"Annabeth!" Percy called. He leaned over the railing as far as he could to try and see Annabeth reaching out a hand when they were close enough and smiled as wide as he could when he saw her, tired, covered in cobwebs, beat up beyond belief, but alive.
"Here!" Annabeth called. She wasn't afraid anymore, she was happy because Percy was here and all of her friends were too. She could get out of this pit with the Athena Parthenos getting lifted with her safely.
Everything around her was crumbling, all of the things she had taken with her into the chasm, her backpack, Daedelus' laptop, the knife she had gotten from Luke. But that was okay since she was going to be saved soon. A rope ladder was thrown down, Percy climbing down to her since she was just standing there dazedly, and they hugged it out. Percy was talking to her as she cried, comforting her as she sobbed into his chest, and everybody was there soon as well.
Nico was a skeleton, looking like Death from his days in the jar. But he was smiling a little, glad to know that Annabeth was alright for the time being. Everybody wanted to know what happened, so Annabeth explained everything she did. Talking about how she outdid Arachne, how she got the Athena Parthenos back, and how they needed to take it to Greece to battle at the Doors of Death.
As they talked, the Athena Parthenos suddenly tilted until it looked like it was about to fall through. They scrambled to secure it when Annabeth yelled them to and they managed to lift it up to the bottom of the Argo II. Jason, Piper, Frank, and Leo were all up on the ship as Hazel, Nico, Percy, and Annabeth scrambled to the rope ladder, the floor caving in piece by piece as they did.
But there was a sudden pull on the cobwebs trailing behind Annabeth that had her gave a sharp tug, Hazel and Nico had made it to the ladder and Percy was looking at her, waiting for her to follow. But she couldn't. She didn't know why, she should be going forward, but she wasn't because of Arachne pulling on her legs, pulling her to the numerous gaps in the floor, the gaps that led directly to the deepest parts of the Underworld.
Hazel was trying to tell Percy to cut the spider silk off of her ankle, yet through her haze of pain from her broken ankle being pulled, she couldn't clarify for Percy and she ended up being pulled further towards the edge. Percy dove for her, but he was dragged along with her.
She was dangling off the edge, terrified and hurting beyond belief, but Percy had her, was trying to keep her up even though Arachne was pulling as hard as she could so she could get Annabeth down with her.
Hazel and Nico were sprinting to them. But Nico was in no shape to do much of anything right now.
They were hanging almost on nothing now, Annabeth had passed out momentarily from pain when her ankle hit something but when she came to, Percy was barely holding onto her wrist, her entire body dangling in the chasm. Nico was trying to see if they could reach them but Jason and Frank were there, climbing down enough that they could grab them, or at least one of them.
"Let me go…" Annabeth croaked. Percy had a determined look but his entire face was white with the effort to keep her up. Arachne was trying her hardest and she was succeeding as Annabeth's wrist slowly slid out of his grasp, Hazel catching Percy before he could jump after her.
"…No, no, no, NO!" Percy screamed, clawing at Hazel's arms in an attempt to get close enough to the chasm to jump down. Jason grabbed his waist and head, leaning on his arms so Percy was pressed against the chasm floor.
Nico stared at Annabeth's slowly darkening figure, sighing and closing his eyes. He didn't want to watch.
"LET ME GO!" Percy screamed, a nearby pipe bursting open. Rust coloured water sprayed everywhere, soaking the remaining floors and anybody near enough to it. "NO, she can't die on her own like that…"
Nico caught Percy's flailing legs and arms, leaning on them so they didn't hit Hazel. Hazel was screaming, calling, hoping somebody on the Argo II would hear them so they could get Percy back on the ship. More and more pipes had burst open, the water supply for the city they were in almost gone from how many pipes were going. There was huge pain in Percy's gut from the amount of water power he was using. He didn't feel it as he tried to break free. He almost got it, but Nico tackled his chest, Jason and Frank finally getting there and taking Percy away and back to the ship.
He thrashed and tried to get away until Nico's quiet raspy voice silenced him. "She's gone, Percy. She's…Gone."
It was as big a shock as any as Percy lay limp on the floor of the ship, looking at the sky and cursing anything that played a part in Annabeth dying. His entire face burned as he laid there. Everybody moved away from him, the seas in the distance starting to rage and thrash from his billowing anger.
Curse Zeus for closing Olympus. Curse Athena for not trying to help her own daughter. Curse Gaea for this stupid war.
Gaea.
She was the cause of this entire thing. She started the war. She promised the monsters freedom or whatever and that's why Arachne was there for Annabeth. That's why she died.
"…I'm going to tear Gaea limb from limb…" Percy mumbled. Only Nico was close enough to hear him and he looked over in alarm at Percy.
Jason ambled over, sitting next to Percy on the ground. "What was that, Percy?"
"I said, I'm going to tear Gaea limb from limb because of this." Percy repeated, loud enough that everybody on the deck heard him and stopped, looking over at him in alarm and concern.
"Percy…" Piper said, stepping forward. "That's not something I would do. It's not good to stew in your anger."
Percy looked over at her sharply, his hair damp from the sea spray and his eyes like green fire. "I swear on the River Styx that I will, Piper." There was a distant rumble of thunder and everybody tittered nervously.
Months passed and Percy was a bomb waiting to explode, ticking faster and faster the close they came to defeating Gaea. Every time they fought monsters, Percy became ruthless and didn't let up until everything that wasn't a part of his team was dead. He was scary and even Reyna was scared of how he changed.
At the final battle, they made it to Camp Half-Blood in one piece and they all hit the ground running. But everybody else ran to campers to help them with monsters threatening to overtake them. Not Percy.
Percy ran around the camp, searching for where Gaea would be. He was going to keep his promise no matter what. And when he stumbled into Nico and his small group trailing along to Octavian. He was led straight to her.
She was trapped in the ground from the statue, the station Annabeth died for, but she managed to break away. The statue's magic could only hold so much and for so long apparently so when Gaea rose, she was 20 feet tale, the earth becoming her, and everything she looked like was an aspect of the Earth.
Gaea was smiling sardonically, looking around at the terrified demigods around her, Piper's charm speak the only thing keeping the soldiers from running in terror. But Percy wasn't running away, he was running for her.
"GAEA!" Percy yelled. She looked at him in surprise, a small smile of mockery on her face as she faced him.
"Why, if it isn't the boy that set me free! How have you been after Annabell's little…Demise?" Gaea taunted Percy, which made him even angrier than he already was.
"For one, it's Annabeth. And it's been like I went to Hades and back. Of course, you'll be going there soon so don't worry, you can play catch up while down there."
Percy ran forward, Nico keeping pace with him as he ran, and tried to attack her. She wove her hand a little and made the ground bend towards her, everything becoming almost liquid as people were swept up and under the ground. Percy fought to stand upright, Nico the only thing keeping him up.
"Your fight is useless. It will never become something you will win. You will die. Scared, alone, never having a person shared the same experience. Just like poor little Annie died." Gaea laughed, like this was all a game.
"Literally nobody calls her a shorter version of her name." Percy mumbled, Nico snorting a little.
There was a sudden and huge crash behind Gaea. She screeched in surprise in anger before being swept into the air. Leo was riding Festus, his body completely restored and bronze like the day Festus was made, and had Gaea in a death grip.
He smiled down to where Percy was. "Don't you have a promise to fulfill, Percy?"
Percy smiled darkly as he shot forward, going to where Leo was waiting patiently for him to climb on. When Percy was on, the two shooting up towards where Gaea was, suspended in the air. Everybody was soon up and fighting again, the ground solid since Gaea wasn't controlling it to bend and twist like quick sand.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Leo muttered to Percy as they neared Gaea.
He nodded, his jaw set and his mouth a firm line. "Yes, I need to. Thank you, Leo."
Leo nodded as Percy jumped off of Festus, landing in the nest of branch like hair Gaea had and hacking and stabbing where ever he was sure would hurt the most.
Soon, Percy was using the Sound's water to lap at Gaea's feet, Poseidon definitely helping him when it got more powerful, to corrode her legs, at least he hoped it would. Percy wasn't great at multi-tasking so when Nico jumped onto Gaea next to him, he smiled a little bit, something that hurt to do, and they worked as a team.
When Percy pushed the water up Gaea's legs, Nico slashed at a different part of her body. The two jumped on opposite sides, in sync where to jump when she tried to swat them off. They were a team they hadn't been before and they worked well. Nico was nimble and used some of his leftover skeletons to help their attack, Gaea's dress wilting a little at their touch combined with Nico's.
In the end, Percy had managed to cut into Gaea's limb so much, they started falling off. He started low, going for her ankles and knees so she wasn't able to kick or walk on the ground. She screamed at him, thrashed at him, told him things that only Annabeth had told him in hopes it would throw him off. It didn't work as he worked harder, slicing deeper and deeper into the knees.
Gaea had shrunk slowly until she was only about the size of Tyson and had gotten weaker. She was away from the Earth so she couldn't draw power from it to help her grow back.
It was easy for Percy to cut and slash now. He got behind her and plunged Riptide into the back of her knee, the tip of the blade poking out of the front of the knee, and swiped to the side. The part dangled until Nico cut the other part off. Gaea screamed curses at him, thrashing futilely.
"So much for the Goddess of the Earth, huh, Gaea?" Percy taunted as he stabbed into her shoulder. He clung to parts of her dress so he would stay in the air, Nico gripping her hair so it was easy for Percy to cut at her.
"You talk as if…You are a God yourself, boy." She spat the word 'boy' like it was a major insult.
"I was offered immortality once. Maybe I could become one!" Percy snarled. He drove the blade into her stomach area, not really sure if she ate and there was a stomach, but nevertheless she wailed in pain again. Percy smiled grimly as the final limb, the part of her thigh that had clung hopelessly on, fell to the ground. It disintegrated like the rest of her body, the Earth taking it and spreading it against her will. She screamed even louder than before. She had no means of protection now and that Valdez boy was going to do something. She knew it.
But Percy got to her first, bringing the waves of the Sound to engulf her, bringing Nico close to him so they had their own little bubble of oxygen. Percy stared at Gaea as she shrieked, wind wiping her tree hair and her dress made of the Earth becoming soaking and blending into her body, becoming a part of her as she seemed to melt like wet sand.
Percy didn't realize it but he had created a hurricane, only realizing it when Nico looked at him in shock. They were in the eye and Gaea was getting the full force of the entire hurricane he had made around them.
Gaea wasn't much competition with no limbs to attack them, her cries only sounding pitiful. She seemed to melt like sand, slowly sinking into the ocean and being swept apart so she could never reform. It felt like the battle of New York all over again. But Annabeth wasn't here.
She would never going to be with him when he was alive again.
Percy slowly let the hurricane stop, making sure the water was underneath them as Nico and him landed on the ground again.
"Told you I would tear her limb from limb…" Percy mumbled. His voice cracked at the end and he sank to the ground. He buried his head in his hands and felt sobs wrack his body. He felt like there was this hole in him. Like he would never be whole again.
Nico kneeled next to him and awkwardly patted his head, running his hands through Percy's hair like Bianca used to do when he cried. It was awkward for him but he tried not to let it shoe as Percy cried beside him.
Everybody ran over, halting as they saw the two on the bank, Percy crying his eyes out and Nico actually touching him. Most of the campers had heard through the conversations of the Seven what had happened and looked at Percy in pity, all of the Athena cabin already feeling the affect of Annabeth's death. But Piper was the first to break from the crowd and run to Percy, gently hugging his head to her chest to comfort him.
Soon the rest of the Seven demigods were there, huddling around them as they comforted Percy, Leo cracking off wise cracks and puns to try to get a laugh. It worked as Percy calmed down, laughing at Leo's corny jokes soon and talking to them.
The campers dispersed, leaving them to rally the remaining enemies that might have stayed and to see how many had died. It was a heavy silence as the seven demigods sat with each other. Will had come over to help treat the multiple scratches Percy had all over him and treat anybody else before he ran off again. He was the head healer for Apollo cabin so he was bound to be busy for a while.
Percy had left the group to go to his cabin, sitting on the bed and pulling out a picture he had gotten from Thalia. It was when Annabeth was seven or so with Luke and Thalia on the run to get to Half-Blood Hill. She was smiling even though her hair was wispy and full of twigs, her clothes were a few sizes too big, and there was dirt everywhere on her.
Percy smiled as he pinned the picture on the wall. Annabeth was one person he was never going to forget.
If he did he was pretty sure Hera would be kicked out of Olympus again.