Well, I certainly did get some death threats from the last chapter... And now there is only one chapter left:(
Sorry for typos and OOCness. I hope you all enjoy!
Happy Reading!
Chapter 49
Percy
Nico di Angelo was dead.
And they were still in Tartarus.
It felt like a giant hole had been ripped through Percy. Nico hadn't deserved that kind of fate. No one deserved that kind of fate, except for Gaea. Nico had saved them all doing what he had done. He really was a hero. Bianca would be proud of him. Percy was proud of him. But that didn't matter anymore, because Nico was gone.
A sorrow filled Percy, so big that he was to sit down and curl up in a ball. But he couldn't. Nico hadn't done all that just so they could mourn over his death. Nico wanted the rest of them to live, and that wasn't going to happen if Percy and Annabeth didn't try to find a way out.
When he faced his girlfriend, she had tears in her eyes. Percy opened up his arms and she didn't hesitate to bury herself in his embrace. They had been through a lot, and now one of their friends were dead and they may never find a way out of Tartarus. It was as if someone had set the weight of the sky on their shoulders, and Percy knew exactly what that felt like.
"He can't be gone," she sobbed. The last time she had cried this much was when Luke had died nearly a year ago. "Nico…"
Percy wanted to reassure her but he there was no way that he could. A wetness gathered in his eyes, but he pushed it back. He wasn't one to cry often; he couldn't remember the last time that he had. He didn't want to cry in front of Annabeth. He didn't want to cry period. He was afraid that if he started to cry he wouldn't stop.
He pulled back a little bit and kissed her temple. "At least we're safe," he said, trying to be optimistic.
Annabeth shook her head. "Percy, how can you even say that? We're stuck in Tartarus, and we have no idea how to get out. Our only chance of getting out was making it through those Doors, and they're sealed now. Where else are we supposed to go?"
She sounded absolutely heartbroken. The gravity of the situation nailed him in the face. Not only was Nico dead, but they really had no idea how to get out. "Well, Gaea's gone—"
"For now," Annabeth interrupted. "She's not permanently gone, and she'll be back for sure. Yeah, the Doors of Death are closed, which is great because no other monsters can escape, but that doesn't fix all of our problems. We still have a whole lot that we have to do. The others are going to need us to help them face Gaea, and if we aren't out of here then we are of no use to them."
What she said was true. They did need to get out of there. How, he wasn't sure. But they would find way if it was the last thing they did.
He seriously hoped it wouldn't be.
"We're alive," he whispered into her ear. "You're alive."
That made her start crying again, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed tightly. Percy looked down at his bad arm. The cut that had been healing before the fight seemed like it was getting worse by the second. Blood was leaking out of it, and he tasted blood in his mouth. There were numerous other wounds on his body and on Annabeth's, but they would have time to deal with them later. In fact, they had all the time in the world.
She backed a few inches away from him and angrily swiped the tears away. "Gods, I hate being so emotional." Percy couldn't blame her though. It was hard to do anything after losing a friend like Nico.
Then the entire cavern began to shake.
Not just shake, but in the little light that the torches produced, Percy could see bits of the rock ceiling start to fall down everywhere. The ground was trembling like they were in an earthquake. For a second, Percy turned to the Doors, preparing to fighting Gaea, but they were still sealed and Gaea was still gone for the moment.
"It's collapsing," Annabeth gasped, her hand finding Percy's. "We have to get out of here."
He didn't need to be told twice. As soon as he and Annabeth took their first sprinting step, however, a cold gust of wind blew throughout the cavern, and all of the torches were put out, leaving them in total darkness.
They stopped for only a second. Percy couldn't see Annabeth but could feel her trembling. But he grabbed onto her hand and they began to run anyway.
They seemed to run forever, and the sounds of the collapsing cavern grew louder and louder. The ground beneath their feet shook even harder, making it difficult to run without falling over. The only light they had was the small glow that came from Percy's sword, but that did little to help them. They could only run and hope they weren't crushed.
The crashing sound came so close and rattled them so much that Percy gracefully ended up almost breaking his neck.
He cried out as part of the ceiling crashed down on his legs.
Pain and agony rushed through him as he struggled not to start screaming. A boulder had landed on top of his calf on the left leg. The more he tried to get it off the worse it got. Percy heard Annabeth kneel down next to him and mutter encouraging words. She was using his sword as a light to see. When she began to roll the rock off of him, he bit the inside of his cheek so hard that even more blood was drawn.
Annabeth's gasp was all he needed to know that his leg was bad, but she managed to get the rock off of him. Percy didn't have time to wallow in pain. He jumped right back to his feet and gritted his teeth. Something was definitely broken, but that didn't matter now. He had to get out of their and protect Annabeth.
"Percy, you shouldn't be standing!" Annabeth exclaimed, jumping up to support him.
He had to lean on her, but he said, "I have to. We have to get out of here."
She nodded and handed him his sword. Together they made their way back to where they had originally come from. The entire time Percy was limping, but he tried to forget about his busted leg. The more he thought about it, the more pain there seemed to be. He didn't have time for pain. He had to survive and then get help.
Once they reached the broken staircase, Percy boosted Annabeth up it. She reached down after that and helped him get up. They stumbled to the top of the staircase, and reality smacked Percy in the face.
The Danaides had been waiting for them.
One of them immediately launched herself at Percy, but with one lucky swipe, she was down momentarily. The main floor of Where the Lost are Revealed was full of all of the sister sociopaths. They blocked all of the exits and had snarls on their faces. A few rushed towards them, ready to kill. They couldn't hide for long, and a giant crash below them signaled that they couldn't go back down to the House of Hades.
Annabeth pointed. "THERE!"
The Danaides hadn't blocked off the stairway going up.
They made a beeline for the staircase and hobbled their way up, Danaides laughing as they merely walked after them. They didn't need to run because Percy and Annabeth weren't running. "Annabeth, go on," Percy tried to tell her. He was only slowing her down.
"I'm NOT leaving you," she told him sternly. "We're in this together to the end."
The way she said to the end sent shivers down his spine.
They skipped the medicine room, but with any luck they would be back there. They both needed some serious medical help. And just a few doctors that they didn't have.
The money room was of no avail to them. Paper and coins wouldn't do much to help. Hardware, however… that was good. They stopped for a minute and caught their breath. A scream made them stop, and out of nowhere, Annabeth was tackled.
One of them was on top of her. She hadn't come from behind them. She had been waiting for them in the Hardware room, somehow knowing they would rest in there. The girl had a screwdriver in her hand and was using it as a weapon against Annabeth. She still had her knife, but her opponent got in a few good hits. Annabeth shrieked in pain, and Percy shot forward with Riptide.
Two Danaides pulled him back, however, and slammed him against the wall. Where had they come from? "All moments end, Perseus. Now yours has."
"Not quite," he said, and he kicked out with his good leg, nailing one of them in the face. She flew back and the other landed a punch in his gut. The air left him, but he wielded Riptide like a death blade. It met the side of her arm and cut her, but she didn't even seem to notice it. Percy wanted to see if Annabeth was okay but he couldn't see anything. He just listened for clues.
Suddenly Annabeth was by his side and she knocked the girl away. She was clutching her stomach, but he didn't have time to ask her if she was okay. She yanked him to his feet and they went up to the next level. In was the disgusting food one. It just made Percy feel even worse.
Three Danaides jumped out in front of them. "Stupid demigods," one hissed.
They went after both of them. Percy managed to parry one hit but another got to him. Grunting, he swiped her legs out from underneath her and sent her straight to the ground. From the ground, she wrapped her arms around his legs and he came crashing down.
She straddled him and hit him so hard he saw stars. She plucked Riptide from his grasp and through it into a pile of moldy food. Percy rolled to the side and threw her off, but she landed right on her feet while Percy was still struggling to stand. "You can never beat us. We will just keep coming back for more. We are your worst nightmare, and you will die."
Then she cried out as blood burst from her body. Annabeth was behind her and threw her aside. She was still clutching her stomach, but she just shook her head when Percy tried to ask anything. They continued hobbling their way up. They didn't stop to look at the Beauty Supplies or the Furniture. Miscellaneous wasn't going to help them either.
Percy could still hear the Danaides behind them, wild laughs and battle cries joined with thundering footsteps. They were on the final floor. There was nowhere else to go.
But as always, Annabeth was one step ahead. There was a sky light in the ceiling, and the ceiling was pretty low. The only place they could go now was the roof.
Annabeth broke open the window and hopped up, then reached down and helped Percy. She was a lot stronger than most people gave her credit for. Once they were both on the roof, Percy reached back into his pocket, expecting to find Riptide in there, ready to be used.
But Riptide wasn't.
And Riptide always returned to his pocket.
Why it was taking longer now, he didn't have a clue, but it was agonizing. He needed Riptide now to fight with, but the sword wasn't coming back. He was tempted to jump back down and search for a spare sword to use, but then the Danaides would get him. He looked at Annabeth, and she had her knife in hand, but she was shaking.
His eyes roamed to the huge gash in her stomach. There was so much blood everywhere that he couldn't tell if it was fatal or not, but it looked terrible. She was sweating and had a look of sickness on her face. Her legs seemed to do little to support her body, and she looked like she was going to give out at any minute. There was no way she could fight. Even when she took a small step towards him, she cringed and blood pulsed from the wound.
Percy slowly made his way towards her, but every step he made was torture. By now, the Danaides were starting to join them on the roof. The looks on the girl's faces clearly showed that they wanted to kill the both of them, but they weren't far from it themselves.
They backed up to the edge of the roof. It was slanted and it took everything Percy had in him not to slide off of it. The Danaides seemed to have no trouble at all. Percy turned around. It was a long way down.
His eyes searched for something to help him defensively. His eyes ended up landing on the large, frozen ocean or lake, whatever it was. He was the son of Poseidon. It didn't matter if he was in Tartarus or not; that was never going to change.
He closed his eyes and tried to will the water up towards him. He called it. There was the familiar tugging sensation, but nothing happened. Frowning, Percy tried again. The results were exactly the same.
The water wouldn't come to him.
There was nowhere left for them to go. This was the end. They were going to die.
Then you will die heroes.
Percy still hated Hera.
Even if he ended up fighting to the death, he didn't want his life to end in the clutches of his enemy. He didn't want to see Annabeth end up like that either. There was only one option left, and Percy didn't like it at all. But if it was the only way, they would have to take it. And just for a second, Percy ignored the threatening enemies in front of him.
He turned to Annabeth and pulled her into the shelter of his body. "I love you."
Her gray eyes were misty, but she leaned her head against his chest. The Danaides were staring at them, obviously flabbergasted by why they weren't fighting them anymore. They wouldn't stay that way for long. "I love you too," she answered. She had to know this too. But Percy began to tense his body up, and she looked him in the eye. "What are you doing?"
In response, he gave her a sad smile and kissed her. She jerked away. "What are you doing?" she demanded again. But Percy found that his voice wasn't working. Actions spoke louder than words, right?
Percy acted at the same time the Danaides surged towards them. Annabeth, finally realizing what he was doing, screamed, "Percy, NO—"
Famous last words?
Because the rest was a scream as Percy launched the both of them off of the side of the building.
And once again, Percy found himself holding Annabeth as they fell through the air. Why did they always find themselves in this position?
There was something infuriatingly calm about falling this time. Even amidst the yells from the angry Danaides and the screaming from Annabeth, Percy found his muscles relaxing and the air that rushed through his clothes somehow soothing. Through Annabeth's billowing hair he could see the hard ground below them that was approaching.
If it was possible, time seemed slower than normal, like what happened sometimes when he was fighting a monster. Those seconds they fell stretched by like minutes. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
Dying at sixteen would suck. He wouldn't ever get to graduate from high school. Gods, what would happen to his mom? How would his friends be able to face Gaea? The prophecy said seven demigods, and now they were going to be short by two. He just had to hope that they would be okay and that they would be able to fight.
Actually he knew for a fact that they too would put up their best fight. They all were crazy powerful. If anyone could do it, they could.
And they would.
What could he have done differently? In that split second, a thousand thoughts rushed through him. Suddenly, he realized that he could've saved Annabeth in a number of different ways. She could've gone through the Doors and he could've stayed behind to close them. He could've given himself up to the Danaides as a distraction. It would've given her enough time to escape. It was too late for that now though. He felt like the biggest failure ever.
He was never going to get to go back to Camp Half-Blood. Annabeth was never going to get to go back to Olympus and be the architect. He would never get to see his mother, Paul, Tyson, Grover, Chiron, or anyone else ever again. He would never get to go out on another date with Annabeth. Instead, he'd waste away in the Underworld.
If he made it to Elysium, he decided that he would immediately try for rebirth.
How many times had he and Annabeth fallen during this quest? Too many for him to remember. But this would be the final time. This was the ultimate finale. He was going to break every bone in his body while holding Annabeth in his arms and they would both die and go to the Underworld, which was just slightly better than Tartarus. How sick and messed up was that?
His eyes grazed the ground with their gaze and then the sky, which was still creepy with the glowing green moon. Some things just never changed, huh?
Just before they reached the ground, he closed his eyes and waited for the impact.
(A/N: Wouldn't you guys just kill me if I ended it there? Ha, I'm not that mean.)
But that impact never came.
Instead, he started spinning. The world flickered out and became total darkness. Annabeth's screamed stopped. He felt like he was going to be sick all over again. It was as if he were on a rollercoaster. He wondered if this was what it felt like when you were dead, because he had to be dead. Annabeth wasn't making any noise.
But Annabeth was still in his arms, for some reason. Odd. He had thought that after they were dead she'd be gone, but no. They were still together, and he wanted it to stay like that. But they were still falling, just through darkness.
When his back hit hard ground he gasped. Black spots danced before his vision, but it wasn't dark anymore. Annabeth was on top of him, and with a groan she rolled off and landed beside him. Percy could feel the spots where her blood had leaked into his clothes.
It was a struggle for him to sit up, but once he had he felt better. His head felt clearer. He sighed as he looked up at sky. His heart stopped.
The sky wasn't green. It was a deep, midnight blue, and a bright moon hanging.
He somehow managed to get to his feet, and he observed what was around him. Just trees, but trees had never looked so amazing. The moon was shining down on them, and Percy closed his eyes. Was he dreaming? Was this what happened after you died? He opened his eyes again, but the scene hadn't changed. At least, not that much.
Because now, there was a giant warship gliding towards them, smoothly moving through the air. Percy had been on that warship.
It was the Argo II.
Percy turned to Annabeth, and her mouth was open in shock. He probably looked the same, but he couldn't feel his face. He couldn't feel his bad leg. He couldn't feel his arm. But he could feel the very real grass underneath him and see the very real trees that made a forest all around him. He could see the very real, very comforting sky above him and the real Argo II flying through the sky. And inside of that very real Argo II were his friends.
How was this even possible?
Percy gathered Annabeth into his arms and she went without another word. Their lips met, full of passion and emotion, because they were still alive. That fall hadn't killed them. Somehow, during the fall, something had happened, and they were out of Tartarus and most likely in Greece. They were out of Tartarus.
Percy was seeing the sky he thought he would've died before seeing again.
And finally, he let the tears fall.
Happy-ish ending! YAY! Review challenge: What has been your favorite part of the story?
Reviews and ideas are loved! There's only one chapter left:(
-BBH
