This is yet another oneshot that my friend Kassidy and I wrote together. Obviously, we don't own any of Rick's stuff. Check her out as FleetingHermesFeet. She doesn't have any stories, but you can favorite her, just for kicks and giggles.
Hope y'all like it! Sorry if the end is rushed. You'll understand, though. :)
oOo
TARTARUS
Her skin was clammy and white—caked with dirt and blood—and gory slashes covered her arms and torso and face. Slick, starved blood dripped on the cave floor as Percy carried Annabeth through the darkness.
Everything seemed to be speaking to him, murmuring words of sleep and oblivion from the far corners of the seemingly endless chasm. It was a miracle Percy hadn't passed out himself; they were traveling through the Cave of Hypnos.
Somewhere far ahead, the River Lethe ran, bubbling, humming with the fuel of forgotten memories. Percy wasn't entirely sure how they'd gotten there (or that they were there at all), but the faint presence of Hypnos did Annabeth mercy.
For days, Percy had been watching her go crazy. First it was little things: talking to herself, refusing to sleep unless Percy was holding very tightly onto her. Then it got worse. She started screaming at things that weren't there, running from the invisible monsters (leaving Percy with no option other than to chase her down), trying to claw her way through stone walls until her fingernails were broken and bleeding.
Percy did all he could to help, but nothing was working. Without his fighting partner, attacks were weakly defended against. They couldn't have survived for much longer.
After they closed the Doors of Death, Annabeth hit rock bottom. They were still in Tartarus, and she began hurting herself: smashing her head on the walls, scratching and clawing at her own skin, ripping her hair out, trying to stab herself.
It was a strange blessing to stumble into the Cave of Hypnos. The atmosphere had mysteriously knocked her out cold. Even Percy had a hard time staying awake, but he had to trudge on, so he did.
He remembered Nico talking about the Cave of Hypnos once...and how even getting near the cave caused your eyelids to get heavy and your body to become exhausted. The problem with taking a nap on the nice cold cave floor is that once you fall asleep, there isn't any waking up.
It sounded like there were millions of voices, murmuring for Percy to sleep, to feel the embrace of never ending rest. He wanted to do anything to stop his and Annabeth's pain...but something inside him just couldn't.
He had to get her to safety.
"You dare threaten my sleep, little demigod? Not many are brave enough to willing dwell where I sleep...What do you want?"
A single, annoyed voice drifted from somewhere ahead of Percy. It sounded as though it came from someone who'd just woken up from a long nap. He couldn't help but think of fat old Gabe taking up the couch and snoozing like a beached whale...pleasant memories.
"Who…?" Percy coughed, blood spattering his lips. His throat burned like fire, as did every other part of him.
"Surely you must know. This area IS named after me, Percy. I am Hypnos, god of sleep and dreams. Not that many people acknowledge me, no. Any demigod or human who gets a dream these days and they think Apollo is sending them another prophecy...No one ever thinks of the God of dreams. I always get taken advantage of."
That was really no time for joking around.
Percy gently lowered Annabeth to the cold cave ground and knelt, partially out of fatigue, partially automatic respect for the god.
"Lord Hypnos," he rasped. It was getting harder for Percy to talk...even breathing was becoming difficult for him. "Can you help us? Where are we?"
"You, Percy Jackson, are in the Cave of Hypnos—my cave, go figure. It's my place of slumber. This cave has no doors or windows, so no one comes and wakes me, but sometimes people wander in, and immediately fall into a deep, penetrating sleep." His voice had taken on an air of false importance, like he was mimicking the other gods for their usage of vocabulary.
"Then…how come I'm awake?"
"You only sleep if I want you to," Hypnos' omniscient voice heaved a great sigh, as if Percy's question was something he expected a thoughtless mortal to say. "I know your quest, Perseus Jackson. Thanatos told me you'd probably be coming in...if you weren't already dead."
"...Thanatos? What...?"
"Yes, Thanatos. Death, Mr. Reaper...He's my brother. An annoying one at that. Everyone always respects him, but no one appreciates me as much as they should...What's so cool about death anyway? It's just a copycat version of sleep."
Silence for a minute.
"Anyways, I've seen you've been having some trouble."
Swallowing fearful tears, Percy put one of his hands on Annabeth's cold forehead. "Please. Annabeth and I closed the Doors of Death, but we don't…I don't know what to do now. She went crazy and I…I…" His voice broke and he began to shake.
"Come forward, Percy." The voice grew less bitter and joking, more serious.
Percy, with trembling, numb legs, picked Annabeth up again and walked. His feet were heavy and ached, but he continued until something blocked his path. A river.
The air around the River Lethe was frosty and thin. The water had a cloudy appearance to it. Percy's brain felt foggy just looking at it. Now that they were closer, the humming was much louder and sounded more human. It was like a lullaby, but not quite as peaceful and nice.
"How much do you know about the River Lethe, Mr. Jackson?"
Hypnos' voice sounded right in front of them, but he was still not in sight. Percy had the sense that he wasn't actually awake and talking to them; it was just his spirit, while his physical form still slept on deeper in the cave.
Percy knelt, holding Annabeth's bloody form on his lap protectively. "I-I don't know… If you drink from its waters you…you forget everything, or something. That's what you're supposed to do when you die. But...but sir, we're not dead."
Suddenly, a ghostly, humanoid form drifted from the river, took a seat next to Percy and Annabeth, and yawned. The form was transparent, but still visible. He could see bedhead white-blonde hair on the spirit's head and a scruffy goatee on his chin. It was hard to make out any other features than that. His eyes couldn't even be seen under the sleepy droop of his eyelids.
"I have an offer for you, hero," the spirit of Hypnos said tiredly, " I can help young Ms. Chase but I have to caution you, the price for salvation is steep."
"You can help Annabeth...?"
Percy looked down at her—his best friend, his girlfriend, his whole world. He could still feel her hand gripping his, the fear in her eyes.
"Sir...why are you helping me...?"
Hypnos slowly turned his head towards Percy, his eyes glowing a gentle gold. "I am not dumb, Perseus Jackson. I know without you and the girl, the world will have no chance against Gaia..." He rubbed his eyes with a bitter laugh, "If Gaia were to take hold of our world once again. Everybody would die. No one would dream...I would fade out of existence. Even my brother Thanatos would think that future as dreadful."
Percy wouldn't deny that Gaia would slaughter every human and demigod. It was on Gaia's evil list of dastardly things to do after she took over the world, no doubt.
"If she drinks from Lethe...she wouldn't remember Tartarus? Any of it?"
Hypnos yawned loudly and rubbed his ghostly eyes. "Mm-Hm. Good as new. Sort of. A drop of water from the Lethe can wipe the memory of the events in Tartarus completely out of her mind. Or you could feed her the whole river, it's your choice. All that is certain the price that you will have to pay to drink from my River."
"…She's all I have down here, Lord Hypnos. I have nothing to offer you."
Hypnos just yawned and stretched his arms above his head, gesturing to Percy's pocket with a lazy arm. "Nyaaawn...I think not, Jackson."
Just then, something in the pocket of Percy's tattered, dirty jeans began growing hot, enough to make him yelp out in pain. He dug it out hastily and let it fall to the ground.
Riptide.
That sword was the reason that the second Titan war was won. It was what gave him the strength to fight as many battles as he has. Without it, he was nothing. He was defenseless.
Percy bowed his head and touched Annabeth's bloody cheek tenderly. If Percy didn't do this...he'd lose Annabeth forever. She would never forget what happened in Tartarus...she would be like this for the rest of her life. Percy would lose her for good, and if he lost her...
He knew that deep down that she would do the same if faced with a situation like this. He'd rather be defenseless and vulnerable than make it out knowing he could of gave up his power to save Annabeth but didn't. He got the hint... In order to save Annabeth, he'd have to give up their only line of defense.
Reaching over Annabeth, he grabbed Riptide and turned it in his fingers, knowing that this would be the last time he would feel his mentor's gift in his hands. For years he fought with this sword, but right then it looked like an ordinary pen. Not his to use anymore.
"If…If you can help Annabeth, then I'll do anything. Take it, take Riptide. Take anything you want as long you'll help her."
Hypnos picked the pen up lazily and studied Riptide like it was a boring pen you could pick up anywhere at your friendly Wal-Mart store. With a shrug, he snapped his ghostly white fingers and it vanished, replaced by a single shimmering drop of water on the god's fingertip. Hypnos turned his wrist above Annabeth's head slowly, watching the droplet turn in his finger and slide. The droplet dropped for what seemed to be like forever into Annabeth's partially-open mouth.
The whispers and murmurs became stronger in Percy's mind...the corners of his eyes fading into black. Immediately he felt tired, so tired that he was afraid if he slept then he'd never wake up.
"Sleep well, heroes. The fate of humankind rests on your shoulders."
Percy didn't have the strength to fight the slumber overcoming him; he didn't even have enough energy to care. He slowly slumped over Annabeth and wrapped his arms around her body.
With that, drowsiness took over and everything faded into black.
Argo II
"It should be right over there." Nico leaned over the Argo's side and pointed towards an array of jagged, golden-brown cliffs. "The cave entrance should be right around this bend. This is the most likely place they could be." That wasn't the entire truth, exactly...
"That's what you said at the museum basement." Leo glared at the Hades-born child with a look of annoyance, perching his elbow on the railing of Argo to hold his head.
They'd been searching for days. After they closed the Doors of Death-and seeing that Percy and Annabeth couldn't leave Tartarus after that-they'd spent every waking second searching for them. Nico had a list of ideas in his mind where they could have popped out, if they were even out at all.
The last place was a cave in the side of Limnos Island in Greece, where a supposed entrance to Hypnos' sacred cave was. There were rumors that Hypnos occasionally directed people that had wandered into his cave out that way, but only the god of sleep himself would be able to open the door.
It was unlikely that the god would let Percy and Annabeth out that way, though. Gods liked payment for doing mortals and demigods favors, and unless Percy and Annabeth had money or enchanted gifts, that wasn't an escape option for them.
There was really no bother checking, since he was pretty sure that Percy and Annabeth didn't bring any sort of payment that the god required for them to leave that way. Surely they didn't pack a few hundred drachmas on their one way trip to Tartarus. Why bother? It's not like there was any gift shops they could peruse. If there were, they'd be terrible products. Who wants an "I 3 Thanatos" or "Tartarus or Bust" shirt? Definitely not Nico.
"What's your problem, dude? Why are you smiling?" Leo was staring at Nico's face with a mixed look, like Nico was some sort of spider he found crawling around on his pillow. He didn't even realize he was smiling until Leo mentioned it.
"I'm not." Nico's gaze slid from the azure water to the crags to the rolling hills of trees that were too many shades of green to count. The sun was beginning to set, sending sherbet colors streaking across the sky and turning the water shades of pink and orange. These Greek islands would be so much more enjoyable if it was better circumstances...
Jason and Frank (who was in eagle form) were down below the ship, flying around and getting a better look at things. There were so many cracks and crevices alongside the cliffs it was difficult to get the Argo II close to them. Unfortunately, the only ones who could fly were Jason and Frank, and two people don't cover a whole lot of area. It took them almost an entire day just search 20 miles of land.
"Has your Percabeth Death radar gone off yet? I thought you were supposed to sense them or something." Leo watched Nico with scrutinizing eyes, leaning against the railing of the ship with his oil-covered arms folded towards his chest. "All I've heard from you is a bunch of nothing. You're just been sitting here while Jason and Frank are flying around endlessly."
"Not true. I've been pointing us towards some leads."
"Leads that have been leading us NOWHERE. You're supposed to sense them, and then we find them."
"It's not as easy as you think. It's kind of like a cellphone...Sometimes you don't have reception, and sometimes you do...but's barely there. A thread I can't grab..." He sighed and tucked his hands into his jean pockets, glaring at the ground in embarrassment. Percy, Thalia, Jason, and even Hazel had outstanding powers. Comparing controlling lighting, air, water, and even precious gems under the ground to Nico's ability to barely control skeletons and sense dead people was just sad.
Still...he understood why Leo was so peeved at him. Percy and Annabeth were locked down in the deepest pits of Hades with no food and no water. It's been days since the doors closed now, and mere minutes were precious. Here they were, almost dark, and still no Percy and Annabeth.
Leo scoffed and rubbed his forehead. "...I'm sorry. It's just...It's hard, you know? Not knowing where they are, feeling so defenseless..."
He looked over the dark blue waters and watched the reflection of the Argo gently pass over the waves. Nico didn't know how to respond to Leo. What could he say? "I'm sorry" just sounded corny. Truthfully, he didn't know if he meant it.
He looked up just in time to see Jason (followed by Frank) disappear around a part of the cliff jutting from the water.
Piper and Hazel walked up from the lower decks and stopped in front of Nico and Leo, tissues being strangled in their fingers. Hazel had her arm locked with Piper's and her cheek pressed against her shoulder, her eyes red and puffy. She was tough for her age, but losing Percy and Annabeth had taken a toll on her. Both of them.
"Any sign of them?" Piper asked quietly, her dark hair blowing in the breeze.
Both boys shook their heads sadly.
"I hope we find them..." Sniffling with worry, Hazel crosses her arms and leans against her half-brother as if for warmth. "I thought that when we closed the Doors, they- Frank!"
Just then, Frank the eagle shot up from the cliffs, wings fluttering madly, and came streaking straight towards the ship at lightning speed.
The four demigods scattered just in time for Frank to roll clumsily onto the deck, feathers raining down after. After rolling and hitting the other side of the deck, Frank-still in a daze-collected himself before flying over to the others. He squawked and flailed his wings about like he was trying to tell everyone something important.
"Frank?! We...We can't understand you! You're speaking bird!" Piper snapped her fingers at Frank to get his attention, pointing to her mouth and shaking her head to signify she couldn't understand.
Eagle Frank shook his head in exhaustion and slowly turned back into his human form. He was panting and out of breath and looking like he'd just seen a ghost.
"Frank?" Hazel moved towards Frank, who was kneeling on the deck panting like he ran a marathon. "Frank, what's going on?" She leaned on one knee and placed her tiny hands over his back, her eyebrows raised in alarm.
"Haah...We..." Frank shook his head and coughed, mumbling an inaudible sentence under his breath (or the lack thereof). "Gah...them...woah..."
"Frank, you gotta tell us. What is going on? Monsters? Gaia's forces? What?" Leo was on the other side of Frank now, helping him to his feet along with Hazel.
"...We...We found them..." Frank looked up at his friends with hope in his eyes, his reddened baby face creased with exhausted grin.
"P-Percy and Annabeth...?"
"No," Frank mumbled. "The other really super important people we're looking for."
It took everyone a minute to realize he was giving Leo sarcasm.
"Dead or alive?" Piper croaked out, grabbing automatically at Leo's coat sleeve. Her body was trembling in excitement. When she peeked over the side of the Argo, she could see Jason's tiny figure dipping and rising madly next to a cave in the cliffs, waving his arms and stumbling, as if having difficulty fully controlling the air around him.
Nico leapt to the railing and gripped it, urgency filling him to the core. "Alive! They're alive!" He could sense it, now that he was aware of their presence.
Leo wasted no time whipping out his X-Box controller and turning the ship so hard in that direction that everyone tripped and tumbled to the ground.
Everyone else-Frank, Piper, Hazel, and Nico-were whispering Percy and Annabeth's names with anticipation and scrambling around, trying to see over the edge.
Unable to stop grinning, Leo held his controller up to his mouth like a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Put your tray tables up and make sure your seats are in their full upright position. The ship will be landing shortly, but keep your eye out for a couple of very attractive demigods breaching the south shore!"
"Leo!" Piper scolded, punching him really hard in the arm. "Now's not the time to make jokes!" She laughed into the wind when Leo gave her a wink.
Everyone was grinning as the Argo II made it's decent onto the open shore, waiting to see their lost friends.
PERCY
Percy woke feeling like death. Everything inside of him screamed as awareness came back to him. His legs hurt, his chest hurt, his arms hurt, his back hurt, his neck hurt, his head hurt. Though he'd just been unconscious for gods-know-how-long, everything inside of him felt a million pounds, like he could sleep another year or two.
What had happened? Why was he like this?
Though it was painful, Percy pried his eyelids open and blinked.
The view above wasn't any he could recall seeing before. A cave ceiling loomed high above, stalactites clinging to dark mounds of rock up above his head. There were echoing drips throughout the darkness as water fell from the tips of the stalactites. Everything was dark, so dark, and endless it seemed. All except for a strange sort of light coming from to the left of where he lay.
It was even harder turning his head. It felt like Percy's spinal fluid had been replaced with cement, and it took straining all of his neck muscles just to turn his head to the left.
A splash of dirty, tangled blond hair was spread like a fan out on the cave floor.
Everything came back to Percy so fast it felt like being hit with a car.
Annabeth. Annabeth, Annabeth, Annabeth. Tartarus. Hypnos. Lethe. Riptide. Annabeth.
Somehow, he found the strength to sit up and crawl over to her.
She was still asleep (if that's what you'd call it—sleep). Her eyes were closed and her hair was spread around her face like a greasy, knotted halo, and her whole body was covered in dirt and blood and wounds, but she was there, and they were alive, and the mysterious light coming into the cave was daylight, the first they'd seen in...in forever.
Percy found his shoulders trembling with silent tears as he gripped the front of Annabeth's torn shirt with his hands, chest aching, and he gently rested his head down on her stomach.
They'd made it out. They were no longer in Tartarus. Were they dead, perhaps? No, not dead. More alive than he'd felt in what seemed like years.
Struggling with the pain still all over him, Percy stood with shaking legs and wrapped his arms under Annabeth in an attempt to pick her up. There was no strength inside of him, so the attempt was quickly failed and he slumped back painfully onto his knees on the cave floor.
Somewhere outside of the cave—gods, did he love that word, "outside"—something could be heard. It sounded like...like an engine. Maybe. It was very faint. He was so exhausted that he didn't know if it was in his mind or not.
Percy sensed that they were very near saltwater, as well, and even if he hadn't been the son of Poseidon, he could have told by the dull humming of waves against rock. When was the last time he'd heard the waves, or been to a beach? He couldn't remember. The darkness of Tartarus seemed to have wiped all memory of how beautiful scenery could be from his mind.
Wait-water? Definitely saltwater. Maybe...maybe if Percy could get there he could get enough strength to be able to carry Annabeth out...but for what purpose? Maybe they were safer in the cave, but... It was better than sitting in here and doing nothing.
Maybe he could get some food and water for them.
Percy tried once more to pick up Annabeth, wrapping one of his shaky arms around her limp torso and the other under her knees. Using what little strength he had in his knees, he hoisted himself and Annabeth off the ground.
Excruciating pain shot through his body like an electrical shock, making him double over and nearly drop Annabeth. Not wanting to take any more chances, he set her back down onto the cave floor and knelt beside her.
Okay, so picking her up wasn't an option, and dragging her seemed a little rude...
He'd have to leave her if he wanted to get to the water.
That made Percy feel extremely uncomfortable. Leaving her unguarded and in a coma-like state wasn't the sort of thing a loving boyfriend would do to his girlfriend. Besides, he didn't know where they were; for all he knew, he could still be in Hades. He'd rather sit down beside her and stay there for all eternity if it meant she would be safe.
Percy looked back at her form lying on the cold cave ground. She was a mess: her blonde hair matted, her clothes torn, and her skin scratched...but she looked so peaceful. When they had fallen asleep wrapped in each other's arms that late night in the Argo stables she had that same serene face. She could only sleep like this knowing Percy was there protecting her.
She trusted him to know what to do.
Making a quiet promise to Annabeth for his return, Percy got to his feet once more. His muscles were shaking violently under him.
Just this once... He thought to himself. Work for me just this once...
With a groan, he moved his brick-heavy legs one by one. They felt glued to the floor.
It took all of his strength and a good fifteen minutes just to walk around the bend of the cave and stand at the mouth.
He was immediately blinded.
Even though it was sunset (or sunrise?) the light felt like it burned right through Percy's eyes into his skull. The colors reflected onto the endless stretch of water before him, but it felt like staring directly into a neon sign after being blind all your life. Percy was in enough pain as it was—but to top everything else off, he was rewarded with a killer headache and temporary blindness.
Letting out a pained groan, Percy shielded his eyes and limped back into the darkness where Annabeth still lay.
Maybe he wasn't a genius, and maybe he wasn't in his tip-top shape, but being the son of Poseidon, it was plain and obvious the trouble they were in. It was low tide, but was already starting to rise. From what he'd seen, the water was lapping at the cave mouth. If they weren't rescued soon, the whole cave would be flooded with high tide and they'd be goners.
Great. Annabeth and Percy had survived the endless pit of death and torture just to be killed by some water. Even though the latter could breathe underwater, it would be pointless since the former couldn't.
What now? Everything just felt hopeless.
Just stay here, Percy told himself mentally, taking an agonizing seat next to Annabeth again, putting his arm around her waist as she remained completely dead to the world.
Outside of the cave, the mysterious humming noise was growing louder. It sounded less like humming more like the strained whirr of a hard-worked engine. Since it had been growing closer, the shouts began getting clearer. There were multiple voices blending together in an array of cries, both female and male.
Percy could make no sense of it. It just blurred together in his mind, making his heart race with fear and his headache grow worse. It was a complete sensory overload, and spending so long in Tartarus made him a little high-strung and jump at every little noise, so it was terribly traumatic to be hearing things like that.
Gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut tight, he just bent his form over Annabeth's defensively, gripping her shirt with his scraped fists, waiting for the noise to stop.
ARGO II
"I could go down there and see if they need help! It'll be a lot faster than flying the entire ship down," Jason croak, his long frame slumped against the railing. He was completely exhausted and his strength was depleted to almost nothing, but he couldn't just stop. Percy and Annabeth had risked their lives-in a big way. He had to suck it up.
"I don't think so, Jason. You've been helping long enough. You look like you could use some rest." Piper leaned against him gently and wrapped her hand in his, although when he squeezed back it was weak.
His shirt was soaked with sweat and his skin was sun-burnt badly. He'd been out trying to find them for hours, and used up the last of his strength doing so. Jason knew that had nothing more to offer.
"Hehe, yeah Jason," Leo began, swinging his Wii controller around crazily. "We don't need Peter Pan anymore, so just chill!"
Jason quietly turned his head to look at Leo, making a weak finger gun towards his direction. "Zap."
Leo flinched, but nothing happened.
"Hmph..." Jason moved his gaze back over the railing of the Argo II. "Well, someone needs to go down there, or else we need to dock the ship. If anyone hasn't noticed, Frank and I are the only people here that can actually-"
"Fly? We know, Jason..." Leo snorted and pressed a series of buttons on his controller and then shoved the Xbox controller into his magical tool belt, trading it in for a Wii remote. "There's no problem docking. I just press this button and..."
At the front of the ship, Festus made a mechanical bellowing noise and the oars faltered their rhythm to slowly turn the ship down into a spiral, lowering them gently onto the water surface.
"That's the cave you saw Percy in, Jason?" Hazel asked, still clinging onto her brother's jacket.
After turning his head towards Hazel, Jason nodded tiredly.
"This place reeks of the Underworld..." Nico grumbled, staring towards a steel-gray cave embedded into the cliff face in front of where the Argo was docked. He could see that the length of the cave immediately turned to the right, so if Percy and Annabeth really were in there, then they were still hidden behind a wall of rock.
With the press of another button, Leo had opened a hatch in the side of the Argo, and the ship's gangplank slid from the wall and settled just inside the cave mouth. Everyone but Leo was a little nervous to walk on it, because it looked like it had been put together in just under an hour. It was composed of random bits of metal, some a little bit rusted, and had a couple of holes in the walkway of the bridge. Compared to the rest of Leo's handiwork, this was a project he must've done when he was half asleep.
"Are you sure this thing is...safe to walk on?" Frank asked uncertainly when they were escorted to the beginning of the gangplank. With one quick glance over the side, he could see the water underneath them, ten feet below, and he doubted he could change into a fish fast enough if that thing collapsed.
"Of course.'" Leo grumbled, stomping his foot down on the bridge. "Safe as a whistle...or what it as safe as a...? I don't remember, but it's pretty safe." He shook the bridge to demonstrate, ignoring the loud groan it made. "Now, we should probably get some sort of...medical-"
Jason interrupted Leo with an automatic tone of authority. "Piper, you go grab a couple of collapsible stretchers and some nectar, and Leo, make sure Festus knows to stay put while we're in there."
He looked hurt. "You don't think my dragon is smart enough to know NOT to ditch us on some secluded island? Festus is a smart individual like you and me!"
"Can we please get on with the rescue mission? Percy and Annabeth could be hurt." Snorting with frustration and anxiety, Hazel stomped past the two boys and down the rickety bridge.
Nico followed suit with his hands in his pockets, mumbling something inaudible under his breath in attempt to hide how nervous he was, though it didn't fool anyone; they were all nervous.
Jason watched the cave come closer and closer into view, guilt and nervousness weighing heavily down on his chest. He genuinely hoped that Percy and Annabeth were okay. He held himself personally responsible for them falling, even th-
"PEEEEEERCY!" Frank yelled, "ARE YOU IN THERE, PERCY? ANNABETH?"
Nico flinched when he heard Frank's booming voice. He quickly snapped his neck towards him with a deathly annoyed face, and hissed, "What the Hades are you doing?!"
"I thought I heard something! Like a groan or something!"
"Well, be quiet about it, because—" His face suddenly paled as his gaze fixed on something across the cave from them. Everyone else froze in their tracks as well, sucking in their breaths and becoming so quiet you could've heard a pin drop.
Even in the dark, a good twenty feet away on the cave floor, the six demigods could see two dark forms.
"That's...them." Nico choked out. He was staring into the cave with wide eyes, his jaw clenched tightly together with a gulp. "They're alive..." Barely.
Between on second and the next, everyone got over their shock and let out the breath that they were holding...
"Percy! Annabeth!" Hazel was the first to rush over into the darkness of the cave and fall down onto her knees next to the two motionless demigods.
Goosebumps grew on Jason's skin, and the hairs of the back of his neck stood up. He couldn't quite see them yet, but as he got closer and closer, the feeling of death and dread filled him to his core.
The shirt Percy was wearing when he fell into Tartarus was completely unrecognizable: large gashes from what looked to be claw marks ripped open the once-orange shirt in more than one area; burn marks were scattered across the material and bits of it were torn completely off. Why he didn't throw it away a long time ago was a mystery, but it hardly mattered.
There was too much dirt and blood and torn clothing for any of the other half-bloods to be completely happy to see them.
The excitement was first gone from Hazel. The second she put her hand on Percy's shoulder and he turned his head to look at her, her heart began beating at a million miles an hour and all the color drained from her face and her throat dried up. "...Percy?"
There were big, dark bags under Percy's bloodshot eyes and there was dried blood and dirt smeared all over his cheeks and forehead, not to mention the nasty gash above his left eyebrow.
Even adding up all of the wounds and the dirt and the blood, what got Hazel was his expression.
Grief and fear and frustration and hopelessness and agony, obviously both physical and mental. It weighed his shoulders down and glossed his eyes over and there had never been a sadder sight than what was seen right then.
Hazel sucked in her own sob and looked down at Annabeth. The daughter of Athena looked in a worse physical state than her boyfriend, but her face was clear of emotion because she appeared to be completely out cold.
Hazel's throat closed up and her small hands shook. "Is she...Is Annabeth...?" She saw Percy's lips form her name with surprise and then he looked back down at Annabeth.
A sudden bubble of fright and anger welled inside of Hazel and she snapped her head back at her other friends, who were still standing near the cave mouth, gaping across the cave. "Why are you guys just standing there?! Where's Piper with the nectar? Get over here!"
Through the small crowd of disoriented demigods, Piper stumbled, carrying two folded-up stretchers under one arm and a canteen of nectar with the other. She hesitated for a brief second when she caught a glimpse of Percy and Annabeth, and her eyes glazed over with momentary panic before she pulled herself together and dropped down next to the other three.
It was obvious that she, as well as Hazel, wanted to throw her arms around the both of their once-lost friends, but first things first. Piper focused on Annabeth and getting a spoonful of nectar in her mouth before turning to Percy.
"I'm..." Piper said, clearing her throat in a failed attempt to keep tears from her eyes. "I'm really glad you guys are alive, Percy. We've got you now." She held the container of nectar up for him to drinks some, but he pushed it away.
"Help Annabeth...first," he ordered in a breaking, hoarse voice, and began to stand, his girlfriend limp in his arms.
Like the last time Percy tried to pick Annabeth up, it didn't work, but that time there were people to catch them. The other four demigods—Frank, Leo, Nico, and Jason—snapped out of their trances just in time to rush forwards. Jason and Hazel grabbed onto Percy's ripped shirt to stop him from falling as his knees buckled, and Piper and Leo clumsily caught Annabeth's motionless body as it slipped from Percy's grasp.
Within seconds, the stretchers were unfolded and Annabeth was placed on one. Percy just shook his head, and insisted on walking next to Annabeth. His body swayed downwards when he walked, his body unable to provide any more effort. The cuts on his lower legs opened and began bleeding, soaking through his pants and creating bloody footsteps as he stumbled to maintain his balance. Nico could tell he was in enormous pain, but he didn't understand why Percy was refusing help.
"You're half-dead, Percy," Nico said, steadying his friend. "You just need to calm down and rest."
Percy ignored the son of Hades and did his best to keep up with the pace that Annabeth was being carried back into the Argo II. He stared at Annabeth's body on the stretcher with a face free of emotion, except for those reddened sad eyes he wore.
When they got outside of the cave and onto the gangplank, he stumbled and briefly fell from the agonizing light again, but Jason helped him up and kept a firm grip on his arm as they proceeded onward up the ramp.
An agonizing silence hovered over the demigods. It was hard to say any words of comfort towards Percy when he looked the way he did, and it was out of the question to try to talk to him about Annabeth. The only option was to stay silent for the moment, so that's what they did, all the way up to the sickbay.
"We've got it from here, Percy, it's alright," Piper said, patting his shoulder gingerly. "She'll be just fine."
Percy turned his gaze towards Piper's hand with in silence, staring at it until she raised her hand off his shoulder and walked the stretcher into the sickbay with Hazel, who gave him one last sad nod before closing the door behind her.
"Come on, dude." Leo took one of Percy's arms (with Jason taking the other, and Frank and Nico following silently). "Let's get you to the kitchen. You look skinnier than my cousin Angelina on her deathbed."
Percy shook his head stiffly. "No. I just-" His voice caught in his throat and he coughed violently into a hand, leaving it slick with blood.
"Oh my gods..." Jason stared at the bloody hand in disbelief and then back at Leo. "That's not good."
Leo returned Jason's gaze with an open mouthed look of surprise, shaking his head slowly. "N-no, no it's not. Percy, you need medical help, or-or something."
"Did Percy cough up b-blood...?" Frank gulped, scrunching his shirt up in his fists as though he felt the pain in his own chest. He looked so spooked his skin was turning pale; he looked like he was going to throw up.
"Yes, Frank, he did. If you're too squeamish you can go see if Coach Hedge has peeled himself away from his Kung-Fu marathon long enough to know that we actually found Percy and Annabeth. Last thing Percy needs is to watch you throwing up."
"I...I just want to sit." Percy injected, craning his neck towards Jason, sea green eyes meeting sky blue. "No medicine, nothing. Just…sit." He sighed and hung his head, as if his neck was unable to support the weight of his head any longer.
The other boys pursed their lips, but it was Nico that was the next to speak.
"We can take you to your, uh, room and-"
"I want to see the stars."
"Oh. Uh..." Nico's eyebrows raised and then furrowed. "We can...stick a chair up on the deck. And uh..."
"We'll bring you some food. Ambrosia or something." Jason agreed. "But I don't think it's a good idea to leave you alone, Perce."
"Good..." He breathed back in response, reading up to weakly smear away a drip of blood from his lips. "I'm...glad."
Leo shook his head, but—for once—said nothing.
After Frank fetched the extra metal chairs from the dining hall, Jason and Leo carefully led Percy to the box of the ship. The son of Poseidon hung limp in the support of his friends, doing his best on walking by his own, but failing.
"There you go." Jason set his friend on the chair and glanced upwards. "Good thing the sky is clear tonight. I've never seen brighter stars."
There was a tired, small smile on Percy's face and he agreed silently, though his eyes were glued on the twinkling orbs above them. They looked like…like light shining on the other side of a wall that had been punctured by a million bullets.
Percy stared until he began feeling light-headed.
"Whoa, hey!" Leo was the first one to notice when the son of Poseidon passed out, and he unsurely poked Percy's slack face. "You okay, man?"
Of course, Percy didn't respond. His head was rolled onto his shoulder and his eyes were only halfway shut, exposing the whites. A tiny stream of drool escaped the corner of his lips.
"He'll be fine." Once he checked for a pulse and found it there, Jason just stood back up straight and sighed. "He needed some rest."
For a minute, they were silent, kind of looking at one another and at their unconscious friend uncertainly.
"We should check on the girls."
The other two nodded, and they turned and walked uncertainly away, leaving Percy asleep in the stillness of the coming night.
oOo
Thanks for reading our very first chapter of our story! Sorry it's kind of...well, this chapter was just a chunk of a bigger chapter that was going to be our first, but it turned out to be over 10,000 words so we needed to cut it off early. Don't worry, though, there WILL BE MORE CHAPTERS. And a bunch more fluff. A ton. Percabeth galore.
Don't lose hope on this story, it will be fantastic. Next chapter especially, I think y'all will like. :)
Don't forget to review, please!