to slip away."

"I was obsessed with trying to find the perfect kind of pain to give me upmost power. I wanted to be undefeatable, unstoppable. I used whips, knives, lake water, poisons, anything you could think of. That was where I realized my mistake."

Kronos stopped pacing and stood in the center of the cell, eyes blazing with a crazed light. "I was only using one type of pain. Physical pain. There is another type of pain that is considered much worse by many. I was a fool not to think of it before."

At this, Kronos started to smile. "Emotional and mental pain. The worst kind of pain. For some, it doesn't bother them as much. But with you, it would be excruciating. With your fatal flaw and your love for your friends and family, this kind of pain is the worst in existence."

My breathing quickened slightly and I squirmed under his intense gaze. Kronos watched and me spoke in a soft voice. "There will be no torture today. But I do have something for you." Kronos raised his hands in front his him and snapped his fingers once, loud and clear. A small, silver ball appeared in his hands and glowed softly.

Kronos raised the ball and held it in front of me. "Do you know what this is?" When I didn't answer he continued. "It's a dream ball. Not a very dignified name but it'll do. This is Morpheus's creation, god of dreams. I stole it from him during the war while you were preoccupied with my army. Do you want to know what this ball does?" Again I refused to answer. "This ball forces you to relieve all of your worst memories and makes them ten times worse. But that's not the best part. I modified it to do something more. This ball will force you to watch as each of your friends betray you over and over again."

"For most people, it would cause them to go insane. Some people aren't even affected. For you, it would be like the worst type of torture. So many different things could happen to you. Honesty I can't wait to see what happens."

I heard the voice in my head, speaking to me in a rushed voice. I struggled more forcefully against my chains. If that ball touched me... Kronos brought the ball to my bare chest and held it mere inches from my skin. My eyes grew wide and my breathing turned ragged. Kronos smirked. Without warning, Kronos shoved the silver ball right into my chest.

I gasped and hunched as much as I could in my bindings. A coldness spread through my body and my vision started to fade. Faintly I heard Kronos whisper in my ear. "Sweet dreams little demigod." His sick laughter faded as I felt myself drift away into the realm of Morpheus.