Chapter 1 – The End

It wasn't supposed to end this way. He never thought it was possible they had made it through a whole war, amnesia, and Tartarus. They had defeated all the giants and had successfully avoided becoming blood sacrifices for Gaea or so they thought. The gods had shown up shortly after the doors of death were closed at the house of hades. They attacked the giants the following day, having paired up different gods with different members of the seven. Percy was working with Artemis, Jason was with Neptune, Frank was with Pluto, Annabeth was with Jupiter, Piper was with Apollo, Hazel was with Mars and Leo was the only one paired up with his father Hephaestus. The hunters of Artemis had arrived and they along with Nico were working with the minor gods to destroy the lesser giants that were born to defeat minor deities. They had destroyed them all, every giant. Some had begun to celebrate thinking it was all over. That's when things went wrong. Percy had just turned to see where Annabeth was when something, no someone, rose up in front of him.

"Gaea" he stated calmly.

"Perseus Jackson you have driven me to drastic measures. As you know I intended to use you and your precious girlfriend as the sacrifice for my full awakening. However due to the sudden turn of events I found the need to use mere mortals to awaken, but I believe you will wish it had been you." Gaea smirked

"And why is that" Percy stated shaking.

"Because it was your mother and stepfather for whom you cared deeply." She laughed.

"You're lying"

"I swear it on the Styx. They are dead and I killed them." The reaction was instantaneous. Percy lunged forward knocking Gaea to the ground when they rose; they both pulled out their weapons. Percy uncapped riptide and Gaea created a blade of earth. Then they began to fight. It was one-sided. Gaea was no match for the young demigod. She may have been powerful but Percy's rage put him over the edge. Gaea could not get a strike on him. She realized she was losing so she decided to play dirty. A hand of earth rose from the ground and suddenly there was a scream. Percy froze.

"You didn't." he said quietly

"Oh, but I did, young hero." Gaea said with a twisted smile. Percy stopped thinking. He just reacted. He attacked; his swings were precise and powerful. Five strikes later Gaea's immortal body was decapitated on the earthen ground and slowly being surrounded with water. Soon the body was contained within a ball of water that froze as it rose into the air. Percy turned around to look at all the gods and demigods that were frozen in shock the whole exchange. He walked up to his father who reverted to Poseidon upon seeing his Greek son.

"She is under your control now." Percy said quietly. His father nodded. Percy turned and walked toward Athena and Apollo who had broken out of their stupor and were both kneeling on the ground. Percy kneeled as well.

"P-Percy, you… you did it." Annabeth coughed.

"Sh, sh, don't strain… everything will be alright. Apollo is going to make it all better." Annabeth laughed.

"w-we both know it is t-too late for that." Annabeth reached up a hand and cupped his cheek and wiped away a tear with her thumb. "Percy, this is not your fault. Look at me; I do not blame you for this."

"Annabeth, I- I love you so much, my wise girl." He kissed her forehead.

"Percy, my seaweed brain, I love you too." She pulled him down and their lips met. It was a chaste kiss, simple and sweet, but it held more passion than any other kiss they had ever shared. It was their final goodbye. Percy held her to him in a hug as he watched the life drain out of her. Finally her chest stopped moving and her heart stopped.

"I love you" he whispered again as he closed her eyes and gently placed her body back on the ground. He stood and walked away. No one followed him. Soon he found a glen a ways away from all the others. He sat on a fallen log, her last moments replaying through his head. This is not your fault. She said. But it was his fault. I do not blame you for this. But he blamed himself for this. He didn't ever want to speak again he wanted his last words to be his undying love for Annabeth. It was his fault that Gaea killed her. It should have been him. So he would not speak again not to anyone. In his head he thought I swear on the river Styx I will never speak again. Thunder rumbled in the distance the deal was struck. Percy pulled out his hunting knife that he kept in case of emergencies. He thought of his promise. Never would he speak again and just to make sure he couldn't renege, he cut out his tongue. His mouth filled with blood. He took the small flask of nectar he had with him and gargled it. He felt the area around the base of his tongue heal. There was enough left to be able to swallow naturally, but there was no way he could ever speak. He stood. His silence would be his last respect. That was when Thalia found him.

"Percy!" she exclaimed "we have been looking everywhere for you. Don't you dare run off like that."

He looked at her and smiled. He held his arms open for a hug. She hugged him tightly and cried. Percy gently rubbed circles on her back as he let her grieve, tears rolling down his face. Eventually they had no more tears to cry. They rose and together they returned to where the others were. As one they were all teleported to Olympus. The gods had decided that the safest place to keep Gaea was in the sky hovering just over the ocean. Thus if she did break free then she would be completely separated from her element and could be more easily subdued. The six of the seven were called forward along with Nico and Thalia. Each was offered full immortality and all but Percy accepted. When they asked him if he had a different wish all he did was nod, but made no effort to speak. The gods began to become frustrated. Then suddenly the throne room was filled with light. When the light cleared the fates were left in its place.

"Our hero has made a grave vow." They said as one. "And as such for the moment we shall speak for him. His wish is that Lady Hestia and Lord Hades be returned to the Olympian council and that you place him somewhere where his skills can be put to use. You may choose where to put him but we the fates decree he must not be placed at either of the camps. We have seen his fate if he is placed there. He will do nothing but more self-harm. Isn't that right Perseus?" Percy nodded and looked at his feet. The gods looked like they had been hit with a ton of bricks. Artemis was the first to get over her shock

"What grave vow? What self-harm?" she asked.

"Master Jackson has sworn never to speak again and to be sure he could keep that promise he has cut out his own tongue."

"Why would he being at camp cause him to hurt himself?" Poseidon asked.

"Camp is full of activities but no one can keep an eye on the young hero. He will brood and in his brooding he will believe that he needs to be punished further and will begin to harm himself. Therefore you must find him a job that will keep him busy and on his toes." The fates stated simply. The gods were stunned. The fates had never before done this on behalf of anyone. They all glanced over at Percy who was still staring intently at his shoes as if they were the most amazing thing he had ever seen. "Perseus Jackson, we the fates have watched your string with great interest. It has interwoven with many different strings and we were greatly saddened when we were forced to cut your love's string. Yet even now your string is intertwining with many others. You have a long life ahead of you. Do not waste it." Percy looked up at the fates and nodded, a small flicker of a smile adorned his face before he quickly returned his gaze to the floor. Then with a flash the fates were gone. The gods looked at Percy and sighed.

"Percy, could you kindly wait outside while consider your request. The first shall most certainly be granted. The second it would seem shall take some pondering." Surprisingly it was Hera who spoke. Percy looked up and nodded then turned and left the throne room. The other demigods who had received their rewards asked the gods what they should do. The gods asked if they had any suggestions. And Thalia stepped forward.

"Lords and Ladies, please do not strike me down as this is merely a suggestion, but the Fates said that he needed to have a job that would not allow for much idle time. I can only think of one." The gods nodded for her to continue. "That would be the Hunt. I know that men are not allowed and I, being a member, admit that it would be appalling to have a male join, but Percy… Percy is different. He would not ever dream of hurting any of the girls. And it would certainly keep him busy. I do not say this is the only option but it is the only one that I can think of. I am sorry if I have insulted you my lady, but this is what I believe. Thank you for hearing me out." With that she turned and walked out of the throne room to find her cousin with the rest of the immortals following after her. After they had all left Athena turned to Artemis and spoke softly.

"I believe your lieutenant is correct. It is the only option that I see as well."

"As much as this pains me, I agree. Father if you agree I will accept Perseus as the guardian of my hunt. " Artemis stated firmly.

" I agree, but we shall put it to a vote." The vote was unanimous. "Lady Hestia would you like to go retrieve our young hero." Hestia nodded and left. She returned shortly with the sea prince. "Perseus Jackson, after a short discussion we have come to a unanimous decision that you shall become the guardian of the hunt, a silent protector, and the first and only male member of the hunters of Artemis. Do you accept?" Percy looked over at Artemis, eye wide as if to ask are you sure. Artemis nodded. Percy nodded to Zeus in acceptance. "Alright, then I, Zeus, King of the gods hereby proclaim that Perseus Jackson Son of Poseidon, Savior of Olympus shall be the immortal(in the same manner as the hunters) guardian of the hunt and all of its members and shall be expected to uphold the same etiquette as the hunters. Do you Perseus Jackson swear upon the River Styx they you will swear off women and protect the hunt for as long as you live? I believe the Styx will accept a nod." Percy nodded and thunder rumbled. Percy looked from Zeus to his father to Artemis then to Athena where his gaze stayed for a long time. He slowly walked up to her throne and bowed deeply. No one spoke. They all understood. He was trying to convey in one action his final goodbye to Annabeth and his apology to Athena that he could not protect her. He did not rise until he felt a hand underneath his chin. When he looked up it was into those stormy grey eyes. Athena pulled him into a hug and whispered words of forgiveness into his ear. Finally they broke apart. Percy turned to Artemis and bowed shortly. He was ready. He would be the guardian of the hunt. The silent protector.