I don't own Percy Jackson.
"One thing's always going to remain the same. Monsters will always exist no matter what we do," Percy said. Riptide glowed and turned back into a pen. There was gold dust all over his body. He looked over his shoulder and saw Annabeth pulling her sword out of a dead empousa's chest. The empousa crumbled into golden dust which was blown away by a light breeze.
"Haaaah~! Finally! We're done cleaning up." Annabeth sheathed the sword. She saw Percy walking over to her and smiled. As soon as he got closer, she raised her hand and ruffled his hair. Gold dust fell from his messy raven locks. "You need a shower. You smell like monster and metallic powder."
"Huh?" Percy sniffed his shirt and nearly gagged. She was right. He did smell awful. A nice shower would do him some good.
"Let's head back to camp. I'll wait for you at the tables. Then we can head over to the city and visit Sally," she said.
"Yeah. Man, I haven't seen Mom in so long." Percy smiled. His mother was the one constant in his life. He couldn't even begin to imagine how she felt when he disappeared.
"Did you know that Sally is pregnant?" Annabeth smiled at him. He nodded, remembering what his mom had told him over the Iris Message. Annabeth smiled upon seeing the excited twinkle in his eyes. She figured that Percy had always wanted siblings and his wish was granted when he met Tyson and Nico. Now, he would have another one. As soon as Percy entered his Cabin, she made her way to the tables.
We deserve this. We deserve to be happy. We deserve to be normal. After everything we've been through, we deserve this much, Annabeth thought, sitting at the Athena Cabin table. Annabeth closed her eyes and smiled, opting to take a short nap under the sun while she waited for Percy.
The bus stopped outside a large apartment complex in suburban Manhattan. Percy nervously exited the bus, thanking the driver. His bags fell onto the sidewalk next to his feet as he stretched his legs.
"You nervous?" Annabeth smiled as she straightened her backpack. The two had agreed to stay here for the next few weeks. Some time away from Camp would do them some good. This was the start of their semi-retirement.
"I would be lying if I said I wasn't," Percy said, grabbing their duffels. The two entered the apartment building, making their way up to Sally and Paul's. Percy stood outside their door for a while, hesitating. His finger shakily made its way to the doorbell but stopped.
"It's going to be okay," Annabeth said, grabbing his hand and ringing the doorbell.
"Coming!" the warm voice made Percy's chest tighten. The door opened and the sound of a plate crashing met them. Sally stood at the door, covering her mouth with her hands. Tears collected at the edges of her eyes as she reached out to grab her son.
"I'm home, Mom," Percy said. Sally nodded and pulled Percy into a tight hug. Percy returned the hug with equal force.
Annabeth stood off to the side, smiling at the mother-son reunion. The two had been separated for too long.
"Sally. What is it? Who's at the…?" the words died in the man's mouth. His brown eyes grew wide. Percy looked up from his mom's shoulder and recognized the familiar salt and pepper hair of his step-father.
"Paul. I'm back," he said with a watery smile.
"Percy." Paul walked over and wrapped the two in a hug. "Welcome home."
"It's good to be home." Percy smiled, feeling the warmth and love of his parents' hug.
"R- Right! Annabeth!" Sally pulled herself out of the hug and turned to face the smiling daughter of Athena. Annabeth just kept smiling at her. It was a heartwarming thing to see. "Please, come in. Paul, bring their bags to Percy's room."
"Right." Paul nodded and patted Percy on the back. Annabeth handed him her backpack and Paul grabbed the rest of Percy's duffel bags. Sally led them into the living room and sat them down, telling them to wait while she got the cookies she had been baking.
"Not many demigods get to reunite with their parents like this," Annabeth said, leaning back into the sofa.
"I guess I'm one of the lucky ones," he said.
"Ah. Here we go. Some blue cookies," Sally said, placing the plate on the center table. Percy immediately reached forward and grabbed one.
"Thanks, Mom," Percy said, eating the entire thing in a single bite. Annabeth sighed at his lack of manners as she took a bite out of hers. She had to agree. Sally's cooking was always on point.
"How long are you going to be here?" Sally asked.
"We were thinking of staying here for a few weeks away from Camp. We need a break after everything we went through," Percy said, looking down.
Annabeth nodded. "I think we deserve this break. It's not like the Gods can stop us anymore."
"Why do you say that?" Paul asked, walking into the living room, Paul grabbed a cookie and sat down next to Sally.
"Nothing's happened. The Gods are all absent. People are still getting claimed but no one's here. Hestia and Artemis were the first Gods we've heard from or seen in days," Annabeth said, "And then there was Thalia."
"What happened to Thalia?" Sally asked.
"Thalia said that there was something wrong with the Mist in Michigan but Artemis said that it was just a demigod retrieval. Something's not right," she answered.
"Maybe we're just looking into things that aren't there," Percy said.
"Maybe." Annabeth looked down at her shorts.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you. Let the Gods handle their affairs next time. The Mist isn't something us mere mortals are capable of fixing," Sally said.
"Maybe you're right." Annabeth relented and sighed. "And we're here on vacation not to work so I guess I better forget about all this."
"That's right! You and I are semi-retired from now on! No more major quests! No prophecies! No Gods! Just smooth sailing through our human lives from here forth!" Percy said, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's shoulder.
"Smooth sailing? We still need to figure out how to pay for our tuition! Get our driver's license!" Annabeth reached up and pulled her boyfriend's ear. This was one of the things she loved about the fact that he was no longer invincible. She could cause him physical pain like this.
"Ow! Ow! Ow!"
Sally giggled at their antics. Even though they were very much in love, at the end of the day, children of Poseidon and Athena were still bitter rivals. She often wondered if that would affect their relationship negatively but it only seemed to make them stronger.
"You two haven't changed," Sally said.
Annabeth released her boyfriend's ear as soon as she heard that. She coughed into her hand and faced Sally. "Well, our parents are rivals after all. This is something we inherited."
"It's not like this is bad for our relationship. I think it makes it better. We push each other to do better," Percy said.
Paul smiled. "So, what happened? Your mom and I have been wanting to know for a while now. How was everything since you disappeared and came back?"
"Oh… that's a really long story." Percy scratched the back of his head.
"You should tell them everything," Annabeth said. Percy froze. She looked at him and nodded. "Sally, I'm going to be straight with you. Parts of this story aren't really pleasant…"
Sally's face became marred with concern. She nodded and gripped Paul's hand.
"Well, to start off-"
Percy began to recount everything that happened to him. From the day Hera kidnapped him and wiped his memories, to his time at the Roman Camp, his trip to Alaska and the fight against the Giant Alcyoneus. Percy paused when he reached the part of his tale where he and Annabeth fell into Tartarus.
"Mom, Annabeth and I… we both went to Tartarus," Percy said.
Sally gasped and covered her mouth in horror. Her son. Her own little boy and the girl she had come to cherish fell into Hell? And the Gods allowed it?
"It was during a quest. Annabeth went to retrieve the Parthenos and… she, no we, encountered Arachne and all three of us fell into Tartarus. It's worse than how it's described. It's dark. The air stings and burns our lungs. Half the time, I felt like I was going insane…"
"I went blind." Percy clenched his fists when he heard Annabeth say that. "It was the Arai. I was cursed to suffer the fate of monsters I've killed. Since I killed Polyphemus by stabbing his eye, I was blinded…"
"Oh dear," Sally said.
"I… I got cursed too. Mom, it was horrible. I… I literally began to melt. And it wasn't fast. It was slow. I felt every single second of it. Every cell in my body. Everything began to break down," he said. He still had nightmares about it. It had been one of the causes of many sleepless nights following their escape.
"We met someone who helped us along the way. Iapetus and Damasen. A Titan and a Giant. We called Iapetus Bob though," Annabeth said, smiling before despair covered her face.
At the mention of their names, Percy became as rigid as stone. "They sacrificed themselves to save us from Tartarus and that's how we got out."
"Do you two want to stop? Retelling this part of your journey must be mentally exhausting for you," Paul said.
"No, no. We're fine. Just... " Percy shook his head. That image was still in his head. Tartarus's vortex of a face swallowing everything. Damasen, Bob, Small Bob, and the Drakon's roars as they valiantly fought the Protogenos of the Pit before being consumed by him. It was something he'd never forget because it was one of the only times he failed to save an ally.
Annabeth, sensing his pain, grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "After that… we went to Greece where we engaged the Gigantes and later, Gaia."
The two continued their tale to Percy's parents, recounting every moment of that final battle. They told Sally and Paul of how they battled the Protogenos Gaia and how in the end, she was put to sleep and that Leo had sacrificed his life to put her to sleep for good.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through all that," Sally said.
The two remained silent, knowing that Sally had no other way to comfort them other than just being there. She sighed and stood from her chair.
"You two must be exhausted. Percy, come on. I need you to help me set up the air bed in your room," she said, leaving the room.
"You two."
Percy and Annabeth looked up to see Paul looking at them.
"What you two did. What you helped do. Know that the world owes you more than it knows. You're the reason why we can still meet like this. All your suffering, sacrifices, loss, and hardship. It was all so that your friends could smile and live to see the next day. Just know that the next time you feel down," Paul said.
Percy had a small smile on his face. "Thanks, Paul." he left the room to go help his mother, leaving Annabeth alone with Paul.
"Hey Paul," Annabeth said, after a few moments of silence. "Do you know anyone who can help Percy and I get a place here in New York?"
"Huh? You two are always welcome here in our apartment," Paul said.
"I know but… our scent." She looked up at him, gray eyes piercing through his very core.
Paul ran a hand through his hair and nodded. "I'll contact a friend. She knows of an apartment room opening over in the Upper East Side. How long will you two really be staying with me and Sally then?"
"Sally and I. And, we'll be staying here for the whole of our time off. This is for the future when Percy and I want some time away from Camp. We can stay now because the monsters are all scattered and wary after Gaia's defeat."
"I see. I'll tell you and Percy when you two can go check it out." Paul smiled.
"Thanks, Paul," she said. "I'm going to go check on Sally and Percy. It was nice seeing you again."
"Milady! We have to go now!" Thalia said, raising her arm. Her Medusa Shield blocked the oncoming fireball. Thalia hissed as she felt the heated metal burn her arm. She lowered her shield and turned to see their attacker. The sole perpetrator of the Mist disturbance in this town.
"Fire!" Thalia watched as a hail of silver arrows flew towards the figure. The woman waved her hand. A blast of wind sliced the arrows apart. She grinned and snapped her fingers. Thalia watched in horror as one of the younger hunters was engulfed in flames. She turned and tried to ignore the screech of death and agony as the hunter was reduced to ash.
Artemis clutched her chest, feeling the loss. She needed to get them out of here. This opponent was not something any of them could face alone. She needed to get word to Olympus.
"No, you and the others have to go. I'll hold her off." Artemis coughed, ichor staining Thalia's shirt. She had severe wounds all over her body. Her silver eyes gazed upon their opponent. Tempests of fire and wind battered the Earth, uprooting the trees and blasting her hunters back. The sound of cackling laughter could be heard from the center of the storm.
"Artemis. Diana. Whatever the hell you call yourself, did wittle Zeus send you here?" the figure said, hovering above them. The sun was blotted out by the figure's multiple pairs of wings. Her glowing red eyes stared down at them in disdain.
"Go to Tartarus!" Thalia said. She gripped her spear, coating it in lightning.
"Thalia! Thalia, wa-!" but it was too late. In a roar of defiance against the foe that had utterly defeated them, Thalia threw her spear at the being.
The figure stood there with a smile on its face. The smile grew wider when the spear shattered upon impact.
"Hehehe… hahahahaha!" the woman threw her head back in laughter. Her laughter shook the land itself, creating small tremors and powerful gusts of wind. "You thought that toothpick could hurt me?"
"Thalia! Go! Now!" Artemis said, grabbing her daggers.
"But Milady!" Thalia protested. Artemis didn't entertain her argument any further. Her eyes glowed as she prepared to enter her godly form. She turned one last time towards her half-sister and hunters. With a bloody smile, Artemis snapped her fingers and teleported them all away.
"Oh? Are you going to fight me all by your lonesome?" the woman said, smiling.
Artemis ignored her and was engulfed in bright silver light. The woman clapped, seeing Artemis face her without any fear on her face. Divine light radiated off her body as she took a step towards the floating figure.
"So you are going to fight me by yourself," she said, grinning.
"You should've stayed in Heaven. But now you made the biggest mistake of your life. You hurt my hunters. I don't care how powerful you are. I'm going to make you pay and gut you like a dog, Gabriel." With those words, Artemis roared and charged towards her opponent.