"Gonna free fall, out into nothing
Gonna leave this world for a while
Yeah I'm free, free falling..."
Percy lets go of the ledge, and together, they fall.
Up above them, the faces of Nico, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, and Leo get smaller and smaller. Nico's face lingers the longest and for a few eternal seconds they can see his horrified expression. Then it vanishes, and they're left tumbling through the darkness.
For a little while they are spiraling out of control, only linked by their clasped hands. Then they pull towards each other, holding each other tight. All they have now is each other.
They plummet down for what seems like eternity. Maybe it is. Maybe they'll fall forever. Maybe this is Tartarus: never knowing what will happen next, sheer terror of what will come out of the dark.
Still they fall, the wind whistling in their ears.
The air is cold and dark. Nothing is visible. Yet they can sense, somewhere millions of miles below their feet, the maliciousness of the pit of Tartarus.
The air becomes hotter. The blackness gives way to a red haze. They can see the bottom.
The bottom, where they're sure to die.
There's no masking it. Death is waiting for them.
They try not to give up hope. They can survive. They can-
The ground whooshes closer and closer. It comes close enough for them to make out the details—stones scattered around, shards like broken glass littering the space between them. A fire.
She pulls him closer to her. His heart is still beating. Annabeth holds onto the sound of that heartbeat, and she knows he's doing the same for her.
Their mouths find each other at the same time, and as they fall faster and faster they kiss-
And the words are bursting out of them at the same time, and they cry out into the poisonous air of Tartarus, like a mantra, like a spell that will protect them-
"I love you!"
And they hit the ground.
"Yeah I'm free, free falling..."