DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. EVERYTHING BELONGS TO RICK RIORDAN. DON'T SUE.
PROLOGUE
It's been two years since The Giant War ended. Gaea has been defeated and both camps have been saved. The Greeks and Romans have finally put aside their differences and now stand side by side. Frank's life is no longer connected to a piece of wood. Hazel's gems are now curse free. Calypso is free from Ogygia and is reunited with Leo. Jason is now a permanent camper at Camp Half-Blood. Piper's father finally acknowledges her and spends time with her. All courtesy of the gods as a gift for saving the world. Everyone should be happy. The skies should be cloudless with endless amounts of sunshine. That wasn't the case for Percy Jackson. He never got his happily ever after.
FLASHBACK
"Percy, let me go" she croaked. "You can't pull me up."
His face was white with effort. She could see in his eyes that he knew it was hopeless.
"Never," he said.
Percy tightened his grip on Annabeth's wrist. His face was gaunt, scraped and bloody, his hair dusted with cobwebs, but when he locked eyes with her, she thought he had never looked more handsome.
"We're staying together," he promised. "You're not getting away from me. Never again."
Annabeth knew that without Percy, the others would not win the war. She could not let him suffer from the penance of her mistakes. She would have to say goodbye to Percy. She looked down at the bottomless pit that would be her new home. Stories of Tartarus swirled in her mind; It is said to be impossible to survive. Her hubris clouded her mind as she look up at Percy.
"Percy," He glanced down at her.
"Promise me something," Annabeth said as tears streaked her cheeks.
"Anything," Percy replied without hesitation.
"Win the war. Don't let that bitch destroy everything that is good." Even hanging on for dear life, he manages to smile.
She drops her free hand down. Carefully, she lifts her leg up toward her hovering hand. With nimble fingers, a splinter is plucked from her splint. Percy is oblivious as to what she is about to do. His focus on the impossible task gives Annabeth the advantage she needs.
"I love you." She wants those to be her last words.
The second the words left her lips, she jams the splinter into his hand. She feels it tearing into flesh and veins. The move so sudden, his muscles convulse, causing the grip on her wrist to falter. I'm sorry Percy. She jerks her wrist out of his grasp, sealing her fate. She knew his screams of agony were not from the splinter. She choked back a sob as she fell into the dark abyss. Alone.
AN: LET'S JUST PRETEND THAT THE HOUSE OF HADES AND THE BLOOD OF OLYMPUS HAS/WILL NOT HAPPEN.