Prologue: The Ties that Bind
One choice can make all the difference. One choice can save or destroy the world. I, Percy Jackson, was proof of that.
The Great Prophecy, which had guided my life for so long, was finally complete. Luke held the blade which could change the fate of the world, the blade that I had given him. He was struggling, fighting the immortal being Kronos inside of himself. With a sudden jerk the tip grazed the skin under his arm, the area where his Achilles Heel must have been located. It was barely a scratch, but Luke screamed in agony, convulsing on the ground in spasms. Two voices escaped his throat as he screamed. His eyes rapidly switched from blue to gold and back again. But they soon rested on blue as his body relaxed.
"I'm dying," he said hoarsely, his voice barely a whisper. Annabeth and I rushed to his side. Grover stood off to the side, bleating nervously. That dashing smile of Luke's, no doubt a trait inherited from his father Hermes, greeted us as I propped his head up. He had made our lives hell for four years, but still I shed tears for my friend's – and yes, he was still my friend – passing. Annabeth was sobbing as well, no doubt taking this even harder than I was. She had lost a brother when he left, and now she was losing him for good. "Annabeth, please come closer." She did as he asked. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I heard the small sound of him kissing her cheek. Annabeth blushed too, but for far different reasons than my own jealous feelings. Luke noticed and chuckled at my reaction. "Did you ever love me?" he asked the girl, holding her gaze in his own.
Annabeth looked at both of us, torn by the question. Though it was wrong, I was anxious to hear her answer, to have some confirmation that my feelings may be realized. She smiled softly at the dying boy. "Like a brother, Luke," she answered. He smirked and sighed deeply. The blush returned to my face at her answer, but my confused heart started to beat faster for an entirely different reason. Luke's eyes had changed. They were gold once again. The noise in the back of my head that always warned me of danger rang loudly.
"Annabeth!" I called out, but a fraction too late. There was the sickening sound of metal piercing flesh, and the blonde girl fell backwards, the bronze knife lodged in her stomach to the handle. I wanted to reach out for her, but fire coursed through my body, centered around the same area she was wounded. The warning of Achilles flashed through my head. This was the cost of invulnerability. Annabeth was my anchor, and my life was tied to hers. Grover cried out in terror, freezing as he saw the blood oozing from her wound. I could see the panic in his eyes as he turned and took off out the doors of the throne room, hopefully to look for help.
Luke – no, Kronos – gave a dark chuckle that quickly turned into a nasty cough. Golden ichor coated his chin. "I will not die alone, foolish mortals. I will see you in..." the words died off as he took his last breath. As his held fall, I saw those eyes turn blue for the last time, and Luke died in horror as he watched his friends fall by his hand.
I tried to move to Annabeth's side, but every contraction of my muscles was followed by excruciating pain. It was almost as bad as when I held the sky for those few minutes. I pushed aside the pain, crawling inch by inch to the side of the girl who had always been by mine. My hand found hers, and she squeezed it, holding onto it like a lifeline. The irony was not lost that that very fact was now killing me. "We're going to die, aren't we?" she said, far more calmly than I would have been able to do. It was all I could do to nod. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she looked into my eyes, her storm gray ones clouded by pain and sorrow.
I gasped sharply as the fire inside me felt like it was eating away at my body. My strength gave out and I collapsed, my head falling into Annabeth's lap. She moaned at the contact, her own pain flaring from my actions. Apologies formed in my head, but my mouth wasn't working. She looked down at me, grimacing both at the sight of me and her own torment. "Percy, I just want you to know that I-" A hiss escaped her lips, lips which I had wanted to make mine for so long. My hand shakily reached forward, cupping her cheek. Both of our tears renewed as I saw the light in Annabeth's eyes dim. My own vision was failing me as the last of my strength gave out, my hand falling to my side. The girl of my dreams slumped as her life left her. I would be soon to follow.
As my soul prepared to follow Annabeth's, the doors to the throne room crashed open. I turned to see Zeus and Poseidon lead the rest of the Olympians in, but it was Athena who realized what was going on first. "Annabeth!" she screamed, rushing to her daughter's aid. My father stood where he was, so shocked that his trident clattered to the floor.
"No. No no no. No!" he shouted, shaking the very foundation of Olympus. Athena wept openly for her fallen daughter, cradling her with no regard for me. I cried out when I was shifted, and my father was immediately there. He held my head in his hands, such a comforting gesture that I had never experienced from him. I heard great sobs from where the onlookers were and recognized Tyson's voice. A scream followed soon after, followed by a clatter as I saw Thalia collapse at the sight of her three friends dead and dying. Grover was hyperventilating, unsure of what to do in this situation. He looked ready to pass out when Artemis touched his shoulder and turned him toward Thalia. The pain went to comfort Thalia. I wanted to say something, but it just hurt so much. I looked into the sea green eyes of my father, eyes I knew looked just like mine.
"I did it, Dad," I groaned out, every word like a spike being driven through me. His presence alone gave me the will to speak. He shushed my with his finger, and I could see the tears forming in his eyes. Were I not dying, I may have been amazed that gods could cry. "I did it. We did it. We all did it. Luke, Annabeth, Grover, Thalia, did it. We..." the words stopped coming as my mouth stopped moving. I could see his lips moving, saying something, but I couldn't make it out. All I could see was him getting farther and farther away from me, until everything went black.