-oOo-
Percy's POV
RUN.
That was the only word in my head. I heard voices behind me... Distant voices, calling out to me... Yelling my name... I ran past them, I blocked them out of my head.
I still didn't know where I was going, but I didn't plan to stop just yet. I wanted to run until I just couldn't anymore. I wanted to go as far as I could.
Harry was dead.
I didn't know why, but that really shook me up. It's getting on my nerves. I guess it's because my whole conscience and logic are having a whole war about this.
Logic: It was for the best, Percy. Relax.
Conscience: NO! Do you really think killing a close friend is FOR THE BEST?
Logic: But Harry accepted it! He knew what he had to do, and he took it as a heroic sacificial deed.
Conscience: But HARRY WAS YOUR FRIEND! Have I taught you nothing at all?
Logic: Don't listen to him! He's a douche!
Conscience: I'm not a douche!
See what I mean?
I have no idea what to do. I was lost in my own world, running, running...
And suddenly I tired out, and I saw the ground coming at me. Fast.
My face hit the leafy earth with a soft thud, and I finally felt the exruciating pain in my joints. I looked around me. I had no idea where I was. I was far from the ocean. Far from home.
Exactly what I wanted.
Let them come find me. Let them wonder "What's up with him?" Let them think I went crazy. I didn't know what to do anymore, and I had absolutely nothing to live for.
I lay there for hours and hours, letting the pain take away my consciousness. I drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep...
Harry's POV (THAT'S RIGHT FOLKS! He's alive... though I really wish he died, it would have been pretty dramatic, but I couldn't end it there for Harry)
I woke up in the same cleaner, empty version of King's Cross station that I remembered from last time. I wished for clothes, and they appeared before me. I put them on and looked around.
James Potter was grinning so widely at me, I was afraid his face would rip into a tiny billion pieces.
"Dad?" I asked, reaching out hesitantly.
He grabbed me into a bear hug that squeezed the life out of me... Er, never mind, I was already dead anyway. Then he held me by the shoulders (that didn't hurt anymore) and sized me up.
"So great to see you, son," he said happily.
"Great to see you, too, dad," I said, beaming just as hugely as he was. It was surreal to see him in the flesh, standing in front of me, so welcoming and happy.
"I'm so incredibly proud of you, son," Dad said, the smile on his face never wavering. "Done like a true, fearless Gryffindor. You're a true hero, Harry!"
Hearing him say my name was even better.
"So, I'm dead?" I asked, though I had a pretty good guess.
"No," James said, still smiling like a maniac.
Whoa. Wait. What?
"Huh?" I said stupidly. "I'm not dead? What? I'm alive? Then that means... I failed... Dad, what's going on? What's with my sheer incapability to die?"
James gave a hearty laugh. He traced the lightning shaped scar on my forehead softly with his index finger.
"Remember when you got this scar?" he asked me. I nodded a little. "You were only one year old. That was the first time you got to this place. You were somehow partly killed. Fast forward to when you're seventeen, and you revisit this place because of Voldie. And now-"
"I'm here again," I finished, though not entirely getting his point.
"First time around," my father said, "You survived because of your mother. Now's the same. Old Magic stopped you from dying. Love."
"You mean... somebody died for me?" I asked incredulously.
"No," James said slowly. "But your friends were all very much willing to. All of them. Even that demigod bloke. Percy."
The sight of Percy's face when Delian struck haunted me. He looked just about ready to shield me, that's for sure. It was pretty awful. I hope I'd never see that scene again.
"So it's not that I have an incapability to die," I concluded slowly.
"It's that you've got amazing friends," James finished for me.
"So I'm not the big hero," I said, looking at the ground. "I get all the credit for nothing."
"Oh, Harry," James said, sounding more like a big brother than a father. "Harry, you've got a lot to learn. You are a hero. But even the greatest of heroes needs friends behind him."
I looked up to see my dad, beaming at me, eyes glistening.
"I wish I could spend more time with you, Harry," he said quietly. The sorrow was evident in his voice. "So many things we weren't able to do as a father and son. Blimey, look at you, you're all grown up."
I looked at him sadly and gave a small, sad smile.
"But you've got somewhere to be," James added. "Friends to return to."
"Greet Sirius, Remus and mom for me, will you? All of them," I asked, to which he answered with a nod.
"You'll always be a true Marauder, Harry," he beamed at me, and then everything faded away.
Me? A Marauder?
I've never felt better in my life.
Even if it WAS a half-life.
Percy's POV
Oh gods, where was I?
I woke up in the middle of an unknown forest, covered in dry, crunchy leaves. I didn't remember a single thing from last night... I tried to think back, but it ended up in a huge headache.
Then it flooded back to me, way too fast for a tired dude with a major migraine.
Preparation - training - Annabeth kiss - vortex - Darkness Warriors - attack - bloody - water - magic - smile - pain - Delian - ice dagger - more pain - screaming - silence - death - hatred - attack Delian - realization - run - run - run - collapse - tired - sleep.
Oh, bugger.
Looking back, running away was probably not the best idea. I wanted to run, but what for? Nothing makes sense anymore. Didn't some guy say that everything has a purpose?
Then what the heck was mine?
I stood up and... well, fell down. I rubbed my aching temples and tried to relieve the stress building up inside me. But one thing in my mind was growing more and more insistent.
Food. FOOD. DUDE YOU NEED FOOD. FOOOOOOD!
And sure enough, my stomach grumbled, making the thought loud and clear.
Must. Eat. FOOD.
Damn, I sounded like Grover.
I wearily sat up and shook my head. I tried to find something - ANYTHING - that could possibly satisfy my hunger (starvation). My eyes scanned the forest, and then...
"Hey," a sugary sweet voice called from behind me. "Who are you?"
I turned to see a beautiful girl standing behind me. She had wavy brown hair that ran all the way to her waist. She had big brown eyes that shone with a sparkle that could make the stars jealous. She had a pretty, innocent smile and a fit body.
Perfection all jampacked into a girl. Oh, yes.
"Uh, I'm Percy Jackson," I muttered.
"Nice to meet you, Percy," she said, gracefully dancing to me. "I'm Fierra."
I took her soft hand and gently pulled myself up and pressed my lips to the back of her palm, like a chivalrous knight would do. She giggled softly and turned away, gesturing for me to follow her.
"You must be hungry," she said happily. "Come follow me."
Oh, to the ends of the world, girl.
-oOo-
HAHAHAHA I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. James is love 3 and writing about Percy being smitten is PRICELESS.
So, of course, Fierra is evil. Brunettes are evil. I should know, I AM one, after all. :D
POWER TO EVIL BRUNETTES!
Reviews feed my inspiration and Flames add to global warming.
