Ch. 3. Leap of Faith

Stones skittered down the cliff edge, tumbling against the sheer rock as they fell into the rapids. Through the roar of rushing water, one could barely even hear their own thoughts.

He balanced precariously along the rim of the stone bowl, the tips of his feet just protruding over the rock face. The sight below made him dizzy, but he refused to take a step back. The sun was just coming over the horizon, peeking its bright head through the clouds, shining rays of dazzling light all through the heavens. A ray caught Percy in the eye, and he raised his hand up to shield from the glare. More pebbles slipped from under his feet and fell past the brink.

So this is how I'll go, he determined resolutely. Not slain by a manticore, not stabbed by empousi, not shot by a poisonous arrow, but by jumping off a cliff.

I always expected to die in battle, defending my friends, family and team. He chuckled ruefully, smoothing down his shirt. He teetered on the edge, pitching forward uncertainly. Now I've let them all down. Reyna's hurt, my friends are exiled, dead or hate me, and I have a cyclops half-brother and a sea god to call as family. That's got to be the lowest possible, considering everyone around me will live much longer if I'm not around.

He gazed at the water and tried to determine the best way to jump. Should I go far or just step off? I risk hitting the wall either way. And what if the water heals me? I don't want to fail at dying. That would be the ultimate low.

"Percy! You get down from there!" Piper was screaming desperately at him, but he didn't listen. "Percy!" She yelled again.

Nico appeared by her side and looked in horror at the son of Poseidon, perched on the cliff edge. They had a hurried conversation, lost to the wind, which ended with Nico shaking his head remorsefully and Piper bursting into tears for the second time in as many days. "Percy! Step away from the drop and walk towards me!" She attempted to form her words into charmspeak, but she was too upset.

Percy looked back at the drop, and thought yet again about all the pain he'd caused. I'm a child of the Big Three; it's bound to happen, he tried to reason with himself, but Nico, Thalia, Hazel and Jason are all children of the Big Three. Why aren't they causing any trouble? You know, now that I think about it, they had a lot of kids. Who ever said finding a son of Zeus was rare?

"Perseus Jackson! Step away from the drop and come inland!" Piper called out, her voice strong this time. Percy actually turned and took a step backwards before realizing that she was using charmspeak, and brutally wrenched himself away from the invisible thread. His right foot found purchase, his left foot did not, and he was sent plummeting to the bottom of a gorge at the speed that only a human could fall at.

For a few seconds, he experienced flight. The wind buffeted his hair and face, and he knew then why Jason liked flying more than staying down on the ground. Then, he was violently hit, and there was black.

….

Nico stepped out of the shadows to greet an anxious Piper. "Well?" She inquired urgently. "Did you make it in time?"

He dipped his head, as if in sorrow, and Piper's eyes widened in defeat. Then, Percy came stumbling out of the shade of the trees, coughing and disoriented.

Piper covered her mouth to hide her shout of joy and wrapped her arms tightly around Percy. Still stunned, he didn't even move to react before she turned around and punched Nico on the arm.

"You scared me!" She screeched in his ear while he rubbed his arm sorely. "You had me believing he was dead!"

The word seemed to bring about a change in Percy, because his eyes immediately glazed over. Nico inwardly groaned and outwardly rolled his eyes while he dragged Percy away. "We're going to have a talk," He mentioned briefly to a confused Piper.

He towed Percy to a log and sat him down. His expression had almost returned to normal, but Nico decided to give him some time, and sat down beside him. Awkwardly, he drummed his fingers on the side of the log, playing out the beat of some song long forgotten.

At last, Percy seemed to come alive. "Why did you save me?" He asked timidly with a shuddering breath.

Nico shrugged. "You saved my life before. Seems fitting that I return the favour." He smirked, but his smile quickly disappeared. "I didn't want you die like that."

"But what's the point of living?" He cried, striking the log. "Everything I do just gets people and demigods killed! Didn't you ever think that the world would be a better place if you weren't in it? That you were just placed there as the back-up plan –"

"YES!" Nico spat, and didn't offer any further explanation.

Percy stopped talking long enough to stare incredulously at the son of Hades. "What do you mean?" He asked quietly.

Nico huffed forcefully. He didn't plan on mentioning it, but supposed it was his fault for bringing it up.

"Look. After the whole Athena Parthenos adventure, I went back to Camp Half-Blood and decided to stay there, but there was a breach, and someone let in a Chimera. When the Ares kids finally got rid of it and sacrificed its pelt to the gods, they told us who did it. A son of Apollo."

"Will? No, it can't be!" Percy exclaimed, but Nico's glare shut him up.

"Will. He didn't say anything, just packed up his things and left the next day. And suddenly, I'm guilty by association because I – I dated him, and I'm a son of Hades, and everyone just expects me to be evil and leave."

"That's horri – Oh, right, quiet."

"So I did. I stabbed myself in the chest. Really, I just wanted to see if I had a heart, if I'm really alive, but I didn't even feel anything before I was suddenly standing in front of Cerberus. I didn't even go through Charon. I even went and stood in line for the Fields of Asphodel, because I just wanted to pass through quickly and not even see Hades, but he found me anyways and dragged me over to his lair. I was scared, I admit it. I guess I expected him to banish me to Tartarus, or erase my memory, or at least yell at me, but all he did was talk. Just talk. He said the fates weren't done with my tapestry, that they were still unspooling thread, that I had a bigger destiny than anything I've already done, so he couldn't let me die. I protested, but Thanatos sent me up to Camp Half-blood again, and I guess I revived in the middle of my cabin, surrounded by blood, and no one even bothered to check on me during the time I was dead. I only stayed because I'm needed, Percy. And you're needed. You're the prophesised one, the one that's going to bring peace to the gods. I guess I was around to save you from doing a bone headed thing and jumping off a cliff."

Percy was stunned. He'd never heard Nico talk that much or that passionately about anything before. "Wow. I mean, I had no idea that – Wow. Nico, you're not around to save me. You're here to – to –"

He chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah. I thought so." And he stood up and walked away, his feet crunching on the blanket of pine needles. Shafts of light were beginning to show through the branches and leaves, so Percy got up and dusted off his pants. He saw a squirrel dash up a tree, and smiled to himself. Huh. It does feel good to be alive.