"Percy!" She cried, trying and failing to restrain him by grabbing his arm. He easily slid out of her grasp. "Oh, Styx." She muttered. She hurried to follow him out of the room. She had a sneaking suspicion as to what he was up to, and all her calculations pointed to an unpleasant outcome.

In the throne room, she half ran to keep him in sight, bumping into indignant partygoers and mumbling hasty apologies. He seemed to be headed toward the Big Twelve Gods assembled at the front of the throne room.

She ducked behind the pillar nearest to the front of the throne room, close enough to hear any conversation.

She heard Poseidon greet his son, asking if anything were troubling him.

"I've just been thinking, Father." She heard him say measuredly. "That I've been very selfish recently."

Poseidon laughed. "I've often thought selfishness inescapably comes with the immortality, boy."

"That is exactly to what I was referring." Percy said, his voice stiff and surprisingly polite. "I'm afraid I acted horribly selfish when I accepted your generous gift."

Annabeth's heart was racing so fast she could barely hear the next words.

"What are you saying?" Zeus's deep voice boomed thunderously. "Your conscience is making it hard for you to sleep at night? Apollo can give you something for that, some nectar-based-"

"I realized I don't want it." Percy said with great finality. "It was a huge mistake for me to accept, and I would like an exchange."

The gods were silent, and then a chorus of laugher broke through their ranks.

"Ho, ho, good one, son." Poseidon said. "You really had us going. As if you just bought immortality and would like to return it to godly ."

"I'm not messing around." Percy said in a deadly serious voice. "I don't deserve to live forever when heroes just as strong and good as I was died fighting in the same war."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the gods began to understand what he was saying. Annabeth could almost feel the mood of the room change from lighthearted to more…deadly.

"Am I to understand," Zeus whispered. "That you're rejecting our gift?"

Annabeth could practically hear Percy shaking his head. "I appreciate the gift, sir. I just would like it in a different form. One more appropriate with regards to the nature of the war."

"And what is that gift?"

Annabeth could tell Zeus was barely containing his fury for the sake of the party, but if Percy kept pushing him, it would not end well.

"I don't ever want a repeat of this war." Percy said. "I don't want my comrades to have died in vain."

Zeus snorted. "We can't give you a promise like that, boy."

"I like war!" Chimed in a more-than-slightly drunk Ares.

"No, you can't." Percy conceded. "But you can promise that there will be no more unclaimed children who feel abandoned and turn against Olympus."

There was a bitter silence.

Annabeth recognized Mr. D's snort. "You do realize, boy, that you are the product of a broken vow?"

"I understand." Percy said. "But I'm hoping you guys will actually want to keep your children from going darkside…. it's not a lot just to claim them. I don't care how busy your eternal schedules are, you had time to make them, you can take 3 seconds just to let your kid know they matter."

There was a seething silence. Annabeth could tell the gods weren't taking criticism well. To her surprise, her mom's voice echoed through the room,

"The boy is right." It admitted grudgingly. "The casualties of this war would have been far fewer had those demigods not united against Olympus."

"Claim the kids by the time they're thirteen." Percy said. "Swear it on the River Styx. And in turn, you can take my immortality back."

There was a pause before Zeus said, "I swear on the River Styx to the aforementioned terms on behalf of myself and my brethren."

There was a blinding light that seeped around the edges of the pillar, and Annabeth knew it was Percy's immortality leaving him.

"Thank you,"she heard Percy say. Mr. D grunted in half surprise, half something else. Something like respect.

"Not so fast," Annabeth heard Zeus snarl. "You tell them, boy, that the Olympians executively decided to revoke your immortality because you failed to demonstrate that you deserve it. Then, in our ever-abounding generosity, we decided to promise to claim our children."

Percy replied with the subtlest hint of sass, "Of course, Lord Zeus. No one ever doubts your abounding generosity."

Run, Percy. Annabeth thought frantically. Abort the mission while you can.

"Thank you for your time." Percy concluded.

"Don't press your luck, boy." Athena said quietly. "And, please, try to remember what's most important the first time around."

Annabeth could imagine Percy hastily trying to swallow, bow, and back away at the same time.

Percy suddenly appeared in front of her, and he looked just as she remembered him before - less gorgeous, less confident, and uncomfortable in his skin. But she loved him that way. He was grinning at her.

"Let's get out of here, Wise Girl."

Chiron was shocked when Annabeth returned to camp with the ex-god. The entire camp cheered and clapped Percy on the back in their pajamas. Because although Percy fed them the lie, like Zeus asked him to, everyone knew what Percy must have done. And they were proud of him for choosing to stand by them. Clarisse and her company dumped Percy and Annabeth into the lake, where they had their first genuine kiss. He promised her he'd never leave her again.

And he was gone the next morning. He never even got to meet Piper, Jason, or Leo.

Mark, the Ares Camper who had gone missing, showed up in the strawberry fields. He had no memory of anything that had happened to him over the past couple months.

Annabeth knew what Percy had to do. She just wished, for once, that he didn't have to be the one doing it.