"What was that?" Lila whispered.

"Hello? Is anyone there—?" A teenaged girl—once more with brown hair—entered the compartment. "Oh! I'm sorry, I thought one of my friends were in here—"

The sound of someone breathing came from behind the girl. She stumbled into the seat and Percy nearly jumped out of his skin.

A thing.

An incredibly disgusting thing.

A thing with gray, scabby skin and a tattered cloak over its shoulders floating just above the entrance of the door.

And then, the cold.

Unbearable cold.

Percy!

Percy opened his eyes and felt himself being sucked down into the earth, snuffing the breath out of his lungs. 

He opened his mouth to cry out, but nothing came out. Darkness crept at the edge of his vision, and his lungs ached like a metal band was being stretched across his chest. He heard snippets of sentences playing in his mind.

"Love is powerful, Percy." Piper murmured. "It's the fire that burns all your energy."

"Don't choose your own path. Make your own." Hazel whispered.

"You can be anything, Perce." Frank held out his hand. "We're ready for anything you're going to be."

"Forge your own path, bro. That's what makes it matter." Jason grinned, but a twinge of sadness was in it.

"Sometimes, the real power lies in the things you create." Leo's hair sparked on fire, giving him a thumbs up. "Be careful of the land you tread."

"It's ok to feel pain. It's ok to be different. I know how it feels." Nico's voice echoed through the vision, although he didn't see his cousin. 

His heart felt like it was bleeding. His eyes burned. It was like all the tears were trying to escape all at once.

"Come back." The voices of his friends chorused. "Come back to us."

"I'm not ready." He held his head, fighting back the throbbing pain in his head. "I'm not ready! Stop. Please." He begged, the sharp pain in his ears starting to become unbearable.

A wave crashed down his head, warm and salty. At first, he was relieved to be in his father's turf, but the red in his eyes suggested otherwise.

He breathed in the liquid and found himself tasting something metallic.

A river of blood.

"Percy, please stop!" He heard distantly. "You're scaring me!" His heart dropped when he heard the voice of his beautiful Wise Girl.

She was dead.

And it was his fault. 

The blood parted from his body and the soft red glow of rock illuminated the cavern, as gray mist curled around his legs.

The cold numbness inside of him didn't leave him, despite him feeling the warm atmosphere of Tartarus. He felt his arms move by themselves as the green venom around him bent and swirled around him, making the shape of a poison green trident around his head.

"Remember what I said, Perseus." A voice hissed, the cold freezing him to place. "Who do you think is in control right now?" 

Percy.

Percy!

PERCY!

Percy felt himself shaken awake and found himself on the floor. 

"Percy? Are you ok?" Blake asked shakily. "You passed out." Jen nodded, trembling.

He nodded, feeling something wet and warm sliding down his cheeks. Tears. He subconsciously reached up wiped them away.

"Get out!" Lila screamed as she whipped out her wand and held it threateningly at the dementor's throat. "Sirius Black isn't here. Screw off." The cloaked figure took one last look at Percy and backed out of the compartment.

"That was absolutely terrifying." The girl that had entered their compartment whispered.

Percy's breath came in short, hollow gasps as he felt all his energy drained out of his bones. The lights flickered back on, filling the hallway with a warm glow. And yet, he felt sick to his stomach.

"Who are you?" Blake asked, helping Percy up. 

"Katie." The girl replied. "I—I just came in here to see if my friends were ok. I guess I came into the wrong compartment. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. We don't mind." Jen shrugged, still looking a bit shaken and gripping her book so hard that Percy could hear the book spine crack a bit. "We need to check on Nico and Sylvia."

He nodded, standing up.

"Nuh uh, you're staying here with..." Lila pushed him back down, scratching the back of her neck. "Uh...who volunteers to stay?" Katie raised her hand. 

"Good. Thanks, Kates." Blake slid open the door and slipped out, followed by Lila and Jen.

"Bye, Perce. Be good." She murmured as the door closed behind them. 

The two of them sat awkwardly silent. At least, that was what it seemed. The voice's words haunted Percy's mind.

Who do you think is in control?

henloo

this chapter is tilting more on the emotional side, and the flashback is a large part of it. I made this to reflect Percy's past fears and nightmares, some of them still present, since i felt like i hadn't portrayed that well enough in the past book and chapters

so like yeah

it was emotionally tiring to write this lool

also if ur wondering who the voice is

I'M NOT TELLING :D

BECAUSE WHERE'S THE FUN IN THAT >:)

don't forget to take care of yourself, eat, drink, sleep, and read fanfics :3

OR NO BLUE COOKIES >:(

hehe

bai