This is my first story/one shot written expressly for FanFiction. I did this quickly and I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I don't have any changes to make right now. It's kind of rushed, and I'm not very good with FanFiction so sorry if the formatting is off or whatever. So this is how I imagine the Doors of Death being closed. Actually, not imagine per se, but this idea was rattling around in my head and I thought I would write it. I might come back and edit this, but just bear with me. Hope you enjoy/don't kill me.
Disclaimer: I clearly do not own PJO or HoO because this is a website for fanfiction. All characters belong to the fabulous life-ruiner, Mr. Rick Riordan.
They meet at the doors; Percy and Annabeth are hobbling, and at first unrecognizable. But as they near closer, their dirty features become apparent. Annabeth's makeshift splint has been replaced, or at least improved, and her foot rests atop Percy's, so it looks like they're doing a three-legged race. She leans on a crude crutch. Percy's upper arm and shoulder are hastily bandaged, but they don't look much worse for the wear. The other demigods gape as they approach with grim smiles.
"We thought you were goners," Leo says. "I'm just glad Gaea didn't deem you two important enough for guards, 'cause we've got the Doors to ourselves."
Piper smacks Leo, but his words jolt them into action. Piper retrieves bandages and Frank offers up ambrosia and nectar, and the two are generally fussed over.
Up close, there's a feral look in Percy's eyes, and when anyone gets too close to Annabeth, he eyes them warily and shifts closer to her. They cringe when Leo refits Annabeth's ankle with a modern-looking splint, and Percy buries his face in her neck. The others notice their dynamics are off, but nobody mentions it. Finally, when the pair has been sufficiently accommodated, they tell their story.
"We fell for a long time," Percy recounts. "It felt like forever. Annabeth thinks it took us at least a week. So, we finally reached the bottom, and fortunately Arachne was long gone. But Annabeth landed on her bad ankle again, so I revamped the splint. We started wandering, and it was like the labyrinth, only worse – a maze of awful, horrible places. We ran into what – seventeen monsters, total?" He looks to Annabeth for confirmation, and she nods.
"Even with Death back, the Doors are still open. Monsters go to Tartarus, but still pop right back. It only delays them. We need to close them," Annabeth says.
The heads' of the seven turn to the Doors, standing defiantly open. Nico takes it as his cue to emerge from the shadows.
"I'll close them from the inside. Death can't hold me."
Percy whips his head around.
"No, Nico. This isn't- no. Bianca wouldn't want this for you."
Nico turns away, biting his lip, but doesn't argue.
"To storm or fire, the world must fall," Frank says quietly.
Hazel's eyes widen.
"You can't be serious," she gasps. He nods grimly.
"What?" Percy asks.
"Storm or fire. Someone on the inside. Someone on the outside. Percy, you and Jason would be storm – we've seen what you can do. We can't sacrifice either of you if we want to make peace between the Romans and the Greeks. Leo controls fire, and fire controls me." Frank turns to Leo. "What do you say, man?"
Leo's smile turns down.
"Yeah, no, you're right. I'll push from Tartarus. You stay here."
"No. No, Leo, I'm saying you stay. My firewood is a stub, and if I stay, we'll both die."
"No," Hazel's voice wavers, "I have your firewood."
"I need it to close the Doors. Either way, I'm a goner," Frank shakes his head. "My life will burn fast and bright, and I'm going to go with a bang. I accept it, and you cannot stop me."
"Frank, man," tries Percy, "it doesn't have to be like this."
"Yes," Franks sighs, "it does. I'm a child of Mars, not some bloodthirsty Ares punk; I'm a strategist, too. And this is the best strategy – the only strategy."
Annabeth regards him with calculating eyes, before sighing.
"Frank's right."
Leo shakes his head violently. "I am not going to be responsible for your death."
"I won't blame you – I don't blame you. I won't kill both of us."
Frank turns to Hazel.
"I'm sorry," he says, "but we aren't meant to be. I know Sammy is your biggest what-if, and now you have a second chance. You've made your sacrifice, and now I'll make mine. Promise me, Hazel, that you'll fight. Don't let our sacrifices be in vain. I want you to grow up, have a family, die old. Do you promise me?" He grips her shoulders and searches her eyes. Piper chokes back a cry.
"Yes," Hazel sobs. "I promise."
"Okay." He releases her with a kiss on the cheek.
"Valdez," Frank mutters gruffly, "take care of Hazel."
Percy pats Frank on the back. "Not bad for a son of Mars, Zhang."
Frank smiles at his friend and turns to Annabeth, who is studying him intently, almost creepily.
"You're a good guy, Frank. A really, really, good guy." She kisses him on the cheek with sisterly affection, and her arms briefly encircle his neck.
Jason pats Frank on the back, and Piper cries into his shirt for a moment.
Hazel stands on her tiptoes and kisses him – a real kiss, right on the lips. She hands him the charred stub, and turns away, but not before he notices the tears glistening in her golden eyes.
Leo pats him on the shoulder and the two boys approach the towering doors. Frank strides confidently, but Leo looks wobbly and shaky. Frank pauses where the cracked marble meets scorched earth, then crosses into Tartarus. Instantly, the boys are at it; Frank using his brute strength, and Leo summoning all the firepower he can handle. The Doors are shuddering, shaking the cavern sheltering the demigods. The black wooden doors groan as they are pushed together. The steel reinforcements send up sparks on the white marble, or maybe that's Leo. Nobody can tell through the hazy heat waves and their watering eyes. Frank's form is just visible in the crack between the Doors. Frank shouts something to Leo, who nods wildly. Frank begins to catch fire, the flames licking up his worn jeans to his shirt collar. The son of Mars bursts into a fiery inferno, and the doors slam shut.
Leo's fire is still burning, his tears sizzling into steam. The lanky boy is bathing in fire with no effect, and he makes no move to stop, as if he wants to die himself. All seven demigods, Nico included, are sobbing in the blazing heat, which slowly cools by the minute. Leo picks himself off the ground and stumbles back to his friends. Crystalline rivulets run down his smoky, blackened face.
"You heard him! We're going to go kick Mother Earth's butt and we're going to do it for Frank," Leo roars. Flames dance in his eyes, and momentarily, he bears an eerie resemblance to Ares. Nico collects himself and nods.
"It's what Frank wanted," Nico affirms.
Hazel nods through hers tears, leaning into Nico's side.
The seven spare one last baleful look at the mighty Doors, and begin their trek back to the Argo II.