She reached the final page of the book, the very last one. It was short – it only had one line of text.
It read: If you knew where you were going, would you want to die faster?
She couldn't help but feel surprised about the last line. She knew she should have expected it more; after all, the book was on the philosophy behind death. But she couldn't help but ponder the answer to the question.
Do I honestly want to leave faster? After all, I do know exactly where I'm going. She asked herself.
She began to ponder the meaning behind question in the safety and comfort of her own cabin. She knew that she was going to Elysium after this, but did that mean she wanted to go tomorrow because she knew exactly where she would end up? It meant no more Percy – but he could come with her. It meant no more - well, of her life. That she couldn't replace, but she could be finished. She would be done. She could sit all day in complete happiness, with Percy right by her side.
But she decided that it probably wasn't a good idea. You don't hurry these things, no matter how much you know about what's going to happen after. It wasn't meant to be. She wasn't supposed to end tomorrow because she could. She was supposed to end when her time came, no matter when that may be.
It would be cheating if she ended it tomorrow or the next day or the day after that, and as a daughter of Athena, she knew cheating on Hades wasn't a good idea. She would get there soon enough, and then she could spend forever there. There's no reason to rush.
"Hello, Annabeth? You still in there?" she heard Percy call. She had sent him away so that she could finish her book, and promised him that after she was finished they could hang out, "You told me to give you an hour and I gave you an hour and a half! How good of a boyfriend am I?"
She rolled her eyes while she was still hidden safely in her dorm, and then walked over to the door to let him in, "A very good one," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips, "We shouldn't stay in here though, if Chiron catches us we're screwed." It was true; Chiron had been watching the two of them like hawks to make sure the two of them weren't alone in a cabin together. It had started out that he only kept a watchful eye on them, but after an incident in the Poseidon cabin about a month ago, he kept an eagle eye on the two of them at all times.
"You're right," Percy said, checking behind him, "Want to go to the beach?"
"Sure," Annabeth said. She then remembered that she wanted to ask Percy about the question on the last page of her book. While Percy wasn't all too bright in the general sense, he could be oddly insightful on the strangest things, "Hold on."
She ran inside and grabbed the book. She then threw on her flip-flops and ran out the door.
When Percy saw her, he began to shake his head, "No books, you promised that you wouldn't read."
"I know, I know, and I'm not breaking my promise," she said, as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "I just have a question posed by this book for you."
"And you want me, Seaweed Brain, to answer a question that you couldn't?" Percy asked, laughing, "That really makes no sense, Wise Girl, and you're supposed to be all about logic, remember?"
She rolled her eyes, "Yes, I remember," she said, "It's a question that has no right or wrong answer. I'm just curious about your opinion. And you shouldn't turn this offer down, I mean, how often do I ask for you opinion?"
"Not nearly as often as I give it, and that's only because I want it heard." Percy said, sitting down on the soft, golden sand.
"Exactly," she said, lying down next to him.
"So, what is this very important question?" he asked, running his hands through the sand, "Now you've got me all stressed out about my answer, and I really shouldn't be stressed for two reasons. First of all, it's summer, and I get enough anxiety during the school year from having my English teacher be my step-dad. Secondly, I haven't even heard the question!"
Annabeth laughed, Percy could be so funny sometimes – even when he wasn't trying to be, "I told you, there is no correct answer. You ready for it?" he nodded, "Okay, the question is: If you knew where you were going, would you want to die faster? And since we both know that we're going to Elysium, what do you think?"
"I wouldn't." Percy said, without hesitation.
"Why?" Annabeth asked, surprised at his ability to answer the question with such haste.
That question, he had to think about. He couldn't pinpoint the exact feeling that was telling him no, it felt like it was his gut instinct at work.
"I guess my thinking is… well," he said, trying to explain what exactly was going through his head, "I was fighting against Kronos the entire time to keep not only myself but everyone else alive, and if I were to die earlier because I could and I knew where I was going, it would all just be one large waste."
"Yeah, I guess you're right," she said, "But if we went to Elysium tomorrow, the two of us, it would end the waiting in our lives and we could be happy and carefree. The two of us, sitting there just like this, hanging out."
"Sure, but that would be great at first, and then kind of suck," he started, "What I'm trying to say is, sure we could talk about some things for a while, but after a short while we'd get bored. Our lives aren't long enough yet to have enough conversation topics. We both have so much ahead of us. It would be stupid to throw it all away for a fantasy that can wait for us."
They sat in silence for a while. Annabeth thinking about what his answer really meant, while Percy was beginning to plan a battle strategy for that night's capture the flag.
"I'm going to go take a dive in," he said, beginning to get up.
"No!' she said, grabbing a hold of his hand, "Stay. I want you to come with me to go ask Nico this question."
"Why him?" Percy asked, "He's stupider than me!" she shot him a look, "Fine, he's as stupid as me, but that really won't help!"
"No, he's a son of Hades. He'll have a totally different opinion." Annabeth said; standing up and then began to brush the sand off of her jeans.
"Exactly! You shouldn't influence him to commit suicide. I mean, the kid's dark enough without our help. Don't you see all those skulls he wears?"
"Oh, he won't commit suicide. He could have done that long ago if he really wanted. I mean, he practically lived in the Underworld for a year and a half and he still takes yearly holiday visits."
"You do have a point there," he replied, "We should talk to him about that, I'm not so sure that it's good for his health."
They made their way to the entirely black Hades cabin. They swung open the door and heard the faint sound of music from across the room. There, dressed in all black, was Nico. He was sitting on his bed, blasting music through a large pair of headphones.
As Percy could have guessed, the music was scream-o.
Percy pulled the headphones off Nico's head, "Just because you're a son of Hades and like going with dark aura, does not mean that you have to listen to hard core punk."
"Yeah," Nico said, shaking his head, "But I like it. On that note, just because you're a son of Poseidon doesn't mean that you have to listen to a tape of ocean sounds when you go to sleep back in New York."
Percy's face flushed bright red, and Annabeth couldn't tell if it was with embarrassment or anger – or maybe even a mixture of both.
"It calms me down, helps relieve stress, and helps me sleep." Percy said, grabbing Nico's shirt.
"Well, it makes you seem like a girl." Nico said, breaking free of Percy's grasp and began to get off his bed.
"Why I ought to-" Percy began, moving his hand to his pocket that held Riptide, only to be stopped by Annabeth.
"Could you two stop fight?" she asked, "You guys act like brothers!"
They looked at one another, and shrugged, "Well, we kind of almost are," Percy said.
"Yeah," Nico said, "I mean, we're cousins that hang out with each other. Plus, we even look enough alike. We could pass off as brother from looks."
"Well, technically- you know what? Whatever," Annabeth said, "We came here for a reason."
"Why?"
"To ask you this," Annabeth said, taking a deep breath, "If you knew where you were going – which we do, would you choose to die faster? As a son of Hades, I'd greatly appreciate hearing your opinion."
"That's an odd question," Nico said, "Where did you get that from?"
"From this," Annabeth said, pointing at the book, "Now, answer the question on hand."
"Fine," Nico said, "Not really. I mean, when I come into the Underworld, I want my entrance to be epic. Committing suicide is a dramatic exit of the mortal world, but not an epic entrance to the Underworld."
"So you wouldn't because of self gain?" Annabeth asked, slightly shocked at how selfish Nico was sounding.
"Well, no matter how I die it will be self gain. I'm a son of Hades;" Nico explained, "I get worshiped down there. It's like how Percy gets treated underwater and how Thalia gets treated just about everywhere else. I will be treated like royalty, but I can wait for my time. Plus, suicide is highly frowned upon in the underworld. "
"Can we please stop asking this question now?" Percy asked, "It's getting me anxious."
"Percy," Nico said, "You're always anxious."
"You can blame the Styx," Percy snapped. It was true; the Styx's effects had made him moody and anxious all the time, "Want to get an ice pop from the dinning pavilion?"
"Sure," Annabeth and Nico said simultaneously, "But only if it's purple," Nico added.
Percy and Annabeth glared at him, "I was only kidding!"
I realize that this fic is a bit all over the place. I mean; it has the morbid death philosophical aspect to it, mixed with some romance and then humor. I'm sorry if that makes it really awful to read. I think it's my warped brain and how I always mix death with humor. Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed it despite that. Please review, I'm really curious to hear all of your thoughts!