Chapter 1: We 'Dam' the Ancient City
Percy's Point of view
We were all at the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. The seven, and all the gods on their chariots. I battled Polybotes with my dad. The battle was going along really well with the demigods alongside their godly parents against the giants. My body went over on autopilot while fighting against the bane of my father. I twisted, thrust, blocked, parried and rolled while succeeding in cutting the body of the giant. That was the end of Polybotes. I turned to see how the fight was going on. Suddenly, a high-pitched scream pierced the air.
"PERCCCYYYY...". I turned just in time to see Annabeth falling to the ground with a 7 feet spear jutting out of her abdomen. I ran over to her side at speed which I didn't think even was possible. "Annabeth... H... Hold on". I cradled her in my arms. "DONT LEAVE ME NOW WISE GIRL! STAY WITH ME". She smiled at her nickname. Her breathing became irregular. She was struggling to take in air. "APOLLOOO! PLEASE COME HERE IMMEDIATELY".
There was a flash of gold where the 'awesome' god of medicine now stood. "HEAL HER APOLLO. PLEASE. PLEASE. DO SOMETHING". He crouched down onto the ground beside her and felt her vitals. The god put his hand over her forehead and sent golden pulses of energy into her. He lifted his hand. He looked at me in the eye. I could see hopelessness in them. "I'm sorry Percy. I can't help her any more than this. She is deliberately hanging on to her life. You might want to talk to her". I had tears in my eyes. "NOO. NOOO. NOOOOO. ANNABETH YOU CAN'T DIE ON ME. PLEASE ANNABETH".
"Per..cy.. Lis... Listen to... me". She took in a deep breath and continued. "Move on, Percy. Please. It's the least you can do for me. Don't waste your life Seaweed brain". The dam broke and tears started flowing out without an end. "No. Annabeth. You'll be alright. I know you won't die. We will live in New Rome, Annabeth. You have your architecture there". She managed a weak smile. "Annab-". She cut me off. She pulled my head down and connected her lips to mine. We kissed, full of love for a while before her hand clutched mine with something in it. I looked at her in the eyes. "I... Love you... Percy". And with that she closed her eyes. I stood up and had a look at my surroundings.
The gods were all looking at us with tears in their eyes. Athena was the worst. She was crying on the shoulders of my father while he held her tightly and murmured soothing words in her ear.
I opened my hand. I was clutching Annabeth's Drakon bone sword in my hand. I looked up in the direction where the spear came from. Porphyrion was looking at us with an evil glint in his eyes. My eyes went blood shot with rage. I could see red everywhere. I wanted only one thing now. REVENGE FOR ANNABETH. THE DEATH OF THE GIANT KING.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: DISTURBING SCENE COMING UP. READ WITH CAUTION)
"PORPHYRION, THAT WAS A MISTAKE. YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER ALONE. YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS. I WILL TEAR YOU APART. LIMB. BY. LIMB". I bellowed.
Riptide lay by my leg. I kicked it on its hilt and it rose into the air, spinning. I caught it mid-air and with the two swords, ran into battle. The sky darkened. Before I could realize, I was making my own hurricane. Only, it was ten times stronger than the one I made against Hyperion in the battle of Manhattan. The winds were picking monsters of the ground when lightning struck them and turned them into golden monster dust. Within no time, I was battling the king of the giants himself. My body was glowing with a sea green aura. I slashed my sword like my life depended on it. I used the move a certain son of Hermes taught me the first time and disarmed the bane of Zeus. I used Riptide and Annabeth's drakon bone sword and hit him only with the hilts. He crumpled onto the ground. I caught him by the throat and dragged him to where Annabeth lay and dropped him to the ground there. The storm now died down and a cool breeze embellished the ancient grounds.
The gods stood transfixed, looking at me with a shocked expression and fear(?). I turned around and looked at the enemy. No one was left. I had decimated them all. "Sweet. Now a little more". I took two hunting knives that lay on the ground and thrust them both into his hand forcing him to stay sprawled on the floor. "YOU WANT TO HURL A SPEAR?". I cut off the fingers of his right hand. "DO IT NOW". It was the turn of his left-hand now. Ten ugly looking fingers lay on the ground covered with golden ichor.
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW IT FELT WHEN SHE SCREAMED MY NAME". I yelled, tears flowing down freely. "IT FELT LIKE THIS". I said chopping off his ears with a swift motion of the dual swords. My blood boiled looking at him. "AAAARRRRGGGHHHHHH". I yelled into the sky. I slashed the swords madly and when I was finished, there was ichor everywhere. About a hundred cuts adorned his body, his ichor flowing freely out of them. The limbs of the giant king were all severed form his body "KILL ME ALREADY". He pleaded. "No. I want you to feel every feeling I felt when she died". With that, I thrust her sword into the heart of the giant. I knew he would not die until a god was involved in the act. "THIS WAS HOW I FELT WHEN SHE TOOK EVERY BREATH THAT HURT HER WORSE THAN HELL". I twisted her sword while in his chest and he let out an agonizing scream. I pulled out her sword and repeatedly thrust it in and out of his heart, my whole shirt covered with his ichor. "THIS WAS FOR MAKING HER SAY HER LAST WORDS". Suddenly, a silver arrow hit his forehead and his remains went back to Tartarus leaving behind golden dust.
I turned and saw Artemis with her bow. "WHY DID YOU KILL HIM? HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DIED THAT EASILY". She came to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "He experienced a lot already. It's enough Percy". I looked back at the golden dust which was now blowing away. What Artemis did next surprised the gods and me. She HUGGED me. I was shocked. A man-hating goddess hugged me. A MAN- HATING GODDESS. But considering the situation I was in, I relaxed and hugged her back. I couldn't hold my tears anymore and cried into her shoulder. I swear I heard gasps from the onlookers (the gods and my pals). Honestly, I don't care anymore. The love of my life was now dead and it wouldn't make any difference whatsoever if I was turned into a jackalope. She hugged me even tighter and rubbed circles onto my back. "Thank you for being there with me in this time. My lady, can you break the news to Thalia. I'm not sure I can talk about it again". I told the silver eyed goddess softly and she answered the affirmative.
I gently entangled myself from her and went over and hugged Athena. "It was all my fault, Lady Athena. I should have done something. I could have saved her. Now, she's dead and it's all my fault". She pushed me from her arms and SMACKK. A slap was heard through the ruins of the Acropolis. "It's not anybody's fault Percy. It's not yours at all. If you say anything like that again, I'll kill you, bring you back and kill you again. NOW COME HERE". She yelled opening her arms in a hug-me gesture and I obliged. "I'm sorry Percy. I thought you were not well suited for my daughter. I let my and Poseidon's grudges come between your relationship. Now I realize how hopelessly wrong I was. I'm really sorry Percy. You are the best any girl can hope for". We cried on each other's shoulders, until my vision darkened and I slumped against her. "PERCYYY..!" was the last sound I heard before I blacked out.
Artemis' Point of view
The conch call was sounded. The gods were ready for battle to answer the challenge from the giants. The seven demigods aligned themselves with their godly parents. The battle began. The giants threw hordes of monsters at us. I started picking out monsters with my bow. Arrow after arrow, the monsters fell to ground in large numbers. I turned to see how the battle was going. My annoying brother, Apollo, stood by my side, arrow notched in and ready to fire. Athena, the goddess of wisdom was slaughtering monsters with her spear. Her Aegis out and scaring monsters with the horrifying image of Medusa. My uncle, Poseidon blasted all monsters near him with small, short blasts of water from the end of his trident. Lord Hades answered the giants with Hazel Levesque by his side, skeletal warriors coming to his aid from the ground.
A shrill sound pierced through the air. The monsters all stopped moving. Everyone stood frozen to the spot. It was the daughter of Athena- Annabeth Chase. "PERCCCYYYY...". The summoned demigod turned and looked at her in shock before running to her aid. He held her in his arms and she spoke something I couldn't hear over the noise. The monsters resume their attack and I had to get back to the fight.
Soon, most the monsters were overrun except for a bunch of them, in formation, standing at the command of the giant king. All the gods had now assembled where the fallen heroine and her boyfriend were. I jogged over and found them Percy standing with tear filled eyes. He looked down at his palm and realized that Annabeth had given him her sword. He looked over to the enemy ranks. Porphyrion was smiling an evil smile.
Perseus' eyes that were usually pleasant sea green were now a lot darker. Almost poisonous green. His eyes were bloodshot and his hand trembled with rage. He kicked the ground where his trusted sword Riptide lay and it spun up into his hand.
"PORPHYRION, THAT WAS A MISTAKE. YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT HER ALONE. YOU WILL DIE FOR THIS. I WILL TEAR YOU APART. LIMB. BY. LIMB".
Twin blades in hand, he charged into enemy ranks, hopelessly outnumbered about two thousand to one. His body trembled with rage and the sky instantly darkened. Clouds formed above us. Rain started pouring in sheets. He had a faint sea green aura around him. The water slowly started spinning around him. The winds started picking up. He was lifted into the air. I then realized what he was doing. He was in the middle of a hurricane he just made out of nowhere.
He cut and slashed around the monsters. The hurricane was picking off monsters and were instantly disintegrated by lightning. Within no time, he made his way to the giant king and slashed at him wildly, venting all his anger and sorrow. He held the bane of my father by the throat and dragged him over to where the deceased girl lay.
Then the torture began. I couldn't see it anymore. I hate to admit it but, an angry Percy is someone you would never want as your enemy.
His fingers flew off on both hands. His ears were next. Perseus slashed wildly, making sure that each attack was non-fatal and that he would endure maximum pain. Athena looked at the scene with horror. So much for the goddess who thought her daughter wasn't safe in his hands. Even though she wasn't, he made sure she was avenged. Heck! Even Zeus looked downright scared. Apollo whispered into my ear. "Hey sis, you know what I the moral of the story? Don't mess with Percy". I glared at him. "No Apollo. It's don't hurt the people whom he holds dear".
Percy's dual swords were now 'travelling' up and down his chest, piercing through his heart each time. I couldn't hold it anymore. I summoned my silver bow, notched an arrow and shot it into his head. I watched as the giant king crumpled into nothing.
He turned to look at me. His sea green eyes no longer filled with mirth and playfulness. I could see through them into the well of sorrow he was in. I realized one thing that day. Maybe we lost out Percy forever. What is here now is only
"WHY DID YOU KILL HIM? HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DIED THAT EASILY".
He looked so angry for a moment that I had to contemplate whether my decision to end the giant king's suffering was right. I hate to admit it, but I was scared of this demigod. Well, what do you expect? He walked into the enemy ranks, fought around two thousand monsters and came without a scratch. This guy is hell bent on finding the impossible and achieving it. I fought back my fear, walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "He experienced a lot already. It's enough Percy". He looked back at the golden dust, now blowing away. He gave a glance at his deceased girlfriend but quickly turned back hoping I didn't look at him.
Only one idea came into my mind which I felt was logical, given the situation. I HUGGED the brooding son of Poseidon. I could tell he was shocked. Heck! Anyone would have been. I built my reputation as a man-hating goddess and now go and hug a man. He soon relaxed and hugged me back. He put his head on my shoulder and tears started flowing, wetting the front of my shirt. I didn't hold it against the boy though. Hey! Cut him some slack! He had been through two wars without a break, lost many of his friends in both of them, was separated from his girlfriend for most of it, fell into Tartarus through her and all of this for what? Losing her at the end of the war? I murmured soothing words into his ear and rubbed his back in circles. "Thank you for being there with me in this time. My lady, can you break the news to Thalia. I'm not sure I can talk about it again". He asked me. I nodded immediately. I never thought about it. My lieutenant was close to the girl as well. She would be devastated when she would know about it.
He gently pushed me away and walked over to Athena and hugged her. "It was all my fault, Lady Athena. I should have done something. I could have saved her. Now, she's dead and it's all my fault". Athena's eyes filled up with fury. SMACKK. I winced at the slap. It was definitely strong.
"It's not anybody's fault Percy. It's not yours at all. If you say anything like that again, I'll kill you, bring you back and kill you again. NOW COME HERE". She yelled at him.
"I'm sorry Percy. I thought you were not well suited for my daughter. I let my and Poseidon's grudges come between your relationship. Now I realize how hopelessly wrong I was. I'm really sorry Percy. You are the best any girl can hope for". Both couldn't hold their tears anymore and started crying openly in each other's arms. Suddenly, Percy lost his strength and slumped against my sister, unconscious.
"PERCYYY...!". Athena cried out. Apollo rushed over to him and laid him flat on the ground. He knelt down beside the unconscious demigod and felt his forehead. His other arm on his chest sending golden pulses of energy.
Poseidon rushed over to his side. "What happened Apollo? Is my son fine?". "Calm down uncle P. He is alright. He overused his powers in his uhm... rage and is experiencing its after effects. Give him a day or two and he'll be as good as new". Poseidon nodded and said his thanks to the god of medicine. "Hey uncle P, do you mind if I take him to my palace? I can treat him better there". Poseidon nodded again. Apollo placed his hand on Perseus' shoulder and flashed him away.
I suddenly remembered something or... someone and turned around. My father, the Immortal lord of the skies was looking at the scene, his eyes widened comically and his mouth agape. I went over and nudged him in the ribs. "Dad, shut it. You're going to catch flies". He slowly turned and looked down at me. "MY NEPHEW did that? He SINGLE-HANDEDLY DEFEATED THE KING OF THE GIANTS which took me forever to, the last time". He muttered the last phrase hoping no one caught it. I think I felt a hint of pride in his first two words.
Apparently, Poseidon heard it and came over and hugged his brother. OH. MY. GODS. All the gods and demigods looked shocked at the scene. Those two were constantly bickering and now they all get softened up by a demigod and HUG? Oh! Add another bullet point to Percy's list of achieving the impossible. That guy is certainly something else.
"What do you mean your nephew? He is my son first. Anything else can go with it later". Poseidon said, mock glaring at his brother. A small smile tugged at the corner of Zeus' mouth. He responded playfully. "We'll see brother. When Percy wakes up, we'll ask him to set his priorities. Then we'll know if he chooses the king of the gods or some pathetic brother of his". Poseidon smiled. "It feels good brother. Good to finally be a family. I'm thinking about a surprise for Hestia. You up for it?" "As ready as I'll ever be. A bit of rest first". With that the held hands and flashed away in a bolt of thunder and fine sea mist. All the remaining gods looked at each other's faces in confusion on what just happened. Hera was smiling proudly. Her husband has certainly changed for the good.
One by one the gods all flashed away, Athena with her daughter's body. I sighed at the day's events and flashed to my hunt. I went straight to camp half-blood where my sisters now where. Thalia saw me and came running over.
"Milady. What happened at Greece?" I sighed. "Sit down Thalia. It's going to be a long night". I went into my cabin, followed by my lieutenant. She sat down on my bed while I went to the bathroom to wash my face. Once I came back, I saw Thalia's face burning with curiosity. I sat down on a chair opposite her and started the story. I intentionally left out the part of his revenge.
She cried her heart out when she heard that Annabeth had died. She was like a sister to her. They were together from when she was twelve years old.
"I don't know how Percy will take it milady. He loved her with all his heart. Now with her gone, I don't know if he'll ever be the same again. He might become like the male version of the hunters. He might swear off love. I want to see him now milady. Can you flash me to where he is?" She told me in between her sobs. I smiled at her sympathetically.
"Thalia, Percy is now unconscious". Her eyes widened in shock. "WHY?"
"Thalia, he overused his powers and blacked out from exhaustion". I warned her about the brutality of the scene. Even then, she forced me to tell it. I had no choice. And I did exactly that.
When I finished, Thalia had an evil glint in her eye. "Serves Porphyrion right. My kelp-headed cousin did something right for the first time in his life". She said, sighing and smiling.
I asked her about the battle here at camp and she started off. Turns out that none of the hunters died. We lost four campers- children of some minor gods. Thalia then bid me goodbye and exited my room to hers. I tucked myself into bed and pulled the covers up and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the day's events. Slowly, I felt myself drift away into the realm of Morpheus.
Hera's Point of view
I was in my palace thinking about my husband and brother. Percy had certainly changed him. Zeus was resting on the bed and I'm here on the couch, too happy to sleep. My mind drifted to the events after the battle of the labyrinth where Percy made me his enemy. Now I know the real reason for why he did that. Now I know how much he loved that wisdom spawn to put himself in between her and me. Events of the day flashed in my mind. The brutal murder of my husband's bane, Artemis hugging the son of Poseidon, the girl dying and us winning the war.
This was all too much surprise for a day. Shaking my head, I went to the bedroom and slept beside my husband.
~Time skip~
I awoke in the morning and glanced at my snoring husband. Something's never changed. I got up and left the room to freshen up. I looked at the clock. It was ten thirty in the morning. I rushed to the wash myself up and on the way, I had an evil idea. A smirk played in the corner of my mouth and I snapped my fingers. I heard a few loud thuds in the bedroom above. I giggled.
"HERAA STOP THE COWS NOW OR YOU WILL FEEL MY MASTER BOLT!" I sighed and continued my job. By the time I was ready, Zeus was sitting on the couch reading the Olympus Daily. He looked at me and his face morphed into a mischievous smile. He held out his hand. "My wife, will you do the honor of gracing the Olympian meeting with me?" I felt my face go red. Nodding slowly, I held his hand and we flashed out in a bolt of lightning.
Zeus ascended his throne and I did mine. He brought out his master bolt and shot it into the sky and in flashes, god's started flashing into the throne room.
Zeus then spoke "We need to reward the heroes for their services". All the gods nodded their heads. He then turned to Apollo and asked "How long before Perseus wakes?"
"I don't know father. He should have woken up by now. Sure, he would be weak. But he should have woken up. He is not responding to any treatment. He's in a comatose state now".
"WHAAATTT?" Poseidon bellowed.
"I'm sorry uncle P. I tried all I could. But he's now out of my power. He can only wake up by himself". Poseidon nodded, his eyes full of sorrow. "You can come and take a look at him though. I believe, being around the ones he loves will make him want to wake up earlier. After all, loyalty is his fatal flaw".
"Brother, I believe we should wait for him to wake up before we start with the rewarding ceremony and Annabeth's cremation. He would want to do it himself". Zeus nodded. He started "Very well. We will wait until Perseus wakes up and then go ahead. Put a preservation spell on the girl's body and shall be with Athena herself. If no one has anything to add, council is dismissed". No one said anything and we flashed out together in a bolt of lightning.
"Zeus, I am going to visit our nephew at Apollo's temple. If you need anything just send me a mental message". I voiced my plan to the king of the gods. "Very well Hera. You may go. If he wakes up while you are there, send me a message". "Sure thing, husband". He nodded and I flashed out.
I arrived outside the door to Percy's room. I heard voices inside. Turns out, Poseidon and his 'arch- rival' were already here. I knocked on the door and heard a muffled "Come in". I slowly pushed the door open and found Poseidon and Athena on either side of Percy, holding his hands.
"Lady Hera". Athena gave a nod acknowledging my presence. "What brings you here?"
"Oh, It's nothing Athena. I just wanted to check how our favorite nephew is doing". "Some of Zeus' possessiveness has started rubbing off on you". Poseidon grumbled. I chuckled. "So, how is he?" Athena answered my question. "Apollo said he's fine. All his organs are working fine. It's only depression and over-exhaustion he has to battle against. See those readings on the screen? They show his vitals. According to the minimum requirements for a healthy body, they look just fine". I nodded and looked at him.
"Apollo said he can hear us. If you want to say something then go ahead". Poseidon told me.
I walked over to his bedside. I pushed the hair out of his face and stared at his peaceful expression. I could think of only one thing. "Thank you". I whispered gently into his ear. I looked up to see Poseidon giving me an appreciative nod with a smile.
"Lady Hera, Annabeth's body is in my temple. I put a preservation spell to prevent any decay to it. Everything is ready and in place. We are only waiting for Percy to wake up. She should be given the honors fit for a true hero". I nodded in acceptance. I flashed out of the infirmary, back to our palace and retired for the night.
The next few days were unbelievably ordinary. Percy still didn't come to his senses. I visited him every day and so did Poseidon and Athena. Apollo told me that Artemis came over a couple of times to check on him. Hestia stayed for a couple of days with the son of Poseidon insisting that he need hope above all to recover quickly.
A week had passed since the giant war. There still was no response from Perseus' side. The gods started growing nervous, Poseidon hit the worst of us all. The sea could be seen brooding for Percy as it looked as though it was lifeless. The color of the sea became a dull shade of grey. Apollo was grief- stricken, being the god of medicine, he couldn't help the young hero.
Artemis' Point of view
The entire group of half-bloods, both Greek and Roman were now mourning the death of a heroine, an exceptionally talented architect and a good friend. In addition to that, the hero of Olympus was showing no signs of recovery that caused a great deal of concern among the campers.
I made a couple of visits to Apollo's temple to check up on Perseus' condition. A week and a half had passed. The gods didn't want to wait any longer and performed the last rites for the daughter of Athena. The goddess of wisdom's only regret being that Percy wasn't able to witness it. Poseidon seemed to grow older by the day. He really loved his son a lot. The sea was very calm, almost having no waves gracing the shore. The water was still.
A garden had been built on Olympus having statues and memorials of the fallen heroes in the two wars. I didn't know if that would make the unconscious son of Poseidon happy or sad as it had a god- sized statue of his fallen girlfriend. For me, though, I was content with a statue for my fallen huntress, Zoe Nightshade. The seven of the prophecy insisted on being rewarded when Percy wakes up or not at all, earning proud smiles from the gods.
Chiron, the usually happy centaur was not his usual self, given the situation of his most prized pupil, his son of sorts, Perseus' condition. Thalia also kept to herself, not opening up to others or me, much. She became a shell of the older, fun- filled girl, I had recruited into my hunt a few years ago.
Olympus, Camp half-blood, Camp Jupiter were all a bundle of nerves.
One question gripped the heart of all, gods and heroes alike:
WILL PERCY SURVIVE OR NOT?