A/N Already two favorites and followers on the first day?! Thank you to stef-chan23 and writersuntied4ever for being my first readers! And as for your question, Matt, in later chapters (partially in this one) it will describe how the three died. There are some trigger portions of this chapter, so I will put author notes to skip that part. Now, on with the story!

Percy woke up when a pesky ray of sunlight seemed adamant on streaming right onto his face, blinding him as he blinked his eyes open. With a muffled groan, he sat up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He then realized someone else was in the bed with him. Cautiously, he looked to his left, and there was his sleeping cousin, clutching a pillow like a lifeline.

He took in his surroundings, noticing that he, in fact, was not in his own cabin, but in the Hades cabin. It shocked him that Hades hadn't personally struck him down for sleeping in his cabin, but then again, Nico was in here, surely he wouldn't risk his own child. It shocked him even more that Nico let him sleep with him-in the same bed, no less! Percy thought that after Nico admitted his feelings about him that things would be awkward, and waking up beside the younger boy definitely counted as awkward.

Nico let out a muffled noise into the pillow, and Percy froze, not daring to wake up the sleeping son of Hades. All the campers knew how Nico coveted his rest, and if you woke him up, you had better be in a different continent before he recognized you.

Slowly, Percy slipped out of bed, wincing when the springs creaked underneath him. He made sure one last time that Nico was still asleep before quietly leaving the Hades cabin, carefully shutting the door behind him as he slipped out.

Immediately he was greeted by walking into Jason, causing for his glasses to fly askew on his face. Percy straightened out the son of Jupiter's glasses in embarrassment, heat rising in his cheeks as he did so.

"Sorry, man," Percy apologized. "I didn't see you."

"Well, I'm seeing way more of you than I should see," Jason commented with a sarcastic smile on his face. "You might want to put a shirt on. The Aphrodite girls are staring."

Percy looked towards the Barbie Dream-house cabin, and sure enough all the daughters of the goddess of love had their jaws hanging open, gawking a Percy's physique. Again, blush flooded his face, but he crossed his arms over his chest, determined to not feel embarrassed.

"I wear less when I go swimming," he retorted. "Sweat pants cover more than swimming trunks, bro."

Jason laughed at that. "What were you doing in the Hades cabin?" he then asked, all traces of joking gone.

"You didn't hear the scream last night?"

"What scream?"

"Ah, so that explains why I was the only one there."

"Percy, stop being cryptic for a moment, please. What happened?"

Percy's sea green eyes darkened, like the calm before the storm, glaring at his bare feet. "Nico had nightmares, so I comforted him."

"Where was Will?"

The son of Poseidon flinched, much to Jason's surprise. He had never seen Percy flinch before, other than at Annabeth's threats. Speaking of which, where was Annabeth?

"You didn't hear?" Percy released a bitter laugh. "I can't blame you, then. You're probably busy what with being Pontifex Maximus. There are way too many minor gods and goddesses out there."

"Cut to the chase, Perce. What happened?"

"Chase," Percy mumbled incoherently, "that was her last name. Solace-that was his last name."

"What are you blathering about?" Jason shouted in frustration. He was waiting for Percy to give him an answer, but he kept dodging the question.

"They're gone. They're gone." Percy began rocking back-and-forth on the balls of his feet to his heels, clutching his arms around his bare chest so tight that his nails dug into his skin. His eyes became eerily unfocused, and he kept muttering "They're gone" under his breath, deeply concerning Jason.

"Bro?" Jason asked uncertainly. He got no reply, but Percy curled into a ball at the demigod's feet and watched as he rocked back-and-forth like a baby. "Percy? Perseus!" He still got no reply.

In a moment of panic, Jason left Percy rocking in front of the Hades cabin, running to the Big House to find Chiron. He returned with the old centaur minutes later, and Percy was no better off than he had been when Jason first left.

"Kayla! Aaron!" Chiron screamed in the direction of two Apollo campers. "Grab a gurney. He's having another panic attack."

"Panic attack?" Jason asked, his blue eyes widening in shock.

"My dear boy, I have much to fill you in on. But now is not the time for that. Go get Nico. I fear that he's the only one that can bring Percy back from the cusp."

Jason let any fears of waking Nico fade, letting his desire to help his cousin get his feet moving up the obsidian steps. He shook Nico abruptly awake, narrowly dodging a punch to the face that would've sent him staggering back.

"Look," Jason said, urgency flooding his voice, "you can do whatever you want to me later, but Percy needs your help."

Nico's scowl dissipated, replaced with unimaginable levels of concern. "Oh, Hades," Nico swore under his breath, hurriedly tugging on a pair of jeans and a black shirt with a skeleton in the middle of it. He barely shoved his feet into his sneakers before taking off from his cabin, hauling Jason behind him by the wrist.

When they got to the infirmary, Jason was shocked that Percy's legs and arms were tied to the side of the bed with honest-to-the-gods rope as he struggled to break free. Fear flooded his green eyes, and he continuously kept shaking his head, as if trying to wake himself up from his stupor.

"What are you doing?" Nico hissed, eyeing the ropes with disdain.

"He almost knocked Louie out," Aaron said, filling out a clipboard with a patient's information. "It's for everyone's safety."

"Release him."

"But-?"

"I said release him! Have you ever had a panic attack?" Nico shouted at the son of Apollo.

Nico glanced over at Percy, immediately recognizing the signs. He could see Percy gasping for breath; the fear in his eyes; he could see him visibly shaking; and Nico could only imagine how fast his heart was beating as adrenaline poured through his system. (A/N I actually looked up the symptoms)

Aaron quickly cut the ropes with a dagger he had concealed on his person and left before Percy could deck him in the nose.

Nico rushed to sit next to Percy, pulling his head onto his shoulder. He could feel Percy trembling under his touch; a bead of sweat dripped down his forehead.

"Hey, I'm here," Nico said softly, burying his face into Percy's hair. For some reason, Nico found this extremely comforting-to both people in the situation. "Nothing's wrong. I'm right here."

But Nico knew it wasn't alright. He, himself, had been a victim countless amounts of times to panic attacks. They were usually caused by his trip to Tartarus or his nightmares of Will dying, but every time he woke up, his boyfriend was always there to reassure him that he was safe. As far as he knew, Percy had only recently begun experiencing panic attacks, spurred by Annabeth's death.

He knew how hard it was to break out of the hallucination. The worst part is, you know that it's all in your mind, feeding on your worst fears, but you are virtually helpless to stopping yourself.

Percy could feel his pulse in every vein throughout his body, whether it was at his jugular or his wrists; he could even feel his pulse pounding through his temples. His extremities felt numb, void of all sensation, and he watched as he nearly strangled some kid in the infirmary while being placed on the cot. He wasn't in control of his own body.

His vision cleared, and he saw Annabeth step out of a spotlight, like someone walking out of Heaven. She was smiling at him, the one smile she always gave him when he got something right. Her blonde hair fell in perfect ringlets around her shoulders like golden fabric shimmering in the sunlight. Her grey eyes shone with intelligence, something that had never faded, but actually grew, in all the years he had known her. Her body was swathed in a simple Greek chiton, a gold-chain belt tied around her waist was the only decoration the dress had. Simple owl earring dangled from her ears with a matching necklace.

But best of all, she was alive. Her skin glowed with a brilliant radiance, and Percy thought that had she ever become a goddess, then that is what she would always look like. She didn't look dismembered like Cecil had said. She looked just how she had when she was still alive.

"Percy," she said finally.

"A-Annabeth," Percy chocked out, tears welling in his eyes. "It's you."

She rolled her eyes, cocking a hip out to the side. "Same old Seaweed Brain. You not going to give your girlfriend a hello kiss?"

Percy ran to her, arms outstretched, and was surprised when he actually came in contact with her. He thought she would be a spirit, letting him pass right through her, but she had a physical form, strange as it sounds.

He gave her a desperate kiss-one full of passion and longing. She kissed back with the same ferocity, warring with him as she bit the inside of his lip, trying to gain dominance. Percy pulled her closer, cupping the back of her neck with one hand while running his other hand through her golden curls. Then, without any warning, he pulled back.

"What was that for?" Annabeth demanded, her lips slightly swollen from the kiss.

"Y-you're dead," Percy stuttered out. "Cecil said there was nothing left of you!"

"Come on, Percy," she taunted. "Clearly I'm alive as you just so eloquently proved."

"You died! Uncle Hades said he saw your soul enter Elysium; your own mother confirmed that you had passed on!" Percy bit his lip, quelling his anger. He didn't mean to take it out on Annabeth, but she was the reason he felt like he was on the brink of insanity-something not even Tartarus managed to do, because he was with her.

Annabeth pouted. "Why must you ruin all the fun?"

A/N Trigger ahead!

She took a step back, and Percy's heart sank to his feet as he saw the godly version of Annabeth transform into a grotesque monster. Her skin began to peel away; blood, red blood, poured from multiple wounds; her left eye hung from its socket while the right eye was gone; a huge chunk of her scalp was missing, revealing the pink mush of her brain underneath. A gash in the shape of an X formed across her chest, and her organs spilled out of her body onto the floor. Blood continued to pour freely, staining the once white floor red. Her skin turned a charred black color; her fingertips were nothing more than shriveled up stumps; her ears weren't even attached to her head anymore.

A/N Description over, but if you have a weak stomach, only read the conversation.

"Is this what you wanted to see?" her dismembered voice asked, sounding like a Gray Sister; her bottom lip fell off her face as she spoke.

Percy staggered back, doubling over onto his knees as he threw up the contents of his stomach on the floor, the foul odor mixing with the iron scent of blood. One of her hands joined the pile of body parts, leaving the bone jutting out of her arm, causing for Percy to upchuck once more. Once there was nothing else for him to throw up, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, shakily standing up.

"What happened?" he asked nervously, his knees visibly shaking.

"Python happened to me," she said-a handful of teeth popped out of place-"as did Apollo. It's their faults I'm like this. We never even got to say goodbye." Annabeth wiped her face, as if drying a tear, but all she accomplished was finishing pulling her left eye out of her head.

"Goodbye, Annabeth," Percy said, his voice full of tender love. It didn't matter that she was falling apart in front of his eyes-if this was a chance to say goodbye, he wasn't passing it up. "I love you."

She gave him a grotesque smile. "I love you too. Promise me you'll move on?"

He licked his lips, trying to regain some moisture in his mouth. "I-I will, in time."

"That's all I need to hear."

Percy then watched as an invisible breeze blew across the landscape, reducing what had been Annabeth's body into nothing more than a pile of ashes. He fell to his knees again, crying as the wound on his heart had just been reopened, ignoring the scent of blood and vomit lingering in the air.

He cried until it hurt to shed another tear. His body shook in grief, but no more tears came, much to his relief. Percy hated crying, or showing any sort of weakness for that matter. He had to stay strong, no matter what. People looked up to him-the twice Hero of Olympus that killed Kronos and helped in defeating Gaea; the hero that has done more than the heroes of old would ever do; the hero that in the face of struggle kept a level head; the hero that managed to become the leader of both camps-a feat that had no precedent. He couldn't be weak, at least, not in front of the others.

"Percy!" he heard his name being shouted, but being too consumed in his grief, he couldn't identify the voice.

"Percy, please! It's not real!" His torso shook as if someone was trying to wake him up, but he continued brushing it off. He had lost Annabeth again.

"I'm sorry for letting Jason do this to you, but if it'll snap you out of this, I'll deal with the consequences."

A jolt of electric current ran through his body, letting his wandering mind merge back into his body. His vision cleared, letting him see a hysterical Nico shaking him and a guilty look on Jason's face from zapping him.

Percy raised a hand, clamping onto Nico's arm, letting the dark haired boy know he was alright.

"Do I need to restrain him?" Jason asked.

Struggling, Percy tilted his head to the side, looking into Jason's eyes. "Why would I need restraining?"

"Oh, thank the gods," Nico exclaimed, visibly sagging in relief. "You've been out of it for the past four minutes. Panic attack."

I've only been out for four minutes? It felt so much longer, Percy thought to himself.

"Not again," Percy grumbled, passing a tired hand over his face. "At least you were nearby this time."

Nico winced. "Yeah, the first time is always the worst."

Jason felt like he was intruding on something intimate, so casually, he left the infirmary, careful to not alert the two he was leaving. As much as he wanted to help Percy, he had no experience or even the faintest idea on how to help him through it. How were you supposed to relate to someone when the worst fear you've ever experienced is in front of you, not your own mind?

Slowly, Percy peeled himself off of Nico, releasing one more shaky breath, calming down his erratic heartbeat. He pushed a hand through his tousled hair, feeling the sweat cling to his scalp and slightly cooler skin.

"Thank you," he said, his voice quavering as he spoke, still recovering from the shock.

Nico shrugged. "That's what family's for. Plus, I can only imagine what you might've seen."

Percy shuddered. "You have no idea."

"Well, you should take a shower and get a change of clothes," Nico suggested, clapping a hand over Percy's knee. "I'll take care of your sword fighting class today. Take a day for yourself."

"You're the best."

A smile tugged at the corner of Nico's lips. "I know."

Percy spent the rest of the day at the beach (shocker, really) trying to erase what he had seen earlier from his mind. Her disfigured form kept haunting him every time he shut his eyes-even when he blinked. Subconsciously, he held a hand to each eye, making sure he still had them.

He waded waist deep into the surf, feeling the familiar rush of the waves as they rushed to greet the shore before returning back home. Some of the younger demigods, and even some legacies, were playing by the shoreline, their parents and older siblings keeping a careful eye trained on them. Either way, Percy would've saved them if something unexpectedly happened.

"Lord! Lord!" the fish shouted excitedly in his mind as they swam in circles around his waist. One even jumped into his open hand, hoping to catch Percy's attention.

Percy stroked the fish like one would pet a dog, easing their need for attention. He continued musing about how Annabeth crumbled into ashes as the wind blew, fearing that the image would be the basis of tonight's nightmares.

He sighed. They say time's supposed to heal all wounds, but quite honestly, all it seems to do is make the pain fester. Everywhere Percy looked, he could connect some kind of memory to Annabeth, no matter how absurd the object or location.

He waded in deeper into the water until he was fully submerged. He found the abandoned shipwreck where he had originally saved Bessie and sat by the dark much, enjoying the little bit of solitude he had in a big, wide ocean. Schools of fish would continue screaming "Lord!" but Percy barely acknowledged their presence, contemplating his thoughts.

For some unbeknownst reason to him, his thoughts kept turning back to two people-Annabeth and Nico.

Percy was still trying to accept the fact that Annabeth was gone. She was too full of life to die all of a sudden, but she was gone, it was something he'd come to terms with sooner or later.

As for Nico, Percy thought that the son of Hades would still hate him for not protecting Bianca. When he told Percy about his crush on him, he felt flattered, but knew that he wouldn't ever feel that way about Nico, not so long that he had Annabeth. Plus, if he was being totally honest with himself, he'd be afraid to be dating a guy. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Percy completely supported Nico when he was going out with Will, but he felt like he'd be disappointing so many people by taking an interest in guys. It was strange how many campers wanted there to be mini Percy's and Annabeth's running around. But that was nothing more than a mere fantasy now.

Tilting his head back against the rotted wood, he sighed, little bubbles escaping his lips and floating towards the surface. Seaweed brushed by his face, and in a burst of anger, he ripped apart the weed until the pieces were too small for him to continue destroying. If someone called Percy "Seaweed Brain" anytime soon, he'd punch their lights out.

He was so caught up in fuming that he didn't notice the godly presence beside him, frowning at how disheveled and downtrodden Percy looked. Percy knew it was his dad, but he didn't even give the god a glance. Poseidon hadn't spoken to him ever since the fight with Gaea, so why would he care what his dad had to say? He knew how Luke must've felt for the first time during the trip to Rome-always being used as a pawn and always being neglected. The Ancient Laws were stupid, in his opinion, only causing more harm than good. Whom exactly was Zeus trying to protect? If anything, it was more of a punishment.

Poseidon took a seat next to Percy on the sandy seafloor and winced when he saw Percy flinch as he sat down. He knew he didn't have the best relationship with Percy-none of the gods did with any of their children-but he thought Percy trusted him enough to hold a cordial conversation. Apparently not. He remembered the last time he had a conversation with his son, a full conversation, and that had been on his fifteenth birthday, nearly two years ago. How could he have abandoned Percy for so long? Sure, Zeus shut the doors to Olympus, but various gods still managed to sneak messages to their children, letting them know that for the time being they were alright and listening to their prayers.

Worst of all, Poseidon had known about Hera taking Percy's memories and shipping him off to the Romans, who, by the way, were extremely wary of the sea. The son of Neptune nonsense nearly broke Poseidon's heart; even more so when he saw Percy slam a fist into a library shelf as he tried grasping onto a memory of Annabeth.

And that's why he was here now, to pay the daughter of Athena his respects. Sure, her mother and he were bitterest of enemies, but they decided to call a truce when it came to Percy and Annabeth's relationship. Even a blind man would be able to tell that the two loved each other wholeheartedly. Poseidon was close to impaling Apollo on the business end of his trident for inflicting that much pain onto his son. The poor boy had a hard enough life already, what with two major prophecies back-to-back and everything else he's faced, but Annabeth's death could be the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Perseus," Poseidon said finally; Percy flinched at the sound of his voice.

"Dad," he acknowledged lifelessly, his voice sounding void of all emotion. He sounded like a broken man.

"How are you doing, my boy?"

Percy's gaze bore into Poseidon's, as if the boy was trying to search the depths of the sea god's soul. Poseidon internally winced; if this is how Percy looked when sad and desperate and angry, he could imagine how he appeared whenever he was angry at council meetings. He'd have to apologize to quite a few council members whenever he got the chance.

"How am I supposed to be doing?" Percy mumbled, bringing his knees up to his chest. "My girlfriend's dead, my plan for a future's destroyed, I've been diagnosed with PTSD and Panic Disorder, so yeah, my life's just wonderful."

"When were you diagnosed with those disorders?"

"You should know!" Percy shouted. "You're my father, and I know you watch me, although we don't speak face-to-face. Yet you can't remember when Kayla and Chiron had to give me the news?" He was trembling in anger; his eyes taking a dark green color; his hands clenched into fists at his side. Percy took in a few ragged breaths, and slowly, he returned back into a calm state, more or less. "I don't expect you to know what happens every second of every day of my life, Poseidon,"-Poseidon flinched at his son using his name rather than Dad-"but I'd hope you remember the day that my life went downhill fast. If you see Uncle Hades, let him know Nico's faring better than I am."

Timidly, Poseidon wrapped his arms around Percy, pulling his son closer to him like a stuffed animal. Percy tensed, and Poseidon thought he had done something wrong, until he felt Percy relax, silent tears wetting his beach shirt.

"For what it's worth," Poseidon said softly, "I'm sorry."

Percy sniffed, drying his eyes quickly, embarrassed at crying on his father. "It wasn't your fault. If anything, Apollo's the one to blame."

He grinned. "Would it make you feel better if I said I almost impaled him?"

Percy cracked a weak smile, but it was on the verge of being a grimace. "Yeah, it would. Gods, I wish sometimes that we could have peace for a change without some god coming in to ruin it for us." He blanched quickly as he finished his statement. "Sorry Dad, I didn't mean you."

"I get it, Percy. You don't have to be sorry."

"As long as King Drama doesn't hear my statement, I should be fine." Percy's head listed to the side as he tapped a finger on the tip of his chin. "Then again, if he struck me down I'd get to be with Annabeth again. Win-win situation either way."

Poseidon's jaw dropped in shock. "Surely you couldn't mean that. Would you accept the fact that Sally would have to grieve over her-our-only child? What of your friends, hmm? Annabeth gave her life as a hero, but you dying would finish driving them insane."

"Dad, there's a very good chance Mom will be dead before I'll be."

"W-what happened? Is Sally alright?"

Percy shrugged. "Depends what your definition of alright is. Apparently cancer runs in families. As far as I know, she's at stage three breast cancer. She and Paul are trying to pay for treatment, but he's a teacher, and Mom still hasn't finished her first novel. I'm blinding myself to the truth if I say I think she'll make it. I'm hoping she does, but the facts are pretty clear."

"And you're not devastated by this at all?"

"Dad, I've come to terms with death ever since I found out I was a demigod. Yes, when Mom passes on you can guarantee I'll be sobbing my heart out, but for the time being, I'm trying to enjoy my time with her for as long as possible."

Poseidon held Percy tighter in his embrace, and the demigod reciprocated the action, pulling his dad closer to him.

"I'm so sorry," Poseidon mumbled into Percy's hair, rubbing circles on his son's back. "For everything you've been through."

"You said it yourself," Percy said bitterly, "I've received a hero's fate. And a hero's fate is never anything but tragic."

"Percy, if you ever need anything, anything at all, you're always welcome in Atlantis, okay? Even though I might not always be there when you need me, I am here for you. You can always find comfort in the sea." Poseidon made sure not to say solace, as that was the reason Percy had a panic attack earlier. Of course their last names just had to be something people used in everyday conversation.

"You're the best Olympian parent a demigod could want," Percy whispered into his dad's shoulder. "Feel free to brag to the others that you have the approval of your child. I don't think the others can claim the same."

Poseidon chuckled, careful as to not push Percy off of him. "You're absolutely right." He paused for a moment, running his hand in a fatherly motion through his son's hair-the same hair that Poseidon had. "I realized that we never gave your friends gifts after the Giant War. The winter solstice is in three weeks; I'll make sure you all get something you deserve."

Thunder rumbled overhead, letting the god of the sea know he had to get going.

"Of course he has to ruin the moment," Percy said wryly, a small smile tugging on his lips. Poseidon could tell it'd be a while before Percy entirely healed, and the inevitable death of Sally wasn't going to help matters, but he knew his son enough to know that eventually Percy would go back to his former sarcastic, trouble-maker attitude, in time. "See you in three weeks?" Percy asked uncertainly.

"I'll be counting down the days," Poseidon said with a smile.

"Oh, gross, Dad! Now that sounds like a creepy stalker. Have you been taking lessons from Hades?"

Poseidon laughed again, happy that his son's somber shell seemed to be slowly cracking. "No, but I should talk to him more often. I plan on reconstructing my relationship with my older brother."

"That's a good idea," Percy said. "That means I can go with Nico to the Underworld and he won't be glaring at me like I'm going to blow the place up."

"We will be continuing this conversation in three weeks, Percy. I love you, son."

"Love you too, Dad."

Percy watched as Poseidon dissipated into bubbles, leaving the faint scent of a sea breeze beneath the waves-which made absolutely no sense to Percy whatsoever. Glad with the levity of the conversation and bonding they had towards the end, he propelled himself to the surface, using the sandy floor as a launch pad.

A/N I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the panic attack or the more gruesome descriptions. Thanks for reading! Reviews make a happy author! Virtual cookies for everyone! (::) (::) (::) ~RainbowSpark18