(Previously on Pain:
Chiron ran off and screams came from the infirmary. Will was shaking hard and ran back in, the screams dying out almost instantly.)
With a flash, Apollo and Poseidon were standing in front of the infirmary. Will ran out and began talking as quickly as possible to his dad.
"... the wounds were injected with some kind of potion, and it seems like the potion was a type of poison for torture. So, he can feel the pain all together. If I'm correct, the type of poison makes the person's nerves go haywire, and it makes them feel pain. So basically, like your entire body is on fire, you can't escape it and you're slowly going insane from pain."
Poseidon paled more and more. Apollo ran in as Poseidon saw the seven watching. He walked over to them.
"Hey, thanks for saving Percy from Tartarus," Poseidon thanked them.
"No problem. Do they know a cure to the poison?" Thalia asked.
Poseidon shook his head.
"I know as much as you do. We'd ask Athena, but she's still in denial about Annabeth, otherwise I have a feeling she knows," he complained with a scowl on his face.
Thalia clenched her hands into fists.
"Can't Zeus order her to help with the cure?!" She growled.
Poseidon sighed symphetically.
"The problem is, Zeus doesn't care. Even though Percy saved the world so many times, Zeus thinks of Demigods as tools. So, his exact words were, 'He's just a mere demigod,' so we gave up on trying to convince Zeus and now we're working on healing Percy. If the prophecy is true, then, Percy might be the only one to save the world. Zeus doesn't care too much, since we're gods, we'll reform even though earth is either destroyed or non-existent."
Everybody paled a bit. There was a knock on the door and Will ran in.
"Lord Poseidon, he's up, we got almost every trace of poison from his blood and we think that in an hour, he'll be good," Will panted.
Poseidon's face gained color and he ran out, following Will to the infirmary. Percy was just sitting there, looking off to the distance. When Poseidon ran in, he gasped.
"Dad?"
Poseidon smiled sadly and hugged Percy.
"Son."
Poseidon explained the most recent events on Olympus to Percy, who was ready to kill Zeus. Suddenly, there was shouting outside. Percy ran out, followed by Poseidon.
The seven were yelling at each other. Some were crying, some were yelling. Everybody walked away eventually, but Percy was ready to scream from frustration.
"Those idiots!" He yelled to nobody in particular.
Poseidon looked at Percy confusedly, who sighed.
"The prophecy? It said the seven will break, and look, a small argument caused this. It has to be influenced by somebody or something," Percy said.
Poseidon gasped.
"Well, we need to tell them," he mused.
Percy rolled his eyes.
"It's not that simple. If it's predicted, we need a fool-proof plan to stop the rise of Gaea."
Poseidon sighed and nodded. Apollo was coming toward them.
"Percy, if you need me, just pray and I'll come. You can do this," Poseidon said, and flashed out.
"I can't," Percy whispered, and sighed at the spot his father stood before.
"Hey, Perce."
Percy gave a sad smile to Apollo.
"Hey. Come on, let's walk."
They held hands as they walked toward the forest. Percy remembered some stuff, but looking at Apollo, it all flashed away.
"I love you," Percy blurted out suddenly. He blushed and looked away.
"Good, because I love you too," Apollo said cheekily.
Percy looked at him in shock. Apollo shrugged and smiled genuinely at him. Percy returned it, finding it easy to smile for once. Staring into each other's eyes, they began to lean in. Their lips met, and they began kissing each other softly.
They broke apart with smiles on their faces.
"That was fun," Percy said, causing them both to laugh.
Apollo hugged him and they made their way to the infirmary. That night, Percy didn't have nightmares.
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The next morning, the seven was called to Olympus to discuss the prophecy and what it means.
"I already told them," Poseidon said, annoyed at Zeus' lack of acceptance.
"I know, Zeus is annoying like that," Percy said, causing the sky to rumble.
"Shut up! I would've said worse," Poseidon growled, yelling at the sky.
After everybody was prepared, they flashed into Olympus.
"Okay, as you all know, Rachel Dare gave us a new prophecy, predicting the rise of Gaea and the destruction of Earth," Zeus began.
Everybody nodded to Zeus' words.
"Poseidon already told you what the prophecy means, and so you know that it's our fight and not yours to fight. You don't want to, anyway. What the prophecy leads to is basically that, too. There's your answer. We'll train harder, find A-Annabeth, stop Gaea. If we fail, we fight to death," Percy said, earning nods from the Olympians.
After some more stupid discussion, it was decided that they would listen to Percy. When they were flashed back to camp, Percy stopped them.
"Guys, us fighting is a part of Gaea's plan. So either get over it, or the world ends because you held a grudge against your friends. Your choice."
With that, Percy walked back to the infirmary for a check-up and Will rushed over, checking everything.
The gods and goddesses of Olympus were fighting. Guessing who said what wasn't hard.
"WE SHOULD HAVE A WAR!"
"NO, YOU IDIOT, WE DON'T WANT EARTH TO GET DESTROYED! DO YOU WANT DESTRUCTION?!"
"YEAH, ALL OF MY SHIPS AND MONEY'S ON THE PEOPLE IN IT!"
"I'M AWESOME!"
"SHUT UP!"
Everybody fell silent and looked at Poseidon.
"There is gonna be a war, there are gonna be deaths, Gaea is gonna rise. Once you all get that through your thick heads, IM me and I'll come. For now, I have a son to help."
They all gaped at his maturity. Poseidon flashed away, finding Percy leaving the infirmary.
"Percy," Poseidon called out.
Percy looked at his dad.
"Dad? I thought there was still a discussion on Olympus," he said, looking at his dad questioningly.
"There was. I told everybody to shut up and accept it, and now I'm here," he proudly said.
Percy chuckled at his dad.
"I got the seven back together. An-Annabeth is a lost cause, anyway."
Percy looked away. Poseidon frowned.
"She can't get you."
"That's what you said after she did that to me."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Percy looked at his dad.
"What?"
"About your step-father abusing you."
Percy exhaled sharply, bitinv his lip. Noticing this, Poseidon hugged him.
"I-I don't know. I just didn't- I mean, I never told anybody about it besides her because I trusted her, and Apollo a few days ago," Percy said with a shrug.
Poseidon sighed in defeat, knowing that Percy had a point. He checked the time and turned to his son.
"It must be dinner time, why don't you go eat?"
Percy looked away.
"I don't want to eat. I've only eaten because Will forced me to, otherwise I'm good."
Poseidon scowled and lifted Percy up from the ground, dragging him to the dining pavilion. He only let him down when people could see them. Percy only got a couple of blue cookies and water.
Poseidon chuckled at his son's eating habits. After dinner, Percy immediately went to bed, having yet another nightmare.
The dream:
Annabeth and Gaea's mist figure stood in a place in Tartarus. Annabeth had a book open in front of her and was chanting something in a foreign language.
Suddenly, Gaea shrieked. Her mist figure devolved and the earth rumbled. A few seconds later, there was a blinding flash and Gaea herself stood there. Annabeth smirked and looked at Gaea.
"Are you ready to rage war?"
Annabeth laughed.
"Always."
~~~~~~~
Percy woke up, drenched in cold sweat. She was alive.
Percy got outside and went to the beach. It was well-lit even though it was 4 a.m. and the sun hadn't risen yet.
Poseidon sighed and put a hand on Percy's shoulder.
"She's up."
Poseidon nodded.
"Olympus felt the disturbance and a blast of power coming from Tartarus, but when Hades checked it out, Gaea had already cloaked herself."
Percy looked off at the sea.
"We only have a week left. Two weeks passed with my PTSD and Tartarus, Annabeth had said three weeks then. We need to train the Demigods harder and prepare weapons. I have lots to do tomorrow."
Percy sighed as Poseidon stared at his son sadly.
"You're still only 17, it's so bad you have to deal with all this stuff."
Percy grimaced and nodded. With a flash, Hestia and Hermes stood in front of them.
Percy immediately bowed and all three Olympians laughed.
"Percy, we're practically friends, you don't have to bow," Hermes said.
Hestia chuckled and nodded. Percy blushed and cut to the chase.
"Why're you here?"
The three looked at each other.
"Hermes and I want to bless you. With the current war coming up, you might need more power. And, even though neither of us particularly have special skills, I'm betting you can find something useful from them. Do you agree?"
Percy nodded. Hermes and Hestia closed their eyes, and there was a flash of light.
"Thank you," Percy said gratefully. The Olympians smiled before flashing out, leaving the father and son alone.
The sun was slowly rising now. The sky was a gentle orange, and Poseidon smiled at his son proudly before flashing out. With a sigh, Percy went back to his cabin, preparing for the day.
Once it was breakfast, Percy immediately just had blue coffee and blue cookies. His to-do list for the day was finished by noon.
To-Do List
• Remake practice schedule for the campers.
• Ask the Hephaestus cabin for more weaponry.
• Talk to Chiron about the upcoming war.
• Alert the campers of Gaea's revival.
• Talk to the seven about strategy.
• Train harder.
Percy was pleased to find all of his plans done for the day. He went down and finally had a full dinner (A blue hamburger with blue coke), pleasing Will as well.
He was peaceful, except for the doomsday counter in his head, counting down the days in his head.
With a flash, Hermes stood in front of the Demigods, running toward Percy.
"Percy- it's the Olympians. Again," he panted.