10-26-13
Hello, everybody! Wow, I said I'd have this out about a month ago... I was originally going to call it "Fatal Flaw," but then I realized I wanted to use that name on a different fic.
So, for all of you unlucky people who haven't read "House of Hades" yet (like me) this is one of the ways I think it could end. For all of you lucky people who have already read HoH, I am greener than a dryad with jealousy. Here's an alternate ending for you; unless I'm right...
So, hope you enjoy! And just in case you get mad at me and don't want to read the rest, please read the author's note at the bottom.
Percy staggered out of the Doors, practically dragging Annabeth along beside him. He stopped and blinked at the sudden brightness, unaccustomed to the light. Clouds covered the sun, but it still didn't change the fact that Tartarus had been blacker than night.
Tartarus.
Percy shuddered involuntarily. Nope, he thought. Bad self. Don't think about it, you'll just freak yourself out.
A cool breeze washed over him, and Percy sighed with relief. Fresh air, after so many days underground. He struggled forward a few more steps, than collapsed to the ground, taking Annabeth with him. He pulled her onto his lap and hugged her tight, closing his eyes and burying his face into her filthy hair.
"We made it," he whispered. "We actually made it."
Annabeth reached up and hugged his neck. "Of course, Seaweed Brain," she said, laughter dancing in her voice. "We're together."
Now that might have sounded corny, but to Percy, it meant everything.
"Together," he repeated.
They sat for a minute or two, too tired and relieved to go any farther.
Just then, a giant sigh came from the opening behind them, like something really big was inhaling. Percy felt it pulling on him, dragging them back toward the darkness.
"Nope!" he exclaimed, standing up and pushing forward with the last of his energy. "Not happening." But he wasn't making any headway. At this point, he was walking in place, struggling against an invisible force. It was like walking through a wind tunnel.
"Percy," Annabeth said, sounding slightly panicked.
"It's okay," Percy assured her. "We're fine." Even to himself, he sounded scared.
Inch by inch, step by step, they drew closer to the dreaded opening.
Percy yelled aloud in frustration. They had not come this far to be beaten by a stupid wind. He gritted his teeth, plowing forward and managing to stagger forward a few feet before the suction increased, dragging them until they were just outside the Doors, and he knew it was hopeless. They were going in.
Suddenly, he heard a shout of surprise, then something yanked his arm and dragged him clear.
He and Annabeth tumbled to the rocky ground a good twenty feet away from the opening, panting for breath.
Percy frantically yanked Riptide from his pocket, flicked off the cap, and swung at the figures above them before the sword had fully expanded.
Someone yelped in surprise, and his sword stopped with a clang as something blocked it from its intended target.
"Whoa!" a familiar voice cried. "It's us! It's cool! We're cool!"
Percy finally focused on what was in front of him, and realized that he had been stopped by a very familiar golden sword. He followed the blade with his eyes up to the handle, to the hand holding it, then up the arm to find himself looking up into the striking blue eyes of Jason Grace. He realized that Jason had stopped Riptide just before it had cut a very panicked looking Leo in half. Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Nico flanked them, each looking down at Percy with a mixture of apprehension and relief in their eyes.
Percy let his sword clatter to the ground in front of him, almost sobbing with relief. "Sorry," he managed.
Jason studied him critically, then his face split into a grin. "Hey, no problem. Right, Leo?" He elbowed Leo in the ribs.
"Oof! Yeah, no problem. Sure I almost got split like a coconut, but still, no problem."
Percy closed his eyes and let his head loll backward onto the ground, too tired to do anything else. Instinctively, he reached his hand out to the side, searching for a familiar palm. He wasn't disappointed. Annabeth's slender hand slipped into his, and for a moment it was just him, Annabeth, and their joined hands. They had survived Tartarus. They kind of deserved a little break.
"Made it," Annabeth breathed next to him.
"Yep," he agreed. Suddenly, he realized something disturbing. His eyes flickered open and he peered up at his friends. "Hey, where's Gaea's army?" he asked. "I thought she was guarding these Doors with all she's got."
Leo grinned. "Oh, them? Well, thanks to Beauty Queen over here, we dumped the Athena Parthenos in the entrance, which pretty much caused mass panic among the giants. All we have to do is keep back the few monsters brave enough to venture farther than Athena's glow. Sweet, huh?"
Piper was blushing. "Leo!" she protested. "It wasn't that amazing! And don't call me Beauty Queen!"
Leo shrugged. "Whatever, Beauty Queen."
She punched him in the arm. "Repair Boy," she growled.
"Ow," he muttered, rubbing his arm.
Annabeth nodded approvingly in Piper's direction. "Good thinking, Piper. Worthy of a daughter of Athena."
Piper blushed even deeper. "Uh, thanks," she stammered.
Percy tried to get up, but his legs simply wouldn't support him. He fell back on his back with a grunt of annoyance. "Fine, be that way," he scolded his feet.
"Um, Percy? You okay?"
He looked up to see all of them looking at him with concern. No, I am not okay, he wanted to yell. I just escaped from hell, for Zeus's sake. But he managed a smile.
"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied.
Jason held out his hand, and Percy took it, reluctantly releasing Annabeth and hauling himself to his aching feet. Instantly, he pitched into Jason, almost sending them both tumbling.
"Whoa, man," Jason said, his voice laced with concern. "You okay?"
Percy shook himself to try and clear the spots from his vision. "Fine," he said. "Just tired." To prove his point, he pushed himself off of Jason. He swayed slightly as he stood, but at least he didn't fall over again. He leaned down and grasped Annabeth's hand, and just managed to pull her to her feet without tipping. He wrapped his arm under hers to keep her upright.
"Here, let me help," Jason said, reaching out to support Annabeth.
Percy flinched backward. "It's okay, we're good," he said, a little too quickly.
Jason frowned, but stayed back.
There was an awkward silence, soon broken by a loud boom and monsters screaming in victory.
They turned and saw, to their horror, that the monsters were launching grappling hooks and lines around the Athena Parthenos. Their intentions were clear: to pull it over so it would smash against the rocky ground.
"We'd better stop them," Jason said, drawing his sword. "The last thing we need is for our number one—not to mention only—defense smashed to rubble." He started toward the entrance, followed closely by the others. "You two stay here," he ordered. "You've been through enough in the past few weeks to fight three wars over."
As much as he wanted to, Percy couldn't really argue with that. He was almost too tired to stand, let alone fight. He limped carefully over to the wall and helped Annabeth settle down on the ground with her back against the rock. He plopped down beside her, exhaling slowly.
"We're alive," he said, reaching out to take Annabeth's hand.
"Yeah," she said softly, moving so she was leaning against his shoulder.
Percy turned to watch the battle unfold, trying to keep back the flicker of annoyance of his own helplessness.
Jason was flying around the Athena Parthenos, cutting the lines as fast as he could while Leo set the stuff around the statue's feet on fire. But no matter how fast they cut them, more just kept coming until they had almost completely tangling the Athena Parthenos with black rope.
"Oh gods," Annabeth gasped. "They're not trying to pull it over. They're trying to block out its light."
Percy realized that she was right. Every line thrown wrapped around the statue multiple times before coming to a halt. Their friends, seemingly unaware of the danger, only focused on the lines leading into the crowds of monsters, leaving the rest hanging off the statue like a giant black spider web, slowly but surely extinguishing Athena's powerful aura.
"We have to warn them," Annabeth cried.
Percy heaved himself upright, barely stopping his head from smashing against the rock wall as he teetered sideways. "Schist," he hissed.
"Excuse me?" Annabeth asked, one eyebrow raised.
"The rock, not the word it sounds like. Inside joke, tell you later." He shook the spots out of his eyes, trying to get his vision to focus. He took a deep breath, and thrust one foot forward, pushing himself carefully off of the wall. His knees buckled slightly, but held his weight. "I'm going to tell them," he said.
"Then I'm coming with you," Annabeth announced, moving to stand up.
Percy stooped down and gripped her shoulders, keeping her firmly seated on the ground.
"No, Annabeth. You stay here," he said gently.
She glared up at him, her grey eyes flashing defiantly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Percy beat her to it.
"Your ankle isn't fully healed yet. You should rest in case…" he trailed off, but they both knew what he was thinking: in case the Athena Parthenos wasn't enough. In case the monsters broke through the barrier. "Besides," Percy continued, "you can keep an eye on the Doors. Let us know if something's coming up on our backs. I doubt the monsters inside will avoid the light for much longer."
Annabeth stared up at him, and Percy knew she saw right through his feeble attempt to convince her to stay. He had expected as much. If he'd learned anything from being around her for nearly six years, it was that Annabeth wasn't stupid. Even the mere thought of her being stupid was stupid.
Her eyes filled with a fierce resolve, and Percy thought she was going to call him off as a liar. Then she did something he didn't expect: she reached up and grabbed a fistful of the fabric that used to be blue jeans. "Promise me you'll come back," she said, grey eyes boring into his. "Promise me I'll see you again."
"Of course I'll see you again," Percy said, trying to sound lighthearted. "Why wouldn't I?" But as he spoke, something flickered on the edge of his mind. A disturbing thought that he couldn't quite place a finger on. He pushed it aside. He'd figure it out later.
Annabeth continued to look at him, waiting expectantly.
"I promise," he said, leaning down and kissing her gently.
When they finally pulled away, Percy was surprised to see tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Good luck, Seaweed Brain," she whispered.
That same strange flicker of doubt flashed through Percy's mind again, but his foggy brain wasn't fast enough to catch it before it had danced out of his thoughts again.
Percy pecked her lightly on her dirty cheek. "Be back soon," he promised. He turned and began to walk slowly toward the exit opening of the temple, his unsteady steps becoming faster and more confident as his legs seemed to finally understand what he wanted them to do. He glanced back at Annabeth who was watching him walk away, and a growing sense of foreboding overcame him with every step he took.
Suddenly, he heard a loud yell coming from just ahead. He swiveled around to look back at the statue, and gasped in horror. A stray line had somehow snagged Jason's ankles, yanking him from the sky, the stray end wrapping around Athena's waist. Jason's head smacked painfully against the marble, and he hung limply upside down from the line, swaying hypnotically back and forth like a pendulum.
Percy screeched to a halt and brought his fingers to his mouth, whistling as loud as he could. He prayed to all the gods that his friend was somewhere nearby. He wasn't disappointed. No sooner had his fingers left his mouth when a familiar black shape swooped down in front of him, rearing on his hind legs in joy.
Yo, boss! Blackjack said in Percy's mind. You're alive!
Percy managed a smile. "Yeah, Blackjack. Still trying to figure out how."
Blackjack snorted indignantly. You're the boss, boss. Of course you're alive.
Percy suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. "Enough of the boss. Do you think you can give me a lift? I'd hate to leave Jason stranded."
You've come to the right horse, boss. Hop on.
Percy did just that—or at least tried to. His muscles and joints creaked in protest as he swung one leg up, and he fell back to the ground.
Blackjack crouched low so that Percy landed flat on the horse's back instead of the marble floor. Hey, boss, you okay? he asked worriedly.
Percy gritted his teeth, struggling to keep thoughts of Tartarus from his mind. He didn't want the pegasus to freak out anymore than he already was. "Fine," he grumbled. "Just tired." He winced at how stupidly obvious that was. He'd already used that same excuse with the others, but Blackjack didn't need to know that. He carefully swung a leg over the kneeling Blackjack, and the pegasus slowly stood up.
Percy gripped the black mane, fighting off a wave of nausea as Blackjack took to the air, flapping his wings hard to gain altitude. It was all Percy could do to stay on as his friend fought his way higher and higher into the sky.
"Take me as close as you can," he told the horse, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Heights had never been a problem for him before, but after falling almost endlessly in the dark, it was kind of hard not to at least be wary.
The pegasus whinnied in reply and glided toward the stranded son of Jupiter, pulling up about ten feet in front of the stunned blonde's swinging form.
This is about as close as I can get, boss, Blackjack said.
Percy eyed the gap between him and his cousin. Too far to jump. But if he could manage to reach the ropes that held him…
"Jason!" he yelled.
Jason stirred and moaned, reaching up to rub the lump on his forehead, opening his eyes to find himself staring down into nothingness. "Ah!" he exclaimed, jerking violently as he tried to get loose.
"Jason!" Percy called again.
Jason wiggled around and managed to make eye contact. "Percy? How—what—"
"You got hit by a stray line," Percy explained. "Listen, get ready to fly. I'm going to cut you loose."
Jason nodded, which looked kind of funny when he was upside down.
"Blackjack, can you get me within swinging range?"
Blackjack cocked his head, seemingly contemplating the situation. I'll try, he decided. He slowly glided forward, halting seven feet from the statue before whinnying in frustration. I can't get any closer, boss! I'll wack Sparky in the face!
Percy raised an amused eyebrow. "Sparky?"
"What?" Jason cried, trying to pull himself up to untie the line wrapped around his legs, but not having much luck as he swung around crazily like a fish on a hook. "What do you mean by 'Sparky'?"
"Nothing," Percy said. He uncapped Riptide and made a cautious swipe at the rope. He cursed as the blade hissed a good two feet away from his target. He leaned forward as far as he dared, one hand gripping Blackjack tightly.
Yow! Blackjack cried. Watch the mane!
"Sorry," Percy mumbled. He tried to stretch the final few inches, and his legs began to slip off Blackjack's back. He jerked back instantly, almost falling off Blackjack's other side as he fought to stay on.
Whoa! Hey, boss, calm down!
Percy lay pressed against Blackjack, his heart pounding like crazy. His breath came in fast, shallow bursts, and his arms and legs had firmly wrapped themselves around the horse's belly. He squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in Blackjack's silky mane, trying to push the memories away.
Falling, falling, falling. Seemingly trapped in time, not knowing how far or how long it had been going on for. Hours? Weeks? No way to tell. Only the constant knowledge of imminent doom once it finally ended.
"Percy! Percy!"
Percy started slightly as he was pulled from his thoughts, feeling slightly disoriented. "Wha—?"
Jason was craning his neck to look at him as he swung around like a marionette in the wind, his expression concerned. "You okay?" he asked.
Blackjack had turned his head to the side and was looking at him worriedly with one eye. You blacked out for a second, boss. What was that all about?
Percy took a shaky breath, forcefully unlocking his grip on Blackjack's ribcage and sitting back upright. "Nothing," he said. "Just—nothing."
Neither of them seemed convinced. The truth was, even Percy had no idea what had just happened. He decided not to dwell on it. There were more pressing matters that required his attention at the moment, like cutting his yo-yo cousin loose.
"Hey, Blackjack, fly a little higher," Percy suggested.
Blackjack obliged, fluttering about ten feet above Jason's feet.
Percy reached into his pocket, pulled out his pen, and uncapped it, feeling a slight sense of comfort as the familiar weight of the bronze blade grew in his palm. "Jason, get ready to fly," he ordered. He didn't wait for an answer, but swung outwards with Riptide, severing the rope that had held his cousin aloft.
Jason free fell about ten feet before he managed to break his momentum, coming to a halt fifteen feet from the hard earth. He shot upwards like a rocket, coming to a stop just outside of Blackjack's huge wingspan.
"Thanks, man," he said gratefully.
Percy gave a quick salute. "Anytime, Grace."
Jason studied him closely. "You sure you're okay?"
Percy opened his mouth to respond, but a flicker of movement caught his eye. He turned to look, squinting into the inky blackness of the temple below. Were the Doors…moving? Two figures, Frank and Hazel, were pressed against the outside Door, slowly closing the gap. He glanced around quickly and confirmed that Piper and Leo were at the statue's feet, piling up hay bales around the perimeter for some reason. But if they were down there, who was on the Tartarus side? He felt his heart stop. Frantically, his head jerked to the side, scanning the place where he had left Annabeth. She wasn't there.
"Oh my gods," he wheezed.
"What?" Jason demanded. "What's wrong?"
But Percy had already urged Blackjack downwards. He jumped off the pegasus's back before he had even landed, rolling to break his fall. He leapt to his feet and flat out sprinted toward the nearly closed Doors.
"Annabeth!" he yelled, struggling to squeeze through the narrow opening.
Someone grabbed his shoulder and yanked him out.
Percy immediately went into combat mode. He brought his arm up and around, effectively twisting out of his attaker's grasp as he pulled his pen from his pocket and pulled off the cap in one fluid motion. But before he could swing, a huge hand encircled his right wrist, keeping his sword pointing firmly upwards. He lashed out with his left, hoping to take his attacker by surprise, but his fist was stopped in the same way. Just as he was about to kick the thing in an uncomfortable place, a voice finally broke into his panic: "Percy, stop it!"
He turned to realize that Hazel was standing just behind his attacker, looking scared and horrified. That was when Percy finally took a good look at his so-called 'attacker.' He realized with a shock that he was being held in place by Frank's fists. He blinked owlishly up at his friend. "What was that for?" he asked.
Frank let forth a short, bitter laugh. "I would say the same to you."
Percy shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. Thought you were a monster or something. Let me go now?"
Frank's eyes flashed with pity, but his fingers remained firmly clamped around Percy's wrists. He shook his head. "No," he said simply.
Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?"
"Because I said so."
Percy turned to see the stern face of Annabeth Chase peeking out from between the Doors. He moved to go toward her, only to remember that Frank still had him securely locked between his fingers. A cold hand gripped his heart as he realized what was happening. "Annabeth," he pleaded, "don't do this to me."
Annabeth smiled, but it never reached her eyes. "You know someone has to do it, Seaweed Brain. Ask Frank."
Percy glanced questioningly at said person, who looked extremely uncomfortable.
"You know that time when Mars visited me?" Frank said finally. "Back at my Grandmother's house?"
Percy nodded.
"Well, he told me about fatal flaws, and how every hero has one. He told me that yours was loyalty. He—he said—well, he said that someday you were going to have to make a decision that you couldn't make. And—and I'm supposed to help you with my sense of duty, or something."
Percy stared at him, dumbfounded. "What?" he croaked. An ominous creak echoed from the Doors. Percy's knees went weak as the gap became a crack.
"I love you," came a voice from inside. Annabeth's voice.
"No!" he cried. In desperation, he dug his nails into Frank's wrists. Frank yelped in surprise and pain, giving Percy the opening he needed to wrestle out of his iron fists. He shot toward the Doors, his eyes zeroed in on the minuscule opening.
But he was too late.
The final inches closed just as he slammed into the heavy marble slabs, the bolt slamming home with an ominous BOOM!
"No! Annabeth!" Percy struggled to undo the bolt, but something pulled him back. He whirled around to find Jason gripping his shoulder.
"Percy," he said, eyes full of pain. "She's gone."
Percy stared at him in incomprehension. Annabeth couldn't be gone. She was Annabeth. She couldn't…she shouldn't…
And then it hit him like a sledgehammer. She had sacrificed herself to close the Doors of Death. She wasn't coming back. His vision tunneled on the army of monsters barely held back by the light of the Athena Parthenos as Leo set the hay bales ablaze, forming a ring of fire just outside of the statue's powerful aura. All it did was add a more evil atmosphere around the…the monsters that had taken Annabeth from him. And for that, they were going to pay.
Hardly realizing what he was doing, he picked Riptide off the ground. His breath coming in short, angry bursts, he started toward his target, the edges of his vision taking on a red tinge. He slowly sped up until he was flat out sprinting, undeterred by the flames leaping fifteen feet in the air. Without breaking stride, he snatched a spear off the ground, not quite sure where it came from, but too angry to care. A horrible, pained scream echoed off the marble walls of the temple, and he dimly realized it was coming from his own mouth. Red shadowy figures that may have been his friends retreated from his path, shouting incomprehensibly at him as he charged the only thing standing in his way. Heat blistered his skin as he shoved the speartip into the ground, vaulting lightly over the red tongues of flame that licked at his tattered shoes.
He landed feet first on a hellhound's spinal cord, successfully snapping it in half and driving the beast into dust on the ground. Before the monsters had recovered their wits, he had killed a dozen assorted beasts, easily cutting down everything within reach.
He dimly heard his friends calling to him from the other side of the barrier, yelling at Leo to get them through, but the words meant nothing to him.
He plowed forward, sword cleaving through the monsters like dry sand. He didn't think about what he was doing, he just slashed at anything and everything in his path. Blood pounded through his brain, almost like a headache, and he was pretty sure the ground was shaking at his feet. But he didn't care. All he cared about was revenge.
A drakon got a lucky slash at his leg, but Percy barely felt it. He just stabbed it through the chest and turned to cut a telkhine that had snuck up behind him. The monsters fell before him like grain to a scythe as he plowed his way through the army, a path of destruction in his wake. He was completely surrounded, but he found he liked it that way. Now he could attack on all sides.
Then, unexpectedly, the monsters around him started to back up. Step by step, they retreated from the deadly arc of his sword.
Percy yelled in annoyance and anger, lunging toward the nearest hellhound.
That did it. As one, the entire army of monsters turned and fled, as if running from the plague.
Percy stood there as the monsters ran all around him, not quite understanding what was going on. It finally registered as the last snake slithered past that his foes were gone.
"Get back here, you cowards!" he roared, waving his sword in the air. He began to sprint after them, determined to destroy every single one of their beastly hides, when something grabbed him by the shoulders and held him back.
Percy swung Riptide blindly into the air at his attacker, tired of being grabbed and determined to destroy every last one of Gaea's army.
"Whoa!" Jason cried, ducking out of range just in time. "Percy. Calm down. They're gone. It's over."
Percy just looked at him in utter incomprehension. Jason's words translated into something else, something that meant so much more to him then a fleeing army of monsters: Annabeth's gone. He looked over Jason's shoulder, just making out the closed Doors of Death on the other side of the valley, and all the energy drained out of him. He collapsed to the ground, letting Riptide fall next to him, and began to cry, one thought circling through his shell-shocked mind: Annabeth's gone. His frail body shook as uncontrolled, slightly hysterical sobs burst from his mouth, and he made no effort to contain them. He was dimly aware of others coming up behind Jason, all turning to stare at him in awe as the earthquake subsided, but he ignored them. Annabeth was gone. That was all that mattered.
A wave of exhaustion overcame him, and he felt his system shutting down. Exerting that much energy immediately after escaping Tartarus probably wasn't the best idea on his part. He could almost hear Annabeth's voice, playfully chiding him for his foolishness, and he sobbed all the harder. He willingly let the blackness overcome him as his broken body just gave up. He crumpled forward, barely aware that arms had caught him before he could hit the ground. Tears still streaming down his cheeks, he allowed himself to be carried off into a deep, miraculously dreamless sleep.
No, I did NOT kill Annabeth. Just want to make that clear. There will be a short epilogue, and it will explain everything.
So what do you think? Let me know in a review! I've had this idea floating around in my head for MONTHS and I've just now managed to connect the scattered pieces and fit them together well enough to call a story. It would mean a LOT if you just reviewed! No HoH spoilers, please! How was the flashback thingie? It was my first attempt at anything like that, and I'm not sure if it worked out... Constructive criticism is accepted and appreciated!
I know, I know, bad title. Percy's not making a sacrifice, he's being FORCED to. And Frank didn't help him, he distracted him. *Sigh* It was all so much better in my head.
Poor Percy... Well, he'll (sort of) spring back next chapter! I'll try and update as soon as I can, but no guarentees. I'm going to be EXTREMELY busy the next few days. I already know what I want to write, but it's always hard for me to get it down on paper...
Check out my other stories and vote on my poll! Thanks to everyone who has already!