Hey guys! I'm back and I'm still epic! So far, nobody has guessed the plot twist. Should I tell you? Do you want me to? I'm gonna give you another hint. I said I would not kill Percy physically. He will be mentally torn apart in more ways than one.
To (MY FAVORITE REVEIWER EVER) ULTRA HAPPY PEEP!: First off, I love your long reviews. Please don't ever stop writing them. Second, where are my virtual cookies?! Third, I don't care if you use my ideas, go ahead, but if you've got a plot worked out, then that's fine and I'll keep my eye out for it! A tip (for the Gallagher girls books, cuz I got confused and accidentally read the 3rd one first) the order is-I'd tell you I love you but then I'd have to kill you
-cross my heart and hope to spy
-don't judge a girl by her cover
-Only the good spy young
-Out of Sight out of time
So, they're really good. 4th (wow this is a really long list) believe me, if I had the power to write longer chapters, I would, meaning that now they'll all be, like 2000 words. 5th, I really wish you good luck with your stories, I encourage you to write. Also, everyone on fan fiction has the potential to beat Suzanne Collins if they wanted to, so being better than me should be easy. So yeah, that's pretty much it and this chapter is dedicated to you. So thank you. Now on with the chapter
To Annabeth Chase the Wise Girl: this chapter was in many ways inspired by you. Thanks a lot for your advice!
To EVERYONE: I KNOW IT SAYS THALIA HAS THE ARTEMIS CABIN, BUT IN THIS CHAPTER SHE'S SLEEPING WITH HER BROTHER, JASON CUZ I WANT MORE BROTHER/SISTER MOMENTS! Also, Percy doesn't have the mark of Achilles. Cuz if he did, he would have died in chapter two (when a random monster kicked him in the back) also in this story, demigods can talk to people in their dreams.
Disclaimer:
Luke:*sneaking around in the wood, trying to capture more innocent demigods.* I heard something. I know I did. *Turns corner to find Abby*
Abby: Don't kill me! I'm just peacefully sitting here, owning nothing.
Luke: Okay *Leaves*
Abby: Pft, idiot.
Percy POV
I screamed again as the torch moved up and down my arm, writing letters. Painful letters. Painful letters that turned into agonizing words. The words formed sentences. I didn't read them. But I saw my name, written in Greek. I recognized other words. Poseidon. Fallen.
I don't know when I started to cry. It felt like time had stopped. It might actually have. Minutes, hours passed, but I couldn't do anything except try to hold back screams and sobs. When Luke finally finished, I was half conscious. I was sweating, even though I was so dehydrated that I couldn't cry anymore. I couldn't feel blood, but I knew that I would probably never be able to use my arms again. Maybe, if I got out of here fast, an Apollo kid could heal it. Probably not. I had a 1/24846791 chance of getting out of her and a 1/12489587485778720 chance of getting out of here alive. I was ripped from my thoughts as Luke dug a fingernail into my burns. I didn't even try to hold back my scream.
"Next time, pay attention." Luke snarled at me, while I attempted to clutch my broken, burned, and injured arm, held back by the shackles.
"Now, Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon will answer any question. Now that he knows what we can do. He should have known. That this… is only the beginning." Luke addresses an imaginary crowd. I close my eyes. I don't want to be here. Don't want to have memories of this. (That's another hint, guys!)He goes to the side of the machine that I'm on. From what I can tell, he presses something, because the shackles tighten, and soon I can't feel my arms and feet. Luke presses something else, but I can't feel a reaction yet.
I stare at him questioningly until he looks back. "Oh, right. Percy, basically, I'll ask you a question and you give me the right answer or…" Luke trails off, his finger hovering meaningfully over a big red button.
"And what makes you think I'll do anything to cooperate with any of your plans? I ask him. I love being stubborn. He just smirks. "Has Jason or Thalia ever shocked you?" Luke asks, and I involuntarily cringe. Gods that hurts a lot. His voice pulls me out of my thoughts. "Well this can give you a shock that's ten times worse." Gods. I wouldn't actually put that past him. "Ready for question number one?" He asks, still smirking.
I tune out the question, because I know it'll be something I don't want to answer. I'm already bracing myself for the inevitable when Luke pushes the button. Electricity races through my body. My back arches, even though I can't move. My muscles lock together, vibrating so fast and hard, my teeth are chattering, and my whole body feels like it's on fire. This is way worse than anything Thalia ever did in Capture the Flag.
I don't know if I screamed. It felt like it went on forever. I could literally feel the electricity eating away at my system, and it burned hotter than fire, hotter than the sun. When it was over, I was gasping for breath and my clothes were smoking.
"See, Percy? This is nothing, compared to what we can, will do to you. There are more of these machines, more people who want you to suffer. There will always be more. You'll never get out of this one. No one can save you. You're alone."
It's true. I am alone. Alone. No one's coming. No one will. Ever. I don't want them to. Because then they'll die. And it'll be my fault. Again. Like Bianca.
Thalia POV
I drag Annabeth into the Artemis Cabin. "Beth, what are you going to do if he dies?" I ask her. I know she doesn't want to answer, but I need to know. I won't let her slowly waste away because of Percy. Because there's a good chance that he'll die. And if he does, she needs to be prepared.
"He's not gonna die." She snaps at me.
"I know, Annie. But what if he does? What are you going to do?" I ask, trying to be gentle. I don't pretend to understand boys, but I know Percy. He's stubborn, but if you get him in the right places, he's weak. And he'll try to hold on, but he doesn't always succeed.
She looks at me with heartbroken eyes, she knows I'm right, and it's breaking her. "I don't know. Get revenge, honor his wishes. Cry." She almost laughs, pretending to be strong, but I see right through her. She'll never get over it, not really. But now I know she won't do anything drastic.
"Thanks." I try to smile reassuringly as she turns to go. "Beth, we'll find him. Kay?" I ask her. She nods, then runs toward the Poseidon cabin.
LINE BREAK TO ZEUS'S CABIN THAT NIGHT
I woke up screaming. I was in my cabin, the Zeus one along with Jason. He was awake too, heavily panting. His eyes meet mine, and his are full of fear. I instantly reach out, to comfort him. I missed doing that for so many years. Now that Percy's gone, I have to do a better job of protecting him.
"Percy." He gasps, and I walk over, putting my arm around him. "You had that dream too?" I ask, gently. Percy's like a brother to Jason, they're very close, best friends, and I don't want Jason to hear about Percy's pain any more than necessary.
"Electricity. How… Dare… They… I'm going to kill all of them. Did you see…" he trails off, and I can see he's scared of his own words.
"They made him scream. I've only heard that once… when Annabeth was taken. They mentioned us, used us against him. Made him think he was alone." Jason says, from underneath my embrace, tone full of ice. "I know, Jay. But we'll get him back. Promise." I mutter the words into his blond hair. Percy was really proud of it, because he convinced Jason (the fourth stubbornest person I know, not counting immortals) to grow it out.
Everything reminded me of him. Of Percy. I mean, the guy was my cousin. We were close. And I wanted-needed him to be alright. For me and Jason.
"While we're sleeping, my best friend is being tortured by his immortal enemy." Jason says, and it's clear he wants to do something now.
"Not now, Jay." Jason starts to protest. "I'm not saying we won't, just not now. Percy wouldn't want us to get hurt because we're tired, or because we're wearing superman Pajamas." I tease him. He blushes, and slowly (And unwillingly, I can tell) he gets back into bed.
"But what if…" he starts, but I kiss him on the forehead, than go back to bed, he stops, stunned, and then closes his eyes.
Percy. Without you our camp is falling apart. Come back to us. I think. It doesn't help when the sarcastic me replies Thals, you know he would if he could. Because if there's a force powerful enough to stop Percy Jackson, then we are all dead.
Thought about ending it here, but now I'm giving you a Christmas present. Or whatever holiday you celebrate.
Luke's POV
Percy's eyes closed, and I knew he was unconscious. I decided to let him sleep. We wanted him alive. Otherwise no one would come. Our job was to lure the brats (It was hard to think of Thalia and Annabeth that way.) to Percy, then inflicting our final and most effective torture on not just Percy, but all of them.
I looked back at Percy. He seemed so child-like in sleep, so innocent and vulnerable. But every time he moved, his features twisted in pain. I had to smile at that pain. For so long, Percy had been my mortal enemy. For a short time he had been my immortal enemy. Now he was weak, unprotected, malnourished, and suffering unimaginable pain.
I knew that I hated him. But some part of me wants to feel sorry for him. The part of me that's still human. He's never brutally murdered anything human (which is more than I can say) he's a natural at almost everything, the perfect hero. I think that's why I hate him. Because once he came, people forgot about me. Annabeth forgot about me. Everyone had left me in some way. And I wanted my revenge.
I dug another fingernail into Percy's burns. They read: Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, fallen hero. He woke up, screaming in pure agony. I grinned. This was a good way to get revenge.
Percy POV
In my dreams, I saw Thalia, comforting Jason. I almost smiled at that. They really were quite similar, and Jason was almost as reckless and impulsive as I was-am. I reminded myself. I'm still alive. Annabeth can still find me. Jason can still find me (and then I'll tease him about wearing superman pajamas). Dad can still find me. Suddenly my dream changed.
Poseidon was sitting with his head in his hands at his throne. I think he was crying. Athena was behind him, rubbing his back and muttering words of comfort. Wait, what? Athena? Comforting my dad? Wow, this must be really hard on him. In a way it's good to know that he cares so much. Suddenly he gets up.
"I sense someone." He tells her, aiming his trident at me.
"Dad! It's me, Percy!" I yell at him, immediately, he drops his trident, shaking off Athena's hand.
"Percy! Are you alright? Has he hurt you?"
I roll my eyes. "No dad, my mortal enemy Luke who has been trying to kill me for years has not almost killed me many times and made me experience unimaginable pain." I say (and if you don't know that was sarcastic, then go look up the word sarcasm, then use it on your parent 24/7)
He looks back at me, and then looks at my arms. In two long strides, he's at my side, examining me, and muttering things. I catch "Greek fire… gods they didn't… Gonna kill… electricity… used power from…bolt… ZEUS!" He yells his brother's name, and instantly the god appears at his side.
"If this is about that oil spill then…" the king of the gods starts before he notices me.
"Percy? What did they…?" Zeus starts, looking almost afraid at the answer.
"Do?" My father finishes furiously. "I'll tell you what they did. They used lightning from your master bolt to torture him for information he didn't have. He doesn't know about Hera's plan! And it was from your bolt! Where did they get that!" my father rants at Zeus, while the sky god looks at me with a new kind of respect.
The images start to become blurry. "Dad! I'm waking up! Help me! Help!" I scream at him, before my eyes open and I stare up at Luke. I notice the intense pain in my right arm, and scream, long and loud. Luke's not laughing anymore. When he takes the nail out of my arm, I fall back onto the chair, breathing heavily and looking at him with confused, agonized eyes. He glared back, gazing coolly into my eyes.
"Wha- you wan?" I ask him groggily.
"Your friends are dreaming about you. I want to give them a taste of what we can do. I cringed away as he came at me with a poisoned knife.
Thought about ending it here before I realized I forgot Annabeth! You might need a box of tissues; I find that when I write Annabeth she has really overwhelming emotions! Actually you probably won't I suck at Annabeth's POV. But I hope you guys like it!
Annabeth's POV
I finally managed to fall asleep. I had another dream about Percy.
He was chained to a table, groggily opening his eyes after Luke presses a fingernail into a harsh burn mark on his arm. (If you like Luke, you may want to skip this next part.)
Luke burned words into his arms?! I'm going to kill that sick jerk. He's going to rot in Tartarous and they'll punish him by doing every single thing he ever did to Percy to him.
Percy's eyes fly open, but it's obvious that he's still half-asleep. "Wha you wan?" he asks groggily. Same Seaweed Brain. I have to smile at that. But then Luke said something that made my blood run cold.
"Your friends are watching you. I want them to see what we are capable of." He says, and seems to smile at me, before taking a knife, dipping it in a white-hot liquid, and moving slowly toward Percy.
Percy's eyes widen. He struggles to move, trying to get away. It doesn't work. Not even close. Percy's still shirtless (and before I saw the bruises and cuts, and ribs, I might have enjoyed the view) but now Luke's carving words, curses in Greek onto Percy's bare chest. He doesn't even try to hold back an earsplitting shout of pain.
This is because of me, I realize. Luke wants me to see this. "Percy!" I scream. Percy struggles more, and grits his teeth to stop himself from screaming. He shouldn't be so brave. It'll only hurt him more.
Luke smirks down at Percy, while digging the cursed and poisoned blade deeper. "Looks like Annie's here. You wanna say hi, Percy?" Luke taunts.
"Don't… call… her… that…" he manages. Even while he's chained to a table, with knifes cutting into him, he still wants to protect me. I'm not sure whether to scold him or thank him. "Percy, don't talk you need your strength." I tell him, hoping to keep him alive until I can find him.
He nods weakly, before Luke digs even deeper, and his head is thrown back with a scream. I can tell he's struggling to stay awake.
"Percy, I'm coming. Kay, Percy? I'll find you. I promise." I tell him, voice thick with unshed tears. With another weak head nod, he's out cold.
Luke speaks again "Last time he only lasted a minute. He's getting stronger." At this, my spirits lift. Percy's getting stronger. "But," Luke continues "That just means we can torture him longer." My eyes widen in horror before I wake up sobbing in the arms of Bianca and Nico di Angelo.
I thought about ending it here, too, but I realized that Nico thought she was dead so I might as well do some more brother/sister bonding.
Nico's POV
Since Bianca came back, everything's been sort of blurry. I've been feeling really guilty. I mean, for a year, I thought that Percy had killed Bianca, and had tried to kill him. Then I find out he had really been protecting me the entire time. And still treated him like an enemy. Then I had betrayed him, and he still stuck up for me. Now he had willingly given his own life to bring her back to me. So yeah I felt really guilty. But Bianca still said that that wasn't any excuse for not finishing my cheeseburger.
The only thing I remember is holding onto her as tight as I possibly could. If Percy's gone, and Jason's obsessed with… whatever he's obsessed with, Bianca is all I have. I hugged her one more time. "Night, Bi." I said, climbing into my bed. "Night, Nick." She said climbing into her own.
When I fell asleep, I had a nightmare. But for the first time in weeks, it wasn't about Percy.
Bianca was tied to a chair in a dungeon-like room. It was empty; the only furniture was the chair Bianca was in. A door opened, and light overpowered the black. "Hello, my dear." A voice said. It was a voice that's taunted my thoughts for years. Kronos's voice. Bianca immediately cringed away from it." It has come to my attention that you are a friend of Perseus Jackson's. As it just so happens, I need one of his friends for a plan. But you might get to go home." He said, grabbing her arm.
"No-" she started, but the arrival of Percy Jackson cut her off.
"You've lost." He says when he spots Kronos. "Annabeth found me. I don't know why you thought for a second that she wouldn't."
They argue for a bit longer, before Kronos reveals Bianca. For the first time, I clearly see her. She's bruised, bloody, and the bandages don't even start to cover up her broken bones. She's clearly malnourished, and Percy sees it too. He looks at Bianca, features turning from shock, to anger, back to shock and finally too resigned defeat. "What do I have to do to get you to let her go?" Percy asks. Then I wake up.
I look over at Bianca. So that's what they did to her? I'll kill all of them.
Bianca tosses and turns in her sleep. It's clear she's having a nightmare. "Percy." She mumbles. "Percy, don't." I decide to let her sleep. The gods know how long she's been deprived of that.
I'm done waiting. The titans are going to wish they'd never touched my family.
And done! That was like, 3000 words! I am amazing! Merry Christmas, guys! Any guesses for the twist? Come on guys, I gave you like, 3 hints in this chapter! Anyway, we're almost at 50! Come on guys! I want 50! Please! I gave you like 2000 extra words and 4 extra scenes today.
Anyway, does anyone else read the 39 clues? I just finished Trust No One and I am incredibly annoyed. Really? Dan drinks the serum, Alastair's dead, and Isabel's back! Could that get any worse? Oh wait, it could because Nellie's dead, and the Vespers have the tools for a doomsday devise! Rant over. Sorry guys, I just can't believe I gotta wait til MARCH! To find out what happens.
PLEASE PEVEIW AND HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!