Tortured One

Found

Location: Unknown
3rd Person POV
She sighed. Three more years had gone by, and still, no sign of their lost Savior. The Gods were starting to loose hope. Her silvery yellow eyes closed in sadness, remembering the promise she had made on the anniversary of his disappearance. Her heart ached to find him, unwilling to give up the hope that was beginning to fade even from Hestia.

Running a hand through her auburn hair, Artemis opened her eyes and looked determinedly at her hunters gathered before her.

"I realize many of you do not understand why we continue to search for Perseus Jackson as it has been fifteen years since his disappearance. However, we have been tasked with finding him and we do not fail in the tasks we are given. Therefore, our hunt will continue." Artemis pauses, looking at each of her hunters, and lingers on the troubled face of her lieutenant. "It will not end until he has been found. Let us not fail our Savior, albeit a man, in this endeavor."

Her hunters nodded, determination showed in the set of their jaws and the look in their eyes. They would not fail the mission they had been given.

Location: Tartarus, Torture Chamber
Chilling laughter was heard. Seemingly impossible, it echoed around the chamber. The whispers that came with it tore into the inhabitant's psyche.

DEATH and DESTRUCTION follows you. All of the devastation that we have endured, has, in some way, been caused by YOU. Glad I figured out you were nothing but trouble, our friendship was a lie. As was my love for you, glad I got out of that quickly.

Is heard from the mouth of his first friend.

Yes, all those deaths, my BIG SISTER, were all your fault. 

The words stabbed at him, his guilt ripping him apart.

The hate continued, spewed from the mouths of the ones he loves, the ones he has not seen in...in...in, well, he doesn't know how long.

Tormented verdant eyes closed, mind lost in the cruel words of phantoms of his loved ones. 

Brilliant red watched him from the shadows, smiling gleefully, Yes, soon...soon he will be broken and I will be able to mold him into the perfect weapon. A weapon at my disposal, no one, not the Gods, nor those pesky little half-bloods, will be able to stop my world domination.

The malevolent presence faded from the cell. Percy looked up, having heard the thoughts of his captor, the years of exposure to the being had created a sensitivity to unspoken words within him. A new determination rose up within him.

It was time.

Three Months Later

Laboriously, Percy crawled from the depths of the cave. He had no idea where he was, he had expended all of his energy escaping from confinement without being detected by the numerous dracaena and teklehines guarding his prison. Somehow, he had found a previously undetected breach in the walls of Tartarus himself. He had slipped through the breach and ended up in a tunnel that eventually led to where he is now. A cave. A cave hidden in a rock formation surrounded by serene forest.

His vision swirled around him, the trees and shrubbery of the forest around him blended into a green and brown haze. Spots of silver appeared.

Percy frowned, What are those? Silver does not appear naturally in forests.

Before he could make the connection, Morpheus forcibly pulled him from the land of awareness.

Artemis stared. She had brought her girls to Kootenai National Forest, for a well-deserved respite from their search for the missing Savior. The years of searching had taken their toll on all of them, especially Thalia. 

Montana is good hunting, however, she did not think they would stumble upon their missing Savior on the seventh day of their three week relaxation period.

Therefore she stared. As did her hunters.

The man in front of them was barely recognizable. Only the vibrant green eyes gave him away they rolled back into his head and he collapsed, half on the stone of the formation and half on the soft mulch of the forest. 

The tentative "Percy?" from Thalia beside her, snapped Artemis out of her stupor. 

Rushing forward, Artemis carefully rolled the man over onto his back. Thalia gasped. The state of her cousin was much worse than first glace. Looking around, Artemis found the rest of her hunters half hidden by the foliage. Spotting Atlanta, daughter of Apollo, she called to her, "Atlanta! Could you go set up the infirmary and make sure you are ready with your medical supplies? we need to stabilize him. we'll be behind you."

The stunned girl nodded, turning and taking off, nimbly jumping over roots and dodging trees and other obstacles. Artemis turned her attention back to the man on the ground before her. She winced, seeing the blood oozing out of the wounds on his chest. "Thalia, help me carry him," Artemis commanded.

"Yes, M'Lady,' came the shaky reply.

Carefully sitting Percy up, they each put an arm under his shoulders and a hand beneath each knee. Lifting slowly, a groan of pain came from their unconscious cargo, Artemis and Thalia exchanged a look and started walking towards base camp.

Fortunately, they were only about half a mile from where they had set up. Arriving, Artemis spotted Atlanta lingering in the entryway of the infirmary tent. Moving out of the way, Atlanta gestured to the camp bed she had set up. 

Gently lowering the wounded man, Goddess and lieutenant placed Percy on the bed softly. Ordering the two out of her workspace, Atlanta started to heal the now  found Savior.

Outside, Thalia watched as her Lady rubbed at her temples and sighed.

"I am going to have to call a meeting on Olympus. The Gods need to know he has been found."

"I understand. Do you want me to come with you or stay to oversee the camp, M'Lady?"

Artemis glanced at her lieutenant, she knew Thalia would prefer to stay, just in case her cousin woke up.

"Thalia, stay, watch over the camp, watch over him," Artemis said softly. 

Thalia looked at her gratefully and nodded.

"Thank you, M'Lady. You should get going."

Squaring her shoulders, Artemis scanned the camp one last time, seeing all of the concerned and stoic faces looking back at her. She sighed, knowing the meeting was going to be an ordeal. Instinctively, the hunters shielded their eyes or turned away as their patron flashed to Olympus to discus the now found Savior of Olympus.

A/N So.... I have no excuse as to why this story is being updated nearly three years after I started it, but I updated it. You're welcome, hope you enjoyed it. (Please comment, need to know how y'all want this story to go. Thx).