The Vanishing Hero

chapter 19

Chapter 19: Readjusting

3RD PERSON POV

Percy slept in Apollo's temple to recover. Fortunately, unconsciousness lasted three days after traveling to the Throne Room. Unfortunately, sleep only came to him in three hour intervals due to Kronos' curse, so after waking from his unconscious state, he didn't find any solace in sleeping.

ARTEMIS POV

I stayed at Percy's side after he fell unconscious and just watched over him. He was incredibly peaceful and you would have thought nothing was wrong if not for the scars that covered his body. Slowly but surely on the third day, he stirred awake. He groaned slightly upon waking up and before I could control myself, I tackled him into a hug on the medical bed and cried into his chest.

He rubbed my back absentmindedly as I sobbed into his chest. He didn't react; no flinching in pain or groaning, but when I felt wetness on my chest and arms I pulled away in a hurry. He was bleeding from the fresh cuts that littered his body.

"Shit. Apollo!" I yelled and my brother immediately flashed in, followed by Hera, Hestia, and Poseidon. I pointed to Percy's wounds and they all looked upon him with tears in their eyes, but I noticed something was wrong. "Perseus, do you feel that?" I asked softly as I tried to read his face.

His face was the emotionless mask he wore on the rescue mission to retrieve Rebecca almost a year ago, but his eyes held a distant look in them. He softly shook his head to signal that he didn't feel them and Apollo got to work, bandaging him up and offering him nectar.

"Is the Hunt okay?" he finally asked, but his voice too was void of any emotion. I smiled slightly and nodded. "Just worried about their Guardian. They missed your meals for a month too," I said, trying to get him to smile even slightly, but to no avail. He stared off into space and nodded. "Son, what happened to you?" Poseidon asked gently, but Percy shook his head and asked a question of his own.

"How's the war? Has Tartarus attacked? What's happened since I've been gone?" he asked and the rest of us looked at each other and him in confusion. "Nothing has happened yet, Perseus. Should we be worried?" I asked and he furrowed his brow in confusion. Apollo seemed to catch on to his worry and asked, "Perce, how long were you down there?"

Percy looked at him as if to say, "Are you kidding me?" but instead told him, "A decade. Why?" I felt my heart shatter. Tears collected into my eyes and Hera and Hestia were openly sobbing. Apollo grimaced and all of that further confused my Guardian. "Son... you've only been down there for a month," Poseidon said softly.

I expected outrage or disbelief. Any kind of visible reaction, but instead, Percy stared straight forward with the emotionless mask. However, his eyes held an unbridled rage and fury I haven't yet seen from him. The room grew cold and Hestia placed a hand on his shoulder to reassure him out of it.

He was quiet for a while, but finally spoke again. "Mom, they gave me something down there to mess with my mind. Can you check and make sure that it's effects have worn off?" Hera steeled herself and nodded. She went to place a hand on his forehand, but he stopped her before she did. "You're not going to like what you see," he said in a low yet still emotionless tone. Hera nodded and placed a hand on his forehead.

HERA POV

I placed the hand on my son's forehead and closed my eyes. I was immediately bombared with the images of the torture he endured for the first seven years he was there. Every single day he was beaten, bones broken, skin cut, pierced, and slashed. 'My poor son. How did they do this to you? How did you endure this? Haven't you done enough?' I cried internally.

After the first seven years whizzed by, the last three came slower and I saw the potion that they gave him. A rather strong mind potion to weaken his barriers and play on his fears. I saw through his eyes how everytime he was tortured, they took the appearance of a loved one. 'Oh no,' I thought as I searched through them until finally his escape.