Chapter 9

Hope you're all enjoying! I know I'm enjoying! I'm sorry that the chapter's keep getting shorter, but let me tell you, the shorter they are, the more likely I am to update. So take your pick. Long chapter, or frequent update :)

Anyway, on with chapter 9!

"How long has he been in the coma?" Sally asked quietly, as she, Paul, Grover, Reyna, and the other demigods sat around Percy's bed.

"About four months," Reyna admitted, avoiding everyone's glares. "I told Chiron three weeks, because I didn't want him to worry."

"How bad were his nightmares?" Annabeth asked, trying to stay calm. "Chiron said he was starting to hear the voice almost all the time."

Reyna nodded. "Sometimes I'd catch him muttering to himself, and just staring off to the side, but when I'd ask him about it, he said he didn't know what I was talking about. He never closed his eyes, and he rarely slept. If he did, he woke up screaming. The voice was getting stronger, and more often than not, I'd hear Percy ask…" Reyna trailed off, and this got everyone's attention.

"What would he ask?" Sally pressured, moving closer to Paul, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a comforting manner. Reyna took a shuddering breath, and went on.

"He'd ask…'what would I have to do'? That was the more common one anyway, though I'd also hear him say 'How do you know about that? My mom doesn't even know about that.' and, 'If I give myself up, you swear you'll leave them alone'."

"Who's they?" Annabeth asked, looking back at Percy's comatose form. Reyna shook her head.

"I don't know. He never told me. He also became...very closed off. Rarely ever talked to me, or anyone else. He wouldn't even listen when I tried to explain why he should go into a medical coma."

"Then how'd you get him to agree to it if he wouldn't listen?" Paul asked.

"We had to drug his drink. Then once he was asleep, we put him in the coma."

"Wait," Sally interrupted suddenly, thinking back to something Reyna had said earlier. "When you said you heard Percy say 'how do you know about that'...what was he talking about?"

Reyna shook her head. "He wouldn't say, but he became increasingly sensitive around people. Didn't like anyone touching him, and especially didn't trust males."

"Was he abused?" Annabeth asked, looking over at Sally, who shook her head quickly.

"Never," she said firmly. "I took any hits my first husband wanted to dole out, as long as he swore he wouldn't touch Percy."

"So then why was he so afraid?"

Reyna shook her head, looking down at the unconscious son of Poseidon.

"I have no idea."

"Hello Perseus."

Percy spun around at the voice, only to be met with more darkness. He narrowed his eyes, and pulled out Riptide.

"Who are you?" he called, trying to keep his fear from his voice.

"That's not important at the moment," the voice said. "What's important is whether or not you have my answer."

Percy shook his head. "You've clearly never met me," he said in a cocky tone. "My fatal flaw is loyalty. Which means I will always be loyal to the Gods, and to my family."

"Yes, that's right," the voice mused, and Percy got the uneasy feeling that he was being watched. "I recall seeing that when I was digging around in your head. I must say Perseus, we've been doing this little dance for over four months, and your ability to constantly deny me...it's amazing."

"Yeah, I know," Percy grinned. "I am pretty amazing, aren't I?"

"And yet," the voice went on, as if Percy hadn't spoken. "You seemed so close to giving me what I wanted before they put you in a coma."

"Funny how things turn out, huh?" Percy shot back. "Things are never what they seem."

"Yes For example, at first glance, no one would ever know you were an abused little boy."

"Shut up," Percy whispered, as the dark around him turned blood red. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course I do," the voice sounded cocky, like it knew it was going to win. "I've been in your head for years. I know every little thing about you."

"No, you don't," Percy's voice trembled, as he backed away, Riptide shaking in his grasp.

"I'll make you a deal Perseus," the voice said. Percy's eyes went wide, as the bodies of everyone he ever loved were laid out before him. Brutally beaten, and covered in blood. "You can save them. Just say the magic words."

"Never!" Percy screamed, running forward, and swinging his sword in front of him. He gasped, as he lost his footing, and began to fall.

"I know your biggest fear!" the voice was angry, and Percy just barely took a breath, before he hit water. "I know you're terrified of drowning."

Percy's eyes went wide, and he struggled to reach the surface, as the water forced itself into his lungs, and he began to drown. Just as he was about to black out, the water vanished, and he was left on the ground, gasping for air.

"Stop," Percy choked, eyes filling with tears, as his body trembled with cold, and fear. "Please, make it stop."

"Say the magic word."

"I DON'T KNOW THE MAGIC WORD!" Percy screamed, before collapsing to his side, and sobbing quietly, as the red room around him flickered with images of his loved ones dying over, and over, and over. Percy flinched violently, when a cold, calloused hand ran over his cheek. He opened bloodshot eyes, but no one was there, though he could still feel the hand. He shivered when he felt a breath on the side of his face, and a soft voice.

"Yes, you do. Now...say the words, and all your pain will be over."

"Promise me," Percy whispered. "Promise me you won't touch Annabeth, or my mom."

"I promise," the voice said. "Now say the words."

Percy swallowed thickly, before closing his eyes, and nodding.

"Okay," he whispered hoarsely. "I'm yours."

"Are you sure he's ready to be taken out of the coma?" Annabeth asked nervously. "He just flat-lined(1). Three times-he couldn't breath. Like he was drowning."

Reyna sighed. "I understand that, Annabeth. But something tells me keeping him in the coma is only making it worse."

"Because keeping him in the coma was trapping him in his nightmares," Jason spoke up for the first time since seeing Percy. "Right?"

Reyna nodded. "It seems to be the case, yes."

"If that's it then…" Piper looked up at Jason. "Then that means you trapped Percy with the thing that was trying to break him. For four months."

"I made a mistake," Reyna said forcefully. "Is that what you're all subtly trying to tell me?"

"There's something...off, about him," Grover said suddenly, and everyone looked over at him.

"What do you mean?" Annabeth asked, glancing over at her boyfriend. Grover shook his head.

"It's the empathy link," he said quietly. "It's like...it's like Percy's...I don't know. His mind it's what it was before."

"Well he's been in a coma, and hearing voices," Frank Zhang said, shrugging. "Maybe that's it."

Grover shook his head. "I didn't mean before as in before the coma. I meant before as in before he flat-lined."

"How could he change in a matter of minutes?" Sally asked.

"Do you think he gave in?" Leo asked, looking over at Calypso, who was watching Percy in silence. "If he's been alone with the thing talking to him...maybe it finally broke him. Got what it wanted."

"Percy would never give in to something like that," Annabeth said forcefully. "I know him."

"You knew Luke," Grover pointed out, and Annabeth flinched. "And look what happened with him."

"You don't think-" Sally went pale, and had to force the name out. "Kronos...tried to…"

"I don't think so," Reyna answered. "Percy said it seemed like Kronos, but he was sure it wasn't."

"Wait, didn't Percy say the Romans had a cure, and that's why he was coming here?" Leo asked. Reyna nodded, and Leo went on. "Well then what happened."

"It didn't work," she said simply.

"Well what kind of cure is it, if it doesn't work?" Leo asked angrily. Reyna sighed, and gestured for them to sit down at a nearby table.

"The cure was for a Titan, known as The Darkness."

"Erebus?" Annabeth asked, thinking to everything she knew about him. Reyna shook her head.

"The Darkness came before Erebus. Either way, he lived around the time of Kronos, and Rhea. At one point, Kronos and The Darkness had an affair, and The Darkness gave birth.

"I thought you said The Darkness was a guy," Leo cut in. Reyna laughed.

"Do you really think gender would stop them?"

Leo said nothing else, and Reyna went on. "This child, was Hades. That's why he's so much darker than the other Gods. Percy and I thought that since his fate was so closely intertwined with Luke Castellan's, we figured that maybe Percy was meant to be the vessel to The Darkness, and Luke was meant to be the vessel to Kronos."

"But?" Annabeth prompted. Reyna sighed.

"The cure didn't work. Which means two things. Either the thing talking to Percy isn't The Darkness, or The Darkness was able to deny the cure."

"Is there anyway to find out which it is?"

Reyna shook her head. "Until he wakes up, and assuming he wakes up sane, we have no way of knowing."

"So we just have to wait?" Sally asked fearfully. Reyna nodded.

"It should only be another few hours."

Hope you guys enjoyed. I certainly enjoyed making Percy give in, though I do admit that was harder than I had anticipated. Either way, I absolutely love this story. Please review, because they make me happy, and make me want to keep writing this story!

(1): Sorry if this isn't spelled right. I'm not really sure how to spell the word. But hey! If you know what I mean, then it's all cool!