The celestial bronze spiked weight was falling down on Artemis. She braced herself for the last moments of her existence.

Before her eyes flashed a series of events. There was her, Apollo, and Leto playing on the island they were born on. There was Zeus looking down at her and her brother for the first time at Olympus. A series of images with the Hunt came next, and the last of those was Zoe in her final moments.

And the last image she saw was Percy. She had her arms wrapped around him as she stared into his ethereal sea green eyes. His hair was always able to find that balance where it was disheveled and messy in a way that still looked more than presentable. His cheeks were red, and he was scared to dance with her. She remembered smelling the sea when she was with him. And in that moment of the past, she was happy.

The "life flashing before her eyes" thing seemed to last for a couple of minutes, but reality overtook her, and she had just seconds to live.

She closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

BOOM

Artemis was shoved out of the way and landed on the soft soil. She looked up, and the weight had landed.

She stood up and looked around. To her left, Sally was screaming. She looked over to the Fates, and their faces were left awestruck. And then she looked where Percy had stood. He wasn't there.

One tear fell from her cheek. He sacrificed himself for her to live. Another tear followed. He sacrificed himself so everyone could be free from the clutches of Fate. And then her eyes gave way to a stream of tears. He was gone. Percy Jackson didn't exist anymore.

She dropped down on her knees and started to sob. It wasn't the quiet, "trying to hide your emotions" sob. This was the gross, "letting it all go" kind of crying. Although she couldn't find the will to lift her head, she heard Sally doing the same.

Was this how her life had to be? She was able to find the best man to ever live. The man who was loyal to the ones he loved. The man who would do anything, even accept death, for another to live. He was beyond perfect, and Artemis was, rather than subduing all of her emotions, willing to accept her feelings for him and hoped to see him again someday. And today was supposed to be the day.

The more she thought about it, the more she hated her destiny. She didn't want to have to hide her feelings for Percy. If she was able to confess them sooner, none of these events would have happened. Sure, she swore on the Styx to remain a maiden, but the Fates had just admitted that they set up everyone to do what the wanted. They were just good at hiding it with a sense of "consciousness" and "self-awareness" with each decision.

What if, deep down in the potential of Artemis, was the ability to date a good man? To marry him, have kids, and live a happy life. What if all of those were a part of her that the Fates never brought to the surface of her being?

She was starting to cough from all of her crying. She wiped her face, which was covered in fluids and grossness and stuff. She tried to recollect herself, although really, she was just converting sadness into anger.

She looked up in front of her, and the Fates just sat there like the useless hags that they were. Artemis' eyes were beaming with silver moonlight. She could feel the tides rising with her control over the moon.

She started to walk towards the Fates, although she had no sense of her body. It was simply on auto-pilot, willing to do all of the things that her rage demanded. She grabbed her silver hunting knives and grasped them in her hand.

The Fates tried to escape, but she grabbed one by the hand.

"NO YOU DON'T" she yelled at her. "YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER FOR THIS. FOR EVERYTHING."

She raised her hand with the knife and casted it down on her. When her fist made contact with the Fate's skin, the knife dematerialized.

Artemis stood there confused, and the Fates looked scared at what was behind her.

"There's no need for that, Artemis." She turned around, and there was Lady Chaos standing before them. Artemis felt her heart beating rapidly. That celestial could wipe her existence with the snap of her finger.

"You don't have to be afraid. You have a good reason to be upset," she told her. Chaos seemed to keep a tranquil look on her face, never letting anything get to her.

She looked to the Fates. "My brother's creations, I don't think he would be proud of what you have done," she said with a frown. "But what's done is done, and I believe you three must stick to your word." She looked at them expectantly.

They dropped their heads and let go of their tools that shaped reality. Chaos' face returned more neutral than before.

Artemis looked at her with desperation. "Is... is..." she stuttered. "Is he gone?"

Chaos' face fell back to a frown. "I cannot sense his existence at the moment, Artemis. I believe he is gone."

Artemis was back to the pain she had experienced in the first place... except now it was ten times worse.

Chaos teleported Artemis to the throne room and was able to send Zeus' signal for an emergency meeting. The gods and goddesses started to flash in one by one.

Zeus shouted, "WHO DARE USES MY SIGNAL TO CALL THIS-" He paused and looked at who was in front of him.

His voice turned very meek, "Lady Chaos, I apologize. I am sorry. If I would have known it was you, I would have-"

"It's alright Zeus," she told him, although she wasn't happy in this moment.

All of the Olympians had situated themselves, and, after being extremely nervous of Lady Chaos, waited for her to speak.

"Gods and Goddesses of Olympus. Today is a sad day. Today, Percy Jackson has been faded from the existence of the Universe," she proclaimed, melancholily. The throne room was silent. A pin drop could be heard loud and clear.

"What? How?" Poseidon asked desperately. He started to shake and quiver.

Lady Chaos told him the story. Not just what happened today, but every event of his life for the past five years. At each moment, more and more of the Olympians started to feel true remorse for him. Hestia's fire was put out at this point.

Chaos gulped. "But it is worth noting, not only did he always live for a noble cause, but he died for a noble cause as well. Apollo, do you notice anything different?" she asked him.

Apollo nodded his head. It was the one time he looked serious at a council meeting. "Yes, I cannot see the future anymore. My oracle has lost her ability to prophesies events."

Chaos nodded her head. "Indeed. Percy Jackson died so that Fate would not have control over you or the rest of this planet. Everything you do is because you chose to do it." Everyone was amazed at what he had done.

"But listen to me," Artemis said with authority. She stood up from her chair and walked next to Lady Chaos in the center. All of the Olympians looked at her with surprise. "Do not take this free choice for granted. At every step of your decisions, I want you to think 'what would Percy do'?" she told them. They all were shocked at her level of care, except Hestia, who stared at the ground, slowly nodding her head in acknowledgement.

Artemis continued. "He sacrificed himself for me. But he also died for you." She started to tear up again. "Us gods like to forget our promises and duties. But if I ever see any of you acting in a manner that goes against the sacrifice that he made, there will be Hades to pay. That is a promise." All of the Olympians timidly nodded their heads in agreement. "What would Percy do?" she asked quietly, more to herself than the others.

"Why don't you just ask him?" she heard a voice from behind her. She turned around and saw Lord Order. Her eyes widened. But then she saw who was standing next to him, and her mind was exhilarated.

Standing next to him, in all of his dorkiness, yet glory, was Percy Jackson. She turned to his height and hugged him tightly. She rested her head against his chest and smelled the sea once again.

"You're here," she said to him, tears of joy crawling down her face. He wrapped his arms around her in return.

"It's me," he replied. "I needed to see you again. For real, this time." They continued to embrace each other, while all of the Olympians were shocked. Artemis, the eternal maiden, man-hater of Olympus, was hugging Percy Jackson with affection and care.

Chaos approached her brother. "Order, how did you do this?" she asked ecstatically.

He smiled at her. "You know, most of the time I like to maintain order over the planets with my Fates. But I saw, in Percy Jackson's final moments, that humanity and the gods on Earth would be fine on their own. You created a beautiful planet, Chaos. With beautiful beings, like Percy here. I think they deserve to be free."

Chaos went up and hugged him tightly. "And you saved him somehow?" she asked.

He hugged her back. "I couldn't let your finest creation seize to exist, now could I?" he responded.

After all of the commotion and reunions between Percy and some of the gods took place, the council continued.

Order put his hand on Chaos' shoulder. "Olympians, today you are free. Earth is a beautiful place, and I have no need to govern it like I had before. And there is no one else to thank but my sister Chaos and Mr. Percy Jackson over here."

Order looked at Chaos and smiled. "And because of that, I present to you: Percy Jackson, god of free will, loyalty, and the tides... your new Olympian." Gold shimmers started to encapsulate his body, and Artemis stood next to him in awe, as the lights reflected off of her silver eyes. Percy looked at her and smiled, as the aura around him continued to grow. After the intensity of the light hit its peak, it all immersed itself back into Percy. Above him, his symbol appeared. It was a picture of waves with a moon overlooking them- the perfect tide. A thrown rose up from the side. It was many shades of blue and green with emerald studded around it.

"I believe it is only fair to offer Hades and Hestia to the council as well for helping Percy along the way," Chaos added. Two more thrones resurrected. She continued, "If I were you, I would look to Percy as a beacon of action. If you all remain as selfless, determined, and loyal as him, your council will remain for millennia to come."

Zeus looked at everything that was happening and nodded his head. He couldn't go against the wishes of Chaos and Order. But the more he considered it, the more he realized that they were right to do what they did.

He raised him arms in the air, and everyone turned their attention to him. "I believe it is time to celebrate."

Artemis looked at Percy and smiled at him. He returned it with a lopsided grin.

ThAnK yOu FoR rEaDiNg. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Don't worry, I'll get in an epilogue in here for ya'll.