Hello everyone! Shoutout to piper_potterhead and azhou1234567890 for being the only two people who have correctly identified Thalia's killer! Congrats my friends! :)

I want to get to know you all better, so please post the country you're in right now in the comments! Thank you so much for helping me reach 12.5K reads! It's unbelievable. Couldn't have done it without you all! Honestly, I'm so freaking happy right now. You have no idea. So I want to dedicate this chapter to all of you wonderful readers who have supported me along the way. You're all way too amazing! I hope you enjoy this chapter written in your honor! Love you all! :)

-BlueFangirlStreak (SaraFangirlofPercy)

Annabeth's POV

The day started out pretty normal. Well, a demigod's life is never normal, but you know what I mean.

The unexpected "incident" with the Oracle, or should I say Rachel Dare, happened during lunch in the dining pavilion.

As usual, the dining pavilion was filled with food, laughter, and conversations at every table. Well, except for the tables belonging to the maiden goddesses. And the Poseidon table was empty as well, but obviously for a different reason.

The Athena table was bursting with energy, all of my half-siblings discussing about the "War of Balance" prophecy that Rachel had delivered two days ago during the Big House meeting.

There had recently been rumors going around that a new prophecy and quest would be issued, but I pushed the silly thought aside. Two different prophecies have never been proclaimed in the exact same week. In fact, it's rare enough that we even get a single prophecy from the Oracle.

So I just ate my lunch in silence while listening to the conversations being shared between my half-siblings.

Lunch went on like this for the next five minutes, until I felt a sudden disturbance.

I immediately looked up from my plate of food, glancing at Malcolm to see if he felt the disturbance as well. He caught my gaze and nodded, sending the clear message that I wasn't the only one who sensed it. I tore my gaze from him and searched the pavilion for any possible threats. Nothing seemed wrong, which is never a good sign when you're a demigod. There's always something wrong. A demigod's life is never that easy or simple. There's always going to be something or someone trying to kill you.

I was starting to grow worried until my eyes landed on Rachel Dare, who was standing near the pavilion's only exit. The strange thing about her was that she looked like she was going to be sick. Her face was sickly green and it seemed like she would faint at any moment.

But she didn't.

Instead, she tried to walk toward the center of the pavilion, stumbling along the way and almost losing her balance multiple times. Once she reached the center, her body went completely rigid, her back as straight as a wooden pencil.

At that point, almost everyone in the pavilion had noticed her and the many discussions had come to a halt. The campers' eyes were glued on her, observing as Rachel suddenly doubled over in pain as if someone had hit her stomach with a baseball bat. As quickly as she had bent forward, she straightened up immediately again, green smoke beginning to spill from her lips.

For the next minute or so, the green smoke continued to emit from her mouth until it engulfed the entire dining pavilion. I couldn't see anything but green. I felt like I was blind, doomed to only be able to see the color green.

But my mind knew I hadn't lost my vision.

I tried my best to catch a glimpse of Rachel, but everyone around me was obscured from sight by the thick serpent fumes. The silence was beginning to unsettle me until three powerful voices spoke in unison. I immediately knew that Rachel was delivering a new prophecy. So much for not having more than one prophecy in the same week. The strange part was when images began to appear in the eerie smoke.

"Three Greek half-bloods will travel alone, To the Pit they shall be thrown," Rachel announced as the smoke swirled and displayed an entrance to Tartarus, which made me involuntarily shudder.

"The parallel Primordial of Chaos lies below, And His power will begin to grow," the Oracle continued before the image of a black throne oozing with power was shown.

"One must convince Him to return, Or suffer by watching the world burn," Rachel concluded as the smoke twisted into the image of the world being engulfed in never-ending flames.

I gulped at the terrifying prospect. The Oracle sure knew how to strike fear into our hearts.

Before I could react, the green smoke began to recede, moving back in the direction it had originally come from. Before long, the fumes were entirely gone and I was able to see my surroundings.

As soon as Rachel's eyes lost their green glow, she went limp and began to fall. Fortunately, Chiron was right behind her and caught her into his arms. That was great and all, especially since Rachel didn't hit her head on the ground and receive a concussion, but since when was Chiron behind her? One second he was at his table with Dionysus and the next he was catching the Oracle.

I'm just going to assume he used his centaur speed.

With help from two demigods, Chiron was able to safely place Rachel into a chair. As soon as he made sure she was okay, Chiron turned his attention towards us.

His grim expression unnerved me, but he seemed to know something I didn't, which frustrated me. That old centaur was always hiding something. Now I know how Percy felt when Chiron and I kept the Great Prophecy from him.

"Do we have any volunteers for this quest?" Chiron questioned before my hand immediately shot up along with Katie and Nico.

Chiron seemed surprised that the three demigods for the quest had been determined so quickly.

I on the other hand, was ignoring the glares that both Katie and Nico were shooting at me. They obviously weren't going to forgive me after all these years, which I didn't blame them for. I could tell they wanted to tell Chiron that it would be best if he chose two different demigods, but at the same time they were determined to travel to Tartarus and possibly rescue Percy along the process. So they weren't going to back down from this quest.

Yet I could see in their eyes that they wanted nothing to do with me and didn't even want to be anywhere near my presence.

They were only going on this quest for Percy. Working together was going to be tough.

"Very well then. You can pack up your things first thing in the morning. I want you three to be well rested for this quest. You leave tomorrow morning after breakfast," Chiron informed us before returning to his table.

Tomorrow is when I will return to my worst nightmare. But I am doing this for Percy, even if going back into Tartarus proves to be a suicide mission. But failing isn't an option. We must convince that Primordial to return to Chaos, or else we'll be forced to watch the world burn...

Leo's POV

I was worried out of my mind.

After Lysias shadow traveled away, I began to continuously pace around my cell, fearing the worst. After thirty minutes of waiting, I started to lose the only hope I had left, thinking that Lysias was surely a dead man by now.

Before I could consider the idea of collapsing in a fit of tears and creating a makeshift burial shroud for him, I heard the distant sound of someone running through the hall.

Could it be?

Was my amazing friend still alive?

My questions were answered when Lysias appeared at the entrance of my cell. I sighed in relief and thanked my father above for some random reason.

But I immediately sensed that something was wrong.

Lysias opened up my cell and made his way toward me until he was standing right in front of me.

"Leo, I'm going to receive a punishment," Lysias informed me with a slight edge of fear in his tone.

"What did you do this time Lysias?" I scolded him like a mother.

Wow, that's kind of creepy. Since when have I been a female, much less a mother?!

Maybe it's because I'm a foxy mama, but that's completely off-topic.

"Um, I might have disrespected Tartarus and Erebus a teensy tiny bit. And I might have also yelled at them. You know, nothing too huge," Lysias said while casually shrugging before the ground began to viciously quake, sending us tumbling against each other until we both collapsed in a heap.

Lysias groaned with obvious annoyance before fixing his mistake, "On second thought, it's apparently a really big deal to them and I'm royally screwed. Would you mind protecting me Leo?"

I lightly pushed him away from me before immediately shaking my head in response.

"Yeah, there's no way I'm protecting you from them Lysias. I know we're friends, but you kind of brought this upon yourself. Besides, don't you remember what happened during my first day down here? I nearly peed my pants in their presence! I'm not going through that again Lysias. I'm sorry, but I won't," I made my decision, determined that I wouldn't let him try to change my mind.

Lysias frowned in response. I bet he expected me to instantly agree to protect him only because we're friends. Not happening. Those guys freak me out!

"You're not going to help me Leo? Are you going to let me suffer alone?" Lysias questioned with an innocent, childlike tone, attempting to make me feel guilty.

The worst part was when he began to pout like a little child who wasn't visited by the tooth fairy during the night. His eyes were covered by that hood he was always wearing, but in the darkness, I somehow managed to catch a small glimpse of green. Or was it black?

I wasn't entirely certain what color his eyes were, but something told me to store this information for later.

So I did.

Refocusing my attention back to the conversation, I responded, "Only if you stay by my side at all times. There's no way I'm going with you if you end up ditching me along the way."

Biting his lip nervously, Lysias decided to warn me in a quiet whisper, worried that someone would overhear our conversation.

"Look Leo. Our friendship is a secret. We can't be around each other when we're in their presence. Once we enter the throne room, I must separate from you and move to my masters' thrones as much as possible. Don't worry though. I'm sure you'll be fine. Besides, their attention is going to be entirely centered on me as they deliver my punishment," Lysias reassured me as he patted me on the back in a friendly manner.

"Fine. I'm going to be honest with you. I'm not too happy about this, but I'm doing this for your sake. You owe me one buddy," I declared while sending a pointed look in his direction.

Lysias simply shrugged in response, "Fine by me. I'll meet you here when they request my presence in the throne room, okay?"

I nodded my head to indicate that I understood and silently watched as Lysias walked out of my cell and down the hall.

So much for being "determined" to not allow him to change my mind.

I let out a long, weary sigh and slid down against one of the cell walls. My eyes began to droop with exhaustion and before I knew it, I had slipped into a deep sleep.

.....

"LEO, WAKE UP!" was the first thing I heard as I was shaken awake from my slumber.

"Huh? What? What's going on?" was my clever response.

My eyes had snapped wide open in surprise until I realized that Lysias had woken me up. I let out a huge sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding in and my body immediately relaxed.

"Leo, it's time to go to the throne room. They just requested my presence," Lysias explained before lending me a hand and pulling me to my feet.

"Great, let's go have some fun!" I exclaimed sarcastically, prepared to face my doom.

Lysias simply ignored my comment (probably 'cause he was worried- I mean, why else would he ignore an awesome person like me?) and dragged me out of my cell.

After complaining to Lysias about how much I regretted this decision, we miraculously arrived at the double doors of the dreaded throne room.

Despite my constant protests, Lysias dramatically pushed open the double doors, revealing two impatient Primordials sitting upon their thrones. The worst part about being in their presence was the fact that they sent me this look that clearly conveyed one message: they wanted to rip me apart limb from limb.

As quickly as Lysias had thrown the doors wide open, he moved away from me, kneeling at the feet of his masters.

With no one by my side, I awkwardly scurried over to one of the corners of the throne room, trying my best to draw less attention to myself by hiding in the shadows. I guess Nico's been rubbing off on me. I don't know if I should consider that a good thing...

"Lysias, your punishment is almost complete," Tartarus announced in a booming voice.

"What do you mean?" Lysias asked, clearly confused.

As soon as he asked, Tartarus stood up from his throne, making his way over to a strange crystal sphere that I hadn't noticed before. He reached the orb and took it into his hands, bringing it to Lysias, who still looked perplexed.

Tartarus held up the sphere right in front of Lysias's face, before explaining, "Inside this crystal sphere is the soul of an innocent demigod who was residing in Elysium. And the soul's name is Thalia Grace. You might not understand how this affects you, but we're indirectly punishing you through your friend hiding in the corner."

Oh no, he knows about our friendship. I'm officially dead.

I couldn't help but to gulp in fear. And then my mind finally registered what he had said. I felt a pang in my heart at the fact that they had imprisoned Thalia as well. Five years of peace in Elysium just to be snatched from her home and unwillingly brought into the most treacherous place in the Greek world.

And then my heart started racing, realizing that they were going to torment me so that they could make Lysias suffer as he watched. I had no clue as to what they were going to do to me, but I had to admit, these two Primordials were actually pretty smart despite their looks.

"Now for the second part of your punishment. Erebus, bring him in!" Tartarus commanded his fellow Primordial.

Erebus instantly slipped off his throne and disappeared behind the double doors of the throne room. We waited for him in uncomfortable silence before he finally returned with the one person I thought I would never see again.

Percy Jackson was standing next to Erebus, his hands and feet shackled with celestial bronze handcuffs.

That was probably why Lysias had never encountered Percy down here in the past five years. It was because he was personally being kept hostage by Tartarus and Erebus themselves.

I wanted to shout out Percy's name, to make him aware of my presence, but I decided to clamp my mouth shut instead. I didn't want to make things worse for him.

"Lysias, this is Percy Jackson, the demigod Leo kept on asking you about. He is one of Leo's closest friends, that's why he means so much to him. As for the second part of your punishment, Leo will be forced to watch the execution of Percy Jackson right before his eyes," Erebus revealed with a devilish smile plastered upon his hideous face.

At the mention of execution, Percy's eyes had widened in disbelief and he began to struggle in an attempt to break free from his chains.

Tartarus unsheathed a sinister-looking, midnight black sword and approached Percy Jackson, one of my greatest friends.

The tears threatened to spill from my eyes. Was all of this real? Was the Great Percy Jackson about to meet his demise once and for all without somehow managing to do the impossible and escape death like he always did?

"Any last words Perseus?" Tartarus inquired with a smirk, most likely thinking about how everything was turning out the way he wanted it to.

"Yes. Leo,-" Percy called out, drawing my full attention to him, "I want you to tell everyone above that I forgive them. Tell them that they no longer have to worry about a pest like me. But most importantly, tell them that Percy Jackson is no more. Goodbye cruel world."

With that final message, a tear silently rolled down Percy's cheek, his broken sea-green eyes showing pain.

"NO!" I screeched, sprinting toward Percy before Tartarus calmly snapped his fingers, causing me to crash into an invisible force field.

"Stay back, demigod!" he growled impatiently.

And with that warning, Tartarus thrust his sword into the chest of Percy Jackson while I shrieked in agony.

Percy's body went slack, his eyes rolling into his head as he crumpled to the floor like a rag doll.

Sobs racked my body as I stared with disbelief at the limp corpse of Percy, a pool of blood already surrounding him. He was deathly pale and his chest was no longer rising up and down.

He had stopped breathing.

While I was busy grieving, I wasn't aware of my surroundings, so I obviously didn't hear the distant sound of banging and wailing coming from within the crystal sphere.

I wasn't the only one mourning this loss.

If Thalia was still in Elysium, she would've been fortunate enough to be with Percy's spirit. But much to her luck, she had been captured just like me.

"I hope you rest in peace Percy," I whispered quietly, my voice cracking in the process.

"Foolish boy. Percy Jackson will never rest in peace. In fact, his soul is still here. He belongs to me now! And I have him right where I want him," Tartarus exclaimed with malicious joy.

"WHERE IS HE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIEND?!" I cried out angrily, my grief transforming into an unrestrained spark of pure fury.

"The weakling now resides in his new, permanent home, in which he will be condemned to eternal torment," Tartarus revealed with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

"Where exactly is his new home?" I asked cautiously, afraid of what his answer might be.

In response, Tartarus proudly pounded his fist against his breastplate before he smugly replied, "He's in my armor, doomed to suffer in agony as he painfully fades and reforms over and over again for all time!"

I was left speechless, my jaw practically on the floor as my brain tried to comprehend all of this new information at once.

When I regained my composure, I was prepared to attack the living daylights out of Tartarus, even though I knew I would probably end up flattened on the ground like an unwanted gnat.

But I never had the chance to take action, because at that moment, I noticed Lysias for the first time since we had entered the throne room.

Even though his hood was covering the majority of his face, I was still able to make out the nauseous look he had.

His slightly green face was scrunched up in agony, his hands were tightly pressed against his skull, and he was hunched over in pain.

Before I could ask what was wrong, Lysias began to sway unsteadily on his feet until he unexpectedly fainted.

Challenge of the Day: Create your own theory as to how Percy was able to be in the throne room in the form of 2 people at the same time.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I apologize for making you all wait longer than usual. I hope you all understand that I'm focusing the majority of my attention on school right now. Please don't hesitate to leave a comment, question, or concern. Feel free to private message me whenever you want. Love you all! Keep on being awesome people! Until the next update. Peace out my friends! :)

-Sara