This one shot connects to the last one you just read and the one after this one. I don't know if I'll continue that one yet, but oh well.
Basically this is an alternate ending to Mark of Athena.
Why hadn't I acted sooner? Percy asked himself. The smooth, spider webbing had been so obvious. Why didn't he notice it sooner? He knew the web was attached to something plummeting a billion miles an hour into the depths of Tartarus, yet he still didn't say anything about it.
So technically, it was his fault his girlfriend was screaming in agony and holding onto a small ledge with one hand, dangling over the edge of a seemingly bottomless pit.
"Annabeth!" Percy screamed, not quite knowing how to save her yet.
"Help!" Annabeth yelled. "Something's got my foot!"
The spider silk had been tight before, but now it was so stretched Percy barely noticed it. It was almost as if Annabeth was being dragged to Tartarus by some invisible force, which, unfortunately would still make some amount of sense.
Percy raced to the edge of the one way trip to the underworld of the underworld. Annabeth was just out of reach. The rock she was holding onto was crumbling. It was only a matter of time before she would fall.
"Percy!" Annabeth shrieked. The sound chilled Percy's blood into ice. He had never heard so much fear in the voice of the daughter of Athena.
"I've got you!" Percy called over the strange noises coming from the pit. "Take my hand!" Percy stretched his arm as far as it would go.
"Reach!" he yelled.
"I can't! I'm slipping!"
Percy readied himself to jump in after her, should she fall.
"No, Percy! If I fall, don't follow me! Lead the others to the Doors of Death, meet me there!"
Percy's heart almost stopped.
"What are you saying?" he asked frantically. "I'm not leaving you!"
"I'm sorry Percy, I'll make it out, I promise," she sobbed. "Please Percy, I can do this. Lead them. I… I love –"
Her last words were cut off by a loud rumbling. The entire cavern shook, causing more rocks to fall from the ceiling.
Time went by slower as Annabeth fell. Maybe Kronos was back, but Percy didn't care.
He fought back the immense urge to jumpin after her, but Annabeth's last words rang in his head. He needed to lead his friends to the Doors of Death.
The place shook again. Maybe it was the spirit of Tartarus laughing at him, or maybe it was Percy's rage releasing itself in earthquake form. Whichever the case, the floor of the cavern was about to cave in.
"Percy hurry!" Jason called over the noise.
Percy couldn't move. He stood mesmerized by the pit. It was almost as if the pit was daring him to jump after his loved one and leave the rest of the group.
"Percy!" Piper shouted, using her charmspeak. The pure force of it startled Percy into running towards the ladder leading to the Argo II. Percy got a foot on the bottom rung of the ladder just as the floor beneath him crumbled into oblivion.
The cave was falling apart around him as the ladder retracted back into the Argo II.
Percy hit the floor of the Argo II gasping for air and shaking. His thoughts were jumbled and he could barely focus on breathing.
Percy had never had a panic attack before, so this was new to him. He felt real, true panic. He felt like running and jumping over the guardrail of the Argo II and just becoming a demigod stain. He'd been through so much, yet this was the final, crushing blow. All of Percy's defenses crumbled and he was left struggling to breathe or think. Without Annabeth, Percy was nothing.
"I could've saved her, I-I could've stopped it, I—" Percy couldn't continue as he felt himself begin to hyperventilate.
"Percy what happened? Where's Annabeth? I thought she was with you?"
"She… the pit… fell…" Percy struggled to form words through his erratic breathing.
A deadly silence ensued and the demigods all stood motionless, trying to take in what had just happened.
Their best friend – and girlfriend – had just fallen to something that was probably worse than death.
Percy continued cough and struggle to breathe on the ground.
"Percy, please calm down," Jason said, trying to sound reassuring. "There was nothing you could do," he put his hand on Percy's shoulder, trying to get him to stand. "She'll be fine, Percy."
Percy shrugged off Jason's hand, still struggling to breathe correctly.
"No," Percy said darkly. Jason took a step back, surprised at how menacing and… evil Percy sounded. "She's not fine. She's stuck in one of the most horrible places on Earth, oh wait, it's not even on Earth! And what's more, I'm not there to help her!" Percy shouted.
Jason could hear the hurt in Percy's voice.
"Percy, she's a smart girl. You know that above everyone else. She'll find a way."
Jason had to admit that Percy didn't seem to be in any condition to lead a group of people; he could barely stand.
Percy's body was racked with sobs as the full realization hit him. The likeliness of Annabeth making it out of Tartarus was slim; it was almost nothing. She was going to die down there, without him. She needed him and he wasn't there. He shouldn't have listened; he should've just dove after her.
"Come on Percy," said Piper. "Jason's right. We need to keep it together. Annabeth's not coming back if we just sit here."
Piper's charmspeak didn't work.
"How do you know she'll even make it through the fall," Percy snarled.
Piper simply closed her eyes, hiding small tears. Percy had never talked to her like that.
"Percy," she said calmly. "Please don't be mad at me."
"Percy, we all miss Annabeth, it's not just you," said Nico di' Angelo cautiously.
"Nico, you've never even loved anyone! You have no room to speak! You can't even begin to—"
Percy stopped, suddenly remembering the conversation the two of them had had in the boiler room so many weeks ago.
"Nico," Percy started, but couldn't go on. The look of hurt and rejection in Nico's face was so intense that Percy's heart sank even lower. Nico's eyes watered.
"Goodbye Percy," he said promptly.
"No, Nico, I didn't mean to—"
Too late, Nico di' Angelo dove into the shadows.
Percy stared at the ground in shame and disbelief. The rest of the group was equally silent, not quite knowing what that was about. The air had gone cold and stale, like the sun was taken from existence and was replaced with a gigantic, light-emitting ice cube.
"I'll be in my room," Percy said briskly.
He walked past his friends and down the stairs.
Thanks for reading!
