Warning: this chapter is absolutely terrible but I will explain why in the post-chapter AN. Read for now. Enjoy?
Percy was tired. His shirt was sheened with sweat, his muscles were aching. As he stopped to catch his breath, he saw a shadowy figure approach him. Arrows that flew at him went straight through. He looked around; the demigods were scattering, Apollo campers tending to the wounded. The Giant took no notice of them; his face fixated on Percy, who tried not to be intimidated by the Giant's more disturbing appearance. Percy drew Riptide.
"Greetings, Perseus Jackson. I suppose we haven't met in person before." The Giant intoned, his voice echoing in his head.
"Hi, I guess I can't kill you, so we're just going to enjoy this conversation." Percy said.
"Indeed. The Olympians won't help either, because they cannot kill me. As you can tell, I'm impervious to any physical substance. I am Clytius, Giant of shadow."
"I've noticed."
"Anyways, I would dare to venture a guess that by the end of this, you and I will begin our fight, and one of us will die. That is how it ends for you, no?"
"Yeah."
"Well, today will be different. I will not be killing you. When I am finished with you," he waved his hand, and the world around him began to lose colour, until it looked like one of those old movies, void of saturation. As he did so, the Olympians that were approaching faded away.
"You will kill yourself."
"Wow. I suppose I should keep this in case I cut myself." Percy capped Riptide. He wondered whether Clytius was amused by that. His surroundings were now void of any nearby people. Silence filled the cold, unfeeling air. His nerves seemed to be numbing themselves, senses leaving his body.
Clytius ignored it. "Even though I have never met you before, I've heard a lot about you."
"From the Giants? I figured."
"No, from a person, or people, who you hold very dearly to your heart."
Percy froze. He hadn't thought about her ever since...oh gods, how long has it been? He was so focused on opening the Doors, and preparing for war. It hadn't occurred to him she wasn't present back there.
"Not just Hestia, you know." Clytius said, like he was reading his mind. "The other demigod as well."
"You...you-" Percy whispered, rage boiling inside him. He wanted to lunge at him and stab him a thousand times. To Hades whether it would work or not. He wanted to bury him under two thousand gallons of water, for capturing Hestia and Annabeth.
"I won't lie to you. They do not look well." He waved his hand, and an image appeared. It was a cell, with rusty iron bars blockading off one side; the other three were granite. Trapped inside them were two figures laid on the ground, shivering. Their clothes were torn and hair was messy and split. Their faces were pale and deathly, cheeks stained with blood and tears. The image could have been in colour and Percy wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
"Is..is that live?" He croaked.
Clytius laughed, a cold unforgiving laugh that rattled him even further. "No." And that was all he said.
"What do you want? To kill myself?" Percy struggled to find his voice, but suddenly speaking felt foreign and difficult to do. His tongue felt numb.
"No," Clytius repeated, "I come with a proposition."
He waved his arms again. The image was gone, which Percy could have lived with, but instead of disappearing forever, it was replaced with another. This time, Annabeth and Hestia were tied to a wooden pole, ten feet into the air, while the earth below them glowed, indicating the presence of Gaia. Their mouths were unmoving, probably bound shut by magic.
Percy wanted to sob, but his eyes were dry. He looked at Clytius.
"Can you please take that away?" He weakly gestured at the image with his left index. Clytius inclined his head curiously. Pretending not to hear, he repeated his words. "I come with a proposition."
"WHAT IS IT?" He roared, his sword clattering to the ground.
"Gaia will give you one of three choices. The first is to save the demigod Annabeth Chase. In doing so, you save the world, but doom Hestia and the Olympians. The second; save Hestia and the gods, but the demigods and mortals will perish when Gaia ascends."
Without giving time for him to say anything, he continued, "So tell me, Perseus Jackson, now that you stand before both options, which one do you choose?"
The world regained colour. He regained his senses. Figures appeared.
Clytius stood before him. Behind him, The incarnation of Gaia was smiling. Porphyrion hefted his spear, his eyes gleaming in triumph. To the side, all the Olympians were trapped by earthen tendrils, forced on their knees, powerless. But worst of all, the image from earlier was no image. Hestia and Annabeth were here, watching him.
Percy was silent. The whole world was silent. It seemed as if time stood still in this very moment, of the decision that would save or destroy the world.
"Well, Perseus?" Gaia asked innocently. "What is your answer?"
He recalled Athena's words spoken to him during the winter solstice some three years back, as the festivities were taking place.
Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend you would sacrifice the world.
As he looked at Athena, her stormy grey eyes reflected his thoughts. She knew what he was thinking, and her eyes seemed to say, I told you so. Make your choice.
Yet he could see a hint of resignation behind those steely cold irises, as though she was fearing the worst.
Moments of silence edged past, the tension drawn so taut he could have sliced it with Riptide. Percy was hoping for some miracle, some close-call, some help from above. But nobody came. He was truly alone in this decision, which would shape the world.
As much as he wanted to find some way out, part of his mind dismissed it as impossible. Perhaps it was Gaia or Clytius influencing him, but he was terrified that it was his own thoughts that he was ashamed of even creating in the first place.
He recounted his words with the other subconscious of Gaia, words he had said in a brazen moment of courage. Part of it was true: he fought for the people he cared about, but Olympus...did Olympus deserve destruction? The gods were never good rulers, but he still cared about the Olympians, some of them: his dad, Hades, Hermes; even Zeus and Ares, even if it was just a miniscule amount. He knew they were important to the Western Civilization's survival. And it deserved survival, not slavery or utter desecration by the hands of Gaia or the Giants. The mortals, whether they were as pathetic as Gabe Ugliano or perfect as his mom, all had a right to freedom, even if Percy never felt like he had it. All those years he had spent doing quests for the gods, had he ever had time where he wasn't fighting monsters and saving the world? Granted, he did partially enjoy it, but perhaps it was just attempts of finding solace when he was buried under all these burdens. It wasn't true.
And the demigods, they all deserved to live. He remembered the many faces of his past friends, those who've died and those still around. Grover, Nico, Silena, Michael Yew, Connor and Travis, Charles, even Clarisse. They all gave him memories engraved into his mind that he would cherish in his time at Camp. He couldn't imagine a world without Camp. Its strawberry fields, its woods, the long nights singing at the campfire and canoeing...
He began to consider the aftereffects of his choice. If he let the gods live, would they all be enslaved, as would the mortals? Gaia said her other half wanted to transform this earth, but that would kill everyone? Would it matter then, which side he picked, if both sides were annihilated one way or another?
Raising his head up, he met eyes with Annabeth, who even through her agony, met his own with a tearful sparkle. He remembered the fond memories they had: the kiss on Mount. St. Helens, their time spent alone during the Titan War, when they were thrown into the canoe lake. She seemed to be thinking about the same things. Funny how when the world is about to end, he only thought about these things. I love you, seaweed brain, she seemed to say. Even after their ending of their relationship…
There was a sudden jolt, like a shock had passed through his body. Wait, when did they relationship end?
His eyes widened by just a fraction, barely unnoticeable through his messy hair that shielded his eyes. He slowly looked at Hestia. Was that a shadow of a smile?
He gazed upwards into the sky. It was setting. The summer solstice was coming to a close. The surge of power would soon cease, but he still had one more thing left to do, and it wasn't choosing which side to destroy.
"I choose to save the mortals." The words practically rolled out from his tongue. There was a collective gasp and laughter at the same time. The expressions of the gods conveyed either surprise or no emotion at all, as though they were expecting it. The demigods were equally shocked. Some screamed, "No!" but were shushed by the Giants.
A strange feeling enveloped Percy gently like a blanket, like a soothing river guiding him to the next move. It was like a premonition, it felt as if he knew what was going to happen next before it did. The words he spoke spoke themselves: it was what was meant to happen, and Percy had a good feeling on who was causing it.
Gaia started applauding. "Good choice. Now, Perseus, you will be the one to kill Hestia, your oh-so beloved one, and the one that loves you back."
"What?" Zeus shouted incredulously. Gaia ignored him, and with a wave of her hand, Hestia's bindings were unravelled, and she glided softly to the floor. Percy walked up to her, Riptide already drawn. The gods and demigods behind him were in chaos over this despite the situation. Even some of the Giants were bewildered.
"Yes, it is true. Hestia has broken her vow. Not that it matters. It would have if my plan had went perfectly, but alas, due to some unforeseen circumstances and the costly mistakes of my servants, this had to have happened." Gaia laughed, then she glanced down at Hestia, who was glaring at her, though her eyes were brimming with tears.
"You never wondered why I combined you and Aphrodite into one body? It was to spark passion between you two, which did happen. Olympus would have torn itself apart if you gods had discovered this forbidden relationship, and would have made disposing of you all much easier. But no matter. You are still dead, and I still win."
Percy took no notice of this. He didn't need to. He had known of Gaia's victory speech before she had said it. Her words faded away, until it was just him and Hestia. He knelt close until they were inches away from each other's faces.
"You know what is going to happen, don't you?" He said. Hestia nodded.
"And you're ready?" Another nod.
Percy closed his eyes. "I love you, Hestia."
And with that, he raised Riptide, and buried it into her heart.
There was no blood. No ichor. Instead, golden streams of light poured from the wound like drops of sunlight. They floated into the sky and glowed brightly like molten lava. Then it hissed, as flakes of red and gold - sparks, the same kind the hearth always had, peeled off from the light and gravitated towards Percy. Thousands upon thousands surrounded him. He could faintly hear Gaia's shriek of astonishment as the sparks implanted themselves onto his skin like a second layer of amber.
"KILL HIM!" Gaia screamed almost maniacally. The Giants rushed forward, weapons drawn, but an explosion of brilliant velvet red and sun yellow knocked them back. Percy's eyes were shut, his arms spread and legs together. Then he opened his mouth to receive Hestia's spirit, as it was decreed.
He landed on the ground as the shell of Hestia crumbled into dust. He was wearing a cloak of brown with a hood now, nothing special, nothing fancy or outspoken. Only that his eyes were ablaze.
"Impossible. What is this?" Gaia said, backing away slightly, but her arm was held up, and vines below it were crawling upwards as though it was attracted to her hand.
"Salvation." Percy and Hestia said in unison, echoing across the hill. It was the two of them speaking in Percy's body.
"Next time you start a war, don't let it be where the hearth is. Because home is always where you're strongest." They said. Percy raised his hands and Riptide appeared instantaneously in them. In the blink of an eye, he had teleported to Porphyrion in a flash of fire and cut him down. The Giant king could only stare in awe before his body was reduced to golden dust. Percy repeated this, killing off the remaining Giants, who all dissolved into nothingness, until it was Gaia left.
Percy said a word in ancient Greek and the bindings of all the gods and demigods were set ablaze, albeit not hurting anyone. They disintegrated into ashes.
"You cannot kill me!" Gaia insisted. "I am the earth, you may as well try slashing at the ground. What use will it do?"
"Nothing," Percy admitted, "but I think the other half of you will do a better job of being a peaceful primordial."
Then his form glowed brightly for an instant before the serene face of Hestia appeared. She dropped Riptide immediately which retracted into pen form.
"Go to sleep, Gaia. You are tired and troubled." She spoke softly. "I will never wish for violence where it is not required. Only through peace will you finally be content."
Gaia's expression softened. Then it toughened once more. "This is not the end!"
In the next instant, Percy had retaken the body. "Yes, it is." Riptide was already in his hand. In one fluid motion, Gaia's head was on the ground, before it crumbled into loam dirt.
Percy took a breath and turned around, where everyone was staring at him, their expressions completely incomprehensible. Some looked like they were having seizures.
"Well, I'm starving. Dinner anyone?' Percy asked.
Okay, you're probably wondering what in the name of Hades, the Olympians and the primordials just happened. What happened there is the fulfilment of the prophecy I had been thinking of since I decided to go with my gut and ignore the prophecy I wrote down in ch7. This is how I envisioned the war to end. Percy and Hestia combining into one form (not for long chill. Perstia coming soon), as was seen in ch15 I think, when Annabeth meets with Percy in the dream and Percy is decked out with fire powers. Yeah, that's coming up. Time travel loop-de-loop. I know, this story is wonky as hell. I really do apologize for this unclarity, it's super confusing and disorienting. All of this will be addressed in post, when it happens. But for now, please endure it. Trust me, I hate putting out content that is bad, and I think this is terrible. But I have to show how the story will end.
Aside from this atrocity, there should be a few more chapters coming up, a possible epilogue and the long authors note where I talk about things. Great news! My exams end in two days so I can speed things up.
This wall of text will be copied to Wattpad since they deserve an explanation as well. Not AO3, lul.
Feedback is appreciated. Thanks for reading this weird story.
-Ignatius