I'm sorry these are so short! I'm just getting really busy, sorry. :( But this is what I have, so deal with it. :x

Soon did come. Connor managed to rally about about fifty young demigods. Young meant age twenty and younger. All of them were strong from the hard work of living in Elysium, but none not nearly strong enough to handle the training. Strong more of the will and mind, not really physical abilities, though that was helpful as well. That eliminated about fifteen of the candidates. Rachel was contacted, and the boot camp began.

It was difficult conversing with the deities because it was more like a voice in the back of the trainees head. It was undetectable to the gods, luckily enough. It worked well enough, and man, Percy needed a break.

From the early hours of the morning, when the "sun" first came up at the crack of dawn, the trainees were forced awake to go run five miles. Without stopping or water. Pain could be felt now, and dehydration and all the things the living have, but one couldn't die again. The air was cold at five in the morning, so it was deemed refreshing enough to the primordials. Not to the demigods, though. They were only human. Warm-up was an hour. Then, Percy would train with Thalassa near the ocean for a couple hours until nine. Thalassa was an old woman with long white hair and crystal turquoise eyes. She had a threatening demeanor. The first time of training, it was painful and scary. Flashbacks kept coming to him.

"Annabeth! Where are you?! Say something!"

"P-Percy! Help m-me! It's s-s-so c-cold!"

"Where are you? Annabeth!"

"Wat-water! In water!" There was a splash and a choke that renovated in Percy's ears.

"I'm coming, Wise Girl! Keep talking!"

Percy ran in the direction of her voice, avoiding the darkness chasing him, where the whispers clouded his senses and enclosed him in a claustrophobic nothingness. He limped on him right foot and had a hand held on a bloody mess on his stomach.

When Percy finally reached Annabeth, she was unconscious, floating on the deep black water. It cradled her like a baby, framing her face. Percy then jumped in the water, the darkness following him, gasping at the coldness. Everything was freezing in Tartarus. He plunged under the waves grabbing her leg and pulling her to shore, safely, but the water here didn't heal them.

But the dark liquid was tricky. Escape was not allowed. The wall of whispers of the dark agreed. No escape.

It coiled around Percy's waist and slowly, strongly, pulled him back into the water. He struggled against the reins. Annabeth was consumed in the wall, not even a trace that she was even there. Percy reached for her, but the watery ropes wrapped around his arms, legs, and neck. He was unable to move. He couldn't control the water. He was dragged under, the cold seeping into his skin, filling his mouth, his lungs. Percy couldn't breathe.

He was drowning.

"Arghhh!"

"Concentrate, Perseus! You were born with the sea in your veins!"

Percy gurgled then lurched upwards, out of the water, gasping for breath. Darn those flashbacks. The water hurt his chest and eyes.

"Well I don't anymore! I'm just mortal! No sea blood."

"But you have the skill!" Thalassa chastised. "And the motive. You need this. You will learn to master the ocean once more."

"I can't!" Percy protested. "I can't do anything now! I'm not who everyone thinks I am! I'm just like everyone else: hopeless, stupid, and mortal. I give up!"

"Never say those words again, Perseus! You are not like everyone else! The fates know that death does not stop you. You know! Death is not the end, Perseus. Death is another life. You will not survive, you live. Now get up! You are not done yet!"

Percy groaned.

"Twenty laps! I give you five minutes!"

That's impossible for a mortal! thought Percy as he swam out.

"But you are not mortal!" Thalassa shouted, for she heard his thoughts.

Percy didn't reply, just swam.

He made it in four.

Next, Percy trained with Erebus, deity of darkness and shadow, and Tartarus, the Hellpit for the condemned. Yes, Tartarus was once a being. Don't ask.

They focused on the mind. Since Percy was suffering from PTSD, he had to learn to conquer the darkness that clouded and consumed his mind. Later, he would learn to control the darkness in the outside world, like shadows. Like a son of Hades, or maybe even Hades himself! But for now, Percy had to conquer his own fears internally.

"Concentrate, son of the sea!" Erebus commanded as he saw Percy struggling.

Percy would usually have retorted with an I can't if you keep on distracting me! But he knew it was to no avail. He would have had to continue anyways.

"Reach into your mind. No thoughts. Empty your head of unnecessary figures. Let go. Let go," Tartarus said. Tartarus was actually much more friendly than Erebus. Tartarus had told Percy that he was overrun with evil and monstrosity to the point where he had no control over it. Erebus, however, was as dark and snarky as his name sounded.

"Peace, Perseus. Close your eyes. Let the darkness fill," Erebus instructed. Percy closed his eyes and tried to swat away thoughts that came hurdling at him. Hades, it was hard to meditate. "Darkness, Jackson!"

"Calm yourself."

"Breathe. Don't forget, Barnacle Brain!"

"Deep breaths, boy, take slow, deep breaths."

"Finally you get it right, Jackson!" Erebus exclaimed as Percy eventually got the hang of it after an hour and a half of failures. Just breathe. Nothing. Blank. Breathe. Noth–

"No! Don't! Percy! Help me!"

"Annab–" a tentacle wormed its way over Percy's mouth.

"P-Percy, please! It's hurts! Percy... c-cold... Percy.." her voice faded.

"Ammatef!" He couldn't say anything without it being muffled. The tendrils of whispers wound around his neck and chest, choking him. He was suspended in the air, looking down at a cascading stairway of sharp shards of rock embedded everywhere. Escape would be death here.

Hurt. Everything hurt. Neck, chest, eyes, limbs, hurthurthurt–

"Enjoying the view, Perseus?" the sinister man asked. "Aw, come now, it's not that bad! Just fragments of liquid memories, the tortures I conducted, the faces of those I killed. It's all quite beautiful is it not?" The tentacles didn't loosen its hold. Percy didn't open his eyes. There was no way he would see the voice, seeing as the enemy was inside his own mind.

Shut up! Go away! Percy told himself internally.

"I can't, boy. How can you tell me to go away, when I'm you? We are one in the same. You're me and I'm you. I did this, you did this. Now look at what you've done."

"Wake up, stupid! You had it right! Tell me what you did wrong! Now!" Erebus slapped Percy's face to revive him.

"I-I..." panted Percy. "I..."

"We will continue tomorrow, Perseus," imposed Tartarus.

Erebus scowled. "He needs to learn faster! He is not the quick learner I have heard about! He is no hero!"

"We will continue tomorrow," concluded the other. "That is final. Go to lunch, Perseus."

"I..."

"Go, boy. You shouldn't need to be told twice," Erebus snapped.

Percy walked dazed across main square. It was fairly crowded, seeing as most weren't doing the training. They stared at Percy as he stumbled by. He could hear a few scattered mumbles.

"–poor guy. He's already done so much! Why does he have to do more?"

"–ere he goes. Why does he insist on doing the same tortures over and over ag–"

"How does he put up with it?"

"–he truly is a hero, trying to save us and all that."

There were more, and they encouraged Percy greatly, but they didn't know what Percy knew about himself, that he was just like them. It was pathetic that Percy was afraid of his own element, wasn't it? It was stupid for him to be terrified of water. And he is selfish, being so concerned about himself. Selfish.

Percy then met up with Leo and Connor at an isolated table. It was nice being able to sit anywhere and not have everyone crowd him like a hero. They ate in silence. After a while, Leo said, "Isn't it ironic that we fought so hard to let the gods continue, and now we're going against them?"

Connor looked down at his plate, setting his burger down.

Percy steeled himself and looked Leo in the eye. "Yeah. It sure is, bud." Percy looked away into an unknown distance. "It sure is."

Percy finished his training with Selene, Mnemosyne, and the others at ten pm. It was a long day.

He was tired. Tired of being a hero, tired of fighting, tired of being Percy Jackson.

If you guys have any questions so far, let me know! I'll answer them as best as I can.

Btw, the vote is still up-

• Percabeth: 3 votes

• Preyna: 3 votes

•Leyna: 2 votes

So please let me know what you want! I'm curious, and it will greatly affect the story. Please don't vote more than once!