Whoops. I would say sorry except I'm really not I've been planning this for a very long time. And to the people who have asked, Hades didn't even bring the woman he loved back, he won't be bringing Percy back, and Hades knows that if Nico was allowed to he'd end up spending more time in the Underworld than the real world after Percy died so I'm afraid he's gonna be getting an Underworld ban so nope he won't be rescuing Percy. I told you all there were some pretty big changes, and she won't be coming back with Hazel I'm afraid. I never make things that easy. I hope you enjoy the end of the chapter- a little bit of light amongst the sadness.
And yeah, no way was Luke dying an option. Percy would tear the world apart if she lost any of her family or Annabeth and Rachel, especially Luke who in a lot of ways she's closest with- he was there for everything.

Sorta poll for Sally's parentage/who she's a legacy of. I won't be including the vote for Vesta because she's a maiden.
Terra: 26
Nox: 9
Venus: 6
Saturn: 4
Ceres: 3
Baccus: 1
Jupiter: 1
Pluto: 1
Neptune: 1
Apollo: 1
Mars: 1
Caelus: 1
Tartarus: 1
Daughter of Venus: 19
Daughter of Ceres: 2
Daughter of Terra: 1

Luke was still clutching at Percy's limp body when the gods arrived, they were clad in their full war regalia, thundering into the throne room and expecting a battle.

What they found instead was Luke still sobbing brokenly as he pressed Percy's face into his shoulder, and Ethan crouched just behind him, a warm hand on his shoulder the only comfort he could offer- after all what could you say to someone in that situation.
Poseidon- who had been leading the way sucked in a sharp breath and let out a tight keening noise at the sight, his face falling as the gods fell silent- and he shrunk down, moving forward slowly- as if he didn't want to face what he was about to see, and when he reached Luke he sunk to his knees in front of the son of Hermes, his expression pained as he reached out with a shaky hand, and Luke jerked away, looking up with red bloodshot eyes that blazed with grief and fury. "Don't!" his voice was almost a scream, "Don't touch her! No one touches her! I won't let you take her from me I won't!"

And Poseidon bowed his head, his own tears dripping down his cheeks. "My brave little girl." his voice was a whisper, pained and lost.
"I won't take her from you child. I promise."

"I-" Luke's voice cracked, "I want- I swore to protect her I swore it the day she was born it isn't fair it isn't right-"

"I'm so sorry." Poseidon closed his eyes. "I am sorry Luke-" and Hermes moved forward at that, moving to his sons side and doing much the same as Poseidon had, laying his hand on Luke's other shoulder.

And that was how they were, the gods stood one end of the throne room by the doors in an almost respectful silence as Luke, Poseidon, Hermes and Ethan were gathered at the foot of the thrones with Luke and Poseidon so clearly grieving when Annabeth, Grover, Leo and Thalia arrived.

The gods had freed Thalia as they'd passed almost as an afterthought- and Apollo had healed them at the same time.

And of course they had raced after the gods- but they were smaller and slower- it had taken them longer- and when they arrived and Annabeth looked past the gathered gods she screamed, she screamed so loudly that some of the gods winced at the noise- and Leo let out a pained gasp, Grover grabbing him when he stumbled backwards at the sight- and the only reason Annabeth didn't collapse was Thalia's sudden movement behind her to catch the daughter of Athena.

When the screaming and sobbing had ceased and the throne room was filled with a horrible silence again Zeus spoke, his gaze shifting towards a lone, almost forgotten body a short distance away from the others- Alabaster's crumpled lifeless form next to the scythe, which had melted into molten metal and was trickling into the coals of the hearth, which now glowed like a blacksmith's furnace.

With a surprising level of tact Zeus waved a hand and the body seemed to almost disappear.

Once it was gone he moved forward. "Brother, it seems your child has sacrificed her life to save us all- she shall be-"

"Zeus." Poseidon's voice was low and dangerous, shaky, "If you are about to say that her sacrifice shall be honored I will strike you down here and now." he lifted his head, "Give us this moment. Just this moment brother. She deserves that much respect at the very least."

"I am sorry." Zeus looked away, for once showing at least some respect as Thalia half carried Annabeth over to them, Grover supporting Leo as they all gathered around Luke and Percy, Annabeth letting out quiet little sobs as Thalia helped her down to her knees and kept her arms wrapped around the younger girl and Leo unnaturally quiet as he sunk to his knees next to them, Grover gripping his shoulder tightly.

All of them were crying- even Thalia who rarely let herself cry had tear stained cheeks as they all sat.

The mournful quiet lasted right up until the moment Nico and Bianca burst into the throne room, Nico a few steps ahead of Bianca, his expression one of pure grief- and he faltered at the sight of the others gathered around Percy, giving Bianca the chance to catch up with him, grabbing his arm as Nico let out a shuddering breath and whispered, "I felt it. I felt her death." he shook his head, "I-"

"Nico-" Bianca's voice caught, "Gods Nico-"

"W-where's dad? He- he should be here." Nico was looking at the gods, "He was- he came up here before us- where's my father he should be here- he likes her he wouldn't-"

"He and my daughter returned to the Underworld." Demeter stepped forward, an almost pitying expression on her face. "I believe he wished to meet her there."

"So she's not alone?" Bianca's voice was weak and hopeful. "She won't be alone-"

"Not for long." Demeter assured them, "Hades will see to that. And she will be sent to Elysium as a reward for her sacrifice. It is no less than she deserves."

"Brother-" Zeus was almost hesitant, "I understand your grief but your daughters body- perhaps it would be best to move her-"

"No!" Luke screamed the word, "No! No you won't take her away you won't-"

And Hermes wrapped an arm around his son quickly, "No one is taking her from you." he said quickly, his voice soothing, "No one will take her until you're ready. I swear this on the Styx." he lifted his head, gazing at Zeus steadily, "Give them time father. You can rebuild the throne room without disturbing them."

And Zeus' expression hardened slightly before he gave a small, tight nod, and the gods- all bar Poseidon and Hermes got to work fixing the damage that had been done to the throne room.

As they worked Nico joined his family, Bianca lingering back slightly as Nico got onto his knees next to Percy and Luke, sliding in between Leo and Annabeth, reaching out and resting his hand on Percy's arm, shaking slightly.

There was a long silence before Annabeth spoke, her voice tight and small, "How- how did it-" her eyes shifted to the spot on Percy's back, the blood staining the dress, the spot where Percy had stabbed painfully clear and visible to all of them, "How did he know?" then her gaze shifted, eyes narrowing when they landed on Ethan, who was still crouched just behind Luke, his hand on the older Demigods shoulder. "W-was it you? Did you- did you tell him did-"

"It wasn't him." Luke's voice was hoarse when he spoke. "He didn't tell Kronos. She did."

"W-what?" Nico's brows furrowed, though he eyed Ethan with suspicion- which made the son of Nemesis look away, "A-and why aren't you- why is he still alive?"

"That's a good question." Leo's voice was almost a hiss, "This is his fault-"

"Stop." Luke shook head head, his voice cracking again, "Just stop- no attacking him. Not now. Percy wouldn't want that. She tried to protect him."

"She saved my life." Ethan spoke quietly, "I wouldn't... I never told him. Not in the end-"

"Shame you joined him in the first place." Nico growled the words, "Why would she ever tell him where her mortal spot was? Why-"

"To get close enough." Luke whispered, "I- I couldn't see it very well but she told him her mortal spot so that she could get close enough to stop him."

"She always was a brave idiot." Thalia let out a weak teary laugh.

"I- why did she have to die?" Annabeth let out a broken little sob. "I love her. I love her I want her back I need her I-"

Poseidon shifted, and he laid a hand on Annabeth's shoulder and she shattered, twisting and throwing herself into Poseidon's arms, sobbing into his chest as he carefully wrapped his arms around her, and together, they mourned.

Percy opened her eyes, blinking slowly as she looked around.

She was in a lobby of some kind- she wasn't sure how she'd gotten there, but Muzak played on hidden speakers and the carpet and walls were steel gray. Pencil cactuses grew in the corners like skeleton hands. The furniture was black leather, and every seat was taken. There were people sitting on couches, people standing up, people staring out the windows or waiting for the elevator. Many of the people were sitting still- waiting, but Percy's eyes widened and a smile spread across her lips as she saw dozens of familiar faces- and she rushed towards the large group that were gathered together, "Sherman! April! Summer! Sebastian-" there were so many but she addressed the demigods closest to her

And the figured turned around- it was strange- almost eerie- they looked almost transparent, but Sherman's eyes widened in surprise, "Holy Hades Jackson is that you?" And then she reached them and she was laughing as dozens of dead demigods
surrounded her.

"What happened?"

"Did we win?"

"Is Kronos beaten?"

"Are my siblings okay?" the questions were fired at her with the speed and force of bullets and Percy held up her hands quickly.

"Woah! Woah guys slow down a second there-" not that that did much good- though a second later there was a loud piercing whistle and Michael pushed his way through the crowd, which went quiet.

"You heard her guys! Slow down for the poor girl- hey Jackson." he grinned at her, and Percy gave him a pained look.

"When did you-"

"Hyperborean giant tried to get to some of the injured demigods, I got clubbed around the head."

"I'm so sorry- all of you guys I'm sorry-"

"We knew the risk." Summer smiled sadly. "It sucks that we're, y'know, dead, but at least we'll all be together right?" she looked around and there was a ripple of agreement. "But we all want to know- should we expect a bunch more demigods to be sent here?"

"No." Percy smiled, "No. We won." she let out a breath- though- did she have to? She was dead now, she was a ghost right? "We'll all go to Elysium I'm sure of it. All of us. I took out Kronos, and the gods have handled Typhon."

There was a loud cheer that echoed around the room at the news and Percy received more slaps on the back, and then she was lifted into the air and she laughed brightly as they did a loop around the room, cheering dramatically.

"VICTORY!"

"FUCK YES!"

"WE WON!"

"Would you brats be quiet-" that came from the security guards desk- and Percy turned her head to look towards the raised podium.

The man at the desk was tall and elegant, with chocolate-colored skin and bleached-blond hair shaved military style. He wore tortoiseshell shades and a silk Italian suit that matched his hair. A black rose was pinned to his lapel under a silver name tag but Percy didn't need to read it to know what it said.

"You're Charon aren't you?"

"Of course I am-"

"You do realize that we just won a war against Kronos-"

"Of course I do. There's no need to go screeching about it. Honestly none of you even have your drachma's."

"We haven't had time for the burial rites yet." Percy pointed out, giving the god an ferryman an annoyed look. "We've been fighting a war."

"Yes yes, just keep it down until you have your drachma's to pay to cross the Styx would you?"

"Or we could annoy you into letting us through without them." Percy suggested, a smirk on her lips, "I mean, I'm real good at annoying people."

"Yes, yes you are." that was a familiar voice, and Percy's head snapped around as a tall familiar figure stepped through the doorway- Hades was still clad in his armor, still prepared for battle, and many of the demigods backed away at the sight of him, and Percy found herself lowered to the ground quickly.

"Uncle Hades!" She gave him a smile, "Looks like you're going to have to put up with me from now on for a while huh?"

"We shall see about that." Hades turned his gaze to Charon, who's eyes had gone wide and he backed away slightly.

"Lord Hades."

"Take all of the Demigods across- they are bound for Elysium. You will do it with no payment."

"I- yes Lord Hades-"

"Wooohooo!" that came from Clara- a daughter of Hermes, "Free ride-" she was slapped over the head by one of the Hunters- Percy didn't know her name.

"Now." Hades' voice was suddenly gentle as his gaze focused on Percy, "I want to personally escort you to Elysium- it's no less than you deserve after all."