Word Count: 701

Characters/Pairings: the seven + Nico; Percabeth in this chapter

Timeline/Spoilers: presumably set during HoH; major spoilers for entire series

Summary: Hypothetical scenarios exploring the possibility of each of the seven of the prophecy having to close the Doors of Death. — i. She is his fatal flaw and saving grace all at once.

Notes: I got the idea for this collection after reading The Mark of Athena and from spending too much time on tumblr looking at viria's art (she's a goddess, look her up). Much of this is based on her post set to Matchbox Twenty's "How Far We've Come".

Also, totally just realized that I'm doing the same thing with HOO that I did with PJO – reading the entire series right before the last one comes out. Yea.

the son of Poseidon

.

"Nico, hold her back."

The pale boy with hollowed cheeks looks him in the eye, as true remorse shows through. "Percy, I—"

"Consider this payback for the time you tricked me into the Underworld." He attempts a half smile, though his gaze offers a grimmer message. Don't you dare let her go. I'm trusting you with this. (it's the moment they fell into the pit all over again, and nico is cuckolded into yet another promise he wishes he didn't have to keep.)

His other friends all stand around him, wearing matching looks of despair. Frank and Hazel, whom he had been with through so much in so short a time, cling to one another. Jason, his friendly rival and Roman counterpart has his fists clenched so tightly that Percy could have sworn he'd seen a spark of lightning. Piper is blinking back tears from her iridescent eyes; though he never really got to know her, he knew that she had been a valuable friend to Annabeth in his absence, and he can never thank her enough for that. And finally, there is Leo, in whom he's sensed a kindred spirit. They would have been fast friends, Percy was sure, if only he had been given more time. But that was never an option, from the minute the gods first began to meddle in his life.

(does he take some sort of sick satisfaction at the thought that even olympus will run out of time someday? no, surely not.)

In his heart, he apologizes to them (to his mother, to paul, to tyson, to grover, to chiron, to the campers, to blackjack, to rachel and everyone else he is leaving behind), but, at that moment, he has eyes only for one.

The blonde in Nico's arms thrashes about and shrieks. "Perseus Jackson, don't you dare back out on a promise to me!

"You said you'd never leave me again! You promised!"

Amidst the urgency of the situation, he pauses for a moment to simply take her in. As disheveled and broken as she is, his Wise Girl is still absolutely breathtaking.

So of course he has to go and kiss her. (it's a simple reflex now, at this point.)

In one quick stride, he has her pulled towards him, mustering all of his emotion into that single action – his love, as well as his regret; regret that he couldn't follow up on that vision of a life together. (and, despite the starkly contrasting circumstances, it makes him rather reminiscent of another scene, one that he once dubbed "pretty much the best underwater kiss of all time".)

As he slowly backs away, he notes the tears streaming down her porcelain cheeks, and for a fraction of a second, his resolve wavers. He hesitates. But that half second was all it takes. The doors to Tartarus slams shut, trapping the son of Poseidon within.

On the outside, Annabeth Chase lays crumpled before them, sobbing openly. "You said, as long as we were together…"

.

.

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(alternate end)

Taking advantage of the gravity of the moment and everyone's focus being on Percy, Annabeth thrusts her elbow at her captor's stomach – not hard enough to actually hurt, but enough to force him to lose his hold. With that, she surges forward, barely making it through the crack as the doors swung closed. She ends up tackling Percy to the ground.

After a few seconds, he looks up, obviously confounded. His expression morphs into an amalgam of shock, fury, love, and then a deep sadness. "Annabeth! What did you— How could you—" He is silenced by a swift uppercut. ("gods, that felt good," she thinks.)

The girl in his arms is trembling and clinging to him tightly. Slowly, he bends to rest his forehead against hers. Their salty tears mingle.

"You know, for a daughter of Athena, you're pretty stupid," he manages to choke out.

He is met with a watery, grey glare. "Shut up, Seaweed Brain. We're in this together, or not at all. Don't you forget it."

And then he remembers what made him fall down that godsforsaken pit with her in the first place. She is his fatal flaw and saving grace all at once.

.

"Can you tell me what was ever really special about me all this time?"

A/N: Next chapter is the son of jupiter, though I don't know how soon I'll be able to get it up. In truth, I have all chapters pre-written except for Piper and Jason's. I just can't seem to get a grasp on either of those two. Idk, I just didn't take to them like the other characters.

Also, first ending was to get my angst fix, second ending was because can you see Annabeth and Percy apart? Didn't think so.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and stick around to read some more. Comments and criticisms of any sort are greatly appreciated! Thanks. :D