Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, or any of its characters. I do not own Green Day or their song, 21 Guns.
Author's Note: Some parts may not be exactly accurate. This is supposed to tell a story, not exactly match up with the lyrics.
Do you know what's worth fighting for?
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away and you feel yourself suffocating?
Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside; you're in ruins.
Zoë looked behind her, fearing that her sisters may have followed her. She met the hero on the outskirts of the Garden, where Ladon would not notice the demigod. She pulled her mother's gift, a hair pin out of her hair. She used her magic to transform it into a weapon; Anaklusmos. Zoë pressed it into the hands of the hero, then bade him farewell, wishing him luck on his journey and quest.
One, twenty-one guns,
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight.
One, twenty-one guns,
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I.
The Hesperides, Zoë's sisters, learned of her plan. They seethed in anger that a demigod should get away with the golden apples. They had been banned from the tree by Hera, and Ladon appointed to guard the tree, not only from the Hesperides, but also form any that should seek the taste of the fruits it bore. They exiled Zoë from the garden, no longer seeing her as a sister, and abandoning her to the claws of the wilds.
When you're at the end of the road,
And you lost all sense of control,
And your thoughts have taken their toll;
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul,
Your faith walks on broken glass and the hangover doesn't pass,
Nothing's ever built to last; you're in ruins.
Zoë stumbled through the forest. In less than a week, she found herself near death. She was not a goddess; she could still die if she was not careful. Zoë fell to her knees and looked up into the night sky, the spangled stars glinting like drachmas.
"Dear gods, goddesses," Zoë murmured, tears falling freely, "if you have any mercy, spare me of this misery."
She believed she would be awarded death; what she did not expect was for a silver-eyed doe to come up to her from the depths of the forest. The doe nuzzled her cheek, drying some of the tears that had tracked down her face. It turned and walked back into the trees, following a path only she knew. Zoë hesitated, and then followed it. The doe led her deeper and deeper into the woods, until the leaves blocked the stars above, leaving everything below shrouded in shadows. Finally, it stopped, and the deer lowered her head.
An arrow flew out from the trees and struck the deer in the neck, killing it instantly. Zoë's eyes widened and she took a step back. A young girl came out of the trees, bow in hand. More girls followed her, ranging from childhood to the late teens. The first girl came up to the doe and placed a hand on its neck. She whispered a prayer to the deer before standing.
"Who is there?" she asked, looking directly at Zoë.
One, twenty-one guns,
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight.
One, twenty-one guns,
Throw up your arms into the sky
You and I.
Zoë knew a good Hunter when she saw one. The gothic girl and the young one would make good Hunters, given the chance. However, they would not leave the surfer boy they had met on their travels.
"He will let you down," Zoë insisted. "He is like all other men; they always betray you or destroy your hopes in the end."
Thalia, the gothic girl, whirled around and glared at Zoë, looking at her straight in the eye. "I know Luke; he will never let me or Annabeth down. As long as he still stands, he will fight for both of us, just like we will for him. You got that?" she snapped.
Zoë crossed her arms. "Just give him time; in the end, he will let you down. You're just being stupid, and you're going to regret this. You should join the Hunters while you still can."
Thalia growled in response and stalked off, back to her friends.
Did you try to live on your own?
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire?
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone.
When it's time to live and let die,
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died; you're in ruins.
Bianca crawled inside the giant's body, looking for a way to disable it from within. The automaton fell onto the power lines, sending electricity up through its body. Zoë felt shivers run up her body, knowing that she would be killed, fried like a chicken by the volts of electricity. This didn't stop her and the others from searching for her after the Talos prototype was felled.
"We will not find her; the prophecy has been fulfilled. 'One shall be lost in the land without rain.'"
One, twenty-one guns,
Lay down your arms,
Give up the fight.
One, twenty-one guns,
Throw up your arms into the sky.
One, twenty-one guns,
Lay down your arms,
Give up the fight.
One, twenty-one guns,
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I.
Zoë looked up into the night sky. It made her think of the night, so many years ago, she had been first inducted as one of her mistress' Hunters. She couldn't se the stars, as her vision hazed over because of the pain her father brought her, and the poison from Ladon's bite. She could hear the others talking, but the words didn't make any sense. They were gibberish, and Zoë shuddered. Her vision cleared, and she felt death coming to her in full force.
"Stars. I can see the stars, my lady," Zoë whispered. She released her last breath and died; she felt her soul go down to the Underworld, to await judgement.