Narrator
The battle was won, the Giants had all fallen before the combined might of the gods and their champions.
Gaea's wrath however, had allowed her enough strength for one final bit of vengeance before she fell back into her endless sleep.
Commanding the earth that was her domain alone, a hole opened, so deep and dark that it could lead nowhere but Tartarus.
The earth mother, with all her cunning, knew exactly where to open this pit, though she hated to young demigod more than anyone before, it was not beneath him the pit to Tartarus was opened, but beneath his love, Annabeth.
As you might have figured, the demigod in question is, or was depending on your perspective, Perseus Jackson, Hero of Olympus, whose legend has only grown more during the giant war. So great had it grown, in fact, that there was talk of him being greater than Hercules, the hero of heroes.
Though those who spoke of it had no idea that those closest to Perseus had long considered him to be greater that Hercules, and that their opinions where all that mattered to young Perseus.
Returning to our young hero, when Gaea opened to pit beneath the love of his life, there was no question in his mind what he was to do, he ran harder than he had ever run before, so fast that the others around him appeared to be frozen in time, to grab hold of Annabeth before she could fall.
As he grabbed hold of her, all could feel the power radiating from the pit, and all could see as Perseus lost momentum, and coming up far to short of an edge.
And the last that any saw of him was a look of total peace, as water was ripped from wherever it resided to answer the call of the son of Poseidon.
What was left of the trees crumbled to dust as to water left their trunk, grass wilted and died, while the ground became dry and cracked as the water residing in them left suddenly.
All the water rushed toward the rapidly closing pit, and just before it closed completely they saw Annabeth shoot out, with the water acting like a powerful hose, pushing her up with the amount of force Percy had given it.
All that were present looked at the now solid ground, which gave no indication it had even been anything more, and all felt shock.
Annabeth
After the battle and loss of my boyfriend, everyone was silent, everyone was staring at where Percy had been lost.
It did not seem that anything would, or could happen.
No one had imagined the Percy would be among those lost in war, it seemed impossible after all that had happened to him, yet here we all were, still staring at where our champion, our friend, and my love had been lost.
After what seemed like days, but had most likely had been minutes, past, Lord Zeus cleared his throat, and with sadness in his eyes gestured, and with the gesture came the sound of thunder, and extreme dizziness.
When I could see straight, I realized that we were back in the Olympian's throne room. Its beauty, while normally captivating and granting a sense of pride in myself and my skill as an architect, seemed dull and meaningless without Percy by my side.
It was then that my brain, usually always working overtime, finally caught up with what happened, and I broke down sobbing, realizing that I may never see Percy again.
Suddenly my friends were by my side, ready to comfort me.
"Shh," came from Hazel as she hugged me, "Percy will be back, it's not like he hasn't been to Tartarus before."
This was true, but I had already thought of the worst case scenario.
"The last time he was with me though, and most of the monster where either out in the world, or anxiously waiting to be let out," I sobbed on Piper's shoulder who had also embraced me, "Now everything we just killed is in Tartarus with him, and they are stronger than ever while they are trapped in there."
Jason spoke from the side, "That's true Annabeth, but don't forget that Percy has become even stronger than ever since he escaped the pit with you the first time. He is not so easily overwhelmed, and he already knows how to fight most of the creatures down there."
I calmed slightly at that, but the question that everyone dreaded still had to be asked, "How will he get out though? With the doors of death being long since closed, there is only one way out or in, the mouth of the pit. It is simplicity itself to get into Tartarus, but even the monsters who have been escaping for over two-thousand years have trouble getting out through Tartarus that way!"
"I know not my daughter," came from Athena as she sat on her throne, "But we must have faith that young Perseus will find a way."
"I agree with my niece," Poseidon said surprisingly, though his eyes were filled with sadness, "there is nothing we can do for Percy now, but I have little doubt that he will return. For now, we must be thankful that Olympus is safe, and that all of you are here with us. Brother, would you be so kind as to let us know if there is any word of Perseus? Good or Bad?"
Everyone was slightly shock that Poseidon had asked a favor from Hades. "Of course Poseidon, though we did not start out on the best of terms, Perseus has more than proved himself in my eyes," Hades replied.
Zeus cleared his throat once again, "He has proven himself to all brother, and I know I speak for all when I pray for his safe return, but Gaea's children has fallen before us again, and she has fallen into her ,hopefully, eternal slumber once more, but now we must celebrate our victory, and reward these heroes that stand before us."
All the gods nodded at that, even Poseidon. I had stopped crying, though Hazel and Piper where still hugging me while the other three looked at me with sympathy on their faces.
I gently pried both girls off of me and was astonished and touched to see tears had stained their faces as well, had Percy really been that close of friends to them after so little time?
I thought back on when I had first met Percy, and I knew it to be true.
I was shaken out of my thoughts by the lord of the sky beginning to speak again. "First, the six remaining heroes of the Prophecy, as well as Reyna, praetor of Camp Jupiter" he boomed.
All of us, Jason, Piper, Leo, Hazel, Frank, and myself steeped forward. "You have all proven yourself time and time again," rumbled Zeus, "and while you are missing the strongest of you," he glared at us all, "which if he does return, you will not repeat what I just said to him."
Many chuckles were heard and as I looked around the Throne room, I could see many people smiling, including Poseidon.
"You have all proven yourself in your own ways."
"Not to mention they helped you overcome your stubborn refusal to help dear," chimed in Hera.
Zeus rolled his eyes and sighed while the rest of the gods chuckled, "Yes,yes, I was foolish in my decisions, now may I continue with the rewards?" he asked grumpily.
After another round of chuckling, the rest of the Olympians gestured for the King of the Gods to continue.
"As I was saying, you have all proven yourself to Olympus, so our first gift is to all of you. Do you wish to become immortal, bound to service of Camp Jupiter and Half-Blood for all time?"
I looked amongst my fellow demigods as they did the same.
After all our Adventures together, we could clearly tell what the other was thinking with just a look. All here would be happy with that happening, even myself.
My original thought was to reject the offer, but then came the heart-wrenching realization that it may be a very long time before Percy gets out of Tartarus, and this way, I would look exactly the same as when I lost him, instead of an aging maiden, or a dead one.
We all looked at Zeus and spoke in unison, "We accept Lord Zeus."
Zeus waved his hand, and a plate of ambrosia and a chalice of nectar hovered before each of us. "Partake with the food and drink of the gods," he intoned. We all ate a piece of ambrosia, and drank deeply from the chalice.
After we had all drank, every god raised their left hand and held it with their palm facing us.
"Do you swear to protect, to train, and to prepare the demigods of Camp Jupiter and Camp Half-Blood for all Eternity?" Zeus continued.
"We swear," we said in unison once again.
The hands of the gods began to glow brightly, and the light emitting from them seems to bends all around us, bathing us in its glorious light.
When the light died, I felt better than I ever had before, like I could climb the tallest mountain with my bare hands, and by looking around at my fellow demigods, I could tell they felt the same.
I looked closer, and realized that they all looked slightly different as well.
Their faces were the same, but they seemed to glow from within, and the light enhanced their features, giving them an aura of beauty, and I instinctively knew that the same thing had happened to me.
I smiled, the first smile in the short time since Percy became lost and thought to myself, "Percy is going to be in for a shock when he returns."
Nico
I stared proudly at my fellow demigods, for they have certainly earned the immortality they bore proudly now. I knew that they would guide the camps through the expected tough times in the future.
As I began to mull over the future of the camps my thoughts where interrupted as Lord Zeus began to speak once again, "Now that the gift of immortality has been received, it is time for you to receive your individual rewards."
My eyes, as well as many others in the room, including the new immortal campers bugged out.
Surprisingly though the other gods where nodding in agreement, not just some but all of them, it seems that we were able to witness one of the rare occurrences of unity among the gods.
"Jason Grace!" boomed Zeus, as it was natural for his son to be addressed first, though as Jason approached his form flickered and Jupiter now sat upon the throne.
"You have shown courage and compassion on your long journey, you have also shown an incredible amount of wisdom trusting the Greek demigods. You are a true praetor of Rome, and for that, you must be rewarded."
A flash of light and before Jason hovered a blade crackling with lightning, it was transparent, and miniature clouds seems to hug the blade.
"Take this sword my son, as my thanks to you, and as a replacement for your imperial gold blade lost some time ago. The blades name is Storm Striker, and it shall never break unlike your old blade. It will also act as a power conduit, you will find than many of your powers are enhanced while you wield the blade. It will also act as a beacon, making it easier than ever to summon your storm spirit Tempest to your side."
Jason had a proud look in his eye, and a stupid grin on his face as he bowed to Jupiter.
As he walked back to the rest of the demigods, Jupiter flickered, and once again Zeus sat before us.
"Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena," called the goddess of wisdom.
As Annabeth knelt before her mother, Athena began to speak again.
"For cunning, wisdom, and unswerving loyalty towards me my daughter, I first thank you, for though my Roman form treated you badly, you did not stop on your quest to bring me justice. The statue of myself stands resplendent upon Olympus itself, and you have have ended the vendetta of Minerva, and stand as my greatest child to date. For your service I present to you the new and improved version of Daedalus's laptop. I have taken the liberty of finishing several projects my son never was able to complete, and I have added many more new unfinished projects for you to figure out. And because you are my daughter and wish to spare you as much pain as possible, I have also empowered you invisibility cap. While you wear it, it will be as if you have no substance, you may pass through what you wish, as well as it being harder than ever to sense you."
Annabeth stood up after her mother was done speaking, and I could see that she was slightly stunned.
I grinned slightly and figured that we would be seeing very little of Annabeth for the next few months, she may even be able to keep busy enough to keep the loss of Percy out of her mind.
And though I was glad that Annabeth would be happy, I got a sharp pang in my chest at the thought of Percy being forgotten.
"He will never be forgotten," I growled to myself, as I forced myself to pay attention to the next immortal camper being called up.
"Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite," squealed Aphrodite.
Piper walked up to the gods looking slightly apprehensive at how excited her mother was, said mother started speaking.
"For bravery and amazing looks," she said batting her eyelashes while all of the other gods rolled their eyes, though I did see Jason nodding vigorously at that statement.
"Your blade Katoptris, may now also be used to see the world around you, no matter the distance, nor time of day. Your second gift, is a more complete control of your charm-speak. You will find it easier than ever to charm others to doing your will."
Piper bowed to her mother and ,as she walked back to her original spot, gave Leo an evil smile.
Leo actually shuddered until his name was called. "Leo Valdez, son of the Hephaestus," boomed Hephaestus.
Leo slowly walked until he was in front of Hephaestus's throne, those not knowing him well enough thinking that he was afraid.
The ones who did knew better. Leo's eyes we darting everywhere trying to gather all information at once, while his brain decoded it.
"For your ingenuity and hard work, we have decided to not only allow you to remain in possession of the Argo II, but to have it fully upgraded to the highest standards. After we, you know, fix it up from the damage it took. In addition, I have taken the liberty of building a much more durable control disc for a certain fire breathing friend of your."
Leo's eyes bulged out at the last part. "Fe..fe..Festus is able to come back?" he stuttered.
"Yes my son, he will be waiting for you when you return to camp half-blood," Hephaestus said looking highly amused.
Leo practically skipped over to the other immortal camper much to the amusement of the throne room.
"Hazel, daughter of Hades," came from the sinister looking man sitting on a simple guest throne by the hearth.
When Hazel stood before Hades he began to shift, and in less than a second Pluto stood before her.
"My child," he said, still sitting on the guest throne, "You have proven yourself a true hero and for that, you have already been been granted immortality. But at long last, I am pleased to tell you that the curse you have born for so long has finally been lifted. You may still summon all the riches of the earth to you, but they will no longer be cursed. As a reward for slaying the giant of death, I also present you with this golden chariot, for I know that Arion will be carrying more than just you in the coming months."
Hazel thanked her father and walked back to her friends as Pluto shifted, and once more turned into Hades.
"Frank Zang, son of Mars," came from Mars himself, Ares having shifted when no one else is looking.
"Now that you are immortal my son, you no longer have to worry about your life stick, check your pocket."
Frank did just that and pulled out what was left of his stick. Everyone saw it no longer seemed to breathe with a life of its own, it was now simply a stick.
"As you do not truly need a weapon with your family power, I have instead decided that you will share a title with me. You shall now be known as Frank Ultor. Bear the name with pride and honor."
Thunder boomed, and Mar sat and shifted once again as Frank walked back to Hazel's side with a look of shock and pride on his face.
"You may sit immortal campers." commanded Zeus.
After they did he spoke again, "Nico di Angelo, son of Hades step forward."
I did feeling slightly nervous, as I had not expected to be called on.
"Son of Hades, though you were foolish to have searched for the doors of death on your own. Your stubbornness did lead you to find it, and you were able to pass that information on to the seven. For you services to Olympus, we have decided to grant you immortality as well. Should you accept, you will serve as your father's lieutenant for all time." I gaped, for I had really not expected this.
"Do you accept young demigod?" Asked the king of the sky with amusement clear on his face as he looked at my expression.
I swallowed a bit and replied, "Of course my lord."
"Very well," said the ruler of the gods, and after the ritual was completed again I stood completely free of death's touch.
I walked back to my original spot, noticing all the smiles and thumbs up I received. I was fairly certain I was grinning like an idiot.
"Now for the sad part of our ceremony," at this the room grew a little colder, and the flames in the hearth dropped dangerously low.
"We would normally end with offering Perseus godhood again." Many confused and awestruck faces came from the Roman demigods and younger Greek demigods.
I saw many of the senior Greeks whisper into these demigods ears. Not doubt promising to tell them about it later.
"But as I have little doubt that he would refuse it again, even with his girlfriend being immortal." More chuckles were heard, though Annabeth looked sad again.
"We will skip to directly to what Perseus would have wanted instead." A flash of light and Zeus held a paper in his hand.
"Perseus was wise enough to write down his wishes before the final battle, as he had a terrible feeling going into it," I heard Annabeth whisper.
"The first part of Perseus's will: Grant Hades a throne on Olympus," groaned the King, while said brother looked very smug.
"Very well brother, we will honor my nephew's wishes. Take your place among us," said Zeus, as a throne of pure darkness rose from the marble, on the male side of the throne room.
"However, we are now out of balance," grumbled the sky god looking annoyed.
Until he looked down at the paper again, then he raised an eyebrow.
"Fortunately Perseus seems to have known this already, congratulations on returning to our council again sister," Zeus addressed Hestia, as her throne rose from the marble floor as well, on the female side of the room.
After both gods took their respective seats, Zeus spoke again, "Well, now that all of that is over and done with, let the festivities commence!"
The muses began playing, tables of food appeared, and the gods shrank down to mortal size.
The party lasted late into the night, and while everyone had fun, they all at least once during the night would find themselves staring out into space.
All of them thinking of those who were lost in the war. Even the gods we not immune to the sadness that seemed to creep up onto them.
More often than not, Perseus was on most of their minds, though few would ever admit it.
The party lasted until the early hours of the morning, when everyone who was left migrated to a bedroom. The intent being on getting some sleep before the sadness of next day's shroud burnings kicked in.
