06:30 AM, 18th April.

"Come on guys," I grunted as I swung my axe into the ice. "We're almost there!"

Jason and Nico tried to get a grip on the ice, but Aaron was the one who was behind all of us - he insisted that Jason and Nico go before him so there he was, swinging his axe deep into the thick ice. He didn't wear his hat but he did wear all his other winter clothing. Frank was waiting for us at the top of the Icefall, ready to give us any medical attention we might need.

I really liked the Bailey kid - he was good natured and was always up to the challenge. Over the last two weeks, I've learnt a lot about him - he has a brother also named Jason, but he had a bad heart problem that he had when he was born. Jason Bailey was only nineteen but the guy had a lot of hope running for him with his transplant. Aaron had that same personality as one of the guy's I knew from Camp Half-Blood, who had a brother with cancer and refused to believe that he was gonna die.

As I reached the edge of one of the Icefall's blocks of ice that served as a walkway, I hauled myself over the ledge, lying on my back from sheer exhaustion. A moment later, the others did the same thing, all of us sweating despite the cold.

"I know that I signed up to climb Everest," Nico wheezed, "but this is suffering, man."

All of us coughed out a laugh - our bodies were so wrecked from climbing; all our muscles ached and my back felt like it had been given the Heimlock Manoeuvre. Not a good sign.

I dragged myself to my feet - even that was an effort. "We need to keep going. We're almost there."

Jason was bent over and taking in huge breaths - though he kept his head up, his eyes eyeing the very end of the Icefall. "What's our elevation?"

Aaron checked his watch, which was designed to read the height that we're at. "Twenty thousand, nine hundred and ninety seven feet. We're almost at the end of the Icefall," he said breathless. "It ends at twenty four thousand and nine hundred feet. After that, we'll come right up to the Lhotse Face, which ends at above twenty seven thousand feet."

I looked upwards, already tired from the long climb as it is. I gripped the straps of my climbers bag. "Alright, let's go."

We continued onwards, though at a slower pace.

The ice in front of us was like a bridge though it cracked with every footstep I made. If there was any proof that I was there on the mountain, it would be the foot prints in the snow that I left behind. It was like walking on the moon - I was Neil Armstrong leaving his foot print in the dust. Jason was Buzz Aldrin, the second in charge of the mission.

I was seriously tired of hammering my climbing axe into the ice when it came down to climbing the next part of the Icefall - most people don't realize that when the axe hits the ice, it sends a jolt through your arm; sort of like when you pull the trigger of a machine gun however it was the physical effort of swinging that made it worse. But I saw no other option: it was either that or go back home. Leaving Everest, knowing that you've come this far - not an option.

Just keep climbing, I told myself. You can do this.

Next we came to the biggest crevice that I have ever seen. The chasm looked black, as if it was completely bottomless. I was slightly worried about it, because I thought that I would fall into it and fall right back into Tartarus again. That was what put me on edge - I hated deep chasms with no bottoms. Worse still: across this paricular chasm, there was a long set of ladders, tethered by ropes on either side of the ledges. It didn't look stable, but it would be enough to get us across.

Nico went first - he held tightly to the ropes as he crossed. He didn't even look scared - maybe that's because he's the son of Hades and that he gets the whole death scenario all too well. Jason went next - he reached the other side, no problem. If he were to fall, he would just control the winds and carry him to the other side.

Aaron was less sure about going across - he went across, but the worst mistake he made: he looked down.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed, immediately looking up wide-eyed. Bad move - he slipped and landed on his side, dangling from the ladder.

"WHOA!" he screamed. "Percy, help me!"

"Jason!" I shouted. "Hold the other line! Hold on Aaron, I'm coming!"

"Hurry!" Jason shouted back. "The ladder won't hold two people!"

I started making my way across, stepping on the steps of the ladder. Two ladder steps at a time and I managed to reach Aaron in no time, though the ladder did seem to bend from our combined weight. I could see from the other side that both Nico and Jason was struggling to hold onto the ropes.

"Aaron," I shouted, grabbing the straps of his backpack. "Get up!"

"I can't!" he frantically yelled, gripping the edge of the ladder for dear life. "I can't feel my hands! I can't pull myself up!"

I sighed through gritted teeth, trying to haul Aaron up to his feet. "Jason help me! Get Aaron off of this thing!"

Jason nodded immediately and shot into the air. He still amazes me with his flying skills, though I still think it made him look like the blonde version of Superman. He flew to Aaron's side, lifted him up and flew him to the other side of the chasm, where he collapsed and shivered.

The ladder rocked violently and I knew that it was going to break. I decided to go faster - running across it, but before I reached the end of the ladder it broke in half and it fell into the chasm. I jumped for all I was worth and I just had enough length that I swung my sword out and stabbed it into the ice, holding on with only my right hand.

I was just hanging there, looking down as the ladder fell into the crevice's dark void. I started shaking myself - the fear of falling down there suddenly struck me and it was terrifying. The last time I fell down a hole, Annabeth was with me; but now that she wasn't with me this time, the idea of falling down a hole to Tartarus was freaking me out.

Jason came to me and started pulling me up. I was dragged on my back and I just stared at the sky, trembling and shaking.

I realised that it was because I was hyperventilating. At that instant, my vision just turned from the snow and the mountain to a landscape of fire, black glass and blood red skies. Monsters surrounded me and snarled. But in front of me was the worst sight I swore that I would never see again.

The purple-skinned, bone covered, giant form of Tartarus; his black vortex of a face swirled like a tornado and his eyes glowed like fire. He looked just as he did the last time I saw him - he looked as menacing as he did back then. This was the god that claimed the life of the Titan and Giant that saved mine and Annabeth's lives. His hands looked strong enough to rip me apart still and I could tell that he wasn't happy with me - I was one of the demigods who defeated Gaia, his wife. He looked so pissed.

I started screaming and scuttled backwards as fast as I could, wanting only to get away from Tartarus; his aura of immense malevolence was enough to drive me crazy. I didn't know what was happening to me; how the hell did I end up in freaking Tartarus? What was going on? I looked down and saw that my jacket was shredded and covered in blood marks - as if I was badly wounded from a recent battle. And my stomach started to feel like it was being slowly dissolved by gorgon's blood, yet I somehow managed to scream despite my throat feeling sore.

"Percy!" Jason's voice screamed.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms grip my shoulders. I kept my eyes closed, not being able to bare the image of Tartarus. I thought that Kelli the empousa has come out of nowhere and decided to torture me.

"Percy, open your eyes!" Nico's voice yelled.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I bellowed, so loudly that it felt like my vocal cords had ripped.

"Percy, it's Jason! Open your eyes, NOW!"

My eyes shot open and the image of Tartarus vanished instantly, replaced by the snow and ice of Everest. Instead of the searing heat of Tartarus, the chilling cold of Nepal was the only thing I felt.

I was panting seriously fast. I kept on looking around frantically, trying to adjust to where I was. I was sitting in the snow, my clothes covered in the stuff and made me look like a sugared donut. Surrounding me were Nico and Jason, looking understandibly worried. Aaron was talking into his radio, probably talking to Reyna and explaining what happened.

Jason crouched so he was level with me. "You okay?"

I was shivering, but it was not from the cold. I wrapped my arms around me and shook my head. "I hate chasms."

Jason nodded - he knew what I had been through in Tartarus. He - along with the rest of the Seven - had seen me and Annabeth fall into Tartarus while saving the Athena Parthenos, so he knew my fear of chasms perfectly well. "I know Percy. Here, drink this."

He brought out a bottle of coffee from his bag - standard rations that we needed if we were not handling the cold well. I took the bottle and drank three huge mouthfuls of coffee. I started feeling better, knowing that I was having coffee - not fire water from the River of Fire.

"Can't believe you're still suffering the after effects from Tartarus," Nico muttered, who knew first hand what going through Tartarus was like. Worse still, he had been on his own when he'd been through the whole experience.

I looked down at the snow. "Every night, I keep remembering that place - I can't get it out of my head, when everyday I wish I could just forget it. Every time I dream about that place, I just get this nagging voice in the back of my mind that Tartarus is haunting me day and night."

Jason grimaced. "Well...You and Annabeth did escape his realm and we did defeat his wife. He does seem to be after you the most though - no one has ever made him look like a fool before."

"Tartarus hates being humiliated," Nico muttered. "He won't be able to go after Percy, though the side effects from surviving his realm includes nightmares. I should know because I have them."

Aaron came up. "We should get going. I'm sorry if I sound impatient, but something doesn't feel right about this place."

I started looking around the place. It did feel off. "You're right - let's get out of here."