Chapter One
The Fatal Flaw
I am not a hero.
Would a hero turn away and run when everything goes wrong? Would he abandon his people in times of despair? Being a demigod doesn't make me a hero; it just makes me that much more dangerous. There is no excuse for what I caused.
I've left my past behind. But the guilt that came from still feels fresh up to this day. It's all I have felt for ten years. I have never once returned to the world above. If I ever show my face to them again, they'd probably kill me themselves. There is no one mourning for me, no one waiting for my return. They have probably forgotten about me since nobody would want to remember the thoughtless half-blood that ruined everything.
"Why shouldn't I just end my life?" I'd think to myself often. It sounds like a perfect plan, but it's not. Titans are ruling this world, so I don't know where I'll end up should I ever decide to kill myself… Yes, Titans are ruling the world, and yes, it is because of me.
So here I am: the failure of Olympus. I've been on the run for ten years, not wanting to face my past. I haven't heard another human voice in so long. My only friends are the creatures below the sea. For ten years, I've been completely and utterly alone.
10 Years Ago
"Percy, look! There he goes!" I heard my friend, Grover, yell as we raced into Olympus. I looked at the direction Grover was pointing to and saw my old enemy, Luke – or rather, Kronos.
I darted towards the Titan. Following behind me was Grover and Annabeth. I took a moment to look back at them while I was racing ahead. They looked battered and beaten from the battle just outside the Empire State Building. I couldn't help but feel bad for them. Bearing the curse of Achilles allows me to be practically invincible during a battle, so naturally I didn't get a scratch on me from the battle. My friends, on the other hand, look exhausted and broken with blood and sweat dripping from their bodies. To make matters worse, 10 tons of rock fell on Thalia's leg, causing us to reluctantly leave her behind.
Luke just made it to the throne room when Grover, Annabeth, and I approached him cautiously. "Luke," Annabeth said in a soothing but assertive voice. "Stop what you're doing."
He quickly faced us and chuckled with a roar. "Luke is gone. And soon," he continued with a darkened voice, "You, too, will diminish – you and those Olympians." He finished with a disturbing smile.
"Luke," Annabeth continued as if Kronos never spoke. "Listen to me... You promised me. Remember."
For a moment, I thought I saw innocent confusion in Luke's eyes. I looked back at Annabeth, who looked calm as ever, and at Grover, who I knew was petrified beyond description but chose not to show his fear.
It amazed me how much hope Annabeth has. Personally, I thought we've seen the last of the real Luke. Kronos is much too powerful. But as for Annabeth – she has so much patience and understanding that I can't keep up with her a lot of the time. She fervently believed Luke could still come back.
Luke's expression turned dark once again. With a simple flick of the hand, he sent Annabeth flying across the room, landing with a thud. I felt anger surge up inside me as I pulled out Riptide and charged at Kronos. Quickly he turned just in time to counter my attack. I attempted to swing my sword across his body, but he only sidestepped out of the way. I struck again, but he was too quick. With his free hand, he punched me in the stomach so hard, it could've easily killed me if I hadn't had the Achilles curse. Gasping for breath, I regained my balance again, charging at Kronos with all the speed I could muster. He thrust his sword as I closed the space between us, but I quickly crouched and slid past him, grabbing his scythe in the process and throwing it across the room. Before he could turn around, I raised my sword. But before I could strike down on him, I made the mistake of looking at his eyes.
I saw the old Luke. The one I met when I first arrived at Camp Half-Blood. Shaking my head, I came back to my senses. I held on tighter to Riptide as I prepared to strike.
"Wait!" I heard Annabeth yell out. I kept Riptide in place as I looked away in confusion. Annabeth came limping towards us with Grover assisting her. She was bruised and weak, but the hope she had was still evident on her face. She began talking to Kronos as if it were the old Luke. "Your mother – she knew your fate." That caused the dark expression of Luke's to slowly fade. She continued talking about their childhood together, and suddenly Kronos' anger began to build again. He struck her, and then after seeing the blood he caused her, the real Luke came forth once more. He turned to me and begged me to kill him. Grover and Annabeth were weaponless so I had to do it.
"Please," Luke pleaded in desperation, "Kronos is too strong. I can't hold him back for longer. There's no time." His body began to glow.
As much as I hated Luke, how could I kill him when he is absolutely vulnerable and defenseless? Moreover, he was my old friend Luke again. I debated whether or not I should trust him. Is it really Luke?
I searched his face for any sign of sincerity. He had a pained expression of torment and desperation. Tears were falling repeatedly as he looked at me with wide, pleading eyes, and his hands were raised to show me that he was not going to fight back. "Please, Percy," he whispered as light shined from his lips. My breathing quickened and my hands felt almost weak, but I tightened my grip on Riptide.
That was when everything went downhill. My fatal flaw: I care too much. I am too loyal. I believed Luke for that one moment. I handed him the knife secured in my belt, giving him the chance to be the hero I once thought he was. I believed in Luke: how utterly stupid of me.
Instead of sacrificing himself like I believed he would do, he paused. He threw the knife into the hearth and gave a viciously daunting chuckle. How could I, for even one moment, believe that my once good friend Luke had returned?
I took hold of Riptide, ready to strike Kronos; but his power was much too great. Riptide felt ten times heavier in my hands. With a mere flick of a finger, he sent it out of my hands and into the dark sky.
Time seemed to stop. My huge mistake kept playing over and over in my mind.
"Percy!" Grover yelled in horror, breaking me out of my trance. "It's too late. We have to go!" I could see the immense fear in his expression. I didn't need an empathy link to know that much. I looked over at Kronos. By then, he was sitting atop Lord Zeus' throne, wearing that smug smirk that haunts my dreams to this day.
"Percy, please! Hurry!" Annabeth demanded. She frantically grabbed my arm and we started to run in panic. Kronos was rising, and it was too late to stop him. His light was growing brighter and brighter by the second.
Oh gods, no… Please, no. I kept repeating in my head.
We made it down the elevator and into the street. The battle had ceased. Everyone stopped fighting and turned to see the extreme bright light coming from the top of Olympus.
A Hunter – who probably didn't realize that I was standing next to her – whispered in terror, "They failed. It can't be." Then she closed her eyes, trying to still her nervous breath.
She is right. I did fail. I gave Luke the weapon that I was to kill him with. I brought disaster to the world. Me. The supposed Savior of Olympus.
I looked around me, at all my friends from Camp Half-Blood. They all looked utterly disappointed and frightened. I couldn't bear it. I looked at Annabeth, who was also looking up at the glowing light atop the Empire State Building. I studied her face, which was filled with different emotions – but I could tell what she was thinking: "What did Percy do?" I could see it in her frightened eyes. I look down and realize that she was still holding my hand, gripping it tightly due to her immense panic. She didn't seem to notice she was nearly draining the life out of my hand, but I kept it in place, knowing that she needed some comfort.
But the fact was she wouldn't need my comfort if I had just saved Olympus like I should have. I felt a heavy weight in my heart that kept pulling me down: guilt. I looked at Grover. Unlike everybody else, his eyes were fixed on the ground with tears threatening to fall. His eyebrows were furrowed as he shook his head in disappointment.
I did this. I was supposed to stop Kronos. I felt my limbs weaken and my heart grow heavier by the second. I could feel my chest rise and fall as I hyperventilated. I couldn't bear it. Everyone I cared about – I had failed all of them. I led them all into a bloody battle only for this to happen. I slipped my hand away from Annabeth, which she didn't seem to notice, and I slowly backed away from the crowd, shamefully wanting to get away from this mess.
"Percy," I heard a voice say from behind me. I turned around, trying to hold back my tears.
"Dad." I could barely make out a sound. "I… Please, I didn't mean for this to happen," I begged. I felt like the air in my lungs was rapidly decreasing by the minute.
Poseidon put a hand up to stop me. I couldn't read his expression, but he was certainly like the rest of them: disappointed, hopeless. He closed his eyes, sighed, and shook his head. I failed him too. Once upon a time, he called me his favorite son.
"Kronos is here," he said in a stern voice. "He is now sitting on the throne of Zeus! What happened?"
I couldn't meet his eyes. "Dad, I'm sorry. I thought he was Luke, but he–" His stone-cold expression hadn't changed. I wanted so badly to go back in time to fix my mistake. I didn't want my own father looking at me with such distaste and disappointment.
I knew that whatever story I give to him, it will all come down to this: I helped destroy Olympus.
A/N: Just a side note: Forget that a Titan's true form would kill any mortal within a mile from him. Also, I'm going to stay true to Rick Riordan's story and characters as much as possible, so you won't be seeing anything totally out of the ordinary. It's basically just a continuation of the series, if you will. So yes, please tell me what you think. I'd really like to know :D Thank you.