A/N Nice choice, Chiron. Nice choice.

I feel so unorganised. Possibly because we're moving houses soon. Again. But I'm living on k-pop (where is Apollo? He'd better have listened to this genre lately). 

So guys, reading through my previous chapters, I can't help it anymore. I've got to edit them. Now. So after this chapter is released, I'll be editing the previous chapters. I'll also remove all the unimportant stuff (chapters with little stories and other stuff) and replace it with a more detailed story. This will also explain if the chapters and the info in the next chapters don't fit.

Hopefully, I can get more readers through without them having to read my trash writing (Hobi, you are my hope for this!). Oh! And this has recently occurred to me. It's been over a year since I made this book! I'm such a slacker. My friend would tell me that.

I hope I didn't leave you hanging on that cliff for too long, and you guys know exactly what cliff.

And just so you guys know, you can start requesting the POV of the characters. As much as I am creating the story to my liking, I also take in your consideration and feedback. I want to make sure you guys are included. So request!

Pour your minds over the chapter!

P.S. No one's gotten my age right yet! Do I sound too wise? Annabeth is getting to me.

>>><<<

Annabeth's POV

Barely a few hours sleep and I wake to hear the strangled screams of Percy's torture. However, something immediately felt wrong about this, since Percy could last a long while before screaming, and it was only somewhere around midnight. 

The other thing odd about the vibe the room was giving off was that I couldn't smell blood leaking out from any cuts. 

I've had to deal with more injuries than I should've in my entire lifetime, so I would know what the smell of blood is. Bolting upright in bed, I scanned Percy from head to toe.

Not a single fresh scratch.

Apart from Percy acting as if restrained, it seemed as if he was in no physical pain, yet he screamed his lungs out in pure agony wailing with all his heart's might. I almost teared up seeing him like this.

An inescapable nightmare. I was starting to question if our lives (when I say "our", I mean Percy and I) are really woven with thread because from what we've experienced, that thread might be some special material the Fates have been saving for a special moment.

I heard the footsteps of people running towards the cabin as Percy yelled, "STOP IT! STOP! YOU WANT ME, NOT THEM! STOP!"

Tears streamed down his eyes as he struggled even more. Who was he dreaming about?

Loki was the first to burst in. Unfortunately, when he attempted to do his little trick on Percy, nothing happened. Sighing, Loki withdrew his fingers from Percy's forehead.

"Why is nothing happening?!" Annabeth commanded as the Seven, Tony and Steve walked through. The other Avengers waited outside horrified by the screams echoing throughout the camp and forest, awakening naiads who also did heir best to block the tortured screams.

"A barrier has been shielded around Percy's mind so there would be no possible entry," Loki explained melancholy.

Annabeth's anger bubbled up. "Surely you can break through! You're a GOD!"

Loki remained calm despite Annabeth's outburst. "Contrary to popular belief, the Norse gods are well and truly just immortal and powerful beings. If you ever see us bleed, it won't be ichor that bleeds, the true sign that you are an immortal deity. It would be normal blood. 

"And besides, Tartarus is an ancient being, so his power runs stronger. We can only hope that whatever "dream" Percy is witnessing is one he doesn't have to experience for much longer."

The rage was swelling up in Annabeth, but Steve laid a hand on his shoulder to calm her down. "He's strong, Annabeth. You know that more than anyone. He'll pull through."

Annabeth slumped her shoulders as she knelt down on the floor next to Percy where she did his best to soothe him.

Loki nodded. "I trust you'll look after him until he calms down or wakes up. You seemed to have calmed him down enough as to not disturb the camp."

I hadn't noticed before, but now I did. Percy's screams had lessened, but that didn't mean he didn't shout every now and then.

Seeing that Percy was in well-trusted hands until he woke up from a completely inescapable nightmare, the Avengers all went back to the cabins. That is, except for Tony.

Steve was walking out as he asked Tony, "You going to sleep, Tony?"

Tony didn't turn to face Steve but began talking in a low tone.

"I failed to be the brother I never knew I was. I failed to protect my only biological sister. So what do I find out when I finally know about her? She died. Then a giant dude with snakes as feet and hair comes up and says, "Hey, my dad has your sister and her husband at our place. HA!" which just happens to be the worst place on Earth."

Tony took a deep breath in before continuing.

"I failed to be a brother. But maybe I could try to be an uncle as much as I can be to a kid like Percy. At least I could live knowing I tried to gain back whatever family I had left instead of making the same mistake of neglecting them."

Silently, Tony shuffled to the edge of Percy's bed and knelt down next to Annabeth.

Steve stood paralyzed for a full few seconds. He didn't prepare himself for a speech as deep as that, especially coming from Tony. Maybe he was finally maturing.

Without another word, Steve left Cabin Three wondering whether or not this was all a dream or reality.

Tony's POV

You know, every time I think of losing my parents to that car crash, I think to myself, "What did I do to deserve this?"

I realise now that it was not being able to care about family as much as I should've.

I lived my life in the playboy lifestyle thinking that life was perfect and that nothing could make it better. After all, I'm a billionaire. Yet like they say, with power comes a price.

At first, when I thought price, I didn't think too heavily on it since, like I said, I'm a billionaire. And that price can be given before or after that power is given to you. Some people have it before and after.

Let's have Percy as an example. 

Before his powers manifested, he'd already had a heavy price laid on him. He was a demigod which made his life much too hard for his liking, the promise his dad made on the River Styx was laid onto him, a prophecy was recited decades before his birth, and on top of that, he just had to be a demigod of the Big Three.

Then there were the consequences after his power was given.

The abusive step-dad, quests and wars he's gone through, losing friends throughout the years, falling into the Pit, the list goes on.

What's worse is that he never asked for any of this to happen. Someone just got handed the bill and laid it in Percy's hands. From what I've seen, I'm wondering how much more he needs to pay because the deeds he's accomplished should've been more than enough. What more are they asking of Percy?

If I ever come across those three old ladies, the Fates as Percy stated, I'm going to make them swallow a whole pack of missiles. If they think that this is fun, they should try his lifestyle themselves.

Kneeling there, I watched as Annabeth soothed Percy by rubbing circles on his palm, tears falling from her eyes as she kept rubbing his hand.

How long had I been here for? Checking my watch, the time read four thirty-five am. 

Cold sweat was forming rapidly on Percy, and he thrashed around rapidly, shocking Annabeth and me. 

Once he'd stopped thrashing, I slowly ran my hand through my nephew's hair. "You'll get through this, Percy," I whispered as even I began to tear up.

"You'll get through this."

Percy's POV

"STOP IT!" I yelled for about the millionth time during this nightmare, my voice hoarse from so much yelling.

Tartarus knew that normal mortals were too delicate and would crumble at Percy's way of torture, so Tartarus used specific tools so that not so many injuries were made, but the result was agonising and slow.

Paul was fighting to stay conscious for mom's sake after having received a heavy blow to the head which would've given many athletes a concussion. He was a hard-headed guy, my step-dad. I respect him for making sure mom didn't suffer alone. 

Looking at them now, I felt like gagging. I was so focused on getting Tartarus to swap the place of my parents for me instead that I didn't comprehend how bad the damage was.

The blood trickling down from Paul's head went over his right ear as well as dripping down his face, his blood meeting his lips. His brown jacket was strewn across the floor, his black shirt in tatters and soaked with blood when Tartarus branded the letter 'T' on his chest. The cut was deep enough to leave a scar so Paul had a lasting memory of the place.

His legs weren't half as bad as his body, just a few cuts here and there because of the minimal reaction.

Mom did not deserve any of what she got.

Tartarus knew that mom was one of the people closest to me. Even if I was reasonably close with Paul, mom raised me and kept me safe. Made me happy when I wasn't. Even put up with that freak to protect me, even if it meant hurting herself.

So to see her with thin yet deadly whip marks slashed on her back made me want to unleash whatever power I had within me to ensure all of this stopped. The fact that she was also pregnant made my rage worse.

I tried to wrench myself out of my chains. Blood was seeping from my wrists and my feet were aching, but I acknowledged no pain. "They did nothing to deserve this. LET THEM GO!" I screamed at his face.

All he did was chuckle. "Why would I? This is the most fun I've had in aeons. However, I have a fair offer to make." From his array of weapons, he pulled a small dagger and coated it in a liquid.

Poison.

Focusing my gut, I sought to make the poison whir away and into Tartarus. But nothing happened.

"In dreams such as this, Perseus Jackson, you are powerless. Not even your Norse friend Loki can breach these dreams any longer," Tartarus explained as he strode to where mom and Paul were bound. 

Raising his arm, he stabbed mom in the middle of the chest, her screams bouncing off the walls.

I screamed out, but when Tartarus withdrew, there was no blood. Unfortunately, the poison was gone. He repeated the same process for Paul, whose wails met my mom's.

Tartarus laid the dagger back down and turned to face me.

"This poison is slow-working. It will take ten days before every vital organ has rotted away. Then they'll both be gone."

I struggled even more on my clutches as Tartarus inched closer.

"My offer," Tartarus stated, "is this. Stay here for the rest of your life, and your parents go free. Unfortunately for you, the two camps will be destroyed. Choose to deny my offer, and I will keep them here until death. If after their deaths you continue being uncooperative, one of your friends will be slain each day until you comply, starting with your Avenger friends."

"NO!" I made every attempt to wrestle my mind out of this place but with no success.

"And don't get me started on your Norse friends. If you got to know them better, you'd sooner realise that they are not true gods."

Tartarus was so close to me now that we were face-to-face, the faces of monsters attempting to escape almost lashing out at me.

"Until then, son of Poseidon," he said with a smirk and a sarcastic tone as he pressed down on my forehead hard, "sweet dreams."

With those words, I woke with a jolt, cold sweat staining my clothes.

>>><<<

A/N Kill me. I have written something that has scarred my mind, and I feel so guilty right now. Styx, I'm actually crying. 

Okay, Grammarly helped a bit. Too bad that you have to pay to get other issues fixed. Hopefully, for the future, I might be able to get it so my writing can look heaps better. 

YOU GUYS STILL NEED TO KEEP GUESSING MY AGE, I CAN'T BELIEVE NO ONE'S GOTTEN IT RIGHT YET!

Okay, guys, I said I'd give a hint so here it is:

Some have said 17 and even 18. That's not that close. Some of you are really close though. 

Bigger hint: Some of you have guessed my age for next year.

Guess now!

Anyway, I'm gonna head off an edit the other chapters now. 

BE WARNED: THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS WILL BE EDITED WITH EXTRA DETAIL AND ADDED INFORMATION. IF YOU WISH FOR THE STORY TO MAKE MORE SENSE, GO BACK WHEN THE CHAPTERS ARE EDITED.

You will not believe all the pre-prepping we are doing for Hazel's birthday in about 2 months. Annabeth is going crazy. And here she comes now about to badger me about what I've been doing the past few hours.

See ya for another adventure!

Tiffany Achilles Jackson