Percy Jackson & The Avengers 2: The Rising (Crossover) ~ Completed ~

Chptr. 18

"I can feel the city crumbling around me

Can't seem to find my way

But I can see your bright light calling me through the dark night

Hoping to find my way...

There is a place in the distance..."

~ The City by Madeon from the single 'The City'

(You can find the song up above! You can also find it on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, etc.)

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"Don't you dare speak to me like that," Artemis said to Thalia in anger. "Do not act like all of this is my fault." Thalia threw her hands in the air and her eyes went wide. "Are you kidding me! You killed Percy! After that, everything went to shit! Don't you dare say it's not your fault, Artemis because it is!" "Thalia, calm down," Percy said with a calm voice as he looked at her. "But Percy...!" "No Thalia, please, let me handle this." Thalia scoffed and sat down in a chair on her right side. "Fine." "Now," Percy started. "You will leave and forget that you have ever seen me or Thalia here." "Percy, we can't ignore Olympus' commands," Artemis said. "Artemis, if our friendship ever meant anything to you, you will leave us and never come back."

"No." It was Apollo who said this as he took a step forward. "Percy, you should know like no other that we can not leave." "Then tell me," Percy started. "What do you want from me?  Yesterday, I woke up after being in a coma for I don't even know how long. Some people found me in the middle of some road on the other side of the country." "Percy..." Artemis wanted him to stop, she did not want to hear the terrible things she had caused to happen to the only man she respected. "Let him talk, Artemis," Apollo said. He knew he was going to hear a story of horror and sadness but this kid deserved to tell his story. The sun god had a lot of respect for the demigod before him and wanted to show this in, right now, the only way possible. "They thought they found a dead body, Artemis," Percy continued with a serious tone and a dead look on his face. 

...

"Is he actually going to..." Nico started but could not finish his sentence as he looked at Will. "I think so, Nico," His boyfriend answered, still looking at the screen with the footage of Percy's bed in the infirmary. "Has he not told you guys yet what happened?" Tony asked with a curious look on his face. "No, he hasn't," Will answered. "Why would he..." "Tony, please, shut up, ask questions later," The blonde demigod said, sitting down on a regular black office chair on wheels. 

...

"Apparently I had so many wounds, so much blood around me, that it should have been impossible for me to survive..." Percy took a deep breath as he continued to dig into his mind, seeing flashes of the past in front of his eyes. "There was a terrible pain that never stopped as I sat in that small cell in the compound." He bit his lip as he shut his eyes, sadness taking over his body. He felt his heart beat in his chest and like the room was on fire. It was so hot, so terribly hot around him, or was it just him? "I remember the first time I tried to escape..."

I looked around me, the hallways were dark, the white tiles on the ground were covered in red blood... My blood. The small lightbulb hanging from the ceiling did not give enough light to see the end of the hallway, so I had to walk on instinct. The pain was just horrible... My back felt like thousands of needles were being stuck in it, out, in, out, in... The pain just never stopped. I felt myself trembling, not only because of the pain, but also the pain as I only stood there, in the middle of a cold hallway, with only a pair of ripped, bloody jeans on my body, the rest of my clothes already being torn too much to have it on my body, as it would just fall off. 

I took a step forward and almost fell forward, the pain immediately increasing in my legs and back. 'C'mon, c'mon,' I thought to myself as I did my best to keep on walking, every step feeling like a thousand knives were being thrown into my body. My heart started beating faster and faster because of the adrenaline flowing through my veins. I felt the pain lessen, hope swelling up in my chest, maybe, just maybe, I could get out of here. I thought about my friends, how were they doing. With every step, I felt more power to fight. I was going to fight for them. Fight for my family. 

Suddenly there was a sound behind me...

"What happened next?" Apollo asked, looking at Percy in expectation. The demigod had stopped talking for a few seconds. It was horrible that this Olympian was curious, asking a tortured soul to tell its story. "What do you think happened, Apollo?" Percy responded, ending the sentence with a sigh. "I don't..." "Stop being so stupid," Thalia interrupted as she looked at the blonde Olympian in annoyance. "Do whatever you want to do, Perce," She said as she turned back to her friend. 

"Well, well, well, here is my toy!" I turned around and saw the monster that had been torturing me for months... Maybe even years, only the Gods know how long I've been there... It was not long after that I could hear my screams echo through the hallways of the compound as well as the laughs of the maniac who was hitting me with the whip. "You'll never get out of here, Perseus Jackson! Do you hear me! NEVER!" Another laugh, another hit... help...

Percy looked down in shame as he tears started to roll over his cheeks. "I thought I was going to be stuck there forever... The only thing that kept me going was the small possibility of escaping one day, one way or another. I knew dying was not an option, he wanted me alive, so he would keep me alive... Well, breathing and with a beating heart..." His voice trembled as he looked up and towards Artemis. "I thought after Artemis killed me... That I could finally get peace... See them again... See Annabeth again..." A small smile appeared on his face as he said her name, but also fell as quickly as it had come as he thought back to what had actually happened. "But instead of that, I went through Tartarus all over again." He looked back at his hands, you could almost fully see the bones in his hands... After being starved for so long, no one would look human anymore, not even the hero of Olympus. "I guess, peace is just too much to ask for..."