Sacrifice | Chapter Two

She had been given hope, neither of them were going to abandon either, and at least they could be together... But her hopes were dashed again and crumbled to pieces against a rocky shore...

He had kissed her, surprising her pleasantly, his mellow velvet lips pressed against her, and it was ecstasy for just an instant, and later, she was cursing herself again and again - if only she had seen the flash of regret in his jade eyes - it could have been a warning sign; however it was Tartarus and for a simple second she was truly happy, the first time in so long in the depths of that ageless, blackened pit.

And she held onto that kiss for a small moment, but it was enough for him to work quickly, and little did she know at the time that it would be a long, long, time before she was kissed like that again, and right after she was in the dark elevator with it's dark panels and silver etchings, and he was looking down at her with those innocent-looking eyes, happy, pained, and the littlest bit fearful.

He spoke words she would hold onto for a long time while he lingered in Tartarus, words she would remember for the rest of her life.

He gave a small sad sigh, and she tried to get out of the elevator for a second- but his words stopped her with their love and will. 'I love you, and always will, and I could never let you stay... I promise -and for a second he faltered, as if it was a promise he could never fulfill, but breathed in and carried on- I SWEAR ON THE RIVER STYX- I'll-I'll make it out, okay, I'll get out of here someday and we can defeat Gaea and finally have that life I always dreamed of. Tell my father I'll try, and I'll survive and I will get out. I- I -at that point he took a brief breath of the hazy air- I love you Annabeth...'

She was shocked and happy and full of love and fear and hope and a plethora of emotions.

And then the dark doors closed and she was screaming and banging at the doors, because Percy was gone and she couldn't get him back and they had cut the chains on the doors so when she went out they would no longer return to Tartarus, and he would be stuck there for as long as it took which could be forever and she was sobbing and hyperventilating because he was gone, now.

All the while, the benevolent silver-haired Titan was patting her back and pushing through a calming force, and the skeletal cat - Small Bob- was rubbing against her affectionately, but it wasn't helping much and although she was intoxicated with sadness she could still see clearly his pearly eyes, too, were glassy and damp.

She wondered what was happening down below, and whether he would live, and what dangers could assault him alone- no, he was not alone, he had Damasen, she reminded herself. Though she knew she would have very much preferred to be down there with him than alone above the ground, speculating fate.

Finally, the doors were opening again, and her eyes were tear-filled still, and suddenly she was seeing fresh air and the dark walls of a cavernous place that must have been the House of Hades, and the five demigods were running to her, and the minute they saw her disheveled appearance and red eyes and a tall Titan instead of their green-eyed friend they knew something was terribly wrong.

They rushed to her side, but the doors of death had already disappeared to their master and it would have taken a miracle for him to relinquish them again so soon, and however much of heroes they were, they were no miracle-makers, the gods themselves would not have been brave enough to venture into the Pit; and the girl had left it's clutches soon and was not truly ready to venture back into Tartarus, but she would have joined him if she could, their love was stronger than any and together they could've stood against anything; apart they were hurting, much weaker.

The halfbloods on the other side were separated from their friend, and had lost one of their number, but Gaea's awakening approaches ever faster, and they could do little, and yet they were six, and so the shaken son of Hades stood in for the greeneyed marauder he had loved so deeply, and braced himself for the state his friend, the one he was so secretly and intensely infatuated with, knowing that alone, the dark abyss would quell his courage, or at least, do it's best to, as it had done to him.

They were all plunged into melancholy, their leader, the glue that cemented their team together, he was gone, trapped underneath the earth, knowing not what dangers and fates awaited him still in the depth, he was lost to them, now, but they must go on, while the tall Titan stood, face no longer impassive, unsure of what to do to help, how to give them any relief.

The hero's soulmate, girlfriend, his Wise Girl, the strong one with eyes of silver and golden hair, she was dulled by her loss and separation. The son of Hades comforted Athena's daughter as his father comforted the Sea god over their losses. Hades and those of him, they were powerful and feared, but in the end father and son were always trusted, kind enough to be a shoulder for a friend to weep on, only to be forgotten after they had gotten over their sadness, another circumstance that made the Lord of the Dead so bitter to his brothers. He had helped both of them with their own problems and never gotten anything, any kindnesses in return, and therefore, when, sullen and sad, alone, wanted not to help them when they demanded ever more of him to help them in the war against Kronos, but his son had at least convinced him they were the lesser of two evils, and, as much as the father hated it and denied all, they were brothers.

After all, family still was family.

Always.

Dramatic, eh? I love Hades, and I think people view him unfairly 3 Also, Nico's actually a sweetheart, c'mon :-) Hope you liked this chapter ~ Yeah, it's going to all be dramaticyy and written like this, and the chapters'll be around 1000+ words, or something. I'll update soon (I update like every week or so, okay?) Also, I'd really appreciate if some of y'all would follow/fav this book... OH AND PLEASE GIVE ME FEEDBACK / REVIEWS ON THIS I WANT TO IMPROVE MY WRITINGGGGGG ...please don't murder me for spelling mistakes though, a little flames are fine but I'm pretty new to this, and pretty young too (not disclosing my age, sorry hun!) and I've only quite recently discovered the joys of writing fanfiction ^^

Thanks :-)

YAA (Your Amazing Author) a.k.a. DoYouEverWonderWhy