A/N: Hello mates, this is just a random one-shot idea that popped into my head for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. It is about the moment of Percy Jackson's choice on whether to join Kronos or not.
Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or any other copyrighted material in this fic. Darn!
Percy's Choice
It was finally over. After the long arduous war, the war that he had been fighting for four years now was finally over. Kronos was defeated, after he had sent an all-out attack on Mount Olympus. Many Half-bloods, satyrs and other allies had perished, bravely making their stand before the oncoming legions. The gods joined in on the fun, too. Man, that was a sight to see, I can tell you.
Zeus was flinging lighting bolts left and right, and if an ogre or assorted other mythological monster came up, he punched them in the nose. Hades, eyes glowing black, was sending bolts of dark energy into the hordes, while his skeleton warriors fought besides him, shooting, stabbing, or clubbing with the weapons of whatever period in time they fought in. My own father, Poseidon, was calling waves to crash upon the hordes, and lashing out with his trident.
To make a long story short, all of the Gods were fighting, Ares giving off his war cries, Artemis and her maidens (including Thalia) of the hunt firing arrows into the seething mass of blackness, Aphrodite with a little cupid-type bow firing arrows (which did a surprisingly heavy amount of damage. Having your heart broken is painful, having your heart pierced by an arrow the size of a javelin is in a whole other tier of pain) as well. Apollo actually amplified his haikus for doing damage, yet we had to listen to them, despite the casualties on Kronos' side that they inflicted. Oh Gods no, I thought, when is it going to end, my ears are bleeding and I'm losing control of my bowe-…well, you get the picture.
I fought that battle, the entire battle, with my two best friends on either side of me, Annabeth and Grover. Never issue a challenge of "pipe reeding to the death" to a satyr. If you'd had been there, you would know what I mean. Annabethahhh, fond memories. Her grey eyes can be as tender and caring the most loving grandmother, or they can be as cold as Hades' heart. On that day, they were a little of both. She fought with her celestial bronze dagger, and later in that day, slew Luke, the traitorous bastard. I could see that it broke her up inside to do it, but she finally realized that there was no hope for him.
We pushed them back, back from Olympus, back to Los Angeles, back into Hades' realm, and back to Tarturus, wherein, we sent all of the surviving monsters into the hell pit. Kronos' casket was destroyed, and thrown back in as well. We then celebrated, and as a taunting gesture, did it right on the pathway and ledge leading up to the pit.
It was during the celebrations that Annabeth and I admitted our feelings for each other, and kissed. Grover was looking at us, and gave me the "thumbs up" sign. Annabeth and I danced once the Muses started playing, an even better dance than the one we had shared on Olympus two years ago, which I had thought would be impossible to do. Later in the celebrations though, we were greeted with a surprise…
"Hey, Seaweed Brain, you there?" I turned and found myself looking into a pair of grey eyes that I knew very well, currently looking at me with warmth. I shivered, but not out of cold.
"Yeah, I'm here, just thinking." I replied, and snaked my arm around her shoulders. She smiled.
"Good, because I was lonely for a moment." she said, and I grinned at that. "Hey look, they have a punch bowl. Dionysus must've figured we aren't all old enough for wine, surprisingly thoughtful of him. Want to got get some, after making sure it isn't spiked?" she asked.
"Sure, let's go." I said. It was as we were walking over that it happened.
A roar, unlike anything that I had ever heard, resounded from the pit. It even put the ones that Ares bellowed during the battle to shame. Suddenly, a feeling of dread came over the celebrations, and all activity ceased. Everyone turned to the pit, and gasped as a patch of darkness suddenly appeared on the edge, materializing into a 8-foot tall person. Or at least I thought it was a person.
The figure had no eyes, skin the color of black, and a bundle of skulls topped with crowns held in it's left hand. It dropped the bundle, as it fully materialized, and I suddenly felt no fear.
But it wasn't because I was being brave.
It was because I, along with everyone else at the party, was doubled over laughing, even the Gods. The thing looked like some circus transvestite. It wore a crown, flashy jewelry all over it's body, golden hula-hoop-like rings around it's neck, nose and earrings, a loincloth, and essentially nothing else. I expected it to have a Valley Girl-type voice, but when it spoke, I starting laughing even harder.
"Perseus Jackson, I see that you and your company of allies have all come here taunting my name." it said in an incredibly uncharacteristically deep voice.
Four small demon-like things appeared, two to his left, two to his right, all along the edge. "I suppose you think that I, Kronos, lord of the Blackness, have been defeated? Huh. Far from it, my boy." it said as it stroke a gallant-pose, but because of it's (or his, now) appearance, it just made him look more flamboyant.
"What I seek, is earth, and water. A token to show that you submit to me. I suppose you all have forgotten, that the day still is not fully over, and Percy hasn't made official his choice."
Kronos' avatar came forward and put his hands on Percy's shoulders. Why is it that I feel like I'm being molested? he thought. The avatar started speaking again.
" You want the world to remain good? It shall become better, with me as its leader. You wish your mother to be successful? She can be worshipped as one of my highest consultants. You want your friends to be safe? You may have the satyr as your pet, and the girl as your personal…""satisfier'"."
I turned, considering this. That sounds very tempting. I thought. Maybe I should… and then I looked at everyone. The Gods. The half-bloods. Grover. Annabeth. Ah, Annabeth, she looked about ready to decapitate the Avatar of Kronos for what he had said. I looked over them all, thinking about how they would become slaves to Kronos.
Looking back out of the corner of his eye, he swiftly unsheathed Riptide and held it under the Avatar's throat. Grover held his celestial bronze knife under one of the darkling's throats, as did Annabeth. Clarisse had her spear pointed at another darkling, and Chiron had an arrow aimed at the last.
The Avatar laughed. "Ha. You would try to threaten me? That is not very fair. I am, after all just in my avatar form, a messenger. If this is what you think, then you are filled with madness."
I slowly lowered my blade, and looked back at Annabeth. She nodded slightly and then I turned back. I chuckled darkly. "Madness?...THIS. IS. MY CHOICE!"
And I kicked him into the pit. With style. And watched him fall, screaming.
Annabeth roared and slit her darkling's throat and shoved him into the pit as well. Grover stabbed this, then pulled back, and the darkling took a step, then fell into the pit. Clarisse impaled her darkling, shoved the spear even further into it, and then withdrew it, pushing the darkling into the pit. Finally, Chiron fired his arrow, which hit his darkling squarely between the keys, the momentum of the arrow shooting him back into the pit as well. The four kills happened within seconds of each other.
I turned back to everyone. And smiled.
"You know what my namesake Perseus would probably say at a time like this?" I asked as I took Annabeth's arm, while looking at everyone.
"What?" she asked.
While still looking at everyone, I yelled in a high pitched voice "Avery-bady dance naow!"
I then started to do a fast-paced dance with Annabeth, as all around us, the Gods, satyrs, nymphs, centaurs, half-bloods, everyone…started doing the same.
I had made my choice.
I didn't regret it.