(A/N) I hope I satisfied you guys, but here is (sadly) the last chapter! It's going to be shorter than the other chapters, though.

*breaks down into tears and storms off*

Disclaimer: I do not own PJO

Jason POV

We waited one minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

The cannon sounded.

After a while the water retreated and I was left clinging to Percy, my eyes screwed shut tightly. The son of Poseidon was drained. His face was pale and his eyes were sunken. He was breathing shallowly, but he held me tightly in his arms. When we finally broke apart and regarded each other, I realized that this was it. This was the final battle. Only one of us would make it out of here alive and even if Percy managed to gain strength and summon another huge wave to destroy the arena walls, we'd still be overcome by the monsters that were waiting on the other side.

Percy's green eyes were full of pain and sadness as he looked at me. My sword was limp at my side. I wouldn't fight him even if he was weak and disarmed. That would be a disgrace; killing him would mean I didn't care, that I was too caught up in the thought of winning to think of him. I couldn't do it; I still loved him, even if he didn't love me back.

The Capitol used us like puppets; something to entertain them. I didn't want to succumb to their demands. I would fight if I had to, with Percy at my side. I would tear down the Capitol brick by brick with my bare hands and kill all of its inhabitants slowly, with Polybotes at the top of my list. He would pay dearly for the torture he inflicted upon us and he will suffer like no other being. No one will be spared and I will free the camps and the gods if it was the last thing I did. But as I looked at reality, I knew that would never happen. Percy and I were just two people and we couldn't defeat Gaea even with the entirety of Greek and Roman gods and demigods at our sides.

"Do it." Percy whispered. His head was bent low and tears dripped down his face. "Please." I was shocked. Why would Percy want me to kill him? Even if we had been through a lot, we'd been through it together. But I knew that if we didn't fight the Capitol would make us fight, no matter how against it we were.

I started at the beginning, when I first met the raven-haired demigod. We'd been retrieving his from Camp Jupiter and had just gotten away from an army of angry Romans. We competed to see who the best Big Three Boy was, and we nearly fought to the death in Kansas. We created a storm together at Fort Sumter and fought of countless monsters side-by-side. We survived the Nymphaeum with the help of Piper and managed to free the naiads from their waterless prison. We defeated the twins together and did the best we could to fight off Gaea before we were overcome. We suffered through a month of torture that felt like years and watched each other's backs in the Games. I had the chance to love him and kiss him, a chance that I took advantage of and had the best few days of my life. All of that lead up to now.

Then I looked at Percy. The guy looked like he was about to shatter into a million pieces. His eyes were huge and full of suffering and sadness and I could tell he was struggling to stay sane; a battle amidst his own mind that he was bound to lose. He collapsed onto his knees and clasped his hands into a begging gesture. "Please!" His voice cracked. I raised my sword and Percy watched me with calm, unafraid eyes; like a sheep before the butcher. He pressed his forehead against the tip and a little trickle of blood began to seep down. He wasn't afraid to die; he wanted to die. I could see the desperation in his eyes.

My sword clattered to the ground and Percy looked up at me, his lower lip quivering. I knelt beside him and he hugged me tightly. "I can't do it." I murmured into his ear. "I can't."

"That's okay." The tribute form District 4 replied sadly. He pulled away and studied my face with those brilliant green eyes of his, but I was surprised at how pained they looked. I knew that I probably looked the same way; we were going to have to fight to the death. If we didn't, the Capitol would either force us to by triggering something in my tracking device or they would send out mutts and make us suffer even further. Percy leaned down and our lips brushed, but only for a moment. His breath was hot on my face and his eyelashes fluttered against my cheek. "I love you." He murmured and pulled away, leaving me in a state of awe.

"I love you too." I managed. Why had he kissed me, even if it was only for a moment? I thought he'd said it was over. By doing that had he officially started loving me again? Percy slowly rose to his feet and walked over to where my sword had clattered to the ground. The Celestial bronze gleamed in the midday sun, like a tiny star, but the sun was being blocked out by thick clusters of grey clouds, signaling that a storm was brewing. He picked the sword up and studied it for a moment, running his fingers across the blade gently. I thought it was a little strange, but I didn't point that out.

Percy turned to me as if he were going to hand it over, but instead he flashed me his last brilliant smile that was full of love, caring, and warmth. I ran to him, but everything seemed to be going in slow motion. By the time I reached him he had already plunged the blade deep into his chest. I crumbled to my knees and screamed at the top of my lungs as lightning flashed overhead.

-Ω-

3rd Person POV

The tribute was acting hysterical. As the monsters helped dragged him out of the arena on a stretcher he kept screaming, thrashing, and crying. He lashed out at them with fingernails that sunk deep into their flesh. They merely growled in annoyance and were forced to tie him down as he continued to screech frantically at the top of his lungs. He kept screaming that he had to stay with Percy, the fallen tribute. His eyes were wild with fear and suffering and his pupils were but little dots in his irises.

The monsters pitied him but also found him rather irritating as his screaming blasted their eardrums to pieces. He was squirming and writhing in his ropes and no amount of soothing could get him to still. Finally a telekine was forced to sedate him and the tribute went limp, but his forced sleep was still fitful. He kept crying out as his eyelids fluttered and scrunched as if he were trying to fight it off. The telekine patted the poor son of Jupiter's arm and made a tsk sound.

"Poor kid." It said gruffly and the procession continued on. They paraded to the tribute house, where they fixed the tribute up and fed him as much squares of ambrosia as they dared. Even so, they knew that ambrosia could not heal a shattered mind or a broken heart. The boy had went through so much and now he'd just lost everything, even if he did just acquire a handsome amount of riches and a load of respect.

A girl with hair that was dyed partly strawberry blonde and partly platinum blonde had joined the monsters, along with her boyfriend, in the tribute house. She watched anxiously from the side as the medics, who were two dracaene, crowded him and checked for vitals. The sedative had been powerful and the son of Jupiter lay silent for days on end. Some even whispered that he wouldn't wake up, partially because the knock-out medicine was too strong and partially because he simply had lost the will to live.

When the medics had gone, the girl knelt down beside the tribute's cot. His wrists were bound to the sides just in case he woke up in panic. The girl disapproved of this and reached out to untie the bonds, but her boyfriend stopped her. He shook his head, his black eyes gleaming. His black hair was neatly brushed and he wore a black leather jacket over a white tee and jeans.

"Maria." His voice held a hint of warning to it as she ignored him and began to untie the bonds with swift fingers.

"I know what I'm doing. Gods, Lucifer; you have to lighten up. The poor guy is clearly suffering." The girl, Maria, insisted.

"But what will he do when he wakes up in hysteria? He will be insane. I'm sure of that." Lucifer scoffed and brushed a loose strand of hair out of his face. His lips were pursed into a thin line and his expression was indifferent.

"Don't be such a downer. Jason is strong. If anyone can fight of insanity, it's him." She confirmed, her voice steady and strong. He stormy blue eyes bore a hole through her boyfriend critically. She had no idea how he could be so heartless at times. Lucifer snorted at this, but didn't argue. That's when Jason began to stir. His head shot up and he let out a guttural scream, tears streaming down his cheeks as he covered his face with his hands. Maria darted over to comfort him despite the low growl Lucifer made in his throat as the tribute awoke.

"Shh. It's okay. You're safe. You won." The daughter of Ares soothed, though it was a wrong choice of words. As soon as the thought of winning entered his unstable mind, Jason only wailed louder. Lucifer shot Maria a withering look and covered his ears.

"Just make him shut up." At this, Jason turned to the son of Thantos and blinked once. His lower lip quivered as he fought back more tears, which only made his mind crack even further.

"It's okay to cry." Maria assured him and the son of Jupiter broke down once more. She didn't wrap her arms around him, but she did massage his hand with her thumbs and allowed him to lean against her. She was surprised at how weak, frail, and thin he was. Jason looked up at her with round, sad blue eyes and made a whimpering sound that melted her heart. She whispered words of encouragement as he melted against her and slipped into unconsciousness once more. Lucifer came over and awkwardly patted the sleeping son of Jupiter's shoulder. Maria lay him back down on the cot and tucked him in.

"He'll be okay." Lucifer said as they watched Jason's finally peaceful sleeping. His nostrils flared a little as he snored softly and mumbled gibberish under his breath. "He'll be scarred, yes, but insane? Not likely. You are right. He is strong. The strongest demigod I've ever known." Sergeant Major Lucifer saluted to Jason and slipped away like a shadow.