Third Person POV:
All Percy could physically feel was falling. Falling into endless darkness that leads past Hell. Percy was headed to Tartarus. As he feel, he could feel blood seeping out of his wounds slowly and painfully. Kronos had stabbed Percy right in his Achilles' heel, the small of his back.
All Percy could do as he was free-falling was to wonder. Why?
How did Kronos know of his Achilles' spot? Why did Annabeth betray him for Luke? Luke?! The one who betrayed Camp Half-Blood for 4 straight years! Every single sort of thought went through one ear and out the other.
And this is what Percy gets. 4 straight years of defending Olympus and being their pawn. Percy's anger started welling up, but before you know his anger slowed down. He could never hate his father. He could never hate the Olympians.
Sure, they were a bunch of arrogant, prideful pigs. But, they had helped him in some shape or form. Percy quickly forgot about that though as he sailed down into the dark abyss.
As the fall seemed to be never-ending, he could see a big hole opening up to a wide landscape. As Percy descended as gravity started to weigh down on him, he knew it was over. He would die in Tartarus. As he braced himself for impact, the corner of his eye picked up a water landform.
A river! If Percy could the water, it could act as a cushion. Quickly, he motioned his hand to the water. Nothing worked. The waters keep roaring as they headed downstream.
Did Percy lose his ability to conjure water and control it? Or did Tartarus render his abilities useless? Either way, both are pretty awful. He knew this was it. He would die right here. Right now.
He closed his eyes and muttered a small apology.
"I'm sorry Mom. I'm sorry Dad. I'm sorry Camp-Half Blood."
What Percy did expect was to fall and all his bones would be shattered. What happened was he just landed on his face. The impact did no such thing. The pain was similar to a scraped knee.
Percy jumped to his feet quickly, pulling Riptide out and watching his surroundings.
A raspy, evil voice spoke behind him.
"Put your sword down boy."
Percy whirled around and charged. The Titan simply backhanded him and Percy was sent flying to the ground. Percy started to blackout before a similar face picked up Percy and before you know it, Percy blacked out.
Line Break
Percy woke up in celestial bronze chains around his hands and feet as he was tied to a pole. He sat around unfamiliar faces.
Kronos grinned before speaking. "Ah. Nice of you to join us, Percy."
"Where am I? Where are you keeping me!" Percy yelled.
A Titan with ram horns and black armor with stars painted on it stepped forward.
"You will not talk to the King of the Titans like that, boy." Krios spat out.
Kronos waved his hand dismissively. "No need to harass the boy, Krios. He is our guest."
Krios snorted before taking his throne.
"Now. Percy. You must be wondering why you hear, and why I haven't killed you yet." Kronos asked calmly.
Percy tried to talk, but the words didn't come out. So he just sat there in silence.
"Oh? No comment?" Kronos asked. "Very well. What I'm going to do to you is turn you into my second-in-command."
"Why would you want me as your second-in-command?" Percy asked with a bit of anger.
"For a couple of reasons. First, Atlas failed his duties on Mount Othrys. He should have been more capable of taking on a moon goddess and his daughter. He shall resume his duties holding up the sky. And secondly, I need a person who is directed and driven. You shall have that drive, Percy."
Percy was confused yet again. "What is my drive? Annabeth is gone and I have no purpose in serving the gods anymore. And why can't the other Titans take on the position?
Kronos chuckled. "Krios, over there, failed his duties on Mount Othrys as well. He should have been sentenced to a different fate, but he got killed by that upstart Jason Grace. His Roman fighting styles and his legion were too much for poor Krios over here."
Krios was suddenly interested in looking at the floor.
"Percy, I might have failed to destroy Olympus this time. But, I was not in my true form. I will need years to reform into my former glory. You are a talented demigod, I'll give you that. I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself for a new purpose." Kronos said.
Percy started to shift between his chains. "What's that new purpose?"
Kronos smiled dryly. "You will help me raise Mount Othrys to its former glory and we will destroy Mount Olympus brick by brick."
"No! I will never betray Olympus!" Percy said.
Kronos smiled at the other Titans. "I told you he was going to be a hard nut to crack. But nuts crack eventually."
Kronos turned back to Percy. "Percy, we all know you'll never betray your Daddy and little Annabeth. But, you see? They've already betrayed you. You have nothing now. Join us, Percy."
Percy spits at Kronos. "You'd better just kill me right now. I'll never serve you!"
Kronos wiped away the spit from his face with a new look of anger.
"Well then. I guess I'll have to force you to join us."
Kronos grabbed Percy by the arm and whisked him off.
Line Break
Kronos and Percy appeared in what looked like a torture chamber. The walls were bloody and dead monster corpses littered the floor. Slowly, the corpses would turn into golden powder and disappear. But the blood remained. There were torture chambers, electric chairs, you name it. It was there. It was the size of an interrogation room, but it slowly and slowly expanded to how Kronos saw fit.
Kronos wasted no time before turning Percy around on his back and embedding him with a tattoo. The tattoo turned out to be Kronos' symbol, a silver moon that had intricate designs and patterns a tattoo enthusiast would die to have.
Percy didn't want to say this in front of Kronos, but the tattoo was breathtaking. Had not been used, for this reason, Percy would have much enjoyed the tattoo. It reminded him of the good in the world, but it also angers him. The beauty in the world was corrupted by evil. Percy set this thought aside.
Kronos eyed him carefully before turning him around back to his stomach.
"Now you must be wondering, shouldn't you be invincible? Shouldn't your soul have been reaped by my blade?" Kronos phrased.
Instead of anger, Percy was now curious about how his well-being is being taken care of.
"Your Achilles' curse had faded as you had placed your mortal anchor onto the girl, Annabeth. Once Annabeth had sent you to an eternity of pain and torture, she let go of the mortal anchor. You see, it works two ways. The only reason you didn't dissolve in the Styx was that Annabeth had returned those feelings to you and expected you to love her as well. But once she renounced you for Luke Castellan, her old feelings came into reality. She realized how much she loved Luke over you." Kronos stated.
Percy winced as Kronos' explanation was scary and painful.
He suddenly realized that Kronos had been speaking the truth. Annabeth had only liked him because she needed someone to rely on and take on her emotions. She never really got over Luke and she never liked Percy.
Kronos smiled as he knew he struck a nerve.
"And about your soul being reaped. Yes, it is true. I have access to your soul. But I don't control it fully. My blade cannot reap souls to the max like its former prime. No, it's like a library book. I can take control over you, but you will still have free will over yourself." Kronos explained.
Percy shivered as he knew he would never feel or be the same ever again.
"What are you waiting for? Why don't you torture me?" Percy asked spitefully.
"In due time, Percy. But to convert you to the Titans, I will have to break you emotionally and physically." Kronos said.
Kronos motioned his hand and in a second the torture chamber turned into a small, dark room with one chair, a bowl of water, and a single golden drachma.
Kronos willed Percy over to the seat and secured him down to the chair.
"We shall now commence to how the Olympians and your dear demigod friends have taken the news. Unfortunately for you, it will not be so pleasant."
Kronos grabbed the drachma and tossed it into the bowl before reciting, "Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, accept my offering. Show me the Olympian council room."
The Iris message was shaky, as the signal from Tartarus hadn't been the best, but the Iris message still did its duties.
Line Break
3rd Person Thalia POV (This is happening at the same time Percy sees the Iris message)
Thalia had entered the throne room with a couple of broken legs (thanks to the goddess Hera, of course).
She took a quick glimpse at the room. All 12 Olympians and Hestia were present in the throne room. Accompanied by the Olympians, Thalia had spotted multiple Cyclops with Tyson, Grover being tended to by Apollo, and Annabeth and Luke sitting next to each other very close and comfortably.
"LUKE?" Thalia screamed so loud that it echoed throughout the throneroom.
Immediately, she pulled her spear out and threw it straight into where Luke's head would have been before Zeus stopped her spear mid-distance.
"Thalia!" Zeus bellowed. "What is the meaning of this?"
Thalia gave her father a dumbfounded look.
"The meaning of this? Luke is a traitor! Why don't you chain him? Where's Percy?" Thalia said.
Her questions kept pouring out of her head before Zeus silenced her with a simple hand gesture.
"I have no idea. We will have a hearing right now from the people involved in the battle vs. Kronos." Zeus stated.
Zeus snapped his fingers and suddenly the throneroom turned into an all-out courthouse. It was a simple hearing, but a very important hearing.
"GROVER UNDERWOOD," Dionysus called out. "Please step forward for your testimony."
Grover shuffled his feet nervously and stood up.
"Well, me, Annabeth, and Percy had entered the throne room. We instantly saw Kronos thrashing thrones. This got Percy enraged. He charged at the Titan before being swatted away. And before you know it, I stepped in and tried to protect Percy and Annabeth. I got swatted away as well and I blacked out." Grover stated.
Zeus turned to Apollo. "What do you say, son? Is he telling the truth?"
Apollo nodded his head. "What Grover is saying is true. I do not know the whole truth, but his words were spoken boldly that I could determine."
Zeus nodded his head before calling the next witness up.
"Luke Castellan!"
Luke stepped forward and began speaking.
"I do not remember much, but I had broken free of Kronos' control. Annabeth, over here, spoke me out of Kronos and I had weakened Kronos by taking his human control away from him. The exhaustion of defeating Kronos also caused me to blackout. I woke up just a couple of minutes ago. That is my testimony." Luke stated confidently.
Apollo, again, nodded his head. "Luke is speaking the truth."
Zeus nodded again before calling up the final witness.
"Annabeth Chase!"
Annabeth moved up very slowly with a look of despair in her eyes. Thalia could always tell when something made her uneasy. She bowed to each of the gods before speaking.
"We very fighting Kronos, me, and Percy. We almost had Kronos destroyed until Luke broke free of his control. Luke had passed out before Kronos emerged into his weakened form. We were trying to hold him off to allow the Olympians time to arrive. Without the Olympians' help, we would have destroyed Kronos. What happened next surprised me. Percy just walked over to Kronos. I quickly saw what had happened and stabbed Percy in the back. He staggered before Kronos picked him back up. He started saying how Percy was his servant all along and how the Olympians were foolish to believe him. Kronos says he used Percy to retrieve information and with that information, he was going to destroy Olympus. Percy then declared himself a traitor to Olympus and professed his allegiance to Kronos. He told me that he will rise again with Kronos to take down Olympus. And with that, the Olympians had arrived. You all know the rest of the story."
Thalia's heart skipped a beat as she couldn't believe Percy was a traitor. The look in Annabeth's eyes had alerted Thalia that something was wrong, and Annabeth wasn't telling the truth. She decided to leave it alone as her pain was too much for her to think about.
"Wait for a second. Annabeth-" Apollo spoke up before getting cut off.
Athena spoke up over the Olympians. "Why did you not let us know that Percy was a traitor? We could have killed him before he started any more trouble."
"With all due respect mother, I had grown to develop feelings for Percy. I was simply in shock at what had happened." Annabeth professed.
Athena nodded. "I am very sorry daughter for you being deceived by Perseus. I had sensed that Perseus' presence would be a detriment to Olympus."
Athena gave a glare at Poseidon forcing him to speak.
"I-I'm sorry, Annabeth. And apologizes to my fellow Olympians. I had not been there to sense Percy's treachery. I... disown Perseus from my family and my heritage." Poseidon said shakily his eyes glistening over and over, not believing his son could have been a traitor.
Every Olympian nodded with a touch of sympathy in their eyes.
Zeus quickly broke the ice.
"No more melancholy feelings, brother. What's gone is gone. Perseus and Kronos had been sent to Tartartus. Kronos has been defeated by the gods once more!" Zeus stated victoriously.
Everyone in the room burst out in applause with loud cheering.
"We shall now have our opening speech and reward ceremony," Zeus said pridefully.
Zeus began a speech saying about the history of the gods and their hardships overcome with achievements and successes. Thalia blurred out for most of the speech and started to fall asleep. Her eyes widened as the award ceremony began.
She was the first one to be called up by her father. She bowed to the Olympians and kneeled beside her father.
"My daughter, Thalia, for your bravery and loyalty to Olympus, I promise I will help you fill your Hunter's ranks."
Thalia's mood of sadness and exhaustion quickly turns into hope for a better future.
She beamed at her father. "Thank you, Father."
Zeus nodded with a smile before dismissing her.
"Grover Underwood," Dionysus called out. "For your bravery and loyalty and blah blah blah to Olympus and since we have a vacancy in the council, we will make you a member of the Council of Cloven Elders with all the rights a Lord of the Wild should have, etc. You will be respected by all the spirits, nymphs, nature, etc. Now shoo!
Grover almost fainted at the spot before walking away.
"Annabeth Chase, my daughter," Athena spoke up.
Annabeth stepped forward and knelt at Athena's feet.
Athena smiled. "You, my daughter, have exceeded all expectations. You have used your wits, your strength, and your courage to defend this city, and our seat of power. It has come to our attention that Olympus is... well, trashed. That Titan lord did much damage that will have to be repaired. We could rebuild it by magic, of course, and make it just as it was. But the gods feel that the city could be improved. We will take this as an opportunity. And you, my daughter, will design these improvements."
Annabeth looked confused. "My lady?"
Athena replied. "You have studied the designs of Daedalus, have you not? Make us a city that will last for eons. Rise, official architect of Olympus."
Annabeth rose and headed back to Luke after bowing to the Olympians.
Hermes spoke up next. "Luke Castellan, my son."
Luke's face contained worry and fear as he realized he was receiving a gift.
"You had us worried, Luke. We thought you had turned on us. But we were wrong. You, my son, have been through many horrifying experiences. For your bravery and sacrifice to defeat Kronos in the end, we will remove your past crime against Olympus. Additionally, we will dub you the title of 'Savior of Olympus.' You will be remembered as one of the greatest heroes in history. Everyone shall treat us the same before you turned over to Kronos. Rise, my son, and the savior of Olympus!"
Luke rose and received numerous amounts of applause before heading back to Annabeth with a big smile on his face.
He went over to Annabeth and without a moment to spare, he kissed Annabeth passionately. He kissed her for 10 seconds and all the female Olympians cooed. They would be known as the powerhouse couple of Olympus.
Zeus cleared his throat commanding the couple to stop and everyone to pay attention.
Zeus's face turned from happiness to seriousness.
"And onto more important matters. I would like to congratulate the heroes of Olympus one last time. But now we have more important topics to pursue. Perseus Jackson is still alive. Since the Olympian council is fair, we have not forgotten Perseus's deeds to Olympus. Without Perseus, I would have not received my lightning bolt back. We may have never uncovered the Golden Fleece from Polyphemus. My daughter, Artemis, would have been cursed to hold the sky longer if Perseus had not taken the burden himself. Perseus and his friends have destroyed the Labyrinth. He even destroyed a Titan, Hyperion. I am not sure of his allegiance. Had he been working for Kronos since he arrived at Camp Half-Blood, or had he been innocent?"
Athena spoke up quickly. "What are you saying, Father?"
Zeus rubbed his chin in deep thought. "I don't know. I vouch that we have an Olympian council to decide Perseus's loyalties. What do you saying, Athena?"
Athena grinned. "I agree we have a vote on Perseus's fate. I also vouch we allow the demigod heroes, Luke Castellan, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Nico di Angelo, and the satyr Grover Underwood to vote as they had been up close with Perseus for 4 years."
"Very well, I will allow them to vote alongside the Olympians and Hestia." Zeus finished.
Thalia took a quick glimpse at Hestia. No one had bothered to mention her. She was in her 8-year-old form, poking the coals in the hearth with a stick. Her fiery eyes took a quick glimpse at the council as she was finally recognized.
Zeus interrupted Thalia's thoughts. "I vote that Perseus is an upstart and no good to Olympus."
A scoreboard with the team's bad or good suddenly appeared in the middle of the council. A thin hashmark appeared on the bad side.
"I have studied Perseus for some time. His thoughts are pure and clean. He would never give up on his family. And since being the motherly figure of this family, I vote he is good." Hera spoke up.
The scoreboard now was tied.
Ares was the next to speak. "The punk is evil. I can sense his intentions. He is bad news."
Dionysus followed up with Ares' thoughts. He was sitting lazily on his throne, twiddling his fingers as grapevines were intertwined between his knuckles. "The camper, Perry Johansson has had an interesting effect on me. Unfortunately for him, he is evil. I vote he's working for Kronos."
Demeter nodded her head in agreement with Ares and Dionysus. "Never eats cereal. Only a wretched, evil person would ever deny cereal."
The scoreboard was currently 4-1 against Percy.
Aphrodite blushed when all eyes were on her. "Oh? So now the spotlight's on me? Love works both ways. His story is a tragic one, but love works in mysterious ways. I abstain from this vote."
Athena rolled her eyes at the love goddess. "If you want an intelligent vote, Perseus was evil. I sensed it since his arrival at Camp Half-Blood. Sea spawn is never good news."
She glared at Poseidon who looked glum and stared at the floor, not acknowledging the comment.
Artemis and Apollo were the next ones to speak.
"Even though he did save me from the sky, he is still a boy and boys cannot be trusted. I vote him a traitor." Artemis hissed.
"I have to agree with my sister," Apollo added.
Hephaestus was next in line and he just sat there plainly not acknowledging anyone.
"Perseus... I trust him. Whatever his plan is, I will follow him. He saved my forge from those blasted telechines. I owe him this."
Zeus grimaced as he wanted a full Olympian outcome.
"Very well. The votes are 7-2-1 in favor or treachery with Aphrodite abstaining."
Hermes was sitting patiently though his expression wanted to explode.
"My son," Hermes started. "was considered a traitor. I am furious that my fellow Olympians just realized this. When one of your so-called 'heroes' of Olympus was underneath your noses for 4 years. Now we are deciding if he's evil or not?! I am sorry for you all. Do you know how it felt knowing your son was being mistreated and considered a traitor to Olympus? It was embarrassing and I hope your accusations towards my son will be recalled I expect a full apology from him and myself. As for the vote, we can agree on one thing. When Perseus comes back to earth, I swear on the Styx, I will hunt him down towards the ends of the earth for placing my son Luke as the scapegoat."
Thunder rumbled in the background.
The voting was now 8-2-1.
Eyes now pointed to Poseidon as the council was curious to see how he would react.
"I... I... have never been more embarrassed in my life. To consider Percy to be my pride and joy was a mistake. My overwhelming love blinded me from seeing what was happening. I am sorry on Percy's behalf for all the pain he caused you in these past events. I, personally wish he was dead instead of being a traitor. I want nothing to do with him, and for disgracing the powers of the sea and mistreating me, I will hunt for him to no avail and finally put him to justice. I vote Percy, no Perseus a traitor."
Almost every Olympian gasped when Poseidon denounced his spawn.
Zeus patted Poseidon on the shoulder and smiled sympathetically.
"I know it is hard to believe, but we will find Perseus. I will allow you to deal with his punishment."
Now, sister, Hestia, I believe we need your vote, but I already know your answer.
Hestia brushed off the ashes of her dress and appeared in her 20-year-old form. Her choppy, brunette hair turned into straight, dark brown hair that ran down her shoulders. She could have beaten Aphrodite in beauty because hers was natural.
"The hearth is a powerful symbol. We can all say we are united as one following the downfall of Kronos and Typhon. We did this together. As a family. With perseverance and hard work. We spilled our blood, our sweat, and our tears. But the one thing that kept us going was hope. We all had hoped we'd win. We all had hoped that we'd go home and see our family safe and sound. I'd never see more hope in this battle than in the first Titan War or the first Giant War. Does anyone agree with me?"
Almost everyone clapped, cheered, and hollered at Hestia's encouraging words.
Hestia raised her hand and immediately everyone stopped and began listening. Her tone turned from an encouraging, inspirational tone to a spiteful, hateful tone.
"But, never in my days as an immortal god have I seen such blindness. The hope that fueled this victory was Percy Jackson. The hero you cast off to Tartarus. Even now, we can be launching searches for Percy. But you sit on your thrones all high and mighty. Percy knew how to be humble. He never wanted anything, but to see you all happy. He was loyal to every one of you. The reason for that was that he knew where hope lived. The hope survives and thrives best at the hearth. He recognized this and kept fighting. Not for himself, not for the glory, but all of you. Even now, the hearth fire is blazing. Because Percy has hope we will find him. He is hoping we will serve him proper justice. But if you consider him a traitor, the fire will die. Your hope will cease to exist. Percy fuels us to do our best. Instead, your blindness and pride misguide you from seeing what is truly right. I believe Percy is innocent and has always been innocent."
Ares blurted out. "He's a traitor. You don't know anything! You don't even have a throne. You should be considered a minor goddess!"
Hestia's hands blazed with fire as she launched blue fire at Ares' chest causing him to wail in agony.
"This is a prime example of a prideful pig. He and you all are no better than the Titans!"
She flicked her hand and the flames died.
The scoreboard was 9-3-1. The remaining 4 demigods and Grover could shift the vote resulting in a tie.
"Call Nico di Angelo to the throne room. Immediately!" Zeus said angrily expressing his emotions from Hestia's speech.
Nico was called onto the stage.
He bowed respectfully to the gods before speaking.
"I can't believe what happened... I trusted Percy. And to find out he's a traitor. He was working for Kronos all along! He got my sister killed. I want nothing to do with him only to catch him. I will find him alongside all of you guys." Nico said boldly.
Hades nodded his head in approval before motioning Nico to join him. Nico happily joined his father.
Grover walked forward and squeaked nervously.
"I can't believe what Percy did anything spoken by Annabeth. He is my best friend, but I wasn't awake for the events. I have no idea of the occurrence! But I trust Percy more than Annabeth. I vote Percy is not a traitor."
Luke Castellan stepped forward.
"Percy is a traitor. He was a traitor and used me and hid behind his shadows. I was under his influence. I will find him alongside all of you."
Hermes nodded in approval as well.
Annabeth Chase stepped forward after Luke finished his statement.
"For the year, I had trusted Percy. He was my everything after Luke had left us. But to find out he took Luke away from me to gain my trust. I can't believe him. I can't trust him. I will be on the lookout. We will tell Camp Half-Blood of his treachery. We will find him."
Athena smiled at her daughter at her wise words.
Finally, Thalia Grace had seen enough. She marched forward and pushed Annabeth with such force she fell to the floor.
"What was that, Thalia?" Annabeth asked surprisingly.
"You know what you did, Chase!" Thalia screamed. "I've seen enough. I've heard enough. I can't hear any more words bashing my loving, loyal cousin. I will stand by him until his soul has passed to Elysium. That's right. He's a hero. A true hero. He is better than everyone accusing him combined. For the words that believed him, you are wiser than I thought. I said it. Percy is innocent. I believe he was framed."
"Daughter, what gives you the right to question the Olympians' advice? What is your proof?" Zeus asked concerned as he didn't want his daughter in chains.
"I just know," Thalia said loudly. "I just know! Chain me if you want, that's what all you cowards do nowadays. Can't face the truth even if it hurts you. Do you want a bandage for your owwie? You cowards. You can learn something from Percy, but wait! He's in Tartarus, suffering and you sit on your asses high and mighty."
"ENOUGH!" Zeus bellowed. "You are defiant, just like Percy! I'll let you go, but don't forget how you've accused us. Artemis! Make sure to keep this one under control. Monitor her every move."
Artemis nodded before giving her lieutenant a death glare.
Zeus calmed down before counting the final votes.
The votes finished at 13-6-1.
"It is settled. Percy is being kept in Tartarus and he will be trained by Kronos to become a ruthless, killing machine. We do not know when Perseus will rise, but he will rise soon. Anyone that shall see him will be forced to capture him on sight and bring him to Olympus for trial. If you cannot apprehend Perseus, you have my permission to kill him. Spread the news everywhere. Perseus Jackson is now a criminal and he is the traitor of Olympus."
After Zeus's message, Iris's message ended, leaving Percy in his seat.