The Sea and The Moon

Chapter 23

A.N: Before I start, I have wanted to say that I'm very sorry for the delay of this chapter. Life just caught up to me, and I guess I kind of just forgot to update. There's really no excuse.

Percy POV:

The torture continued for Chaos knows how long. I had long lost track of time, but I had already become used to the schedule. I just waited for the door to creak open and the dark figure of Nico to walk in. He always wore the same expression of glee, but every time he walked in, I could tell that there was something lying beneath the mask that was on his face. Part of the real Nico.

My body ached all over and it was hard to move even an inch without it burning up. I couldn't even sit against the wall or else my back would feel like it was on fire, which frankly was not a pleasant sensation. The only things keeping me from giving up the fact that there may be a way to coax Nico into taking control of his body again. Every time he strode out of the room after a session, I could see a hint of remorse in his eyes and knew that there was something that I could do.

The second thing keeping me going was the very same person that took over my mind every time I closed my eyes. I could see her smiling at me and her beautiful eyes gleaming with happiness. There was no way that whatever Apollyon was planning for me would wipe the memories of Artemis from my mind. She was forever imprinted into my life, my very soul. You cannot simply force somebody to forget part of their own soul. I will see you again, Arty. I promise.

As I thought these words, the door swung open again and I shivered in anticipation. I already knew what was happening, but this time, I had the will to fight against it. As Nico strode towards me, pulling the key out of his pocket, I stumbled to my feet and held my hands out in from of me in a pleading gesture.

"Do not do this. You can fight against her, I know you can!" I shouted at Nico, past the goddess controlling him and addressing the true being inside, the owner of this body. His face twisted into a sneer.

"Ha! Do you think he can hear you? Are you foolish enough to believe that a mere demigod can challenge the power of a god?" Peitho said from Nico's body.

"I'm not talking to you," I said calmly, "Please, Nico. I know you're in there. You can fight back, I know you can. Do this for me, your big brother. Just try, please!"

Peitho just sneered again, "You cannot do anything about it, you little brat. He will not hear you."

At this point, I was starting to get a little desperate," Nico! Is this really how you want this to go. Do you want to wake up in your body with everybody around you dead? Remember what it was like when Bianca died! Do you really want that for yourself again?" I felt guilty about bringing up his sister. I knew that he still mourned for her and he had still not gotten over her death.

Despite my feelings, my plan was effective and his eyes switched to brown again, but this time, it stayed that way for much longer than it usually did. I knew that I was reaching him inside. He could definitely hear me in there, and I was going to save my little bro. I wracked my brain for ideas.

"Hey, Death Breath! Come out and show me that you're strong enough to break a goddess' hold. You always used to say that you were strong, but are you really?" Nico had always been provoked easily, and if I could rile him up, then it might give him the strength to break free, even it may come with consequences when he did. He had never been one to tolerate being doubted.

His face darkened and I could see the rage on his face. He was getting there, I thought as I continued to jab him with my words.

"If you can't even fight a mere minor goddess, then how can you expect to be called strong. How can you expect anybody to respect you?"