Disclaimer: It should be obvious but I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters contained within the books. I also do not own the poem referenced in the story.
Percy raged across the battlefield. Monsters were slaughtered by the hundreds by the seemingly unstoppable hero. He stood alone against tens of thousands of the worst monsters and yet did not falter. The gods and his friends watched in awe from where they stood, unable to help their hero because of a barrier Gaia had placed over the battlefield. It had flashed into existence as soon as Percy had stepped onto the battlefield and wouldn't let anyone else in. The gods had tried everything to get in but the barrier and resisted even the combined might of the Olympian council.
Percy had merely shrugged when the barrier appeared and started massacring the monsters in the "bubble" with him. He'd even managed to bring down several giants too by using the traditional greek tactic of cutting divine beings to pieces. They weren't dead but they certainly wouldn't be able to fight until someone managed to piece them back together.
Gaia herself had risen on the battlefield and watched from the back of her army as Percy defeated everything that stood against him. Finally after several hours the only living beings capable of fighting were Percy and Gaia. She merely stood and watched him with an amused smirk as he tried to recuperate after his fight.
Percy stood hunched over with his hands on his knees trying to catch his breath. He'd taken down more monsters in the past few hours than all the monsters he'd killed prior to the start of the battle combined. He was totally exhausted but knew that the battle wasn't anywhere close to over. Though if he had any say in it then the battle and the war would be finished this day.
"Gaia, I challenge you to single combat here and now," Percy bellowed out. "Very well foolish mortal, I accept," Gaia replied. With a flash a sword that appeared to be made of dirt appeared in her hand. They both charged and met with a clang in the middle of the battlefield. They immediately began hacking and slashing at each other but neither was able to score a hit on the other. The winds began to pick up speed as a massive hurricane formed with the eye directly around the two combatants. The gods flashed out with the demigods as the storm began to tear the area apart. They all then watched in awe through an Iris message from Olympus as Percy whipped the storm into a greater frenzy now that his friends were safely away.
The hurricane was greater than any single storm the world had ever experienced and greater than most storms combined. And still it continued to build. The clouds of the storm spiraled out for miles in every direction as the winds began tearing apart the already battered landscape. The two fighters still stood in the eye of the storm, locked in their duel. Each glowed with an intense aura of power as they hit harder and faster.
The fight continued for hours, each finally gaining minor wounds but not enough to end the fight. The hurricane had finally stopped growing but continued to whirl around the fighters. The landscape for miles had been totally decimated. It was certain that without intervention nothing would grow on the new wasteland for centuries. And even with the efforts of nature deities it would still be a tremendous task to fix the landscape.
Percy was beginning to struggle as he fought. His arms felt like he was once again carrying the sky and it required a monumental amount of effort just to keep defending against Gaia. She showed very little signs of tiring and was fully healed due to her contact with the Earth. Percy knew he'd have to finish this fight soon before exhaustion and his wounds brought him down. Gritting his teeth he began forcing more power into the storm around him trying to get the winds to circle even faster. His skin began to smoke from his power output as the winds began racing even faster.
Slowly he got the reaction he wanted as he and Gaia were lifted off the ground. Gaia grunted in annoyance as her feet left the ground. "It matters not mortal. I am a primordial, you cannot hope to beat me regardless of where we fight," she screamed over the storm. Percy knew she was probably right. She'd been around for millennia before the gods had even existed. With her power and experience he was only delaying the end.
He merely fought harder before he was struck by a thought. It was a stupid idea, but stupid enough to actually be smart. Annabeth would curse him to Tartarus and back if she knew what he was planning. Though if it succeeded her words would be the least of his worries. He waited until Gaia lunged forward in again in an attempt to skewer him. With a final whispered prayer to whatever deities were listening he lunged forward as well.
Gaia's eyes widened before she looked down in shock. Planted dead center in her heart riptide stood out proudly. Gaia's hand let go over her sword as it dropped down to her side. But while her hand had fallen her sword remained, stuck through Percy's chest like a mirror image of riptide. "The earth falls to storm it seems. Kinda glad for that, Leo's got someone to go find and death would kinda throw a wrench in those plans," Percy croaked.
With a final scream of rage Gaia dissolved into dust that was immediately scattered by the hurricane. The storm began to slow before finally dissipating as Percy fell to the barren ground. The gods immediately flashed in with the demigods. Many cries were heard for Apollo to heal him but he shook his head. "He's too far gone, that sword has cut through his heart. Even divine intervention can't save him," Apollo said as tears poured down his cheeks. While he and Percy weren't the best of friends he liked Percy and he was frustrated at the feeling of helplessness he felt watching Percy die.
Annabeth shoved her way to Percy none to gently but no one complained. She grasped his hand firmly as if trying to anchor him to life with her touch. Percy's eyes opened and he blinked a few times as he tried to focus on her. "Sorry wise girl, but it seems like my ticket to Greece was only one way," he said as chuckled quietly. "Why? Why did you do this? Couldn't you find another way to beat Gaia," Annabeth questioned as she sobbed. "I tried I honestly did. But the only way I could beat her was by losing. And it's better this way. One life in exchange for hundreds of lives that would've been lost otherwise," Percy answered.
By this time Percy's friends and comrades and gathered around and were crying as they watched their hero in his final moments. Even Ares himself was crying but if anyone asked later he denied it.
"You remember that poem you read to me on the Agro that one night? The one about the light?" Percy asked Annabeth. "Dylan Thomas, how could I forget? You had me recite it only a few hundred times," she said. "I like listening to you read it." he said with his signature smile albeit smaller than usual. "I really liked the words too, I thought it was fitting given we were in a war against evil trying to kill all light. Do you remember the last line," he asked as he starred into those grey eyes he loved so much. She nodded as the tears poured down her face. "Rage, rage against the dying of the light." she whispered softly.
"I think my storm did most of the raging but I still think I raged against the dying of the light pretty good. After all I did kick mother Earth's evil backside," he said with a chuckle that turned into a ragged cough. "Huh, I don't think that's a good sign," he said nonchalantly as he looked at the blood he'd coughed up. With those words his head fell back and his eyes blinked wildly in an attempt to focus. "Annabeth, I've got one last request to make of you," Percy gasped knowing his end was close. "Anything, I swear it on the Styx," she sobbed as she held his weakening hand desperately. Thunder rumbled overhead in the still storm cloud filled sky.
"Move on, don't let my death stop you from living your own life. You've got the rest of your life ahead and I don't want you to spend it crying over me," Percy wheezed, his breathing worsening with each passing moment. "I'll try," she promised now holding his hand with both of hers tight enough that were he not dying he'd probably be in a decent amount of pain. "Don't try wise girl, do," he gasped out before his eyes closed and his chest ceased rising.
For a moment the world was silent, everyone in shock that their seemingly invincible hero was finally dead. "He's gone," Apollo announced to those present. With that simple announcement all Hades broke loose. The cloud filled skies opened up and fueled by the grief of Poseidon and Zeus brought down a total deluge. The other gods similarly vented their grief as the demigods merely sat and wept. Percy Jackson, the greatest hero to ever live, champion of Olympus, slayer of the greatest enemies the Greek and Roman worlds had to offer, accomplisher of the impossible had finally been brought down by fate.
After several hours of grieving the gods flashed everyone to Olympus. Percy's body was wrapped in a beautiful sea green shroud the same shade as his eyes. On it were intricately stitched scenes of his quests and adventures. "Hermes, I need you to deliver word to those left behind at the camps. Visit the other gods too, they need to know of this," Zeus said softly. Hermes nodded quickly before flashing out to deliver news of the fallen hero. Minor gods began to flash in quickly and those left at the camp joined the solemn crowd standing in the throne room.
Zeus flashed out briefly before reappearing a few minutes later with Sally and Paul who sobbed at sight of the shroud covered body lying next to the hearth. Soon the throne room was full, the crowd spilling out into the streets of Olympus. Zeus stood up from his throne and with a solemn tone announced,"We have victory, but it has come with a terrible price. Our hero has fallen."
(Time skip 5 years)
The funeral had been a solemn affair. None had left with dry eyes especially once they'd heard the tale of Percy's death. Hades had made an exception for Percy and let him into the Isles of the Blessed without even being judged. Officially it was due to the demands of the council but in reality Hades had planned on it long before Percy had died.
Annabeth and the rest of the seven were made into gods but it seemed unfair to them that they were given such a great reward while the true hero of the war was "rewarded" with death regardless of how pleasant his afterlife. This had been rectified when they cleaned out Percy's room on the Argo. Inside the drawer of his desk they'd found an immense stack of letters. Percy guessed that he would fall during the war and had secretly written the letters during his spare time during the war and had painstakingly fought past his dyslexia to write a personalized letter to everyone he knew.
On top of the stack was a general letter stating that if anyone found the stash then he was most likely dead but they'd hopefully won the war. He explained that the letters were his good-byes to everyone and that he didn't want anyone to mourn his fate. Hermes had personally delivered each and every letter to their intended recipients. As each read their letter they found words of comfort and encouragement. Due to the letters and Percy's final wishes expressed in them things greatly improved. Hades and Hestia were added to the council. Zeus and Hera stepped down as King and Queen respectively and now the Olympian council was a democracy with a committee of minor gods acting as a balance to the Olympians when deciding godly matters. The gods also reached out to their children more. They were still restricted by the ancient laws as only the fates could repeal those, but they pushed the boundaries of the laws and exploited every loophole possible.
The demigods were doing better as well. The camps were now linked by a gateway set up by Hecate. Romans and Greeks intermingled with only minor issues that were easily solved by duels between the parties in question. The duels were never to the death but were serious enough that things were usually smoothed out before they escalated too far.
The hunters were doing great. After the war whatever monsters were left outside of Tartarus quickly fled, leading to many great hunts for Artemis and her hunters. They took great pleasure in taking down minions of the evil that had killed the only man they respected. Many of the hunters had received a letter from Percy and in most he apologized for the actions taken by others who shared his gender that led them to their current place in the hunt. With that apology even the hunters who despised the men the most gained a respect for Percy.
Sally and Paul had taken Percy's death extremely hard. They'd both been inconsolable in the days following Percy's death but their mood improved quickly after receiving their letters from Percy. No one knew what he'd said in those letters, not even each other, but whatever it was it hauled them back out of their depression. Sally often made cookies which Hermes personally delivered to the campers (after a small delivery tax of course)as she could not enter the camp as a mortal. That was later rectified as she and Paul gained immortality after the motion was proposed by many of the demigods and unanimously passed by both the major and minor councils. They became the unofficial "godparents" of the campers and helped Chiron and Dionysus run the camp.
Dionysus was released from his punishment early due to good behavior but "accidently" angered both councils enough that he was punished again with an even longer sentence this time. (At least that's what he told the campers when he reappeared at camp a week after being released). Chiron however merely welcomed Dionysus back with a knowing smile as he knew that Dionysus had secretly become fond of the camp.
The remaining seven stayed together after the wars. Nico took Percy's place on the Argo as it and it's crew traveled around the world on various quests. Eventually they each ended up married to their respective partners. Jason and Piper were first to succumb, followed by Leo and Calypso. She'd been rescued on the crew's first quest following the war. Frank and Hazel lasted a few years after that before Frank finally proposed. And lastly was Annabeth. She'd tried to keep her oath to Percy after the war but it was hard. Everyone else had their own person to lean on for support but her support was gone. Then Nico came along. At first things had been awkward between the two due to their common former love interest. But then things changed. They ended up venting to each other and talking about why they had liked Percy so much. They ended up becoming good friends and each other's support. After many long talks with Jason and some of the others on the Argo Nico came to realize that his crush on Percy had resulted due to the fact that Percy was the only one who was nice to him at camp at first. After he'd laid that issue to rest another then arose. He'd fallen in love. He'd come to truly love Annabeth. The only issue was that he wasn't sure if she would return his feelings. After confessing to Jason he was then harassed almost constantly to just talk to her. He held out for a few years before confessing his feelings and kissing her one night as they stood on the deck of the Argo underneath the stars. She kissed him back before taking a step back and slapping him. When questioned she simply replied with "That's what you get for taking forever." They were married a year later to the surprise of everyone except for their close friends.
The completely barren landscape of the final battlefield had also been improved. The various nature gods had worked tirelessly for months to turn the empty landscape into a quiet oasis full of plants and wildlife. Hecate had been given the task of creating a barrier around it to keep mortals and monsters from noticing the oasis and disturbing the sacred grounds. A monument stood in the center of the lush green lands, towering above even the tallest of the trees. It was the only unnatural object in the entire oasis and yet the nature deities welcomed it.
Carved of stone straight from the peak of the original Olympus was a statue. It had been painstakingly designed and created by the Olympians themselves. Athena had designed it with input from Aphrodite on proportions in order to make it look as lifelike as possible. Hephaestus and Poseidon had carefully shaped the stone to the exact specifications given. Hades had summoned the magnificent jewels that were the statue's eyes. Zeus and Hestia had each imparted a tiny piece of their respective elements into the jewels to make them shine with an inner light giving the statue's eyes a determined look. Hermes had been responsible for transporting the various supplies and pieces around to the various sites. Dionysus put a blessing on the statue to curse anyone who attempted to deface the statue with unbearable insanity. Apollo and Artemis blessed the statue to always be brightly illuminated regardless of whether it was the sun or moon in the sky. Demeter blessed the statue to never be grown over by any plants. Ares had worked on the statue's sword and armor with help from Hephaestus. Hera had blessed the statue with an aura that drew in demigods, acting as a beacon to the sacred safe haven.
Completely finished the statue was a sight to behold. Poseidon had used his power over water to smooth out the stone after Hephaestus carved it, forming a man's figure from the stone and giving him incredibly precise and lifelike details. The sea green emeralds shone with a fiery determination and an inner light just like the man whose likeness they were in memory of. The statue stood tall, arm pointed skyward with the hand clutching a sword as if rallying unseen troops. On the upraised arm a tattoo for service in the roman legion could be seen. It's face bore the signs of a hard life and battles untold yet it had a lopsided grin that made anyone who saw it smile in reply. The statue's armor was worn and dented with use, but it gleemed proudly on the statue. A shield rested on the statue's lowered arm, a enlarged version of the shield the hero was given by his brother. It like the armor was dented and worn but still shined. Around the statue's neck a simple necklace rested, a few oddly shaped beads adorning it.
When the Olympians unveiled the statue on the first anniversary of the war's end many cried seeing that familiar face again. It then became a tradition for the camps to gather every year with the gods in the oasis and to hear the story of the final battle along with various other stories usually told by the veterans of the wars. They all revolved around a single hero, one who had stood up against evil and raged against the dying of the light.