Sorry it took so long. Here you go, my lovely readers!

Chapter Thirty Three: Making It Back

Point of view: Perseus Jackson

I flash us clear into the throne room. Nico is thrown into the throne room doors and I get blasted through two columns before I hit into the wall behind Zeus's throne. I pick myself out of the huge hole in the wall and run over to Nico. He punches my arm. "Dude!" He exclaims.

I pat his hand. "Corruption must have struck out at the last moment. I couldn't do anything other than throw your momentum at the floor, I got the worst. I'm vulnerable when I flash. Are you okay?" 

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Nico grunts as he sits up.

I help him to his feet and heal the injuries he sustained from everything so far and then I heal mine. "Great." I start to fall backwards. 

Nico catches me and keeps me up. I retch up blood and cover my mouth. "I'm fine, what about you?" Nico asks.

"Percy?" Artemis asks.

I look over my shoulder and smile at her weakly. "It's fine, Artemis. I'll be fine. It's a reaction."

Nico gives me this look and I throw up blood again, making a puddle on the floor. Artemis comes over and Nico keeps her away for me. "What's wrong?" Nico looks at me seriously.

"The nightmare, I guess it did have affects on my real body. I just ignored them. I was zeroed in on the task at hand that I didn't realize it actually was affecting me. I'm missing half of most of my internal organs at the moment. I don't feel so hot." I tell him.

"You look paler than usual." Nico agrees. 

"Ha ha." I cough as I try to laugh.

He frowns and starts to lead me out of the throne room. A voice stops us, Zeus's voice. "Where are you going?" He asks.

"He needs to rest. He will not be awake much longer. Besides, I don't think he should even be on his feet now at all." Nico answers and keeps going.

"And the mission?" Athena asks curiously.

"A success." I reply.

"You don't have to worry as of right now. We will inform you later." Nico tells her.

"How long were you down there?" Artemis asks.

"Oh, just a few days. To you, it was only a few hours." I grin over my shoulder at her.

Her eyes widen and then she scowls. "Why are you grinning?"

"I made it back. I'm completely fine." I tell her.

"You are so not fine." Nico says.

Artemis looks at me worriedly. "How?"

"Something I didn't expect and I wasn't prepared for. They never had it when I was down there. Pray they do not have it when they come." I say.

She looks frightened. "Per-" She starts.

"Later, Artemis." I cut her off. "I wil explain all later." I tell her.

 She looks offendd and I stop Nico. "Don't look at me like that." I try for a smile. "Everything is-" Nico turns me around and I start to hang off of him after more blood comes up.

I hear Artemis catch her breath. "Apollo, help him." Artemis whispers.

"No, no. I'll be fine. Nico can heal me once I lie down. I need sleep." I wave it off and nearly fall to the floor. I haven't felt so weak in a long while. The last time was when I healed one the the hunters from some immortal illness by taking it on myself. Great immune system, too bad half of mine is currently missing.

It takes a little bit to get me through the Realm of the Moon and into the Valley of the Hunt, but we make it clear into my room. He sets me down slowly and I sigh. My legs giving out. Nico sits down next to me and places his hands on either side of my head, healing me slowly due to the unsusual regrowing process and it being his first time realy using his magic and powers on something so serious. Once he's done though, he pulls back and studies me. 

"You need to sleep." Nico tells me.

"So do you." I reply absentmindedly.

"Lay down and then I'll go to my room and crash." Nico says.

I nod, out of it from thinking about everything and what Styx told us. I lay down and stare blankly at the ceiling. "Corruption." I close my eyes. "Hmph. Not today." I whisper and my head falls to the side as I drift into a dreamless sleep.

Point of view: Nico di Angelo

I know it when he'll be out like a light like that for awhile. There's no way he could take all of my magic and not at least want to sleep. He could fight it off sure, but he's also used a bunch of magic on his own, is constantly taking the hits on the enchantments we placed over the entrances and the Underworld itself, ran for days, experienced some weirdo nightmare and a contraption, something about different powers of Corruption that affected him throughout the entire thing, crashing into the ground of Tartarus, falling forever in that hole, keeping us safe enough when we got out, and flashing out of Tartarus takes a whole lot of pure energy. Not to mention he said he could do it from clear inside Tartarus. Plus he had me with him. The strain and caution he was under the entire time must be extra taxing. He always worried about me even when there was no need to worry. Also the memories that must have been going through his head throughouit his entire time down there. My own still haunt me.

I stand and leave the room to find Thalia waiting outside the door. She peaks in and I can see the warm smile on her face. We walk to my room and sit down on my bed. "I forgot how he looked when we were fourteen together. It's nice seeing him that age again, comforting, welcoming, like home. Sure, we had most of our fights then, but it wasn't either of our faults. We'd just lost Annabeth and didn't know how to deal with getting you, you little rascal." Thalia ruffles my hair, I don't mind this time. I just let her reminisce. "Also, at the time, Zoe was still bugging me about Luke." She looks sad.

"I think it's another reason he chose to be at the medium of us Guardians. He's trying to be as young as possible for the little ones and old enough to make the older ones think they aren't being bossed around by a little brat. Plus, he's around our age." I tell her.

She grins. "I know. He's almost too thoughtful. So silly, and entirely adorable as a fourteen year old." Thalia giggles.

"Adorable?" I ask incredulously.

"Yeah, the bright sea green eyes, the crazy black hair in disarray, and the way he looks around in wonder. At least, that was what it was before. Now the bright sea green is more shiny and trying to hope for the best than actually doing it. His hair is still crazy at that age, but it's a little darker than I remember. And the looking around is in control and he more or less looks around warily and always for threats. But the way he does it is similar. He takes in everything still and makes due with some of the things he has to use." Thalia explains easily.

"You thought he was adorable back then?" I raise an eyebrow.

Thalia blushes a little bit. "Technically," Thalia now looks thoughtful, the blush fading. "I'm still the same age. I'm one year older just like I was those few years back. So I guess it's more of a sisterly view of adorable instead of the liking adorable. You know? Back then, he was the one who helped me out of that tree, and didn't care if I practically just came back to life, he moved past the shock, and he's a lot like me. As many people know. MAybe if things were different, Annabeth wouldn't have gotten with him and I might have. This Guardian stuff would be irrelevant. BUt I love you. Stop with the jealousy." She pokes my cheek.

I stick my tongue out at her and sigh. "You're right." 

"Good. Glad you agree. Now, get some sleep." She points at the bed.

I nod obediently and climb in as she leaves the room, shutting off the lights as she goes.

Point of view: Artemis

"Do you think he'll be okay?" I ask worriedly from my throne.

"Honey, he'll be just fine. You heard him and Nico will care for him. He's in good hands. Why don't we all part ways until he and Nico are ready to give us the details. He said not to worry for today, let us rest and reconvene on this tomorrow. Go to him." Hera says and we all flash out.

I rush into his room, the lights still on, and see him sleeping soundly. I grin ans sit next to his vulnerable form. I always sneak in to watch him sleep at keep. Every once in awhile missing in case he had one of his rare nightmares over the years. After a little bit, his face stopped being pained and more peaceful. Now I know he doesn't suffer from them, and he looks like when I first met him for real. The day I started to fall in love with a man and that man is now mine. 

I brush my fingertips over his exposed cheek. Warm. I smile and lay down next to him in my twelve year old form.  He's always so warm and radiates it if you get close enough. She makes the lights go out as she crawls underneath the covers with him. She kisses his cheek and snuggles close to his warmth. She knows he'll inquire about it in the morning if he wakes up first, which he usually does, but right now, in this moment, she doesn't care and she just wants to spend time with him before everything goes down.

I notice something on his wrist in the dark as my sight adjusts again. I examine it to find it is just a thread on his sleeve. Relieved, I hold onto him in a way that says I'm never letting go and fall asleep.

~The Next Morning~

I wake to the bed moving around. I blink sleepily to se Percy has this confused look on his face and is moving around in his sleep. I shake him and he sits up like an electro shock jolted through his spine. He looks around the room in panic an dthen looks down at me.

"Are you okay?" I ask him concerned.

Point of view: Perseus Jackson

I nod and think back on what my dream was. Odd. It was just my first day in Tartarus, something that happens once every three or four months. Well, my first day on my second visit there with all the torture...yeah. I blink a few times to clear my sleep blurred vision. I cover my mouth and yawn.

What Corruption said...if I had been there much longer and still hadn't broke, which I probably wouldn't have broke completely if I had lost all emotions by that point, then my torture would have become far worse. Before encountering the Pit Metal, I couldn't see that happening. Sure, the new ways they found t torture me with what they had hurt more each time and ripped at me in all new ways when they experimented with the same torture in different areas, but I can't believe just how wrong I was at that time. 

I think back to what I overheard Tartarus and Kronos speaking about one day while Gaea talked with me.

~Flashback~

"The boy needs to be punished further, not just this crap we've been using forever now. We need to step it up a little. C-" Kronos says.

Gaea sticks another needle into my left and bleeding eye. I scream, but it is muffled by the leather restraint over my mouth. I lok straight up at the ceiling to avoid more pain than needed and so Gaea won't do anything else. 

"Shut up you fool!" Tartarus exclaims and it falls quiet for a few seconds. "Now, you know we can't take it any farther until we find out just how much he is spent." 

"Listen to him. Mother is enjoying his tortured cries." Kronos tells him fervently.

As the last needle goes in my right eye, I scream again. Then Gaea brings over something that sloshes around, a liquid then. My already absent stomach seems to twist into a know and then become a pit. I realize what she is most likely holding. She pours it onto my eyes and the next scream is painful all in itself. 

Lemon juice. 

~Flashback End~

I'm shaken out of my flashback by my Moon and smile at her a little bit. 

So, Kronos almost slipped that day and said Corruption. Tartarus was being wary even then. Can Corruption truly be afraid of me? How far gone was I at that point? That was somewhere around 500 years into being dragged there against my unknowing will.

Artemis waves a hand in front of my eyes and I catch it automatically. I start fiddling with her hand and tracing patterns into it. She watches my movements as I keepthinking about a few things.

Tartarus was always careful with his words, just like Gaea when she referred to my predicament. But mostly, she was just musing about how I was going to be her pet, her slave. The others weren't as careful as Tartarus, but cautious enough to make me think more on their actions now. Annabeth was even more safeguarded than Tartarus. More precaution and never really left time for us to have actual conversation. Once, a man came in to see me. It definitely was not Corruption. No, not dark enough. But close to it.

Who was it then? 

I still haven't puzzled that one out. 

Wait. What did Corruption talk about? There was Chaos and Void and they were his nephew and brother. The brother is definitely older and this being was obviously older, but not that old. Surely not that old. He felt just as ancient as Gaea and Tartarus did and even less ancient feeling than Corruption himself. Possibly a little less. Did I see Chaos? Did I meet the Creator of the Universe?

~Flashback~

I am standing at least, for once. Instead of just hanging there like a rag doll. Pillars on either side of me connect to my wrists by shackles and keep me in place. I watch without care as the door opens. A figure ocovered in shadows comes in. At first I think it's Thanatos or AHdes or something of that sort. But I quickly snuff that moronic hope out. Nothing is left for me in the world up above, no one is coming to save me. 

The dark figure walks closer until it is only a few feet away, just outside the perimteter of the pillars. He circles around and then walks up to me. He makes me look at him, although I can't see under his hood. "What do you want? Your turn?" I ask darkly.

The figure freezes and then a celestial voice fills the room, but its source is the man in front of me. "No, I only come to see what my father has done to your soul." He answers.

"Oh, great." I reply sarcastically. "You do that." I nod at him. "Tartarus your father? Thanatos? Hades? What'd you do to join Tartarus and his stupid monsters?" 

"Good to know at least someone down here has a sense of humor that isn't twisted." He lets go of my face and I can hear a small smile in his voice. He steps back and as he dissolves, much to my surprise, he speaks. "Soon, hero, soon. I promise." And then he's gone.

~Flashback End~

That was just before the century I finally let my guard down in. 100 years later, Athena saved me. He was telling me that I would get out of that place soon. 

But...I wouldn't have believed that back then. I had resolved that no one was going to save me and that the Fates had me down there to punish me for everything I had done. I had decided that there was no way out for me and that I would have to survive down there on my own forever, just dealing with the constant, never ending pain dealt to me.

So, that must have been Chaos. He talked about his father doing something to my soul. So, Void has marked my soul in some way. But I have no clue as to what it looks like or what affects it could have on me. But why mark me? "Gods, I have the worst luck." I mutter.

"Is something wrong?" Artemis's brow furrows.

I shake my head and smile brightly at her. "Nothing. Let's go wake up my lazy lieutenant." I grin and oull her off the bed, but stop right in the middle of my pace in the middle of the doorway. "Wait a minute, why were you in my bed?"

She shrugs, blushing madly. "You were warm and I just fell asleep beside you."

I raise an eyebrow but don't bother to question her further on the matter. I pull her along until I slam the door open to Nico's room, causing him to jump out of bed and land on the other side of it, on the floor. He stands up agitated.

"Rise and shine bro!" I tell him.

He scowls and growls. "What the Hads are you doing?"

"Hey, we have a meeting today. And you need to learn to be an early riser, my friend. Stop being grumpy and hurry to the dining room. Don't make me drag you out of bed." I point at him and walk to the girls' room, waiting outside while Artemis checks to make sure they are dressed.

Rick Riordan owns PJO/HOO. I decided that I had made you wait long enough on this story. The others ones will be updated soon. Promise. See ya on the comment boards, my lovely readers, cause I wanna hear what you have to say!