AN: Hello, biscuits. Sammy here, with another fantasmic new one-shot. I got this idea from another fic about struggling after Tartarus and dealing with post-war problems. So, without further adieu, I present my second one-shot. Enjoy!
All Alone
And I Am Fine
It seemed that all he could do was fight wars.
Given his track record, it wasn't like the Son of Poseidon was bad at it. Then again, that was when he had his wits, skill, and an almost infinite amount of luck on his side.
But now, there wasn't a war. Everything was peaceful, quiet, calm.
And Percy Jackson hated it.
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"You should get out more, Perce. You hardly leave your cabin, and that's only to get food!"
"Sure Nico, maybe later."
The Son of Hades growled dangerously. His hand was twitching, a reflex from years of fighting monsters and not much else.
"You said that last time, and the time before that! When are you going to realise that your friends miss you? Your family misses you? When was the last time you even talked to your mom?"
Percy scoffed, rolling his sea-green eyes. "Like she wants to talk to me, the disappointment of a son, the son who can't go anywhere without trouble following." the raven haired demigod sunk into a chair, pulling a drink from a cooler next to it. "Besides, it's not like she would have time for me." he muttered, twisting the top off of the beverage.
Nico scrunched his nose in disgust. "Since when do you drink? The Percy I know wouldn't touch alcohol." said demigod stood, quicker than the Son of Hades could catch, and was standing in front of him with an almost feral look in his eyes.
"The Percy you know was a military leader and war hero. He's gone now. I am what's left, so you can deal with that or get the fuck out of my cabin!" he spat viciously, venom dripping from his words like poison.
Nico stood in stunned silence, before glaring, livid. "Fine. But don't expect me to come back feeling sympathetic when you turn into the man you vowed never to be." his words were like a rusty, jagged dagger to Percy's heart.
"Fuck you!" he screamed, throwing the bottle. It smashed against the wall, brown liquid dripping down and staining the wall.
With a final look of utter disbelief, the Son of Hades was gone in a swirl of shadows, leaving Percy heaving, fist clenched. His eyes were closed tightly, holding back tears, and his fists shaking. And then, the demigod really did go feral. He destroyed everything in the cabin: bunks, chairs, the statue of his father, anything he could break was broken.
Percy didn't realise he was screaming until his knuckles were bloody and his fingers splintered. He collapsed onto the floor, next to the scattered remains of his chest which he had beaten mercilessly. It was like being surrounded by a timeline of his life.
Pictures, everywhere, of him and Grover, him and Annabeth, him and Thalia, him and Selina, him and Beckendorf. The memories hit hard, especially as he continued. Him and Annabeth, standing on the Argo II with the rest of the crew behind them. Him, Jason, Frank, and Leo having fun and messing around. His mom and Paul, smiling, as Percy embraced them for the first time in almost a year. Tears coated the floor, dripping from the demigods eyes like a leaky faucet. Him, Hazel, and Frank in New Rome, getting some hot chocolate.
"I'm so sorry." the voice of a broken man, a man with no purpose in life, a man who had given up. Percy picked up a single picture, a picture that made the others look like a cruel joke.
A crying Annabeth, clinging to Percy as he stood with the rest of the Seven. Or, what was left. Jason had a cast and an eyepatch, Frank was in a wheelchair, and Hazel on crutches. All soldiers, all hurt, all missing a part of themselves that could not be returned.
The sinisterness of the picture was in the memories after. The memories only Percy and few others held. The memory of finding Jason, hanging from the ceiling of his new apartment. The memory of Frank and Hazel fighting till their last breath before being forcefully taken from this world at the hands of the cruel creatures that inhabited it.
And by far the worst memory was that of Annabeth Chase, brilliant Daughter of Athena, Architect of Olympus, plunging to her death from the edge of Olympus, and hitting the pavement in a final display from the blonde.
Percy was the only one left of the Seven, one of the few who even remembered the Second Titan War.
Who could make room for old war veterans in a world of peace?
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"Do you ever notice how the stars shine the most when you are sad?"
"That's probably because you have tears in your eyes, Seaweed Brain."
"Oh. I knew that."
Her laugh was like a choir of angels in Percy's mind. She looked up at him, and smiled that smile that sent him wild.
But it slowly faded, replaced by a grim frown. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" the demigod frowned, not understanding.
"What do you mean?" she sighed, hands running through her blood stained hair.
'Wait, bloodstained?' that's when he realised the horrible truth.
"You're dead." Annabeth smiled, but it was not happy. "Sorry." Percy woke up in a cold sweat, eyes wild and filled with tears.
"Trouble sleeping?" the Son of Poseidon's head snapped up, but didn't see anything. "Jesus, now i'm hearing things."
"Not quite, hero." that voice, like a blade across stone, full of evil and malice.
"No. No no no, we killed you!" Percy was now fully awake and fully aware of just who he was conversing with.
The Titan King laughed wickedly. "I have been killed before, demigod. Do you really think you and that whore could keep me down for long?" the demigod slowly reached under his pillow, barely brushing Riptide before coming to an involuntary halt.
"Not so fast, grandson. We wouldn't want things to get messy now, would we?" Percy struggled against the magic, but to no avail.
Suddenly, golden eyes appeared in the shadows, mimicking that of the Titan of Time's real appearance.
"We both know you are in no shape to take on a Titan, hero." hero, not a word Percy used for himself anymore. "What do you want for me Kronos?" a dark chuckle, the eyes moved closer.
"I have watched for a while now, hero. You have been having a hard couple of years now. All your friends die, your whore of a girlfriend takes a nosedive to Elysium, and you are left alone. And yet, you refuse to give up your own life. Why is that?" shadows formed into a clawed hand, scraping against the former hero's arm.
"Perhaps because you can't? Because no matter what the Olympians may say, you are a pawn in the war to defend their thrones. Nothing more, nothing less." the cruel words were like snakes, slithering into Percy's mind and coiling up, ready to attack.
"You are Percy Jackson, Hero of Olympus, the only one left of the Prophecy of the Seven. And how do you defend this title? By drinking and wallowing in self-hatred. What better way for me to find you, hero." Kronos laughed sinisterly, the shadow claws scraping against the demigod.
"The gods may have granted you iron skin as reward for your duties, but the price of having no weakness is no way to escape. You are lost in a world that you don't belong in, and the only thing you want is the one thing you cannot have. That's where I come in."
Percy started to feel a presence enter his mind. "What are you doing to me?" he demanded, just before pain erupted in his head like never before.
"You are the perfect host for my new uprising. The Olympians think they are smart, crafting the perfect weapon out of iron skin and an iron will. But they don't know you, do they? They don't know that Olympus' favorite demigod is dead on the inside, lifeless, a shell of his former self."
The time spell fell away, releasing Percy to the floor where he spasmed and shook aggressively.
"Your will has gone soft, but your physical form is still in peak performance. You will be my weapon now, hero. And once the dust clears, and everyone you know is gone, I will let you bask in the unholy destruction you have brought this world. And then, I will ascend to my rightful place as king, with my faithful host body at my side."
Percy could barely hear the evil voice, telling of the end of days, as his mind was ripped apart and shredded into nothingness. As the Titan entered his body, fully taking control of the former hero, Percy had just enough consciousness to speak.
"You may win. You may take Olympus and destroy the world. But you will never be satisfied. Believe me, when you have everything anyone could ever want, when you have nothing left to take, you can only lose yourself." with that final word, the sea-green dimmed from his eyes.
Gold filled in like molten lava, and as the body of Percy Jackson stood with a smile as malevolent as they come, the world seemed a little colder.
But that didn't matter to Kronos.
It was time for a new age, and he wouldn't let the last words of a former hero stop him.
Fin
AN: Don't forget to leave a nice review, leave a one-shot idea you have and would like for me to write. I love you all, and have a lovely evening/morning/night/afternoon!
