Chapter Ten

She didn't know the boy, but his words chilled her to the bone. As natural as death was, she'd probably never want to die as much as Luke did. In fact, she was pretty content with no dying until the ripe age of eighty, if possible.

And she felt terrible for Percy, who stood before the pleading blonde boy. Because in Annabeth's eyes, that's what he was, just a boy. Who went down a terrible path, granted, but from what she had gathered, his intentions weren't too warped.

The gods did, in fact, overlook their children. Annabeth knew that better than anyone. She didn't even meet Athena until she was twelve and Annabeth had a feeling it was because less and less demigods were making it to the camps and sticking to the streets. If Annabeth found them, at least they'd have a fighting chance.

"N-no." Percy stammered, backing away from the sinister blade. Fashioned after Kronos' scythe, she was sure, but not yet at full power because it's wielder was still weak. As long as Luke was fighting the Titan, his scythe would never be able to rip soul from body at touch. "Luke, I can't k-kill you."

The son of Poseidon had tears in his eyes and didn't try to hide them. Something she admired, most boys were too afraid to show such an emotion. Percy was different. He was displaying so much emotion, his demigod powers were out of control, causing slight tremors to shake the ground. From afar, Aria was trying to counter them, so it wouldn't get out of hand. Last thing they needed was more quakes as Kronos had almost leveled Olympus with his. There was no doubt in her mind, that Percy could do the same.

By the looks of the gods' palace, it couldn't take anymore stress. The beautiful plants were burnt to a crisp, probably courtesy to Leo, temples were diminished and roads had been turned to rumble. Annabeth didn't dare let herself look in the direction where Nora had landed. If the girl was dead, it would be better for her not to know at such a crucial moment.

Thalia also had growing pools in her electrifying blue eyes, but she wiped them away, fiercely. She had know that this Luke had been their friend, but now it was quite evident that he was more. A brother was more appropriate.

Luke unlatched his breastplate and let it fall to the ground. The clatter was deafening, but that was probably due to the fact that everyone or thing on Olympus had gone silent. He lifted up his shirt and pointed to a pale spot below his ribs, on the right side. "My mortal spot." he explained, but he didn't need to.

There was no wonder to why she, Leo, Percy and Thalia never found his Achilles' heel. It was hidden safely under his metal armour. Even Leo's flames did nothing because Celestial Bronze happened to be highly heat and flame resistant.

When Percy did nothing, but gaze at Luke, the blonde boy let out a frustrated sigh. "You have to do it, kid." he told him, softly. He stuck the hilt of the scythe out farther toward Percy, causing him to take another step back. "It's your prophecy."

"A single choice shall end his days." Thalia murmured, now understanding. The tears flowed more harshly, now. Never having heard the full prophecy, Annabeth was at lost for words, but what made perfect sense was that Luke needed to die or Percy would in his place.

Luke nodded to his old friend. "I can't let you die, Perce." he said to the younger boy, who seemed to be somewhere else lost in his thoughts. Or at least, trying his best to ignore Luke. "Its no good for you to die, anyway. Things are brewing. Old gods and new..." Luke cast a knowing glance at Annabeth. He knew of the Romans, that much was clear. "They're going to need you, but me, if I live..." he let out a dry laugh. "They'll kill me, anyway."

'They' meaning the gods, Annabeth said in her head. The only way for Luke to come out of this a hero was for him to die.

Percy seemed to snap out of his thoughts. "Why do I have to kill you?" he demanded, sharply. He glanced around the clearing at the others. "Out of all demigods, why me? You're my friend." His last words were thick and pained.

Annabeth felt a complete sadness settle inside her. She understood his dilemma. She could have been a delinquent, a Prom queen or a high school journalist, but the Fates choose her life. She didn't get one say and part of her hated the world for that. The Fates would the ones who wove the quilt of events, nothing could change the stitching.

"Tragedy has always been something the Fates are fond of, haven't you learned?" Thalia snapped in answer. Her tone was accurately bitter.

The daughter of Athena decided on a different approach. Percy was stubborn, but she figured with the right wording she could persuade him. Annabeth felt sick at the thought. She didn't care what was at stake, there was nothing right about convincing someone to kill their friend. Nothing. But it was all she had.

"His life is at it's end, Percy." said Annabeth in slow and cautious tone. The sickness she felt in her stomach grew, but she tried to keep her expression blank. I'm a terrible person, Annabeth told herself. The worse of all. "Maybe it's for the best."

This was not a wise thing for Annabeth to say, given that she never anticipated the son of Poseidon's loyalty to be so great. "No!" he shouted, defiantly. The ground shook and his glare had been placed on Annabeth. A shiver ran up her spine at the intensity of his sea green eyes. Beautiful, she had realized. But dangerous. "I won't kill him. Screw the Fates. I will not kill my friend."

The powerful words left Percy's mouth and they all knew he would never budge. Part of Annabeth was glad, another part of her was worried. Olympus must go on and with Luke alive and Kronos just itching for the boy to grow weak and take over once more, that would not happen. Then, she wondered if it truly mattered if it had to be Percy who killed Luke.

It shouldn't. He will be dead and his soul will be where it ought to go, the Underworld. Why would it matter who sent him there? The Fates had more than their fair share of control, but Annabeth had a feeling that that control was not complete. They could not control everything, much less anticipate what she was about to offer.

For the sake of Percy, a boy she barely knew and hated to see distraught, she made a choice. A single choice shall end his days, rang through her mind like a sharp bell. That was how she was certain that it had to be her. The Fates had anticipated her and she felt angry. The line from the prophecy was oh-so-clear to her despite how vague it seemed only moments ago. This was her fate.

Taking a deep and unsteady breath, the daughter of Athena straightened and stepped forward. "I'll do it." she proclaimed, bravely, though she wasn't feeling very brave at all. She didn't want to kill Luke. She didn't want to take a life, but somehow she knew that she had to because if Percy did it instead... well, she didn't have a good feeling about what would follow.

And that was her gift. Leo might be able to shoot fire from his hands and Nora might be able to zip through the States within a minute, but Annabeth was cunning and wise. Her intuition was her superpower and it had saved her so many times. This time, however, it would save Percy. How the Fates planned this, she would never know, but it made sense. It all fit together in a terribly perfect way.

The others seemed shell-shocked. None of them spoke a word and Annabeth reckoned that none of them dared to. She knew that they could be thinking one of two things: she had a huge heart or not one at all. It was perplexing, to say the least. Hell, she felt so numb by her choice that she couldn't even decide on which one it could be.

"What?" one of them finally managed to utter. It was Leo, of course. His tone was shaky, what for, she didn't know. The boy was covered in soot and even smelt a bit like burnt hair, but she didn't find it amusing with the weight she now carried on her shoulders. "Beth, you can't be serious."

Annabeth refused to meet her friend's eyes. He was the only one of her friends close enough to hear what she had proposed. Aria, Elsa and Nico were still too far off with Nora to catch it. Though, she could feel their curious stares on her back. In fact, everyone was staring. Annabeth tried not to feel unnerved and placed her steely gaze on Luke.

"It suddenly feels right, doesn't it?" she spoke in a low tone to the blonde boy. "The prophecy makes sense, now. My choice."

His pale blue eyes pierced her. Emotion shone through with such intensity that Annabeth had to force herself to keep eye contact. She didn't know Luke, but for some reason she felt as if they were similar and she was sure he knew it, too. He held the cursed blade in her direction. "You'll need to use this." he told her in an unwavering tone. Luke was brave, if nothing else, she had decided. "It was prophesied."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Annabeth strode over and gripped the hilt. She felt cold all over as if someone had turned Olympus' thermostat to negative zero. She continued to ignore the intensified stares from around her, but offered them some explanation. "I don't want to do this, you do know that, right?" she said, turning to meet eyes with Percy and Thalia. They appeared to be lucid and broken. "If I knew another way..."

"They know how it is, kid." Luke assured her as she trailed off. She felt tears fill up in her eyes. Dammit, she internally cursed as she wiped at them. "And if they blame you for what you have to do, I'll torment them from the grave." The joke was meant to lighten the mood, but it didn't.

She fixed the blade's point just inches away from his Achilles' heel and held her breath. "I'm sorry." she whispered as she thrust the blade forward in a quick movement. It sunk into his flesh too easily and Luke let out a groan as he fell to his knees.

It would be better to say that there was more to it than that, but really there wasn't. She backed away, breathing ragged breaths and dropped the blade as it seemed to grow warmer in her grip. Annabeth watched numbly as Percy and Thalia rushed to Luke's side with tears streaming down their reddened cheeks. They spoke to him in low tones, saying goodbye and softening his last moments. Annabeth tried very hard to block them out and focused to the blood trailing from the wound.

It wasn't until Luke went entirely limp and Thalia started sobbing harshly that she felt the full impact of her actions. It didn't matter how justified it may be, she had killed him and that would be branded on her name, her soul for an eternity.

"Perseus, what is the meaning of this?" a deep and powerful voice rang out. The gods had returned, but Annabeth was too lost to care.

Is is obvious that I really feel Annabeth? She's my fave.