Chapter 2: An epic came to a close

It was no apocalypse, no Ragnarök, no Armageddon, no Judgment Day –though it surely felt like it- no doomsday and no kingdom come, but Percy felt like the world was about to end. He searched his friends' faces but the newly-made gods were averting theirs, unable to cope with his desperate pleading look. He turned to Thalia, but her gaze was fixed on her old friend, something akin to pity in her eyes. She was the one who understood how painful it was to lose a love. When he couldn't stand her piercing blue eyes, he slowly turned to Nico, who looked up sharply at him, disbelief and the faintest hint of disgust etched on his features. Percy turned his gaze to the polished floor, his cheeks heating up in embarrassment and hurt. Nico had even more reason to hate him now, and it pained him to watch that look directed at him, especially from someone that meant that much to him.

"What….what have you done?" he asked, his voice small, quivering in its hushed whisper like it was careful not to wake up the unconscious girl he was holding.

"Something that I should've done a long time ago." Athena regarded him with her head held high; exerting her might over a puny creature such as him. "I have erased all of her memories of you." It felt like his world was crumbling all around him as he choked on a stray sob. He looked down at the form in his arms, the girl he'd been through so much with, the girl who'd always been there for him, his Wise Girl that he'd give anything for. She was so close, yet so far away.

"Can I" he croaked. "Can I at least say my goodbyes?" His last words faded into a low whisper but they still carried out to the gods. Zeus regarded him from upon his throne, his cold electric blue gaze indifferent. He slowly nodded and looked around at the other occupants of the room.

"I suppose we could allow that." Athena curtly nodded her consent and, in a flash, Percy was left alone with his unconscious love. He set her down gently, taking her head into his lap and caressing her face, gently tracing her features.

"You know Annabeth, I never expected you to yell at the gods like that. It must've taken a lot of courage to be able to do that, and maybe some recklessness…" he sighed. "What will I do without you? I don't even know my sentence yet and I'm already lost. You've always been, are and forever will be my heart and soul." He brought up a hand to wipe off some stray tears that he just now noticed and sniffled pathetically. "You've always been the strong, level-headed one…" he took a deep, shuddering breath and brought out the ring he'd taken to staring at every day before battle. "You know, I've been meaning to ask you…" he shook his head dejectedly and fingered her golden locks gingerly as if afraid to disturb their peacefulness. "But now it's too late and I'll never have my chance. Well…" he took another deep breath to try and steady himself and gave Annabeth a watery smile. "Annabeth Chase, you are my lifeline, you are the reason I am still alive today, the reason I keep fighting. Because you are worth fighting for and I am not ever going to stop, for you. And you may not remember my words but I love you and I will never forget you. We stood back to back in so many battles I've lost count and we've braved anything this cruel world has thrown at us." He dejectedly shook his head and added in a whisper "We've come so far…together. And I know we're young, I know we should still have time, but I felt like, with the war, I may not ever have had the chance…But then again, it seems that I was right." He trained his gaze on her face, trying to memorize every last feature of his beloved. Percy wasn't stupid and he knew it was probably one of his last chances to do so. He sighed and continued. "We prevailed against all odds, and we'll keep being just as successful as long as we're together. You know, I didn't think I'd make it this time, but you…you are my anchor, time and time again. The Styx, the Cocytus, we got past all that the Underworld threw at us." He took a deep breath as if to gather his conviction. "We'll get past this and while we won't have each other close every step of the way, my heart will always be there for when you need me. And though it's maybe too much to hope, Annabeth Chase, the light of my life, will you marry me?" he asked, his voice cracking, his tears flowing freely down his face despite his best efforts to wipe them away. He gently kissed her forehead and placed the silver ring on her leather necklace next to her father's college ring, the Seaweed Brain and Wise Girl. As long as we're together engraving flashing in the light. He slowly rose up and gave Zeus a mental signal that he was ready before turning to face her once more. "Goodbye, and I love you."

It occurred to him that for them, he was no longer –and he started to doubt ever having been- a who, for them he was a what. An obedient animal, a mindless pawn, a replaceable object. In their eyes, he was not a person, and as such, he was denied the very rights of any living being (and was staring to think that, despite their age, they had never even attempted to read the Declaration of Independence, or just took it as some fantasy novel , short, light reading). So as he stood in front of their scrutinizing glares, Percy couldn't be bothered to care anymore. Granted, some of them were focusing their intense stares on him for completely other reasons than just some murderous intent, but he didn't want to have to deal with his father's pained gaze, or his Auntie Hestia's reassuring smile-because not even that could get him out of this mess this time.

"You have all been summoned here to decide the fate of this" Zeus fixed him with a dangerous look "this blood traitor, this disgrace to the demigod legacy, this enemy sympathizer." He spat. Percy could almost feel his dad bristling in his seat, but Poseidon held himself strong, not wanting to make matters worse by interfering. He knew it was his fault this happened to his only mortal son. Of course, Poseidon knew his punishment would come, and sometimes, he could only stare as the repercussions of his actions came to smack him in the face. He felt himself go distant, lost in Sally's beaming grin, and he smiled sadly. If it weren't for his mistakes, for his wrongdoings, how many tragedies could have been avoided in the past, and how many more could be in the future?

But he didn't regret Percy's birth, nor the reprieve Sally had gifted him from Amphitrite's exasperated sneer. No, what he did loathe was the oath that bound him to his words. That was the catch of being a god. He was untouchable, so what better way of punishment than through what he held dear? No broken oath on the Styx remains unpunished, and now the result of his breach would be the one to pay. It wasn't fair, but then again, what was?

"We shall decide…on his death. All in favor of killing Perseus?" Poseidon sighed in defeat, exhaustion and exasperation, searching the faces of his fellow councilmen. He remarked with a smile that both Hades and Hestia were present, and were given a chance to vote. Seven hands rose against his son…now the only hope remaining was that no one abstained, that all who were left would vote for him to live. And vote they did. The remaining 7 gods all vouched for Percy's life. Himself, throwing a furtive glance at his son, whose grateful expression pained him greatly (no child should have to see his own life being debated-and not for the first time), Hades, to whom he'd restored some glory and respect, Hestia, ever the peacemaker (and though she wouldn't admit it, Poseidon knew she had taken a liking to his son-he did give her Hope), Hermes, who smiled apologetically in the sea god's general direction, Apollo, to whom Poseidon smiled gratefully (he was the god of knowledge after all, he knew what was best to do and, even more so, Poseidon had the suspicion that he would have been blame had Percy not been put on trial), Dionysus and even more surprisingly, Hera. A tie. Poseidon felt like smirking in his seething brother's direction.

"Now…" the king of the gods started, somewhat unsure. "Since we can't kill him nor keep him alive as he is, I suggest giving Perseus the choice." Both Percy and Poseidon were eyeing Zeus with the same look of mistrust. When had he cared about a demigod's opinion? He continued, unbothered. "Well, Perseus, what will it be? A swift, painless death…or, the chance at living the remainder of your life as a mortal?" And Poseidon almost jumped from his throne. Seeing his brother's unbothered smirk and the cruelty in his eyes, he unleashed his wrath upon the earth. The world wouldn't miss an island or two.

But this trial wasn't about sibling rivalry, it was about his son. And so he turned to Percy to see him exhausted, close to giving up. He'll choose death, he thought in despair. Maybe he was selfish but this, this was his son.

"Lord Zeus," he started, not in the most respectful manner, and straightened his back. "I'll live." Poseidon could see his gaze darting to where Annabeth had disappeared from and he sighed, almost ashamed of being relieved. He could feel Zeus' triumphant gaze on him. It would have been all too easy to just let the kid have his peace.

"Brother, will you…?" And if it weren't for his son's life, he would have struck his smug-faced brother right where he stood. But he obeyed the wishes of his son and of the council.

He summoned his trident and sent an apologetic smile at his…his former son as he hurled it at the boy's chest. Percy was caught by surprise, with no chance to even scream. Just to open his mouth in a silent shout, in anguish, in agony. The prongs pierced his skin as he dropped to the floor in pain, blood flowing freely. The trident glowed, reclaiming the power of the sea. A part of his soul was ripped from him, never to be returned.

The pain subsided, fading to weak spasms and pulses of hurt, but Percy knew he would never feel whole again. Poseidon could only watch as his…as Perseus tried to gather himself up, weak, wincing, his head hung low, defeated. The trident still glowed in his chest. Percy breathed hard, sweat pouring down his forehead, hair plastered to his face, his whole frame shaking.

The glow dimmed as the magical weapon finished taking what was rightfully Percy's and passed through his body, leaving behind a complete mortal, not worthy of recognition anymore. Sad as it may have been, the Lord of the Seas had known from the very start this was bound to happen in a way or another. He'd tried to distance himself, but his son had to be so damn good at proving the world wrong, so good at tearing down those stupid laws that he'd thought…he'd thought Fate would for just this once, spare his child. But a broken oath on the river Styx would always have its revenge.

His world, the domain of the gods, was treacherous, he knew, and yet his rage was not quelled. They'd used their hero until he could give no more and then they threw him away, like a toddler with his toys, just like that, an epic came to a close. Now there was no son of Poseidon, just a broken mortal with a heroic past, standing before the council of the gods.

Percy heaved and gasped once, snapping his eyes open for everyone to see the wild look, the flashes of pain and betrayal. And Poseidon bid a prayer to whoever was above, looking deep into those eyes that used to be sea green. The now pale grey eyes.

May Chaos have mercy upon your soul, my child.

Aaaaand, this concludes the third (well, second, really) installment of our story. Hope you stick with me throughout this journey. I know what I want to do, but I'm still figuring out exactly how to do it. So any advice or criticism is greatly appreciated. If you have anything at all to say to me, don't hesitate to leave a message. I would love to get to know you. Also, until I figure out how to do line-breaks (any help would be greatly appreciated), I will be bolding the first part of new scenes so to say.

So for now, see you soon (hopefully), and I'll type ya later! :)