My advice to you for this fic: Trust no one. Including me. Especially me. Especially when it comes to updates.


Chapter 27

The Shrine of Nyx

"...You know, Jackson, I rather like you. Not everyone has the guts to stand up to me like you do. So, I'm gonna give you another chance. Join me," Tartarus leaned closer and whispered into his ears, "Or die."

Percy felt shivers run down his spine. There it was. That fear he had felt back when he had first met Tartarus. Of all times, it had to come back now. Right now, when he needed to be the strongest. He needed to get up, beat the Hades out of Tartarus, and find a way to get as far away from this place- wherever it was- as possible, but no, of course his body was frozen in fear and wouldn't obey a thing that he told it to do.

Thanks a lot, body.

Luckily, he still retained that snark despite feeling like a Giant-sized rock with 'FEAR' painted across it had just been dropped onto his shoulders. His innate ability to piss off any and all Immortal sometimes did come in handy in buying him time. And right now, that's exactly what he needed, since his body was just as stubborn as he was and refused to move.

"Not that again, Tartarus. That's like, the most cliche line I've heard in my entire life! Don't you think that's getting a little old?" Please, please, please just move away and get the Hades away from me, goddammit, there's this thing called personal space, thankyouverymuch, was what he was screaming in his mind and he hoped Tartarus got the message and decided to be a gentleman and complied.

Of course, no such luck. Dammit, Tyche, Fortuna, and whatever deity out there who resides over luck. Why can't you just have pity on me for once and let me live a happy life? What have I done to have been subjected to thy eternal wrath? See, he knew big words too.

Instead of getting away from Percy's personal space, Tartarus just laughed, which soon turned into sneering. "You still haven't given me an answer, Perseus Jackson."

"Tartarus, it doesn't matter if you ask me once or twice or a thousand times, my answer will not change. I'll never join the likes of you." And just for good measure, he even spit on Tartarus's clothes, partly marveling at the fact that his body had decided to obey him for once, and mostly hoping that Tartarus didn't disintegrate him on the spot.

Tartarus did not disintegrate him on the spot. Though his expression suggested that his patience was running thin and he was abut to do that in a matter of seconds.

But Percy saw it. A crack in his exterior. Just for a fraction of a second, he saw Tartarus let his guard down in shock. It was just a fraction of a second, but that was all it took for Percy to take advantage of the situation and turn the tables around. Faster than the eye could see, Percy whipped out Riptide, which had returned to his pocket, and slashed.

At that moment, a lot of things happened at once.

Firstly, his strike actually hit Tartarus, though nowhere fatal, and he hissed in pain, moving away from Percy, allowing him to get up, only for the place to suddenly start shaking, not like an earthquake, but more like how a person shakes when they cry. All of a sudden, a mountain debris just magically appeared from and the ceiling and very conveniently fell on his head. Percy saw it all happen, in movie-style slow-motion.

That's when the second thing happened. Tartarus got up, howling and spitting fire, ready to charge at him, but was stopped when a golden net suddenly appeared out of the blue and was draped over his head. For a moment, this was so surprising that Percy's eyes widened and he nearly forgot that a bunch of debris was about to fall on top of his head.

And then he heard the sound. The loud, thunderous sound that reverberated through the walls and almost gave him a migraine, a sound that even had Zeus's dramatic entrances beat. He heard it loud and clear and very annoyed, and it momentarily threw him off. He lost his balance, and it occurred to him that he would not be able to get out of this one. The debris would hit him all at once and the great hero Percy Jackson would meet his end.

Dammit this is not how I wanted to die! Percy Jackson, died by getting magically hit on the head by a bunch of garbage because of his own stupidity! Ha ha, this is a running joke now, right?

The debris was closer. It was going to hit him. Percy supposed this was the time where he was supposed to relive his past and get all the flashbacks, but strangely, nothing like that happened. It anything, he was calm. Almost unnervingly calm. For someone who was probably going to die within the next millisecond, his thoughts were surprisingly clear.

I won't die! I'll live and I'll grow old with Annabeth! You can't take that away from me!

"I won't die!" He shouted, as loud as he could. The debris was close, it was going to hit, why was it taking so long anyway? "I won't die, you hear me?1 I won't die!"

He yelled and yelled the same thing over and over again, until his throat was raw and he couldn't possibly continue, until every word he said rang true in his every bone.

He vaguely registered some sounds at the back of his head. People, maybe. He wasn't sure. The debris was so close, yet it didn't seem to be falling. Why was it not falling? It might as well.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw blonde. Just as gravity seemed to start working once again and debris fell on him all at once, turning his world black.


A few minutes earlier, outside the Shrine of Nyx

Annabeth's plan was in motion.

They had managed to successfully lure out Akhlys, and had trapped her in Hephaestus's golden net, reformed and updated by Leo, along with special charms from everyone else. It had not been easy, but they had managed to get Akhlys to agree to let them enter the shrine, since Annabeth's melancholy had apparently been very sweet and satisfactory.

Annabeth thanked every god out there for the fact that Akhlys was not really in any sides in the war. Because if she had been on Tartarus and Erebus's side, no amount of Annabeth's melancholy would have convinced her to let them in. It had all been pure chance, really. Annabeth was not one to take risks but for Percy, she was willing to do anything.

No, you aren't, a voice spoke at the back of her mind just as she and the others were preparing to get in. It sounded like herself, yet quite not herself at the same time. Annabeth shook her head. She must have been having an auditory hallucination. The nerves were getting to her.

You know that's not true. That same voice. It was back again. Annabeth shook her head to relieve herself. there was no point in getting paranoid now, she had already come this far. Besides, it was probably just the nerves. Because there was absolutely no way that something in her head, in her own voice, would ever insinuate that she was not willing to do everything for Percy. Right?

The voice did not speak again. Annabeth and her team carried on. Akhlys performed some weird ritual (while still trapped in the net), and beckoned them to go forward after she was finished.

They let her out before entering the shrine. All of them were cautious and expecting the worst, so when they stepped into the shrine and it started shaking and rumbling, none of them even batted an eyelash. But still, it was uncomfortable, dreadful, because it clearly showed that the place was about to collapse, and reminded them of how less time they actually had to successfully rescue Percy.

Beyond the rumbling of the shrine, Annabeth heard an agonized hiss. Immediately, all of them were hyper aware of where the sound had come from. Stepping around cautiously, they tried to pinpoint the source of the scream, but they just ended up going in circles. Hades, this place was worse than the Labyrinth!

But then they heard another scream. It was not one of agony, but one of declaration. And it belonged to a voice which all of them knew all too well. A loud and clear 'I won't die' echoed around the place in Percy Jackson's voice, and it echoed in Annabeth's heart, and somehow, she knew exactly where to go.

She ran ahead of the others, eager and desperate to find the source of that voice. Percy was the only thing she could think of, and that was not really very hard, because it was like that all the time. She heard his voice again, in the same self-assured voice, yelling 'I won't die' and evry time it echoed around the walls, the more she found herself believing it.

Percy's alive, Percy's alive, Percy's alive and he'll be mine again.

Except, you wish he were dead.

That last thought made her stop in her tracks as her blood ran cold. That thought hadn't belonged to her. that was not a thought Annabeth could ever, ever have, even in her scariest nightmares. That wasn't her.

Except that voice had clearly been her own, the same from before, and it was rooted in her head, and she was rooted in her spot. She couldn't move from the corridor, the other's hadn't caught up to her yet. She was frozen in her place, by an unknown fear that was slowly starting to take form in her gut. that voice, what was it? Who was it? Why was it telling her that she wanted Percy to die?

Annabeth didn't know. She did not like not knowing.

Accept it. You don't really want him alive, do you. He caused you so much pain... You just want him to feel the same as you did, don't you?

No. No, she didn't. It wasn't Percy's fault that he got kidnapped. She would never want any harm done to him. Right? Right?

It was only too late that she entered the room, only to see a bunch of debris

Falling

Slowly

Slowly

On

Her

Beloved

Percy.

NO!

YES.


I am so sorry please kill me no don't i still want to finish the story. You will get a happy ending, I swear, but it's just... there'll be a lot of angst along the way. Until next time ;)